In the Chongzheng Palace, the Privy Council and the three officials sat in two rows, and Zhang Qi was in the Privy Council in one row, and the last seat was respected. On the other side, in front of the three generals were Prime Minister Wen Yanbo and Han Qi, and there were no other ministers.

Zhao Zhen said: "Zhang Yu entered Beijing to report on his work, and he will go to Hebei in the near future. Take this opportunity to gather ministers to discuss the situation on Hebei Road in detail. These days, according to the Hebei Road report, this winter, the Khitan people are very likely to enter the Kou, and they have to be guarded against. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "According to the report on Hebei Road, the Khitan did not gather troops and horses on a large scale, and there was no large-scale southern invasion this winter. However, because Xiongzhou took in the people who fled south in the summer, Zhuozhou was extremely angry, and it was very likely to organize a small number of soldiers and horses to come south. According to their estimates, in winter, there may be about 10,000 Khitan soldiers and horses coming south to prepare early. ”

Wen Yanbo said: "With 10,000 soldiers and horses, garrisoning troops on Hebei Road, how can the Khitans have a chance?" ”

Du Zhongxiao arched his hand: "Xianggong, the army of Hebei Road is stationed in separate places, and there are always quite a lot of gaps. In winter, the river froze, and the army was unhindered. If the Khitan sent thousands of cavalry and crossed the river to attack, they had to be defended. ”

Han Qi said: "The Khitan didn't gather troops and horses, but thousands of people came south, what can they do?" If the imperial court gathers troops and horses and surrounds these thousands of people, it will not be too difficult for them to come and go. ”

"Xianggong, the Khitans are just trying to get back face, and they don't have any big strategic goals. Thousands of people crossed the river, plundered the people, and returned in a day or two, how to prevent him? Our army was assembled, and they were gone. ”

Du Zhongxiao carefully analyzed the behavior of the Khitan over the years and thought that this was the most likely case for them. At the junction of the two countries, thousands of people suddenly come and go within a distance of thousands of miles, and it is really impossible to guard against it. As long as they choose the right place and do not cross the river to pursue, there is no way at all.

After listening to Du Zhongxiao's words, several ministers discussed it, and they all felt that it was difficult to do.

Wen Yanbo said: "At the beginning of the year in Shuozhou, I won the Khitan for a while. If they are allowed to come and go freely in winter, this advantage is lost. Zhang Qi's army was transferred to Hebei Road, which could be deployed along the border and carefully guarded. ”

Zhao Zi shook his head: "Xianggong, the border is thousands of miles away, how can you prevent it?" The cavalry is a hundred miles a day, and if the Khitans enter the country for only thirty or forty miles, they will turn around and go back before our army arrives. ”

Zhao Zhen said to Du Zhongxiao: "Taiwei, in this way, there is no way to stop the Khitans?" ”

Du Zhongxiao praised the Wat: "If you want to stop the Khitans, there are two ways. One, that is, when they found that the Khitans had crossed the border, they immediately sent troops. Even if they escape the border, they will still chase after them, and they will be victorious in battle. In this way, one bad thing is a large-scale war between the two countries. ”

Zhao Zhen frowned when he heard this: "Now the forbidden army is not ready, and there seems to be something wrong with a large-scale war." ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "We are not ready, and the Khitans are also not ready. ”

Zhao Zhen shook his head: "It's still inconvenient to fight now, so let's wait." Other than that, what's the alternative? ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Another way, you need to have a handsome division on the front line." The intelligence agencies from the Privy Council to the Shuai Si got the news of the Khitan in advance in time. Make a prediction of where the Khitans will cross the river from and where they will attack. Arranged early, as soon as the Khitans crossed the river, they immediately sent troops to block their retreat. Then surround it with superior forces, encircle and annihilate it! ”

Speaking of the last four words, Du Zhongxiao's words were obviously murderous, and everyone couldn't help but be surprised.

Zhao Zhen said: "If you can do this, it is the best!" In my territory, only by gathering and destroying thousands of Khitan soldiers and horses can we deter the Northern Dynasties! The Khitans relied on the convenience of cavalry and often intimidated them by sending troops. If you can annihilate thousands of them, we'll see what will happen later! ”

Li Zhang said: "If you want to know the place of the Khitan attack in time, I am afraid that it is extremely difficult. Since they have made up their minds to move in and out quickly, where is it so easy to be detected? ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "It is said that this is naturally the case. However, in the past, spying on the military situation only sent a few spies, which was not systematic. If there is a commander's organization and a systematic source of information, it may not be impossible. ”

This word has been spoken by Du Zhongxiao many times recently, and I have also seen the reform of the Privy Council and the Sanya. After a few months, the system began to take shape, and many things were different from before.

There is a clear division of labor system, and the way of doing things is completely different from that of no organization. In the final analysis, the training of the forbidden army is to establish a complete military system. Speaking of soldiers, how is it different from before? There are so many more officers and generals in the army, and it is still a war. By mouth alone, there are a thousand and ten thousand reasons for those who oppose it. But the facts are there, the combat effectiveness of the army after the training is much stronger than the previous forbidden army. The battle to destroy the party is the most obvious, making people have nothing to say.

From training troops in Suizhou, Du Zhongxiao paid the most attention to the establishment of a system for various institutions in the army. He is the commander of Hequ Road, and all the institutions under his rule are operating very normally. As long as the later commanders did not stupidly destroy the Great Wall, the military and political affairs of Hequ Road were very stable.

Wen Yanbo said: "Now the handsome minister of Hebei Road is Liang Shi, who knows the famous mansion. Liang Shiwenchen doesn't know about martial arts, but I'm afraid that I won't be able to do it. The Gaoyangguan Road, to which Xiongzhou belongs, is deployed by Wang Zhen and Wenchen. If according to what Taiwei said, these two people are afraid that they will not be able to do it. ”

This was the previous organizational structure of the Song Dynasty, and the old forbidden army was under their control. The newly transferred departments of Dou Shunqing and Liu are also under the management of Liang Shi of Hebei Road. However, in the current command system, it is more the Privy Council that directs them.

Du Zhongxiao said: "The previous deployment was only one of the five divisions, and it was not a handsome division. By now, relying on all deployments, I am afraid that I will not be able to command the war. The forbidden army that has completed the training is not as good as before, but they are only stationed in the locality, and they basically do not care about local affairs. ”

Zhao Zhen nodded, understanding what Du Zhongxiao meant. In the past, Du Zhongxiao was on Hequ Road, serving as a strategic envoy, a pacification envoy, and a capital deployment, and at the same time knowing Shengzhou, and holding the military and political power with one hand. When the party was destroyed, Di Qing and Han Qi were also handsome, and they were the handsome.

Han Qi said: "The forbidden army has been trained, and unlike the previous battles, it really can't be the same as before." In the past, the commander only controlled the forbidden army under his jurisdiction, but now it is different, he has to command the forbidden army to fight. ”

Zhao Zhen thought for a while and said, "Dou Shunqing and Liu Ji, who are newly transferred to Hebei Road, don't have to measure the same as before, and they will be deployed under the capital. After the strategic envoy and the deployment of the capital, it can only govern the forbidden army before the rule, and it cannot be after the training. Everyone, what should Hebei Road do? ”

Tian Guo praised the wat: "The minister thinks that Liu Jiduo has a lot of prestige in the army after many battles. He can be ordered to be the commander of Hebei Road, govern the forbidden army after the completion of Hebei Road's training, and establish a commander. If the Privy Council has an order, it can be ordered directly. ”

Wen Yanbo thought for a while and said: "This matter needs to be changed, there are a lot of things involved, and you can't rush it." In addition to the pacification envoys of Hebei Road, there are still four roads that are deployed and pacified, as well as transport envoys, which involve a lot. It is better to use the three armies that have been newly transferred to Hebei Road to complete the training, Dou Shunqing, Liu Ji and Zhang Qi's subordinates, under Liu Ji. Liu Ji commanded the war against the Khitan in a unified manner, and established a commander, regardless of local affairs. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "What Xianggong Wen said is that this is the most secure, and it has little impact on the government. ”

Lu was not a first-class administrative region of the Song Dynasty, but was divided according to its function. There are transit routes, criminal routes, and military routes, and the jurisdictions are different, and the affairs are also different. Generally speaking, the route of the transshipment is roughly the same, but there are always some states and counties that are different, and the functions of the two are independent and independent of each other. The military road is also divided into a road under the jurisdiction of the land and a road for deployment, with the general road under the jurisdiction of the interior and the road under the deployment of the frontier.

After more than a hundred years of rule, the path of the Song Dynasty became very complicated, implicated in many ways, and was not so active. And in the current situation, Shuai Si is far beyond the previous deployment path, and he can no longer rely on the old methods. Du Zhongxiao means that Shuai Si was originally set up for the war, and when the war is over, Shuai Si should be canceled. Therefore, it is better not to rely on the road that was indistinguishable from the administration before, and to re-establish it.

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