The Perak Army is located in a corner, and it is very difficult to obtain information from the outside world. The only source of information is in Jiading Prefecture, and there is Pengshan City occupied by the Mongolian army in the middle. When the water in the river is abundant, the Perak Army can also rely on its naval superiority to suppress the Pengshan City navy, allowing messenger ships to travel between the two places, and even escorting merchant ships through. The water dries up in winter, causing the Minjiang River near Pengshan City to shrink by more than half, and the Pili Army's gunboats can no longer move freely here. Without the suppression of gunboats, the Mongolian navy, mostly in light boats, took control of the river, interrupting water transportation and commerce between the Perak Army and Jiading, and information could only be transmitted through other means.
Time flies to the end of December, and as the Spring Festival approaches, the weather becomes colder and colder. On New Year's Eve, the Perak Army Staff received a letter from the "Fire Fox" in Jiading Prefecture, and the atmosphere suddenly became solemn. The carrier pigeon brought statistics on the recent battles between the Sichuan and Song Army, and the paper was full of bad news. Some time ago, the Mongolian army broke through the Kuzhu Pass and fell into Changning Mountain City. They even broke the bamboo along the way. Yang Dayuan, the defender of Dahuo City in Langzhou of the Song Army, surrendered to the Mongolian army. He also acted as a vanguard to persuade Zhang Dayue to surrender in Yunshan City of Pengzhou. Pu Yuangui, the defender of Daliang City, also surrendered. General Pi of Qingju City in Shunqing Prefecture killed Duan Yuanjian, the commander-in-chief, and also offered the city to surrender. For a time, the Song army surrendered, fell, besieged or trapped in dozens of mountain cities in northern Sichuan. The situation was precarious for a while. Currently, the only thing blocking the Mongolian army from seizing Chongqing Prefecture is Hezhou Diaoyu City. If Diaoyu City cannot be preserved, then Chongqing cannot be preserved. If Chongqing cannot be preserved, Sichuan will be in danger. Of course, Meng Ge Khan also understands the importance of Diaoyu City. Currently, he has led his main force and the tribes of kings Mo Ge and Shi Tianze to Hezhou, preparing to capture Diaoyu City in one fell swoop.
In the eyes of the top brass of the Perak Army, although Diaoyu City was extremely dangerous, it could not withstand the attack of tens of thousands of Mongolian elites. If Diaoyu City is lost, Chongqing Prefecture will not be protected. If the Mongolian army marches westward, it will be difficult to resist the Perak Army with its current strength, so everyone appears worried. However, Ouyang Xuan knew that this situation, which appeared to be dangerous on the surface, was actually a turning point and an opportunity for the Pili Army to further rise, so he tried his best to comfort everyone, saying that nothing would happen to Diaoyu City and that the Mongolian army's teeth would be broken. Although everyone had great trust in him, they still had doubts about this judgment. It's just that Ouyang Xuan didn't dare to say that Meng Ge would die in the Diaoyu City, for fear that it would change the direction of history and allow Meng Ge to escape. It's just this Chinese New Year, and the top brass of the Perak Army are all sad. How can they boost the confidence of the military and civilians? At that moment, he pretended to be angry and said: "When have I ever deceived everyone? It's just that the secret is not leaked...".
The first day of the new year is a day worth looking forward to. For people in troubled times, having enough food and clothing is the greatest happiness. For the soldiers and civilians under the rule of the Perak Army, the Spring Festival means being able to eat meat. The meat shared by ordinary people was mostly fish, birds, wild beasts, or pickled horse meat. The soldiers of the Perak Army, technical craftsmen, and educational and scientific researchers received fatty pork—not only wild boar, but also domestic fat pork. . Under Li Shuang's arrangement, various settlements are vigorously developing the breeding industry. This farming industry can not only provide meat, but also provide a large amount of fertilizer, thereby increasing food production.
Fish, ducks, and geese will be raised on the swamp surface, while large livestock such as cattle, sheep, and pigs can be raised on the wasteland and crop straw. Especially cattle and pigs, one is an important livestock power for arable land, and the other is a source of meat. Meat can not only boost morale, but also enhance soldiers' combat effectiveness. Mongolian soldiers are extremely tough in battle, which is not only related to the harsh environment in which they grew up, but also due to their strong body due to their staple diet of meat and milk. In his speech on the first day of the Lunar New Year, Ouyang Xuan promised the soldiers and civilians that as long as everyone worked hard, they would be fed and clothed, and they could also taste meat during the holidays.
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, the soldiers and civilians under the rule of the Perak Army were in high spirits and devoted themselves to work. On the one hand, it is because all undertakings are in a period of rapid expansion, and the tasks are heavy and complicated; on the other hand, the Mongols do not celebrate the Spring Festival, so they take advantage of the Han people to celebrate the Spring Festival and start to cause trouble - there are a large number of Mongolian cavalry squads Sneak across the river and attack the area under the jurisdiction of the Perak Army. In fact, during the flood season, Mongolian cavalry also used skin bags to float over for reconnaissance, but the number was not large and they did not go too deep. Instead, they retreated before the Perak Army cavalry battalion heard the news and came. But this time the Mongolian cavalry attacked across the board. Within a few days, more than ten cavalry teams crossed the Jinma and Nanhe rivers, and some cavalry teams even had as many as fifty people. This group of cavalry didn't seem to be here for reconnaissance, but to loot, burn, and kill. For a while, the dogs and cats in the Perak Army were restless.
Cao Ergou led the cavalry battalion to pursue the Mongolian cavalry everywhere, but the effect was limited. The cavalry of the Perak Army are all infantrymen who have become monks on the way, and their riding skills are far inferior to those of the Mongols. Moreover, the Mongolian cavalry has one man and two horses and is more mobile. How can the half-baked cavalry of the Perak Army catch up. The more than ten groups of Mongolian cavalry were also flexible in their tactics, dividing and joining together erratically. However, Cao Ergou did not dare to divide his troops, fearing that the troops would be divided and eaten by the Mongols, so he had to use the company as a fire-fighting unit. Wherever there was a warning, he rushed there, and the men and horses were panting and exhausted for a while. He was so angry that he cursed, not only the Mongols, but also the garrison brigade and the navy brigade for not tightening the fence and allowing these Mongolian rats to get in.
In fact, Cao Ergou mistakenly blamed the brothers in the garrison brigade and the navy brigade. The area where the Perak Army and the Mongolian Army faced each other across the river was more than 200 miles long. With the force of the Perak Army spread out, it was really very thin. During the flood season, there are only a hundred or so areas where you can swim across the river, so it is not difficult to hold on to them. But during the dry season in winter, the water level drops a lot, and you can even wade across the river in many places. Although the Perak Army dredged the river, it could only barely allow the gunboats to pass. It is not difficult for a small group of Mongolian cavalry to sneak across the river under the cover of darkness and dense fog without any baggage. The Mongolian cavalry is good at being light-armed and lurking.
In fact, although these Mongolian cavalry squads disturbed the Pili Army, they did not cause much damage. Not to mention the defense of prefectures, counties and cities, even the various settlement points were awe-inspiring to the Mongolian cavalry. The Mongols suffered a lot from the swamps, trenches, and earthen walls around the settlement points. If they got close, they would be shelled. These settlements were not simply closed to the public. Instead, a large number of horse pits, iron nails, bamboo nails, etc. were set up on various traffic arteries, causing the Mongols to lose a lot of horses. The Mongolian cavalry who were frightened by the trap did not dare to take the main road, so they had to take the small road, but they repeatedly fell into swamps and swamps due to unfamiliar road conditions. The worst thing was the Mongolian cavalry who tried to sneak attack the Dayi Arsenal. They reached the fortress outside the arsenal at night and planned to break into the arsenal and set fire to it. Unexpectedly, while climbing the city wall with a rope, someone stepped on a series of landmines. In an instant, more than half of the fifty-man Mongolian army was killed or injured.
In just a few days, these Mongolian cavalry who caused chaos in the territory of the Perak Army lost more than a hundred people. According to the previous situation, the Mongolian army's reconnaissance cavalry could complete the intelligence collection task in a few days. Even if unfinished, they would return with such casualties. However, the goal of the Mongolian cavalry this time does not seem to be military intelligence, nor does it care about casualties. Instead, it uses guerrilla warfare to destroy normal production under the rule of the Perak Army as much as possible. The Pili Army had no better way to deal with this, so they had to send Cao Ergou and his cavalry to chase after him. If he caught him, he would bite him hard. Fortunately, the industrial and mining production of the Pili Army was not greatly affected by this, and the population stayed in the cities and forts. Only the crops in the wild were eaten up by the horses of the Mongolian cavalry. However, compared to three million acres of land, the wheat seedlings eaten by hundreds of horses are nothing. And it is winter, so even if it is nibbled, it will sprout again in the spring.
