In the Song Dynasty, there was no law or order.

After winter, the grasslands in the northwest become more solemn and lonely.

The grass gradually withered and turned yellow, and groups of herdsmen shouted and whipped, driving cattle and sheep towards the Helan Mountains.

Nomadic people live by water and grass, and nomadic people in various regions look for pastures in four seasons. Among them, the Altai Mountains, Tianshan Mountains, and Kunlun Mountains are the main ones in the Western Regions, and the seasonal pastures are determined by the altitude.

The grasslands in the south and north of the desert move from east to west or from north to south to the southern end of the Altai Mountains, Hangai Mountains, Edereng Mountains, and Yinshan Mountains.

Because most of these places are plains, basins, and river valleys south of the mountains, the altitude is low in winter, and there are mountains blocking the cold air from the north, the temperature will be relatively warmer.

For herders, winter is an extremely terrible time. They can only find slightly better conditions in poverty and difficulties and survive this winter with difficulty.

Compared with the herders in the grasslands of the Western Regions and the Mongolian grasslands, the herders in the Ningxia Plain have very few places to choose from.

Those close to the Qilian Mountains will choose to go to the foot of the Qilian Mountains, while herders in the Hexi Corridor and Henan Corridor (later Otog Banner and Maowusu Desert) will go to the Helan Mountains.

Whether it is from the terrain or from the cities and population gathering points in this area, it can be seen that only these places can barely survive in winter.

So the herders in the Ningxia Plain will choose to do so, even if it is in the midst of civil strife in Xixia at this time.

However, this year, there are fewer herders heading towards the Helan Mountains. Everyone knows that a large number of tribes are gathering, and it is very likely that occupation will break out again, so many people go west.

Although the conditions will be slightly more difficult to the west, the herders do not have the ability to cross the Qilian Mountains to the Hehuang Valley, so they can only survive near the foot of the Qilian Mountains, that is, the area along the Wuwei and Zhangye lines in later generations.

The only advantage there is that since the Song army occupied Zhuoluo and Nan, they have opened a market on the border, and many herders will drive their cattle and sheep over to exchange for food, tea, and ironware from the Song people.

"Ding Ding Dang Dang!"

A small Dangxiang tribe driving a large number of cattle and sheep was slowly moving westward.

They were now near the desert northeast of Jisang, almost in the area of ​​Haizitan Town, Gulang County, Gansu Province in later generations.

To the north was the Tengger Desert, which was a desolate Gobi desert at that time, and to the south was Zhuo Luo and Nan, which was the area of ​​Gulang County and Jingtai County in later generations, and was the border area with the Song State.

They were going to migrate to Liangzhou Prefecture, which was Wuwei City, where there were few places with rivers and grasslands in winter, and it was also their only hope to survive.

Amid the bells of cattle, sheep, camels and horses, a cloud of dust suddenly appeared in the south.

"What happened?"

The tribal leader said to the people around him in Dangxiang language: "Go and have a look."

"Yes."

The herdsmen around him immediately turned their horses' heads and rode south.

There were some hills and small mountains nearby, so they could not see the situation in the distance.

But as the dust continued, according to their experience, everyone knew that this might be a large number of cavalry approaching.

This made the leader of this small tribe feel depressed.

South.

Who else is in the south except the Song people?

The leader instinctively wanted to send someone to report to the nearby military commander immediately.

But the words were swallowed back and then there was silence.

An unsettling silence spread around.

Now the Western Xia Kingdom is about to be destroyed, their king is dead, and two major forces have split.

If the Song people really invade, who can send troops to stop them?

"Leader, it's the Song people."

The herdsmen who were sent out soon came back to report the news, with a horrified expression on their faces, and shouted in a trembling voice: "A lot of Song people!"

"Call all the young and strong people in the tribe and prepare to resist the enemy!"

The tribal leader gritted his teeth and said.

They are migrating now, and a large number of cattle and sheep are eating while walking, and it is impossible to take them away.

If only the people of the tribe ran away, losing cattle and sheep would be no different from extermination for the grassland people.

So they could only choose to fight to the death.

However, the herdsmen said: "There are too many of them, at least tens of thousands."

The tribal leader showed a desperate expression.

Their entire tribe had less than a thousand people, and many of them were old, weak, women and children. There were no more than four hundred young and strong men who could fight. What should they do?

In this panic, countless dark figures soon appeared in the distant mountains.

They were far away, but the dust and the sound of horse hooves from far to near, like the sound of gongs and drums, beat the heart of every herdsman.

Fear and panic filled everyone's heart.

They all stared with wide eyes, standing there staring blankly at the south, and no one knew what would happen to them later.

And this panic lasted for nearly an hour, and the herdsmen still drove the cattle, sheep and horses with difficulty, trying to escape to a farther place.

But what made them desperate was that the other side seemed to rush straight towards them, and the fate of death seemed inevitable.

"Boom boom boom!"

The sound of countless horse hooves galloping was getting closer and closer, and the distance between the two sides was less than a mile.

However, just when this tribe was about to face a catastrophe, the knights did not charge them directly, but saw that the road ahead was occupied by a large number of cattle, sheep and horses, and gradually slowed down.

"What's going on ahead?"

When Lu Jingchu, the chief officer of the Song Army, saw the road ahead stopped, he asked sternly: "Why did you stop?"

He used to be the pacifier of Huanqing Road. He has a relatively straightforward personality. In history, he has impeached some generals for bribery and civil servants who engaged in malpractice for personal gain. He is a good official.

This time Jingtai was recalled to Bianliang due to his illness and his previous achievements. He served as the military envoy of Xihe Road and led the generals on the expedition.

The leader of the vanguard army was Jia Kui, who had been promoted. He galloped over and reported to Lu Jingchu: "Commander, there are party herdsmen in front of us driving large numbers of cattle and sheep to the Qilian Mountains for the winter."

"Are they heading in the same direction as us?"

"Yes, if we continue to go north, we will definitely rush into their herds of cattle and sheep."

"Then go around it!"

Lu Jingchu said in a deep voice: "Send someone to inform them and ask them to wait for our army to pass before moving forward."

"yes."

Jia Kui agreed and immediately returned to the vanguard.

After the Song Army's vanguard received the order, they suddenly turned and headed west.

Then another small team came in the direction of the small tribe.

"Which of you is the leader?"

There was someone in that team who knew party language and asked questions sharply.

The tribe leader hurriedly came over and said: "I am."

"The commander-in-chief orders you to stop where you are and wait for my army to pass before setting off."

"Yes Yes Yes."

"."

The captain of the team originally reined in his horse and wanted to leave, but suddenly turned around and looked at them again, then grinned and said: "You will be the people of Song from now on. Just follow the arrangements of the court and don't commit any crimes again."

After saying that, he galloped away.

The people of this small Dangxiang tribe stood there in silence, as if they had not yet recovered.

After a long time, a large number of Song troops were galloping towards Liangzhou Prefecture in the northwest, and someone among them said: "Chief, are we, Daxia, going to perish?"

"If you die, just die."

The leader murmured to himself: "We have lived too hard these years. Maybe the Song people will live a better life if they come."

If his words were used in the past, they would definitely be treasonous.

But now no one refuted it.

In addition to showing a touch of complex emotions on everyone's face, no one looked at Song Jun who was looking into the distance with hostility and hatred.

The nomads have an indifferent sense of gratitude to the country.

As Li Yuanhao became more and more unpopular, there were not a few tribes in Xixia who wanted to join the Song people. Most of the people were dissatisfied, so naturally this country no longer needed to exist.

On the west route, the Song army went north along the Qilian Mountains and soon arrived in Liangzhou.

There is actually a part of the Xixia army stationed in the city, about three to four thousand people, controlled by the local Xixia generals in Xiliang Mansion.

Since Liangzhou, Ganzhou and other places belong to the southwest end of the Xixia territory and are far away from the center, they are not greatly affected by civil strife, so a certain degree of order can be maintained here.

The generals stationed here became the targets of the two groups.

But when groups of Song troops appeared in Xiliang Mansion, the local garrison generals no longer had any thoughts of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, and quickly chose to surrender.

The Song army took control of Xiliang Prefecture in Xixia and began to move northwestward, heading towards Xuanhua Prefecture, Suzhou, Guazhou and other places.

This is also the current main strategy of the Song Army.

Xixia people would go to Qilian Mountain, Helan Mountain and other places in winter. The main force of the Song army went straight to Xingqing Mansion, captured the Xixia royal court, and destroyed Xixia.

The West Route Division headed north along the Qilian Mountains to regain large areas of important territory.

Since then, the main population and habitat of the Xixia people have been controlled by the Song Dynasty. The rest of the land is mostly desert, such as Mu Us Desert, Tengger Desert, Badain Jaran Desert, etc.

Just when the Song Army's West Route Army was in full swing and had easily captured Xiliang Mansion, the Song Army's East Route Army was also progressing very smoothly.

The East Route Army is divided into three parts, advancing from Jingyuan Road, Huanqing Road, and Fuyan Road respectively.

They targeted many Xixia border military fortresses such as the Xishou Baotai Army, the Jingsai Army, the Jianing Army, the Xiangyou Army, and the Zuoxiang Shenyong Army on the Xixia border.

However, at this time, the Xixia border army was in name only.

After the civil strife, the border troops were either called back by their own tribesmen or participated in the war themselves. At this time, the Xixia troops on the entire border were very few.

And most of them have basically lost their will to fight, and they seem to be in a state of decline and a dilapidated country.

Groups of Song troops quickly occupied the border cities. Many Xixia troops either fled or surrendered. It cannot be said that there was no resistance, but it could only be said to be better than nothing.

On October 9, with the howling north wind blowing and the vast mountains undulating, Gao Jixuan, the commander of the Jingyuan Road, led the army and headed north in a mighty manner.

This is north of Roulang Mountain and south of Weijing Mountain. After passing Weijing Mountain, there is Yingli City, the city closest to the Song Dynasty in Xixia.

"Quick, quick, harder."

"It's time to climb over the mountain ahead."

"Don't stop."

The grassroots officers of the Song Army urged the soldiers forward.

Between the ravines, there are large stretches of hills and mountains, and only between the two mountains is a small section of plain valley bottom.

The later Beijing-Tibet Expressway passed through here, and 60 kilometers to the west is the Yellow River Stone Forest National Geopark. The geology is unique, and the scenery is picturesque even in early winter when the setting sun shines.

Gao Jixuan was riding on horseback, looking at the surrounding mountains from a distance. This was once the residence of the Xixia Xishou Baotai Army. There are still some ruins of camps in the surrounding mountains.

Abandoned beacon towers can be seen everywhere on the mountains, and you can vaguely see rows of flags fluttering in the wind on Lingbo Mountain in the northwest.

"General, over there!"

A messenger beside Gao Jixuan suddenly pointed to a mountain about five or six miles away from them and said.

Gao Jixuan looked over.

He saw that on the unknown hilltop of Weijing Mountain, billowing smoke rose up without knowing when.

He raised the telescope in his hand and saw an old man and a young man on the mountain. They threw cow dung and firewood into the beacon tower, and the smoke went straight up to the sky along the chimney.

The old man found that the Song army seemed to have noticed them, so he shouted and jumped around, as if to attract them.

"Song dogs, come and kill us!"

"You invaded the border of my Great Xia, you will not die well."

"Come on, if you have the guts, come and kill us!"

The old man roared in Dangxiang language.

However, the Song army at the foot of the mountain just glanced at them from a distance, and no one rushed to the mountain to kill them.

Maybe they couldn't understand what he was shouting, or maybe they were too far away. Even if they could understand the Tangut language, they didn't know what he meant.

But everyone knew.

These were just two abandoned Tangut soldiers.

"Let's go, don't worry about them."

Gao Jixuan said lightly.

The Song army continued to move forward slowly after hearing the order, as if they didn't see them.

The old man on the hilltop was desperate and sat on the ground dejectedly.

Once the beacon fire was lit and thousands of cavalry were galloping, how dare the Song people come to invade the border?

Now that their Western Xia has fallen apart, they are on the verge of national destruction.

The young man squatted aside, holding the Qiang flute tightly in his hand.

After a while, the old man suddenly stood up, clasped his forearms, and danced with tears in his eyes.

The young man played a desolate music with the Qiang flute.

The old man twisted his body and sang in a sad voice: "Hu Teng is a child from Liangzhou, his skin is like jade and his nose is like a cone, and his tung cloth shirt is rolled up front and back."

This is the last swan song of the Tangut people.

The next day.

The Song army arrived at Yingli City, which is Zhongwei City in Ningxia in later generations.

There were almost no defenders in the city, and the Song army occupied the city as if they had taken over the defense peacefully.

The same thing happened in Weizhou, where the Jingsai Army of Xixia was located, Youzhou, where the Jianing Army was located, Shizhou, where the Xiangyou Army was located, and Yinzhou, where the Zuoxiang Shenyong Army was located.

Overnight, most of the cities on the border of Xixia fell into the hands of the Song army. Later, only a few important cities such as Lingzhou in Xiping Prefecture and Xingzhou in Xingqing Prefecture were left.