Cao Baozong was taken down and placed under house arrest. He was an intelligence treasure, and more information about Xixia could be obtained from him. However, Chen Qing did not have time to interrogate him in detail for the time being. He had to deal with the subsequent westward withdrawal of the main force of the Xixia army.
Niu Gao followed Chen Qing and whispered: "I think we should send an army to Didao County first, and also inform the people along the way to hide. We can't let the Xixia army get supplies in Lintao Prefecture, so they will go to Ah
Qian County.”
Chen Qing stopped, thought for a while and said, "Go and find Li Muching for me!"
Li Muqing was the former military commander of Lintao Mansion. Not long after, General Li Muqing came quickly, bowed and saluted, "See the capital!"
"General Li, the Xixia Army is likely to withdraw from Lintao Prefecture. I want you to lead 3,000 troops back to Lintao Prefecture and occupy Didao County first."
Li Muqing's three thousand men were all cavalry, and they could indeed get back to Lintao Mansion in time.
Li Muching hurriedly clasped his fists and said: "You can leave immediately for your humble job!"
Chen Qing nodded and added: "We also need to inform the people along the way to hide to prevent the Xixia army from getting supplies!"
Li Muqing hesitated and said: "The Han people will definitely hide. I am worried that the Tubo people, Qiang people and Dangxiang people on the west bank of Taoshui River. The Tubo people and Qiang people will also leave temporarily, for fear that the Dangxiang people will support the Xixia army."
"They really have no choice but to support us, but we have to do everything in place and notify everyone."
"I understand, I understand, but I don't know when I will leave."
Chen Qing looked at the night and saw that the fourth watch had passed, so he said: "Go back and pack immediately, and set off before dawn!"
"Follow the order!"
Li Muching left in a hurry.
Chen Qing immediately ordered people to find Zhao Xiaoyi and ordered him to lead his scouts to eliminate enemy spies in the west of Longxi County. This was to provide cover for Li Muqing to go west.
Before dawn, Zhao Xiaoyi received news that they had annihilated two enemy sentry teams in the west and south of Longxi County.
Li Muqing immediately led 3,000 cavalrymen from the south city gate, crossed the Wei River, and headed west along the south bank of the Wei River.
At the same time that Li Muqing took the lead in leaving Longxi County for Lintao, spies from the Xixia Army also returned from the north.
At this time, the Xixia Army camp was under the control of the commander Xia Lian. Xia Lian was about fifty years old. He was tall and tall with white hair and his eyes were always full of cunning. He was the commander of Yinzhou City.
He is a famous general of the Xixia Army. He has fought with the Western Army of the Song Dynasty for many years and has rich practical experience.
But his personality is different from the upright and fierce Shang Dongyan. He has a more feminine personality. Although many of Cao Baozong's actions have been criticized, he just didn't want to offend this rich family man, so he kept it secret.
It wasn't until Cao Baozong's stupid command caused heavy casualties to the army that Xia Lian finally couldn't bear it anymore. However, he started a step too late and let Cao Baozong run away. In fact, this was also related to his feminine character and not decisive enough.
The Xixia Army pays great attention to seniority. Although Tuoba Chengqing is a deputy general, he is ten years younger than Xia Lian. His qualifications in the army are far inferior to Xia Lian's, and his prestige is also far behind. Naturally, he does not have control of the army.
After listening to the spies' report, Xia Lian frowned. All the two thousand troops in Xinxia City followed Cao Baozong. Logically speaking, they shouldn't! How could he leave one or two hundred people to continue to defend the city? Cao Baozong spent a lot of money.
He did not believe that Cao Baozong would abandon the military city built by the power of the tiger so easily.
Tuoba Chengqing next to him said: "Maybe he just wanted to take revenge on us and gave all the food to the Song Army. I think it was him who took the army away. If it was the Song Army, there wouldn't be a lot of food in one bag. Store them neatly in the warehouse."
Li Huang, the commander of the army, also said: "General Tuoba is right. Cao Baozong deliberately wanted to take revenge on us, so he took away all the troops and left an empty city. The same is probably true for Tongxi City."
Xia Lian walked a few steps with his hands behind his back: "I just think it's strange. Since Chen Qing deceived us, he has already arrived in Longxi County, so there is no way he won't attack several military cities in the north. The military cities are short and small. It is dilapidated, has few troops, and is rich in supplies. If it were me, I would have taken action long ago."
Another commander, Ma Yaowu, also said: "General Xia's doubts are correct. The correct answer should be that the Song army destroyed the defenders of Xinxia City."
"Then why wasn't the food taken away?" Tuoba Chengqing asked.
Ma Yaowu sneered, "That might be a trap. It doesn't contain food. Moreover, if the two thousand people follow Cao Baozong to retreat north, they will also take away part of the food. It is impossible to stack it neatly."
Xia Lian made up his mind and told everyone: "It's too risky to go north directly. It's better to go to Lintao and order the whole army to start packing their luggage and set off at the fourth watch tonight!"
At the third watch, Chen Qing received news that the Xixia army was preparing to evacuate.
Chen Qing immediately rushed to the head of the north city and looked at the enemy camp three miles away. Although it was three miles away, he could feel something strange about the Xixia Army camp on the top of the city. The most obvious thing was that the military flag above the camp had disappeared, and the sentry The lanterns on the tower and in front of the camp gate were also extinguished.
Chen Qing immediately ordered: "Send the order for the army to assemble!"
Just as the Song army began to gather, the Xiying gate of the Xixia camp slowly opened, and two thousand cavalry came out of the military camp first, followed closely by groups of infantry. There were no flags waving, no slogans, and it became Walk silently and silently.
In the middle of the team was the baggage team. All siege weapons were thrown away. Thousands of large tents, hundreds of thousands of spears, armor and other supplies were also forced to abandon. They only carried grain and some strategic supplies, mainly Kerosene and gunpowder.
In addition, each soldier also carried six days of dry food with him. This was a retreat. Every effort was made to make the troops as lean and simple as possible. All weapons and supplies that could or could not be carried must be given up, otherwise they would become a serious drag on the army.
At dawn, 20,000 Song troops also left the city to pursue the enemy. The Song soldiers only carried six days of dry food. In addition, there were a thousand heavily-loaded camels carrying 4,000 shi of grain. These 4,000 shi of grain were enough for the soldiers to eat for twenty days.
Chen Qing brought hundreds of cavalry to the military camp, and Hu Yantong was leading the soldiers to sort out lists and carry supplies.
The tents have all been dismantled and piled up like a mountain. There are as many as 6,000 tents in the main tent. There are also 30,000 shi of grain, 100,000 dans of fodder, 200,000 frozen lamb legs, 100,000 bags of wine, 300,000 spears, 100,000 A sword, a hundred thousand crossbows, twenty thousand sets of armor, and hundreds of siege ladders.
In addition, there were hundreds of thousands of sheepskins, war drums, flags, medicinal materials and other large quantities of materials. It was a great harvest that excited everyone.
Hu Yantong stepped forward and reported to Chen Qing: "We found an inventory of warehouse supplies. I checked it carefully. In addition to grain and grass, 3,000 barrels of kerosene and 500 barrels of gunpowder were missing. They should have been taken away.
"
"Besides grain, fuel, and gunpowder, what else did you take away?"
"It seems there is still some mutton and wineskins, but the rest is gone."
Chen Qing nodded, "Move all the materials into the city and dismantle the military camp. These wood are the best main beams for building houses. Keep them!"
Chen Qing roughly understood the supplies carried by the enemy, so he turned his horse's head and chased the team in the distance.
Soon after entering Lintao Prefecture, they entered the fertile Tao River Valley. Li Muching sent more than a hundred soldiers on both sides of the Tao River to notify the people to move. The effect was good. The Han people hid their food and property deep into the mountains, and the Tubo and Qiang people also
They immediately migrated with their cattle, sheep and property. Their wealth had been accumulated from generation to generation. No one wanted to be robbed by the Xixia army.
Li Muqing led three thousand cavalry all the way north and arrived in Didao County in a few days. The magistrate of Didao County was still Wu Hongwei. The Song army temporarily withdrew, so he organized a thousand militia troops to defend the city.
Li Muqing led the army back, which really made Wu Hongwei and the people in the city extremely happy. They had been worried about the return of the Xixia army, or the attack of Ren Dejing's army from Huangzhou. A thousand-people regiment could not stop the regular army from attacking the city.
"Song Jun is back!"
The people ran and shouted, and the whole county was boiling. Tens of thousands of people walked out of their homes, beat gongs and drums, sang and danced, and lined the streets to welcome the return of the Song army. Li Muching and his men really felt the enthusiasm of the people eating pots of pulp.
