Yang Zaixing saw the corpses hanging upside down on the city wall of Heyuan Village ahead using the Thousand-Mile Vision, and realized that something terrible had happened; he had arrived too late.
Without any further hesitation, he turned around and headed towards Blackwater City.
Heyuan Village had 3,000 defenders, but it still fell quickly, which shows that the enemy's numbers were far greater than 3,000!
The snow was falling heavier and heavier, and it was getting dark. Fortunately, the winter night wasn't so dark.
Yang Zaixing spurred his horse on, maintaining its speed without slowing down in the slightest.
This crucial military intelligence concerns the northwestern border of the Song Dynasty and cannot be delayed.
Half an hour later, Yang Zaixing was suddenly intercepted by several people, including Yue Fei and Wang Gui.
Upon seeing the familiar figure, Yang Zaixing was slightly taken aback, but fortunately, there was light on this snowy night.
"Boss!"
"Didn't you go to Heyuan Village? How come you're here?"
Yang Zaixing then recounted the entire journey, and Yue Fei's face darkened completely.
They were also heading to Blackwater City. After escaping from that village, Yue Fei was certain that this was a large-scale military attack. Just in case, they quickly headed towards Blackwater City.
Blackwater City was a major military stronghold in the very center of the Northwest War Zone of the Great Song Dynasty. Originally a border stronghold of the Tangut people, after the destruction of Xia, Zhong Shidao remained in the Northwest and spent half a year suppressing and subjugating the remaining forces of Xia in the Hetao region.
Starting in the fifth year of the Jingkang era, the Song army launched continuous fierce attacks on places such as Heishui City. After capturing Heishui City, they quickly established a new frontier defense line there.
The Song generals stationed in Heishui City included Liu Yanqing and his son, as well as Zhang Shen, the former commander of Fuyan Road, each leading 50,000 troops. There was also a standing army of 100,000 to build fortifications and transport military supplies and equipment.
The Blackwater City defense line has a regular army of 100,000 men.
Furthermore, in the court's northwest strategy for the next three years, Blackwater City will be extensively expanded, with its military strength increased to as many as 300,000.
Khara-Khoto will serve as a strategic springboard for the Northern Expedition against the Mongols and for outflanking the western front of the Jin Dynasty.
In Zhao Huan's military strategy, Heishui City on the central front and Heishan on the eastern front were two important towns specifically prepared for the Jin state.
Of course, it was also a crucial military stronghold to contain Yelü Dashi, who might rebel at any time.
Knowing the gravity of the matter, Yue Fei and his men spurred their horses toward Blackwater City.
An hour later, they were only twenty miles away from Blackwater City.
Yue Fei hurriedly hid behind a snow-covered forest. By then, the snowstorm had stopped, the dark clouds had dispersed, and a silver moon appeared in the clear sky.
Beneath the silver moon, on the vast snowfield, a dark torrent was rapidly moving towards Blackwater City.
No one knows exactly how many people there are; it's an endless expanse.
Behind the army were huge catapults, placed on transport vehicles and propelled by dozens of strongmen, moving forward rapidly. There were also iron siege weapons for impacting the city gates, with the sharpest point at the front as sharp as a knife.
Yue Fei had a bad feeling; he hadn't expected the enemy to arrive so quickly!
Hopefully, Liu Yanqing's scouts have already learned of the enemy's movements.
Yang Zaixing asked, "Boss, what do we do now?"
"We should detour to Blackwater City and buy some time to notify them, just in case!"
The group had no choice but to take a detour, but fortunately they were marching individually, which made them faster than a group.
In less than half an hour, Blackwater City came into view.
Wang Gui shouted, "Boss, we haven't seen a single sentry along the way!"
Yue Fei was also deeply troubled. What were Liu Yanqing and Zhang Shen doing? How could they not send scouts to a strategically important town like Blackwater City?
Another possibility is that the scouts have already noticed the unusual phenomenon and are now going back to report on the enemy situation.
To Yue Fei's disappointment, when they arrived at Blackwater City, they didn't notice anything unusual.
Khara-Khoto was a very prosperous city located in the northern part of the lower reaches of the Khara-Khoto River, and it was also a must-pass place on the Silk Road.
At this time, the city was still brightly lit, with a scene of singing and dancing, which was completely unlike what a border town should look like.
Yang Zaixing clicked his tongue and said, "Who promoted this Liu Yanqing? Such an important strategic location was given to such a scoundrel!"
Yue Fei said, "Liu Yanqing comes from a family of generals in the Song Dynasty. He has made great contributions in the war against Xia and was also a capable general of the former Privy Councilor Tong Guan. After Tong Guan was executed by His Majesty, he attached himself to Qian Gai and made great contributions in the war to destroy Xia!"
Yang Zaixing revealed a disdainful expression. Great achievement? How great an achievement? Did they capture the Hengshan defense line? Did they confront the Xia Lord head-on?
Or did they venture deep into the heartland and capture Xingqing Prefecture?
Outsiders didn't know, nor did the officials of the court, but even Yang Zaixing, who had participated in the war to destroy Xia and was on the front lines, didn't know that Liu Yanqing and his son were a pair of incompetent fools.
Liu Yanqing was extremely poor at managing troops, but he was a true disciple of Tong Guan. He was also a master of acting, and his ability to put on airs was unparalleled.
The discipline of this army was the worst among the Western Army of the Song Dynasty.
I can't believe that more than a year has passed and he's still acting like this.
It seems the Control Yuan has been incompetent; someone is going to lose their head!
Wang Gui said, "Boss, I heard that when General Zhong arrived in the Northwest, he focused on reorganizing the Northwest War Zone. Why is Liu Guangshi's army still so negligent?"
"In such a battle in the Northwest Theater, Blackwater City is hundreds of miles away from Xingqing Prefecture. Even if Commander Zhong were a god descending to earth, he could not possibly reorganize the city in such a short time."
"So what do we do now?"
"It's too late. There's no point in us going into the city now. Hopefully, Liu Yanqing and Zhang Shen are already on high alert," Yue Fei said, urging his horse forward. "Let's go to Suzhou to ask for reinforcements!"
At this moment, Yubulu, the son of the Naiman Khan and commander of the Mongol army that was approaching Khara-Khoto, was excitedly thinking that if he took Khara-Khoto, he could plunder all the women and food there and then he could have a wild winter again.
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