As expected, everything went very smoothly. The vanguard of six to seven thousand people began to march towards the city of Xingqing Prefecture early in the morning to prepare for battle.
There were only a few Mongol soldiers left on the city walls; most had probably already fled. The Song army was now defeated wherever the Mongol soldiers attacked, so some cities didn't even need to be fought. By the time the army arrived, the enemy had already fled.
Zhao Huan smiled. It was clear that the main force of the enemy had already withdrawn. Perhaps they had already fled back to the grasslands. Soon, all of Western Xia would be part of the Song Dynasty. This would be an unprecedented achievement. Moving the people of the Central Plains here would further promote the integration of all ethnic groups.
The future of the Song Dynasty is limitless. Zhao Huan is still young. In his twenties, he has a long life ahead of him. Sooner or later, he will build the Song Dynasty into the world's most powerful nation. Just like the prosperous Tang Dynasty, it will be admired by all nations and attract tributes from all over the world.
Just as Zhao Huan had expected, the Mongolian army only mounted a hasty defense, and then the city gate was easily breached. Although these 7,000 men were not many in number, they were all the emperor's personal guards, and their individual combat capabilities were ten times that of a single soldier.
The soldiers rushed into the city and everything went surprisingly smoothly.
In Shunzhou, south of Xingqing Prefecture, Zhu Qing's Iron Wolf Army encountered the Mongol Kuer tribe. The Kuer tribe was very capable and actually withstood two attacks from the Iron Wolf Army.
Zhu Qing's face was livid in the commander's tent. He had obviously not expected the Mongolian army he encountered to be so powerful. However, the Mongolian army's target did not seem to be Shunzhou. What exactly they were planning, Zhu Qing could not tell for a while.
"The Second Blue Wolf Regiment, charge forward and beat them hard!" Zhu Qing ordered.
Zhao Huan's personal guards rushed into Xingqing Prefecture, and suddenly they felt something was amiss. After all, it was the capital of Western Xia, yet there was no one in the entire city.
All around was quiet, and a sense of unease enveloped everyone. This was a deserted city. No one, no one.
"Your Majesty, I dare to say that we should withdraw first." Cao Dongsheng muttered again.
Zhao Huan felt a tingling sensation on his spine. He also realized that something was wrong: "Stop moving forward!"
These soldiers were all veterans of the battlefield, and their intuition told them that something was amiss. They all gathered around the emperor. The most important thing now was the emperor's safety, not this mere city.
'Flutter...' A few crows flew overhead, cawing, adding a hint of ominousness to the atmosphere.
"Retreat! Go back outside the city!" Zhao Huan shouted. He had already completely sensed that something was wrong. There was an ambush!
"Kill! Capture the Emperor of Song alive!" Suddenly, countless Mongolian soldiers emerged from the east and west sides, and the leading general was none other than Bars, the deputy general of Tiemenguan.
Bars was defeated at Tiemen Pass and fled with his remaining troops to Xingqing Prefecture. The Mongol commander of Xingqing Prefecture, Batieku, fearing death, attempted to flee back to the grasslands. Bars angrily executed Batieku, ultimately stabilizing the situation in Xingqing Prefecture.
After the heavy loss at Tiemenguan, Bars began to use strategies. He knew that the Song army was currently unstoppable and that the continuous defeats were caused by the Mongolian soldiers fleeing in disarray, while the Song army was chasing them in disarray.
The Song army would never believe that the Mongolian army would counterattack, so Bars set up a plan in Xingqing Prefecture to inflict a heavy blow on the Song army. Even if the defeat was inevitable, he would make a last-ditch struggle.
The Mongol army was not short of capable and skilled generals, and Bars was a warmongerer. He was not afraid of death, so he wanted to drag the more than 10,000 Mongol soldiers from Xingqing Prefecture to die with him.
However, to Bars's surprise, the Song army's vanguard troops that had reached the city yesterday actually contained the emperor's dragon sedan chair. This was a huge win. If they could capture the Song emperor alive in Xingqing Prefecture, even if they lost Western Xia, they could still use the emperor as a bargaining chip to gain a lot of benefits.
The Mongols knew the Song Dynasty well. Even if they captured the emperor, they could just install a new one. The Song Dynasty had many royal relatives, so there were plenty of candidates for the throne.
At least capturing Zhao Huan could be exchanged for some benefits, such as gold, silver, jewelry, or weapons and equipment. It could even force the Song court to sign another treaty to ensure mutual non-aggression.
Western Xia could never regain control, but at least they could retain their territory north of the Heilongjiang River and their grasslands. The conflict between the Song and the Mongols was now intense, a life-or-death struggle. If the Song army conquered Western Xia, they would certainly not resign themselves. They would march directly to the grasslands, recreating Emperor Wu of Han's northern campaign against the Xiongnu. In that case, the Mongol Empire would be doomed.
"Protect His Majesty! Archers, prepare!" Fortunately, the personal guards around Zhao Huan were the elite of the elite, with strong individual combat capabilities. They instantly formed a defensive formation.
On the outside were shield bearers and crossbowmen, and on the inside were soldiers surrounding Zhao Huan and others in three layers.
However, this formation also has a great disadvantage, that is, it will cause huge casualties in case of attack. Bars was beaten by the red cannons of the Song Dynasty and fled in panic. It was really retribution. At this moment, Zhao Huan and others tasted revenge.
Suddenly, countless huge rocks appeared from the sky and smashed down on Zhao Huan's army. Instantly, men and horses fell to the ground, blood flowed like a river, and the formation was in chaos. It turned out that Barth was using a catapult.
"Retreat! Protect His Majesty!" The soldiers dodged the flying boulders and looked for houses and other shelters.
In Shunzhou, when Zhu Qing's Iron Wolf Regiment launched its third attack, the Mongolian army's Kul tribe was finally defeated. They changed their retreat route and fled westward.
Zhu Qing led the Iron Wolf Army in full pursuit, but as he pursued them, he sensed something was amiss. Why didn't this Mongolian army flee westward at first, but instead headed straight north to their own pocket?
"Whoa!" Zhu Qing suddenly reined in his horse while charging, and his generals followed suit.
"Wolf Head, why don't you chase them?" asked Luo Shiqi next to him.
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