The seventh day of the tenth lunar month, Dadu, Yuan Dynasty.
Kublai Khan has put on a suit of golden armor.
The ministers rushed to him one by one, listened to his orders, and left in a hurry. The Yuan army finally felt a sense of urgency.
Great Khan, Naiyan’s troops have withdrawn from the Tuanhe Camp.”
"Tachar, this damn grandson, is not as fierce as he looks. Order him to guard the east...Has Ahema arrived?!"
So Ahema hurried into the tent and prostrated himself on the carpet.
Kublai Khan looked at him coldly and asked: "How many artillery pieces have been built?!"
"Great Khan, we have built two more cannons and are moving them to the top of the city. In addition, eight cannons have been installed, and the heavy fire oil tanks and thunder cannons are also ready..."
Ahema lost Taiyuan but was not killed by Kublai Khan precisely because he was still in charge of this matter.
Since six years ago, Dayuan had hoped to imitate the artillery of the Tang army.
After all, since the time of Genghis Khan, the Mongolian army has attached great importance to these ordnance skills, often leaving the lives of craftsmen when massacring cities. Defeating the decadent Jin Kingdom and relying on the Jin Kingdom's firearms to march westward is one of the reasons why the Mongolian army is invincible in the world. one.
In order to spy on the Tang army's firearms manufacturing methods, the Eagle Guard repeatedly sent spies to Chang'an, and Ahema often used smugglers in Shanxi to spy on this matter. However, what he obtained was only a scrap of information.
Fortunately, as the Tang army saw more and more artillery, many people in the Yuan army realized that this was not too difficult.
After doing everything possible to explore and study, Ahema finally drew the blueprint of the artillery two years ago and handed it over to Kublai Khan to cast the cannon in Dadu's Zaozuo Bureau.
It is a pity that the Tang army has already begun the Northern Expedition and gradually attacked Yanjing. What other role can these artillery pieces play?
Ahema just hopes they can save their lives...
"The Tang army has begun to attack the city. If you go to the top of the city and instruct the warriors to fire cannons, I will see that you are worthy of my forgiveness."
"Don't worry, Khan!" Ahema had a slight drop of sweat on his forehead, but he still responded: "As long as I am still here, the Tang army will never be allowed to enter Dadu." ---
Kublai Khan raised his eyes and looked at the city defense map. Someone had marked the positions of the newly added artillery and return artillery.
Ahema just retreated, and immediately another messenger came. Khan! Marshal Ailu came back with an urgent message.
Ailu was a general sent by Kublai Khan to garrison Juyong Pass.
At this time, Kublai Khan took the letter and took a look at it. His eyes were condensed, and a trace of rage flashed in his eyes. He was betrayed.
Yanmen Pass has been lost.
Maybe the Tang army will attack Juyong Pass soon.
But after Kublai Khan thought about it for a long time, he did not make any decision on this. He only sent an order to Ailu, ordering him to guard Juyong Pass.
Afterwards, he ordered Qie Xue to kill the messenger sent by Ailu. He did not want those Mongolian generals to clamor to withdraw to the grassland. What he should do now was to defeat the Tang army.
one
Tang Army River Camp.
"Commander, Marshal Zhang from Baozhou is here."
Zhang Jue heard the announcement, turned around and rushed outside the camp to meet Zhang Rou himself.
Behind him, Shi Zheng saw this scene and couldn't help but said to his uncle Shi Jin: "The three marshals all have the surname Zhang. I can't tell them apart."
"Shut up, if you have the skills, if someone calls you Marshal Shi, smoke will rise from our ancestral graves."
"Is it difficult?" Shi Zheng patted his chest, "I have made many achievements in battle at such a young age." "Don't be crazy about me, I just ask you to save your life on the battlefield."
After a while, Zhang Jue led Zhang Rou, Zhang Hongdao and others into the tent and introduced each other.
After hearing that these were generals from Diaoyu City, Zhang Rou's eyes became a little different and she said, "It's amazing, it's amazing."
Shi Zheng couldn't help but straighten his back, thinking that it would be different if he killed Meng Ge in the battle of Diaoyu City. No matter where he went, everyone would have to take a high look. If he could kill Kublai Khan this time, that would be great.
..
Such a
I was distracted, and when I turned around, I saw several Marshal Zhang discussing around the map. "The army has arrived at Yanjing City. It's better for all the roads to fight independently." "Your Majesty should arrive in the next few days."
"That's good. I'm still familiar with the terrain." "Marshal Zhang, do you have any ideas on how to fight this battle?"
"The city is too big for our troops to surround. Instead, the Yuan army's cavalry can constantly harass us."
"As far as I know, the Yuan army may not have much food and grass, and they will definitely use their cavalry to attack our baggage line."
"Then we should focus on counter-attack and harassment at the beginning. When the Yuan army gives up their intention of sneak attack on the baggage, we can force them to fight us decisively."
As Shi Zheng listened, he felt that these analyzes were too boring, and he gradually became distracted.
He thought to himself that maybe he really couldn't be a commander, but maybe he could only be a fierce general.
When he turned around again, he saw Liu Jinsuo standing among the generals. He had closed his eyes and nodded his head from time to time, as if he could doze off even while standing.
On the contrary, although Aji was originally an illiterate female general, now she was staring at the map and listening to the analysis of several marshals with rapt attention.
Suddenly, a whistle came from outside the tent.
Shi Zheng was startled. He thought it was an enemy attack. Then he saw a soldier rushing into the tent. "Your Majesty is here!"
"What?" Zhang Jue was also surprised and shouted: "So fast?!"
The generals still had disbelief in their hearts and hurriedly drove out of the camp. After waiting for a while, the silhouette of a knight really came into view from the wind and snow in the distance, followed by a dragon flag.
~"Hey!"
The cavalrymen reined in their reins, and the horses' hooves stirred up snow on the snow.
Li Xia turned over and dismounted, and rubbed his face, which was frozen by the cold wind.
If the generals at the front hadn't recognized him, it would have been hard to believe that His Majesty the Emperor had rushed back to the front in such a hurry.
"Your Majesty, I only received the message this morning..." "It seems that the messenger's journey is faster than mine."
Li Xia raised his hand and said: "Don't be nagging in the army, go to the tent first." He told the soldiers of the Selected Front Camp to settle down first, and strode into the camp. When he passed by the familiar generals, he reached out and patted them.
"Liu Jinsuo, you're fat."
"Your Majesty, I am clearly strong."
Li Xia patted Shi Zheng's shoulder again and said, "A lot taller?" Shi Zheng giggled twice and didn't know how to respond.
He foolishly followed him back to the big tent, only to see Li Xia standing in front of the map. "You were discussing strategy just now? Is there any result?"
"I believe that we should first prevent the Yuan army from attacking in this battle..."
The bonfire in the tent heated up the snow on Li Xia's body and turned it into water, which dropped drop by drop on the ground. He took a handkerchief and wiped his face. After hearing these analysis, he shook his head.
"This battle cannot be so troublesome. I plan to directly fight Kublai Khan. What do you think?"
All the marshals were stunned.
Generals like Liu Jinsuo and Shi Zheng suddenly became more energetic.
"A decisive battle?" Zhang Jue asked doubtfully, "Kublai Khan has a fortified city to defend, so why would he be willing to fight a decisive battle with His Majesty?" "It doesn't matter whether he wants it or not, just wait for the soldiers and horses from all directions to arrive, and then directly attack."
Li Xia raised his hand, pointed at the map, and said: "Our baggage lines are all along the Taihang Mountains to the north. If the Yuan army still wants to make a surprise attack in a roundabout way, let them go. Sending fewer troops will not have a big effect. Sending more troops will not make a big difference."
If there are too many, the number of troops around Kublai Khan will decrease."
"But what if the Yuan army attacks the city behind us?"
"Long-term pain is worse than short-term pain. The best way to reduce losses is to defeat Kublai Khan's main force as soon as possible."
Zhang Rou was a little surprised, because Li Xia meant that even if the Yuan army cavalry detoured to the rear to cause trouble, it would not matter. This was completely different from the previous strategy of moving forward step by step.
After he started attacking Yanjing, he suddenly changed his attitude completely.
"Before, we faced the alliance between Yuan and Song. We wanted stability and no mistakes. Now Zhao and Song are in civil strife. Meng Yuan wants to use the cold winter to delay the war until next year. We must be fast and fierce."
"That's what I meant, too!" Liu Jinsuo suddenly said loudly, "It's too cold here. If you're just complaining, you might as well just fight to the death with the Mongols!"
Shi Zheng also nodded, suddenly feeling that he could be the generalissimo again.
Li Xia said again: "I have ordered you to deliver all the military supplies before the end of October. And all the troops will arrive before the end of October to form a full siege." As he said that, he mentioned Zhang
The brush on Jue's desk drew two arrows on the map.
"At that time, Liu Yuanli will join Nie Zhongyu, press Zhu You and other troops to sweep the Yun and Shuo areas, and then attack Juyong Pass from west to east; as for Yang Ben, he will be here
After all, the marshals were much smarter than Liu Jinsuo, and now they fully understood how to fight this battle.
"Zhang Jue, lead your troops to station east of Yanjing City so that you can contain the Yuan army for Liu Yuanli's Ministry."
"I obey the decree."
"Zhang Hongdao, lead your cavalry to station in the southeast direction and be ready to respond at any time. "I obey the order."
"When it comes to war, you can make your own decisions."
After Li Xia finished speaking, he turned to Zhang Rou and said, "How about Zhang Rou leads his infantry and sits with me at the Tuanhe camp?"
"Old minister, I obey."
"Put up my dragon flag in the camp so that the Yuan army can see it."~
The battle of Ximutunaoer, excluding the time of marching, the decisive battle between Kublai Khan and Ali Buge only took two days.
He originally thought that this fight with Li Xia would be different, so he planned to use the Han army's tactics, such as defending the city, defending and counterattacking, and then cooperating with the Mongolian army's harassment tactics.
However, as soon as Li Xia's flag was hoisted and he saw that the Tang army only used simple tactics such as increasing troops, Kublai Khan realized that Li Xia, like Ali Buge, wanted to decide the outcome in a battle.