It's February, and the weather is getting warmer. The meadows were green, interspersed with unnamed wildflowers, and from time to time roe deer jumped around. There are goshawks hovering in the sky, accompanied by white clouds, embedded in the blue sky.

Zhang Yu rode on a horse, looking at the surrounding scenery, and was open-minded. Slowly leaving Yokoyama and entering the desert grassland, the surrounding scenery is completely different. There is a lot of rain in Hengshan, and most of the people are mainly farming. After leaving Hengshan, he gradually entered the nomadic area.

When he arrived in Wangting Town, Zhang Yu ordered to camp outside the town, and the whole army was to guard the camp and not to wander around.

The commander Cui Jiandao: "Taiwei, how convenient is the town in front, you can live in a private house, why suffer outside?" ”

Zhang Yu said: "Recently, there have been many incidents of soldiers harassing the people, and Captain Di is extremely angry, and it is better not to enter the town. Don't forget about the iron smelting business, he beheaded more than a dozen people at a time, and he really wanted to kill his head if something happened. ”

Several generals shook their heads together and sighed separately. After Wangting Town, and then to the north, there is a farming area, which is all desert grassland. If you don't eat comfortably here and get a good night's sleep, there will be no better days in the future.

After the whole army settled down, the generals stationed in Wangting Town came to pay a visit. After entering the handsome tent and behaving like a ceremony, Zhang Yu said: "Since this dynasty occupied Xiazhou, the northernmost is here and the big sand pile, and it has not penetrated into Anqingze. A few days ago, the remaining soldiers and horses of the party fled into Anqingze, do you have any news here? ”

The guard crossed his hand: "Back to Taiwei, a few days ago, more than a dozen herdsmen escaped, saying that the remnants of the party were forced to join the army in Anqingze and requisition grain and grass. Other than that, there was no news. Now there are no pedestrians on the road to Anqingze, and businesses are taking refuge. ”

Zhang Yu said: "How about the big sand pile in the west? There it was said that the party had surrendered to the army and rebelled, which was put down by the defenders. ”

The guard said: "The self-surrendered troops rebelled, the officers and soldiers were asserted, and now the big sand pile has been abandoned, and there are no more households except for the garrison." ”

Zhang Yu nodded, knowing in his heart that he was afraid that the defenders would rob the money and kill the rest of the households. A town next to the desert was abandoned. It is no wonder that Di Qing was furious, the army rebelled, and a town disappeared.

Seeing off the town guard generals, Zhang Yu called a guide to check the terrain outside.

The guide pointed to the vast grassland in the north and said: "The rain in this area is scarce, and most of it is this kind of terrain where the grassland and the desert meet. To the north there are sand mountains, and where there is a lot of water, there are grasslands. The grass is not abundant, and the nomads drive their cattle and sheep to move around. ”

Zhang Yu said: "How to go to Anqingze from here?" ”

The guide said, "If you want to get closer, go straight north." However, if Taiwei wants to cut off the west road of Dangxiang, he must go west to the north of Dashadui and follow the edge of the grassland. To the west of An Qingze and Huangyangping is a vast desert, with a lot of quicksand, and it is difficult for people and animals to walk. ”

Zhang Yu nodded: "Then go west." Marching in the desert, the most afraid is that there is no water spring. From tomorrow onwards, you will be in front of the three hundred pioneers, and every day you will find a camp with a spring of water. This march is dominated by the army of Captain Di in the middle of the road, and we are only auxiliary. ”

The guide fork hand said yes. The grasslands and deserts in this area are mixed with water, and the water is scarce, and it is very dangerous for the army to leave the springs.

An Qingze, party leaders Wei Zhixin, Bai Yuzi and several generals gathered around a bonfire. While baking the fire, we discussed the situation.

Bai Yuzi said: "I got the news that the Song army of 100,000 people came all the way north from Xiazhou and Shizhou to fight to the death with our army. This time, Di Qing personally led the army, divided into three ways to pounce, and its momentum was not small. ”

Wei Zhixin said: "We have more than 20,000 people, and we can't fight against the army of the Song Dynasty. When the battle fades away, avoid them. In the desert, how many days can the Song army chase? When the army retreats, this area will still be ours! ”

Bai Yuzi sighed: "There is not a large population here, and it can't support our army. If it takes a long time and the Song army is not consumed, we will run out of food first, then it will be troublesome. The west is the desert, the north is Dijinze, and the east is Linfu Road, in fact, we have nowhere to go. ”

Wei Zhixin said: "I don't believe that the Song army of 100,000 people can hold out in the desert for as many days." If it can drag on for about ten days, they should not be able to support it. As long as we save some, we should be able to meet our military rations. ”

Bai Yuzi said: "If the Song army does not retreat in ten days, what should it do?" Xiazhou is not far away, and the grain and grass stored in the city all belong to the Song army, and they have a lot of manpower, and there are always soldiers to transport grain. It is still necessary to think of a way out, and not to be forced by the Song army to have no way out. ”

After being silent for a while, Wei Zhixin said: "When it really doesn't work, we will go north to Jinze!" ”

Bai Yuzi said: "Dijinze is the territory of Jia Kui of the Song Army, and there are 5,000 people there. We have 20,000 soldiers, and I don't know if we can deal with them. ”

"Always give it a try," Wei said. The surrounding states and counties, after Longzhou Xiancheng, were slaughtered by the Song army, and none of the soldiers escaped. This is a lesson from the past! Surrender is death, and bloody battle is death in the end, so why not fight to the end! ”

The rest of the generals together claimed to be. After Di Qing occupied Xiazhou, these party generals were all surrendered, and as a result, they heard the news that Longzhou was slaughtered. If they surrender, they will slaughter the city, how can they still surrender? Several generals with troops saw that the Song army was about to close the siege, so they brought soldiers and horses, united the defenders of Mida Cave, jumped out, and retreated into the desert.

This area is the Mu Us Desert in later generations, but the desert has just begun to form in this era, and there are many grasslands. Although it is sparse and cannot support too many people, it has always been the last retreat of the party. However, in the past, they could go all the way north and retreat to the bottom of Yin Mountain, but now they don't have that condition. Now all around are Song troops, and they are surrounded by heavy troops, which is actually a dead land. We can only hope that the Song army is not resolute in fighting and can defend their retreat. When the army retreats, this area will be its own territory.

To the north of Dijinze is the railway, and the Song army can mobilize heavy troops at any time, and the remnants of the party have no depth. Moreover, the herdsmen in this area cannot support so many troops, and the party army has few choices. As soon as the news of Di Qingtong's army arrived, people were panicked.

Wei Zhixin sighed: "The lord of the country has been escorted to Kaifeng Mansion, sealed his official position, and lived there, Xia Guo has died." However, the Song army is greedy for money, kills and plunders, and we are just fighting for a way to live for ourselves. If it falls, it will be safe and sound, and who wants to escape! ”

Bai Yuzi said: "That's true. Originally, the whole army had no desire to fight, but as a result, the Song army slaughtered cities in many places, and the soldiers had no choice but to gather together to fight again. Di Qing's army really couldn't believe it, and if there was no way in the end, they would rather go to the east. ”

Wei Zhixin said: "Who knows what will happen to Jia Kui? He is Di Qing's old department, how can he not listen to Di Qing's command? ”

Bai Yuzi said: "Now he belongs to Han Qi's subordinates. Han Qi fought thousands of miles and broke more than a dozen states, and he didn't hear about the killing. ”

Several generals sighed together, looking helpless. Han Qi didn't kill and surrender, but what he faced was Jia Kui's troops. Jia Kui was originally Di Qing's old department, and he was separated when he returned from the Southern Expedition, who knows what will happen. With more than 20,000 people, against Di Qing's 100,000 army, no general dared to arrogantly think that he could win in battle. If there is no chance of victory, there is only a dead end.

In Linzhou, Jia Kui read Di Qing's official document and said to his subordinates: "The 20,000 remnants of the party fled into Anqingze, and Captain Di led an army of 100,000 with the intention of going north to exterminate them. In order to prevent the party soldiers from escaping, our department sent troops to cooperate with the army. ”

The deputy commander on one side, Su Jing, said: "The remnants of Huang Yangping's party are nothing more than crossing Mingtang Sichuan to Linzhou, or going north to attack Jinze, there are only these two roads. There are thousands of soldiers and horses in Dijinze, and in the face of 20,000 remnants, it is necessary to increase the troops. ”

Jia Kui said: "Linzhou don't worry, Di Taiwei sent Yang Sui to lead an army of 30,000 to the north along the Mingtang River, mainly in Jinze. Sending 5,000 soldiers and horses over to gather 10,000 people should be enough. We are here, and we are about to take the Khitan Shuozhou, and we must send troops and horses to support, so it is not good to send more soldiers and horses. ”

Su Jing hesitated a little: "There are 10,000 people in the land, can you stop the remnants of the 20,000 party soldiers?" ”

Jia Kui said with a smile: "When Taiwei Du opened up the Hequ Road, 30,000 soldiers and horses, crisscrossing thousands of miles, defeated the Khitan and the party in succession. Now it's us, but we're tied up at every turn. 10,000 soldiers and horses are enough, if there is an accident, the general should be killed! ”

At that time, Du Zhongxiao led the camp Tianxiang army here, with only 30,000 people, and they were invincible in the face of the Khitan and the Dangxiang army. As time passed, Song Jun's guts in the county became smaller and smaller, and he no longer had the arrogance of the past.

When he was under Di Qing, he was always called Daniel Zhang Jia Zhi. Zhang Yu is the first fierce general, and Jia Kui is decisive and strategic. In the past few years, he has studied at the Wudu Military Academy several times, and most of his generals are from the Wudu Military Academy, Jia Kui is still very relieved about his subordinates. With 10,000 troops against the 20,000 remnants of the party, if the battle cannot be won, the general will really have a problem.

Jia Kui's army is the habit of Hequ Road, various systems are complete, and the generals perform their own duties, which is different from Di Qing's army. 10,000 troops, fully equipped with guns and artillery, how can the remnants of the party be able to deal with it.

At that moment, Jia Kui ordered that the Song army in the area of Turbidity Wheel Village all went to Dijinze. Cooperate with the defenders there to block the retreat of the remnants of the Huangyangping Party to the north. At the same time, Han Qi and Fu Bi of Shengzhou used the railway to replenish grain, grass and ammunition to Dijinze, and prepare for battle.