Tumeng: I am a national advisor in the Golden Family

Kublai Khan knew clearly that he could not fight against the Western Expedition Army with his own strength. Batu had to come with the army of the Golden Horde and then join forces with him.

Batu's Golden Horde had an army of more than 150,000, while his own side could gather a ragtag army of 100,000.

With a total of 250,000 troops, they are capable of fighting against the Western Expedition Army. If they can wait for the enemy to tire themselves out, they will be able to repel the enemy.

"It's Kublai Khan. We will send an envoy to contact Batu Khan right away."

"I will go and gather the troops and capture all the men to serve as soldiers."

Two of Kublai Khan's subordinates immediately knelt on the ground and said.

"Well! You must do this matter well. When recruiting soldiers, remember to tell the local people that if they do not participate in this battle, they will be slaughtered in the future. Only by resisting can they have a chance to survive." Kublai Khan said.

If you want the local people to be willing to work for you as cannon fodder, you must deceive them and make them think that what they are doing is to protect their own security interests.

"I understand, Kublai Khan." Several generals in charge of conscription nodded and left the room collectively.

"I have built a huge wall on the front line. Now you must lead your elite troops to defend the wall immediately.

Remember this!

The first line of defense must hold them back for at least a month, and the second line of defense must also hold them back for a month.

Only in this way can we have a chance to wait for the reinforcements from the Golden Horde." Kublai Khan said.

Now that his scout troops have discovered the Western Expedition Army, it will probably take some time for them to reach his territory.

When they arrived, they would face the first and second lines of defense, which were painstakingly built by Kublai Khan.

As long as he could hold off the Western Expedition Army for more than three months, his mission would be accomplished and Batu's army should be arriving.

The most critical situation was that the enemy's army attacked their capital Samarkand. However, Kublai Khan also rebuilt and reinforced the capital Samarkand, and the city's defense was still good.

But to be honest, Kublai Khan actually had little confidence, and he had a very bad feeling about this battle.

I'm afraid I can't hold on for too long, after all, Samarkand has been rebuilt!
But its defensive capabilities are still far behind those of the former Xiangyang City and some ministers of the Southern Song Dynasty. It can only hold out for a while!

The number of Han troops coming to attack this time should be very small, and most of them should be grassland troops, which are not very good at attacking cities.

Kublai Khan's order was passed down layer by layer, and the entire Kublai Khanate began to take action. A large number of Mongolian troops drove the ragtag army composed of local people to the fortifications built on the front line and began to wait for the arrival of the Western Expedition Army.

Kublai Khan also ordered the collection of grain from all over the country and the storage of all grain in major cities.

Kublai Khan has done everything he can. Now he just has to wait for Zhang Yong's army to arrive on the Western Expedition. Everything depends on human efforts.

He has done everything he can. If he loses the war again, it will be God's will!

After more than half a month of marching, Zhang Dingguan, Zhang Dingxia, and Zhang Yong, two veterans, led the Western Expedition Army and finally arrived at the border of Kublai Khanate. (In fact, in name, the two countries are connected, but there are large tracts of grassland in the middle that are uninhabited. Only when you reach the main urban population area can you be considered to have officially entered the enemy's territory.)
"First Prince, Second Prince, the area ahead was once the territory of the Chagatai Khanate, and it was also once the territory of Khwarezm.

More than 30 years ago, when Genghis Khan led his army to the west, he fought along this land. "Cha Tuohua said with a look of emotion.

What happened back then seems like it happened yesterday. It was at the end of the first Western Expedition that Zhang Yong, a divine messenger from outer space, came to Genghis Khan’s Western Expedition camp and completely changed their Mongolia.

"Hahaha! I heard my father tell us that my mother was conceived with me on this land." Zhang Dingguan said.

His mother had told him about this matter. It was on the way to the Western Expedition that his father Zhang Yong successfully made his mother pregnant.

Mongolians have no taboos or secrets about this matter, and are even quite proud of it. After all, having many children represents good fortune.

So Tulanlun told Zhang Dingguan a lot of things that happened before he was born, how he met his father, and how he was subdued by his father!
"Not only you! Brother, my mother also conceived me on this land." Zhang Dingxia said with a smile.

Isn't it? His mother, Famayna, also got pregnant on this land, just a few months later than his elder brother.

My mother told me that she was her father's first woman, and that later women came in one after another.

"Hahaha! My two princes, this land is very important to us Mongolians and to you. It was because Genghis Khan conquered this land that he realized the power of Mongolia and realized that we are invincible in the world." Bater said.

When Genghis Khan decided to march west, he was actually acting on impulse. After all, he was already very old at that time. He was even ten years older than the current Khan, Emperor Zhang Yong.

At that time, Genghis Khan was not even sure of victory. He wrote his own will, designated his successor Ogedei, and prepared to die in battle on Khwarezmian soil.

At that time, no one was optimistic about the Mongol westward expedition. Even the Jin Dynasty and the Western Xia were urging Genghis Khan to march westward as soon as possible. They hoped that Genghis Khan's army would be defeated directly on the way to the west.

But the news they received was shocking. The Mongolian army was advancing like a hot knife through butter, defeating the extremely powerful Western country, Khwarezm and even some other Western countries.

Under the dimensionality reduction attack of Genghis Khan's Mongolian army, they perished faster than anyone else and were conquered by the Mongolian army in just over a year.

As a result, in just five years, Genghis Khan, who had conquered countless Western countries, returned triumphantly with his army and destroyed Western Xia.

Of this time, two years were spent on the journey, and only three years were spent on the actual fighting.

"Brother! This time, we will not only destroy the Kublai Khanate and the Golden Horde, but also teach those western countries a lesson." Zhang Dingjin said.

"You're right! This time, with the cooperation of our brothers and the help of all the old generals, we will definitely succeed." Zhang Dingchuan said.

"Hahaha! You princes are right." Guo Kan said.

This time, he also accompanied as a vanguard general, and led a full 5,000 elite cavalry of the Han army. In addition, the small fireproof gun newly developed by Zhang Yong was also equipped by their army.

This time, there were as many as 60,000 to 70,000 Han troops participating in the expedition, of which 30,000 were real regular troops, and the other tens of thousands were troops composed of prisoners.

While everyone was chatting, several scouts rode up to the group quickly, knelt on the ground and spoke.
"Your Excellencies, and all the generals, our spies have discovered that the army of Kublai Khan has built a high wall filled with soldiers. It looks like it is heavily guarded."

"Okay! We got it. You go and get more information." Zhang Dingguan waved his hand and said.

Their father Emperor Zhang Yong had received the news several years ago that Kublai Khan had built a defense system to stop the advance of their army, but he was not sure about the earthen walls built by these people from the Western Regions.

Zhang Yong was disdainful of the idea. Not to mention his own army that was heading west now, even the two previous armies heading west could at most cause a little trouble to the army during Genghis Khan's time.

How high can these small earthen walls be built? 3 to 4 meters is already the limit, and in some places it is only more than meters. Moreover, the locals' method of building earthen walls was taught by Zhang Yong!
In order to deal with the Western Xia, Zhang Yong spent several months mixing some wood ash and soil to build this earthen wall to block the Western Xia cavalry.

The locals naturally learned this technique, and the Chagatai Khanate built many such small earthen walls over the years.

However, this small earth wall has no defensive capabilities against powerful artillery.

Although Kublai Khan knew how to build tall city walls in the Central Plains, he did not have the right craftsmen under his command, and the Tolui family army he brought with him did not have such skilled craftsmen. Zhang Yong did not say a word to the Han craftsmen and some of his staff who defected to Kublai Khan, and he killed them all, without even trying to get them to surrender.

I have already unified the Central Plains, but you are still determined to follow Kublai Khan and talk to me about loyalty. Zhang Yong will naturally not let these people go and will kill them all.

Before his sons set out on the Western Expedition, Zhang Yong specifically instructed them on how to attack this small earthen city wall.

After several days of marching, everyone arrived at the first line of defense of Kublai Khan's Empire. A three-meter-high earthen wall stood in front of them.

In the past, when faced with such city walls, even if they were only a few meters high, the Mongolian army could only choose to bypass them or lay siege. But now there is no need for that at all.

Although Kublai Khan knew that Zhang Yong quickly conquered the Southern Song Dynasty, he did not know the specific power of some of the gunpowder weapons used.

"Hahaha! It seems that Kublai Khan is a donkey at the end of his rope. He dares to show off this shabby little city wall in front of our army?" Zhang Dingshu laughed.

Just as their father had said, before the Western Expedition, their father had given them a drill on building this small earthen wall and told them the detailed method of breaking it.

This kind of local small earthen wall was taught by ourselves. It can block conventional cavalry units, but as long as it encounters organized infantry, even humans can push down this wall.

Zhang Dingguan also smiled and picked up a black telescope. This black telescope was obtained by his father from a god from outer space. It could clearly see the movements of the enemy more than ten miles away.

It is the most useful reconnaissance equipment his father has besides the flying artifacts, and as long as it is not damaged, this thing called a telescope can be used forever.

Through the telescope, the soldiers on the city wall were clearly visible. They were all skinny locals with thick cloth wrapped around their heads, and their faces were full of despair and fear.

Faced with the westward expeditionary force that was like a mountain torrent and tsunami, these local troops that were hastily assembled were terrified to the extreme.

They could only stand up reluctantly under the threat of Kublai Khan's Mongolian army and pretend to be soldiers on the tower to give the enemy a false impression. The defense of this city wall was very tight.

"Your Highness! Should we go around this section of the city wall or attack head-on?" Cha Tuohua rode up to Zhang Dingguan and asked.

"Of course we have to attack head-on. Why should we take a detour? Besides, this city wall is only strong on the outside but weak on the inside. The defenders inside, haha, are just a group of rabble." Zhang Dingguan said.

Kublai Khan did not send out many regular troops. There were not many Mongolian regular troops here, and they were all sent by Kublai Khan to make up the number.

"Should we launch the attack immediately today, or let all the soldiers rest for a day?" Cha Tuohua asked.

"We have come a long way, and the soldiers are indeed tired. We have sent out orders to prepare for protection and to be on night duty.

Let's set up camp. We'll rest here for one night and leave tomorrow." Zhang Dingguan said.

"Brother! Since we are at the gate of the city wall, how can we not say hello?" Zhang Dingzhong said.

"Yes! Big brother, why should we be polite to them? We can lead our troops to attack directly. As long as we launch the heavy artillery, after a few shots, this small earthen city wall will collapse." Zhang Dingchuan said.

"Well! I know this small city wall can't stop us, but we have come from afar after all. The soldiers are very tired. They have been traveling continuously for the past few days, so let them rest!" Zhang Dingguan said.

It would only delay one day. Tomorrow morning he would lead his troops to attack, and by noon he would completely occupy this section of the city wall.

Seeing that their eldest brother had spoken and the second brother did not say anything, the other brothers had no choice but to give up the idea of ​​starting a war immediately and began to command their respective armies to set up camp at the gate of the city wall.

"Your Highness! Should we send an envoy to persuade them to surrender?" Cha Tuohua asked.

"Persuade them to surrender, Uncle Cha Tuohua, do you think these people will surrender? If they would surrender, they would not have left me that year." Zhang Dingguan sneered and said.

A few years ago, he was in the army when his uncle Guyuk launched the Western Expedition. He was given the task and led everyone back to the East. As a result, Kublai Khan lured away part of the Tolui family's army.

After his father ruled the entire Mongolian grassland, a group of families of kings from all over the east and west ran here to join Kublai Khan.

These Mongols would never submit to their father, so Zhang Dingguan had no intention of sending envoys to persuade them to surrender.

Moreover, even if an envoy is sent, his life may be lost in vain, and the other party may kill him.

"Your Majesty! These Kublai Khan's family troops will not surrender to you, but what about the troops of other ethnic groups under their command? It was the Chagatai Khanate that once ruled them.

These people have no sense of loyalty, they will follow whoever is stronger, and they will listen to whoever is more powerful." Cha Tuohua said.

The purpose of persuading them to surrender is to tell all the defenders inside that we are here to fight Kublai Khan, not you.

As long as you are willing to surrender, you can continue to go home to farm and herd cattle and sheep.

Do whatever you want. There is no need to work hard here. Just live your life as before and pay taxes to us Mongols on time.

"Well! Uncle Cha Tuohua! What you said makes sense, so let's send a few envoys over to persuade them to surrender!

However, I want to persuade them to surrender in a special way." Zhang Dingguan suddenly revealed a smug smile and said.

"Your Highness, how do you want to persuade them to surrender? Is there any new method?" Chatuohua asked with some confusion.

When Genghis Khan's army arrived with a large force, they directly tried to persuade the enemy to surrender. Finally, at Zhang Yong's suggestion, they changed their strategy to first bombarding with artillery and then persuading the enemy to surrender.

However, this method is only applicable to some ministers who can resist stubbornly. For small ministers like this, according to the Mongolian understanding, envoys should be sent directly.

"Hahaha! I want to let Kublai Khan see the new flying device invented by my father." Zhang Dingguan said.

This time, let's send out the hot air balloon army. A hot air balloon will have a giant loudspeaker on it, and then the loudspeaker can be used to shout to the local people below.

"A new flying artifact. Could it be that the Khan has developed something new?" Cha Tuohua asked.

Although the Khan's flying artifact can still fly, it is no longer of any use. Even in the war to conquer the Southern Song Dynasty, the flying artifact did not appear.

Unexpectedly, the Khan actually created a new flying artifact.

"Uncle Cha Tuohua! You have always lived on the grassland, so you may not know some information about the Central Plains.

My father has developed a new kind of heavenly device that can carry many people into the sky." Zhang Dingguan said.

Flying in the sky and using giant electromagnetic loudspeakers to persuade people to surrender, it is easy to imagine how much the morale of the local defenders would be dampened.

Even for the Mongolian army, it was a huge psychological blow. At that time, Uncle Guyuk used the loudspeaker given by his father to shout down the 100,000-strong army assembled by Mongke and Kublai Khan, and destroyed them into ashes.

"If that's the case, then I must see it for myself." Cha Tuohua said. (End of this chapter)