Things seemed to stop here, Daher was gone. Some of the Mongolian soldiers on the wall had not even reacted yet, and they stared blankly at the scene in front of them.
After a while, the Song army below the city wall let out a deafening cheer, while the Mongolian soldiers on the city wall immediately ran around like headless flies.
Bars, the deputy general of the Mongol army at Tiemenguan, hurriedly ordered his men to defend the city. He rushed up the city wall with his personal guards and commanded the terrified soldiers: "Everyone return to your positions! The Song army is coming soon, archers, get ready!"
After a brief panic, the Mongolian soldiers finally began to defend, but the shadow of their commander being killed by a cannon had not yet dissipated, and the soldiers were busy preparing.
On the other hand, the Song army soldiers were eager to fight and their fighting spirit was high. They were looking forward to breaking through the Iron Gate Pass.
The red cannons re-aimed, this time aiming at the east side of the city wall. As the muzzles turned, fear returned to the faces of the Mongolian soldiers. The cannons had left an indelible shadow in their hearts.
Because the eastern fortifications were relatively easy to breach, the cannons were repositioned. The loaders loaded the shells and relit the fuses. At the commander's command, soldiers lit the fuses with torches. A deafening roar followed. Flames and thick smoke billowed from the eastern side of the wall.
The roar of the cannons changed the color of the ground. Flames flew from the city walls. Many of the Mongol soldiers on the eastern front were caught in the explosions.
In the eyes of these Mongol soldiers, even gods could not withstand the power of the iron cannon. The Song army launched a new round of attacks, and some Mongol soldiers began to flee. This led to a large number of people fleeing. Finally, the entire Mongol army at Tiemenguan began a full retreat, and Tiemenguan finally fell due to the arrival of the red cannon.
Once the Iron Gate Pass was breached, the entire situation in Western Xia would be reversed. Hebule was drinking kumis in the distant Mongol camp when he overturned the table.
"What the hell is Song Rong taking? They must be using some kind of witchcraft." Hebule didn't believe that he would lose at all.
Even General Dalantai found this unbelievable. The current Mongol army was completely vulnerable to the Song army. During the Jurchen-Song War, they were well aware of the Song's combat power. While formidable, it was definitely not this overwhelming. They seemed to be soldiers and generals who had fallen from the sky. Without some kind of sorcery, they simply couldn't be this powerful.
"Great Khan, please let me lead the troops to Western Xia. I want to fight to the death with the army of the Song Dynasty." Darantai asked for battle again.
This time Hebule hesitated. He was also a military talent. He pondered for a while and said, "Give up Xixia. We will now start to put pressure on Yue Fei's defense line in the northeast."
Everyone was shocked. Giving up Xixia meant that the Mongol Empire had lost the battle in the west, and the defeat was a complete mess.
Hebule knew very well that even if he sacrificed the entire Mongol Empire, he would still be no match for Zhao Huan.
"I've come up with a better plan," Hebule said. "Abandon Xixia and focus all our forces on the northeastern front. Gather our troops and launch an attack on Yue Fei's forces there!"
That's correct. Zhao Huan brought with him the Song Dynasty's elite troops and counterattack weapons. Yue Fei's forces in the Northeast were relatively easy to deal with. However, much of Hebula's main force was in Western Xia. It was impossible to deploy them to the Northeast so quickly. Even if they were, the Song Dynasty would be aware of it and would send troops to support the Northeast.
Hebule wanted to cry. He should have never provoked the Song Dynasty. He should have focused his energy on westward expansion. Everyone knew the Central Plains was rich. But who could have imagined that the Song Dynasty was now so powerful?
On Zhao Huan's side, everything went smoothly. The Song army advanced rapidly, and the Western Xia cities were lost one after another.
The Mongols implemented a brutal policy of massacre. Before their defeat, when the Song army was about to attack, they would often kill every man, woman, and child in the city and burn down every house. All that was left of the Song Dynasty was an empty, ruined city.
The brutal Mongol soldiers also provoked resistance from the people of Xixia. Under the cruel rule, armed forces from all over the country began to resist the violent rule of the Mongols.
The Mongols no longer had a foothold in Western Xia. Many emperors were ambitious and Zhao Huan was no exception.
Xingqing Prefecture. The Mongol army's last line of defense. The Song army, just as Zhao Huan had envisioned, pushed forward almost without a single blow. The Song vanguard had already arrived outside Xingqing Prefecture, joined by Zhao Huan, Li Sisi, and Princess Yanran.
Xingqing Prefecture, once the capital of Western Xia. Li Sisi felt as if she had been transported to another world when she arrived outside of the city. She had finally returned to the Xingqing Prefecture she had longed for, but everything had changed.
"Sisi, I will definitely capture Xingqing and break into the palace to avenge your father." Zhao Huan said.
Li Sisi was moved and snuggled up to Zhao Huan. No matter what, this man did it, whether he was thinking about the Song Dynasty or avenging himself. Now they had reached the city.
The maids around Li Sisi all shed tears, and they all returned to their hometown, but the current Xixia is no longer the Xixia of the Li family.
The Song Dynasty vanguard troops that arrived at the city had more than 7,000 people, but the follow-up troops were unable to catch up because of their scattered attacks.
Zhao Huan didn't want to wait any longer: "Order the troops to attack at dawn tomorrow!"
"Your Majesty, let me say something bold. It's not too late to wait for Wang Zongchu's army to arrive before attacking the city." Cao Dongsheng, who has never participated in any military affairs, gave an advice at this moment.
Kang Huojian's troops went to the northern front, and Zhao Huan was originally heading to Xingqing Prefecture with Wang Zongchu's army. However, Zhao Huan couldn't wait and insisted on following the vanguard. As a result, they arrived in Xingqing Prefecture first.
Zhao Huan was somewhat displeased. He also wanted to be ambitious and do something that would go down in history, that is, the Emperor of the Song Dynasty personally led the army to capture Xingqing Prefecture first.
"Cao Dongsheng, eunuchs are not allowed to participate in politics, you know." Zhao Huan said coldly.
Cao Dongsheng did not admit his mistake. He simply knelt down and said, "Your Majesty's safety is not a matter of state. I feel something is not right. Your Majesty, please reconsider. Wang Zongchu's troops will arrive in three days at most. It will not be too late to attack the city then."
"Alright, you don't want it anymore!" Zhao Huan was a little angry. His success along the way had really made him inflated. "I have decided to attack the city tomorrow!"
Since the emperor had said so, naturally no one dared to object. Princess Yanran was ignorant of military affairs, Li Sisi was homesick, and the remaining generals were afraid of Zhao Huan's majesty, so no one stepped forward to stop him.
The army then camped outside the city, intending to launch the assault early the next morning. Zhao Huan was no fool; he organized a series of defensive measures overnight to prevent a nighttime attack from the Mongol army. Fortunately, no one attacked overnight.
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