Kuo Duan read Li Fen's letter and looked calm on the surface, but panicked inside.
Li Fen told him in the letter that the Jin soldiers attacked Shandong and cut off his retreat.
In this way, the Huaibei Mongolian army could not provide him with support, so he went deep alone, and the situation could be said to be more dangerous.
Now the Southern Song Dynasty did not have to worry about the Mongolian reinforcements entering Huainan, so they could deal with him wholeheartedly.
After the Southern Song Dynasty court learned that the Jin soldiers had invaded Shandong, the threat to the Southern Song Dynasty from his Mongolian army that broke into Huainan was greatly reduced. Even if he broke into Yangzhou City, he might not be able to achieve the strategic goal of forcing the Southern Song Dynasty to surrender.
Thinking of this, Kuoduan's cheeks twitched. He made a quick calculation in his mind and suddenly shouted: "Send the order. The army will retreat under the cover of darkness tonight. I will join forces with Li Fen to defeat Zhao Fan's army first and capture Chuzhou City." .”
The road going south was blocked by Zhao Kui. Without the cooperation of infantry and navy, the Mongolian cavalry could not break through Zhao Kui's blockage. Kuo Duan wanted to join Li Fen first and then make plans.
It was night, and under the cover of darkness, ten thousand Mongolian troops quietly left the camp and retreated north.
When Kuoduan was retreating north, the Jin soldiers on the northern route were seizing the road and running south.
Xuzhou section is more than ten miles north of the Yellow River.
A large crowd appeared in the wilderness. From a distance, there were a few scattered people running forward, but the farther back you looked, the denser the crowd became, like a flood overflowing the earth.
These people were the Jin army on the northern route that retreated hastily from Jeju. After they learned that the Mongolian army from Hebei had entered Shandong, they abandoned their baggage and fled south.
Pu Chaguan's slave was riding a war horse and was surrounded by his subordinates. A camp suddenly appeared in front of them.
"Xuan Xiang! We are here!" The golden general beside him said happily.
Pucha Guannu looked up and saw the camp with the Jin Army flag in the distance, and immediately shouted: "Quickly enter the camp."
This Jin camp was stationed by Han general Fan Ze, guarding the pontoon bridge and ferries that communicated with Xuzhou.
At this time, the Jin army in the camp discovered the men and horses running across the wilderness, and the soldiers of the camp immediately went on alert.
"General, it seems he is one of our own!" The officer in the camp looked at the crowd from a distance and pointed at the crowd.
Fan Ze took one look, then got on his horse, then led a group of cavalry and galloped out of the camp. When he saw Pu Chaguan's slaves surrounded from a distance, he immediately greeted them.
"Xuan Xiang! What is this?" Fan Ze reined in his horse and asked in surprise.
Pu Chaguannu's face was dark, and the Jin general beside him explained: "We attacked Jeju and encountered Mongolian reinforcements coming from Hebei, so we retreated here."
Fan Ze was shocked, "Where are the Mongolian reinforcements entering Shandong?"
Pu Chaguannu said in a deep voice: "Don't ask so many questions. Make arrangements immediately. All the troops will be withdrawn to Xuzhou."
The Jin army took advantage of the emptiness in Shandong and launched a sneak attack. Now that the Mongolian army reinforcements have entered Shandong, retreating is a wise choice.
The Jin army had many new recruits, and their strength was not as good as that of Mongolia. They would definitely not be able to fight head-on. Fan Ze had no objections and was about to draw his horse when he suddenly frowned and asked, "Xuanxiang, where are Duke Hengshan and Deputy Ambassador Zhao?"
Pu Chaguannu waved his hand impatiently, "I have sent someone to notify them to retreat! Don't worry so much and arrange for the army to cross the river quickly."
Fan Ze heard that Pu Chaguannu had sent someone to inform him that there were only three pontoon bridges. He would arrange for Pucha Guannu to cross the river first, and then he could cross the river directly after Wuxian and Zhao Tai had withdrawn.
Otherwise, if tens of thousands of troops are crowded on the north bank, and the Mongolian army suddenly arrives, the Jin army will not be able to retreat to the south bank for a while, and it will inevitably suffer heavy losses.
Fan Ze rushed back to the camp and asked someone to open the camp door. The Jin soldiers from the north did not stop when they entered the camp. They walked directly through the camp and retreated to the south bank on the pontoon.
Soon the infantry of the Jin Army crossed the Yellow River and returned to Xuzhou. As dusk approached, the cavalry of the Zhongxiao Army also crossed the pontoon bridge with their hooves clattering, but Wuxian and Zhao Tai were the only ones missing.
Fan Ze climbed up to the watchtower and looked into the distance. He saw no trace of Jin Bing on the south road and couldn't help but feel anxious.
At this time, a Jin Army captain rode up to the watchtower and shouted loudly: "General Fan, Xuanfu Xianggong ordered your troops to quickly withdraw to the south bank."
Fan Ze's eyes widened, "Deputy Ambassador Zhao and Duke Hengshang haven't withdrawn yet!"
"Xuanxiang said that we can't wait any longer and asked your troops to cross the river quickly. The army will destroy the bridge soon." Captain Jin said loudly.
Fan Ze was shocked. If the pontoon bridge was destroyed, how could the South Route Army withdraw to Xuzhou?
At this moment, an exclamation of surprise came from the military camp. Fan Ze looked back, his eyes suddenly bulged, and his eyeballs almost burst out.
Pu Chaguan Nu did what he said. The Jin soldiers who had just retreated to the south bank had already begun to burn the pontoon bridge.
Seeing this, Fan Ze could only hurried down the watchtower and loudly called for the soldiers to retreat to the south bank.
One of the three pontoon bridges on the Yellow River has been set on fire, leaving only two pontoon bridges. The Jin army in the camp did not dare to hesitate, packed up their belongings and hurriedly crossed the river.
"General, get on the bridge quickly!" The officer beside Fan Ze looked at Fan Ze who was still looking to the southeast and couldn't help but urge.
Fan Ze suddenly grabbed a confidant and ordered in a deep voice: "Immediately ride your horse to the direction of Pizhou to find Deputy Ambassador Zhao and Duke Hengshang, tell them the news here, and ask them to quickly find a way to retreat to the south bank."
The confidant nodded, then got on his horse and galloped away with his two subordinates.
At the urging of his subordinates, Fan Ze got on the pontoon bridge and retreated to the south bank.
At this time, he got off the pontoon bridge and hurriedly went to find Pu Chaguannu and asked: "Xuanxiang, if you burn the pontoon bridge, how can the brothers of the Southern Route Army cross the river?"
Pu Chaoguan's slave was about to get on his horse and return to Xuzhou when he saw Fan Ze running over to question him. He said with an unhappy face: "Can you be responsible for not burning down the pontoon bridge and allowing the Mongolian army to cross the Yellow River?"
When Fan Ze heard this, he didn't know what to say for a moment.
Pu Chaguannu snorted coldly, mounted his horse, and said in a deep voice: "I have already informed the Southern Route Army that they did not retreat on time. I cannot be blamed. I also considered Xuzhou and the river defense."
After saying this, Pu Chaguan's slave clasped his horse's belly and headed towards Xuzhou, preparing to return to the city to wait for the news that Zhao Tai and Wuxian were defeated and killed.
When the Mongolian reinforcements entered Shandong, he burned the pontoon bridge. Zhao Tai and Wuxian were trapped in Huaibei. With their small strength and the fact that they were all new soldiers, they were no match for the Mongolian reinforcements.
Thinking that as soon as Zhao Tai died, he would be able to obtain assistance from the Southern Song Dynasty, Pu Chaguan Nu's face showed a smile.
At dusk, the Jin army stationed on the north bank all withdrew to the south bank. The camp on the north bank and the pontoon bridge on the river were all burned by the Jin army.
At this time, the Jin army had just set fire to the camp. Thousands of hooves trampled the ground in the northern wilderness. Zhang Rou led the Mongolian pursuers to kill. Seeing this, the Jin soldiers who were setting fire quickly threw away their torches and hurriedly retreated to the south bank.
Zhang Rou led his troops to run outside the camp. When he saw the burning camp and the pontoon, he frowned and said, "You guys can run fast!"
Then he pulled the horse's reins and said, "Give me the order. The army will go south and attack Pi County!"
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