In the early morning of March 2, the main force of the Mongol forward army passed through the wilderness east of Dingzhou City through the remaining snow. Wang Yuankui, the commander of the Chengdu Army, personally led the Chengde Army's more than 10,000 infantrymen one day in advance as the front camp soldiers of the forward army.
Ma goes south.
During this period, three thousand Mongolian cavalry stationed in Dingzhou City.
Three thousand men and horses may not seem like much, but the Mongol cavalry consists of one person and three horses.
Three thousand men and nine thousand horses entered Dingzhou City, causing chaos in the city. It also disrupted the deployment of the defenders and Guanjiang Tower to search for Liang Guo's secret room.
The defenders in the city had to make room for the incoming Mongol cavalry, and they also drove some households out of their houses overnight, making the streets even more chaotic.
Han Bao, Wang Che, and Huo Li took advantage of the chaos to escape from the city.
The post road and even the fields on both sides were trampled into mud by thousands of cavalry. Han Bao and the others had no horses. The muddy post road after the snow melted restricted their ability to move south quickly. In addition, there were Mongol cavalry scouts everywhere along the way.
After they met up with Shi Ruhai and others, they found an abandoned hunting shed in the mountains to the east of the city and hid there.
The Mongolian cavalry went south in batches. The first batch of troops went south on March 2, and by March 6, large groups of cavalry continued to pass by the east of Dingzhou City, advancing southward like a tide.
At this time, Dingzhou stayed behind, and Wang Mao, the son of Wang Yuankui, built a large official shed in the muddy snowmelt next to the post road, specially arranging officials to be responsible for contacting and labor arrangements.
There were also hundreds of people who were driven over along the post roads on both sides of the official shed, showing the tendency of waiting on each other.
Dusk was approaching, and groups of Mongol cavalry, like muddy brown muddy tides, were not blocked by the approaching night, and continued to advance south. Han Bao, Wang Zhe, and Huo Li were mixed in the crowd.
The faces are very ugly...
It soon became dark, and Han Bao and the others took advantage of the night light to walk back to their hiding place through the trail.
"How many Mongol cavalry passed through Dingzhou today?" When Shen Peng saw Han Bao and the others coming back, he struggled to move his hands and feet that were tied and paralyzed. He was still most concerned about the Mongol cavalry going out.
Situation, he asked impatiently.
Han Bao walked over and helped him, Zhao Ci, and Princess Zhu Xi untie the ropes on their feet. Previously, he, Wang Che, and Huo Li went out to scout the enemy. They were worried that Shi Ruhai, Zhang Shigui, and others would not be able to see them. All they had to do was tie their hands behind their backs.
In addition, their feet will be tied up specially.
Shen Peng stood up and motioned to Han Bao to untie their hands that were tied behind their backs.
Han Bao hesitated for a while, and finally untied his and Zhao Ci's hands, but still tied Yun and Princess Zhu Xi's hands behind their backs.
Han Bao did this to make Shen Peng and Zhao Ci understand that if they want to escape safely and go south, they cannot do without their full assistance. But if they want to pull any tricks, they must first consider whether Yun and Princess are there.
Maybe follow them and escape quickly.
Regardless of the subsequent troops and horses, in the past five days, the Mongols have already had about 50,000 soldiers and 120,000 to 150,000 horses, passing through the wilderness on both sides of Dingzhou City and heading south.
In addition to the old impression that the Mongol soldiers have always been capable and militant, the armor and equipment of the Mongol cavalry heading south this time were much better than they had imagined before, and there were even a large number of horses wearing armor.
Traditional iron armor has to reach a certain level of defense and is quite bulky. For a long time, only the Central Plains region has relied on more advanced armor-casting technology to create lighter and more defensive armor and scale armor, which has the ability to arm a small number of people. of heavy armored cavalry.
Although the soldiers and horses of the grassland tribes are capable and good at fighting, the size of the cavalry is
It is larger, but even if there are some heavy armored cavalry, the number is very small.
Han Bao and the others saw that the Mongol cavalry going south was armed with a large number of heavy armored cavalry. This not only meant that the Mongol cavalry had stronger combat effectiveness, but also meant that after taking control of Youyun and other states, the Mongol people, with the assistance of the nobles who fled north, , Iron smelting and casting technology has achieved unprecedented breakthroughs and developments.
At this time, it was confirmed that Guanjianglou was a vassal of the Mongols. It is conceivable that the double-furnace iron training method had already passed through the hands of Wanhonglou and spread to Youji and other states, right?
In the past few days, in addition to exchanging information with Shen Peng and others, Han Bao also tried every means to capture two lone spies from Guanjiang Tower for interrogation. He learned that Meng Wu had not returned in the past thirteen or four years after occupying Youyun and other states. The launch of a large-scale offensive against Heshuo and other prefectures was not simply to recuperate, nor to abide by the peace treaty with the Jin army, but more importantly, to focus on the conquest and digestion of the Bohai Kingdom northeast of Youyun.
Youyun and other prefectures occupy a vast area such as the north and south of Yanshan Mountain. However, as a war-torn and bitter cold land, the population has always been prosperous. Before it was ceded by the Jin State, the population of Youyun and other prefectures was about 25.6 million.
However, after the Mongol people occupied the Bohai Kingdom, they forcibly moved millions of Haidong survivors from the wider bitter cold area to settle in Youji and other places. The population in Youji and other places expanded to nearly four million, and farming The scale has also nearly doubled compared to before.
In addition to the traditional cavalry troops, the Mengwu even established a new infantry army composed mainly of Han people and Haidong survivors as a supplementary force for city defense and offensive operations.
After spring, the roads were muddy, and the Mongol Infantry Army had a limited number of troops and horses, so it was hesitant to move. However, it is expected that in two to three days, 40,000 to 60,000 soldiers of the Youji Han Army and the Haidong Army will gradually come from Dingzhou. Take the road south.
And just today, Han Bao also knew for sure that tens of thousands of Jin troops in Qizhou, Zhaozhou and other places chose to surrender after seeing the Mongol cavalry entering in large numbers.
This means that, excluding the Weizhou rebels led by Liang He Wang Zhu Rang and Liang Shixiong, the Mongols can mobilize as many as 150,000 to 60,000 troops in Heshuo and other places in spring and summer.
Although it can be expected that the Mongols will focus on occupying and digesting the territory of the Jin State in the early stage, and may only send some troops to help the Weizhou rebels attack or pursue the main force of the Liang Army, but their retreat will be cut off, and their food and grass will Liang Jun, who was unable to receive supplies, was definitely not feeling well.
This is still the case if Chen Kun and Han Yuanqi can expel Liang Shixiong from Bianjing in time and take the lead in controlling Bianjing and the area west of Bianjing.
"If we go south from the east of Bianjing, we will never cause you any trouble on the way. We will follow you all the way to Tangyi. I believe you should especially want to know who will win in Bianjing at this moment..." Shen Peng Rubbing his swollen wrist, he negotiated with Han Bao.
Han Bao discussed with Huo Li and Wang Che for a long time, and finally agreed to Shen Peng's conditions.
Although it was much safer for them to go south from the coastal states that were away from the core of the war in the east, considering that the situation in Bianjing suddenly became chaotic, the two insiders arranged by the Military Intelligence Staff Department in Bianjing were not prepared in advance, and it was very likely that they would not be able to deliver accurate information in time. To obtain the information, they need to go to Bianjing in person.
At the same time, they also need to make a preliminary assessment of the development of the situation in the Mongol and rebel-controlled areas in central and southern Heshuo. These areas will become the core areas controlled by the Mongol and rebels in the future, and they also need to arrange for people to lurk there for a long time. , they were destined to take the more risky inland route near the eastern foot of Taihang Mountain.
Of course, dressing up in disguise along the way requires full cooperation from Shen Peng and others, otherwise they will never be able to withstand the searches and investigations of patrol patrols along the way.
Except for leaving one person to continue to lurk and mix in,
In addition to maintaining contact with the two young men in Jianglou, Han Bao and the others disguised themselves and set out on their way south for seven days.
As a large number of Mongol people dispersed and forcibly conquered the civilian population in Caogu, a large number of households in Qizhou, Zhaozhou and other places went into hiding to escape the war.
Such a chaotic situation is also the best way for Han Bao to fish in troubled waters.
Even if they got a few mules and horses, they didn't have to worry about enemy scouts tracking their whereabouts. They lurked day and night all the way, and arrived at Chanzhou on the north bank of the Yellow River on the eleventh day.
They also knew for sure at this time that Zhu Rang, King of Liang He, led the troops of Weizhou to rebel on the third day and sent troops to seize Fukouxing. The two passes of Baixing and Baixing were located at the Guancheng Fortress on the Weizhou and Chanzhou sides, and on the night of the fourth day It was the first batch of Mongol forward cavalry that had entered Weizhou. By the seventh day, there were 20,000 Mongol cavalry in front and behind, and Weizhou rebels went to the north bank of the Yellow River, at the southern foot of Taihang Mountain, across the river from Bianjing. Leaving Weizhou.
At the same time, on the 7th and 8th, about 20,000 Mongol cavalry and 10,000 elite German troops led by Wang Yuankui marched westward from Baixing.
Although the narrow Baixing Passage is completely controlled by the rebels and Mongol cavalry, it is impossible for any traders to bring news to the west of the Taihang Mountains for the time being, but Han Bao and others can fully speculate that the main force of the Liang Army may not know until the fourth or even the fifth day. The news of Zhu Rang and Liang Shixiong's rebellion only had time to block the west passage of Fukouxing in the north, but there was no way to retreat to Zezhou in the south in time. Only then did the Mongol people see that Zezhou's defenses were empty and had an opportunity. But taking advantage of this opportunity, I decided to take the Baixing Passage directly into Zezhou in the southern part of the Jin Kingdom...
The ferries and boats on the north bank of the Yellow River were all controlled by the rebels. Han Bao and the others had to find a fishing boat to cross the Yellow River from the east of Chanzhou, which was far away from the rebels' core observation area, and entered the east of Bianzhou (Bianjing) on the 13th. Only in Caozhou did we know the development of the situation since Liang Shixiong raised troops in Bianjing on the 2nd to rebel.
Zhu Yu personally marched and led his troops to besiege Luzhou, but he still left Lei Jiuyuan, Jing Hao and other trusted generals to guard Bianjing. Under the instigation of Liang Shixiong, the Nanya imperial army fought with the lurking Weizhou rebels and Jin army prisoners of war. More than 20,000 people rebelled, but failed to capture the imperial city that was defended by the bodyguards immediately.
Han Yuanqi and Chen Kun led 8,000 elite forwards to Bianjing on the 5th. Afterwards, nearly 30,000 infantrymen continued northward along the Bian River and entered the city of Bianjing. They fought bloody battles for several days, and finally arrived at the Yellow River on the 11th. On that day on the north bank, the rebels were driven out of Bianjing at a very heavy cost.
At present, in addition to occupying Wanting, Qiliu and other cities east of Bianjing, the main force of the rebels also took advantage of the lack of defense in the western Bianjing area to occupy important towns such as Rongyang, Yanshi, and Luoyang on the south bank of the Yellow River, while Mengjin, Qinyang, etc. on the north bank of the Yellow River. The city was occupied by the Chengde army and the Jin army who surrendered from Zhao and other places, blocking the passage from Guanzhong soldiers and horses to the east of Guanzhong via Hangu.
The Mongolians only had more than 10,000 cavalry across the Yellow River to fight with the rebels. Almost 40,000 cavalry and 30,000 infantry passed through Jingxing, Fukouxing and Baixing and entered Zelu Prefecture to the west of the Taihang Mountains. Thousands of years ago,
There is the Shangdang area, which "is located on the top of the Taihang Mountains and has the highest terrain."
Shangdang overlooks the Central Plains to the south, borders Hedong (Fenshui River Valley in southern Shanxi) to the east, Heshuo to the west, and Taiyuan to the north. It is the focus area where the power of the former vassal town continued to the confrontation between the Liang and Jin Dynasties for many years.
When the main force of the Mongol and Uighur forces entered the two states of Ze and Lu, in addition to attacking the main force of the Liang army, the most important thing was to value this strategic area. Based on it, they could seize the remaining Jin Dynasty in the north, manage Heshuo, and look south to the Central Plains.
Due to the dangerous mountains and cut off roads, when Han Bao and the others headed south again to return to Tangyi on the 16th, they had no idea about the development of the war in Zelu Prefecture, let alone the fate of the main force of the Liang Army...
