Guo Ning has always been pessimistic about the situation. He even has a vague premonition that China will definitely change hands in the next two years. But firstly, he has big plans and has to wait for the right time; secondly, there is a severe drought and hot weather this year.
, according to common sense, the Mongolians would wait for the weather to get cooler before taking action.
Therefore, in addition to sending people to inquire frequently, he always remained deferential to Tu Danyi, hoping to maintain this cooperation as long as possible.
After all, Tu Shanyi resisted the threat of Zuo Cheng with one hand, and delivered a large number of weapons and horses to the reckless people with the other hand... He gave too much.
But what Guo Ning didn't expect was that even if his trust in the Jin Dynasty was extremely low, it was still too much. And even if his vigilance towards the Mongols was extremely high, it was still too little.
Since the collapse of Monan Mountain's rear defense line, Dajin's ruling area has retreated to the south of Yanshan. To the north of Yanshan, there are only a few isolated strongholds left to probe the enemy's situation.
But once the Mongols really moved, these strongholds themselves would either be besieged or be mercilessly demolished. And the Chi and Yi armies, which relied on the Wanggu and Khitan people, had already fought with the Mongolian army on a large scale.
cooperate.
As a result, Wanyan Gang, who was in Jinshan Province, could not grasp the Mongols' movements, and Zhongdu, who was in the rear, was even less aware of them.
Therefore, no matter how hard Guo Ning worked in Zhongdu, no matter how actively Du Shisheng ran around, and no matter how sensitive the Xiancai Chucai were to the situation in the court, they could not find out the real and reliable military information.
At the same time that Guo Ning led his troops to Hejian Prefecture, there was a stronghold nominally belonging to the imperial court in Yuanyangbo in the north of Xuande County, a place called Anguli Nao'er by the Mongols.
When groups of Mongolian troops suddenly appeared on the grassland, the Wanggu people and Khitan soldiers in the stronghold were only surprised for a moment, then silently moved out of the way and opened the door of the stronghold.
The faces of the Mongolian cavalry were dark due to the sun and dust, and they looked at the soldiers with cold eyes. Their short and violent horses were panting and rushing into the crowd without stopping. A Mongolian officer shouted loudly
After asking a few questions and receiving no answer, he waved his whip and whipped the soldiers hard.
When the soldiers began to flee, the Mongolian cavalry jumped off their horses and broke into every house.
They kicked down the door, took down the fence wood and built a bonfire on the spot, and then began to enjoy the fried rice and meat porridge presented by the residents. The soldiers and residents gathered together, kneeling and shivering.
Since the year before last and the two invasions of the Central Plains last year, the equipment level of the Mongolian army has improved significantly. However, almost everyone in the cavalry in front of them is wearing armor, which proves their extraordinarily noble status.
A soldier knelt on the ground and explained softly to the others: If any one person in such a team were to make a mistake, the lives of all the people in the entire stronghold combined would not be enough to compensate.
This soldier's knowledge is not bad.
The group of Mongolian cavalry in front of me are the Tuluhua guards in Genghis Khan's Qixue army. Among them, there is a heroic young man, dressed like the other guards, but with a gold dagger stuck in his waist.
The young man devoured his food and said to everyone: "Gurejian and his people are coming with me. The others should have a good rest!"
The Mongolian cavalry continued to eat and drink. The man named Guliejian and his twenty horsemen immediately threw down the food in their hands and followed the young people out.
Young people galloping on the grassland.
The closer we get to Angoulena, the more horses we see along the way.
He saw tens of thousands of horses wandering freely on the grassland, seemingly in disorder. But in fact, these horses were carefully divided into many groups according to their teeth and coat color. Under the supervision of the herdsmen, the horses seemed to be following the wind.
Drifting clouds of five colors.
Wranglers with rat-skin robes wrapped around their waists and bare upper bodies rode fierce old horses and walked among the horses. They kept shouting and waving the lasso to intimidate the stallions who wanted to bite each other.
Many people saw the young man from a distance and bent down to salute.
The young man smiled and waved to them, and quickly passed through the herd of horses. After running for a moment or so, he saw each and every large Guliyan.
Inside each Guliyan, there are hundreds or even thousands of Mongolian warriors resting, competing or competing in archery.
The largest Guriyan is composed of hundreds of tents. The tents are inhabited by the Qixue Army of the Mongolian Khan, also known as the Suwei Army.
This army is composed of four senior generals, Muhuali, Chilaowen, Borhu and Borshu, serving as commanders of Qixue, with a total of 10,000 people.
Among them are a thousand Huo'erchi, who are quiver warriors; a thousand Kebu Tiegul, who are Fanzhisu guards; and the remaining eight thousand Tuluhua, who are Sanban. These Tuluhua knights,
They are all the children of ten thousand, one thousand, one hundred and ten Mongolian families and their followers, so they are also called the Proton Army.
Surrounded by Qixue's army, there is the Sulu Ding flag standing tall, a symbol of the Mongol Khan's invincibility.
The young man immediately dismounted and walked around the Sulu Ding flag from the side. He bent slightly, crossed the crossed spears of the two quiver warriors, and walked into the huge tent under the flag.
In the center of the huge tent, there is a huge candlestick inlaid with gold.
Yelu Ahai, a Khitan man with broad shoulders and a Chinese-character face, was sitting cross-legged on a white felt next to a candlestick, pointing at a large sheepskin picture and telling everyone about the layout of the Jin army.
Yelu Ahai was well aware of the situation in the Jin Kingdom and was one of the first subordinates to defect to Genghis Khan. He was highly respected by everyone. The young man did not dare to disturb him, so he tiptoed around to the front of the queue and listened carefully.
Yelu Ahai said: "The Jurchens are pitifully timid. Since last year, they have not dared to herd horses and sheep here. They all huddled in the city, preferring to lower their heads and eat dogtail grass rather than face us."
It's a pity that even those cities were conquered once by us. Therefore, their main force is not in Xuande City or Dexing Prefecture, but has been shrunk to Jinshan Mountain further south."
Hearing these words, the surrounding Mongolian nayans and warriors burst into laughter.
Yelu Ahai continued: "To the south of Jinshan Mountain is the Juyong Pass. I heard that the Jurchens sealed the gate with molten iron and filled the narrow valleys with hundreds of miles of iron caltrops, waiting for us to attack!"
The Mongolian generals who were laughing suddenly became quiet again.
Such huge fortresses and dangerous terrain are what the Mongols who are used to fighting in the field hate the most. Even if they attack with the courage and strength to kill a thousand people, the city will never move. The feeling of frustration is worse than
A thousand failures are even more torturous.
When the Mongolian army came here two years ago, the Jurchens, relying on their huge force of hundreds of thousands of people, gathered their forces for four consecutive confrontations with the Mongolian army at Wushabao, Wuyue Camp, Yehuling, and Huihe Fort.
As a result, they suffered four consecutive disastrous defeats and were ultimately defeated.
Genghis Khan then mobilized his troops and generals to pursue the victory and killed the Jurchens. The bodies of the Jurchens were lying hundreds of miles away, and the dead were hidden in the wild Sechuan River.
Because they were defeated too quickly and violently, the Jurchens did not even have enough troops to garrison such a powerful pass as Juyong Pass. As a result, the brave general Zhebie rushed through it. This led to the catastrophe that later spread throughout Zhongdu and all over Hebei, covering thousands of miles.
Looting and massacre.
But if the Jurchens did not fight with their side from the beginning, but were like timid rabbits hiding in their holes, unable to get out of the city... The Mongolian generals looked at each other, thinking that this move was indeed ridiculous, but apart from laughing at them, they seemed to
Nothing can be done?
Everyone's eyes were now directed at the throne decorated with gold and precious stones, and at Genghis Khan sitting cross-legged on the throne.
On the grassland as wide as the sea, among the Mongolians as numerous as gravel, Genghis Khan was the most powerful and wisest.
Wherever he goes, no matter how ferocious warriors are, they will bow; wherever his eyes touch, even a wrought-iron city will be destroyed; even if it takes ten nails to climb, no one will hesitate.
Half a minute.
Genghis Khan was tall and strong. Although he was over fifty years old and had gray beard and hair, his face was ruddy and he was still energetic. His eyes sometimes revealed keenness and wisdom, and sometimes seemed to emit the cruel light of a beast.
"The Jurchens are timid and reckless; stupid and greedy. So there is nothing to worry about."
Genghis Khan said: "Since they are hiding in Jinshan, we will send a small team to retake Xuande and Dexing Prefecture, and then rush to Jinshan to provoke them, shoot arrows, set fire to harass them, and use cavalry to cut off their connection with Juyongguan."
.The Jurchens will soon lose their control and rush out to fight us. At that time, we will pretend to be defeated, lure them all out, and then kill them all in one fell swoop."
There was no need for discussion or hesitation. Genghis Khan decided the battle strategy in an instant. And his strategy was always right. It was a special talent granted to the Great Khan by the Immortal God, and everyone was used to it.
At that moment, everyone jumped up and competed to be the vanguard of the army.
Genghis Khan glanced at everyone: "This task does not require a famous warrior. As soon as your flag appears, the Jurchens will not dare to leave the city. Therefore, I want a colt that has just left the nest, a smart little pony."
Do this. Is there such a person in this tent?"
Before Genghis Khan finished speaking, the young man who had just entered the tent shouted happily: "Yes, yes! It's me!"
The Mongolian generals present heard his cry and laughed with joy: "The fourth prince is back!"
This young man was Genghis Khan's fourth son and his most favored son, Tolei.
In the past few years, Tuo Lei had been following Genghis Khan and participated in the battles to unify Mongolia and conquer Xia and Jin. This time, it was the first time that he independently led his tribe and participated in the war.
Genghis Khan also laughed: "Okay, you go with the Red Horse Prince Consort, and as long as you lead out the Jurchens, it will be your great achievement!"
"Wise Father Khan, can you tell me, is there any reward for such great achievements?" Tuo Lei raised his face and asked loudly.
Genghis Khan was amused by the young man and asked, "What reward do you want?"
Tuo Lei replied proudly: "I want to continue to be a pioneer, and I want to capture Juyong Pass for my father!"
Genghis Khan was silent for a long time.
The entire tent immediately fell silent.
Tuo Lei suddenly felt flustered. He didn't know what he said wrongly, which offended his father, so he knelt on the ground and pressed his forehead against the ground.
"This time, we are not going to Juyongguan."
Genghis Khan spoke slowly, his words were rich and full of caution, which was rare for Mongolians: "After the hunting dogs on the grassland rush towards the enemy, they will remember to avoid the thick leather robes and use their teeth to bite the enemy's throat. You guys
It should be like this. My new subordinates, Shi Moming'an, Guo Baoyu, Liu Bolin and many others told me that in the mountains west of Juyong Pass, there is a pass where a yellow sheep can run for three days and three nights.
, called Zijingguan. This time, we will attack Hebei from the Kingdom of Jin from Zijingguan.”
Genghis Khan stood up and stood next to the bonfire, stretched out his palms and spread his fingers: "Attract the Jurchens from Jinshan and annihilate them to ensure the safety of our rear. It will take two days to cross the mountains, find the weak pass, and attack
It will take three days to get rid of it. If the foal does well in Jinshan..."
He held Tuo Lei's shoulders: "Then at Zijingguan, every enemy you encounter behind you, I will let you stand at the front of the entire army."
Tuo Lei was overjoyed.
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
Note 1: Guliejian means Prince Consort. This refers to Chiju (or Chiku), one of the powerful leaders of the Hongji La tribe, the head of a thousand households, the third daughter of Shang Temujin, Bald Manlun.
). According to Yuan history records, Chiju and Tuo Lei jointly conquered Dexing Prefecture in this year.
Note 2: Guliyan refers to a circle-shaped garrison made up of many tents, with the chief’s tent located at the center of the circle.
Note 3: Despair means that those who can understand the history of the Yuan Dynasty are not humans, but gods.