He used to be the pacification commissioner of Huanqing Road. He had a straightforward character and had impeached some generals who had bribed and civil servants who had committed favoritism and corruption in history. He was a good official.
This time, Jingtai was recalled to Bianliang due to illness and his previous merits. He was appointed as the governor of Xihe Road and led the generals to the expedition.
The vanguard commander was the now-promoted Jia Kui. He galloped over to report to Lü Jingchu, "Commander-in-Chief, we've seen Tangut herders driving large numbers of cattle and sheep up to the Qilian Mountains for the winter."
"Are they moving in the same direction as us?"
"Yes, if we continue north, we will inevitably run into their herds of cattle and sheep."
"Then go around it!"
Lu Jingchu said in a deep voice: "Send someone to inform them and ask them to wait until our army passes before continuing to move forward."
"yes."
Jia Kui agreed and then returned to the vanguard.
After receiving the order, the vanguard of the Song army suddenly turned and headed west.
Then another team came towards the small tribe.
"Who among you is the leader?"
Someone in that team could speak Tangut language and asked questions in a stern voice.
The tribal leader hurried over and said, "I am."
"The Marshal orders you to stay where you are and wait until my army has passed before setting off again."
"Yes, yes, yes."
The team leader reined in his horse and was about to leave, but suddenly turned back to look at them again, then grinned and said, "From now on, you are all citizens of Song. Just obey the arrangements of the court and do not commit crimes on the border again."
After saying this, he galloped away on his horse.
The people of the small Dangxiang tribe stood there silently, as if they had not yet come to their senses.
After a long time, when a large number of Song troops were galloping away in the direction of Liangzhou Prefecture in the northwest, some of them asked, "Leader, is our Great Xia going to be destroyed?"
"Let it die."
The chief murmured to himself, "We've been through so much hardship these past few years. If the Song people come, perhaps we'll have a better life."
If his words were spoken in the past, they would have been considered treasonous.
But now no one refutes it.
Apart from a complex emotion on everyone's face, no one looked at the Song army looking into the distance with hostility or hatred.
Nomadic peoples have always had a weak sense of gratitude towards their country.
As Li Yuanhao became increasingly unpopular, many tribes within Western Xia wanted to submit to the Song Dynasty. Most people were demoralized, so naturally this country no longer needed to exist.
The western Song army marched north along the Qilian Mountains and soon arrived in Liangzhou.
There was actually a part of the Xixia army stationed in the city, about three to four thousand people, who were under the command of the local Xixia generals in Xiliang Prefecture.
Since Liangzhou, Ganzhou and other places are located in the southwestern part of the Western Xia territory and are far away from the center, they are not greatly affected by the civil unrest, so a certain degree of order can be maintained here.
The garrison commander here became the target of the two factions.
But when large groups of Song troops appeared in Xiliang Prefecture, the local garrison generals no longer had any thoughts of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, and quickly chose to surrender.
After the Song army took control of Xiliang Prefecture of Western Xia, it began to advance northwestward towards Xuanhua Prefecture, Suzhou, Guazhou and other places.
This is also the main strategy of the Song army at present.
In winter, the Xixia people would go to Qilian Mountains, Helan Mountains and other places. The main force of the Song army went straight to Xingqing Prefecture, captured the Xixia royal court, and destroyed the Xixia country.
The western detachment marched northward along the Qilian Mountains and recaptured a large area of important territory.
Since then, the main population and habitat of the Xixia people have been controlled by the Song Dynasty, and the land in other places is mostly desert, such as the Mu Us Desert, the Tengger Desert, the Badain Jaran Desert, etc.
Just as the Song army's western route was advancing like a hot knife through butter and had easily captured Xiliang Prefecture, the Song army's eastern route was also progressing very smoothly.
The Eastern Army was divided into three parts, advancing from Jingyuan Road, Huanqing Road and Fuyan Road respectively.
They targeted several Western Xia border military fortresses, including the Xishou Baotai Army, Jingsai Army, Jianing Army, Xiangyou Army, and Zuoxiang Shenyong Army.
However, at this time, the Western Xia border army was already ineffective.
After the civil strife, the border troops were either called back by people from their own tribes or joined the war themselves. At this time, the Western Xia army on the entire border was pitifully small.
Moreover, most of them have basically lost their will to fight, and the country is in decline.
Groups of Song troops quickly occupied the border cities, and many Western Xia troops either fled or surrendered. It cannot be said that there was no resistance, but it can only be said that it was better than nothing.
On October 9th, the howling north wind blew, the vast mountains rose and fell, and Gao Jixuan, the governor of Jingyuan Road, led a large army and marched towards the north.
This place is north of Roulang Mountain and south of Weijing Mountain. After passing Weijing Mountain is Yingli City, the city closest to the Song Dynasty in Western Xia.
"Hurry up, hurry up, work harder."
"Once we get over this mountain ahead, we will be right."
“Don’t stop.”
The grassroots officers of the Song army urged the soldiers forward.
Between the ravines, there are large hills and mountains, one after another, and only between two mountains is there a small plain valley bottom.
The later Beijing-Tibet Expressway passes through here. Sixty kilometers to the west is the Yellow River Stone Forest National Geopark. The geology is unique, and even in early winter with the setting sun, the scenery is still picturesque.
Gao Jixuan rode on his horse and looked at the surrounding mountains in the distance. This place used to be the base of the Xixia Xishou Baotai Army, and there were still some ruins of camps on the surrounding mountains.
Abandoned beacon towers can be seen everywhere on the mountains, and you can vaguely see rows of flags fluttering in the wind on Lingbo Mountain in the northwest.
"Commander Si, over there!"
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