Chapter 47

The strength of the army lies in its organization, allowing for coordinated actions. But once it fails and becomes disorganized, it might even be inferior to a group of fierce civilians.

Seeing the red flag approaching and hearing the shouts from that direction, without waiting for the leader's order, the Western Xia soldiers began to flee in a panic. Compared to the armies of Song and Liao, the discipline of the Western Xia army was even worse.

However, they were very lucky, often encountering the rigid Song army. Even when defeated by the Tibetans, the Tibetans were in decline and lacked the strength to expand their victories, so the Western Xia army was able to rise again after several defeats.

As for the major defeat by the Liao, it was entirely due to the incompetence of Emperor Xingzong of Liao. In fact, during the subsequent small-scale invasions by the Liao, without Emperor Xingzong's command, the Liao army inflicted heavy losses on the Western Xia.

In summary, while the Western Xia had some successes in establishing their state, their greatest advantage was their extraordinary luck.

Once defeated, they would suffer even more, which is why they were repeatedly defeated by the Tibetans, including the two major defeats at Tu Maochuan, and even the future defeat by Zhang Jie.

"Shout and pursue," Wang Ju shouted.

He emphasized the words "shout" and "pursue."

Even though these people were severely defeated, there were still nearly four hundred soldiers. If they organized themselves and blindly pursued, it would be disastrous. Therefore, they shouted while pursuing. The louder the shouts, the less the enemy would fight back, leading to a great victory. Moreover, many of the Guinang clan's warriors were waiting ahead, ready to assist in the battle.

"This is victory," the elder brother thought in confusion.

He could now vaguely see the shadows of Guo Ziyi's battle at Taiyuan and Zhang Qixian's battle at Tuden Fort, and perhaps more.

"I have read too little. I am indeed a scholar."

Do scholars know how to fight?

In fact, the main reason was the carelessness of the Western Xia and the thorough preparation of Wangjiazhai.

A large number of civilians, driven by hatred, rushed out. Almost all the able-bodied men, as well as the not-so-old men who could still run, and the developed teenagers, pursued together. The rest went to capture the wounded and prisoners. Many were washed down by the flood, half-dead but not drowned, and had to be captured.

Even Wang Ju rushed down.

The elder brother had no choice but to follow.

This young man might be closely related to the series of events last year, and he could not be allowed to come to any harm.

"The village has won, let's pursue," Wang Wei shouted.

Although they were close, they did not know the situation in the village, only seeing many people fall below the wall, which made them extremely anxious.

Dozens of men, holding shovels and waving flags to intimidate, also pursued from the side. Finally, finding the flags cumbersome, a few of them threw them away.

They all shouted, making the Western Xia soldiers unsure of how many pursuers were behind them, causing them to run even faster.

...

"How many enemies?"

"Several hundred, maybe close to a thousand," Gu Shijiang answered vaguely. He had only glanced from the mountaintop before Wang Wei ordered him to return, so he had not observed the number of enemy troops.

"Are there any cavalry?"

"Yes."

Can that be considered cavalry...? But indeed, some of the Western Xia soldiers were on horseback.

However, Gu Shijiang's vague answer frightened Ye Dutou.

Wangjiazhai was not far away, and if on foot, it would take some time to run, but with cavalry, it would be much faster. Nearly a thousand enemy troops, more than twice the number of soldiers in Weilinzhai, how could they resist?

"Order all the soldiers to immediately retreat to the village, and do it quietly."

A soldier went to notify the others.

As for the civilian laborers, who had the heart to care?

"Immediately report to the Security Army and request reinforcements from Commander Shao. Also, report to Yanzhou and request reinforcements from Governor Cheng."

The enemy's shadow had not even appeared, but Ye Dutou was already like a frightened bird. It was no wonder, as they were the imperial army, having not fought for a long time, and had become accustomed to a life of luxury, lacking combat experience.

However, it was fortunate that a large number of Baojie Army units had been organized throughout Shaanxi, consisting of local civilians, half of whom were border residents. Due to the Baojie Army, the combat effectiveness of the Shaanxi army was not severely weakened. Wang Ju once said, "The Baojie Army eats grass and produces milk. They receive the least pay but do the most dangerous work in the entire Western Army."

Perhaps the internal governance of the Song Dynasty was still good, but the military system was becoming increasingly distorted.

The more gentlemen there were, the more bizarre the military system became.

"Go and scout again."

"Ah, I have to go again?"

"Do you dare to disobey a military order?"

Disobeying a military order was punishable by death. Gu Shijiang had no choice but to return to Wangjiazhai. This time, Ye Dutou gave him his horse, so at least he could escape quickly if things went badly...

Gu Shijiang nervously rode back to Wangjiazhai. Even with a horse, his poor riding skills meant that if the enemy discovered him, he might not escape safely back to Weilinzhai.

But with a horse, he could move faster.

He quickly returned to Wangjiazhai, but did not dare to enter the village. He only returned to the mountaintop where he had spoken with Wang Wei, sitting on his horse and looking west.

Then his eyes widened.

What was happening?

Just a moment ago, Wangjiazhai was in a precarious situation under the attack of several hundred Western Xia soldiers. This was inevitable, as the Western Xia were a regular army, and although the numbers were similar, the quality was far inferior. The number of able-bodied men in the village was less than a quarter of the enemy's. But now?

Now, he could not see a single Western Xia soldier. Instead, he saw many people being pushed into the small lake or struggling in the swollen stream, then surrounded and beaten by a group of women from the village. Wang Ju had said to capture them alive, but so many had died. Although there had been some minor conflicts due to the red swords of Xia, the village was generally united. Everyone, including the women, became enraged and used whatever weapons they had, even hoes and sticks, to beat the Western Xia soldiers to death.

What about the Western Xia soldiers?

He continued to look further west and finally saw some vague scenes.

In the distance to the west, the Western Xia soldiers were in chaos, fleeing for their lives, despite being pursued by fewer villagers.

What was going on?

He was stunned for a long time, then suddenly shouted joyfully, "Credit!"

The Song army feared the Western Xia, but not the civilians, especially Han civilians.

So many Western Xia soldiers were defeated, and many dead bodies lay on the ground. If he could claim this credit, add a bit of embellishment, and report to the court that thousands of enemy troops had been defeated by the Song army at Weilinzhai, wouldn't that be a great achievement? Wouldn't he receive more rewards and possibly even a promotion?

When it came to fighting, they were like bears and fools, but when it came to claiming credit, they were like tigers and clever, resourceful people.

Thinking of this, he laughed and rode back.