AWB Chapter 484: Destruction of Xixia
Chapter 484: Destruction of Xixia
If you were to ask which army in the Song Dynasty is the most powerful, it would definitely be the Western Army that has been guarding the northwest for many years, and it would definitely be the Zhong Family Army under Zhong Shidao.
The Liao Kingdom is now on its last legs, and the Jin Kingdom is finding it difficult to stop the Yang Wei Army. Even the Western Xia in the west will only be a matter of time before it falls into the hands of the Yang Wei Army.
In other words, Lu Cheng, the son-in-law of the Song Dynasty, was already the undisputed overlord of the entire north and was capable and likely to move south at any time.
The Song Dynasty's northern border troops were simply unable to resist the Yangwei Army. The only one that could stop them was the Western Army.
Therefore, Lu Cheng met with Zhong Shidao in advance to see the attitude of this old general.
If possible, Lu Cheng did not want his troops to confront the Western Army. This was not because he was afraid of Zhong Shidao and his Western Army, but because he did not want to cause too many casualties.
In Lu Cheng's view, the entire Song Dynasty will sooner or later be his territory, and the people and soldiers of the Song Dynasty will sooner or later be the subjects of the Lu Dynasty. Lu Cheng naturally does not want too many casualties among his own people.
Moreover, after unifying Song, Liao, Jin, Western Xia and other places in the future, it will certainly continue to expand outward and will inevitably become the village chief of the global village again.
At that time, the number and proportion of Han people will be extremely important.
Only with a sufficiently large population base can we generate more productivity, create more value, and provide more manpower.
If the Han people do not account for a large enough proportion, it will not be so easy to occupy other places.
"Mr. Jinglüe, you have been stationed in the northwest for most of your life and have devoted your life to the people of the Song Dynasty. Isn't it to protect the well-being of those people? But are the people of the Song Dynasty really living in peace and well-being now? Corrupt officials are rampant, and levies are tyrannical. Countless people have long been living in dire straits.
What was the reason why Wang Qing of Huaixi, Tian Hu of Hebei, and Fang La of Jiangnan were able to seize dozens of counties and prefectures in a few months and establish their own territories to fight against the imperial court? Wasn't it because the people couldn't survive? They had no other choice but to return?
Is such a Song Dynasty really worth fighting for? Is such an emperor really worth the loyalty of the general? Although the emperor is my father-in-law, I dare to say that he has never been a competent emperor. "
Zong Shidao shook his head: "Of course I know what you said. But the emperor also has his difficulties. Not every emperor can be wise and benevolent. Can the prince consort guarantee that you will be able to remain consistent when you sit on that chair in the future?"
"I will do my best to ensure that the people are well fed and clothed, that there will be no more wars in the world, and that no one in the world dares to bully the Han people. You may as well go to the north in person to see how the people under my Yangwei Army live."
After saying that, Lu Cheng left with his men without staying for too long. He did not expect to persuade Zhong Shidao to surrender to him this time, but just made some efforts to express his sincerity and avoid bloodshed and sacrifice in the future as much as possible.
After returning to Datong Prefecture, Lu Cheng immediately began to make new combat arrangements.
Half a month later, the three armies of the Yangwei Army in the southeast and west advanced simultaneously, and 80,000 troops besieged Zhongjing, launching the final decisive battle against the Liao Kingdom.
In fact, many of the Liao nobles in Zhongjing City had already sided with the Yangwei Army, and many had already abandoned the city and fled, but they were all intercepted and killed by the Yangwei Army along the way.
Today, Zhongjing City has become an isolated city.
As for the Jin army, they were about to reach Zhongjing, but were blocked by the Yangwei army and had to withdraw their forces and retreat to the west of Huanglongfu.
Moreover, the Jin Dynasty is now divided into two factions. One faction insists on continuing to be hostile to the Yang Wei Army, while the other faction advocates developing northward, avoiding the Yang Wei Army's sphere of influence, and can even bypass the Yang Wei Army and fight all the way to the west.
For this final battle, the Yangwei Army made the most thorough preparations, but the battle did not begin.
With the help of a group of nobles who surrendered in advance in Zhongjing City, a group of Shadow Guards sneaked into the city in advance, seized the city gate at night, assassinated the defending generals and disrupted the order. The subsequent troops took over Zhongjing City with almost no effort.
In less than 12 hours, the city of Zhongjing was breached, and the Liao Dynasty, which had lasted for more than two hundred years, was destroyed, five or six years earlier than originally planned.
Afterwards, Yangwei's army divided into several groups, quickly swept the north and quickly took control of the situation.
With the coming of winter, the war in the north temporarily stopped. But everyone knew that when the ice and snow melted in the spring of next year, the Yangwei Army would surely go out again.
As for who the next target would be, some guessed it was Western Xia, some guessed it was the Jin Dynasty, and some believed it was the Song Dynasty in the south.
At this time, the Song Dynasty was busy dealing with internal strife and suppressing peasant uprisings that were spreading everywhere.
In order to eliminate the peasant uprisings in various places as quickly as possible, Song Huizong also recruited the Liangshan army. The Liangshan army eventually embarked on its original path, conquering Wang Qing in Hexi, destroying Tian Hu in Hebei, and then moving to the south of the Yangtze River, where they launched a evenly matched battle with Fang La.
In the spring of 1120, Yangwei's army sent out troops and marched westward.
Just when the Western Army was on high alert, the Yangwei Army launched a surprise attack on Western Xia.
Although the Western Xia had anticipated this day and had made the most thorough preparations in advance, facing the powerful Yangwei Army, the Western Xia did not resist for long and was completely defeated.
Lu Da, Guan Sheng, Shi Jin, and Lu Junyi, each led 20,000 soldiers and horses, divided into four groups, and started a siege competition. Today you break two cities in a row, and tomorrow he will send troops in three groups.
Some Western Xia cities surrendered and were captured by the Yangwei Army without bloodshed.
In less than three months, the Yangwei Army captured the capital of Western Xia and occupied the entire territory of Western Xia.
The members of the royal family of Western Xia wanted to disperse and escape in advance, but they were tracked down by the Shadow Guards and were either killed or captured alive. In the end, only a very small number of them escaped to Gaochang Kingdom and Tubo tribes in the west.
Everyone knew that the Yangwei Army would send troops, but no one expected that Western Xia would not even last three months.
Just when the people in the surrounding countries were in panic, Lu Cheng, the commander-in-chief of the Yangwei Army, appeared outside the city of Bianjing.
Looking at the Bianjing City in front of him which he had not seen for a long time, Lu Cheng felt a little emotional. He had not originally planned to go to war with the Song Dynasty so soon, but to come to see his cheap father-in-law so soon.
However, we will have to reach this step sooner or later, and even if it is a little hasty, it is not a big problem.
"Lieying, how are the arrangements in Bianjing City going?"
"General, we have already arranged 800 elite soldiers in Bianjing City, and 1,200 Yongning Guards. We have also reserved enough gunpowder in batches in advance, so we can control the city gates and attack the palace in the shortest possible time."
"Where are the troops of Feixiongwei and Baotaowei?"
"The two thousand vanguard troops of Feixiong Guard have arrived ten miles outside the East City. Baotao Guard has also arrived at the North Gate of Bianjing..."