The terrain of Xingqing Fucheng is low-lying, and the water level of the Yellow River rises after summer, making it very suitable for flooding.
Since the Mongolian army destroyed Xixia, Xingqing Fucheng has not been repaired and it is easy to collapse under floods.
The only pity is the ditches renovated by Zhang Wenqian and Guo Shoujing a few years ago, as well as the farmland outside the city.
It was late July, and the wheat was about to be ripe. The yellow and green wheat fields outside the city looked like the sea, with waves rising when the wind blew.
Horse hooves trampled over the wheat seedlings, leaving a mess on the ground.
"dig over there!"
The general of the Yuan army who was riding his horse raised his whip and shouted, and the Yuan army in front was busy.
Hanyan Canal, Tanglai Canal, Huimin Canal, Xigan Canal...the canals that once attracted the cheers of the people were dug up again and filled with soil to form levees surrounding Xingqing Mansion.
"Which commander are you under?"
When the Yuan general saw more than ten Yuan soldiers coming back from the south, he jumped onto the embankment and shouted again.
"The talisman is revealed."
The tenth commander who was inspecting the Red Army raised his head, showing a crooked face with scars. He did not speak, and only cursed "Exiute", threw a talisman from a distance, took the reins, and pulled the reins.
The horse then walked to the causeway next to it.
A soldier came forward and picked up his talisman and looked at it. The talisman was real, but it was unclear which commander was under his command...
Over there, Wang Mancang had already driven his horse up the causeway and looked at the Yuan army's defense line. He saw that the Yuan army was so large that it made people feel numb.
It was not easy for him to sneak through the border and get here. Soon, the shouts of orders behind him became louder and louder.
Wang Mancang looked back and waved his riding crop.
"Walk!"
More than ten riders rushed forward like arrows and quickly rushed into the wheat field, followed by a "whoosh, whoosh" rain of arrows.
The wind cuts like a knife.
All I could hear was the rustle of wheat seedlings, and then more and more horse hooves stepped on the ground, and the entire wheat field began to tremble.
Finally, they rushed out of the wheat field.
"We are soldiers of the Tang Dynasty!"
Wang Mancang shouted, took out a flag from his arms, unfolded it quickly, and made a loud sound in the wind.
He raised one hand high, held the reins with the other, lowered his body, and rushed into an arrow's throw below the Xingqing Mansion City. Then, arrows rained down from the top of the city, forcing back the Yuan troops who were still chasing behind him.
Wang Mancang was sweating profusely and could hardly breathe. He didn't have time to turn around to see how many of his comrades were dead behind him or how many arrows were hanging on his armor. He continued to ride his horse while laughing wildly.
"Ha ha ha ha."
Although he was laughing wildly, his heart was actually beating very fast, as if it was about to jump out of his throat.
…
Wang Mancang was originally from the Ningxia army, and he was very familiar with Xingqing Fucheng and the city's garrison. When he entered the city, he took off his Yuan army armor and kept saying hello.
"Liu Mazi, have you seen His Majesty? Is His Majesty really in the city?"
"Hey, Your Majesty praised me for my bravery."
"Are you brave?" Wang Mancang was greatly surprised. He took off his helmet, showing his wet hair, and said: "Come on! Compete with me, how can you be braver than me?"
"Go away, go away, don't delay my defense of the city."
Wang Mancang turned his head and shouted to another general: "Xiao Dangxiang, your father-in-law's wheat fields have all been trampled, do you understand?"
"I know, I can see it."
"Are you angry?"
The general who was nicknamed "Little Dangxiang" was patrolling the city with his sword pressed. When he was aroused by a sentence, he suddenly punched the battlements hard and shouted: "Spoil the food! Damn it!"
His Chinese was a little stiff, but he couldn't block the anger in his words. Then he said sadly: "The canals that Xianggong Guo worked hard to build, hoping for a good harvest every year, were all dug, dug!"
Mouth foam splashing.
Wang Mancang wiped his face and spat: "The Menglu should be killed."
There were still a lot of broken wheat leaves on his boots, but his anger was real, no less than that of Xiao Dangxiang.
In short, no matter how generous he is, when he enters the city, he first asks about the king and secondly about food.
After scolding him, he patted Dangxiang on the shoulder again and said, "But troubled times are like this. If you want to farm safely, you have to defeat the Mongols. The world is peaceful, isn't it..."
Then I heard a general shouting: "King Mancang, Your Majesty has summoned you."
Wang Mancang looked up and saw the dragon flag fluttering on the city tower, and a tall figure wearing golden armor standing there. His momentum was not weaker than the 50,000 troops outside the city and the hundred-mile long embankment.
~~
"The last general of the Ningxia Army's Second Command and Fifth Battalion, King Mancang, pays homage to His Majesty the Emperor!"
"Excuse me, I saw your heroic appearance when you broke through the siege and entered the city. You are a capable general."
"I have heard General Yang talk about how your Majesty killed enemies back then, and I really want to imitate your Majesty." Wang Mancang responded loudly, "Your Majesty is the person I admire the most. I didn't expect that Your Majesty thinks more than I do.
Be young."
What he said was actually inappropriate. If a serious person heard it, he would inevitably wonder what he wanted to imitate from Li Xia and whether he could imitate rebellion.
Li Xia didn't care about this, and said: "Yang Ben sent you here to report military information. You should have the military information first and then chat with me."
"Oh yes!"
Wang Mancang stretched his hand to his mouth and made a "vomit" sound before pulling out a thread. There was a wax pill tied to the other end of the thread. He crushed it and finally took out the letter inside.
When he handed it out, he thought that the letter was a little dirty, scratched his head and smiled.
There is something evil about him. Even if he smiles foolishly, he is not honest. Instead, he looks like a rogue.
Li Xia took a look and asked casually: "Are you from Gansu?"
"No, the last general is from Hanzhong and served as a soldier in the second year of Xianding of the Song Dynasty."
"A five-year veteran, now he's just the team leader?"
"The general likes to go into battle and kill the enemy. He doesn't want to be a general." Wang Mancang was halfway through his words. He thought that he was now in an interview with a saint, so he was willing to confess honestly, "The general has violated many military laws. He previously captured the people of Fuxingqing Mansion.
Sometimes I was promoted to an official position through meritorious service, and then I was demoted."
"Then you have made a meritorious service again." Li Xia put away Yang Ben's letter and said, "Did you kill Dong Shixuan?"
"Your Majesty, yes!" Wang Mancang patted his chest.
"What a pity Dong Wenbing."
Li Xia originally sent Dong Wenyong to Gaocheng in the hope of persuading Dong Wenbing to surrender, but he did not expect such an outcome.
Everyone has their own ambitions, but in the end, you can't force yourself to do it.
"Let's talk about it in detail."
"yes……"
After Wang Mancang told the details of the Battle of Chala Lake, he also told the current troop deployment of the Yuan army outside Xingqing Prefecture, as well as the details of the embankment construction.
Li Xia asked very carefully, pulling out a drawing and marking it from time to time.
However, after he understood all the situation clearly, he did not give any orders. Instead, he turned to Li Zengbo and said: "Li Qing is the commander-in-chief of the Ningxia Army. Li Qing will make arrangements."
"Old minister accepts the order."
Li Xia reminded again: "Don't forget to reward the meritorious soldiers."
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that he likes Wang Mancang very much, and this small team is probably about to become famous this time.
~~
In the evening, Li Zengbo came up with a battle plan for fighting Tachaer.
Li Xia tapped his fingers lightly on the drawing. Finally, he nodded and said: "Li Qing has full command. I will not interfere with your style of play. I will only cooperate with your tactics."
"With the emperor at your side, I have confidence." Li Zengbo said, "In seven days, your majesty will leave the city to break out of the encirclement and help the veteran create a fighting opportunity."
…
Seven days later it will be July 29th.
The genius had just dawned, and Li Xia had already put on his armor and was preparing to break out today.
Even Duo Siman was wearing a suit of armor and was preparing to ride beside him. This was why Li Xia was willing to take her out. She was not like other delicate concubines.
Duo Siman was probably a little dissatisfied with Li Xia recently. When Li Xia tied up her belly for her, she pouted at him and hummed: "I will be sixteen by the time winter comes."
"Well, I'm waiting."
"snort."
The two of them were properly dressed, left the Xixia Old Palace, got on their horses, and headed for the city gate.
Over there, Huo Xiaolian stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, there was a small incident last night. Wang Mancang, who broke into the city the day before yesterday, had been promoted to commander, but he violated military law again last night."
"What's the crime?"
"Kill someone." Huo Xiaolian said: "Wang Mancang committed adultery with a woman in the city, Wei Mingshi. Wei Mingshi's husband found out and killed her husband."
Li Xia asked: "How did Mr. Li deal with it?"
"I punished Wang Mancang's family wealth and compensated the owner of his suffering. He was dismissed from his military post... and was sent to the army."
"knew."
Arriving at the city gate, Li Xia and Li Zengbo discussed military affairs again. Finally, he looked at the sky and saw that there was still some time, so he said, "Send Wang Mancang here."
Li Zengbo then ordered the soldiers to call for someone, saying: "That boy has always been a wanderer. Because he saw that Wei Mingshi was often beaten to bruises by her husband after drinking, he fought for her twice. This time, his temper got worse and he simply beat the person to death.
.”
"Then what's the big deal? This is marriage snatching." Duosi rarely interrupted: "In Mongolia, such a warrior should be rewarded."
Li Xia turned to look at her.
Duo Siman said: "I was also snatched away by you when I was married. You killed Ma Suhu. You are the most powerful hero."
"Different."
"What's different?"
"The environment is different, and the rules are different. The state has national laws, and the military has military regulations."
"Oh well."
If Li Xia wanted to favor his own soldiers, he could actually use the concubine around him to make things difficult for him. Just a casual word would be enough.
But he didn't, and asked Li Zengbo again: "Li Qing also said before that after he performed meritorious service in taking over Xingqing Mansion, he hooked up with a nun."
"Yes, I hooked up with the nun from Jietan Yuan and was severely punished by Yang Ben."
"It is not easy to run an army. We must strictly enforce military laws, but we are also afraid of chilling the hearts of the soldiers."
"Yes, if we were in the Mongolian Yuan Army, it would be very simple to deal with it at this time. But for the long-term plan, we should still 'state has national laws, and the army has military regulations.'"
Soon, Wang Mancang arrived.
He wore the leather armor of an ordinary soldier.
"You traveled far into the desert to perform meritorious service, and then fought tooth and nail to break into the city. Have you ever thought that you would lose your position as captain?" Li Xia asked.
"As long as the general can go into battle and kill the enemy, it's enough. But... I'm sorry for your majesty's great trust."
"Do you regret it?"
Wang Mancang lowered his head, then raised it again, scratched his neck and said with a silly smile: "The last general is just a person with a lot of bad habits. If he does it again, he will beat that turtle bastard to death."
Li Xia thought for a while and threw a small piece of silver to him.
"I can't change the national laws and military regulations for you. I heard that you were fined and your family property was taken away from you. This is a private donation to help you."
Wang Mancang took it and said with great joy: "I will thank you, Your Majesty."
"You're welcome."
Wang Mancang was stunned, nodded repeatedly, but didn't know what to say. He put the silver in his mouth and took a bite before putting it away with a smile.
~~
Soon, the south gate of Xingqing Mansion opened wide, and a dragon flag headed south.
The horn sounded in front, and the Yuan army immediately discovered Li Xia's movements and quickly surrounded him.
Wang Mancang, who was running among them as an ordinary cavalryman, turned around and looked around, saying: "Little Dangxiang, I am your soldier now!"
"Then you listen to my instructions..."
"There's a trap ahead! Little Dangxiang, why don't you order the soldiers to stop!"
"Hush!"
Over there, Wang Mancang had already driven his horse forward, as if he was the general of the hundred men, and shouted: "Stop the horse! Prepare the bow and crossbow... release!"
"Whoosh!"
The crossbow arrows shot out and shot down a Yuan soldier hiding in the wheat field.
Screams and killing cries sounded at the same time.
Soldiers from both sides rode forward and soon began to fight.
And above the city of Xingqing Mansion, a firework soared into the sky...