Wu Zhongfu and Wang Congshan came in accordance with the imperial order. Di Qing brought his subordinates and waited early outside Mingsha City. It was not until noon that the two men's team appeared in sight. Di Qing brought people forward and performed the manners.

After entering the city and entering the county government, Wang Congshan announced the order and handed it over to Di Qing. Everyone divided the guests and hosts to sit down.

Wu Zhongfu said: "A few days ago, there were prisoners of war in Qinggang Gorge and the court heard it very worried. He came to see what happened here to calm the emperor and the court officials."

Di Qing said: "It was because I was not strict in the control of the country, which led to chaos. The chaotic army broke through the Qingyuan army, burned the military camp and hid in the mountains and forests. There were two days left to the New Year. When the New Year passed, I would send a large army south to wipe out the chaotic army."

After hearing this, Wu Zhongfu was shocked: "When I came, I only said that I ambush Ning Su, and the court suffered a lot of losses. Why did the chaos army break through the Qingyuan army in a few days? There is a key place, so there must be no mistakes."

Di Qing said: "There are only hundreds of chaotic troops, but they just took advantage of the emptiness of the Qingyuan army and unexpectedly. Before the Weizhou army arrived, they had already abandoned the city and fled. Now it is winter, and it is the coldest time. It is inconvenient to enter the mountains and forests to clear them out, so let them be arrogant for a few days."

Wang Congshan said: "What the officials are most worried about is that the army is surrounded by Lingzhou, and the rear is unstable. The Taiwei occupied Mingsha for some days. I wonder if he sent a large army to attack Lingzhou? When will the siege start? Can the siege be wiped out before siege?"

Di Qing said: "The army has occupied the Xiakou, Yaode City, and all the cities south of Lingzhou have been captured. However, Lingzhou River is inconvenient to cross the river, and the army has not yet siege the city, so it still needs to wait a few days. Especially the heavy artillery used for siege, it is not a day to transport it from the Zhenrong Army. Before that, it is not difficult to send thousands of troops south to encircle and suppress the rebellion army. It is just that the generals and soldiers are happy to celebrate the New Year and then go to the suppression after the New Year."

Wang Congshan nodded: "So that's it. This time, the Taiwei commander attacked Dangxiang with a army of 300,000, which was a huge army that could be regarded as a sacred army, and he could not allow any mistakes. He heard that something happened in Qinggang Gorge, and the government was very worried and sent me to check it out."

Di Qing said: "It is not a big deal for a moment. Qinggang Gorge is surrounded by big and small foreign tribes. It has been enemies with the imperial court for many years, so the rioters have a place to live. When I free up my hands, I will send thousands of troops to suppress the enemy. Anyone who helps the rioters will be suppressed and all those who help the rioters will be suppressed."

Wu Zhong said again: "The Taiwei, the imperial court clearly ordered that as long as the foreign troops that were not dependent on Dangxiang, they were mainly pacified. Only those who were stubborn would go to fight. The riot troops in the mountains may not be supported by the foreign troops."

Di Qing said: "Without the support of the foreign tribe, how could they be like fish in the mountains? The foreign tribes in the Hengshan area were not convinced by the king's transformation and had been against the court for many years. They should be severely punished. Only with the thunder and lightning measures can the hearts of the Bodhisattva be revealed, the army will be launched to suppress them, and they can obey the king's orders."

Wu Zhongfu wanted to say something again, and remembered what Du Zhongxiao told him before leaving, he finally shut up. From Di Qing's words, Wu Zhongfu could hear that the Song army dominated the suppression after occupying this area, and the foreign tribes below were not very obedient.

After saying some polite words, Wu Zhongfu said: "President Wang and I were ordered by the court to come to the front line to understand why prisoners of war were in chaos and whether there were any places where there were disobeying the court. They were all trivial matters. The Grand Marshal did not need to worry about it, but only commanded the battle."

Di Qing nodded: "Since that's the case, I will send you and Bin to accompany you. But if you have instructions, just tell him."

After saying that, he called Hebin over and met Wu Zhongfu and Wang Congshan. Hebin had stationed in Zhenrong Army more than ten years ago and was very familiar with the situation in this area, so he happened to be a guide.

Seeing that it was getting late, Di Qing said, "I have prepared a banquet here, so I will welcome you. After using it, let's go and rest."

Wu Zhongfu and Wang Congshan claimed that they were right, and followed Di Qing to the Houya to attend the banquet.

On the bank of the Yellow River, Han Qi, Liu Ji and Zhao Zi rode on horseback, looking at the other side of the Yellow River.

When the Yellow River passed the gorge, it suddenly became wider and the water flowed smoothly. There were excellent irrigation farmland on both sides of the river. Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, many irrigation canals have been opened. However, after the late Tang and Five Dynasties, a large number of people fled and wastelands were everywhere. When Dangxiang was founded, many wars were fought against Lingzhou, and the population decreased again. There were Helan Mountain in the west and Yin Mountain in the north. It was difficult to reach cold wind, and the ice layer on the river was not strong, making the army sad.

Pointing to the city in the distance, Liu Ji said, "There is Lingzhou, which stands on the Yellow River. The Lingzhou River flows into the Yellow River, surrounded by water on three sides, making it an easy to defend and difficult to attack. These days, the army of Taiwei Di has reached outside the city of Lingzhou, but there has not been a besieged yet."

Zhao Zi said: "What do Dangxiang people mean? They never leave the city to fight. When the city is broken, they will leave. Could it be that we will conquer them all the way, one city after another, until Xingqing Mansion? If we dare not fight in the field, Dangxiang will not be able to defend them after all."

Han Qi said: "The first thing the Dangxiang people reinforced over the years is Shanhe Pass, and the second is Lingzhou. The cannons they cast were all installed in these two places. We did not attack Shanhe Pass, but they were abandoned there, and the hopes of the Dangxiang people are in Lingzhou. We cannot attack before the ice of the Yellow River, and the water rises there, so we can only wait until winter. Otherwise, we will only attack all the way, and the Dangxiang people will defend it."

Liu Ji sighed: "The Taiwei went from Xingxing Gorge to here, more than 2,000 miles, occupying the five states. The army from Zhenrong Army only walked a few hundred miles and has not yet been launched. If you want to break Lingzhou, you can only wait until the next winter."

Zhao Zi said: "The ice layer of the Yellow River here is not thick, the army cannot cross the river, and there is ice, so we don't have to care about the affairs on the other side of the river. According to the imperial edict, we will go to Shunzhou and Jingzhou and cut off the connection between Xingqing Prefecture and Lingzhou. It is almost the New Year, and we will return to Hequ Road after the New Year, regardless of Dangxiang's affairs. Until now, Dangxiang only has this area and Hengshan, how long can it last?"

Liu Ji shook his head: "It's strange. Although Dangxiang's strength is not good, it shouldn't be like this. Until now, all cities have stayed behind closed doors and never fought. A few days ago, Qinggang Gorge prisoners were in chaos and occupied the Qingyuan army, which shows that they are not without the power to fight."

Han Qi said: "It's a pity that we don't know what Dangxiang is now, and there is no reliable detailed work. We can only estimate that Dangxiang must be very chaotic, otherwise it would be impossible for us to not even have a counterattack. Now that the army is approaching, and there is no depth, Dangxiang can only wait to capture it."

Liu Ji and Zhao Zi nodded, agreeing deeply. Dangxiang was too weak in this war, and it is hard to imagine the pressure the Dangxiang people put on the Song Dynasty ten years ago. Even if they were not strong enough, they would not be so slaughtered. They would always fight a few head-on battles.

Looking up at the vast grassland in the north, Liu Ji said: "Shunzhou and Jingzhou are both newly established Dangxiang. Shunzhou does not even have a city wall, so it should not be difficult to capture. Moreover, there is no Dangxiang army in these two places. It seems that Dangxiang has given up."

Zhao Zi said: "What's the difficult thing to attack in two small cities? The most important thing is to prevent Dangxiang from sending troops from Xingqing Prefecture to rescue. Until now, Dangxiang has fewer territory left and will not give up easily. I have sent people to contact Yang Wenguang's troops in the north. When we conquer the two states, we will go from west of Helan Mountain to Hezhou. After breaking these two states, Dangxiang will only be Lingzhou and Xingqing Prefecture, and there is no need for so many troops to squeeze here."
Chapter completed!