In early October, there were actually not just two battles in the northwest, but many.

Because the Song army was essentially divided into two routes, but the western army acted separately, led by Zhang Kang and Jingtai, attacking Miaochuan City and Zhuola City respectively.

At the same time, the Song army in cooperation with Jingyuan Road launched a cleanup offensive against the Western Xia army on the border, causing heavy losses to the Western Xia army in Qingtang, Hezhuoluo and the south.

The eastern route was jointly organized by Huanqing Road and Fuyan Road to harass the Western Xia territory. Tens of thousands of Song troops were divided into small groups and attacked the strongholds and watchtowers in the Western Xia territory in battalion-level units.

Except for the city, all military facilities in the wild were targeted by the Song army, which frightened the Xixia people on the border and caused them to evacuate and hide in the city.

The Song Dynasty had now cut off trade with the Xia people. The Song people rode on horses and carried guns on their backs, galloping across the grasslands. The Xia people could only be beaten and had no power to fight back.

After all, the Xixia people's only long-range means was artillery. If they met in a field battle, using cold weapons to fight against the Song people's muskets, they would be shot to pieces before they could get within a mile, and they would be unable to compete.

The two sides engaged in a fierce battle, and the Western Xia army on the border was temporarily wiped out. Some cities were still heavily guarded, relying entirely on Western Xia artillery to defend them.

Ren Fu, commander-in-chief of the Fuyan Road military on the eastern front, led more than 10,000 troops and repeatedly went out of the border to harass Western Xia, seemingly intending to penetrate deep into Xia territory.

The battle line was temporarily deadlocked.

Just as the situation in the northwest seemed complicated but was actually becoming clearer, and the Song Dynasty was gradually gaining the upper hand, the Liao-Song War in the northeast also slowly began.

Also in early October, in the Dengzhou Bay in the east of Jingdong, a Song Dynasty naval fleet raised its sails and headed north.

Since the first year of the Qingli period of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Jun has been continuously expanding the size of the navy and building new warships.

The development of ships was in full swing during the Tang and Song dynasties.

According to the "Xuanhe Fengshi Gaoli Tujing" written by the navigator Xu Jing during the Xuanhe period of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Northern Song Dynasty already had single-keeled pointed-bottom ships called "Fuchuan".

On this basis, the Song Dynasty built a series of warships.

Including the Fuchuan battleships, which are more than 60 meters long, more than 20 meters wide, and have a displacement of more than 1,000 tons.

There is also the Flying Tiger frigate, which is more than 40 meters long, more than 10 meters wide, and has a displacement of more than 800 tons.

And the Haihu attack ship, which is more than 30 meters long, 8 meters wide, and has a displacement of more than 600 tons.

The rest include several assault ships, assault ships, landing ships, combat ships, supply ships, and logistics ships with a displacement of 200 to 500 tons.

A naval fleet consists of 5,000 people, with a Fujian battleship as the main ship, equipped with 24 wheel oars, 50 rowing sailors, 27 cannons, and three large sailing ships, and can accommodate more than 400 people in total.

Add to that two Flying Tiger frigates, five Sea Falcon attack ships, more than 20 assault ships, assault ships, landing ships, supply ships, etc., and the total tonnage of a naval fleet is about 10,000 tons.

This tonnage is definitely not as good as that of later generations. It is not even a fraction of an aircraft carrier formation, and it is even inferior to that of the early Ming Dynasty.

For example, the treasure ship that Zheng He used to sail to the West was more than 150 meters long, more than 60 meters wide, with a displacement of more than 3,000 tons, and could accommodate more than 1,000 people. The tonnage of the other escort ships was almost the same as that of the "Fuchuan" of the Song Dynasty.

But at least for now, the Song Dynasty naval fleet equipped with artillery is invincible in the world.

There is no rival in the entire ocean, or even in the world.

It's a bit ironic.

Zhao Jun established the navy in the name of protecting maritime trade and combating piracy.

Initially there were two fleets, namely the Huainan Taizhou Zhenhai Navy and the Hebei Binzhou Dinghai Navy, plus the original Song Dynasty Pinghai Navy in Dengzhou, making a total of three fleets.

Later, four more fleets were added, namely the Weihai Navy of Dengzhou, Shandong, the Ninghai Navy of Taizhou, Liangzhe, the Anhai Navy of Quanzhou, Fujian, and the Jinghai Navy of Guangzhou, Guangdong, bringing the total size to seven fleets with more than 30,000 people.

If we include the part of the navy stationed on Tsushima Island and Jeju Island, the total tonnage is about 80,000, and the number of people is about 40,000.

However, the scale of the pirates was far inferior to that of the Song Dynasty Navy. The pirates near the coast had almost been wiped out by the Song Dynasty Navy. Only occasionally did pirates from Japan and Goryeo appear near the trade routes of the two countries.

This situation also caused some complaints within the court. Many officials wrote to the emperor requesting that the court spend a lot of money to build a navy and dismantle it, because it was a waste of money and of no use.

However, these suggestions were ignored by the Constitutional Council, including Zhao Zhen who issued an edict to reprimand these officials. After seeing the importance of maritime hegemony in later generations, even Zhao Jun did not need to come forward, as the emperor and many prime ministers naturally endorsed his decision.

The fleet dispatched by the Song Dynasty this time is the Binzhou Dinghai Navy, Dengzhou Pinghai Navy and Weihai Navy. The Weihai Navy has already gone east to provide assistance to Goryeo, and the Dinghai Navy and Pinghai Navy will go north to attack the heartland of the Liao Kingdom.

At this moment, Di Qing stood on the deck of the flagship, the "National Defense Ship," his cloak fluttering behind him. He was used to fighting on land, but this was his first time fighting at sea.

Standing next to him was Huyan Shouyong, the commander of the Dengzhou Pinghai Navy.

Hu Yanshouyong saw that Di Qing had been gazing at the distant ocean for over an hour since he went out to sea, so he smiled and said, "General Di, you probably haven't been out to sea much before."

"I've never been out there before, and I've never fought a sea battle before, so I'm a little nervous."

Di Qing was quite honest.

He readily admitted that he was not good at naval warfare.

But there was no need for him to lie, because since he destroyed Annan, he had been promoted to Deputy Privy Councilor for his merits.

In the Song Dynasty, military generals were no longer promoted to lieutenant or general, but to the three yamen or the Privy Council, such as the three commanders of the three yamen and the envoy of the Privy Council.

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!