Ch.148Expedition (5)

In the past, I had entered the Jin Dynasty through that Juyong Pass.

And on my way back, looking at Juyong Pass, I made a promise that I would definitely return.

And so I have returned here again.

Leading a great army.

“If history flows as it originally did, the casualties will be significant.”

I said this while looking at Juyong Pass.

As I’ve been mentioning repeatedly, Juyong Pass was a natural fortress.

On both sides were the treacherous mountains called Yaho Ridge.

Because of this, it was difficult to attack Juyong Pass with a frontal assault.

Since the entrance itself was narrow, even if we scorched the surrounding villages and positioned trebuchets, it would be difficult to generate proper firepower.

Just having trebuchets didn’t make it possible to freely conquer the fortress.

Juyong Pass was such a thick and powerful gate that it could only be brought down by deploying numerous trebuchets.

But as mentioned earlier, due to spatial constraints, attacking Juyong Pass with a frontal assault was difficult.

This meant that ultimately, as in the original history, we would have to use soldiers to cross Yaho Ridge.

That way, we could capture Juyong Pass, but the casualties would be severe.

“If the casualties are too severe, it will hinder the conquest of the Jin Dynasty.”

It was impossible to attack the Jin Dynasty for decades as in the original history.

This was because if the war dragged on, the Song Dynasty or Goryeo might intervene.

If those two countries intervened, it would be a headache.

So we needed to push as quickly and concisely as possible to Zhongdu Daxingfu.

To do that, we had to reduce casualties.

“We must reduce casualties.”

I said this while looking at Muqali.

In the original history, Muqali had told Genghis Khan that he would not return unless he conquered Yaho Ridge, which was part of the Great Wall.

This Muqali crossed Yaho Ridge and attacked from the rear, which allowed Genghis Khan to defeat the Jin army of 350,000.

Just like in the original history, Muqali was now in the Ulus army.

So conquering Yaho Ridge wasn’t impossible.

But as I’ve been mentioning, we needed to conquer Yaho Ridge with fewer casualties than in the original history.

Only then could I have the Jin territory all to myself without sharing it with the other two countries.

While I was thinking this, someone approached me.

The messenger bowed to me and began to report.

“My Khan. Darughachi Bulqa reports that he has conquered all the villages near Yaho Ridge and completed the flattening.”

“I understand. Tell him to position trebuchets there.”

I couldn’t not set up trebuchets there.

So I ordered the installation of trebuchets as originally planned.

The messenger moved to deliver my order.

After the messenger disappeared, I looked up at the sky and muttered to myself.

“I wish the enemy would move to attack the trebuchets.”

If that happened, the enemy would have to divide their already divided forces again.

Then the rear would naturally be exposed, making it easier to intercept the rear than in the original history.

Of course, if the trebuchets we brought were destroyed by the enemy’s attack, it could lead to significant damage for our forces.

However, this only applied to the Ulus before the establishment of the armory.

The current Ulus had become a country with production capacity that surpassed the Jin Dynasty in terms of military supplies, though not as much as the Song Dynasty.

Moreover, with roads supporting production capacity spread throughout the Ulus, even if trebuchets were destroyed, we could simply produce more at the armory and deploy them to the battlefield.

Being in the medieval era, there was a limitation of very low durability.

However, this issue could be resolved by covering qualitative deficiencies with quantitative increases.

Simply put, if we mass-produced and deployed them on a large scale, one or two defective ones wouldn’t be a big problem.

For this reason, I had no major reservations about using trebuchets as a kind of bait.

Elunka, who was right beside me, approached.

And looking at Juyong Pass, he spoke.

“It will depend on how much the Jin Dynasty has grasped our information, my Khan.”

“That’s right.”

If the Jin Dynasty saw us merely as barbarians like Western Liao or Western Xia, the likelihood of the enemy coming out to attack the trebuchets was low.

But if the Jin Dynasty had intelligence about us, they would certainly check against the trebuchets.

It was an ironic situation where I had to hope the enemy knew us well.

“This time, I have to hope the enemy is competent.”

They shouldn’t be arrogant like the lord of Khara-Khoto.

They shouldn’t be power-hungry like Kuchlug, who usurped the throne of Western Liao.

There needed to be a commander at Juyong Pass who understood strategy and tactics as a typical soldier and knew how to deploy them.

But they shouldn’t be an outstanding general who could immediately change the tide of battle.

They needed to be a commander of just average ability.

Then they would surely deploy soldiers to Yaho Ridge as in the original history.

And they would use cavalry to check against the trebuchets.

Thinking this, I looked at Juyong Pass again.

And I earnestly prayed to God, Buddha, and my ancestors.

I prayed that, as in the original history, Wanyan Husha, no, Wanyan Shengyu, would be the commander of Juyong Pass.

* * *

Darughachi Bulqa, following the orders of Gur Khan, began deploying artillery in the occupied area.

While Kerik was deploying the artillery, Bulqa’s vanguard was guarding the surroundings in case of an enemy attack.

“To hope that the enemy commander isn’t stupid…”

Bulqa muttered to himself with an incredulous expression.

This was because that’s what was written in the order sent by Gur Khan.

To be precise, the content was to deploy artillery but to act in a way that would subtly let the enemy discover it.

Since “subtly” here meant not to reveal that it was obviously bait, Bulqa couldn’t help but be confused by such an order.

However, additional reasons were written in the latter part of the order, which allowed Bulqa to understand why Gur Khan had given such an order.

“Can’t be helped.”

Saying this, Bulqa signaled to the cavalry of the vanguard.

The nomadic cavalry approached Bulqa.

“We will strengthen the surveillance of this area. If the enemy appears, respond passively and then return here.”

“We receive the Darughachi’s command.”

“It will be done according to Darughachi Bulqa’s will.”

The cavalry bowed and dispersed around the area.

As they dispersed, Bulqa’s adjutant, who remained, asked him a question.

“Fath… I mean, Darughachi, I would like to ask why you ordered a passive response. Gur Khan…”

“Yes. Gur Khan ordered us not to let the enemy notice. That’s why we must respond passively.”

“If we engage in passive combat, won’t the enemy become suspicious?”

“Your point is valid. But retreating here after passive combat rather than active combat can give the enemy greater confidence.”

“May I humbly ask what kind of confidence you’re referring to?”

“The confidence that the trebuchets are our trump card.”

Saying this, Bulqa looked at Juyong Pass.

Through the Western Xia and Western Liao campaigns, he had already become an experienced commander.

As a result, he had acquired the ability to use battle as part of a strategy.

In simple terms, it meant he knew how to wage psychological warfare against the enemy through battle.

Bulqa was using this ability to wage a kind of psychological warfare against the Jin commander.

“Responding actively with a small force is more likely to make the enemy suspicious.”

Bulqa made this decision based on the experience he had accumulated.

It was natural logic that a large force would respond actively based on numerical superiority.

Conversely, a small force, being fewer in number, should respond passively.

This would make it look like they were planning for the future.

Of course, this was just a guess based on Bulqa’s experience.

There was a possibility that the enemy might not fall for this trap.

This meant there was a chance the enemy wouldn’t fall for the psychological warfare he was waging.

“But there’s a possibility that the enemy won’t fall for your psychological warfare, Darughachi.”

“Don’t worry. If the enemy doesn’t fall for the psychological warfare, I plan to force them to.”

But Bulqa wasn’t worried about this.

Even if the enemy didn’t fall for the psychological warfare, all he had to do was make the enemy come here.

The method was simple.

Even if the artillery range didn’t reach Juyong Pass, they would just fire the artillery.

There was no simpler way to convince the enemy that the Ulus had siege weapons.

“Even if the shots don’t reach, if we indiscriminately fire artillery toward Juyong Pass, the enemy will have no choice but to come out.”

“Then wouldn’t it be better to use this method first without deploying troops? That way, there would be no casualties.”

“Your point is valid, but you know one thing and not the other. Firing artillery without first deploying sentries is the same as revealing the position of our artillery to the enemy. There are no fools in this world who operate siege weapons without deploying troops around them to protect the artillery.”

The Darughachi’s words were accurate.

All countries with siege technology did not operate expensive and destructive artillery alone.

They always operated by deploying sentries around and coordinating with them.

In other words, if the Ulus fired artillery before the Jin Dynasty discovered their sentries, the enemy would be suspicious.

This was because exposing the artillery position would make it vulnerable to attack.

Therefore, the Jin Dynasty would have no choice but to consider the artillery fire itself as a trap.

Then they would certainly not attack the Ulus artillery with cavalry.

This was also a big loss from the Ulus’s perspective.

From the beginning, this place was at a distance that couldn’t hit Juyong Pass.

So it would just take time and accomplish nothing.

After hearing the Darughachi’s explanation, the adjutant opened his eyes wide and bowed to Bulqa.

“I, in my ignorance, dared to doubt the Darughachi’s grand plan. Please punish me.”

“No. The things you asked about are worth worrying about. So don’t mind.”

Saying this, Bulqa looked at his adjutant and son.

In response, Bulqa’s son, Jurkin Sechen, bowed and expressed gratitude to his father.