Juyongguan is a famous ancient pass along the Great Wall in Hebei Province and one of the "Nine Fortresses in the World".
As early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the State of Yan had been controlling this pass.
"Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals" and "Huainanzi" both say: "There are nine fortresses in the world, and one of them is mediocre."
"Diji": There are eight stations in Taihang, and the eighth station is the military capital.
After Zhao Tai occupied Youzhou, he sent troops to occupy the Yanshan and Taihang passes to hold Mongolia back in Hedong and Saibei.
At this time, Zhao Tai and the generals stood on the city wall of Juyongguan, looking at the endless Yanshan and Taihang Mountains, feeling a sense of pride in their hearts.
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In this situation, I should write a poem to express my heroic spirit and establish the character of a heroic hero who is capable of both literary and military skills. However, Zhao Tai's skills are limited and he has been pondering for a long time, but he has not been able to come up with a single word.
"Your Majesty, our Qi State now relies on Yanshan Mountain to the north and Taihang to the west. If we can concentrate on running Hebei, we can attack Hedong all the way, go down to Taiyuan, and approach Pujin Pass. We can take the Central Plains all the way, make noises to advance westward, and break Tongguan. The two routes will meet in Guanzhong. Then the great cause can be accomplished and the north can be determined!" Wang Bin looked excited, as if he had seen the scene of the Qi army marching westward and conquering the world.
Zhao Tai smiled and nodded, "That's right! But before that, we have to hold on."
Although the Qi army defeated Wokuotai and occupied Youzhou this time, returning Youzhou, which had been lost for three hundred years, to the hands of the Han government, the battle of Langshan was so tragic that the Qi army was also weakened.
Thirty-five thousand Qi troops died in this battle, which can be said to be the most disastrous battle since Zhao Tai launched his army.
Many of the more than 30,000 people were veterans who had followed Zhao Tai for many years. Their losses severely damaged Qi's vitality and made it unable to counterattack Mongolia.
Wang Bin said: "After driving the Mongolian army out of Youzhou, our defense pressure in Jizhou has been greatly reduced. Now that the various troops originally stationed in Nanyishui have deployed their defenses along Yanshan Mountain, it will not be that easy for the Mongolian army to invade again. "
If you do not regain Youzhou, Qi will have to invest 200,000 people even if it "replaces troops with water" to have a chance to defend Mongolia.
Now with Yanshan and Taihang, 100,000 people can defend Hebei, and Zhao Tai can mobilize more troops to defend the Mongolian army in the Central Plains, and even seek to capture the Central Plains.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Tai looked at Li Fen and said, "Ai Qing, Gu wants you to guard Youzhou and occupy Mongolia for Gubei. Are you confident?"
Li Fen was a little surprised. He thought Zhao Tai would let Wu Xian guard Youzhou, but he didn't expect that he would be chosen in the end.
"If the king asks me to guard Youzhou, unless Wo Kuotai comes with his whole country, the general will command tens of thousands of troops. I will be the king and keep him out of the country." Li Fen immediately clasped his fists, full of confidence.
In the Battle of Langshan, the Qi army defeated the Mongolian army. The morale of the generals was high and they all felt that they were very powerful.
In Zhao Tai's opinion, Li Fen was not as good as Wuxian, but Wo Kuotai suffered such a defeat and was unable to go south in a short time. It was enough to leave Li Fen to guard Youzhou.
Zhao Tai nodded with satisfaction, "The Jin Yiwei sent information that Batu, Meng Ge, and Guyu have arrived in Guanzhong, and the Mongolian Western Expeditionary Army will soon enter the Central Plains. Now I entrust Youzhou to you. You have such courage, Gu Ye Then you can go south with peace of mind.”
The Qi army defeated Wokuotai, took over the land of Youzhou, and waited for the second-line troops to enter Youzhou to occupy the passes and control various states and counties. The main force of the Qi army, which had just experienced the war, hurriedly replenished some troops, and then hurriedly Go south.
When the Qi army went south, the autumn harvest began in Hebei.
Because the Langshan battle was short and the recapture of Youzhou went smoothly, it had little impact on the autumn harvests in Hebei.
In mid-September, Zhao Tai took control of Yecheng and set up a palace in Yecheng. He gradually mobilized more than 100,000 Qi troops to garrison in Weizhou, Huazhou, Caozhou and other places. They put up a defensive posture along the river and waited for the Mongolian Western Expedition. Enter the Central Plains.
Guanzhong, Xi'an.
One hundred and fifty thousand troops from the Western Expedition traveled thousands of miles, but before they entered the battlefield, bad news came.
Outside the city of Xi'an, generals gathered in the Mongolian camp.
At this time, in the big tent, Batu, Guyu, Meng Ge and others gathered together to discuss the military situation.
Batu said in a deep voice: "There is news from Hebei that the Great Khan suffered a disastrous defeat at Langshan. We in Mongolia lost 60,000 people. What do you think?"
Guyuk's face was gloomy and he said coldly: "If Kublai Khan hadn't kept spies around and leaked military information, how could the Great Khan have suffered such a defeat?"
Hearing this, Brother Meng snorted coldly: "Kublai Khan has already reported the leak of the news to the Great Khan. Failure in this battle means failure. What's the point of finding these reasons?"
Seeing that the two of them were about to quarrel, Batu said in a deep voice: "If you fail, stand up and fight again. You are the Mongolian warrior until the enemy surrenders. At the moment, we should determine what to do next, not who should be blamed for the defeat." Responsible."
Batu's words were obviously biased towards Meng Ge. Guiyou was alone and could only snort and stop talking.
The position of Ogedai Khan was already unstable. This time he was defeated by Zhao Tai, which caused his dignity to fall. Both Batu and Meng Ge did not take the Ogedai family seriously.
Seeing that the two were quiet, Batu said in a deep voice: "Previously, our battle plan was that the Great Khan would hold back the main force of the Qi army in Hebei. After we entered the Central Plains, we would take advantage of the emptiness in Shandong to first go to Shandong and then outflank Hebei. Zhao Tai was annihilated. Now that the Great Khan has been defeated and Hebei is owned by Zhao Tai, do you think we should continue to fight the Qi army?"
Wokuotai failed, and the Qi army killed 60,000 Mongolian troops, which shocked the entire Western Expeditionary Army.
Brother Meng pondered for a while, but did not express his opinion. Instead, he asked Batu, "What do you think?"
Batu took a deep breath and said: "To be honest, I can't make up my mind now! The Qi army won a great victory in Langshan, and their morale was high. Although they suffered a lot of losses, we traveled thousands of miles to come here, and the men and horses were very tired. I have no chance of winning. .”
Guyu frowned, "The battle at Langshan was not easy for Zhao Tai. His troops were also mobilized continuously. Now that the Qi army is really weak, I think we should launch an attack."
After listening to the words of the two men, Brother Meng pondered for a moment, shook his head and said: "With our military strength, we are no longer sure of victory. I think it depends on the situation whether we should continue to attack or stand still."
Batu asked: "What do you mean?"
Meng Ge said: "After Zhao Tai occupied Hebei, Hedong and the Central Plains were both under threat from the Qi army. If I were Zhao Tai, once the Qi army completed its rest, the next step would be to attack Hedong or capture the Central Plains. Hedong and the Central Plains, I think the Central Plains is particularly important to Zhao Tai. The danger of Taihang is shared by Hedong and Hebei. The Central Plains threatens Hebei to the north, Shandong to the east, and Lianghuai to the south. Therefore, I think the army should continue to advance westward and enter Henan. If there is a chance, we will attack Zhao Tai. If there is no chance, we must defend Henan."
Batu nodded: "Yes, with the Central Plains in hand, it is like a sharp knife, resisting Zhao Tai. Then we will continue to advance eastward and wait for the opportunity."
