That night, Shi Tianze was meeting with Xian Zhen, an important Mongolian minister sent by Kublai Khan.
Xianzhen is the son of Tuxue, the marshal of the Klei tribe. Tuxue can be regarded as a veteran general of Mongolia. He unified all the Mongolian tribes with Genghis Khan. He participated in the battle of Sanfeng Mountain with Tuolei to destroy the Jin Dynasty, and he also fought with Kuoduan in the attack.
Shu.
During the reign of Mengge Khan, six hundred households in Hanzhong were granted to Tuxue as fiefs.
In other words, part of the Hanzhong currently occupied by Li Xia also belongs to Xian Zhen's property.
Although he is a Mongolian, Xian really does not have the same outstanding military exploits as his father, and his appearance looks very elegant.
He was once Kublai Khan's bodyguard, in charge of catering, and was a person whom Kublai Khan trusted very much. Now he serves as the deputy privy envoy of the Great Mongolia, and he can barely be regarded as a civil official.
"Act of God?"
After asking Shi Tianze why he was defeated, Xian Zhen asked a question in Mongolian after receiving a complete answer.
"The ice of the Yellow River collapsed, so we lost to Li Xia. Prime Minister Shi wants me to report it to the Great Khan like this?"
Xian Zhen was also very troubled. He didn't know about Shi Tianze's defeat at all before he came. He thought that Shi Tianze had won the battle by the time he arrived and would share a lot of spoils with him.
Finally caught up with the bad news.
The situation has changed for the worse than Shi Tianze imagined.
I thought that even if he failed to make progress along this route, the troops from other routes would have entered the pass.
In addition to the more than 20,000 people who stayed behind that day, the soldiers under his command have become frightened. In the past few days, the soldiers have been assigned to hunt down the deserters after the rout.
After reorganizing the military formation, continue to send small groups of soldiers and horses across the bank, and continue to fight steadily, not seeking a big victory, but to continue to contain Li Xia's main force. When the enemy is defeated on another road, they can also share some of the credit.
Then the defeat will not be so ugly.
But since Kublai Khan sent people to urge him, it was too late to save the situation.
Shi Tianze had to find a reason first.
"I suspect that some princes in the army have secretly taken refuge with Li Xia, which is why the situation has become so bad."
Xian Zhen asked: "Who?"
"It's just a suspicion at the moment." Shi Tianze hesitated, twirling his beard as a sign of difficulty, and muttered: "The Baozhou Zhang family and Li Xia are related by marriage..."
"Zhang Hongfan?"
Shi Tianze actually didn't doubt Zhang Hongfan too much, but he couldn't think of anyone else, and now someone needed to take responsibility for the defeat.
The atmosphere in the tent became somewhat mysterious.
The thread on the carpet really put the wine bag on the stove and roasted it. He was a little disbelieving and said: "The Great Khan believes in Zhang Hongfan, is it really him?"
Just as Shi Tianze was about to speak, a strange sound suddenly came from the night.
He turned back and looked outside the tent, his battle-hardened experience made him alert.
Listen carefully to see what's going on in the distance.
"..."
"Attack the camp!"
"Song Jun is here..."
The shout reached Shi Tianze's ears, and he thought quickly.
I really didn't expect that Li Xia would come here, because it was only six days since the Battle of Hancheng. The Song army also had to clean the battlefield, settle the prisoners, treat the wounded, and rest its strength. It was too late to make all the preparations for the attack on the camp.
Even if he came to steal a camp, how did he cross the ice of the Yellow River without being discovered by the patrol? How did he arrive near the Habichi camp without any sound?
It must be an internal response.
Tonight, it is Li Hengzhi who defends...
Shi Tianze suddenly realized in his mind that Li Xia's culprit was not Zhang Hongfan, but Li Heng, the descendant of Xixia who wore a weasel skin coat all day long.
What is more important now is how to prepare.
Since the Battle of Hancheng, the Mongolian soldiers have not recovered from the panic at all. Once they are kicked out of the camp, especially if the Song army suddenly enters the camp, they are likely to collapse quickly.
This was no joke. Shi Tianze knew it very well and reacted in an instant.
"Quick! Gather the soldiers!"
Shi Ji, Shi Ge opened the curtain and rushed in.
"uncle!"
"Father……"
"Quick, get ready to fight!" Shi Tianze shouted.
"Uncle, leave quickly! The Song army is coming!"
Shi Ji didn't care about whether to accept the challenge or not. He rushed towards Shi Tianze to protect him and wanted to retreat.
Xian Zhen was still a bit unresponsive.
He was the son of a famous Mongolian general, but his reaction at this time was far less than that of Shi Tianze.
Standing up, his fat body shook, and Xian Zhen remembered that he was not familiar with this place at all.
"protect me!"
When Shige heard this sentence in Mongolian, he quickly ordered two personal guards to set up the line and hurriedly ran out of the tent.
Shi Tianze remained calm. Although he did not refuse the kindness of his nephews and nephews to take him away from the dangerous place, he still cared about stabilizing the situation.
"Zhang Tong, Li Bo, Zhang Lin, Guo Kan, Cui Dezhang..."
In the chaos, Shi Tianze called his generals and ordered: "Gather the soldiers! The Song army will not exceed two thousand people, stabilize the morale of the army, stabilize the morale of the army!"
"boom!"
The Song army's thunderbolt cannons exploded outside the camp.
Shi Tianze quickly got on his horse, then remembered something and shouted: "Pass it on, Li Heng has defected, if all the soldiers and horses encounter him, take it down!"
"Pass it down, Li Heng has defected..."
Sudden.
"boom!"
A thunderbolt cannon landed in the camp and exploded, sending pieces of iron flying everywhere, and some soldiers screamed.
Turning around, he saw more than a hundred Song troops already within sight.
"Li Xia is here!"
In the light of the fire, Li Xia's royal flag was indeed seen moving this way.
"Hey!"
The horses neighed, their hooves hoofed, and the Song army sprinted faster.
Shi Ji was so horrified that he took Shi Tianze's horse and left without giving Shi Tianze a chance to continue giving orders.
Shi Ge quickly protected the line and followed up.
Since the explosion, the entire camp has been in chaos.
Even if there are still organized Mongolian troops, they are quickly moving closer to Shi Tianze.
"See how many people there are in Li Xia! How many people does he have to dare to charge at us?!"
"Father, leave quickly!"
"Stop him..."
~~
Hebichi Camp.
The Meng soldiers guarding the camp turned around and shouted: "Who?!"
"General Manager Li of Zilailuolu wants to see the sect king."
Both soldiers were Han soldiers, and their shouts were all in Chinese.
Mongolian soldiers generally did not need to be on guard duty at night.
In the darkness, the Meng soldiers guarding the camp held up torches and shined their light. In addition to confirming the other party's order, they also recognized the other party's face.
As expected, he is someone under Li Heng's command. He has followed Li Heng to see He Bichi every day these days.
"Wu Laoliu?"
"it's me."
"Where's Manager Li?"
"Look there."
The Meng soldier just turned his head, and a dagger was already placed on his neck.
Wu Laoliu slashed with his dagger, and the sound of blood spurting was not loud, but it sprayed everywhere.
Behind him, a group of people had already rushed over. Before the Meng soldiers could react, they immediately slashed with their swords.
"kill!"
"Puff puff……"
Wu Laoliu knocked down another person and stabbed him several times with his dagger. Then he stood up and saw groups of Song troops rushing into the camp. The footsteps were orderly and busy.
"Liuzi, you are really not dead!"
A short figure stepped forward and slapped Wu Laoliu hard with his hand.
Wu Laoliu turned around and saw Zhang Gui, grinned and said, "Am I okay?"
"You are such a good six, you are amazing!"
"Awesome!"
A soldier running past shouted in amusement.
Wu Laoliu threw away the dagger, drew out his saber, and ran forward with the team. He turned around and asked Zhang Gui.
"Do you believe us Shanxi people now?"
…
Wu Laoliu was a local in Wuwangzhai, and he was recruited by Liu Zheng's garrison when they were recruiting troops here.
He was highly skilled in martial arts, had a good temper, was literate, and had a quick mind, so he was promoted quickly in the army and was very popular.
These days, he has been ordered to sneak into the Mongolian army camp and has done a good job indeed.
But before he came, Lin Zi doubted his determination and had been doing so-called reviews.
Wu Laoliu felt very wronged at that time and said a few words.
"Do you people from the south think that all of us Shanxi men are stupid? Yes, there are those who work for the Jin people and those who work for the Mongols, but can't we even tell who is a foreigner?"
After that, his temper got worse and he almost cursed.
"I don't want the villagers to pay five households of silk and lamb's interest, and then give their children to the Mongolians as exorcists. I've had enough!"
Of course, it wasn't just because he yelled a few words that he trusted him, but these two sentences told Wu Laoliu what he wanted to do.
For this attack on the camp, he had figured out the layout of the Mongolian camp and the terrain of Hebichi's camp, and led the Song army straight towards the Mongolian king.
~~
Hebichi was sleeping deeply, and when he heard the shouts, he stood up. The Mongolian soldiers were holding him up and fled.
He didn't even have time to put on his armor.
As soon as they came out of the tent, they were met by the Song army who came to kill them.
The person rushing at the front was a short General Song, probably not even half as tall as He Bichi.
"kill him!"
This Song general was none other than Zhang Shun. The moment he saw He Bichi's royal tent, he no longer needed Wu Laoliu to lead the way and charged directly.
Hebichi was still mounting his horse, but when he turned around he saw that the Song army had surrounded the camp and it might not be too late to escape.
It's better to kill the opponent's general first.
He then grabbed a mace and rushed towards Zhang Shun.
The Mongolian army didn't even have time to release the arrow, so Zhang Shun raised his hand and threw a thunderbolt cannon.
"Peng!"
In the light of the fire, the iron pieces shot out and hit He Bi, whose face was red all over.
"ah!"
Hebichi was furious, rushed forward and swept the mace across.
His eyes were full of blood, and his vision was blurry.
Zhang Shun rolled on the spot and slashed with a single sword. With a "stuck" sound, he slashed straight through Hebichi's ankle and cut off one foot.
"ah!"
This time it was a scream, and Hebichi fell to the ground and struggled wildly.
"puff!"
Zhang Shun stood up and struck a blow with his sword. The head of the majestic Mongolian king rolled to the ground.
Everything happens very quickly. When setting up camp, you have to go fast to fight fast. If you are slow, you will miss the opportunity.
The clan king of the Golden Family is not really invincible, so he must die slowly.
Everyone is the same on the battlefield. If you are unlucky, you will die if you are hit by a knife.
The head that rolled twice on the ground stopped.
Hebichi is still glaring, lifelike...
~~
Not all Mongolian troops were in chaos.
For example, Yan Zhongfan, the Marquis of Dongping, and Zhang Hongfan, the Marquis of Shuntian, stayed awake and restrained their troops very well.
Especially Zhang Hongfan, whose camp was somewhat far away from the main camp due to Shi Tianze's suspicion, so the soldiers were not too frightened by the Song army's invasion of the camp.
Zhang Hongfan had long noticed that the Song army was probably attacking in the east and attacking in the west, so he immediately led his troops to rescue He Bichi.
Only halfway there, I saw broken troops rushing in from the front, and everyone was shouting crazily.
"Prince Zong is dead! Run away!"
"Behead those who dare to charge into the formation!"
Following this order, the knife was raised.
"cut!"
The blade of the knife was directed at the fleeing soldiers.
The scene became increasingly bloody.
"Flee to both sides and immediately form an array."
Zhang Hongfan had a cold face and ordered his soldiers to light a nearby bonfire, illuminating the surrounding area.
Finally, the soldiers who escaped from the front gradually calmed down.
Across the defeated army, he could even see the Song army charging towards this side with Hebichi's head hanging on a long pole, intending to continue to defeat the Mongolian soldiers.
For the time being, Zhang Hongfan was unable to bypass the defeated army and defeat the Song army.
"Brother Ninth, who do you think that is? He looks familiar." Zhang Hongzheng suddenly raised his hand and asked.
Zhang Hongfan narrowed his eyes, spread his hands and said, "Give me the bow."
He had already recognized who the soldier holding the long pole was in the Song army. He was Wu Laoliu under Li Heng. He was recruited by Li Heng after he arrived in Shanxi and was highly used.
Because Wu Laoliu is often around Li Heng, he has seen him a lot and is familiar with him.
The bow is drawn full.
Zhang Hongfan glanced at Wu Laoliu in the crowd.
In the chaos, someone bumped into him.
Suddenly, Wu Laoliu was holding up Habichi's head and turned around. Apparently, the Song army found that there was a group of Mongolian troops ahead and did not dare to continue chasing. They continued to create fear and rout elsewhere.
"Chase! Don't let the Song army defeat other soldiers and horses."
Zhang Hongfan quickly issued the order.
He rode his horse to pursue the Song army that had just been marching.
At the same time, he remembered many things at this moment——
Li Heng is a descendant of the Xixia royal family and had a good relationship with Wang Xin in the past. It was Li Heng who sent fish soup to him on the night when Li Xia's letter was delivered to his account.
Also, Li Heng is on patrol tonight.
I have always known that there are traitors in the army, but they are actually my best friends.
I didn't notice it at all before, it's ridiculous...
Zhang Hongfan was a little sad and a little angry.
I'm also a little lucky.
At least the traitor has been found and no one can accuse him unjustly again.
As we chased after each other, we could hear someone in the distance shouting "Beware of Li Heng's rebellion", which showed that even Shi Tianze knew about it.
Suddenly, there was movement from the side.
Zhang Hongfan turned around and saw that Li Heng was leading the troops and horses running towards this side. The horses' hooves were rapid, and it was difficult to see how many people and horses there were in the darkness.
Without hesitation, he drew his bow and drew an arrow.
At this moment, there are no close friends, only the anger after being deceived, and the sense of injustice after being framed.
Li Heng had lied to him all along.
Prime Minister Bai knew that he still pressed his sword.
"Whoosh!"
He loosened the string and shot out an arrow, piercing Li Heng's throat.
"Well."
Li Heng fell down at the sound, fell under the horse, and immediately lost his life.
The noble prince and grandson of the prince, who wore light fur and fast horses, was no different from an ordinary pawn when he died...
~~
It seems that Kublai Khan's words of "no hurry" reached the ears of the Mongolian armies, and the war suddenly became fierce.