Yang Zongbao pondered for a while before sitting down again, and sighed: "Alas, if the war breaks out, then I will really become a sinner!" ”

Zhao Liang understood what he meant, and he also knew that persuasion was useless, so he had to ask Yang Zongbao without words: "You have been on the front line for a long time, can't you really see even the slightest clue?" The Liao army is violent, why don't you care? ”

"It's still what I just said, everyone is not surprised." Yang Zongbao explained helplessly: "In the past, the Khitans crossed the border to harass them, and the current situation is not much different. They often take advantage of the mobility of the cavalry to attack in all directions, attacking this county today, attacking that city tomorrow, and plundering a few small villages hundreds of miles away the day after tomorrow. Our Song army has only two means, one is to hold the most important cities and passes to prevent the enemy from driving straight in; The second is to receive a report for rescue, and send troops to drive away the Khitan robbers wherever they are in a hurry. ”

Zhao Liang frowned: "It's too passive to do this, right?" ”

Yang Zongbao shook his head: "That's also a matter of no way. According to the rules set by Emperor Taejo, more than half of the country's army was assembled near Gyeonggi to defend the imperial family and the imperial court. And the defenders everywhere at the border pass are pitiful. Therefore, it is not easy to hold on to today's situation. However, we are not completely passive, and occasionally we will also send a large-scale vanguard scout force to go deep into the territory of Liao, and suddenly kill them by surprise, which can be regarded as a slight return. ”

Zhao Liang remembered his little aunt Yang Paifeng, who was probably the kind of unit that Yang Zongbao said, specializing in reconnaissance and harassment behind enemy lines. Speaking of which, it is definitely a dangerous trick to extract teeth from the tiger's mouth.

He asked with concern: "How many troops are there in the northern part of the Great Song Dynasty at present?" ”

Yang Zongbao replied: "The combat strength guarding the northern defense line mainly includes the Jing'an Army, the Tianxiong Army and the Yongbian Army under my father's command, plus the local regimental training, there are almost 80,000 to 100,000 people in Lala. Not long ago, the loyal army stationed in Yingtianfu was also transferred to the front line, counting their 20,000 soldiers and horses, the total was only about 120,000, and there was still a big gap with Xiao Tzulin's Liao army. ”

Zhao Liang scratched his head and asked again: "We shouldn't be short of people." How did I hear that it seems that there are 800,000 forbidden troops alone? ”

"Eight hundred thousand? Brother Zhao, are you kidding? Yang Zongbao smiled bitterly: "I'm afraid the total number of troops in the whole country is not so much. Our Great Song Dynasty Forbidden Army is usually divided into upper, middle and lower three classes, among which the Sun, Tianwu, Longwei, and Shenwei, known as the Upper Fourth Army, are considered to be a truly powerful team, with a total of only 30,000 people, and the other soldiers and horses of the middle army and the lower army are uneven, and some sparse battalions and brigades are not at all on the battlefield. In addition to the forbidden army, the rest are the box army and regimental training army in various places, all of which are of the nature of the militia, and are only responsible for escorting grain and grass, taking care of military supplies, standing guard in Tuntian, building fortifications and other miscellaneous duties on weekdays, and they are not very able to fight with the Khitans. ”

Zhao Liang said curiously: "Then which kind of Jing'an Army, Tianxiong Army, Zhongwu Army, and your father's Yongbian Army you are talking about?" Is it the Xiang Army? ”

Yang Zongbao patiently explained: "Strictly speaking, our troops are all regular troops, so they also belong to the sequence of forbidden troops. The Upper Fourth Army just mentioned is the elite palace army, which is specially stationed in the capital; And we are stationed in various places as guards and pro-army. Everyone accepted the transfer of the Privy Council, and was under the direct command of the three ya. ”

"What do you mean?" Zhao Liang asked.

Yang Zongbao replied: "The so-called three yas are the command department in front of the palace, the guard horse military division and the guard infantry military division. The regular soldiers and horses of the entire Great Song Dynasty were all managed by the generals sent by the Sanya. My father, the commander of the Yongbyon Army, was subordinate to the Sanya. It's just that, compared with the army in front of the palace, our border troops are all dirt buns, and they are not popular in the eyes of His Majesty. ”

Zhao Liang heard that he had some concepts, and said: "Therefore, usually fighting with the Khitans, it all depends on the poor number of border army brothers, once they encounter a large-scale invasion of the Liao State, they must mobilize troops like the Fourth Army and the Loyal Army to support." ”

Yang Zongbao shook his head: "Alas, Brother Zhao's words are wrong. It is normal to transfer second-rate troops such as the Zhongwu Army, but if you want to send the Japanese Army, the Tianwu Army, the Dragon Guard Army and the Divine Guard Army, you don't even think about it. People are the elite responsible for protecting the emperor, how can they be used on the battlefield at the border pass? In addition to their participation in the Fourth Army, those guards who have slightly better combat strength will also be left in the local state capital near Kaifeng, dedicated to defending the imperial court, and the loyal army will be sent to the front line to make up the number. ”

Zhao Liang heard the dissatisfaction in Yang Zongbao's words, and at the same time, he suddenly understood another intention of Prime Minister Kou Zhun. The reason why he suggested that Song Zhenzong drive the expedition in person was not only to use the imperial power to boost morale, but also because of the consideration of troop allocation. Only when Emperor Lao'er personally went to the front line, those elite troops of the Great Song Dynasty had the opportunity to follow him into the battlefield, otherwise they could only retreat in the hinterland of the Central Plains, and they could not display their strong combat power.

Thinking about this, Zhao Liang couldn't help but secretly sigh: In history, the Song Dynasty has always been habitually called the "weak Song Dynasty", the alien races in the north and west have repeatedly invaded, and the Song Dynasty has almost no power to fight back, with proud wealth and brilliant culture, but has been humiliated and bullied by outsiders again and again. One of the most important reasons is the self-emasculation of military power. In order to prevent the recurrence of the situation of separating feudal towns in the last years of the Tang Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin, the founding emperor of the Great Song Dynasty, was the first to set the strategy of "using literature to control military force and concentrating military power", which led to a large number of elite troops squatting beside the emperor and wasting in the hinterland of Gyeonggi.

Such an extremely critical strategic place as Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures fell into the hands of the grassland regime in vain, and if you say that you will be beaten, you will be beaten, and you will come and go freely, so that the emperors of the Song Dynasty in the past dynasties could not breathe. But even so, they still stick to the ancestral system and refuse to put their elite troops at the border passes, not to mention waving their troops to the north to recover lost territory, and even stabilizing the border defense line is often overstretched and unable to catch it.

From this point of view, Prime Minister Kou Zhun's plan to advise the emperor to go to the border pass can be described as really well-intentioned.

I only heard Yang Zongbao continue: "As Brother Zhao said, this time the Empress Dowager Xiao is in charge, and the wolf lord Xiao Tzu Rin, who is the king of the Southern Courtyard, will lead the army to the south to invade the border, and it is very likely that it will no longer be as simple as a small invasion and looting in the past. 200,000 Khitan elite soldiers against 100,000 weak Song troops, our situation is really not optimistic. And according to the current situation, my father may not be able to support himself. Because the Yongbian army and other friendly forces have always fought independently in their respective jurisdictions, it was okay to deal with small-scale harassment of the Liao State before, but if we want to meet the main Khitan force, our few families are like a plate of scattered sand, and there is no way to effectively resist at all. ”

Zhao Liangqi said: "Damn, didn't the imperial court arrange a commander to command all the troops in a unified manner?" ”

"It's still the same old problem," Yang Zongbao felt helpless: "In order to prevent a certain general from supporting his own troops and threatening the stability of the imperial power, the border guards have never set up commanders, but the imperial court has sent various pacification envoys, recruitment envoys, and patrol envoys to coordinate and supervise. A military leader like my father usually has no more than 10,000 troops at his disposal, and only on the day when war breaks out will he temporarily add some soldiers and horses, so he can't make big waves. However, in this way, there is almost no coordination between the several main border guards, and whether they can cooperate to resist the enemy can only depend on the personal relationship between the commanders and envoys. If you have a friendship with each other, the two armies under your command can help each other, and if you don't have a friendship or even have some contradictions and grievances, don't expect any common hatred and hatred, and don't stab you in the back, even if it is more kind. ”

Zhao Liang's heart sank when he heard this, he didn't expect in advance that Song Jun's condition would be so bad. Not only were the main forces wasted on the second line, but even the regiments on the front line were leaderless and independent. In this situation, it is simply a joke to want to fight against the 200,000 tiger and wolf army of Liao.

Looking at Yang Zongbao's sad and restless look, Zhao Liang was a little unbearable, so he was relieved: "Young General, don't be too obsessed with everything. Although the current condition of the Song army is not good, God bless our clan, this war will still have a satisfactory ending after all. ”

Yang Zongbao didn't know that Zhao Liang would say this because he knew the history of the "Lanyuan Alliance", but he heard from Yang Ru and Apple that the young Mr. Zhao in front of him really had the ability to penetrate the heavens and the earth, and even Lord Kou Zhunkou admired him, so he turned his worries into joy and said, "Is Brother Zhao's words true?" Can you tell me a thing or two, how should Song Liao fight this war? ”

Zhao Liang understood that the other party must have thought of something, so he asked for advice, so his old face turned red, and the trick was repeated: "What about this...... The so-called heavenly machine cannot be revealed. You just have to believe what I say and do your part. Seeing that you sincerely want to know, I might as well give you another revelation, in this battle, your father will definitely make great achievements and get a heavy reward from the emperor. ”

"So I'll borrow your good words." Yang Zongbao said: "In fact, my father is the same as my grandfather and his old man, and he doesn't want to add any officials to the knighthood, but just wants to protect my Great Song Jiangshan and the people of Limin." If he could repel the enemy, he would be satisfied. ”

Zhao Liang nodded: "I believe what you say." The Yang family will be full of loyalty, and it is definitely not a nonsense. In the same way, you have to believe what I said, don't look at the Liao army's fierce momentum and overwhelming troops this time, but it will still retreat after all. It's you now, and I'm not sure how you're going to get past the desertion. ”

Yang Zongbao's expression darkened when he heard this, and he subconsciously said: "For today's plan, I can only pray for a smooth rescue of Mu Ling tonight, and then I will return to Northern Xinjiang early tomorrow morning, I hope it is still too late." ”

Zhao Liang's heart moved, and he couldn't help but think of another thing, and was about to speak, when he suddenly heard Yang Ru's voice outside: "Big brother, there's news!" ”

As soon as the words fell, Miss Yang Er pushed the door and entered, followed by the flying knife scout apple of the Yongbian army. As soon as the two entered the house, they first saluted Zhao Liang, and then Yang Ru said: "Brother, Brother Zhao, Apple is out, it's really extraordinary, there is news from the prison of the Criminal Department." ”

Yang Zongbao was concerned about Mu Ling's safety, and was busy asking Apple for details. Apple introduced: "Today, before dawn, I went to Po Shin Street, where an old man of mine lived. He also served in the Yongbian Army, but he was transferred back to the capital half a year ago and served as the deputy head of the infantry in Kaifeng Prefecture. The Criminal Department is short of manpower, so he often calls in the soldiers and horses of Kaifeng Mansion to assist in guarding the prison, so he is most familiar with the situation. ”

"What did you tell him?" Zhao Liang asked: "Now that the border is tight, you, a scout master, are not serving on the front line, and you have come all the way back to inquire about the prison cell, will it arouse his suspicion?" ”

Yang Ru smiled: "Brother Zhao, you are too underestimated of our apples, these things still need to be taught to her, they have already been arranged." ”

Apple looked a little embarrassed and explained, "It's not as great as Miss said." I told the guy that this time I was specially escorting the young lady back to Bianliang, which could be regarded as a small contribution to the Yang family. However, I had to leave for the border this afternoon, so I took advantage of the free morning to go to visit him. In the past, on the battlefield, the two of us used to kill the enemy side by side, and the friendship was very strong, and he was very happy to see me back, so he took me to the teahouse for breakfast, and reminisced about the old days by the way. I chatted with him for a long time, and when I saw an opportunity, I led the topic to the prison of the Criminal Department. ”

Yang Zongbao said: "Oh? So how do you put it? ”

Listening to the young general's inquiry, Apple's little face turned slightly red, and then said: "My guy is very good, but he has an old problem, he loves to brag and be strong. As long as you talk to him in everything, a little agitation, this guy can't hold words in his stomach. When I mentioned that when I was working in the scout camp, he always couldn't remember the terrain well, and when he came back to draw the enemy barracks, he often made mistakes, and I was scolded. This guy was really unconvinced when he heard it, and he had to talk to me about anything. So I took the opportunity to test him if he could draw the prison of the Criminal Department by hand. ”

"Haha, so he obediently drew one for you?" Zhao Liang said with a smile.

Apple nodded: "That's right, he immediately borrowed a pen and paper from the store, not only drew it for me, but also drew it in great detail, and even the toilet room was not left behind." As he painted, I kept it in my mind, and when he finished drawing, I pretended that it was a secret and must not be passed on, and then I burned it with fire, leaving no handle behind. Just now, I went to the second lady's room and redrew the topographical map of the prison in my memory as it was. As she spoke, Apple took a piece of paper from her bosom and spread it out on the desk in her study.

(Zhao Liang said: I haven't received the salary of the anti-penetration bureau for a long time, and I can't afford to eat, please give a lot of tips and support to most readers, I promise that the next time you cross, the net will be open!) ）