Three days later, Li Liangzuo handed over all the soldiers and horses of the entire Northern Army to the commander of Li Xiaoren, the king of Chu, and Li Liangzuo himself transferred to Daozhou under the protection of 5,000 soldiers and horses and Li Ke, the king of Qi, and went straight to Qizhou; Qizhou was a key part of the Xia and Song Dynasty battlefields, but because it was garrisoned by Xiao Yuanshan, a remnant Liao force, and Xiao Yuanshan had always avoided clashes with the Xia army, there were no large-scale battles here.
When the Xia and Song dynasties fought, Xiao Yuanshan was never idle, actively expanding his armaments; Xiao Yuanshancai's territory occupies the land of Qizhou, Zizhou and Qingzhou, and is still in the gap between the Xia and Song dynasties.
Sanzhou is backed by hills, and once the Xia army moves south, the grain producing areas in the north will be lost in an instant.
In order to keep this last piece of his territory, Xiao Yuanshan adopted a strategy that no one can offend, and the military orders of Zhao Wang Zhao and Zhao Yu to cooperate with the Northern Expedition many times can be delayed, because Xiao Yuanshan knows that he is not the opponent of the Xia army, and even he can't compete with the Xia army in his heyday, not to mention that now, after such a long period of development, the Xiao family army under Xiao Yuanshan has developed to 150,000 troops, in addition to 100,000 Khitan cavalry, there are also 50,000 foot soldiers, most of these foot soldiers are recruited from the local area.
In order to manage the land of these three states, Xiao Yuanshan can be said to have taken great pains Since coming to Qizhou, Xiao Yuanshan ordered that the soldiers under his command were strictly forbidden to oppress the local people, and at the same time brought most of the generals to live with the locals, and encouraged intermarriage, and vigorously reduced local taxes, in a short period of time Xiao Yuanshan won the hearts of the local people, at the same time, due to the war in the north, many people fled to Qizhou and other places, as long as someone came to Xiao Yuanshan, they would not refuse, So far, there are 800,000 people in the three states under Xiao Yuanshan's rule, and all the people are soldiers, and once they have a war, they can urgently expand the army to about 300,000.
"Father's thirty miles to the south is the boundary of Qizhou, where is already Xiao Yuanshan's sphere of influence, should we temporarily set up camp on the border, and send someone to inform Xiao Yuanshan to go south later."
Li Ke, the king of Qi, asked Li Liangzuo for instructions.
"I ask you how far it is from the border to Qizhou City," Xia Emperor Li Liangzuo asked.
"Father, nearly one hundred and twenty miles."
Li Ke, the king of Qi, said: "If it is too late today, it is impossible for our army to arrive in Qizhou City today, and not far in front of my father is a post of our army, so it is better for us to camp here tonight and go south tomorrow." ” "It seems that this is the only way to go."
Li Liangzuo said; "Ordered the army to speed up to Linyi."
Li Liangzuo's 5,000 troops came to Linyi, making this small city seem overcrowded, and the Xia army lived directly in the barracks after entering the city, so that there was no eastward march after that; But after the Xia army entered the city, two young men left Linyi, and after walking ten miles to the south, they came to an inn, and the two rode two horses and went straight to Qizhou.
Late at night under the city of Qizhou, a man on horseback shouted: "Open the city gate, emergency military situation" "Tokens available" The man put a token in the basket under the city, and the soldiers defending the city immediately opened the gate after confirming the token; After the city gate was opened, the man rode a horse and immediately went straight to the Xiao Mansion; On the way, the man met Xiao Feng, and the man immediately said to Xiao Feng: "I want to meet the young marshal on my humble post, there is an urgent military situation." ” Xiao Feng frowned and said, "Follow me." ” Under the leadership of Xiao Feng, the man came to Xiao Yuanshan's study, at this time Xiao Yuanshan was processing official documents, Xiao Feng said to Xiao Yuanshan: "Daddy's urgent military situation on the northern front." ” Xiao Yuanshan immediately put down the official document in his hand and asked, "Is it that the Xia army has attacked the speedy road?"
” "Marshal, at noon today, a cavalry of the Xia Army of 5,000 people has been stationed in Linyi City, and everyone wearing iron armor looks like an elite division."
The man reported to Xiao Yuanshan.
"Five thousand" Xiao Yuanshan frowned and said, "You go down and rest first" After the man left, Xiao Feng asked Xiao Yuanshan, "Dad, do you think this will be the forward of the Xia army?"
"Since the last Texas time, we have been with Xia Jun from the well and not with the river water, is Xia Jun really trying to do something to us."
Xiao Yuanshan said to himself: "Even if you make a move on me, it is impossible to only send 5,000 soldiers and horses as a striker, according to the Xia army's resolute and resolute way of doing things, there will be no vanguard at all, but directly a large number of troops to suppress the territory." ” "It doesn't matter if he is the pioneer of the Xia Army, come to kill one and kill one, and kill two to kill a pair."
Xiao Feng said confidently.
"Son, you don't know the combat power of the Xia army."
Xiao Yuanshan said: "The Xia army has more than 500,000 troops in the north, and as long as the Xia Emperor is willing, he can continue to increase his troops, and it is really unclear to start a war with the Xia army. ” "But Dad, some time ago, wasn't Xia Jun also defeated by King Zhao?"
"The battle of Qingshui seems to be won by the Song army, but in fact it was won by the Xia army; It's just a miserable victory, the casualties of the Xia army are more than those of the Song army, but the Song army did not pull out the stronghold of the Xia army, not to mention that the casualties of the Song army in the previous siege battle were several times that of the Xia army, so the two armies were just defeated; And how many troops under the command of King Zhao can fight with the cavalry of the Xia army like this; Judging from the current situation of the war in the north, the defeat of the Song army sooner or later is just a matter of way, whether the whole army will be annihilated or the whole army will retreat, but no matter how the Song army chooses, it will not consider us, and Zhao Yan will not be able to take us to Jiangnan, so we must plan a way out for ourselves. ” "The child understands" "The herald ordered the garrisons everywhere not to clash with the Xia army, and not to give the Xia army an excuse to go to war."
"Yes, the boy will send a herald."
The next morning, after breakfast, Li Liangzuo continued to lead the army to take, after a day of galloping, finally came to the city of Qizhou before sunset, the Xia army was not blocked at all along the way, as long as it met the Xiao army, the Xiao army must be far away from the Xia army, to avoid unnecessary conflicts with the Xia army.
"Father, isn't it too dangerous for us to camp ten miles under the city, once the 50,000 Khitan cavalry in the city rush out, I'm afraid we won't be able to deal with it in a short time," Li Ke said to Li Liangzuo.
"Don't worry, Xiao Yuanshan won't rashly send troops out of the city, he knows what the consequences will be once he sends troops."
Li Liangzuo said very confidently: "Ke'er, you take my letter of state and go into the city to find Xiao Yuanshan in person, and say that I want to ask him for tea." ” "Yes, the retainers are commanded" Li Ke, the king of Qi, respectfully wrote Li Liangzuo's handwriting, and then left the big tent of the Chinese army and led several cavalry straight to the city of Qizhou; Li Ke shouted loudly at the guards in the city: "The defenders in the city listen, I am Li Ke, the king of Qi of the Great Xia Empire, quickly open the city gate, this king wants to see your family Xiao Dashuai." ” The future who defended the city didn't dare to slack off when he heard it, and immediately ran to the marshal's mansion to report to Xiao Yuanshan: "Dashuai, there is a person outside the city who claims to be Li Ke, the king of Qi, who wants to meet the marshal. ” "Qi Wang Li Ke" The first one is offered, asking for recommendations, asking for support, and thanking book friends for their four recommendations: