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

Chapter 508: Preemptive strike, very reasonable, right?

Meng Ge brought 35,000 soldiers and horses, and more than 10,000 civilians, all of whom were forcibly recruited from Little Ayub's territory.

Their giant trebuchets require large stone projectiles weighing hundreds of kilograms, and they have to go to the distant Lebanon Mountains to get them.

Damascus is surrounded by desert on one side and plains on the other. It is difficult to get large stone bullets and you have to travel a long way.

At the same time, he wrote to Adali, asking Adali to surrender immediately, otherwise after the city is broken, Saladin's descendants and all officials will be killed.

This is considered to be quite polite by Brother Meng. The Mongolian army used to write letters, and if they didn't surrender, they would massacre the city.

There was no way, they were forced by the Song Army, and now they needed the population and territory to fight against the Song Army.

Now that the Song army is approaching in layers to the west and oppressing them, they will also move west and oppress others.

Of course Adali would not surrender. At this time, Adali was also in his prime, about thirty years old.

His grandfather, Saladin, was a great leader and founded the Ayyubid Dynasty, which was powerful for a while. He never thought that one day he would be attacked by foreign enemies.

The rest, Ayub's people retreated into Jerusalem. If the Mongolian army attacked Jerusalem again, they would consider a full-scale war with Shenluo. Once the Mongolian army and Shenluo went to full-scale war, Liu Zheng guaranteed that the Song army would attack from the west. , and attack from both sides of Shinra.

Jerusalem was relatively close to them and was the territory of HRE. Frederick II had troops stationed there.

Cassie was only a teenager, and at such a young age he was already feeling the tragedy of his family being destroyed. He clenched his fists and whispered: "Can't we go over there? (Referring to the Great Ayyubid Dynasty in Cairo, Aidali's Cousin Saleh).

"I'm afraid Damascus can't be defended anymore." Adali said to the young eldest son Cassie beside him at this time.

After hearing this, Adali was a little hesitant and asked why Damascus was burned?

"If Saleh wants to help us, the army should have arrived by now." Aidali smiled bitterly: "He is sitting back and watching Mongolia attack us."

Liu Zheng gave Aidali a plan to retreat the main force based on the Mongolian army's tactics.

The messenger said, if you don't burn it, how can you stop the Mongolian army from pursuing it?

After meeting Liu Zheng, Frederick II's envoy had a secret talk with Liu Zheng and immediately rushed to Jerusalem.

Seeing hope of breaking the city, the Mongolian army must have concentrated its forces to attack from the north.

"If you feel that you cannot defend Damascus, please burn all of Damascus with fire, and then take the people, horses, and food you can take with you to garrison Jerusalem."

At this time, Adali was also leading people to look outside the city. Meng Ge and the Hulagu brothers were riding a few hundred steps away and were observing the city defense of Damascus.

In order to prevent Conrad from imitating his brother and rebelling again, Frederick II decided to wait until his own death before officially crowning Conrad.

"Where is Jerusalem?" Cassie asked again.

As the capital of the small Ayyubid dynasty, Damascus has a large population of more than 200,000. Although it is not as good as Cairo and Baghdad, it is still a relatively large city. These population resources were obtained by the Mongolian army, which increased the Mongolian population. The strength of the army.

He later also became the Hohenstaufen dynasty and King of Germany.

You first let the Mongolian army enter the city, and then set fire to the city to stop the Mongolian army.

After hearing this, Adaly finally decided to retreat to Jerusalem if he could no longer hold it.

This was Liu Zheng's idea. First, the Mongolian army could not easily attack Damascus, and then obtain Damascus's manpower and material resources.

Outside the city, you need two troops and horses that have been cut off from the rear, plus one in the city, for a total of three troops to stop the Mongolian army from pursuing.

Conrad's envoy also stated that he would mobilize the Crusaders to meet them.

Several people were discussing tactics, but Meng Ge outside did not wait for Adali's letter of surrender.

He was only twelve or thirteen years old at this time, still young, but under the arrangement of his father, he had ministers assisting him in managing Jerusalem.

Who is Donrad? He was the son of Frederick II and his daughter Isabel II of Jerusalem after he captured Jerusalem.

After all, they are all relatives of Saladin and are connected by blood. Now that foreign enemies are approaching, they should run to Cairo.

This place is relatively close to the Persian Gulf, and the envoys only arrived in Jerusalem a few days before Meng came to the city.

Frederick II's envoy agreed. Even if the two sides had different beliefs, the city of Jerusalem had been transferred several times between the Crusaders and the Ayyubid dynasty. The residents in the city had everything and could coexist.

"He has too much time to take care of himself, so he can't take care of us." Edali is also right. Frederick II's situation is not good. The whole Europe wants to kill him. He has gone to the Song Army Liu Zheng for help. Where can he care? to Adali.

In the past few decades, he and his father Malik Ifdal had been fighting with the descendants of Saladin's brother for Ayyubid's orthodoxy. Unexpectedly, a foreign enemy suddenly came.

So Conrad brought his construction.

Adali didn't want to give up Damascus, and knew that he might not be able to hold it. When the envoy saw his teenage son Cassie, he said, "Even if you don't do it for yourself, you must do it for your son and the people in the city."

Conrad? Adali was surprised and happy, and vaguely felt that it was a good thing.

The tactics of the Mongolian army are often to kill and injure the enemy with constant grazing while the enemy is fleeing. This is the main tactic to cause heavy casualties to the enemy.

"Report." A subordinate came forward to report a shocking news: "Conrad, the crown prince of Jerusalem, sent a letter."

The eldest son of Frederick II rebelled in Germany in 1235. Frederick II personally put down the rebellion, and then made Conrad the candidate to succeed his brother as the German king.

Damascus is somewhat similar to Manila in Felibin. It is divided into a new city and an old city. The two cities are bounded by the Barada River. The old city is in the east and the new city is in the west. The main force of the Mongolian army is in the east and north and south.

After that, Conrad lived with his mother in Jerusalem, and he had the dual identities of the Crown Prince of Jerusalem and the Crown Prince of Germany. He was known as Conrad IV in history.

Cassie shook his head and sighed. Indeed, if Saleh still cares about family ties, he will definitely raise troops to help them.

But Conrad was only seven years old at the time.

Moreover, the retreat of Ayyubid's people into Jerusalem will also increase their strength.

While the two father and son were chatting, someone suddenly came to report.

There is no way to go to the west, there is the Barada River pulling it from the middle.

In other words, the Mongolian army can only surround the city in three directions, and Aidali can retreat from the west.

When he decided to retreat if he could no longer hold on, Adali had already begun to evacuate the people and supplies in the city.

He requisitioned all the boats in the city and first transported the people to the west along the Bai Lada River, so as to avoid the pursuit of the Mongolian army.

If the city cannot be defended, the final infantry camp will retreat by boat, and the cavalry will retreat by land on horseback to reduce losses and try to ensure that 200,000 to 300,000 people can be brought to Jerusalem.

This is the last citizen and the last population of his little Ayyubid dynasty.

"Send the order, prepare to attack the city." Meng Ge stayed outside the city for three days, finally got some big stone bullets, and couldn't wait to prepare to attack the city.

Following his order, the siege horn also sounded, and a large number of civilians pushed trebuchets and large stone bombs forward, moving very slowly.

The army pressed forward one after another from behind, and Meng Ge and Hulagu followed closely behind the army.

The Song army has artillery, but they dare not move forward. There are no people here, so they are not afraid.

As the two walked, Xu Liewu turned around and whispered: "The Song Army's trebuchets are smaller than ours, and they can throw them farther. Moreover, when they attack the city, they mainly throw kerosene bombs. Once they burn, they are boundless and cannot be destroyed by water or soil." , why don’t we use it?” In Hulagu’s view, the Song Army’s trebuchets threw dozens of kilograms of kerosene, and they could throw hundreds of kilograms.

If a batch of several hundred kilograms of kerosene were thrown at the top of the city, Damascus would not be able to defend it.

After hearing this, Brother Meng smiled bitterly and shook his head: "I don't know how Song Jun's kerosene was made. It is different from ours. We have tried it, but the effect is not good, and it may not burn everything when it hits the ground."

There is indeed a lot of oil here, and the Persians also use it, but oil and gasoline are two different things, with completely different effects.

The Mongolians do not know how to refine gasoline. They have tried using other oils with poor results.

Moreover, the Song Army's gasoline bombs can explode, ensuring that they will all burn.

The Mongolian army tried to make kerosene bombs. Either they landed well and did not break, or after breaking, the oil inside flew everywhere, some burned, and most did not burn.

Therefore, before they could refine gasoline bombs, the Mongolian army still used them relatively rarely, mainly to scare enemy troops in field battles. For example, in the Battle of Seyo, Batu used them.

The Mongolian army's kerosene bombs would definitely not work to attack the city, and they could only rely on stone bombs.

While the two brothers were talking, the Mongolian army escorted the civilian husband and finally pushed the trebuchet to the designated position, and then waited for the stone bullets. The stone bullets were also quite heavy. They were all large stone bullets of several hundred kilograms, which were very difficult to handle.

Historically, the Mongolian army fought around Xiangyang for several years. Hundreds of trebuchets were thrown every day. In the end, there were no more stone bullets. They just put the corpses of those killed in the battle and threw them into Xiangyang City. They used all kinds of methods.

Hundreds of kilograms of stone bullets are difficult to pick up, let alone transport.

Brother Meng and Xu Liegu were watching the peasants struggling to move forward. They had no choice but to wait.

Finally, after waiting for a while.

Boom, a trebuchet sounded first, and whoosh, a huge stone bomb flew out.

Adali and his son were watching from the top of the city. Even Conrad's envoy didn't leave, wanting to watch the Mongolian army's tactics.

When several people saw such a big stone, their expressions changed at the same time. Conrad's envoy was also wondering if such a big stone could hit the city of Jerusalem. I wonder if it could be prevented.

Plop! The first stone didn't hit the city wall because the distance was not right. However, it made a big hole after it landed on the ground. The faces of many people on the city walls changed drastically.

Boom, soon the second big rock flew over again.

The Mongolian army tried their best on the first day. They threw stones for a while, and then sent some servants to attack the city.

Aidali commanded the troops to defend, and the two sides fought a battle from morning to dark, and the Mongolian army retreated like a tide.

On the first day, there were relatively few large stone bombs from the Mongolian army, and the fighting was not intense.

Although the big stone bullets are very oppressive, their hit rate is not high, and it will take time to smash down the city wall.

Behind them, the Mongolian army fired more and more large stone bombs, their trebuchets became more and more powerful, and the number of siege troops also began to increase.

The Mongolian army attacked the city for ten days, and the attack became more and more fierce. Atali already felt that it was a bit undefendable. At this time, the city wall was damaged everywhere. Sometimes after being smashed during the day, they had to send people to repair it at night.

The key point is that the Mongolian army's arrow rain was very powerful. When they defended the city at the top of the city, they suffered a lot of casualties. Everyone dared to stand at the top of the city with shields on their backs.

Fortunately, in these ten days, he evacuated a lot of people and supplies. If he is given another five days, the people and supplies will be almost gone, and then he can leave the army.

At this time, some subordinates suggested that it would be better to go out of the city and fight the Mongolian army for a decisive battle.

Adali was a little shaken.

Envoy Conrad was shocked and said that the Mongolian army did not respect martial ethics and their fighting style was different from ours.

But his subordinates strongly suggested that they should go down and fight the Mongolian army, as they did not want to be hit by big stone bullets every day.

Adali finally decided to let him lead a thousand troops out of the city and engage the Mongolian army in a decisive battle.

Liu Zheng doesn't understand this here. You go out of the city to have a decisive battle with a thousand people? But the people here fight differently from the Song Army and the Mongolian Army.

"Woo!" That day, the Mongolian army was preparing to attack the city. Amidst a blast of trumpets, the city gates of Damascus suddenly opened wide. Then, under the leadership of Brillo, a thousand horsemen filed away, of which 800 were infantry camps. There were only two hundred cavalry.

The Mongolian army on the opposite side has not yet come up. Unexpectedly, there are troops coming out of the city. Meng Ge and Xulegu looked at each other. Is Adali going to surrender?

At that moment, Meng Ge ordered not to attack, and he also brought a group of cavalry forward.

The two sides soon came within 500 steps.

When Brillo saw that Meng Ge had brought less than a hundred riders, he thought to himself, Envoy Conrad was talking nonsense. Did the Mongolian army also have martial ethics? Only a hundred men came out?

At that moment, he waved a flag to indicate that he wanted to move forward.

Meng Ge and Hulagu opposite looked at each other again, and then slowly moved forward.

Well, the opponent is about to surrender. Meng Ge thinks that the opponent is about to surrender.

When the two sides entered a hundred steps, Meng Ge signaled the other side to stop.

Brillo didn't understand, so he sent someone over.

At this time, Meng Ge had not seen the fighting methods of the nobles in this area.

Back then, Saladin and Lionheart could chat within a few steps of each other on the battlefield, and then return to fight again.

As for the battlefield, there are many single-handed battles. The armies of both sides are watching from behind, and the generals in the front are single-handedly fighting.

Brillo just wanted to challenge Meng Ge in a duel.

After a while, Brillo's people came to Meng Ge. This man was specially selected and could speak Mongolian.

"Which of you is the bravest general among the Mongols?" the man asked.

Meng Ge and Hulagu looked confused, but Hulagu immediately pointed at Meng Ge and said: "This is our future Great Khan of Mongolia, the most heroic warrior. You can surrender to him."

Hulagu thought that Aidali was going to surrender to the most powerful person, so he helped Brother Meng to brag.

The man immediately turned back and pointed at Brillo: "Brillo is our bravest warrior in Damascus. He will follow the rules of the nobles and send you an invitation to a duel. If you lose, please retreat immediately."

"..." Brother Meng and Xu Liewu looked at each other.

It is estimated that the Meng brothers are thinking in their hearts at this moment, where did SB come from? I'm going to duel your sister and strike first. Is that reasonable?

Before Brother Meng could react, Hulagu directly pulled his horse forward, and with a slash, he cut off the man's head.

"Oh" the thousand people in Brillo across the street screamed almost at the same time.

Adali and others who were watching from the top of the city even cursed loudly. Now they finally knew that the Mongols did not respect martial ethics.

Before they could curse a few words, there was a boom. Brother Meng saw that there were only a thousand people on the opposite side, and most of them were infantry. He waved his hand and led

More than a hundred riders rushed forward.

(End of this chapter)