Chaos of the Three Kingdoms Summons

Chapter 2731 Three-Layer Defense Line, Joint Liability System

Kublai Khan personally led the Kheshig elite cavalry and the Yuan-Mongol cavalry from Longcheng to set off from Longting first, while the other tribes converged towards Liangxi.

However, while they were still halfway there, the Murong Khanate and the Jalal Khanate had already sent messengers to report that Yue Fei of the Hetao camp had split into three routes and headed north.

The two of them can't come for the time being.

"Tell Murong Ke and Mu Huali that if the Jin army dares to leave Yinshan and Yanmen, they must be met with a crushing blow on the grasslands!"

Even Yue Fei, commander of the Hetao camp, was mobilized; the number of troops dispatched by the Jin Dynasty this time exceeded their expectations.

Kublai Khan was somewhat disappointed that Murong Ke and Muqali were unable to come.

However, if they could prevent Yue Fei, who was stationed at the Hetao camp, from participating in the battle of Liangzhou.

So, this might not be such a bad thing.

At least, within the range that Kublai Khan could accept.

"Send word to the Tuoba Khanate and Emperor Xuan Ye of the Manchu Qing Dynasty!"

"Let them head south to You and Ji provinces to support the Tang dynasty!"

Although Kublai Khan was well aware that the Tuoba Khanate was newly established and their rule here was not yet secure.

As for the Manchu Qing dynasty, it was merely a nominal vassal state, and the Yuan Mongols had no real control over them.

However, Kublai Khan still gave them orders!
If the Manchus did not comply, then the Yuan Mongols would have a sufficient reason to eliminate them.

Meanwhile, as Kublai Khan marched south to Liangzhou, Wei Qing's troops had already officially arrived in Liangzhou.

With the Jin Dynasty mobilizing an army of 25, Esen was even more hesitant to launch a rash attack.

During this period, he had already been traumatized by Ashu.

Although the loss of troops under his command was within acceptable limits, after all, the tens of thousands of troops under his command were cavalry, the elite of the Yuan Mongol army.

Defeating cavalry is easy, but inflicting sufficient casualties is difficult.

However, the feeling of being constantly restrained when facing Ashu made Esen feel as if he were trapped in a cage.

Therefore, despite having tens of thousands of cavalrymen at his disposal, and even being able to mobilize the troops of all the counties in Liangzhou, Esen constantly avoided battle, watching as the counties of Wuwei were successively recovered by Wei Qing and Meng Tian.

By the time Kublai Khan arrived with his troops, all the counties of Wuwei had been completely lost, and Wei Qing and Meng Tian's forces were already pressing towards Zhangye.

At this time, Kublai Khan had arrived with 100,000 troops from Longcheng, including the Kheshig army, but his forces were still insufficient to match the combined strength of Wei Qing and Meng Tian.

In particular, only after actually arriving at the front lines can one gain a clearer understanding of the battle situation in Liangzhou during this period.

It was precisely because of this understanding that, although Kublai Khan severely reprimanded Esen for his constant avoidance of battle, he did not actually punish him.

The reason was simple: the performance of the Jin cavalry during this period led Kublai Khan to believe that he was also facing an army of nomadic tribes from the grasslands.

And the methods they used to deal with others are now being used against them.

In fact, recently, the military commanders of both sides have seriously realized that the other side is different from what they had previously imagined.

The military commanders of both sides have inexplicably found themselves seeing their own reflections in each other recently.

Previously, the Yuan Mongols had heard that the Jin Dynasty was training its cavalry on a large scale, and the Jin army had also received news about the large-scale formation of Yuan Mongols' infantry corps. However, before actually seeing them, they had not expected that the other side was formed entirely based on their respective models.

Kublai Khan realized that this battle must be approached with utmost caution, so he was not in a hurry to launch the decisive battle and wanted to wait for the other steppes to gradually arrive.

Kublai Khan appointed Shi Le, a surrendered general of the Tuoba clan, as the garrison commander of Zhangye, in charge of the original 15,000 garrison troops in Zhangye. He also transferred 5,000 cavalrymen from Esen's forces, and together with Shi Le's own Black Spear Dragon Cavalry, a total of 23,000 infantry and cavalry troops were stationed in Zhangye.

Gaisuwen was appointed as the garrison commander of Jiuquan, in charge of 10,000 troops. He was also given 10,000 cavalrymen to oversee the defense of Jiuquan.

Murong Chui led 50,000 cavalry, and also transferred Esen to Murong Chui for unified command, totaling 80,000 cavalry, to seek opportunities for battle in northern Liangzhou.

After all, the greatest strength of the Mongol cavalry lies in their mobility and unpredictability.

There's no need to tie Murong Chui down here. Let him do his thing and find opportunities on his own. That's how you can bring out the full potential of Murong Chui and his 8 cavalry.

The greatest role of cavalry is not in direct combat.

As for Kublai Khan, he commanded the remaining 40,000 cavalry, plus the original 15,000 garrison troops in Dunhuang, for a total of 55,000 infantry, cavalry, and horses, stationed in Dunhuang in the rear.

Kublai Khan chose Dunhuang as the final battlefield.

By setting up layers of defenses, they first depleted the Jin army's strength.

Then, when the Jin army reached Dunhuang, they further extended the enemy's supply lines.

At the same time, placing the battlefield in Dunhuang also shortens their logistical supply lines!

It all started with the three-year pandemic. The eastern and northern parts of Liangzhou, the grasslands closest to Liangzhou, were the hardest hit areas during that pandemic.

The tribes there suffered a heavy blow.

In addition, in order to cope with this epidemic, the Yuan Dynasty adopted a policy of generally migrating westward and northward.

Therefore, even now, there are still no large tribes in northern Liangzhou.

"Send word: Zhangye shall keep its city gates open for three days!"

"The people are free to leave the city to escape the ravages of war!"

"But if anyone causes trouble in the city after three days, the entire household will be executed, and all neighbors will be implicated!" Kublai Khan coldly ordered once again.

The loss of Guzang made him realize once again the instability of the lower levels.

This is indeed a drawback of his policies!

However, for the Yuan Dynasty, which had expanded rapidly in recent years and integrated a large number of people from various ethnic groups, it was impossible to achieve perfection. Problems could only be solved one by one.

Kublai Khan made this decision only after recognizing the instability at the lower levels.

Since these people are unreliable, let them leave on our own initiative.

After these people left, where could they go? They could only seek refuge with the Jin army and further exploit the people to burden their logistics.

If anyone remained, they would be executed along with their entire family if one person caused trouble. Kublai Khan used this most cruel method to increase the cost of their rebellion.

As for the practice of holding neighbors accountable, it was merely to ensure that the people below could keep an eye on each other.

After all, no one wants to lose their life because of someone else causing trouble!