Liu Ji sat on the train, looking at the trees outside the window running backwards, frowning and silent. With the main battle faction of the DPRK and China gaining the upper hand, the transfer of troops to the Khitan will officially begin. The first to bear the brunt is Liu's department. From the Volcano Army to the train, the army came east.

The railway has been repaired to Dingzhou, and I don't know if it will be able to be repaired to Xiongzhou by the end of the year. If the railway is repaired, several military points will be arranged along the railway, and the Khitan cavalry will not be afraid to come. Faced with the Song army, which could quickly maneuver along the railway, the Khitan cavalry was restrained.

By the end of July, the heat has receded and the weather is cooler. The corn in the field outside is ripe, and it is yellow, waiting to be harvested. This is the most important grain north of the Yellow River, much more common than wheat.

When I arrived in Dingzhou, I had to get off the car a few times, and after arranging the army, I went to see Wang Su, the governor of Dingzhou.

Wang Su welcomed Liu Ji into the official office, sat down, invited tea, and said, "Taiwei is here!" It's already July, and it's winter, and the officials in Dingzhou are worried. Because the imperial court took in the people who fled south, the governor of Zhuozhou in Khitan was noisy, and threatened that if he did not return the people who fled south, he would bring his own troops to take them in winter. ”

Liu Jidao: "There are heavy troops stationed in Dingzhou, why should Zhizhou worry?" ”

Wang Su sighed: "Now that the forbidden army is being trained, the Hebei garrison knows that they are being trained by the whole training, and the people are panicked and can't rely on it." ”

Liu nodded and did not speak. In fact, not only Hebei Road, but also the forbidden army in other parts of the country, including Hedong Road, which had just left. Knowing that they will be trained, these forbidden soldiers are playing their own small calculations, and the people's hearts have been scattered.

Introducing the recent military situation, Wang Su said: "The captain is here to be stationed in Hejian Mansion, but I don't know where his army is stationed?" ”

Liu Jidao: "Before Zhang Yu's army came, it was arranged in Dingzhou, Baozhou, and Xiongzhou to prevent the Khitan from coming south. If Zhang Qi's army arrives, he will hand over these places to his subordinates, and I will bring my own troops to Hejian Mansion. ”

Wang Su nodded, his mood slightly settled. Dingzhou was originally garrisoned by Dou Shunqing's army, but it was only recently urgent, and many troops of his army were seconded to build railways, so they could only be handed over to other armies to garrison first. In the autumn, Dou Shunqing's army will be re-repaired and garrisoned here.

Liu Jidao: "Zhizhou, for the army, the most important thing is grain and grass. The railway has been repaired to Dingzhou, so there is no need to worry here. However, Baozhou and Xiongzhou need local help to transport grain. This matter is of the utmost importance and should not be taken lightly. ”

Wang Sudao: "Don't worry, the original local forbidden army has been reorganized. At that time, they will transport grain, and there is no need to levy people's husbands, which is very convenient. There was no shortage of money and grain on Hebei Road, and in recent years, the imperial court has reduced or exempted taxes, and a large amount of grain has been transported from the Central Plains. In Xiongzhou and Baozhou, grain can be transported from Dingzhou. As for Hejian Province, there is already a lot of grain stored there, so there is no need to transport it. ”

At this time, there were many rivers on Hebei Road, and grain could be transported by water in addition to railways. The most important thing is scheduling, not insufficiency. Now the Privy Council has set up a logistics department, and Li Fugui has unified scheduling, and he is not worried about shortcomings.

In addition to a few words of gossip, Wang Su set up a banquet for Liu Ji and stayed in Dingzhou for two days. Liu Ji's troops were transported by railway for more than ten days before they were concentrated in Baozhou. Liu sent his generals to various places, and he went to Xiongzhou.

The north of Baozhou, Xiongzhou, and Bazhou, because of the Khitan, is a military stronghold, and many armies have been set up. For example, the Guangxin Army, the Ansu Army, the Baoding Army, etc., most of the places are small and are just legitimate roads. The military arrangement in this area is the previous pattern and needs to be re-planned.

When they arrived in Xiongzhou, Liu Ji and Ma Huaide met.

Ma Huaide said: "Xiongzhou is the post road between the Khitan and the present dynasty, only separated by a Juma River, and there are many losers, which is the most troublesome. This year, the Khitan was in service, and hundreds of families came to the south, and according to the arrangement of the imperial court, I was in the south of Nanyishui. The Khitan people are not angry, and in the past few months, they have come to ask about this matter from time to time, and let us return the people. How can it be returned? It was extremely tense on both sides. ”

Liu Jidao: "According to Zhizhou's estimate, in winter, will the Khitan go south?" ”

Ma Huaide said: "Now it seems that the Khitans have not gathered troops and horses, and it is impossible to go south on a large scale. However, there are tens of thousands of Khitans in the opposite states, and one or two hundred thousand people are drawn out, and it is possible to enter the country suddenly. ”

Liu Jidao: "One or two hundred thousand people, it's useless, how can the Khitans dare to come?" ”

Ma Huaide shook his head: "Captain, the two countries have crossed thousands of miles along the border, and one or two thousand people are looking for a gap where our defense is weak, how can we block it?" They don't go deep, but they just enter the country for ten miles, and they will go back in a day or two. ”

Liu nodded a little, somewhat understanding. The Song Dynasty originally had no ability to collect intelligence in the Khitan, and the Khitans concentrated 10,000 or 20,000 soldiers and horses, and they didn't know anything about it. What they are going to do, even more do not understand. As long as they find a breakthrough that is undefended for a few miles, and suddenly go south, the Song people really have no choice. By the time the troops were dispatched here, the Khitans would have already returned. This kind of thing has been done by the Khitan before. Or thousands, or 10,000 or 20,000 people, suddenly went south in the winter and entered the Song realm for twenty or thirty miles. The Song Dynasty had not many people along the border, but when they got the news, they mobilized troops and horses, and after a few days, the Khitans had already looted the vicinity and returned to the border. Later, there was an official lawsuit, and the Khitans accompanied the fight.

Ma Huaide said: "This is the most worrying thing now. Our garrison is based on the city and is relatively scattered. When the Khitan people came, they couldn't deal with it, so they could only do whatever they wanted. When we got our men and horses together, they went back. ”

Liu Jidao: "It's okay, my soldiers and horses will not be disassembled, and there will be at least thousands of people in each department." When the Khitans came, they fought directly. ”

Ma Huaide said: "It's not all. The Khitans were all cavalry, and they did not enter the country deeply, only twenty or thirty miles. When we sent our troops, they got the news, and as soon as they turned around and returned to the border, they were still difficult to deal with. ”

Liu Jidao: "If the Khitans dare to come, we will dare to go." They can cross the border, can't we? ”

Ma Huaide sighed: "Then the matter will be big." Without the decree of the Privy Council, how could the magistrate dare to call the shots? ”

Crossing the enemy's border is equivalent to two countries at war, and the matter is big. The magistrate of Hebei Road, of course, does not have such power, and must wait for the consent of the Privy Council. It is so far away from the capital, and when the decision of the Privy Council is made, the Khitans will have long disappeared.

After listening to what Ma Huaide said, Liu Ji also felt that his head was big. The Khitan people's shallow and deep invasion and not deep approach is really head-scratching. In the past, there were even magistrates who knew that the Khitan was coming, but they pretended not to know, and only hoped that things would pass. Like this year, it is almost certain that the Khitans will come south, and Ma Huaide has no way to deal with it, and he is the most depressed.

Liu Jidao: "Zhizhou doesn't have to worry, my tens of thousands of troops are here, and there is always a way to stop the Khitans." What matters now is where my soldiers and horses are stationed and how the grain and grass are delivered. When a large army is stationed, it is first necessary to ensure that money and food are worry-free. ”

Ma Huaide said: "A few days ago, there was an official letter from the Privy Council, saying that it was the soldiers and horses of Xiongzhou, and the grain and grass were transported by rail. In the south of Hejian Mansion, the grain and grass on this road are used to transport them, so the captain does not have to worry about it. Hebei Road dozens of states, it is still easy to supply tens of thousands of troops. ”

Liu Ji arched his hand: "Since the cardinal government has already arranged it, it is naturally the best." ”