Mongol raids in early August
Chapter 52: Mongol Raid in Early August
The northern military camp has been in a tense atmosphere since the wheat harvest began in May. By the end of July, the work of drying and bagging had basically been completed, and they were just waiting for the tax collection.
But what arrived was not the tax collector, but the news that the Mongolian army had divided into two groups to attack Chuzhou and Lizhou.
Chu Huaibei received the information immediately and sent Xue Zhan to Chuzhou to assist General Song who was patrolling in Chuzhou. She took her personal soldiers to assist General Li who was patrolling in Lizhou, leaving Qin Feng and General Yang to guard Youzhou so that they could mobilize the army if anything happened.
Jin Hongye saw that the prince did not assign him any important tasks, obviously worried that he was not capable enough. However, he was quite generous and did not feel any resentment at all. After all, it was the truth.
"Your Highness, I am willing to follow you into battle and kill the enemy!" Jin Hongye knelt before the prince and petitioned.
Chu Huaibei stared into Jin Hongye's eyes for three seconds, as stern as a sword unsheathed. "Get up, follow me."
"Yes! Your Highness!" Jin Hongye felt a heroic spirit of dying for his country. He followed Chu Huaibei and marched quickly for half a day to reach Lizhou.
Upon receiving news of the Mongol raid, the palace went to work. The Dowager ordered the palace guards to strengthen the defenses, ordered several farms to prepare daily necessities, halted two workshops, and prohibited anyone from leaving the estates, threatening death. Letters were sent to several well-connected noble families, instructing them to keep an eye on the grain in their warehouses, expecting the palace to collect it soon.
Aunt Wen went to Qingzhu Academy and told all the students to go home immediately and come back after the war.
Sun Mingsi immediately sent Jin Jiu and Eleven to follow Chu Huaibei, and sent Twelve to follow Jin Hongye just in case.
Deng Ran found Sun Mingsi and handed him three sheepskin bags filled with emergency wound treatment pills, telling his guards to take them with them before returning to Chu Huaibei. He had seen Eleven accompanying Chu Huaibei on patrol before, so he knew he would definitely be there to protect her on this battlefield. Preparing three bags was just a coincidence; he had no idea how many people Sun Mingsi would send, so it wouldn't hurt to prepare two more.
Du Jiping and the students from Zhangjia Village stayed quietly in the palace and no longer went out.
Youyun City lost its former bustle and bustle and fell into silence.
The various noble families closed their doors and stopped visiting each other for socializing, waiting for news of victory in the war.
Chuzhou
Xue Zhan led the reinforcements to the city of Chuzhou and faced off against a Mongolian army estimated to be over 10,000 strong. During the fight, Xue Zhan tried hard to find a familiar figure in the Mongolian army, but he couldn't find one. The fierce general Na Hai was not there.
The new Mongolian leader had never been seen before. When Xue Zhan faced him, he found that although he was strong, he could not compare with Na Hai. His clothes and accessories looked more expensive and luxurious than Na Hai's, so he should have a high status in Mongolia.
When Xue Zhan arrived at the city with reinforcements and fought with the Mongols, General Song had already ordered the city gates to be opened to fight.
Although the Mongolian army was more brave and good at fighting than the Great Xia, it was obviously at a disadvantage in terms of numbers. Only about 10,000 people arrived, while Xue Zhan brought 10,000 reinforcements. Together with the original 10,000 garrisons in Chuzhou and twice the number of Great Xia troops, the raid ended with the Mongolian army losing more than half of its troops and temporarily retreating.
When Xue Zhan was fighting with the Mongolian general, he took the opportunity to injure the opponent's thigh with a triangular bayonet. His retreat was also partly due to this. When the opponent's men saw the general shouting loudly, they were obviously a little panicked. When their own men kept falling and it was obvious that they were no match for the enemy, they directly sounded the retreat and retreated back to the grassland.
Leaving some men behind to clean up the battlefield, Xue Zhan quickly went into the camp and wrote a letter to the scout, asking him to rush to Lizhou as quickly as possible and hand it to the prince in person.
Lizhou
When Chu Huaibei arrived at Lizhou with 10,000 troops, General Li was already engaged in a battle with the Mongolian army at the city gates. The two sides were evenly matched in strength. Chu Huaibei led his men to outflank the Mongolian army from behind and penetrate its interior. The Mongolian army was split in two by Chu Huaibei, greatly relieving General Li's pressure.
Chu Huaibei led his personal soldiers to kill the enemy while searching for Na Hai. However, even after the Mongols had lost more than half their troops and retreated, there was no sign of Na Hai. Could he be in Chuzhou? I hope Xue Zhan can withstand this first wave of attacks.
Jin Hongye had been following behind Chu Huaibei. It was the first time he saw the prince leading the troops into battle. He was brave and good at fighting, like a sharp sword piercing straight into the enemy's territory. Following the prince, he felt that he had become fearless and moved forward courageously. The first time he killed an enemy, he felt nothing but excitement and no fear at all.
Chu Huaibei also paid a little attention to Jin Hongye. He hadn't expected this guy to be in such good shape against the Mongolian army for the first time. At least, he performed much better than the other generals did the first time. Perhaps those who are bold and naive have a stronger resistance to certain things?
Before Chu Huaibei sent the letter to Xue Zhan, he received a letter from Xue Zhan first. The letter said that the enemy army of about 10,000 people had been lost and more than half of them had fled back to the grassland.
Oh no.
At this time in the morning light, Qin Feng and Yang Sui looked at the Mongolian army that suddenly appeared like ghosts under the city with serious expressions.
The leader was Na Hai. Looking at the black mass of heads, the number was no less than 50,000, so it was not ruled out that there were reinforcements in the rear.
Before the prince left, he arranged for each state to have 10,000 more troops, which means that Youzhou now has 30,000 troops, and the other five states have 20,000 each. Xue Zhan took 10,000 troops and stationed them in Chuzhou, and the prince took 10,000 troops and stationed them in Lizhou, leaving a total of 50,000 troops, leaving Youzhou with only 80,000.
I don’t know what the situation is like with Xue Zhan and the prince. Looking at the siege vehicles and ladders gradually approaching the city, the situation in Youzhou is not very good.
Chu Huaibei immediately summoned Haidongqing and asked it to find Xue Zhan, asking him to arrange the troops to defend the city and then lead his men back to Youzhou from the rear.
Chu Huaibei left a military order for General Li to defend Lizhou and then returned to Youzhou with the 10,000 troops he had brought with him. On the way, he encountered Jin Jiu and his two companions, and without slowing down, he waved to them to follow him and continued his journey back. Seeing that the prince's skin was not even scratched, Jin Jiu was relieved. He signaled Twelve to follow Jin Hongye with his eyes. Twelve quietly moved his position and rode behind Jin Hongye.
Chu Huaibei returned to Youzhou City just as Na Hai had announced the siege. He quickly climbed the wall and blew a whistle. Soldiers standing before several black cloths quickly pulled down the coverings and, in unison, loaded their heavy crossbows and fired them in the direction of the siege vehicles.
There was a rhythmic "hum" vibration sound, and the crossbow arrows penetrated the shield soldiers in front of the siege vehicle with an unstoppable posture, causing a group of people to fall backwards one after another.
Na Hai's eyes widened slightly, and he cursed at the people on the wall in Mongolian. Don't ask Chu Huaibei, since you don't even know Mongolian, how can you think it's an insult? How can the enemy general praise you when the two armies are fighting?
Na Hai drew his bow and shot an arrow, aiming at Chu Huaibei, but she shot it down.
As if it were a signal, the Mongolian archers aimed at the soldiers on the city wall and fired wave after wave of arrows until the last arrow was shot.
After dodging the rain of arrows, Chu Huaibei blew the whistle twice, and the kerosene truck concentrated its firepower and threw the oil tanks at the siege vehicle.
One after another, kerosene cans were thrown from the city wall without stopping. The Mongolian soldiers below were burned by the kerosene and wailed. Gradually, the siege vehicles also caught fire.
Although there were only five kerosene trolleys, Chu Huaibei had designed them to increase efficiency, as they no longer hurled boulders. With just a click of a button, the kerosene cans placed at their feet were launched one by one. With two people operating them together, efficiency doubled.
Na Hai was first shocked by the crossbow bolt, then had a small braid of his hair singed by the kerosene, and he cursed in anger. Seeing that the kerosene on the city wall was almost used up, he raised his sword to signal an all-out attack.
Instantly, a dark tide surged towards the city. Chu Huaibei squinted her eyes and looked towards the rear of the Mongolian army. She knew that the Mongolian Third Prince, Chahan, must be in charge of the rear.
Seeing the Mongolian army below the city already within the range of Zhuge's divine crossbow, Chu Huaibei blew his whistle three times. The archers, already itching to fire, quickly loaded their arrows and triggered the trigger, sending a dense stream of arrows scattering towards the city.
The first Mongolian soldiers who rushed to the wall carrying ladders were taken away by this wave of arrows. The people who followed behind took over and held the ladders, rushing towards the city wall without hesitation. The food in the city was the hope of their family's survival!
Wave after wave of arrows blocked the enemy's advance, but the arrows would eventually run out. After the archers had used up their arrows, they picked up their weapons and prepared to meet the enemies coming up the ladders.
One hundred thousand soldiers were ready to go and were waiting quietly at the city gate, just waiting for the prince's order.
The water in the moat outside the city gradually turned red with blood. The corpses on the ground, the scorched earth, the wails of the wounded, and the brave enemy troops composed a tragic song on the battlefield. This was a scene that Chu Huaibei had never seen in his previous life, and it was a hundred times more shocking than the scenes presented in film and television works!
The first group of enemies who climbed the wall jumped out on the ladder. Chu Huaibei stood on the wall, pointing the red tassel spear in his hand directly at the sea: "Open the city gate and fight!"
As the thousand-pound city gate creaked open slowly, Xue Zhan and Qin Feng took the lead and led the soldiers to rush towards the oncoming enemy.
Chu Huaibei leaped down from the city wall, stepped on the enemy's head below, and flew up to shoot at the sea. Jin Hongye, who was following behind him, saw the prince jump off the city wall and wanted to jump down directly, but Twelve, who was standing behind him, grabbed him by the collar and threw him into the city. Jin Hongye was stunned for a moment, and after landing, he shouted: "What are you doing!"
Then he was caught up in the crowd again, and without bothering to cause trouble, he left the city and charged into the enemy's ranks.
Twelve was speechless. He didn't even consider his own skills and wanted to imitate the prince to jump down. He was afraid of being pierced by the Mongolian soldiers. He didn't know whether to call him reckless or stupid. Twelve saw that the man had already rushed into the enemy group, and hurried to his side in fear.
Na Hai had already dismounted and was engaged in a fight with Chu Huaibei. No one approached within three meters of the two. The Zhenbei Army knew that if they tried to help, they would only cause trouble for the prince, so it was best not to get close. The Mongolian Army knew that Na Hai was going berserk and would hammer everyone to death without distinguishing friend from foe, so they didn't dare to get close either.
Jin Jiu and Shiyi were guarding Chu Huaibei from the periphery, always paying attention to the surrounding situation. If anyone came to attack them from behind, they must be caught on the spot.
The battle lasted from dawn to the next day. Chu Huaibei and Na Hai fought for a whole day and night. From Na Hai's occasional distraction to check the situation in the rear, Chu Huaibei guessed that the Mongolian reinforcements should have arrived at a certain time, but they never did. It was obvious that Na Hai became more and more impatient as the battle went on.
Seeing that less than half of the 60,000 Mongolian warriors he brought with him were left, Na Hai gritted his teeth, forcefully waved away the spear tip of Chu Huaibei, grabbed the lone warhorse, turned over and blew the whistle, signaling others to call back the troops and return to the grassland.
Hearing the distinctive Mongolian retreat horn, the remaining Mongol troops quickly mounted their horses and retreated. It was so fast that in the space of a cup of tea, only a cloud of dust remained, with not a single Mongol soldier who could move or ride a horse left.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
