In the Southern Song Dynasty, I competed with Mongolia for the world

Chapter 422 Kublai Khan’s Fury

"The Song army only has 50,000 to 60,000 cavalry, and they are all light cavalry. They don't have any baggage, and they don't have siege equipment or artillery——"

"They came from the east and passed through many grasslands in Mongolia. The kings of each clan should receive the news at this moment and mobilize their troops-"

"This opportunity cannot be missed. It will never come again. It is simply a God-given opportunity——"

"We have to tell the Song people that we Mongolians are the masters of the grassland——"

In Blackwater City, Kublai Khan racked his brains and earnestly tried to persuade the guarding general Aotun Shiying.

Before Hara Helin was besieged by the Song army, Kublai Khan's mother instigated Luheteni to send fast cavalry to spread the news in all directions.

Afterwards, Kublai Khan left Halahe Forest with a thousand fine cavalry. In the process, he encountered the Song army and fought a wave. After a disastrous defeat, Kublai Khan ran directly to Heishui City.

I originally thought I would encounter reinforcements from Blackwater City on the way, but I ran all the way to Blackwater City and didn't see any reinforcements.

After arriving at Heishui City, I saw that Heishui City was busy everywhere. Aotun Shiying was reinforcing the defense to prepare for the Song army's attack.

Kublai Khan was shocked and angry. When he saw Aotun Shiying, he first took out his dead father as a support and said that his mother was still in Mobei. Why didn't Aotun Shiying send reinforcements to support Harahelin, which was the capital of Mongolia? ?

Aotun Shiying was Tuo Lei's family general and confidant, and he was also a member of their Tuo Lei Department, but after Tuo Lei's death, he was assigned to Kuo Duan.

Aotun Shiying still respected Kublai Khan very much, and could only say politely that he was a soldier stationed in Blackwater City, and according to the will of Hehan, he belonged to Kublai Khan.

If you want to mobilize soldiers and horses, there are only two people in Xixia who can do it. One is Zong Wangkou Wen Buhua who is stationed at Keyi Gate, and the other is at Kuoduan of Wu Lahai City.

Then he expressed his position to Kublai Khan that he would send a fast horse to pass the news to see what the two kings had ordered.

Kublai Khan saw that Otun Shiying was not giving him face and had no choice. He immediately changed his attitude and explained the reason to Otun Shiying.

The Song army had traveled thousands of miles and was short of men and horses, with limited supplies and no baggage. This was the best time to fight.

When the Song army robbed all the herdsmen from hundreds of miles around, got supplies, the horses were fattened, and the people were full, then it would be difficult to fight.

If it were later, if the Song army broke through Harahelin and used the city as a defense, the Mongolian army would not be able to fight even if it gathered 200,000 troops.

Therefore, Kublai Khan believed that the current Song army was the best to fight, and that it could defeat the Song army in a fair and just manner on the grassland with cavalry versus cavalry, allowing the Song people to see the real overlord on the grassland.

I have to say that what Kublai Khan said makes sense. If Natu'er were in front of him now, he would definitely cry and complain that it was difficult for the Song army to fight in positional battles, so they could only fight mobile battles on the wild grasslands.

But Aotun Shiying did not dare to move without an order.

This is more troublesome. Blackwater City is thousands of miles away from Keyi Gate and even further away from Wu Lahai City.

He just sends out fast cavalry, and it takes several days to go back and forth.

Kublai Khan had no choice but to wait in Blackwater City.

On this day, Kublai Khan found Aotun Shiying on the top of the city and once again persuaded him to send troops.

Aotun Shiying had been at the top of the city for the past few days, arranging fortifications and defenses. Kublai Khan didn't understand it very much, and he had never seen various arrow-proof sheds at the top of the city.

Aotun Shiying explained to him: "I learned this from the Song Army. There are many crossbowmen in the Song Army. When they fight, arrows rain down like rain."

Kublai Khan and Blue Hague looked at each other, their expressions were a bit dumbfounded.

The Mongolian army has always been good at riding and shooting, and is famous for its rain of arrows. Unexpectedly, it now has to guard against the arrows of the Song army.

"What are these buckets and sand for?" Blue Hague asked again.

"The Song army likes to use rockets, and they shoot flaming arrows in broad daylight."

"We use it to put out fires."

There was a Qianhu under Kublai Khan beside him who couldn't help it anymore and had to say: "Why are you strengthening the defense of Heishui City while the Song army is attacking Harahelin?"

Aotun Shiying looked at the Qianhu with an idiotic look and explained: "The Song Army likes to be surprised when it comes to fighting."

"I was still in Halahe Forest a few days ago. I'm sure I won't suddenly appear outside Blackwater City."

"And they are good at fighting in multiple places at the same time."

"We have to guard against this."

"When they attacked Shazhou City, there was also a Song army that crossed the Badain Jaran Desert and arrived outside Heishui City, trying to sneak attack us." Aotun Shiying said with emotion.

Kublai Khan believed that Otun Shiying was too careful. Blackwater City was originally easy to defend and difficult to attack, but it had become stronger under several years of Mongolian management. The Song army would be difficult to defeat without artillery and baggage.

However, the Song army with artillery and baggage could not walk through the desert from the west. It was blocked by the Yellow River and Keyi Gate in the east, so they were not afraid at all.

Therefore, if the Song army comes from the west through the desert without artillery and baggage, with the 30,000 elite Mongolian troops here, the Song army of 100,000 will not be afraid of attacking.

The two of them were discussing when they suddenly saw a group of sentinels coming from the southwest not far from the city.

Aotun Shiying's face changed drastically: "No, I'm afraid the Song Army is coming."

Kublai Khan and others also had incredible expressions on their faces.

This sentry rider came from the Badain Jaran Desert. He was running very fast, obviously trying to convey some information.

After a while, the Sentinel Cavalry ran all the way to the top of the city.

"Report——"

The Sentinel Cavalry said that a large number of Song Cavalry appeared in the southwest of the Badain Jaran Desert more than a hundred miles away from Heishui City. They tried to get closer to see how many there were, but were driven away. Unfortunately, I can't get close.

The sentry rider said that he could roughly see from a distance that the Song army had many horses. It should be one man with two horses or three horses, and there were about ten thousand horses.

After hearing this, Aotun Shiying looked at Kublai Khan and said, "This Song army came either from Suzhou or Ganzhou."

It is more likely to come from Suzhou. You can go northeast along the Heishui River. You can get supplies and there is no shortage of food and drink.

Of course, this road is extremely difficult to walk. It is easy for cavalry to walk, but it is definitely not possible for baggage and carriages.

"The Song army didn't bring any baggage, so they can attack." Kublai Khan said immediately.

Aotun Shiying was silent for a moment and did not reply immediately.

After a moment, he seemed to come to his senses and quickly ordered his subordinates to notify the herdsmen outside Blackwater City to enter the city.

After Kublai Khan came over, he began to let the herdsmen in the distance enter the city. Now there were people within fifty miles outside the city, which gave them more time to avoid the Song army than the herdsmen around Harahe Forest.

During this period, Kublai Khan kept urging him to go out and fight the Song army.

Aotun Shiying did not dare to scold Kublai Khan, so he could only respond first and then speak.

There are still a large number of Mongolian sentries following the Song army outside, and news is coming back one after another.

Before dark that day, a Mongolian army sentry came back and said that the Song army was camped about a hundred miles away. The Song army had nearly 10,000 horses, and it only took one day to cover 20 to 30 miles. The speed was very slow.

Kublai Khan immediately said: "This Song army is here to delay time and oppress us."

"We don't want us to send troops to support Mobei."

The Song army came with Wanqi with great fanfare, but they walked so slowly. It didn't look like they were coming to fight, but more like they were putting pressure on Heishui City and forcing the Mongolian army in Heishui City.

"I doubt that the Song army did not have tens of thousands at all, maybe only two or three thousand." Kublai Khan hit the nail on the head.

Aotun Shiying still said nothing, but looked at Kublai Khan with humility.

After Otun Shiying was transferred from the Thunder Department to Kuoduan, he also kept his tail between his legs. After all, he was not Kuoduan's confidant, but his current master was Kuoduan.

His idea was to make as few mistakes as possible so as not to give a bad impression to his new master Kuo Duan.

Whether the Song army comes with 3,000 or 10,000, it will be considered a success if he can defend Blackwater City without losing anything.

At this time, General Mo Yong of the Song Army, who was a hundred miles away, was gritting his teeth and looking at the Badain Jaran Desert in the distance with a wicked smile.

Mo Yong is Multi. When he and Ge Meng (Gerile) and others followed the Song army to check the terrain, they detoured thousands of miles. Except for the farthest Ulahai City and Keyimen, Xixia did not go to the east, and the cities in the west I’ve traveled all over the place, including the Badain Jaran Desert.

In the third year of Yuanzhen, Mo Yong was the deputy commander, and later participated in the pacification of Tubo and the establishment of Ningxia Envoys. The resistance in Tubo was fierce, and the court sent troops to pacify it. Mo Yong was promoted to deputy general due to his merit, and was just promoted to general this year.

Mo Yong walked this line twice. When the Song army attacked Shazhou, he was also responsible for leading the way.

As someone who is relatively familiar with this route, this time he came to Blackwater City for the third time and personally led more than 3,000 horsemen. In order to increase the momentum, each person had three horses. Those who usually march and ride horses are on the outside.

Therefore, the Mongolian army sentry cavalry looked over from a distance, as if there were tens of thousands of cavalry.

His troops set out from Suzhou to contain the Mongolian army in Heishui City. They were not here to fight.

Kublai Khan's guess was correct, but it was a pity that Kublai Khan was not the commander-in-chief, let alone the commander-in-chief.

"There are still about a hundred miles away from Blackwater City. The Mongolian army has not come out today, and Aotun Shiying dare not come out." At this time, deputy general Ge Meng came up and said to Mo Yong with a smile: "What do you say tomorrow?"

Mo Yong turned around and looked around: "Go forward twenty miles tomorrow and see if the Mongolian army will come out."

The corners of Ge Meng's lips cracked and he said with a smile: "Otun Shiying doesn't dare to make mistakes, and he will probably wait and see."

The next day, the Song army marched another twenty miles and was only eighty miles away from Heishui City.

Aotun Shiying still stood still.

However, the Sentry Cavalry of the Song Army had already approached Heishui City, and the Sentinels and Cavalry from both sides were entangled outside one after another. The Sentinel Cavalry was originally the strength of the Mongolian army.

The Song Army's horses and riding skills were not much worse than theirs, and their shooting skills were almost fine. To make up for the distance, the Song Army's bows could shoot farther, which gave the Mongolian Army a headache.

When the Mongolian army's sentry cavalry often wanted to get close to the Song army, the Song army would fire at about 200 steps, which shocked the Mongolian army and could not believe it.

After several entanglements between the two sides, the Mongolian army's sentry cavalry suffered a disadvantage. After seeing the Song army's sentry cavalry, most of the sentry cavalry no longer easily stepped forward, but focused on surveillance.

Another day later, the Song army entered Heishui City fifty miles away.

If Aotun Shiying sends troops at this time and the cavalry runs faster, they can fight the Song army that day.

The Song army was stationed on the bank of the Nalin River southwest of Heishui City.

This river runs through the northwest of the Badain Jaran Desert and intersects with the Mulin River. It is the largest oasis near the Badain Jaran Desert.

It was quite comfortable for the Song army to be stationed here, there was no shortage of supplies, and they could also eat fresh fish from the river.

After arriving here, the Song army stopped moving forward because there would be no supplies and it would be easy to be ambushed by the Mongolian army.

The Song army had nearly 10,000 horses, and more than 3,000 soldiers lived and ate by the Nalin River. They fished and hunted every day, and had baths every day. It was just like coming here for a spring outing.

The Mongolian army waited for two days and found that the Song army was stationed there. At this time, Kublai Khan could not sit down.

He once again persuaded Aotun Shiying to fight against the Song army.

Aotun Shiying stated that the Song army came with 10,000 cavalry and did not bring much food. Even fishing and hunting would not be enough for them. They would retreat in a few days.

Kublai Khan said, what if there are only three thousand people with one person and three cavalry?

The two riders each carry fifty kilograms of food. Okay, that's one hundred kilograms. Plus fishing and hunting, they can live at least half a month, or even a month.

Kublai Khan finally became anxious and said, "Give me three thousand horses, and I will go out to fight this Song army." Kublai Khan believed that the Song army only came with a few thousand people.

If Kuo Duan has any objections in the future, I will tell him on your behalf.

Aotun Shiying had no choice but to persuade him, saying that the Song army is no better than before. In the past ten years since Emperor Zhao Yurui came to power, the Song army has become more and more sophisticated. In terms of riding and shooting and other skills, it is not much worse than us, and it is not easy to fight.

Kublai Khan had been in the Harahe Forest before the Song army entered the grassland. He thought that the Mongolian army was invincible in cavalry and shooting.

Aotun Shiying and his younger brother Baohe have fought against the Song Army many times. They have known the Song Army for more than ten years since they died in Tuo Lei's defeat more than ten years ago.

Many Mongolians have not practiced cavalry and archery for more than ten years since they were young, but the Song army on the opposite side has a large number of elite veterans who have practiced for more than ten years.

Otun Shiying said again, my youngest son O'Harian, who is nineteen years old this year, followed me to practice riding and shooting when I was seven years old. He only spends less than twenty hours on the horse every month, and even takes a break during some special periods. He didn't know how to practice. He had to study, practice calligraphy, and do other things. The total time spent practicing riding and shooting in the eleven years was less than one year.

This is already the standard for elites in all Mongolian armies. A true Mongolian warrior trains from the age of six to the age of nineteen. The total time on horseback can probably reach one year, which is considered quite powerful.

As for the Song Army, they spend at least two to three hours a day on horseback, training every day and every night, all year round. Many Song soldiers spend more time on horseback than our Mongolian army. It's really hard to fight, O.K. Tun Shiying persuaded Kublai Khan earnestly.

Kublai Khan, Bru Hague and other Mongolian generals who came from Harahelin all had expressions of disbelief.

Aotun Shiying said that when the Song Army conquered Tubo, some Tubo people escaped. These people had participated in the Song Army. He said that they followed the Song Army and trained every day, either on horseback or on foot, because they were Tubo people. I have never participated in a kind of formation, but it is said that there is a formation, and Song Jun also practices every day.

Kublai Khan didn't believe it even more.

In ancient times, soldiers practiced three days a day and one day every five days. They were all considered elite. There were some who practiced every day.

Does the Mongolian army train every day? The Mongolian army trains by itself since childhood. When they reach adulthood, they enlist in the army and go directly to the battlefield. There are some who train every day.

Aotun Shiying said again, the Song army now has a kind of bow, which can shoot very far. When encountering the sentry cavalry, the Song army will dismount first. When our sentry cavalry enters 200 steps, they will shoot. When our sentry cavalry runs within 80 steps, they will shoot. , Song Jun mounted his horse and ran away.

The Song Army can also run and shoot at the same time, and its range is farther than ours, and its war horses are no worse than ours. We are at a great disadvantage, and none of the sentry riders are willing to tangle with the Song Army's sentry riders now.

Kublai Khan immediately said: "The Song army's bow can shoot farther than ours, so it must be a heavy bow or a foot bow, which means that the things carried by the war horses are heavier than ours."

"As long as we continue to pursue, over long distances, the horsepower of the Song Army's horses will definitely be consumed faster than ours."

"We will win then."

Kublai Khan was right, but how long was this long distance?

The Song Army's sentry cavalry is usually not too far away from the main force. What should you do if you chase and encounter the main force?

"Otun Shiying, how did my father treat you when he was here?"

"Are you really not even willing to lend me three thousand fine cavalry?" Kublai Khan finally got angry, and finally assumed the posture of a prince and forced Aotun Shiying to force him.

(End of this chapter)