From the very beginning, Lingzhou was the focus of the Northern Song Dynasty's attack, but unfortunately, Western Xia was not vegetarian, and they also knew that the victory or defeat of Lingzhou was related to the national fortune of Western Xia.

Lingzhou is the most important and critical state, but in the past few decades, not only did they not take Lingzhou, but they lost a lot of strategic points, and they could only put this goal in their hearts under the premise that they were getting farther and farther away from the ultimate goal Lingzhou.

Now I didn't expect that the conflict with the Liao State introduced the Northern Song Dynasty, and the very tough Han Qi took advantage of the critical opportunity to seize the opportunity to capture Lingzhou at once.

Standing on the head of Xiping Mansion, Han Qi was full of emotion, Xiping Mansion is nothing, a city in Western Xia, maybe he learned something from the city defense of the Northern Song Dynasty, but compared with the cities of the Northern Song Dynasty, it is too much worse.

Even if it's just a small county town, you can completely blow up here, but with the addition of 8 fortresses, it's different.

On the outside of Xiping Mansion, there are 8 fortresses arranged in a star shape, the distance between each fortress is about 2 li, and the 8 fortresses cover a huge area with a circumference of 16 li, and most of them will be attacked by double or even triple attacks in this area.

With the fortress as a backing, the city wall of Xiping Mansion, which looks very simple, has also become very strong, and when the time comes, only a group of longbowmen need to be left, and it will not be possible to attack Xiping Mansion without breaking through the outer fortress.

Han Qi looked at the fortress that had been capped and was being built inside.

As early as in Baozhou, preparations have been made for the construction of the fortress, to put it bluntly, under the premise of cement, the construction of the fortress is not a problem at all, but it is taller, more demanding, and the speed of construction in the next year.

The fortress in Xiping is the first fortress to be built, it is strong enough, the main project has been completed 10 days ago, and it has basically been done, and there is no problem with small-scale intensity attack and defense.

Han Qi looked at the gradually erected fortress, and sighed with emotion, 8 fortresses are enough to make this place impregnable, to put it bluntly, as long as there are 10,000 people guarding here, even if the Western Xia is attacked from the country, it may not be able to capture it.

The Northern Song Dynasty finally had a complete and strong defense in Lingzhou, as long as it held here steadily, most of Lingzhou was controlled in it.

The Northern Song Dynasty did not just control Xiping Mansion, but also erected 20 of the other more than 20 fortresses, of which 10 were similar to Xiping Mansion, which was a difference of one or two days. For the solidification of cement, to this extent, it is enough, they have a considerable protective capacity, and the rest, at most, 10 to 15 days, will gradually solidify, a total of 32 fortresses, according to the scale of 800 to 1,000 people stationed in each one, it is only 20,000 or 30,000 people.

With twenty or thirty thousand people, a state guarding the front line, even in Hebei, is a rare thing, let alone in the northwest border, according to the current news, Western Xia and Liao are still under the head of Xingqing Mansion, and they have not yet realized that Lingzhou has changed hands.

In this sense, Lingzhou is already in the bag of the Northern Song Dynasty, although it is said that keeping Lingzhou well in the future will definitely make great changes in the situation in the northwest, and the simple food and logistics aspects are enough to make the Northern Song Dynasty balance tens of millions of dollars per year, which will make the financial situation further improve.

The ultimate goal of Han Qi and the Privy Council is to take Lingzhou, not only firmly control the battlefield initiative of Western Xia and the Northern Song Dynasty, but also turn the Hetao Plain on the border into a granary in the northwest.

With this support, they can calmly use troops against the Western Xia, gradually weaken the Western Xia, and then completely solve the problem of the Western Xia.

But now, in less than a month, a series of fortresses have been established, and with Han Qi's familiarity with the combat effectiveness of the fortresses, it is unceremonious to say that the fortresses are enough to keep Xixia out, and he has new ambitions.

With the strength of the Liao State, the troops carried and the method of attacking the city, it was almost impossible to capture Xingqing Mansion.

According to Zhou Wenxiu's report, coupled with the total losses of Lingzhou Xixia, although this time, Xixia suffered a heavy blow and even lost the initiative on the battlefield, but the losses of Xixia were not enough.

That's right, in Han Qi's view, there is no such thing as benevolence, righteousness and morality, between countries, it is necessary to defeat one another, and only when it is completely defeated can we truly achieve peace.

Don't take advantage of this opportunity to completely step on Xixia, how can you be worthy of the previous plan, Lingzhou is just beginning.

Han Qi still wants to go further, before, it was enough for him to take here, but now, Lingzhou has already eaten into his stomach, no matter if he wins or loses on the battlefield, it is impossible to lose it, and it seems that it is not impossible to take it further in turn.

Now that the troops under Han Qi's account have changed, from the original heavy infantry to horse infantry, and with such a terrible weapon as the longbow team, as well as the killer weapon provided by Zhao Xin to attack the city, Han Qi feels that it is necessary to try it.

How to try it, it's very simple, Han Qi is ready to contact Liao Xingzong.

Rashly intervened in Xingqing Mansion, that is stupid, Liao will definitely not let you in casually, if you really enter, it will cause a backlash from Liao.

On the battlefield of Western Xia, if the Northern Song Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom fought, it would be a big joke, and Yuan Hao himself sat firmly in the Diaoyutai, and now, he simply received two points of results.

After waiting for a few more days, Han Qi waited until most of the fortresses had been stabilized and the fixed personnel were stationed in them, and then he began to send envoys.

As a defender, of course, without elite forces, Lingzhou is very smooth with the rear, mobilizing almost 30,000 reserve forces, mostly archers, these are just simple training, vulnerable in the field, under the strong defense of the fortress, regardless of the problem of defense, the attack power is still very terrible.

To put it bluntly, the fortress itself is too terrifying, even the regimental training, the longbowmen who have just picked up their weapons, can play a powerful role, and these people in the northwest, who have grown up in the war for a long time, can still attack alone.

After these personnel were in place, Han Qi ordered the main force to concentrate and head towards Xingqing Mansion.

The army of nearly 40,000 began to move forward slowly, and at this moment, Liao Xingzong didn't realize it at all.

Liao Xingzong's head was occupied by Xingqing Mansion, although he and his generals also sent troops, surveying the surroundings but this survey is about a hundred miles away, it is impossible for Liao to fully occupy Western Xia, it is useless, Western Xia has a few areas, most of them are poorer than Liao, and Lingzhou is also relatively small, inconvenient for cavalry, especially under the guidance of Zhou Wenxiu, naturally think that there is nothing in Lingzhou.

Even if it is looted, it is all to the west, and the vast grassland is the focus of the looting. The Liao State was able to hold out under the city of Xingqing Province thanks to the fact that it swept 200 tribes, and among these tribes, 30,000 head of cattle were obtained.

For the nomads, there is no problem of carrying military rations, and the livestock is military rations, and 30,000 head of livestock can produce at least 6 million catties of meat, which is enough for 10,000 troops to eat for more than two months

With a small amount of logistics, this is how it persevered.

To be honest, Yuan Hao didn't expect that Liao Xingzong would choose to besiege instead of besiege the city, besieged in Xingqing Mansion, he has lost the ability to maneuver, these consumptions, no one, each one, is their Western Xia force, more than 20 tribes, is so obedient to take out the livestock, this is what they lived, 30,000 livestock, including a large number of large livestock, they are at least 30,000 tribes, these, have been killed.

Nomads, just so cruel, non-existent, what kind of benevolence and morality of Confucianism, for the victor, killing, is the only thing that needs to be done, and everything else is indifferent.

Liao Xingzong also had a headache, although it was said that the supply problem was solved, but it was not a matter to retreat in Xingqing Mansion like this, it has been more than 2 months since he went on the expedition, and the younger brother's Western Xia is so difficult to take.

Those civil officials led by the prime minister have proposed several times to withdraw their troops, but Liao Xingzong is unwilling.

But he had no clue, and even looted part of the Western Xia people, and when he was enveloping more than 30,000 people, he adopted a siege.

Yuan Hao was not soft at all, direct archers, rocks, and all kinds of boiling oil, killing faster than the Liao State, and before the Liao army rushed up, he was shot under the city, and suddenly, outside the Xingqing Mansion, there was a river of blood, and countless entities almost paved the city of Xingqing Mansion.

Hesitation, it's such a good opportunity, it's a pity to give up, it's so easy to get to this point, only one step away, you can make Yuan Hao bow down, but the high city wall has become a moat that blocks them, and even this envelopes the people can't do it, and the others are even more helpless.

Otherwise, it is better to retreat, as long as the weather is slightly better, it is no longer so cold, with enough grain and grass, and slowly retreat, it should be the best choice, and Liao Xingzong also has the idea of retreating.

"Report!" A general of the Protector Army reported quickly, informing Liao Xingzong of a news that shocked him. Han Qi, the privy envoy of the Northern Song Dynasty and the governor of the four provinces of Shaanxi, led the army of the Northern Song Dynasty, which was less than a hundred miles.