Zhao Tai kept the shipment secret to Yuan Haowen, but his son discovered it.
Zhao Tai didn't know his good intentions, which caused great trouble to Yuan Haowen, so he returned to the palace after finishing his official duties.
Although the nominal Wang Jing of Qi State is in Jinan, Zhao Tai rarely stays in Jinan.
After Zhao Tai arrived in Yecheng, decided to set up a palace, and transferred the civil and military personnel of Qi State to Yecheng, the royal family of Qi State also arrived in Yecheng.
Zhao Tai defeated Wokuotai, and Qi State successfully completed its autumn harvest. Now it has barely gained a foothold, and the situation of the Three Kingdoms has basically been formed.
However, for Qi State, there is a hidden danger that has always been in everyone's heart.
That is, King Zhao Tai of Qi has no brothers and no heirs. If something goes wrong with Zhao Tai, the country of Qi will collapse directly.
Although Zhao Tai has adopted many adopted sons, Zhao Tai only cultivates these adopted sons as ordinary talents and does not really regard them as sons.
This also meant that if Zhao Tai had an accident, none of his adopted sons would be able to get the support of the ministers.
Zhao Tai knew this hidden danger in his heart, but he did not cultivate one or two adopted sons as candidates.
Because Zhao Tai is still young and working hard every day, he does not want to get rid of the people he has cultivated in order for future generations to successfully succeed to the throne.
At this time, Zhao Tai finished his official duties and returned to the palace. When he came to the backyard, Zhao Tai couldn't help but stop and take a deep breath.
It was obvious that His Royal Highness King Qi was exhausted physically and mentally after fighting for days.
Zhao Tai stood for a while before walking in with a smile.
Zhao Tai thought that the princess was dancing with guns and sticks in the yard again. Who wanted to come back today, but found that the yard was very quiet.
Zhao Tai looked around and saw that the weapon racks and arrow targets set up in the yard were all missing.
This surprised Zhao Tai and he couldn't help asking the palace maid, "Where is the princess?"
"Reporting to the king, the princess has prepared dinner inside and is waiting for the king!" The palace maid bowed slightly.
Zhao Tai walked into the room and saw the food and wine on the table. He couldn't help but be a little surprised, "Why are you so empty today?"
At this time, the princess came out and said with a smile: "The king is back, let's eat!"
Zhao Tai took a few bites and asked, "Why are all the weapons in the yard withdrawn?"
The princess's cheeks were slightly red, "The medical officer told me not to practice martial arts for the time being, and not to allow me to do strenuous activities."
Zhao Tai was stunned for a moment, then his eyebrows lit up with joy, "Where is my beloved concubine?"
The princess nodded, "Yes!"
"Hahaha~" Zhao Tai laughed heartily, finally letting go of the worries in his heart.
…
At the end of October, Kaifeng.
It has been more than two months since the Mongolian Western Expeditionary Army arrived in the Central Plains.
After the Mongolian army had rested and recuperated, the soldiers of the Western Expeditionary Army who had returned from thousands of miles away had washed away their fatigue, and their men and horses were completely restored to their peak condition.
At this time, in the Mongolian camp, Batu and Meng Ge gathered together to discuss the military situation.
"Winter is coming soon!" Batu said casually as he cut the mutton with a dagger.
Meng Ge fiddled with the flint with a branch, "Yes, when winter comes, the Yellow River will freeze."
Batu stuffed the meat into his mouth and chewed it for a while, "Zhao Tai suffered a lot in the battle of Langshan. I guess he won't attack this year and will only defend along the river!"
Brother Meng said: "Zhao Tai doesn't attack, we must attack!"
Batu inserted his dagger into the sheep's head and said in a deep voice: "If we attack, will anyone cooperate?"
The Jochi family had long been excluded from being the successors of the Mongol Empire. Batu's territory was in the old west, and he was not very interested in the Mongolian-Qi struggle for hegemony.
His idea was to establish his own khanate in the middle and lower reaches of the Dnieper and Volga rivers.
Soon after the Western Expeditionary Army arrived in the Central Plains, Guyuk was called back to the grassland by Wokuotai and took away his troops.
In Batu's view, Wokuotai knew that a war was about to break out in the Central Plains and did not want Guyu to suffer losses, so he called Guyu away.
Batu was originally not very interested in the Battle of Mengqi. It was entirely because of Ogedei's call in the name of the Mongolian Khan that he returned eastward.
Now that Wokuotai is doing this, Batu feels extremely dissatisfied and becomes a bit passive and avoids fighting.
Brother Meng knew that Batu wanted to preserve his strength. He poured Batu a bowl of kumiss and said solemnly: "If we miss this winter, our next attack will be even more difficult!"
Now the border between Mongolia and Qi is either surrounded by mountains or rivers. It is difficult to overcome these natural dangers and break through the opponent's defense line when launching an attack.
To the north, Mengqi has Yanshan Mountain and Taihang Mountain, both of which are difficult to reach all year round.
The two sides in the south share the Yellow River chasm, and usually can only confront each other across the river. However, when the Yellow River freezes in winter, the two sides can easily enter each other's territory.
Meng Ge's meaning is very clear. If you miss this winter, you will have to wait for another year. It is hard to say how Qi will recover by then.
However, he can be sure that once Qi is restored, Mongolia will inevitably fall into a bitter war.
Batu said in a deep voice: "Then how sure are you that you can defeat the Qi army?"
Brother Meng shook his head, "Judging from the current situation, it is very difficult to defeat the Qi army. What we have to do this winter is still to plunder the Qi State and not allow the Qi State to recover!"
Batu said: "During this period, the Qi army has been building cities and fortifications on the north bank. It is not easy to plunder the Qi country!"
Meng Ge was quite confident, "In the battle of Langshan, the Qi cavalry army suffered heavy losses. They originally had 20,000 cavalry, but now they are afraid that only more than 10,000 cavalry can fight. The Qi army's infantry cannot outrun us, and the number of cavalry is small." , Dare not dare to fight a decisive battle with us, tens of thousands of us can march across Hebei and Shandong, there will be absolutely no problem!"
When Batu heard what he said, he couldn't help but nodded slightly, "But the city of Qi is strong. In order to prevent us from plundering it, Zhao Tai will definitely recruit soldiers and civilians into the city in winter. We are afraid of heavy losses if we launch a strong attack!"
Meng Ge said: "Qi State has a vast territory, and it is impossible for all the cities to be as solid as rocks. Qi State has only occupied Hebei and Huainan for a year, and many county towns have no time to reinforce! I thought that as long as we break through the Qi army's key defensive areas , we will definitely be able to find a few weakly defended cities and attack them to slaughter them!"
Batu narrowed his eyes, "Okay, then let's go to Qi State for a walk."
At the end of October, the temperature in the north dropped sharply, and heavy snow fell from the sky.
At this time, on the north bank of the Yellow River, Wuxian and Zhang Rou were stationed on the bank on horseback, staring at the Yellow River.
"Look at this posture, it won't take half a month to freeze." Zhang Rou looked solemn.
Wu Xian observed carefully for a while and said in a deep voice: "If the Mongolian army is allowed to break through the Yellow River, Hebei is as flat as a river, and we can't defend everywhere!"
Zhang Judao: "The Yellow River is so long, and there is nothing we can do to stop the Mongolian army from crossing the river. At present, we can only follow the king's wishes and send people to cut ice on the wall to delay the Mongolian army's crossing of the river as much as possible."
Wu Xian nodded, then pulled the horse's rein, "Go to the eastern section and take another look."
