Early in the morning, when the first ray of sunlight shone on the northern suburbs of Lin 'an, the North Camp Mongol Army, who had been suffering all night, was ready to rush out of the camp and teach the Southern Song a lesson.
When he came out, he found that the army of the Southern Song Dynasty that had 'stirred up trouble' last night and started a massacre in the suburbs had already retreated like a tide, leaving only the ruins.
When he looked over, there were no longer any living Mongolian cavaliers in his field of vision.
The barracks in the east, west, and south were still burning with raging fires. Yurts were burnt to ashes, and the barracks were scorched. Black smoke curled up, and corpses were everywhere. It was an indescribable desolation.
The masterless warhorse neighed and guarded its owner's corpse, unwilling to leave for a long time.
The soldiers of the North Camp stared blankly at everything in front of them, their eyes filled with anger and confusion. What should they do after this battle? Should they continue to attack the city or retreat?
At this moment, only His Majesty could make a decision.
"Return to camp and await further orders!"
The Deputy General of the North Barracks led the way back to the camp. Based on the Mongolians' temperament, this battle will not end here since both sides have formed such a deep grudge. Once Lin 'an was breached, it was imperative to massacre the entire city.
…
At dawn, the massacre that lasted for an entire night came to an end. The three Mongolian camps were completely routed, and the soldiers who survived either fled to the north camp or to the base.
The cavalry of the Southern Song camp chased after them all night. Because of the frequent killing, many of the soldiers' weapons were bent.
The corpses of Mongolian cavaliers could be seen everywhere in the wild. There was no such thing as a captive in this war. They would either die or live. There was no third choice.
When the army returned to the city, it immediately set off waves.
Victory!
In this battle, not only did the Southern Song's camp kill the enemy's general Boyan and defeat the Mongolian army, they also seized a large amount of provisions from the Mongolian camp, which greatly alleviated the food crisis in Lin 'an.
Most of the Mongolian turn-back cannons were also destroyed in this battle.
When the news that Boyan had been killed by E Lai spread, the whole city was in an uproar.
As the main general who destroyed the Southern Song, Boyan's hands were stained with the blood of too many Han people. In Lin 'an alone, many people's family members had died directly or indirectly in the hands of Boyan.
With Boyan's death, the common people naturally applauded and celebrated. Some families took the initiative to set off firecrackers to celebrate.
Of course, the good news was also mixed with the bad news.
Last night, Prime Minister Lu Xiufu had unfortunately passed away. When the Mongolian soldier in charge of Lu Xiufu found out that Boyan had been killed, he was so enraged that he killed Lu Xiufu and his group.
As soon as the news came out, Lin 'an City could be said to be full of sorrow and joy.
As the Prime Minister of the last generation of the Southern Song Dynasty, Lu Xiufu's death was definitely a great loss to the imperial court. The eight-year-old emperor, Zhao Kuang, was sobbing and begging for Mr. Lu.
Lu Xiufu sacrificed his life for the country and deserved to be remembered by future generations.
…
Lin 'an City, North City Tower.
Although Lu Xiufu's death brought a trace of sadness to Lin 'an City, a great victory was still a great victory. Soon, from the civil and military officials of the imperial court to the common people, everyone was cheering.
As far as they were concerned, the defense of Lin 'an was already a sure thing. Some officials were even thinking of taking the initiative to attack again to wipe out the remaining bandits and recover the lost land.
Of course, these officials were just bragging. They definitely wouldn't dare to go into battle.
Early in the morning, accompanied by Jia Xu and Xu Chu, Ouyang Shuo ascended the north tower and gazed into the distance. Every move of the Mongolian North Camp was seen by Ouyang Shuo.
Seeing that the enemy of the North Camp had regrouped, Ouyang Shuo's expression became more and more solemn.
Ouyang Shuo wasn't blindly confident. The Mongolians were definitely not pushovers. Last night, they were only caught off guard. The Mongolian army was said to have a million soldiers. Not to mention the other six bases, there were still 400,000 soldiers left. Furthermore, last night was chaotic and many Mongolian soldiers escaped.
Together with the North Camp, the combined strength of these forces was still terrifying.
In last night's battle, the Southern Song Dynasty's camp did suffer losses. The Mongolian cavalry might be afraid of the Great Xia Imperial Guards, but it was a different story in other places.
The specific battle report hadn't been compiled yet, but a conservative estimate said that at least 30,000 people had died.
"To kill 1,000 enemies, we have to suffer 800 casualties."
Of course, after last night's battle, the overall situation of the Southern Song Dynasty's camp was much better than before. Ouyang Shuo looked at the land in the north. His gaze seemed to pass through the void and look at the Sanhe City in the north.
That was where Khubilai's golden tent was.
"It's time for the final battle!" For some reason, Ouyang Shuo was suddenly filled with battle intent and his blood was boiling. He wanted to personally go into battle with the legendary Yuan Shizu.
Perhaps, it was because of Ouyang Shuo's ethnic complex.
…
On the 17th day of the battle, Sanhe City.
Among the six bases that surrounded Lin 'an, Sanhe City was the most heavily guarded. Half of the 400,000 Mongolian soldiers were stationed around Sanhe City to protect their emperor.
In the center of the city stood a huge golden tent. The surrounding buildings had been swept away to accommodate this golden tent. It was completely out of place with the overall architectural style of the city.
In the luxurious golden tent, Khubilai didn't sleep the entire night.
The continuous bad news made the founding emperor of the Yuan Dynasty fly into a rage. He was like a ferocious beast that no one dared to go near him.
Since last night, three servants serving Khubilai had been beaten to death for no reason.
The entire Sanhe City was shrouded in a terrifying atmosphere.
No matter who it was, they were all very careful, afraid that they would anger the emperor in the golden tent. The surviving Han citizens in the city were even more terrified. They couldn't sleep and hid in their homes, not daring to go out.
Who knew what the Mongolians would do to them when they were enraged.
Around nine in the morning, the sound of horses galloping could be heard on the road to the south of Sanhe City. Looking up, it was a small group of Mongolian cavalry that had just retreated from the frontlines.
When the soldiers saw this, they didn't care at all. This was because since last night, there had been an endless stream of defeated soldiers escaping from the frontlines to Sanhe City. This small group didn't look like anything special.
When the soldiers saw this, they couldn't hide the disdain on their faces.
In the eyes of the Mongolians, being a deserter was a very shameful act. It was not something that a warrior would do. The Mongolian army even had a rule that if any troops deserted without fighting, they would be tortured the moment they were captured.
What kind of torture? It was very easy to do.
The Mongolians would put these deserters into sacks and throw them into an empty space. Then, they would use their cavalry to charge and trample on the sacks until none of them could move.
The scene was so bloody that it was enough to make the faces of the bystanders pale.
At this moment, one of the city gate guards recognized the leading general and exclaimed, "General Zhang?!"
The man's eyes were lifeless and his body was covered in blood. His face was dirty and covered in dried blood. The armor on his body was already broken and hung loosely on his body.
If one wasn't familiar with him, they wouldn't be able to tell that this poor general was the Mongolian General Zhang Hongfan.
When Zhang Hongfan heard this, he glanced at him and had a look of realization. This guard had been under his command for a period of time. No wonder he could recognize him at one glance.
With this level of concern, Zhang Hongfan felt more confident.
"Bring me to see the Emperor. I'm here to ask for forgiveness." Zhang Hongfan said in a hoarse voice.
When they heard him say this, the surrounding soldiers all looked over.
Zhang Hongfan's name was not only famous in the Southern Song Dynasty. It was also famous in Mongolia. In addition, he was one of the main characters in the battle last night. Naturally, he was especially eye-catching.
The soldiers all looked at this poor general with curiosity, disdain, or sympathy.
According to the Mongolian military rules, if the general Bayan died in battle and the deputy general Zhang Hongfan died in battle, it would be fine. But if they didn't die and escaped alive, the problem would be even worse.
Not only would Zhang Hongfan be executed, but his family might also be implicated.
Therefore, in a situation like this, if the deputy general was lucky enough to survive, it was better for him to slit his own throat on the battlefield. He might even become a 'martyr' and benefit his family.
But now, Zhang Hongfan had appeared in Sanhe City and wanted to see the Emperor. This was very rare.
As an experienced Mongolian general, Zhang Hongfan knew that if he came to Sanhe City, he might not even be able to see the Emperor before he was ordered to die.
Of course, Zhang Hongfan wanted to die, but thinking about the current situation, he couldn't die yet. It wasn't that his loyalty to Mongolia was so high that he didn't care about his family's life.
It was because deep in his heart, Zhang Hongfan still had some thoughts and calculations.
The Mongolian army was defeated and Bayan died in battle. Even if Khubilai was going to fight personally, he needed a general to help him. Therefore, Zhang Hongfan wanted to take a gamble and bet that Khubilai wouldn't kill him now.
Keeping him alive was more valuable.
Also, in the battle last night, Zhang Hongfan, as the deputy general, actively organized the rescue of Bayan. He didn't fail in his duty and he didn't run away. Khubilai understood the situation and would probably let him go.
Zhang Hongfan was a person who valued his life and was also an ambitious general.
Therefore, last night, when he finally broke out of the encirclement under the protection of his bodyguards, he thought about it and decided to go to Sanhe City.
"Take me to the Emperor," Zhang Hongfan said again.
The guard finally reacted and said, "Please wait, I'll go inform the Emperor."
Perhaps the Heavens really didn't want Zhang Hongfan to die. The first hurdle to see Khubilai was easily passed by a familiar person at the city gate.
If no one informed him, then Zhang Hongfan really wouldn't be able to escape.
Not long after the guard left, he came back with an order from the Emperor, "Immediately arrest Zhang Hongfan for his crimes and send him to the Golden Tent for trial."
Hearing this, Zhang Hongfan let out a long sigh of relief. As long as the Emperor was willing to see him, then there was a chance. He was afraid that the Emperor wouldn't even want to see him and would just order him to be executed.
What the outsiders didn't know was that in this short period of time, Zhang Hongfan's palms were covered in cold sweat. No one knew that this general had just taken a trip to the gates of hell.
Zhang Hongfan took a deep breath and prepared to enter the city.
From now on, he had to think about how to help the Emperor fight personally.
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