The two camps were very close to each other, with only more than twenty miles between the two camps.
The wind carries the smell of blood.
Yang Ben walked into the camp holding a bloody helmet, his eyes were completely different from usual, and he seemed a lot more defeated.
He saw Li Xia standing in front of the wounded barracks, paused on his feet, stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, I have probably calculated it..."
"Say it."
"Including those who were broken up and those who were seriously injured, the Yan'an Army lost more than 2,000 people, and the Ningxia Army lost more than 2,700 combat troops. More specific casualties will have to wait until tomorrow."
Li Xia was silent for a moment and asked: "What about last night? How much combat power did Ai Buhua's subordinates lose, including those who fled and those who were seriously injured?"
"I haven't calculated it, I think it must be more than tens of thousands."
"Um."
Li Xia did not comfort Yang Ben any more and said: "Cheer up and follow me."
He strode into the military meeting tent and first saw the large map hanging there.
After standing and watching for a while, Li Xia finally said, "Kublai Khan is here."
Yang Ben was in a daze, as if he hadn't recovered from today's battle.
Li Xia said to himself: "It can be seen that Kublai Khan does not have many troops."
"Your Majesty, please forgive me for my blunt statement. Kublai Khan personally conquered it. Counting the original strength of Hetao, including Tacha'er, Aibuhua and other troops, 100,000 people can still be put together..."
"Is it a lot? If I am willing, I can also raise 100,000 people."
Li Xia walked to the map, casually clicked on the six routes under his control, and said: "I only need to mobilize the garrison troops from Chongqing and Hanzhong, and then mobilize the troops from various places to maintain public security. We can still recruit 100,000 officers and soldiers."
Yang Ben was surprised.
In terms of military affairs, he knew Li Xia's combat style very well. He had always tried to streamline as much as possible, because the population under his rule was sparse and food was scarce. Even if so many soldiers and horses could be mobilized, they would not be able to supply the supply line for the army's expedition. What's more,
, can various places still be able to stop guarding?
But he suddenly said this today. Could it be that he wanted to mobilize a large army to fight Kublai Khan in Hetao?
But Li Xia continued to point at the map and said, "Even if Kublai Khan gathered 100,000 people in Hetao, would it be a lot? Not many. You divide these 100,000 people into Kaiping, Yanjing, Yinshan, and Taihang Mountains.
Are the various passes on the Yanshan Mountains enough?"
"not enough."
Yang Ben finally recovered from his frustration, stepped forward, drew a circle on the Central Plains area on the map, and said: "At least in these places that are not bordering us, the Yuan army must be empty. Therefore, Kubi
Lieutenant General can only defend us in Hetao. Once he allows us to gain a foothold in Hetao, his troops will no longer be enough to defend us in various places. Is this the reason for his personal expedition?"
"He cannot lose this battle, but no matter who he appoints as commander-in-chief, there is no guarantee of victory...except himself."
"But although the Central Plains is empty, Kublai Khan still arranged a defense line at the border with us. Shanxi and Henan have always been heavily guarded, so His Majesty chose to take a detour from the Hetao. Now that even the Hetao is blocked, how can we enter the Central Plains?
"
Li Xia did not answer directly, but looked thoughtful and said: "Actually, Meng Yuan is the same as us, with a vast territory and sparsely populated areas, and not many troops. In this case, offense is the best defense."
He was also still digesting the news of Kublai Khan's personal conquest.
Yang Ben stopped thinking about today's defeat to Zhang Hongfan and began to look at the map and think about the battle situation.
"Offense is the best defense... His Majesty and Kublai Khan both use offense instead of defense..."
Suddenly, Yang Ben's eyes moved and he said: "Here!"
He pointed his finger at Shandong.
"I fought with Zhang Hongfan today and found that many of his soldiers and horses spoke with Shandong accents. His Majesty also said that Kublai Khan's troops were not strong enough to defend various places, which shows that he must have transferred troops from Shandong. Now if the Song Dynasty can send a surprise army to the north, it will be like this
It is not difficult to enter uninhabited territory and go straight to Yanjing!"
Li Xia raised his hand, pointed at the desk, and said, "There is a draft there."
"This is……"
"I have sent a horse back to Chang'an, asked the imperial court to send envoys to the Song court, and invited the Song army to go north. But this matter is just a trial, don't have any expectations. On the contrary, what I am worried about is...if I confront Kublai Khan
If we go down, as time goes by, will Song Ting give us a stumbling block?"
Yang Ben can no longer keep up with Li Xia's thinking.
He didn't think it was a good idea to continue the confrontation for a long time, and said: "Your Majesty, is it better to withdraw the troops temporarily?"
"No."
Li Xia had already frowned, then turned around and said: "Looking at the experience of the Jin Kingdom when the Mongols destroyed Xixia, the Mongols were good at intervening, looting and killing, and constantly weakened the enemy's national power. They took advantage of Kublai Khan's rage to come
, it is better to fight to the death than to drag it out."
This is what he has been thinking about tonight, should he retreat or fight?
In attacking the Hetao this time, Li Xia believed that he was "stealing" the Hetao.
He did not hope that stealing the Loop would trigger a decisive battle with Kublai Khan. He did not have such national strength and was not prepared.
Facing Kublai Khan's personal conquest, he indeed felt tremendous pressure.
But in his heart he didn't want to retreat, he wanted to hold on.
He believed that Kublai Khan was also not ready for a decisive battle.
So, if it is a war, where is the chance of victory?
Li Xia thought about it, touched a certain place on the map, and whispered: "The Central Plains is empty of troops. It's a pity that even the road to Hetao is blocked. We can't enter the Central Plains. But maybe it's not necessary to enter the Central Plains. If I don't agree with Hu,
If we continue to fight fiercely, maybe as time goes by, the hearts of the people in the Central Plains will also change?"
The problem being considered before me is like suddenly putting ten years of hard work and everything I have shouldered on my shoulders on the gambling table, and the outcome will be decided in one round.
But he could actually take a step back, return to Chang'an, and start business slowly.
To gamble or not to gamble?
~~
Yuan army camp.
Zhang Hongfan welcomed the ministers sent by Kublai Khan and recounted today's military exploits.
"Jiu Batu is indeed brave."
Heli Huosun nodded repeatedly after hearing the battle situation.
He was a Mongolian, or one of Kublai Khan's cowardly soldiers, but he was proficient in learning and good at painting. At this time, he also spoke fluent Chinese.
"But... why don't all the nine groups take advantage of the victory to pursue Li Xia today?"
Zhang Hongfan said: "Your Majesty has already marched on the expedition himself. He wants to defeat Li Xia, so there is no hurry to do so on this day."
Heli Huosun asked again: "But what if Li Xia escapes?"
Zhang Hongfan pondered for a while and said: "It would be good if he returns to Xingqing Mansion. At least His Majesty will fight in person and protect the river immediately. The rest can be taken care of slowly."
"this?"
Heli Huosun smiled and said, "I'm sorry I didn't understand."
"Li Xia only has seven or eight thousand troops. If he doesn't retreat, he will definitely die when the army surrounds him. If he retreats, when your Majesty arrives, Li Xia will run away as soon as he hears the news."
Heli Huosun still didn't understand, and asked directly: "But, there seems to be a big difference between the two? One is all in one battle, and the other can only show His Majesty's majesty... Of course, His Majesty's majesty does not need to be intimidated.
Li Xia has come to appear."
Zhang Hongfan couldn't help but smile and said frankly: "Okay, then considering the risk of me directly attacking Li Xia today, the difference is not big."
Heli Huosun didn't expect him to be so candid and was stunned for a moment.
Zhang Hongfan added: "I am just afraid that I will lose, and I dare to speak so frankly to Your Majesty. Being afraid of losing is not embarrassing, losing is the real shame."
Heli Huosun stood up, bowed again, and said: "I understand, I will report back to Your Majesty right away."
"It's time to work."
Zhang Hongfan sent Heli and Huo Sun away, then climbed to the small peak of Yinshan Mountain, stared at the Tang Army camp in the distance, analyzed the situation, and became more confident.
By the middle of the night, Heli Huosun had reported the battle situation to Kublai Khan and came to Zhang Hongfan's camp again. He burst into laughter when they met.
"Congratulations to Jiu Batu. Your Majesty is very satisfied with Jiu Batu's results today."
Zhang Hongfan was not surprised. He knew that His Majesty would understand his careful choice on the battlefield.
"I didn't continue to attack Li Xia. Is Your Majesty angry?"
Heli Huosun shook his head, walked quickly into the tent, and whispered: "Your Majesty has a map for Jiu Batu, come and take a look."
Zhang Hongfan raised his eyebrows and felt something. He quickly ordered his guards to guard the tent and followed him in.
He lit the candle and saw that Heli Huosun had spread out a small map on the table.
Just looking at those arrows, Zhang Hongfan couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
"My Holy Emperor!"
He praised him sincerely, thinking that his Majesty's personal expedition was indeed completely different from Shi Tianze, Tacha'er, and He Dan.
Including Brother Ali.
Now that I think about it, the reason why Li Xia has been so victorious in these years is simply because His Majesty has never turned his attention to Li Xia.
He came closer, analyzed the arrows carefully, and nodded.
"In this way, this battle is almost certain... By the way, what about this force?"
"Jiu Ba doesn't know yet, right?" When mentioning this, Heli Huosun's eyes looked a little complicated and he said, "King Anxi is already on his way back with his troops."
Zhang Hongfan was surprised, and then quickly figured out the whole story. Instead of asking any more questions, he said: "Your Majesty originally wanted to pacify the Western Regions first... It seems that Li Xia got himself into trouble by stealing the Hetao this time."