Chapter 341 Battle of Kaifeng (5)(1/2)
Wokuotai looked gloomy, "Kaifeng Khan must win."
Yang Weizhong said: "The Great Khan, then we can only send troops to capture Kaifeng quickly, and then withdraw the army westward to defend Luoyang and Guanzhong."
Wo Kuotai clenched his fists and said, "We in Mongolia have been conquering the Jin Dynasty for decades, but today we want to destroy the Jin Dynasty and occupy Kaifeng, but we want to take advantage of the Southern Song Dynasty. This Khan is really uneasy."
A group of Mongolian generals all looked angry.
The Mongolian army fought several times in Kaifeng City and suffered heavy casualties before they were about to capture it.
If they withdraw to the west now, they will give up many years of achievements to the Song army, allowing the Southern Song Dynasty to easily obtain Kaifeng.
Seeing everyone's expressions, Yang Weizhong comforted him and said: "Great Khan, the area around Kaifeng is already white. Even if the Song army takes it away, it will be difficult for them to hold it. Let's return to defend Luoyang and Guanzhong first, and repel the Song army in the direction of Xiangyang and Dashanguan.
Ensure the safety of Guanzhong and Nanyang, and it will not be too late to capture Kaifeng next year."
Wo Kuotai had a dark face and thought for a moment. Now he could not defeat the Song and Qi coalition forces, and Guanzhong and Luoyang were empty of troops.
If he continues to fight with Zhao Tai, the Song army from the direction of Dashan Pass invades the pass, and the Song army from Xiangyang takes Nanyang and threatens Luoyang, then the Mongolian army will lose all the land from the Yellow River.
At present, the Mongolian army can only withdraw first, and then re-capture eastern Henan when it is properly redeployed.
After thinking about this, Wokuotai could only grit his teeth and order, "Subotai, you go back to supervise the battle and order Cui Li to break through the inner walls of Kaifeng and destroy the Jin Kingdom within three days. After the Jin is destroyed, we will withdraw westward immediately!"
When Subotai heard this, he immediately punched his chest with a fist, "I accept your order!"
~~~~~~
After the heavy cavalry of the Mongolian army suffered a devastating blow, the Mongolian army led by Ogedai stopped attacking the coalition camp.
In the next few days, the Mongolian army used a cavalry unit to monitor the coalition camp, and then sent nearly a hundred cavalry groups to plunder the camp, bypass the coalition camp, attack the coalition food road, and sneak attack the villages to the south.
In the coalition camp, Zhao Tai, Zhao Kui and others climbed up to the watchtower again and looked at the Mongolian camp in the distance. They saw only the Mongolian cavalry leaving the camp returning in the evening with many livestock and people.
Zhao Tai frowned, "Wo Kuotai is about to withdraw!"
Quanzi then said: "With great difficulty, Mongolia is about to capture Kaifeng and destroy the Jin Kingdom. They just lost for a while yesterday, and they are about to evacuate?"
Zhao Tai pointed at the Mongolian troops who had plundered and returned to the camp, "Wokuotai should have known from yesterday's battle that it would be difficult for him to defeat our camp. In this case, he could only withdraw westward to guard against the troops heading north from Dashanguan and Xiangyang.
.You see, he sent cavalry everywhere to plunder everywhere. He just didn’t want to take advantage of us and wanted to take everything he could. Even if we recapture Bianjing, it would still be a broken Bianjing.”
Zhao Kui nodded, "Guorui's words are reasonable. What can we do about this?"
Zhao Tai shook his head, "The Mongolian army has many cavalry. Yesterday's battle did not damage our vitality. Now we can only stick to the camp and cannot rush into battle and give the Mongolian army a chance to defeat us. But~"
"But what?" Zhao Kui asked.
"Our infantry cannot leave the camp. The cavalry may go out quietly and cause some trouble for the Mongolian army." Zhao Tai said with a smile: "After all, there is a vast plain in the east of Henan. Our cavalry is in the wilderness, and it is difficult for the Mongolian cavalry to encircle and annihilate it.
.”
Zhao Kui asked: "What does Guorui want to do with the cavalry?"
Zhao Tai said in a deep voice: "The Mongolian army has been attacking Kaifeng for so long, and it is about to take it. It is impossible to withdraw the troops easily. Now Wokuotai knows that Guanzhong and Nanyang may be attacked and urgently needs the Mongolian army to return reinforcements, but he has stationed troops to fight with us.
Don't rush to retreat. I guess he wants to capture Kaifeng and destroy the Jin Kingdom before leaving."
Zhao Kui frowned, "Guorui, do you want the cavalry to rescue Kaifeng?"
As for the Southern Song Dynasty, it is now an ally with the Jin Kingdom, but this ally occupies the old capital of the Southern Song Dynasty.
If the Mongolian army retreated and Zhao Tai rescued the Jin army in Kaifeng City, how could the Southern Song Dynasty regain Bianjing?
That's why Zhao Kui and Quan Zi looked at each other. Neither of them wanted to save Kaifeng. They even hoped to use the help of the Mongols to destroy the Jin Kingdom. After the Mongolian army retreated, they could take over Kaifeng openly.
Zhao Tai understood what they meant and smiled: "It's not about saving Kaifeng, it's just about causing some trouble for the Mongolian army. If our cavalry appears outside Kaifeng City, what will happen to the Jin Army inside Kaifeng City?"
Zhao Kui raised his eyebrows, "It will definitely ignite hope."
Zhao Tai said coldly: "Yes. The Jin army will definitely regain its morale, and Wo Kuotai is eager to return to Guanzhong and Luoyang, so he can only urge the Mongolian army to step up the attack. By then~"
Zhao Kui and Quan Zicai heard this and couldn't help laughing.
After hearing what they said, Wu Xian felt a little bit of terror in his heart. The Kingdom of Jin treated Zhao Tai quite well, and Zhao Tai wanted to drain the last bit of value from the Kingdom of Jin.
~~~~~~
Kaifeng City.
Wokuotai led the army southward, leaving only the fallen general Cui Li and the Shaomeng army monitoring the Jin army in the inner city.
After the main Mongolian force left, the defenders in the inner city immediately realized that their long-awaited reinforcements might have really arrived.
In the palace, more than 100,000 Jurchens were crowded into the palace. The food was exhausted and the water supply was cut off by the surrendering rebels.
Without food, a person can survive for a few days, but without water, he will not be able to survive for three days.
Cui Li was the marshal of the west of the Jin Kingdom. He knew the situation in Kaifeng very well. After surrendering to Mongolia, he immediately organized manpower to cut off the water source of the inner city.
Now there is no water flowing into the inner city. The Jurchens in the city are hungry and thirsty and have reached their limit.
The Jin soldiers in the city had lost their combat effectiveness. They thought that the Mongolian army outside the city would not launch an attack and would wait for them to run out of food before seizing the city. Unexpectedly, the Mongolian army suddenly launched a fierce attack.
Facing the Mongolian attack, the Jurchen soldiers and civilians in the city could only grit their teeth and resist. After paying a huge price, they were lucky enough to repulse the Mongolian attack.
At this time, an atmosphere of despair spread in the imperial city. The Jurchen soldiers and civilians in the city knew that if the Mongolian army attacked once, the city might be captured.
That night, in the imperial city, some desperate Jurchen nobles began to say goodbye to their families. Many of them committed suicide by taking poison in the city, and their whole families threw themselves into dry wells together.
"Your Majesty, the main force of the Mongolian army has been moving south for several days, but there has been no movement outside the city. Now our food and water sources are cut off, the soldiers are extremely exhausted, and the Mongolian army has launched another attack. We may not be able to sustain it until reinforcements arrive." Wanyan Chenglin persuaded.
: "At the moment we don't know whether the reinforcements can defeat the Mongolian army and relieve us. I think it's okay~"
"You want to persuade me to break out of the encirclement?" Wanyan Shouxu said in a deep voice.
Wanyan Chenglin said: "Your Majesty, we can no longer defend it. If the reinforcements cannot get close to Kaifeng, breaking out now is the only chance."
Wanyan Shouxu said angrily: "Do you want me to abandon Kaifeng and abandon the people and flee?"
Now there are more than 100,000 Jurchen soldiers and civilians gathered in the inner city, and the Mongolian army is watching outside the city. It is impossible for the old, weak, women and children in the city to break out.
Wanyan Chenglin suggested that Wanyan Shouxu break out of the encirclement, which meant that he should abandon his people.
"Your Majesty, if you keep this useful life, you still have a chance to make a comeback!" Wanyan Chenglin said with a tearful voice, "For the sake of the Great Golden Society, I ask your Majesty to consider it carefully."
When Wanyan Shouxu heard this, he suddenly swallowed. The Jin Kingdom was at the end of its rope. More than 100,000 Jurchens were abandoned in Kaifeng. What was the use of him going out?
There was a burst of grief in his heart, and he couldn't help but look up to the sky, with two lines of hot tears streaming down his cheeks. After a while, he said, "If I leave, the soldiers and civilians in the city will definitely lose their morale. How can I bear the heart to leave them and let them be massacred by the Mongolian army!"
In the main hall, many Jin ministers shed tears after hearing this.
Wanyan Chenglin suddenly knelt down and kowtowed: "Your Majesty, for the sake of great wealth, I ask your Majesty to break out of the encirclement, and let me lead the clan and continue to defend Kaifeng."
Wanyan Shouxu heard this and looked at Wanyan Chenglin. The emperor and his ministers all cried bitterly. After a while, Wanyan Shouxu said: "Okay, I will break out of the encirclement. I will personally go and ask for reinforcements for you."
Wanyan Chenglin and others saw that the emperor was willing to break out of the encirclement and couldn't help wiping away tears, "As long as your majesty rushes out, I, Dajin, will still have hope!"
Wanyan Shouxu said: "However, before I break out, I want to pass the throne to you. As long as the emperor is in the city, the morale of the soldiers and people in the city will not collapse."
Wanyan Chenglin was shocked and quickly declined, but Wanyan Shouxu was extremely determined and insisted on passing the throne to Wanyan Chenglin.
Now that the Jin Kingdom is exhausted, Wanyan Shouxu has no confidence in breaking through. Even if he succeeds in breaking through, he has no confidence in reestablishing the Jin Kingdom.
He did not want to be the king of the country, so he insisted on passing the throne to Wanyan Chenglin.
"If you agree, I will break through, otherwise don't mention the breakout!" Wanyan Shouxu insisted.
During the day, Wanyan Chenglin resisted the Mongolian attack at the top of the city. He knew very well that if the Mongolian army continued to attack tomorrow, they would definitely not be able to hold on.
When Wanyan Chenglin saw the emperor's insistence, he knew very well that inheriting the throne of the Jin Kingdom at this time was definitely not a good thing, but he still knelt down and said in a painful voice: "I will obey your majesty's arrangements in everything."
When Wanyan Shouxu saw his promise, he couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed as if a heavy burden had been lifted off his whole body. He sat on the throne and was lost in thought for a moment. After a while, he came to his senses and said in a deep voice: "In extraordinary times, things must be done according to authority. I am here
Just write an edict of abdication and pass the throne to Aiqing!"
Although everything is lacking and there is nothing in the city now, passing the throne is a big deal after all.
Wanyan Shouxu wrote the edict, and made the ministers and generals anxious, and held the throne passing ceremony in the square outside the palace.
At this time, everyone had just gathered together when a voice suddenly sounded, "Look at the sky, there is fire!"
The Jin ministers gathered in the square were startled, thinking that there was a fire in the palace, and the Mongolian army rushed into the inner city. They quickly asked, "Where is the fire? Where is the fire?"
There was a commotion in front of the palace. Everyone didn't know where the sound came from. After a while, they realized that it was not a fire in the city, but that the sky outside the city was red.
"It's outside the city!"
"It's outside!"
More and more voices sounded.
The Emperor of the Jin Kingdom, who was about to pass the throne to Wanyan Chenglin, was surprised and uncertain at first, but when he realized what he was doing, he couldn't help but feel happy.
"Go up to the watchtower!" Wanyan Shouxu said urgently.
In order to observe the situation outside the city, the Jin army erected a watchtower in the inner city.
Wanyan Shouxu and several ministers hurriedly climbed to the roof of the palace and stood on the watchtower on the roof, panting and looking out of the city.
"Your Majesty, the fire seems to be in the Mongolian camp!" Wanyan Chenglin, who followed, said excitedly.
Wanyan Shouxu climbed up to the watchtower. His tired and hungry body, after strenuous exercise, made his eyesight darken.
He listened to the reminders of excitement under the ministers, stabbed his spirit, swallowed his spit, and looked at it, and saw a fire outside the city.
To be continued...