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

"Five years later, Ningxia Province will be established."

"Take them all away and lock them up..."

The powerful families of the Western Xia were incredibly wealthy. Their assets came not only from the wealth of their own people, but also largely from looting from Shaanxi.

Will everything be fine if I surrender?

Several squads of soldiers rushed into the main hall and dragged the Western Xia emperor and his officials to prison.

Countless civil and military officials regretted their actions. They had surrendered, yet this was how things turned out. They should have fought the Ming army to the death!

The empty hall was now only occupied by the civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty.

Li Yanxian said with amusement, "If the governor does this, there will probably be rebellions everywhere in the next few years."

"Then we'll have to rely on you generals."

Zhao Ding explained,

"His Majesty's meaning is very simple: he wants to thoroughly rectify the Western Xia territory."

“Break the bones of those powerful families, especially the tribal chiefs, and divide their fields and pastures among the common people.”

"If we don't address this now, in twenty or thirty years those chieftains will become powerful again. How will the imperial court collect taxes then?"

"How can a civil official contend with a local chieftain?"

Deng Chun asked, "Are you going to station a large army in the former territory of Western Xia?"

Zhao Ding said, "Thirty thousand garrison troops, twenty thousand field troops, and their families will also be moved here."

"Allocate them the most fertile land so that they can take root and multiply firmly in Ningxia."

"These troops were mainly transferred from Shaanxi, which will no longer be a border region. The Cabinet and the Ministry of War have decided to reduce the number of troops stationed in Shaanxi."

Li Yanxian smiled and said, "That's easy."

“There are plenty of Shaanxi soldiers outside the city. Let them stay here, and we’ll send their families over later.”

"I'll leave these to you generals."

Zhao Ding produced an official document from the Ministry of War.

“There are specific locations for stationing troops and corresponding troop numbers. Some civilian laborers will also have to stay and their families will be moved here.”

"In the next two or three years, rebellions will surely break out everywhere. We'll take the opportunity to slaughter another batch of them!"

"This year's battle is not the end, it is only the beginning."

……

Hexi Corridor, at the foot of Yanzhi Mountain.

The Shandan Horse Ranch has been completely emptied out; there are no horses left, not even cattle or sheep.

News of Wu Jie killing chieftains, herders, and landowners in Liangzhou has already reached Gansu and Jiangsu provinces.

The Western Xia officials and civil and military officers who wanted to surrender were so frightened that they were forced to unite and fight desperately.

They also told the soldiers and civilians that wherever the Ming army went, they would massacre the city, and that if they wanted to survive, they had to fight to the death.

In the flat valley southeast of Yanzhi Mountain, a grain transport convoy of the Ming Dynasty is being besieged.

The enemy came from the east side of Yanzhi Mountain, where the journey was shorter but rugged and desolate.

Wu Jie's army advanced by passing through the Shandan Horse Ranch on the west side of Yanzhi Mountain.

This grain transport team consisted of several thousand people, including five hundred garrison soldiers and the rest were all civilian laborers.

They surrounded the area with four-wheeled vehicles and wheelbarrows as a barrier, and piled up the grain carried by livestock on the outer perimeter. They had been fighting the enemy for two hours.

Nearly a thousand laborers were killed or wounded, most of them from arrows!

The Western Xia cavalry also suffered heavy casualties. Not only were 500 Ming soldiers equipped with bows and crossbows, but even some civilian laborers were also equipped with bows and crossbows.

Chapter 3827 Encirclement and Suppression

These laborers came from the Hehuang region, and many of them were exiled criminals who had to participate in military training during the off-season for farming.

“Da da da da~~”

The sound of galloping hooves rang out, and cheers erupted on the Ming side; they had finally received reinforcements.

Only two hundred elite cavalrymen came, while the Western Xia had more than three thousand cavalrymen.

"Kill it!"

The generals of both sides gave orders simultaneously.

The general from the Western Xia was named Renduomingyi, and he came from a prominent family in Liangzhou.

The city of Rendoquan, built by the Western Xia dynasty, was named after the Rendo people.

When Wu Jie captured Liangzhou, Renduomingyi fled with his troops.

But his brothers, the landowners and herdsmen of his clan, were beheaded by Wu Jie after surrendering.

Several clansmen fled to Ganzhou to report the news, which angered Renduo Mingyi so much that he vowed revenge, because Wu Jie's killing of surrendered soldiers was too unreasonable!

This fellow had a deep-seated blood feud, as did the Ming army generals who came to his aid.

Wu Jie had two great generals under his command.

One of them was named Wang Jun, whose nickname in the army was Wang Kaishan.

There are wrong names, but no wrong nicknames. You can tell what kind of person someone is just by hearing their nickname.

Historically, Wu Jie feared that Wang Jun would surrender to the Jin Dynasty, so he directly married his daughter, who had just come of age, to Wang Jun, who was almost thirty years old.

One of them was named Yang Zheng, Wu Jie's old subordinate and old buddy.

Yang Zheng participated in all of Wu Jie's victories in the early and middle stages, and carried out the most difficult and dangerous missions.

Historically, Yang Zheng fought against the Jin army and won nine battles out of nine. He was never defeated in direct combat. It was he who led his troops to make Sarihe cry.

Moreover, Yang Zheng was a man of both political and military talent, and he was also very adept at governing the people.

Unfortunately, he was portrayed too harshly by the Southern Song Dynasty fantasy novel "Yijian Zhi," which described him as cruel and bloodthirsty, even skinning his concubines at will.

"You barbarians of Western Xia, give me back my life!" Yang Zheng, spear in hand, charged forward.

His father, Yang Zhong, died in battle against the Western Xia at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty. It is said that he was hit by dozens of arrows and died.

Yang Zheng voluntarily stayed behind, leading two thousand elite cavalry to protect the grain route from Liangzhou to Ganzhou.

He divided his two thousand elite cavalry into ten teams, with each rider on two horses patrolling back and forth along the route. If they encountered any Western Xia, they would charge straight at them.

This is the third battle.

The Western Xia troops dared not engage in direct combat with the main Ming army force, and instead always sent cavalry to attack the supply lines.

Two hundred Ming cavalrymen charged fiercely toward more than three thousand Western Xia cavalrymen.

Yang Zheng didn't even consider such a small enemy a threat.

Historically, he often led his infantry to charge directly at the Jin cavalry, with the entire army using large axes and long swords to cut the horses' legs.

Meanwhile, more than three thousand Western Xia cavalrymen took turns firing arrows at two hundred Ming elite cavalrymen.

They split into ten teams to encircle and patrol, but dared not engage in close combat; they would fire an arrow and immediately create distance.

Facing an enemy force more than ten times its size, Yang Zheng still led his squad in a charge.

Moreover, they were divided into four teams, and each team was further divided into two smaller teams that cooperated with each other.

Fifty riders charged in one direction, and simultaneously charged in four other directions, advancing relentlessly without showing any sign of stopping.

Invincible!

Yang Zheng personally led only two small teams totaling fifty people.

He braved a hail of arrows, relentlessly pursuing the enemy who, after firing all his arrows, tried to flee.

The Western Xia cavalry numbered over three hundred, constantly turning their heads to shoot arrows, but the arrows had no effect on the armor of the men and horses.

Another enemy force of about three hundred cavalrymen was also shooting arrows at Yang Zheng from the flank, but they dared not charge forward for close-quarters combat.

Chapter 3828 They escaped really fast.

Yang Zheng only had eyes for the enemy in front of him, completely ignoring the enemy troops on his flanks. When he caught up with an enemy, he thrust his spear and killed him.

Less than ten minutes.

More than three thousand Western Xia cavalrymen were routed by these two hundred Ming elite cavalrymen.

Rendo Myogi also wore armor, and even his warhorse was covered in leather armor.

But he was fleeing at a breakneck speed. Such a charge by elite cavalry was too terrifying; no ordinary Western Xia cavalry dared to withstand it.

Putting aside the equipment issue, they were completely defeated in terms of morale.

The Western Xia cavalry returned to where they came from, galloping wildly along the foothills of Yanzhi Mountain.

But just as they were about to reach the mountain pass, a river blocked their way.

That is a small river flowing down from Yanzhi Mountain, irrigating a narrow agricultural belt stretching for hundreds of miles.

If it's the dry season, you can wade across on horseback.

But now it's spring, and the snow on Yanzhi Mountain is melting, causing the water level of this small river to rise sharply.

The Western Xia cavalry fled in panic along the riverbank. Seeing the Ming cavalry approaching, some of them even jumped into the river on their horses.

For the Western Xia cavalry who lacked armor, jumping into the river to escape might offer a chance of survival, but continuing to flee would inevitably lead to their demise.

One cavalryman after another jumped into the river, but the generals and officers dared not.

They were all wearing iron armor!

"You traitorous general, prepare to die!"

Yang Zheng headed straight for Renduomingyi, because this guy had the best armor.

Rendo Mingyi turned around and saw Yang Zheng knock down a man. He was so frightened that he immediately whipped his warhorse to speed up.

They chased him all the way to the foot of Yanzhi Mountain, and after running along the gentle slope for a while, the mountain became increasingly steep.

Rendo Mingyi discovered that Ming troops were blocking his way to the west, while there was a river to the east, so he had no choice but to abandon his horse and climb up the mountain.

Yang Zheng dismounted, put on his spear, took out his iron rod, and chased after them using both his hands and feet.

Rendo Mingyi also abandoned his spear and climbed the mountain, panting heavily.

Seeing that Yang Zheng had broken away from his soldiers and that the other Ming soldiers were still far away, he turned around, drew his sword, and slashed at Yang Zheng.

Yang Zheng gripped a bush with his left hand and swung an iron rod with his right, smashing it hard into the enemy general's calf.

"what!"

Rendo Akihiro let out a scream as his tibia was smashed and fractured.

Yang Zheng swung his stick again, striking Ren Duomingyi in the waist with such force that it seemed capable of severing his intestines.

"Oh!"

Another muffled thud, and the iron rod slammed into his chest.

Rendo Mingyi coughed up blood and fell to the ground. Just as he lay down, his helmet was hit hard again.

Yang Zheng felt completely comfortable, and his smile became particularly ferocious.

His grandfather was killed by the Western Xia people, his father was killed by the Western Xia people, and his brother was also killed by the Western Xia people!

Yang Zheng dragged the enemy general's corpse down the mountain. Halfway down, he saw some prisoners and immediately scolded, "I said not to leave a single one alive, why are you binding these scumbags?"

An officer said, "The military order is not to spare the Western Xia generals and officers; these few who have been tied up are just soldiers."

“Kill them all. I’ll take responsibility if anything goes wrong,” Yang Zheng said.

The officer hesitated for a moment, then ordered his soldiers to kill the prisoners. Everyone kept this matter to themselves.

……

Ganzhou City.