The chaos continued, and the air was filled with the faint smell of blood.
On the afternoon of the 18th of June, a column of smoke rose in Yanzhou.
It was still midsummer. The sun shone brightly, and the trees swayed on the roads in the city. The cries of cicadas could not be covered up. The people closed their doors and waited anxiously at home for the development of the situation. There were also some hot-blooded people who picked up their knives and rods and called their neighbors to kill the Xixia people.
Yanzhou had been ruled by the Western Army for many years, and the people were still hot-blooded. When they were powerless, they could only hide in humiliation. However, when the army came into the city, they followed behind and had the courage to vent their anger.
There was also a white-haired old woman who opened the door to the courtyard with a bucket of well water and a few dates. She was trembling as she waited for the soldiers who came in to eat and drink. Whenever she saw the soldiers who had killed their way in, she would give them to them. She asked, "Are the Divine Soldiers here? Is Husband back? "
The soldier pointed to the black flag behind them. "We are Little Canghe, the Huaxia Army!"
The old woman did not understand, but her eyes were already crying. "My child is dead, killed by them …" When the Xixia people came, the army had massacred the city. After half a year of rule, there were many widows, widows, and orphans left in the city.
The soldiers who met them were stunned for a moment, then swept forward to support the battle in the streets.
A team ran across the street and stopped at a small square at the end of the street. Some people sat down in a corner, panting. This was the Second Company of the First Battalion of the Huaxia Army's Second Regiment. Mao Yishan was among them, drenched in sweat. He had washed his body with the river water at noon, and now half of his body was covered in blood. His hand was tied to the handle of his steel knife, and when it was untied, he was trembling slightly.
The platoon leader, Hou Wu, was in a better condition. Not far away was Qu Qing, who was half-naked and moving with them. His skin was dark and firm, and his muscles were firm. There was a bandage from his left shoulder to his right rib, which was already stained with blood and dust. He stood there with his mouth slightly open, trying to regulate his breathing. His right hand was still holding the knife, but his left hand reached out to grab a wooden dipper from a bucket of water carried by a soldier. He drank a mouthful of water and poured it over his head.
"Haha … this feels so good …"
Everyone knew that he had led troops in the past, his character was calm and reserved, he would not easily show off to others. But at this moment, this man's right hand was trembling slightly. Even though he was extremely exhausted, the shout came from the bottom of his heart, unable to suppress his excitement.
Behind them, some people also shouted, "That's right!"
"That's the way to fight! That's how it should be — "
"Awesome!"
His voice trembled slightly. It was a mixture of great excitement, flamboyance, and tiredness.
In front of him, there were even more people charging over from afar. Their morale was high, and they looked hungry and thirsty.
Ever since they left the mountains yesterday, the Black Flag Army's attack speed really was too fast, fast to the point where even the soldiers themselves were surprised and shocked. In Sun Tzu's Art of War, it was said to be as swift as the wind, as aggressive as fire, and as swift as thunder. It was said like this, but it was easier said than done for an army to achieve this. However, from yesterday onwards, the Black Flag Army threw themselves out from the mountains, the entire strategic level truly like a blade hacking out, forgetting about life and death, advancing inexorably.
No matter how big or small a battle was, it would crumble upon contact!
In the hearts of the numerous officers and soldiers, they had never seen this battle as too simple. Close to a year of feeling the same pressure and gradually acknowledging the people beside them caused them to be duty-bound when they left the mountains. However, Western Xia was not some soft persimmon. There was no other way. Nine thousand people charged out together and gave the other side a fierce blow. But for themselves, this kind of operation was certain to have nine out of ten deaths and one life. However, when they charged out with this kind of determination to die, defeating tens of thousands of soldiers in two days, killing their way into Yanzhou City without stopping. There were even quite a few people in the army who felt that they had encountered Western Xia's miscellaneous soldiers.
Only people like Qu Qing could understand what kind of military spirit this was. He had once commanded the army of the Wu dynasty, and they had been completely annihilated under the pursuit of the Jurchen iron cavalry. Afterwards, in Xia Village, he had seen this army narrowly defeat the resentful army, and then rebel. The one year of suppression and tempering in Little Cang River had given them something too powerful.
No matter how rigorous the training was, it was impossible to increase a person's physical strength by two or three times. However, when thousands of people charged at the enemy like a raging tide, the moment they met the enemy's blade, it determined how powerful an army was. The Western Xia people were not weak. They formed a battle formation according to the training, brandishing their blades and thrusting their spears according to the training. And the main idea of the people around him was to overturn the enemy in front of them with one strike. Not only that, but they also tried to push the barrier in front of them open and break it.
Many people believed that at the moment of charging and facing the enemy, whether the soldiers could kill the enemy or survive depended on training and luck. For most troops, this was certainly the case. But in fact, when the training reached a certain level, the desire, fanaticism, and sobriety of the soldiers could still determine the outcome of the battle at the moment.
In the moment of confrontation, when eight people fell on one side and only two on the other side, the difference in that instant was enough to cause the sky to fall and the earth to crack. In such a battle, the decisive factor was the number of casualties in the first two or three rows of the army. When the first two or three rows collapsed too quickly, the soldiers at the back would be pushed away, forming an overwhelming retreat.
Of course, it was difficult to train such soldiers. However, after a year at the Small Canghe River, at least at this moment, Qu Qing knew that the people around him were such soldiers.
At this moment, his arms were slightly trembling, and the blood in his chest was still surging. With such a group of companions around him, what would happen if he encountered the resentful army a few years ago? What would happen if he encountered the Female Zhenren? But as for what would happen next, there was not much confusion.
"Is there anyone whose blade hasn't been stained with blood?"
"No one!"
"Then … the battle is not over yet. Have you killed enough?!
"No …"
After a short rest, the crowd got up, and their morale was high!
With a bang, the door was pushed open. The one-eyed general, who was wearing a black eye mask and a black cloak, did not stop. He kept moving forward, surrounded by a small team of guards. On the road and in the courtyard, the Western Xia people's flags were toppled, and their corpses were strewn everywhere. Huge balloons flew over their heads.
In the courtyard in front of them, there were a lot of big carriages. This was obviously the area where the battle had been intense. One of the carriages was still burning, and the soldiers of the Huaxia army were carrying buckets of water to extinguish the flames. Many people were gathered there, and their bodies were more or less stained with blood. Around them were rows of warehouses. Hunchback Chen took a wet towel and wiped the blood off his face. His sweat and the enemy's blood had already mixed on his body, forming an unpleasant smell.
To the enemy, this smell might be truly terrifying.
"General, Ji Lasele was caught off guard, so he did not arrange for people to burn the grain on a large scale. Most of the grain here is the newly harvested wheat, as well as the Western Xia army's rations."
The door of the warehouse opened, and piles of cloth bags were displayed in front of them, piling up like a small mountain. Qin Shaoqian took a look. "What about the other granaries?"
"They have all been taken down."
The biggest problem facing the Small Canghe River was the lack of grain. Hunchback Chen and the others had been lying in ambush in Yanzhou City for a long time, and they had already found out the locations of the granaries. After breaking through the North Gate, the first task of the elite troops was to raid these granaries. The Western Xia people always felt that they had the upper hand, so they never thought of burning the grain.
"The battle in the city must end quickly, but there are still a lot of Western Xia soldiers left in Yanzhou. We don't have time to stay and clean them up. You have been here for a few months, so you should have contacted the locals, right? "
The battle in the city had not stopped yet. Qin Shaoqian took a look and asked while walking out. Hunchback Chen came out naked. His small eyes blinked, and he looked sinister and bloodthirsty. "There are some local gangs that are willing to help, but they also have conditions, hehe …"
"I don't care about the conditions. Your men will stay, and the other five regiments will leave 200 people for you. Gather the wounded soldiers in Yanzhou City, and look after these granaries. The army will take five days' worth of rations. Everything else can wait until later. "
Hunchback Chen blinked. "The army is going to continue moving forward? General, I am willing to follow you to kill the enemy. Yanzhou has already been conquered, so there is no point in staying. "
The two of them had already walked out. Qin Shaoqian turned around and patted his shoulder. "We need someone who can hold the fort here. You have followed Brother Ning for a long time, and you have stayed in Yanzhou City for a few months. You are the most reassuring. We used speed to fight slow, so we took advantage of them by surprise. But it is meaningless to just attack Yanzhou. The next step is to cut off all means of retreat. If there is a problem, with you in the rear, it will be easier to help. "
These words were simple, but they were very heavy. Hunchback Chen nodded and cupped his hands. Qin Shaoqian got on his horse and also cupped his hands. "Brother Chen, take care."
"General, take care. Everyone, take care. "
Inside Yanzhou City, blood flowed and battle scars poured out. A large number of Western Xia soldiers had already retreated from the west and southwest sides of Yanzhou. The Black Flag Army soldiers that were chasing after them also came out from the rear. In the mountains northwest of the city, a whirlpool of killing was still ongoing. Ji Lasele's flag had fallen, but the troops that were chasing after him were like mad tigers. From the moment they entered the city, these troops had directly entered his formation. Even now, they were still tightly chasing after him.
Because the expectations were too high when they set out, right now, inside and outside of Yanzhou, there were many Black Flag Army soldiers who felt that they hadn't killed enough. Especially for these generals of the army, there was a certain portion of young soldiers in Little Cang River that had a huge attraction. This was because the current spiritual leader of Little Cang River had killed an emperor.
A small number of personal guards and a large number of defeated soldiers surrounded Ji Lasele. This Western Xia general was hugging his long spear and standing on the ground. His chest was stifling and painful. This army that came from the mountains was a kind of army that he had never seen before. Even in front of him, he was still a little confused. In a mere two days, the sky and earth had been turned upside down. Tens of thousands of troops had collapsed, and the other side had attacked like wolves and tigers. From an objective point of view, he could understand the reason for his defeat, but … he still could not understand it.
It was purely because the disparity in strength was too great. The moment they clashed, the intensity of the battle that the other side suddenly erupted with had already far exceeded the endurance of an ordinary army. There was no problem with his command, there was no problem with his strategy, there was no problem with the defense plan that he had previously set up. It was just that there was no contingency plan that was prepared to deal with so many things that were beyond common sense.
It was like comparing the strength of the Jurchen soldiers and the soldiers of the Wu dynasty. When the generals of the Wu dynasty accepted the fact that the Jurchen were strong and confronted the Jurchen army, they could still fight back and forth. If from the beginning, everyone had measured each other on the same level, then they would only need to clash once. No matter how many troops the Wu dynasty had, they would be defeated like a mountain.
On this piece of land in the northwest, the Western Xia army already had the advantage. Even if they were facing the She family's army, a clash was not a bad choice. Who would have expected that such an army that defied common sense would suddenly jump out from the mountains?
Huge chaos swept over. The sun on the horizon was faintly turning orange-yellow, and the battle cries were also getting closer and closer. In the last few moments of his vision, he saw a young general not far away. His entire body was red, and he had killed a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. He was shouting, "Mine …" He slightly tilted his head. Someone was holding a steel saber and chopping down on his head …
In Yanzhou, the Gansu Military Headquarters of the Western Xia's Gan Province led by Jirasele had only held on for two days in the northwest. On the afternoon of the 18th of June, Yanzhou City was breached, and the Western Xia army was routed and scattered like a tide. After suddenly pouncing out from the mountains, this army that came out of nowhere seemed to be acting crazily. Up until now, they had only completed the first half step.
*****
Boom … Whoosh …
Lightning streaked across the gloomy curtain of rain. Thunder rumbled in the heavy rain.
On the 20th of June, the valley of the Little Cang River was shrouded in a torrential rain.
In a small courtyard halfway up the mountain, oil lamps were lit in the house. In the courtyard, there were people running back and forth. It was a chaotic scene. When Yun Zhu was sitting by the door with her daughter in her arms and watching the rain, she could hear voices coming from next door.
"… It sounds good to let the people know that you want to change the world's customs. If you can really do it, do you think that no one has tried to do it all these years? What will happen … The army of the Little Cang River is not bad. You can give them back their courage for a moment, but how will you manage them in the future? Being able to fight for one's self is called being reasonable? Do you think that every scholar doesn't want to be reasonable … "
"… Moreover, being reasonable is not something that can be solved by reading books. You also said that the descendants of the Zuo family are unfilial. Which descendant is good? Is it because the elders spoil them?! Which descendant of the Zuo family can't study? Is the Zuo family not strict? Out of ten, there are eight or nine out of ten people who don't understand reason and think that they are infallible. And this is because the Zuo family is a scholarly family. I dare say that even if you really want everyone in the world to study, there will not be more than eleven people in the world who can understand reason! "
"… The Confucian school is a circle! Although this circle is hard to change, it doesn't mean that it can't be expanded gradually. It just can't reach the sky in one step! You want to understand things and oppose the Confucian school? How many things are in between? If you want people to understand reason, what books do you give them to read? Do you want to write them yourself?! They still want to read the Analects of Confucius, the words of the sages. If they read it, don't you want them to believe it? Let me take a step back and say that one day, even if there really is a knowledge that can make people understand reason but is different from the Confucian school, what can you use to fill the gap between the Confucian school and the non-Confucian school? If you can't fill the gap, you are just talking nonsense … "
After the chaotic battle in the valley the day before, Li Pin left but Zuo Duanyou stayed. At this time, in the thunderstorm, the old man's words were so deafening that Ning Yi couldn't help but nod and frown …
*****
In the Western Xia army camp in the hinterland of Yuanzhou, Lou Shuwan walked out of her tent and saw the unusual movements in the camp. A noble officer from the Xiang Clan hurried over and said something. When she asked the attendant beside her who understood the Western Xia language, the other person frowned and said, "It seems that … their Emperor is injured …"
Lou Shuwan was shocked. She frowned and quickened her steps. She rushed over and pulled a young officer that she was familiar with. "What's wrong? Your … His Majesty was assassinated? "
"No, His Majesty smashed his table and suffered some light injuries on his hand." The officer looked around. "There's a battle report from Yanzhou."
"Yanzhou?"
"Ji Lasele …" The officer was about to explain in detail when he suddenly remembered this woman's background and some words she had said. "… You said that the bandits in the mountains are making a move."
"… Ning Yi?" Lou Shuwan was stunned for a moment before saying this name. Then, she widened her eyes. "Little Canghe and those people?"
"Four days ago, they killed their way out of the mountains on the east side of Yanzhou. There were ten thousand of them and they headed straight for Yanzhou. Ji Lasele couldn't stop them."
"… They went around Yanzhou? Where did they go? "
"They attacked Yanzhou by force and took over the city in half a day …" Under Lou Shuwan's shocked gaze, the officer said something that sounded like a myth. The wind blew across the sky above the camp, and the world seemed desolate. Lou Shuwan was stunned at first, then she muttered to herself. She wanted to say, "I knew he would make a move." She did have such a vague expectation in her heart, but she didn't expect it to be like this. The other party would never sit still and wait for death.
But what really shocked her to the extreme, as if all the air in the world had disappeared, was the unreal news that came from the next question.
…
She asked, "What happened after they took Yanzhou? They … "
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