Two brothers, Zhao Fan and Zhao Kui, led an army of 100,000 men and faced off with less than 60,000 Mongolian troops in the wilderness.
As soon as the Song army set up camp, Zhao Fan and Zhao Kui rode out of the camp to inspect the Mongolian camp.
The Mongolian cavalry was powerful, and the two of them did not dare to get too far forward. They reined in their horses a few miles away from the Mongolian camp.
The two of them observed for a while, and Zhao Fan said: "Li Fen's troops in the Mongolian army are not as equipped as our army, and their strength is not as good as our army. The only thing I am worried about is the more than 10,000 Mongolian elite cavalry under Kuoduan!"
The Mongols are powerful in battle. In the battle of Yehuling, 100,000 people defeated the 450,000 Jin army.
Since the rise of Mongolia, most of the foreign wars have been fought with less and more, and in most cases they have won.
Facing such an enemy, Zhao Fan was under great pressure, but he had to fight.
Because stationing troops on the south bank of Kuoduan was equivalent to opening a gap in the Huaihe River defense line, the Mongolian army on the north bank could cross the Huaihe River. By then, there would be more and more Mongolian troops on the south bank, and the Song Dynasty would most likely lose Huainan.
Zhao Kui looked at the horses in the Mongolian camp and couldn't help but nodded: "That's right! We have 100,000 people, but we can't make up a thousand horse troops! We were defeated, and they rode to cover them up. They were defeated, but it was difficult for us to catch up. "
"If they lose this battle, we will drive them down the Huaihe River. With this great victory, Mongolia will not dare to invade south again within three to five years!" Zhao Fan looked at Zhao Kui, "Nan Zhong, we will win this battle. ah!"
To defend the river, you must defend the Huaihe River. Zhao Kui knew the significance of this battle and couldn't help but nodded heavily.
While the Zhao brothers were peeking into the Mongolian camp, the Mongolian army coach Kuo Duan was also analyzing the battle situation.
At this time, in the Mongolian camp, Kuo Duan, Li Fen and others were looking at the map. Li Fen said: "The two brothers Zhao Fan and Zhao Kui were famous generals in the Southern Song Dynasty. They brought 100,000 troops and horses, and they were all well-equipped. The elite of the Song Army! Looking at its camp from a humble position, I can’t see any flaws for the time being!”
Kuo Duan nodded slightly. During this period of time, he had fought against the Zhao brothers Ping Fan, but he had never found a flaw in them. However, the Mongolian army knew how to look for opportunities and launch a surprise attack.
Kuo Duan sneered and said: "Then just watch while fighting. As long as they are a little negligent or show fatigue, I will be able to rely on the advantage of the cavalry and react quickly to defeat them in one fell swoop!"
Li Fen nodded, "Now we can only take a look first!"
Kuo Duan suddenly asked: "What's the situation on the North Shore now?"
Although the navy of the Southern Song Dynasty was powerful, it was still difficult to block the Huaihe River.
After all, the Southern Song Dynasty navy could not see the hundreds of miles long river, and the Kuaduan was always in contact with the north bank.
Li Fen said: "Wanhu's agent Chen Nayan has arrived on the other side of Chuzhou, and Zhang Rou is leading troops to garrison in Lianshui, waiting for an opportunity to cross the river to support the prince!"
Kuo Duan nodded with satisfaction, and then asked: "Is there any news about Wu Xian and Zhao Tai?"
Li Fen said: "Zhang Rou reported that he has sent scouts to conduct reconnaissance, but there is no news yet!"
Hearing this, Kuo Duan couldn't help but take a deep breath. How could there be more than 10,000 Jin troops on the South Road disappearing into thin air?
If it were someone else, Kuo Duan would be fine, but Zhao Tai was among the missing people, which made him quite afraid.
Kuo Duan couldn't help but touch the old wound on his butt. He was psychologically affected by Zhao Tai and felt uneasy.
Seeing Kuo Duan's expression, Li Fen knew that he was very wary of Zhao Tai, so he said: "Your Majesty, Zhao Tai is now blocked in Huaibei. He is trapped and unable to return to Xuzhou. It can be said that he cannot protect himself. Why should your Majesty worry about him?"
Li Fen had never suffered a loss at the hands of Zhao Tai, and he didn't quite understand Kuo Duan's fear of Zhao Tai.
Now Zhao Tai and Wuxian are obviously trapped in Huaibei. After the main force of the Mongolian army in Hebei enters Shandong, they can only find a ravine to hide, and it is impossible to make any waves come out.
Kuo Duan took another deep breath, and then exhaled in a long breath.
Li Fen was right. Now he is talking about Zhao. After the Hebei Mongolian army arrived in Shandong, there was still a problem with the 10,000 gold soldiers protecting themselves. How could it affect the war situation?
Thinking of this, Kuo Duan laughed at himself, but still ordered: "Send an order to Zhang Rou to report the situation on the north bank every half day. In addition, let him try to cross the river to support me in defeating the Song army."
Li Fen clasped his fists and answered the order, "I accept the order from my humble position!"
When the Song and Mongolian armies gathered 150,000 troops and prepared for a decisive battle, Zhao Tai and Wuxian led 10,000 gold soldiers and arrived near Haizhou.
Since the Jingkang Disgrace, the Huaihe and Huaihe regions have become a tug-of-war between the north and the south. This kind of battlefield frontline may suffer military disasters at any time. Generally the development is not very good.
At this time, ten thousand troops were marching on the road, surrounded by dense forests and deserted land on both sides, and there were no ordinary people along the way.
"Brother, judging from the map, thirty miles ahead is Haizhou." Zhao Tai picked up the map and looked at it for a while.
Wu Xian heard this and asked, "Should we let everyone rest for a while so that we can discuss the strategy to seize Haizhou."
Zhao Tai nodded, "I estimate that there are not many enemy troops stationed in Haizhou, but we not only want to capture Haizhou, but also control the fishing boats and merchant ships in Haizhou, so we still need to plan."
Wu Xian immediately ordered the army to rest, and the soldiers immediately hid in a forest that the scouts had explored, ate something hastily, and fell asleep leaning against the trees.
Although Zhao Tai used a trick to divert the pursuing troops, the army still marched day and night for fear of being overtaken by the Mongolian cavalry, and the soldiers were very tired.
At this time, the soldiers rested, while Zhao Tai and Wuxian summoned more than ten generals to discuss the matter of capturing Haizhou.
Zhao Taidao: "I'm not very clear about the situation in Haizhou, but since it's close to the sea, we can't surround it. I'm not worried about the Haizhou defenders. Such a remote place cannot be heavily guarded by the Mongolian army. I What we are worried about is that if we attack the city, the Mongolian troops and people in Haizhou will flee by boat out of fear. If they drive away the boat, then there is no point in us taking Haizhou."
After hearing what Zhao Tai said, Wu Xian immediately said: "Let's talk about what everyone thinks. Whether we can break through the encirclement depends on this battle."
All the generals were silent when they heard this. Once the army attacks the city, the enemy will find out, and it will be difficult to guarantee that they will not escape by boat.
Xu Erzhu said: "I think there is only a sneak attack. If they are fast, they should have no chance to escape by boat."
Zhao Tai nodded when he heard this, "A strong attack will definitely not work. The defenders will definitely flee when they see that there are so many of us. It seems that the only way is to outsmart them!"
Wu Xian asked: "How to outsmart him?"
Zhao Tai stroked his short beard and said, "We don't know the specific situation of Haizhou now, so it's difficult to formulate corresponding strategies. Let me take someone to check it out and make a plan."
Wu Xian nodded. If he wants to make a plan to outwit Haizhou, he must first understand the situation in Haizhou. "This is all we can do now. I will send someone to protect you!"
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