After Zhao Tai captured Pi County, he did not stay in Pi County for a long time. The army continued to go south, intending to clear the Mongolian army on the north bank of the Huai River and collect Siyang, Shuyang, Haizhou, Lianshui and other places.

Because Mongolia will not be indifferent to the Jin army's attack on Shandong, and will definitely send a large army into Shandong. At that time, the Jin army may not be able to resist Mongolian reinforcements, so this battle must be fast, and the counties in Huaibei must be collected before the Mongolian reinforcements arrive.

Only then can the Jin army rely on the city and the Southern Song Dynasty to prevent Mongolian reinforcements from going south to rescue Kuoduan.

If the Jin army could occupy Huaibei, it would separate the contact between the Southern Song Dynasty and Mongolia on the eastern front, greatly reducing the threat of Mongolia to the Southern Song Dynasty.

In this case, Zhao Tai no longer had to worry about Mongolia and put pressure on the Southern Song Dynasty and influence the decisions of the Southern Song Dynasty.

On July 8, after Zhao Tai and Wu Xian left more than a thousand people to guard Pi County, they led a large army to continue south, and soon fought another victory near Suqian, annihilated more than a thousand Mongolian troops.

At this time, the Mongolian army on the north bank of the Huai River had already known the news that the Jin army had crossed the river and began to retreat to Siyang, Lianshui and other places to the south to defend.

On the west bank of the canal, the Jin army on the south road was advancing southward quickly along the canal.

The cavalry of the Wuwei Army attacked everywhere, looking for traces of the Mongolian army and inquire about the situation in the south.

After experiencing the offensive and defensive battle in Pi County and another small victory in Suqian, the morale of the Jin army on the south road was high, and soldiers wearing armor and holding spears marched neatly on the bank of the river, and the military flags were flying in the wind. The convoy transporting materials lasted for several miles, which looked extremely spectacular.

Under the banner, Zhao Tai and Wu Xian were riding a war horse with high spirits, and the army was holding a map and explaining the situation ahead to the two.

"Master General, Xuan Xiang! Twenty miles ahead, Si Yang is! If we take this place, we will be able to look at Chuzhou!"

Zhao Tai nodded, "If we take Siyang, we can back our backs to Chuzhou and obtain supplies and support from the Southern Song Dynasty. Even if Mongolian reinforcements enter Shandong, we can still deal with them for a while."

Wu Xian said: "Now the Mongolian army on the north bank of the Huai River will definitely stick to Siyang to ensure that Kuoduan's retreat will not be cut off. I don't know if Siyang is easy to fight."

Zhao Tai smiled and said, "The Mongolian army is very powerful in field battles, but it is average in defending the city. In contrast, I am more concerned about the progress of the Northern Route Army."

When talking about the Northern Army, Wu Xian was also a little worried. “The official slave led 40,000 troops and elite troops of the Zhongxiao Army. The progress should be smoother than ours.”

Zhao Tai said: "I am worried that the Mongolian army from Hebei will enter Shandong."

Wu Xian nodded, "When the Mongolian army in Hebei attacked Shandong, they would not sit idly by. However, there should be no problem with 40,000 official slaves and 40,000 troops to resist for a while."

Zhao Tai said: "For caution, we should clear the Mongolian army in Huaibei as soon as possible to avoid being attacked from both sides."

Wu Xian agreed deeply, "Then I will send the army to accelerate its advance and strive to take Siyang within three days."

"Report!" As the two were talking, a team of cavalry rushed over.

Zhao Tai and Wu Xian turned their heads and looked at them. Seeing the cavalry chasing from the north, they couldn't help but feel trembling.

The cavalry rushed to the front, and the leader turned over and dismounted, bowed and reported: "Xuan Xiang, Hengshan Duke, I am General Fan Ze, who has sent down a hundred households of Liu Fu, and was ordered to come and convey important news."

"Fan Ze?" Zhao Tai and Wu Xian frowned.

Isn’t Fan Ze guarding the floating bridge crossing the river in the north of Xuzhou? What news can he report?

Wu Xian looked puzzled, "What did General Fan ask you to come here to do?"

Liu Fu replied: "Reporting to Hengshan Duke, two days ago, Pu Chaguannu suddenly led the Northern Army to withdraw to the ferry, claiming that the Hebei Mongolian Army entered Shandong, was chasing the Northern Army, and ordered the entire army to cross the Yellow River and withdraw back to Xuzhou."

Zhao Tai's pupils dilated, "Has Pu Chaguan Nu withdrawn from Xuzhou?"

Wu Xian was also shocked, "Why didn't anyone notify me of the Northern Route Army retreat?"

The news was too shocking. Once the Northern Army retreated, the Mongolian reinforcements could kick the Southern Army's butt without any obstacles.

Liu Fu said: "General Fan asked Pu Chaguannu. He said that he had sent people to notify the Southern Army, but until the Northern Army retreated to Xuzhou, General Fan did not see any trace of the Southern Army. At this time, in order to prevent the Mongolian army from attacking the Yellow River, Pu Chaguannu said that he would burn the floating bridge. General Fan could only lead his brothers to burn the camp and withdraw back to the south bank."

Zhao Tai realized the seriousness of the situation and heard that Pu Chaguannu not only retreated to Xuzhou, but also wanted to burn the floating bridge, which was simply putting him to death.

Zhao Tai asked in a deep voice: "Where is the floating bridge burning now?"

Liu Fu said: "It's burned. General Fan asked Bei Zhi to come over, just informing Xuan Xiang and Hengshan Duke that Mongolian reinforcements had gone south and asked the Southern Army to try to withdraw back to Xuzhou immediately."

"Retreat! How to retreat?" Wu Xian trembled with anger, "Pu Chaguan Slave, Zhi Niang Thief! I can't spare you!"

Zhao Tai also had a gloomy face. The Jin army from the north and south originally had a division of labor.

The main task of the Northern Route Army is to set out a buffer zone to the north, delay the Mongolian reinforcements from the Mongolian army to move south, clear the Mongolian army in Huaibei, and cooperate with the Song army to encircle and annihilate Kuosun to win time.

Now the Northern Army retreated to Xuzhou without saying a word, and the back of the Southern Army was immediately exposed.

At this time, when the Mongolian army headed south, the Southern Route Army immediately fell into a situation where they were attacked from both sides.

Pu Chaguannu said that he had sent someone to notify the Southern Lu Army, but Zhao Tai and Wu Xian did not receive any news. Only Pu Chaguannu himself knew whether he had sent anyone.

Now that Puchaguannu has withdrawn to Xuzhou, he has burned the floating bridge. In a short period of time, the Southern Army was unable to collect ships and enough materials to build the floating bridge.

Zhao Tai thought that after he arrived in Xuzhou, Pu Chaguannu changed his previous attitude and was quite attentive to him. Now that he thought about it, he might not have a good intention at that time.

Zhao Tai was taught a lesson by Pu Chaguannu, which made him understand a truth: when a vicious person is very attentive to you, he is probably planning to plot against you.

Zhao Tai tried hard to calm himself down. The more this time the coach would be, the less he could not panic.

He looked at Liu Fu and asked, "Do you know the trends of Mongolian reinforcements?"

If the Mongolian reinforcements were still far away, Zhao Tai might have time to retreat.

"Report to Xuanxiang, as soon as we retreated, the Mongolian cavalry arrived at the ferry." Liu Fu said with his fists.

After hearing this, Zhao Tai knew that the Mongolian cavalry was very close to him.

At this moment, another rider galloped from the north and shouted loudly from a distance: "Report!"

Zhao Tai and Wu Xian turned their heads and saw a knight covered in blood and in a very embarrassing manner, and they were closer. Wu Xian's face had changed drastically.

When Zhao Tai saw the visitor clearly, he was also shocked. The Wuwei Army left behind in Pi County was a thousand households.

The knight galloped in front of him and rolled down. "Master, Xuan Xiang! Pi County has been captured by the Mongolian soldiers. Woo~~~~~"
Chapter completed!