I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 419 Zhang Chun: I Want to Eliminate the Root of the Problem

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In this battle, the Jin people fought desperately, and the Jin army was undoubtedly skilled in combat.

However, the Song people fought harder, and the Song army was stronger.

The key point is that firearms, which are not affected by the weather, are indeed far superior to cold weapons.

Under the firepower of the new Li Lin cannons and the powerful attack of the Shenji Army, the Jin army and nomadic cavalry on the main battlefield were routed. Some fled north and some fled west.

The vast majority of Jin soldiers fled north, while the vast majority of nomadic cavalry fled west. Of course, the battlefield was extremely chaotic at this time, and the Song Dynasty's new Li Lin cannons were firing continuously. The Song army was also closely pursuing and attacking the Jin soldiers and nomadic cavalry. It was normal that some Jin soldiers and nomadic cavalrymen would lose their bearings and run away in the wrong direction.

This time, the Song army mobilized more than 500,000 troops, of which nearly 200,000 were cavalry.

Such a powerful mobile force was no less than that of the Jin army and the nomadic cavalry of the steppes, and was enough to overwhelm the fleeing Jin army and the nomadic cavalry of the steppes.

As a result, almost all of the Jin army's 150,000 to 160,000 infantrymen and a large number of laborers were killed or captured by the Song army.

The nomadic cavalry of the grasslands were fast, and the Song army did not actually kill tens of thousands of them. However, the Song army had learned before the battle that these grassland tribes had settled their old and young camps in the lush pastures fifty miles west of the battlefield, and that the migration routes of each tribe were relatively fixed.

Therefore, Liu Fa and others dispatched 30,000 light cavalry in advance, commanded by generals such as Wu Lin and Wang De, to ambush them a hundred miles to the west. When the cavalry scattered and fled west, this force quickly moved behind the cattle and sheep herds, cutting off their only escape route to the west.

—The narrow valley was blocked by the Song army with chevaux-de-frise and rolling stones. Cattle and sheep were frightened and ran around in all directions, which blocked their own migration procession.

Crucially, the Song army consisted not only of the Divine Machine Army and cavalry, but also a large number of infantry. Besides assisting the cavalry in capturing prisoners on the main battlefield, they also dispatched troops, led by civilians, to quietly infiltrate the western flanks of cattle and sheep herds. They surrounded these herds, slowly drove them away, and ultimately captured them all.

More importantly, the routed nomadic cavalrymen were only concerned with saving their own lives and had no time to turn back to help their families. Their westward escape route was blocked by the Song army's light cavalry, and any attempt to turn back would result in their being ambushed and killed. Their families, lacking unified command, could only wait helplessly for their deaths in the face of frightened cattle and sheep and the approaching Song army.

By the time some of the nomadic cavalrymen had barely shaken off their pursuers and were about to turn back, the Song army had already driven the cattle and sheep to open areas, with infantrymen forming ranks to guard them and cavalrymen patrolling the perimeter, creating an impenetrable encirclement with no possibility of breaking out.

Ultimately, the families of the grassland tribes were all captured, and the cattle and sheep that were driven and gathered by the Song army numbered in the millions, becoming one of the richest spoils of war for the Song army in this battle.

It is worth mentioning that the royal tent of the Mongol Kingdom was also captured by the Song army, including Khabul Khan Goa Kurko, and Khabul Khan's three sons, Oqinbalhahei, Baltanba'atuer, and Hutula.

—In fact, Khabul had seven legitimate sons in history (that is, the sons that Kurko gave birth to for Khabul), but because Khabul and Kurko were still very young and had only been married for five years, Kurko had only given birth to three sons for Khabul before being captured by the Song army.

In this battle, the Song army killed nearly 100,000 Jin and Mongol soldiers, captured over 200,000 Jin and Mongol prisoners, and killed or captured a large number of Jin and steppe tribes' royal families, nobles, and members of the imperial family. They also seized a large quantity of horses, cattle, sheep, camels, mules, donkeys, and other valuables. After this victory, even if the Song Dynasty ceased governing the Northeast and the steppes afterward, the north of the Song Dynasty was estimated to enjoy at least twenty years of stability.

It is worth mentioning that on the night of the great defeat of the Jin-Mongol allied forces, Zhao Yu knew that Wang De's troops had captured Khabul's royal tent and Khabul's Khatun Kurko. However, at that time, Zhao Yu did not know that Wang De had captured all of Khabul's sons.

However, it wasn't until the third day, when Wang De personally escorted all the royal family and nobles of the Mongol Kingdom back to present the captives to Zhao Yu, that Zhao Yu learned that because all of Khabul's sons were children under the age of seven and could not participate in the battle, they had all been left in Khabul's royal tent.

The key issue is that Khabul and the other steppe tribal leaders never intended to fight this battle, let alone fight it now. Consequently, they did not expect to be defeated. Therefore, once defeated, they were at a loss and did not know how to clean up the mess.

This led to the Song Dynasty almost completely wiping out their old and young camps.

This also allowed Zhao Yu to capture Temujin's grandfather, Baertanba Atuer.

Upon hearing this news, Zhao Yu was overjoyed.

Zhang Chun was even happier.

After repeated verification, Zhang Chun confirmed that all of Temujin's great-grandmother, Goa Kurko, and Khabul's children, including the suspected grandfather of Temujin, Baertanba Atuer, had indeed been captured by them.

This almost completely eliminated the possibility of Temujin's birth, and even the possibility of his father Yesugei's birth.

Zhang Chun was still uneasy, so she whispered in Zhao Yu's ear and got him to issue an edict to castrate all of Khabul's sons, especially Ba'ertanba'a'er, so that they would become eunuchs first.

Zhang Chun also planned to find an opportunity to have all of Khabul's sons (especially Baertanba Atuer) executed, eliminating them completely and preventing future troubles.

Furthermore, under Zhang Chun's manipulation, all the royal daughters and clan daughters of Kurko and the Mengwu Kingdom entered Zhao Yu's harem.

That wasn't all. As the woman with the highest status in Zhao Yu's palace, Zhang Chun immediately arranged for all of Kurko and Khabul's wives and concubines to serve him in bed, making it a fait accompli for Zhao Yu.

night.

Zhang Chun sat by the bedside, watching Zhao Yu sleep with Kurko and Khabul's wives and concubines, thinking to himself, 'Genghis Khan, let's see how you'll ever be born again. Even if you could be born, I'd want you to be a descendant of my Han people…'

……

(End of this chapter)