Warhammer, I'm a nanny, not your father!

"Yes, Khan." The young Qiexue's Adam's apple rolled. Chagatai Khan's gaze made him feel as if an invisible knife was against his throat.

Chagatai Khan lightly pulled the reins, and his horse slowly advanced alongside Wop. "Give me twenty days, and I can defeat them."

Wop: "Is twenty days enough?"

Chagatai Khan laughed. "The Palatine people are so smart that they are feared, but so stupid that they are laughable."

The strength of the Palatine lies in their strict military discipline and excellent equipment. Not only do they have 1 heavily armored infantry phalanxes, but one-fifth of their 5 cavalry are armored knights.

However, while this heavily armed configuration gave them unparalleled defensive capabilities, the heavy equipment also greatly weakened the troops' mobility and sustained combat capabilities.

This was the Achilles' heel of the Palatine army.

Perhaps the Palatine Empire was accustomed to commanding thousands of troops in its wars of conquest in the East, and was good at deploying grand battle formations on open battlefields.

However, the grassland follows a completely different law of war - speed is the supreme king!

"Khan!"

Tan Ma Chi came galloping from the Qiexue army, his voice full of urgency, "The Khitan light cavalry are catching up!"

"how many people?"

"Eight thousand cavalry!"

A hint of surprise flashed in Chagatai Khan's eyes. He had indeed set a trap to lure the enemy into deep, but with the discipline shown by the Palatine Legion, he had thought that this iron army would at least test the waters cautiously. How could they fall into the trap so easily?

Wop: "Don't be surprised, and don't overestimate your enemies, because they are often much weaker than you think."

Don't underestimate any enemy, but don't think they are too smart. This is the lesson Wop learned the hard way on the rescue star.

Chagatai Khan's eyes flashed like lightning, and he immediately gave the order in a deep voice, "Qinxia, ​​take my Golden Arrow Order and dispatch another 4,000 archers from all tribes to join us! The rest of the troops must remain hidden and not move!"

If the Palatine were so foolish, it would be exactly what he wanted.

But Chagatai Khan's goal was never the mere 8,000 cavalrymen. What he wanted was to annihilate the entire army of 200,000 and leave no one alive!

……

"Charles, why don't you chase?"

Sogo's roar exploded in the wind, and in the distance, the figures of the grassland cavalry were disappearing among the mountains.

His gaze was like a knife as he stabbed at the veteran behind him. This old fellow actually let the prey that was right in his mouth escape!

Duke Charles sighed heavily and bowed slightly on horseback. "Your Majesty, the terrain of the Ulav Mountains is complex and there is a high possibility of ambushes."

Sogo's voice seemed to hold an icy edge. "Then let me ask you, how many ambushes do they have? If you don't answer, I'll tell you, only a few thousand at most! I have an army of two hundred thousand. Do I still want to be timid and let these steppe barbarians play tricks on me?"

Charles remained silent, but his lowered eyes could not hide his worry.

It was true that the largest tribes on the grasslands only had a few thousand warriors, but he still felt something was amiss. The people of the grasslands had been submissive for centuries, so why would they suddenly rebel against the empire? What was their motivation?

Charles knew nothing, which was why he was so cautious.

But in the end, he did not persuade Sogo to think twice before acting, because it was useless and would only put his son at risk.

"I won't listen to you old fools' blind orders. I'll do it myself!" Sogo snapped his whip, a cold smile emanating from beneath his golden mask. "Order—8,000 light cavalry, give chase immediately! I want to see the corpses of those grassland barbarians with my own eyes!"

These old guys are shrinking back simply because they are afraid that he will take back their military power.

How stupid!

He is the supreme emperor of the Palatine Empire. If he really wanted to deprive him of his military power, why would he go to so much trouble?

Flattening the grassland was not only out of favor for the crown prince, but also to defend the majesty of imperial power!

The crown prince died tragically on the grassland, even his head was cut off by the barbarians. This was the greatest humiliation that the Palatine royal family had experienced in a hundred years!

If he cannot repay blood with blood, how will the nobles view him? Where is the dignity of the royal family?

In any case, he has 200,000 people, and the grassland barbarians have at most a few thousand people. If they can still lose, he will eat them directly!

Of course, if he could take this opportunity to take back the military power of the nobles in one fell swoop, he wouldn't mind going through a little more trouble.

Of these 200,000 troops, only 20,000 were directly under the royal family.

The remaining 180,000 were private soldiers raised by the major nobles. Those cavalrymen dressed in gold and silver, well-equipped infantry, and even the musketeers known as the pillars of the empire were all private properties managed by the nobles for generations.

The Palatine Empire was an empire in name only, but in reality it had long been riddled with holes.

Those great nobles who have been in power for generations all have the merit of following the emperor, and all of them own vast fiefdoms.

If we allow them to exist, where will the majesty of the imperial power be?

Taking advantage of this opportunity, he wants to promote some young nobles to take positions and replace all these old ones.

Eight thousand light cavalry were ordered to charge into the mountain pass, and soon a messenger came galloping back to report.

"His Majesty!"

The messenger knelt on one knee, leaving a deep indentation in the snow. "There is indeed an ambush in the Ulav Valley. About five thousand steppe cavalry are hiding in the pass! But when the barbarians saw the imperial flag, they didn't even have time to deploy their formations. They fled like frightened deer!"

From behind the gilded visor came a low, cold laugh from Sogo: "Duke Charles, do you see this? This is the ambush you fear! But barbarians are barbarians, and they are vulnerable to the iron hoof of the empire!"

"Your Majesty is holy."

Duke Charles bowed deeply.

Although he still had lingering doubts in his heart that the grassland people had retreated so quickly, as if they were deliberately luring them into danger, he eventually swallowed his unfinished advice and sighs.

Forget it, my son’s life is more important.

……

"It's been ten days," Chagatai Khan stroked the hilt of the sword at his waist, a cold glint in his eyes, "It's time to close the net."

Palatine's army had already crossed the Urav Mountains, and the 20,000 elite cavalry were like iron wings, protecting the infantry phalanxes without any leakage.

If the Palatine's wings are not clipped, the steppe tribes will not be able to threaten the infantry.

If a heavy snowfall could cover the sky and the sun, the tribes on the grassland would be able to use the wind and snow as cover to tear open the enemy's flanks.

But it was already late winter and there was nothing we could do about it.

But Chagatai Khan's plan to lure the enemy deep into his territory had been accomplished, and the Paladin's army had fallen into the trap he had carefully laid.

Although the plan of only ten days was indeed rushed, he didn't want to fall too far behind his brothers.

Besides, he is the original body, ten days is enough.

"Qiexue troops, follow me and charge!"

Chagatai Khan's scimitar drew a silver arc in the twilight, and five thousand grassland cavalry rushed towards the enemy formation like arrows.

The Palatine people were already accustomed to this trick. In the past five days, these grassland barbarians would always suddenly turn around when the two armies were about to engage in close combat, and disappear on the vast grassland like frightened antelopes.

However, this time, the five thousand cavalrymen actually rushed straight towards the Paladin's left wing like a flood that broke through the dam. This was by no means a bluffing feint!

"Are you finally willing to confront me head-on?"

A trace of bloodthirsty excitement flashed in the eyes of the Palatine cavalry commander. The humiliation of being teased for days now turned into boiling fighting spirit. He raised his gorgeous sword high, ignored the herald's roar to wait for the right wing to be encircled and not to leave the cover of the heavy cavalry, and led 8,000 light cavalry to rush towards the enemy like a tide.

"There's nothing to be afraid of with these grassland barbarians!"

The cavalry commander raised his lips in a scornful arc, ignoring the urgent horn sounds from behind.

It's not like he hasn't hunted grassland people before. During last year's autumn hunt, he killed seven so-called grassland warriors by himself. It's really an out of nothing!

Your Majesty is right, those old guys are too conservative, the world belongs to them, the young people!

They had six thousand cavalrymen, and he didn't expect every one of them to be able to fight seven like he did, but fighting one against two wasn't difficult. Even if it was one to one, they still had the advantage in numbers. How could the grassland people fight them?

The sound of hooves rolled across the grassland like thunder, and the two cavalry units gradually approached.

But when the two armies were only a hundred steps apart, the cavalry commander suddenly realized something was wrong. Why was the enemy leader getting bigger and bigger?

A hundred steps would only take a few seconds for a mortal running at full speed, and a cavalry charge would take only a split second.

The cavalry commander was still frozen in shock when Chagatai Khan's scimitar severed the helmeted head. The headless corpse, still clutching the reins, galloped a dozen more paces with its horse before crashing to the ground.

The Qiexue cavalry crushed into the enemy formation like an avalanche, tearing the Palatine cavalry into pieces.

Their scimitars flew like dancing silver pythons, each slash bringing up a shower of blood. Without their commander, the Paladin cavalry's morale plummeted, and they were almost instantly routed by the charge of the grassland cavalry.

The two cavalry forces separated like colliding tides, but the Qiexue army's formation remained as solid as iron, leaving behind a trail of death paved with flesh and blood. The battlefield was still filled with the cries of dying horses and men.

The Qiexue army suffered only 700 casualties, while on the Palatine side, only 4,000 of the 8,000 cavalrymen who set out on the expedition remained.

Their numbers were still comparable to those of the Qiexue Army, but their morale had long since collapsed. Having lost their leading general, they now had no fighting spirit and were only concerned with fleeing.

Such a great victory made the Qiexue army excited, and even Qin Xia, the usually calm leader of Qiexue, could hardly contain his excitement.

Only Chagatai Khan remained silent.

The reinforcements from the right wing finally arrived. The commander-in-chief swept a cold gaze over the 4,000 defeated soldiers and led his troops to bypass the group of defeated soldiers and go straight to the enemy camp.

He was confident about this.

The left wing was defeated due to underestimating the enemy and advancing rashly, and the grassland people were already at the end of their strength. On the contrary, his right wing cavalry had already been gathering strength for a long time, and they were sure to win this battle!

As for the defeated soldiers, the commander ignored them completely, as gathering them would only affect morale.

Just when the Paladin cavalry was about to complete the encirclement, Chagatai Khan led 4,000 Qiexue troops and turned their horses like a whirlwind, charging head-on into the 8,000 cavalry.

Another round of charge, and the same surprise appeared on the commander's face again. It was the familiar scimitar and the flying head again.

The momentum of the 8,000 cavalry suddenly collapsed with the death of their main general, like waves split by a sharp blade, rushing down under the fearless charge of the Qiexue army.

In the rear, two thousand heavily armored cavalry were still trying their best to catch up, but their armor was too heavy. Their horses neighed and ran as fast as they could, but they could only watch the light cavalry being slaughtered. The Qiexue army marched away and chased after the left-wing cavalry that had previously collapsed.

The development of the war situation exceeded everyone's expectations, even Chagatai Khan.

The initial discipline displayed by the Palatine army had made him regard it as a truly formidable enemy. But who could have imagined that this seemingly formidable cavalry would crumble the moment they engaged in battle?

But there was no flaw in his plan, and it was still necessary to lure the enemy deep into our territory.

If the main force of the Paladin cannot be lured into the heart of the steppe, it will be difficult to completely annihilate this army. If these remnants are allowed to escape back to the Paladin Empire, the steppe tribes will still encounter huge obstacles when attacking the empire.

Chagatai Khan: "Qinxia, ​​have the tribes of the steppe join us. Leave 5,000 cavalry to set up an ambush at the Urav Mountain Pass. I will make it impossible for the Paladins to escape!"

Chapter 134 Nidie is gone again (5K)

"Stand by? Stand by again? Why stand by again?"

"The Khitans are right before our eyes! What are we waiting for? Why not kill them once and for all?"

"That's wrong. We only have 30,000 cavalrymen, while the Khitans have 200,000. A head-on confrontation is disadvantageous!"

In Ulavshan, the tribes of the grassland were already quarreling with each other.

Ever since the Paladin army entered the grassland, they have been digging wells and hunting in the mountains.

If they had not brought enough dry food, they would not have been able to feed 30,000 people and horses.

But the same goes for the Palatine people. The logistical pressure of 200,000 people is greater than theirs.

However, Chagatai Khan did not allow them to harass the Paladin's supply lines, but only ordered them to annihilate the scouts who went into the mountains for reconnaissance.

This strategy successfully misled the Palatine army, causing it to mistakenly believe that there was only a small group of steppe cavalry ambushing in the mountains. Although they could kill scouts, they were not enough to pose a threat to logistics transportation.

However, the long-term ambush also made the soldiers of each unit eager to fight. They didn't know how long they would have to wait, and they became increasingly anxious about missing the front battlefield.

On the eleventh day, a Qiexue messenger came on horseback, holding high the banner: "Heavenly Khan has given his order!"

"What did the Tian Khan say?" the tribal leader asked impatiently.

"He said, it's time to go!"

……

"Idiots! All of them are idiots!" A hysterical roar broke out from under Ktugu Sogo's golden mask, and his jewel-studded sword slashed the flag fiercely.

"That's a full sixteen thousand cavalry! Even if it were sixteen thousand pigs, those grassland barbarians wouldn't have been so easy to kill. And yet they wiped them all out in a single charge?"

He was shaking all over like a sieve, and cold sweat soaked his lining in the middle of winter. The cold silk stuck to his back as if a poisonous snake was crawling on it.

"Your Majesty," Duke Charles sighed, "Please give the order to withdraw immediately!"

When Sogo heard his voice, it was as if he had grabbed a life-saving straw. He suddenly grabbed the old general's wrist and said, "Archduke Charles, please teach me!"

Even if Sogo was stupid and incompetent, he was clearly aware at this moment that the war situation was difficult to turn around. He now only hoped to bring the remaining 180,000 troops back to the Palatine Empire!

However, Duke Charles did not even give him this hope.

"Your Majesty, this is a trap set by the enemy to lure them deeper. Our army has been deep in the grasslands for over ten days. While the four thousand armored knights are still alive, it's still possible to break out."