Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 930 The Hu Cavalry Hunt in the Clear Autumn (Part 1)
As it turns out, fame and fortune are tempting, and national righteousness and patriotism are not unimportant, but when combined with a lot of money, they can achieve a result greater than the sum of their parts.

On September 25, Chen Liang arrived at Shi Qilang's camp and promoted and ennobled meritorious officials, newly surrendered people, and surrendered and traitorous generals.

On September 26, Shi Qilang used the Shangdang government treasury to feast the three armies.

On September 27, after leaving some troops to attack Jincheng, the vanguard of the Jingnan Army turned north, its forces heading straight for Taiyuan.

On this day, the massive Jin army and Mongol-Mulk mixed forces finally emerged from Jingxing and encamped at Huolu.

"What a magnificent and beautiful country! It should rightfully belong to me!"

Yesugei and Tuoli, standing on high ground, looked down at the Hebei Plain with greedy expressions, completely disregarding the presence of Jin generals around them, and chatted with each other in Mongolian.

"Who says otherwise? If this were used as pasture... tsk tsk tsk..."

Tuoli's face was full of regret. He shook his head slightly and said, "Unfortunately, neither the Jin Kingdom nor the Han people will let us have our way."

"Hahaha!" Yesugei laughed loudly: "A man's ambition should be as vast as an eagle's; how can he be discouraged for no reason?"

“Take my grandfather for example. Although he dared to pull the beard of the Jin emperor, he never imagined that one day our Mongol cavalry would come to the Central Plains to plunder.”

"And how could you and I know that we couldn't graze horses and sheep in the Central Plains?"

Yesugei said with some self-satisfaction, "No matter how strong the Jin Dynasty is, it is not as strong as it was ten years ago. Who knows what will happen to the Han people in ten years?"
The Mongols who grew up on the grasslands were like eagle chicks on a cliff; the weak ones would fall to their deaths, while the survivors were eagles that could soar through the sky.

"Torian Dad, just you wait and see. Even if you and I not only conquer the Central Plains, our sons and grandsons will succeed sooner or later."

After hearing this, Tuoli actually smiled with delight, and several Mongol chieftains following the two Khans were so excited that they started whistling and cheering, which attracted the attention of the surrounding Jin soldiers.

Batel, the chieftain of the Merkit tribe, spat disdainfully.

Yesugei, with his sharp eyes, immediately noticed the disdain on Batel's face: "Batel, do you think what I said is wrong?"

Batel was tall and had a typical round face like a Mongol, but his nose had been completely cut off during a tribal war, leaving only two holes, which made his face appear even flatter than others.

However, his expression was still very vivid, and his speech was very fluent: "Yesugei Khan, I have no disrespectful intentions, but there is something I must say in public."

Even if they were to conquer the Central Plains, it should be our chieftains who come first.

Immediately, someone from the Qiyan tribe retorted: "Hahaha, your chieftain Tuoheituo'a is as cowardly as a lamb without testicles, and dares not come to the Central Plains to fight, but only sent you."

Such a cowardly person dares to say he wants to conquer the Central Plains first?

The Mongol generals burst into laughter.

The Mongols' method of resolving conflicts was quite simple. Batel immediately drew his sword and pointed it at the Qiyan chieftain: "If you have the guts, draw your sword and fight me to the death. If you win, then you are right."

But if I win, your wife and your daughter will all be mine!

"Stop! If you have the energy, go and use it on the Han people."

Yesugei turned around and scolded, "Bater, I am at odds with your Merkit tribe, so it is normal for you to have resentment towards me since you are subordinate to me."

But you were sent by Tuohei Tuo'a to help me, and you agreed to listen to my commands.

I swear to the Eternal Heaven that I will treat you equally. You should obey my orders, otherwise your ancestors will not protect you!

Batel was still somewhat unconvinced, but dared not say anything more, only humming twice.

This opportunity to plunder Hebei is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. No matter if Han Jin is in power next time, he will not be able to leave those important towns on the border open.

As a result, many Mongol tribes that had no connection whatsoever also got involved.

Yesugei ultimately dared not take away the young and strong men of his tribe and leave the women and children in front of the other tribes, so he agreed to bring them to Hebei.

It can be said that these 50,000 to 60,000 troops were gathered together by various Mongol tribes.

Disunity in command is almost inevitable.

Seeing this, Yesugei could only sneer in return: "Bater, since you are in this position, I will not dare to keep you alive. If you disobey orders when the war starts, should I kill you?"
If I kill you, Tuoheituo'a will surely be furious. But if I don't kill you, how can I live up to the oath I made to the Eternal Heaven to treat everyone equally?

Just as Batel's expression changed, Yesugei continued, "You should take your two thousand men and head south now."

"Let me be frank with you," said Batel, "according to the rules of the grasslands, you may have the first taste of the spoils, but if the Han defenses are strong and you suffer losses, don't blame me!" Upon hearing this, Batel was overjoyed, pounding his chest and saying, "I knew the Khan was a cunning strategist, very clear-headed. I'll set off immediately!"

As he spoke, amidst the strange or envious gazes of the surrounding Mongol generals, Batel immediately mustered his more than two thousand cavalrymen. Without even entering the Huolu camp, they kicked up clouds of dust and vanished in a flash.

Seeing this, the Jin army dispatched cavalry to try to stop them, but they couldn't catch up at all.

Batel was not unaware that Yesugei intended to use him as a test, but so what?
Danger is accompanied by opportunity. Isn't hunting wolves on the grassland dangerous? But if you don't hunt wolves, where will you get meat to eat?
Besides, the Hebei Plain is vast; if we can't beat them, can't we at least outrun them?
Wanyan Guying watched the two thousand Mongol cavalrymen depart into the distance, then stormed up to Yesugei and demanded, "How dare you disobey military orders?"

Yesugei simply shrugged and laughed, "It's not that I disobey the orders of the Great Jin army, but that these barbarians disobey my orders... Sigh... General, please wait a moment, I'll send someone to bring him back right now!"

As he spoke, Yesugei made a gesture as if to command his troops to set off.

Wanyan Guying forced himself to suppress his anger and interrupted Yesugei's actions: "No need. His Majesty has summoned you. The two of you will come with me to see His Majesty to discuss military matters!"

Yesugei merely smiled.

However, Monlik, a trusted general of Yesugei, directly shouted, "Great Khan, what should we do if you don't return within three days?"

Yesugei turned around and frowned: "What do you think we should do?"

Monlik grinned maliciously at Wanyan Guying and said, "We will go to Zhen Ding Prefecture to invite them then!"

Wanyan Guying shouted: "How dare you!"

Monlik grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth: "The Grand Master Jin is right. I may not have much else, but I'm bold!"

"Alright!" Seeing that the threat had worked, Yesugei said to Tuoli, "Tuoli, let's go and pay our respects to the Emperor of the Great Jin and present our lord with gifts."

The Jin and Mongol empires were destined to be two hedgehogs embracing each other for warmth, struggling to survive the fierce and ruthless offensive of the Han army while ensuring that the other's quills did not prick them.

Of course, the balance in this matter is for the bigwigs on both sides to decide, and it's not up to Batel, the lowly chieftain of the Merkit tribe, to worry about.

Two thousand Mongol cavalry, following hunting rules, moved in groups of ten, but instead of marching in formation, they swept across the Han cavalry like an iron curtain.

If these were Han or even Jin cavalry, they would likely be disorganized and difficult for officers to command after only ten li.

However, for the Mongols, riding horses was not merely a military action, but also a way of life.

They train in cycling all the time, and maintaining a smooth command system amidst chaotic formations has become an ingrained code of conduct for them.

Although the Han and Jin camps were nearly seventy miles apart, both armies numbered in the hundreds of thousands, and the battlefields they controlled were astonishingly vast.

In fact, since both sides set up camp, the fighting between scouts and cavalry has intensified.

Within this seventy-mile radius, almost every village, town, market, even a small hill or a grove of trees became a focal point of contention for the scouts.

The sudden appearance of the Mongol cavalry threw the balance of the war into disarray.

It is indeed completely off-topic.

At this time, the Jin army and the Mongol army were not evenly matched, and their flags, commands, and even languages ​​were completely incomprehensible.

Therefore, the Mongols fought without any particular strategy. Sometimes they would shoot a few arrows from a distance and that would be it. Sometimes they would gather dozens of men to help the Jin army fight the Han army. Sometimes they would besiege scouts from both the Han and Jin sides. And sometimes they would even help the Han army fight the Jin army.

It's like having hysteria.

However, Han scouts soon discovered the logic behind the actions of this group of Mongols.

They would rob whoever had the best armor, warhorse, and weapons.

However, since most of the Han army's light cavalry were equipped with iron linings, the Mongols were more ruthless in their attacks on the Han army.

News of the Mongol appearance was quickly relayed to the Han army's camp in Luancheng and reached Liu Huai directly.

"This is clearly not the main force of the Mongols, but there must still be over a thousand cavalry. Please advise on how to deal with them, Young Master."

Liu Huai put down the document in his hand and said calmly, "These wolf cubs want to eat human flesh. And once they've tasted it, they won't forget. Now all we have to do is chop off their claws and pull out their teeth."

"Send Dian Lun, the deputy commander of the Liao cavalry, with two thousand light cavalry from the Liao cavalry. I want to see just how elite the Mongol cavalry really are."

(End of this chapter)