choke element

Chapter 1003: Abdomen (Part )

Military reports one after another, as scouts from various units returned and were re-dispatched, were constantly gathering from the entire wide front of the army like a tide.

Of course, the tide did not rush directly to Guo Ning, as there were several institutions responsible for summarizing military intelligence that kept recording it. After a simple review, they reported it to Guo Ning in writing almost every half an hour.

In fact, most of the intelligence was of no practical use. Both sides had a large number of scouts, and they were widely distributed. They were sent out to gather military intelligence and clear the fog of the battlefield, but in fact they formed a thicker fog, or a burning wildfire, blocking everything.

Therefore, the enemy situation reported by most people was nothing more than where they encountered enemy scouts, or fought, or were driven back, or where their own side suffered losses and killed people.

As the army gradually moved deeper into the grassland area, scouts from both sides began to suffer casualties. Yesterday alone, more than 70 scouts were killed or seriously injured, and at least one-third of them were people Guo Ning had seen or remembered by name, and they were promising newcomers in the army.

The battlefield is so ruthless, so Guo Ning still took the trouble to carefully read the information while marching, so as not to let the soldiers' efforts go to waste.

In his mind, every point of contact with the enemy appeared densely on the map. He felt that a single piece of information might lack value, but the accumulation of a lot of information might bring him some good luck, reveal the direction from which the Mongolian army would soon appear, or reveal something else.

However, until a moment ago, this information did not bring any surprises to Guo Ning.

The Art of War says that those who plan for victory before the battle have made many plans, while those who plan for defeat before the battle have made few plans. How much better is it to plan for victory than for defeat, let alone for no plan?

At this time, Guo Ning really felt deeply touched by this sentence, because his calculations actually included an understanding of his own military and economic strength, which gave Guo Ning enough confidence and made him very sure that the Mongols would never be able to defeat the powerful army he had carefully assembled.

But his calculations rarely touched upon the real situation of the Mongols.

What the Mongolian army's combat intentions were, what was the strength of the Mongolian army's deployment this time, and even what was the power and number of the gunpowder weapons in the hands of the Mongolian army, so far, even though the soldiers tried their best to find out, it is still a mystery.

With such doubts, Guo Ning finished reading the latest volume of military intelligence and handed it to Xu Jin.

The army marched forward, with red flags waving and rising like waves. Thousands of elite cavalrymen stood guard on both sides, thousands of horses galloped and trampled, and swords and knives hit armor, forming a thunderous sound. In this roar, Guo Ning pondered for a moment and raised his voice slightly:

"There's nothing special about this group of news, but... it seems that at least six or seven teams have specifically reported that the enemy scouts they encountered were cavalry from the Western Regions' vassal tribes, not the Mongolian headquarters. This is interesting!"

Xu Jin patted the booklet and responded, "In the latest batch, six people reported this. In the previous batch, there were three. Should we send someone out immediately to keep an eye on this matter?"

Guo Ning nodded: "Let's arrange it now."

When he spoke, Guo Ning's eyes were a little distracted. Ni Yi, who was beside him, was very familiar with his habits. He gestured for his subordinates to bring the atlas and waited a little behind.

But Guo Ning did not ask anyone to fetch the map. He was already familiar with the geography of the northern border, and had been paying extra attention to it recently. No matter how detailed the map was, he could reproduce it in his mind. And what he was thinking about right now did not require a very detailed map.

The Mongolian army's previous invasion of the northern border was extremely powerful, but since the army set out, it has never encountered the main body of the Mongolian army, let alone had the opportunity to engage in a fierce battle.

This was not in line with the Mongolian fighting habits. According to their usual fighting style, a distance of several hundred miles was enough for the clouds to come and go and launch several large-scale raids.

Especially since Genghis Khan had lost a head-on confrontation with Guo Ning, with such a lesson in mind, the Mongols would never pin their victory or defeat on a single decisive battle.

After they captured Linhuang Prefecture and demonstrated their strength, they did not continue to attack the military forts in the northern border. This was to force the Zhou army to send troops north to rescue them. Once the Zhou army came, they would definitely set up countless means to tire out, disturb, and disrupt the enemy on the route of the Zhou army's northward march, using every possible means.

Guo Ning was very sure that this would happen, but the Mongols did not do so.

There was no harassment, no ambush, no luring of the enemy, no night raids. Even when the Mongols were running scouts, they did not use their own troops, but used groups of newly subdued wild dogs to make up the numbers?
It was really strange. As the army continued to move north, Guo Ning had more and more doubts in his mind.

When Xu Jin ordered the attendants to turn back, an idea suddenly occurred to Guo Ning. He half-jokingly said to Xu Jin: "Maybe the main force of the Mongolian army is not here at all? They are waiting somewhere else, wanting to bite me hard!"

"Your Majesty, are you saying that the Mongolian army is hiding somewhere, waiting to intercept our army's retreat?"

Guo Ning rescued the short mustache and said, "Maybe, it's not somewhere nearby, but farther away."

"Farther, that is, not in front of the Northwest Recruiting Office?"

Xu Jin thought about it, and tried his best to focus his attention on a wider area. After a moment, he shook his head: "Where else could it be? There is no loophole to take advantage of in the other border areas!"

He was well aware of the situation in various places, and continued:
"The situation in the northeast is stable, there is no special news, and the northeast is cold, so it is impossible to use troops in the next half year. The Southwest Road Recruiting Office around Datong Prefecture is personally commanded by Master Huifeng, and there are mountains and rivers to support it, so it cannot be shaken by the Mongolian cavalry. As for Guanzhong, the northwest and north sides are the borders of the Xia Kingdom. Even if the Mongols broke through the Xia Kingdom and entered Guanzhong, Guanzhong has been desolate for many years, and only the many military towns built by Li Ting to fight against the Western Xia are left. The Mongolian army has no profit at all!"

Guo Ning frowned: "So, the fact that most of the scouts are foreigners doesn't mean anything, and it's not a flaw exposed by the Mongols?"

Xu Jin had no definitive answer to this question, and only said, "We need to investigate further."

At the same time, in a place far away from the Zhou army's route, the fourth Mongolian prince Tolui suddenly thought of something.

"I'm afraid there are some flaws in our arrangement."

Tolui's elder brother Chagatai asked, "What's the flaw?"

"Beilegutai, Yeliyasi and other thousand households are now only concerned about their own tribes and their own interests. They are no longer the people who were willing to die for the Khan! Even if Muhuali is there, I am afraid he can't control them."

"and then?"

"And then? Then they will definitely not be willing to send out their troops to fight the Zhou army, and will definitely force the Kangli people and the Qipchaks to be the vanguard every time! The generals of the Zhou army are all smart people, they will soon find out that our army is not in front of them at all, and they have been fooled!"

This time, Tolui opened up an unexpected route of advance through diplomatic contacts that no one else had expected, and it was equivalent to single-handedly promoting this unprecedented military operation. For this reason, his status in front of the Khan rose rapidly, as if he was favored again.

At this moment, he suddenly said that there was a flaw in his plan, which would have been an opportunity for his brother to criticize and ridicule him. But Chagatai did not dare to offend his younger brother easily. He just frowned and wanted to continue asking about the results of Zhou Jun's discovery of the abnormality.

Suddenly, someone in the palace tent was heard panting and shouting:
"How fast can it be? No matter how fast they are, they can't be faster than the arrows shot by the Mongols, or faster than the horses galloping day and night! Moreover, even if they understand, can the army turn back immediately? Can the countless supplies mobilized for the northern grasslands be returned immediately? They can't catch up!"

Chagatai and Tolui quickly bent down.

Genghis Khan, who was inside the huge palace tent, laughed. He shook his body slightly while laughing, revealing a satisfied look.

The light and shadow on his face also shook violently at the same time, because he could see the situation outside through the opened felt carpet.

He saw a group of warriors in armor lighting torches and throwing them one by one into the building blocked by fences in front of them. The rapidly rising flames blocked the dark front door, and red flames were drilling into the interior of the building from all directions.

Thick smoke then came out of the windows above the building. Through the fireworks, bursts of painful screams could be clearly heard, which were occasionally drowned out by the crackling sound of wood and the desperate screams of women.

As time went on, the flames and smoke grew more intense. Even in front of the palace tent, where the spoils were piled, the temperature of the air rose sharply.

Fortunately, there are mountains of various gold and silver treasures here, and very few silks or furs, so I don’t feel bad if they are occasionally burned by sparks.

Several Mongols came over in high spirits, dragged an unconscious young woman, threw her on top of the treasures, and roughly stripped off her silk clothes, pearl-studded headdress, and leather boots, exposing her delicate and smooth skin.

"Great Khan! This is the daughter of the previous King Xia! She's a princess!" The Mongol shouted with his head raised and laughing.

"Who of you wants her? I'll give her up!"

Genghis Khan continued to shake his body and said casually: "The real Princess Xia is already my concubine, there is no need for a fake one!"

This sentence made many Mongols laugh. An interpreter, for some unknown reason, translated it into the language of the Tanguts and said it out loud. This immediately made a middle-aged man who was sitting alone outside the palace tent, like an honored guest, twitch his face.

When the woman's dying cry came from the palace tent, the middle-aged man's face became uglier. But he held back. When Tolui turned his gaze to him, he even bowed slightly and forced a smile: "Thank you, Fourth Prince, for your mediation. This time, all the remnants of Li Anquan have died. From now on, I, Li Zunxu, will make the people of Xia Kingdom respect the Great Dynasty as their father, and their determination to follow the Great Dynasty to fight the enemy will never waver."

His words were so calm and soothing, and his demeanor so well controlled, that the interpreter showed an expression of admiration.

This middle-aged man was Li Zunxu, who called himself the emperor of the Great White Gao Kingdom, was canonized as the King of Great Xia by the Jin Kingdom and the Great Zhou Dynasty, and was named the Lord of Great Xia by the Mongols. He was a member of the Western Xia royal family, and had once ranked first in the imperial examination of the Xia Kingdom. A few years ago, he used the threat of the Mongolian army to force the former Xia Lord Li Anquan to abdicate and established himself as the Lord of Western Xia.

This time, he opened many passes in the north, including the Keyi Gate Pass, to the Mongols, and also surrendered the treasuries of several large cities, including Zhongxing Prefecture, so that the Mongolian army could continue to move south through the territory of the Xia Kingdom. In return, the Mongols came forward and slaughtered all the officials in the court who were close to Li Anquan and the orthodox royal family of Western Xia.

Only when those people died could Li Zunxu truly secure his position as the ruler of the Xia Kingdom. The gains and losses were quite equal. However, the Mongols did not kill people according to the agreement until their army approached the southern border of the Xia Kingdom. They were too slow. As for Genghis Khan taking away his daughter, although it was an unexpected sacrifice, it was not unacceptable. Being related to the Mongolian Khan might be a good thing!
Just as Tolui was about to answer, Genghis Khan came out.

Standing in front of the door of the palace tent, the terrible conqueror reached out to hold the doorpost and took a few deep breaths.

His desire for women and conquests was still strong, and his old body still contained vitality, so he was particularly interested in Li Zunxu's daughter just now. But his physical strength was not as good as when he was young, and as the weather got colder, his back ached from time to time.

This was the aftereffect of the old man's half-life of fighting. The disease was not serious, but for a Mongolian man in his fifties, any disease that appeared at this time would most likely be difficult to cure and would continue to worsen, directly causing his health to deteriorate day by day. For this reason, he was very careful to avoid large movements, which made the fun less enjoyable.

So at this moment, he said with some anger: "Xia Country is a poor place. There are not many gold and silver treasures that can be looted, and the women are not beautiful! We must speed up our march and rush to the next target as soon as possible to kill those cowards who can't ride a horse or hold a knife, and rob those women whose skin is finer than porcelain and softer than satin!"

The Mongolian nobles gathered around the palace tent responded loudly, excited about the coming massacre and plunder.

The shouts of the nobles echoed far away in the wilderness of late autumn, causing a rapidly marching Mongolian army in the distance to become restless.

When thousands of people responded in unison, the deep and high-pitched throat sounds gathered together, like the roar of some kind of beast. The galloping of thousands of people and the trampling of thousands of iron hooves seemed to break the earth, rolling up dust all over the sky, and making the earth tremble and groan dully.

As the overwhelming army marched, Tolui took Li Zunxu's hand and said sincerely: "Lord Xia, since our two families have become allies, what benefits we gain in the future will surely benefit you... We Mongols will never break our promise!"

When he spoke, he used very fluent Chinese.

Li Zunxu laughed dryly twice, and Tuolei turned around and shook the hand of another man in Chinese clothes: "As for you, please go back quickly and inform Ambassador Nie of your country as soon as possible to let him open the pass as agreed. Don't delay!"

The man in fancy clothes was terrified and panicked, and he kept saying, "Yes! Yes!"