The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 325 The Northern Frontier Navy, Annihilate Xia! Annihilate Xia!

News of the Song Dynasty's northern expedition quickly reached Xingqing Prefecture.

Inside the palace's council hall, however, the atmosphere was as heavy as ice.

On the sand table in the center of the hall, the mountains and rivers of the entire Western Xia territory and the southern border of the Jin Kingdom are clearly visible, with small flags of yellow, black, white and red planted in them.

The yellow flag represents the Northern Frontier Army, the black flag represents the Jin Army, the white flag represents the remnants of the Xia Kingdom, and the red flag represents the Northern Expeditionary Army of the Song Kingdom.

Dressed in a black outfit, Li Xiao stood in front of the sand table, his sharp gaze sweeping over the generals standing solemnly in the hall.

"I just received a message from the Embroidered Uniform Guard in the Song Dynasty."

Li Xiao picked up a wooden stick and pointed to the border between the Song and Jin kingdoms on the sand table: "The Song emperor has issued an order for a northern expedition, sending troops in three routes. The initial results have already been reported back quite a bit."

"Guo Ni's eastern route, with 80,000 troops, set out from Yangzhou and has already captured Sizhou."

Li Xiao pointed the wooden pole in his hand to the location of Sizhou: "The Jin army's garrison commander, Wanyan Aru, has been killed in battle, and the Jin army outside Suzhou has also been defeated. The Song army is pursuing their victory and is approaching Suzhou City."

"Huangfu Bin's central army, with 50,000 troops, marched out from Luzhou. The Jin army in Shouchun retreated without a fight, and Haozhou has been surrounded by the Song army. It is only a matter of time before the city is captured."

"Wu Xi's western route, with 60,000 troops, marched north from Xingzhou. Although they failed to capture Qinzhou, they did tie down the main force of the Jin army on the western route, preventing the Jin army from transferring troops eastward to support the Huai River region."

As Li Xiao spoke, the surprise of the generals in the hall gradually turned into excitement.

The fact that the Jin army was tied down by the Song Dynasty was undoubtedly a golden opportunity for the northern frontier.

"Great Protector, the Song army is helping us tie down the main force of the Jin army!"

Li Dongshui, the commander of the First Town, couldn't help but speak up, his tone excited: "If we don't seize this opportunity to take Xiping Prefecture now, when will we?"

"What Fourth Uncle said is absolutely right."

Li Xiao nodded, a cold glint flashing in his eyes: "With the Song Dynasty's northern expedition, the Jin army will inevitably transfer its main force to the south, leaving the defenses along the border with the Xia Dynasty vulnerable."

"The remnants of the Xia Kingdom are entrenched in Xiping Prefecture. Li Anquan is still thinking of taking advantage of the situation. Now is the best time to completely eliminate them."

He picked up the wooden pole and pointed to the location of Xiping Prefecture: "After Li Chunyou moved the capital to Xiping Prefecture, although he hastily recruited more than 50,000 soldiers from various places in Hedong, most of them were old, weak and disabled soldiers, and the morale of the army was low."

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard sent word that a famine had broken out in Xiping Prefecture, and the people were full of complaints. Many soldiers even secretly fled to our northern border and the Jin Kingdom. Such an army is no match for us."

"Issue this order!"

Li Xiao suddenly raised his voice, his tone carrying an unquestionable authority: "The armies of the First and Second Garrisons shall immediately depart from Xingqing Prefecture, cross the Yellow River to the east, and head straight for Xiping Prefecture."

"The Fourth Division Army crossed the Roulang Mountain to the east and joined forces with our main force in the north to encircle the Xia army in Hedong."

The generals in the hall answered in unison, "Your subordinate obeys!"

"remember."

Li Xiao's gaze swept over everyone, and his tone was serious: "This attack on Xiping Prefecture must be swift and decisive."

"Although the Song Dynasty's Northern Expedition was initially victorious, it was also fraught with hidden dangers. Guo Ni was ambitious and eager for quick success, Wu Xi was ambitious, and veteran ministers such as Shi Miyuan had doubts. The Song army was not a monolithic entity."

"We must take advantage of the war between the Song and Jin dynasties to eliminate the Xia state, but we must also be wary of the Song army's sudden defeat and the Jin state taking the opportunity to move north. We cannot be careless."

In any case, Li Xiao had no hope for the Song army's capabilities. After Yue Fei's wrongful death, what soldiers would be willing to risk their lives for the Song Dynasty?
They all just drifted along.

Moreover, Wu Xi surrendered to the Jin Dynasty in his previous life, and this will likely happen again in this life.

Li Xiao even informed the Song Kingdom in advance, persuading them not to appoint Wu Xi as the commander of the western army.

However, the Song court simply did not believe Li Xiao, an outsider.

They believed that since he was in the northwest, how could he possibly know about the internal affairs of the Song Dynasty?

History returned to normal, and Li Xiao lost even more hope for the Song Kingdom.

If you don't want to listen, then don't listen!

Squeeze out the last bit of value and throw it into the dustbin of history.

"As ordered."

After the meeting, the generals quickly left the hall and returned to their respective camps to deploy their troops.

"Woooooooo~"

Outside Xingqing Prefecture, a loud bugle call soon rang out, and the soldiers of the Northern Frontier Army quickly assembled. The sounds of clashing armor and neighing warhorses mingled together, forming a powerful force.

……

In April, the sandstorms in Zhongdu, the capital of the Jin Dynasty, had not yet stopped.

Inside the Da'an Hall of the Imperial Palace, the atmosphere was even more frigid than the cold winds from beyond the Great Wall.

Emperor Wanyan Jing of the Jin Dynasty sat on the dragon throne, his hands gripping the memorials tightly, his knuckles white, his face so ashen that it was almost dripping with water.

Inside the hall, all the civil and military officials stood with their heads bowed, not daring to breathe too heavily. The battle report that had just arrived from the south was like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the last bit of tolerance Wanyan Jing had for the Song Dynasty.

"Presumptuous! Presumptuous!"

Wanyan Jing slammed the memorial to the ground. The words "Sizhou lost," "Shouchun retreated," and "Haozhou besieged" on the scattered pages of the memorial were particularly glaring.

“These southern barbarians from the Song state dared to launch a brazen northern expedition.”

"Do you really think my great Golden Cavalry has turned into clay?"

He stood up, the hem of his dragon robe sweeping across the steps of the throne, his tone filled with rage.

"I previously sent three delegations to Lin'an, promising them to reduce the annual tribute, return Haozhou, and even acknowledge the Song state's 'actual control' over Sizhou."

"Seeking reconciliation in such a humble manner is just to get them to behave themselves."

"But my good intentions have only emboldened the Song barbarians' pro-war faction. Do they really think that my Great Jin is too busy dealing with the Northern Frontier and the Xia Kingdom to deal with them?"

"Back then, our great Jin cavalry was able to break through Kaifeng and capture the Song emperor. Now, we can do the same to break through Lin'an."

The Privy Councilor Shan Kening, who was standing nearby, quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, please calm down! Although the Song army won in the early stages, it was mostly by chance."

"Guo Ni is ambitious and eager for quick success, Huangfu Bin is not good at attacking fortified positions, and Wu Xi has ulterior motives. As long as our army mobilizes its main force to go south, we will definitely be able to defeat them."

Wanyan Jing took a deep breath and forcefully suppressed his anger.

In response to a possible northern expedition by the Song Dynasty, the Jin Dynasty had already made preparations: the eastern route was led by Pingzhang Zhengshi Pusan ​​Kui, who commanded the armies of Shandong and Hebei to rush to the aid of Lianghuai.

The central route was led by Wanyan Kuang, the Deputy Chief of the Privy Council, who was stationed in Kaifeng to guard against the approaching Song army.

Meanwhile, Wanyan Gang, the chief administrator of Fengxiang Road, was stationed in Guanzhong to contain Wu Xi's Song army.

All the generals were in place, and the army was well-organized. He didn't need to remotely control the situation. His anger at this moment stemmed more from the Song Dynasty's trampling on the dignity of the Jin Dynasty.

"Preach my will!"

Wanyan Jing's voice was icy: "Pusan ​​Kui, immediately lead an army of 50,000 south and be sure to defeat Guo Ni's forces in Suzhou."

"Wanyan Kuang strengthened the defenses of Kaifeng and sent troops to support Haozhou."

"Wanyan Gang... ordered him to keep a close eye on Wu Xi and not allow the Song army's western route army to cross Qinzhou."

"I want the Song Kingdom to know that the price of offending the Great Jin is something they cannot afford."

"Your Majesty is wise!" all the officials replied in unison.

Just then, Zhang Wangong, the Grand Chancellor, stepped forward slowly, holding a letter from the state: "Your Majesty, the Xia Kingdom has sent an envoy with a letter from the state. Please take a look."

Wanyan Jing glanced at the cover of the official document, and the words "Emperor Yingtian of the Great Xia Dynasty, Li Anquan" on it made him frown.

He took the letter and opened it; its contents were exactly the same as those he had received in the northern border region before.

It was nothing more than "Emperor Tianqing, Li Chunyou, was unwell and abdicated in favor of Prince Zhenyi, changing the era name to Yingtian," earnestly requesting the Jin state to "recognize the new emperor's legitimacy and forge a lasting friendship between the two countries."

"Hmph, Li Anquan?"

Wanyan Jing sneered and threw the official letter on the table.

"He's nothing but a treacherous minister who usurped the throne; how dare he call himself 'Emperor'?"

As the legitimate emperor of the Jin Dynasty, he detested such acts of insubordination, especially since Li Anquan's methods were extremely despicable.

Wanyan Jing was extremely displeased; maintaining the legitimacy of the succession to the throne was what Wanyan Jing needed.

Zhang Wangong then said, "Your Majesty, I know that Li Anquan's ascension to the throne was illegitimate, but now the forces in the Northern Frontier are growing stronger and have become a major threat to our Great Jin. We urgently need the Xia Kingdom to contain the Northern Frontier army in the northwest."

When the northern frontier was mentioned, the anger on Wanyan Jing's face instantly faded, replaced by a deep solemnity.

He walked to the map in the hall, his gaze falling on the Hexi Corridor and the northern desert, and said in a heavy tone: "I originally thought that the northern frontier was just a separatist force of the remnants of the Liao Kingdom in the Western Regions."

"I was thinking that after we pacified the northern grasslands, we would send troops to subdue them and use them as a bridgehead to take over the Western Regions."

"But who could have imagined that Li Xiao would be so ferocious—in just a few years, he not only took over the Hexi Corridor, but also showed great ambition."

"Furthermore, it annexed the Kereit and Qiyan tribes in the northern deserts, and last year it even captured Xingqing Prefecture, leaving the Western Xia with only the tiny Xiping Prefecture."

Hearing Wanyan Jing's angry and frustrated tone, Zhang Wangong pressed on, saying, "If the Northern Frontier Army crosses the Yellow River to the east, Guanzhong in our Great Jin will be directly exposed to the threat of the Northern Frontier cavalry."

"If we acknowledge Li Anquan's legitimacy and offer him some benefits, we can have him protect our Great Jin from the northern border, allowing us to focus on dealing with the Song's northern expedition!"

The reason why Zhang Wangong was so eager to advocate for Li Anquan was obviously because Li Anquan was generous and gave Zhang Wangong a sum that Zhang Wangong could not refuse.

Wanyan Jing remained silent for a moment, then gently tapped the location of Guanzhong on the map with his finger.

He knew Zhang Wangong was right; the threat from the northern frontier had long surpassed that of the Song Dynasty.

Although the Song Dynasty's northern expeditions were hateful, they were merely "external threats." The Song Dynasty had been clamoring for northern expeditions for decades, but each time it was its own actions that dragged it down.

However, the rise of the Northern Frontier is a "hidden danger" that could shake the foundation of the Great Jin Dynasty.

"That's all."

Wanyan Jing finally relented: "Issue my decree to recognize Li Anquan as the ruler of Xia State, and allow him to purchase 100,000 shi of grain from Guanzhong every year, on the condition that he must send troops to contain the Northern Frontier Army and prevent the Northern Frontier Army from crossing the Yellow River eastward."

But as soon as he finished speaking, he frowned again: "But with Li Anquan's small force, can he stop the Northern Frontier Army? If Xiping Prefecture falls, Guanzhong will still be in danger."

Then he thought of Wanyan Gang's plan, the chief steward of Fengxiang Road, but this matter was very private and should not be discussed in detail in the court.

After the court session ended, Wanyan Jing summoned the Privy Councilor Shan Kening to his study and asked bluntly, "How is Wanyan Gang's plan progressing?"

"Your Majesty, Wanyan Gang has sent a secret envoy to meet with Wu Xi, the commander of the Song Dynasty's western army, and is trying to persuade him to surrender to the Jin Dynasty," Tudan Kening said in a low voice.

"However, there is no news yet. If you want Wu Xi to surrender, I'm afraid he will make exorbitant demands."

The Wu family had been entrenched in Sichuan for many years, known as the "Wu Family Army." The Song Dynasty court had always been wary of them and had been suppressing them both openly and covertly for years.

When Wu Xi's father passed away, the imperial court wouldn't allow him to return to pay his respects and instead detained him in Lin'an as a hostage, which Wu Xi had long resented.

Wanyan Gang saw this as an opportunity and wanted to persuade him to surrender to the Jin Dynasty.

Wanyan Jing sneered: "Trying to make a fortune?"

“I am not afraid that he will open his mouth wide, but I am afraid that he will not dare to open his mouth.”

He then revealed a ruthless expression and said, "Send a message to Wanyan Gang, demanding that Wu Xi surrender at all costs."

"He wants gold and silver, I will give it to him; he wants beautiful women, I will give them to him; if he wants to be king, I will bestow upon him the title of 'King of Shu'!"

He paused, a mocking smile playing on his lips: "Anyway, Sichuan is still in the hands of the Song Kingdom. The title of 'King of Shu' is just an empty name. If he wants it, he'll have to fight for it himself."

"As long as he is willing to surrender, the western army of the Song Dynasty will collapse without a fight, and the army in Guanzhong will be able to reinforce the Central Plains or go north to resist the northern frontier with much more ease."

Zhang Wangong bowed and replied, "Your subject will go and convey the decree immediately."

Wanyan Jing sat back on the dragon throne, his gaze fixed on the south, his eyes full of calculation.

Although the Song Kingdom's northern expedition disrupted his plans, it also allowed him to see the true strengths and weaknesses of various forces. As long as he could stabilize the Xia Kingdom and subdue Wu Xi, the Jin Kingdom might not necessarily lose this game with the northern frontier.

……

The wind on the east bank of the Yellow River, carrying mud, sand, and moisture, makes people feel uncomfortable.

Two Xia soldiers were assigned to the east bank of the Yellow River in Shunzhou to guard against the Northern Frontier Army crossing the Yellow River.

Just as the two were bored and hiding in a sheltered spot to sleep, they were suddenly awakened by a faint commotion.

A person slowly opened their eyes, stood up, and looked towards the opposite bank.

This look instantly dispelled all my drowsiness.

His pupils suddenly contracted, and he instantly woke up.

On the opposite bank, densely packed northern soldiers and laborers were gathering, carrying timber and ropes. Several small boats had already been pushed into the water, clearly preparing to build a pontoon bridge.

"Oh no! The people from the northern frontier are about to cross the river!"

The scout leaped onto his warhorse, pulled on the reins, and galloped off towards Xiping Prefecture.

Half an hour later, inside the Xia army camp in Xiping Prefecture.

The newly appointed Privy Councilor of Xia, He Niheda, looked at the panting scout and his face instantly darkened: "The Northern Frontier Army moved so quickly?"

"Pass on my orders!"

Just as they were preparing to send a large army to intercept them, two more scouts rushed over, hurriedly reporting that the Northern Frontier Army was preparing to build a pontoon bridge.

This location is more than 200 li away from the locations reported by the first two scouts.

An infantry march would take at least three days.

Heniheda's expression instantly turned sour, and he immediately realized that this was a blatant plot by the Northern Frontier Army.

The goal was to disperse Xia's limited forces and confuse him about where the Northern Frontier Army was planning to cross the river.

Even more disgusting, an hour later, another team of scouts reported that they had discovered another landing site in the northern border region.

This disgusted Heniheda.

However, there was no other way but to divide the limited army into three parts and send them to defend three different locations.

The actual crossing point for the Northern Frontier Army was Shunzhou, which was the original location.

The terrain here is flat, the Yellow River flows gently, and both banks are open plains, which is convenient for securing ships and allows the subsequent landing army to quickly deploy its formation.

At this time, on the west bank of the Yellow River, the preparations of the Northern Frontier Army were nearing completion.

Li Xiao reined in his horse and stood on the beach, looking at the hundreds of soldiers and laborers in front of him wielding axes and saws, and then at the Xia army on the opposite bank, who were preparing to stop the Northern Frontier Army from crossing the river.

The real trouble, however, comes from the water.

Xia Jun's boats were seen sailing from downstream, a dense array of small black dots rising and falling in the turbid waves of the Yellow River. Most of them were small fishing boats carrying three to five people, with only a dozen or so slightly larger cargo ships that could barely hold twenty people.

"Order the navy to destroy the Xia army's fleet!" Li Xiao shouted in a deep voice.

As the deep horn sounded, dozens of boats sailed out onto the water on the west bank.

The so-called Northern Frontier Navy was formed by selecting a group of people who knew how to swim from among the Xia army prisoners of war, and supplementing them with a few Northern Frontier generals and soldiers who knew how to swim.

Unlike the Xia army's ships, the large ships in the Northern Frontier not only had soldiers standing with short swords, but also had dark iron tubes fixed to the sides.

It was the newly manufactured Tiger-shaped cannon from the Ordnance Department, its muzzle pointed at the approaching Xia army ships.

Most of the soldiers on the Xia army's ships were boatmen from the Yellow River who had been forcibly conscripted by Li Anquan. As the northern ships approached, they picked up oars, long poles, bows and arrows, and other tools.

They planned to use traditional naval warfare methods: either ramming enemy ships with oars, shooting arrows from a distance, or hooking the enemy ship with long poles before jumping over to fight.

This is the most common "water warfare tactic" on the Yellow River. Although the Xia army's boatmen were not regular soldiers, they had used this method to fight off water bandits a few times, so they had some confidence.

"Prepare to shoot!"

The boatman leading the Xia army roared, and the soldiers drew their bows and nocked arrows, ready to fire as soon as the small boat approached a ship in the northern border region.

But before they could even get close, the Tiger Cannon on the Northern Frontier ship suddenly roared!
"Boom~"

The enormous recoil caused the ships in the northern frontier to roll backward at great speed, but the rate of fire of the cannons was even faster.

The cannonball grazed the stern of the Xia army's ship and landed in the water, splashing up a muddy wave more than ten feet high. The icy river water poured over the Xia army soldiers.

Everyone froze. Most of these soldiers were newly recruited boatmen from Hedong and had not participated in the Battle of Xingqing Prefecture.

They had never heard such a terrifying sound, nor had they ever seen a "weapon" that could create such a huge wave. They had only heard from some defeated soldiers that the people of the northern frontier had a terrifying weapon that could blow down city walls.

"A monster! It's a monster."

"It's the kind of thunder that can smash down city walls."

"The people from the northern frontier put that thing on the boat."

Some Xia soldiers screamed and their limbs went weak as they tried to row backwards.

Just as the Xia army was in a panic, the Tiger Cannons of the Northern Frontier Navy fired one after another.

This time, the gunners adjusted the angle, and a shell hit the hull of a small Xia army boat squarely, instantly smashing a large hole in the wooden planks.

"Ahhhhh~"

"The boat is wrecked and leaking."

"Help!"

The river water surged in wildly, and the small boat quickly tilted. The soldiers on board screamed as they fell into the Yellow River, disappearing in the turbid waves.

Another shell landed between two small Xia army boats, and the huge impact created a wave that capsized one of the boats.

The boatmen fell into the water like dumplings being dropped into a pot, struggling to swim back to shore, but were hit by crossbow bolts fired from the northern border boats, and patches of blood quickly rose to the surface of the river.

The Xia army's ships were already densely packed, and now they were thrown into chaos by the roar of the Tiger Cannon. The ships were crammed together and became easy targets.

The crossbowmen of the Northern Frontier Navy rained down arrows, and the screams of Xia soldiers falling to the ground from being hit by arrows, the sound of ships sinking and breaking apart, and the roar of the river mingled together, turning the east bank of the Yellow River into a scene of carnage.

"Run! Turn around and run!"

The remaining Xia army boatmen dared not linger in battle any longer, and turned their boats around, desperately fleeing towards the opposite bank.

The Northern Frontier Navy did not pursue, but remained on the water, with the muzzles of the Tiger-shaped cannons still pointing into the distance, vigilantly guarding against a Xia army counterattack.

On the shore, Li Xiao, dressed in dark gold dragon-patterned cotton armor, stood on horseback surrounded by the Wuwei Army, watching the entire naval battle.

He watched Xia Jun's hasty retreat and a satisfied smile appeared on his lips.

This was the first real battle for the Northern Frontier Navy. Although it was not particularly exciting and contained many unnecessary mistakes, it ultimately achieved its objective.

"By order of the capital, the Northern Frontier Navy is officially established, and Ma He is appointed as the naval commander of a thousand men, directly under the command of the Grand Protectorate," Li Xiao loudly ordered.

Ma He was the general who led the Northern Frontier Navy to defeat the Xia army just now on the river.

He is from Dingzhou and grew up on the banks of the Yellow River. He is an excellent swimmer.

He was captured by the Northern Frontier Army in the Battle of Hexi two years ago. He made meritorious contributions in the Battle of Xingqing Prefecture and was promoted to deputy centurion.

When the navy was formed, he volunteered to help. He not only assisted in modifying ships and fixing the Tiger Cannon, but also personally operated the cannon during the naval battle, hitting two Xia army ships.

This achievement was enough to promote him three ranks, from deputy centurion to naval commander.

Having eliminated the threat posed by Xia's fleet, the Northern Frontier Army resumed construction of the pontoon bridge.

The soldiers placed dozens of small boats side by side on the water and tied them together firmly with thick hemp ropes to form the "bridge frame" of the pontoon bridge.

Then, thick wooden planks that had been prepared in advance were laid on the hull, and the planks were fixed together with iron nails.

Two days later, a simple pontoon bridge, over a hundred feet long, was finally completed.

In the dim light of dawn, the northern infantrymen, clad in black armor, were the first to step onto the pontoon bridge, the clanging of their armor echoing over the Yellow River.

"kill!"

With steady steps and their spears pointing diagonally forward, they quickly formed a square formation upon reaching the east bank, forcing back the Xia army that attempted a counterattack.

Immediately afterwards, the main force of cavalry landed continuously along the pontoon bridge.

The Xia army was a hastily assembled group of old and weak soldiers. When they saw the Northern Frontier cavalry surging like a tide, they were terrified and fled in all directions before the Northern Frontier cavalry could even launch a charge.

The Northern Frontier Army pursued the enemy and quickly seized control of a large area of ​​land on the east bank.

Li Xiao reined in his horse and stepped onto the pontoon bridge. The wooden planks beneath his feet swayed slightly, while the turbid waves of the Yellow River surged beneath the bridge.

As the horses' hooves touched the land on the east bank, Li Xiao gave the order for a decisive battle.

"Trample Xiping Prefecture."

"Sweep away the remnants of the Xia Kingdom!"

"kill!"

(End of this chapter)