The Song Dynasty has been deliberate for 16 years, only to know that it is the Water Margin

Chapter 453 Qin Feng Road inside and outside the mountains and rivers

Qinfeng Road, a heavy road along the northwest border of the Song Dynasty, was originally called Shaanxi Road together with Yongxing Military Road. Later, Shaanxi Road was withdrawn and these two roads were separated.

Initially, Qinfeng Road was under the jurisdiction of Gaixihe Road. Xihe Road was established in the fifth year of Xining, but was abolished many times. At the beginning of this dynasty, Xihe Road belonged to Qinfeng Road.

However, in the second year of Chongning, Tong Guan led his army to Huangshui again, pointing his sword at Longyou. Starting from Qingtang City, he conquered a territory of nearly two thousand miles to the west. The imperial court re-established Xihe as a separate area.

The capital of Xihe Road is Xizhou, and the sub-prefecture is Xining Prefecture, which is Qingtang City. The Longyou Protectorate is set up and is under the jurisdiction of the sub-prefecture Xining Prefecture.

Now Xihe governs the two armies of Jiuzhou, namely Xizhou, Huangzhou, Hezhou, Lanzhou, Taozhou, Minzhou, Gongzhou, Kuozhou and Xiningzhou. The second army is Jishi Army and Zhenwu Army.

Among them, the Zhenwu Army is closely bordered by Lanzhou and Xixia. It is an important area along the border and has heavy troops. It can be said that [-]% of the military strength on Xihe Road is on the line from the Zhenwu Army to Lanzhou, and this line is the entire north of Xihe River. border.

Of course, the north of Longyou Protectorate is also connected to Xixia, and the area is more than ten times that of this line. However, the terrain there is harsh and there are no people inhabited for many miles. In many places, it is impossible to ride horses or pass people. The same is true on the other side of Xixia This is why it is not taken seriously.

Although Xihe, a land of nine states, sounds very big, in fact each state has a very small population, and its prosperity is not comparable to that of Jiangnan in the Central Plains, or even compared to the states along the border such as Huanqing and Jingyuan.

Xihe is desolate and the population is mixed, especially in the western states, where there are all kinds of barbarians such as Tubo, Uighur, Khitan and so on. In fact, except for Xizhou, Xining state and Lanzhou, the other states are not enough to govern themselves. They are just for convenience. Management requires the establishment of prefectures. Some prefectures are actually considered to be at most a county seat based on the population of Jiangnan, or even worse than a county seat, because the annual taxes are not even as good as a county seat.

However, the construction of the city here is much stronger than that of Jiangnan County, the city head is also much higher, and the number of soldiers defending the city is several times that of Jiangnan.

Zhao Tong and his [-] cavalry were interrogated near Xijing and twice on the Yongxing Army Road. However, Zhao Tong revealed his identity and passed smoothly, but this was actually not in line with the rules.

The prince had to have an imperial decree to leave the capital, not to mention bringing a large number of cavalry with him. Zhao Tong did not have any decree. He only reported his identity and made way for the other party to pass. The reason was naturally that the current King of Qin was too famous and had great military exploits. Who doesn't know, just treat it as an urgent military situation and do nothing to stop it.

But after entering Qinfeng Road, the interrogation became intensive. Although he was finally released, there were many twists and turns in the process, and Zhao Tong gradually became impatient.

When they arrived near Qinzhou and entered Xihe Road not far away, another group of soldiers appeared in front blocking the road.

Zhao Tong watched on the horse and saw a team of half cavalry and half infantry. Among them, there were about 500 cavalrymen per battalion post. This was different from Zhao Tong's ninth and tenth commanders. Although these two commanders were also from the battalion, Establishment, but each has 600 people, which was expanded by Zhao Tong himself.

The infantry is about five or six battalions, with about 3000 to [-] people.

Although these people's armor looked old, their spirits were extremely high, which was completely different from the imperial guards in Gyeonggi.

Zhao Tong said calmly: "Raise the flag!" Immediately, the soldiers at the rear raised two flags. One had a large gold rim and a red background with the Chinese character Zhao embroidered on it, and the other had the black Chinese character Qin written on it.

The general at the head of the army on the opposite side was stunned when he saw this. He looked at both sides and said, "Why is it the flag of King Qin?"

The general beside him was also puzzled: "General, the flag is true, it is His Highness the King of Qin."

The general suddenly frowned: "I just came out of Fusi, and I didn't hear that there was an order to convey that King Qin was leaving Beijing and passing through the border..."

The general said: "It may be an urgent military situation, and it's hard to tell if there is an imperial edict on him."

The general nodded, lightly cradled the horse's belly, stepped forward and said loudly: "But in front of His Highness the King of Qin?"

Shen Fei on the other side replied: "Since I know it is His Highness King Qin, why not quickly step aside and get out of the way!"

The general heard the words and said seriously: "Since you are the King of Qin, please forgive me for not being able to perform the courtesy properly because my armor is on my body."

Shen Fei said: "Where are these noises coming from? Your Majesty has a military emergency. Qin Feng is passing by. You should step aside quickly. If you delay something important, you are the only one to ask!"

The general's horse did not move, and he said: "I wonder if the prince has an imperial edict. If you give me a look, I will respectfully give way immediately."

"Bold!" Shen Fei raised his gun and said angrily: "Who are you? How dare you ask the prince to read the imperial edict? Can you read the imperial edict?"

The general's mouth twitched, and he hurriedly smiled and said: "I am Qin Fenglu's deputy general Wang Peng. The prince must have a purpose when leaving the capital, not to mention bringing the imperial army with him. I respect the prince in my heart, but I don't have a purpose. Even the lower officials dare not let me go."

"Wang Peng!" Shen Fei said, "Do you know the crime?"

Wang Peng's eyelids jumped when he heard this, and he couldn't help but secretly complain in his heart. He didn't want to stop it, but this matter was strange. Logically speaking, the King of Qin must travel with the Holy Spirit in front of him and the king behind him. But at the moment, the Qin Feng Road Manager and Appeasement Envoy did not After receiving the order, I don't know what urgent military situation the other party mentioned. Xixia has been peaceful in the past few years. If there is a military situation, Qin Feng Road will not be unaware of it.

"I don't know what my crime is..." Wang Peng said bravely.

"We have said that there is a military emergency, but you still ask about the prince's will. This is a big crime!" Shen Fei shouted: "If you still don't get out of the way, it will delay the matter and your life will be in danger!"

"I'm your official, I'm your official... please show me the imperial edict." Wang Peng gritted his teeth and said, but actually he didn't want to. After all, who is willing to do such an offending thing, but something is really wrong in front of him. King Qin led his troops to the west, but he didn't take any According to the decree, if there was really a problem here, then he would turn a blind eye and let it go. But unlike the other party's threat, it would be a serious crime of beheading. Besides, he had never seen King Qin, so how could he know who was on the other side? Is it true or false? If so, I won’t dare to let it go!

"If you want my king's will, call the seed masters to come see me!" Zhao Tong said calmly on the horse.

At present, Qin Fenglu's manager and comfort envoy is Zhongshidao's younger brother Zhongshizhong, known as Xiaozhong in the world.

"Ah..." Wang Peng suddenly had a big headache. This kind of thing is a double-dealing. If he goes back to find a souchong manager to find a solution, then no matter whether he is released or not, a scolding is inevitable.

"Your Highness, this..." Wang Peng was a little at a loss.

"What, don't you want to see the imperial edict? Go find the seed master to see it, or get out of here!" Zhao Tong said coldly.

Wang Peng gritted his teeth. This matter was getting more and more wrong. It wasn't that there was an urgent military situation... Why would he rather let his family go find Mr. Xiaozhong than come up with a decree?
"Your Majesty, I'm the official..." Wang Peng said nonchalantly, "I'm going to invite Mr. Xiaozhong!" "Humph!" Zhao Tong looked at him from the team: "Go and come back quickly!"

"Yes!" After Wang Peng finished speaking, he winked at the general, then turned his horse's head and ran towards Qinzhou.

After a while, Shen Fei rode up to Zhao Tong and whispered, "Your Majesty?"

Zhao Tong looked at the Western troops in front, and saw that these people were all staring at this side as if they were facing a formidable enemy. He did not know what orders the general in the team gave.

He narrowed his eyes and said, "Rush over!"

Shen Fei nodded, then went to the front and whispered hello to the two army commanders Zhou Xiao and Xu Nian. The two of them immediately showed a hint of joy.

The ninth and tenth commanders had experienced the Huaixi Wangqing War and the Fangla Jiangnan War, and their courage had been tempered, which was already extraordinary and comparable to that of the Gyeonggi Forbidden Army.

Moreover, in the past two years, Zhao Yu has been training them constantly, dismounting immediately, using bows, arrows, guns and crossbows. Their skills are not comparable to those of the Western Army, not to mention the Gyeonggi Forbidden Army. After all, the Western Army's training is all about large groups of troops, nothing like this. There are more than 1000 people, and Zhao Tong almost always gives advice and even teaches some easy-to-practice martial arts.

The commanders of the two armies, Zhou Xiao and Xu Nian, were holding back all the way. Since they followed the two kings out of Tokyo, they would definitely conquer the world in the future. They all wanted to try their skills and see how their own cavalry compares to the Western Army. , they are currently a hundred unconvinced by the Western Army.

I had never fought in a war before, and I felt that the Western Army was like a magic weapon. Later, when I defeated Wang Qing, I felt that if the Western Army faced Wang Qing's bandit army, it would not be as difficult as theirs. Later, when they conquered Fangla in the south of the Yangtze River, They actually fought side by side with the Western Army. Although they still felt that the Western Army was strong at this time, their strength was limited. The Western Army was not very impressive on the battlefield, and it was even very difficult to defeat Fangla's bandit army.

In the two years since they came back to Tokyo, they have practiced almost every day, in wind and rain, practicing their fists and kicks, and polishing their strength. They compared themselves with the Western Army when they fought in Fangla, and they began to feel unconvinced, although they didn't know how the Western Army was doing now. , but if they faced the Western Army at that time, with the same number, they would definitely win.

Moreover, the equipment of their more than 1000 cavalry was extremely luxurious. Originally, the equipment of the Gyeonggi Forbidden Army was better than that of other parts of the Song Dynasty, and even the Western Army could not compare with it, but Zhao Tong equipped them carefully.

The war horses are the best among the cavalry troops under the entire Guards and Military Division. The armor is not an ordinary cavalry armor. Some materials are added to it, mixed with the protection of the command level armor. The weapons are also command level. Including strong bows and arrows, as well as hand crossbows, one ride and two pairs.

With such equipment, coupled with the courage they have developed, and the strength and martial arts they have honed in the past two years, they really want to compete with the Western Army to see how much stronger they can be.

At this moment, Zhao Tao gave the order, and Zhou Xiao and Xu Nian were excited. They immediately turned around and made a gesture. The soldiers behind them passed it on secretly without shouting, and they were very calm and calm.

But as soon as Zhou Xiao and Xu Nian moved in front, the cavalry behind them immediately rushed out, rolling forward like a mute torrent.

The Western Army on the opposite side also reacted very quickly. After all, they had been taking precautions for fear of a sudden attack by the other side. When they saw the soldiers and horses over there, they immediately started moving and formed their formation immediately.

But they didn't expect that the opponent's horses were very fast. As soon as the formation reached a certain position, the opposite side actually arrived.

The Song Dynasty does not have heavy cavalry at the moment. There was one more than a hundred years ago, called the Jingsai Army. It fought several battles with the Liao's heavy cavalry Tielin Army, but now both heavy cavalry have disappeared in the long river of history. bingo.

At present, the Jurchen Iron Pagoda has not yet come out, and the iron kites of Xixia have almost been reduced to decorations. There is no so-called heavy cavalry on the battlefield.

The ninth and tenth commanders are also Qingqi, but although they are Qingqi, they are different from ordinary Qingqi.

Most of the so-called light cavalry use short knives or spears, and then carry crossbows to attack from a distance or quickly move forward to harvest. They are rarely able to charge into the formation, because the light cavalry basically wears leather armor, not the whole body, and the horses are not covered with armor.

But the ninth and tenth commanders were not wearing complete leather armor. The vital parts were protected with iron armor lock plates. Although they were wearing short swords, they were holding long spears at the moment. They were not the red-tasseled spears with white wax poles, but real iron armor. gun.

You know, even the heavy cavalry rarely equipped with iron spears, but these two commanders were armed with iron spears.

The weight of this body is not light, and ordinary war horses will have to struggle. It must be the kind of general's war horse. Generals are covered with iron armor, and war horses are not strong enough to carry the opponent.

However, the mounts of the two commanders were carefully selected. Although they were similar to the horses of generals, they were not much more generous and could still withstand the weight.

Although they were not heavy cavalry, the two commanders charged forward with great force, and they had iron guns in their hands. People without strength could not use these things at all. Heavy cavalry were not equipped with them, and light cavalry were not good at charging. What's more, I don’t know how to use it, and an iron gun weighs at least twenty pounds, so not everyone can use it.

But the ninth and tenth commanders were different. After all, Zhao Tong was selected from tens of thousands of people and trained for two years. He was so powerful that he could wield the iron spear easily. At this moment, when the Western Army was approaching, he directly bumped into it.

The Western Army was a little confused for a moment. The front of their team was also cavalry, but cavalry didn't fight like this. Even if they fought, they would be separated at the first touch. They couldn't fight head-on because neither side could touch them!

At this moment, the expressions of some sharp-eyed Western troops suddenly changed, because they saw that the armors of these forbidden troops were a little different, as if they were not simple leather armors, but this was not the most important thing. What was important was that they discovered that the armors on the other side were different. The gun seems to be an iron gun.

Where are the light cavalry equipped with iron guns?This is so wrong!

But it was too late to say anything at this moment. He could only resist forcefully. He couldn't retreat, and the horse couldn't turn its head directly.

Just as a dull sound was heard, the formation of the Western Army was torn apart almost instantly. The ninth commander took the lead, biting in like a sawtooth, and then the tenth commander gathered strength from the rear and continued to charge forward. , the Western cavalry on the opposite side was directly dispersed.

Zhao Tong touched his chin when he saw this scene from behind. The equipment configuration of these two commanders was researched by him, and he also thought of the way to rush into the formation. He mainly aimed to win with fewer troops. After all, he had few troops and needed to Use it wisely and use it wisely.

But even if you can come up with this method, not everyone can do it to install the light cavalry into what it is now. People, horses, armor, weapons, martial arts, including those special methods of polishing strength that are different from those in the world, even if it is He couldn't do it even though he was caressing the commander all the way. At least it was extremely difficult to use an iron spear. This kind of strength could not be developed through hard training.

At this time, the infantry behind the Western Army was also rushed away by the two commanders. The iron spear not only collided, but once it swept away, it was like an iron bar being swung out. The Western Infantry was vulnerable to a single blow under the force of inertia!
Seeing this scene, Zhao Tong nodded and said in a deep voice: "Let's go!"

After that, a hundred guards protected him in the middle, followed by the two commanders and rushed forward!

After a while, Qin Feng Road was far behind, and the team entered Xihe Road without a single person breaking...

(End of this chapter)