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

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

Nomadic peoples live wherever there is water and grass, and they search for pastures in different regions according to the seasons. In the Western Regions, the Altai Mountains, Tianshan Mountains, and Kunlun Mountains are the main areas where 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 towards the southern ends 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 the mountains block the cold air from the north, so the temperature is relatively warmer.

For herders, winter is an extremely terrible time. They can only find slightly better conditions in the midst of poverty and hardship and struggle to survive the winter.

Compared with the herders in the Western Regions and Mongolian grasslands, the herders in the Ningxia Plain have very few options.

Those living near the Qilian Mountains would choose to go to the foot of the Qilian Mountains, while herders in the Hexi Corridor and Henan Corridor (the area of ​​Otog Banner and Maowusu Desert in later generations) would go to the Helan Mountains.

Whether looking at the terrain or the cities and population centers in this area, it is clear that only these places can barely survive in winter.

Therefore, the herdsmen in the Ningxia Plain would choose to do so, even though the Western Xia was in the midst of civil strife.

However, this year, there are far fewer herdsmen heading towards the Helan Mountains. Everyone knows that with the large number of tribes gathering, there is a high possibility of another occupation, so many people are heading west.

Although the conditions would be slightly more difficult to the west, the herders did not have the ability to cross the Qilian Mountains to reach the Hehuang Valley, so they could only survive near the foot of the Qilian Mountains, which is the area along Wuwei and Zhangye in later generations.

The only benefit there was that since the Song army occupied Zhuolao and Nan, they opened a trading post on the border. Many herdsmen would drive their cattle and sheep over and exchange them for food, tea, and ironware from the Song people.

“Ding-dang-dang!”

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

Their location at that time was near the desert northeast of Jisang, which was almost in the area of ​​Haizitan Town, Gulang County, Gansu Province in later generations.

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

They had to migrate to Liangzhou Prefecture, which is Wuwei City. It was one of the few places with rivers and grasslands in winter, and it was also their only hope of survival.

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

"What happened?"

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

"yes."

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

There were some hills and mountains nearby, which prevented them from seeing what was happening in the distance.

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

This made the leader of this small tribe feel very depressed.

South.

Besides the Song people, who else is in the south?

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

But he swallowed the words back when they came to his lips, and then he fell silent.

An uncomfortable silence spread around.

Now the Western Xia Kingdom is on the verge of destruction. Their king is dead, and the country has split into two major forces.

If the Song people really invaded, who could send troops to stop them?

"The leader is from Song."

The herdsmen who had been sent out soon returned with the news, their faces filled with fear, their voices trembling as they shouted, "A lot of Song people!"

"Call all the young and strong men in the tribe and prepare to defend against the enemy!"

The tribal leader gritted his teeth and said.

They are migrating now, and a large number of cattle and sheep are eating as they go, making it impossible to take them away.

If only the tribesmen had run away, and the cattle and sheep had been lost, it would have been no different from genocide for the grassland people.

So they had no choice but to fight to the death.

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

The tribal leader showed a desperate expression.

Their entire tribe has less than a thousand people, and many of them are the elderly, the weak, women and children. There are no more than four hundred young and strong people who can fight. What should they do?

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

They were very far away, but the dust they raised and the sound of horses' hooves coming closer and closer were like the sound of life-threatening gongs and drums, beating in the hearts of every herdsman.

Fear and panic filled everyone's heart.

They all stood there with their eyes wide open, staring blankly at the south. No one knew what would happen to them next.

This panic lasted for nearly an hour, and the herdsmen were still struggling to drive their cattle, sheep and horses, trying to escape to a farther place.

But what made them despair was that the other party seemed to be rushing straight towards them, and the fate of death seemed inevitable.

"Boom boom boom!"

The sound of countless galloping horses 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. Instead, they saw that the road ahead was occupied by a large number of cattle, sheep and horses, and gradually slowed down.

"What's going on up ahead?"

When the Song army commander, Lü Jingchu, saw the road ahead stopped, he asked sharply, "Why did you stop?"

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