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Text Chapter 405: Breaking the Cauldron

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    When everyone came down the mountain, many people by the river had already lit many fires, and the iron pots hanging on the fires exuded bursts of fragrance of rice porridge.

    When Zhang Qing and others came up to greet him, their attention was attracted by the three Han men behind Chao Yong.

    Ruan Xiaoqi asked: "Who are they? Why were they beaten like this?"

    Li Kui said angrily: "The Han people were captured by the Xixia people, and the Xixia people, the sons of bitches, used them as slaves."

    When Ruan Xiaoqi heard that he was a Han, he couldn't help but said angrily: "The bald thief dares to slap us Han people in the face. When we catch Li Renai, grandpa will slap his face to pieces."

    Chao Yong nodded and said: "Let's have dinner. After eating, we will go on the road. We will spend the night in Xingqing Mansion tonight."

    Seeing how the Han people were treated so badly, everyone wanted to spread their wings and fly to Xingqing Mansion.  Regardless of whether the porridge on the fire was ready or not, he shouted for everyone to start eating.

    Soon, everyone came and had breakfast.

    Chao Yong saw the soldiers packing up the iron pots and shouted: "There is no need to bring the iron pots. We will have dry food on the ship at noon and dinner at Xingqing Mansion."

    When Li Kui heard this, he immediately kicked a pot into the river and shouted: "Get on the boat quickly and go to Xingqing Mansion to kill the Western Xia dogs early."

    The fleet on board the army, the navy also sailed the ships a little faster.

    After entering Qingtong Gorge, the steep cliffs on both sides and the whistling wind in the canyon are even more frightening.

    Ruan Xiaoer¡¯s boat quickly caught up with Chao Yong¡¯s flagship and wanted to explore the way first.

    Chao Yong waved his hand to stop Ruan Xiaoer's actions and told Li Jun to drive at full speed.

    Led by the flagship, the fleet sailed through Qingtongxia at the fastest speed.

    Chao Yong stared at the steep cliffs on both sides of the river the whole time.  I was afraid that Xixia soldiers would suddenly appear above, but luckily nothing happened along the way.

    If Qingtongxia is attacked.  Whether the fleet rushes forward or retreats, there will inevitably be casualties.

    Li Jun also breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Qingtong Gorge really has the power of one man blocking the way and ten thousand others not being able to open it. If the Xixia people built more stone forts on it, I'm afraid it would take a lot of effort just to destroy the stone forts above."

    Han Shizhong smiled and said: "The Xixia people knew that the Western Army did not dare to sneak attack from the waterway, so naturally they would not waste more effort on the waterway."

    Li Jundao: "How to say?"

    Han Shizhong said: "Firstly, the Western Army is not used to water warfare. Secondly, even if the Xixia people let the Western Army march straight in, the Western Army would not dare. Most of the Xixia soldiers and horses are in the border military departments. There are no more than ten troops in Xingqing Prefecture and Lingzhou area.  There are tens of thousands of soldiers and horses. Even if the Western Army reaches Xingqingfu City, it may not be able to break through the city in ten and a half months, and it will be surrounded by Xixia soldiers and horses. If the Western Army wants to destroy Xixia, it can only fight slowly. "

    Chao Yong nodded and said: "Han Shizhong is right, the key is whether we can break the city. We have the gunpowder to break the city, and then we can raid Xingqing Mansion. Otherwise, we will have to wait for the Xixia army to surround and kill us when we reach the city."

    Out of Qingtong Gorge.  It suddenly dawned on me that there were so many large and small irrigation canals. Without the guidance of someone familiar with the road, the probability of getting lost was still very high.

    Because of the diversion of large and small irrigation canals, the Taotao River has also slowed down, and the speed of the fleet has also slowed down.

    Sail along the Tanglai Canal.  As expected, there are open farmlands on both sides of the bank. Large and small irrigation canals divide the plain into many small pieces. Rice is grown in many fields. Looking at it from a distance, it is green and green, and it is worthy of the name of Jiangnan.

    The width of Tang Lai Canal varies.  The wide part is more than ten feet, and the narrow part is only two or three feet.  Large ships can pass one by one.

    Although some Xixia people were curious about the fleet along the way, they did not encounter any obstruction.

    Some Xixia merchants also transported goods by water, but they were still very surprised when they saw such a large fleet. Some came to inquire, so Chao Yong had people use divine arm crossbows to scare them away.

    When the merchants saw the people on the boat holding crossbows, they immediately retreated.

    When we arrived at the border of Shunzhou, we saw boats blocking the river for inspection, and dozens of Xixia soldiers on the river bank.

    The guide said: "Ahead is the Shunzhou tax collection checkpoint, and all ships must dock for inspection."

    Li Jun smiled and said: "The Xixia people's boats are not big, so they can just hit them."

    The Xixia soldiers on the shore have also seen a dozen large ships approaching in the distance. They all stood on the shore in high spirits, waiting to be boarded for a search later.

    Some time ago, Li Qianshun led his army on an expedition and mobilized many ships to transport grain, resulting in many fewer merchant ships on the river.

    In the past, Xixia troops did not bring much food and grass, but only occasionally drove some cattle and sheep. Most of the supplies were obtained through looting.  The last expedition was to occupy the Sixth Route of Shaanxi for a long time. Not only did they prepare a lot of food and grass, but they also ordered the soldiers of each tribe to prohibit looting and killing Han people, and could only wait for the reward from the king after the war.  Unexpectedly, they returned with a huge defeat. Li Qianshun and Cha Ge were all killed in the battle, and only 100,000 of the 400,000-strong army returned.

    The deaths of Li Qianshun and Cha Ge really made some people in Xixia feel heartbroken, but they were not worried about the big disaster.We will send troops to attack immediately.

    Two days ago, 13-year-old Li Renai succeeded to the throne of the country. In order to appease the people, Li Renai announced to the people the situation of the heroes of the Central Plains competing for the throne, letting the people of Xixia know that Daliang had no time to care about others, and Xixia could rest in peace.

    As for the news of the raid on Shangyikou and Geeta Village last night, the surviving soldiers and horses from the two places reported to Weizhou where they were responsible.  It was already after dawn for the soldiers who reported the news from the two places to report to Weizhou over the mountains and ridges.

    General Weizhou heard that thousands of soldiers and horses in Daliang had attacked the two cities. He didn't know if there was any army behind him, and he didn't dare to capture the two villages. He could only strengthen the guards. At the same time, Pegasus notified the nearest Mingsha City to prevent Daliang.  The soldiers and horses continued to attack.  The messenger who went to Xingqing Mansion to ask for help had just set off, so Shunzhou naturally didn't know what was going on.

    Without the ties of war, and no longer able to benefit from the Central Plains, the Xixia soldiers focused their attention on the country.  This is the same for every ethnic group. If the soldiers at the checkpoint want to gain benefits, they must naturally gain from the people passing by.  As long as the other party is not a high-ranking official, it's fine. Businessmen are naturally the most profitable, especially those who transport large amounts of goods.

    Businessmen want to pay less taxes, so they are naturally willing to spend money to look after people who inspect. But for people who inspect, the taxes they receive belong to the court, and what they put into their own pockets belongs to them.  Most of the time, both parties can hit it off.  Both parties benefit, and naturally there will be no quarrel.

    However, many businessmen in Xixia are from tribes and are fierce by nature. Those who have just started business will conflict with tax collectors for a little tax money, so each level is protected by a small team of soldiers.  After walking more times, tough people will also learn the tricks.

    Most of the time, this kind of shady income can only be obtained by tax collectors. Only when encountering a large fleet and the tax collectors are too busy, they will ask the escorting soldiers to help.

    Chao Yong said to Zhou Ji who was leading the way: "Can we spend some money to prevent them from boarding the ship for inspection?"

    Zhou Ji shook his head and said: "There are more than a dozen large ships. It is impossible for them not to board the ship for inspection. Even if it is just a formality, they will board the ship."

    By hiding the soldiers in the cabin, no one can tell at a glance that this is a troop transport ship. Once on board, they cannot hide themselves.

    "Then kill them all."

    The fleet was getting closer and closer to the checkpoint. The tax collector on the boat shouted for the fleet to dock, but did not stop the boat in the middle of the river. Li Jun, who wanted to knock the boat over directly, was a little disappointed.

    The tax collector on the small boat shouted several times. Seeing that the fleet did not slow down, he felt that something was wrong. He was about to ask the soldiers on the shore to intercept them with bows and arrows, when they saw a group of black-clad and black-armored troops suddenly pouring out of the cabin of the first big boat.  soldiers are coming.

    "Daliang soldiers and horses."

    "Liang Guo invaded."

    "Quickly send a warning to the city."

    The uniforms of the soldiers and horses of the Liang Kingdom who defeated the leader of the country and Chage's army had already spread. Some of the soldiers on the shore had fled back from Shaanxi. When they saw the soldiers appearing on the boat, they immediately shouted.

    Before the Xixia soldiers on the shore could raise their bows, the soldiers who came out of the cabin had already scattered sharp arrows towards the shore. The Xixia soldiers who were caught off guard fell in a pool of blood in an instant.

    Seeing that the situation was not good, the tax collectors in the boat all jumped into the river with a splash.

    "Help"

    A tax collector followed the others and jumped into the water. Then he remembered that he didn't know how to swim. He struggled in the water and drank water.

    Everyone couldn¡¯t help but laugh when they looked at the tax collector struggling in the water.

    There were screams from the ship parked on the shore for inspection. People on the deck hid in the cabin, or jumped into the water and hid under the ship.

    "Ignore those fish that slipped through the net and drive at full speed."

    Not long after the fleet sailed past, the soldiers and horses of Shunzhou Brigade headed for Xingqing Mansion.
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