Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

Moreover, they scattered the group of women and fled, fearing that the elite Tangut troops would pursue them.

He then rushed into the streets and alleys, shouting loudly, "The Ming army has entered the city! The Ming army has entered the city!"

Even as they shouted, they didn't forget to set the house on fire.

Yelü Erlitu was located on another section of the city wall. He did not see Guo Sichang's signal, but he did see Xiao Lvfen causing trouble inside the city.

He immediately summoned his two sons and several brothers: "Hurry up and act! There will be a great reward for meritorious service. Once the whole army is in chaos, we'll charge straight at Yeli Degui!"

At the same time, two other small tribes also raised their white flags and defected.

Inside and on the city walls, the Western Xia garrison was in complete disarray, unable to distinguish who the enemy was.

The Ming Dynasty's elite troops continued to push up siege ladders and build parapets, while various tribes of the grasslands had already erected ladders at the locations where the defending troops had defected.

The ladder was heavy and had to be pushed forward slowly.

The siege ladders used by those grassland warriors were lightweight and simple, and they could just carry them away.

Normally, using this kind of siege ladder is tantamount to suicide.

However, the city wall defenders were fighting amongst themselves and had no time to spare for the approaching enemies.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Yeli Degui called to his son and said, "Run quickly, saving your life is the most important thing!"

Yeli Degui's personal guards sounded the horn, and the elite Western Xia troops who had been sent to guard the city left the city walls to find their warhorses.

They were fully armed and well-equipped, and the warriors from various tribes who had defected dared not face them. After only a few exchanges, they were so frightened that they gave way.

Chief Qi Gan caught up with Ye Lidegui on horseback: "If we run away now, what will happen to our people?"

Noritoki said, "How can we defend the city like this?"

"If a woman is gone, you can marry another; if a son is gone, you can have another."

"Once the imperial reinforcements arrive, we can fight our way back and find our families!"

"Do you still want to stay? Haven't you heard the various tribes shouting to kill the Tanguts?"

The chieftain, gritting his teeth, had no choice but to abandon the elderly, women, children, livestock, and food, and lead the able-bodied men of his tribe on horseback to break through to the west.

Yelü Erlitu sought iron pots, tea, salt, silk, and brocade.

Desperate to kill Yeli Degui, he led his men to charge towards the elite Western Xia forces.

The idea was great, but it quickly crumbled in battle.

Yeli Degui led more than 4,000 cavalrymen out of the west and north gates, while the rest were trapped inside the city and unable to leave.

Of those who successfully left the city, over a thousand were fully armored, while the rest were unarmored able-bodied men from various Tangut tribes.

Chapter 3739 Reserve Team

"You go after the fleeing enemy, I'll go into the city and take control," Yue Fei said.

Han Shizhong smiled and nodded: "Okay. Wait for me to come back for the feast!"

Han Shizhong led the reserve cavalry in pursuit of Yeli Degui, who was fleeing.

The siege ladders that had already been pushed down to the city walls were all recalled, and only the infantry were allowed to continue the siege.

Nori Tokugawa shouted, "Order all units to hold off the pursuers!"

The military order was quickly issued, but no one was willing to obey. The Tangut chieftains led their people and fled on horseback at breakneck speed.

Moreover, because they weren't wearing armor, they were much lighter and escaped even faster than Yeli Degui's elite troops!

Han Shizhong led his troops on a wild run of more than ten miles and finally caught up with the tail of the Western Xia elite forces.

He split into two teams to eliminate the enemy, while he led his troops to bypass the enemy and continue the pursuit.

They fled for another forty li, and both sides were exhausted, with a large number of cavalrymen falling behind.

The horse that Han Shizhong rode was a fine steed bestowed upon him by Zhu Mingqin when he was granted the title.

Every knight receives a horse, and the quality of the steed varies depending on the rank of the knight.

In the end, Han Shizhong left his troops far behind, while Yeli Degui was left with only a few riders.

Yeli Degui was already terrified. Hearing the sound of hooves behind him diminish, he turned around and was overjoyed. He reined in his horse and slowed down, saying, "Only one enemy general is chasing us. Follow me and we'll fight our way back!"

This fellow, along with his son and a few personal guards, slowed down and came to a stop, preparing for a fight.

Han Shizhong had already rushed forward, knocking down one of his personal guards with a single spear thrust, and continued charging towards Yeli Degui.

Yeli Degui's personal guards did not stay together when they fled, and they were more than a hundred meters apart from each other.

Han Shizhong knocked down two in succession, which frightened the third person so much that he spurred his horse to flee, and then fired an arrow after creating distance.

Yeli Degui was already charging back when he saw two of his personal guards die, and then his own son was also knocked off his horse.

He was so frightened that he dared not fight any longer, and turned his horse around to continue his escape.

Also hit a hammer.

Han Shizhong was dressed in the uniform of a Ming Dynasty cavalry general, not only wearing a medium-sized armor with added materials, but even his warhorse was covered in a mixture of leather and cotton armor.

If it weren't for his magnificent steed, with such a heavy load, it would have been impossible for him to chase the enemy for dozens of miles at such a speed, and even get closer and closer to them.

When Han Shizhong caught up to within ten meters, Yeli Degui slowed down and shouted in Chinese, "We are willing to surrender! We are willing to surrender!"

Han Shizhong spurred his horse forward, reached out and grabbed Yeli Degui, then threw him violently to the ground.

Han Shizhong spat and cursed, "Why didn't you surrender earlier? You made your grandpa chase you for dozens of miles. If my divine steed had been ruined, you wouldn't have gotten away with it either!"

Meanwhile, on Yue Fei's side...

Yue Fei led his cavalry into the city, shouting along the way: "No killing prisoners, no looting, hurry and put out the fire!"

This city is the location chosen by Liangshan as the seat of the Protectorate, so we can't reduce the population too much, and we certainly can't destroy the city's facilities.

"Previous murders and robberies are no longer an issue; from now on, anyone who dares to disobey orders will be killed without exception!"

Yue Fei led his troops to suppress the unruly soldiers throughout the city and even summoned the tribal chiefs to give them a lecture, but he still could not control the chaos that raged throughout the city.

The sources of the mutinous soldiers were varied, including those who followed the Ming army in attacking the city and those who defected from within the city.

They robbed women and valuables whenever they saw them, and some even deliberately killed prisoners to vent their anger. Some even fought over things.

Chapter 3740 Suppression Chaos

Yue Fei summoned several of his generals and ordered them: “Each of you lead your troops to suppress the rebellion. Anyone who disobeys orders will be killed on the spot, even tribal chiefs!”

Upon receiving the order to suppress the unrest, the Ming Dynasty's elite cavalry began rampaging through the city, killing anyone who was causing trouble, and even killing two chieftains on the spot.

Gradually, the riots in Tiande Military City subsided, and even the spreading fires were stopped.

Yue Fei climbed to the top of the city wall and looked out over the vast grasslands and the ever-flowing Yellow River.

Over the years, he has been reading history books and materials compiled by the Ministry of War and the Hanlin Academy.

At this moment, he was thinking much more than an ordinary military general.

The three cities in Hexi that he had previously captured in a blitzkrieg were part of Xihe Commandery during the Han Dynasty.

The city that was captured at this time belonged to Wuyuan Commandery during the Han Dynasty.

The location of the Western Xia Weifu Military Command was the Shuofang Commandery of the Han Dynasty.

Yue Fei turned to look at the distant mountains to the north, his expression relaxed and a smile appeared on his face: "I will not let the barbarian horses cross the Yin Mountains, I will not let the barbarian horses cross the Yin Mountains!"

"The sons of Han have finally returned, clad in armor and armed with weapons!"

As the sun sets, there is no afterglow, only the Yellow River flowing ceaselessly, as if silently telling those border stories.

Wulahai City, also known as Wula City, Wuna City, Wulahai City, Wulanghai City, and Wuluohai City.

Historical records indicate that Genghis Khan launched five campaigns against the Western Xia, three of which involved this city.

It was defeated by the Mongols twice, and neither time was too difficult.

The first time, they used spies to intimidate the city, disguising themselves as herdsmen to spread the message that if anyone dared to defend the city to the death, they would massacre the city's inhabitants, thus making the defending troops unwilling to fight to the death.

With their food supplies exhausted and unable to advance further south, the Mongols looted the city and then withdrew.

The second time was even more decisive. The Western Xia army was defeated in Hexi (where Yue Fei launched a lightning raid), which frightened the garrison commander of Wulahai City into surrendering directly to the Mongols.

This fortified city, with a troop strength of 70,000 and the most important city in northern Western Xia, seemed to have played little role in the face of the Mongol army.

Now, what about facing the Ming Dynasty?

After Yue Fei and Han Shizhong captured Tiande Army City, grain and supplies were continuously transported from Shanxi.

They sent the elderly, women, and children back to their pastures, while the chiefs of various tribes led the able-bodied men westward, and their army now numbered over 35,000!

Most of the soldiers came from various tribes on the grasslands.

The equipment of these steppe cavalrymen depended entirely on their own economic strength.

Not all of them were unarmored; some wore iron or leather armor, passed down through generations from father to son, from grandfather to grandson, and could still be used after some repairs.

Yue Fei was a guest general who had come from afar, so Han Shizhong automatically took on the role of commander.

They claimed to have an army of 200,000, and drove away the scattered herders who had not yet fled, sending them to spread fear to the Western Xia army.

Because the attack on Tiande City had delayed them, Richard's vanguard had already reached Wulahai City.

The Western Xia dispatched several thousand light cavalry to scout the situation on the grasslands and, incidentally, to vie for the initiative with the Ming Dynasty's light cavalry.

Han Shizhong and Yue Fei's main forces were still thirty miles away when their steppe cavalry clashed. The fighting was evenly matched, with victories and defeats on both sides, resulting in a draw.

"Your Excellencies, the imperial court has dispatched troops to our aid!"

How many reinforcements have arrived?

"Three hundred heavy cavalry!"

Han Shizhong and Yue Fei looked at each other in surprise, not expecting the emperor to send over heavy cavalry as well.

Before long, three hundred heavy cavalry arrived.

Chapter 3741 Heavy Cavalry

However, there were more than two thousand horses, more than eight hundred people, and more than ten mule-drawn four-wheeled carts.

Not only did each heavy cavalryman have his own personal squire, but they were also equipped with some shared logistical personnel.

Those retainers could also fight on horseback, and their equipment far surpassed that of ordinary steppe cavalry.

"Greetings, Protector-General Han and Protector-General Yue!" Li Shifu dismounted and saluted.

Han Shizhong returned the greeting with a smile; he wasn't familiar with Li Shifu.

Yue Fei, however, said happily, "It's been several years, and you've actually taken command of heavy cavalry."

Li Shifu said, "These three hundred heavy cavalry were commissioned by His Majesty two years ago."

"Both the armor for men and horses is new heavy cotton armor, and even the auxiliary cavalry (escort cavalry) are selected from the entire army."

He turned and pointed.

"General, look who this is!"

Yue Fei looked up and saw that the man had dismounted and stepped forward to bow, saying, "Greetings, Protector Yue."

It was Yue Yun at the age of nineteen!

Yue Fei exclaimed happily, "Why are you here too?"

Yue Yun replied, "I graduated from military academy last year and was first assigned to the heavy cavalry as an auxiliary cavalryman. Besides training, I did odd jobs. I was too embarrassed to tell my father about it in the letter."

"This year, a military officer was promoted and transferred to Shaanxi."

"Because of his outstanding performance, my son was transferred to the heavy cavalry as an officer and is now in command of thirty men."

"A tiger cub from a military family," Han Shizhong remarked with considerable envy.

Old Han spent many years in the army, constantly being transferred to fight, which meant he and his wife rarely saw each other and they never had children.

After he joined Zhao Yuan's forces, his wives and concubines gave birth to two sons and a daughter for him.

The eldest son has just come of age, but unfortunately he dislikes military affairs and plans to take the imperial examination to become a civil official.