Chapter 23 two

The reception of the Kipchak army by the Mongolian army went smoothly.When Batu heard that Ghadiyan had committed suicide, he was deeply sorry, and set aside some silver taels for Hutan to bury him richly.Suddenly Tan Nuo Nuo retreated.But Batu didn't notice that the moment Hutan turned around, a smug grin flashed in his eyes. The Western Expeditionary Army rested outside the forest for a while, and Batu ordered Hutan to attack several small tribes along the Volga River in the northeast of Kipchak that had not yet surrendered. Assault all barriers on Uros.These tribes did not have much combat effectiveness, so Batu entrusted the task of conquest to the Kipchak Army, who were also capable of fighting.

Hutan was eager to get away from the Mongolian army as soon as possible, so he gladly accepted the order. Meng Ge was worried about Hutan.Batu persuaded: "Back then, when our Zu Khan first started his business, his own uncles, family uncles and cousins ​​all led troops to follow him. Later, these three people had a conflict with Zu Khan over the distribution of spoils. Contradictions. Facing the danger that they might leave at any time, Zu Khan took it calmly. Zu Khan believed that only with one heart and one mind can we achieve a great cause together, and the loyalty that can stand the test of time is the most cherished. Later, the three As expected, the individual rebelled, but Zu Khan still did not send troops to pursue them. It is a big taboo for military strategists to have elbows and armpits. If you have two intentions, it is better to let them stay away earlier."

Meng Ge understood Batu's strategy. After a rest, the Mongolian army was ready to advance towards Oros. For two consecutive days, Batu and Mengge brothers were busy resettling the Kipchak people who had been driven out of the forest.On this day, near dusk, Batu invited Subotai, Meng Ge, Beidar and others to his big tent to study the geographical situation and enemy situation of Oros together, and determine the next attack direction. Meng Ge presented his carefully compiled information about Oros.The information consists of two pages and is divided into four parts, and the content of each part is concise and to the point.This is exactly the characteristic of Mongo.

The first part introduces the geographical characteristics of Oros: the harsh geographical environment of Oros and the numerous duchies lead to the small territory of each duchy. The east and south are bounded by Burial and Kipchak, the west is bounded by Poland, and the southwest is bounded by Hungary. Adjacent to the White Sea to the north.The terrain in the territory is generally low and flat. During the snow melting season in the north, the swamps and mud are wet, the roads are dangerous, and the movement of large troops is restricted.However, after the river freezes in winter, it is unimpeded.

In the second part, Meng Ge made a special explanation: the castles in Oros are all made of wood, which have little resistance to the bombardment of cannon stones and are flammable. The third part introduces the national conditions of Oros: fourteen years have passed between the Mongolian army's first western expedition and the second western expedition.During the first western expedition of the Mongolian army, from 1223 to 1224, Jebe, Subotai, and Batu defeated the allied forces of Oros and Chincha in the Great Battle of the Galga River. At that time, The whole country of Woluosi was shaken, and the cities and towns in its territory were basically in a state of begging for surrender by the enemy.Fortunately, the Mongolian army did not occupy the entire territory of Oros, and the Oros army only lost its troops outside the country, so there was no commotion in the territory.After the Mongolian army returned to the east, the internal strife among the Oros continued as before. The various tribes were angry with each other, attacked each other, and could not complement each other. They did not use the past fourteen years to seriously prepare for war.Therefore, Meng Ge asserted: Today's Oros is no more effective than the Oros of fourteen years ago.He specially marked this sentence with a red pen.

The fourth part is about the general situation of the Orus army: the Orus horses are strong and have a heavy load, but they gallop slowly, far less than the Mongolian horses, which are light, vigorous, and quick-moving.The armies of the Uros principalities are only accustomed to using battle formations to resist the enemy.In terms of combat methods, it focuses on fencing.In terms of tactics, although bows, arrows, and artillery are adopted, they advocate focusing on defense, and are not good at mobile tactics such as encirclement, detour, and assault. Meng Ge's intention to provide such a piece of information to the commanders of the armies is obvious. Since ancient times, it is a taboo for military strategists to underestimate the enemy and aggressively advance. Cooperate.

Ba asked everyone to talk about their views on this information.In fact, from the bottom of his heart, he would rather listen to Guiyu's analysis.Since the Western Expedition, Guiyou has always been in a state of passively executing all combat orders, or passively cooperating with Meng Ge's military operations.His irrelevant and ambiguous attitude could not but make Batu feel deeply worried. Bedar was impatient, and said first: "Since the castles in Oros are mostly made of wood, why not use fire to attack them, and burn them without leaving any wood!" Subotai stroked his beard and nodded in agreement.

Bie Erge asked Meng Ge: "Where do we start first?" "Of course, advance from north to south. According to my opinion, take Ryazan first, and then attack Moscow." "It's the same as I thought. Commander, hand over Ryazan City to me! Let me fight the first battle!" Bie Erge excitedly asked for a fight. "Guiyu, what about you? What do you think?" Batu looked at Guiyu and asked. Guiyou glanced at Batu coldly: "If you, the commander in chief, can only rely on others to make up your mind for you, shouldn't you take the initiative to let Xian go?"

Guiyu's reply was beyond everyone's expectation, and everyone was stunned.Guiyou acted as if he hadn't seen him, and walked away with a look of disdain. After a while, Bie Erge came to his senses first, drew out his saber, and was about to chase Guiyu.Batu grabbed him. "What are you going to do?" Brother Bie'er's face was livid with anger: "You bastard! You bastard! Why does he insult people! I'll go and compare with him right now. If he beats the knife in my hand or kills me, I'll convince him he's a good guy! If he's just a slob, I know him, but the knife in my hand doesn't know him."

"Stop messing around!" "Second brother, you can even endure such insults? You...you really don't look like Zuhan's grandson. Let me go! Let go!" "Bie Erge, this is not the time to fight. No matter what Guiyou says or does, I can't mess up my position and affect the established battle plan because of his narrow and extreme words. For me now, the most important thing is It is to take down the entire territory of Oros, do you understand?" "But……" "Brother Bie, don't be impatient! Follow the commander-in-chief's arrangement!" Brother Meng persuaded slowly, suppressing his distaste for Guiyou.

Batu looked around at the generals, except for Buli who seemed a little uneasy, all the faces showed resentment.Perhaps Bie Erge was right, Zu Khan was never humiliated, and the Mongols were never humiliated, but for the sake of the overall situation, they could only turn the anger into calm and calm. "Mongo listens!" "twitter!" "You lead a reconnaissance force to set out first, responsible for surveying the terrain, roads, rivers, and mountains along the way, accurately drawing them into maps, and reporting them to me!" "twitter!" "Speed ​​up!" Subotai took a step forward: "The last general obeys orders!" "I will divide the main force into two, and you will lead one of the main forces to march to Ryazan City after Meng Ge. If you encounter harassment or resistance from the Oros army along the way, resolutely destroy them! Before you reach Ryazan City, you must pay attention to capture the enemy's situation and block the news , try to conceal the whereabouts of the army." "twitter!" "Urdo!" "exist!" "You are responsible for unblocking the communication between the high command and the various armies, and ensuring the supply of supplies for the logistics force. This is a very important matter, and you must not take it lightly!" "Understood. I have ordered more than 5,000 camels and 2,000 rough horses to be requisitioned to transport tents, felts, copper pots, flour, fodder, dried meat, salt, grease and other materials. In addition, each cavalry will exchange The two to three horses and the convoy for transporting weapons have all been prepared and will follow up with the army without affecting the actions of the commander in chief." "Okay! Brother Bie Er!" "Commander, I would like to be the vanguard with General Subotai!" "Okay. But everything must be obeyed by the old general!" "Don't worry, I'm not Guiyu!" Batu glanced at Brother Bie, who still had an angry expression on his face. "Baidar, Buli!" "exist!" "You, and Guiyou, will act together with this commander. You can go down and make preparations. Brother Meng will start first in the morning. The rest, listen to the call at any time!" "Cha!" Everyone responded and retreated together. Watching the generals take the order to leave, Batu stretched his muscles a little.At this moment, he had completely forgotten the unhappiness caused by Guiyou. Xiban hurried in: "Second brother." "how?" "I took people to resettle the people of Qinchao, and found a woman in the forest, who was so cold that she passed out. I asked someone to rescue her, what do you think should be done?" "Really? Where is he?" "My account." "Oh, take me to see." Batu followed Xipan to his tent.The rescued woman lay flat on the floor, her face was blue and her breathing was weak.Irene, the former maid, is looking after her.Irene is only fifteen years old and has always been very courageous. She is slowly helping the woman rub her hands and face.Seeing Batu come in, she got up and got out of the way. Batu leaned over to look at the woman, and without thinking about it, he asked Xiban and Yilin to shovel a bag of snow and send it in... He knelt on the ground and cut open the woman's leather boots and clothes with a knife, laboriously He hurriedly helped her take off the boots that were frozen to her feet and the robe on her body, leaving only her underwear. Xipan and Yilin put the snow bag at Batu's feet. "Xiban, you go to my tent to get antifreeze cream and wild boar oil. Erin, do what I do, and help me rub her face, ears and hands with snow. You can use some force to rub her face and ears. Be gentle. I'll rub her feet. I don't know if these feet can be kept after being frozen like this." "Okay." Xiban replied, and quickly left the tent.Yilin picked up a handful of snow and began to rub it for the woman, her movements were actually very skillful. While rubbing the woman's feet back and forth with snow, Batu asked in surprise, "Well done. Where did you learn it from?" "One time my brother's feet were frostbitten. He treated it himself in this way after he came back, and he didn't leave any disability." Yilin sighed in her hand, and picked up another handful of snow. "Whose unit is your brother in?" "He used to be Danayan's head of the guard. Later, Danayan asked him to follow Prince Mengge." "What's your brother's name?" "Busy guy." "It turned out to be Mang Gesa. Then why did you follow Xiban?" "I can embroider sachets, and the prince of Xipan likes it very much. This time, Prince Mengge participated in the Western Expedition, so he brought me to serve the prince of Xipan. Don't you know?" Batu vaguely recalled that Xiban did mention this matter to him, but he was only thinking about the battle situation facing the Western Expeditionary Army, and he didn't take it to heart at all, and he forgot it afterwards. Erin rubbed vigorously, and after a while, her face flushed with exhaustion, beads of sweat dripped from her nose, and she was out of breath when she spoke.Batu looked at her and smiled slightly, just as Xiban brought frostbite ointment, Batu asked Erin to rest for a while.There wasn't enough snow, so Xiban and Yilin went to fetch another bag of snow, and Bo took the trouble to wipe every frostbitten place on the woman, especially her two feet, with snow over and over again. Xiban wanted to help him, but Batu worried that Xiban's hands were too strong and would scratch the woman's frozen skin, so he refused to use him.Erin came to rest and helped Batu massage the woman again.Gradually, the woman's limbs became warmer, and her chest rose and fell with strength. Batu tested the elasticity of the woman's skin with his hands, and finally heaved a sigh of relief. "You can use frostbite ointment." "Oh." Xiban opened the medicine box, picked up some black ointment, and was about to rub it on the woman's feet. Erin hurriedly snatched the medicine box: "It's not like this, look, it has to be like this." She picked the ointment in the palm of her hand, rubbed it evenly with both hands, and then applied it on the woman's frostbite.Her every move is extraordinarily flexible, Batu and Xiban thought to themselves, don't look at Brother Mang as a vulgar, but there really is a clever younger sister. After the ointment was applied and a layer of wild boar oil was applied, Baba asked Irene to bring a blanket to cover the woman, and then asked Irene to feed the woman a few mouthfuls of warm water at night. Wipe off the old ointment, and reapply a new ointment, and then use it every morning, noon, and night.After explaining these things, Batu thought about Meng Ge who was leaving early tomorrow morning, so he left first. According to the scheduled plan, Batu, Mengge, Urduo, and Subotai marched northward in an echelon formation. One evening a few days later, Batu ordered to go to camp. Irene brought a woman to see Batu.The woman looked less than forty years old, with straight eyebrows and a slender waist.Probably Erin helped her dress up. She was wearing a gray-blue Mongolian robe and a crown shaped like a vase.Under Erin's guidance, she paid a visit to Batu. Although her demeanor was a little reserved, her gestures showed an unusual calmness and elegance. "My lord, this is the dumb aunt." "Who?" "It's the woman we rescued from the forest. Have you forgotten? My lord, your frostbite ointment is amazing! Look at Aunt Dumb, she has no scars or disabilities. It's a pity that she didn't Can talk." Yilin was still at an innocent age, even when facing Batu, she didn't feel any awe at all, and she spoke like a bamboo tube pouring beans, crackling, crackling, crisp and crisp. Batu looked at the woman attentively. The woman hung her head in embarrassment. "Oh..." Batu wanted to say something, but he didn't know where to start. Erin helped him: "Aunt Dumb heard from me that you saved her, so she must come and thank you face to face. Her ears are fine, and she can understand everything you say." Batu smiled awkwardly: "It's nothing, there's nothing to say. Erin, she's better. You take care of her. Do you understand?" "I will. I have already recognized the dumb aunt to be my aunt. After these days, I can almost talk to the dumb aunt with gestures." "Really? That's good, that's good. Erin, if you have nothing else to do, go back first. I have to go out and inspect the barracks." "Okay! Then let's go. My lord, the dumb aunt said that she wants to help you with some tent work in the future. I hope you don't dislike her." Batu was startled, and hurriedly shook his hand: "No! It's not because I hate it, I really don't need it!" Yilin smiled and dragged the dumb aunt out. Even though he said "no need", from then on, whenever the army left the camp, the dumb aunt would definitely come to Batu's big tent to help him organize everything in an orderly manner.Sometimes, the dumb aunt would cook by herself, make a few delicious snacks, make tea, put it on the table and leave.At first, Batuzhen was not used to it, but gradually, he got used to it.Besides, the war is getting closer and closer, and Batu needs to devote more energy to paying attention to the war. As for the trivial matters around him, he has no choice but to go with the flow. Ryazan City is bordered by Buli'er and Qincha.The city lord enlisted all men over the age of 16 in the city to join the army before the Western Mongolian Expeditionary Army captured Buli'er and Qincha. Prepare for a fight to the death. Ryazan City was surrounded by high earthen walls, and a layer of huge wooden piles was planted on the outside of the earthen wall. The surface of the wooden piles turned into ice when splashed with water, and the ice slope was smooth, making it impossible to climb up.The inner wall of the castle is a wooden fence surrounded by huge oak wood. There are many watchtowers and guard posts in the city, and a large amount of food and materials are stored. It is really a city that is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Subotai encountered the difficulty of climbing the ice slope, and the first attack was frustrated. On the second day, Subotai did not command the siege immediately, but ordered the army to build a long wall around Ryazan City to cut off the retreat of the defenders in the city. After the long enclosure was built, the main force led by Batu joined Subotai. Subodei reported to Batu in detail the defense situation of Ryazan City.For these, Batu had already received Meng Ge's battle report during the march, and made corresponding arrangements for it. Accompanied by Subotai, Batu, together with Beidar, Guiyou, Belge, Buli and others, inspected Ryazan City on horseback for a week.When Batu saw the densest concentration of towers and dark forts lined up from the main gate of Ryazan City to the left and right, he couldn't help thinking of a plan. Back in the handsome account, Erdo brought a middle-aged man to see Batu. Among the troops under Batu's own command, there is a special force composed entirely of various skilled craftsmen, numbering as many as a thousand.Usually, Batu not only gave them certain daily necessities, but also allowed them to earn and accumulate money by handicrafts.Among them, no matter which one died, Batu would give him a rich burial, and at the same time add new people to the team.Once there was a war, Batu would gather them together and move to battle with the large army, and was responsible for the production of various siege equipment. The middle-aged man is a skilled and experienced craftsman from the Western Regions. When the Mongolian army first marched to the west, he followed the eldest prince Shuchi.For more than ten years, Shuchi and his son promoted him from an ordinary craftsman to the head of a thousand households. He repayed his kindness and was loyal to Batu after Shuchi's death. Batu handed the middle-aged man a blueprint with a picture of a wooden building on it.The middle-aged man studied it carefully for a while, and asked, "Why does the commander want a wooden building?" "Place the crossbow machine, directly restrict the defenders on the city, and burn down the wooden buildings in the city." "In this way, the wooden building must be as high as the city wall. In addition, a few horizontal beams must be added from bottom to top in proportion to make the wooden building stronger." "That's what it means. This picture is just my preliminary idea, and the specific design has to be completed by you. I want fifty wooden buildings like this, and each wooden building can place two crossbows. I will give you Send more manpower, can you estimate how long it will take to complete?" "Seven days." "So, how is the ladder going now?" "According to the amount stipulated by the commander-in-chief, the production has been completed. I also ordered people to make a batch of sleds, which can transport other siege equipment quickly." "Very good. You are indeed a caring person. Your father did not misjudge you back then!" "The eldest prince did not misunderstand the villain, and the villain did not follow the wrong master." Batu walked around the handsome case, and lightly patted the middle-aged man's shoulder: "It's up to you. If there is anything, you can discuss with my elder brother, how many people and how much money are needed, and my elder brother will prepare them. Wait for wood After the building is built, I must be the first to climb up the wooden building to cheer for my gunners." "twitter!" Batu sent an order to Zongwang Beerge, Xiban, Beidar, Guiyou, Buli, General Mangesa, Abduhe and others to launch a feint attack on Liangzan City in turn every day for seven days, and the defenders of Liangzan City resisted. Intense, immediately withdraw.Everyone didn't know what kind of medicine he was selling in the gourd, and they couldn't ask further questions, so they agreed and retreated under orders. Seven days passed in a blink of an eye. During the seven days, the Mongolian army advanced and retreated, obviously unable to think of a better way to take Ryazan City.The defenders of Ryazan City saw that the Mongolian army's siege power was only so much, and they couldn't help but doubted the Mongolian army's combat effectiveness. The mood of underestimating the enemy was unknowingly growing, and even the city owner himself was not in a state of high tension every day like it was at the beginning. status. Batu's goal was achieved. On the night of the eighth day, fifty wooden buildings were lined up under Ryazan City, and each wooden building was equipped with six gunners and two carefully improved crossbows.On both sides of the wooden building, there are six hollow baskets for transporting stones and gunpowder cans. Each hollow basket can easily slide up and down on the roof and bottom of the building through several pulleys, so that the stones and gunpowder Tanks can be fed up continuously. The darkness before dawn floats and rolls like a black veil, and the wooden building is like a silent giant, waiting to cry out in the final darkness. Batu slowly boarded a wooden building facing the city gate. The figures of the defenders were swaying on the walls of Ryazan City. Batu observed them for a moment, and gestured to the gunner who was holding his breath. The huge stone fell on the watchtower on the left side of the city gate with a terrible whistling sound, breaking a huge gap.Then, a hundred stone crossbow machines fired boulders and gunpowder cans at Ryazan City.Due to the flat shooting, boulders and gunpowder cans can easily avoid the blocking of wooden piles outside the city, and accurately shoot down on the watchtowers and dark forts at the top of the city and the defenders.Gunpowder canisters shattered against wooden fences and buildings, spewing streams of flame and causing a conflagration.After the fire broke out, the city fell into panic. At this time, the defenders of Ryazan City were unable to organize resistance under the continuous bombardment of the Mongolian army's artillery fire, so Su Butai ordered the army to attack the city without losing the opportunity.Numerous ladders were erected on the city wall, and a huge log hammer on wheels kept hitting the city gate. The Mongolian army launched an attack from the top and bottom of the city at the same time, and quickly broke through the first line of Ryazan city defenders. line of defense. The defenders of Ryazan City were forced to retreat to the second line of defense to resist, but Batu still used crossbows to clear the way. After seven days of hand-to-hand combat, the Mongolian army finally captured Ryazan City. The lord of Ryazan City died in battle.Batu decided to take advantage of the victory to attack Moscow City. Although the city of Moscow has been built for a hundred years, the walls and houses are all made of wood, and the defense is not perfect.The Mongolian army captured the city in just five days.At this time, it was already the spring of 1238. The two cities of Ryazan and Moscow were defeated, and the whole army was in high spirits. At this time, they received a secret report from the spies: Hu Tan, the leader of the Qincha Department, led the troops to capture the surrounding tribes of the Qincha Department, and gathered 40,000 tents from the former Qincha Department to flee to The Hungarian border was accepted by Bela IV of Hungary. Batu regretted his negligence too much, and hurriedly wrote a letter to Okuotai Khan to plead guilty.But he didn't know that there were two secret reports delivered one step earlier than his apology.Of these two secret reports, one is Guiyou's memorial to impeach Batu, and the other is a ten-thousand-word battle report drafted by Meng Ge himself.In the battle report, Meng Ge reported to Wo Kuotai Khan in detail the whole process of the Mongolian army's conquest of Burial, Kipchak, Ryazan, Moscow and other ministries and cities, but he did not say a word to excuse Batu. Soon, the urgent envoy rushed to the front line and read the imperial decree of Wokuotai Khan: In view of Batu's command, the Western Expeditionary Army has achieved remarkable results, and Batu's oversight of the leader of the Kipchak Department, Hutan, should not be investigated.Batu continued to serve as the commander-in-chief of the Western Expeditionary Army, and ordered to pacify the entire territory of Woluosi as soon as possible. Batu faced the east and thanked the Great Khan for his trust and favor. Guiyu's face became extremely ugly.