Ch.147Expedition (4)

“We’ve checked all the villages near Juyong Pass.”

“All refugees are heading toward Juyong Pass.”

Reports from soldiers continued to arrive to Bulqa.

Bulqa nodded in response and surveyed the surroundings.

“Burn everything to the ground. We can’t have anything getting in the way.”

At Bulqa’s command, the Mongol warriors raised their torches.

Then they set fire to the abandoned houses.

Whoosh.

Normally, the Ulus would drive people away but leave their property untouched in case they returned.

But now they were carrying out destruction so thoroughly that it was nothing like their usual practices.

The homes of Jin Dynasty citizens were mostly made of materials gathered from nature.

This made them vulnerable to fire attacks, and they quickly burned and collapsed.

After the buildings turned to ash, the soldiers rode their horses around repeatedly, eliminating all remaining traces.

To an outsider, it would appear the Mongols were violently scorching the villages with destructive behavior.

That’s how thoroughly Bulqa was destroying the village.

There was actually a reason for Bulqa’s actions.

He was creating flat ground to deploy trebuchets.

The terrain around Juyong Pass was mountainous.

As a result, there weren’t many flat areas.

When trebuchets weren’t deployed on level ground, the force would become unbalanced, causing the weapon to break or warp.

For this reason, they needed to secure flat ground, but all the flat areas were occupied by village buildings.

This was why Bulqa burned down the villages and erased all traces of remaining structures.

Then he had his men use horses to firmly pack down the earth.

“When conquering Khara-Khoto, we nearly fell into danger because of the buildings.”

During Mongolia’s first foreign expedition, they had faced great hardship in their first siege.

At that time, the Mongols had made the hasty decision to enter the city without knowing there was an inner fortress.

Because of this, they became trapped inside the city.

To make matters worse, there was no ground to deploy their trebuchets due to the densely packed houses.

If Western Xia’s main force led by the military governor Zhang Yunchang had arrived in that situation, the Ulus might have been defeated.

Fortunately, the inner fortress fell due to an internal rebellion, sparing them from that terrible fate.

This experience had greatly shocked all the darughachi who participated in that war.

Bulqa, having experienced this himself, was carefully ensuring the same thing wouldn’t happen again, learning from past crises.

“Commander! All ground leveling work is complete.”

“The west side is finished as well.”

“Good. Signal the Kerik unit.”

The cavalry’s job was done here.

The rest would be handled by the Kerik unit following behind.

The Kerik were the Ulus infantry, composed of settled people from Western Xia and Western Liao.

Their main role was combat, but since most battles were cavalry-focused, the Kerik more often performed supporting roles.

In fact, they more frequently carried out duties similar to those of an engineering corps.

Wheeeeee-

As the whistle sounded, a white flag waved in the distance.

It meant the Kerik unit had received Bulqa’s signal.

“The Kerik unit has received the signal. They should arrive here soon.”

“We’ll move to the next area. Inform all cavalry.”

The vanguard led by Bulqa consisted entirely of cavalry.

Tactically, it would be disadvantageous for mobility-dependent cavalry to remain stationed here for regional defense.

Therefore, they were preparing to leave the scorched earth behind and head to the next village.

If left unattended, the Jin army might regain control of the area.

As mentioned repeatedly, attacking another village was more beneficial than defending this one, so they didn’t leave behind even minimal troops.

In the wake of the Ulus army, nothing remained.

Seeing this, survivors realized they couldn’t return home and hastened their steps toward Juyong Pass to survive.

* * *

“These Mongol bastards are playing clever tricks.”

Wanyan Husha spoke these words, condemning the Mongols’ scorched earth tactics.

“General, if this continues, people will flood into Juyong Pass and we could face a serious crisis.”

“That’s right. The confusion could worsen.”

The adjutants expressed their concerns with worried expressions.

In response, Wanyan Husha offered a solution as if telling them not to worry.

“Accept them.”

“Your Excellency!”

“General!”

“It’s fine. I don’t intend to keep them at Juyong Pass. I plan to send them to the rear.”

“Ah…!”

“As expected of Your Excellency.”

Juyong Pass was located in Shanxi Province.

This province had well-established roads connecting to the capital, Zhongdu Daxingfu.

Therefore, there was no need to accommodate refugees at Juyong Pass.

There would be no major problem if they were sent directly to the capital or the rear.

“After sending them to the rear and training them, we can conscript them again, which benefits us.”

This was something other countries could never do.

The fortresses of typical nations were scattered like dots, making such coordinated responses impossible.

But the Jin Dynasty was different.

As an empire that controlled the Central Plains, it had the ability to operate its cities in an integrated manner.

This made it possible to accommodate refugees flooding into Juyong Pass, send them to the rear for training, and then deploy them back to the battlefield.

“I will implement this immediately, General.”

With that, the adjutant went outside to carry out Wanyan Husha’s orders.

After he left, the military governor addressed everyone.

“Is the deployment of troops to Yaoling Pass complete?”

“We should be able to finish before the Mongol main force arrives.”

“Good.”

The military governor nodded with a satisfied smile.

By completely controlling Yaoling Pass, they would effectively eliminate any detour routes.

This would make it impossible for the Mongols, who lacked proper siege technology, to capture Juyong Pass.

While this warm atmosphere prevailed, one advisor stepped forward.

He was the advisor who had previously opposed the military governor’s decision to divide forces, so everyone looked at him with eyes telling him to back down.

But the advisor, as if determined not to yield, bowed and offered his advice to the military governor.

“Your Excellency’s strategy is wise enough to penetrate the world. However, the Mongols are those who defeated Western Xia and Western Liao. We should not underestimate them.”

“How dare you! What nonsense are you speaking before His Excellency!”

“Unless the Mongols can fly, it’s impossible for them to break through this.”

Despite the criticism from other adjutants and advisors, the advisor who had spoken stood firm.

And he looked at Wanyan Husha as if hoping for a response.

“Very well. I’ll hear your opinion.”

“Thank you, Your Excellency.”

The advisor bowed and continued.

“Unlike when they attacked Western Xia or Western Liao, the Mongols have destroyed all villages near Juyong Pass. And they’re riding horses around those areas to flatten them.”

“Is that important?”

“That’s just what barbarians do.”

“You’re right. But as I mentioned earlier, the Mongols usually didn’t destroy people’s property. However, they’re showing such behavior this time.”

At the advisor’s words, Wanyan Husha nodded.

Then he looked at him and asked a question.

“So what are you trying to say?”

“I’m not certain, but I believe they have a reason for destroying villages on flat ground and leveling them. Therefore, I… dare say they possess siege technology.”

The adjutants and advisors were greatly surprised at this.

Then they pointed fingers at the advisor who had offered this opinion and ridiculed him.

“Hahaha. Say something that makes sense.”

“What siege technology could they possibly have?”

“Do you think people with siege technology would live in tents?”

Facing everyone’s criticism, the advisor looked at them all and boldly asked a question.

“Has anyone here checked information regarding Mongolia’s conquest of Western Xia or Western Liao?”

“…”

“…”

Everyone avoided the question, pretending not to hear.

At this, the advisor shouted loudly.

“They are operating trebuchets called ‘Hui-hui-po’ using Song Dynasty technology. Thanks to these trebuchets, Mongolia was able to conquer Western Xia and Western Liao in such a short time.”

“Ahem… ahem…”

“Hmm…”

The advisor turned his head to look at Wanyan Husha.

“Whether the trebuchets actually exist or not, judging from the Mongol army’s current actions, I can be certain they are creating flat ground to deploy trebuchets.”

“…Continue.”

“I don’t know how powerful their trebuchets are, but if they strike Juyong Pass, our forces could be in great danger.”

The advisor’s words were true.

Everyone wore worried expressions.

“I overlooked that point. I’ll reward you for your good advice.”

“I’ll accept the reward after the battle. Before that, we must devise a way to destroy the Mongols’ siege weapons.”

The advisor answered with a determined expression.

Wanyan Husha nodded and asked for his opinion.

“Do you have any good suggestions?”

“Though inadequate, I have one idea in mind.”

“What is it?”

“Use agile light cavalry from the Menganjun to intercept their trebuchets. Then they won’t even be able to deploy properly.”

“Are you suggesting we open the gates?”

“If we do that, the enemy might charge in.”

The adjutant and other advisors wore worried expressions.

In response, the advisor who had offered the opinion boldly said:

“The Mongols won’t operate trebuchets with cavalry either. They’ll use infantry obtained from Western Xia and Western Liao to operate the trebuchets, so it will be impossible for them to chase after our swift cavalry.”

The advisor’s point was accurate.

It was impossible for infantry to chase cavalry.

“You’re right. I’ll adopt your suggestion.”

“Thank you, Your Excellency.”

The advisor bowed to express his gratitude.

Thanks to his advice, the Jin Dynasty could prepare in advance for trebuchets targeting Juyong Pass.

However, this decision led the Jin Dynasty to make a grave mistake.