The marshal of Hejian Mansion, Du Zhongxiao put the official document from the Qianning army on the table. stood up, paced a few steps, and said to Liu Ji on the side: "Ma Huaide divided his subordinates into three divisions, identified the master of the division, and set up a formation. The Khitans won two games on the first day and did not attack on the second day. ”

Liu Jidao: "The Khitan stopped, but it was unexpected. I thought they would attack after winning two battles. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "On the first day, at the end of the attack on Xie Chi, the Khitans suffered a loss. If not, how could they stop the next day? Now it seems that it is possible that the Khitan will wait there to transfer troops, and when the army arrives, they will attack the Qianning army. ”

As he was talking, Fu Bi came in from outside and said, "Liu Jianji's department is ready to save the Qianning Army at any time." ”

Du Zhongxiao shook his head: "Let him prepare for the time being, don't rush to go." When the Khitans defeated the army outside the city and began to besiege the city, it was better to rescue them. If the Khitans don't do it right, let Ma Huaide fight the Khitans. Also, he ordered Li Weixian's troops to immediately march to the Qianning Army and join forces with Ma Huaide. The Khitan may increase the army, and we can't rely only on Ma Huaide's 40,000 men. ”

Fu Bi was stunned: "In this way, south of the Qianning Army, there will be no army?" ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Not really. The cavalry sent by the imperial court has already arrived in Texas, and will be deployed by the Yongjing Army in a few days. With them, Li Weixian no longer has to guard the south. Looking at it now, the Khitan is likely to send a large army to attack the Qianning army and engage the army outside of us. Ma Huaide's troops are all newly formed troops, and their combat strength cannot be counted on, so it is always good to have more people. ”

Liu Jidao: "News from Cangzhou, the Khitan army has besieged the city, but the siege is not smooth. The artillery in the city is powerful, and the Khitans can't reach the city at all. Even if he once sent people to attack the city regardless of casualties, it was useless to face the muskets on the city. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "The most important thing in this battle is whether Cangzhou City can be defended." If Cangzhou City is defended, the Khitans will have no success in going south this time, and they are afraid that they will not be able to leave if they want to. The siege of Cangzhou did not go well, and the Khitan was more likely to transfer troops to the Qianning army. ”

A few people walked up to the table and looked at the map laid out on it. Du Zhongxiao said: "The Khitan came from the Xin'an army, and then crossed the Yellow River and went straight to Cangzhou. The flank crossed the Yellow River to attack the Qianning army. The first crossing of the river was discovered, and he was immediately beaten back. The second time he crossed the river at night, and the surprise attack on our army was successful. If they do not succeed in attacking Cangzhou, it is very likely that they will transfer a large army to the vicinity of the Qianning Army and fight our army. People, if you don't hit the south wall, you don't give up, and until now, the Khitans still think that they are stronger than our army in the field. There are tens of thousands of troops in the Qianning army, how can they let it go? Therefore, the next battle is likely to be the Qianning Army. There are defenders in the south, and we will transfer all the troops trained on Hebei Road this year to the Qianning Army to fight with the Khitan. ”

Fu Bi was a little worried: "The Hebei Road Forbidden Army has only been trained for one year, and there are not enough officers. They fought against the Khitans, will there be an accident? ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "There is no way, we don't have enough officers, so we can only let the forbidden army on Hebei Road choose their own people." Now fighting against the Khitan army, the main purpose is to drag the Khitan army. When the rest of our army is ready, cut off its way back. Send the rest of the army to go, for fear of scaring the Khitans away, and the Hebei Road Forbidden Army is just right. Whether their combat strength is strong or not, it is just right to fight against the Khitan. ”

Fu Bi didn't speak, obviously unbearable. Knowing that their combat power is not strong, they are still sent to the battlefield, and they can't pass the hurdle in their hearts.

Du Zhongxiao said: "There is no way, if you don't do this, the Khitan army will be frustrated, and it is likely to retreat." They are all cavalry, and it will be difficult for us to chase after them if they retreat. It is a rare opportunity for an army of 400,000 to be able to gather in Youzhou. If you can't seize the opportunity and wipe them out, you can't say it. Moreover, although the forbidden army on Hebei Road has insufficient officers and the system is not perfect, the combat power should not be underestimated. As long as the generals are attentive and command properly, it is difficult to say what advantage the Khitan army will take. Ma Huaide had already regrouped, and the whole army had gathered. In my opinion, with Li Weixian's subordinates, even if the Khitan dispatches 100,000 troops, it may not be able to gain the upper hand. ”

Seeing that Fu Bi didn't believe it, Du Zhongxiao shook his head, smiled slightly, and didn't tell.

Now it can be seen that there is a fundamental gap between the combat strength of the Khitan army and the new Song army. Even if the Hebei Road Forbidden Army is short of time and the officers are not complete, it is not comparable to the Khitan army. The soldier has been training for a year, which is actually enough, and what is lacking now is the swing of the finger. What about the lack of officers? In war, talent grows quickly. An army of 80,000 people can train an army, and it is not something that the Khitan can deal with.

In order to attract the Khitans, Du Zhongxiao did not mind sacrificing Cangzhou. If you want to encircle and annihilate hundreds of thousands of Khitan troops, it is acceptable to pay such a price. Of course, if Cangzhou can be defended, it will be a great hero in this battle.

There are 400,000 soldiers and 400,000 signed troops, and in order to supply them, the Khitan national strength will be drained. Let them stay in the Song army for one more day, and the Khitan national strength will be weaker. When the Song army attacked, it was like being destroyed and decayed.

Liu Jidao: "The entry of hundreds of thousands of Khitan troops is a big disaster after all. If Taiwei Zhao has a proper plan and is ready, it is better to start the war as soon as possible. As long as we attack the Khitan, they will definitely come back to help, and the siege of Cangzhou will be lifted. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Yesterday's official document, the saint wants to transfer another 50,000 people to Jingdong to completely block the Khitan road to the south. A month or two later, join us in besieging the Khitan army in Cangzhou. It seems that the Holy Lord takes this siege and annihilation of the army very seriously. It's not that I don't care about the safety of the Qianning army, but I want to consume the strength of the Khitan as much as possible. In a little more than a month, the Khitan's military rations should be difficult. At that time, we were also ready, and wouldn't it be better to attack the Khitan territory in one fell swoop and encircle the Khitan army? ”

Fu Bi sighed: "The saint has always been upright and peaceful, not a risky and warlike person. I don't know what happened in this battle, but I made up my mind to put the Khitan army to death. Even if you take some risks, you don't hesitate to do so. ”

Du Zhongxiao smiled and did not speak. Zhao Zhen is a wise person, but he is not just peaceful and not warlike. When the party Xiang Yuanhao first rebelled, the measures of the Song Dynasty were very drastic. It's just that Song Jun's performance is really bad, and Zhao Zhen can only accept the reality and finally make peace with the party. In the past few years, Du Zhongxiao has won consecutive victories in foreign wars, without a single defeat, and has recovered the Western Regions as far as possible. With such a strong army, how is it possible to tell the emperor that there should be peace in the world and no external affairs?

As the Khitan moved south to Cangzhou, the encirclement of the Song army slowly took shape, and Zhao Zhen's confidence became more and more sufficient. If the Khitan army can be dragged in the area of the Qianning army, Zhao Zhen may also increase troops to the front line. What if you can annihilate the main force of the Khitan in one battle and exhaust your national strength?

Du Zhongxiao knew this well, and during this period of time, the main thing was to find out the geography and people's conditions in Youzhou in the north and make a war plan. Zhao Zi took a group of officials and was busy with this matter every day. The geography of the Youzhou area is basically clear, and a more detailed map is slowly being drawn. During the attack, the tasks of each army to each regiment and the route of the attack were marked as far as possible.

It is very likely that the plans made now will not be the same as the wars that will take place in the future. But with this plan, the armies clearly know their combat missions and will not become headless flies. Hundreds of thousands of troops marched together, that kind of scene, Du Zhongxiao was a little excited when he thought about it.

Now is the most boring time, the battle of the Qianning army is actually not important to the Song army, and the real main force is not there. But tens of thousands of troops can fight, and they can't be careless, and victory or defeat can affect people's hearts at any time. In order not to let the situation change greatly, Du Zhongxiao took charge of 100,000 troops in Hejian Mansion, and rescued at any time in case of an accident. In order to keep the Khitan army.