After traveling through time, I became Han Zhang’s grandson?

While the Song army was winning victories everywhere, Zhong Yan, located in the northernmost part of the Yongxing Army Road, had been invisible since he set out on the expedition.

The victories and good news on many battlefields seemed to have nothing to do with him, but everyone knew clearly that the pressure he faced was unprecedentedly huge.

Most of Han Ming's Yongxing Army's main elite forces were basically gathered under Zhong Yan, and his task was to contain the two major military commanders of Western Xia - Xiangyou and Zuoxiang Shenyong!

This mission, which was as difficult as defying the heavens, was ultimately undertaken by Zhong Yan alone.

During the entire Song-Xia War, military intelligence reports from all over the country were delivered to this famous general of the Song Dynasty every day.

Seeing the legions from all over the country making repeated military achievements, Zhong Yan, who was just in his early thirties, was like an ant on a hot pan, but he could do nothing.

After all, their situation was too special. They had to suppress the nearly 60,000 Xixia troops from the two major military divisions on the front line.

The maximum number of troops that Zhong Yan could mobilize was more than 40,000. With such a huge disparity between the enemy and us, there was no one else except the future old General Zhong Jinglie.

Around April 20th, almost ten days late, Han Ming's messenger finally arrived at Zhong Yan's Hengshan camp.

Seeing the military order requiring him to let go and advance without any scruples, Zhong Yan's heart, which had been hanging for months, finally settled down.

"The governor really hasn't forgotten my old ancestor! Look everyone, the governor praised me for having the defensive talent of Mao Dezu and Zhang Xun."

"Prove what? Prove our achievements. The governor has kept them in mind and knows that it has not been easy for us."

Zhong Yan sat carefree in the commander's tent, smiling as he watched Han Ming praise him.

This is the first time I feel that this guy has good speaking skills, and it is so pleasant to listen to him praising others.

"But General, the governor wants us to participate in the counterattack and capture the three states of Yinzhou, Shizhou, and Xiazhou. What should we do?"

The lieutenant general below looked at the contents of the military order with a helpless look on his face, his brows furrowed as if they could pinch a fly to death.

"Forehead..."

Zhong Yan was a little stunned, then he slammed Han Ming's letter on the table, feeling both amused and helpless.

"I knew this guy had bad intentions. He praised me so much just to make me fight this hard battle!"

Zhong Yan began to think with some tiredness, how could he meet Han Ming's requirements and march westward as soon as possible to surround Xingqing Prefecture?

"I heard that the Zhong Gu and Wang Shao tribes have the latest firearms they've snatched to aid them in the battle. General, should we..."

The lieutenant general thought of something and asked cautiously.

"You know what I'm thinking. I really don't want Yinzhou and Xiazhou to collapse and become ruined. Repairing them later will be a hassle!"

During the period of Zhong Yan, there were already signs of the "Hengshan Proposal" to govern Western Xia.

The so-called "Hengshan Proposal" was an idea that Zhong Yan had in his later years to manage the Hengshan area.

Zhong Yan believed that "the Hengshan Mountains stretch for thousands of miles, are rich in horses, and are suitable for farming. The people are strong and good at fighting. Moreover, they have the benefits of salt and iron, which the Xixia people rely on for their livelihood. Their fortifications are all strategically located and are strong enough for defense."

"Now, we should start with Yinzhou. Next, we should relocate to Youzhou, and then build Xiazhou. Once the three states are built, they will stand side by side. Then, the land of Hengshan will be included in the three states."

"The next step is to build Yanzhou City. Then, Hengshan's powerful soldiers and horses, as well as the benefits of the mountains and swamps, will all belong to the Great Song."

"Its terrain is high and commanding, overlooking Xingzhou and Lingzhou, and it can directly strike at the lair of the Western Xia."

In the end, this plan was partially adopted by Xu Xi and Shen Kuo, who were in charge of the military and political affairs of Yongxing Army at that time. However, instead of relocating Youzhou, they decided to relocate Yinzhou and build Yongle City (now Mahuyu, Mizhi County, Shaanxi Province).

This left Zhong Yan with some lifelong regrets, and he eventually died of a carbuncle on his back at the age of 57.

Therefore, as the lieutenant general, Ruan Wenzhao understood Zhong Yan's thoughts very well.

"But General, all the Song army units have launched an unprecedented counterattack, demanding to enter the front line of the Xingzhou siege. We have been deadlocked outside Yinzhou City. If the governor knew..."

Ruan Wenzhao's words made Zhong Yan fall into silence. To be honest, he was the one who wanted to be the first to arrive at Xingqing Prefecture. However, anyone with a discerning eye could see that this battle would definitely not be a battle to destroy Xia.

In this case, he really couldn't bear to destroy Yinzhou and Youzhou, which were needed for the next step, in order to expand his strategic advantage.

"General, besides, Youzhou, the support point of your three-state strategy, has already been attacked by Wang Shao's firearms. I'm afraid it will soon follow Yanzhou."

"Leaving only Yinzhou behind is useless and useless!"

"Rather than losing the big picture for the small, it's better to destroy and then rebuild. As long as we win this great counterattack, we can rebuild the three states!"

Ruan Wenzhao's words made Zhong Yan think a little, and he gradually cleared the fog in front of him, as if he realized that he had gotten into a dead end.

"You're right. Rather than losing the big picture due to small gains, it's better to destroy and then rebuild!"

"Before the general left, he made the military deployment of 'it's better to cut off one finger than to injure ten fingers'. So we can't let these nearly 60,000-strong army leave alive!!!"

As soon as Zhong Yan finished speaking, a surging murderous aura filled the entire tent.

"Then we fight according to military orders?"

Ruan Wen Zhao asked with a perk.

"beat!!!"

"Since all the tribes have launched a full-scale counterattack, our old brothers from Qingjian City can't be any worse than them."

"Order all the troops stationed at Niuxinting and Longzhou to march north and gather at the foot of Yinzhou City. We will not split up our forces this time!"

"Follow the positions of Yinzhou, Shizhou, and Xiazhou, and attack them one by one from east to west!"

"Inform all units of the Hengshan camp to bring along the necessary firearms and weapons and march out!"

Zhong Yan immediately stood up, picked up the weapons on the rack behind him, turned around and left the general's tent.

"Yes, I will issue the order immediately!"

Because Han Ming paid attention to the support issues of the Zhong Yan tribe, he spared a large number of firearms and weapons to supply them before the Song and Xia battles.

It was just because of the initial strategy that Zhong Yan had been using a diversionary tactic with the opponent and had not used these firearms.

This time, the great counterattack gave the Zhong Yan side enough firepower to cover all the major cities in the three states.

In the early morning of April 21, the Yinzhou Legion under Zhong Yan bombarded Yinzhou City.

At three quarters past noon, the Yinzhou defender was injured and killed by artillery fire, and the Yinzhou defenders fell into chaos.

Zhong Yan personally led the army into the city, killing anyone they saw and setting fire to every house they saw. In a short time, this big northwestern city was burned down.

On the evening of the 21st, all the troops under Zhong Yan gathered together and immediately marched towards Shizhou at night.

On the 24th, the Yinzhou Army advanced into Shizhou, and also received news from Wang Shao's troops about the "remnant soldiers in Zuocunze".

In order to take the overall situation into consideration, Zhong Yan ordered his deputy general Gao Huai to lead a detachment of troops to bypass Xiazhou first and advance westward to support Wang Shao's encirclement and suppression.

On the 28th, just when Wang Shao, Yao Si and Gao Huai were working together to strangle Mi Qinmingqian, Zhong Yan also began to attack Shizhou.

On the 29th, Shizhou City was broken and the Western Xia defenders were forced to flee west to Xiazhou. Zhong Yan did not stop and led his troops to follow closely behind, holding on to the enemy tightly.

In early May, Zhong Yan's army arrived at Xiazhou and immediately launched an attack on the city.

On May 8, the Yinzhou Legion finally opened up Xiazhou, the last city leading to Xingqing Prefecture.

Except for leaving Lieutenant General Ruan Wenzhao to guard the city, the Yinzhou Legion marched westward without stopping, heading straight for Xingqing Prefecture, the capital of the Western Xia Kingdom.

At the same time, the last two armies, those of Han Ming and Duke of England Zhang Wenbi, also advanced to the vicinity of Xiping Prefecture and Qingtongxia respectively.

On May 15th, Han Ming entered Jingzhou and joined forces with Zhong Gu's Yanzhou Legion.

On May 17th, Duke of England Zhang Wenbi opened up the last stop - Shunzhou.

At this point, the Song Dynasty's counterattack, which lasted nearly one and a half months, finally ended with all the troops gathered together and arrived in Xingzhou under the forced marches and heavy artillery fire.

The high-ranking officials of Western Xia, who were anxiously waiting for military information from the front line, were suddenly frightened out of their wits when they saw the Song army's westward expedition with its flags flying.

They sent people everywhere to issue orders to defend the king, but Han Ming and others chose to surround the city with heavy troops in order to completely force Xixia to surrender.

This time, everyone in Xixia was in a state of panic.

Since the day Li Yuanhao started his army and established the Great Baigao Kingdom, no one would have thought that one day they would be blocked in their own nest and fight a battle to defend the capital!

By the end of May, news of Han Ming's victory in the westward expedition and the siege of the capital of Western Xia reached all parties.

For a moment, the world was shocked!

The top leaders of the Song and Liao countries were so shocked that they were speechless, and the people of the three countries were even more shocked that they were speechless.

As various intelligence reports on Han Ming's Western Expedition were gathered, this unprecedented counter-offensive finally made everyone believe that the Song Dynasty had risen!