Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1620 Habib

Habib ignored Umar's burning curiosity and pointed at the newspaper and said:
"The commentator named Zhang Xin in this newspaper told a story that reflected Ye Mingsheng. Umar, this is all I can tell you. If you want to know what happened, you have to learn Chinese and read Daqian's newspapers!"

Hearing his cousin say this, Umar couldn't help but mutter:
"Great Khan, I am a Kipchak, not a Han Chinese. I can ride a horse, I can herd horses, I can fight, these are enough for me to live, why should I learn the Han Chinese language?"

Seeing his brother's stubbornness, Habib taught him earnestly:
"You should study carefully the reforms promoted by Ye Mingsheng. The word 'reform' is the secret of Ye Mingsheng's rapid conquest of the Central Plains!"

"This Daqian Emperor Ye Mingsheng believes that if a country or a nation wants to develop continuously, it must not stick to the old ways, must not stop making progress, and must have an innovative spirit. Only by constantly bringing forth new ideas can it continue to ensure competitiveness!"

"It was under the guidance of this idea that the Fengwu Army developed those fire guns and cannons, and produced those various products!"

"Twenty years ago, ten years ago, five years ago, we always took the initiative when facing the army of the Great Zhou. We fought when we wanted to and fled when we wanted to. The army of the Great Zhou could only follow the horses of the Qipchaks and run around!"

"But since our opponent changed from Da Zhou to Da Qian led by Ye Mingsheng, the situation on the battlefield has changed completely..."

"Under the firearms of Daqian, our horse archery has lost its former power. The Luobi people also surrendered to Ye Mingsheng and became Daqian's subjects. We, the Qipchaks, also suffered heavy losses!"

"All of this shows without exception that the reforms promoted by Ye Mingsheng are very effective. Ye Mingsheng once said in a speech that the carriage of the times is already rolling in. Daqian will either crush others on the carriage or be ruthlessly crushed by the enemy!"

"And now the reform led by Ye Mingsheng has gone ahead of us. We can either catch up or be left further and further behind by Ye Mingsheng. In the end, we will be ruthlessly crushed as Ye Mingsheng said. There is no other outcome!"

After hearing what Habib said, Umar wanted to refute but didn't know how to refute. He hesitated for a while before saying:
"Great Khan, what you said is a bit too much praise for Ye Mingsheng. According to what you said, Ye Mingsheng is no longer a human being, but has become a saint!"

Habib waved his hand and said:
"I am not praising Ye Mingsheng. Ye Mingsheng is indeed a man of great talent and strategy. Not only did he unify the Central Plains and defeat the Luobi people in just a few years, this is an amazing achievement!"

“But Ye Mingsheng also has weaknesses. After becoming emperor, he no longer has the courage and perseverance he had at the beginning. He began to be hesitant and afraid of both wolves in front and tigers behind. He is no longer as resolute in reform…”

"If I were Ye Mingsheng, I wouldn't care about that. As long as I've chosen the path I want to take, I won't have any concerns. I have a saber in my hand, and I'll chop to death anyone who stands in my way!"

"Let's see whether his neck is harder or my saber is sharper!"

As Khabib spoke, his voice was powerful and domineering, and he looked like a strong man with iron blood!
Umar seemed to sense something as well, sensing the meaning of his brother's words, and immediately began to speak:
"Great Khan, do you also want reforms?"

"Of course! If Ye Mingsheng can reform, then why can't our Golden Horde reform?"

"These newspapers in Daqian always like to publish Ye Mingsheng's speeches. I have read many of his speeches. Ye Mingsheng's reforms are nothing more than giving those craftsmen good treatment so that they can innovate. I can also give those craftsmen better treatment so that they can be full of enthusiasm to build muskets and cannons for me!"

Habib was full of confidence when he spoke, but Umar looked a little hesitant.

Just when Habib was fantasizing that he would follow Ye Mingsheng's reforms and start reforms in the Golden Horde to strengthen the national strength of the Golden Horde, a voice appeared in his ears and interrupted his beautiful dream.

"Khan, our spies have found some information!"

Habib couldn't help but say:

"Are the Robes going to send troops?"

Umar shook his head and said:

"Royal Court of Luobi has not yet decided to send troops. Regarding the matter of sending troops, Luobi and Daqian have not yet reached an agreement!"

"Dari Achi wants to send troops to attack the Khanate, but Urgen Bayar seems unwilling. As for Daqian's attitude, we haven't figured it out yet..."

Hearing this answer, Khabib, who had just been imagining the future with high spirits, couldn't help but frown.

Ever since learning the news that Daqian had sent troops to provide assistance, Habib's first thought was that he could not confront the Daqian army head-on!
Although Habib had never fought against the Daqian army before, he had seen many Cumans who had experienced the power of the Daqian army. These people were usually fierce Cuman warriors. However, after the battle to the south a few years ago, these Cuman warriors were beaten to a pulp by the Daqian's predecessor, the Fengwu Army!

After learning from these people that the Fengwu Army was powerful, Habib became even more wary of the Daqian Army!
Habib has a clear understanding of the current enemy and our situation. Habib is well aware that the Golden Horde and the Robes are almost the same in strength. The most important reason why he can now lead the Golden Horde to suppress the Robes is that he has obtained the help of the Romans. In addition, the Robes are not united internally and have ulterior motives against each other!

After Daqian's reinforcements arrived in Luobi, the battlefield situation was fundamentally reversed. These tens of thousands of Daqian soldiers were all Daqian's elite troops. If they faced the Cumans head-on, they would definitely not be their opponents...

Based on this understanding, Khabib made the decision to avoid the attack from the very beginning!
On the one hand, Habib sent someone to write a letter to Ye Mingsheng, hoping that Ye Mingsheng would stop helping the Robe people. On the other hand, he also started his own plan!
Habib knew that the Robes had spies in Lesa, so he deliberately asked his confidant Makhachev to withdraw the main force of the Cumans to Lesa, so that those spies could send this news to Dariachi!

Khabib's move was to give Luo Bei and Da Qian the illusion that he had escaped and that he was going to fight a war of attrition with them...

Habib wanted to make Dari Achi and the Daqian army think that they were afraid of them and that they dared not fight them head-on. The supply line and time were indeed the lifeblood of the Daqian army. The Daqian army consumed thousands of taels of silver every day. Even if the Luobi people shared a part of the burden, the Daqian court would not be able to hold on for too long!
Therefore, in Habib's opinion, the Robe people and the Daqian people must be eager for a decisive battle, wanting to achieve their goal in one battle and defeat him directly. To this end, they will cross the Damao Mountains and march straight into the heartland of the Golden Horde!
This is the opportunity that Khabib wants, and it is also the purpose of him leading these ten thousand elite cavalry to hide in this remote place!
Habib wanted to wait for the opportunity when the Daqian army penetrated deep into the hinterland of the Golden Horde and the supply line was extended, so that he could cut off the supply line of the Daqian army. Since becoming the Great Khan of the Golden Horde, he regarded the Daqian in the south as the biggest enemy of the Golden Horde, so he had been studying the combat tactics of the Fengwu Army and the past wars in the Central Plains!

After continuous research, Habib knew very well that although Daqian's firearms were powerful, they were not invincible. Daqian's firearms had weaknesses. The first weakness was logistics supply. Daqian's tactics had very high requirements for logistics supply. As long as the logistics supply could not keep up, Daqian's firearms would find it difficult to exert their power...

The second point is the weather. After studying and learning about the Fengwu Army, Habib knew that gunpowder is the foundation of firearms. Without gunpowder, those things that look so terrifying would be useless!

However, due to current technical limitations, gunpowder is still very susceptible to moisture, and once it becomes damp it cannot be used!
Once the Daqian army is without firearms, it will be a toothless tiger!

Therefore, in Habib's plan, he would wait for the coalition forces of Robe and Daqian to penetrate deep into the heartland of the Golden Horde, quietly cut off their supplies, and then wait for a rainy day to launch a surprise attack on the coalition forces!

Habib never wanted to fight a war of attrition. He just pretended to fight a war of attrition to deceive Robe and Daqian! One's own family knows one's own business. It was because of the decline of people's livelihood in the Golden Horde that Habib had to divert the contradictions within the Khanate, unite the internal forces and then attack the Robe people. If he fought a war of attrition with the Robe people now, it would definitely aggravate the internal problems and trigger a series of chain reactions!
Habib's goal was simple and clear, which was to defeat the Robes as soon as possible, seize the fruits of victory, gain the prestige of victory in the war, and thus consolidate his rule as the Khan internally!
Habib had good intentions, but things did not go as he expected. He had expected that the coalition forces of Luo Bi and Da Qian would chase them out, but this has not happened until now!

Seeing that his cousin had not spoken yet, Umar could not help but ask:

"Khan, what should we do now?"

Facing this question, Habib was silent for a while. After a long while, he broke the silence and said in a low voice:

"Let's wait a little longer. They will definitely come out. A good hunter must have enough patience. Prey are cunning, but they will eventually be placed on the hunter's table..."

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Yijing, the Imperial Palace

In a room, Ye Mingsheng was playing chess with a man in gray. As the man in gray placed the rook in front of Ye Mingsheng's general, Ye Mingsheng shook his head and admitted defeat, then said:

"Jia Gong, did you do this on purpose? You let me eat your car first, and then you came back to take advantage of me in the end?"

Jia Gong heard this and said calmly:
"Your Majesty, you are too kind! How could I have the courage to commit such an act of deception?"

Ye Mingsheng snorted coldly upon hearing this:

"You are nothing but audacious! If you have something to say, just say it. Don't make insinuations here!"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng's words, Jia Gong no longer hid his feelings and said:

"Your Majesty, you were only one step away from winning this game. One wrong move and you'd lose the whole game. It's really a pity. In my opinion, the same is true for today's reforms!"

"Just say what you want to say! I've done a day's work, and I don't want to play dumb with you!"

Jia Gong hesitated for a moment and said:
"Your Majesty! Your Highness the Crown Prince does not act like a monarch!"

Ye Mingsheng was not surprised to hear Jia Gong say this. He said coldly:

"Do you know what you're talking about?"

Feeling the coldness of Ye Mingsheng's eyes, Jia Gong remained firm and said without any evasion:

"Of course! I know very well what I am saying. I know even more clearly that if the Queen knew about this, I would be beheaded..."

Although Ye Mingsheng had always known that Jia Gong was extremely daring, he was a little surprised to hear him say this and immediately asked:
"Are you really not afraid of death?"

"afraid!"

"Then why do you dare to say that?"

"I fear death, and I also fear failure of duty. I cannot have both at the same time!"

Ye Mingsheng snorted disdainfully upon hearing this:

"Jia Gong, stop flattering yourself. Are you comparing yourself to Mencius?"

"Why, should I call you Jiazi?"

"Your Majesty, you are joking. Mencius is the second sage of Confucianism. How dare Jia Gong compare himself to him? I am just trying to emulate the ancient sage!"

Ye Mingsheng shook his head and said:
"Although Jingren is a little naughty, he is an honest, filial and kind child. That's enough!"

"Your Majesty, aren't you afraid that the great cause of reform will fail?"

"Don't be alarmist here!"

"If Your Majesty was not worried, why did you take the two princes on a private visit a few days ago?"

"Jia Gong, you are a smart person, you know exactly what will happen, so don't say anything unrealistic!"

"Your Majesty, I think it's worth it! Although His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is kind-hearted, he will most likely not be a tyrant if he succeeds to the throne, but at most he will be a king who only guards the status quo and will not be able to carry forward the foundation of Daqian!"

"If you want to carry forward Daqian and realize your great cause, Your Majesty, you need to select other virtuous people!"

"I'm telling you one last time, don't say anything unrealistic!"

"Your Majesty, I think it's worth it! A short pain is worse than a long one. This will benefit the country and the people. Your Majesty should make a decisive decision and put the country first..."