Baichi Fort, twenty miles northwest of Yanzhou City, is still full of people after nightfall, and there are many bonfires inside and outside the fort like stars. The main army attacking Yanzhou, where the main force of the Chinese army is currently stationed.

The White Pond Fort was originally used to guard the salt pond, and the location is next to the salt pond, and even the air seems to have a salty smell, but there is no problem with the drinking water, it is a sweet and clear spring water, which is completely different from the brine in the salt pond.

The salt ponds in the northwest, whether it is the Jiezhou salt pond in the hands of the Song people, or the Qingbai salt pond here in Western Xia, all use the salt drying method. The brine is introduced into the salt furrow and then exposed to sunlight, but it is also rinsed with clean water after the last to wash away the bitterness. Whether it is the Jiezhou Salt Pond or the Qingbai Salt Pond, it is only possible to have a clear sweet spring. The clear spring outside Baichi Fort is also just right for making tea.

But now Ye Dama has no time to sit down and drink tea, in the battle of Lingzhou, the veteran who performed brilliantly, got on his horse outside the fort, and galloped towards Yanzhou City with his own soldiers.

When Ye Poma arrived at the former army camp under Yanzhou City, it was already night, and there were bonfires inside and outside the camp. The commander of the camp who stayed behind was waiting outside the gate.

Anxiously waiting for Ye Poma to get off the horse, Ren Duo shook his head and asked, "What do the Queen Mother and the Minister of State say?" ”

"I want the two of us to stabilize the defense, and don't discuss it when the main force arrives tomorrow." Ye Xiaoma said with a smile, "The Queen Mother personally led the army, isn't it just for Yanzhou City?" We don't need to take the lead and work hard. ”

Ren Duodi's expression relaxed a little, "If that's the case, it's a good thing." ”

"The Liang family and the Wei family should always have a place to be in the limelight, the Queen Mother and the Minister of State think so. In Lingzhou City, our foreign surnames have worked hard for the two of them, and it's time for them to come out and do something. ”

Nindo grinned. I really don't know how the Queen Mother and Liang Yibu were squeezed by people in Baichi Fort.

This time to attack Yanzhou, Empress Dowager Liang personally led the army, and even her imprisoned son Bingchang was brought out. Banzhi, sanitation, and the army that can have a certain combat power are all accompanied, leaving only Liang Yiqi and Wei Ming Awu to guard Xingqing Mansion.

It is not uncommon for the Queen Mother to lead the army. There were precedents in the past for the Liao State and the Western Xia. Yanzhou is a battle related to the fortunes of the country, and if it is defeated, the Western Xia will not exist, and it can only survive for a few years at most. Victory, the Great White High Country has the possibility of continuing.

Before in Lingzhou, the generals with foreign surnames were dazzling, and they turned the tables hard. Now it is also a war related to the fortunes of the country, the Liang family can not sit in the Xingqing Mansion, and the Liang family and the Wei family must come out to make contributions if they want to continue to rule the Western Xia.

The power of the Liang family has always been based on the support of the famous family. Their servants are too close to the Liao people and have touched the interests of too many people, even in the famous family, there are more than one or two people who have grievances against Bingchang. Otherwise, the Liang brothers and sisters imprisoned the Son of Heaven, and they would not have received the support of the clan.

"Presumably, what the Queen Mother wants to see most at this time is for the vulture to give birth to her grandson as soon as possible."

"This is also necessary for the vultures themselves to be willing."

No matter what, Empress Dowager Liang always hopes that her bloodline can continue, but after having a grandson, her son can also be lost. The emperor of the current Great White High Kingdom may spend the rest of his life in a heavily guarded temple.

In front of the camp, with the help of the roaring bonfire, Ye Poma saw the hastily repaired village defense.

When the front was at Baichi Fort, it was already very difficult to build a camp on the periphery for the Chinese army to be stationed. And the situation in the former military camp is even worse.

"The trees outside Yanzhou City have all been cut down......" Ye Xiaoma smacked his tongue.

Ren Duo pointed to the camp gate that was barely nailed with branches: "It's good to be able to find branches to repair the fence, but the camp gate is a headache...... It was all fought in this battle, and the timber that was easy to cut around Yanzhou had already been swept away. ”

When the Song army attacked Yanzhou and its surrounding forts, it took a lot of effort and effort to build camp fences and make siege equipment There were not many trees left, and when the Song people began to build additional city defenses, the demand for wood rose to a new level.

Ye Dama looked left and right at the unreliable village defense, and suddenly asked, "Will the Song people attack at night?" ”

"Whether you come or not, it's all ready for him." Ren Duo looked at the brightly lit Yanzhou City: "There are only a few tricks that can be played, hunting all my life, and you can still peck the eyes of the geese?" …… Let's go to the camp and wait for them to come. ”

Ye Xiaoma laughed twice, and entered the camp side by side with Ren Duoxi.

The soldiers who followed behind Ren Duo also wore armor at night, which was unique to the Song people. All the way to the big tent of the Chinese army, Ye Xiaoma heard the sound of iron armor behind him. Ye Poma's own soldiers didn't wear it, but they also had it, and they would put it on when they went into battle.

At present, the ordinary soldiers outside, even if they are cavalry recruited, can wear most of them by armor when they go into battle. In the battle of Lingzhou City, tens of thousands of armor were captured, and the generals of the Southern Dynasty all threw away their armor and fled, lest they bring too much on their bodies and escape to delay time. This harvest has made the Iron Harrier worthy of its name.

Ye Poma had heard early on that the Song people had improved their armor-making process, and the cost and time spent on building them had all dropped significantly, and it was even said that it was only one-tenth of what it used to be. Its leader is Han Gang, who is also famous in Western Xia.

Within three years, the 600,000 Eastern Dynasty forbidden troops were all issued with iron armor. This fact has overwhelmed the dignitaries in the Western Xia Kingdom who have learned about it over the years.

Fortunately, just having a divine weapon is not certain to win in the battle array, and there is no resistance to the front, but with an effective strategy, the warriors of the Great White High Kingdom stripped the iron armor from the Song people.

Now almost all the personal soldiers of the Western Xia generals are now wearing the equipment of the Song army commanders and the officers below - in the capture of Lingzhou City, its number is second only to the simple plate armor of the soldiers - because these armors are inlaid with different ornaments according to the different ranks of official positions, the appearance is very exquisite, and the appearance of the pro-soldiers is completely new.

Ren Duodi's personal soldiers are all wearing full-body armor of the first level. The iron armor was soaked in copper, and it was slightly reddish. Unlike the armor of the soldiers, there are only armor pieces that cover the front and back of the chest, and a few pieces of skirt armor that protect the lower half of the body. Instead, there are accessories for the shoulders, arms, and legs. A four-inch-long stick was erected above the helmet and a small triangular horn flag was attached to it.

According to Ye Xiaoma's understanding, the position of the leaders of the Song army is the standard when arraying. When he stood there, the soldiers below him would follow, a strict clause in the Song army's military orders. The corner flags on the helmets of the leaders are to let the soldiers below know who to follow and who is the leader of the hundred people.

Such a set of armor, in the hands of the party nobles, is equally useful to represent the identity of the pro-soldiers.

In the Song army, the armor of the higher layer was tailor-made for the generals, and each piece was worth thousands of gold, and there were not a few gilt and gilt silver. The few top-grade trophies that Ye Hema took home were even lined with bear skins, but they didn't fit him well.

Also listening to the sound of armor behind him, Ren Duodi smiled at Ye Xiaoma and said: "In the past, I never thought that I could match the sons and daughters of the clan with iron armor, and the battle in Lingzhou would not be a loss." ”

Ye Xiaoma shook his head: "What's so happy, today I won 30,000 sets, and tomorrow the Song people will be able to build 60,000 sets." The 600,000 forbidden troops were all replaced with iron armor in three years, and they could produce 200,000 sets of iron armor a year. Now that 30,000 sets have been lost, it will make Zhao Guan's family feel distressed, and they will not hurt their muscles and bones. ”

He turned his head and smiled bitterly at Ren Duotong, "The more you fight with the Song people, the more you understand how rich and wealthy they are." Hundreds of thousands of armor are made in a year, and how much is lost, ten times will be replaced. No matter how you compare it with the Song people, it is a victory like Lingzhou, and it will be over again. When the water was put down, the fields outside Lingzhou City were all destroyed, and next year's rations were not known. Ye Xiaoma looked up to the sky and sighed: "In the past, it was a fat sheep, but now it is a mountain boar." The same bite overflowed with fat, but they had fangs. I want to bite off a piece of meat, and I don't know how much blood I have to come out. ”

Ren Duo was silent when he heard this, walked a few steps and reluctantly smiled: "Anyway, there are still some meat bites back, which is better than losing all the money in the previous few times." Didn't he also capture a bunch of craftsmen, without these craftsmen, who would be sure to capture Yanzhou City? ”

"But there is no blacksmith...... The Song people don't have blacksmiths in the camp anymore! ”

In the next battle of Lingzhou City, there were many prisoners, there were two thousand people, of which there were four craftsmen who could make siege equipment, and one craftsman who was sent to serve the spaceship, but there was no blacksmith - in the past, whether the Song army was out of battle or in the village, there would always be one or two blacksmiths to repair weapons or armor, but now the Song army If the weapon is broken, it will be replaced with a new one; There is a problem with the armor, change the accessory. Valuable manpower is not wasted on tinkering.

It's standard for deep pockets.

“…… Anyway, I'm going to have to fight it anyway. Ren Duo said, people have to struggle before they die, not to mention a big country with millions of people, "When the Song army attacked Lingzhou City in front, it was a thread on the line, and the whole thing was hung in mid-air, so he put a finger on the cliff, and climbed back like this." The situation is at stake, but it is much stronger than it was a few months ago. If this battle is won, within one or two decades, the Eastern Dynasty will never dare to look westward again, and how can it be willing to fight without fighting. ”

"That's right." Ye Xiaoma's expression also eased: "If the Song people retreat to Yinzhou and Xiazhou, they have a ninety percent chance of winning, and I won't come anyway." Now they are greedy to protect Yanzhou, but they are half-opened. ”

"The emperor of the Eastern Dynasty always chooses the commander indiscriminately. What Xu Xi, I have never heard of it in the past. If he wins this time, Yelu Yixin will probably not be able to help but lead the army south, and then there will be more than ten or twenty years of peace. ”