Xianxia version of Water Margin

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When Wu Jie, Wu Lin, Liu Qi and other generals of the Northwest Army came to Yuan Dadu, they presented Jiang Hongfei with a feasible plan to attack Xixia, which was proposed by Wu Jie: "First conquer Hengshan, then chase Xixia."

Hengshan has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. Its terrain is steep and easy to defend but difficult to attack. It is like a giant dragon lying on the northwest border, guarding the gateway of Xixia.

Speaking of Hengshan, we have to go back to the protracted contest between Song and Xia in those years. The core of the battle was this vast land in northern Shaanxi.

Hengshan, a natural backbone, spans thousands of miles. The dangerous terrain is well known to the world. It is not only a geographical barrier, but also a watershed of the fate of the two countries. To the north is the territory of Xixia; to the south, it belongs to the embrace of the Song Dynasty.

For Xixia, this land is the foundation of its country and the bridgehead for its eastward advance into the Central Plains.

Back then, Song Zhenzong handed over Hengshan and Ling and Xiazhou to the Dangxiang leader Li Deming in a moment of thought. This move undoubtedly laid a solid foundation for the rise of Western Xia.

There are four reasons why Hengshan became the heart of Western Xia:

First, the mountains and rivers here are magnificent, and the rivers are crisscrossed. Wuding River, Dali River, Tuyan River, Baima River, etc. are like blood vessels, nourishing this fertile land. Agriculture and animal husbandry go hand in hand here, becoming an important granary and source of troops for Western Xia.

Second, the tea mountain and Lushan in the east of Hengshan are important salt and iron production areas for Western Xia. They are self-sufficient and do not need to seek outside, which greatly enhances their war potential.

Third, the Hengshan Qiang people who have lived here for generations are brave and good at fighting. Their loyalty and passion for Western Xia are an indispensable force in the Western Xia army.

Fourth, Hengshan is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Xixia took advantage of this geographical advantage and built hundreds of forts, which became a natural barrier for the Song army to go north. At the same time, it also blocked the traffic route from Tianshui to Datong of the Central Plains Dynasty, making the army of the Central Plains passive.

On the other hand, since the Zhao Song Dynasty lost Hengshan, its northwest defense line was like losing a barrier. The prefectures and counties such as Fu, Yan, Huan, Qing, Jing, Yuan, Qin, and Long were always under the watchful eyes of Xixia.

The Song army lacked mobility and rescue was slow, so it could only divide its troops to garrison, giving Xixia the opportunity to defeat them one by one.

The battles of Sanchuankou, Haoshuichuan, and Dingchuanzhai were all Li Yuanhao's use of mobility to bully the few with the many, making the Song army taste the bitter fruit.

What's more serious is that after losing Hengshan, the front-line supply base, the Song army had to rely on civilians to cross the vast sea to transport food and grass when attacking Xixia. Once the supply line was blocked, they could only retreat helplessly, and the offensive power was greatly reduced.

As Zeng Bu said during the Yuanfu period of Emperor Zhezong, "If we can get Hengshan and Tiandu, we will have extraordinary achievements. Our army is often trapped by the Westerners because they enter the desert when they leave the border. There is no water or grass, no people, and they are trapped before they can reach the enemy. The Westerners rely on Hengshan to gather troops and food, invade our border, and have made many gains."

This statement reveals the profound impact of Hengshan on the strategic situation of Song and Xia.

Hengshan is not only the geographical dividing line between Song and Xia (now it is also the geographical dividing line between Yuan and Xia), but also a witness to the intertwined destinies of the two countries.

It can be said that whoever can control Hengshan will have the upper hand in this protracted game.

As time passed slowly, the rulers of the Zhao Song Dynasty gradually understood the subtleties of strategy. Fan Zhongyan, Han Qi and other wise men took the lead in advocating it, which opened the prelude to the "Hengshan Strategy".

This was a carefully planned fortress battle. The Song army steadily built a defense line in the hinterland of Hengshan, connecting forts to gradually compress the living space of Western Xia.

During the Yuanfeng period, the Song army launched a large-scale westward expedition, which not only consolidated its own defense line, but also took many strongholds of Western Xia into its pocket.

Later, Li Xian further strengthened this strategy with his deep understanding of the terrain and built a series of indestructible defense lines.

In the reign of Emperor Zhezong, Zhang Yu took over the baton from his predecessors and pushed the "Hengshan Strategy" to a new height - shallow attack and construction, with the least cost in exchange for the greatest results.

Decades of strategic evolution, every adjustment is a profound reflection and wisdom of the previous failure, and ultimately created a fatal threat to Western Xia.

From Renzong to Huizong, the Zhao Song Dynasty built hundreds of strong cities and fortresses in the Hengshan area, which not only consolidated its own defense line, but also tore the defense system of Western Xia into pieces.

When Zhao Ji ascended the throne, he inherited the will of his father and brother, appointed Tong Guan as the commander of the six routes, and continued to deepen the Hengshan strategy.

Tong Guan deeply understood the tactical essence of his adoptive father Li Xian, and led the Song army to launch rounds of offensives deep into Hengshan.

In the first year of Xuanhe, under the sunshine of spring, the Song army, with Zhong Shidao and Liu Zhongwu as the vanguard, divided into two routes out of Xiaoguan and attacked Huanglong directly.

Although the Xia army resisted bravely, under the fierce offensive of the Song army, the elite field troops were lost, and the Hengshan area was finally occupied by the Song army.

At this moment, the foresight of Fan Zhongyan, Han Qi, Li Xian, Zhang Yu and others became a reality, and the victory of the Zhao Song Dynasty in Hengshan seemed to be the best tribute to them.

However, just as the Song army was preparing to attack the heartland of Xixia in one go, Yelu Yanxi forced the Zhao Song Dynasty to postpone the plan to destroy Xia.

At the same time, Xixia also took the opportunity to surrender to Zhao Song in order to protect itself.

Faced with the complex international situation, Zhao Ji and Tong Guan had to temporarily shelve the conquest of Xixia.

Although this decision seemed helpless, it actually implied the Zhao Song Dynasty's deep concern about the threat from the Liao Kingdom.

To be fair, this was actually one of the reasons why Zhao Ji, Tong Guanjun and his ministers later tore up the "Chanyuan Alliance" and chose to join forces with the Jin Dynasty to destroy the Liao Dynasty and regain the sixteen states of Yanyun.

Historically, after the Song and Jin Dynasties reached a "Sea Alliance" to jointly destroy the Liao Dynasty, the Fangla Uprising broke out.

At that time, the Zhao and Song dynasties had actually given up on uniting with the Jin Dynasty to destroy the Liao Dynasty, and Tong Guan also used the elite Song army prepared to attack the Liao Kingdom to quell the rebellion in the southeast.

As a result, sooner or later, the Zhao and Song dynasties had just put down the Fangla Uprising, and the Jin State conquered Shangjing, Tokyo and Zhongjing of the Liao State with overwhelming force, and was about to capture Nanjing (Yanjing) and Xijing of the Liao State. (Datong) was also captured.

The situation at that time was that if the Jin Kingdom continued to fight, the Jin Kingdom would completely replace the Liao Dynasty and become the new neighbor of the Zhao and Song Dynasties.

Moreover, the Daliao Dynasty at that time seemed to have declined, and was no longer as heroic and good at fighting as before.

Zhao Ji felt that this was an opportunity to pick up a bargain.

Moreover, Wanyan Aguda promised that even if the Jin Kingdom captured the Yanyun area, it would be returned to the Zhao and Song Dynasties.

No matter how you look at it, this transaction is not a loss.

Therefore, Zhao Ji sent the Song army, whose elite troops had been defeated by Fang La's rebel army, to the north.

Unexpectedly, a skinny camel is bigger than a horse. Even on the eve of its demise, the Liao Dynasty still had outstanding generals like Yelu Dashi and Xiao Qian.

The two of them defeated the Song army in two battles and lost all pretense. The Jin people saw the weakness of the Zhao and Song Dynasties and began to invade the south.

At the beginning, the Jin people actually wanted to teach the Zhao and Song Dynasties a lesson. Their biggest strategic goal was just to divide the Yellow River with the Zhao and Song Dynasties.

At that time, the Jin people actually wanted a dangerous and defendable frontier.

After all, according to the territorial boundary between Song and Liao, the Daliao Dynasty could attack the Zhao and Song Dynasty at any time; but similarly, if the Zhao and Song Dynasty wanted to attack the Liao Dynasty, it could attack at any time.

If the Song and Jin countries drew the Yellow River as their national border, both sides would have natural dangers that they could defend.

However, even with this condition, the Jin people thought it was an extravagant request, that is, they invaded south with the idea of ​​giving it a try and teaching the Zhao and Song Dynasties a lesson.

Unexpectedly, the Jin people's southern invasion frightened many ministers of the Zhao and Song dynasties at that time. They all persuaded Zhao Ji to abdicate in favor of talents and resign, thinking that in this way, the Jin people would stop their southern invasion.

Zhao Ji was also frightened by the Jin people. He adopted the suggestions of those Song ministers and hurriedly passed the throne to Zhao Huan, the great treasure.

After Zhao Huan ascended the throne reluctantly, the war was uncertain, and he was too smart to adopt any strategy to save the country, and adopted all the strategies that would harm the country.

In the end, Jingkang was humiliated.

Looking at it this way, this period of history is full of contingency and drama. Although Zhao Ji is very problematic, he is actually not that unbearable.

It can only be said that one drink and one peck are all predetermined; there must be a reason for orchid and fruit.

Think about it.

After the Zhao and Song Dynasty quelled the Fangla Rebellion, they did not choose to embark on the journey of uniting with the Jin Kingdom to conquer the Liao Kingdom and regain the sixteen states of Yanyun. Instead, they keenly seized the opportunity of the conflict between the Liao and Jin Dynasties. , and shifted the strategic focus unswervingly to the journey of completely conquering Xixia. Then, the territory of Xixia, which was about to run out of oil and lamps at that time, may have long been reduced to nothing under the iron heel of the Zhao and Song Dynasties.

Just imagine, when Zhao and Song successfully take Xixia into their hands, their northwest border will be more stable than ever before, and they will also have control of a coveted fertile land for horse breeding, and their national power will undoubtedly rise to a new level.

As for the land of Yanyun, the Zhao and Song dynasties may choose a more cautious strategy. Instead of rushing to intervene in the disputes between Liao and Jin, they may even extend a helping hand to the precarious Northern Liao to build a buffer barrier between Song and Jin.

Even if the Northern Liao failed to withstand the Jin's fierce offensive in the end and Yanyun fell into the hands of the Jin, Zhao and Song could still reap the benefits and wait for the time to come.

Under the grand blueprint of unifying the northwest, Zhao Song will adopt a more sophisticated strategy - wait and see the changes, and move with the camera.

When the Khitan, Jurchen, and Mongolian tribes were seriously injured in the fierce battle, Zhao Song could leisurely launch his grand plan.

Such a historical trend will not only profoundly change the fate of the Zhao and Song dynasties and even the Han people, but may also trigger a chain reaction on a global scale and reshape the world's pattern.

Unfortunately, however, the wheel of history has not followed this trajectory.

Zhao Ji and his courtiers lacked such foresight, and they failed to gather a group of talents who could discern the current situation and strategize.

To say the least, even if they had such talents, they would not be reused by Zhao Ji and his son.

Jiang Hongfei is not the father and son of Zhao Ji and Zhao Huan. He knows the historical trends and knows that decisive decisions and quick actions at critical moments are the key to rewriting history.

Therefore, when Wu Jie and others proposed the grand strategy of regaining Xixia, Jiang Hongfei agreed without hesitation and quickly formed a Western expedition with Wu Jie as the capital marshal, Liu Qi as the capital supervisor, and Wu Lin as deputy marshal. Army.

At the same time, Jiang Hongfei also carefully selected Lu Junyi, Du Bo, Sun An, Shi Wengong, Wang Jin, Wang Yan, Zhai Xing, Zhai Jin, Zhe Yanzhi, Fan Qiong and other generals who were good at fighting, as well as Chen Yu, Chen Kangbo, Civilian elites such as Zhan Du, Tang Zhong, and Wang Shu jointly built a command system that was both civil and military and united and coordinated.

Under Jiang Hongfei's careful planning, the campaign to regain Xixia was given a new meaning and goal.

They decided to restart the Zhao Song's old Hengshan strategy, but this time, they will use more advanced military technology and a more complete logistics support system to accelerate the process.

The Yuan Empire not only built a railway network running through the northwest region, but also introduced trains, an efficient means of transportation, into the battlefield, completely solving the problem of supply during the army's long-distance raids.

In addition, in order to cope with the mobility advantage of the Western Xia army, the Yuan Empire also built a ring railway and military base in the Hengshan area, and prepared to mobilize 200,000 elite cavalry from the northeast to reinforce the western battlefield.

These measures not only greatly improved the combat capability and mobility of the Yuan army, but also provided a solid guarantee for them to implement the strategy of step by step and nibbling at Hengshan.

Nowadays, the Yuan iron cavalry is in parallel, while continuing to fight with the Xia army, while steadily and steadily nibbling at Hengshan.

At the same time, the three ministries of railways, transportation, and finance joined hands, and the railways were like dragons, crossing mountains and ridges, following the army, vowing to replicate the glory of the Zhao Song Dynasty and accelerate the Hengshan strategy.

Once Hengshan fell into the hands of the Yuan Dynasty, Xixia was like a bird in a cage, under its control.

In the summer of the fifteenth year of Hongwu, the scorching sun in June.

The last struggle of the remnants of the Jin Dynasty was completely extinguished, and its orphans crossed the Xing'an Ridge and fled into the Mongolian grasslands.

So far, the south of Heilongjiang and the east of the Greater Khingan Range, the former Jin land, all belonged to the territory of the Yuan Dynasty.

The war to destroy the Jin Dynasty was a great victory.

However, although the bell of victory rang, the Northeastern elite troops did not dare to slack off, and instead took a short rest to prepare to cross Xing'an, go deep into the grasslands, and implement the ultimate encirclement and suppression of the nomadic tribes.

However, this feat could not be accomplished overnight, but was a protracted battle.

The ancients said: Before the troops move, the food and grass must go first.

To carry out such a grand plan, it is necessary to first build a railway from the Northeast to the Mongolian Plateau, otherwise, without logistics, the army will find it difficult to continue to advance, let alone fully occupy the Mongolian wilderness.

At this time, the decision-makers of the Yuan Empire resolutely launched the Xixia recovery plan, which won the hearts of generals such as Yue Fei.

They believed that if the Hexi Corridor was not taken, the retreat of the Mongolian cavalry could not be cut off, and it would be difficult to eradicate the threat.

Therefore, Yue Fei actively responded to the court's order. He not only personally participated in the defense deployment, but also fought side by side with Li Yanxian, Wang Bin, Li Jun and other generals to consolidate the defense lines in Northeast and North China to prevent the counterattack of the nomadic enemies. He also judged the situation and temporarily suspended the direct attack on the Mongolian Plateau until the time was right.

In this way, while the Yuan Empire was consolidating its rear, it was also quietly weaving a larger net, preparing to wipe out all the resistance forces on the Mongolian Plateau...

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