Li Xia wanted to pursue Kublai Khan personally. But considering that all the information now had to be compiled and he would make decisions and issue orders, he suppressed this idea.
From time to time, soldiers came to report what they had captured and who they had captured.
"Your Majesty, Shi Tianze was killed in a stray arrow. Shi Gang is willing to lead his troops to surrender. Do you want to bring him to see him?"
"If I don't see him, I will bring various historians to see me, such as Zhang Tong, Li Bo, Zhang Lin, Guo Kan, Cui Dezhang and others." Li Xia was so busy that he had no time to lament Shi Tianze's death, so he took out a copy he had prepared Good list.
He recruits enemy troops and always likes to directly control the opponent's troops, intervene in the middle and lower-level generals, and evacuate their commanders. This is completely different from the free-ranging style of the Golden Family, and is one of the reasons why no prince in the North is willing to join him. 1. But no matter how unwilling you are, now you can't help them anymore.
"Report!"
A messenger came from the southeast and handed over a letter, saying: "Your Majesty, there is an urgent report from Pingqiang Fort. There is a large group of Yuan troops on the east side of Helan Mountain. This is sent by Lian Gong."
Since the opening of the Sanguankou Post Road, Lian Xixian often sent five or six military reports a day, explaining in detail the situation east of Helan Mountain.
At this time, Li Xia saw that Xingqing Mansion, Dawukou, Dengkou, Hetao and other places were marked on the map. "Where is Xu Kui?!" He asked quickly.
"Your Majesty, the latest news is that General Hu was blocking Kublai Khan at Foye Crossing, while General Xu rushed to Youfanggou to occupy the pass."
What makes Li Xia somewhat regretful is that this infantry came from Pingqiang Fort and marched in a hurry all the way, and they were already very tired. Even if they could occupy Youfanggou, they would be unable to stop the 20,000 Qiexue from breaking through to the north.
If not, there would be greater certainty in keeping Kublai Khan.
"Let's remind the generals that we don't have much time left to expand our victory. Leave as many horses, prisoners, and baggage as possible. Don't give chase and let the Yuan army generals disperse into the desert with their soldiers and horses."
"Here."
Li Xia mobilized 100,000 well-equipped troops without any reservations. He used the strength of the whole country to fight this war. The granary was empty and the money bank was empty.
So this battle must be won, and there must be gains after winning. This is the most important thing.
The second thing is whether we can capture Kublai Khan.
Li Xia took out another small map and quickly added a few strokes. He drew a circle at the northernmost point of Helan Mountain and wrote a sentence.
"The Yuan army is most likely to retreat from this."
After folding the letter, he called a messenger and said, "Give it to Lian."
At this point, a thought suddenly flashed through Li Xia's mind - Kublai Khan had been very kind to Lian Xixian. Even if Lian Xixian really blocked Kublai Khan, could he really do it?
After thinking about it, he smiled slightly and secretly said that there was no need for him to have such suspicions. Kublai Khan had the protection of the 20,000 elite warriors, coupled with the strength of the Yuan army east of Helan Mountain, Lian Xixian could stop him. The possibility of reaching Kublai Khan is negligible.
Taking a step back, even if there is a "Huarong Road, Guan Yu releases Cao Cao", it may not be impossible for Lian Xixian to settle the past grudges. At the moment, we cannot send others to block the northern end of Helan Mountain.
More importantly, after this battle, the offensive and defensive positions will change, and the opportunities to pursue Kublai Khan will only increase in the future.~~
Kublai Khan rode his horse at a fast pace, his face still calm. Only his small but black and white eyes revealed a terrifying gloom.
Accompanying him were Chabi and several queens who accompanied the army, the prince Mang Gelu, and many princes and nobles. Ten thousand soldiers and horses surrounded them to form a ceremony, and the other ten thousand soldiers were divided into two parts.
, half clears the way in front, and half cuts off the rear.
Except for the 20,000 soldiers and horses, the other soldiers and horses were recruited from the army or belonged to the kings and princes. For the time being, it was no longer possible to consider how to take them away.
During the entire retreat, An Tong was giving orders most of the time. Kublai Khan did not interfere much because some of the orders were not dignified for him to utter.
An Tong kept shouting, hoping to keep the timid Xue army in retreat.
They retreated and did not allow anyone to escape faster than them, but also forced the kings and generals to cut off the rear. It can be said that they were loyal and ruthless.
Just after crossing Dajinggou, you can see a small valley gradually appearing in the Helan Mountains in the northeast. Entering the valley and walking meanderingly you can reach Dawukou, which is the nearest road that can cross the Helan Mountains.
"Khan, shall we take Dawukou? We can break up the rear after entering the mountain road." Kublai Khan looked around, thinking that there might be an ambush at this place. But this was indeed the best way, so he responded calmly:
"Yes." An Tong then sent a detective horse forward to inquire about the situation of the barbarians.
Before the scouting horse could reach the front, there was already a loud noise among Saman's men and horses. A fire suddenly lit up in front.
"There's an ambush!"
Even though Kublai Khan had a calm demeanor, his eyelids twitched. The team stopped again.
The entrance to the valley ahead is called "Youfanggou", and the Tang army has already stopped there. A general's flag has the word "Xu" written on it, which is where Xu Kui belongs.
This infantry marched quickly along the hillside and arrived faster than the Yuan army's cavalry, which was surprising. An Tong quickly sent Qiuxue up to attack Youfanggou.
The war has just started here, but the rear is still uneasy.
Just now at Foye Beach, they had been blocked for too long by Tang General Huhu and his troops. Now that they stopped again, the shouts of killing from behind were approaching at a faster speed.
You can even hear Tachaer's crazy orders. "Your Majesty, the Tang army is catching up!"
"Let Bala cut off the rear!" Tachaer roared: "If we don't stop the pursuers, we will all die!" "Ba La is already fighting to the death."
Moving his eyes back, he could see many Yuan soldiers pushing and screaming.
Further back, there were still some warriors organizing a defense line, trying to block the Tang army's pursuit. The young Zong Wang Ba Ci was one of them.
He had been seeking the throne of the Chagatai Khanate for a long time, and his ambition was much stronger than those kings who only cared about pleasure.
At this time, everyone else was running away, but he was fighting and retreating.
Wu Luhu was determined to kill Bala and kept ordering her warriors to attack fiercely. At the same time, she also incited the soldiers under Bala's command to defect. Lu Xiaoyou arrived and saw this situation. He rushed forward on his horse and shouted: "Bala, Bala!"
Come down!"
He had been told by Li Xia that it would be best if he could capture the Eight Thorns alive, but he would not force it.
"I am the real descendant of Chagatai Khan! I will never surrender to this bitch who stole the throne of Khan!" Bala cursed, "I will never surrender to this woman who is even meaner than a bitch.
"Female godfather"
Lu Xiaoyou then directed his men to kill to help Uluru Hunai break the formation, and at the same time ordered Bala to be captured alive. However, not long after, the soldiers under Bala's command turned against him one after another.
Several brave generals among the soldiers and horses of the Western Regions had already killed themselves in front of Bala. Lu Xiaoyou slapped his horse and rushed forward like lightning.
It was too late, and they saw that although Balsa tried hard to resist, he had been injured several times and was dying. Seeing this, Lu Xiaoyou simply swung his knife and chopped off Baza's head neatly. "Pfft."
With his long sword raised, Lu Xiaoyou raised his head with the tip of the sword high and shouted: "This is the booty given to Ke Dun by His Majesty!" For a time, countless Yuan troops were intimidated by this and surrendered one after another.
Half of the people howled and fled towards the wilderness to the west. But it was already too late.
During the previous offensive and defensive battles, the Tang army guarded the camp and the horses were resting. Now the horses have sufficient physical strength and can run faster than the Yuan army. They have been wrapped up from the side like dumplings.
What Li Xia meant by "expanding the results of the battle" was to prevent the Yuan army from being able to disperse and flee like before, and then be gathered back together again.
This time, the Tang army had enough troops and horses to defeat the Yuan army. Winning the battle was not just about driving away the enemy, but also about gaining benefits from the war.
~~
If the previously defeated army of soldiers and horses could only be defeated by Hu'er, Shi Tianze's tribe and most of the Yuan army who fled in the front still maintained order. But the defeat of Ba'er was the real defeat.
"Bala is also defeated!"
The shouts reached Kublai Khan's ears. He turned around and felt a trace of regret. He should not have been defeated so easily.
Because when he gave the order
When retreating, it was entirely due to the habits of the Mongolian cavalry. They habitually believed that the cavalry would not suffer much losses during the retreat.
And it was during this retreat that the situation really got out of control. What if we had to start over again?
With this idea popping up in his mind, Kublai Khan reviewed the entire battle in an instant.
He was surprised to find that Li Xia's national power had already surpassed his at the moment of Zhuge assassination and Tuohu's defeat. Maybe it wasn't the national power, but the strength that Li Xia had shown on the northwest battlefield had surpassed him.
The one-hundred-thousand-thousand-strong Tang army was well-equipped, but many soldiers of the Yuan army still prepared their own weapons. The person who was really betting was actually Kublai Khan.
He had long realized that the situation was unfavorable. He knew that the Tang army had gathered troops in Guanzhong and would be unable to move south, so he went to the west of Helan Mountain. In the end, he even took a gamble, betting that the Yuan army could block the reinforcements of the Tang army, and that he could annihilate Li Xia as soon as possible.
.
Therefore, when he saw that he was at a disadvantage, he ordered a retreat. He was willing to admit defeat.
Kublai Khan closed his eyes sadly.
At this time, the cowardly Xue army in the front was still attacking Youfanggou. Suddenly, someone from behind shouted: "Those who dare to attack the guards of the Great Khan will die!"
"Don't come over!"
"Tang Jun is coming! Let us pass!"
A timid Xue soldier rushed over and reported: "Great Khan, King Tacha'er's troops are about to be overwhelmed. They don't want to cut off the rear and want to push forward."
"Shooted."
Before he could finish the question, Kublai Khan had already replied calmly: "Those who dare to charge into the battle will die." "Yes!"
Because there was Helan Mountain to the east and the Tang army had already surrounded it from the west, the panicked Yuan soldiers had nowhere to escape and had no choice but to run into Kublai Khan's Qixue.
Soon, a dense rain of arrows struck, and more and more people fell under their horses, screaming in agony. This killing continued for a long time.
Kublai Khan's face became increasingly gloomy, knowing that he could never go on like this. He called An Tong over and said, "Give up taking Dawukou and go around Helan Mountain."
"But Khan, there is a large desert north of Helan Mountain. Our luggage" "Go north and bypass Helan Mountain." Kublai Khan repeated.
An Tong was still hesitant. Suddenly, there was a "boom" and something exploded in the formation of the Qixue Army at the rear. "The Tang Army is coming! King Tacha'er has surrendered!"
"King Tachar has surrendered!"
All the kings were shocked and instantly became chaotic.
Turning around to look, I saw flames soaring into the sky. Even the formation of Qie Xue's army began to become chaotic. "Let's go!"
An Tong did not dare to delay any longer, and rushed north while protecting Kublai Khan.
Kublai Khan turned his head and took a look. In the light of the fire, he saw Tachaer leading a group of people to rush towards this side. "I didn't surrender! It was the Tang army who harmed me!"
"Stop him!"
There was chaos everywhere, and the timid Xue army couldn't tell whether Tacha'er had surrendered or not, so they tried their best to stop him; but Tacha'er was bent on escaping north and rushed regardless.
Finally. "Hey!"
Amidst the rain of arrows, the war horse under Tacha'er's crotch whined, raised its hoof, and knocked him to the ground.
The deserters behind continued to charge regardless, mercilessly stepping over the leader of the host kings, Kublai Khan no longer looked at him.
He didn't expect that the highest-ranking hero who supported him to ascend the throne would be trampled into mud by horses' hooves. Just like this night, it was a complete mess.