The location of Tangzhou in the Song Dynasty was probably south of Tanghe County, Henan Province, and it was called Tangzhou during the Tang and Song dynasties. This is the southern end of the Nanyang Basin, guarding the way north. It has the same role as Xiangyang City, if you want to go north through this plain and enter the Central Plains, you must pass through Tangzhou City. And to take Tangzhou, the Nanyang Basin can be kicked open the door, the road to the Central Plains to the north is not dangerous to defend, the enemy can send troops at any time to threaten Chang'an, Luoyang and Kaifeng. With Tangzhou, Xiangyang is much safer, and if you want to fight Xiangyang, you must first get Tangzhou in your hands, otherwise you will be attacked by the enemy, and the logistics and transportation will be cut off immediately.

The Mongol Empire lost a large number of troops at sea, and it did not dare to despise Tangzhou, and still sent a general to guard here. As long as Tang Prefecture was there, the Mongol army could attack Xiangyang at any time, while the Southern Song Dynasty army wanted to go north, it had to conquer Tang Prefecture first, and then it could enter Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Henan from the gaps in the northeast, north, and northwest of the basin. As long as the city of Tangzhou, Dengzhou, and Caizhou was held, the Central Plains controlled by the Mongol Empire would be safe.

The defender of Tangzhou was an old acquaintance of the Southern Song Dynasty, a general of the Jin State stationed on the Sichuan-Shaanxi border back then, and now the Mongolian Wanhu, and the cheap commander Wang Shixian. Since he led the Mongol army to break through the Sichuan-Shaanxi defense line of the Southern Song Dynasty, Wang Shixian's official fortune has come, rising from 1,000 households to 10,000 households, and now he has become a member of the garrison, which is more prominent than when he was in the Jin Kingdom.

However, the reason why Wang Shixian was able to gain a firm foothold through two dynasties is enough to show that this person is not simple, it is useless to just know how to fight, and he must have a long-term vision. Ever since the Mongolian sailors were wiped out at sea, and the originally lively offensive suddenly turned into a defensive position, his heart has been a little drumming. He knew better than many high-ranking officials of the Southern Song Dynasty that such a state lacked the conditions to hold out for a long time, and once it stopped its attack. Domestic contradictions will become prominent.

This conclusion was not concocted by Wang Shixian out of thin air, and he did not have Hong Tao's understanding of later generations, he summed it up from many things that happened within the empire. Just last year, the kings of the western expedition had refused to send any more spoils of war to the empire, and they had stopped their march in the west and began to race for the land. It's like a face that occupies the mountain as the king.

The reason for this was simple: Ögedei Khan had exhausted the wealth of his empire in the east and had not succeeded in his southern invasion, and the Mongol nobles had begun to make small calculations for themselves. They didn't plan to be wronged anymore, and brought back the spoils of war they had worked so hard to toss back to Ogedai Khan. Rather than expecting the empire to defeat the Southern Song Dynasty and then divide the spoils, it is better to be the king on the spot and live your own small life.

As for the Southern Song Dynasty, whoever likes to fight and who fights, those Mongolian princes who are far away in Central Asia know very well that even if they defeat the Southern Song Dynasty. They also don't get a half-penny benefit. This kind of business that doesn't make money just at a loss, whoever likes to do it, do it.

In addition to economic factors, the failure of the southern invasion also seriously reduced the prestige of Ögedai Khan. The Mongols did not like losers very much, especially a great khan whose ascension was already controversial. As the strength of Ögedei Khan was greatly reduced due to the loss of his troops, the Mongol nobles who had not dared to say or do anything began to be restless, and brought up the old matter again, shaking out the issue of the inheritance of the Khan's throne back then. Now, even if Ögedei Khan had enough soldiers and generals in his hands, he would not dare to go out to the south to invade the south. He had to be on the lookout for the hungry wolves around him at all times.

In view of the state of affairs within the empire, Wang Shixian adopted a corresponding defensive strategy. That's low-key! Originally, the provocations on the Southern Song Dynasty defense line were reduced to a minimum, even if some Mongolian generals were not happy, he would strictly control them, and if he couldn't manage them, he would be transferred to Dengzhou, so as not to cause trouble under his nose.

Wang Shixian knows the temperament of the Southern Song Dynasty generals very well, as long as you don't take the initiative to provoke them. When there is no great change in the strength of the two sides, they will not take the initiative to challenge themselves in the north, and he plans to wait for two years before deciding where to go. If the contradictions in the empire gradually subside, it will definitely strengthen the forces here, and it will not be too late to show off its military power by then. If the struggle within the empire becomes more and more acute. The national strength is getting weaker and weaker, so he has to think of a way out for himself and his family's future.

But what he never expected was that the Southern Song Dynasty army actually came to the door with a swagger, and there were not many troops, only a few hundred people. What made Wang Shixian cry and laugh the most was that according to the Tanma report, there were not many horses in this batch of Southern Song Dynasty troops who went north, and they were all tall and big eating horses, but they didn't ride them, but treated the war horses as pack horses, helping the whole army pull carts and transport equipment.

"Drum gathering, I want to see who is so bold!" For such an army, Wang Shixian felt that it was unreasonable for him not to go out and beat them. The commander of this army was obviously a mallet, and he didn't even know how to use his troops, so he dared to go out of the city and attack himself. Yes, don't let him come for nothing, just leave those big eating horses and give them to the Mongolian nobles in the country, the effect is better than giving gold and silver, they are born to like horses. For this Southern Song Dynasty general who sent him joy, Wang Shixian decided to spare his life and resolutely not to die, the more enemy generals he had, the more comfortable he would be here.

As for whether this would be a trap for the Southern Song Dynasty army, Wang Shixian also thought about it carefully. He did not go out of the city to meet the battle, but first sent out several units of scout horses to probe in different directions to see if there were any reinforcements from the Southern Song Dynasty on the left and right sides of this army and in the rear.

If there is, then it is not said, it is a trap, he will immediately warn the Mongol generals in Dengzhou and Caizhou, and then decide the next move according to the direction of the opponent's attack. If not, then it will be easy to do, this is obviously a certain paper general in the Southern Song Dynasty court who has gone crazy. In the face of an army led by this kind of person, don't be polite, eat as much as you can, and if you can't finish eating, call on your allies to eat together.

"Could it be that my luck has come? Come on, hang up the old man's banner, let's go out of the city to fight! The information sent back by Tanma made Wang Shixian overjoyed, this army was not only alone, but also did not carry much provisions, just like the ordinary people who came out for an outing.

The other two units of the Southern Song Dynasty army, one in the direction of Dengzhou and the other in the direction of Caizhou, any of them wanted to come to the rescue, it would take at least a whole day. With more than 300 cavalry and more than 600 infantry in his hands, it is not difficult to eat a Southern Song army with fewer people than himself in the field. Don't look at the Mongol naval division being wiped out by the Southern Song Dynasty naval division at sea, but on land, Wang Shixian firmly believes that without more than three times the Southern Song Dynasty army, there is basically no need to think about his own safety, and the only thing to worry about is how to annihilate the other party.

Although Wang Shixian was already 100% sure, before the enemy situation was completely clear, he still did not dare to leave the city too far, only went out more than ten miles, found a high slope as the Chinese army, spread his troops left and right, and waited for the other party to send him to the door.

Soon, he saw a very strange army slowly approaching from a distance. There was no flag in this army, and the other side apparently had discovered its own troops, so they simply stopped, and then began to spread out in several columns, turning into a long horizontal snake formation.

"Whose army is this in the Southern Song Dynasty? It's definitely not Meng Hui's, even Zhao Fan wouldn't be so confused! Seeing that the Southern Song Dynasty army on the opposite side put on such a strange and ridiculous formation, Wang Shixian was a little embarrassed to send cavalry to charge, this is simply an adult bullying a child. With such a thin formation, no matter how long the spear you are holding, the cavalry will charge and the formation will fall apart. In the field, there is only one way for infantry to deal with cavalry, which is to limit the mobility of cavalry with a dense formation, once the formation is dispersed, then the battle is over, and the rest is for the cavalry to chase a group of rabbits and cut and kill at will.

"Horse exploration! They really don't have reinforcements behind them? Not only did Wang Shixian think so, but his second son Wang Dechen was also a little unsure, and asked the officer in charge of probing the enemy situation again, and the answer was definitely no.

"Dechen, for your father to lead the infantry to lure the enemy head-on, you lead the cavalry to the rear first, break up their formation, and quickly decide. I always felt that this army was different from other armies in the Southern Song Dynasty, but I couldn't say what was different. "Wang Shixian is right to be cautious, but it is definitely impossible to look at such a piece of fat without opening his mouth. In the end, he chose to strike with all his strength and settle the battle as quickly as possible, and until now he did not focus on the opposing army, but worried about other problems.

After receiving the order to attack, Wang Shixian's infantry rushed forward first, holding scimitars and shields, and striking as they went, with great momentum. Wang Dechen led more than 300 cavalry around the high ground, only waiting for his father's infantry to trample on the dust on the ground, and then followed the infantry on horseback, slowly approaching the front line. When the distance is sufficient, it will suddenly charge, passing your own infantry and directly attacking the opponent's defenses.

On the other hand, on the musketeers' side, there was still no movement, only a few commanders on horseback kept patrolling back and forth in front of the column, emphasizing all kinds of basic discipline for this platoon of 100 people. It's nothing more than where the separation distance is wrong, or the distance between the front and back is too small, or the team is not standing straight, a little crooked, or something. As for how to fight the war and how to resist the enemy's attack, they did not say a word.

Seeing the musketeers behaving like this, the dozen or so observers of the Southern Song Dynasty army who followed behind simply brought their mounts back again. They came to evaluate the combat effect instead of Zheng Qingzhi, Meng Heng and Wu Jue, and they didn't want to send their lives here. If the musketeers were to collapse at the slightest touch, their next move would be simple: turn around and run for their lives.

(To be continued.) )