Chapter 49 Battle of Wild Fox Ridge

In the second month of the lunar calendar in 1211, Genghis Khan swore an oath in the upper reaches of the Kherlen River, announcing that he would go south to cut gold and avenge his father and ancestors for generations.All the soldiers of the Great Mongol Kingdom, except for the 3,000 cavalry who stayed at their hometowns, all set out for the expedition.Genghis Khan himself led the eldest son Shuchi, the second son Chagatai, the third son Okuotai and the youngest son Tuo Lei to form the central army and the right army, and Mu Huali led the left army; Ah Hai is the vanguard; the leader of the Wanggu tribe is the guide.One hundred thousand cavalry marched mightily to the border of the Kingdom of Jin.

The way Genghis Khan's corps marched was peculiar.It does not use the traditional long column method, but advances in several batches over a vast area.The traditional way of marching in long columns has a fatal weakness. Take the battle of Feishui between the former Qin Dynasty and the Eastern Jin Dynasty in the Eastern Jin Dynasty as an example. The million-strong army of the former Qin Dynasty conquered the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The vanguard troops had already exchanged fire with the Eastern Jin army in Anhui, but the reserve troops had just left the capital Shaanxi. Chang'an.The marching method of Genghis Khan’s army is as effective as God. First, it can provide sufficient pasture and water for livestock; second, it can increase hunting opportunities for soldiers; Tends to shudder when lineup.

During the march, Genghis Khan's central army moved forward in the center, the right army covered the west side, and the left army covered the east side.A small army served as the army's advance guard, while another army walked in the rear, guarding the army's reserve livestock.In the large detachment, the head of ten thousand households moves forward in the center of his thousand-household troops, surrounded by nine thousand-household chiefs and their troops. This fixed pattern during the march allows those who are familiar with the pattern to quickly find the headquarters . The reason why the Mongolian army can maneuver quickly is because they have no luggage, and only horses accompany the soldiers. Each soldier can allocate two or three horses. On the way forward, they milk animal milk to quench their thirst and slaughter them for food, or hunt and rob self-sufficiency.An ordinary Mongolian cavalry can march continuously for ten days without stopping to light a fire to cook, thirsty to drink horse blood, and each person carries 10 catties of dry milk balls with him, and his daily food is a catty of dry milk balls.Some people think that Mongolian soldiers never light a fire to cook, which is nonsense.They only light fires and cook at dusk, when the sky and earth are in harmony, so that the surrounding environment can hide their cooking smoke, of course, this is rarely the case.For the most part, they feed on dried milk balls and dried meat.When they are resting, they will hide in low-lying places in groups of three or four. They get up early the next day, do not move, and carefully observe the surrounding situation. Then they arrange their weapons and wake up their horses. The situation ahead, according to the situation, the commander makes a decision.

This is the characteristic of Genghis Khan's army, which made them the overlord of the earth for more than a hundred years, and also injected new legends into the history of human armies. In this way, Genghis Khan's corps silently crossed the 800-kilometer Gobi and came to the border of the Kingdom of Jin.The so-called border of the Kingdom of Jin is actually a Great Wall that stretches for thousands of miles. The Great Wall in the northern part of the Kingdom of Jin starts from Busi City (now Morin Dawa Banner, Inner Mongolia) in the east, crosses the northern border of Qingzhou (now Linxi County, Inner Mongolia) in the southwest, passes through Huade (now Huade County, Inner Mongolia) and ends at the north of Hetao, with a length of 1500 meters. kilometer.The Kingdom of Jin built defensive fortresses in key sections of the Great Wall and sent elite soldiers to guard them.But the 1,500-kilometer frontier defense line is too long, and the Jin Kingdom has limited troops, so it turned to tribes outside the Great Wall for help.Tatars, Wanggu people, including Genghis Khan's natal Hongji tribe, all guarded the Great Wall for the Kingdom of Jin.The area guarded by the Wanggu people was the northwest part of the Great Wall of the Kingdom of Jin. When Genghis Khan crossed Yinshan Mountain and joined the Wanggu tribe, the Kingdom of Jin had no idea that the Wanggu tribe had joined forces with Genghis Khan.

This shows the embarrassment of the Jin government.When Genghis Khan was formulating a battle plan in Yinshan, Jin Guocai knew the position of the Wanggu tribe.The emperor Wanyan Yongji panicked and looked at the officials tremblingly on the dragon chair. Most of the courtiers were surprised by Genghis Khan's sudden approach to the border. They really didn't expect Genghis Khan to challenge them.In the past, they could sneer like the emperor and question Genghis Khan's power, but now, they don't have the courage.Wanyan Yongji asked the courtiers to come up with suggestions. Some courtiers said: "The Wanggu people have always been guarding the northwest of the Great Wall for us. Now the Wanggu people have rebelled and the door is open. We are unprepared and can only ask for peace first."

Some courtiers echoed and said: "Genghis Khan probably wanted something, and if you give him something, it will be easy to send him away." Wanyan Yongji immediately sent someone to ask Genghis Khan for peace, but he got a cold reply from Genghis Khan: "This time I came here for revenge, don't think about it, you should clean your weapons and come to the battlefield to communicate!" Wanyan Yongji asked the envoy, "How is Genghis Khan's army?" The envoy scratched his head and thought for a long time before answering: "They are all cavalry, gathered together in twos and threes, like country bumpkins chatting after dinner, there is no great prospect."

Just as Wanyan Yongji was about to relax, Prime Minister Du Ji Sizhong shouted: "Genghis Khan unified the Mongolian grasslands. If we can’t show it’, we must prepare early.” Wanyan Yongji immediately became anxious, and Duji Sizhong hurriedly shared his worries: "The Mongolian regiments are all cavalry, and they are not good at attacking cities. As long as we build fortresses and hold on tenaciously, they will retreat in spite of difficulties." According to Duji Sizhong's thinking, the defense force can be strengthened in two places.One is Xijing (now Datong, Shanxi), and the other is Fuzhou (now Zhangbei County, Hebei Province).Wanyan Yongji fully agreed with Duji Sizhong's suggestion. After Duji Sizhong arrived in Fuzhou, he pushed the defense line northward to Wushabao (now Gonghui Township, Zhangbei County, Hebei Province) 30 kilometers away.In order to completely keep the Mongols out of the line of defense, Duji Sizhong built a support base, Wuyue Camp, in the southwest of Wusha Castle. The Wuyue Camp has a large amount of food and grass, which can fully support it until the end of the world.

When Duji Sizhong was operating the Fuzhou defense line, Wanyan Chengyu was also reinforcing the city in Xijing, on the one hand to meet the Mongols' attack, and on the other hand, he could send troops with Duji Sizhong to attack the Mongols at the right time. Genghis Khan had already learned about the Fuzhou defense line of the Jin Kingdom's economic strategy from intelligence personnel.So at the beginning of March 1211, he ordered Mu Huali, the commander of the left army, to attack Wushabao.Wusha Castle has been managed by the Kingdom of Jin for ten years, and the city walls are strong, especially when facing the Mongolian army that is not good at attacking the city, it has become an indestructible city.Mu Huali attacked fiercely for three months, while Duji Sizhong defended tenaciously. Wuyue Battalion continued to support him.

Mu Huali said to Genghis Khan dejectedly: "The Kingdom of Jin is very difficult!" Genghis Khan said: "People in the Central Plains have a saying called draw from the bottom of the pot. Duji Sizhong can stick to Wusha Castle for so long, all because of the continuous supply of Wuyueying. As long as we copy Wuyueying, Dujisizhong will be out of action .” Genghis Khan’s analysis was correct. Long before attacking Wushabao, he sent Jochi, Chagatai, and Wokuotai to besiege Xijing in the Kingdom of Jin. It was impossible for Xijing in the Kingdom of Jin to send troops out to support Wushabao. On the defensive line, only the Wuyue Camp is Duji Sizhong's strong backer. Losing the Wuyue Camp, Duji Sizhong is tantamount to losing the eagle with its sharp beak.

This is not a clever plan, otherwise Genghis Khan would not have thought of such a plan after besieging Wushabao for three months.Wuyue Camp is 20 kilometers southwest of Wusha Castle, and transports grain, grass, ordnance and soldiers to Wusha Castle through a secret passage.Indeed, as a support base, Wuyue Camp does not have solid defenses, but it is so hidden that even Duji Sizhong's junior officers don't know its exact location.It is equivalent to saying that it is not difficult to attack the Black Moon Camp, the difficulty lies in finding it. Genghis Khan originally didn't want to waste time looking for Wuyue Camp, but Wusha Fortress was difficult to conquer for a long time, so he had to waste time looking for Wuyue Camp.Yelu Ahai conspired and said: "Such a large military base cannot be completely concealed. We can send a small group of cavalry to collect information. As long as the local people are caught, even if they don't know where the Black Moon Camp is, they will provide information." some information."

Soon there was information that billowing smoke and dust could often be seen about 20 kilometers southwest of Wushabao, and the local people could often see the Jin Kingdom army driving a cart to the northeast in recent months.Genghis Khan immediately concluded that the Wuyue Camp was there.The task of raiding the Black Moon Camp was entrusted to Jebe and Yelu Ahai. They led 3,000 cavalry, took advantage of the darkness of the night, marched quickly with their spears in their arms, and suddenly approached the Black Moon Camp at dawn.Wuyue Camp was easily captured without preparation. When the news reached Duji Sizhong, he was writing an order to deliver grain, grass and arrows to Wuyue Camp.After hearing the news, Duji Sizhong was shocked, dropped his pen on the table, and slumped in his chair. "It's too fast, it's incredible!" he muttered incoherently. All the officers stood in front of him with solemn expressions, everyone understood what it meant to lose the Black Moon Battalion.Ten minutes later, Duji Sizhong finally regained his composure, and asked the generals in a dying breath, "Will the general plan come out?" The generals have only one plan: "Flee south!" Du Ji Sizhong laughed, smiling tenderly, he can still have such a smile at this time, it can be said that he has the style of a general.After he finished laughing, he pushed the two people with the loudest voices out and beheaded them. Then he said to the generals: "This scene must be sung in Wusha Castle!" Duji Sizhong wanted to finish singing the play in Wusha Castle, which was simply whimsical.Wusha Fortress is indeed exceptionally strong, but the Genghis Khan Corps has changed its offensive tactics, which is one of the most brutal and effective siege tactics of the Mongolian Corps.They drove the captives captured in the Black Moon Camp to the battlefield, walking in the front row.This is a human shield. The defenders of Wusha Castle are facing their comrades in arms, even their relatives. If they shoot at them righteously, it is massacring their compatriots;In short, no one can think of a feasible solution in the face of the Mongolian Corps' offensive method, and whatever they do is wrong. Duji Sizhong is facing such a problem now. Under the swaying resistance, Wusha Castle is in danger of being breached many times. In addition, the food, bows and arrows are cut off. Duji Sizhong finally decided that this scene is not Sing, give up Wusha Castle, give up the Fuzhou defense line and retreat. Dujisizhong's withdrawal to the south caused an uproar in the central capital of Jin State (now Beijing).Some people pointed out that Duji Sizhong was greedy for life and afraid of death. Others said that Duji Sizhong did not understand military affairs at all. He should reorganize in Hengzhou (now north of Zhenglan Banner, Inner Mongolia), Changzhou (now southwest of Taipusi Banner, Inner Mongolia), and Fuzhou. The defense line, these three places have strong walls and mountains on three sides, which can completely stop Genghis Khan's cavalry regiment. Duji Sizhong is suffering and cannot tell. Although the three places have defensive advantages, they are sparsely armed and have no backup. Once they are besieged, they will die.The main force of the Kingdom of Jin was deployed on the front line of Henan and Shaanxi to defend the Southern Song Dynasty, and it was impossible to withdraw to defend the north in a short time.At least in Du Ji Sizhong's view, Genghis Khan's 100,000 cavalry could not be resisted by the tens of thousands of troops on the northern border of the empire.Therefore, Duji Sizhong not only led the Wushabao army to retreat, but also led the main guard troops in Heng, Chang, and Fu to retreat.Genghis Khan was so elated that he went down to three prefectures, and even recruited Guo Baoyu, the guard of Dingzhou (now Dingzhou, Hebei).This person is a descendant of a famous family, and his ancestor is Guo Ziyi, a famous hero who resisted foreigners in the Tang Dynasty.Guo Baoyu served the Kingdom of Jin in Hebei for more than ten years and knew Hebei well. His surrender made Genghis Khan even more powerful. The road to Xijing, Kingdom of Jin. The loss of the three prefectures of the Kingdom of Jin, especially Hengzhou, made it forever lose the capital to fight against the Mongolian Corps, because Hengzhou was the horse ranch of the Kingdom of Jin. At that time, at least 100,000 war horses in Hengzhou were accepted by Genghis Khan.Genghis Khan used these horses to speed up the whip and marched southward at an accelerated rate to Yehuling, a key pass of the Great Wall (now northwest of Wanquan County, Hebei Province). Yehuling Mountain is high and steep, and the wind is fierce. Wild geese fly here and will fall when encountering strong winds. It has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. The guard of the Kingdom of Jin here is the famous general Dingxue, whose number is about 10,000.However, depending on the terrain, these 10,000 people can be used as 100,000 people.After the loss of the three states, Emperor Wanyan Yongji of the Kingdom of Jin revoked Duji Sizhong's position as commander of the northern defense and was replaced by Wanyan Chengyu, who seemed very wise.Wanyan Chengyu went to Yehuling to hold a military meeting. Some people suggested that since the Mongols were plundering, they could send a light cavalry to attack Genghis Khan's camp by taking advantage of their unpreparedness.Wanyan Chengyu shook his head in disbelief and said, "You don't know how powerful the Mongolian cavalry is, how can you have such an unrealistic idea?" His idea was very realistic. He spread his troops all over the Yehuling Great Wall, and he sat in the center, relying on the mountain and the danger of the Great Wall to stop the Mongols.Mountains and the Great Wall can certainly strengthen the army's defensive capabilities, but at the same time they can disperse troops.He didn't know that Genghis Khan was best at concentrating troops to implement central breakthrough tactics, so his layout was tantamount to serving a dinner to Genghis Khan. Wanyan Chengyu looked into the distance after completing such a layout. Someone told him that the landowners in the three states and surrounding areas had all sent people to ask him to cooperate with him to deal with the Mongols.Wanyan Chengyu shook his head and said, "They have a fart, the most important thing for us now is to keep a way out." This kind of argument made Yehuling's guard, General Dingxue, very depressed.He knows that failure is doomed, but he doesn't know when it will come.The defeat couldn't wait, and Genghis Khan's army launched an attack as soon as it arrived at Yehuling.All the Mongolian cavalry dismounted, and Mu Huali personally led the death squad to charge forward.Genghis Khan adopted a concentrated breakthrough tactic, and all his forces were used in Wanyan Chengyu's Chinese army camp.Faced with Genghis Khan's onslaught, Wanyan Chengyu realized that he had made a mistake in setting up the formation, but it was too late to recover, because the troops were too scattered, and communication and dispatch had become a serious problem. At the last moment when the city was broken, Wanyan Chengyu shed tears and gave up resistance, leading the remnants out of the Yehuling battlefield in despair.Before he continued to flee south, he stood on the edge of the battlefield full of wolves, and said hoarsely to the people around him: "God is dead to me. What are you doing when you gave birth to me and gave birth to Ghis Khan!" Wanyan Chengyu's support can't change anything.Once Genghis Khan occupied Yehuling, he did not stop for a moment, and attacked southward like an avalanche. In fact, the battle of Yehuling was not an earth-shattering battle. Wanyan Chengyu had no intention of fighting at all, and had no power to resist Genghis Khan's central breakthrough tactics.The reason why this battle is famous in history is that the Great Wall at Yehuling is the dividing point between the north and the south, and it is also the watershed between the Kingdom of Jin and the power of the grassland.Now, it is under the control of Genghis Khan, the gate of the Kingdom of Jin has opened a gap, and Genghis Khan has entered the compound of the Kingdom of Jin. At this time, Jin Guo had a deep understanding of Genghis Khan, and Genghis Khan continued to deepen this impression for Jin Guo, chasing after the defeated enemy in Yehuling. Wanyan Chengyu took away at least 3,000 people from Yehuling, but more than half of them fled on the way. When he reached the Huihe River, a hundred miles away from Yehuling, there were only more than 1,000 people left under his command. At that time, Genghis Khan's army arrived, and before the two sides could fight, Wanyan Chengyu had left his soldiers and fled.When he fled to the villages of Huihebao (in today's Huai'an County, Hebei Province), his troops suddenly recovered.Because there is an elite regiment of more than 10,000 people stationed here. The members of the regiment are composed of Jurchens, Khitans and Han people. They are famous in the north for their ability to fight tough battles. This corps is indeed no small matter. After several rounds of onslaught, Genghis Khan's corps was still unable to move.But Wanyan Chengyu couldn't help but panic when facing the beast-like Mongols. He spread out the map, looking for the best position to continue retreating.This kind of behavior directly led to the low morale of the army. Mu Huali repeated his old tricks and personally led a death squad of thousands of people to storm the Chinese army's camp in Huihe Fort.Genghis Khan also personally went into battle, leading 3,000 Qixue troops to create smoke in front of each fortress. The main force marched forward bravely with Mu Huali's death squad. Finally, Mu Huali's death squad made a small hole in the most vulnerable part of the enemy's defense. The death squad was in front and the main column was behind, and rushed into the opponent's camp, and then rushed left and right like a shark into a school of sardines. Zhi Jingrui was rushed to pieces, Wanyan Chengyu yelled, and led hundreds of guards to flee to Xuanhua in the southeast. The Battle of Huihebao was a continuation of the Battle of Yehuling. Its significance proved that the mobile troops of the Kingdom of Jin in the north were vulnerable. Since then, Genghis Khan's cavalry entered the northern border of the Kingdom of Jin as if they had entered the territory of no one.