bookrandom Chapter 1268 Battle of Pingxia City
Chapter 1268 Battle of Pingxia City
Chapter 1268 Battle of Pingxia City
After the Dangxiang troops failed to force the Shengqiang camp to surrender, they left one group of troops to surround the city and then marched straight to the city of Pingxia.
The Dangxiang army deployed outside the city of Pingxia and formed a camp nearly a hundred miles north of Moyan Gorge, with great momentum.
The general guarding Pingxia City was the famous general of the Western Army, Guo Cheng.
When attacking Lingzhou City, there was a general riding a white horse in the Dangxiang army. Zhong Shidao asked who could kill this thief.
Guo Cheng jumped on his horse and cut off the thief's head with a single blow of his sword, and was then promoted to the fourth rank.
After Guo Cheng achieved this military merit, he was recommended to Shen Kuo by Zhong Shidao and Liu Changzuo respectively.
Shen Kuo had a keen eye for talent. When he built Pingxia City in the second year of Yuanfeng, he asked his generals who could defend the city. All the generals recommended: "It must be Guo Cheng."
After that, Guo Cheng became the mayor of Pingxia City.
Afterwards, five forts were built around Pingxia City, and the imperial court set up Huaide Army to govern it.
Guo Cheng actively built the surrounding fortresses and worked tirelessly, so Shen Kuo recommended him to be promoted to the commander of Huaide Army.
Guo Cheng, the commander of Huaide Army and the mayor of Pingxia City, faced the siege of more than 200,000 Tangut troops led by Li Bingchang and Queen Dowager Liang in Pingxia City.
Pingxia City was extremely hot in June.
Guo Cheng had only 5,000 soldiers in the city, and the reinforcements led by Liu Changzuo, the governor of Jingyuan Road, were only 30,000, including the 7,000 cavalrymen of Xu Xi who were surrounded in Xiaoguan. This number of soldiers was really incomparable to the hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the Dangxiang.
However, Pingxia City had been built and operated for three years and had become an important support point for the Song army against the Huaide army.
Among the 5,000 men in the army, 3,000 of them were equipped with iron armor, as well as powerful weapons such as the divine arm bow and heavy crossbow. Over the past three years, the Song army had repeatedly reinforced the city, making it as solid as a rock.
After the Dangxiang arrived at the city of Pingxia, they built high chariots and artillery batteries.
In view of the extremely powerful heavy catapults used by the Song army when attacking Liangzhou City, the Dangxiang people also learned to use them in the same way.
After King Li Bingchang came to power, he presided over several test firings in Xingqing Prefecture, with excellent results, and ordered the craftsmen to skillfully configure them.
The king is in charge of military affairs and craftsmen, which is why the Tanguts' armor and weapons have always been strong and powerful.
With the use of new artillery positions, as well as high carts, tunnels, and battering rams, etc.
After the Dangxiang troops surrounded Pingxia for two or three days, they began to attack the city.
In the extremely hot and humid weather, the atmosphere was almost stagnant.
Li Bingchang and Empress Dowager Liang were personally in charge, urging the six armies to attack the city from all sides.
As the old soldier had said, the Tanguts’ attack was really powerful on the first day, and it could be said that all three armies were willing to fight to the death.
With the help of powerful new catapults, the Dangxiang troops attacked Pingxia City at the cost of their lives.
Suddenly, under the Pingxia city, cannonballs rained down and arrows flew like locusts.
One of the tall towers built on the four sides of Pingxia City was destroyed by the Dangxiang artillery bombardment on that day.
With the abundant manpower of the Dangxiang Army, the several trenches built around the city were all filled up on the first day.
Li Bingchang sat at the foot of the city watching the battle. Beside him were two large baskets filled with priceless gold.
Whenever a soldier made meritorious service, he would be called to the yellow tent, and Li Bingchang would give him a pot of wine and put several gold bars from the basket into his arms.
The palace guards on both sides would shout out how much money would be rewarded to boost the morale of the troops.
……
Shen Kuo personally led 3,000 soldiers and horses to ambush in Xining Camp.
There were many Song army garrisons to the north of Pingxia City, both Han and foreign people. Once the Dangxiang troops attacked, they would immediately fortify their defenses and clear the fields.
However, Pingxia City and Xining Village to the south are densely populated and important military settlements. If they are attacked by the Dangxiang troops, the losses will be heavy.
For example, the imperial court took Lanzhou and Huizhou.
Qinfeng Road has become the inland area, and the imperial court can build a large number of cotton textile factories in Qinzhou. Firstly, it has the geographical advantage of being close to the Silk Road, and secondly, it is safe enough.
Since the acquisition of Liangzhou, Lanzhou and Huizhou have also become second-line areas. The two places have already cultivated large areas of rice fields and cotton, unlike the border areas that have to carry out scorching heat and clearing the fields from time to time.
Unlike the generals who were only interested in gaining military merit and population, Shen Kuo, who was also the Privy Councilor and Military Governor, knew clearly that the real winner of the war between Song Dynasty and Dangxiang would depend on whether the economy of Song Dynasty could support the logistics of military offensive.
Therefore, he paid more attention to building a sufficient buffer zone between Song and Dangxiang by moving forward to protect the economic zone in the rear.
Fortunately, it seems that the Dangxiang are only intent on attacking Pingxia City and have no intention of attacking the rear of Xining Village. Otherwise, Shen Kuo would have to burn the cotton fields and agricultural products planted last year in vain to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Dangxiang.
However, Shen Kuo had a problem: he had a bad mentality. When he saw the Dangxiang army surrounding Pingxia City and attacking it day and night, he just sat there and sighed.
Shen Kuo said to his men, "We must now prepare for the destruction of the city."
Zhang Gen, who was watching from the side, thought to himself that it was fortunate that Shen Kuo was not a frontline general and delegated the command of the troops. If the generals below saw him like this, they would be in chaos before the battle.
Zhang Gen advised Shen Kuo, "Sir, among all the generals in Jingyuan Road, only Guo Cheng is the most knowledgeable about military affairs and good at defense. You don't need to worry about this."
"As for the other troops, as long as they are not in direct contact with the enemy, General Liu (Liu Changzuo) has ordered the generals, envoys, and foreign officials to lead their troops and horses separately, and to choose a favorable place to camp, high and dangerous, and far away, so as not to gather in one place. If the enemy chases, they should retreat."
After listening to Zhang Genzhi's words, Shen Kuo calmed down and asked, "Have all the troops arrived?"
Zhang Gen said: "Zhe Keshi from Xi'an Prefecture has already arrived with his troops. The Huanqing Road and Xihe Road will be there in the next two days, and the Qinfeng Road will take five days!"
Shen Kuo said: "It is safest to stay in Zunzheng. Once the garrison arrives, let General Liu lead the army to relieve the siege!"
Zhang Gen saw that Shen Kuo was a little confused, so he quickly advised: "Please ask the governor to let Liu Zongguan handle this matter!"
Shen Kuo was a little displeased when he heard this, and said to Zhang Gen with a slight expression, "If Pingxia City is lost, the court will punish us, and the crime will be the greatest."
Zhang Gen was unmoved and said, "The court, General Manager Liu, and the city magistrate Guo have repeatedly said that only when the fighting troops are outside can the defenders dare to defend the city. If the reinforcements fail to relieve the siege, the morale of the soldiers in the city will be greatly reduced, and they will really be unable to hold the city. Isn't this what the court, the general manager, and the city magistrate agreed on?"
Shen Kuo thought to himself that this was indeed what he had said.
But he was in the middle of the situation, so he couldn't help but be a little confused. It was not like Zhang Gen, a bystander, who saw it clearly.
After Shen Kuo heard what Zhang Gen said, he suddenly felt that he was right and was immediately convinced. He changed his position and said with a smile, "Er Langjun is right. I am also confused because of my concern."
Zhang Gen nodded but smiled without saying anything.
When the aides on both sides saw this scene, they turned their heads away and pretended they saw nothing.
Everyone thought that this was how it was always like for the prime minister's son to serve as a military advisor.
What's more, Zhang Gen had lived a wealthy life since childhood, so he was very generous. He would spend all his rewards or salaries on weekdays, and buy some good wine and meat from time to time, so he got along well with all his staff.
……
Huanqing Road three days later.
Troops from Xihe Road gradually arrived around Pingxia City.
Among them, the reinforcements from Xihe Road included 5,000 cavalrymen from the newly formed Liangzhou Division.
The Liangzhou Direct Cavalry, which consists of a total of ten commanders, was organized under the personal order of Zhang Yue.
The Liangzhou route was led by the foreign general Li Zhongjie. This route was a mixture of foreign and Han troops, including many naturalized Dangxiang soldiers.
After taking Liangzhou, the Song Dynasty finally had a place to graze horses, and it finally became generous with its cavalry and no longer stingy.
Last year alone, Liangzhou sent 10,000 war horses to the Song Dynasty, not to mention the cavalry that Liangzhou equipped itself.
The Liangzhou Zhi had been stationed in Huizhou all along, because Wang Hou, the governor of Xihe Road, was ordered by the Privy Council to cooperate with Jingyuan Road to build Tiandu Mountain and Huluchuan, and had kept the most elite cavalry of this route in Huizhou.
After receiving the alarm from Jingyuan Road, this cavalry immediately provided reinforcements.
Although the journey was long, the horses in this cavalry unit all had horseshoes and each man had three horses, so they could endure the hardship.
You should know that the cavalry commanders of the Song army were all just one man and one horse, while those in the mainland had two men and one horse. There were even cavalry commanders who had almost no horses and were just in figurehead status.
In Wang Hou's words, it is inevitable to spoil your own children. I don't care how many people and horses you have in other routes, but the cavalrymen in Xihe Road must have three horses each.
Because of this, this Liangzhou cavalry has strong mobility.
In addition, Zhe Keshi of Xi'an Prefecture also had a strong army. After the foreign tribes in Tiandu Mountain surrendered, he also gathered a lot of local foreign troops for this expedition.
Although his subordinates had a lot of infantry, they had sufficient mules, horses and camels for transportation, and the reinforcements came at an incredibly fast speed.
The troops of Huanqing Road were led by the famous generals of the Western Army, Yao Si, Yao Xiong, and Yao Gu, who had 10,000 elite soldiers.
As for Xihe Road, Miao Shou and Miao Lu, father and son, are still on their way with 10,000 soldiers and horses.
The commanders of Jingyuan Road were Liu Changzuo, Zhong Yi, Peng Sun and other generals.
After the reinforcements from various places gathered, the Song army was suddenly filled with famous generals.
The Western Army generals Men Ruzhong, Yao, Zhe and Miao all arrived and confronted the Dangxiang troops at Guhaomen.
The Song army reinforcements were well-trained and well-fed. Seeing that Pingxia City was under attack by the Dangxiang army and seemed to be in imminent danger, they held a meeting to decide whether to lift the siege of Pingxia City.
Liu Changzuo, commander-in-chief of the three armies, was always known for his prudence and seriousness. Although he was the commander-in-chief in name only, he knew that he could not control the ferocious Western Army generals under him.
The generals below were either eager for military merit or worried about the fall of Pingxia City, so they all requested to fight.
Liu Changzuo was also hesitant and in trouble. He was the one who promoted Guo Cheng, so there was no reason for him to just stand by and watch him die.
At this time, a general stepped out from the big tent. His name was Guo Zude. He was a general from Jingyuan Road and a sworn brother of Guo Cheng in the city.
Guo Zude made an impassioned speech: "If the army does not move, I will lead several thousand cavalrymen to rush into the city and die with my brother!"
After hearing this, the generals of the Western Army on both sides agreed and once again encouraged Liu Changzuo to go into battle.
Liu Changzuo said: "If the western bandits under the city treat us with elite troops, once we rashly fight, the outcome will be uncertain. But if Pingxia City falls, we are all responsible and cannot escape the blame. The court will definitely punish us for fearing the enemy and not advancing!"
"Does anyone have anything to say? If you have no objection, we will immediately dispatch troops to fight the Western bandits!"
At this time, Zhe Keshi came out and said, "Manager, this is absolutely not allowed!"
"Going to war at this moment will not help us win. Although our army is holding its ground and is seen as a spectator, we are not in cowardice. There is nothing we can do."
"Now Pingxia City is an isolated city resisting hundreds of thousands of Tangut troops. The reason why it can hold on is that we have reinforcements outside!"
"If we are lucky enough to win the battle, the siege of Pingxia City may not be lifted, but if we lose, the enemy will show our soldiers, captives and weapons to the city."
"The morale of the army in the city will collapse. How can we hold on?"