One after another, military reports were coming, and as the scouts from each department were returning and being re-dispatched one after another, the entire broad front from where the army was advancing continued to gather in, like a tide.
Of course, the tide would not come directly to Guo Ning. Several agencies responsible for summarizing military information kept recording it in the books. After a simple sorting, they reported it in writing to Guo Ning almost every half an hour.
In fact, most of the intelligence has no practical effect. The number of scouts on both sides is extremely large and widely distributed. They are dispatched to inquire about the military situation and clear the fog of the battlefield, but in fact they form a denser fog or burn it all over.
wildfires, blocking everything.
Therefore, what most people report back is nothing more than encountering enemy scouts somewhere, fighting them, or driving them away, or their own side suffering a loss and killing someone.
As the army gradually penetrated into the grassland area, the scouts from both sides began to suffer casualties. Yesterday alone, more than 70 sentries were killed or seriously injured. At least one-third of them were seen by Guo Ning.
Or those who remember his name are promising rookies in the army.
The battlefield is so ruthless, so when Guo Ning was marching, he still took the trouble to read this information carefully in order to live up to the sacrifices of the soldiers.
In his mind, every point of contact with the enemy appeared densely on the map. He felt that a single piece of information might lack value, but the accumulation of many pieces of information might bring him some good luck.
Reveal the direction in which the Mongolian army is about to appear, or reveal something else.
However, until a moment ago, this information did not bring any surprises to Guo Ning.
According to the Art of War, if the battle is not fought but the temple is considered the winner, it must be counted as more; if the temple is not fought but the temple is not considered as the winner, it must be counted as less. If more is counted as victory but less is counted, what is the point of not counting at all?
At this time, Guo Ning really felt deeply about this sentence. Because his temple calculation actually included an understanding of his own military and economic strength. This understanding gave Guo Ning enough confidence to make him
He was very sure that the Mongols would never be able to defeat the powerful army he had carefully assembled.
But his temple calculations rarely touch on the real situation of the Mongols.
What is the Mongolian army's combat intention, what is the strength of the Mongolian army, and even the power and quantity of the gunpowder weapons in the hands of the Mongolian army, so far, even if the soldiers have tried their best to find out, they are still a mystery.
With such doubts, Guo Ning read the latest volume of military information and handed it to Xu Jin.
The army advanced, the red flag waving like waves. Thousands of fine knights were guarding the left and right, thousands of horse hooves were galloping and trampling, and the swords slapped the armor, making a roaring sound. Amidst this roaring sound, Guo Ning thought for a moment and raised his voice slightly:
"There is nothing special about this batch of news, but...it seems that at least six or seven teams have reported specifically that the enemy sentry cavalry they encountered were cavalry from the servant tribes of the Western Regions, not the Mongolian headquarters. This is interesting!"
Xu Yan patted the booklet and responded: "In the latest group, there are six people who reported this. In the previous group, there were three people. Should we send someone out immediately to keep an eye on this matter?"
Guo Ning nodded: "Make arrangements now."
While speaking, Guo Ning's eyes were a little divergent. Ni Yi, who was beside him, was very familiar with his habits. He made a gesture and asked his subordinates to get the map volume, and waited slightly behind.
But Guo Ning did not ask anyone to take a look at the map. He was already familiar with the geography of Northern Xinjiang, and he paid extra attention to it these days. He could reproduce the map in his mind no matter how detailed it was. But what he was thinking in front of him was not
No need for a detailed map.
The Mongolian army's previous invasion in northern Xinjiang was extremely powerful, but since the army set out for the expedition, it has never encountered the main Mongolian army, let alone the opportunity to engage in a fierce battle.
This is not in line with the Mongols' fighting habits. With their usual fighting style, a distance of several hundred miles is enough for clouds to come and go, and they can launch several large-scale raids.
In particular, Genghis Khan once had a head-on confrontation with Guo Ning and lost. With this lesson in mind, the Mongols would never pin their victory or defeat on a certain decisive battle.
After they captured Linhuang Mansion and showed their strength, they never continued to attack the military fortresses in northern Xinjiang. This was to force the Zhou army to send troops north to rescue them. And once the Zhou army came, they would definitely follow the Zhou army's northward attack.
Countless means were set up on the route to tire out the enemy, disturb the enemy, and confuse the enemy, using all possible means.
Guo Ning was very sure that this would be the case, but the Mongols did not do so.
There was no harassment, no ambush, no luring the enemy, no night raids. Even when sentries and cavalry were running around, the Mongols did not use their own troops, but used groups of newly subdued wild dogs to make up the numbers?
It's really strange. As the army continues to move north, Guo Ning has more and more doubts in his mind.
When Xu Jin gave the order to the knights to turn back, an idea suddenly came to Guo Ning's mind. He half-jokingly said to Xu Jin: "Maybe the main force of the Mongolian army is not here at all? They are waiting secretly somewhere else.
You want to bite me hard!"
"Your Majesty is saying that the Mongolian army is hiding somewhere, waiting to intercept our army's retreat?"
Guo Ning saved the short mustache: "Maybe, it's not somewhere nearby, but farther away."
"Further, that is, not in front of the Northwest Recruitment Division?"
Xu Yan thought for a while, tried his best to focus his sight on a wider area, and shook his head after a moment: "Where can it be? There are no gaps in the other borders!"
He was well aware of the situation in various places and continued:
"The situation in the Northeast is stable, there is no special news, and the Northeast is cold and bitter, and it is impossible to use troops for the next half a year. The South-West Road Recruitment Department around Datong Mansion has Master Huifeng personally in charge, and has mountains and rivers as its support.
It is not something that the Mongolian cavalry can shake. As for Guanzhong, the northwest and northwest sides are the borders of the Xia Kingdom. Even if the Mongols penetrate the Xia Kingdom and enter Guanzhong, Guanzhong has been desolate for many years, and only the one built by Li Ting to fight against Xixia remains.
There are many military towns, and the Mongolian army has no profit at all!"
Guo Ning frowned: "So, the fact that the sentry cavalry often uses foreign bastards doesn't mean anything, nor is it a flaw exposed by the Mongols?"
Xu Jin had no final conclusion on this. He only said: "It still needs to be investigated clearly."
At the same time, in a place far away from the Zhou army's marching route, Tuo Lei, the fourth prince of Mongolia, suddenly thought of something.
"I'm afraid there are some flaws in our arrangement."
Tolei's brother Chaghatai asked: "What's the flaw?"
"Beelgutai, Yeliyasi and other thousands of families are now focused on their own people and their own interests. They are no longer the people who were willing to die for the Great Khan back then! Even if Muhuali is there, I am afraid he will not
Don’t stop them.”
"Then what?"
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"Then? Then they must be unwilling to send out their headquarters to fight fiercely with the Zhou army. They must force the Kangli people and the Kipchaks to be the vanguard every time! The generals of the Zhou army are all smart people. They will soon find that our army is not with them at all.
On the other side, they were fooled!"
This time, Tuo Lei opened up an advance route that was beyond everyone's expectations through diplomatic contacts that no one else had expected, and also single-handedly promoted this unprecedented scale military operation. For this reason, he faced the Great Khan in front of the
His status rose rapidly, as if he was favored again.
At this moment, he suddenly said to himself that there was a flaw in his plan, which would have been an opportunity for his brother to criticize and ridicule him. However, Chagatai did not dare to offend his brother easily. He only frowned and wanted to continue asking Zhou Jun after he discovered the abnormality.
the result.
Suddenly I heard someone in the palace tent gasping for breath and saying loudly:
"How fast can it be? No matter how fast they are, they can't be faster than the arrows shot by the Mongols, nor can they be faster than the horses galloping day and night! What's more, even if they understand, can the army turn back immediately? The countless supplies mobilized for the northward grassland can
Return it immediately? You can’t make it in time!”
Chaghatai and Tolei quickly leaned down.
Genghis Khan, who was in the huge palace tent, laughed. In the laughter, he shook his body slightly, showing a satisfied look.
The light and shadow on his face also shook violently at the same time, because through the opened felt blanket, he could see the outside world.
He saw a group of armored warriors lighting torches and throwing them one by one into the building blocked by the fence in front. The rapidly rising flames sealed the dark front door, and red tongues of flame were entering the building from everywhere.
's interior.
Thick smoke immediately emerged from the windows above the building, and through the fireworks, bursts of painful roars were clearly audible, which were occasionally obscured by the crackling of wood and the desperate shouts of women.
As time went by, the fire and smoke became more intense. Even the area in front of the palace tent where the trophies were stacked felt the temperature of the air rise sharply.
There are piles of all kinds of gold and silver treasures here, but there are very few silks, satins or furs. Occasionally, if you are caught by a spark, you won't feel bad.
Several Mongolians came over happily. They dragged an unconscious young woman, threw her on top of the treasures, and then roughly stripped off her silk clothes, pearl-encrusted headdress, and leather boots, exposing her delicate and smooth skin.
come out.
"Great Khan! This is the daughter of the previous King of Xia! She is a princess!" the Mongolian shouted with a smile.
"Which of you wants her? I give in!"
Genghis Khan continued to shake his body and said casually: "The real Princess Xia is already my concubine, there is no need for another fake one!"
This sentence made many Mongolians laugh. An interpreter didn't know what to think, so he translated it into the language of the party members and said it loudly. Suddenly, outside the palace tent, a man occupied a table by himself, as if he were a distinguished guest. The middle-aged man's face twitches.
When the woman's cry as if she was about to die came from the palace tent, the middle-aged man's face became even more ugly. But he held it back, and when Tuo Lei's eyes turned to him, he even bowed slightly and squeezed out He smiled and said: "Thank you to the fourth prince for your mediation. This time, all the remnants of Li An'an are dead. From now on, I, Li Zunxu, will make the people of Xia respect the great dynasty as their father and follow the great dynasty to fight against the enemy. I will never have the determination again." shake."
His words were so calm and soothing, and his demeanor was so well-controlled that the interpreter showed an expression of surprise.
This middle-aged man is Li Zunxu, who claims to be the Emperor of the Dabai Gao Kingdom, who was canonized as the King of Daxia by the Jin Kingdom and the Dazhou Dynasty, and was named the Lord of Daxia by the Mongols. This man is a descendant of the Western Xia royal family and was once a member of the Xia Kingdom. He came first in the imperial examination, and a few years ago, he used the threat of the Mongolian army to force the former Xia leader Li An'an to abdicate and establish himself as the leader of Xixia.
This time, he opened many passes in the north to Mongolia, including the Keyimen Pass, and gave up the storage of several large cities, including Zhongxing Mansion, so that the Mongolian army could continue southward through the Xia Kingdom's territory. For this reason, he received However, it was the Mongols who came forward and massacred all the officials in the DPRK who were close to Li An'an and the Xixia orthodox royal family.
After those people died, Li Zunxu could truly secure his position as the leader of the Xia Kingdom, and the gains and losses were equal. However, the Mongols did not finally kill people as agreed until the army approached the southern border of the Xia Kingdom. Their actions were too slow. As for Genghis Khan, they kidnapped them. Although giving away one of his daughters is an unexpected expense, it is not unacceptable. It may be a good thing to be related to the Mongolian Khan!
Just as Tuolei was about to answer, Genghis Khan came out.
Standing in front of the palace tent door, the terrible conqueror stretched out his hand to support the doorpost and took a few deep breaths.
His desire for women and conquest is still extremely strong, and his old body still contains vitality, so he was particularly interested in Li Zunxu's daughter just now. But after all, his physical strength is not as good as when he was young, and as the weather gets colder, his back falls from time to time. The pain is unbearable.
This is the sequelae of the old man's half-life war. The symptoms are not serious, but for a Mongolian in his fifties, any disease that appears at this time will most likely be difficult to cure and will continue to worsen, directly causing the body to become worse day by day. .For this reason, he was very careful to avoid too large movements, which would make the fun less enjoyable.
So at this moment, he said with a bit of anger: "Xia Kingdom is a poor place. There are not many gold and silver treasures that can be plundered, and the women are not beautiful! We have to step up the march and get to the next target as soon as possible. Kill the cowards who can’t ride a horse or hold a knife, and rob those women whose skin is more delicate than porcelain and softer than satin!”
The Mongolian nobles surrounding the palace tent responded loudly and became excited for the upcoming massacre and plunder.
The shouts of the nobles spread far across the late autumn wilderness, causing a rapidly marching Mongolian army farther away to become restless.
When thousands of people echoed in unison, the deep and high-pitched throat sounds converged together, like some kind of beasts roaring. The galloping of thousands of people and the trampling of thousands of iron hooves seemed to break through the earth, rolling up smoke and dust all over the sky.
, causing the earth to tremble and moan dullly.
On the side of the overwhelming army marching, Tuo Lei took Li Zunxu's hand and said sincerely: "Master Xia, since the two families have become allies, it will benefit us as well as yours in the future... We Mongolians will never break our promise!
"
When he spoke, he used very fluent Chinese language.
Li Zunxu laughed twice, Tuo Lei turned around again, and held the hand of another man in Chinese clothes: "As for me, please go back quickly and inform your country's Ambassador Nie as soon as possible, so that he can open the pass as agreed.
, don’t delay!”
The man in fine clothes was frightened and flustered, and kept shouting: "I want it! I want it!"