Time flies, and the Northwest fully implemented a scorched-earth strategy, conducting a complete shielding operation against the Tangut army.
The cleanup in Hedong is nearing completion, and only Zhongshan in Hebei is still holding on.
Zong Ze also returned to the capital from Hedong. He began to reorganize military affairs and personally inspected the training effectiveness and combat readiness of the entire Central Army.
Soon after, the emperor will personally lead the central army to the northwest to join forces with the border defense forces of the northwest war zone to conquer the Dangxiang.
This will be an unprecedentedly important battle, a battle in which only victory is possible and defeat is not an option.
As the Imperial Guard of the Central Capital Region, we must achieve the most brilliant results in this war.
Zhao Huan would also visit the central army's camp every few days to review the troops and personally address the soldiers, maintaining their unprecedentedly high morale.
By late October, the fields were covered in white frost.
Fifty thousand Central Army troops had already assembled outside Tokyo, their banners fluttering like clouds, their swords and spears a forest of weapons.
The Imperial Guards stood in neat rows on the vast plain, a dark, boundless expanse, like a black ocean.
The expressions on everyone's faces were solemn and dignified.
They were handsome and radiant, with unwavering determination.
Fight for the Song Dynasty! Fight for the Emperor!
The air was slightly cool, and the waning moon still lingered above the mountaintop.
The emperor's chariot arrived in a magnificent procession.
Zhao Huan rode a tall and strong steed, its body covered in leather and iron plates. It was incredibly fast, moving with lightning speed, and its figure was majestic.
Once it arrived, it kept spitting out white vapor and hissing softly.
Zong Ze stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, Marshal, the count is complete!"
Zhao Huan nodded, without saying anything more, and simply said, "Let's go!"
On this day, except for the group of central army led by Liu Yanzong and Qin Hui who were still in Hedong and Hebei, almost all the Imperial Guards had arrived.
Under the emperor's will, this powerful army began its advance into the northwest.
During this period, Zhao Huan received battle reports from the Northwest almost every day.
The scorched-earth policy had a certain effect on Richard, at least stabilizing the situation in the northwest and preventing Richard and the rebel Cao Sheng from immediately expanding their attack range. The Song army also suffered almost no losses.
In November, heavy snow fell in Chang'an.
The emperor arrived in Chang'an and temporarily inspected the grain reserves.
As a rear-area grain reserve for this war, Chang'an played a very important role.
Zhao Huan personally inspected all the grain reserves to ensure there were no problems.
Logistics is extremely important; Zhao Huan does not want to repeat the tragedy of Emperor Shenzong's era.
This is also why he came in person. During the reign of Emperor Shenzong, there were many famous generals in the Song Dynasty who were good at fighting.
However, the five-pronged attack on Xia failed, and a significant reason for this was the discord among the generals of the Song Dynasty.
There are frequent instances of people refusing to help those in distress, preferring to sacrifice their own lives rather than help their fellow practitioners.
Simply by offering a helping hand, the outcome of the war could have been completely different.
But the estrangement swallowed everything up, and caused the Song Dynasty to decline.
Before the emperor arrived in Chang'an, a large number of spies had already rushed into Huanqing Road, where they were gathering more valuable information.
To some extent, this was Zhao Huan's first direct confrontation with the Dangxiang.
Besides his Central King's Army, there was also Yao Pingzhong's Army of Yongxing Army Road, Wu Jie's Army north of Qinfeng Road, and Zhe Keqiu's Army of Fuzhou.
Of course, there was also an army led by Wang Yuan, who was also located in the northwest, but a little closer to the west.
These five armies formed a formidable battle line across the Northwest.
The other four armies were all waiting for the emperor's central army to make a decision personally, and dared not make a decision on their own.
After Zhao Huan arrived in Qinzhou City, he received another secret letter: the Dangxiang were still reinforcing their troops!
The enemy leader, Li Ganshun, has arrived in Hengshan territory, intending to retake Hengshan.
When Emperor Shenzong attacked Xia, the Western Army repeatedly crossed Hengshan. Hengshan was a strategic location for the Tanguts, and Mizhi City there was an important reserve base for the Tanguts.
At this time, Richard was in Huanzhou City.
Richard had been in Huanzhou City for three months because the Song armies in the northwest had adopted a scorched-earth strategy, staying indoors and clearing everything out, seemingly preparing for a protracted war.
So Richard also set up camp in Huanzhou City, and the central army was stationed there.
Richard also continuously sent troops to attack various Song armies, but the effect was not significant.
The Song army, having realized what was happening, had already made ample preparations.
Moreover, the Political Propaganda Department mobilized the military and civilians in various prefectures to unite in resistance, and the action was swift and extensive.
When Zhao Huan arrived in Qinzhou, towns in the Hengshan region were attacked by the Dangxiang army.
The prefecture and state officials, having been granted permission to withdraw their troops, began to launch a counterattack.
The counterattack was not a large-scale battle, but simply a defense of the city gates without venturing out.
On this day, Zhao Huan was in the army camp.
Accompanying him were Marshal Zhong Shidao, Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Guard Zong Ze, Lieutenant General of the Imperial Guard Han Shizhong, Major General of the Divine Martial Army Yue Fei, and Wang Kuian.
Judging from the current situation, the Tanguts came prepared and were ready for a large-scale war, with the aim of reclaiming the territory that had been taken from them by the Song Dynasty.
Moreover, this must also involve the Jurchens.
Without the support of the Jin Dynasty, the Tanguts at present do not dare to challenge the Song Dynasty.
The scorched-earth policy has been in place for several months. Now is the time to implement an encirclement strategy against Richard, cut off all grain transport to Huanzhou, and force Richard's central army to come out of Huanzhou to meet the enemy.
Multiple intelligence sources also indicated that Richard's central army included the most famous Tangut cavalry, the Iron Falcons.
The Iron Falcon was equivalent to the Jin Dynasty's cavalry or Iron Pagoda.
It was a powerful heavy cavalry force.
The History of Song Dynasty, Military Affairs, Volume 4 records: There was a cavalry unit in Pingxia called "Iron Falcons". They could travel a hundred li and arrive a thousand li in a short time. They were most capable of appearing and disappearing in an instant, like lightning striking the clouds. Whenever they encountered the enemy on the plains, they would often use the Iron Falcons as a charging and rushing force.
Before the Mongol cavalry emerged, the Tangut Iron Falcons were the most ferocious and powerful cavalry in the world, and even the Jurchen cavalry dared not confront them head-on.
Although the Tanguts were small, they put a lot of effort into military affairs, and the powerful Jurchens were unable to wipe them out.
Moreover, they allied with the Tanguts to oppose the Song Dynasty.
This is in orthodox history, and it is enough to illustrate the tenacity of the Tanguts. They survived the Northern Song, Liao, and Jin dynasties, and were only destroyed by Genghis Khan after the fall of the Jin dynasty.
In the space where Zhao Huan's history had already been altered, the Tanguts still sided with the Jurchens.
This also reveals the will of the Jin court.
Wanyan Sheng upheld peace between the two countries and used the pretext of exiling Wanyan Gao to temporarily achieve his goal.
But how could they let Zhao Huan have an easy time?
Although they can't take action themselves, they can incite the Tanguts to cause trouble from behind the scenes!
Moreover, this time it's not just a simple disturbance; the Tanguts are determined to bleed the Song Dynasty dry.
After scraping off the meat, he took back everything he had lost before.
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