In the room where the Privy Council commanded the battle on Hebei Road, Zhao Zhen listened to Du Zhongxiao's introduction of the situation on the front line, and his face was serious.

After listening to Du Zhongxiao's speech, Zhao Zhen said: "The Khitan cavalry who fled south must order Liu Jianji to chase after him." The states and counties in the south have no garrisons and cannot deal with these Khitans. Liu Jianji reoccupied Quyang, Jia Kui occupied Feihu, and the Khitans were no longer able to send a surprise army south from Taihang Mountain, and the battle line still returned to Baozhou and Xiongzhou. How is the Privy Council prepared to fight the Khitan? ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "There is no specific plan yet, I am waiting for the Khitans to attack." In general, it was the two armies of Jingtai in Baozhou and Zhang Qi in Xiongzhou to block the Khitan attack. With the rest of the armies as a mobile force, a counteroffensive can be carried out at any time. After Liu Jianji occupied Quyang, he supplied Jia Kui of the Flying Fox as soon as possible from there. Once the Khitan reveals a flaw, Jia Kui can send troops from Feihu and attack Yizhou as a surprise soldier. ”

Zhao Zhen nodded, thought for a while, and said, "There are only 100,000 soldiers from Jingtai and Zhang Qi on the front line, can you prevent the Khitans?" ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Logically speaking, it should be able to prevent it." If there is an accident, there are still two armies of Liu Jianji and Liu Ji, which can be made up in time. Baozhou and Xiongzhou are limited, too many troops are useless, and there must be mobile troops in the rear. ”

Zhao Zhen said to Wen Yanbo and Han Qi on the side: "The Privy Council is so arranged, what does Zhongshu think?" ”

Wen Yanbo praised: "The minister thinks that the Privy Council is still tightly arranged. The Khitan marched south and mobilized a total of 700,000 troops, including 410,000 tribal cavalry. Quyang wiped out 30,000 of them, and there were 380,000 left. If these 380,000 people concentrate on attacking Baozhou or Xiongzhou, it will be a fierce battle. ”

Han Qi said: "Half a month has passed since Yelu Hongji arrived in Youzhou, and there has been no movement in the north. Only 30,000 cavalry were sent to attack Dingzhou, and the whole army was annihilated. However, the Khitan people must have their own plans in Youzhou for more than ten days. ”

Zhao Zhen stood up, went to the table with the ministers, looked at the map spread on it, and did not speak for a while.

Today, there are only two prime ministers, Wen Yanbo and Han Qi, as well as the deputy privy envoy, plus Zhao Zi and Yang Wenguang. Since the start of the Khitan war, this command group has slowly taken shape, and it has become the basic configuration of Zhao Zhen's command of the war.

Compared with before, the role of Zai Zhi has decreased, and the status of Zhao Zi and Yang Wenguang among the military generals has risen. In today's war, front-line command requires more and more professional knowledge, and it is difficult for officials who have not experienced war to be competent.

Strictly speaking, in terms of national strategy, it should be the ruling officials who make the decision. The specific command of front-line warfare should be mainly officials with war experience. Now it's just a rough scale, just taking shape.

Looking at the map, Zhao Zhen said: "Yizhou is already on the side of Taihang Mountain, and hundreds of thousands of troops are gathered there, just afraid of inconvenience." ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "The Khitan army is still mainly stationed in Youzhou. Only when there is a breakthrough in the front will the whole army move south. Taking Baozhou as an example, if the Khitan wants to attack, it will not use too many troops, otherwise it will not be able to be used. Now that the weather is cold and the rivers ahead are frozen, it is difficult to say that the Khitan will only attack Baozhou, and may also attack Xiongzhou. At that time, the battle line was unfolded, and hundreds of thousands of troops would be useful. ”

Fu Bi pointed to Zhuozhou and said: "If you attack Xiongzhou, the Khitan can use Zhuozhou as the gathering center and attack the whole army." ”

Everyone looked at the map and studied it together. After a while, Wen Yanbo said: "If the army brings its own grain and grass, regardless of supplies, how far can the Khitans advance south?" We don't have a large army in the rear, except for the front. ”

Zhao Zi said: "The Khitans are all cavalry, and in addition to the rations of the soldiers, they also have to bring horse materials. Being able to bring three or five daily rations is already the limit. If it was just a hurry, the Khitans could advance two hundred miles away. ”

Wen Yanbo was taken aback: "If this is the case, it has already penetrated into the mainland, wouldn't it be bad?" ”

Zhao Zi said: "Xianggong doesn't need to worry. Our army has hundreds of thousands of troops on the front line, and even if the Khitans do not attack the city, there will be an army to stop them. If you want to cross the border for dozens of miles, you don't just need to be able to run. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "This time is different from the past, the troops on the front line are divided and combined at will, and they can respond to the battle at any time. The Khitan wanted to go south, but it was not so easy. ”

In the past, due to the problems of the command system, the excessive power of the commanders, and the rules set by the imperial court were not in line with actual combat, the Khitan could easily mobilize the Song army. With only a very small number of troops, the Song army could be induced to gather, and the troops quickly broke through from other routes. The current Song army is a field army, each with its own defense area and its own main general, so it is not so easy.

After looking at it for a long time, Zhao Zhen said: "If the Khitan doesn't attack, will we have no choice?" The Khitan gathered 700,000 troops on the front line, which can be described as a nationwide army. If you can defeat them, Youyan will have it at your fingertips. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Your Majesty, the main force of the Khitan is now stationed around Xijin Mansion. There is a road leading to the grassland, and if the war is unfavorable, you can turn around and flee. Moreover, the city of Xijin Mansion is tall, and it is not an overnight achievement to break through. If you take the initiative to attack, at most you will only capture Youzhou. ”

Wen Yanbo was taken aback when he heard this: "Being able to recover Youyan is already an immortal achievement!" Tai Lieutenant, if the attack can defeat the Khitan and then recover Youyan, this matter is worth doing! Now it seems that Liu Jianji can annihilate 30,000 Khitan with 30,000 people, and the combat strength of this dynasty can still be tried. ”

Du Zhongxiao smiled and did not answer. The Khitans gathered the troops of the country to Youzhou, and if they didn't take this opportunity to annihilate them all, they really failed to live up to such a good opportunity. With the current strength of the Song army, it would not be difficult to recover Youyan.

As for the estimation of the combat effectiveness of the army, the Song Dynasty itself was not clear, and the Khitan was also unclear. If he knew that the Song army was so strong, he would not have sent 30,000 cavalry to attack Dingzhou. Liu Jianji's 50,000-strong army defended Dingzhou, and even if the Khitan captured one or two cities, they would still lose, so why bother.

The Battle of Quyang had a great impact on the Khitan. After Yeluther did not occupy Quyang, he could not move, and finally the whole army was annihilated, making the Khitans realize that the Song army was not so easy to defeat. Hundreds of thousands of troops in Youzhou, like arrows on the string, stopped alive. There is no doubt that a pause now means a more violent attack to come.

After a while, Zhao Zhen said: "If the Khitan comes to attack with all his might, Liu Ji, as the coach of Hebei Road, is afraid that he will not be competent." ”

And when they heard this, they were silent. This matter is actually very obvious, Liu Ji's handsome division is very simple, the subsidiary institutions are incomplete, and there is no handsome driver of his own army to move the army. It can only be used as a command in peacetime to restrain the armies. To command the battle, in fact, it is impossible.

Set up a commander on Hebei Road to really establish a command structure for the Khitan, and Zhao Zhen needs to take the initiative. In the past, it was okay, and Zai Zhi could make direct suggestions. But recently, Zhao Zhen has been deeply involved in the Hebei Road War, and these things have to be decided by the emperor.

After pondering for a long time, Zhao Zhen said: "In order to coordinate the war against the Khitan, I want to go to Hebei Road with important ministers and lead the whole army." How to arrange, you discuss it first to see how it fits. This time, the Khitan army is attacking and wants to fight them to the death! ”

All the rulers said yes together. Obviously, Zhao Zhen's meaning is not that the former envoy is a marshal, but a complete command organization. In what name, what departments to set up, how many personnel to use, grain and grass supply, and many other affairs, there must be a charter.

Du Zhongxiao understands that the most suitable person is himself. doesn't know Zhao Zhen's thoughts, no one will say it at this time. Zhao Zhen's opinion must be clear, and these ruling ministers will clearly express their opinions.

With Jia Kui, the 300,000 troops on Hebei Road are all field troops, and they have nothing to do with the local area. The newly established commanders must have the ability to coordinate with the localities, but they are different from the economic envoys. The new situation requires a new system.

The battle of more than one million armies on both sides is exciting to think about. Du Zhongxiao really wanted to go and participate in this battle to add luster to his life. It's just that how to command the majority of the country's military forces and check and balance power, many issues must be clearly considered.

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