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

Chapter 229 The Despair of the True God King: Zhao Shuo is not only a fierce general, but also a holy king!

Inside the Wisdom Palace in Baghdad at night.

"Father, what are you thinking about?"

Prince Kekhosru of the Sultanate of Rum looked toward his father, Kekubad I, who had been silent since learning of the military situation in the palace.

Although Kekhosslu was Kekubad I's eldest son, Kekubad I did not like him. Instead, he preferred his second son, Izdin, and made Izdin his heir.

Because Izdin was the son of Kekubad I and a princess of the Ayyubid dynasty, his lineage was far more noble than that of Kehosru.

Therefore, when Kekubad I went to Baghdad, he took Kekhosru with him, while leaving Izdin in the Sultanate of Rum to act as regent.

However, at this critical juncture, Kekubad I found Kehosru much more agreeable.

Kekubad I sighed and said, “I regret two things now. The first is that I misjudged Zhao Shuo. I originally thought that Zhao Shuo was known as the number one general of the Mongols because he was a war genius who could turn the impossible into the possible and lead a multi-ethnic army to achieve more victories than the Mongol army.”

Kaihoslu continued, "Now that the Han army is in Zhao He's hands, its fighting strength surpasses that of the Mongols. It seems that Zhao Shuo is not only a genius in war but also a genius in training troops. He has brought together heroes from various races, giving them the power to change the world. Even if he handed the Han army over to his son, he will still be invincible."

"A military training genius?"

King Kekubad I shook his head and said, "To train a good army, you need not only military means, but also to select and promote suitable generals, provide sufficient logistics and rewards, and provide soldiers with sturdy armor and sharp weapons. If one person can do all of these things, is he still a war genius or a military training genius?"

"Selecting the virtuous and capable, the nation becomes prosperous and strong, with ample troops and food, invincible in every battle, that...that is..."

Kehoslu could hardly find a similar word in the vocabulary of the True God Cult, so he could only look for it in the Eastern Chinese he had learned over the years, and said, "Holy King!"

"A Holy King... What a pity, our True God Cult has no such figure! Otherwise, we would have spread the glory of the True God throughout the world long ago."

"And what is the second thing you regret?"

Kekubad I said, "My second regret is actually related to the first. If I had known earlier that the Han army was so powerful, I wouldn't have sent an envoy to surrender conditionally, but would have directly surrendered to the Mongols unconditionally. The Mongols are also human, and they would always have given us nobles who surrendered some way out."

"I'm afraid it's too late for us to surrender unconditionally now, isn't it?"

"That's natural. The Mongols always kept only artisans, young women, and children no taller than a cartwheel in cities that resisted."

After a pause, Kekubad I said with a wry smile, "They do have a special treatment for nobles: they tie them up in sacks and let them be trampled to death by horses."

Although Kehosru was not as well-born as his brother Izdin, in terms of actual ability, he was considered one of the most distinguished figures in the Sultanate of Rum.

He observed the expression on the man's face and said, "Father doesn't seem too worried about being killed by the Mongols."

"Go out and send someone to invite the rulers to the Palace of Wisdom for a meeting," Kekubad I sneered. "The Mongols want to kill me, Kekubad? Not so easy!"

"Yes!"

The Palace of Wisdom was converted from the royal library of the Abbasid Caliphate and is part of the Baghdad Royal Palace complex.

Before long, dignitaries from various countries, followers of the True God Sect, gathered at the Wisdom Palace in Baghdad.

Now that things have come to this, the faces of all the nobles of the True God Cult are not good.

If they had previously held the idea that "even if we die, we should splatter the Mongols with blood," the overwhelming strength displayed by the Han army made them lose even that thought.

If we can't even fight with all our might, how are we supposed to fight?
Even more importantly, at the current speed of the Han army, they will be able to break through the camp and reach the palace in less than three days.

No one here will survive!
"Everyone knows the current situation without me having to explain it."

King Kekubad I slowly looked at the nobleman of the True God Church and said solemnly, "I suggest that all generals concentrate their elite infantry to support Kamil. We must not allow the Han army to reach the palace within three days!"

Yemeni Sultan Umar frowned slightly and said listlessly, "Concentrate the elite infantry if you want, I have no objection. It's better to die a few days later than a few days earlier."

Kekubad I shook his head and said, “You can’t say that. First, given time, a miracle might happen. What if God sends down a miracle and suddenly a plague more terrible than abscesses breaks out in the Mongol army? What if the eldest sons of the five Khans of the Mongols all suddenly die of a sudden illness? What if His true form descends and wipes out the Mongol army?”

Seeing that the nobles were looking at him like he was a fool, Kekubad I quickly revealed his true thoughts: "Secondly, we can take advantage of the Mongol army's continuous battles and exhaustion to break through the encirclement under the protection of elite cavalry!"

Basra Emir Nofidal angrily retorted, "Why didn't we do this sooner? If you ask me, we should have fled as soon as we learned that the abscess disease was caused by the Mongols. Instead of waiting until now to attempt a breakout!"

Before, even if Nofidal were to die of fright, he wouldn't have dared to say such things to Kekubad I. But now, aren't we all about to become a bunch of dead? What's the point of distinguishing between noble and lowly?
Kekubad I explained carefully: "If we had fled back then, we would have left almost all of our infantry and half of our cavalry to the Mongols. Only by staying here can we use our large army to make the Mongols pay a heavy price."

Nofidal muttered, "But it seems the Mongols haven't suffered too many casualties yet."

“I admit that we underestimated the Mongol’s fighting strength. But even now, we still have a chance to escape. Think about it, the Mongol army has been attacking us for so many days. We can tell which unit is strong and which is weak, right? We will break out from the weakest side.”

Yemeni Sultan Umar said, "Judging from the flags, the Chagatai clique should be the weakest. Let's break out from the west where they are attacking."

Camille nodded slightly and said, "So, Kekubad, you've been planning a final breakout all along? When you dripped your blood onto the battle flag to rally our troops, was it just to boost our morale? And those claims about divine miracles you just mentioned, were you trying to use them to deceive the ordinary soldiers?"

Kekubad I said, "You could say that."

"What happens after we escape?"

"After you return to your own land, continue to fight the Mongols. If you really can't hold on, then go to the western European countries, or to the vast and mysterious lands south of the Ayyubid Dynasty! The world is so big, isn't there a way for us to survive? In short, the Mongols have taken away our wealth and glory, so we will fight them to the death and be their enemies for life!"

"Okay! Let's do it this way!"

"Prepare to break out!"

"In this lifetime, we will fight the evil Easterners to the very end!"

……

Many nobles of the True God Cult responded enthusiastically.

First of all, is there any other way now?

Secondly, who wants to die if they can live? Despite their previous impassioned demeanor, countless members of the True God Cult had already secretly prepared to flee. Now that the entire elite cavalry force is concentrated, the chances of success in breaking through the Mongol army's weak points are much greater. So why oppose it?

Meanwhile, inside Zhao He's central command tent.

"Guo Kan pays his respects to the Crown Prince!"

"No courtesy, please sit down."

"Yes."

Seeing that Guo Kan was seated, Zhao He asked, "Guo Kan, what brings you here so late?"

"After much thought, there are two things I really have to say."

"You said."

Guo Kan said, "The first thing is that the True God Church probably can't just stand by and watch our army break through the Ayyubid Dynasty's camp. If I were in charge of the True God Church's allied forces, I would definitely concentrate all the elite troops to support the Ayyubid Dynasty."

Zhao He asked, "And the second thing?"

Guo Kan said, "The second thing is that the Crown Prince must be wary of the True God Sect's allied forces resorting to desperate measures. This time, we have surrounded not only the main force of the True God Sect's allied forces, but also the rulers of the True God Sect's various kingdoms."

"If we eliminate these rulers here, their countries will likely be engulfed in infighting over the new ruler, which will save us a lot of trouble. On the contrary, if they escape back, there will probably be many problems later."

Zhao He looked at Guo Kan approvingly and said, "Very good, Guo Kan, your insight is excellent. Father was right about you. In fact, before you came, three other people had already come to me with similar ideas."

"three people?"

Guo Kan originally thought that these were the first two things he thought of, but he didn't expect that there were three other people who thought of them before him.

He asked, "If I'm not mistaken, two of them are Vice Commanders Shi Tianze and Hai Rige, right?"

“That’s right, it’s the two of them. My original plan was to launch a general offensive against Baghdad on the fourteenth day. But our progress has been much faster than expected. Tomorrow is the ninth day, and there’s only one camp ahead of us. So, the two of them suggested that we simply launch a general offensive against the True God Alliance forces ahead tomorrow.”

When the seven commanders of the Semu army launched a night raid on the enemy camp, they could not continue the attack during the day. Therefore, Zhao He sent out the seven commanders of the Han army a day earlier. So today is the eighth day of the Mongol army's attack on Baghdad.

Zhao He continued, "Moreover, they suggested that since the situation has developed to this point, there's no need to be stingy with the use of the Thunderclap Bombs; we should use up all the Thunderclap Bombs in stock."

Guo Kan asked, "Then who is the third person?"

"The third person is Yan Zhongzhen, the eldest son of Yan Shi, the commander of the Han Army's Plain Black Banner. They once selected five hundred men and specially trained them in the art of throwing thunderbolts. This time, they will use thunderbolts to quickly break through the enemy's defenses and allow our army to capture the city as soon as possible."

Back then, in the Battle of Sanfeng Mountain, Yan used his three-tailed throwing spear to break through the Jin army's formation.

Having tasted the success of javelins, he naturally thought of throwing thunderbolts. Therefore, he selected five hundred men from the entire household to train specifically in throwing thunderbolts. However, thunderbolts were extremely precious, so during training, they used iron balls of equal weight.

For this western expedition, Yan Shi ordered Yan Zhongzhen to take all five hundred men with him. In a sense, these five hundred men were specially trained "grenadiers".

Yan Zhongzhen's military talent was actually inferior to Guo Kan's. However, he had been looking for an opportunity to demonstrate the value of his five hundred grenadiers, which led him to consider the possibility of the enemy concentrating their elite forces—a case of reasoning backward from the outcome.

"I see. If the Crown Prince has no further instructions..."

Guo Kan prepared to take his leave.

However, Zhao He stopped him, saying, "Wait a minute, now you have two missions to choose from. The first is to participate in the general offensive and see if you can earn the title of Tiger of Baghdad in the Battle of Baghdad based on your own abilities."

"Secondly, I'm sending Shi Moxiandebu with one commander of his own troops and Hai Rige with two commanders of his own troops to intercept the desperate True God Cult nobles outside the city. Three thousand men are still a bit too few. If you'd like, you can go with them."

Guo Kan replied without hesitation, "This humble general is willing to choose the first mission!"

"Okay, you go ahead."

Although Guo Kan refused Zhao He's offer, Zhao He not only didn't take offense, but admired him even more.

……

……

The next day, dawn.

dong dong dong~~
With the drums of war thundering, more than 13,000 Han soldiers arrayed themselves in battle formation before the third camp of the Ayyubid dynasty.

Although it was a full-scale offensive, war still required a certain rhythm. Zhao He planned for the Han army to launch the attack in the first half of the day, and the Semu army to launch the attack in the second half.

The same will be true tomorrow.

When the enemy is on the verge of collapse, then launch a full-scale attack.

However, even just over 13,000 Han soldiers are formidable! Back then, seven Han army commanders were enough to leave Camille helpless.

Now, Camille has personally come to the first camp to take command, and seeing the Han army's formation, he is secretly alarmed.

"Devout children of the true God, the final battle has arrived!"

"Those who die in battle will ascend directly to heaven!"

"The survivors will receive the blessing of the true God and eternal wealth!"

"Great warriors, complete the final test of the true God! Overwhelm the evil heretics with your wrath! The true God will descend, and victory will be ours!"

……

Camille did everything he could to boost morale.

"May God protect His people!"

"Let the evil Easterners pay for their blood debts!"

"Kill heretics, and you'll go to heaven!"

……

The soldiers and junior officers, of course, were unaware that the True God Cult dignitaries were already preparing to flee. Camille's words did indeed boost the morale of many True God Cult soldiers.

Furthermore, the elite infantry of the True God Alliance are now concentrated in the five camps of this third layer, giving them a false sense of security.

With so many elite troops here, the evil Easterners won't get away with this, at least not for the time being!

Soon, the Han army's attack began.

Whoosh whoosh!
The three-bow crossbow was firing a terrifying three-arrow shot.

Zhao He's assembled archers also unleashed a barrage of heavy arrows at the True God Alliance archers in the camp.

Within the True God Alliance, there were indeed skilled archers. However, although they had gathered the elite of the entire army, they did not have a significant advantage over the Han army's skilled archers.

They also lacked a terrifying long-range weapon like the triple-bow ballista.

Of course, they had no time to lament being completely outmatched by the Han army in terms of technology, because the Han infantry's attack had begun!

dong dong dong~~
Five hundred armored soldiers, arranged in five rows with a ten-foot interval between each row and a three-foot interval between soldiers in the same row, carrying huge shields, marched heavily toward the Ayyubid dynasty's camp.

They were followed by three thousand heavily armored infantrymen without shields, ready to charge.

The archers of the True God Alliance were already at a disadvantage when exchanging fire with the archers of the Han army, so they naturally had few arrows left to attack the Han army.

With their heavy armor and shields, the Han army suffered very few casualties.

Then let's fight hand-to-hand!
They are all elite troops, and when it comes to real fighting, how are they any worse than the Han army?
The most elite soldiers of the True God Alliance within the camp had already hidden behind the low wall, waiting for the moment to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Han army.

However, the Han army's vanguard consisted of grenadiers who had no intention of engaging in hand-to-hand combat!

When they reached the trench, they stopped instead of continuing.

There must be a distance of about ten zhang between the tall city walls and the moat, and even further away from the other side of the moat.

However, the distance between this low wall and the moat was only about three zhang (approximately 10 meters), and the moat itself was only about two zhang (approximately 6 meters) wide.

It's right within the grenadier's attack range!
The first hundred armored soldiers suddenly crouched down, using their shields to block the heavy arrows from the True God Alliance while igniting the thunderbolts!
Zizzizi~~~
In a split second, a hundred thunderbolts, still sparking, were thrown at the low wall behind the trench!
Boom boom boom!
A flash of fire, followed by a deafening roar!
Thick smoke billowed up from behind the low wall, filling the air with smog, which soon mingled with the blood mist.

The first three rows of True God Alliance soldiers guarding behind the low wall were devastated by the thunderbolt. Except for a few lucky ones, most were killed instantly, and some lay on the ground screaming in agony.

Unfortunately, if it were the thunderclap from the Song Dynasty of this era, the effect would only be so-so, not as clean and decisive.

However, this was an improved version by Zhao Shuo, using granular gunpowder, making its explosive power three times stronger than the Thunderclap Bomb.

Such a dense salvo produced such a terrifying effect!

"This...this...this..."

The True God Alliance forces behind them were stunned by what they saw.

The True God Cult's allied forces had considered the possibility of the Han army using devastating grenades, but they never expected the Han army to be so despicable as to hide them behind their shields. They also never imagined that the Han army, after training, could throw four- or five-pound grenades such a long distance.

They never imagined that the concentrated use of the thunderbolts would be so effective! In an instant, it almost wiped out the first few rows of armored soldiers!

How to fight this?
In this situation, what exactly is the difference between elite soldiers and ordinary soldiers?
Those elite soldiers who were killed in the bombing were truly innocent victims!
And more importantly, what should we do now?
Should they charge over the low wall and engage the Han army in hand-to-hand combat? Or should they retreat to the rear and avoid the Han army's thunderous bombs?

In that very moment of their hesitation—

zizizi~~
Sparks flew again!

The second rank of armored soldiers threw away their shields, rushed into the trench, and unleashed a second wave of thunderous blasts!
Third row!
Fourth row!
Fifth row!
After five consecutive volleys of thunderclap bombs, the grenadiers had reached the low wall.

Within a radius of seven or eight zhang behind the low wall, there were no more True God Cult allied forces standing!

"Charge! Kill!"

"Break through Baghdad!"

"The Han army's Eight Banners are invincible in every attack and every battle!"

……

It would be a great pity to lose such valuable grenadiers in hand-to-hand combat. The three thousand Eight Banner soldiers behind them overtook the grenadiers and charged forward. And behind them, even more Han Chinese Eight Banner soldiers followed.

"It's done! It seems that as long as we don't skimp on the thunderbolts, we can break through these three camps before dinner tonight!"

Upon seeing this, Zhao He smiled.

Although the Semu army is not currently participating in the battle, Guo Kan is watching the battle right next to Zhao He.

He thought to himself, "This afternoon, the Semu army will be joining the battle. Guo Kan, Guo Kan, the King and the Crown Prince value you so much, you must do your best and bring the title of Tiger of Baghdad into your grasp!"

(End of this chapter)