There has been some progress, and Han Shizhong has figured out the valleys and fortresses there.
He has conquered two strongholds and pulled out seven piers.
At the current speed, in one or two months, Keyi Gate should be able to be penetrated - this is already very powerful. Genghis Khan led an army of tens of thousands and was blocked in front of Keyi Gate for two months. In the end
Or Xixia was short of food and grass, so the defender took the initiative to lead his troops into battle, and Genghis Khan took advantage of the situation.
The guard general of Keyi Gate is called Wang Shu, who serves as the privy envoy in Xixia. At the beginning of the year, he succeeded Brother Richard to defend this place.
Wang Shu came from the Wang family in Shazhou (Dunhuang).
Around the time of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, the ancestors of the Wang family had already moved to Dunhuang, and they continued to grow and thrive from generation to generation. By the time of the Northern Wei Dynasty, they had become a prominent family in Dunhuang.
When Tuoba Tao was the emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the general in charge of Dunhuang was named Wang Shiliang, and historical records indicate that his ancestor was the Wang family of Taiyuan.
They resisted foreign invasions again and again during the Tang Dynasty, and were finally forced to surrender to Tubo.
Many members of the Wang clan rebelled under the Tubo rule.
There was also a man named Wang Xi who refused to lead troops to attack the Tang Dynasty. As a result, Wang Xi had his hands tied behind his back and his feet shackled, and was escorted all the way to the expedition with the Tubo army. It seemed that this could prove that the Wang family had completely surrendered to the Tibetans.
Finally, the Guiyi Army appeared, and the Wang family became an important force in the Guiyi Army.
The great achievements of their ancestors gave the Wang family a place in Xixia. They have been married to the Xixia clan for generations, and some even became imperial concubines and produced many central ministers.
These good days are coming to an end.
Wang Shu has been extremely anxious in the past half month. In the north, Han Shizhong captured two strongholds, and in the south, Yue Fei led his troops to run around everywhere. He was caught in the middle and did not dare to retreat and escape.
They didn't even dare to divide their troops to recapture the unguarded Dingzhou City!
Fearing what might happen, Yue Fei led his troops to kill him.
At the fortress at the Yellow River ferry behind Keyi Gate, when they saw Yue Fei coming to kill them, the defenders immediately fled.
Yue Fei led his troops to the city. There were only a few thousand cavalry. It was impossible to conquer the fortified city, but Wang Shu and his officers all looked ashen.
Because, Yue Fei threw a head, and it was Brother Richard's head.
Deng Chun and Li Yanxian's army were already encircling Xingqing Mansion. If all civilians and surrendered soldiers were included, the number of troops would exceed 400,000.
The logistical pressure was too great, so they could only let the Xixia tribesmen return home on their own. Only the tribal chiefs and nobles were left behind to prevent them from starting a rebellion after they returned.
The countryside surrounding Xingqing Fucheng is densely populated by Ming military camps.
There was no need for Yue Fei there. He rushed south and created a central flower. It seemed that there was no tough battle, but he messed up the Xixia defense line and at least shortened the war time by half.
He has made enough military exploits.
The great achievement of conquering the capital of Xixia must be left to friendly forces, otherwise Yue Fei will offend countless people.
On the contrary, as long as Yue Fei leaves Xingqing Mansion, he will gain countless favors, and everyone will have to give General Yue face in the future.
Yue Fei didn't even attack Jingzhou City. He handed over Jingzhou, where the morale of the defenders had dropped to the bottom, to Xu Ning's troops who came with his army.
A basket was hung from the top of the city, and Wang Shu's nephew Wang Qingxiang came to Yue Fei to bow to him.
"Xingqing Mansion is already an isolated city, surrounded by hundreds of thousands of troops. How long will you wait here?" Yue Fei asked.
Wang Qingxiang said: "My uncle asked me to ask, if the Ming army surrenders, what will happen to the Wang family?"
Yue Fei said with a straight face: "This is not something I can decide, and it's not something you should ask. Either open the city and surrender immediately, or wait for the army to press the border, attack from front to back and knock down Keyimen City. If we attack the city by force,
The head coach of Keyimen will definitely die!"
Wang Qingxiang was about to speak but stopped.
He was sent by his uncle to negotiate the terms of surrender, but he didn't seem to be qualified to negotiate the terms.
After a while of silence, Wang Qingxiang bowed to say goodbye and was carried back to the city head by a basket.
Wang Shu quickly asked: "What do you say to the other side?"
Wang Qingxiang replied: "He said either surrender or fight. If the city is captured in battle, the commander-in-chief will die. As for surrender, he is not qualified to deal with surrendered generals. It probably depends on the wishes of the Ming Dynasty court."
Wang Shu stood stunned on the spot.
The Xixia generals surrounded Wang Shu. They were confident of guarding Keyi Gate, so no one thought about surrendering. But when Brother Richard's head was sent, they immediately lost all fighting spirit. They had already guessed the friendly forces in the south.
What a failure.
Wang Shu looked at the generals: "Surrender?"
"Surrender." Li Yijie, a member of the clan, was dejected.
The other generals remained silent and surrendered by default.
After a while, the city gate opened.
However, Yue Fei sent someone to remind him: "Open the north gate. You go to the north and surrender."
Therefore, Wang Shu ordered the north gate to be opened.
He also asked the defenders of the fortresses in the north to put down their weapons and go to the valley.
Wang Shu led a group of generals who took off their armor and walked towards Han Shizhong's camp with mournful faces.
"Protector, the enemy troops left the city and surrendered!"
"Why did it suddenly drop?"
"I don't know. Many Xixia soldiers came, but they all had no weapons and no armor on them."
"Haha, it must be Yue Duhu who has stirred up trouble in the south!"
Han Shizhong laughed heartily and led his troops to accept the surrender.
"My little minister Wang Shu, together with the generals of Keyi Clan, pay homage to General Han in person." Wang Shu knelt down a few steps in front of Han Shizhong's horse, while the Xixia generals behind him knelt on the ground.
Han Shizhong cursed and said: "You guarded well and kept me in the north for more than a month!"
Wang Shu responded: "In the past, everyone was their own master and just performed their duties faithfully."
Han Shizhong asked: "Do you know where General Yue is? He is the one who bypassed Keyi Gate and went south."
Wang Shu said: "General Yue is outside the south gate. He asked the ministers to open the north gate and surrender."
"Good man, good brother!"
Han Shizhong was greatly moved and stopped talking nonsense with Wang Shu. He sent troops to occupy Keyimen City and several fortresses, and then rode south to meet Yue Fei in person.
Yue Fei led his horse and stood by the moat. When he saw Han Shizhong coming, he smiled slightly.
Han Shizhong jumped off his horse and hit Yue Fei's chest with his fist: "You lead the army back to Keyi Gate. I guess the overall situation around Xingqing Mansion has been decided, right?"
Yue Fei said: "Except for General Wu Jie's group who is attacking the Hexi Corridor, the other groups have joined forces to besiege Xingqing Mansion."
"It was all penetrated so quickly?" Han Shizhong was surprised.
Yue Fei said: "You generals are all capable, how long can Xixia defend?"
Han Shizhong smiled and shook his head: "No matter how hard they fight, they will never be able to fight so fast. You must have messed up the area around Xingqing Mansion, causing all the troops on the Xixia front to focus on one thing and lose another."
Yue Fei smiled, acquiescing.
Han Shizhong said: "I accept your wish. Your daughter is about the same age as my eldest son. How about we get married? We will be a family from now on."
Yue Fei said: "After asking your Majesty for instructions, we can exchange marriage certificates."
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Han Shizhong laughed loudly and said after a while: "We have to deal with the affairs here quickly and go south as quickly as possible. Maybe we can participate in the siege of Xingqing Mansion."
"It's better not to go." Yue Fei whispered what he had done.
Han Shizhong curled his lips after hearing this: "We can't go anymore, let's just stay here and score some merits for the friendly forces."
…
Xingqing Mansion, Xixia Imperial Palace.
Li Renxiao was sitting on the emperor's throne, and a bunch of civil and military officials were kneeling in the hall.
Although they are besieged by hundreds of thousands of people, they can still hold on for a month or two if they want to.
Due to the thickness of the city wall of Xingqing Mansion, it is difficult for artillery to directly destroy it, so siege equipment must be used to climb the city.
It takes time to build a pontoon bridge on a moat that is dozens of meters wide, and it takes even more time to fill it in directly. Cloud ladders, Lu Gong chariots, parapets, and siege engines... are all still being built urgently.
"Prime Minister," Li Renxiao asked Li Renzhong in despair, "do I, Daxia, really want the country to be destroyed? I didn't do anything wrong. I have only been the emperor for more than half a year."
Li Renzhong cried in grief: "Your Majesty has no fault, it is all the fault of our ministers."
Li Renxiao asked: "Should I surrender the city or die as an emperor for the country?"
Li Renzhong could not answer this question.
Li Renxiao asked again: "Is the King of Jin really defeated and dead?"
Li Renzhong said: "It's really dead."
Li Renxiao sat on the throne and stopped talking. He was now frightened and confused, and exhausted both physically and mentally. He was so frightened that he didn't sleep all night.
Li Renli suddenly said: "Your Majesty, surrender to Kaicheng, maybe you can save the lives of the people in the city. The emperor of the Ming Dynasty was still very merciful. Wu Qimai, the leader of the Jin Kingdom, did not die even after being captured. He also received the title of Ming Dynasty and died in Luoyang.
."
Cao Tuan, the uncle of the state, also said: "Wu Qimai did indeed die at the end of his life, and countless people in Luoyang City knew it. This man would buy wine and drink whenever he had money, and would often get drunk and sleep on the streets. In the end, he drank to death, and it was not the Ming Dynasty's conspiracy.
Died violently."
Hearing that he could still live, the little emperor suddenly regained his energy.
Li Renzhong shouted sternly: "Your Majesty, even if you want to surrender your country, you must first bring those traitorous officials to justice!"
Li Renxiao asked in confusion: "Who are the traitors?"
Li Renzhong pointed at Rela Gongji and angrily rebuked: "As the censor Zhongcheng, this person colluded with Brother Richard, accepted bribes from Ren Dejing, deceived the late emperor with his lies, and actually registered a young girl who had been in the palace for half a year as a queen. He
They also teamed up with the King of Jin to cultivate party members and bought and sold officials wantonly. All the officials they promoted were corrupt and perverted the law, leaving the treasury empty, the people impoverished, and the troops useless!"
Rela Gongji immediately retorted: "What about you? In this defeat, he was most responsible for ignoring etiquette. This man held a large army and was defeated again and again. He even retreated to Huaizhou in embarrassment. Tens of thousands of troops garrisoned the strong city overnight.
Then the city was lost. Whose party member is Zong Cunli? Who proposed to make Zong Cunli’s daughter the queen?”
Li Renzhong quickly clarified the relationship: "Your Majesty, I did not receive a penny from the gift of Zong. The reason for promoting this person is that the Zong family has always been married to the royal family, and has produced many queens and concubines over the past hundred years. The Zong family has a close relationship with the country.
Xiuqi, at this critical moment, I will not surrender to the enemy without respecting etiquette."
"He did not surrender to the enemy, but he abandoned the army and fled many times!" Hot Gongji sneered.
Li Renzhong didn't know how to refute, because disrespecting etiquette was really too damn abstract.
Xixia officials did not strictly distinguish between civil and military affairs. Bin Cunli came from a noble family. He also fought in wars when he was young, and served as the commander of the sixth squadron of the imperial garden. When talking about military affairs, he spoke eloquently and even was proficient in "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu.
, even in middle age, he is still proficient in bow and horse.
Who knows what it's like when fighting!
Li Renzhong deeply regretted that he should not have recommended Yi Cunli to lead the army.
"Your Majesty, I am guilty!"
Li Renzhong knelt down and kowtowed.
Li Renxiao said helplessly: "It's now time. The Prime Minister should stop admitting any more crimes and organize the soldiers and civilians to open the city and surrender."
Li Renzhong took off his official hat and said: "After my death, your Majesty, please execute those traitorous officials!"
After saying that, without waiting for others to react, Li Renzhong stood up and rushed towards the pillars of the main hall.
"Bang!"
There is a muffled sound, and you can tell by the sound that it is a good head.
Li Renxiao was shocked: "Save people quickly!"
Li Renzhong had passed out and blood was flowing from his forehead.
The vast majority of civil and military officials turned a blind eye to this.
Compared with the hundreds of thousands of enemy troops outside the city, what does the suicide of the Prime Minister mean?