Yi La Pu'a came to ask for help. After careful consideration, Zhao Tai decided to accept the title of the Jin Kingdom and go to Kaifeng to rescue the Jin Kingdom.
At the end of February, Zhao Tai and Wuxian led the army to march westward, and Li Fen stated that he would take control of Shandong.
At this time, the army marched westward in a mighty manner, and Li Fen led his men to see them off.
Zhao Tai smiled: "Marshuai Li. Just send it here!"
Li Fen originally planned to invite Zhao Tai and Wuxian to Jinan to choose an alliance leader, but the deterioration of the Kaifeng war situation disrupted his plan.
At this time, Li Fen glanced at Zhao Tai and the mighty marching army, smiled and said: "Guorui, I wish you will come back victorious as soon as possible and marry my girl."
Li Fen felt a little regretful. Zhao Tai's departure would bring bad luck. He hoped that Zhao Tai would get married first and then go to rescue Kaifeng.
In this way, if something happens to Zhao Tai, it will be logical for him to take over Zhao Tai's tribe. However, Kaifeng cannot wait, so the marriage can only be postponed.
Zhao Taidao: "The Mongolian attack on Kaifeng consumed a lot of money, food and materials. After this battle, if they want to attack Shandong, they will definitely need time to save money and food again. Therefore, it is very important for Marshal Li to resume production in Shandong. When the Mongols come to attack, the enemy will The army has little food and cannot attack for a long time. We have more food and can defend for a long time, so that the Mongols can return without success."
Li Fen's eyes lit up, and then he nodded, "Guorui doesn't have to worry about this matter, I know the importance of it myself!"
At that moment, Zhao Tai, Li Fen and others clasped their fists and saluted, then pulled the reins of their horses, caught up with the army, and headed towards Kaifeng.
Li Fen watched for a while and then led his subordinates back to Jinan.
On a hill not far away, Yang Guiying looked at the westward team from a distance and pulled her horse away.
~~~~~~
Kaifeng.
After Jin's western marshal Cui Li surrendered to Mongolia, the Mongolian army broke through the outer city of Kaifeng. The defenders loyal to the Jin and the Jurchens retreated to the imperial city to hold on.
The soldiers and civilians of the Jin Kingdom who fled from the outer city into the inner city were all over the imperial city. The soldiers and their families were standing, standing, or lying down. There were figures everywhere. The air exuded the smell of despair and the unpleasant smell of feces and urine.
At this time, these soldiers and civilians of the Jin Kingdom had long lost the arrogance they had back then. The soldiers who retreated into the inner city were sitting against the city wall with their weapons in their arms, their eyes dull and their expressions extremely miserable.
Cui Li surrendered so suddenly that most of the grain and grass that Jin Guo had stationed in the city had no time to be transported into the imperial city, and most of them fell into the hands of the Mongolian army.
Now more than 100,000 soldiers and civilians are crowded into the imperial city. The food in the inner city has been almost exhausted. Many soldiers have not eaten a grain of rice or touched a drop of water at the end of the day. Hunger and despair are eroding their will and consuming their energy. Vibrant and spirited.
Outside the main hall of the palace, the steps were filled with defeated soldiers and their families, while inside the main hall were all the ministers of the Kingdom of Jin and their families.
At this time, Emperor Wanyan Shouxu of the Kingdom of Jin was sitting on the throne. His dragon robe was full of dirt and wrinkles, and his hair was messy, almost covering half of his face.
"Your Majesty!" Wanyan Chenglin, whose armor was torn and with one arm hanging, came to Wanyan Shouxu with a bowl of hot horse meat soup.
Wanyan Shouxu raised his head and glanced at him. He saw oily flowers floating in the bowl and a large bone stick with meat inside, but he shook his head and said, "I'm not hungry. Give this bowl of soup to the soldiers guarding the country!"
"Your Majesty! You are the country we are guarding!" Wanyan Chenglin cried, "You haven't eaten for a whole day. Your Majesty, you must take care of your dragon body, and you will have to pay for it~~~"
Wanyan Shouxu didn't wait for him to finish, and shouted angrily: "Didn't you hear my order? Now you don't even listen to me?"
His voice was very loud, and this roar attracted the side glances of the ministers and family members in the hall, and scared the children to tears.
Seeing this, Wanyan Chenglin stood with his head lowered for a moment. Finally, he could only sigh softly, turned around and walked out with the broth.
Wanyan Shouxu lowered his head, his eyes were red, and he murmured, "Zhao Tai will not come, Dajin is dead, I cannot be the king of subjugation!"
~~~~~~
In the inner city of Kaifeng, the Jin soldiers and civilians who had retreated into the imperial city had run out of ammunition and food and fell into a desperate situation.
The Mongols outside the city began to feel more relaxed after having swept away the haze of being unable to attack Kaifeng for a long time.
The Mongolian and Jin sides were fighting around Kaifeng. One side was trying to survive, while the other was trying to destroy the country and make achievements. It had been going on for half a year. Now, with the outer city of Kaifeng being breached, the situation was finally clear.
At this time, in the Mongolian army's tent, the Mongolian Khan Wokuotai was in high spirits and was discussing with his ministers the tactics of annihilating the Jin army in the inner city.
This time the Mongolian army was able to invade Kaifeng, and Cui Li, the marshal of the Jin Kingdom who surrendered, made a great contribution.
Wokuotai looked at him and said, "The remnants of the Jin army retreated into the imperial city and fought with trapped beasts in the city. I ordered the army to attack several times, but they did not rush into the city. Cui Li, you are the marshal of the Jin army, do you have any What a strategy!”
Cui Li quickly put down his wine glass and saluted Wogotai, "Great Khan, the remnants of the Jin army retreated into the inner city, and many Jurchen family members also hid in the inner city. I estimate that there are still more than 100,000 people in the inner city now. Although these Most of the people are old and weak, women and children, but many of the Jurchen relatives, strong women, children, and the elderly, can shoot bows and can help the Jin soldiers defend the city. They know that if the city is defeated, they will die, so they must resist with all their strength. If the Great Khan attacks by force, he will be killed. Not to mention that it will be difficult to conquer due to time, and a lot of people will be lost.”
Kaifeng is so difficult to defeat. In addition to the city's high walls, thick walls, complete defenses, and sufficient supplies, the main reason is that the Jurchens in the city have no retreat and can work together to resist the Mongolian attack.
After the Jurchens occupied the north, after a hundred years of reproduction, their population exceeded one million.
During the Mongolian-Jin War, with the defeat of the Jin Kingdom, the Jurchens from all over the country could not return to their hometowns. Most of them south of the Great Wall ran to Henan and gathered around Kaifeng.
More than 20 years of Mongolian-Jin war caused some Jurchens to take up swords and guns again and regain a certain fighting strength.
During the Mongolian siege of Kaifeng, both men and women of the Jurchen tribe participated in the defense of the city, and many women also shot arrows at the top of the city to withstand the Mongolian attack.
Wo Kuotai frowned and said, "This Khan has already taken the outer city, why can't he still take the inner city?"
Cui Li smiled and said: "Great Khan, it is actually very simple to capture the inner city. There is no need for the Great Khan to lose another soldier."
Wo Kuotai raised his eyebrows and said, "Oh, does it mean you have an internal agent in the city?"
Cui Li shook his head, "Is that so? The Jurchens who retreated into the inner city are basically Jurchens. They are loyal to the Kingdom of Jin and most likely will not betray the Kingdom of Jin. I have surrendered to the Great Khan. The Jurchens in the inner city are estimated to be more vulnerable to the Han and Khitan people." Everyone will be on guard, and even if someone is willing to help, it is estimated that it will be difficult to open the city gate!"
Wokuotai asked: "What's the solution?"
Cui Lidao said, "The remaining soldiers in the city have probably blocked the city gate now, and it will be difficult to get in by force. However, I estimate that with so many remaining soldiers and their families hiding in the inner city, the food in the inner city must not be enough. Therefore, the profuse sweat We only need to surround the inner city and wait until the defenders' supplies are exhausted, then we can easily capture the inner city."
Wokuotai nodded slightly, and Subotai asked: "Cui Li, are you sure there is no food in the city?"
The Mongols besieged Kaifeng for less than half a year, and relied entirely on Guanzhong, Hedong, Hebei, and Shandong for food supply. However, during the siege of Kaifeng, Zhao Tai teamed up with Li Fen to seize Shandong, and sent troops to invade Hebei, wreaking havoc and destroying the city of Kaifeng. The Mongolian army was unable to obtain food from Shandong and Hebei.
Henan was devastated during the Mongolian-Jin War, and many places were killed and left deserted.
Therefore, the Mongolian siege could not obtain supplies on the spot, and two of the four areas that currently provide food could no longer provide food, which caused the Mongolian army's food supply to be very tight.
In history, when Mongolia destroyed the Jin Dynasty, the Southern Song Dynasty provided Mongolia with 300,000 stones of grain and grass. However, now these grains and grass were all given to the Jin Kingdom before the war.
The Mongols had besieged Kaifeng for so long, and the city had always had plenty of food. Subotai was worried that there was still a lot of food in the inner city.
Cui Li hurriedly said: "The inner city is mainly palaces, and the Jin Kingdom's granaries are mostly in the outer city. I can be sure that there is not much food in the inner city, and even if there were, more than 100,000 mouths would not be able to eat for a few days!"
Subotai heard that there was no granary in the inner city, so he felt relieved, "If the inner city does not have food aid from the Southern Song Dynasty, then the city may have run out of food."
After hearing Cui Li's words, Wokuotai felt confident and couldn't help but smile: "Okay, I'll just wait until the food in the city is exhausted, and then attack the city in one fell swoop!"
There are still more than 100,000 Jurchens in the inner city. They know that if the city is destroyed, they will die, so the trapped beasts still fight.
If the Mongolian army attacks by force, they will definitely lose men and horses. The Mongolian army began to besiege Kaifeng at the beginning of autumn last year and has been fighting until the beginning of spring this year. Wokuotai has been waiting for half a year, so there is no rush for these days.
Wokuotai made a decision, and many Mongolian generals in the tent became relieved when they heard that they did not need to fight anymore and would directly starve the Jin army in the city to death.
After all, after fighting for half a year, all troops suffered casualties. The soldiers were already physically and mentally exhausted and needed to rest.
"Great Khan, if the food in the city runs out, we will completely defeat Kaifeng and destroy the Kingdom of Jin. Now that something has happened, should we deal with Zhao Tai?" Subotai said with a smile.
After hearing his words, Wo Kuotai couldn't help showing an optimistic look on his face, and said loudly to everyone: "Of course! After the inner city is broken and the Jin Kingdom is destroyed, I will send troops eastward to destroy Zhao Tai!"
"Hahaha, Zhao Tai relied on us to besiege Kaifeng and had no time to pay attention to him. He went around to cause trouble for us. Now that we have destroyed the Jin Kingdom, let's see how he dares to be arrogant!" Subotai said: "This guy has repeatedly fought against me in Mongolia. The enemy must be destroyed this time to vent the anger in my heart!"
Wokuotai deeply agreed, "This Khan besieged Kaifeng, and Zhao Tai's men captured Jinan and invaded Hebei. They tried their best to mobilize this Khan. However, this Khan had already seen through his intentions. No matter what he did, he would first Capture Kaifeng. Now that Kaifeng is about to be captured, Zhao Tai’s death will be near."
"By the way, there has been no news about Zhao Tai since he withdrew his troops from Hebei. What has he been doing recently?" Subotai suddenly asked.
Hearing this, Wokuotai couldn't help but ask, "Is there any news about Zhao Tai?"
Kublai Khan said: "According to detailed reports, after Zhao Tai returned to Shandong, he was invited by Li Fen to go to Jinan to participate in the alliance."
Wokuotai said: "He didn't continue to cause trouble? Didn't he think about saving Kaifeng?"
Kublai Khan said: "That guy Zhao Tai should have given up on rescuing Kaifeng. He has tried his best, but he can't change the situation in Kaifeng. Based on my understanding of him, Zhao Tai knows that Kaifeng cannot be saved, so he will definitely start preparations to deal with it." Our attack. Their three towns are meeting in Jinan to form an alliance, most likely to discuss how to resist our Mongolian revenge."
Wo Kuotai nodded when he heard this, "Huh, this Zhao Taixiao stopped and stopped making trouble. I'm really not used to it, haha~"
Subotai said: "Zhao Tai is at his wits end now. Even if the three towns work out their plans and make preparations in advance, they still won't be able to stop our army."
"Not bad! Lead Ben Khan to clean up the Kingdom of Jin, and then mobilize the army to attack Zhao Tai!" Wo Kuotai said solemnly: "Before, the main target of Ben Khan's attack was the Kingdom of Jin, so I ignored him. Now wait for the Kingdom of Jin Damn it, it’s not easy for Ben Khan to deal with this clown like him, no matter how prepared he is, it’s useless!”
At this time, Su Butai picked up the wine bowl and couldn't help but said: "Then Zhao Tai repeatedly interfered with our destruction of Jin, but it was because the sweat was calm and he was not mobilized. Now that the Jin Kingdom is about to be destroyed, Zhao Tai will not be able to jump around for long. It is really worth celebrating. .I and others should toast the Great Khan to celebrate the Great Khan’s destruction of gold and avenge the shame of my people.”
When many Mongolian generals in the big tent saw this, they immediately responded and started to flatter Wokuotai one after another.
"Hahaha~" Wo Kuotai laughed, picked up the wine glass, and said to everyone: "Okay, everyone, drink this cup to wish me the destruction of the Jin Kingdom in Mongolia, and also celebrate in advance. I will destroy Zhao Tai to relieve the pain." Anger in my heart!”
After finishing speaking, Wo Kuotai drank the Songhe wine in his bowl in one gulp. He didn't know that this wine was a flagship product produced by Zhao Tai. It was mainly sold to various parts of the north and was one of the main financial resources of Zhongyi Town.
Everyone drank the wine in the bowl, and the big tent was filled with laughter and excitement.
At this time, when everyone was changing cups and celebrating their victory, a general suddenly raised the curtain and walked in quickly.
He stood at the door of the tent, looked inside, and then went straight to the balcony. When he got to his side, he leaned down and whispered a few words softly.
After hearing this, Wokuotai's face immediately turned red. He didn't know whether it was because of drinking or because he heard something that made him overly excited.
Subotai noticed the change in Ogedai's expression and was about to ask, but Ogedai suddenly became furious and slammed the wine bowl in his hand to the ground.
The Mongolian generals who were laughing and laughing in the big tent were all startled. Everyone in the tent immediately fell silent and looked at Wokuotai, wondering what happened again.
"What a good Zhao Tai!" Wo Kuotai cursed bitterly: "This guy is really haunting, there will be no end!"
When everyone heard this, many people immediately felt a chill in their hearts, reflexively thinking that Zhao Tai had done something that shocked the Khan.
Subotai grimaced, "Khan, wasn't Zhao Tai meeting in Jinan? What happened to him?"
Wo Kuotai's face turned from red to black, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Then Zhao Tai raised troops from Jinan and came to rescue Kaifeng with great fanfare!"
Kublai Khan frowned, "Zhao Tai has bluffed more than once, saying he would come to rescue Kaifeng, but he never saw his troops entering Henan. Could it be another bluff this time?"
Wo Guotai's cheeks twitched, "This Zhao Tai is really hateful. I destroyed the Kingdom of Jin, so I must cut off his dog's head and use it as a chamber pot!"
Bookstore
