Outside Pizhou City, in the Mongolian army's camp, the wounded soldiers who had returned were lying in disorder in the camp, groaning.
The thunderbolts used by the Zhongyi Army could easily tear through the armor of the Mongolian soldiers and penetrate their bodies when they exploded.
Many Mongolian soldiers were not killed in the bombing, but after they returned, they found that their bodies had been scratched by fragments at some point.
Those wounds caused by sawdust were fine and could recover after being bandaged, but those injured by rusty iron nails, even if they were only small wounds, could eventually become infected and it would be difficult to save their lives.
Zhao Tai is still quite vicious when dealing with his enemies.
The iron nails and fragments in the thunderbolts used by the Zhongyi Army had been soaked in manure pits and rusted when they were taken out. The enemy soldiers who were hit were likely to be infected with tetanus, causing the Mongolian army to lose strength.
At this time, a group of Mongolian generals walked through the wailing wounded and went straight to the tent. They saw Kublai Khan sitting on the commander's seat with a gloomy face.
Kublai Khan heard that Zhao Tai was holding on to Pizhou, and originally thought that he could easily break through it, complete the mission given to him by Wokuotai, and at the same time avenge Tuo Lei.
Unexpectedly, his army arrived at the city, but suffered setbacks one after another, which made him depressed.
Now that the time agreed with Wo Kuotai has come, he is trapped in the city. If it affects Mongolia's entire strategy of destroying the Song Dynasty, Wo Kuotai will definitely take the opportunity to suppress him.
Thinking of this, Kublai Khan's face became solemn, and the anger in the tent was extremely suppressed.
Zhang Rou and others entered the tent. They sensed that the anger was wrong and felt a little scared. They saluted cautiously, "Your Majesty!"
Kublai Khan raised his eyes and glanced at everyone, "How many men and horses were lost?"
Zhang Rou whispered: "Reporting to the prince, each branch of the Han army lost 2,000 people, and more than 2,000 people were injured!"
Kublai Khan pulled the corner of his mouth back and looked at Wu Liang Hetai. The latter lowered his proud head and said bitterly: "The Mongolian warriors lost ninety-eight riders, and more than fifty others were injured!"
Thousands of men and horses were lost before they even touched the city wall. If word of this spread, it would undoubtedly make people laugh and question the strength of the Mongolian army, making Kublai Khan deeply angry and humiliated.
After hearing the report, Kublai Khan wanted to kick the table in front of him away, but he held back.
Because two consecutive setbacks, especially today's incident, have already dampened the morale of the Mongolian army. As a coach, he is incompetent and furious, which will only cause his subordinates to further lose confidence in attacking Pizhou.
Zhang Rou saw Kublai Khan's face looking ugly and said quickly: "Your Majesty, the main reason for such a big loss is that the soldiers did not expect that the Zhao thieves had such powerful firearms. Many soldiers were in panic and were trampled to death or injured. , but the casualties caused by panic.”
Kublai Khan exhaled, remained silent for a while, and asked: "How is the condition of the equipment?"
Zhang Rou lowered her head again, "90% destroyed!"
Kublai Khan wanted to calm down, but his face still darkened, "How long will it take to rebuild?"
Zhang Judao: "Your Majesty, almost all the usable wood nearby has been used. To rebuild it, we need to cut down the wood from afar and transport it here. I thought it would take about twenty days!"
"Twenty days?" Kublai Khan stood up, "No! It's too long, I can only give you ten days!"
Zhang Rou looked embarrassed, but at this moment, the curtain was raised, and a general came in hurriedly, saluting: "Your Majesty, the Great Khan's military order!"
Kublai Khan's heart trembled. Ogedai sent an order at this time. It was clear without looking at him that he must be asking him to attack Huainan according to the plan.
"Bring it here!" Kublai Khan sat down and waved tiredly.
At this time, he took the military order, browsed it quickly, and his expression became serious.
Wu Lianghetai asked: "Your Majesty, what orders does the Great Khan have?"
Kublai Khan exhaled a white breath and said in a deep voice: "The Great Khan ordered us to capture Pizhou fifteen days ago, and then go south to the Jianghuai River to cooperate with the Great Khan to attack the Southern Song Dynasty!"
"Fifteen?" All the generals in the tent couldn't help but exclaimed, "How is this possible?"
Everyone has seen with their own eyes how terrifying the artillery group in Pizhou City is. It is already the fifth day of the Lunar New Year and there are only ten days left. How can they capture it?
Besides, if the siege equipment was destroyed, should the warriors be allowed to climb the city wall with their hands?
"Quiet!" Kublai Khan was immediately annoyed when he saw the crowd yelling. He shouted, and then looked at the crowd, "We have an army of 100,000, and there are at most 10,000 people in Pizhou City. You are ten times the enemy, but you are so cowardly!" "
When all the generals heard this, they all lowered their heads in shame. Wu Lianghatai asked: "Your Majesty, can't time move forward?"
Kublai Khan shook his head, "The Great Khan received information that the Southern Song Dynasty began to increase its troops to the north of the Yangtze River, so he decided to send troops to attack Kaifeng. In this way, we will start a war with the Southern Song Dynasty, and the previous methods of deceiving the Southern Song Dynasty will be seen through. If we do not break through quickly Pizhou, go south and defeat the Huaihe defense line of the Southern Song Dynasty, and the Southern Song Dynasty will mobilize the power of the whole country to defend and counterattack. Previously, the Great Khan used strategies to confuse the Song armies in Jinghu and Sichuan so that they would not take the initiative to attack, but we invaded the Southern Song Dynasty. The Song armies in the two places cannot sit idly by. If we cannot defeat the Song armies quickly, whether the Song armies in the two places go north to attack us or go down the river to support Jianghuai, it will be detrimental to us!"
After hearing this, Wu Liang understood the power of it. He punched his chest with a fist and saluted, "In that case, please give me your instructions!"
Kublai Khan stood up, walked a few steps back and forth in the tent, and finally glanced at everyone with sharp eyes, "I originally wanted to avoid casualties, but now it seems that I can only carry out a strong attack regardless of the cost."
As soon as these words came out, the angry people in the tent immediately became nervous and serious.
Wu Lianghetai and the others looked fierce, while Zhang Rou and other Han generals looked heavy.
It seems that Kublai Khan's intention was to attack Pizhou regardless of casualties, and the strong attack was definitely not done by the Mongols, and most of the casualties were Han troops.
Sure enough, Kublai Khan looked at Zhang Rou and others, "The artillery group in the city is powerful, and the large siege equipment moves slowly. Most of them will be destroyed before they reach the city. Besides, there are only ten days left, and there is no time to rebuild it. You can build a simple one How long does it take to climb the city ladder!"
Zhang Rou and others were shocked. It was possible to conquer Pizhou without using large equipment and relying on the ladder to climb the city. How many casualties would it cost.
Many Han generals in the big tent couldn't help but whisper among themselves. Kublai Khan saw this and shouted: "I want to ask you how long it will take!"
Yang You immediately said: "Report to the prince, if we only make a long ladder, one night will be enough."
"Okay!" Kublai Khan immediately ordered, "The Han army rushed to build ladders to climb the city overnight in all towns. Tomorrow, we will besiege on all sides and capture Pizhou at any cost."
Zhang Rou and others couldn't help but glare at Yang You. This sixth man, in order to please the Mongols, had become a human being.
Kublai Khan glanced at everyone, Zhang Rou and others could only salute, "I humbly accept my order!"
