Zhongchuan Town, Huining County, Baiyin City in later generations did not have any administrative establishment at this time. It was under the jurisdiction of Xixia and Nanjun.
The Loess Plateau landform and semi-arid continental climate are not very livable.
But among the rolling mountains, this place is relatively open and flat, which is already very precious to the people who live here.
A Tubo tribe lives here, and the production status is half farming and half pastoral.
These are probably Tubo-ized Han people, and their language and customs still retain the characteristics of the Han people in the Tang Dynasty.
There are very few young people in the tribe, most of them are old, weak, women and children, because the young people have been drafted to fight. The people who stayed behind in the tribe don't know yet that their sons, husbands, and fathers have become Yang Zhi's prisoners, and there are also many
Died in Kalachuan.
On a sunny morning, children are herding sheep, and the elderly and women are busy.
A few half-year-old children who were herding sheep looked at the army coming out of the mountains and drove the sheep home with vigilance and habit.
Brother Richard stopped and looked up at the sky. The sunlight was so dazzling.
He broke out with eight or nine thousand elite troops. The casualties were not serious, and there are still about seven thousand left.
The days of eating raw flesh and blood did not last long. If they escaped far away, they could grill the horse meat and eat it. Although the entire army is exhausted and there are many sick people, there are basically no major problems.
However, more than half of the war horse was eaten and a lot of armor was discarded, making it difficult to regain combat effectiveness in a short period of time.
"I'm out of the mountains, I'll take you to eat mutton!" The unshaven Brother Richard turned to the elite soldiers with a smile and said.
The demoralized army suddenly regained its spirit.
They rushed out like wolves and tigers and robbed the sheep when they saw them. They also rushed into the houses of the Tibetan people and forced them to hand over their grains. Some people did not want to eat meat. They were really tired of horse meat and now just wanted to add some carbohydrates.
The tribal chief is an old man. For a small border tribe like this, the chief's family is not wealthy.
He did not dare to neglect, and tried his best to provide food for hospitality. With tears in his eyes, he said: "Your Majesty, the harvest has not been good in the past few years, and you have to pay taxes to the army and serve in the military. The young people of the clan have not returned yet. If those sheep don't
Now, how will we survive the winter this year?"
Brother Richard said casually: "I won't eat your food for free. When I return to Xingqing Mansion, I will send someone to bring some food."
The old chief hesitated to speak, looking at the soldiers killing sheep in the distance, he remained in a dazed silence for a long time.
When Brother Richard collected some millet and prepared to leave, the old chief finally couldn't help but ask: "A few days ago, the young men in the clan were recruited by the Henan Army Division. The previous rule was to draw one out of four, but this time it was four.
Ding draws three, I wonder when they can come back?"
"I'll come back after the battle." Brother Richard answered vaguely.
Barren land, broken tribes, old chiefs, a gust of wind blowing across the Loess Plateau, the whistling wind is like an elegy.
The next day, the old, weak, women and children watched the army leave.
They waited until these soldiers had gone far away before they dared to cry loudly. There was very little food and livestock left, and the young members of the clan had not returned from fighting. How could they survive this winter?
After more than twenty days, the young men finally came back.
When he was recruited, there were nearly four hundred people, but now there are only a little over a hundred left, and his hands are empty and without weapons.
The simple leather armor, swords and guns passed down from their ancestors were all confiscated by the Ming army.
"Where is your brother?" the old chief asked his second son.
The son lowered his head, not daring to look at his father, and replied in a low voice: "My brother is gone."
The old chief pointed at the others: "Those who didn't come back, are they all gone?"
The son nodded.
In normal battles, only one of the four tribes is drawn. Even if the entire army is wiped out, each tribe can continue to live and multiply.
This time the Henan Army Division was besieged, and the situation was too urgent. Not only was the Gansu Military Division recruiting troops frantically, but the officers stationed in Jisang from Xiliang Prefecture were also recruiting in the areas under the Henan Army Division.
Moreover, the closer it is to the Southern Military Division, the more ruthless the recruitment will be. This tribe will be directly drawn three times by the fourth tribe.
The old chief asked again: "Did you lose the battle?"
The son said: "If we lose, we will lose hundreds of thousands."
"What can we do? The people are gone and the food is gone." The old chief sat slumped on the ground.
The son asked: "Why is there no food?"
The old chief told the story in detail, and all the young Tibetan men who had been deliberately released became furious.
They relayed the Ming army's policy and said they could contact Governor Hehuang.
The old chief was surprised and said: "Song Bing is really that good at fighting?"
"We were not soldiers of the Song Dynasty, but now we were soldiers of the Ming Dynasty," the son explained. "The Han people changed their emperors, and the Song Dynasty was changed to the Ming Dynasty. Those Ming Dynasty armies were blessed by ghosts and gods, and their magical cannons could hit several miles away, and the generals' armor could also block them."
Can’t help it. The Great Xia Kingdom suffered a defeat and will be destroyed by the Ming Kingdom sooner or later.”
The old chief asked: "The Ming Dynasty asked us to contact Governor Hehuang, but they want us to surrender to rebel? Will the rebels be given food?"
The son shook his head: "He didn't say he wanted us to rebel. He was probably acting as an internal agent. He usually spreads some news and then turns against us in future wars. He didn't say whether we would be given food or not. He only said that we would be rewarded heavily if we destroyed Daxia. But..."
"But what?" asked the old chief.
The son said: "But women can be exchanged for food. The Ming Dynasty recruited many young men and placed them in the Kalochuan Valley to cultivate. Most of them are single. If the ministries send women there, one woman can be exchanged for two stones.
grain."
"Send it to Kalachuan?" the old chief asked.
The son said: "Send it wherever it is closest. It is best to go to Xiguanpu. You can exchange the woman for food by sending her to Xiguanpu."
The old chief has been forced to do nothing. If he cannot get food, many tribesmen will starve to death this year.
After the war this time, there were many widows in the tribe. There were also widows in the past wars, and they were basically taken over by the husband's brothers.
It is better to send the widows out in exchange for food, which can not only exchange for food to continue the tribe, but also make those widows live a better life.
In the face of group survival, don't talk about morality!
…
News of the defeat on the front line first reached the Gansu Military Division, then the Xishou Military Division and the Jingsai Military Division.
When Brother Richard robbed tribes along the way and returned to Yingli (Zhongwei City) with his elite troops, even the leader of the Xixia Kingdom received the battle report.
In Xixia, people are panicked.
Li Renzhong, who was originally a sworn enemy of Brother Richard, advised the Emperor of Xixia: "Your Majesty, you must not deprive the King of Jin of his military power, otherwise there will be great chaos in the country. I heard that the King of Jin broke out with thousands of elites, and in his hands His troops are already the cornerstone of the country, and he must be allowed to continue to lead troops to guard against tribal rebellions."
"He abandoned the army and fled. Is it possible that he had no merit but no fault?" Li Qianshun asked.
Li Renzhong said: "There are serious mistakes, but he can be demoted and demoted, but his military power cannot be removed. In this way, firstly, he can show his majesty, secondly, he can stabilize the hearts of the army and the people, and thirdly, he can make the King of Jin feel grateful."
Li Qianshun thought about it carefully, nodded and said, "That makes sense."
Li Renzhong added: "Your Majesty can take the opportunity to promote some of your own people to the civil service in the DPRK. Your Majesty can also take the opportunity to appoint some confidants for the military supervisors in each department."
"Qing Zhen is the pillar of the country," Li Qianshun said. "The Prime Minister has been defeated and died in the Henan Army. It is better for Aiqing to succeed to the position of Prime Minister."
Li Renzhong declined politely and said: "Your Majesty, my qualifications are still young and my moral character is insufficient. I may not be qualified for the position of Prime Minister."
Li Qianshun said: "If your beloved is not qualified, who else can be the prime minister of the country? Don't say more about this matter, I have already decided. News from the Han people came from Lanzhou, saying that the two countries can have peace talks, and Daxia must return all the lands they occupied last year. .What do you think, Aiqing?"
"Our army has lost troops and generals, and its vitality has been greatly weakened. The Henan Army Division is also gone," Li Renzhong said. "The top priority is to rebuild the Henan Army Division and build a new city in Jisang (Gulang) as the Henan Army Division." Station. Otherwise, once the Han soldiers come, they can go straight to Liangzhou (Wuwei)."
Liangzhou is the legal capital of Xixia and a key node on the Silk Road. This is the most important place for Xixia.
Li Renzhong added: "Tens of thousands of Jin king's troops have been captured, and the Xishou Army has been depleted of troops. Those lands recaptured last year will definitely not be able to defend against the Ming army in the Tiandu area. Of course, they can be returned there, but other places still need to be restored." talk."
What this guy means is that there are not many soldiers left in the Xishou Army anyway, and they will definitely not be able to defend it even if they want to, so it is better to just return Huizhou (Jingyuan) to the Ming Dynasty.
But other places don't want to give it.
In other words, we need to negotiate to recover some losses before paying back.
In fact, as long as Xixia returns to Huizhou, it will be very beneficial to Ming Dynasty. If Xixia wants to send troops in the future, it must first conquer Huizhou and then follow the Yellow River to attack Lanzhou.
Li Qianshun's mood was indescribable and could be described as a mixture of emotions.
This frontline defeat was beneficial to his domestic rule. Since then, Brother Richard's prestige had been greatly reduced, and he could no longer coerce the emperor. Li Qianshun could take the opportunity to regain control of the court, and even place confidants in various military departments at will.
But the defeat was too complete, with more than 100,000 people lost.
Those are not only soldiers, but also population resources. When not fighting, they can farm, herd, and pay taxes!
Li Qianshun said doubtfully: "I really can't figure out how many Ming troops came. How could our Daxia army be completely defeated? The Gansu Military Division sent a message saying that the Ming army has divine cannons and divine crossbows. The divine cannons can fire iron weapons as big as a fist. Cannons, strong city walls cannot withstand their power; divine crossbows can fire iron arrows larger than peas, and can penetrate even heavy armor. They won't just talk about military and national affairs, right?"
Li Renzhong said: "It's probably true, otherwise the defeat would not have been so disastrous. The Han people have many skilled craftsmen who can make extraordinary weapons. The Zhu family was able to replace the Zhao family, perhaps relying on the power of the divine cannon and the divine crossbow. In the future, we should send out Make it carefully and see if you can imitate it."
Li Qianshun shook his head and said: "The Han people must be well prepared. The Song Dynasty's divine arm bow cannot be imitated even now, let alone the Ming Dynasty's divine cannon and divine crossbow."
"Since the Ming Kingdom is strong, your Majesty can send envoys to the Jin Kingdom," Li Renzhong said. "In the past, the Jin people mostly negotiated with the King of Jin, but later it was your majesty who had diplomatic relations with the Jin Kingdom. Just follow the story of the Xia, Song, and Liao Dynasties, when the Ming Kingdom and the Jin Kingdom We have good relations with the Jin State. If the Jin people come to kill us, we will turn to the Ming State. If the Ming State comes to kill us, we will turn to the Jin State for help."
Li Qianshun praised: "Ai Qing's words are extremely true."