Amid the rumbling of huge horse hooves, shouts filled the air. On both sides were surging iron helmets, with red tassels on them fluttering in patches, like red flowers growing on a torrent of steel.
The cavalry of the Yeci tribe in front was in such an environment that they were no longer willing to rush in. When they looked back, they saw that the rear of the Dangxiang formation had fallen apart, and a large number of horses were turning around and running eastward, and the Dangxiang soldiers on the flanks were also retreating. The Yeci tribe was no longer willing to rush forward to die, and the soldiers reined in their horses.
Soon, the cavalry at the bottom of the goose-shaped formation rushed in. Flags and banners were like clouds, swords and spears were standing in a forest, and a terrifying square formation rushed straight towards them, with no sign of stopping for a moment.
Ye Ci had originally said that they would break through the enemy's goose-shaped formation from the center, but seeing the scene before them, no one believed that they could break through from the front. It was a thick, moving iron wall.
Bang bang, the Tanguts drew their bows and shot arrows, arrows flying in the air. The arrows were like sparks lighting oil barrels, the front immediately boiled, and the square formations accelerated and rushed forward.
A warhorse galloped at high speed, neighing as it rushed into the crowd of Yeci people. The horse was afraid of the neighing of swords and spears, but it did not stop at all. The iron spear in the hand of the Puxu army knight hit the chest of a Tangut man. Amid the screams, the iron spear went straight through the man's torso. In an instant, the spear head came out from his back, with bloody flesh hanging on it.
The knights of Xu's army let go and passed by with their horses, leaving behind only the Tangut man who had not fallen off his horse yet, with an iron spear stuck in his torso.
Without thinking, the knight of Xu Jun immediately drew his saber from his back, with the blade facing forward and across the side. Suddenly, a scream of fear was heard, and before the knight could see what was happening, a scream came from beside him. His hand seemed to be numb from being grabbed too hard, and he felt hot blood splattered on the back of his hand.
Then the horse neighed and suddenly knelt on its front hooves. The knight seemed to be pushed off the horse's back, fell to the ground with a thud, and rolled on the grass. Countless horses' hooves were trampling around.
Xu's army rushed into the Dangxiang camp, and the two sides fought in a melee, which had already become a mess.
But at this time, the cavalry phalanxes in the back continued to charge forward. The Xu army's cavalry had almost the same posture and movements. They first grabbed the lances that were tilted upwards with their right hands, clamped them with their arms to stabilize their posture, and grabbed the reins with their left hands to ride and run. When they accelerated the charge, everyone held up the lances with both hands and rushed forward desperately.
They all knew what they were going to do, and what they were going to do was very simple. There was no hesitation or choice. It didn't matter whether they were afraid or not. The large numbers of galloping iron-hoofed war horses couldn't stop. The roaring and shouting of the huge horse hooves behind them seemed to be driving everyone to charge forward.
The Dangxiang general looked at the fierce battle ahead and shouted to the leader of Ye Ci: "Let's retreat, this battle is pointless." The noise around was like thunder, and the man's voice was quickly drowned out, with the second half of the sentence covered up in the huge roar.
On the rolling grassland, the iron cavalry of Xu's army swept through like a hurricane, and the Dangxiang army was defeated. A hasty battle, like a thunderstorm or a storm, passed quickly and blew away everything.
The road of panic and pursuit lasted from morning to afternoon. Li Yiyin fled to the desert in the north, and when Xu Jun stopped chasing him, there were only a dozen people left with him.
The group looked dejected, and sighs could be heard from time to time.
The sun was blazing above, burning people's faces, and the sand below made the horses' steps shallow and deep. Li Yiyin suddenly reined in his horse, climbed down, and stood in the endless desert with his head raised.
Someone called out to the Khan, and everyone gradually stopped moving forward. People looked at him silently, and for a moment they had nothing to say.
Li Yiyin stood in the sun for a long time and felt smoke coming out of his throat and his head was dizzy from the sun.
Finally someone advised: Your Majesty, as long as the mountains remain, there will be no shortage of firewood.
Li Yiyin opened his eyes and asked: How can I escape
The soldiers looked around and saw that the place was full of sand and looked very desolate. A Dangxiang man with disheveled hair said: The place where the battle took place this morning was near the old city of Feng'an, which was a county town during the Sui and Tang dynasties. It has been abandoned and is roughly not far from the modern Zhongwei City. Later, we ran north into the desert. Now it is probably north of the old city of Feng'an.
After hearing this, everyone agreed and agreed with what the man said.
The Dangxiang man said again: "As for water and food, the south is the best. Feng'an is rich in water and grass, close to the Yellow River, with several rivers and lakes. Originally, the Dangxiang tribe was there, but when Feng Jiye came, most of them fled westward. Now they are in the hands of Xu Jun. If we rush south, we will definitely be caught."
He looked at the direction of the sun again. To the north, it was all sand. However, as long as he could keep going, once he passed the big slope, he would find a small river and some Dangxiang herdsmen there.
Li Yiyin said weakly: I have walked that road, and if you continue north, you will reach the Helan Mountains. East of the Helan Mountains is the Lingzhou grassland, which is the territory of Xu Jun; you can only go west of the Helan Mountains, and this road can lead to the Liao Kingdom in the north. But it is easy to get lost, and most of the places along the way are deserts, which are very difficult to walk. After we lost Xiazhou, this is the only way to the Liao Kingdom in the north, and we have no choice.
The subordinate asked: The Khan intends to go north to Liao
Li Yiyin did not comment, but said: We don't have much water left, let's find a water source first and then make some plans.
On the grassland on the north bank of the Yellow River, the setting sun was hanging over the shadowy mountains in the distance, and the light was gradually fading. Li Chuyun and a group of people were riding horses and gradually slowing down their horses. He was looking at the scene in front of him. There were corpses everywhere on the grassland. Some unridden war horses were still running around in the wilderness. Xu Jun soldiers were wandering around with their horses, picking up things on the ground.
Wei Renpu, the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, turned around and said, "Send someone to find Shi Yanchao and ask him to report back." He also ordered a messenger to go to Feng Jiye and inform him that the Duke of Kaiguo and the main force of the Hexi Army had arrived and asked him to come and meet them.
Get the order
Li Chuyun had learned that the Xu army cavalry had won a great victory, but he was not surprised. He had expected this. If the Tangut tribes in the west, who had been put together temporarily, could defeat the imperial cavalry led by Shi Yanchao, they would be the most elite troops in Daxu. If they could not win such a battle, Daxu would not have to expand its territory. It simply did not have the strength to do so.
Li Chuyun gently pulled the reins to stop the warhorse, and pointed to the east, saying: "If we follow the Yellow River, we should reach the old land of Feng'an."
Wei Renpu said: That’s right. I suggest that the army can set up camp in Feng’an tomorrow. That’s a good place.
Wei Renpu was very excited when he talked about this, as if he had been there in person. He talked about it eloquently: The rivers and lakes here are rich, the weather is cool, and the vegetation is lush. The land between the Lingzhou Plain and Hexi is unparalleled in its fertility. Not only can livestock be raised, but crops can also be grown, except that hail occasionally destroys the crops. However, such a good place does not need to be used for farming, but has a greater use: raising war horses.
If China wants to return to the north, cavalry is indispensable. If you want to raise horses, it is far better to raise them in the northern border than in the Central Plains.
Li Chuyun listened patiently and said: Lord Wei and I, as heroes, have similar views, so let's adopt this plan.
Wei Renpu seemed to be in high spirits, and said with some emotion: This was our territory during the Qin and Han dynasties, but unfortunately it has been completely abandoned in recent decades. It is not easy for us to preserve Lingzhou in the northwest.
Li Chuyun said in a deep voice: Duke Wei, the area west of the Yellow River and east of it is all the land of Daxu.
At this time, a group of cavalrymen came running from a distance, their armor shining brightly in the sunset. When the knights approached, the huge Shi Yanchao clasped his fists and made a crude military salute on his horse, just to deal with it. The commander Li Chuyun and Wei Renpu didn't want to care about it, and Shi Yanchao's salute to them was already a great honor.
Shi Yanchao shouted: The Tangut barbarians are vulnerable. Damn, they are running everywhere, it's hard to chase them
Li Chuyun, however, said in a friendly manner: Shi Qianfeng has made new contributions, which is cause for celebration.
Shi Yanchao snorted, looking bored, as if he felt that today's battle was boring.
Li Chuyun then said: This battle will surely frighten the Dangxiang tribes in the west, and they will not dare to gather troops to fight against Xu's army for a long time. Our army can then calmly take over a large tract of land along the Yellow River. General Shi has made a great contribution.
Shi Yanchao still had a stern face, but seemed to enjoy what he heard. He said: The captured prisoners said that Li Yiyin was in the Dangxiang army, but unfortunately he was not caught.
Li Chuyun said: "Don't pay any attention to him, and don't chase the defeated soldiers. Gather the troops and horses and rest for one night, and head east to Feng'an Old City tomorrow."
That night, Li Chuyun discussed strategies with the military officers and decided to stay in Feng'an first. Building a Liuhua Fort was not for stationing troops. If a fortress with tens of thousands of infantry and cavalry was to be stationed, it would take a long time to build. Li Chuyun decided to build a fort here mainly for storing food. Lingzhou has stored a lot of military food in recent years, which can be transported south along the Yellow River to Feng'an Fort to meet the needs of the imperial army.
Several senior officials held a secret meeting and instigated Feng Jiye to continue harassing the Dangxiang pastures, forcing them to migrate away from the banks of the Yellow River to prevent the Dangxiang people from harassing the army's food supply.
Li Chuyun's goal was not to settle accounts with the Tangut tribe. If the court spent countless thousands of elite troops to punish the Tanguts for the crime of looting war horses, it would be an extremely stupid act. Li Chuyun knew the emperor's intention very well. Guo Shao wanted the entire Hexi Corridor.
Guo Shao gambled the lives of thousands of soldiers and brought back money from Japan; this money was invested in the Western Expedition Army, and it was not wasted. He must give the emperor enough returns.
However, Li Chuyun was very calm, thinking: The large tracts of fertile land with abundant water and grass on the cool plateau should be worth those copper and silver items.