Usurpation of Mongolia: My father-in-law is Genghis Khan

Chapter 113 The war has begun! The prince consort alone can destroy the Jin Dynasty!

After Zhao Shuo inspected the horse farm again, he saw the sun setting in the west, so he returned to the noble city of Khalkha under the protection of Gerile and others.

But just as they were halfway there, they saw a horse approaching them like lightning. The rider wore a red and white Mongolian robe, with golden embroidery on the shoulder straps and three bright feathers on his hat. He galloped along, shouting, "Is that Prince Consort Zhao Shuo's entourage coming the other way?"

Zhao Shuo urged his horse forward and said, "It's me."

Of course, Zhao Shuo knew the identity of the person wearing such bright and stylish clothes on the grassland, Temujin's arrow-speed cavalry.

Since the founding of the Mongol Empire, Temujin had begun to establish a post station system for sending messages. These lightning-fast messengers, who changed horses at each post station but not the riders, could travel 600 to 800 li a day, with a maximum speed of 1,000 li.

As the fast-moving messenger got closer, he recognized who it was.

Suren, Suna's brother, was the captain of a thousand men in Temujin's Qiexue army.

In the blink of an eye, Su Lun was in front of Zhao Shuo, and both of them dismounted.

Su Lun bowed respectfully and said, "Su Lun greets the Prince Consort!"

"No need to be polite," Zhao Shuo said, "Genghis Khan sent you here, but do you have any important military instructions?"

"Yes."

General Su Lun pulled out a scroll of documents and said, "Genghis Khan has issued an order, ordering the prince consort to breach the Gubeikou Great Wall and lay siege to Zhongdu within two weeks."

"Attack the Jin Kingdom? So anxious?"

Zhao Shuo also knew what had happened in the Jin Kingdom in the past three years.

At that time, the Jin general Pushan Anzhen led an army of 100,000 to drink water from the Yangtze River, and Shuhu Gaoqi sent troops to Sichuan. The situation of the Jin Dynasty was very good.

However, the Red Turban Army, which had long been loyal to the Song Dynasty, marched out of Shandong and cut off Pushan Anzhen's food supply, forcing Pushan Anzhen to retreat to Henan.

However, Wanyan Yongji disliked Pushan Anzhen, who once drank water from the Yangtze River.

This Pushan Anzhen was the brother-in-law of Emperor Zhangzong Wanyan Jing and was such a good fighter. Wasn't he too much of a threat to me? So, I found a random excuse and killed Pushan Anzhen for treason.

The more capable a general is, the shorter his life span is. When did our Jin Dynasty catch the bad habits of the Song Dynasty?
Shuhu Gaoqi was stunned and decided not to attack Sichuan anymore and returned to the capital.

Then, Wanyan Yongji sent Du Ji Sizhong to lead an army of 200,000, claiming to have 600,000, to attack Yelu Liuge in the northeast, but was defeated.

Undeterred, Wanyan Yongji dispatched Puxian Wannu with an army of 150,000, claiming to have 400,000, to attack Yelü Liuge again. Puxian Wannu was not only defeated but also rebelled. He proclaimed himself "Heavenly King" in the northeast, named his country Dazhen, and established his capital in Dongjing (Liaoyang).

What's all this?
The nobles of the Jin Dynasty could no longer tolerate Wanyan Yongji, who was neither good at internal fighting nor at external fighting.

They acquiesced to Hushahu's murder of Wanyan Yongji and supported Wanyan Xun, the brother of Jin Zhangzong Wanyan Jing, to succeed to the throne.

Wanyan Xun is known as Emperor Xuanzong of Jin in history.

Then, these Jin nobles instigated Shuhu Gaoqi to kill Hushahu, and Wanyan Xun officially took control of the court power.

The first thing Wanyan Xun did after coming to power was to move the capital to Bianliang.

After all, the Mongols were too powerful. What if they attacked Zhongdu again and forced him to sign an agreement that would be humiliating and detrimental to the country?
Kaifeng and Bianliang in Henan are still safer.

Zhao Shuo knew that according to historical records, Wanyan Xun's relocation of the capital triggered the second Mongolian attack on the Jin Dynasty, and he had made sufficient preparations.

But why was Temujin so anxious?

Zhao Shuo took the document from Su Lun and looked at it carefully before he understood the whole story.

It turned out that something went wrong after Wanyan Xun moved the capital.

The two prime ministers left behind in Zhongdu of the Jin Dynasty were Menyan Jinzhong and Wanyan Chenghui.

Mo Nian Jinzhong has always been at odds with Shu Hu Gao Qi.

However, the 3,000 soldiers under Shuhu Gaoqi stayed in Zhuozhou and became the direct subordinates of the loyal Manchus.

Therefore, Mao Nian Jinzhong used the fact that the Biao army had poor discipline as an excuse to not only kill several people but also demanded that the Biao army hand over all their horses, weapons and armor.

Of course, these 3,000 soldiers refused to do so and immediately rebelled.

They raised their voices on the heights and immediately gathered more than 7,000 Khitans, a force of over 10,000. They then stormed the Lugou Bridge and threatened the capital.

Of course, these soldiers knew that they could not take down Zhongdu City. Not only that, they were in great danger and faced encirclement and suppression by the Jin army at any time.

So they sent two groups of envoys to ask for help from Temujin and Yelu Liuge respectively.

In other words, these Khitan troops would be loyal to whichever of Temujin and Yelu Liuge's armies arrived at Zhongdu first.

Crucially, the envoys from the Falcon Army, who had come to Temujin's envoys for assistance, claimed that the Khitans within the Jin Dynasty's Gubeikou Great Wall were also planning a rebellion. Once the Mongol army arrived, with internal and external support, they could easily breach the Gubeikou Great Wall and lay siege to Zhongdu.

Is there such a good thing?

Originally, the Jin Kingdom stationed heavy troops in Huihe Fort to guard against the Mongols moving south again.

It would not be easy for the Mongolian army to attack Huihe Fort again.

Now that the Mongolian army is directly attacking the Gubeikou Great Wall, won’t the defenders of Huihe Fort be useless?

The Eight Banners Han Army under Zhao Shuo was a standing army, only six or seven hundred miles away from the Gubeikou Great Wall, and was the easiest force to assemble among the Mongolian troops.

Of course Temujin had to urgently dispatch Zhao Shuo to send troops.

"I see."

Zhao Shuo quickly stamped the receipt with his golden seal and said, "Report this to Genghis Khan immediately. Zhao Shuo obeys."

"Yes."

Military regulations were strict, Su Lun did not dare to delay and took the order and left.

Three days later, outside Huanzhou City, on the platform for selecting generals.

"Loyal and brave soldiers!"

Zhao Shuo's majestic gaze swept over the 84,000 soldiers below the platform.

Among them, there were 1,800 Black Cavalrymen.

When Zhao Shuo returned from Zhongdu, he had 1,100 Black Cavalry under his command. Three years later, Zhao Shuo selected another 100 men from his own people and 600 men from the Eight Banners of the Han Army to join them.

The Flying Eagle Army consists of 2,200 people.

This kind of troops requires extremely strong riding skills and discipline, and most of them can only come from the grassland tribes. The number is not easy to increase, and only two hundred people have been added in the past three years.

The Han army had eight banners totaling 36,000 men.

Don't get me wrong, the total number of the Eight Banners of the Han Army is still 45,000. Although they have been withdrawn by the Black Cavalry, 600 people are still needed. However, the people in Fu, Huan, and Chang are all brave and strong, making them an excellent source of troops. It is easy to replenish these 600 people.

However, a portion of the troops had to be left behind in the three states of Fu, Chang and Huan, and Zhao Shuo only assembled 36,000 people.

Four Han army flags with ten thousand households each, eight thousand households each. Half a red-bordered flag, four thousand households each.

The Baru Camp has 40,000 men.

Zhao Shuo prepared for the future and transferred all the soldiers of the Baru Camp to Huanzhou after the spring plowing.

In addition, there was a Khitan thousand households led by Shi Mi Ming'an, and an engineering battalion composed of 3,000 craftsmen, who were responsible for assembling, making and repairing siege equipment.

The total number is 84,000.

They were the first wave of forces led by Zhao Shuo to attack the Jin Dynasty.

Furthermore, of Zhao Shuo's hereditary five thousand households, four thousand grassland warriors had yet to be assembled. The five subordinate grassland thousand households had also not yet assembled. Together, these men numbered around ten thousand. Zhao Shuo decided to leave two thousand to guard the area, while the remaining eight thousand, led by Gerile, would march to Zhongdu after they were assembled.

Of course, in Zhao Shuo's opinion, it doesn't matter whether there are 8,000 reinforcements or not. With the 84,000 people in front of him, it is enough to break through Zhongdu.

Looking around, the Black Cavalry and the Flying Eagle Army are in the middle.

The Black Cavalry were all covered in full armor, with only their eyes exposed. Armed with caltrops, they looked like steel killing machines. At the front stood a large black flag with the words "Black Cavalry" inscribed in gold.

Each member of the Flying Eagle Army wore armor with tendon feathers, carried heavy iron spears with wootz steel tips, and carried Qing Dynasty war bows on their backs. Their quivers held nine wootz steel-tipped arrows. At the front stood a large white flag with the two gold-plated characters "Flying Eagle" inscribed on it.

These two, black and white, are the most core forces under Zhao Shuo's command.

On their left flank were the soldiers of the Baru Battalion. These soldiers were essentially mounted infantrymen, wielding single-sided heavy axes with Wootz steel blades powerful enough to cut through three layers of armor. Their flag was also black, but the word "Baru" was emblazoned in red.

Black represents hell and red represents blood.

On the right wing were 36,000 Han army officers and soldiers of the Eight Banners.

Four large Wanhu banners—red, blue, yellow, and black—were lined up in a row. Each banner had its name embroidered in different colored Chinese characters to avoid confusion with the other banners. For example, the Han army's Zhenghuang Banner had the Chinese characters "正黄" embroidered in red.

Furthermore, each of the Eight Banners of the Han Army had a Qianhu Banner. The Qianhu Banner was slightly smaller than the Wanhu Banner and was triangular in shape, with the number of the Qianhu written on it.

Under the thousand-household flag, there is a hundred-household flag. The hundred-household flag is square in shape like the ten-thousand-household flag, but half the size of the ten-thousand-household flag. The number of the hundred-household is written on it.

Whether used as infantry or cavalry, the Eight Banners of the Han Army were the best disciplined and most maneuverable troops.

They were equipped with a wide variety of weapons, including spears, broadswords, heavy axes, massive shields, and powerful bows and crossbows. They would choose their weapons according to the different battlefield conditions. Each man rode three horses, all wearing iron armor. However, since this was a swearing-in ceremony, they did not need to bring horses to the scene. Each man was armed with a heavy iron spear.

To the right of the Eight Banners of the Han Army is the Engineering Battalion.

A large flag with the word "工" in red on a green background indicated their identity.

These craftsmen had all received some military training, and all stood at attention. Their sole responsibility was to craft, assemble, and repair siege engines, not to fight in battle. However, they received 20% of the spoils of war that ordinary soldiers received.

The entire engineering battalion was equipped with 2,000 carts and 10,000 mules for transportation. With a daily range of 100 miles, it was no problem to keep up with the troops.

In short, the 84,000 soldiers had flags flying, banners waving, their military appearance was neat and their morale was high.

Another two hundred messengers conveyed Zhao Shuo's will clearly to everyone's ears.

"The Jin Emperor, Wanyan Xun, feared the Mongols and abandoned the Central Capital, Yanjing, and moved the capital to Bianliang. However, fearing public ridicule, he left his two prime ministers in Zhongdu. He also left half of his officials and dignitaries there. He also left half of the wealth he had plundered from the people over the past three years there. He also left half of his concubines there!
He even left the crown prince in Zhongdu, but he couldn't bear to leave his own son behind. After only one month of moving the capital, he summoned the crown prince back to Bianliang.

Now, let me ask you, do you want the immense wealth of Zhongdu?"

"miss you!"

"Do you want those Jurchen nobles to kneel before you?"

"miss you!"

"Do you want to taste the flavor of those Jurchen noble ladies?"

"miss you!"

"Then let's go! Follow me to Zhongdu!"

"I am willing to die for your majesty!"

Needless to say, the artisans accompanying the army were treated like slaves by the Jin, and their hatred for them was etched in their teeth. Now, with the chance to both seek revenge and share 20% of the spoils with the ordinary soldiers, they were truly thrilled. The soldiers of the Baru Camp, originally regular troops of the Jin and Xia armies, were not skilled in farming, let alone enjoying it. They had already been cultivating the grasslands for three years, and their hearts were filled with frustration. Now, finally, they had the opportunity to rise through the ranks and fight on the battlefield, and they were eager to try.

Of course, the most excited ones were the Eight Banners soldiers.

They no longer have to buy their own armor, weapons, and war horses, and the most ordinary soldiers earn three times the income of ordinary farmers.

The Han people are the most grateful and repaying people.

It is said that when the Jin Dynasty was just beginning to rise, there was a saying that "If the Jurchens are less than ten thousand, they are invincible." By the end of the Jin Dynasty, this saying was no longer applicable.

But what about the Han people?

No matter what era, "the Han army is invincible if it is not fully paid, and it is invincible if it is fully paid."

As long as the Han army gets enough military pay, it will be the strongest military force in the world.

What's more, these eight banners of the Han army not only had sufficient military pay, but also made a fortune in Zhongdu City.

Just like wild beasts tasting human blood, their ferocity has been completely aroused.

They wanted to watch as the entire families of the Jin officials who had oppressed them were beheaded and blood flowed like a river!
They want to turn the immense wealth of Zhongdu City into their own spoils!
Perhaps, every Han army soldier can have a taste of Jurchen women. Even Jurchen noble ladies have great hope!
So the army set out.

Seven days later, Zhao Shuo's army arrived outside the Gubeikou Great Wall.

Those envoys who were in charge of the army did not lie. As expected, some Khitans in the Jin army defected at the critical moment. After a day of fierce fighting, Zhao Shuo's army easily captured Gubeikou.

Then Zhao Shuo's army marched straight in and arrived outside Zhongdu City.

After joining forces with the 10,000 Khitan troops, with 3,000 Falcon troops as the main force, the number of troops under Zhao Shuo's command reached 940,000.

Then fight!

According to the intelligence provided by the Biao army, there were only 20,000 regular troops in Zhongdu. The 100,000 signed troops were far less than the number of troops during the first Mongol siege.

If not now, when?

Zhao Shuo’s first target was the four sub-cities of Zhongdu.

These four sub-cities were located outside the moat, but not far from the walls of Zhongdu.

Attacking Zhongdu City would result in concentrated fire from the weapons of the inner city. Attacking the inner city would also result in concentrated fire from the walls of Zhongdu City. It was really annoying.

Moreover, these four sub-cities are connected to the central capital by tunnels, so there will be no shortage of soldiers, food, or weapons.

Fortunately, after three years of preparation, the Jin Kingdom demolished all the houses within dozens of miles outside the city and cut down all the tall trees, making it difficult for the enemy troops attacking the city to even build catapults.

No wonder historical records show that even though they knew there were few defenders in Zhongdu, Zhebie and Shimi Ming'an, who were ordered to attack Zhongdu, still adopted a siege strategy. It was not until a year after the siege, when the city was filled with starving people and surrendered, that Zhongdu was finally captured.

However, having said that, if these four sub-cities were destroyed, half of Zhongdu City would be destroyed.

Zhao Shuo was well prepared.

The two thousand carts of the engineering battalion were loaded with parts for siege equipment.

Three thousand craftsmen assembled three hundred catapults in just one day.

"let's start!"

On the general's platform, Zhao Shuo looked towards the direction of the sub-city in the north of Zhongdu City. Daxia Longque pointed forward and gave an order lightly.

"Yes!"

The commander of the Baru camp, Machibeduwen, agreed loudly.

Boom boom boom!
Boom boom boom!
The soldiers of the Baru Camp controlled the catapults and launched a fierce attack on Beizi City.

These catapults did not throw stones, but directly threw thunder bombs.

When the Mongols attacked Zhongdu for the first time, they experienced the power of the Jin army's thunder bombs.

The thunderbolt's power, which even heavily armored warriors could not withstand, could also start a massive fire, destroying siege equipment.

Aren’t these thunder bombs made by the skilled craftsmen in Zhongdu?
Now it is time for the Mongols to use their thunder bombs.

Zhao Shuo spent three years stockpiling a large number of sky-shaking bombs.

In the blink of an eye, countless thunder bombs exploded in Beizi City.

At the same time, the defenders in the Jin Kingdom's Beizi City also followed suit and fired the thunder bombs stored in the city at the catapults below the city.

In just a moment, the entire battlefield was deafening and filled with smoke.

If it were just the bombardment of catapults and thunder bombs, it would certainly not be enough to capture this sub-city.

After all, whether it was catapults or thunder bombs, Beizi City could always get a steady supply from Zhongdu City. The amount Zhao Shuo had brought from afar was completely incomparable.

However, such a smoke-filled environment was enough for Zhao Shuo.

Rumble~~~
Twenty huge monsters pushed out Zhao Shuo's camp.

Siege tower!
A siege tower is a tall wooden tower with wheels. During a siege, it is pushed close to the city wall, allowing archers on the tower to suppress the enemy and ladders to be lowered to attack the wall directly.

"on!"

Following a command from Machibieduwen, the 5,000 soldiers of the Baru Camp, who had been prepared long ago, carried ladders and wore iron armor and approached Beizi City.

Another two thousand soldiers from the Baru camp pushed the siege tower and slowly moved towards the city wall.

Boom boom boom!
Whether it was the catapults and crossbows on the Zhongdu City or the catapults and crossbows on the Nazi City, they all began to fire frantically at the soldiers of the Baru Camp.

However, the smoke-filled environment greatly reduced their accuracy.

A total of 4,000 soldiers from the Baru Camp arrived at the foot of the city wall and set up ladders.

The siege tower also slowly approached the city wall.

"Hmph, such a trivial skill, not worth mentioning."

Such a large-scale attack by the Mongolian army naturally alarmed the two prime ministers in Zhongdu City, Manchu Jinzhong and Wanyan Chenghui.

They came to the north gate together to watch the battle.

Seeing this, Ma Nian Jinzhong sneered.

Although Mo Nian Jinzhong forced the Biao army to rebel, it must be said that he still had some military talent.

When Subuchi attacked Shanxi, he only escaped capture of Datong. It was Manchu Jinzhong who was in charge of Datong at the time. It was because of this achievement that he was promoted to Shangshu Youcheng, becoming one of the ministers of the Jin Dynasty and guarding the capital.

Wanyan Chenghui was a civil servant with little knowledge of military affairs, so he couldn't help but ask, "The Mongols' attack on Beizi City is so fierce. Why does the Right Prime Minister of the Manchu Empire say this?"

"It only looks fierce." Ma Nian Jinzhong shook his head slightly and said confidently, "The advantage of defending the city is too great. We can mobilize elite troops at any time to support the inner city. Relying on these twenty siege towers? Relying on these so-called Baru Battalions? Zhao Shuo's dream of breaking through the city is nothing but a pipe dream."

Ma Nian Jinzhong had already known who his opponent was from Zhao Shuo's banner.

The facts seemed to be sliding into what he expected.

Divine arm bow!
Rolling logs and rocks!

Golden juice boiling water!

Thunder of the sky!
Countless city defense equipment fell on the soldiers of the Baru Camp who were attacking the city.

A maximum of twenty warriors can stand on the top of a siege tower.

But whether they exchanged fire with the defenders on the city wall or lowered the suspension bridge to attack the city wall, they were no match for the defenders' superior strength and all their efforts were in vain.

The situation on the battlefield quickly turned in favor of the defenders.

"Shi Mo You Cheng is truly as foresighted as a god!" Seeing this, Wanyan Chenghui couldn't help but praise him repeatedly, saying, "With you in charge of the overall situation in Zhongdu, it is as stable as a rock."

"No, how can I do it alone? We need you and I to work together to protect Zhongdu for the Great Jin."

Having said that, Ma Nian Jinzhong was all smiles.

Ma Nian Jinzhong was knowledgeable about military affairs.

What he feared most was that the Mongolian army would surround him without attacking.

Zhongdu City couldn't hold out back then and was forced to sign the humiliating Da'an Agreement. Zhongdu City now couldn't possibly hold out any longer.

However, now, no one knows what is wrong with the Mongolian prince consort Zhao Shuo who is attacking the city, but he insists on attacking Zhongdu City by force.

Then he is very confident that he can defend it.

However, what Man Nian Jinzhong never dreamed of was that at this time, many people had already come forward to ask for battle in Zhao Shuo's presence.

"Prince Consort, let's go up with the red flag!"

"Let's go up with the blue flag!"

"If you fail to capture Beizi City, I will be punished by military law!"

"Dong Jun, a captain of the Red Banner, requests to go into battle!"

……

In the view of Man Nian Jinzhong, the siege strength displayed by the Mongolian army was normal.

After all, they were all regular troops of the Jin Kingdom. If they really fought to the death, how much difference would there be?

The Jin army was no longer defending the crude fortifications of Yehuling, but a strong city that had been built for nearly a hundred years.

The Jin army has a huge advantage in defending the city, so what kind of trouble can the Baru camp cause?

However, in the eyes of the Eight Banners soldiers, it was completely different.

The Baru Battalion was indeed not without fighting spirit, but their strength was insufficient. In the eyes of the Eight Banners soldiers, they were only commendable for their fearlessness and bravery, but their combat effectiveness was relatively average.

I wonder if it's because three years of farming have weakened their strength. Or is it that after three years of rigorous off-duty training, the Eight Banners Army has already surpassed the Baru Battalion in strength? Or is it that the Han Eight Banners were too ambitious and overestimated their own strength?
But no matter what, the Baru Camp is useless, and the prince consort will definitely mobilize the Eight Banners of the Han Army.

If you volunteer now, you might be able to gain a huge advantage!
"Then let's use the Yellow Banner."

Zhao Shuo quickly made up his mind.

The Eight Banners of the Han Army had not been tested in actual combat, and Zhao Shuo was not sure of their true combat effectiveness.

Historians describe many brave generals as heroes.

Let historians fight this first battle to test the strength of the Eight Banners of the Han Army.

(End of this chapter)