Pizhou City, the residence of Commander-in-Chief.
After defeating two consecutive attacks by the Mongolian army, the morale of the defenders in the city rose sharply, and Zhao Tai's tense nerves relaxed a little.
With one hundred thousand Mongolians surrounding the city, Zhao Tai was actually quite nervous.
Now that Mongolia's siege equipment has been destroyed again, it will probably take some time to resume the attack.
This allowed Zhao Tai to relax a little, and he returned to the mansion and finally had a good sleep.
Early in the morning, before dawn, soldiers shouted outside the bedroom, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Are you awake?"
Zhao Tai was not dead in his sleep. When he heard the sound, he immediately sat up in shock and grabbed the saber under his pillow. "Who?"
It is understandable that Zhao Tai is so nervous and has such a virtuous attitude.
After all, 100,000 Mongolian troops surrounded Pizhou, and the future of the Zhongyi Army was not bright. His team had been established for less than three years, and there were not many die-hard loyalists. No one could tell whether there would be traitors.
Although Zhao Tai had taken precautions in advance and sent the families of the defenders to Haizhou, Zhao Tai was not sure whether anyone in the city would rebel when the Mongolian army pressed on the border.
When the Jin army went south, Wang Yan was fighting guerrillas in the Taihang Mountains. He visited a village every day, and even many of his subordinates didn't know where he was.
"Your Majesty! It's me! Zhao Zhen. Commander Tang reported that the Mongols are taking action!" the soldier outside the door replied.
When Zhao Tai saw that it was his adopted son, he immediately stood up, put on his cloak, and opened the door to let him in.
Zhao Zhen and others quickly helped Zhao Tai put on his armor. "The Mongolian camp was brightly lit, as if they were rushing to make equipment overnight. At the fourth watch, the soldiers on guard saw smoke and birds again. It is estimated that the Mongols are about to attack again."
Zhao Tai frowned and thought to himself: "Kublai Khan's equipment was destroyed yesterday, how can he attack?"
The Mongolian army suffered continuous setbacks and was unable to capture Pizhou. As the time entered the twelfth lunar month, the window period for Mongolia to attack the Southern Song Dynasty was shrinking.
Zhao Tai heard that the Mongols were making moves, and it was probably because Kublai Khan was anxious.
After all, no benefits were gained in Shandong. When the Huaihe River thawed, the Mongolian cavalry would not be able to cross the river, and they would have to return without success.
There is a saying that only three things can be done, and they will be exhausted. Mongolia has failed to gain favor several times in a row, and its enthusiasm to go south will be dampened, and it may change to move westward.
Then Zhao Tai's opportunity will come.
At this time, the personal guards had already helped Zhao Tai put on his armor. Zhao Tai then held the iron bag in one hand and held the sword in the other, and said in a deep voice: "Go to the city!"
On the city wall, Tang Liang saw movement in the Mongolian camp and judged that the Mongolian army was about to attack, so he mobilized troops and horses to prepare to defend the city.
When Zhao Tai came to the city, the defenders called themselves kings and bowed their heads in salute. Zhao Tai waved his hands and said, "Everyone performs his duties!"
The soldiers of the brigade immediately ran up the city and soon reached the designated position.
"Your Majesty, Kublai Khan is so angry with shame!" Tang Liang saw Zhao Tai coming over and pointed at the Mongolian army camp outside the city.
Zhao Tai walked to the wall and looked down at the city. He saw smoke, birds, and people in the Mongolian camp. There were indeed signs of an attack.
Zhao Tai couldn't help but frown slightly. He had fought with Kublai Khan several times and knew that this man was not a reckless man. His equipment was destroyed and he should think of another way. But now he is eager to attack. There must be a reason.
"Bring the map!" Zhao Tai suddenly waved his hand.
After hearing the order, the soldiers immediately took a map and unfolded it directly on the city.
Zhao Tai immediately squatted on the ground with several generals, spread out the map and looked at it carefully.
This map is not a map of Pizhou, but a map of the mountains and rivers in the north. It is a map of the Jin Kingdom that Zhao Tai obtained from Xuzhou.
"It stands to reason that Kublai Khan's siege equipment was destroyed and it would take time to rebuild it. We shouldn't take action so quickly." Zhao Tai said while looking at the map.
Li Chunzhu said: "There must be a reason why Kublai Khan is so anxious. Could it be that the Southern Song Dynasty took action?"
Zhao Tai stroked his beard and said, "I have analyzed this with the military advisor and it is unlikely that Lin'an will send troops to rescue. Furthermore, there are 100,000 Mongolian troops under Pizhou City, and the Song army does not have the strength to rescue them!"
It's not that Zhao Tai looked down on the Song Army, but that the Mongolian Army was powerful and the Song Army did not have this ability.
Zhao Tai stood firm in Pizhou in the hope of buying time for the Southern Song Dynasty to deploy defenses. If the Song army came to help, Zhao Tai would be afraid.
With the strength of the Song Army, they would definitely be defeated by the Mongolian Army in the field. If the Song Army was annihilated by the Mongolian Army under the Pizhou City, Jianghuai's defense would be completely destroyed.
Therefore, Zhao Tai did not want the Song army to come for reinforcements. They guarded the Huaihe River to support the Zhongyi Army.
Tang Liang said: "Then why did Kublai Khan attack? You must know that if they carry out a strong attack without siege equipment, they will definitely suffer heavy casualties. Someone must be urging Kublai Khan to attack regardless of casualties."
These words caught Zhao Tai's attention. He scanned the map and suddenly smiled, pointing to the line of the Huaihe River. "Look! It's already December. The Huaihe River thaws early. It is estimated that the ice will gradually melt in the first month. We After being in Pizhou for so long, even if Lin'an doesn't support us, they will strengthen their defenses along the Huaihe River. I think Kublai Khan is eager to attack and wants to go south as soon as possible. Otherwise, the Huaihe River will thaw and their cavalry will not be able to cross the Huaihe River. .”
After listening to Zhao Tai's analysis, everyone nodded. Li Chunzhu said: "Kublai Khan entered Shandong and occupied many states and counties. However, the king was well prepared, and all the Mongolian troops got were empty cities. These Mongols never left. Kong, if we didn’t get any benefits in Shandong, we must get it back from other places. I guess it was Ogedai who killed Kublai Khan and asked him to go south as soon as possible, so Kublai Khan would attack regardless of casualties. "
Zhao Tai stroked his beard, stood up, and said in a deep voice: "It seems that the main force of the Mongolian army in Luoyang has moved. Only if they move, Wo Kuotai will worry that the Song army is setting up defenses in the Huaihe River! Brothers, the Mongolian and Song troops have moved. Let’s start the war! If we block Kublai Khan’s strong attack, the opportunity will appear!”
Many generals stood up and clasped their fists together, "Yes!"
"Woooooo~" At this time, the sound of Mongolian horns sounded outside the city.
Zhao Tai immediately waved his hand and ordered the people to put away the map and walk to the city tower. Looking down at the city, he saw countless Mongolian troops in the distance pouring out of the camp after a good meal.
At this time, half of the sun's face was revealed, and the sky was bright. In just half an hour, tens of thousands of Mongolian troops spread out outside the city, as if they had laid a gray carpet on the earth.
The north wind howled, the flags were flying, and the white air emitted by the horses and soldiers gathered into clouds, and the momentum was extremely frightening.
Although Mongolia suffered continuous setbacks and was shocked by the artillery batteries in Pizhou City, Mongolia's elite warriors did not show much fear. The soldiers were still in high spirits. There was no doubt that victory belonged to Mongolia.
"Your Majesty! Tens of thousands of Mongolian troops are gathering outside the east city!" A messenger ran over to report.
As soon as he finished speaking, two more soldiers came over and knelt on one knee, "Your Majesty, the Mongolian army has also completed its assembly outside the South City and West City."
When Zhao Tai heard this, he couldn't help laughing and said: "Mongolia always likes to surround three people but one is missing. Today they actually attacked from all sides. They want to kill me!"
Zhao Tai looked very relaxed, but he was a little shocked in his heart. The Mongolian army was attacking from all sides, which showed that Kublai Khan was still very confident in capturing Pizhou.
"Woooooooo..." In the Mongolian army formation, the passionate horn sounded, and the real tough battle began.
