Zhao Tai didn't like to be led by others. He knew that Wo Kuotai had probably learned about the defeat of the East Route Army and the killing of Kuo Duan.
At this time, Wokuotai must be thinking about peeling off his cramps, trying to get rid of them quickly, and waiting for him to rescue Luoyang.
Zhao Tai knew very well the strength of the Jin army and had absolutely no ability to confront the main force of the Mongolian army, so it was impossible for him to go to Luoyang, but he could not just watch Luoyang fall without doing anything, so he decided to capture Zhengzhou.
"Capture Zhengzhou?" Yi La Pu'a looked surprised.
"Not bad!" Zhao Tai nodded and said loudly: "We must have a clear understanding of the Mongolian army and our own strength. I think we should avoid a decisive battle with the main force of the Mongolian army at the moment, and try to concentrate our superior forces to defeat the Mongolian army. Be biased. This is accumulating small victories into big victories!"
After hearing what Zhao Tai said, Wu Xian's eyes couldn't help but light up. He realized that he had been fighting for half his life, but his military use was inferior to that of the fledgling Zhao Tai.
Heda had spent some time with Zhao Tai and had a certain understanding of Zhao Tai's strategic thoughts and methods.
He had previously learned that Wokuotai had breached Hulao Pass and ran to Xuzhou himself, hoping that Zhao Tai would rescue Luoyang. However, Zhao Tai's analysis made him change his mind and cooperate with Zhao Tai to defeat the Mongolian East Route Army.
Now he once again proposed to rescue Luoyang, but Zhao Tai proposed to attack Zhengzhou.
"Guorui, how are you going to fight?" Heda asked in a deep voice.
Zhao Tai pointed at the map, "Look! The Mongolian army left a loophole here. Wo Kuotai's original intention was to use Zhengzhou to block us and prevent us from interfering with his attack on Luoyang to the west. This is the gap between Zhengzhou and Luoyang. The communication channel is Hulao Pass. As long as we send troops and build a stronghold in front of the pass to prevent the main force of the Mongolian army under Luoyang City from leaving the pass for reinforcements, we can concentrate our superior forces to capture Zhengzhou."
Wu Xian stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Guorui, you are going to score twice! There are only 20,000 Mongolian troops in Zhengzhou. We, 70,000 or 30,000, went to Hulao Pass to block the gate, and gathered 40,000 People and horses, attack Zhengzhou. I think we can fight this battle!"
Seeing that Wuxian agreed with Zhao Tai's proposal, Heda and Yila Pu'a looked at each other. They pondered for a moment, and Pu'a said: "If we want to rescue Luoyang, the nail in Zhengzhou must be removed first. I think that's fine."
Heda asked in a deep voice: "How to implement the specific plan?"
Zhao Taidao: "When we attack Zhengzhou, Wo Kuotai may have two reactions. First, send troops and horses for reinforcements. If so, it will be able to disperse the strength of the Mongolian army under Luoyang City. In addition, the Mongolian army's food supply will be greatly reduced by Guo Xiadao." After the attack, the number of Mongolian troops outside the city decreased, so we created conditions for Monk Chen to break through. In this case, our troops blocking the Hulao Pass must withstand the Mongolian attack and prepare for the siege of Zhengzhou. People and horses, fight for time to capture Zhengzhou."
The three of them all nodded when they heard this, and Zhao Tai continued: "The second reaction Wo Kuotai may make is to continue to attack Luoyang, seize Luoyang before we capture Zhengzhou, and then march eastward. This requires us to capture Zhengzhou before the Mongolian army captures Luoyang, and then march into Hulao Pass to put pressure on the Mongolian army and force Wokuotai to divide its troops."
Zhao Tai's idea was to attack Zhengzhou and have Guo Xizhao harass the Mongolian army's food routes, forcing Wokuotai to divide his troops and create an opportunity for Monk Chen to break through.
In these two situations, one is that Wo Kuotai takes the initiative to divide his troops, and the other is that he seizes Zhengzhou first and then threatens Hulao Pass, forcing Wo Kuotai to divide his troops.
The key to Zhao Tai's plan is to resist the troops who are going to block the gate, and to capture Zhengzhou quickly by attacking the troops in Zhengzhou.
Heda said in a deep voice: "There are 20,000 Mongolian troops in Zhengzhou City. Can we capture it?"
Zhao Taidao: "Leave the siege to me and Duke Wu. I am sure that we will capture Zhengzhou within half a month!"
Seeing that Zhao Tai was full of confidence, Heda and Yilapua took the initiative to attack Zhengzhou Jiancheng. Neither of them had anything to say.
Yi La Pu'a said: "Okay, we will make a plan immediately and then report it to Your Majesty."
On the third day of the first lunar month, just after the New Year, Wanyan Shouxu agreed to Zhao Tai's request and formulated the following strategy.
The Jin State assembled 70,000 elite troops, marched westward, quickly arrived at the city of Zhengzhou, and then divided the troops into two groups.
Heda and Pu'a led an army of 30,000 people and marched at night and starry to the outside of Hulao Pass, where they set up camp and built fortifications to prevent the defenders inside the pass from leaving.
Zhao Tai and Wuxian led an army of 40,000 to surround Zhengzhou and attack, and captured Xuzhou before Luoyang was captured.
At the same time, Xizuo was dispatched to Luoyang to inform Monk Chen to wait for an opportunity to break out.
In the previous Battle of Huainan, Mongolia's forces in Shandong suffered a heavy blow, and this Battle of Xuzhou ostensibly dealt a heavy blow to the Mongolian Eastern Route Army, but the losses were actually the troops of the Hebei warlord Zhang Rou and Shi Tianze.
This means that once the Jin army blocks Hulao Pass and prevents the main force of the Mongolian army from leaving the pass, the 20,000 Mongolian troops in Xuzhou will be isolated and helpless.
Faced with such a fighter opportunity, Wanyan Shouxu personally sent a message to the army and repeatedly asked the generals of the three armies to fight bravely and save the crisis.
On the fifth day of the first lunar month, after being investigated by scouts, 70,000 Jin troops gathered outside Kaifeng City, and then they were surrounded by the Privy Envoy Yili Pu'a, Du Marshal Wanyan Heda, Zhongyi Army Jiedu Envoy Zhao Tai, and Wuwei Army Jiedu Envoy Wu. Under the leadership of Xian, they marched towards Zhengzhou.
The Mongolian army guarding Zhengzhou was Han general Guo Dehai.
This person is said to be a descendant of Guo Ziyi, a famous general in the Tang Dynasty. His father is Huarizmodalu Huachi and Fenyang County Duke Guo Baoyu. His younger brother is Guo Deshan, a Mongolian household. His eldest son is Dongtian General Guo Kan. He is Han With tens of thousands of military households and the right to supervise the army, they are very trusted by Wo Kuotai.
The 70,000-strong Jin army marched toward Zhengzhou. Naturally, there were Mongolian sentry cavalry to report the Jin army's movements to Guo Dehai.
In Zhengzhou City, in the Yamen Festival Hall, Guo Dehai was reading a volume of military books. Suddenly, a general broke in and reported urgently: "Commander!"
Guo Dehai collected the books, frowned, and said with some displeasure: "How can you behave in such a panic? What do you have to report?"
The general saluted quickly and said, "Commander, please report on the horse inspection. The 70,000 Jin army marched westward from Kaifeng and headed straight for Zhengzhou."
Guo Dehai raised his eyebrows. Although he had defeated several reinforcements from the Jin Kingdom before, he was still a little frightened when he heard that the Jin Kingdom's 70,000-strong army was coming.
However, just for a moment, Guo Dehai sneered and said: "Humph, they finally learned their lesson and knew how to come together. If it had been a month earlier, I might have been a little worried, but now Zhengzhou has been managed by me and is impregnable, and they can't come here It’s just to die.”
Speaking of this, Guo Dehai's eyes showed a cruel look, "If these Jin troops hide in Kaifeng and wait for the Great Khan to march eastward, there will be a hard battle. Now they have taken the initiative to come to Zhengzhou to die. After they are eliminated, the Great Khan will Taking Kaifeng is as easy as flipping the palm of your hand!"
