"Ridiculous!" Du Zhongxiao slapped Liu Jianji's battle report on the case, stood up, and paced back and forth.

Because of carelessness and poor measures, the Khitan army in the encirclement ended up running nearly 2,000 people, which was a little unacceptable. Xiao Hu saw that he did not organize the department, and suddenly fled to the other side of the river with his people, and beat him crookedly. If he leads the whole army to break through the siege, it is likely that he will not be able to cross the river. When a large group of cavalry reaches the river, it may crush the river. Only he fled by himself, but took out more than a thousand people.

Sighing, Du Zhongxiao returned to the desk and sat down. In this battle of Dingzhou, it can be seen that Liu Jianji's army is inexperienced. The command was not decisive, the operation was not resolute, and the strength of the two sides was underestimated. In the early stage, the Khitan army was too jealous, and the later battle plan was not strict.

What can be done, these newly formed armies have combat effectiveness in terms of hardware, but it is difficult for the command system to keep up with it for a while. In particular, there is a shortage of officers, and the command system is very flawed. It is difficult to mature without long hours of training, without going through war.

More than a thousand Khitan cavalry crossed the defensive line, which was a nuisance, but it would not have any impact on the situation of the battle. The most important thing is that the forbidden army on Hebei Road is in training, and except for the border, the combat effectiveness of the forbidden army in the interior is close to none. If these more than 1,000 cavalry cannot be intercepted and eliminated as soon as possible, they will pose a threat to many states and counties.

Seeing that the time was almost up, Du Zhongxiao took the battle report and went to the capital. As the fighting on the front line has become increasingly fierce, in recent days, the Privy Council and the Zhongshu Sect have been meeting in the capital hall every day to discuss some national affairs.

entered the capital hall and greeted Han Qi, who was already inside.

Du Zhongxiao sat down and handed the battle report to Han Qi. Dao: "Liu Jianji on the front line reoccupied Quyang and annihilated nearly 30,000 Khitan cavalry. It's just that at the end, nearly 2,000 Khitan cavalry escaped and arrived on the other side of the Lu River. They moved quickly, crossed Xinle County, and went to Wuji County. Liu Jianji's cavalry troops followed closely behind. ”

Han Qi took the battle report and read it, and said: "With 30,000 against 30,000, Liu Jianji's battle is very exciting. It's just a pity that more than 1,000 people fled to the mainland, and there may be trouble. It would be best if it could be annihilated early. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "It depends on whether it can be blocked in Wuji County." After Wuji County, there were no strong walls in the southern states, and there were no strong garrisons in the localities, so they could only chase after them for a while. In this kind of weather, they want to run, but there is really no way. ”

Han Qi nodded: "What the Taiwei said is true." When the two countries are at war, there are always accidents of one kind or another. This battle of Quyang was fought well, and it should be rewarded as soon as possible. The Khitan army in the north has gathered in Yizhou, and it will soon move south. The victory in this battle boosted morale. ”

Du Zhongxiao thought for a while and said, "It's okay." Not long after the new formation of Liu Jianji's army, it is rare to have such a record. After Jia Kui occupied the Flying Fox, all the Taihang Mountains belonged to me, and the enemy army gathered in Yizhou, and there was nothing to do. ”

Han Qi said: "Yes, as soon as the flying fox is occupied, the Khitan has no surprise troops to come out, so it can only attack head-on." Next, I thought that the Khitans would storm Baozhou. Jingtai's first army was also newly formed not long ago, occupying Quyang, and Liu Jianji's army should go to support. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "This matter depends on what Liu Ji of Hejian Mansion thinks, and wait a while to see what will happen to the Khitans." They have been concentrated in Youzhou for more than half a month, and only now have they gone south to see what they are doing. ”

At this moment, the rest of the rulers came in and saluted.

After everyone sat down, Du Zhongxiao said: "With the new battle report, Liu Jianji reoccupied Quyang City and almost completely annihilated the Khitan 30,000 cavalry. Only more than 1,000 people fled across the river and are now heading for Wuji County. Jia Kui occupied the Flying Fox, Liu Jianji eliminated the enemy army in Quyang, and the situation on Hebei Road was very good. ”

Wen Yanbo listened and said, "Liu Jianji annihilated the Khitans, what about his own losses?" ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "There are basically no casualties. It's just that shells are much consumed and need to be replenished as soon as possible. ”

"Isn't that a big victory?" Wen Yanbo was very surprised and looked at the people around him. "With 30,000 people against 30,000 people, it is rare to be able to completely annihilate the enemy army, and there are no casualties among yourself, which is very rare! Shells are nothing, trains are there. ”

The ministers discussed a lot, and they all thought that the battle of Quyang was a rare and major victory, and the imperial court should reward it. As for the more than a thousand cavalrymen who fled, they didn't care. More than 1,000 people, although they will harass the state and county, will not pose any threat.

Du Zhongxiao looked at everyone, and felt mixed feelings in his heart. In his own opinion, Liu Jianji let the Khitan escape more than 1,000 people, which could not be regarded as a big victory. War should not be based only on numbers, but on a comprehensive basis. Although Liu Jianji was 30,000 like the enemy army, he had complete guns, especially the number of artillery in the army, which the Khitans did not dare to think of. And plenty of time and set up in place. In the case of the siege of the Khitans, victory was a foregone conclusion. Letting go of more than 1,000 people was an extremely serious mistake.

Although Du Zhongxiao has been on Hequ Road for several years, he has won consecutive battles. There is also the rear to easily destroy the party. However, in the eyes of the ministers of the Song Dynasty, the combat effectiveness of the Song army was still not very clear. In their eyes, being able to match the Khitan forces and win in battle is already remarkable. In particular, Liu Jianji was besieging the city, and it was very rare to completely annihilate the enemy army.

In the past five or six years, although there have been many victories, most of them have been easy victories, and most officials are not clear about the strength of the army. This time, the Khitan troops went south, which actually frightened many people. The 250,000 troops of the Song Dynasty were on Hebei Road, and in their eyes, it was far from enough. Liu Jianji confronted the Khitan army in Quyang, and within more than ten days, some officials were worried. Although Du Zhongxiao repeatedly said that he had to wait for Jia Kui, it was a strategic consideration not to annihilate the Khitans as soon as possible. In the eyes of many officials, this is just a pretext.

After discussing for a while, Wen Yanbo said: "After this big victory, Jia Kui occupied the flying fox again, and the situation on the front line was much better. Now that the 300,000-strong army is guarding the border, it should be fine. I wonder what the Privy Council considered after this war? ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Now I am waiting for the Khitans to attack." Knowing what the Khitans do, they can decide on their next move. After all, this time it was the Khitans who attacked, and we were passively defending, so we could only sit and wait for a while. ”

Song Zhen, who participated in politics, said: "Hundreds of thousands of Khitan troops came to attack, and there were only 50,000 Jingtai in Baozhou, isn't it thin?" After Liu Jianji annihilated the enemy army, he could go to Baozhou to assist Jingtai in defense. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "In the land of one state, 50,000 troops are enough. No matter how many troops there are, they are just hiding in the city, and they are of little use. After Jia Kui occupied the Flying Fox, Zhendingfu and Dingzhou were both safe places, and the troops of Dou Shunqing and Liu Jianji could be used as mobile troops. It only depends on how the Khitans attack, and then determine their actions. Now the Khitans in the north have not moved, and we will wait for them. ”

Several civil servants in the capital hall are not familiar with military affairs. Du Zhongxiao said that in the land of a state, 50,000 troops are enough, they don't understand at all. Of course, the more troops, the better, and if there are soldiers, they must be arranged to go to the front line.

For the current Song army, the use of guns and cannons, there are many horses and animals in the army, and the battle front is far from being comparable to before. How big is a state? With an army of 50,000, there are no flaws in the defense of this state. What needs to be increased is not the defensive force, but the mobile force. Motorized troops do not have to be placed in Baozhou, there is a train to reach, and there is no difference between Zhendingfu and Dingzhou.

With Liu Jianji's victory in Quyang, Du Zhongxiao considered completely annihilating the invading Khitan army. How to arrange it still depends on the attack of the Khitans. After surviving the previous battles, the Song army was able to fully deploy its army and fight a decisive battle with the Khitan.

What Du Zhongxiao needs now is enough mobile troops, not piling up troops on the front line to defend. After the strong wall cleared the wilderness, it was difficult for the Khitans to break through Baozhou, and the same was true for the adjacent Xiongzhou. From defense to offense, Du Zhongxiao needs an opportunity.

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