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

Chapter 464 Wokuotai wants to retreat
The two of them walked south for two days, and happened to hear the sentry cavalry saying that the Song army had just captured Daizhou, and the Song army and horses were still outside Daizhou and not all of them had entered the city.

The Mongolian army accelerated and approached quickly.

When they arrived quickly, most of the Song army was still outside the city.

This wave of Song troops only numbered 50,000 to 60,000. At this time, less than 10,000 had just entered the city and were clearing out the defenders in the city.

Seeing that the Song army's horses and horses were similar to theirs and outside the city, Temu Ge Ochijin and Bieli Gutai immediately launched an attack.

They still used the old tactics and thought that the Song army was similar to the previous Jin soldiers.

Unexpectedly, the Song army fought in position, fired at them with flintlock rifles, and then stood and fired at them.

The Mongolian army couldn't shoot at them, so they started to charge forward again, and then found that there were various obstacles on the ground, which made it difficult for the cavalry to charge.

After fighting with the Song Army for a while, Temuge Ochijin and Bieligutai knew that the Song Army was a bit difficult to fight.

Fortunately, as Wo Kuotai said, they could retreat if they couldn't defeat them, and the Song army did not dare to pursue them.

Wokuotai was quite unwilling.

Although the defense of Gaocheng is fine and the Song army does not attack by force, with nearly 20,000 Mongolian troops plus their families and civilians, there are more than 100,000 people in the small Gaocheng. There will always be a time when the food is exhausted, and there is no need for the Song army to attack. , they themselves will collapse.

In turn, every time the Song army occupied a city, they could garrison up to three thousand people inside, and some even had only two thousand people.

There were quite a few Mongolians in their army. In order to avoid heavy losses, the two of them quickly retreated after fighting.

There are thousands of Song troops in a county, and food supply is much easier than that of the Mongolian army.

The Mongolian army fought for a while and suffered heavy casualties. The continuous explosions made Temuge Ochijin tremble with fear.

The Song army's tactics are so simple. If there is no moat, or the county is easier to attack, just attack it. If there is a moat, or it is more difficult to attack, don't attack it. After conquering the surrounding counties, the Mongolian army will occupy it and become an isolated city. There will always be a day when we run out of food, and it’s up to you what to do.

Now all the blame falls on him.

The Song Army has a new type of bomb, which is like the Ming Dynasty's 10,000-person enemy, but slightly smaller than the 10,000-person enemy. It is very useful when defending a city. If you drop one, it will blow up a piece, and even a ladder can blow up several.

The five-year peace negotiation gave the Song people time to develop, to train their army, to collect grain, and to build artillery.

When Father Khan was alive, he conquered a vast territory. The Mongolian army entered Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Liaodong from the grasslands, and even conquered Xixia. However, in less than ten years, in his hands, he successively lost Xixia, Shaanxi, and Now even Shanxi and Hebei cannot be defended, let alone Liaodong. Sooner or later, the Song army will occupy the entire Liaodong.

The two of them retreated dozens of miles after being defeated, and the more they thought about it, the more unconvinced they became.

Even though there are still a large number of important towns in Hebei and Shanxi in the hands of the Mongols, by the time the Song army clears out the surrounding counties, those Mongolian troops will have exhausted their food reserves and will either surrender or run to the grasslands.

Then he went to attack Wutai County.

Mongolia has been defeated everywhere in the past few years. Although everyone did not say it, they all thought that Wokuotai was incompetent.

But if they don't retreat, the Song army will soon be able to reach Datong.

If the Mongolian army wants to turn around and attack them, these thousands of people can hold on for a while, and tens of thousands of Song troops will soon be organized nearby to rescue them.

The Song army occupied Wutai County with the purpose of besieging Xinzhou and allowing Xinzhou to finally surrender after running out of food.

Some people are already discussing privately. If it had been Tu Lei who became the Khan, the situation would definitely not be the same.

Because it is difficult for you to defend the city.

The same is true for siege warfare. I believe that the Song Army's new bombs are also available in quantity. As long as there are enough people and horses, they can still be surrounded by ants.

At night, Wokuotai came to the city alone. Looking at the scenery inside and outside Datong City, he couldn't calm down for a long time.

There were not many Song troops in Wutai County, only 3,000 men per man. Temuge Ochijin led tens of thousands of Mongolian troops to launch a fierce attack, but was taught a lesson by the Song troops again.

At that time, the Mongols swept the world, and they surrendered wherever they went. Now that the Song Dynasty has risen, the Mongols have repeatedly defeated them. If I had known at the beginning, he might as well not have been this great khan.

If after conquering the Jin Kingdom back then, they would have done nothing but attack the Song Dynasty, they would have immediately attacked the Song Dynasty with all their strength, and they would not have allowed the Song Dynasty to rise so quickly.

Unless Batu and Guyu bring back an army of 500,000, relying on tens of thousands of people to defeat the Song army will mean death.

If the Song army cannot be defeated in the field, Wo Kuotai will have to really consider retreating to the grassland.

Even if he doesn't like the grassland very much, he is not willing to just retreat.

It was difficult to fight against the Song army in field battles. Attacking the city required a lot of lives, but the Song army was approaching step by step.

In Datong Mansion, the Mongolian nobles once again fell into despair.

Wokuotai must make a decision now, otherwise according to the Song army's tactics and siege speed, it will not take long, at most three months, to reach Datong.

In the field battle, only by rushing forward with a large number of soldiers and horses, regardless of casualties, and consuming the Song army's new firearms, can they finally engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Song army.

Instead of retreating in embarrassment after being beaten, why not take the initiative to retreat?
Under the moonlight, Wokuotai quickly made a decision to abandon places such as Hebei and Shanxi and return to the grassland first.

The two uncles confidently led tens of thousands of troops out of Datong. After two defeats, they turned back in despair.

The Mongolian army was too late to build a ladder.

After returning to Datong, they suggested to Wo Kuotai that the only way to fight the current Song army was to rely on human sea tactics.

why why why?
Wo Kuotai clenched his fists tightly and asked the sky three times why.

Wutai County was on the edge of Xinzhou and was captured by the Song army. There were 20,000 Mongolian troops stationed in Xinzhou, but the Song army did not care.

Now, the biggest problem is that Mongolia no longer has a large number of soldiers and horses to use for ant possession.

In particular, Tuo Lei was the first to disagree with the five-year peace talks between Song and Meng that Wokuotai had agreed to.

Just like before in Gaocheng, Dong Jun died on the battlefield, and his two sons were willing to surrender, even though they knew the city could not be defended.

The Great Mongol Empire emerged from the grasslands, and he believed that it would surely make a comeback in the future.

But the matter of returning to the grassland cannot be brought up by him.

This will make him even more incompetent.

Moreover, some among the Mongolian nobles are still opposed to abandoning Hebei and Shanxi.

So you have to find a suitable reason.

"Come here, let's grow a beard." Wo Kuotai called the guards around him and sent word to his eldest son Yelu Chucai to see him.

It was all night, and Wokuotai asked Yelu Chucai to go to the city to discuss things.

The messenger soon arrived at Yelu Chucai's home.

It was probably around eight o'clock in the evening. Yelu Chucai usually stayed up and read at night. There was nothing special. He could go to bed before eight o'clock in the winter, but now that it was summer, he might go to bed after nine o'clock.

He felt a little uncomfortable today because the things discussed during the day had no good results. He was also preparing to go to bed early, but he didn't expect that Wo Kuotai would suddenly greet him, not at Wo Kuotai's house, but on the city wall.

Yelu Chucai was stunned, and he asked again to confirm that Wokuotai was on the city wall.

He suddenly put on his clothes and thought about it all the way.

When they arrived at the city head, they saw Wo Kuotai standing alone behind a crenel, with no one within ten steps around him.

He came forward to see him first, but Ogootai smiled bitterly and asked him to excuse himself.

"Long Beard, come here and take a look at Datong City at night."

Yelu Chucai took a few steps forward and stood side by side with Wo Kuotai. The two of them looked at the Datong City behind them at the same time. The city was now dark and quiet. Even though the moonlight was brighter today, nothing could be seen. Yelu Chucai's mind was spinning rapidly, guessing Wokuotai's intention.

"I grew up on the grassland." Wo Kuotai said slowly.

When he first became the Great Khan, Yelu Chucai repeatedly persuaded Cambodia to call himself "I" in front of everyone to show his divine power.

Wokuotai often calls me "me" in front of everyone, but when there are few people, he sometimes calls himself "Ben Khan" and sometimes he calls himself "me."

He has not yet completely gotten used to the etiquette of the Central Plains emperor.

These etiquettes did not become popular until Kublai Khan became emperor.

When he and Yelu Chucai chatted alone, they usually called me, rarely me.

Wokuotai first described the scene of his childhood on the grassland, the broad grassland, the abundant water plants, the galloping horses, and the people who could conquer good deeds.

Yelu Chucai listened quietly on the side, and the expression on his face became brighter and brighter. He seemed to have guessed something.

Then Wo Kuotai's voice changed: "Look at Datong City, every night it is pitch black, like a dead city."

"If we were on the grassland, we would be sitting around a campfire, drinking wine, and eating cattle and sheep—"

Yelu Chucai responded immediately and said yes. I still remember that when our country held the Khuliltai Conference in Mongolia, nobles from all over the world arrived and they were happy for three days.

Wo Kuotai looked back at Yelu Chucai with a profound look on his face, his expression quite satisfied.

When they held the Huliletai Conference, the royal nobles from all over the country gathered together for three days to drink wine, eat delicious food, and play with beautiful women for three days before it officially started.

Wokuotai just talked about the difference between grassland and Datong, and Yelu Chucai had already guessed what he was thinking.

Yes, Wokuotai planned to withdraw to the grassland, but he did not intend to speak about this matter.

The Mongols have always believed in shamans and priests, and Wokuotai wanted Yelu Chucai to come forward.

And Yelu Chucai obviously guessed Wokuotai's intention.

Originally, Yelu Chucai was firmly opposed to withdrawing to the grasslands. He was able to collect a large amount of taxes and recruit troops for the Mongolian army in Shanxi and Hebei, and he operated very well.

But now that the Song army is invading in a large scale, he may be unable to collect taxes in the future. After thinking about it, Yelu Chucai believes that under the current predicament, the only option is to return to the grassland and wait for a comeback later.

The two monarchs and ministers did not say anything to each other, but they were in the same mind and already knew each other's thoughts.

Yelu Chucai and Wo Kuotai only talked for a while and then went back without saying anything.

But Yelu Chucai is sure that Wokuotai wants to return to the grassland.

On the way back, he thought about it, thinking that it would be easy to do it during the day.

Tuo Lei has a daughter, also named Yesu Buhua.

And what Yelu Chucai was thinking about was Su Buhua, the son of Beili Gutai.

Yesubuhua fought two battles with the Song Army with Beligutai a few days ago, both of which ended in disastrous defeats. He grew up with Beligutai on the grasslands near the Kerulen River Basin.

So after coming back, he strongly requested to return to the grassland at the meeting yesterday.

Moreover, the Song Army is now having soldiers and horses mopping up near the Kerulun River Basin. He is also eager to return home and thinks that it is meaningless to compete with the Song Army for Shanxi and Hebei.

For Yesubuhua, his father's fiefdom was in the Kerulunliu area, and Hebei and Shanxi were not his fiefdoms, so of course he didn't want to stay and defend it.

Therefore, someone must propose the withdrawal of troops, and it cannot be Wokuotai's son or confidant.

Yelu Chucai walked halfway, turned around, and headed for Yesu Buhua's camp.

A few days later, when the Mongolian army camp went to fetch water, a big fish was fished out of the river.

After killing the fish, the fish belly was cut open, and there was actually a small turtle shell with words engraved on it.

It says in Chinese: "North faces the world."

The news reached the nobles and caused a quarrel.

Some people thought it was Wokuotai who did it, but it was said that it was Yasu Fuhua's subordinates who picked it up.

Yesubuhua's father, Beiligutai, had previously strongly opposed returning to the north and demanded a decisive battle with the Song army.

Soon, Wo Kuotai once again convened the nobles for discussion.

Everyone looked at the little tortoise pieces with Chinese characters written on them, and all of them had strange expressions.

Before anyone could raise any objections, Yesubohua said that this was probably God's will and asked us to return north to the grassland.

The expressions of some people at the scene changed slightly. These people should be nobles who do not want to go back to the grassland to live a hard life. They must live in towns, which is much more comfortable than on the grassland.

Before anyone could object, Yesubuhua said: "Everyone has been arguing over the past few days, but nothing has come of it. Why don't you ask for a beard to count?"

Since everyone has objections, why not invite a shaman?

Yelu Chucai is quite popular among the Mongolian nobles, and most people admire him.

Now that Ye Subuhua has brought it up, there are people around who oppose it, but they are still a minority.

Wo Kuotai looked unwilling, and said in a deep voice: "Military and national affairs require careful consideration."

Some people said that in our previous wars, we often used shamans, so please consider growing a beard.

When the Mongols first founded their country, they did often use shamans in their wars. I don't know whether they were really useful or used to encourage morale. Anyway, it was their custom.

Bieligutai originally opposed the withdrawal of troops, which symbolized that the Mongolian army was afraid of the Song people.

But he had suffered two defeats recently, and his son had another problem, so he had no choice but to say: "Please Hehan and let the long beard tell your fortune."

He is Wo Kuotai's uncle, and his words still have some weight.

Brother Temu, O Chijin, who was standing next to him, took a look and expressed his agreement to tell the fortune.

In this way, the two oldest members of the Mongolian clan agreed, and the opinions of others were not as important.

But Wokuotai still has to throw the blame, Bian said, I don’t want to make my own decisions, so let’s just vote.

Two uncles took the lead, and both uncles brought several sons. Wo Kuotai calculated well and signaled a fair vote. If there is a problem in the future, it was you all who voted, not Wo Kuotai who wanted to withdraw. of.

As soon as the on-site voting came out, it turned out that more people supported fortune-telling.

So Yelu Chucai began to divine.

Just like before, he pretended to do something, and then said, if more falls fall in the north, then the north will benefit; if more falls fall in the south, then the south will benefit.

First tell everyone the principle, and then throw it into the air.

His copper coin fell to the ground, rolled several times on the ground, and finally stopped.

According to him, there is a red line on each copper coin, and the more money it has, the better it is for the north.

Everyone looked intently, and almost most of them were facing north.

Huh, Wo Kuotai breathed a long sigh of relief and looked at Yelu Chucai meaningfully. He didn't know how Yelu Chucai did it.

(End of this chapter)