Sweep Yuan

Chapter 300 How Bo Tuotuo is the Eternal Heaven?

On the battlefield north of Wantou Town, corpses littered the ground. Broken Yuan army banners, discarded weapons, and congealed dark red bloodstains told the story of the cruelty of war in the cold winter wind.

The Han soldiers escorted the dejected Yuan prisoners, counting the mountains of spoils—swords, spears, bows, crossbows, armor, and even the grain and supplies that were extremely valuable to the Yuan army, all of which became the rich spoils of war for Zhenshuowei.

In this battle, the Han army killed 3,152 Yuan soldiers and captured 6,867 alive, while suffering fewer than 600 casualties.

The Yuan general Wugusun Liangzhen was chased so hard by Fu Youde that he lost all his courage and fled north in panic until he reached Gaoyou Prefecture before he dared to stop and reorganize his defeated troops. By then, he had less than four thousand remnants of his army, all of them disheveled and pale.

In the following days, although more than 5,000 defeated soldiers found their way back to their unit, more than 10,000 men still did not return. Apart from a few who unfortunately fell into the icy Grand Canal and went missing, the remaining seven or eight out of ten were soldiers from Huaidong who had been forced to surrender to the Yuan Dynasty.

Taking advantage of the Yuan army's defeat and the resulting chaos in its organization, they voluntarily broke away from the main force. Some secretly returned to their hometowns in small groups, while others simply gathered in the mountains and rivers, enjoying a few days of carefree life while the grassroots organizations of society were essentially at a standstill due to the war.

These scattered soldiers, who had experienced the ravages of war and were filled with resentment towards the Yuan court, would from then on be like countless poisonous thorns buried in the body of Huaidong, becoming a stubborn problem that would be extremely troublesome for the government to manage in the future.

However, after listening in detail to Wugusun Liangzhen (who had already bound himself and knelt down to beg for forgiveness) recount the defeat, the Yuan army's commander-in-chief in the south, Toqto'a, had no interest in the whereabouts of the deserters.

Compared to the loss of over 10,000 surrendered soldiers who should have been lost anyway, what pained him even more was that the army's successive victories since the Battle of Wuanzhou (formerly Xuzhou) had almost completely shattered the confidence and high morale that had been built up with great difficulty, thanks to Fu Youde's blow!

The blind optimism and arrogance that permeated the camp, which made people regard the Han army as nothing, were instantly replaced by a sense of surprise and fear.

"I have underestimated the heroes of the world."

His knuckles were white, but his face remained expressionless.

He waved his hand, ordering his men to untie the ashen-faced Wugusun Liangzhen and let him leave—although this man had suffered a defeat and lost many soldiers, he was one of the few people they could trust at the moment, and they still needed to use him for the time being, so they couldn't just discard him so quickly.

Once only his trusted generals and advisors remained in the tent, Toqto'a let out a long breath, his eyes becoming incredibly sharp and clear.

He had to reassess the true fighting strength of the Han army, especially the Han general named Fu Youde. The previous battle plan of "the main force besieging Gaoyou while a detachment advances on Yangzhou" was clearly too optimistic, even reckless, and had to be adjusted.

"Send the order!"

Tuotuo's voice regained its usual composure and authority as he said:
"The all-out offensive against Gaoyou was suspended, and all units turned to besieging the city, building deep trenches and high walls to prevent the defenders from launching a counterattack."

Furthermore, five thousand imperial guards, four thousand Liaoyang soldiers, three thousand Goryeo soldiers, and ten thousand Fuli soldiers, under the command of Yue Kuocha'er, are to be deployed south to the Shaobo Lake line to construct camps and closely monitor the Yangzhou direction! We must strictly prevent Fu Youde from entering Gaoyou and causing trouble!

At the same time, he issued an even harsher edict to Buyan Temur, who was in charge of the war in Jiangnan, ordering him to intensify the offensive against Shihan's various defensive lines at all costs, "so that Shihan's main force is firmly pinned down in Jiangnan and not a single soldier can cross the river to the north!"

As the saying goes, what is lost on one front may be gained on another.

Just as Tuotuo was deeply worried about the setback in the Yangzhou direction, another detachment of troops, led by Wulianghatai, which was heading south to attack Taizhou, brought timely good news that was enough to stabilize the morale of the army.

Taizhou was the place where Zhang Shicheng started his career, and it was the first city he conquered, making it of great symbolic significance.

This city had withstood the fierce attacks of the Yuan army in Huainan on many occasions, and its defense system had been reinforced over the years, so it was not bad.

However, the defeat in the Huai'an Road campaign resulted in the complete loss of the Zhang-Zhou regime's mobile forces. In order to protect the core of Gaoyou, Zhang Shicheng could only rob Peter to pay Paul and hastily transferred troops from Taizhou, Xinghua and other places to defend the city.

Even more fatal was the series of dazzling victories achieved by the Yuan army after its southward advance. In just over half a month, they marched from Wuan Prefecture to the outskirts of Taizhou. This terrifying momentum of "the royal army being unstoppable" crushed the Zhou army's will to resist.

When the garrison commander of Taizhou saw the Yuan army advancing in large numbers, their banners obscuring the sun, he realized he could not hold the city and immediately abandoned it with his confidants and family. The powerful clans in the city, who were already hesitant and indecisive, seized control of the city gates and welcomed the "royal army" with food and drink.

Taizhou City was like a wedge, firmly driven into the side of Yangzhou City. The Yuan army's occupation of Taizhou forced Fu Youde to consider the possibility of his own backyard being attacked when he was considering a surprise attack on Gaoyou in the north.

At least, Toqto'a no longer has to worry day and night about Fu Youde daring to launch a full-scale attack on the main Yuan army force under Gaoyou City.

Fu Youde did indeed consider taking advantage of the victory to advance north and threaten the flank of the Yuan army in Gaoyou, but the scouts later reported that Tuotuo had quickly adjusted his deployment and built a solid defensive line south of Gaoyou.

"Toqto'a's military tactics were indeed shrewd and experienced; he remained composed even after defeat."

Fu Youde secretly praised him, but at the same time, he gave up the idea of ​​risking going north. He knew that Tuotuo still had more than 100,000 soldiers under his command, and it was impossible for his side to replicate the miracle of winning with fewer troops at Wantou Town.

No matter how capable the Zhenshuo Guard is, it is ultimately just a part of the Han army. In a large-scale battle involving hundreds of thousands of people that concerns the fate of the nation, it must obey the overall strategy of the Han state and not become complacent because of a small victory.

Upon learning the devastating news of the fall of Taizhou, Fu Youde became even clearer about the current strategic task: to shift from offense to defense and stabilize Yangzhou.

He knew that his troops were no longer able to effectively threaten Tuotuo's flank. The most important thing now was to focus on the defense of Yangzhou and build this important town north of the Yangtze River into an impregnable fortress that would leave the Yuan army battered and bruised.

After that, Han Cheng led 4,000 elite troops to arrive, which strengthened the defenses of Yangzhou and made the people more at ease.

In this way, a delicate balance was achieved on the Huainan battlefield:

Unless Tuotuo halts the battle at Gaoyou and gathers his entire army to march south, he will not be able to shake Yangzhou in the slightest. Fu Youde, on the other hand, is also restrained by the Yuan army in Taizhou and dares not easily send his main force north to launch a surprise attack on Gaoyou.

The Han and Yuan armies entered a phase of standoff.

But beneath the surface of calm lies countless bloody covert battles.

In order to conceal the battlefield, gather intelligence on the enemy's strengths and weaknesses, or hunt down the enemy's messengers, scouts from both sides engaged in a series of silent yet extremely brutal battles on the shores of Shaobo Lake, along the banks of the Grand Canal, and among the ruins of towns.

Almost every day, brave young men fall forever on the cold land of Huainan, never to return to their home flank.

Fu Youde remained quite calm about the situation. His core mission was to defend Yangzhou. Even though the main force of the Han army was temporarily locked in a stalemate with the Yuan army in Jiangnan, the Prince of Han still held tens of thousands of strategic reserves.

Even if the Yuan army were to manage to capture Gaoyou and then immediately turn to besiege Yangzhou, Fu Youde would have enough confidence and strength to hold out until he personally led a large army across the river at Shishan, and then, in coordination with the Prince of Han, completely defeat the Yuan army under Tuotuo.

As the Grand Tutor and Left Chancellor of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, Toqto'a bore the heavy responsibility of turning the tide and saving the crumbling empire. The fate of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty rested on his shoulders, yet he could not remain as calm and composed as Fu Youde.

Especially after his offensive against Gaoyou City was thwarted for several consecutive days, his anxiety grew day by day. Even though he maintained the dignity of a commander on the surface, his furrowed brows and the rapidly depleting calming spices on his desk betrayed the turmoil in his heart.

In fact, the Yuan army's siege of Gaoyou lasted only half a month at most. Compared to the sieges and defenses of fortified cities that often lasted for months or even years, this period of time was not long at all, and could only be considered the beginning of a major battle.

But what could they do when the Mongol Empire was already riddled with problems, its rear base unstable, and its supply lines so fragile that they were simply unable to reliably supply the massive daily consumption of its more than 100,000 troops?

Time is not on Toqto'a's side.

This two-week-long bloody battle not only failed to achieve the expected breakthrough, but also cruelly proved two facts that greatly disheartened the Yuan army:
Firstly, the Yuan army was still fundamentally inept at attacking well-defended cities.

In recent days, Toqto'a has tried almost every conventional method: driving away the captured laborers to fill in the moat; offering huge rewards to encourage those who dare to fight to the death; and launching a competition among the armies to capture the city, with the winner receiving a generous reward, and so on.

However, under the resolute counterattack of the Gaoyou defenders, the Yuan army suffered nearly 10,000 casualties at the foot of the city (not counting the civilians who died filling the trenches), their corpses almost filling the trenches, yet they were still unable to gain a firm foothold on the Gaoyou city walls. Secondly, the cannons, which had been highly anticipated, were completely shattered by the legend of their "indestructible" power in the face of the fortified city of Gaoyou.

This hastily copied weapon, derived from "pseudo-Han ingenious techniques," was far less effective at damaging solid city walls than the technologically mature and powerful Xiangyang Cannon.

Previously, when pushed to extremely close range, bombarding the already dilapidated and hastily repaired Wu'an Prefecture city wall, it could still intimidate people.

However, when faced with the Gaoyou city wall, which Zhang Shicheng had painstakingly built and reinforced many times, the cannonballs would often only chip off a layer of bricks, leaving a white dot, before bouncing away weakly. The noise was great, but it was "all bark and no bite".

To make matters worse, after days of intensive use, the already limited number of cannons in the hands of the Yuan army were severely depleted.

Fourteen of them were destroyed in a successful night raid by the defenders because they were positioned too far forward; the other two were destroyed because of poor casting, with air holes in the barrels. After continuous firing, they could not withstand the pressure and suddenly burst, endangering the gunners around them.

Seeing that this "divine weapon" was so unreliable, Tuotuo abandoned this immature imitation and instead summoned the artisans accompanying the army to urgently build the more reliable, but also more cumbersome, Xiangyang Cannon.

Although this traditional siege weapon is technologically mature and extremely powerful, it has inherent defects such as short range, slow rate of fire, and low accuracy.

It would take months to breach the Gaoyou city wall using it.

What's more troublesome is that the area around Gaoyou is low-lying and lacks suitable stone. The stone projectiles used for sieges have to be made from Wuan Prefecture or even further back, and then transported over long distances.

In fact, Toqto'a did not place all his hopes for breaking through the city on these cold, hard machines.

After observing for half a month, he keenly discovered that the strongest unit in his forces was actually the Goryeo soldiers, whom he had always regarded as "auxiliary troops"!
At least in terms of enduring heavy casualties and continuous bloody sieges, the resilience and obedience shown by these Goryeo soldiers certainly surpassed those of other Yuan armies, including the Imperial Guard.

Tuotuo then put pressure on key Goryeo officials such as Yeon Ti-shin and Kwon Gyeom, who were in charge of Goryeo's military affairs, and allocated a batch of fine iron armor and powerful bows and crossbows, demanding that they "urge their subordinates to do more for the Great Yuan, and after the city is captured, they will be generously rewarded with their children, wives, and children!"

Although the lower-ranking soldiers of Goryeo endured hardship and fought bravely, their efforts to quell internal strife for the Mongol Yuan dynasty were thankless and arduous, and there was a strong opposition within Goryeo to sending troops.

Kang Yunzhong, the deputy envoy of the secret service, conspired with Luo Yingjie, Yin Dang, and others to kill Cai Hezhong and other officials who were in charge of launching the campaign, in order to prevent the army from setting out.

When Lian Tichen learned of this, he dissuaded Kang Yunzhong from his rashness by saying, "How can a loyal and righteous man speak dissenting words?" He also assured Kang that he would do his best to save the lives of the soldiers and prevent them from dying far from home.

Faced with Tuotuo's coercion, Lian Tichen, Quan Qian and others were inwardly distressed, but dared not disobey the Grand Tutor's orders. They could only grit their teeth and use harsh military law to force their soldiers to launch wave after wave of almost suicidal attacks on Gaoyou City.

Thanks to the relentless and fearless attacks of these "auxiliary troops," the tide of the battle finally turned.

On the second day of the twelfth lunar month, after a day of fierce fighting, the Goryeo soldiers successfully scaled the city wall of Gaoyou for the first time. Although they were quickly driven down by the defenders before they could establish a firm foothold, this breakthrough undoubtedly indicated that a fatal crack had appeared in the Zhou army's defense system!

Sure enough, the next day, the bloodthirsty Goryeo soldiers charged forward again, disregarding casualties, and successfully opened two narrow gaps in the city wall. The follow-up troops, like sharks smelling blood, swarmed forward, and the city's defenses were in grave danger!
At this critical moment, Zhang Shicheng donned his armor and personally led his elite guards into battle, charging up the city walls with his sword and launching a counterattack.

The appearance of the Prince Cheng's banner in the most dangerous place greatly boosted the morale of the defenders who were on the verge of collapse. After a fierce hand-to-hand battle, with blood flowing like a river, the Yuan army was driven off the city walls once again, and the crumbling defense line was stabilized.

However, after a series of bloody battles, the defending troops were exhausted, and the damaged parts of the city wall urgently needed repair. If the Yuan army launched a few more attacks of the same intensity, Gaoyou would surely fall!

Just as Zhang Shicheng was filled with worry, wondering how many more attacks he could withstand the next day, the celestial phenomena changed.

That night, leaden clouds gathered, a cold wind suddenly picked up, and large, fluffy snowflakes quietly began to fall from the sky, causing the temperature to plummet.

When Zhang Shicheng received the report from his personal guards, he was first stunned, then overjoyed, thinking, "This is heaven's help!"
He immediately seized this golden opportunity, ordering the garrison to draw water from the river overnight using buckets and continuously pour it onto the outside of the city walls. The icy water flowed down the walls, and upon encountering the biting wind, it quickly froze into a smooth, hard layer of ice!

When dawn broke and the Yuan army prepared to attack the city again, they were surprised to find that the siege ladders were difficult to fix on the slippery ice walls, and the soldiers had great difficulty climbing them. They would fall and break their bones if they were not careful.

The difficulty of attacking the city has suddenly increased several times over!
In fact, while Zhang Shicheng's move was effective, it was also somewhat unnecessary.

Because of this heavy snow, which fell intermittently for several days, the world was covered in a blanket of white, with snow reaching knee-deep, forcing the Yuan army to completely halt its siege.

They were trapped in their camps, with high-ranking officers huddled around stoves for warmth, while the lower-ranking soldiers could only endure the hardship and watch helplessly as the defenders on the opposite side of Gaoyou City quickly repaired the damaged city defenses, recovered their strength, and rebuilt their morale.

Every day, Tuotuo braved the wind and snow, wandering through the cold and muddy camp. Gazing at Gaoyou City, which was faintly visible in the snow curtain, as if God himself had draped it in armor, he was filled with sorrow. A strong sense of helplessness welled up from the depths of his heart once again.

"Eternal Heaven...do you truly intend to abandon your people?"

He looked up at the sky, letting the cold snowflakes fall on his face, his heart filled with sorrow.

"If one lacks the right timing, the right place, and the right people, what good would it do even if Sun Tzu and Wu Qi were resurrected?"

He saw things more clearly than anyone else. Even if they paid a heavy price and finally captured Gaoyou City, by then the army would be exhausted and demoralized.

Further south lay the even more fortified city of Yangzhou, whose capture seemed a distant prospect, let alone the prospect of continuing south, crossing the river, and attacking the more powerful and well-rested pseudo-Han regime.

Under the heavy pressure of reality, the strategic objectives of this battle seem to have come full circle, returning to the very beginning:

The main force of the Yuan army in Jiangbei, led by Toqto'a, could barely suppress the puppet Zhou regime and reopen the Grand Canal (even if only temporarily), and that was the limit. The heavy responsibility of suppressing the puppet Han regime would probably ultimately fall on the shoulders of the hundreds of thousands of Yuan troops pieced together in Jiangnan.

But after the snowfall that was hardly significant in the northern desert over the past few days, he even lost confidence in capturing Yangzhou and truly opening up the Grand Canal—the army was short of food and simply couldn't hold out until the day they could capture Yangzhou.

In fact, on the third day of this deadly snowfall, with no sign of it stopping, Toqto'a, under the flickering candlelight, with an extremely heavy heart, personally wrote a memorial requesting the troops to withdraw.

Once the heavy snow stopped and the army captured Gaoyou, this memorial was sent back to Dadu by express courier.

Before considering victory, we must consider defeat. It is clear that we cannot win now, but at least we must not lose too badly. Otherwise, once the main force of the Yuan army collapses in Huaidong, the huge but weak Yuan Empire will face the terrible fate of disintegration.

He must take advantage of the great achievement of "destroying the false Zhou" and the peak of his personal prestige to quickly return to the capital, rush back to the turbulent power center, stabilize the situation, and continue to prop up the precarious Yuan Dynasty.

As for the mess in Huaidong... at that time, we will probably only be able to leave some troops in a few key cities such as Gaoyou, Taizhou, Shanyang, and Wuanzhou, and adopt an "ostrich" strategy, taking it one day at a time.

Perhaps the Eternal Heaven had not completely closed its eyes, for the heavy snow that had lasted for four days finally stopped on the morning of the fifth day. Although the sky was still overcast, it at least showed signs of clearing up.

Although it will take several days for the ice and snow to melt, and the roads will become even more muddy and difficult to traverse, making it impossible to attack the city, at least it gives Tuotuo, who is in dire straits, a glimmer of "hope".

Of course, Tuotuo's strategic judgment that "at most, he could only capture Gaoyou" remained unchanged.

The "hope" he placed in at this moment was no longer on himself, but far away in Jiangnan—he desperately hoped that Buyan Temur could do better and open up a situation in Jiangnan as soon as possible, so as to relieve the enormous pressure on the Yuan army in Jiangbei.

But Tuotuo had no idea that during the few days when the battle was suspended due to the heavy snow in Gaoyou, the Yuan army in Jiangnan, on which he had placed high hopes, not only failed to make any progress, but also suffered its most severe defeat since the siege of the puppet Han.

—The noose of fate is quietly tightening.

(End of this chapter)