At night, a group of 30,000 cavalrymen moved quickly on the open Loess Plateau. In addition to the 30,000 cavalrymen, there were also 10,000 camels laden with supplies following them.
This army was led by Liu Qiong and deputy general Tang Qian. They originally numbered 40,000 people and set out east from Chang'an. According to the military reports of the Xuanfu Envoy, the destination of this army was Yanzhou and Yefushi County.
For logistical support, they were stationed on the west bank of the Yellow River. Their task was to contain the Jin soldiers on the Hexi Road to aid Xixia.
But in fact, the 40,000-strong army divided into two groups two days after marching eastward. They continued to march north along the Luoshui Road with great fanfare, pretending to be the momentum of the 40,000-strong army, while the main force of the 30,000-strong army on the other group turned around and returned silently.
Entered Jingyuan Road.
The 30,000 people who entered Jingyuan Road were the 30,000 cavalry led by Liu Qiong and Tang Qian. They carried out the first phase of Chen Qing's plan and entered Xixia from Hulu River to seize Yingli County.
They were the surprise troops deployed by Chen Qing. In order to cover their success, Chen Qing did not hesitate to deploy 200,000 troops and countless supplies of food and grass in Lanzhou, thousands of miles away. He and the military even went to Lanzhou, just to make Xixia and even Jin
The capital believed that he would attack Xixia from Lanzhou.
But in fact, Chen Qing will still send surprise troops northward via the traditional route.
Go north from Jingyuan Road, arrive at Pingliang Mansion, then continue northward, enter Zhenrong Prefecture, then go north along the Hulu River in Zhenrong Prefecture, arrive at Xiaoguan, pass through Xiaoguan and enter the territory of Xixia. This road
Since ancient times, it has been an important passage for the nomadic cavalry from the north of the Great Wall to enter Guanzhong. During the Qin Dynasty, in order to attack the Xiongnu from the north, the famous Qin Straight Road was built.
The 30,000 cavalry led by Liu Qiong were traveling along the Qin Straight Road. At dawn, they arrived at Xiaoguan. Xiaoguan was previously occupied by the Xixia army and had a garrison of 3,000 people. However, Xiao Heda's rebellion forced the Xixia court to mobilize from all directions.
In terms of military strength, all Xiao Guan's troops were transferred back to Xingqing Mansion. Before leaving, they completely destroyed the city walls and passes of Xiao Guan. There are currently no troops stationed, and they are covered with weeds as tall as a person. The Hulu River is on the left
The turbulence in the deep ditch flows northward, and the roaring sound can be heard for miles.
The Song army did not stop at Xiaoguan. After passing through Xiaoguan, they continued northbound and crossed more than a dozen dangerous passes in Xixia. Chen Qing had done enough homework before, and more than a dozen of these dangerous passes had been abandoned.
Years, especially after Jingkang, the Shaanxi Road fell, and Xixia's power expanded southward. These dangerous passes have lost their defensive significance. Except for Xiao Pass, the rest of the passes have been abandoned.
Three days later, 30,000 troops entered the Ningxia Plain. The terrain suddenly became gentle. Large forests and grasslands could be seen in the distance. The Hulu River also became open and the water flow was gentle. It was less than fifty miles away from the Yellow River and about eighty miles away from Yingli County.
About miles.
The team was stationed in a forest, and Tang Qian sent his scout commander Yang Rui to lead 200 scout cavalry to Yingli County to investigate the situation.
To the south of Yingli County is Jiudu of the Yellow River. The Yellow River here is very wide, up to ten miles wide, and the water flow is very gentle. A medium-sized sheepskin raft can transport one person and one horse across the Yellow River.
Yang Rui led his men to walk along Hurushui for a day until they came to the Yellow River. Although there were lush pastures along the way, they couldn't see a single herdsman or a sheep. After walking for dozens of miles, they were all deserted.
Of course, Yang Rui didn't know that this area was originally the territory of the Qiang people. During the confrontation between Xiao Heda and the court, the Qiang people chose to support Xiao Heda, which angered the court and sent troops to rob the Qiang people's cattle and sheep.
A large number of Qiang people fled to the west, and a large no-man's land formed in the southern pastoral area. It was normal for the Song army's scouts to see no herdsmen or sheep.
Yang Rui made the decision to leave 20 soldiers to guard the horses. He led 180 scouts to cross the Yellow River on rafts under the cover of night.
valley jaw
The north bank of the Yellow River is a different scene. There is no grassland, only Gobi and desert. In the distance is a majestic mountain range, extending to the north, that is the Helan Mountains. On the other side of the Helan Mountains is the vast Tenge
in the desert.
In the desert, a flat military road goes eastward.
At this time, it was already the third watch. It was a coincidence that as soon as they arrived at the military road, there was a rush of horse hoofbeats from the west. Yang Rui was overjoyed and immediately ordered: "Everyone, get down and use the horse ropes!"
The scouts were experienced and they immediately laid out road tripping ropes. Only about twenty people were left on both sides of the military road, and the rest lay far away to prevent being discovered by the other party.
Not long after, two Xixia messenger cavalry appeared in the distance. They galloped on their horses. In the darkness, it was difficult to see the tripping ropes on the ground. The horses in front were caught off guard and tripped over the tripping ropes. They neighed loudly, and both the men and the horse were killed.
He fell to the ground, and the cavalry behind him was shocked. He was very skillful in riding, and jumped over three horse ropes in a row. Suddenly a black figure jumped up from the ground, and threw the cavalry off the horse. The surrounding Song soldiers swarmed up and killed the two
The Xixia soldiers pinned him to the ground, tied him up with ropes, gagged his mouth, and covered his head with a black bag.
The crowd led the two horses and quickly left the military road, quickly disappearing into the night
At dawn, two Xixia cavalrymen were tortured to death, but the Song army also got the information they wanted. The two cavalrymen went from Yingli County to Xingqing Mansion to deliver a message to the court, reporting that Chen Qing had arrived in Lanzhou. In addition to
In addition to the cavalry delivering messages by land, eagle messages would also be sent out at the same time, thus ensuring that the intelligence was foolproof.
The Song army did not care about the intelligence they wanted to send. What he needed was information from Yingli County. Yang Rui immediately sent two soldiers back to the army station to report, while he led the rest of the scouts to continue to Yingli County.
At dawn, Liu Qiong got the information from Yingli County. He said to Tang Qian in a deep voice: "There are actually 6,000 Xixia troops in Yingli County, and there are still 6,000 people at Shatuo Pass, 30 miles away to the west. It seems that Xixia troops
This is the main force that has spent a lot of money to defend Lanzhou."
Tang Qian was the scout commander. He was Liu Qiong's old partner and it was his first time to go on an expedition as a deputy general. Chen Qing considered that this surprise attack was actually a large-scale scout operation, so he asked Tang Qian, who was more scout-minded, to lead the expedition.
As a deputy general, he followed Liu Qiong in the expedition.
Tang Qian thought for a while and said: "Our biggest advantage is that the enemy does not know our existence. I don't think it is a big problem to capture Yingli County, but I think it is more important to defend the city and the passage."
"What General Tang means is that we need to leave some troops to guard the passes along the Hulu River?"
Tang Qian nodded, "We don't know the situation along the way from Lanzhou. If the road is destroyed, just like we destroyed Wuren, then our main force will still have to come through Xiaoguan, so we must guard the Hulu River Valley passage.
"
Liu Qiong pondered for a moment and said: "General Tang's worries are very likely. Let's do this! Let's take Yingli County first, and then we will divide our troops to see how much food and supplies they have."
