Dali suffered a significant loss of power during this civil strife, but Duan Yu eventually returned to power, marking the end of the Gao family's monopoly. With the Gao family's decline, the Duan family reemerged on the historical stage. Unconstrained, Duan Yu implemented a series of policies aimed at benefiting the people, temporarily stabilizing the domestic situation.
If he had to choose three people he should least offend, Hebula would choose Zhao Huan, Zhao Huan, and Zhao Huan again.
The situation in Western Xia was beyond his imagination. The Song army seemed to be a group of soldiers and generals. They launched an almost crushing attack, and the Mongolian army stationed in Western Xia collapsed at the first touch. They were even unable to organize a decent attack.
The advantage of the Mongolian cavalry could not be shown at all, the army was defeated step by step, and the Song army advanced straight ahead.
In the Imperial Guard camp, Zhao Huan was adorned with the acclaim of his generals, and excitement filled everyone's faces. No one had expected the campaign to go so smoothly. Three months had passed since arriving in Shanxi, and they had engaged the Mongols dozens of times. The Song army was becoming increasingly powerful and effective with each battle.
Zhao Huan was a little flattered. He would be lying if he didn't. He gestured excitedly, "During this Western Expedition, the soldiers lived up to my high expectations and demonstrated the might of our Song Dynasty. Brilliant!"
Wang Zongchu and Kang Huojian were the deputy commanders of this Western Expedition. Wang Zongchu stepped forward, bowed, and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, this is all thanks to our weapons and equipment. Our divine arm crossbows terrify the Mongolian soldiers. Now, in battle, as soon as we deploy them, the Mongolian soldiers will immediately be defeated."
Kang Huojian nodded slightly. "Exactly. These are secondary. The Divine Arm Crossbow's flank attack will throw the Mongol archers into disarray, and our armored troops will launch a frontal assault. These heavily armored Mongol troops will inevitably be defeated. The main reason is our superior numbers and equipment."
Zhu Qing was also in the tent, but he held a different view. "Your Majesty, while this is one factor, I believe the most important thing is the harmony of people. After Hebule occupied Western Xia, he imposed heavy taxes and levies, and the people of Western Xia lived in dire straits. Many cities, upon hearing that our Song army was approaching, often assisted us in causing chaos within their own cities. This shows how unpopular the Mongols were with the people."
Han Shizhong nodded aside, "That's true. The people of Western Xia are very welcoming to our Great Song. When I captured Hongzhou, the people of the city lined the streets to welcome us. They are a righteous army, and Your Majesty has ordered the army to do no harm to Western Xia. We even transported all the supplies ourselves. Naturally, the Western Xia people are grateful to us."
Zhao Huan also felt a little proud: "How powerful is our red cannon?"
This red cannon is a bug of this era. Imagine the Song Dynasty bringing out this thing during a war. More than 70 huge cannons were deployed in front of the battle line. Before the two sides even engaged in battle, the enemy army had already suffered heavy casualties and their formation was in chaos.
As expected, when the mention of this divine weapon was made, all the generals' faces lit up with joy. Wang Zongchu hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, this red cannon is truly powerful. Even the strongest city wall can be reduced to ashes with a single blast from this thing."
Kang Huojian couldn't stand it any longer: "Hey, that's not so exaggerated. Although the iron cannon is indeed powerful, it seems to me that its deterrent effect is greater than its actual power."
Although the power of the cannon was limited compared to later generations, it was enough to turn the tide of war in this era. Its power was comparable to the thunder and lightning cannon that the Song Dynasty had already developed. However, its deterrent effect was far greater, and everyone was saying that the Song Dynasty's thunder was divine thunder borrowed from heaven.
The Emperor of the Song Dynasty was a true son of the Dragon. He once again went to the palace in his dream. There he met the God of Thunder and the Goddess of Lightning. The Emperor asked the God of Thunder to borrow his thunder and fired it with his iron cannon. Anyone hit by it was shattered into flames and burned to death on the spot.
Regardless of who invented this legend, in this era of rampant superstition, this tactic was very effective. Many people believed it to be true. Even the iron cannon troops established by Zhao Huan were often seen by the people kneeling in worship. They all firmly believed that these iron cannons were borrowed by Zhao Huan from the gods. Otherwise, why would these iron cannons be like thunder, instantly exploding and reducing the enemy to ash?
Wang Zongchu was clearly dissatisfied with Kang Huojian's words. He glared and asked, "How can deterrence be greater than power? How was the Jianing Iron Army defeated? Old Kang, do you still remember Tiemenguan?"
Kang Huojian fell silent immediately after hearing this. The Red Cannon played a significant role in the Song army's defeat of the Jianing Iron Army and the capture of Tiemen Pass. Without the Red Cannon's counter-attack power, the Song army wouldn't have won so easily.
At Tiemen Pass, the Song army captured Liuboling, Wuchi and Zuocunze with almost overwhelming force. After several battles, the Jianing Army of the Menggu Kingdom was almost completely destroyed, some died in battle and some surrendered.
The Jianing Iron Army was the main force of the Western Xia. After the Western Xia was destroyed, more than 10,000 Jianing Iron Army soldiers surrendered to Hebula, who treated them well, mainly to win them over.
The Jianing Iron Army was a nightmare for the Song Dynasty. In several wars between the Song Dynasty and the Western Xia, the Jianing Iron Army defeated the Song army and made them lose their way. This was the first major army Zhao Huan encountered in his western expedition after ascending the throne.
Zhao Huan dispatched cavalry, infantry, divine arm crossbows, heavily armored cavalry, and twenty red-coated cannons to engage the Jianing Iron Army in a fierce battle. From the outset, the battle intensified, and the Song army's initial offensive struggled. The Jianing Iron Army's Teng Shields proved effective against the divine arm crossbows. The Song army launched two attacks but failed to break through the enemy's positions.
Until these twenty red-coated cannons were lined up and fired several times, the whole battlefield was filled with deafening cannon fire. The Jianing Iron Army was killed in large numbers and their formation was finally in chaos. The Song army's heavy cavalry took the opportunity to launch an offensive, and then the Jianing Iron Army began to collapse.
Qintukou, Helanyuan, Naiwangjing and Wuyancheng all fell into the hands of the Song Dynasty immediately. The Song Dynasty's offensive was not stopped until Tiemen Pass.
The Iron Gate Pass was guarded by Daher, a general under Kublai Khan. This pass was easy to defend but difficult to attack, and thanks to its strategic location, it was able to hold back the overwhelming force of the Song army. Daher was arrogant, believing that the defeat of the Jianing Iron Army was due to the poor fighting ability of the Western Xia army.
It's not Daher's fault for being arrogant. His Rhino Horn Army was one of Kublai Khan's most prized troops. Though comprised of only 5,000 men, their combat effectiveness was exceptional. The Rhino Horn Army ran rampant across the grasslands, helping Kublai Khan conquer numerous Mongol tribes. They also made significant contributions during the attack on Western Xia.
This Mongolian army was stationed at the dangerous Tiemen Pass. The mountain road was difficult to navigate and the red cannons could not be transported to the designated location in a short time. The Song army attacked several times but Daher held on.
Daher also knew that going out to fight would mean he would die soon enough, so he stayed in seclusion and did not go out to fight. Sometimes, on a whim, he would stand on the Iron Gate Gate and insult and curse the Song army below.
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