Three days later, in the evening, Du Zhongxiao, Tian Quan, Zhao Zi and Yang Wenguang were summoned to Tianzhang Pavilion.

Zhao Zhen had already been waiting here, gave a seat, and said: "According to the news from Khitan, I will definitely gather troops and horses to Youzhou in the autumn." This is a rare opportunity, the Khitan offended me, and gathered a large army in front of the mountain. If they can gather and annihilate them, not only can Yanyun be restored, but the Khitan is likely to be devastated by the battle. It has been several years since Captain Du rescued Tanglong Town, and the soldiers and horses of this dynasty are no longer comparable to before, so we can't miss this opportunity. ”

Tian Guo praised Wat: "Your Majesty, I don't know how many people want to finish their work in one battle!" But where is it easy! The Khitan is a big country, with a radius of thousands of miles and a million, not just talking. It is too difficult to annihilate the main Khitan force. ”

Zhao Zhen said: "It is precisely because of the difficulty that I think twice and try my best." In the past few days, the Privy Council has thought about a way to deal with the Khitan in the autumn, what do you think? If there is any difficulty, speak out now, and don't get there helpless. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "The ministers have discussed with the civil and military ministers in the past few days, and it is not impossible to annihilate the Khitan army, but it is too difficult. ”

"What's the difficulty?"

Du Zhongxiao praised the wat: "With the national strength of the Khitan, if the soldiers of the country come, there should be 300,000 soldiers to Youzhou." Transporting grain and grass, when collecting the population of Youzhou, Pingzhou, Fengshengzhou, etc., there are about two or three hundred thousand people. In other words, the Khitan had an army of five or six hundred thousand people, gathered in Youzhou. The soldiers and horses in Hebei Road of this dynasty have only 250,000 people who have been trained, which is really less. The forbidden army on Hebei Road, in the autumn, can only be formed into an army at most, and 300,000 can be gathered. With 300,000 against 300,000, it is easy to repel the Khitans, but it is difficult to besiege them. ”

Zhao Zhen nodded and said, "If you want to besiege the Khitans, how many soldiers and horses should there be, can you have a rough grasp?" ”

Du Zhongxiao thought for a while and said, "If there are another 200,000, it should be able to do it." With 150,000 to 200,000 people blocking the Khitan enemy, 150,000 people blocking the Khitan retreat, and 100,000 people as a reserve to deal with variables at any time. In addition to this, cavalry must be trained separately, no less than 50,000. The land of Youzhou is flat and there is no danger, and if you want the Khitans to escape, you can't do without cavalry. ”

Zhao Zhen was silent for a while. After a while, he said, "There are still two or three months to go, can you make up another 200,000 people?" ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "The military academy on Hequ Road has been running for several years, and many people have been trained. Based on the forbidden army of Shaanxi Road and Hedong Road, it can be an army after training. The Hebei Road Forbidden Army, with generals drawn from various armies, plus personnel from military academies, can also be formed into an army. There are only so many armies that can be formed in a short period of time. This year, 150,000 people of the forbidden army in the capital have been transferred to Hebei Road, and no one is available. ”

Zhao Zhen said: "How many teachers and officials are there in the military academies now?" ”

Du Zhongxiao was stunned for a moment and said, "The Beijing Military Academy has the largest number of personnel, more than 3,000 people. The Hequ Road Military Academy has more than 600 people. Because of the urgency, the military academy in Hejian Province transferred many people from the above two military academies, and there were more than 1,000 people. ”

Zhao Zhen said: "If these people are incorporated into the army, can they be trained again?" Tai Lieutenant, the Khitan is the great enemy of this dynasty, if this autumn is a life-and-death battle with the Khitan, let the people in the military academy fight first, what is it? ”

Du Zhongxiao thought for a while and said, "If all the people in the military academy are incorporated into the army, you can form another army." However, the number of people doing so is still somewhat insufficient. Moreover, there was still a lack of separate cavalry. ”

Zhao Zhen said to Yang Wenguang: "Among the armies that have been reorganized and trained, in fact, many generals are not necessarily necessary, and if they are temporarily withdrawn, the army is not unable to fight. During the extraordinary period, among the original Zhang Qi and Liu Jijun, some generals who were deputy and general affairs were selected to train the new army. Also, Wang Kai of Hequ Road, the department was originally your department, and he has been in the army for the longest time. The Khitans came to Youzhou, and there was no great enemy in the meandering road, so they drew generals from his army, and also came to train the new army. Try your best to organize the troops in the capital and Hedong Road into three armies. ”

Yang Wenguang said yes. After a pause, he said, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid it's a bit hasty to do this." The army was in a hurry, and its combat strength was insufficient. ”

Zhao Zhen said: "I don't care so much. Now there are a lot of non-commissioned officers in the forbidden army, but there is a shortage of officers. Extraordinary times, extraordinary means, some less important officers, for the time being, will not be set up. In addition to staff officers, commands, food, and intelligence, the rest of the officers in the army can be cut and laid off. After the war, there will be no need for so many troops, and then it will be merged. ”

Hearing this, Du Zhongxiao couldn't help but feel a headache. At the time of the training on Hequ Road, there were a lot of officers. Many officers looked useless, in fact, it was very necessary. First, each has its own division of labor, so that the power in the military can be clearly defined and institutionalized, and the bad habits of the former soldiers will be broken. In addition, in wartime, there are losses of officers, and there are officers who can replace them at any time. It will not lead to the death of a general and the collapse of the whole army. Zhao Zhen's arrangement is equivalent to taking a big step back from that time. Don't listen to what is temporary, as long as you win, it is very likely that these will become the norm in the future.

The officers of the army are very high, and once there are more of them, the imperial court will look at them as an eyesore and try to reduce them. Many positions may seem useless at first, but in wartime, they become flaws. Moreover, there are fewer officials, and power in the military will inevitably be concentrated, and then various problems will arise.

Zhao Zhen said: "Restoring Yanyun is the will of the ancestors. If you have an opportunity, how can you not seize it? If I can't defeat the Khitan this autumn, how will I face my ancestors after a hundred years? Even if there are difficulties, we must find ways to overcome them. This autumn, the Khitan came south and fought a decisive battle with it in Youzhou! ”

Du Zhongxiao and everyone said yes. I know in my heart that in the past few years, Zhao Zhen is no longer what he used to think. For more than a year, Du Zhongxiao has taken the instructors in the military academy together, Zhao Zhen and the minister have lectured on the art of war, and he is not unfamiliar with military affairs.

arranged all the details, and looked at the evening, Du Zhongxiao and the others said goodbye and left.

Out of the Great Interior, Yang Wenguang whispered to Du Zhongxiao: "Taiwei, the Holy Lord is interested in Youzhou, and it is not a good thing to do it in such a hurry." ”

Du Zhongxiao sighed: "Why don't I know? But what can be done? The Holy Will has been decided, and you want to do everything you can to make up as many officers as possible, so that the trained army can really fight. We must not only have a shelf, but not enough combat power. Otherwise, when the war in Youzhou is unfavorable, you and I will not be able to escape trouble. The Privy Council will do its best to be thorough. ”

Yang Wenguang said yes. Several people went out of Donghua Gate together.

At this time, the weather is the hottest time of the year, and it is very lively outside the Donghua Gate. The streets are full of people, hawkers come and go, and the cries of hawking come and go. The cool breeze blows in the dark night, which makes people feel refreshed.

I wanted to go home, but just greeted my entourage, Du Zhongxiao suddenly said: "It's still early, let's go to the restaurant over there with two glasses of wine to go to the heat." ”

The rest of the people were a little surprised and hurriedly agreed. They all understand that it's not just about drinking and having fun.

Commanding his entourage, Du Zhongxiao said: "The moonlight is just right tonight, why don't you invite Zhongshu Wen Xianggong and Han Xianggong to come, how about we drink together?" ”

Tian Guo nodded: "That's fine." Taiwei, the saint is interested in Youzhou, it is a major event of the imperial court, and it is good to have the consent of the Chinese book. ”

After speaking, he ordered an entourage of the Privy Council to go to Wen Yanbo and Han Qi to meet in Fan Tower. Fan Lou is not far from Donghua Gate, and what he does is the business of the ministers who leave the palace. Fan Lou not only has a few high-rise buildings, but also a number of courtyards, and the pavilions inside are very hidden.

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