Smoke and dust billowed, covering the clouds and the sky.
Southeast of Gaoyou City, Jiangdu cavalry is chasing Mongolian cavalry.
Chang Yuchun caught up with a fleeing Mongolian soldier, stabbed him and knocked him down.
When I raised my head to look for the next target, I found that the Mongolian cavalry had already fled far away.
Many of these Yuan soldiers were Han Chinese, but they were well trained and had superb riding skills. They were far superior to Jiangdu's army. When they fled, only some injured people were caught up.
Chang Yuchun looked back and saw that his troops were quite far away, so he reined in his horse and stopped, not daring to pursue him further, waiting for his troops to come over and join him.
After a while, Wang Da and other generals arrived with their troops.
"Straight bitch, are these Tatars rabbits? They run so damn fast!" Wang Da yelled.
Chang Yuchun said in a deep voice: "There is still a Yuan army in the city. They should have received the news and are on their way to help. We can't pursue it anymore."
After experiencing this battle, Wang Da also knew in his heart that the Mongolian cavalry was really good. He had no objection and led the troops back with Chang Yuchun.
Not long after they left, Kua Kuo led the Yuan army to come over and join Wan Zhe's army.
Expand the perimeter to separate the army to the left and right, put all Wanzhe's men and horses in front, and let his own men and horses come to the rear.
After confirming that Jiangdu's army was not pursuing him, he approached Wanzhe to inquire about the situation.
He originally blamed Wanzhe for his poor leadership of the army, but when he saw that the other party's face was dark and one of his arms was missing half, he could only suppress his anger and ask him about the battle situation.
"Commander, the weapons used by the thieves are too weird, especially the handguns. The bullets fired are so dense that even shields and armor can't stop them..."
"Wait a minute!" Bai Suozhu interrupted: "You mean, they also have artillery soldiers ambushed on the east road?"
"Yes! Their handguns are completely different from ours. They are like another kind of weapon! Moreover, the shells they shoot will explode and be powerful, just like a gunpowder bag igniting. Brothers can't shoot at all!"<
/p>
The white locks and discoloration became extremely ugly, and an idea came to my mind at the same time.
The enemy had deliberately left some of their muskets behind, just to make them think they were short of muskets and lure them into attacking, thereby severely injuring them!
Kuangkuo took a deep breath and patted Wanzhe on the shoulder.
"The responsibility for this battle lies with me. It's because I didn't know the enemy's reality in advance. It has nothing to do with you."
Wanzhe choked and said: "Commander, we have suffered more than 20,000 casualties in this battle, how should we fight next!"
Kuakuo said in a deep voice: "Withdraw Baoying first, and then make plans!"
When the Mongolian army retreated, they brought many carriages with them. In addition to grain and baggage, there were also many important prisoners in the carriages.
Zhang Shicheng was sitting in a carriage at the moment because he tried to commit suicide many times after being captured. There were two soldiers guarding him in the carriage.
The carriage traveled along the north direction, not very fast. After a day's journey, it was still more than ninety miles away from Baoying.
In the evening, someone brought Zhang Shicheng food, including wine and meat, which was quite sumptuous.
However, Zhang Shicheng closed his eyes tightly and did not touch the food delivered.
At first, the Mongolian soldiers thought he was just in a sad mood and had no appetite.
However, another day passed and Zhang Shicheng still refused to eat or drink. His face turned pale and he became very weak.
Only then did they realize that Zhang Shicheng wanted to go on a hunger strike and die, and hurriedly sent someone to report the situation.
Not long after, Kuo Kuo and Bai Suozhuo came to see him in person, but Zhang Shicheng still closed his eyes tightly and remained silent no matter what Kuo Kuo said.
The two had no choice but to leave.
After another long while, a person entered the carriage and sighed, "Commander, what are you doing?"
Zhang Shicheng heard the familiar voice, finally opened his eyes, and immediately saw the person clearly.
"Li, Li Boxheng! Did you surrender to the Tatars?" His voice was hoarse and his eyes were full of anger.
Li Boxheng smiled bitterly: "When I was finally captured, I wanted to commit suicide, but unfortunately I was stopped by the Mongols. Later, they used my wife and children to threaten me. I had no other choice but to surrender!"
Zhang Shicheng was stunned for a long time and sighed: "Even if that's the case, I can't blame you."
After a pause, his eyes suddenly widened: "Wait a minute! Why don't they use my wife and children to persuade me? Could it be..."
Li Boxheng sighed: "Her Royal Highness the Princess has a strong temper. She took your concubines and all her children and burned herself to death!"
Zhang Shicheng yelled and banged his head against the car wall.
Two Mongolian soldiers immediately went over to stop him.
After Zhang Shicheng was restrained, he did not hit him again. Blood dripped from his forehead, but there was a smile on his face.
"Very good, she did not betray me, and I will never betray her!"
When Li Boxheng heard this, he knew that it was useless to persuade him, so he silently exited the carriage.
After the Mongolian army returned to Baoying, several days passed, but Zhang Shicheng still refused to drink or eat, and eventually died of a hunger strike.
After Kuo Kuo learned about it, he sighed: "He is a good man!" He was destined to have a good life and a good burial.
After expanding his territory and returning to Baoying, he reorganized his defense every day and never called the generals for discussion.
This was the first time since he took over Chahan's army that he had encountered such a big setback. The generals were also depressed and did not ask him any more questions.
Only Bai Suozuo was worried every day. Seeing that Kuaijiu still had no intention of summoning the generals, he finally couldn't help but came to his house and asked him.
"Commander, we have lost Gaoyou. The bandits have fire guns and hand guns to defend the city. We are afraid it will be difficult to capture it!"
Kuangkuo nodded: "Yes."
"Then should we give up the Southern Expedition?"
"No, we will be stationed in Baoying, request orders from the imperial court, and send reinforcements."
Bai Suozhuo frowned and said: "The only people who can come to our aid are Polo Timur from Shanxi and several warlords in Guanzhong. The warlords in Guanzhong are fighting among themselves, and I'm afraid they won't listen to orders."
He expanded and said: "Polo Timur has 200,000 elite soldiers. It would be better if he is willing to come to help."
"This person is at odds with you and is responsible for protecting the capital. I'm afraid your Majesty won't be willing to transfer him easily!"
Kao Kuo disagreed: "The red scarf bandit army has been destroyed, who can threaten Dadu?"
Bai Suo said: "I have just found out that all Jiangdu's warships have gone to Jeju Island. There are a hundred thousand naval troops in total. I'm afraid there will be some action, and His Majesty will not leave with the defenders."
Kuan Kuo said: "This is the only way to defeat the enemy. Even if Your Majesty does not agree, the Prince will definitely understand the power of this and persuade Your Majesty."
"With Polo Timur making such a fuss, the situation in Dadu has changed again. I'm afraid the prince will not be able to persuade your majesty."
Kua Kuo sighed and said: "If His Majesty insists on refusing to agree, I can only adopt the last resort!"
"What's the next best thing?"
"In the current situation, although we cannot defeat Gaoyou Mansion, the thieves may not dare to attack Baoying easily!"
"Do you want to have a long-term confrontation with them?"
"Given the current situation, this is the only way."
Baisuo lowered his head and did not speak again.
He knew very well that expanding the scope was unwilling to give up the right to control the world's troops, so he made this choice.
In April, spring returns to the earth, the north is completely warm, and migratory birds migrate north to prepare for breeding.
Following the pace of migratory birds, businessmen from the north and the south have also begun to travel to the two places to carry out trade and expand markets.
With the spread of these businessmen, the news of the Battle of Yangzhou quickly spread throughout the world.
Originally, many people thought that Jiang Dujun was from the south and could only fight against the rebels in the south.
Even in the original Battle of Yangzhou, they only used tactics to win and were unable to compete head-on with the Yuan army.
Most of those who hold this view are Han Chinese in the north.
However, the result of this battle finally woke them up. It turned out that the Han people in the south were not as weak as rumored.
For a time, Jiangdu Army gained great prestige in the Central Plains, and many righteous men from Henan and Hebei began to go south to the south of the Yangtze River, planning to join Jiangdu Army.
Ming Yuzhen had just proclaimed herself emperor in Sichuan and established the Daxia regime. After learning that Jiangdu's army defeated the Yuan army, she was very happy and immediately issued an order to prepare to attack Guanzhong.
Liu Zhen added: "Your Majesty, the warlords in Guanzhong are now relying on their own troops. Knowing that the Yuan Dynasty was defeated, they will definitely attack each other. If we attack rashly, it will only make them unite and fight against the outside world."
Ming Yuzhen said: "According to your wishes, what should we do?"
Liu Zhen said: "It is not advisable to march north. It is better to march south, capture Yunnan and expand our strength."
Ming Yuzhen said happily: "That's fine, just follow your words!"
Just as Liu Zhen predicted, when the Guanzhong warlords heard that the imperial court was defeated, they paid even less attention to the imperial court, and the melee intensified.
Originally, it was just a turf war between Li Siqi and Zhang Liangbi, but it gradually turned into a chaos among countless warlords, big and small.
All warlords who have soldiers are unwilling to be left alone, and want to take advantage of the opportunity to gain more territory and increase their strength.
Above the Yuanting Temple, there was also a panic. Now Jiangdu Army seemed to have let them see Liu Futong again.
After the request for aid was received, Emperor Yuan strongly disagreed, but the prince's party was very supportive, and the two sides began a new round of political struggle.