Ch.160Alliance (3)

I positioned myself in front of Zhongdu, surveying the area outside the capital with the characteristic wide field of vision of a Mongol.

Jin Dynasty soldiers armed with bows stood there.

Judging by their faces, they appeared quite young.

It seemed they had been hastily conscripted without completing proper training.

“The Jin Dynasty must be desperate.”

“Indeed, Khagan.”

Bulqa nodded in agreement with my words.

I looked at him and asked a question.

“What about the trebuchets?”

“They’ve all arrived. We can begin firing as soon as you give the order.”

At Bulqa’s words, I turned to look at the trebuchets.

Despite being lightened from the original design, they showed excellent stability.

From documentaries I’d seen—though I couldn’t be certain—medieval trebuchets and similar siege weapons prioritized stability above all else.

Without proper stability, they would break easily and struggle to launch projectiles effectively against enemies.

That’s why most trebuchets were made of heavy wood.

But Ulus’s trebuchets were different.

They used lightweight wood reinforced with Damascus steel to forcibly increase durability.

This allowed us to reduce weight while maintaining minimum stability.

Thanks to this, Ulus was able to quickly recover its artillery forces after the heavy losses suffered at Juyong Pass.

“Good. I’ll entrust the trebuchets to you again.”

“I won’t disappoint you.”

After saying this, Bulqa stepped back.

As he withdrew, Chalukhab and Hulitu stepped forward.

“Chalukhab will lead the right wing composed of Kerik, and Hulitu will lead the left wing composed of cavalry.”

For this battle, I concentrated the Kerik in one unit.

In other words, I separated the cavalry and infantry into distinct units rather than mixing them.

This was for the purpose of capturing the Jin capital, Zhongdu.

In siege warfare, cavalry couldn’t scale walls.

If infantry were distributed among cavalry units, confusion would arise when attempting to climb the walls.

To prevent this, I deliberately kept the Kerik separate from other units.

“I will follow Gur Khagan’s will.”

“I will return with achievements worthy of note.”

The two commanders bowed before withdrawing.

After the three main Darughachi retreated, my close aides Munglig and Jadaran Elunka approached.

“The Tamma will be responsible for disrupting the rear in this battle.”

In this battle, I intended to completely isolate Zhongdu.

To do this, I planned to cut off all communication networks to and from the capital.

The swift Tamma were suitable for this task.

“The Kheshig will provide comprehensive support.”

I assigned the other elite unit, the Kheshig, to assist any units that needed help.

By positioning this separate detachment, we could quickly respond to any unexpected actions from the Jin.

“We will cut off all communication networks leading to the Jin capital.”

“We will actively support any units that need help and lead this battle to victory.”

Munglig and Elunka also bowed before stepping back.

With that, the basic deployment was complete.

Now all that remained was the detailed positioning.

For these detailed arrangements, I positioned the Darughachi according to the plan I had prepared in advance.

With all mission assignments complete, only the battle remained.

“Everyone, prepare for battle!”

The commanders who received my orders moved busily.

Thanks to them, we were able to assemble in formation.

Once the entire army had assembled, I looked at everyone.

Then I pointed to the Jin capital Zhongdu visible in the distance.

“Do you see it, warriors! Our enemy is there!”

“Down with the Great Jin!”

“Divine punishment for those who tormented Ulus!”

“It is heaven’s will!”

The Mongol warriors responded enthusiastically to my words.

I swung my sword and shouted once more.

“Hangarad! Great bird born from the earth that blocks the sky! Devour the sun! Stop the world until Ulus’s great army conquers Zhongdu!”

At my cry, the warriors stomped their feet.

And they called out to the legendary bird, Hangarad.

“Hangarad! Swallow the sun.”

“Sacred being that covers the world. Howl for Ulus.”

“Daichi Tengri calls you. Answer, Hangarad!”

As they stomped their feet while saying these words, dust rose from the ground as if an earthquake had struck.

As the thick dust rose, it felt as though Hangarad had descended upon this land.

Hangarad had touched the ground.

Now it was time for another great flap of its wings.

“Chaaaarge!”

At my command, the Mongol cavalry charged forward.

90,000 Mongol cavalry.

These warriors, enough to fill Ulus and more, were making the land tremble.

* * *

“So the Mongols have finally come.”

Grand Chancellor Wanyan Liang swallowed hard.

This was because the Mongols’ momentum was reaching the heavens.

“It seems destroying the roads to stop them was useless.”

When Wanyan Liang heard that 350,000 troops had been defeated at Juyong Pass, he was shocked.

He quickly dispatched swift soldiers to destroy the roads leading from Shanxi Province to Zhongdu.

Thanks to the destruction of these roads, the Jin Dynasty gained time.

During this precious time, the Jin conscripted as many soldiers as possible and trained them to at least a basic level of competence.

The Jin forces assembled in this way numbered 100,000.

For any other country, this would have been an impressive recruitment speed.

But considering the Jin Dynasty’s military power, it was far from enough.

The Jin’s total military strength was 650,000 troops. However, it was impossible to mobilize them all in such a short time.

So the maximum they could gather was 100,000.

In any case, they now faced the Mongol army with this force of 100,000.

The emotion Wanyan Liang felt upon first encountering the Mongol army was… indescribable terror.

As mentioned earlier, their morale was sky-high, making the road destruction seem futile.

“Your Excellency. The Mongol army’s momentum could split bamboo.”

The Grand Chancellor nodded at his aide’s words.

“Not good. We’ll hold out while engaging in a war of attrition.”

Wanyan Liang said this while looking toward the southern wall.

By the emperor’s order, Prince Wanyan Shunan was coming with troops recruited from provinces other than Shanxi and Hebei.

“If we can hold out, we can win.”

Although 350,000 troops had been defeated at Juyong Pass, there was still hope.

When the additional forces led by Wanyan Shunan joined, they would have a massive army of 650,000.

With such a large force, even the Mongol army would have to be defeated.

Wanyan Liang was confident.

So he planned to hold out as long as possible.

“Your Excellency. The enemy is deploying catapults from their main camp.”

“Catapults? You’re saying the Mongols use catapults too?”

Wanyan Liang was surprised to see the Mongol trebuchets.

He had received reports that the Mongol army used siege weapons at the Battle of Juyong Pass.

But knowing the Mongols’ poor technological capabilities, he had assumed they would be using primitive siege engines.

This was his mistake.

The Mongol trebuchets being deployed in front of Zhongdu appeared to be very powerful siege weapons.

“Not good. Order the archers on the wall to concentrate their attacks on those siege engines.”

“I obey your command.”

The aide bowed and rushed along the top of the wall.

After he disappeared, an advisor cautiously asked the Grand Chancellor a question.

“May I humbly ask why Your Excellency is not deploying cavalry?”

“At the Battle of Juyong Pass, Commander Wanyan Husha independently deployed cavalry that should have been defending the pass and suffered heavy casualties. These losses ultimately led to a major defeat.”

“Ah…”

The advisor blushed at this.

Despite having read the report on the Battle of Juyong Pass, he had momentarily forgotten this fact.

“I apologize, Your Excellency.”

“No need. An advisor’s role is to point out what I might not be aware of.”

The advisor expressed his gratitude at the Grand Chancellor’s words.

Acknowledging him with a raised hand, the Grand Chancellor continued.

“So we hold out as long as possible. Even if we suffer damage from the enemy’s siege engines.”

Wanyan Liang said this while looking at the enemy trebuchets.

At that moment, the Mongol trebuchets began to operate.

“The enemy siege engines are firing!”

“It’s dangerous! You must move!”

The aides tried to evacuate Wanyan Liang to prepare for possible damage.

The Grand Chancellor accepted their suggestion and moved from his position.

Just as Wanyan Liang vacated his spot, boulders rained down on that very location.

CRASH!

“AAAAGH!”

“GAH!”

The archers hit by the boulders died instantly.

And nearby archers were injured by fragments of the damaged wall from the aftershock.

The destructive power was tremendous.

Seeing this with his own eyes, Wanyan Liang realized he needed to drastically revise his plan.

“The enemy siege weapons are too powerful. We need to do something.”

“Shall we deploy cavalry?”

“No. That’s too dangerous. Instead, deploy swift infantry to approach the enemy catapults.”

Deploying cavalry was risky.

If the enemy entered Zhongdu, they would need cavalry to offer at least minimal resistance in urban warfare.

Therefore, infantry was the only available force.

To others, this might have seemed like a nonsensical order.

He was sending infantry, not swift cavalry, onto a battlefield shaken by artillery fire.

But as mentioned earlier, the Jin had no choice.

Yet they couldn’t just do nothing, so they had to do something.

“Open the gates. Close them immediately after the infantry exits.”

At Wanyan Liang’s cold order, the infantry frowned.

Closing the gates essentially meant abandoning the infantry to their fate, with no expectation of their return.

Therefore, the infantry couldn’t help but express their discontent.

“The infantry are expressing complaints.”

“That’s fine. Behead a few of the rebels to enforce military law, then deploy them.”

The aide bowed at this.

He then summarily executed several rebellious soldiers on the spot.

Seeing their comrades beheaded, the other conscripts had no choice but to keep quiet.