Tumeng: I am a national advisor in the Golden Family

What's more, there are flying artifacts, and more than one flying artifact. Their baggage camp is also equipped with a large number of such hot air balloons.

And if necessary, a small team can be sent from the rear to transport some hot air balloons.

Moreover, the strength of the Han army should not be underestimated. A large number of members came this time, as well as the Dangxiang people from Western Xia.

You should know that there is a Tangut concubine in the harem of Zhang Yong, the new Mongolian Khan and Emperor of Central Plains.

The land of Western Xia has been firmly controlled over the years. The Western Xia people, like the Mongols, are also very brave and good at fighting. If they are asked to fight on expeditions, their effectiveness is not much worse than that of the Mongols.

"Hahahaha! Kublai Khan, even God is not on your side this time. You are doomed to lose."

"We can finally avenge our Great Khan, the Khan of the Chagatai Khanate." Some generals of the Chagatai Khanate were extremely excited.

They still call themselves members of the Chagatai family. The purpose of doing so is to remind themselves to take revenge. Only after destroying Kublai Khan and completely avenging their former master, will they become retainers of Zhang Yong's son.

This was a victory that was a good start. In this battle, they took down the first line of defense that Kublai Khan had painstakingly built without losing a single soldier.

After taking down this line of defense, Zhang Dingguan and Zhang Dingxia immediately ordered the entire army to move out and continue to advance forward to attack the Kublai Khanate's territory.

At the same time, a battle report was also sent back to the Mongolian headquarters in Karakorum and delivered to Zhang Yong as quickly as possible. The entire Western Expedition army would set up post stations along the way and leave some troops behind to facilitate the transmission of news as quickly as possible.

Next, the Western Expedition Army faced the second line of defense that Kublai Khan had painstakingly built, which was a large number of densely packed small bunker areas.

Inspired by this line of defense, Zhang Yong built large and small artillery towers on the grassland. Zhang Yong used these small artillery towers to intimidate the entire Mongolian grassland, making all the Mongolian princes fall into despair.

So Kublai Khan simply copied the homework.

But it is a pity that Zhang Yong’s small turret was built with cement, so it is quite strong. Kublai Khan’s small bunker was only built with earth blocks, so its quality can only be described as poor!

As for weapons, they were even worse. After all, Kublai Khan had no such thing as cannons. In the past, the Mongol Empire could use explosive packs and flying thunder tubes and cannons.

That’s because Zhang Yong has a large number of gunpowder designers, and all of them are concentrated in Karakorum.

But now when Kublai Khan was fleeing, there was no decent gunpowder maker in the army of Tolui's family, and he couldn't even make the explosive packs.

The Mongols themselves were not willing to learn these craftsman skills, so the soldiers could only hide inside these small bunkers and shoot with bows and arrows.

The defenders here are mainly local people. Each fortress is supervised by dozens of Mongolian soldiers. But unfortunately, after seeing Zhang Yong's westward expedition army, some of these small cities directly opened the city and surrendered.

There was no other way. Facing the densely packed army, just a few artillery shots would scare the local troops to death.

Some local people killed their Mongolian leaders and surrendered, while others were more stubborn and surrendered only after firing two shots. But for this situation.

In order to intimidate the people, Zhang Dingguan spared no one and massacred all of them, whether they were locals or Mongols inside.

Anyway, there are only a few hundred people in such a small earthen bunker.

After the killing, you can also deter the locals and make other small bunkers surrender more quickly. The lessons of the past are in front of us. You can save your life by surrendering. If you don’t surrender and just put up a symbolic resistance, you will be slaughtered. So what other choice is there?
These small bunkers were taken away by the army, which began to attack these areas in several directions. In just a few days, the second line of defense began to fall.

It took the Western Expedition Army less than ten days to break through the two lines of defense that Kublai Khan had painstakingly built.

"No way! Brother, Kublai Khan, Kublai Khan intends to rely on this kind of thing to defend us?

"Hahaha! These two lines of defense, he is funny, right?" Zhang Dingjin said.

Are you kidding me? Are you sure these two lines of defense are not meant to be funny? They didn't even suffer any losses, just a few soldiers got heat stroke accidentally, but they ate some watermelon and they were fine.

"Haha! This land is not easy to defend! It's all open areas, there aren't even any decent mountains, and the cities are all built on the plains.

There are only some gathering places near small lakes, but these small lakes are not natural barriers, and their defensive capabilities can only be said to be non-existent!" Zhang Dingxia explained the current situation to his brother.

It’s not that Kublai Khan didn’t work hard, nor that Kublai Khan did nothing. If Kublai Khan didn’t do anything, there wouldn’t even be these two lines of defense. In fact, these two lines of defense are already very good.

If it was an ordinary Mongolian army coming to attack, it would still take some effort to at least delay the attack for a while. This is the main function of these two lines of defense.

The Mongolian garrison that Kublai Khan deployed here only had 2,000 men in the first line of defense, and the rest were just a bunch of miscellaneous troops.

But unfortunately, Kublai Khan was facing them. According to the normal fighting style of the Mongolian army, when encountering the first line of defense, they should have sent people to investigate and then persuade them to surrender after a few days.

Let’s try to see if we can bypass this line of defense and get to the rear, because this is just a city wall and there is no city or anything like that behind it.

If they have to take a detour, then this force can use a roundabout tactic and retreat to the small bunker on the second line of defense to resist.

If the cavalry troops do not take a detour and launch a frontal attack, it will be difficult for them to capture this line of defense.

After all, this method of making small lumps of earth was invented by his father.

Obtaining materials is very simple. Just mix the loess from the land with some wood ash and add some water and you can start building.

"Yes! If a normal Mongolian army comes to attack, these will be the most troublesome things. Although this small bunker can be captured, it will be time-consuming. If it is attacked by force, the losses will be great, and it will be troublesome to delay the time. It is the most suitable thing to block the advance of the army." Cha Tuohua said.

"When we first marched west, it would have been a real headache if we had encountered something like this. The usual way we fought was to send a vassal army made up of local civilians to attack," Bater said.

A normal Mongolian army would take ten days or even more than half a month to capture the first line of defense, and then they would have to face these densely packed groups of small bunkers.

This is the tactic that the Mongols hated the most. They encountered this tactic when attacking Austria.

However, there was Zhang Yong's heavy artillery in the army at that time, so it did not cause too much trouble. But if it were an ordinary Mongolian army, there would be no good way to deal with it.

They can only use Genghis Khan's tactics of defeating the enemy, or cut off water and food supplies to lay siege.

But if several months' worth of food is stored in such a small bunker, the battle will be much more difficult, because a siege will not be effective and a forceful attack will be necessary.

"So that's how it is. We have flying artifacts and indestructible cannons, so things like this have no effect on us at all." Zhang Dingjin said.

That's right! The heavy artillery invented by my father is so powerful that a small bunker like this can be blown down with just one shot.

"So it's not that Kublai Khan is unwilling to build a better line of defense, but that he has already tried his best." Zhang Dingguan said.

If I were to put myself in Kublai Khan's position, I might not necessarily do worse than Kublai Khan. He is already doing his best.

He built fortifications to delay the army's advance, but unfortunately, the weapons of the Western Expedition Army were beyond his imagination.

"Let's go! Keep attacking. We have to completely eliminate the second line of defense."

Ten days later, Kublai Khan in Samarkand received the news that the first line of defense had fallen, and the second line of defense he had run was also quickly conquered by the Western Expedition Army. These two lines of defense did not meet Kublai Khan's expectations at all, and the Western Expedition Army completely eliminated these two lines of defense in a hurry.

"Kublai Khan! The first and second lines of defense have been breached by the enemy one after another." A general of the Kublai Khanate knelt on the ground and did not dare to raise his head.

Kublai Khan originally planned that these two lines of defense would hold out for at least a month, or even longer than two months.

But after just over ten days, even the first line of defense fell without even lasting a day, and the enemy advanced all the way.

"Khan, what should we do now?"

"Haha! The fact that they can hold out for half a month is beyond my imagination. There are still many small bunkers, and they must take them down one by one. In addition, there are several important cities that should be able to hold out for some time.

It will take some time for them to reach Samarkand, so we can make adequate preparations for the battle here." Kublai Khan laughed.

Judging from his expression, he didn't seem to be frustrated by this failure at all, but this was actually all pretended by Kublai Khan. He just didn't want his soldiers to completely lose confidence.

If I, the commander-in-chief and the Khan, have no confidence and look desperate, then let alone the people under me, their morale will drop to a freezing point.

At this moment, Kublai Khan's heart was filled with extreme despair. As the first line of defense, he set up an army of 15,000 people, relying on the small earthen city wall.

Logically speaking, we can hold out for a while no matter what.

After all, even if there were more than 10,000 cattle and sheep running around on the grassland, it would take Zhang Yong's army on the Western Expedition two days to capture them all, right?
But what about the army in his hands? They couldn't even hold out for half a day. According to intelligence, two of his captains committed suicide, and the rest of the vassal army surrendered directly.

The second line of defense was even more like paper. The Western Expedition Army began to divide its troops to deal with each bunker, and only needed to send a few hundred people to attack.

Just place a pack of explosives underneath, or fire two artillery shots, and the bunker will be destroyed instantly.

In fact, more than half of the earthen fortresses surrendered voluntarily, and the local people directly killed the Mongolian defenders in their own fortresses.

“Kublai Khan, it is said that they used a new flying artifact, which is different from the previous flying artifacts.

This flying device can take people to the sky, and the sound it makes is like thunder and lightning, which is really terrifying." A local general stood up and knelt in front of Kublai Khan and said.

Their national faith is that they are very devout believers in Allah and they care a lot about things related to faith.

A weapon that can make a person fly in the sky and make a sound like thunder is really something they cannot resist.

"These are just hearsay. Do you believe that someone can fly to the sky? How is this possible? I have seen Zhang Yong before. The flying device he had back then was only the size of an eagle." Kublai Khan said.

Morale must not collapse! I must find a way to stabilize the morale of the army no matter what.

Zhang Yong, this bastard, Zhang Yong, this bastard, how come he has a new flying artifact?
The last time he attacked the Southern Song Dynasty, Kublai Khan received accurate intelligence that Zhang Yong’s flying artifact had not been used.

It should have been unusable or could not fly for long, but just a few years later, Zhang Yong actually came up with another flying artifact.

Moreover, the flying artifact that appeared this time was even more terrifying. It could actually carry living people to the sky. Kublai Khan could not even imagine its deterrent power.

What should I do? What should I do? How should I deal with this kind of weapon?
The unknown things are the most terrifying. A weapon flying in the sky with soldiers from the Western Expedition on board is really disadvantageous to their side.

But according to the information sent back, this thing is flying in the sky and cannot be shot down even with a bow and arrow. And Kublai Khan does not have any strong bows and crossbows. All he has are just ox horn bows made by grassland people.

"Khan! We should withdraw our troops now. We can no longer control other cities. If they surrender, then they will surrender.

You should gather all the Mongolian troops in other cities, as well as the young and strong local people, to Samarkand, and rely on Samarkand's solid walls to fight a protracted war with the enemy." A general of the Kublai Khanate stood up and said.

The enemy's advancement was too fast. In this situation, they could only rely on a big city for defense. The largest cities here were Gurryujechi, the former capital of Khwarezm, and the new capital Samarkand.

"Well! Let's do as you say! We must store enough food and grass in the group, and some of the city walls outside the city must be repaired well. Also, order people to continue to strengthen the city walls." Kublai Khan said.

At that time, I really should have learned how to prepare gunpowder, or how to refine golden kerosene, so that at least I would have a weapon to defend the city.

But only the craftsmen in Karakorum can make this kind of thing. Mongolia’s protection measures for these weapons are still very strict, and they are a burden to the family, so no one will be able to equip themselves with such things.

The Daqian Empire had strict restrictions on this kind of stuff, so he couldn't even import it, but there were indeed quite a few open-air black oil mines in the area.

Kublai Khan had ordered people to collect some black oil. When necessary, this black oil can still be ignited. Although the effect is not as good as the refined golden kerosene, it is not unusable.

Kublai Khan began preparations for war in full swing. Now the only things that could stop the advance of the westward expedition army were the long journey and bad weather.

According to Kublai Khan's estimation, they would reach Samarkand in half a month at most.

It was really frustrating! Even if this army was on the road, it would only take a month to reach my doorstep!
However, if we calculate the time, the envoys I sent should have arrived in the Golden Horde, and I have to hold out in Samarkand for at least three months.

Even Brother Batu immediately sent troops to help after his envoy arrived.

It will take at least three months to reach my place, because it will take more than two months just to travel.

Even longer.

Kublai Khan's envoys endured more than twenty days of hard work, sleeping in the open air, traveling day and night, and constantly changing horses along the way.

Finally, he arrived at Sarai, the capital of the Golden Horde, and successfully met Batu.

"Batu Khan, the Western Expedition Army of Emperor Zhang Yong of the Central Plains has already reached the Kublai Khanate. Please, please send troops to support them as soon as possible. If you go too late, it will be too late." Kublai Khan's envoy knelt on the ground and spoke.

"Messenger! I know about this matter. You should go down and have a good rest first!" Batu, who was already over 40 years old, coughed twice and spoke.

After the last war with Hungary ended, he led his troops to suppress the rebellion in Southern Russia, and also fought a losing battle. He only withdrew his troops after helping Northern Russia stabilize the situation.

It has only been more than two years since I came back, but I didn't expect that the army from the Western Expedition has already arrived.

When the war just ended two years ago, Batu returned to the capital feeling a little disheartened. It took him two years of recuperation to recover.

In the past two years, after the trade routes between the East and the West were cut off, life for the Golden Horde has not been easy!

"Batu Khan! We can't wait. Please send troops as soon as possible and mobilize the army of your Golden Horde!
If it's too late, Lord Kublai Khan won't be able to hold on." Kublai Khan's messenger said.

He was extremely anxious now, and he wished that Batu would gather the troops immediately today so that they could set off tomorrow.

"The envoy, please go down and have a rest first! We still need to discuss the issue of sending troops." A prince of the Golden Horde said.

It's not that easy to send troops! (End of this chapter)