War is the continuation of politics, and politics is the concentrated expression of economy. Therefore, any war is always linked to the economic interests of both hostile parties. Economy is ultimately the driving force of war, and land is the foundation of the country and the source of wealth.

The establishment of Xixia was entirely the result of continuous expansion of force by relying on continuous outward expansion. Fighting for land, population and wealth was the starting point of the Western Xia war. In addition to eroding the territory of neighboring countries through invasion, Xixia mainly plundered land through war. Li Yuanhao became emperor At that time, Xixia was full of Xia, Yin, Sui, Yu, Ling, Hui, Yan, Lan, Sheng, Liang, Gan and Su 12 states...

Hetao, located north of the 37th degree north latitude, generally refers to the east of Helan Mountain, west of Luliang Mountain, south of Yin Mountain, and north of the Great Wall. It includes Yinchuan Plain (Ningxia Plain) and Ordos Plateau, and some areas of the Loess Plateau are now divided into Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi. The Yellow River first follows Helan Mountain to the north, then goes east due to Yinshan blocking and then south along Luliang Mountain to form a 'ji' shape, so it is called Hetao. The Hetao Plain is generally divided into Qingtongxia to Ningxia The Yinchuan Plain between Shizui Mountain, also known as Xitao, is also known as Dongtao in the Inner Mongolia part. Sometimes the "Hetao Plain" is used to refer to Dongtao only and is parallel to Yinchuan Plain. The Dongtao is also divided into Bayangaole and Xishanzui. The Bayannur Plain between the two is also called the "back set" and the "front set" of the Tumochuan Plain between Baotou, Hohhot and Lama Bay (i.e. the Chilechuan and Hohhot Plain).

Climate conditions determine that irrigation is the main part in Western Xia, and agriculture is limited to plains, valleys and beaches with limited area and easy irrigation. During the Li Jiqian era, water conservancy was built and the form of legislation was guaranteed. Historical development reached this period. From the Western Han Dynasty to the After reclaiming in the Han Dynasty, the Ningxia Plain, Hetao Plain, and Hexi Corridor Plain have been very developed. The Hetao Plain has become a ditches like the Ningxia Plain, and the fertile land of the north and south of the north, becoming the main grain-producing area.

As we all know, good natural conditions are the prerequisite for the rise and development of towns. The differences in geographical environment make the economic development of Xixia unbalanced, which in turn affects the distribution of towns. Ningxia's plain canals are crisscrossed, with many lakes and richer, so the prefectures and counties are the most densely set up, with Dingzhou, Huaizhou, Jingzhou, Xiping Prefecture, Xingqing Prefecture and other cities.

Xingling area is the hinterland of Xixia, and Lingzhou is located in the Hedong area of ​​the Yinchuan Plain. It is close to the Ordos platform, and its natural conditions are much stronger than Xiazhou, which has quicksand everywhere. The agriculture and animal husbandry are developed here and it is also a transportation hub. [w.w.cm

｜I&|】The strategic position is important and it has become the political and military center of Xixia. There are many garrisons and bureaucrats in this area, with 170,000 troops garrisons in Xingling Prefectures and Helan Mountain. In order to prevent 70,000 troops garrisons in Houtao, Khitan. If their families are added, as well as the royal family, nobles, bureaucrats, monks, various types of industrial and commercial producers and dignitaries, there are more people, and the population engaged in agriculture accounts for half of the country's population.

The war fought for financial resources and population. After conquering the rich Xingling, Hetao, Ganliang and other places, it was only after the Western Xia that it could stand with the Song, Liao and the tripod. Horses produced in Ganliang areas, the Qingbai salt and Hetao in Yanzhou, and the Hengshan areas. The grain became the three major economic pillars of Xixia.

The northern Shaanxi area is suitable for agriculture and herdsmen. The border of Song and Xia are along the border. From Hengshan in the east to Tiandu Shang in the west, and in the Mazhi Mountain area. Although it is a mountainous area, the ecological environment is relatively good, production development is densely populated, and there are many prefectures and counties. There are Yinzhou, Shizhou, Longzhou, Hongzhou, Youzhou, Yanzhou, Xiazhou, etc., with 100,000 troops garrisoned by Xixia and a population of hundreds of thousands. It is an important source of troops and a major grain-producing area of ​​Xixia. Most of the rest are deserts. Except for military defense fortresses, there are few towns and even fewer populations in the area, which can be described as a desert of thousands of miles and is uninhabited. Now, after many years of war in northern Shaanxi, the eastern army of Zhao Jiahe, especially the western expedition of the west, has captured this place, killing and surrendering the Xia army. More than 100,000 people recruited hundreds of large tribes, tens of thousands of tents surrendered to the Song Dynasty, and the population dropped sharply.

Insufficient population affects economic development and weakens national defense power, so population problems have always been a prominent problem in Xixia. Severe natural conditions and limited harvests have restricted the growth of Xixia population, and continuous natural disasters such as drought, locusts, and rats.

As the living environment deteriorates, Xixia often finds itself difficult to save itself, with large population loss, hungry people ate each other, and population outflows occur frequently. Insufficient population has become a very prominent social problem in Xixia.

It also had a great impact on its military source. In addition to men, there were also women in the army. Village women became part of the military force in the border areas. The law stipulates that men were 15 years old and were exempted from being old at the age of 70. However, in ancient times, the country was not allowed to enter the country.

'A hundred years old, seventy is rare'. Joining the army and fighting has become the lifelong obligation of every Xixia man. The implementation of the system of all people is a military force. This is not only a tradition of nomadic peoples, but also a manifestation of insufficient population.

At this time, Hengshan area and Yanzhou had been captured by Zhao Jia's Hedong Army, with a population loss of more than 300,000 or more. However, the population of Xixia reached its peak after a century of development, which was only about 1.6 million, which could be said to have suffered heavy losses. Now the Hedong Army has already been in power.

Once the Hetao area is scooped down here, the three pillars will lose two of them, then Xixia will definitely lose its national strength and will no longer be able to start a war. It will decline from a 'world' power to a regional power, but it is also obvious that this is a

The decisive battle that concerns the fate of the country will also become more intense...

"The prince, after Li Yuanhao became emperor, he established the Weizhou Jingsai Army Division in the southern part of Hanhai, controlling the two river roads, Malian River Valley and Hulu River Valley. He established Xiangqing Army in Xingling area, and selected Xingling soldiers to refine them for 25,000.

, the deputy was appointed as the sixth squad of the Imperial Army, divided into three guards and guarded the capital with heavy troops. In addition, the surrounding garrisons can be dispatched, and 200,000 heavy troops can be collected in a short time, and our east-west river troops can be conquered.

But 50,000. Now the Shaanxi army is blocked by Lingzhou Sichuan. It may be difficult for us to achieve our goal alone. Please think twice. Will the prince stop here?" After Zhao Qi gathered together, Wang Jin joined the army after Zhao Qi talked about the current situation.

Worry-free authentic.

"Your Majesty, it makes sense that the king joined the army. When Li Jiqian attacked Lingzhou, he used his flexible and rapid cavalry to occupy the advantage of the vast sea, which made the reinforcements and food of our dynasty unable to go north, and eventually seized the important military town of Lingzhou. This time, we

Although there is no shortage of food and supplies for troops, it is limited to the army. Most of them stay in Xiazhou. They are transported on the way. I am afraid that the Xia army will use their old skills again, and we lack military strength and cannot protect them. I have to worry about it!" Qin Feng has now been promoted to Lanzhou regiment training.

The envoy followed the army to fight, and he was worried about the past years. The Song army suffered several major defeats, and they were all defeated this time. He was worried that the prince would repeat the same mistake and advised him.

"The Xia army only brought ten days of food and grass to send troops, but often lasted for dozens of days. Everyone understands the truth!" Zhao Qi glanced at the generals present and said with a smile.

"Yes, Xixia always sends troops like this. They rely on plunder to solve military supplies. There are many fertile land in the Hetao area. Now the autumn harvest is coming, and we want to have a lot of food. We can also make a lot of money. As long as we build a city, it will be enough for us.

It's needed!" Zhao Yong took the lead.

"After that being said, our army is known as a benevolent and righteous army. Poaching the people will damage their reputation and make them famous. General Liu Fa slaughtered the city in the future. Although he won a great victory, he was criticized by the world. He died in this battle and was not chased.

I'm afraid there is such a reason for the conferment of pensions. If the prince is robbing the soldiers, the people in the court are not now, and they may impeach the prince after the war!" said Shen Songyue, the chief clerk of the marching army.

"Don't worry about this. The prince had already said when he was sending troops to the west that we could collect grain on the spot, that is, pay some of the money, or offset taxes. Although it is suspected of forcing a forced purchase and selling, it can also be explained!

"Zhao Zhidao.

"Even if we have solved the military supplies, the Xia army has many soldiers and a wide range of generals, and we can defend the city to the death. It is not easy for us to break a city!" Xianzhou's delegation trained the Han channel.

"Haha, what about Fengzhou City? It was scooped down by our army in three hours. The capture of the city was just a scoop. There is no need to worry about this Korean team training. We will take the lead at that time!" Gao Chong said with a laugh.

"It makes sense for the Korean regiment to train the envoys. We are fighting on the inside line to capture Fengzhou, and we are on the border. The enemy has no foreign aid. Now we are deep into the Xia territory, and the enemy reinforcements can arrive in an instant, so it is probably not that easy!" Zhao Ren, however,

I do not agree with Gao Chong's method.

"I am in the northwest for a short time, but I know that every time at this time, the appeasement envoy of the Strategic Department would lead troops to patrol the border and prevent autumn. What is this?" Zhao Qiong did not express his opinion, but proposed his own

doubt.

"Oh, prince, every time it is autumn harvest, due to the Western Xia robbing crops and robbing grain, our court has built many farming fortresses along the border, and the border military affairs have the exclusive "Autumn Prevention" item, and the first official will go on patrol.

It is also to prevent the Xia army from invading Bian Huqiu!" Wang Jin, the military officer, explained.

"Then our army has a very strict defense and has fortress protection, so why are they often succeeded by the Xia army?" Zhao Qi asked back.

"Prince, the Xia army sent troops to plunder, often first surrounded the fortress, so that the soldiers in the city could not leave the city, and then divided the troops to plunder people and animals, dig up the cellars, and gathered the fields and livestock. The Xia army suddenly arrived, and could not

When he entered the city, the crops in the fields could not be moved into the city, so the Xia army would always have some harvest!" Wang Jin thought about it, but when he saw the prince's face smiling, he suddenly woke up, shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Oh,

The lower official is stupid, why didn’t he expect that thanks to the prince’s wake-up, we can also treat others’ bodies with the same principles!”

"Yes, our army is mostly cavalry, and it travels like the wind. It uses dragon cavalry to siege the city and cavalry to attack reinforcements. It can not only confiscate food, but also disperse the enemy's forces, annihilate them one by one, and weaken the enemy's strength. I want to come down a few times,

They may not dare to come out for help anymore. As long as we clear the periphery one by one, Lingzhou City will be in the near future!" Zhao Zhong nodded and said.

"Well, now our army's name is the leader of the field to defend the city, probably spread throughout Xixia. We are worried that they will not dare to fight with us. In this way, we will not worry about the problem of transporting grain from thousands of miles away, and can also solve the problem of the enemy's group defense. The prince is

A kill of two birds with one stone!" Shen Songyue nodded and smiled.
Chapter completed!