Chapter 268: Kaixi Northern Expedition
（ Supplementing the chapter map）
“Moo moo moo~”
Inside the Huangzhou city gate, over thirty yaks, which had been quiet, suddenly began to roar restlessly.
They shook their thick long hair, pawed the ground uneasily with their hooves, and stared fixedly at the closed city gate with their murky eyes, as if sensing some invisible threat.
Seeing this, Li Benzhong quickly ordered his subordinates to calm the yaks.
At the same time, he looked towards the direction outside the city gate with a face full of horror. Although he could see nothing due to the obstruction of the city gate, Li Benzhong instinctively felt that some terrifying, monstrous being was rapidly approaching.
“Could it be those Northern Frontier barbarians’ cavalry?”
Li Benzhong’s expression was tense, and he couldn’t help but recall what the old farmer had said.
The Northern Frontier barbarians’ army had occupied the Hexi Corridor and appeared west of the Great River. Although the outcome of their battle with the Western Xia army was unknown,
at this moment, the only threat to the Hexi Valley was the Northern Frontier barbarians.
“Quick, find a place to hide,” Li Benzhong roared loudly.
The roaring sound grew louder, and the previously clear blue horizon of the plateau was now torn by a white line.
Dozens of white-and-red Sun and Moon battle flags surged like waves, their Sun and Moon totems glowing in the sun, as if to cleave the entire sky.
The leading cavalry were all strong, stout men, clad in white and red cotton armor with iron plates,
as they thundered forward, they let out beast-like roars to intimidate the enemy.
“Giddy up, giddy up~”
“Roar, roar, roar, roar~”
The sound of hooves was like thunder, and the land trembled.
Leading this cavalry was Da Hu.
With the Yellow River pontoon bridge burned, the only land west of the Great River still outside the control of the Northern Frontier Iron Cavalry was Xining Prefecture.
Therefore, Da Hu voluntarily offered to Li Xiao to conquer Xining Prefecture.
However, the Hexi Valley was too far from Liangzhou City, making it difficult for the Northern Frontier Army to completely occupy this area.
For if the Western Xia army were to return to Hexi, they would directly cut off the connection between the Hexi Corridor and the Hexi Valley.
Thus, although the Hexi Valley was fertile, it was not yet time to truly occupy it.
Li Xiao’s true objective was the population of the Hexi Valley.
Most of them had lived there for generations and had already begun to adapt to the plateau environment.
Li Xiao planned to loot these common people and use them as a foundation to form and train a unit adapted to mountain warfare on the plateau, preparing for the future conquest of Tubo.
“Order all Chiliarchs to surround the four gates of Huangzhou, and allow no one to escape,” Da Hu commanded in a deep voice.
“Understood.”
“Roar, roar, roar, roar~”
Over a thousand cavalry roared in unison, their voices surging to the heavens, encircling the four gates of Huangzhou City, startling the eagles on the plateau into rapid circling, afraid to approach.
Huangzhou City was merely a large fortress, not of great scale, and its city walls were only built of stone and earth, no more than a zhang high.
At this moment, the garrison commander of Huangzhou City stood on the city wall, watching the overwhelming white iron tide surge towards them, gripping the long saber at his waist, his face pale, his throat tight.
The Sun and Moon battle flags drew nearer, and it felt as if the killing intent washing over them could be felt.
“Northern Frontier barbarians, it is indeed the Northern Frontier barbarians.”
“Damn it, they’ve actually reached Huangzhou.”
Just then, the Deputy General beside him suddenly shouted, “Commander, quickly take cover.”
With that, he pushed the garrison commander down onto the city wall.
At this moment, the leading Northern Frontier cavalry had already nocked and drawn their bows, arrows like locusts, their piercing sound sharp and ear-splitting, flying directly towards the city wall.
Continuous screams rang out, and some soldiers on the city wall were unfortunately hit by arrows.
As the garrison on the city wall fell into chaos, the Northern Frontier’s Tiger Zun Cannons roared.
“Boom, boom, boom, boom!~”
Amidst the deafening roars, the earth trembled violently.
Palm-sized iron shots, like black meteors, whistled down towards the city wall.
One cannonball directly hit the lookout tower at the southeast corner, causing the tower to instantly collapse. Wood chips and bricks and stones scattered, and the three soldiers inside the tower let out panicked cries before being instantly buried beneath the ruins.
The other cannonballs also landed almost entirely on this section of the city wall. Although they could not collapse the wall in a short time, they caused significant damage to its structure.
Facing the barrage of artillery, the soldiers on this section of the wall fled in a frenzy, even jumping down to the area below the wall.
It was a little over a zhang high; they wouldn’t die.
But the Northern Frontier’s artillery was truly deadly.
By the time the three rounds of bombardment ended, there was not a single soldier to be seen on this forty-meter-long section of the city wall.
Before the dust had even settled, a Northern Frontier Captain named Liu Fu brandished his saber and roared, “Kill.”
Behind him, over thirty elite cavalry immediately charged towards the foot of the city wall under the cover of their comrades’ arrows.
Arrows from the city wall, flying back, struck their cotton armor but caused no harm. Instead, the garrison exposed their positions and were subjected to concentrated fire from the Northern Frontier Army outside the city.
“Throw the grappling hooks!”
At Liu Fu’s command, over thirty cavalrymen threw their iron hook ropes, the sharp barbs deeply embedding themselves into the cracks of the city wall.
The soldiers used their stirrups to leverage themselves upwards, their arms bulging with veins as they yanked the ropes. In just two quick footsteps, they ascended the city wall.
“Charge up, kill!”
“The barbarians are coming up, quickly, quickly stop them.”
The garrison commander of Huangzhou saw this from afar, his face turning ashen, and he shouted in a hoarse voice.
He personally led his men towards this breached section of the wall.
If these Northern Frontier barbarians could not be driven back, Huangzhou City would be finished.
At this moment, Liu Fu was the first to reach the city wall. Before his feet even touched the ground, he drew the chain hammer at his waist and swept it.
“Hah!”
The garrison commander of Huangzhou, along with two personal guards wielding sabers, lunged forward, but the next second, the caltrops on the chain hammer instantly entangled his neck. With a violent swing, blood splashed like ink onto the parapet.
Immediately, two more soldiers followed. One drew his saber and quickly struck, while the other thrust with a spear. In a matter of mere breaths, three enemy soldiers lay dead on the city wall.
More and more Northern Frontier soldiers swarmed onto the city wall, quickly forming formations in groups of three.
In a very short time, they carved out a path, jumped off the wall, scattered the guards at the city gate, and directly opened the city gates.
The Northern Frontier Army possessed extensive siege experience.
For large cities, they used heavy artillery bombardment and infantry assaults; after breaching the city, cavalry would charge in.
For smaller cities like Huangzhou, under the cover of artillery and arrows, armored cavalry would use ropes to scale the walls, open the gates, and allow the main army to enter.
In countless battles, these two methods had been unfailingly effective. Taking the small city of Huangzhou was a foregone conclusion.
“Caw caw caw~”
As the wooden city gate slowly opened, Da Hu drew his cavalry saber, his expression stern, and commanded in a deep voice, “Central Army Chiliarch, attack.”
Da Hu ordered his own Chiliarch’s contingent to charge into the city.
The other two Chiliarchs, left and right, continued to loot the areas surrounding Huangzhou City.
Their focus was on people, grain, and the horses and yaks of Hexi.
Li Xiao intended to use the Hexi horses for crossbreeding, hoping to breed a warhorse suitable for the plateau environment, with abundant stamina, disease resistance, and speed.
As the defenses on the city wall completely collapsed, the Northern Frontier Army poured into Huangzhou City like a white tide, and the common people screamed in terror and fled in all directions.
Old women clutched their grandsons’ hands, stumbling into narrow alleys; young men in their panic overturned roadside stalls, and young women, holding their nursing infants, hid in their homes, closing the doors tightly.
A unit of Northern Frontier soldiers clad in white armor galloped down the main street, their red tasseled helmets fluttering in the wind, their hooves mercilessly trampling the ground, creating a thunderous “da da” sound.
The Hundred-Household Commander leading them, named Feng Changsheng, held a long spear with a dripping head impaled on its tip, chasing the fleeing crowds and shouting loudly in Chinese, “Everyone, squat on the ground, do not run around.”
“Those who run or move will be executed without mercy.”
After Huangzhou City was occupied by Western Xia, some Tangut people had been relocated there. However, the Song Dynasty’s efforts were not in vain, and the majority of the city’s population was still Han.
Hearing the Hundred-Household Commander’s words, spoken with a strong Yan Yun accent, these Han people, who had migrated from regions like Guanlong, finally understood after a moment’s reaction.
They all squatted on the ground, fearing that if they were a moment late, they would suffer the same fate as the owner of the head on the spear.
“Sir, the barbarians are here!”
On the street, a subordinate shouted in alarm to Li Benzhong.
No one had expected the Northern Frontier cavalry to break through Huangzhou City so quickly; they had thought it would take several days at least.
It now seemed that the combat strength of the Northern Frontier barbarians far exceeded their imagination; they were not only fierce in open warfare but also adept at siege warfare.
“Steady, go into that alley,” Li Benzhong commanded calmly, his face steady.
Before his words had even finished, a low rumble of warhorses erupted at the end of the street.
A hundred meters away at the street corner, over a dozen warhorses shattered the chaos on the ground and charged forward like a gale.
Li Benzhong saw clearly; they were wearing a type of greyish-white armor he had never seen before.
It lacked the sharp metallic texture of iron armor, instead appearing rough like burlap.
The surface was covered in dirty mud, obscuring its original color, and some of their armor was stained with blood, with a few fresh heads hanging from their saddles.
The scene was terrifying.
Even Li Benzhong, who came from the Southern Song Army and had earned considerable military merit, felt immense pressure wash over him when faced with this sight.
This was the first time he had seen the Northern Frontier cavalry in full armor, exuding a palpable killing intent, like devils from hell.
More than half of their faces were hidden by their faceplates, only their eyes revealed a fierce gleam, staring intently at Li Benzhong and his group like hungry wolves locking onto prey.
“Kill!”
“Capture those Tubo people.”
Feng Changsheng’s expression was grim, and he shouted loudly, brandishing his hook scythe spear.
Li Benzhong and the others’ clothing clearly marked them as Tubo people, and they also had over thirty yaks.
At a glance, they were an easy target, and Feng Changsheng was unwilling to let them go.
One must know that the area of Huangzhou was only relatively prosperous.
Although it was suitable for growing grain, most of the provisions had already been transported to Yuanchuan Granary.
Apart from some Tangut nobles, the common people were without excess wealth, utterly impoverished.
Therefore, in terms of property alone, the Northern Frontier Army would certainly not profit from this raid on the Hexi Valley.
Li Xiao even had to allocate some funds specifically to incentivize this Wanhu Army.
However, Li Xiao did not lose out, as the people and warhorses of the Hexi Valley were valuable wealth in themselves.
Thus, when he encountered this ‘Tubo caravan’ at this moment, Feng Changsheng was even more excited.
Those thirty-odd yaks alone were worth a considerable sum, not to mention the other goods.
“Roar, roar, roar, roar~”
“Kill!”
With a low shout, the cavalry suddenly squeezed their horses’ flanks, and the warhorses’ hooves flew like arrows loosed from a bow.
The sound of hooves made the ground tremble slightly, and the air was filled with the “clatter” of armor colliding and heavy breaths, mixed with the smell of blood.
Li Benzhong’s hand, gripping the hilt of his saber, was slick with cold sweat. He had never imagined the Northern Frontier cavalry to be so terrifying; in this brief moment, it felt as if time itself had been frozen by the killing intent emanating from them.
“Retreat, quickly retreat into the alley.”
He planned to use the terrain of the alley to slow down the Northern Frontier cavalry’s charge.
However, Feng Changsheng did not give him much time to retreat. Although Li Benzhong led some men into the narrow alley, a portion of them remained outside.
Faced with the surging Northern Frontier cavalry, these Imperial City Department scouts from the Southern Song Army instinctively wanted to counterattack.
“Release arrows.”
Feng Changsheng waved his saber, and the Northern Frontier soldiers at the front simultaneously drew their bows and nocked arrows.
The sound of arrows breaking through the air was sudden. The Imperial City Department scouts left outside had no time to dodge before several three-edged arrows pierced their chests, pinning them to the dirt wall by the street.
Several cavalrymen charged forward on horseback, their spear tips flashing coldly, directly spearing several scouts who were wielding spears to block while riding yaks.
They then caught up to a scout attempting to flee into the alley. The Northern Frontier cavalry leaned down and pierced his throat with a long spear, and as they lifted him high, the spurting blood stained their greyish-white armor.
In a moment, the street was littered with corpses. The Northern Frontier Army reined in their horses, turned, and bared their teeth with sinister smiles towards the alley.
“Insignificant Tubo scum, daring to wield weapons and commit violence? Do you think the armor of my Northern Frontier Army is for show?”
Feng Changsheng said coldly, gripping his saber.
If these ‘Tubo people’ had surrendered without resistance, he might have spared their lives for the sake of the goods, taking them back to the Northern Frontier as laborers and slaves.
But these guys who didn’t know their place dared to resist?
Feng Changsheng could not tolerate it.
“Fire arrows, shoot them all dead,” Feng Changsheng shouted loudly.
The alley was narrow, only wide enough for two horses to ride abreast. Once inside, the advantage of the Northern Frontier cavalry could not be brought to bear.
For cavalry, bows and arrows were the most cost-effective cold weapons.
Meanwhile, in another alley, Li Benzhong pressed himself against the damp brick wall, his fingernails digging deeply into the cracks. The gruesome sight before him made his pupils constrict.
His comrades left outside had become bloody and mangled corpses in the blink of an eye.
He, who had always considered himself to have witnessed many battles, was now shocked by the ruthlessness and power of the Northern Frontier Army.
Even the most elite soldiers of the Song Army were not much better.
“Sir, what do we do? Third Master and the others are all dead.” someone said in fear.
They had departed from Xingzhou, passed through Tubo territory, and arrived safely, never expecting to be so unlucky as to encounter the Northern Frontier barbarians.
Were they truly going to die here?
However, people from the Imperial City Department were in the business of risking their heads; for every ten people who went behind enemy lines to gather intelligence, five would be lucky to return alive.
Therefore, there were not a few individuals who were brave and spirited.
“What are you afraid of! Blood for blood, let’s fight them!”
“Right, let’s fight our way out.”
“Killing one is breaking even, killing two is a profit.”
Other scouts also became red-eyed, their uneven roars echoing in the narrow alley.
“Silence.”
Li Benzhong shouted in a low voice, his grim gaze sweeping over the remaining dozen or so people.
He then looked at the Northern Frontier cavalry outside the alley, who were nocking arrows. He had originally only wanted to secretly investigate the Northern Frontier barbarians, not expecting to expose his identity.
But he hadn’t expected that their Tubo clothing would cause such big trouble.
“We are all soldiers of the Great Song Dynasty, none of us are afraid of death.”
“But even if we are to die, we must die with value.”
“Our Great Song’s current greatest threat is the Jin people, and the Xia people.”
“The Northern Frontier barbarians are enemies of Xia, so they are friends of our Great Song.”
“The revenge for Third Master and the others will be taken another day. For now, we must endure for the country.”
Li Benzhong shouted at everyone, his icy words extinguishing the anger and will to fight to the death in the scouts’ hearts.
The scouts of the Imperial City Department were all elites selected from the Southern Song army; their individual combat strength was naturally beyond question.
However, they currently had no warhorses, no suitable weapons, and not even any armor.
Facing a large number of fully armed Northern Frontier cavalry, they had almost no chance of winning.
Li Benzhong was not afraid of death, but he did not want his brothers to make a pointless sacrifice.
Moreover, if they could establish contact with the Northern Frontier people, persuade them to increase their offensive against Xia, and even pincer attack the Jin army in Guanzhong together.
Then the blood shed by Third Master and the others would not have been in vain.
Li Benzhong commanded absolute prestige among these scouts, and his words instantly quelled the dissatisfaction of the others.
No one was clamoring to fight their way out anymore. No one wanted to die if they could live; they were just unwilling.
“Don’t shoot, we surrender.”
“We are not Tubo people, we are Song people.”
“We want to see your General, we have important matters to discuss.”
Hearing the Guanlong dialect from inside the alley, Feng Changsheng was startled and immediately raised his hand to stop the Northern Frontier soldiers who were preparing to shoot.
“Song people?”
Although he was unsure if Li Benzhong’s words were true or false, this matter was indeed beyond his authority.
“All of you, raise your weapons and walk out slowly.”
…
On the city wall of Zhuoluo City, the golden Sun and Moon Battle Flag fluttered in the setting sun.
After the remnants of the Henan Military Command surrendered the city, it became Li Xiao’s temporary marshal’s tent for pacifying Hexi.
In a tiger-skin armchair, Li Xiao stroked the gilded wine cup, listening to Yeli Wajie, the former Commander of the Henan Military Command, who was sitting below him, quietly pledging his loyalty.
This Dangxiang general deeply understood the wisdom of “those who know the times are heroes” and voluntarily surrendered before the city was breached.
Li Xiao naturally did not make things difficult for him.
Instead, he prepared to buy horses with a thousand pieces of gold, to show everyone.
Whether Han people or Dangxiang people, as long as they surrendered honestly, Li Xiao would not only refrain from massacring the city but would also treat them generously.
“General Yeli understands righteousness deeply. Our Northern Frontier is also willing to recruit heroes from all over the world, and we most need talents like General Yeli.”
“In a few days, the Great Protector’s Mansion will add some positions. Would General Yeli be willing to come to the mansion to receive orders?”
Hearing Li Xiao’s words, Yeli Wajie hurriedly nodded, his voice trembling: “I am willing, I am willing! Your subordinate is willing to serve the Great Protector with all his might!”
He knew in his heart that the homeland of Western Xia could no longer accommodate him, and he could only find a way to survive by clinging tightly to the Northern Frontier.
But he couldn’t just sit around and consume resources forever; it would be best to find a job in the Northern Frontier first.
Li Xiao naturally could not let him continue to command troops, but arranging some miscellaneous duties was not a problem.
Just as Yeli Wajie finished speaking, the sound of armor clashing came from outside the tent. A personal guard from the Wuwei Army entered the hall, glanced at Yeli Wajie, and said in a deep voice, “Reporting to the Great Protector, a urgent dispatch from the Seventeenth Ten Thousand Households!”
“Let him in.”
Li Xiao gestured with his hand, and Yeli Wajie, being sensible, placed his hand on his chest and withdrew.
Soon, a cavalryman covered in mud strode in. The white armor on his body was no longer recognizable, and dark red blood scabs clung to the seams.
He placed his right fist heavily on his chest: “Greetings, Great Protector!”
Li Xiao recognized this person as a personal guard under Da Hu.
“What is the situation with the battle in Xining Prefecture?”
Li Xiao asked in a deep voice, his gaze as sharp as a falcon’s falling on the torn armor on the soldier’s shoulder.
It could be seen that conquering Xining Prefecture was more difficult, as the plateau environment of the Hexi Valley posed a test for the Northern Frontier Army.
But if they couldn’t even break through Hexi, which was on the edge of the plateau, how could they annex the Tubo Plateau into Huaxia Territory in the future?
“Reporting to the Great Protector!”
The personal guard’s voice was sonorous: “Three days ago, our army captured Xining Prefecture, and the entire Hexi Valley is now in our hands.”
“This battle captured a total of 20,000 soldiers and civilians, over 30,000 warhorses, and 2,000 yaks, and seized over 10,000 shi of provisions…”
Listening to the soldier’s report, Li Xiao nodded slightly.
The Hexi Valley had been contested by Tubo, Song, and Dangxiang in turn, with a sparse population and underdevelopment, yet it was famous for its good horses from the plateau.
Although the local Hexi horses numbered far more than 30,000, it was very difficult to capture them all. 30,000 was an unexpected joy.
“Transmit orders to the Seventeenth Ten Thousand Households to consolidate the captured goods as soon as possible and advance north to rendezvous with the main force of our army.”
“Pass by Yuanchuan Granary and escort the remaining grain.”
“We, it’s time to go back,” Li Xiao said in a deep voice.
After the period of transportation, over 200,000 shi of grain had already been transported from Yuanchuan Granary to Liangzhou.
Moreover, Da Hu had captured so many warhorses, yaks, and people. When passing by Yuanchuan Granary, they could escort the remaining 100,000 shi of grain.
Thus, the Northern Frontier Army had achieved all its objectives in Hexi and would gradually withdraw to the Hexi Corridor.
After reporting these matters, the personal guard took out several secret letters and handed them to Li Xiao.
After confirming the seals were intact, he tore them open. The letters were personally written by Da Hu in Simplified Chinese Characters.
It only stated one matter: the Seventeenth Ten Thousand Households had captured a group of Song scouts when they broke through Huangzhou City.
According to their confession, they were on their way to Western Xia to gather military intelligence. They happened to encounter the Northern Frontier Army attacking the Hexi Valley and, unfortunately, some of them were killed, while the rest were captured.
Furthermore, the leader of the scouts wished to see Li Xiao to convey the respect of the Song Dynasty for the Northern Frontier.
If possible, the scout wished to return to the Song Dynasty to report to the Song Emperor and Prime Minister, and to promote an alliance between the Northern Frontier and the Song Dynasty.
To jointly resist the Jin and Xia.
After Li Xiao finished reading this information, he instantly thought of something.
“The Kaixi Northern Expedition…” Li Xiao murmured, unconsciously stroking the edge of the letter paper with his fingertip.
In the coming years, a major event would occur on the Central Plains.
After more than forty years, the Song Dynasty would once again launch a Northern Expedition.
