Chapter 43: Western Army Qin Feng

  The Divine Land is vast, the Western Frontier is guarded, and the Qin Feng City, this main city of the Song Army standing on the Western Xia frontier, has walls that have long been mottled. The majestic and thick city wall above, the blood accumulated over the years has already dyed the bricks into a dark red color, interpreting the countless life-and-death battles that took place here.

  Qin Feng City's majestic momentum shines in harmony with the heavens, its high walls and broad cityscape having been reinforced and fortified after each battle, rather than being neglected over time. Even from tens of miles away, one can feel its mighty iron-blooded atmosphere. This place has blocked countless attacks by the Western Xia army, and the number of soldiers who died in front of the city gates is too great to count. The only thing that grows everywhere is red flowers, vibrant and eye-catching. As a poem once said:

  The spirit of Qin Wu still lingers

  Blocking the enemy has been going on for decades.

  The sound shakes the sky and the heavens at dusk.

  "How majestic is Xiguan's Qin Feng City."

  Wang Xichen slowly came to, and at this time he was lying on a wooden bed, his body covered in bandages. This was not a spacious room, the decor was not luxurious, it could even be said that it was somewhat shabby. There was an old eight immortal table, three half-new jade chairs, and nothing was placed on the table, looking rather empty.

  Two four-cornered wooden cabinets were placed in the corner, plus the bed where Wang Xichen lay, these are all the things in the house.

  Sunlight shone through the window and onto Wang Xichen's face, causing his eyes to sting shut. At this moment, a Song army soldier carefully carried in a bowl of medicine, walking slowly and steadily. The child was only about thirteen or fourteen years old, with a face full of youthful energy.

  Seeing Wang Xizhen's slightly swaying body, he was overjoyed and rushed forward, accidentally spilling the medicine in his hand. He quickly put the medicine on the Eight Immortals table and walked to Wang Xizhen's side with excitement: "Big brother, you're awake! That's great! That old man actually said it right, how did your injury get so serious? Is that sister your lover? Are you two really eloping? And and..."

  Seeing Wang Xichen not responding, he didn't mind at all, carefully brought the medicine over, blew on it a few times to prepare to feed Wang Xichen. Wang Xichen originally wanted to do it himself, but as soon as his two arms moved, severe pain came and cold sweat flowed down his face instantly.

  "Don't move, old man said you're seriously injured, if the wound ruptures, it'll be bad, can't move around casually." The child said in a hurry.

  Wang Xichen had no choice but to give up the idea of doing it himself, and let that child spoon-feed him the medicine one spoonful at a time.

  "My name is Song Ke, I was born in this Qin Feng City since childhood and have never been out. Is there a lot of fun outside?" Zhao Ke asked innocently with a smile.

  "Is this Xijun's Fengcheng? And how is that girl who was with me?" Wang Xichen asked anxiously.

  "What about that beautiful sister?" Song Ke immediately responded. "Don't worry, big brother, that sister is much better now, she just can't move around and is being taken care of by Liu sister." Wang Xi Zhen finally breathed a sigh of relief, her mood calming down a lot.

  "Big brother, do you know that you were rescued by General Zhong Shifu, the guardian deity of Qin Feng City and the son of Zhong Shifu Dao?" As soon as Song Ke mentioned Zhong Shifu Dao, his eyes were filled with admiration.

  "I'll definitely go to thank him in person when I can get up." It turned out that the one who saved me was the commander of Qin Feng City, and it seemed that I was in Qin Feng City, so I finally felt completely at ease. If I had fallen into someone else's hands, it would have been worse than death.

  The Zhong family was very famous, with three generations guarding the border. Zhong Shi Dao and Zhong Shi Zhong were both renowned generals of the Western Army, with outstanding military achievements. The most famous among them was Zhong Shi Dao, who was the grandson of Northern Song general Zhong Shi Heng. According to legend, Zhong Shi Dao initially held a civil position due to his strategic thinking, but later switched to a military position and made significant contributions in defending against Western Xia, earning him great popularity among the people. He was promoted to Governor of Qin and Feng, but after the capital city was besieged, he was stripped of his military power. Later, when the capital city fell, he soon passed away due to illness.

  Wang Xichen looked at Song Ke in front of him, who was still smaller than his own sister, and asked in a warm and questioning tone: "You're so young, why aren't you studying in private school? Why are you wearing armor and becoming a soldier?"

  "Because we are all orphans of war, I just hope to grow up quickly, go to the battlefield and eliminate the enemy. At that time, what use can those poems, books and ancient texts be on the battlefield?" Song Ke clenched his fists, his eyes bursting with a determination that belied his age.

  Wang Xichen felt a sense of emotion in his heart, knowing that he had said too much to no avail. He smiled and said, "Let's not talk about this anymore. Song Ke, can you tell me more about Qin Fengcheng?"

  The child's temperament changed quickly, as if forgetting the unpleasantness just now, and talked endlessly to Wang Xichen about the story of the Western Army, how they vowed to defend the city to the death, and how they cleverly defeated the enemy.

  Song Ke's eloquence was exceptional, and he completely depicted the scenes of several major battles with the Jin army, painting a vivid picture that made people feel as if they were there in person.

  "What a pity..." Song Ke felt somewhat melancholic and paused.

  Wang Xichen was taken aback and involuntarily asked: "What's wrong, when did Song Ke become troubled?"

  "There are actually three difficult things in the hearts of the adults. Firstly, the Western Xia cavalry has been raiding for many years, causing the people to flee and suffer heavy casualties, with no one living in the surrounding areas of Qin Feng City for dozens of miles. Secondly, although the Western army is strong in combat, their discipline is extremely poor, making the surrounding people deeply resentful. Thirdly, there are divisions within the Western army, with many forces protecting themselves and unwilling to work together. Especially among them, the original garrison of Xicheng Town has already reached 80,000, all of whom are elite soldiers with strong combat power, subtly opposing Qin Feng City. Although the Western army seems to have over 200,000 troops, with a powerful force, in fact, the troops that Zhong Da Ren truly commands only include the 100,000-strong Qin Feng Army." Song Ke said excitedly.

  Song Ke suddenly ran out and brought back a water bottle, taking big gulps of water. Wang Xi Zhen couldn't help but smile at the sight of Song Ke drinking water.

  Song Ke finished drinking water, wiped the spilled water with his sleeve, and continued: "Now we have received news that the Golden Army has invaded our territory, and Western Xia is also actively gathering troops to prepare for another attack on Qin Feng City. General Zhong wants to prepare to return to Bianjing, but the Western Xia army is pressing in front, and the Western army is not united, making it difficult for Qin Feng's army to make a choice between defending Qin Feng City and seeking help from the capital Bianjing."

  "Where did you hear all of this?" Wang Xichen asked curiously.

  "Qin Fengjun makes it a rule every month to publicly announce the difficult military affairs in the army, not just me, but every soldier in the army knows." Song Ke said with a smile.

  Wang Xichen furrowed his brow, it seemed that the elite Qin Feng army of the Western Army was preparing to return to Bianjing, but the Western Army itself was not united, and having a strong enemy outside was indeed a lot of trouble.

  At this time, even if the troops returned to the capital, they didn't know that Qin Feng City was still there. The city of Qin Feng, which had always been known as the number one city in the northwest, had become a nightmare for the Western Xia army and the spiritual pillar of the Song army's western expedition. As long as Qin Feng City was not breached, the morale of the western troops would be like a single person in battle, and it would never weaken by even a thread.

  Wang Xichen understood that he could do nothing at this time, and could only entrust Song Ke to find someone to notify the Imperial Forest Army stationed in the distant suburbs of Qin Feng City.

  Wang Xichen thought for a moment, perhaps he could make a small contribution to the Western Army.

  In the outskirts of Qin Feng City, the Imperial Forest Army has been extremely busy in recent days. Xue Yue led his men to almost turn over the entire mountain, searching for Wang Xi Zhen. During this time, Xue Yue led 5,000 new soldiers and several groups of mountain bandits in a fierce battle. Several groups of bandits were clearly former Western Army soldiers, with strong combat power. The Imperial Forest Army paid a considerable price to eliminate them, occupying five bandit dens and seizing tens of thousands of taels of silver. If finding Wang Xi Zhen wasn't so urgent, Xue Yue really had the idea of continuing to lead his army to clear out the mountain bandits - this business was truly too profitable.

  When the Imperial Forest Army found the bodies of Western Xia soldiers at the foot of the mountain, Xue Yue was furious. If it weren't for the Imperial Forest Army soldiers holding him back, Xue Yue would have led his 5,000 new troops to demand an explanation from the Western Xia army.

  Until Qin Fengjun sent someone to inform Xue Yue that Wang Xi Zhen was safe, the matter of patrolling the mountain was settled. After many battles, the combat effectiveness of the Youlin Army's soldiers had taken shape, and they had transitioned from new recruits to capable fighters.

  The Imperial Forest Army did not offend the surrounding villagers in the slightest, and even provided them with food from time to time. Many villagers who admired their reputation came under the banner of the Imperial Forest Army, selecting the strong and capable ones, training the army, opening up wasteland, cutting down trees to build houses. For a time, the area where the Imperial Forest Army was stationed was bustling with activity. The new recruits had already brought the army's strength close to 30,000. Fang Hongcheng also took the initiative to become Xiu'er's helper. Although the task of statistics was quite heavy, with someone as capable as Fang Hongcheng, everything could be done in an orderly manner.

  On the other hand, the Western Army of the Jin army set out from Yunzhong and launched an attack on the Eastern Song army across the river. The Western Army attacked the two states of Wu and Shuo after crossing the mountain, with its main force advancing towards Taiyuan via Yingzhou, Daizhou and Xinzhou.

  Northern Song Dynasty Shuo Prefecture City

  At this time, the guardian general of Shuo State, Sun Shi, had a heroic spirit in his heart. When the Jin army came to offend him, he had already made preparations for a desperate fight, organizing military and civilians to prepare military equipment and supplies every day, stockpiling grain and grass to prepare for a brave resistance against the enemy.

  Unfortunately, success is in heaven and planning is in human hands. What's infuriating is that the leader of the Righteous Victory Army inside the city had already negotiated terms with the enemy. Before the battle even began, the Righteous Victory Army suddenly turned traitor and killed all the soldiers sent by Sun Quan to guard the city at midnight, shamefully opening the gates to surrender.

  Jin Bing killed his way into Shuo State City unimpeded, Sun Xiu was protected by his loyal guards in the middle and retreated while fighting. Sun Xiu looked at the battlefield in front of him, which had already been lost, with anger in his eyes, he let out a long sigh to the sky. The number of loyal guards defending him was getting smaller and smaller, suddenly a rain of arrows came, Sun Xiu was hit by several arrows, his tiger-like eyes slowly lost their luster, but still couldn't close them. Sun Xiu had wanted to fight to the death, but unexpectedly he was betrayed by the Yi Sheng army, in the end he was defeated and killed.

  Jin soldiers were brutal, after entering Shuozhou they started killing indiscriminately, for a time the city of Shuozhou was filled with corpses, the wailing sounds never stopped, the scene was so tragic that it enraged both humans and gods.

  At the same time, Wu Prefecture also fell due to internal and external coordination of the Righteous Victory Army. In the east, Zong Han led the main force of the Jin army to attack Dai Prefecture, where the Righteous Victory Army stationed in Dai Prefecture launched a military coup, and the Song Dynasty's defending general Li Sibian was captured by the Righteous Victory Army and presented to the Jin people. The Jin army immediately attacked Xinzhou, a key town north of Taiyuan, and the defender He Huan surrendered without a fight. Zong Han ordered the elite cavalry of the Jin army to bypass the city, and the Jin army advanced like a broken bamboo, at the fastest speed, directly inserting into Shiling Pass, from this point on, all the lords of Hedong were completely passive.