Miao Daorun got on his horse.
At this time, the roar of the crowd was already approaching. Under the influence of the sound, pedestrians on the street were like the ripples caused by throwing stones into water, spreading their panic to the distance. Some people even began to run away unconsciously, knocking down other pedestrians as they flew along.
Looking out from a horse, the road extending south from Sheng'an Temple is like a soft snowdrift that started to collapse from the top, loosening slowly but irreversibly.
How did it become like this? What happened outside the city?
"We have to go take a look! Only when we understand clearly can we deal with it!" Miao Daorun was calm and shouted in the commotion.
Zhang Rou also shouted: "Go directly to Chongzhi Gate in the north of the city, I have a group of old troops on duty there!"
"Then what are you waiting for? Let's go, let's go!" Du Shisheng grabbed the riding whip from the driver's hand and waved it repeatedly.
Although Miao Daorun and Zhang Rou lost power, there were always a few attendants around them. At that moment, a group of people either rode their horses or stepped out, rushing north against the crowd. All they saw along the way were frantic people. Even some officials-looking figures followed the people around in a daze, as if the sky was falling.
This is the third time that the Mongolian army has reached Zhongdu City.
The first two killings had frightened all the people in the city. They knew that most of the imperial troops and horses were just decorations to intimidate the people. They had no ability to resist the Mongolian offensive and would be pissed off at the slightest sign of trouble. .
But this time, because all the tens of thousands of soldiers and horses on the Beijing Road surrendered to Mongolia and actively assisted in the battle, the strongholds outside Zhongdu were lost faster than the previous two times, and the people's confidence in the defenders was already extremely low. degree.
The defenders themselves also had less and less fighting spirit. They only used the orders of the generals as talismans and hunkered down all day long in order to delay the attack.
As the war situation continued to go unfavorably, everyone fell into anxiety and mania in the claustrophobic environment, and all negative emotions continued to ferment within the walls of Zhongdu City. Once the external situation changes suddenly, all kinds of madness are like turbulent waves, which can no longer be contained.
Shuhu Gaoqi saw this clearly. Therefore, the news that he ordered the defenders not to leave the city and forced the Mongolian cavalry to garrison the Jinkouhe camp and approach Zhongdu was actually out of public interest.
But this barely maintained stable situation is actually extremely fragile. It is completely based on the premise that the Mongolian cavalry ceased operations after entering the Jinkouhe camp.
What if the Mongols take action?
or……
Du Shisheng suddenly had a bad premonition. He whipped his whip repeatedly, causing the horses pulling the cart to jump and neigh. The group of people rushed forward and arrived at Chongzhi Gate in a blink of an eye. Zhang Rou took the lead and led the way straight to the city gate tower.
What's ridiculous is that all the defenders on the city gate tower were in a panic, many of them looked wandering, and some had already taken off their military uniforms. It seems that Zhang Rou's old team has become very loose in the past two years, and it is almost impossible to see the fierceness it once had.
Zhang Rou started out as a farmer for generations, rallying the people to defend themselves against bandits, and was also good at training and running the army. Seeing that his old subordinate was in this state, he immediately became furious and went up to a soldier who had taken off his uniform and kicked him to the ground.
After kicking him, he took two more steps toward the city walls, and then saw Du Shisheng and Miao Daorun, both stunned.
Miao Daorun's face was blank, and he murmured: "Where are these five thousand people? The Tanma under Shuhu Gaoqi are all pigs!"
Du Shisheng stared in the direction of the Jinkouhe Camp, his face turned red, and even bloodshot eyes burst out, as if he was stuck by the smoke and dust billowing there.
The Jinkou River Camp was expanded on the basis of the Jinkou Gate in Mengjiashan. It is located in the northwest of Zhongdu City, backed by the rolling western mountains, and about thirty miles away from Zhongdu City.
From this distance, no matter how Du Shisheng held up the awning with his hands and looked around, he couldn't see anyone clearly. But the smoke and dust pouring out of the mountains clearly told everyone that there was a very large army in that direction.
The Jinkou River Camp is an important stronghold in Zhongdu and the North Pole. On that day, Hu Shahu set out from here to plot a rebellion. He arrived at Zhongdu in a short while and then bloodbathed the entire city. Therefore, when the civil servants in the city discovered that there were soldiers and horses dispatched in the direction of the Jinkou River camp, they were particularly panicked, causing the whole city to shake.
Miao Daorun was still muttering to himself:
"The smoke rose extremely high and dispersed very quickly. It was like a surging tide in front, and it was like wings spreading behind... That was the Mongolian cavalry team. Only their cavalry group entered like a peach bark bush and formed a formation like a sea. , will set off such a huge amount of smoke and dust! And the number must exceed ten thousand people, or even more! They actually hid so many people north of the Jinkou River!"
"There is no need for the people in the city to panic. The Mongolian army is not coming to Zhongdu. Judging from their posture, they are going south along the Lugou River and then turning to Liangxiang."
Zhang Rou stared in that direction for a few times and relaxed a little.
Just now there was a sudden chaos in the city, and even now the people are still shouting. Zhang Rou could imagine the scenes of soldiers fleeing in panic at Tongxuan Gate, Huicheng Gate, Zhangyi Gate and other places without looking. Those people were frightened by the smoke and dust in the sky, thinking that the Mongolian army was about to attack the city.
At this time, even if Shuhu Gaoqi can mobilize his soldiers in time to supplement the defense, it may be difficult to stabilize the situation for a while. With the speed of the Mongolian army, if they rush here and break through the city gate, they might cause a huge disaster.
But the cavalry actually ignored Zhongdu and headed south?
It seems that Miao Daorun and I's guesses were correct. The Mongols ambushed this force, and it was still the same method of besieging the city for reinforcements. They are going for King Qin's soldiers and horses!
Zhang Rou then sighed: "Mr. Jinzhi, what is lurking here is the main force of the Mongolian army's cavalry. Judging from their marching route, only a small number of troops will be sent to continue to monitor Zhongdu, while most of them will be running at full speed. They will arrive in an hour. Liangxiang. The Meng'an army that had been scattered by Anzhen had only been established for half a year. They were all fake and no match for the Mongols. His tens of thousands of Jurchens could only last for an hour or two at most, depending on the navy's baggage team... ...Alas, a great defeat is inevitable, and the casualties of Shandong Erlang will only be extremely tragic!"
After hearing Zhang Rou's words, Du Shisheng had a strange smile on his face.
Zhang Rou was stunned: "Uh... Mr. Jinzhi, if you have any way to contact the Dinghai navy's baggage team, such as some kind of smoke or something, use it quickly! Let them escape as soon as possible, no We must all die on Zhongdu Road... That’s not worth it!”
Du Shisheng's face turned red, as if he was overly excited. Hearing Zhang Rou's dejected words, he suddenly laughed out loud:
"Why do you say it was a disastrous defeat? I think the Mongols made this arrangement very well!"
"What?"
"I thought that the situation on Zhongdu Road was chaotic. The main force of the Mongolian army and my family's envoys were testing each other. Without a stalemate for ten months, it would be difficult to find an opportunity for a decisive battle. But the Mongolian army was so impatient and took the initiative to come? Haha, haha, that's it. This will save my missionaries from waiting too long!”
