"What? Transfer Zhang Qi's department to Hebei?! In the Chongzheng Palace, Wen Yanbo looked at Du Zhongxiao and couldn't believe his ears.

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "Yes, it is to transfer Zhang Qi's department." The Western Regions had been pacified, the main Qarakhanid force had been destroyed, and there was no ability to fight a major battle for several years. Zhang Qi's department has completed the training for a few years, and then in the northwest, it is of little use. You can transfer the soldiers and horses of the Shaanxi Road to Hexi and the Western Regions, and change Zhang Qi's army to the Central Plains. With Dou Shunqing, Liu Ji and Zhang Qi on Hebei Road, the Khitan had no choice. ”

Wen Yanbo shook his head again and again: "How many miles from the Western Regions to Hebei Road!" Thousands of miles of troops, this, this is too ridiculous! ”

Han Qi said: "It's June now, and it won't be until late October that the river on Hebei Road will freeze. In four months, Zhang Qi's army gathered and got on the train, and he should be able to arrive on Hebei Road. With 150,000 troops in Hebei, they are not afraid of Khitan blackmail. ”

Zhao Zhen nodded: "The railway has reached the Western Regions, which is not comparable to before." He ordered Wang Gongchen to make proper arrangements for the Shaanxi Road Transit Route, and immediately sent troops north through Xingzhou to take a train to the north and south roads of the Tianshan Mountains in Hezhou. Zhang Yu's army, one by one, was concentrated and went to Hebei by train. ”

When the other ministers heard this, they all felt that it was too ridiculous to transfer troops and horses from the Western Regions, but they couldn't give a reason to oppose it. Now there is a railway, plus a concentrated preparation time, and it will be there in a month or two. The long-distance mobility of the railway, which is not at all comparable to what it used to be.

Du Zhongxiao pointed to the map of Hebei on the table and said: "To prevent the Khitan from attacking, Hebei Road is nothing more than a few important places. The front line is Xiongzhou, Baozhou and Dingzhou, and the depth is Zhendingfu and Yingzhou. In particular, Xiongzhou is the most important road, and the Khitan is the most important to go south to Pingchuan. After the three armies arrived at Hebei Road, the minister thought that Zhang Qi's army should be stationed in Xiongzhou and Baozhou, Dou Shunqing's army should be stationed in Dingzhou and Zhendingfu, and Liu Ji's army should go to Yingzhou in the east. Yingzhou is Hejian County, is a big city in Hebei, you can build a military academy there, by Liu Ji concurrently, train the soldiers and horses of Hebei Road. ”

Zhao Zhen frowned, stepped forward, and looked at the location of Yingzhou on the map. Now there are two military academies, the military academy in the capital reorganizes the forbidden army in Beijing, and the military academy in Wudu reorganizes the forbidden army on Shaanxi Road and Hedong Road. Originally, the imperial court arranged that after the training of the forbidden army in the capital, it was replaced by the forbidden army on Hebei Road. If another military academy is set up on Hebei Road, the training will be carried out on the spot, and the speed will be accelerated, but the effect will be much worse.

Tian said: "If a military academy is set up on Hebei Road, the speed of training the forbidden army will be fast, but I am afraid that the effect will not be good." ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "The effect is not good, and I always have been trained." In the war with the Khitan in the future, it will be seen that everyone is artificial. In the past, we always thought that after Yelu Hongji pacified Chongyuan, it would take three or five years to be able to calm the interior. Now, it seems that it may not be. The civil war of the Khitans was destroyed in the Yanyun region, and they didn't care, but they could still easily send hundreds of thousands of troops. ”

Tian said: "Without Yanyun, where does the grain and grass of these Khitan people come from?" ”

Du Zhongxiao was a little helpless: "The Khitan people may not think about this problem. It is not strange for them to gather their soldiers and horses together and look for food and clothing by themselves. There are not enough soldiers and horses on the Hebei Road to keep the enemy out of the country, so they can go to Hebei to meet the enemy because of food. Even if the Khitans were repelled, several states along the border would inevitably be eroded. Therefore, the most important thing is to gather the soldiers and horses on Hebei Road as soon as possible. ”

Hearing this, the ministers were silent for a while. The Khitans were not a normal farming people, and their practices were different from those of the Song Dynasty, so this kind of thing could really happen. Concentrate two or three hundred thousand soldiers and horses, rush across the border, enter the Song realm, loot and retreat, the Song Dynasty really has no way.

Nomads are different from farming peoples, not to mention, in the Five Dynasties, it was a regular practice to fight wars because of food to the enemy, and the Khitans had no scruples about doing it. Hebei Road is on the front line and has experienced a lot of wars, so it is no stranger to this kind of thing.

Looking at the map, Zhao Zhen said in a deep voice: "It is not easy to train Hebei soldiers and horses. After the whole training, the army will have to add several times the number of generals, where are there so many talents? In a few years, you can't just teach people to read. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "There is no way, I can only transfer people from the trained army first." For example, Zhang Qi, Wang Kai, Jia Kui, Liu Ji and other armies have been reorganized for several years, and many of them have reached the time of decommissioning. The imperial court could give benefits to those who could read and write and hyphenate among them and incorporate them into the army as officers. In the forbidden armies, the literacy of soldiers has been stepped up, and some petty officers can arrange for literate people to do it. Everything is simple, first build the shelves of the army. Even if it is unsatisfactory, as long as the shelf is put up, it can be slowly changed in the future. ”

Wen Yanbo said: "Taiwei did this, did he think that the battle with the Khitan was imminent?" ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Not bad. Xianggong, at the beginning of the year, Yelu Hongji was defeated on Hedong Road, although he won Chongyuan, he must be unwilling. The terrain of Hedong Road is complex, which is not good for Khitan. He may not fight a battle on Hebei Road after consolidating the interior. ”

Tian Jing couldn't help frowning when he heard this: "In a year's time, if you fight again in a row, can the Khitan fight?" ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "We must always be fully prepared, and when the time comes, we will have soldiers in our hands, and we are not afraid of the Khitans coming." ”

For a moment, the people did not speak. After destroying the party last year, and then defeating the Khitan on Hedong Road, the ministers of the DPRK and China all felt that they would be stable for the next few years. Like Du Zhongxiao said, one battle after another, where can a normal country stand it? That is, the industrial development has been too rapid in recent years, and there are railways to transport materials across the country, so the money and grain will not be returned. Otherwise, just these troop movements, the imperial court would not be able to stand it.

Han Qi said: "Taiwei, although the money and food of the imperial court can still support it now, but it is not a good thing to keep fighting like this. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Yes, Xianggong thinks so, but I'm afraid that the Khitan people also think so." ”

Wen Yanbo let out a long breath: "In a few years, restore the Western Regions, wipe out the party, and then start a war with the Khitan." War after war, IMHO, how many times have there been such wars in history? Once the war is unfavorable, the imperial court will inevitably suffer heavy losses! ”

Du Zhongxiao looked at the map, was silent for a while, and said to Zhang Fangping on the side: "Participating in politics, can money and food support it?" ”

Zhang Fangping pondered for a while and nodded: "It's still supportive." However, as soon as the war began, the imperial court had no money to spare. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "In the past, the three divisions had a big deficit every year, and it was a big deal if there was no surplus wealth!" In the past few years, with the prosperity of the iron prison, the commercial tax of the imperial court has been overcharged several times. This money, after all, was printed by the imperial court, and it is of no great use to save it. Wait a few years, wait until all kinds of expenses are too much, and at that time, it will not be easy to have money to fight. ”

Since Du Zhongxiao built the railway superintendent, the railway has developed, and the industry and commerce have developed rapidly. These years were an era of great increase in the income of the imperial court. At this time, new financial expenditures had not yet appeared, the income increased, and the imperial court was very rich in money and food. If you don't take advantage of this time to fight, it will be even more difficult to wait until later, when money and food are abundant and all kinds of new expenses appear, and money and food are gone again.

Zhao Zhen looked at the map, thought about it again and again, and said categorically: "Okay, a battle with the Khitan is inevitable!" It is better to fight late than early, and ordered Liu Ji to go to Hebei along the railway. Yingzhou was promoted to Hejian Prefecture, and Liu's army was stationed in Hejian. Zhang Qi immediately discussed with Wang Gongchen, transferred the troops and horses of the headquarters, and went to the Amway army along the railway. After entering Beijing to report on their work, the army went north to Xiongzhou and Baozhou. The 150,000 army, set up before October, wait for the Khitans to come! ”

The ministers hurriedly surrendered their hands and said yes.

Zhao Zhen said again: "At the beginning of the year, Yang Zhen was asked to go to the Western Regions to replace Zhang Qi, but due to his mother's illness, he never arrived. He was ordered to go to Hejian Mansion and train the army with Liu Ji. When the training of the first army is completed, it can be ordered to lead it. ”

Yang Jinben trained with Du Zhongxiao in Suizhou, but when he used the army later, it was not smooth. First went to Guangnan to help fight Nong Zhigao, he led the soldiers and horses first, and as a result, the Tianxiang army in the camp went north. Then he returned to the DPRK to raise the military academy, but he could not subdue the generals, so he led an army alone at this time.