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

Chapter 312 Europeans, come out and see the masterpiece of God's calamity!
Frederick II, of course, could not allow this situation to continue.

Firstly, after the Mongol army cut off the European coalition's rear, neither the European army in Bohemia nor the army in Hungary could be adequately supported logistically.

Secondly, the Holy Roman Emperor was elected, not inherited through bloodline, and the various duchies, principalities, and episcopal states had a great deal of autonomy.

For example, the Kingdom of Bohemia: Frederick II recognized that the Bohemian throne was elected by the nobility and that the empire would not interfere; the Kingdom of Bohemia could enjoy an independent status within the empire, mint its own currency, and had the right to appoint bishops.

Frederick II's influence over the Kingdom of Bohemia was pitiful.

At present, the main force of the Holy Roman Empire's princes is gathered in the Kingdom of Bohemia. If Frederick II were to allow the Mongols to attack their homeland, these people would not mind changing the Holy Roman Empire's emperor.

Therefore, Frederick II quickly summoned King Henry III of England, Grand Master Hermann von Salza of the Teutonic Knights, and King Wenceslaus I of Bohemia for a meeting.

Now, the Mongol army and the European coalition have been fighting for more than five years, and the troop deployment on the front line is very different from before.

Frederick II led an army of 250,000 men from the Holy Roman Empire, the Teutonic Knights, the Kingdom of Sicily, and the Kingdom of England to defend the Sudetenland. The Kingdom of Bohemia was also a vassal state of the Holy Roman Empire, and their army was included in this force of 250,000.

Pope Innocent IV led the Papacy's standing crusaders and armies from France, Aragon, and other European countries, totaling around 250,000 men, to defend the Danube River line.

Therefore, King Henry III of England, Grand Master Hermann von Salza of the Teutonic Knights, and King Wenceslaus I of Bohemia were Frederick II's three most important subordinates.

"...That's the situation. The Mongol army has taken advantage of the harsh winter to break through my Oder River defenses and enter the Margraviate of Brandenburg. According to Otto III's intelligence, the Mongol army numbers less than 100,000, but not by much either."

"Whether Brandenburg can be held is anyone's guess, but we must prepare for the worst."

As he spoke, Frederick II stood up, pointed to the map on the wall, and said, “Therefore, I think we should immediately lead the Holy Roman Empire’s army (excluding Bohemia) and the English army, a total of 200,000 men, north along the Elbe River, and block the barbarian army on the west bank of the Elbe. We must not let the barbarians enter the heart of the empire! What do you think?”

"So, are we going to have a decisive battle with the Mongols?"

Grand Master Hermann von Salza of the Teutonic Knights nodded slightly and said, "I estimate the Mongol army to be around 80,000, while our total strength is 200,000. 80,000 against 200,000, we have an absolute numerical advantage."

"Moreover, by the time the decisive battle takes place, the Brandenburg region will likely have thawed, making it difficult for the Mongols to resupply. The key now is to act quickly. Before the Mongols break through the Brandenburg region, our main force must move to the west of the Elbe River. Of course, the best outcome would be to stop the Mongols directly in the Brandenburg region."

Henry III, in high spirits, said, “We have been fighting the Mongols for nearly six years! The wealth we extracted from the Jews took only two years. For the past three years, all Europeans have been burdened with heavy taxes and have been looking forward to the day of the final battle.”

"This time, the Mongol army launched a flanking attack, hoping to break through our Sudetenland defenses in one fell swoop. But at the same time, they have also revealed weaknesses! Now is the best time for a decisive battle!"

Only King Wenceslaus I of Bohemia frowned slightly and said, "So, we Bohemians are to fight against the Polish Mongol army alone?"

"Vaclav, you don't need to worry."

Frederick II looked earnestly at Wenceslaus I and said, “Since the Mongol army has deployed nearly 100,000 troops for a flanking maneuver, they certainly won’t have many troops left in Poland. Moreover, the flanking force must be elite, while the main force left behind will be weaker. Can’t your Bohemian army, relying on the fortresses in the Sudetenland and only defending without attacking, handle this?”

Bohemia had a total population of around two million and an army of fifty thousand.

After a pause, Frederick II stood up, patted Wenceslaus I on the shoulder, and said, "Your victory in this decisive battle and your defense of the Sudetenland Mountains is a great achievement. I swear in the name of the Holy Roman Emperor that after this victory, you will receive all the territory of western Poland!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Wenceslaus said those things because he felt immense pressure and also because he was making demands of the Holy Roman Emperor.

Frederick II, with his keen insight into human nature, indeed offered Wenceslaus I a condition that he could not refuse.

The Mongol army now numbers only around 200,000. Nearly 100,000 have already made incursions and outflanked the enemy. How many could Václav I possibly have facing?
With an army of 50,000 that only defended and did not attack, how could they not hold out?
He proclaimed, "I swear on the honor of the King of Bohemia that as long as my head is on my neck, I will never allow the Mongols to cross the Sudetenland!"

"Then we'll make an agreement!"

Therefore, the European coalition forces in the Sudetenland Mountains were urgently mobilized, and 200,000 troops marched north.

In the Sudetenland Mountains, only 50,000 Bohemian troops remained as defenders.

Such a commotion could not be kept secret from Möngke Khan and Kublai Khan on the other side.

The day after the withdrawal of the European army was confirmed, Möngke Khan, Kublai Khan, and other princes of the Tolui lineage summoned Liu Heima.

Liu Heima was a Khitan.

When Genghis Khan besieged Zhongdu, Liu Heima's grandfather, Liu Bolin, surrendered to Genghis Khan.

Liu Heima was a valiant and ruthless warrior. Historical records indicate that he fought alongside his grandfather, Liu Bolin, from a young age, participating in hundreds of battles, large and small. He first joined the army to quell the rebellion of Wu Xian, beheading the Jin general Huchahu. Later, he decisively defeated the Jin general Wanyan Heda in the Battle of Sanfeng Mountain, and was subsequently appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of Ten Thousand Households, guarding the Shaanxi and Shanxi regions, while also participating in the war to attack the Song Dynasty's Sichuan region.

Later, during the attack on Xiangyang, Liu Heima accepted the surrender of Song general Liu Zheng. In 1261, Liu Heima died while serving as the Military and Civilian Commissioner of Chengdu Road. The Yuan Dynasty posthumously awarded him the title of Grand Tutor, granted him the title of Duke of Qin, and the posthumous name Zhonghui.

Although Zhao Shuo changed history, Liu Heima's valiant and fierce fighting skills remained unchanged.

He is forty-four years old this year, which is the peak age for a great general. He has a 10,000-strong army under his command, composed of Han Chinese, Khitans and Jurchens.

"Liu Heima, the Black Rock Fortress ahead is yours. According to the prisoners of Europe, this fortress is called the 'Crown Shield.' If you take down this Crown Shield for me, let's see how arrogant that Bohemian King will be then!"

Möngke cut to the chase and issued the order directly.

Liu Heima asked, "Does the Khan mean to deploy that thing?"

"That's for sure." Kublai Khan nodded and continued, "There's a saying among the Han people: 'Good steel should be used on the blade.' Now that the enemy's main force in the Sudetenland mountains has been transferred away, when else can we break through the Sudetenland defense line without using that thing?"

"Yes!"

Liu Heima agreed and left to carry out the order.

Two hours later, Liu Heima's 10,000 troops had gathered at the foot of the "Crown Shield" fortress.

This is a stone fortress built against the mountain, accessible only by a single mountain road, and guarded by three thousand soldiers.

Such treacherous terrain made it impossible to set up catapults; only ballistae with three bows could provide long-range support.

For the Mongol army, capturing this fortress was extremely difficult. They had already suffered approximately a thousand casualties in their efforts to take it.

The Europeans were greatly encouraged and called the fortress the "Shield of the Crown".

However, what they didn't know was that the Mongol army wasn't without a good way to deal with this fortress; it was simply not the right time yet. Even if the Sudetenland defenses, with their more than 200,000 troops, were to breach this fortress, it wouldn't significantly impact the overall situation, and it wasn't worth the Mongols using their secret weapon.

"Foolish barbarians!"

Vit Premisl, the commander of the Crown Shield Fortress, watched as the Mongol army regrouped, attempting to breach his fortress, and a mocking smile appeared on his face.

This man is thirty-three years old and a distant relative of King Wenceslaus I, possessing royal blood from the Premisl dynasty.

He was a highly skilled warrior with long golden hair, dressed in magnificent attire, and favored jewelry bearing the lion's head emblem. He was exceptionally brave on the battlefield and was known as the "Golden Lion" in Bohemia.

He longed to achieve great deeds and had been hoping that the European army would leave the Sudetenland lines and engage in a decisive battle with the Mongol army.

Now that the moment of decisive battle has finally arrived, Frederick II has not brought him along, which makes him quite unhappy.

But it doesn't matter, there are still the Mongols in front of us, aren't there?
Witt Premisel couldn't distinguish between Han Chinese, Mongols, Khitans, and Jurchens; in his eyes, they were all just a bunch of yellow-skinned monkeys, barbarians who only knew how to destroy.

"Come! With God as my witness, I, Vit Premiser, will make the Mongols bleed profusely! Let their blood forge my glory and prove my piety!"

Witt Premisl gripped the hilt of his sword as he patrolled the walls of the stone fortress, keeping an eye on the movements of the Mongol army below.

However, the performance of the Mongolian army today was completely different from what he had imagined, and he soon stopped smiling.

Nine enormous, spherical objects were slowly rising from the Mongol army, bathed in sunlight.

What is this thing?
How can something so huge fly into the sky?
Oh, sky!
That is a forbidden zone for the gods; how can humans tamper with it?

"My God! What is this?"

"There are people up there! Barbarians have actually flown into the sky?"

"They have blasphemed God! God, send them to hell!"

"Merciful Lord, save us! We beg you!"

……

Bohemian bumpkins, where have you ever seen this before?
As the object rose, the Bohemian army on the city walls cried out in despair, and many even knelt down, praying for God's protection.

This thing, of course, is a hot air balloon.

Back when Zhao Shuo attacked the Jin Kingdom, he used the intimidation of hot air balloons to break through the Jin Kingdom's Tongbai Mountain defense line. However, at that time, the hot air balloons could not be controlled and had to be tied with ropes.

Modern hot air balloons have been improved and can now be steered.

This made it possible to carry out bombing raids from hot air balloons.

It is fair to say that hot air balloons combined with thunderbolts were the most powerful militaristic weapons of this era.

After a prolonged and fruitless campaign in Europe, Zhao Shuo lifted the restrictions on hot air balloons, allowing them to be sold to Guyuk.

Guiyou gritted his teeth and bought nine hot air balloons.

There was no other way. After such a long period of warfare, maintaining the logistics for hundreds of thousands of troops was beyond what the Mongol Khan's treasury could sustain.

Zhao Shuo priced the hot air balloons very high, at 50,000 taels of silver each.

Nine hot air balloons cost 450,000 taels of silver, and Guiyou felt a pang of pain when he took it out.

Moreover, if you want to throw this thing accurately, you have to lower the height, which makes it vulnerable to being shot down by enemy crossbows. It's not invincible.

Therefore, the first appearance of hot air balloons on the battlefield, combined with the effects of intimidation and bombing, was the most powerful.

If the enemy adapts to the power of hot air balloons, they will only be slightly more powerful than trebuchets.

The numerous fortresses in the Sudetenland Mountains are unsuitable for sieges using catapults, and no one has ever seen a hot air balloon. Now that the main European forces have left the Sudetenland defenses, it's the perfect time for hot air balloons to achieve their goal!
In fact, Liu Heima's Eastern troops had been training in these hot air balloons in a secluded valley for a long time.

To maintain secrecy, it has always been referred to as "that thing".

Today, the fruits of their hard training are finally about to be realized in battle.

"King Zhao Shuo is truly mighty, having invented such a powerful weapon. Although he is no longer in Europe, the weapon he invented can tear apart the strongest defenses of the Europeans!"

After Liu Heima sighed softly, he said, "Order those Bohemian prisoners to shout at the castle that this mysterious weapon is the masterpiece of King Zhao Shuo, the God's Calamity! God's Calamity, destroy Bohemia, destroy Europe!"

"Yes!"

After such a long period of fighting, the Mongol army naturally had a large number of Bohemian prisoners of war.

"This mysterious weapon is the masterpiece of King Zhao Shuo, the God of Calamity!"

"God's calamity, the destruction of Bohemia, the destruction of Europe!"

"Surrender now! You have no other choice! This is God's will!"

Those who stubbornly resist will surely go to hell!

……

The voices of Bohemian prisoners of war rang out beneath the Crown Shield Fortress, making them audible to the Bohemians inside.

At the same time, the nine hot air balloons also flew over Crown Shield Fortress and slowly descended.
zizizi~~
With sparks flying, thunderbolts rained down from the hot air balloon.

Boom boom boom!
A thunderbolt struck the Bohemian soldiers encircling the fortress walls, instantly blasting those within five paces away in the massive shockwave. Even those without external injuries were shattered, their internal organs destroyed, making survival impossible. The ejected steel fragments, like sharp daggers, hurtled towards the more distant Bohemian troops. Soldiers within ten paces, even those clad in iron armor, were not spared.

With a series of loud explosions, thick smoke billowed and flames surged from the Crown Shield Fortress!

Surprised? Aren't you surprised?
Surprising, isn't it?
Although God's calamity is not in Europe now, his weapons have arrived!
(End of this chapter)