Chapter 258: Hexi Corridor Falls Entirely To The Northern Frontier
The snowmelt from the Qilian Mountains meandered across the land of Liangzhou, steaming into thin mist under the scorching sun.
The Western Xia army, originally as imposing as a giant python, had now become startled birds, hastily retreating towards Liangzhou City.
“Woooooo~”
During the retreat, tens of thousands of Northern Frontier cavalrymen encircled them from three sides, their yellow cotton armor like burning flames under the blazing sun, surging and powerful.
They held long spears, fully armed, with sternness and disdain in every soldier’s expression, a kind of playful cat-and-mouse game.
“Roar roar roar roar~”
Soon, after the Northern Frontier forces were ready, the soldiers let out excited, beast-like roars, forming a wedge formation, poised to break through the Western Xia army’s formation.
But just as they were about to reach the effective range of the Western Xia army’s bows and crossbows, they suddenly dispersed and instead began to circle and shoot from the sides of the Western Xia formation.
At this time, the most important thing was not how many casualties they inflicted on the Western Xia army, but to overwhelm them in terms of morale, constantly demoralizing the Western Xia army, and waiting for the final decisive blow.
“Stop, everyone stop, no one is allowed to shoot without my command.”
At the front of the formation, a Western Xia general shouted loudly at his soldiers.
Currently, their logistical supplies were cut off, and every arrow in the army was one less.
Therefore, they had to conserve them. Facing the obvious provocation from the Northern Frontier army, the best approach was to ignore it.
But the more they did this, the more the Northern Frontier army pressed their advantage, constantly harassing the Western Xia army.
As the sun began to set, the Western Xia army set up camp on the spot, preparing defenses according to the mountain terrain.
Outside the perimeter of the camp, countless Western Xia soldiers began to busy themselves, digging horse trap pits with shovels and setting up defensive structures like abatis.
They even utilized all the horse carriages carrying provisions and military equipment, forming a ‘wall of carriages’ around the camp.
“What is this place? How far have we walked today?” After finishing their work, a soldier, looking at the sunset, asked breathlessly with curiosity.
“That river ahead should be the Nanshui River, it’s forty li from the military horse farm,” said a local soldier, hands on his hips, breathing heavily.
Upon hearing this, the soldiers who had asked widened their eyes.
“What?”
“We’ve walked for two full days and only covered forty li?”
The soldiers were displeased and began to grumble and complain.
Normally, an infantry army’s daily march speed was about fifty to sixty li, but now they had only covered twenty li.
When would they be able to return to Liangzhou City?
“There’s no way, those Northern Frontier barbarians’ cavalry are like sticky plasters, impossible to shake off.”
“And we have to guard against their occasional bites, so we definitely can’t march fast,” a soldier comforted.
“That’s still too slow, before we even get back to Liangzhou City, the Northern Frontier barbarians might have already broken through,” someone sighed mournfully.
“My newly wedded wife just got pregnant, I don’t want to die here.”
“You guys say, is the Zhenyi Commandery Prince’s army truly, as people say, annihilated by the Northern Frontier army?” someone asked curiously.
The person next to him nodded gently, “Perhaps it’s true! Otherwise, why would they let us retreat so easily?”
“Yes, the Northern Frontier barbarians have been chasing us all the way. If it were any other time, the Marshal would have ordered the army to counterattack.”
In the past few days, the morale of the Western Xia army had been sinking lower and lower.
Because Waiming Shian had suddenly issued an order for a full retreat, the soldiers, while happy to be going home, couldn’t help but spread rumors.
Some said that the Zhenyi Commandery Prince’s army had been defeated and completely annihilated.
Others said that Liangzhou City had been breached, or that the army’s provisions had been burned; all sorts of rumors circulated.
Although Waiming Shian had ordered silence more than once, the gradually declining morale could not be curbed.
The soldiers all knew that an unprovoked retreat meant something major had happened, so everyone’s heart was filled with unease.
By the time they finished setting up their defenses, it was already dinner time.
In this era, ordinary common people only had two meals a day, breakfast was the most important and had to be filling, but dinner could not be too meager.
Especially for the soldiers in the army, their physical exertion was greater, so they were usually fed until full, and sometimes even had an extra meal at noon.
But when dinner was ready, many soldiers were stunned.
“What is this? Is this grass for livestock?”
“How are we supposed to eat this in our bowls?”
“Also, why are the bowls full of soup? Where is the millet? Where is the grain?” The soldiers looked at the bowl of ‘grass soup’ in their hands and immediately began to complain.
The usual dinner was a bowl of millet porridge per person, barely enough to fill their stomachs.
But what was this now?
The bowl was filled with ‘vegetable’ leaves floating on top, but in reality, it was grass that cattle and sheep ate.
The actual millet was less than half of the entire bowl.
Who could possibly be filled by this?
“We are not livestock, why should we be fed grass?”
“Even though this is grass, it can still fill our stomachs! As long as we’re not hungry, let alone grass, even grass roots and bark would be good things,” said the soldier responsible for cooking.
“Grass roots and bark? Then why did we join the army? We never ate this stuff at home!”
“That’s right, we still have to fight tomorrow, how can we have the strength to fight if we’re not full?”
Faced with the furious and surging soldiers, the person responsible for cooking also got scared and pleaded, “Don’t blame me.”
“It’s the general’s order, they only gave us this much grain, I can’t do anything about it.”
Just then, a soldier spotted a barrel of millet porridge, without any grass in it.
He questioned, “What’s that? Isn’t there porridge?”
“That’s for the shield soldiers and crossbow soldiers to eat~”
The shield soldiers and crossbow soldiers were the frontline troops, and they were the main defense against the Northern Frontier army.
So, no matter how short of provisions they were, they could not let them go hungry.
But this differential treatment further fueled the dissatisfaction in the hearts of the ordinary soldiers, and they all shouted.
In the end, the commander of the camp came forward and quelled the chaos.
But this incident was just the beginning.
In the central army camp, the Left Wing Commander reported with a heavy heart to Waiming Shian, “The soldiers are very resentful.”
“It almost caused chaos, luckily I stepped in promptly, but it can only alleviate the immediate worries.”
The commanders of the other camps had encountered similar situations and began to report their issues one after another.
Waiming Shian sat at the head of the table, his emaciated face showing more weariness, and his disheveled hair was increasingly streaked with white.
His expression was gloomy, full of exhaustion.
The defeat of Li Anquan’s army and the shortage of food in the army were originally known only to a few high-ranking officers.
However, with the issuance of the ‘rationing order,’ the soldiers in the army would surely be able to guess some things.
But Waiming Shian had to plan for the long term; the Northern Frontier barbarians would not allow them to retreat to Liangzhou City smoothly.
They didn’t know how long the journey would take.
They had to make every grain of rice last for two.
The rationing order was imperative: eat your fill in the morning, and half-full in the evening, but the frontline archers, spearmen, and cavalry were exempt.
“Tell the soldiers that we have not lost, the Zhenyi Commandery Prince’s army is still here, Liangzhou City is still here, and our provisions are safe.”
“I have merely changed my strategy, luring the enemy deep, and waiting to annihilate the Northern Frontier barbarians.”
“Tell them that if they endure a little, they can go home.”
“But if they cannot even withstand this hunger, then they will await the butcher’s knife of the Northern Frontier barbarians!” Waiming Shian said in a hoarse voice.
Smart people would certainly not believe these lies, but human nature always leans towards comfort, and until the last moment, no one wants to bear the consequences of a broken pot.
Thus, the Western Xia army continued to advance.
Because the main cavalry force had been deployed to the north, Waiming Shian had a severe lack of mobile forces.
He could only watch helplessly as the Northern Frontier army harassed them with impunity.
As the army’s grain supplies dwindled, some soldiers began to feel dizzy, weak, and their morale continued to plummet.
Until one day, the commander of the vanguard suddenly sent someone to report.
“Marshal, a large group of Northern Frontier cavalry has been spotted ahead, numbering over ten thousand.” The young soldier said with a pale, terrified voice.
The reason it wasn’t a scout reporting was that the Western Xia army’s scouts couldn’t get out.
Countless Northern Frontier cavalry patrolled the surroundings, and as soon as a Western Xia scout was dispatched, they would be quickly annihilated.
Therefore, the Western Xia army had now become deaf and blind.
It was only when a large contingent of Northern Frontier cavalry approached that they were discovered by the soldiers of the vanguard.
“Ten thousand cavalry?”
Upon hearing this, Waiming Shian’s already somber face grew even grayer.
Seated in the command tent, he stared at the map of Liangzhou on the table.
But if one looked closely, one could see that his eyes were unfocused.
There had been too many shocking events, to the point where he was on the verge of despair.
“I understand. Go back and tell General Liang to strengthen defenses and absolutely prevent the Northern Frontier barbarians’ cavalry from breaking through.”
Waiming Shian said in a low voice.
But in his heart, he knew this was just a final struggle.
When he was alone in the tent, Waiming Shian walked to a nearby wooden rack, picked up his saber, and his face showed grief and despair.
“General Tuoba Mayu, you broke your promise!”
His eyes dimmed, and he slowly sat down on the ground.
The arrival of this Northern Frontier cavalry corps of over ten thousand men could only mean that Tuoba Mayu’s army had likely been annihilated.
And Tuoba Mayu’s subordinates were all elite Western Xia cavalry.
Its annihilation directly plunged Waiming Shian’s army into complete despair.
With all the Northern Frontier forces concentrated on the Liangzhou corridor, where was the path forward for Waiming Shian’s more than forty thousand Great Xia sons?
…
The four garrisons of the Northern Frontier met within Liangzhou, and over thirty thousand iron cavalry thundered across the wilderness.
They continuously tightened the encirclement of the Western Xia army, completely trapping the Western Xia army of over forty thousand men.
However, Li Xiao did not order an immediate attack, but was waiting for the day the Western Xia army’s provisions ran out.
In the following ten days, the Western Xia army advanced less than a hundred li.
Under the threat of hunger and the Northern Frontier army’s butcher knives, most of the Western Xia soldiers had reached their physical and mental limits.
On this day, fifteen Divine Might Cannons were transported from the military horse farm. The reason five were missing was that five cannons had exploded due to continuous high-intensity use.
This was unavoidable, but fortunately, the Northern Frontier military equipment bureau had already cast new cannons, which were on their way.
In the Northern Frontier Great Camp, Li Dongjiang, Li Donghe, Luo Meng, and other Commanders and Myriad Household Commanders stood on either side of the large tent.
Yellow Armor, Red Armor, and White Armor were interspersed, and everyone exuded a surging aura, radiating a strong killing intent, an aura forged from the blood of countless people.
But at this moment, all eyes were turned towards the front.
Li Xiao, clad in dark gold dragon-patterned cotton armor, placed his helmet on the table, his battle-filled gaze sweeping across the generals.
He said in a deep voice, “The Xia Army’s provisions are exhausted, their morale is unstable, and the soldiers are grumbling. It is time for our army’s general offensive.”
This intelligence was relayed by scouts from the Imperial Guard embedded in the Western Xia army. The Western Xia army was on the verge of collapse, and Li Xiao was no longer willing to wait.
“I order the First Division to array to the west as the main attack, with the vanguard breaking the formation.”
“The Second Division will array to the south, the Fourth Division to the north, and the Sixth Garrison to the east to support the First Division’s offensive and intercept the Xia army’s various units.”
“Tomorrow morning, we will launch a general offensive, encircling from all four sides to pacify the Xia army.”
The passionate words echoed in the golden tent, and the commanders of each division responded with stern shouts: “Understood.”
The next day, fifteen Divine Might Cannons were lined up at the front, and the Divine Machine Camp soldiers were nervously preparing for battle.
Gunpowder was being loaded into the cannon barrels, followed by explosive shells.
Once all preparations were complete, Wu Damao, a Chiliarch of the Second Divine Machine Camp standing behind the cannon, drew his saber, his face gradually contorting into a grimace, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
He shouted loudly, “Fire cannons~”
The next moment, the fifteen Divine Might Cannons trembled simultaneously, and the flames spitting from their muzzles instantly illuminated the entire wilderness.
The iron shots, carrying the pungent smell of sulfur, tore through the air like falling stars. The moment they exploded amidst the Western Xia army, it was as if heaven and earth had come to a standstill.
“Boom boom boom boom~”
The cannonballs accurately struck the Western Xia army formation, and with a deafening roar, they exploded, scattering iron nails, iron shards, and gravel like raindrops towards the surrounding soldiers.
“Ahhhhhh~”
“Help me~”
“Thunder God Pillars, it’s the Thunder God Pillars again.”
“The Thunder God is angry~”
Countless soldiers let out shrill screams. The infantry in the front rank hadn’t even reacted before they were pierced by the iron nails ejected from the cannonballs.
The cowhide shields were also torn apart. The soldiers, weakened by hunger, had long lost their initial spirit and fighting will. At this moment, they all became panicked.
The once seemingly orderly formation instantly descended into chaos.
“Fire cannons~”
“Boom boom boom boom~”
After several more rounds of bombardment, the Western Xia army began to collapse.
Seeing this, Li Xiao ordered the Divine Machine Camp to cease firing and said in a deep voice, “Black Armored Army, attack.”
“Woooooo~”
The low horn sound tore through the wilderness, reaching every Northern Frontier soldier’s ears, and striking fear into the hearts of the opposing Western Xia soldiers.
At the forefront of the army, nearly two thousand armored cavalry stood silently, like ancient sleeping war beasts awakening.
Heavy chains connected the armor of man and horse, and every slight movement produced the characteristic cold metallic clang, as if the god of death were shaking his chains.
All the Black Armored Army from the four garrisons were gathered together, numbering nearly two thousand cavalry.
Amidst the sound of the horn, Zhang Xianfeng put on his helmet, slowly raised his ten-foot armor-piercing cone, and roared, “Black Armored Army, charge!”
“Roar roar roar roar~”
With a unified shout, two thousand pairs of iron hooves simultaneously crushed the wilderness, and the earth trembled under the unbearable weight.
The Black Armored Army surged out in a wedge formation like a black torrent, the kicked-up dust obscuring the sky and sun, turning the blazing sun blood-red.
Under the barrage of cannons, the Western Xia army was in disarray, suffering heavy casualties, their morale completely broken.
Gazing at the encroaching iron curtain, the weapons in some soldiers’ hands began to tremble uncontrollably.
“Armored Cavalry~”
“It’s the Armored Cavalry.”
A general roared, his voice cracking, “Quick, shields, spears, block them.”
But it was too late; the hastily rebuilt Western Xia defense line was like a paper fence against the charge of the Black Armored Army.
When the first warhorse crashed into the Western Xia ranks, the immense impact sent three infantrymen flying backward, shattered armor plates and flesh splattering together.
The armor-piercing cones struck directly down, the Western Xia soldiers’ armor pierced like thin paper, and amidst their screams, the Black Armored Army slaughtered them at will, like plowing through a storm.
A Western Xia centurion roared and swung his saber at a black-armored knight, only to be met with a golden gourd hammer from the opponent’s counterattack, shattering his helmet.
In the instant his skull split open, he vaguely saw more black-armored iron cavalry swarming over the corpses of their comrades, and wherever they went, wails, cracking bones, and the clash of weapons intertwined, a scene like hell itself.
In a battle lasting only moments, the iron hooves of the Black Armored Army had ruthlessly crushed the Western Xia army’s last resistance, and the vanguard corps completely collapsed.
And at the same time, countless First Division Iron Cavalry, clad in yellow cotton armor, trampled over the fallen bodies and swept toward the Western Xia army behind the Black Armored Army.
In the main army tent, battle reports kept arriving.
“Report, Marshal, the Northern Frontier’s Thunder God Pillars have been deployed, the vanguard corps’ brothers have suffered heavy casualties, General Liang is doing his best to have people repair the defense line, and urgent reinforcements are needed.”
Facing the vanguard corps’ plea for help, Waiming Shian did not have many men to spare, as the other three directions were also facing immense pressure from the Northern Frontier Iron Cavalry.
Finally, Waiming Shian sent all his reserves stationed in the central army.
Shortly after, a messenger came again: “Marshal, the Northern Frontier’s Armored Cavalry has attacked, the vanguard corps’ defense line has collapsed, and our brothers can’t hold on.”
A while later: “Marshal, General Liang of the vanguard corps fought bravely and died.”
“Marshal, the Northern Frontier Iron Cavalry is charging towards the central army.”
“Marshal, the Northern Frontier People are less than five hundred paces from our main camp, our brothers can’t hold on, your subordinate will fight his way out with you.”
As these battle reports came in, Waiming Shian sat calmly in his chair, wiping the war saber in his hand, unmoved.
This saber was a gift of honor from the late emperor after defeating the Naiman people.
Made entirely of black iron, it was incredibly sharp.
He never expected that in the end, the only thing by his side would still be this saber.
“What needed to be done, this Marshal has done.”
“Alas, heaven does not bless our Great Xia.”
“The Battle of Hexi is beyond saving,” Waiming Shian murmured to himself.
“The incompetence of one general tires three armies; the greatest responsibility for this battle lies with me, Waiming Shian.”
Waiming Shian never denied his mistakes; although he had paid unprecedented attention to the Northern Frontier, he never expected that the terror of the Northern Frontier Iron Cavalry would far exceed his expectations.
It was his misjudgment in allowing Li Anquan to lead the central army to attack Shanle City, which marked the beginning of the Great Xia army’s chain of failures.
As the commander of the army, he bore full responsibility for the tragic defeat.
“This Marshal is the commander of the Great Xia army, and I will not go anywhere except the main tent,” Waiming Shian said, picking up his war saber and turning to his personal guard commander.
“You all, escape for your lives.”
Having said that, he looked east towards Xingqing Prefecture, a trace of desperate regret flashing across his face.
In the next second, before anyone could react, he directly drew his war saber across his own neck.
“Pfft~”
Blood gushed out, staining Waiming Shian’s beard, his weathered face gradually lost its radiance, and his body fell powerlessly to the ground.
Seeing this, the personal guards in the tent rushed forward in shock.
“Marshal, Marshal~”
Shortly after, Yang Shoujing was the first to lead his men into the main army tent, impaling the resisting personal guard commander with his spear and intimidating the others.
As his gaze fell upon Waiming Shian’s corpse, his heart trembled slightly.
“Waiming Shian committed suicide?”
The tragedy of the Yang Family had nothing to do with Waiming Shian; in fact, Yang Shoujing’s father had once served under Waiming Shian.
Therefore, Yang Shoujing still held respect for Waiming Shian.
The tip of his spear touched the ground slightly, his expression sorrowful, and he said in a deep voice, “Guard the remains of the old General Waiming well; no one is to desecrate them.”
The news of Waiming Shian’s suicide quickly reached Li Xiao.
His expression became solemn, and he shook his head slightly, saying, “Old General Waiming was a loyal and righteous person, with a fierce spirit no less than Tuoba Mayu.”
“Li Chunyou is foolish and incompetent; how is it that he deserves the absolute loyalty of two such generals?”
Battling on the battlefield is a matter of stance; Li Xiao inwardly admired such capable and loyal generals.
If Waiming Shian and Tuoba Mayu had surrendered, Li Xiao would not have made things difficult for them; he would have even appointed them officials in the Great Protector’s Mansion to appease the many Western Xia soldiers captured in the Battle of Hexi.
Unfortunately, both of them committed suicide.
As for Li Anquan, Li Xiao had other uses for him.
“Issue an order to give a grand burial to Generals Waiming Shian and Tuoba Mayu.”
“They both died in the Battle of Hexi, so let them be buried where they fell,” Li Xiao commanded in a deep voice.
Afterward, the army continued to mop up the remaining Western Xia soldiers.
The main army camp had already been broken, and even Waiming Shian had committed suicide, so the other soldiers had no will to fight to the death.
Thus, they surrendered in large numbers.
For the next two days, the Northern Frontier Army was busy cleaning up the battlefield.
After the final statistics, over four thousand Western Xia soldiers and officers were killed in this battle, with over two thousand severely wounded, and the lightly wounded were not counted.
The number of casualties was not too high, mainly because Li Xiao had made extensive preparations for this battle.
Especially the annihilation of the other two armies, which affected the Western Xia’s morale. Coupled with the severed supply lines and lack of food in the army, a large number of soldiers’ combat strength declined severely.
This ultimately caused the Western Xia soldiers to lose their will to fight, and many surrendered.
After dealing with the main force of the Western Xia army, only the last city, Liangzhou, stood in the way of the Northern Frontier Army. If it were conquered, the Hexi Corridor would fall entirely into the Northern Frontier’s hands.
At this time, Liangzhou City had already fallen into endless panic.
The army’s defeat, Waiming Shian’s suicide, and the Northern Frontier Iron Cavalry were surging towards Liangzhou City.
This news was like a bomb, exploding in everyone’s minds.
No one had expected that a total of eighty thousand elite Western Xia troops would be completely annihilated by the Northern Frontier army in just over a month.
This battle shocked everyone.
It also plunged Liangzhou City into a crisis of survival.
“Quick, quickly report this military intelligence to His Majesty. Liangzhou City requests reinforcements.”
The Prefect of Liangzhou, Su Binara, with trembling hands, sealed the military report he had just written with sealing wax, placed it in a box, and handed it to a messenger, ordering him to ride at full speed to Xingqing Prefecture.
He then summoned the generals, officials, and many reputable individuals within Liangzhou City to discuss countermeasures.
“Liangzhou City only has three thousand defenders left, I fear we cannot withstand the siege of the Northern Frontier barbarians. What should we do?”
Su Binara swept his gaze across everyone with a look of grief and despair, hoping someone could bring him a surprise.
But unfortunately, he was disappointed again.
These people were also all in a state of panic; they were not thinking of serving the country loyally, but rather of how to protect their own lives and property.
“Prefect, the only way forward is probably to surrender to the Northern Frontier.”
A civil official slowly stood up and said to Su Binara with a heavy tone, bowing.
Hearing this, Su Binara was instantly enraged, pounding the table furiously, “Bold!”
“Great Xia has nurtured scholars for two hundred years, and now it is time for you to repay them, yet you wish to become a running dog for the barbarians for the sake of your own life?”
“You are worse than beasts.”
Su Binara roared in anger. His health was already not good, and at this moment, he was even more out of breath, almost fainting.
But facing his reprimand, the civil official was not flustered at all and said in a deep voice, “Sir, it is not that your subordinate is bold, but that the situation has reached a point where we must act.”
As his voice fell, another general, clad in armor, also stood up and said, “Sir, the Northern Frontier barbarians are powerful, even our Marshal’s main force could hardly resist them. With our Liangzhou City’s three thousand rabble, it would be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.”
Another elder, dressed in silk, tapped the ground with his crutch and said in a hoarse voice, “Prefect, for the sake of the lives of all the people in the city, please make a decision soon.”
“Please make a decision soon.”
Everyone else also stood up and pressed him, saying, “Please make a decision soon.”
Seeing this scene, Su Binara was even more enraged. He had gathered these people to discuss solutions, not to surrender.
But unfortunately, these civil officials and generals were the established powers of Liangzhou City. When they united, even the Prefect had to step aside.
In short, he had been marginalized.
“You, you all~”
Su Binara, infuriated, fainted directly.
He wanted to protect his own life and reputation as a ‘loyal minister,’ so he could only be sidelined.
