end song

Chapter 1108 Consequences of Escaping
"Sure enough, Li Xia fled westward."

The atmosphere of discussion in the sweat tent remained the same.Tachar was a little proud of guessing that Li Xia would flee to Xingqing Mansion, and hoped to make up for some of the humiliation of defeat with this performance.

On the contrary, Zhang Wenqian was keenly aware of the faint trace of displeasure in Kublai Khan's eyes.He shivered slightly, thinking: "Did Your Majesty think that Li Xia would not retreat?"

Thinking about it carefully, if he realized something, he somewhat understood Kublai Khan's thoughts.

He then walked to the map and said, "It is impossible for Li Xia to fight Dayuan in the Hetao Plain. The question is whether he will stick to it after returning to Xingqing Mansion, and even attempt to fight His Majesty in a decisive battle, in a vain attempt to reproduce the Battle of Diaoyu City."

"Diaoyu City?" Tachar asked in surprise, "Xingqing Mansion is not like Diaoyu City, the terrain there is much flatter."

"But it's very similar to Li Xia's style." Ai Buhua said, "This person is always thinking of opportunistic opportunities, and he may have a decisive battle in Xingqing Mansion."

Kublai Khan finally turned his head and looked over.

This is exactly what he needs his courtiers to do, pay attention to the opponent, analyze carefully, and avoid risks in the war, instead of laughing and taking it lightly.

Zhang Wenqian quickly felt Kublai Khan's thoughts, thinking that Li Xia had the courage to fight this decisive battle.

But Zhang Wenqian did not intend to follow the king's will to speak false words.

In his opinion, the reason why His Majesty thinks this way is because since Yu Jia has personally conscripted, of course he hopes to confront Li Xia directly, instead of facing a Li Xia who can only run away.

He will only analyze the situation objectively.

"After talking about Li Xia's escape, I will deduce what will happen after Li Xia escapes."

Zhang Wenqian looked directly into Kublai Khan's eyes, showing the upright and wise demeanor of a courtier.

"The Xingqing Mansion was lost in the hands of the minister. I know where it is. After the Xixia Kingdom was destroyed, the population was sparse, the farmland was barren, and the city was not repaired. No matter in terms of military strength, city defense or supplies, it was not enough to withstand His Majesty's army. There was no decisive battle. conditions. In my opinion, the best way for him is to shrink his troops and defend here...Longshan."

He clicked on the map, and said: "If I were Li Xia, I would give up the entire territory of Xixia, give up Liupan Mountain, fortify the walls and clear the wilderness, only guard Longshan, and try to protect the pass."

Ai Buhua asked: "You mean, if Da Khan fights all the way, he will encounter another real tough battle in Longshan?"

"This is the most sensible approach. Since he has retired, he should simply give up the entire Xixia, which is sparsely populated."

"why?"

"Because he can't keep it."

Ai Buhua was a little puzzled, and asked, "Mr. Zhang, are you underestimating the enemy?"

"It's not that I underestimate the enemy."

Zhang Wenqian took two steps, took a look at the strategy map from Heli Huosun, and saluted Kublai Khan again. After Kublai Khan nodded, he said: "Just now there is still a large army that I didn't say...King Anxi I have already returned to my teacher from the Western Regions."

"How dare he?!"

Many courtiers were very surprised and said in amazement: "King Anxi commanded the army to march west, how dare he return to the teacher without authorization?!"

"This is His Majesty's will."

Everyone turned their heads and saw that Kublai Khan had a sullen face and did not deny it, so they fell silent.

Only Tachar knew what was going on, and sneered in his heart: "This is the tradition of the Great Mongolian Kingdom."

Zhang Wenqian calmly drew another stroke on the map, and said: "The army will not conquer the Western Regions, but first conquer Li Xia. If he is not willing to give up the land of Xixia and Liupan Mountain, and then hand over Xiliji, then he will even fight for a battle." There is no need to fight tough battles, and he will die in the northwest before returning to Chang'an."

Among the sweat tents, no one denied this.

If the 15 army from the Western Expedition returns, if it is in the hands of Tachar or Aibuhua, there is still a possibility of losing to Li Xia.

But this time it was Kublai Khan himself.

The two armies combined have more than [-] people, with a sound strategy and smooth command, it is impossible to lose.

Zhang Wenqian said that Li Xia was able to hold the wall and clear the field to guard the pass, which is already a high opinion of him.

"What Duke Zhongqian said is true. I assert that Li Xia will not only escape, but also lose the entire Northwest!"

At this time, Zhang Yi, the minister of the Jinlianchuan shogunate and commander of the Eagle Guard, stood up to speak.

Zhang Yi was a close friend of Liu Bingzhong, Zhang Wenqian and others, and was hailed as one of the "Five Heroes of Zijin Mountain" by the people at that time. Three years ago, Liu Bingzhong recommended him as the commander of the Eagle Guard, and he became a prominent figure in the Yuan Dynasty.

But as soon as he opened his mouth, Kublai Khan's eyes had some imperceptible shadows.

Because no emperor would like his spy chief to get too close to his eldest son.

In this regard, both Zhang Yi and Zhenjin touched Kublai Khan's backlash, so Kublai Khan sent Zhenjin to Tubo, but unexpectedly, these things happened later.

Whether everything will be blamed on Zhang Yi, only the Emperor Da Yuan knows.

"Based on my knowledge of the Guanzhong intelligence, the Tang State is definitely not ready for a big battle with Da Yuan. Li Xia has no choice but to withdraw to Chang'an. It can even be said that it is impossible for him to hold Guanzhong. Chen It is also believed that Li Xia already knew about the retreat of King Anxi's army. Since Lian Xixian was in the Western Regions, he must have sent him a letter. In addition, based on the movements of the Military Intelligence Department, he should also be clear about the distribution of Dayuan's troops. Then , he deploys the line of defense, and will definitely shrink to Guanzhong..."

Zhang Yi said a lot.

As the commander of the Eagle Guard, his analysis was very methodical, causing all the officials to nod their heads.

Kublai Khan finally calmed down and realized that his subordinates did not underestimate the enemy, but carefully analyzed it.

However, Zhang Yi said a few more words afterwards.

"One more thing, Li Xia doesn't need to be in a hurry for a decisive battle. The most suitable strategy for him is to hide and defend and plan for the future. After all, he is only 26 and seven years old..."

Kublai Khan glanced at Zhang Yi indifferently, and couldn't help wondering whether Zhang Yi meant that Li Xia could boil him to death.

A killing intent sprouted in my heart...

~~
On the banks of the Yellow River, Nanhaizi Wharf.

It was more than 250 miles from the Urad Ranch. The horses ran wildly all night and finally fell to the ground, foaming at the mouth.But the messenger still delivered Li Xia's letter to Zhang Jue.

Zhang Jue looked at it for a long time, and then took a sharp sniff.

He summoned all the generals, patted his helmet, and wanted to speak, but he cursed "Damn".

"Master?"

Liu Jinsuo said loudly: "If you have anything to say, just tell me. I haven't seen anything in the world?"

"Marshal, please speak directly, the last generals will never lose their morale."

"Bad morale." Zhang Jue suddenly grinned, showing his teeth, as if he wanted to eat people, and said, "Good thing, very good thing."

He took off the armor on his head, pointed to the Yin Mountain in the north, and said, "Here comes the chieftain, on the other side of the Yin Mountain. Hahaha, brothers, the opportunity to make contributions has finally come. Let me tell you, Kublai Khan's head is not He will be chopped down by any other army, and he will die at the hands of our Yan'an army!"

"Kill the chieftain! Kill the chieftain!"

Even the old department of Diaoyu City slapped his chest fiercely, saying: "Behead Meng Ge first, and then kill Kublai Khan! If you kill the captives, you have to look at us Shu people! Damn you have to look at us Shu people!"

"it is good!"

Seeing the high morale of the army, Zhang Jue nodded vigorously.

In this cold weather, there is sweat on his forehead.

After clapping the letter in his hand, he turned his head and looked at the Yellow River in the south, and said, "Today, His Majesty sent dozens of orders to Chang'an, and dispatched a large number of reinforcements to meet us."

"it is good!"

"But until these reinforcements come, only we can hold Kublai Khan back."

"Then hold him back!"

Zhang Jue was silent for a while, and then said: "I tell you the truth, this battle is difficult. It is more difficult than the battle of Diaoyu City. The strength of the two sides is similar to that of the battle of Diaoyu City, but we have no mountain city and no baggage. Here It is still an enemy territory, and we are facing Kublai Khan."

He turned his head and looked at his generals, Liu Jinsuo, Aji, Cheng Cong, Shi Jin, Shi Yan... and then looked at his soldiers farther away.

It was a long time before he continued talking.

"Many people will die, and the entire army may even be wiped out. Are you afraid?"

"Master."

It was Cheng Cong who spoke.

This was when Zhang Jue personally entered the city to persuade him to join Li Xia as the old general of Diaoyu City when he was in Chongqing.

He raised his finger to point to the sky, smiled and said something.

"General Wang is watching from the sky."

"..."

Zhang Jue cursed again, and shouted: "Then listen to my military order, first connect all our ships together, fix them on the Yellow River, and build a pontoon bridge."

"Yes……"

~~
At noon, Zhang Hongfan got on his horse and prepared to go west to pursue Li Xia.

But just as he sat down on the saddle, he glanced back to the east and pondered, "Li Xia has retreated, has Zhang Jue retreated?"

"Marshal, Your Majesty's order is for us to pursue Li Xia." Qianhu Li Ting, who was by his side, reminded.

"I know." Zhang Hongfan pondered, and said again: "I just think that with Li Xia's temper, if he wants to retreat, he should make Zhang Jue retreat at the same time."

Li Tingdao: "But Yang Ben is newly defeated, Li Xia's west road has less than [-] troops left, and the return journey is far away; on the contrary, Zhang Jue's [-] troops can retreat as long as they cross the Yellow River."

Zhang Hongfan thought for a while, finally nodded, and said, "Yes."

"What is the commander-in-chief worried about?"

"It's nothing to worry about, it's just a little weird."

"In the sweat tent, the two Dukes of Zhang made a very clear analysis. Your Majesty will personally conquer. If Li Xia does not escape, he will die. If he escapes, he will lose the entire northwest."

"I also deduced it like this." Zhang Hongfan smiled lightly, "But I'm still thinking about whether there is a third possibility."

"Have it?"

"Not yet. By the way, who is going to annihilate Zhang Jue?"

"Busy with the marshal."

"Understood." Zhang Hongfan clamped his horse's belly and ordered: "The whole army speeds up, don't let Li Xia go far."

Because he was facing Li Xia, he unconsciously became vigilant, and kept sending out the scout horses. What he feared most was to let Li Xia's soldiers and horses leave his scout horse's sight.

He vaguely felt that if there was a third possibility in this battle, even if it was a slim possibility, Li Xia would definitely fight for it desperately rather than lose the Northwest.

Then you must be optimistic about Li Xia's soldiers and horses to avoid such accidents...

(End of this chapter)