Tumeng: I am a national advisor in the Golden Family

Let’s not mention the Northern Expedition of the Southern Song Dynasty for the time being, and turn our attention back to Europe. After another month of rest, Zhang Yong finally embarked on a journey to the Bulgarian Empire with his 50,000 Mongolian cavalry and 20,000 Russian servants. .

On the east and west plains of Hungary, tens of thousands of Mongolian troops are advancing. The Mongolian soldiers are still the original standard configuration, one knight and three horses.

Thanks to Mongolia's excellent horse herding technology, the Russian troops who followed the Mongolian army also had some old pack horses riding on them.

However, these Russians did not become cavalry by riding on these pack horses. Their pack horses were pulling carriages with a large amount of military supplies behind them.

Except for some elite Russian knights, other Russians still maintained their identity as infantrymen and civilian husbands, responsible for the logistics escort of the Mongolian army.

However, these militiamen from Russia are also willing to do such work. After all, there is no need to fight, they are just doing logistics behind, and there is no danger to their lives.

If some of these Russians really come to sneak attack on the logistics supplies, these Russians will pull out the axes and swords they carry with them. They are also good guys.

At least they can serve as cannon fodder for some Mongolian cavalry escorting the logistical equipment.

Originally, Zhang Yong had planned to take a detour to the Principality of Croatia, then destroy the Principality of Serbia, and go directly to the Bulgarian Empire.

As a result, Queen Maria said very politely that you don't need to be like this, because the Hungarian and Bulgarian empires are connected.

If you need to, you can directly attack from the east and west of Hungary. There is no need to go through the Croatian area and make a big circle.

Yes, if Zhang Yong passes through Croatia as planned, he will have to make a big detour.

According to Queen Maria's wishes, there is no need to go to the Croatian region. Let the Duke of Croatia lead a part of the army to join Zhang Yong's army at the borders of Hungary, Serbia and Croatia.

Cooperate with yourself and directly and quickly attack the Principality of Serbia. (There are too few records about Serbia during this period. It was basically a small principality.)
However, the Principality of Serbia can only be regarded as an appetizer. At this time, the Principality of Serbia is not very powerful in combat. Its land area is slightly larger than that of Croatia, but not much larger.

The total population of the country is almost the same as that of Croatia. Even with all calculations, Zhang Yong estimates that he will not be able to mobilize 5,000 troops, of which at least 80% are infantry.

This time to help the Nicaea Empire recover, the really difficult opponent was the Bulgarian Empire, but it was only relative.

According to the information Zhang Yong received, it was probably after he completely defeated Hungary a few months ago.

The Kipchaks who had fled had already entered the territory of the Bulgarian Empire. Even before that, when Batu and others swept across the Kipchak grasslands, a large number of Kipchaks fled into the Bulgarian Empire.

After these Kipchaks came to the Bulgarian Empire, they greatly enhanced the combat effectiveness of the Bulgarian Empire's cavalry, doubling their number.

As a result, they launched ferocious attacks and encroachments on the Latin Empire in the past two years, and the Nicaea Empire to the east did not give up the opportunity to take back Constantinople.

Under the attack of the two empires, the current Latin Empire has shrunk to a peninsula, leaving only two cities, namely Constantinople and Zulu Ruos.

When they were about to reach the border of the Principality of Serbia, an army of more than a thousand people from Croatia came to Zhang Yong in the distance.

They consisted of infantry and some cavalry, as well as some civilians responsible for transporting supplies. The supplies they brought included some weapons, some grain, and dried meat, which were enough to load hundreds of large carriages.

It can be seen that although Croatia is not too wealthy, it still spent a lot of money to please Zhang Yong.

"Honorable King John, good day, Prince of Mongolia. I am here to deliver supplies to you by order of the Grand Duke, and lead a thousand soldiers to assist you in the battle." The leading officer jumped off his horse, gave Zhang Yong a knight's salute, and then He spoke very respectfully.

The translator standing aside began to speak and translated the other party's words to Zhang Yong.

"Well, I am very satisfied with what your king sent over. It is very good. You have a thousand people here, right?" Zhang Yong asked.

This Croatian Grand Duke was indeed very aware of current affairs. He also sent food and grass and troops to assist in the battle.

After this war is over, Zhang Yong plans to summon the Duke of the Principality of Croatia to see what kind of person he is.

Anyway, it shouldn’t take me too much time to destroy Serbia.

"Great King John and the Mongol Prince, we brought a total of 300 cavalry and more than 900 infantry, a total of more than 1,200 people." The officer said.

These people are equivalent to 1/3 of their domestic knights and 1/3 of their infantry. Perhaps they are nothing to the Mongols, but for the Croatian region, they are already a large number of troops.

"I understand. I am very satisfied with the supplies sent by your Grand Duke. He will continue to be the Grand Duke of Croatia. By the way, didn't your Grand Duke come?" Zhang Yong said.

Although there were not many things delivered, it was enough to feed the Mongolian army for a few days. As for these weapons, they could just be distributed to the Russians, a group of Russian civilians who followed him around to fight.

Many of them still hold farm tools for hoeing beans. Giving them swords and shields can also improve their combat effectiveness.

“The great Mongol king, our Grand Duke, is seriously ill and has no way to come to the front.

Please forgive me and King John, but you have to believe that we are the most elite army in Croatia. "The leading officer said.

"Really? I have many excellent doctors from the East here, as well as many medicinal materials from the East. When you leave, take one back with you to give your Grand Duke a good medical treatment." Zhang Yong said.

The Grand Duke of the Principality of Croatia was very cautious and obedient to him, but he was unwilling to come over to meet him, which made Zhang Yong a little dissatisfied.

"Thank you for your kindness, King John. I will be responsible for bringing these words to the Grand Duke. Are our troops following you?" the Croatian general asked.

"No need! Since your monarch is sick, then bring the doctor and medicine I sent over and treat him well.

I estimate that it won’t be long before I finish cleaning up Serbia. After I finish cleaning up Serbia.

I hope your Grand Duke has recovered from his illness and comes to me in person to greet us. "Zhang Yong said.

If you are really sick, my doctor will see you and use allicin and some oriental medicinal materials to treat your illness.

But if you are not sick, haha! Then I'm sorry, you don't want to know how miserable the consequences will be if you lie to me.

As the translator spoke, the leading officer showed an expression of disbelief. He originally thought that if he and others came this time, many people would die and they would be requisitioned for a long time, but he did not expect that the Mongolian prince would directly let them go back.

"Dear Prince of Mongolia, are you serious? You asked us to go home and not let us participate in this battle." The leading officer asked.

"That's right, go back! Take my doctor and medicinal materials with you to treat your grand duke.

I hope that he will get well soon and come to see me in person instead of waiting for me to finish cleaning up Serbia and then go to see him in person. "Zhang Yong said.

If the war ends and the Duke has not come to see him, Zhang Yong will go there in person.

Then the Grand Duke of Croatia needs to be changed. This general who comes to negotiate with me is good. If I am happy, I will make you the Grand Duke.

"Honorable King of Mongolia, don't worry, our Grand Duke is really sick. I will definitely bring your doctor over to see the Grand Duke. I believe that after the Grand Duke's health improves, he will come to see you immediately." The Croatian general said. said. Zhang Yong nodded, had people take away the supplies brought by the Croatian general, selected a military doctor, then mounted his horse again and pushed towards the Serbian border.

The army doctor arranged by Zhang Yong and a dozen Mongolian cavalry followed the Croatian officer and more than a thousand Croatian soldiers back to the Grand Duke's castle.

Tens of thousands of Mongolian troops entered Serbian territory. At this time, some nearby residents had already fled. After all, the Mongolian invasion of Eastern Europe in recent years has created a very terrifying atmosphere.

At the beginning, some people said that the Mongols were like a moving forest. They came and went like the wind and as fast as lightning. When they appeared, the army covered the sky and the sun, as if the forest was moving.

Some people say that the Mongols are demons from hell. They crawled out of hell to brutally kill them, the believers of God.

Later, some people said that these Mongols were troops from the mysterious Elder Kingdom in the East. They came to judge heretics. Now people in many areas no longer know what these Mongols do.

The Grand Duke of the Principality of Serbia brought an army to Zhang Yong on the third day after Zhang Yong entered the territory of the Principality.

There was no way, he had to come. Serbia was a small country, just a little bigger than Croatia. The Mongols were almost reaching their capital.

Serbia's national power is very weak, only slightly stronger than the Principality of Croatia, with only one to two thousand more troops.

This time, the Serbian Archduke spent all his wealth, and even saddled some old packhorses, as long as they were rideable, and then asked a soldier to ride on them, pretending to be a cavalryman.

Then he basically pulled out all the men in the city. Those who had weapons took weapons, and those without weapons took shields, or their own hoes, shovels and the like.

More than 5,000 infantrymen and nearly 1,000 cavalry were gathered together from here and there. A total of more than 6,000 people came to Zhang Yong in a mighty manner. In addition to these people, there were also some people left in the capital city. A militia of more than a thousand people.

Then they saw the Mongolian army, which was so dark that they couldn't even see it. The Mongolian cavalry, wearing thick black armor and masks, swarmed in on war horses, looking very oppressive.

Didn't you say it was just a Mongolian army? Didn't it mean that the Mongols' main target was Bulgaria and the Latin Empire? Isn't this the main force of the Mongols coming to our side?

"God bless these people, these people will drown us. We are no match for them at all." A general said.

"We shouldn't go out of the city at all. We should stay in the city. Maybe it's safer in the city."

"Yes, we can at least defend ourselves in the city. In the wild, we are no match for them." Some nobles under the Grand Duke of Serbia began to whisper.

Their number together is not enough for Mongolian appetizers.

"Grand Duke, send someone to talk to the Mongols first! Our country is very small, there are not many people, and there is nothing worthy of the Mongols' attention here.

As long as our lives are not harmed, if they make any conditions that are not excessive, we will agree. "A nobleman who was following the Serbian Grand Duke said with a trembling body.

There was no way, the Mongolian army was so oppressive that he was so scared that his legs were weak. Not only him, but also some improvised cavalrymen riding pack horses were also trembling with fear.

The Grand Duke of Serbia gritted his teeth and nodded helplessly. Soon, a team of more than 20 cavalry came towards Zhang Yong.

Soon, these envoys were brought to Zhang Yong and Guyu.

"The great King of Mongolia, King John, the Grand Duke of Serbia, let me say hello to you. I wonder if you have come to our country with your army. Do you need anything from us?" The leading noble saluted Zhang Yong and said. .

Zhang Yong did not say a word, but looked at Guiyou aside. It was time for the young man to show off.

"We are here to conquer you. Now you have two options. One is to surrender to us and accept our Mongolian rule. You can continue to manage your own territory and people.

But every year you have to pay 1/10 of the tax to Mongolia, and when Mongolia is called upon, you will lead your own troops to help in the war, and your king will also go to pay homage to the Great Khan. "Guiyou said.

“We can surrender to the Great Mongolia, or we can hand over 1/10 of the tax every year, but we cannot send troops to assist in the battle.

As for asking our Grand Duke to go to your Mongolia to pay homage to the Great Khan, that is even more impossible. However, our Grand Duke is willing to come and pay homage to the Mongolian sect king and King John. "The leading noble said.

Are you mistaken? It will take several years to go to Mongolia to meet your Great Khan. Moreover, after the Grand Duke leaves, what will happen to the territory of the principality? What if a noble temporarily usurps the throne at this time?
"These two conditions can be relaxed. This time, I don't need you to send troops to assist, but you have to provide my army with some money, as well as food and grass.

As for meeting the Mongol Khan, the man next to me is the future Mongol Khan. The current eldest son of the Mongol Khan, just ask your grand duke to come and pay his respects. "Zhang Yong said.

Hearing this, Guyu became excited. Listen, listen to what Brother Zhang said, I am the future Great Khan of Mongolia.

This is so flattering.

That's right, you just need to come and meet me.

After listening to the translator, the nobles who came to negotiate nodded and agreed. After all, the disparity in power between the enemy and ourselves was too huge. If they stubbornly resisted, they would gain nothing at all.

After the two parties reached an agreement, the Grand Duke of the Principality of Serbia came to Zhang Yong and Guyu, and then gave a ceremonial greeting.

"Good day, you two. I already know the terms of both of you. I am willing to surrender to the Mongolian Kingdom and offer a ransom." The Serbian Grand Duke said.

I’ll pay you 1/10 of the tax every year, haha! When your strength can control us, I will give it to you. But if your strength cannot control us, then of course you don’t have to pay the money.

"Very good! Go and prepare some food, grass, and supplies for us? As soon as we get these things, we will leave your country and go to the Bulgarian Empire."

The Grand Duke of Serbia nodded, agreed to Zhang Yong's conditions, and then returned to his capital with thousands of his troops as if fleeing for their lives.

The two sides agreed that the Mongolian army would be stationed outside the Serbian capital for a few days. During this period, Serbia would prepare a batch of supplies for the Mongolian army.

Zhang Yong sent several more envoys. One of them will go to the Nicean Empire to meet his cheap father-in-law, while the other envoy will go to the Bulgarian Empire to persuade Bulgaria to surrender.

However, this time's persuasion to surrender was more like a provocation to find a reason for war, because Zhang Yong had no intention of letting the Bulgarian Empire continue to exist.

Half of their land belongs to their future son, and the other half belongs to their father-in-law.

At the same time that Zhang Yong sent an envoy, the doctor sent by Zhang Yong also met the Croatian Grand Duke Kalman in the palace of the Grand Duke of Croatia.

At this time, Grand Duke Kalman looked a little pale, lying on the bed coughing non-stop, and his body also had a high fever. (This guy was also a short-lived guy. He died after living for more than 20 years.)
To be honest, he was really sick, not pretending to be sick. Otherwise, if he was just going to the border, he would not not go.

Really, I recognized a father some time ago, and now I have to recognize another father. The emperor of the Holy Roman Empire sent a messenger and said that I was his illegitimate son.

Kalman didn't believe this at all, but if the Shinra Emperor was willing to provide him with some help, he wouldn't mind revealing some Mongolian intelligence.

There is no father-son relationship between them, they are just using each other. (End of chapter)