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

Chapter 128 Weizhou Offensive and Defense

That night, outside Weizhou City, a group of sneaky people knocked on the city gate.

They were received by the Weizhou Military Inspector, the third in command of the Jingsai Military Command.

In the local administration of Western Xia, military power and administrative power were often mixed. Therefore, a total of two wings and twelve military supervision offices were set up across the country, with a total army of more than 500,000.

Each military supervision office had a chief military commander, a deputy military commander and a military supervisor, all of whom were Tangut nobles.

The Jingsai Military Command was stationed in Weizhou and was managed by Mo Zang Siyu, the nephew of Mo Zang Epang. The deputy commander-in-chief and the military supervisor were mostly Mo Zang Siyu's confidants.

In this westward march to support Yanzhou, in addition to the commander-in-chief Mo Zang Siyu, there was also the deputy commander-in-chief Mo Zang Yifeng.

As for the military inspector Tuoba Chinan, he stayed behind to look after Weizhou and the surrounding cities.

Tuoba Chinaing was born in the Tuoba tribe, one of the eight Dangxiang tribes, and is also a branch of the Li family that currently rules Western Xia.

During the Former Tang Dynasty, Tuoba Sigong, the leader of the Tuoba tribe, was once granted the title of "Jiedushi of Dingnan Army" and later was granted the title of Duke of Xia. He was given the surname Li and changed his name to Li Sigong. This is the origin of the Li family of Western Xia.

Although Tuoba Chinan was born into a royal family, due to his humble origins, he was not allowed to use the royal surname and had to be called Tuoba.

The reason why he has been able to reach his current position as the third in command is largely due to his extraordinary wisdom and strategy, as well as his joining the powerful Mo Zang clan.

Regarding this westward support, Tuoba Chinan always maintained a cautious attitude, believing that the Song army would not act so boldly and Yanzhou would not be easily lost.

Therefore, local military commanders should not mobilize a large number of troops for support, and should be careful about the Song army's sneak attacks on various cities.

These thoughts can be said to be anticipating the enemy's moves and basically guessing Han Ming's action strategy.

However, the ruling class in Western Xia had other ideas. First, they attached great importance to Yanzhou, and second, they despised the Song army that they had defeated.

Therefore, Tuoba Chinaing's ideas were basically rejected by Xingqing Prefecture, and the always arrogant Mo Zang Siyu gathered most of the troops and marched westward without stopping, completely unaware of what was cautious.

Although the situation of the Tuotuokou ambush was not reported back to Weizhou, Tuoba Chinaing always paid attention to the front line and continuously sent spies out of the city to check.

This check was not a big deal, as the spy brought back a wave of scattered soldiers from the front line, and the leader was none other than Yeli Rongqi, who was covered in blood.

Upon seeing the third commander-in-chief of the Jingsai Army, Yeli Rongqi led a group of defeated soldiers to kneel on the ground and cry loudly, telling them everything that happened on the front line.

"What did you say?! An army of 40,000 was completely wiped out?!"

Tuoba Chinaing's face changed and he felt like the sky was falling.

"Sir, everything Yeli said is true, and we can all testify to that!"

A soldier from the Tuoba tribe, his face covered in blood, secretly saw Yeli Rongqi's eye signal and immediately knelt down and cried bitterly.

Seeing that his own soldiers were so confident, Tuoba Chinan's face turned pale, his body trembled, and he was a little unsteady on his feet.

"You...you've worked hard. It's not easy to escape from the front line. Go down and rest for a while."

Tuoba Chinaing endured the discomfort and calmly waved his hand, letting the wounded soldiers go down to rest.

Just as everyone left the military office, Tuoba Chinaing spat out a mouthful of blood, which spread all over the hall.

"Han Ming... what a Han Ming... his methods are so vicious..."

Tuoba Chinaing gripped the chair handles tightly with both hands, staring out the door with gloomy eyes.

. . . . . .

In the dense forest of Leshan, southeast of Weizhou, Han Ming, dressed in a crimson official robe, sat leisurely, looking at the brightly lit Weizhou city in the distance.

"What time is it?"

Holding a cup of hot tea, Han Ming casually asked Yong Zeng, the head of his personal guards behind him.

"My lord, it's three o'clock in the morning."

Hearing the answer, Han Ming picked a leaf from the bushes nearby and placed it in his palm. Suddenly, a breeze blew from behind, blowing the leaf towards the distant Weizhou City.

"Well, it's almost done. The wind direction is good tonight, suitable for a fire attack."

Han Ming has had an inextricable bond with fire since he came to the northwest. He is really planning to develop into an "arsonist".

"Sir, are you not going to wait for Yeli and his gang?" Yong Zeng asked curiously.

Han Ming chuckled when he heard this: "It's better to rely on yourself than on others. Let's keep them until we need them..."

Yong Zeng was still half-comprehending when Han Ming gave the order, "Take two thousand soldiers and enough thunder bombs to launch a feint attack on the east gate."

"Yes!" Although Yong Zeng had never led troops alone, he had learned some skills from the daily training of personal guards.

"Remember, make it a big deal!"

"Yes, I understand!" Yong Zeng immediately ordered his men to march forward, equipped with enough firearms, and marched arrogantly and swaggeringly towards the east gate of Weizhou City.

"Jing Yu!"

"I'm here!" A young general stepped out from the side with his fists clasped.

This young general Jing Yu was a member of the younger generation of the Huanzhou generals. Born in an ordinary family, he had followed Zhong Gu many times in the frontline fortresses to fight against the Xixia people.

This time, Di Liang arranged him to be by Han Ming's side, firstly as a guide, and secondly as a lieutenant general to assist him.

"Immediately lead three thousand men and horses to bypass the west gate. But if you see the fire at the east gate, immediately sneak into the city."

"Yes!" Jing Yu's expression changed.

"According to Yeli Rongqi, the armory and granary in Weizhou City are both located on the north side."

"After you sneak into the city, split your forces into three groups. One group will seize the armory, another will seize the grain camp, and the last group will rush to the east gate to provide support. We will attack the guards at the east gate, open the city gate and rescue Yong Zeng."

Han Ming spread out the simple Weizhou city defense map provided by Yeli Rongqi and pointed to several locations on the map.

"Sir, what if the enemy reinforcements arrive?" Jing Yu asked cautiously.

"Weizhou governs three cities and nine counties. Apart from the 40,000 troops that Mo Zang Siyu took with him, the entire Jingsai Military Command can only muster 20,000 troops at most, not to mention the defense against Qinfeng Road."

"I estimate that there are less than 3,000 troops in Weizhou City. Reinforcements? Unless a surprise force descends from the sky, Weizhou will be mine today!"

Han Ming curled his lips into a cold smile, then stuffed the simple map into Jing Yu's arms.

"Don't delay, it will be too late if you are late."

"Remember, after taking Weizhou City, burn everything except the necessary food, fodder, and equipment."

"After daybreak, you will reunite with Yong Zeng and go through the south gate, heading southwest. Take down Geta Village and station your troops there to reward Yikou."

Geta Village was the frontier fortress of the Western Xia against the Qinfeng Road of the Song Dynasty, and Shangyikou was the junction of Qinfeng Road and the Jingsai Military Command of the Western Xia.

Han Ming's order left Jing Yu somewhat bewildered. He quickly asked, "Sir, why are we so eager to retreat south? Shouldn't we be heading north to attack Xiping Prefecture?"

"Go north?" Han Ming shook his head slightly.

"Originally, we were heading north, but on the way west from Tuotuokou, I overlooked one point."

Han Ming's words made Jing Yu prick up his ears.

"That's the time!"

"time?!"

Han Ming looked at Jing Yu, who looked puzzled, and said with a smile, "It should be the time and space, as well as the efficiency of Xixia's mobilization."

"If we take these additional factors into account, it's estimated that the Xiping Prefecture Xiangqing Army, which should have been supporting Yanzhou along the Inner Great Wall, has already turned south through Lingzhouchuan and headed straight for Weizhou City."

Jing Yu still couldn't understand Han Ming's analysis, but he was very surprised by the conclusion.

"Your Excellency is saying that the Xiangqing Army of Xiping Prefecture, north of Weizhou, did not support Yanzhou, but instead moved south?"

"How is this possible? Yanzhou is the most important city in Western Xia, we cannot afford to lose it!"

Han Ming turned his head and looked towards the north of Weizhou, and said as if he had a telepathic connection: "If you can capture me, won't this war be over?"

Jing Yu looked at Han Ming's back with some fear.

"Regardless of whether my guess is right or wrong, it's better to be safe than sorry. If we foolishly head north to attack Xiping Prefecture, we'll probably fall into their trap. We'd better hold off for a while and then retreat to the Song-Xia border."

Han Ming still couldn't explain his inner thoughts clearly.

Looking at Jing Yu leaving and the remaining three thousand soldiers, Han Ming slowly exhaled a breath of hot air.

"Everything is ready, only east wind is lacking..."