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

Chapter 441 Continuing the Western Expedition and Returning to the East

More than 40,000 Cumans, led by their leader Keten, fled to Jiyali a few years ago. Bela IV took them in, but also planted hidden dangers.

Bella IV originally wanted to use the military power of the Cumans to further attack the domestic opposition.

However, there were problems in the integration of the Cumans and the locals, and conflicts between the two sides continued. The Cumans often robbed and violated the local people. Bella IV deliberately turned a blind eye because he wanted to borrow the Cuman army, which further escalated the conflict.

When the vanguard of the Mongolian army entered the territory of Jiyali, Duke Rederic II of Austria came to help first and led his troops to repel a Mongolian army reconnaissance team. The local people discovered that the Mongolian army had prisoners among them. Man people.

So the people were completely angry. They gathered and rushed to the nearby Cuman camp and killed the Cuman leader Keten.

Many Cumans fled south again, burning, killing and looting along the way, wreaking havoc in the territory of Jiyali.

Before Batu's army officially entered, Bela IV was already overwhelmed by the turmoil in the country.

But in the face of a powerful enemy, Bella IV could not care about this and decided to gather the strength of the whole country to fight against the Mongolian army.

At this time, Jiali is not a soft persimmon. It is one of the most populous kingdoms in Europe. The Magyar nomads who migrated in the early years have become the new owners here. The Magyars are good at riding and fighting, and they are nomadic like the Mongols. As for the nation, in Mongolian terms, it is called Jiyali or Mazhar.

Bella IV gathered here and there, and finally gathered nearly 100,000 troops, which was much stronger than Henry II's, and it was considered a very large force in medieval Europe.

Like Henry II of Poland, Bela IV's men and horses were also very complex. The cavalry mainly included Magyar cavalry, Fangry knights, some Cuman cavalry, Sakaei people from the east, and Crodits. Asian and Serbian crossbowmen, infantry, and the famous Knights Templar.

Bella IV had a lot of troops, but unlike Paulan Henry II, he seemed to have offended too many nobles, making some of the stronger principalities around him unwilling to help him, such as those who had previously repelled the Mongolian reconnaissance team. When Rederic II, Duke of Austria, received the rescue letter from Bella IV, he made an excuse to go west to find more reinforcements and stopped coming.

In early January of the sixth year of Yuanzhen, the Mongolian army quickly entered the territory of Jiyali and looted everywhere. The commander-in-chief Batu ordered that all the looted wealth should be divided equally among all the soldiers. The morale of the Mongolian army was high, and they were like locusts passing through the kingdom.

The heavy cavalry of the Knights Templar led by Archbishop Ugolin of Fugali took the lead and decided to give these heretics a lesson from thousands of miles away.

The Mongols knew that European cavalry still relied on a face-to-face charge in battle. The Mongolian army deliberately retreated and led the Templar Knights into a swamp. Some of the heavy cavalry brought by Ugolin became unable to move. The Mongolian army surrounded them on all sides and fired arrows from a long distance. , the Templar Knights suffered heavy casualties, and almost the entire army was wiped out. Only a few people such as Ugolin escaped.

In mid-January, Bella IV, his brothers Coloman and Ugorin took the initiative with the main force of the coalition to find a place for a decisive battle with the main force of the Mongolian army.

In the end, Béla IV chose the Seyo River.

The Seyo River is freezing at this time, but it is easy for cavalry and infantry to cross the river. It is difficult for the Mongolian army's trebuchets and heavy weapons to cross the river, and it is easy to be ambushed when crossing the river in the ice.

The river can act as a natural barrier.

In order to prevent being attacked by the Mongolian army, Bella IV also ordered a vehicle formation defense, that is, all transportation vehicles were tied into a circle and surrounded outside the camp.

This move is a bit like the Song Army's vehicle array, but the ferocious transport vehicles are relatively simple and not as easy to use as the Song Army's carts. Even so, after forming a circle, they still feel safer.

There is a bridge in the middle of the Seyo River. The Mongolian army soon came to the other side and camped on the other side. The two sides faced each other across the river, and the bridge was in the middle of the camps of both sides.

A few days before the confrontation, the Mongolian army tried to pass through the frozen river, but the ice was too slippery and the Mongolian cavalry could not get up quickly. The crossbows on the opposite side were like rain, and it was easy to defend on the shore. The Mongolian army fought several times and failed. Return in failure.

The coalition forces are a little proud, and they feel that the Mongolian army is nothing more than this.

After entering February, Batu felt that he could not drag it out for long. The number of Mongolian troops participating in this battle was as many as 100,000, far exceeding the number of people in history, and the supplies required were also astronomical.

Batu planned to attack the coalition forces at night.

Unexpectedly, a Ruthenian (a kind of East Slavic) slave in the Mongolian army escaped and told Bela IV the news.

That night, the coalition forces ambushed the bridge, and the Mongolian army secretly climbed onto the bridge.

If Zhao Yurui's Song army had been present in this battle, they would probably have dug a few ditches a hundred steps away from the bridge, and then waited for most of the Mongolian army to cross the bridge, and then attacked with fire and arrows and flintlock rifles. The forced Mongolian troops turned around and fled across the bridge. The bridge was not wide, so a large number of Mongolian troops would trample on each other, causing heavy casualties.

But Europeans like to fight face to face. The Templar Knights and Magyars were lying in ambush by the bridge. When the Mongolian forward was about to cross the bridge, the heavily armored Templar Knights and Magyars rushed forward and fought face to face. Mongolian army.

The two sides fought from night to about two o'clock in the morning. The Mongolian army was defeated and retreated to the other side. The coalition forces also returned to camp with satisfaction.

The Europeans were very honest and thought that the battle was over today. Bella IV left a thousand men to guard the bridge entrance, and even fell asleep when he brought the main force back to the camp.

However, after the Mongolian army returned, they immediately laid out their next battle plan. Veteran General Subotai suggested that they attack again overnight. Now that the coalition had won their first victory, they must have lost their vigilance in their complacency.

Batu listened to Subotai's suggestion and divided his forces into two.

The main force, led by Batu himself, continued to attack from the bridge. Subotai went south to find a crossing point, staying away from the Allied Forces camp to avoid their discovery and achieve a surprise effect.

At about four o'clock in the morning, while the fierce army was still resting and sleeping, the Mongolian army launched another attack.

This time the Mongolian army first used trebuchets to hit the bridgehead defenders, and the coalition forces immediately gathered their troops and came out to fight.

Bela IV originally had a vehicle formation that he could use, but the generals in the various ministries were arguing and clamoring to fight the Mongolian army. They discussed it in the camp for a long time, while the coalition forces outside were competing with the Mongolian army for the bridge and no one was paying attention. In the end, Bella IV was persuaded and led his troops directly out of the car formation to fight the Mongolian army.

By the time the large coalition forces came out of the vehicle formation, it was already around eight o'clock in the morning. All the Mongolian troops had just crossed the bridge, and Batu was integrating the troops.

This bridge is so wide. Tens of thousands of Mongolian troops all crossed the bridge in just a few hours. The coalition forces did not take effective measures to block it. This is exactly Sun Tzu's art of war. They failed to learn the art of attacking halfway across the bridge.

The Jiyali people here are quite fierce. The Cumans who came here in the early years fought countless battles with the Mongolian army, and were finally forced to move to Jiyali. They are excellent in riding and shooting, and they still have a feud with the Mongols.

The Setyi people to the east of Fierce Tooth are skilled in bow and horse, come and go like the wind, and are as powerful as the Mongols.

Most of the heavy knights of the Knights Templar were wiped out, but there are still a few remaining, and the light knights are also there, and they are equally powerful.

The key is that Batu has just crossed the river, and the other side is full of European coalition forces, giving them too little room to move.

The most powerful thing about the Mongolian elite is their mobility. Now the ferocious coalition forces rushed forward to fight hand to hand. The Magyars became more and more courageous as they fought. The Mongolian army's defense line soon became unable to withstand it. The Mongolian light cavalry could not break away from the coalition forces and was forced to fight hand to hand by the coalition forces.

This battle was the most dangerous battle during Batu's Western Expedition. The Mongolian army retreated steadily. In the end, even his personal guards joined the battle. These people were equivalent to the cowardly Xue troops of the Mongol Khan, and they were all Mongolian elites. The elite among them.

The battle lasted for another two hours, and the Mongolian army was unable to withstand it. Batu's confidant general Bahatu was also killed on the spot. Many people advised Batu to withdraw to the other side quickly.

Seeing that the Mongolian army was about to experience the biggest defeat since the Western Expedition, but at this moment, dust was flying on the east side of the battlefield, thousands of horses galloped, and the disadvantaged Mongolian army suddenly cheered.

At the critical moment, veteran Subotai arrived.

In order to avoid the eyes and ears of the coalition forces and not let the coalition forces know that they divided their forces to cross the river, Subotai went in a big circle and finally entered the scene at the critical moment.

After Subotai's army arrived, they immediately reversed the Mongolian army's defeat. However, at this time, Bela IV felt that he still had a chance. He immediately ordered the entire army to retreat and retreat into their own car formation.

The Mongolian army was not polite, and immediately surrounded them, and followed the old rule of surrounding three buildings and one, leaving an opening for the coalition forces in the south to prevent the coalition forces from desperate efforts.

Bela IV's vehicle formation was still relatively strong, and a cavalry charge would definitely not work. However, the Mongolian army brought seven trebuchets, and Batu quickly organized the trebuchets to start throwing them at the coalition vehicle formation.

The coalition forces had no artillery and were completely helpless with trebuchets. They watched the vehicle array outside being smashed one by one.

Then, just like the last battle with Henry II's army, rockets with various poisonous smoke were fired.

The coalition forces were also in chaos, and each department began to disobey orders and fight independently.

By two o'clock in the afternoon, some people were already disobeying the command and fleeing directly through the gap in the south. The Mongolian army did not stop them, and sent light cavalry to shoot at both sides.

This is the most commonly used tactic by the Mongolian army. During the pursuit, they slowly kill the fleeing enemy.

By four o'clock in the afternoon, Bella IV also decided to escape, and the main force of the coalition began to retreat from the gap in the south.

His younger brother was also smart. Coloman had people throw away the flag of Beira IV, and then fled south among the defeated troops.

As soon as most of the coalition forces came out, the Mongolian cavalry fired at them from both wings. They followed the defeated coalition forces while running and shooting. The coalition forces suffered numerous casualties and lay dead for hundreds of miles.

At the critical moment, Béla IV's guards turned around and charged, delaying the pursuers. This allowed Béla IV and Coloman to escape, but the entourage was almost killed. His brother Coloman died of serious illness a month later. Death.

After Bella IV left, the battle continued. There were still a large number of coalition forces in the car formation. The Mongolian army continued to press and advance layer by layer. All the Templars and Magyars died in the battle. They participated in the fifth battle. Ugolin of the Crusades was also killed by the Mongolian army.

It was not until the sun set and the sky turned dark that there was still sporadic resistance in the car formation. Only after the sky was completely dark did the Mongolian army completely control the battlefield and eliminate all resistance.

In this battle, almost all the coalition forces were wiped out, and more than 90% of the personnel were lost. 90,000 of the 100,000 troops remained on the battlefield forever.

Less than one tenth can escape.

After the war, Hedan, who went south from Bolan, continued to pursue Bela IV. Bela IV ran all the way and finally escaped to a small island in the Adriatic Sea for safety.

After this battle, the military strength of the Jiyali Kingdom was basically crippled, but the Mongolian army also suffered heavy losses, the largest loss since the Western Expedition.

In February, the Mongolian army burned the city of Pest, and then swept across the entire territory of Jigali. Except for Gran, Strigorim, Esztergom and Alba Iulia, all the castles in Jigali were destroyed. After being conquered by the Mongolian army or surrendered, the entire Heyali to the Danube River was under the rule of the Mongols.

From February to June, the Mongolian army had been resting and recuperating in Jiyali, while looting and killing everywhere. In just a few months, nearly half of the villages and towns in Jiyali were reduced to ruins, and the total population was reduced by a quarter.

In July, the vanguard of the Mongolian army came to Neustadt near Wiyena, and Batu's next goal was to attack Wiyena in the Principality of Austria.

But at this time, Bohemia and Austria gathered heavy troops to guard the dangerous points. In addition, the local geographical environment was different from the ferocious plains. Batu did not start a war immediately. Instead, it sent people to observe the terrain and look for weaknesses.

In September, Hedan, who was pursuing Beira IV, returned to his army in Seiyali. He pursued him all the way to Split and Kotor on the Adriatic Sea, and finally looted Kotor before returning to his army in Seiyali.

At the same time that Hedan returned to his army, news of the Song army's large-scale attack on Hara Helin also reached Batu.

The Mongolian generals immediately divided into two groups. One group demanded an immediate return to the army, and the other group demanded to continue to attack Weiyena to the west, or to attack Yidali in the southwest.

The Mongolian army has tasted the benefits of its western expedition. The city here is not tall enough and there are many wooden castles. It is far easier than going to war with the Song people.

Seeing that they are about to rule the whole of Europe, are they going to return to the army at this time?

The Europeans at this time must have never imagined that in history it was Ogedei's death that saved them, and this time it was the Song army's attack on Haraholin that saved them.

After discussing with the princes, Batu finally decided to return eastward.

But he didn't want to fight the Song army, but wanted to establish his own khanate.

On the surface, Batu agreed to return, but in fact he was already planning to establish his own khanate.

But Wo Kuotai is still alive, so he can't do it openly.

Batu was a smart man, so after careful consideration, he agreed to the princes' request to return eastward, and at the same time slowly returned to the army.

The Mongolian army could obviously go back to the Principality of Kipu directly from the straight line to the northeast, but they had to take a detour from Bulgaria and go to Moldavia (Moldoguay) along the periphery of the Black Sea.

This road was also his original route back east. It was more than twice as long as taking a straight line, nearly three thousand miles.

The Mongolian army took their time, grabbing and grabbing as they walked. Halfway through, they just arrived in Moldavia in October and received another message.

The Song Army and Mongolia are at full-scale war, and there are still soldiers and horses entering the Chagatai territory, and it will not be long before they enter the Batu territory.

Now everyone was ready to return home, but Batu was still in no hurry. In mid-October, Batu convened the princes and nobles for a meeting near Orhay.

(End of this chapter)