When Zhao Tai moved closer to Chuzhou, he considered the possibility of Kublai Khan's escape to the north, so he sent a partial army directly into the Huaihe River to prevent Kublai Khan from crossing the river.

In the battle of Chuzhou, the Mongolian army suffered extremely heavy losses. Almost all the infantry was wiped out, but tens of thousands of cavalry troops fled north.

These horse troops are the essence of Mongolia and must not be allowed to escape.

Because as long as the Mongolian headquarters are not damaged, they will have the strength to continue to enslave other ethnic groups, and the lost servant army will soon be replenished.

If these cavalry troops escape across the Huaihe River, they will definitely go south again within a few years.

Zhao Kui said: "Can Kublai Khan be kept? If so, we can ask Mongolia to withdraw from the Central Plains!"

Zhao Taidao: "It's hard to say whether we can keep them, but those tens of thousands of Mongolian troops will definitely not be able to cross the river easily."

After the partial division of the Qi army arrives in Haozhou, they will collect the boats on the Huai River. The Mongolian army has no ferry unless they swim across the Huai River.

Zhao Fan said excitedly: "In that case, I will quickly go north to pursue you!"

Zhao Taidao said: "There are still a few remnants of the enemy trapped on the top of the mountain. I want to hand them over to the Privy Council to deal with, and the other troops will immediately move north."

Shi Songzhi frowned slightly, but didn't say anything.

Zhao Kui knew that this was Zhao Tai's gift to him for his military exploits, so he did not refuse, "Okay, I will destroy them and then go north immediately!"

~~~~~~

Kublai Khan did not expect that the war would end like this.

In the Battle of Chuzhou, he lost more than 70% of his troops and horses, not to mention what he had gained in the previous months.

The loss of those infantry troops was a loss. Anyway, there were a lot of Han people, and tens of thousands of people could be brought out within two years. However, the Mongolian population was not large, and the cavalry army suffered such heavy losses that they could not recover in a short time, which was unacceptable to him.

In the two battles between Chuzhou and Chuzhou, the Mongolian warriors suffered losses of more than 20,000. Even if he escaped across the Huaihe River, he would not have the shame to return to the grassland.

The defeat of the war made Kublai Khan extremely depressed, but he still cheered up and led the remaining defeated soldiers towards the north, reaching Haozhou in one breath.

The Mongolian army was chased all the way by the loyal army, and now it barely escaped the pursuit. As soon as the cavalry's tense spirit relaxed, sleepiness and exhaustion immediately eroded the cavalry's spirit.

Kublai Khan was riding a war horse, and his body was swaying on the horse, so that Yang You next to him reminded him from time to time, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

Kublai Khan stabilized his body, glanced around with dull eyes, and asked after a while: "Where are you going?"

Yang You licked his chapped lips, "Your Majesty, we have entered Haozhou and arrived at Huanglianbu."

Kublai Khan said tiredly: "Have you got rid of the enemy?"

Yang You nodded, "We are all cavalry, Zhao is the thief and Ma Shao, the pursuers have been left behind!"

Upon hearing this, Kublai Khan reined in his horse and dismounted. His guards quickly helped him and sat down on a stone beside the road.

】

At this time, Kublai Khan took a few sips of water, thinking about this tragic defeat, and lowered his head and was speechless for a while.

Yang You and others stood on the left and right, all with their heads lowered and not daring to make a sound.

Kublai Khan sat for a while, with his head lowered, and asked aloud: "How many men and horses were lost?"

Everyone raised their heads, glanced at each other, and said: "There is no way to count now, the infantry must be completely destroyed."

Yang Youdao: "Wulianghetai of ten thousand households, Borji, Bolt, and Ashar of ten thousand households, Yan Jizhong of ten thousand households of the Han army, and dozens of other generals have disappeared."

Kublai Khan's eyes were full of tears, and he said stably: "Your Majesty! The most urgent task is to cross the river quickly, retreat to the Central Plains, and get rid of the enemy's pursuit!"

Kublai Khan lowered his head for a while, then wiped his face and raised his head with red eyes, "Bring me the map!"

Seeing this, everyone quickly took a map and spread it out in front of Kublai Khan.

Kublai Khan looked at it and said, "Before the decisive battle, I ordered Wushang to send three thousand troops to Haozhou first to build a pontoon bridge on the Huaihe River to maintain contact with the Central Plains."

Having said this, Kublai Khan said in a painful voice: "My original intention was that in case of a confrontation with Zhao's thieves or our army was frustrated, we would retreat to Haozhou and hold on to attract the main force from the south to attack.

If the troops move south, they will be able to bloom in the center and defeat the enemy in one fell swoop! I don’t want to think that I, the king, will suffer such a disastrous defeat!”

When the generals saw him like this, many of them quietly wiped away tears.

Kublai Khan raised his head to prevent tears from flowing out, and calmed down his emotions after a while, "Now that all the infantry troops have been lost, and the cavalry troops have also suffered heavy losses, there is no condition to hold on to Haozhou. We rested for a while, and then set off immediately to cross the river from the pontoon bridge.

, I will take you back to the Central Plains."

This time the Mongolian army suffered too many losses, losing many generals and more than 70% of its troops and horses. The soldiers had no fighting spirit and the generals were timid. They really needed to cross the Huaihe River early, and there was no possibility of a comeback.

After deciding to cross the river and escape back to the Central Plains, the exhausted Mongolian army rested on the spot.

The cavalry drank some mare's milk, then fell to the ground and fell asleep.

The pursuers were right behind him. Kublai Khan only sat there for less than half an hour before he stood up and prepared to go on the road.

At this moment, there was a commotion in front of the team, and Kublai Khan frowned, "What's going on?"

The response from the Mongolian cavalry came from ahead, "It's one of our own!"

Kublai Khan looked forward and saw a group of cavalry coming against the crowd, so he immediately said to the generals: "This is the neck post!"

Not long after, the cavalry arrived in front of Kublai Khan, and everyone looked at it with fear in their hearts.

Because all of their armors were damaged, it was obvious that they had gone through a fierce battle.

Kublai Khan noticed something was wrong and said, "Nertie, didn't I ask you to build a pontoon bridge to block the Huaihe River? Why are you here?"

Huertie rolled off his horse and said, "Your Majesty, after we arrived in Haozhou, we cut down wood on the south bank and built a pontoon bridge. Unexpectedly, we were attacked by bandits in the middle of the night. We fought our way out and got here!"

When Kublai Khan heard this, he felt a thunderclap in his head, making his head buzz and his vision went blank.

This news was like a bolt from the blue, sending everyone present stunned.

Without a floating bridge, how could they cross the river and return to the grassland?

Kublai Khan originally thought that the Chuzhou defeat was already very disastrous and the lowest point in his life, but he did not want to think that worse disasters were to come.

The Qi army appeared in Haozhou, making Kublai Khan aware of the danger.

The Mongolian army, which had just escaped from Chuzhou, was exhausted and had low morale, but faced a situation of being blocked in front and being pursued behind.

None of the Mongolian generals expected that Zhao Tai would send troops and horses to Haozhou even after taking one step at a time.

In order to bring the remaining soldiers back to the grassland, Kublai Khan did not dare to rest. He suddenly shouted: "Hurry! Get on your horses! Go north immediately and collect ferries from the Huaihe River."

The main force of the Southern Song Dynasty was in Chuzhou. Kublai Khan hoped that there would not be many Qi troops on the Huai River and there would be ferries on the bank.

After hearing the order, the Mongolian soldiers did not dare to neglect. They got on their horses one after another and galloped northward.

In order to keep up with the team, some of the exhausted cavalry even tied themselves to their horses to prevent them from falling when they fell asleep.
Chapter completed!