Usurping the Mongols: My Father-in-Law is Genghis Khan

Seeing Wanyan Chengyu vomiting blood, Dujisizhong sighed.

"Wanyan Senior Councilor, you must take care of your health!" Dujisizhong stepped forward to support the tottering Wanyan Chengyu, his voice full of concern, and said, "I am a civil official. The life and death of the Northwest's 400,000 troops and the safety of Zhongdu all rest on your shoulders, Wanyan Senior Councilor. You must hold on!"

"I'm fine... I'm fine."

Wanyan Chengyu waved his hand, shook off Dujisizhong's support, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and looked much more颓靡. He forced back the grief in his heart and said, "Prime Minister Duji, what should we do now?"

The Mongols have captured Wuyue Camp, and their next step will definitely be to point their swords at Fuzhou. There is no time for grief; he must prepare countermeasures.

Hearing Wanyan Chengyu's words, Dujisizhong blurted out the words he had been planning for a long time:

"Retreat! We must retreat immediately!"

"With the loss of Wushabao and Wuyue Camp, the six-hundred-li Great Wall is already a mere formality. As long as the Mongols break through the Yehuling defense line, they can directly threaten the safety of Zhongdu. We must gather all the troops on the front line at Yehuling to build the most solid defense line!"

"Nonsense! How is that possible!"

Wanyan Chengyu's first reaction was to refuse.

The Jin Dynasty's strategic terrain was actually very poor.

Looking at the map, the Jin Dynasty was like a "dumbbell," large at both ends and thin in the middle.

The top was the Northeast, all the way to the Greater Khingan Mountains. The bottom was Hebei and Shandong, all the way to the Huai River.

Both the north and south were of utmost importance.

Therefore, in order to control the north and south, the Jin Dynasty set its capital in Yanjing in the middle, calling it Zhongdu.

This was indeed very convenient for managing the entire country.

However, there was a fatal flaw: Zhongdu was too close to the grasslands.

The Mongol border was only four hundred li from Zhongdu. Without defenses, the Mongols could reach it in two days on horseback.

To compensate for this shortcoming, the Jin Dynasty established three strict defense lines on the northwest line.

The first line of defense consisted of the six-hundred-li Wushabao Great Wall defense line, also known as the "Jin Boundary Moat."

The second line of defense consisted of four strong cities inside the Great Wall, from west to east: Wuyue Camp, Fuzhou, Changzhou, and Huanzhou.

The third line of defense was the Yehuling defense line built on the mountain, which was also the most important defense line and the last barrier of Zhongdu in the Jin Dynasty.

"Only by holding Fuzhou, Changzhou, and Huanzhou can we attack the Mongols from both sides, making them hesitant to attack Yehuling with all their strength. Prime Minister Duji, do I need to explain this simple logic? The three cities of Fu, Chang, and Huan must not be abandoned!" Wanyan Chengyu said angrily.

"Wanyan Senior Councilor, what you said makes sense, but I'm worried that we may not be able to hold the three cities of Fuzhou, Changzhou, and Huanzhou..." Dujisizhong said with a solemn expression, "The Mongols may have some kind of special siege weapon!"

The Jin Dynasty's defense line was built by Dujisizhong; how could he not know the role of the three cities of Fu, Chang, and Huan?

However, on the way to escape, he thought of a frightening question. That was, how did the Mongols break through Wuyue Camp, which he was guarding, in the blink of an eye?

He couldn't figure it out no matter what.

However, he knew one thing: the Mongols must have developed some kind of special siege weapon!

Perhaps this was what the Mongols had developed during their attack on Western Xia.

Otherwise, there was no way to explain why a group of Mongol barbarians could take half of Western Xia's territory, even capturing Kemen and approaching Western Xia's capital, Zhongxing Prefecture.

If this was the case, the trouble would be great!

If the Mongols could break through Wuyue Camp overnight, could they also break through Fuzhou City overnight?

He could be lucky enough to run away once, but could he be lucky enough to run away twice?

If he and Wanyan Chengyu were captured by the Mongols, what would happen to the Yehuling defense line? What would happen to Zhongdu? What would happen to the Great Jin Dynasty?

Could they afford to gamble?

It was precisely because of this consideration that Dujisizhong proposed abandoning the three cities of Fu, Chang, and Huan and concentrating all the troops to strengthen the Yehuling defense line.

"Special siege weapon..."

As soon as Dujisizhong said this, Wanyan Chengyu immediately understood what Dujisizhong was worried about.

If it were in the past, Wanyan Chengyu would definitely be confident in defending Fuzhou City.

However, his own son led 35,000 elite soldiers and was still defeated by the Mongols like a hot knife through butter, and was even nailed to a wooden donkey.

Dujisizhong was even more inexplicably defeated at Wuyue Camp. He really didn't dare to guarantee that he could defend Fuzhou City with 100% certainty.

Wanyan Chengyu hesitated.

Losing the three prefectures of Fu, Chang, and Huan was not a big deal. Although these three prefectures were considered wealthy, the Great Jin Dynasty had 179 prefectures; at most, it was a minor ailment, and the emperor might not care. Those Jin Dynasty nobles who enjoyed themselves in Yanjing would not necessarily care.

However, not to mention letting the Mongols break through Zhongdu, even threatening Zhongdu, both the emperor and the Jin Dynasty nobles would vent their anger on Wanyan Chengyu.

Could he afford it?

Dujisizhong struck while the iron was hot and continued to persuade, "Besides, it's not like we don't want the three prefectures of Fu, Chang, and Huan anymore. We're just transferring most of the troops to the Yehuling defense line. We can completely explain it to the imperial court. If you're still worried, Wanyan Senior Councilor, how about I co-sign a memorial with you?"

His last sentence completely moved Wanyan Chengyu.

Wanyan Chengyu pondered for a long time and slowly said, "That's right. Retreating to the Yehuling defense line has another advantage: the Mongols' strongest point is cavalry, while Yehuling's terrain is treacherous, and they can only attack with infantry. This is equivalent to using our strengths to attack their weaknesses. Looking at it this way, it is indeed more prudent to defend Yehuling with all our strength."

Once a person makes a decision, they will find various ways to convince themselves.

Under many considerations, Wanyan Chengyu finally adopted Dujisizhong's suggestion.

Immediately, Dujisizhong and Wanyan Chengyu jointly wrote a memorial and sent it to Yanjing with eight hundred li of urgency.

Then, in the name of the two commanders of the Northwest Line of the Great Jin Dynasty, they deployed troops and transferred most of the troops from the six-hundred-li Great Wall defense line and the three prefectures of Fu, Chang, and Huan to the Yehuling defense line.

Three thousand troops were left on the six-hundred-li Great Wall defense line, and three thousand people were left in each of the three prefectures of Fu, Chang, and Huan. To put it bluntly, these nine thousand troops had been effectively abandoned.

It was just to give the imperial court and the world an explanation on the surface that they had not voluntarily abandoned these passes.

Wanyan Chengyu and Dujisizhong also hurriedly left Fuzhou City and went to the Yehuling defense line.

After all, if the Mongols could break Wuyue Camp, couldn't they break Fuzhou?

Fuzhou was less than a hundred li away from Wuyue Camp, and it was really unsafe for the two commanders to be without heavy troops protecting them.

However, mistakes were made in the rush.

Even the wise can sometimes make mistakes.

Just like in the timeline without Zhao Shuo's crossing, these two Jin Dynasty prime ministers made a very low-level and stupid mistake: they forgot to dispose of the warhorses of the pastoral supervisors of Heng, Chang, and Huan prefectures.

The pastoral supervisors were the Jin Dynasty's specialized animal husbandry institutions.

They mainly raised horses, but also raised other livestock such as cattle, sheep, and camels.

In the early years of the Jin Dynasty, there were five horse supervisors, but the number later increased and decreased. Now there are seven.

The pastoral supervisors of the three prefectures of Fu, Wen, and Huan were three of them.

Moreover, these three pastoral supervisors were the largest in scale and had the most fertile water and grass among all the pastoral supervisors in the Jin Dynasty. Most of the country's warhorses were raised in these three pastoral supervisors.

If they really couldn't take these warhorses away, they could have sent three teams of elite cavalry to kill them!

One day was enough time.

They actually completely forgot about this!

Such a large-scale troop movement by the Jin army could not be concealed from the Mongol scouts. In the evening of the same day, Temujin received the news.

"What? Most of the Jin dogs in Fuzhou have gone south? Investigate again and again, don't fall for the Jin dogs' tricks!"

Hearing the news, Temujin could hardly believe it, his tone filled with deep caution.

Fuzhou was not only the wealthiest and most fortified of the three states of Fu, Chang, and Huan, but also the location of Wanyan Chengyu's headquarters. How could they abandon it so easily?

Would he abandon Changzhou and Huanzhou as well?

If all three states were abandoned, wouldn't the Mongol army be able to attack the Yehuling defense line without any worries?

But if he didn't abandon these three states, the Mongol army would be concerned about the Jin army at Yehuling while attacking the three states. Attacking Yehuling would also mean worrying about the Jin army in these three states, making it difficult to attack.

Could this Jin commander be a fool?

I didn't give him any money. Why does his decision seem like he's our Mongolians' inside man?

What conspiracy is involved?

Zhao Shuo couldn't help but laugh when he heard this news.

He didn't expect that even though the Mongols attacked the Jin Dynasty two years earlier, Wanyan Chengyu still made the same foolish choice as in history.

In historical records, he directly abandoned the three states of Fu, Chang, and Huan. As a result, the Mongols not only had no worries but also gained countless warhorses from the livestock farms within these three states, greatly increasing their strength.

Zhao Shuo said, "The news that most of the Jin dogs in Fuzhou have gone south should be true. In the end, even if they didn't go south, wouldn't we still attack Fuzhou? I estimate that they have abandoned all three states of Fu, Chang, and Huan."

"Then why did they do this?" Huhan also expressed his suspicion cautiously.

Zhao Shuo chuckled and said, "This is where the Jin Dynasty differs from us Mongols. We Mongols are pragmatic. As long as we can win battles, Genghis Khan won't blame us for anything.

But what about the commanding generals of the Jin Dynasty? Even if they win a great victory, as long as the Jin Emperor feels even a little bit of danger, it will be considered a crime without merit.

The Emperor might even think that the loyalty of the commanding general is highly questionable and want to get rid of them as soon as possible.

Wanyan Chengyu was too worried about the Yehuling defense line, which led him to make such a foolish decision."

After listening to Zhao Shuo's words, Huhan nodded thoughtfully, but his brow still furrowed with doubt: "But if he loses the battle, wouldn't Wanyan Chengyu still not have a good end?"

Zhao Shuo said, "He is actually in a dilemma. On the one hand, he has to deal with our threat, and on the other hand, he has to constantly guess the Emperor's intentions. Sometimes, in order to take care of both sides, he has to make some seemingly foolish decisions. In the end, he can't take care of either side."

"A'shuo is right."

Although Zhao Shuo was only talking about the Jin people's reasons for abandoning Fuzhou, the biggest reason was that Temujin was wise and martial, while Wanyan Yongji was a useless person who only held back progress.

This not only matched Temujin's experience but also made him feel very happy. He said, "What should we do next?"

"Fast! Our actions must be fast!" Zhao Shuo said, "We can forget about the three states of Fu, Chang, and Heng. Anyway, the Jin dogs have already practically abandoned them. However, these three states all have Jin Dynasty livestock farms with a large number of horses and other livestock.

Right now, we don't know if the Jin dogs have dealt with those livestock.

But with such a large number of warhorses, even if there is only a sliver of hope, we must strive for it."

Temujin was naturally very interested in horses and asked, "How many horses are there in the livestock farms of these three states?"

"The specific number of horses is a military secret of the Jin dogs. Even the Wanggu tribe doesn't know, so I understand even less. However, I estimate that there are at least 200,000 horses."

Two hundred thousand warhorses were actually Zhao Shuo's most conservative estimate.

He really didn't know the specific number of warhorses in the livestock farms of these three states, but he could roughly estimate it.

Forty-eight years ago, when Jin Emperor Hailing launched his southern expedition against the Song Dynasty, he mobilized 560,000 warhorses. Later, Emperor Hailing's southern expedition failed, and only about 1,000 warhorses and 90 camels remained in the Jin Dynasty's livestock farms.

However, only twenty-six years later, that is, twenty-two years ago, the Jin Dynasty's livestock farms had reached 470,000 horses, 130,000 cattle, and 470,000 sheep.

Another twenty-two years have passed. How many horses will there be in the Jin Dynasty's livestock farms?

It is said that before the Battle of Yehuling, the Jin people's cavalry accounted for 40%, and each person had three horses.

What about after the Battle of Yehuling? The Jin Dynasty was completely dominated by infantry, and the number of cavalry in the country was only over 20,000.

The biggest reason for this was that the warhorses in the livestock farms of the three states of Fu, Chang, and Heng were seized by the Mongols.

As for the specific number, it can only be counted in detail after capturing the three states.

"Okay, A'shuo said there are at least 200,000, so there are at least 200,000!"

Zhao Shuo's consistent correctness and consistent victory have accumulated good credibility in Temujin's heart.

At least 200,000 horses!

That's enough for the current Mongol army to increase three horses per person!

Moreover, at the same time, it can reduce the Jin Dynasty by 200,000 horses. I don't know how much loss the Mongol army's future conquests can reduce.

At this moment, Temujin's eyes could almost shine, and he said, "A'shuo is right. With 200,000 horses, even if there is only a sliver of hope, we must strive for it.

In this way, Fuzhou is closest to the Wuyue Camp and the most fortified. I will personally lead 30,000 troops to capture it. Muqali, Jebe, and Subutai! You lead 22,000 troops to attack Changzhou, which is 200 miles away."

"Yes." The three agreed in unison.

"A'shuo, you have the most warhorses under your command. The 500-mile-away Huanzhou will be entrusted to you. We will take action on three fronts to ensure that all the Jin dogs' warhorses in these three states are left behind!"

"Yes!"

The "Huan" in Huanzhou is taken from "Wuhuan." This was originally a horse-breeding place for the Wuhuan people and has the best pastures in the Jin Dynasty.

Huanzhou's livestock farm is known as the "Crown of National Livestock Farms."

I am afraid that all the warhorses in Fuzhou and Changzhou combined may not be as many as in Huanzhou.

Once Zhao Shuo captures Huanzhou, he will obtain a large number of horses.

At the same time, in Yanjing, the Jin Dynasty's political affairs hall.

"Dujisizhong has misled me! Wanyan Chengyu has misled me!"

After seeing the urgent document sent by the 800-li express delivery, Wanyan Kuang, the prime minister of the Great Jin Dynasty, who had worked hard for the Jin Dynasty all his life, almost spat out a mouthful of old blood.

If history had developed normally, Wanyan Kuang, a top talent who had worked for the Jin Dynasty all his life, would have passed away by the end of this year. Two years later, the Mongols invaded the Great Jin Dynasty, which had nothing to do with him, and he couldn't worry about it even if he wanted to.

However, Zhao Shuo changed history, and the Mongols attacked Jin two years earlier, which was closely related to Wanyan Kuang.

He hurriedly left the political affairs hall to meet Jin Emperor Wanyan Yongji.

"Your Majesty, the military situation is urgent. It seems that this old minister has no choice but to personally make a trip to Huanzhou."

"Why? What is it that others cannot do on your behalf, that the old prime minister must personally go?"

Even if Wanyan Yongji was stupid, he knew what Wanyan Kuang represented. He was the stabilizing force of the Great Jin Dynasty! If he went out, Wanyan Yongji would not be able to sleep soundly at night.

Cough cough cough—

Wanyan Kuang coughed a few times in a row before stabilizing his breath, his face full of helplessness: "Indeed, this old minister has to go. Wanyan Chengyu and Dujisizhong abandoned the three states of Fu, Chang, and Huan. Although this old minister does not agree, it cannot be considered too big of a mistake in order to protect the safety of Yanjing.

However, they did not mention a word about the livestock in the livestock farms of these three states in their memorial.

If they didn't mention it, it means they completely forgot about it.

The circulation of official documents in the court will definitely be too late.

And now, who else can directly revoke their orders and mobilize their troops on the spot, besides this old minister?"

Wanyan Yongji was, after all, in his fifties and had received a strict royal education. Even if he was a waste, after Wanyan Kuang reminded him, he understood the seriousness of the matter.

He asked, "When will the old prime minister leave?"

"This old minister will leave now. It's probably too late if I'm late."

"Then I will send 500 imperial guards to escort the old prime minister."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The Imperial Guard is the most elite force in the Jin Dynasty.

At the beginning of the Great Jin Dynasty, it was called Hezha Meng'an, limited to those under the command of Aguda, Wugimai, Zonggan, and Zonghan.

Later, it developed into the emperor's personal guard, with a total of 6,000 people, selected from the national army, belonging to the elite among the elite.

It wasn't that Wanyan Yongji was unwilling to transfer more personal guards to Wanyan Kuang, but that the more people there were, the slower the marching speed would be.

Now is the time to race against the Mongols!

Although Wanyan Kuang was already old and frail, he was, after all, a figure who had served as both a general and a prime minister, commanding hundreds of thousands of troops.

At this time, relying on his firm will, he勉力 supported himself, riding the best warhorse, and under the protection of five hundred personal guards, he galloped five hundred miles overnight, arriving at the location of Huanzhou Pasture in the early morning of the next day.

As soon as he dismounted, Wanyan Kuang directly issued an order: all the mules, donkeys, cattle, and sheep in Huanzhou Pasture were to be abandoned, and Yelu Chuan, the supervisor of Huanzhou Pasture, was to drive all the horses into Huanzhou City. This must be completed before noon today.

Yelu Chuan quickly accepted the order and left, and Huanzhou Pasture was filled with chaos.

Wanyan Kuang was too lazy to care about these trivial matters, and within Huanzhou Pasture, in the name of the Shangshuling, he issued orders in succession.

First, he ordered the pasture supervisors of Changzhou and Fuzhou to transfer all the horses in their respective pastures to the state city. If they didn't have time to transfer them and the Mongol soldiers arrived, they should kill all those warhorses.

Second, all the garrison officers and soldiers in Huan, Chang, and Fu prefectures should gather in the state city in the shortest possible time.

Third, he ordered Wanyan Chengyu and Dujisizhong, who were stationed at Yehuling Black Wind Pass, to send heavy troops to reinforce Fu, Chang, and Huan prefectures.

After sending out these orders, Wanyan Kuang rushed to Fuzhou City without stopping to strengthen the city's defenses.

Only three thousand soldiers were left in Fuzhou City, and because Wanyan Cheng had transferred most of the troops away, the people were panicked.

The arrival of Wanyan Kuang, the empire's prime minister, quickly stabilized the morale of the people in the city.

By noon, all the horses in Huanzhou Pasture were concentrated in Huanzhou City.

Some reinforcements from other small towns in Huanzhou also arrived, numbering more than 1,200 people.

"Fortunately, I arrived in time, otherwise Wanyan Chengyu and Dujisizhong would have caused a catastrophe. Now there are already four thousand soldiers and horses in the city, and I expect reinforcements to arrive by evening, so I will have enough strength to defend the city."

Wanyan Kuang stood on the city wall and breathed a sigh of relief. A wave of sleepiness came over him, and he wanted to go back to the yamen to sleep.

However, at this moment, dust billowed in the distance, and it seemed that a large group of cavalry was approaching.

How could reinforcements arrive so quickly?

That's not right!

It's the Mongol soldiers!

The golden "Zhao" character on the big banner was simply dazzling!

"It's the Mongol's Zhao Shuo, the驸马!"

"He's the one who nailed Wanyan Chihu to the wooden donkey and turned the Jurchen soldiers into skull forests!"

"It's over! Huanzhou is finished!"

...

Wanyan Chengyu transferred most of the troops from Huanzhou City, effectively abandoning Huanzhou, and the news of the defeat on the front line could not be kept secret at all.

Seeing Zhao Shuo's banner, the people who had just stabilized were immediately thrown into chaos.

Wanyan Kuang was calm and composed, and said loudly: "Don't panic! The Mongols are not as scary as you think. Guard the city with me."

"Come on!"

"Here!" The personal guards responded loudly.

"Hang up my banner!"

"Yes."

In a short time, Wanyan Kuang's banner was raised.

In addition to a large "Wanyan" character, there were also a few small characters: Great Jin Shen Wang, Shangshuling.

"What? Wanyan Kuang has arrived?"

Zhao Shuo was indeed a little surprised by Wanyan Kuang's arrival.

Because it was a large army, and it had to pass through the small towns guarded by the Jin army in Fuzhou and Changzhou, Zhao Shuo's army, although with four horses per person, arrived three hours later than Wanyan Kuang.

His vanguard went to Huanzhou Ranch first.

After discovering that it was empty, he quickly joined the main force.

The army then arrived together under Huanzhou City.

Zhao Shuo didn't realize until now that Wanyan Kuang was the unexpected factor.

However, it was just a little unexpected. He sneered: "First, send my words to the city: for every horse killed in Huanzhou City, I will take a few heads as a burial. If the number is not enough, I will take the Jurchen people of the Jin Kingdom as a burial!"

There were many people in Balu's camp who understood Chinese, and immediately a warrior with a loud voice shouted loudly.

Gerile asked: "Your Excellency, what should we do next? Should we set up the cannons?"

"Set up my ass!" Zhao Shuo said: "Is the little garrison in Huanzhou City worth setting up cannons for?"

Huanzhou was a large city, and usually had a garrison of 30,000 troops.

Now that there were only four thousand people, Zhao Shuo, who had experienced hundreds of battles, could see at a glance how weak Huanzhou was.

"Then what does Your Excellency mean..."

"Before we set off, didn't I ask you to take ten cloth bags each from the May Camp's savings? Now, listen to my orders, the whole army is armored! Everyone fill half a bag of soil and rush directly up and throw it in front of Huanzhou City!"

"To what extent should we throw it?"

"Throw it into a large slope, and we will directly attack in!"

In historical records, Temujin used this method to break Fuzhou City.

It's not that he couldn't build siege equipment. Temujin had already fought Xixia. How could he not have craftsmen to build trebuchets?

It was just that the garrison in Fuzhou City was too small and the morale was too low, so there was no need to be so troublesome.

Temujin's operation was the world-famous "running horses up the city."

Of course, in fact, the real "running horses up the city" is impossible. You can only run horses to pile up sandbags, and even when piling up sandbags, you sometimes have to dispatch infantry. In the end, it must be the infantry who climbs the city.

However, Huanzhou was far less solid than Fuzhou, and Temujin was improvising, so he had to search for cloth bags, while Zhao Shuo had already prepared everything.

Zhao Shuo's attack on Huanzhou this time was much easier than Temujin's attack on Fuzhou.

Boom boom boom!

Seventeen thousand Balu camp soldiers, ten thousand and eight hundred Zhao Shuo's own soldiers, and three thousand Wanggu tribe soldiers, a total of 30,000 troops, unleashed their power.

They cycled back and forth, constantly braving the arrow rain from the city, throwing sandbags under Huanzhou City.

In fact, seeing so many Mongol troops coming down the city, and saying those harsh words, the families of the Huanzhou garrison were all here or in Huanzhou, and they did not dare to do things too harshly, so the resistance was very weak.

So what if the Great Jin Prime Minister Wanyan Kuang was here?

Was he more ruthless than the Mongol Zhao Shuo, the consort?

And most importantly, he couldn't conjure up soldiers!

In less than two hours, the forefront of this slope was level with Huanzhou City.

"Follow me to charge!"

With an order from Zhao Shuo, eight hundred black cavalrymen abandoned their horses and followed closely, and 30,000 Mongol troops followed closely, climbing the city with Zhao Shuo.

What about that Wanyan Kuang?

When Zhao Shuo's slope was half-piled, under the protection of five hundred personal guards, he fled.

In order to cover his escape, he didn't even take his big flag, which became Zhao Shuo's trophy.

Nonsense, what if he didn't run?

Zhao Shuo was a man of his word, and Wanyan Kuang insisted on killing horses, so the tens of thousands of people and four thousand soldiers in the city would not agree, and I am afraid that they would open the city gate and surrender at that time.

Therefore, it is better to take advantage of the Mongols' focus on attacking the city and escape.

Of course, Zhao Shuo couldn't care whether Wanyan Kuang ran or not.

Now his attention was completely on the warhorses in Huanzhou City.

"Your Excellency, the statistics are out!"

Half an hour later, Gerile excitedly reported: "Four hundred thousand horses! A full four hundred thousand horses! We have more than enough for ten horses per person!"