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

Chapter 223 General Dongfang Tian, ​​mercilessly kills the Mamluks!

"Quiet, quiet!"

While the nobles of the True God Cult were wailing, King Kekubad I of the Sultanate of Rum remained silent, only taking the intelligence from Kamil's hand and examining it carefully.

Kekubad I had been imprisoned by his brother Kekos I before ascending the throne, and after becoming emperor, he annexed the Menguczek dynasty, demonstrating his considerable abilities.

As the voices of the dignitaries subsided, he said, "The Mongols have sent an army of 150,000; what a display of power! But I believe they are not invincible!"

"Why?" Camille asked.

Kekubad I said, “There are three reasons. First, it’s not untrue that the Mongols almost started a civil war. Although the conflicts have been resolved on the surface, I don’t believe they can be united now. The Five Khans’ armies are full of contradictions, and we should not regard these 150,000 troops as a single entity.”

"Secondly, the Mongols called this war the Eldest Son's Western Expedition. That is to say, the Five Khans made their eldest sons commanders to conquer our True God religion countries. To be honest, if the Five Khans had led an army of 150,000, even with many internal conflicts, I would not have much confidence. But I am quite confident that we can take on a group of teenagers and young men in their twenties."

"Yeah, a bunch of teenagers and kids in their early twenties, what do they know!"

“The five Khans were all outstanding figures, but their sons may not be, especially since they are so young.”

"A lion leading a flock of sheep is enough to defeat a flock of lions led by a sheep! No matter how powerful the Mongol army is, they may not be able to unleash their full potential in the hands of these children!"

"Who gave the Fifth Khan this terrible idea? Or is the Fifth Khan just too old and unable to endure the hardships of war?"

"This is divine protection!"

……

Kekubad I's words really stirred up the emotions of the nobles in the countries of the True God Church.

Although Guyuk, with Subutai's assistance, seized Iraq and even Baghdad fell.

But were all five Khans' sons heroes like Güyük?

Perhaps they're hindering each other, and even Guiyu might be dragged down.

Of course, there is another very crucial reason: if you don't believe Kekubad I's words, then what do you believe?

Did they really give up wealth and status to join the Mongols?

Do we really bow our noble heads and kneel before heretics?
Kamil was also somewhat excited and urged, "Go on! Sultan Kekubad, say the third point."

Kekubad I said, "The third point is that the Mongols are too arrogant. They actually announced their military operations directly in their edict. Think about it, the Five Khans' armies are spread all over the world. How could they possibly arrive in Iraq at the same time? They will definitely take multiple routes. Therefore, if we strike first, we will not be dealing with an army of 150,000, but several armies of 30,000 each."

"You mean we should take the initiative and conquer Iraq first?"

"It's not about conquering Iraq, but about besieging Baghdad. As far as I know, the Mongols only left three chiliarchies in the Iraqi region, stationed in Baghdad. The other cities in the Iraqi region have had their walls demolished and are completely undefended. The Mongols have only sent some darughachis to lead vassal troops to guard them."

Kamil's eyes lit up. "There are only a few hundred thousand genuine Mongol warriors in total. Three thousand-household commanders are already quite a lot. They definitely won't be willing to lose these three commanders! The Mongols who arrive first will surely fight hard to rescue Baghdad. This is our chance to annihilate one of their forces!"

Kekubad I nodded and said, "Yes, the Mongols are coming in five routes. We will fight them one by one. We can fight them at least two or three times. How could we not have a chance of victory?"

Camille added, "Furthermore, Zhao Shuo, the most powerful Mongol, will go to war with the powerful Song Dynasty in the east. If we defeat this army of 150,000, they will be too busy to retaliate for a while! On the contrary, we can take the opportunity to gather surrendered troops and strengthen our forces."

The Ayyubid dynasty was quite experienced in using foreign peoples.
For example, their most powerful army, the Mamluks, was formerly known as the Ghulam Guard.

The eighth Abbasid Caliph, Mutassim, was the son of a Turkic slave woman. After ascending the throne, he was deeply wary of the Persian nobles who were at the height of their power in the court. So, through his mother, he hired a group of Turkic warriors from Central Asia to be his bodyguards. These were the earliest "Ghulams".

The "Ghulam" treatment was so effective that countries around the world rushed to follow suit.

Saladin established the Ayyubid dynasty in Egypt and improved the "ghulam," which was no longer a mixture of slave soldiers and free mercenaries. Instead, it selected strong men from private slaves for military training and then uniformly distributed equipment, thus gradually forming the Mamluk military group.

These private slaves were mostly of foreign races: Kipchaks or Circassians (people from various ethnic regions of the Caucasus).

Camille believed he had a lot of experience in maintaining the loyalty of this alien slave army.

Of course, what he didn't know was that, according to historical records, twenty years later, the Mamluk slaves revolted, overthrew the Ayyubid dynasty, and established the Mamluk dynasty.

Regardless, Kamil is quite confident in defeating the Mongols, converting the surrendered troops into Mamluks, and making them loyal to the Ayyubid dynasty.

The other True God Cult members' eyes lit up at this moment, and they all started shouting.

"Yes, surround Baghdad!"

"Let Iraq become the Mongolians' meat grinder!"

"We will swallow the Mongol army of 150,000 men whole!"

"The true God still protects us! Easterners are destined to be our slaves!"

……

They quickly reached an agreement. Kamil would first send 20,000 elite Ayyubid cavalrymen stationed in Syria, including 3,000 Mamluks, to besiege Baghdad.

After the other dignitaries returned to their home countries, they mobilized troops to support Iraq.

And they sent out two groups of envoys.

First, they sent envoys to Europe to announce the news of the second major Mongol westward expedition, urging the Holy Roman Emperor and the Pope to stop the civil war and quickly send another crusade to the East to destroy the Mongols.

In any case, the holy city of Jerusalem has been handed over to the Europeans, so there are no fundamental conflicts between the two sides anymore, and they both believe in the same god.

The most despicable of all are those pagans in the East, who not only blaspheme against the true God but also covet their land and wealth.

Secondly, he sent envoys to the Delhi Sultanate in India, requesting that the Delhi Sultanate take advantage of Zhao Shuo's predicament of dividing his forces into two routes and being unable to attend to other matters, to attack the region north of the Indus River.

Whether these two groups of envoys will be effective remains to be seen.

The key issue now remains the Iraq war.

At Kamil's command, 20,000 elite Ayyubid cavalrymen stationed in Damascus were mobilized and surrounded Baghdad.

The main force of the Ayyubid dynasty's army was urgently mobilized and marched towards Baghdad.

Meanwhile, Guo Kan, who had just arrived at the Iraqi border from Xiros, was preparing to head east to the Baluwan Grassland to meet up with Crown Prince Zhao He.

Guo Kan was not alarmed but rather delighted upon learning that the Ayyubid dynasty's army had besieged Baghdad.

It's a very simple logic. After joining forces with the Crown Prince's army, there would be countless fierce generals from the Eight Banners, and they would have to follow military orders and act in unison. How difficult would it be for Guo Kan to stand out? On the other hand, entering Iraq now would provide him with plenty of opportunities to make a name for himself.

Moreover, with 20,000 Ayyubid cavalry besieging Baghdad, the situation was indeed very critical for the two Mongol commanders, who still had several thousand vassal troops to help them.

Therefore, he sent an envoy to explain to Crown Prince Jo Hyuk that he should remain in Iraq to fight the Ayyubid dynasty's army and await the arrival of the crown prince's reinforcements.

Then, Guo Kan led his 1,000-strong unit into Iraq.

Guo Kan's 1,000-man unit was certainly no match for the Ayyubid dynasty's 20,000-strong army. However, harassing the army's logistics was entirely within their capabilities. After all, the Ayyubid cavalry were not like the Mongol cavalry, whose horses could eat any kind of grass, and whose soldiers would even drink horse blood if necessary. The Ayyubid cavalry required a large amount of logistical supplies, even more than their infantry units.

Guo Kan specifically targeted the supply trains of the Ayyubid dynasty.

Kill kill kill!

The Rus', equipped with Chashik cavalry sabers, are best suited for ambushes and raids!
The Ayyubid dynasty's baggage train was engulfed in flames, and laborers, guards, and even the accompanying livestock were reduced to cold corpses.

Enraged, the 20,000 Ayyubid cavalry besieging Baghdad dispatched 2,000 Mamluk cavalry, determined to capture these despicable rats.

However, Guo Kan was as cunning as a fox. The Mamluks set traps more than a dozen times, but not only did they fail to capture Guo Kan's main force, but on four or five occasions Guo Kan turned the tables on them and swallowed the bait set by the Mamluks. He even took the opportunity to annihilate more than 300 Mamluk scouts.

"Keep chasing!"

After a defeat, the Mamluk commander, Baloos, became determined and pursued the enemy relentlessly.

Finally, after chasing several dozen Han soldiers, they arrived at the edge of an unnamed valley.

The terrain is extremely treacherous, with two mountains flanking a ravine.

Normally, upon seeing such terrain, Baloos would definitely send out scouts to investigate and see if there were any ambushes before continuing his advance.

However, he changed his mind today.

Firstly, Baloos was so angry that he was determined to catch those damned rats.

Secondly, the Easterners are truly despicable; in previous encounters, I used this terrain to hinder their pursuit.

How could he possibly fall for it again this time?

Besides, how many soldiers does Guo Kan actually have? By now, it's definitely less than a thousand! Meanwhile, Baloos has nearly two thousand soldiers, and they are the most elite Mamluk cavalry in the Ayyubid dynasty. Even if Guo Kan has some tricks up his sleeve, what can he do with his overwhelming strength?
So, at Baloos's command, more than 1,600 Mamluks galloped into the nameless valley.

However, just as they all entered the valley—

Boom~~
With a loud crash, countless logs and boulders rolled down the hillside and crashed heavily into the valley between the two mountains!
Whoosh whoosh!
Countless feathered arrows rained down on the Mamluks.

"Damn, there's an ambush!"

"Despicable Orientals!"

"what!"

"Help!"

……

The Mamluks who stormed into the valley had no way to hide in the terrain. Some were crushed by boulders, while others were groaning in pain after being hit by eagle-feathered arrows.

"Quick! Charge! Charge! Their main force must be up ahead! Today, we must slaughter these despicable Easterners!"

Baroos was absolutely furious. There hadn't been any ambushes in the valley before, but now one had suddenly appeared. No doubt, they'd been setting up a trap, luring him in!
These Easterners are so despicable and shameless!
Baroos issued the order without hesitation, leading the Mamluks forward at breakneck speed. Once they broke out of the valley, only about a thousand riders could keep up.

It seems that God granted his wish.

He had traveled less than ten miles ahead when he saw a cavalry force of about six hundred men, heavily armored and ready for battle, seemingly having been waiting for him for a long time.

The leading general appeared to be around twenty-four or twenty-five years old, wearing silver helmet and armor, tall and imposing, with a cold gaze.

Even if he turned to ashes, Baloos would recognize him; he was the captain of this Eastern thousand-man team, named Guo Kan. He had already learned the man's name from their previous encounters.

"Guo Kan, let's see where you're headed this time?"

Baloos was a Kipchak who spoke a Turkic language, which Guo Kan could understand. He also knew that he was facing the Mamluk forces of the Ayyubid dynasty, and even knew Baloos's name.

However, he was too lazy to answer, and with a wave of his long sword, he said, "Kill!"

Say what?

Guo Kan has been outwitting and outmaneuvering Baloos these past few days, and has finally orchestrated this deadly trap with the aim of annihilating all of these Mamluk cavalry!
We must not only annihilate them, but also do our best to minimize our own losses.

Otherwise, how could Guo Kan's abilities be demonstrated?

Boom~~
Six hundred heavy cavalry swept towards the thousand Mamluks!

"kill!"

Baroos led his army straight to meet them!

In Baloos's mind, the Mamluks still outnumbered the Ayyubids. As the Ayyubid dynasty's elite force, why should they fear the despicable Eastern knights?

Easterners are simply cunning and despicable. In a real, bloody battle, they are no match for Mamluk warriors!

However, once they actually attacked Baloos, they realized they were completely wrong!

Firstly, these Mamluks had exhausted too much of their physical strength and horsepower after the long pursuit and the ambush.

Guo Kan, however, had already made a plan; these six hundred cavalrymen were waiting in ambush!
Both the warhorse and the knight were in peak physical condition!
Secondly, Guo Kan's cavalry were all clad in heavy armor, while his Mamluks wore light armor for ease of pursuit. Light armor was at a significant disadvantage against heavy armor.

Thirdly, and most importantly, the Mamluk cavalry were no match for the armored cavalry led by Guo Kan!
To put it bluntly, the Mamluk cavalry only shone brightly in the infighting among the weaklings of the True God Cult, earning a great reputation, but they were no match for the elite troops of the Eight Banners.

Otherwise, the strongest nation of the True God religion back then would have been Khwarezm, instead of the Ayyubid dynasty.

Even in the famous Battle of Ain Jaluk, the Mamluks only managed to defeat the Mongol army with a force advantage of two to three times.

"God! Who are these Easterners? Not only are they despicable and shameless, but they also possess such great strength! How could we possibly be their match?"

Now, Barlow is completely dumbfounded.

Of course, what Barlow thinks now is irrelevant.

As the battle progressed, the number of Mamluk knights dwindled. They couldn't even escape, due to insufficient horsepower!
Guo Kan killed seven Mamluks before reaching Baloos.

"go to hell!"

The blade flashed like snow, slashing straight at Baloos' face.

when!
Baroos quickly raised his hammer to meet the attack!
Dang Dang Dang!
After exchanging several blows, Baloos was no match for Guo Kan and was knocked off his horse by the back of his sword!
"Tied!"

Guo Kan laughed heartily and said, "The Mamluks are nothing special! Today, we will capture this Baloos as a gift for the Crown Prince!"

There was something else he didn't say: this time, it was the eldest son of the Five Khans who led the western expedition, and the crown prince's troops were the ones who made the greatest contribution. The crown prince also gained face by making a first impression on the other four sons of the Khans.

(End of this chapter)