"Nine white silks? Kublai Khan is coming? ”

On the north bank of the Hutuo River, Chen Dexing looked at the gold-roofed tent and the Nine White Silks in the Mongolian military camp on the other side of the river, and was very surprised.

"There seem to be a lot of soldiers and horses on the other side, and the size of the camp is always seventy or eighty thousand (in fact, there are only sixty thousand)? But the deployment was to defend along the river...... If that's the case, it's not bad to have a confrontation until the end of the year. ”

He thought about it and said that Kublai Khan had several times more soldiers and horses than him, but he put on a posture of strict defense and death, obviously without the intention of a decisive battle. It seemed to be exactly what he wanted...... can transfer 70,000 or 80,000 troops to besiege Li Pu, which is worthy of his father-in-law, Lao Taishan.

"Uh...... King, I'm afraid things are not so simple, the 70,000 or 80,000 Mongols are all cavalry, and if they can't win a frontal battle, they can go around our backs and burn them. ”

Guo Kan, who temporarily served as the military division of this southbound detachment, reminded. He had been with the Mongols for a long time, and he had been fighting, and he could not understand the various methods and tactics commonly used by the Mongols in war.

The biggest characteristic of the Mongols in warfare is that they do not fight for one city and one land, because they are nomadic people, living in pursuit of water and grass, and are relatively indifferent to the land, and do not like to live in the city. This concept was also applied to warfare, and the Mongols would not be willing to defend undefended lands or cities.

The second characteristic of the Mongols in warfare is that it is "difficult to catch", since they do not defend a city or a place, and they are an army on horseback, they are super mobile. When they are unwilling to fight, it is difficult for the opponent to force them to fight. Conversely, when they are willing to fight, it is difficult for the opponent to run away.

The third feature is Mongolia's unscrupulous means! Murder, arson, and looting are all pediatrics, and the plague is set off. Digging dams, slaughtering cities, etc., the Mongols have more at their disposal than anyone else!

"These methods of the Mongols are known to the Lone King. King Gu has ordered the people who are attached to us to Baoding Road, Zhending Road, Hejian Road and other places to move north to Yanjing Road to settle down. As for those who stubbornly defended the fortress and ignored us, I believe that the small group of Mongolian cavalry could not help them. ”

The three roads of Baoding, Zhending and Hejian were originally the territory of Dayuan. The cities and fortresses on the three-way territory also had different attitudes towards the Yuan and Ming dynasties, some surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, and some closed their doors. And Chen Dexing now has no time to attack the city, let alone the strength to defend the city, so he ordered the people in the attached towns and fortresses to retreat to Yanjing Road. Of course, there is some grain in the towns and fortresses of these three roads, and they all have to be taken away together. If you retreat to Yanjing Road, you can also alleviate the food shortage in Yanjing a little.

However, it was not easy for these people to retreat along the way, because the Mongols would definitely send cavalry to intercept them halfway.

"Of course, the Lone King will not let the people go on the road alone. When the camp on the north bank of the Hutuo River was built, King Gu sent troops to escort it. Zhongshan Fucheng and Qingdu County were attached to the Ming Dynasty, and the people gathered there were tens of thousands of households, and they moved to Zhuozhou City in a few days. Guo Qing, when the time comes, you will have to work hard to escort your Silver Armor Brigade, and the Lone King will give you an artillery company and a black cavalry team. ”

"Great King, as soon as the last general's 'Silver Armor Brigade' (Guo Kanbu's number) left, there were only 11,000 soldiers and horses on the north bank of the Hutuo River. How does this work? There were 60,000 Mongols on the other side! ”

Chen Dexing waved his hand and said, "What about sixty thousand?" I have fortified cannons. Don't be afraid of not being able to hold it. But Guo Qing, are you sure? The migration of tens of thousands of families can't hide the Mongols' sentinels! ”

Guo Kan's eyes rolled, and he already understood Chen Dexing's intentions: "The king wants to use the 3,000 people of his ministers as bait to catch Kublai Khan?" ”

"Will he take the bait?"

Guo Kan smiled: "How not?" Tens of thousands of households, more than 2,000 pairs of good armor. There were only more than 3,000 people in the escort army...... If Kublai Khan doesn't come again, what else will he do as the Great Khan of Mongolia? This Mongol Khan is a bandit leader, and a robber leader who does not dare to rob will anyone follow? ”

Chen Dexing looked at Guo Kan seriously: "What about Guo Qing?" Can your 3,000 men block tens of thousands or even tens of thousands of Mongolian horses? ”

Guo Kan straightened up. He arched his hand and said: "The 3,000 ministers can be 10,000 cowardly envoys, if they can't resist it?" But...... This reward is indispensable! ”

Guo Kan's soldiers are all mercenaries who take money to fight. They are all habits that have been cultivated for several years or even more than ten years, and their thinking is different from that of aristocratic soldiers such as Shijue and Eight Banners. Honor, status, land, etc. None of them were what they wanted. What they want is real money. Fight to make money, squander it after the war, and almost have no savings except for a good piece of equipment.

Chen Dexing stretched out a slap and said with a smile: "Each soldier will be given 50 guan money first, and then according to the head after the fight, a Mongolian head is worth 50 guan!" ”

Guo Kan smiled, like a shrewd businessman, and said, "How about adding another 1,200 pairs of plate armor?" ”

Chen Dexing shook his head again and again: "That's 1.2 million yuan!" Guo Qing, you're too good at business, aren't you? ”

"That'...... The minister doesn't want to pull out the money with 50 soldiers, and this Qian Chen came out by himself. ”

"The bounty for the Mongolian head cannot be given either." Chen Dexing actually made a serious counteroffer.

Since you want to use professional mercenaries, you have to learn to bargain. Moreover, Guo Kan's 3,000 men are just the beginning of the use of mercenaries in the Northern Ming Dynasty, and Chen Dexing has already planned to recruit mercenary brigades in Goryeo and Japan - the southern war will start sooner or later, and the strategic value of Nanfan, especially Sriwijaya and Java Island, is too high, and one is guarding the trade route to the west, and the other is a springboard to Oceania, which must be conquered!

Guo Kan looked pained, thought for a long time, and then nodded slowly: "It's okay, but there are only 3,000 ministers, and they can't cover tens of thousands of people......"

Chen Dexing waved his hand, with a sad and compassionate expression: "The lonely king has done his best to save the people, if he really can't save it, it is also the destiny of heaven!" ”

"The Great King is really inhito-kunya!" Guo Kan changed his expression of reverence and bowed deeply.

'Really good at pretending!' No wonder you can eat meat with Hulegu in Persia and eat meat! Chen Dexing thought so in his heart, but said warmly: "Guo Qing, Jun is the humerus of the lonely king, you must be more careful in this battle, and you must not lose anything." ”

……

"Runfu, you and I are called Junchen, we are really brothers, there is a share of my Li family in the Tang Dynasty, and there is a share of your Shi family. Since Yan Jian's generation, the queen has only been a woman from the Yongqing historian! ”

Just when Chen Dexing and Guo Kan were bargaining, Li Pu, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty in Taiyuan City, was also staging a touching play with Shi Tianze. Everyone knows that Shi Tianze can fight, and Li Pu is also self-aware and knows the tide of his fighting skills. If the shape is okay, of course he is willing to command the demeanor of the Heavenly Khan to break the formation. But now they are all besieged in Taiyuan City, and it is already the time for their lives to be handed over, so they can't afford to slip up, so the command is handed over to Shi Tianze.

The decisive battle is tomorrow! According to Shi Tianze's deployment, there are no night attacks or sneak attacks. According to the intelligence, the opponent is the battle-hardened Baturu, and it will be hell if someone sneaks up on him!

Instead of night attacks and sneak attacks, why don't you sleep well this night, eat a full meal tomorrow and then go out to fight in a dignified battle. Shi Tianze estimated that breaking the encirclement of Taiyuan City was not a problem. If Chen Dexing had gained a foothold in Yanyun, the Mongols would most likely have withdrawn from Shanxi. But the shape of Henan Province (including Shandong) is a bit overhanging.

After thanking Li Pu for agreeing to marry, Shi Tianze talked about the battle situation again, and Lao Shi frowned: "Your Majesty, to solve the siege of Taiyuan, the minister is a little sure." But Jinan and Yidu are only afraid that it will be difficult to protect! ”

Hearing this, Li Pu's face became a little more gloomy. The soldiers of the Eastern Tang Dynasty were all government soldiers, and the characteristics of the government soldiers were the integration of soldiers and peasants, which was different from the kind of mercenaries under Guo Kan who were not dragged down by their families. The government soldiers have families and jobs, and once their hometown is captured by the Mongols, the morale of this army will be greatly shaken.

Li Pu took a deep breath, "Don't be afraid!" If Jinan and Yidu are lost, the Tang army will definitely return to their hearts like arrows, which is also available for the army! When the time comes, I will take the army back to my hometown! ”

……

"Great Khan, Great Khan...... Chen Thief ordered the households around Zhongshan Mansion City and Qingdu County to relocate! ”

Outside Kublai Khan's golden-domed tent, there was a shout of cowardly Xue Chang'an Tong, and then he saw An Tong and Boyan hurriedly walking in. Kublai Khan was reading the military newspaper in the big tent, and the news seemed to be good.

The 50,000-strong army commanded by Wuliang Hetai was the first to win and had already occupied Bianliang City, the former capital of the Great Song Dynasty. Now the soldiers are divided into two routes, all the way to the west to attack Luoyang; All the way down the Yellow River to the east to Germany, rushing to attack Xu Pi (at this time the Yellow River seized Huai into the sea, Shandong was on the north bank of the Yellow River, Xuzhou and Pizhou were close to the Yellow River). Because Li Pu's troop deployment was a dumbbell-shaped, with one end in Shandong and the other in Shanxi, and Henan and Hebei in the middle were very empty, Wuliang Hetai's actions on the south bank of the Yellow River were very smooth.

The 30,000 troops commanded by Kuyao Huer and Chongxi had also crossed the river from Mengjin, and then attacked Luoyang, which was already an empty city. The whereabouts of Li Xiong's subordinates of the Tang Army, who were supposed to be stationed there, are unknown. Although the goal of annihilating Li Xiongbu was not achieved, Luoyang, the capital of Tang, still fell into the hands of the Yuan soldiers. Coupled with the Bianliang occupied by Wuliang Hetai, the two most symbolic cities in the Central Plains have all been occupied by the Yuan soldiers!

If Wuliang Hetai can occupy Guide and Xuzhou along the way, then the south of the Yellow River and the north of the Huai River will be re-controlled by the Great Yuan. Now all it takes is to force Chen Dexing back to Yanyun, and then control the plains south of Yanyun and east of Taihang, so that Li Pu's territory can be divided into two. Spending the winter in such a form is already the most favorable result for Dayuan.

On the one hand, Da Yuan could use the apparently favorable situation to subdue some of the Han marquis, who were still wavering; On the one hand, it can also be used to communicate with the Southern Dynasty to obtain New Year's coins; In addition, he can go north to Yanyun after the beginning of spring, and he doesn't expect to defeat Chen Dexing, just miss Yanyun's spring sowing. As long as Chen Dexing is trapped in grain and grass, Dayuan will be able to solve Li Pu in the summer and autumn of the next year!

Kublai Khan put down the military newspaper in his hand and slapped the case suddenly, "Okay!" The opportunity to fight with Chen Dexing has come! I'm going to meet his Steel-Armored Soldier in person! (To be continued......)