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

"It's a deal!" Yue Fei said, clenching his fist.

Just do it.

Han Shizhong gave all of his best warhorses to Yue Fei, totaling more than 18,000, and some of the fine horses of tribal chiefs were also borrowed.

As for Han Shizhong himself, he led a large army to confront the enemy at Keyimen, and would occasionally go up the mountain to attack the watchtowers.

Yue Fei, with Qi'e as his guide, retreated more than ten miles at night and rested until dawn before crossing the Yellow River.

Each elite cavalryman was equipped with three horses: one to carry the rider, one to carry the armor, and one to carry provisions and water.

The place where Yue Fei crossed the river is the Binhe Avenue in the city of Wuhai in later generations.

The riverbank after crossing the Yellow River turned out to be full of paddy fields, which are usually used to grow rice.

However, due to the scorched earth policy, the area was deserted, and even the houses were burned down, let alone any sowing or rice seedling cultivation.

After a short rest and filling their water bags, they crossed the desert to the oasis, arriving at a salt lake that was more than 4 miles long and 2 miles wide.

There were grasslands around the salt lake, where the horses grazed for a while, were then fed concentrated feed and salt, and the soldiers sat down to eat and rest.

That afternoon, they crossed the desert again and arrived at the second oasis.

There is an even smaller lake here, and it is a freshwater lake.

Because of its flat terrain, the Yellow River can flood directly into this area when it floods, and even during the dry season, there are semi-dried streams that connect to the Yellow River.

Chapter 3789 Scorched Earth and Fortified Villages

After filling the water bag, Yue Fei rested for a night and continued his journey.

The six thousand soldiers were extremely excited; they already knew what they were going to do.

The following morning, Yue Fei led his troops through the last desert area and found that there was no scorched earth policy ahead.

Near the Yellow River, farmers are plowing fields with oxen. Further away from the Yellow River, herders are grazing their livestock.

Perhaps because the men were all conscripted to fight, the farmers and herders were mostly elderly people and women.

"The Han army is attacking! The Han army is attacking!"

An old man who was herding sheep was so frightened that he rode away at breakneck speed on his horse, shouting and spreading the message along the way.

Ignoring all warnings, Yue Fei, guided by Qi'e, sped through a semi-agricultural and semi-pastoral belt stretching over thirty miles.

When they had crossed two-thirds of the area, they could still see smoke rising from the fortified villages on the opposite bank of the Yellow River.

Qi'e pointed ahead and said, "There are many mountains for dozens of miles ahead. They are not very high, but they are quite barren. In some places, we need to take a detour."

"Once you cross that area, it's all flat land."

The straight-line distance is only a dozen miles, but the detour takes tens or even hundreds of miles.

Yue Fei's army disappeared into the hilly area, while the Western Xia fortresses on the opposite bank of the Yellow River were thrown into chaos by fear.

They thought Yue Fei was going to choose a place to cross the river and attack the stronghold, so they planted a stake behind Keyimen City and then attacked Keyimen from both sides.

So while carefully guarding the fortress, they sent someone to Keyimen to report the news and invited a large number of cavalry to scout along the river.

Another day passed, and Yue Fei had traversed the hilly terrain and was now galloping on a smooth road.

To his west are the Helan Mountains, and to his east is the Yellow River; he is already situated in the Yinchuan Basin.

This is the true meaning of breaking through the Helan Mountain pass!

This was the core area ruled by the Western Xia, so naturally, a scorched-earth policy was not feasible; farmers were cultivating the land everywhere.

However, the majority of the soldiers were still elderly people and women, as all the able-bodied men had been conscripted to fight.

The Western Xia farmers fled in terror. Those who couldn't escape far hid in their houses, too afraid to come out. Some rode horses to Dingzhou City to report the news.

Ignoring all else, Yue Fei led his army down the mountain at breakneck speed.

Last winter, three tribes in Dingzhou rebelled, turning the area into a complete mess.

The already dwindling standing army and able-bodied men were all drawn away to defend Lingzhou, leaving only five hundred ineffective troops in Dingzhou.

By the time the garrison commander received the news, Yue Fei had already led his troops to within four miles of the city.

The garrison commander looked at his five hundred old, weak, sick, and disabled soldiers and ordered them to guard the city gate.

Then he went home, packed his belongings, and fled with his wife, children, and elderly parents.

When Yue Fei's troops arrived at the city, the five hundred defenders scattered in panic.

A merchant stepped forward and said to his shop assistants, "I am one of Emperor Zhu's men. You will all come with me to open the city gates!"

Yue Fei rested in the city for one night, replenished his supplies, and continued south.

The capital of Western Xia, Xingqing Prefecture, is less than a hundred li ahead!

……

Yue Fei's raid route was no secret in Western Xia, but it was easily overlooked.

Even locals wouldn't go that way.

The reason is simple: if there is a flat road to travel on, why would you want to cross three deserts?

It's perfectly normal that Cao Yu didn't know the route.

Every time he passed through this area, he walked through Keyi Gate, and his understanding of this area came entirely from the accounts of his entourage.

Since the generals of the Chaoshun Army knew there was a breach, why didn't they station troops to defend it?

Chapter 3790 Unpredictable and Unavoidable

We've taken precautions.

The Western Xia built fortified villages on the east bank of the Yellow River crossing to prevent the Ming army from bypassing the gate and attacking from behind.

Hmm... we just forgot to guard against the Ming army's direct attack on Xingqing Prefecture.

Because there's no need to take precautions.

First, if they wanted to rush to Xingqing Prefecture, Dingzhou City would be blocking their way.

Secondly, the Western Xia army at Keyimen could cut off the retreat route of any attacking enemy forces at any time.

Under normal circumstances, Yue Fei's troops, having led them to Dingzhou, had become an isolated force deep in enemy territory!

If the defenders of Keyimen could simply divide their forces to cross the river, they could trap the enemy like turtles in a jar and beat them with a closed door.

This is very similar to when the Jin army marched south, and Wanyan Zongwang bypassed many fortified cities and directly attacked Bianliang, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty.

If the Northern Song army had been even slightly more disciplined, it could have blocked the Jin army's retreat and annihilated Wanyan Zongwang's forces—that's what Zhang Shuye suggested. Unfortunately, the Song army was rotten to the core.

……

"What? The enemy has already captured Dingzhou?"

Li Renzhong was terrified: "Quickly request the Prince of Jin to lead his army back to reinforce us!"

Upon receiving the news, Li Renzhong, without even informing the King of Western Xia, immediately sent someone to invite Richard back, while simultaneously mobilizing troops to strengthen the defenses of Xingqing Prefecture.

Not long after, Li Renxiao also received the news and immediately summoned Li Renzhong to the palace for questioning.

Li Renxiao asked, "Did the Ming army fly over Keyimen?"

"Your Majesty...I truly do not know." Like Cao Yu, Li Renzhong, as the prime minister of the Western Xia Kingdom, had no idea that it was possible to bypass the desert.

Li Renxiao then asked, "How many troops are left in the city?"

Li Renzhong said, "Five thousand garrison soldiers and one thousand Xingqing Prefecture city defense troops."

"If the enemy doesn't come too many times, we can organize the people to defend the city and hold out until the Prince of Jin leads his army back!"

"Let's hold on to the death, then let's hold on to the death," Li Renxiao said hastily.

Li Renzhong said, "Your Majesty, please personally ascend the city wall to defend against the enemy. The soldiers and civilians inside the city will surely fight to the death."

"Okay, I'll go right away!"

This sixteen-year-old emperor, who had been on the throne for just over six months, did not surrender in fear like Liu Shan.

He not only personally climbed the city tower, but also brought his newly appointed Empress Wang with him.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Li Renzhong sent people everywhere to spread the word. When the soldiers and civilians of Xingqing Prefecture heard that the emperor and empress had ascended the city walls, their morale was greatly boosted and they obeyed the order to defend the city.

Men, women, the elderly, and the infirm in the city were all organized. The men were armed with various weapons and formed into an army, while the women were assigned to various places to transport supplies.

As long as the Western Xia army and people can defend the city, then Yue Fei will be the one in dire straits!

Because Yue Fei had traveled a long distance, he carried very little food and provisions.

Within the territory of Western Xia, the first half of the campaign was carried out with a scorched-earth policy, and the second half was also subject to excessive grain requisition. It was difficult for him to obtain food locally within enemy territory, and even Dingzhou City, which he had occupied, had little food.

The main force of the garrison in Xingqing Prefecture is now the five thousand guards, a force created by Li Yuanhao.

They also had a title called "Royal Garden Sixth Class," which initially consisted of only five hundred people, but gradually expanded to five thousand people over the past century.

They were all composed of the direct descendants of various powerful clans and tribes; to put it bluntly, they were hostages used by Li Yuanhao to control the various tribes.

The fighting power of this "proton army" was terrifying a hundred years ago!

Now, well, hehe.

Their daily work consisted of guarding the palace and royal gardens, and they were only mobilized when the Western Xia emperor personally led an expedition.

Chapter 3791 Garrison Troops

Three hundred of them were sent by Li Renzhong to the north to scout out enemy positions.

They wore golden armor and rode tall horses, looking quite imposing at first glance.

In fact, their lamellar armor plates were very thin, making it difficult to defend against even a strong bow.

The troops stationed at the palace only need to look imposing; they don't really need any real defense.

Real battle armor is so heavy! Standing guard would be exhausting!

These three hundred riders cautiously left the city, splitting into groups of thirty, and headed north to scout out Yue Fei's movements.

They rode their horses for several miles, then decided not to go any further and stayed to roam around the area.

If there was any disturbance, they would go back to report it, which was considered completing their mission.

"The Han army is here! The Han army is here!"

Several Western Xia people rode their horses galloping from the north.

These Western Xia hostage soldiers were so frightened that they immediately sounded their horns to warn their scattered comrades, and then turned and fled on horseback.

Upon their return to Xingqing Prefecture, Li Renzhong personally inquired, "How many Ming troops have arrived?"

“Thousands upon thousands.”

"How much exactly?"

"There could be several thousand, or there could be tens of thousands."

"Damn it! Have you encountered any enemies?"

"Yes. But the enemy came too fast, and we didn't have time to count how many there were."

How far away is the enemy?

"They're probably several miles away."

"Don't try to estimate how far it is."

"Five li. Or maybe six or seven li."

"..."

Li Renzhong's questioning nearly made him explode with anger.

He was fairly certain that these guys hadn't actually seen the Ming army with their own eyes!

That afternoon, Yue Fei indeed arrived with his troops.

The generals rushed closer to observe, and immediately felt a headache coming on, because it was impossible to take it down.