At night, Wuqing City was crowded with people, and it had not been so lively for many years. Today is the New Year, and the Khitan army has been defeated, and both the officers and soldiers and the people are very excited. The streets were crowded with people, and various vendors were next to each other.

The commanders and deputies of all the armies, divisions, and regiments of the Song army entered the city to participate in the celebration banquet. Zhao Zhen allocated money from the inner treasury and bought wine and meat to reward everyone. Wuqing County is too small, and the banquet is placed on the street.

In the rear office, Zhao Zhen personally presided over it, and all armies commanded and participated in the celebration.

Everyone sat down, and Zhao Zhen said: "Today's big victory, and it coincides with the New Year, and I prepared a wine feast in the back office and drank with you." These days, you have fought hard. You don't have to be polite tonight, just drink with confidence! ”

The crowd applauded.

Zhao Zhen said: "We drink alcohol and need a wine supervisor. You are the people who are fighting on the front line, and you are so good at killing these days, it is not easy to do this. The wine was supervised by Han Xianggong. Which one doesn't drink, you have to think clearly about whether to give Han Xianggong face. ”

Han Qi got up and didn't dare to say goodbye. The monarchs and ministers of the Song Dynasty drank alcohol, and the etiquette was not exquisite. Drunk happily, there were all kinds of weirdness. In the past, the emperor held a banquet in the back garden, and it was generally good at the beginning, but he drank well, and the strength of the wine came up, and there were all kinds of things. Not to mention the etiquette of monarchs and ministers, even the daily etiquette of colleagues can not be taken care of. It's about the same as folk drinking.

Han Qi is the wine supervisor, just to maintain order. Most of the people here are military generals, and they can't let them carry out the literati wine order, so they still mainly drink wine and eat meat. Military generals drink and talk about a good time, even if they are civil officials who have changed to military positions and are accustomed to their subordinates.

After a while, the wine and food came up. Zhao Zhen led the drink for a while, and the atmosphere slowly became warm.

Du Zhongxiao drank a few glasses of wine, looked at the generals sitting together, and felt quite emotional in his heart. Half a year ago, who would have dared to think that there is today? Being able to stop the Khitan army is a victory, where dare you want to wipe them all out. When the army was being trained, because the time was too short and there were not enough officers, how much chaos did it take? In the end, Zhao Zhen even disbanded the military academy, which can be said to be doing his best.

As a result, the Song army did its best, but the Khitan couldn't help fighting. There weren't many people who really participated in the war with an army of 500,000. Most of the troops did not really participate until the end, when the Song army counterattacked north. At that time, the Khitan was soon besieged in Wuqing. Du Zhongxiao felt that in fact, as long as the Song army had two or three hundred thousand people in this battle, it was enough to defeat the Khitan.

After drinking for a while, Zhao Zi said: "This big victory is all due to the command of the captain. Let's have a glass of wine with the captain! ”

The generals applauded together, raised their glasses one after another, and toasted Du Zhongxiao.

Du Zhongxiao drank wine and said to everyone: "This battle not only defeated the Khitan, but also trained the army. Before the war, both us and the Khitans thought that the Khitan was a strong army in the world, and it was not easy to defeat them. As a result, after the first battle, it was discovered that this so-called strong army was nothing more than a paper tiger, and it was actually vulnerable. After this battle, I believe that the generals can truly understand the strength of their army. ”

Zhang Qi smiled: "What the captain said is true. The Khitan army of 400,000 marched south, and at the beginning, everyone was shocked. As a result, I fought, and it turned out that it was not like that. Finally, in Wuqing, the army was besieged, and it was known that it would be easy to defeat them. ”

Ma Huaide said: "That's a good point. In the Qianning Military City, the Khitan was so imposing when it first came that I almost couldn't resist it. After a few days of fighting, the army became proficient, only to find that the Khitan was actually nothing more than that. ”

The crowd couldn't help but laugh. In this battle, the biggest loss was Ma Huaide. At the beginning, due to insufficient training, there was too much shortage of officers, and the Khitan iron cavalry scattered his army in one fell swoop. Fortunately, there is Meng Xuexue, who held on to it and finally slowly pulled it back.

Du Zhongxiao looked at everyone and understood in his heart that a new era had come. The army has guns, and there must be people who can use guns, so that they can really be reborn. After this battle, the Song army really understood how guns should be used. With the strength of the Song army, it has the strength to crush all the armies of this era. When the officers and men understand this, they will have a completely different attitude toward foreign enemies in the future.

After destroying the Khitan, where is there a strong enemy in the world? Although the Jurchens and Mongols were strong, they had not yet developed at this time. As long as the Song Dynasty first occupied the Khitan Zhongjing Road, they would have no chance. When the Song army stabilized the north, the rest was the historical process.

After drinking a few glasses of wine, several generals gathered together, talked about the recent war, and drank freely.

Zhao Zhen looked at Du Zhongxiao's expression a little indifferent, and said, "Looking at the appearance of the captain, I am not very happy. After defeating the Khitan, the court has no great enemies, and it is time to drink and celebrate. Could it be that there is something on his mind that cannot be done? ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Your Majesty misunderstood. These days, I have been directing operations and working hard, and suddenly I am at a loss. ”

Zhao Zhen smiled: "Taiwei is also a hard worker. Come, let's drink and don't think about that. ”

After a while, Zhao Zhen said again: "Taiwei, the 500,000 army is in Youzhou, which is obviously not suitable. What's next? ”

Du Zhongxiao thought for a while and said: "Wang Kai and He Bin are in Weiyun Prefecture, and they are still not down. A hundred thousand soldiers should be sent to assist them. After occupying Yunzhou, it is the right thing to attack other cities in Xijing Province as soon as possible. It is difficult for the railway to cross Yanshan, and it is still necessary to build a road from Shengzhou to Khitan Zhongjing Road. Only when the railway is built there can the grassland be truly pacified. ”

Song Zhen on the side said: "I have watched the front-line battle in the past few days, and I have seen that the guns are extremely powerful. With the current strength of our army, it seems that we are no longer afraid of nomadic cavalry as before. The land north of Yanshan is of no benefit to the imperial court. ”

Du Zhongxiao shook his head: "Participating in politics, the area north of Yanshan is the same as Hequ Road, and they can be cultivated and pastured. Now that the Khitan has fallen, after a long time, there will inevitably be other powers. Once the power is strong, it will inevitably go south, and Hebei Road will be harassed. If you want to defend Youzhou, you must occupy it steadily, otherwise there will be hidden dangers. This must be done, not to be careless. ”

Fu Bi said: "What the captain said is true. Don't say it's useless there, even if it costs money every year, it's worth it. This time, the Khitan went south, and the dilapidated appearance of Youzhou was seen. As long as there is a momentum, once it goes south to loot, how many years of money will come out. ”

Zhao Zhen nodded: "That's true." Taiwei thinks that it is appropriate to send someone to Yunzhou? ”

Du Zhongxiao thought for a while and said: "To the north of Yunzhou is the prairie, the land is vast and sparsely populated, so it is not appropriate to send only infantry troops. The minister thought that he should send 50,000 infantry and 50,000 cavalry, and after capturing Yunzhou, he would immediately go north. Hequ Road has been in business for so many years and can support it. ”

Song Zhen said: "The Central Plains railway to Shengzhou, 200,000 troops, there should be no problem." It was a battle in Youzhou, and the money and food were really a lot, and it was a little difficult for a while. If you wait until after autumn, there will be no problem. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "Participating in politics is good. Now send troops to occupy Yunzhou first, and then go north after autumn. ”

In the First Battle of Youzhou, the Song army suffered few casualties, but it spent a lot of money. Dozens of states are fortified and clear, and a large number of people have to be rescued, which is not a small number. Then they went north, and it was very difficult for the imperial court to support them. In the first half of the year, when the autumn grain is harvested, everything will be easy.