On the sixth day of February, Li Zengbo took Song He and Pifeng and led his troops to leave the Dingyuan camp and go south to defend the third pass. Li Xia began to arrange his troops to face Kublai Khan's offensive again.
He built a battle platform on Yingpan Mountain to facilitate command.
This place is named after Ban Chao was stationed there, and the terrain is very advantageous. With Helan Mountain as a barrier to the east, the terrain is high and there is water.
Li Xia used the telescope to look northwest and could clearly see the battlefield, including Tachaer's command podium.
Lifting up the telescope and looking further north, one could even see Kublai Khan's battle platform. Although there was only a shadow the size of a fingernail in sight, it was the one closest to Kublai Khan and Li Xia.
once.
"I haven't met Kublai Khan yet. What does he look like?"
Standing next to Li Xia was Uluru Hunai. Her expression was not good-looking and she said calmly: "I haven't seen him for almost twenty years. I only remember him when he was young."
Li Xia was still turning his telescope, as if he wanted to zoom in closer to see Kublai Khan clearly. "What was he like when he was young?"
"He was not outstanding at that time, far less elegant than you are now." Uluru said: "He spent most of the time with her mother. He didn't talk much. He was dark and easy to ignore.
Him. And he doesn’t like to drink heavily like Meng Ge and Hulagu.”
"He has no personality, is silent, and doesn't steal the limelight from his brothers."
"Yes. But later I found out that he was like that only in front of us Mongolians. Privately, he liked to ask about the deeds of past emperors. When he heard that Li Shimin established a shogunate when he was the king of Qin, he began to imitate it."
"He was only in his teens or twenties at that time, right?"
"Hmm. How should I put it? If you are like a very sharp and eye-catching sword, then it is like a dark deep pool." Drums sounded from the north.
Li Xia finally put down his telescope and stopped trying to see clearly Kublai Khan's battle platform. "The fighting in the north has begun," Uluru said.
"The fighting in this direction is just consuming each other."
There was also a huge map placed on the battlefield. It was made of felt cloth, with mountains and rivers clearly marked. Li Xia walked to the map and pushed a few war chess pieces with his scabbard.
"Kublai Khan would not place his hopes of victory on Tacha'er. He gave a large number of exhausted soldiers in the Yuan army to Tacha'er to attack from the north in order to contain our main force and make it easier to attack and flee.
Go around from the west to the south."
"Don't you send troops to stop him?"
"Sent. I sent Lu Xiaoyou to lead the cavalry to intercept to the west. They will definitely encounter the Yuan army in this area. You can still encircle the road from the outside and go south. At this time, Kong Xian can lead the infantry to occupy
this place."
Uluru squinted at the few Chinese characters on the map that were difficult to read and said, "Chicken Guanliang?"
"Well, there are two post roads, Suyukou and Sanguankou. One comes from the east and the other comes from the south. You have to pass through here." "Then what?"
"Then you have to fight battle after battle to find out." Li Xia said: "If there are no mistakes, the final battle will be about national strength and wealth."
Ulukhunai looked around the map and said, "Looking at it this way, your troops are still insufficient." "Everyone who can be mobilized has been mobilized. Now you only have more than 10,000 people as a reserve force."
"Kublai Khan still has at least 20,000 people to prepare for, and he is still timid. His wealth is richer than yours." "There will be reinforcements." Li Xia said, "I said I would fight this battle with the strength of the whole country.
"
"There are four directions, plus three passes, and five battlefields. You only have my reserve force of 10,000 people. Do you expect me to put out fires for you at any time? But when I left the Ili River, I brought 30,000 people with me." Uluru said:
"The bigger problem is that Haidu has withdrawn, and he will take the opportunity to annex my territory. So Kublai Khan will also have reinforcements."
"Most of the troops you lost were separated during the breakout. Now they have either surrendered to the other side or become prisoners. Only by defeating Kublai Khan can you recover them and regain your strength."
Li Xia always needs some effort if he wants to command Uluru Hunai's troops. After all, they don't belong to him, so he needs to borrow troops every time.
~~
Hetan Mountain in the north and Wurisi Grassland in the west are the main battlefields. However, the Tang army fought with their backs to the main camp and could defend themselves accordingly. The battle was not intense and the winner could not be determined for the time being.
Jiguanliang in the south and Sanguankou further south, these two battlefields are more critical.
Only in the battlefield to the east, there was one thing that Li Xia didn't quite understand about Kublai Khan's arrangement. This area belonged to the western slope of Helan Mountain. Although the terrain was gentler than that in the east, it was getting higher and higher.
The area to the east of Yingpan Mountain is called "Little Dead Man's Ditch", and the terrain is dangerous. Further east, it is the highest point of Helan Mountain, and there is still snow on the top of the mountain that never melts all year round.
If the Yuan army occupied Xiaoseirengou, they would indeed have a commanding geographical advantage over Dingyuan Camp. However, the water sources and roads in Xiaoseirengou area were insufficient, which was not conducive to the garrison.
In short, it is meaningful, but it is not the key.
Li Xia mainly paid attention to the situation on several other battlefields that day. It was not until evening that Lin Zi rushed back from Bao Sanjun and reported excitedly: "Your Majesty, there is good news."
"explain."
"We have contacted Yuan Jun Hong Junqi" "Let's talk carefully from the beginning."
"Yes, this Yuan army has been heading east and stationed at Xiaoseirengou in the afternoon. There are four thousand troops. Although the commander is under the banner of Ai Buhua, the actual command is Hong Junqi."
"How did you find out?"
"Brother Bao deliberately attacked their defense line. I took the opportunity to contact a spy we arranged in the Yuan army. Although his official position is not high, he is from the same hometown as one of Hong Junqi's cowards, Xue, so he can glean some intelligence."
Li Xia asked, "Why did Kublai Khan send such an army of troops to the east?"
"Build a cannon." Lin Zi said: "They have brought a few Huihui soldiers in the army, so they can build a kind of Huihui cannon. If a huge boulder is dropped from a high place in the east, it can hit this battle platform."
Li Xia looked up and saw that the snow on the top of Helan Mountain in the distance looked hazy in the moonlight.
He had always felt that Kublai Khan would follow in the footsteps of Meng Ge in his personal expedition. However, he never thought that sometimes with just one or two oversights, he might be the one to follow in Meng Ge's footsteps.
"Your Majesty," Lin Zi said, "The terrain around Xiaoseirengou is steep. If we can't seize it back, we'll wait until the Yuan army builds the return artillery and use the terrain to keep pushing forward and bombard it with cannons and rocks. I'm afraid it will be disadvantageous."
"Continue to inquire." Li Xia said: "I believe Bao San is confident in fighting in the mountains."
"Yes." Lin Zi added: "One more thing. After the news of Wang Jian's death in battle came, Hong Junqi said that His Majesty killed well. Our Military Intelligence Department has been contacting him. Maybe he can be recruited to surrender. I am very sure."
"You try to arrange it."
Lin Zi received the order and left in a hurry.
Li Xia continued to look at the map with thoughtful eyes, as if he was playing chess with Kublai Khan.~~
Only seven miles away is the Yuan army camp.
Kublai Khan personally picked up a piece of bloody meat and fed it to Hai Dongqing. Chabi stood aside with his brother.
If it weren't for the battlefield, this would probably be considered a happy family situation.
"The kings have lost the glorious tradition of Genghis Khan. This is what I fear most when I implement Han law. I have tamed these ferocious eagles into birds that cannot hunt."
After Kublai Khan finished feeding the eagle, he turned to look at Mang Ge La and asked, "What about you? Have you been tamed too?"
Mang Geci originally lowered his head in frustration, but when asked, he had to raise his head and said: "Children born from ferocious lions will not turn into sheep."
Kublai Khan asked: "Do you know what my ambition is?" "My father is the greatest Khan of the Great Mongolia."
Kublai Khan said: "When I was very young, I often heard my brother say that he would rule the eternal world and all the territories within the reach of the horse's hooves, and everyone would crawl under his feet and become his people.
.This is not only his ambition, but also mine. Even though he is dead, I am still continuing this ambition."
Mang Ge was stunned for a moment, not understanding why his father said this.
"Cheer up." Kublai Khan patted him on the shoulder, "My son, you need to inherit this
Ambition." Brother Ma shuddered.
Chabi's eyes turned red.
Both mother and son knew that Zhenjin had been missing for too long, and now Kublai Khan finally shifted his expectations to Maunge Sashi. At this time, a transmission sounded outside the tent.
It's Zhang Yi, commander of the Eagle Guard, here.
Kublai Khan turned to look at the map and saw Zhang Yi stepping forward and pointing and talking for a long time. He first pointed to the south of the Tang Army's camp, and finally pointed to the east.
"Li Xia can't help but see that the key to this battle lies in the third pass. He will not let us easily capture the third pass, so this is the place he is most likely to ignore. This first breakthrough may be made by Hong Junqi
Come and open"
Kublai Khan asked indifferently, "Otherwise, who else can do it?"
After the war, he no longer placed his hope of victory on Tacha'er, Ba Ci, Hu La Hu'er and others. Among the Yuan army, they were still willing to fight hard, but the ones who could win the battle were the Semu people and the Han army.
~~
It was on this night that a figure hurriedly walked through the dark mountain road and entered Bao San's camp west of Xiaoderengou. Lin Zi and Bao San met him together.
"General Hong thanked His Majesty the Tang Emperor for getting rid of his father-killing enemy and was willing to surrender. He agreed to kill Aibuhua before dawn and asked General Bao to come to the camp to receive the surrendered troops."
"Before dawn? So urgent?"
"Yes, General Hong is worried that his actions have been noticed by Zhang Yi." Lin Zi asked again: "What actions?"
"He framed Wang Jian's son Wang Yong, and his younger brother has contact with the rebels of Goryeo. Zhang Yi has always had an informant around him, and he was discovered just after he came into contact with you this time."
After the messenger left, Bao San looked at Lin Zi and asked, "What do you think?"
"It's too urgent." Lin Zi said, "It's as if we're afraid that we won't have time to deliver the news to His Majesty overnight."