Three days later, Liu Ji led his troops to attack Liaoyang Mansion by way of Xingzhong Mansion. This is the official road of Khitan, which is very easy to walk. Some of the cities on the road have fallen, and those that have not surrendered have not had many garrisons. Possible battles, mainly in Liaoyang Province.

Du Zhongxiao thought about it again and again, and finally decided to let Li Fugui come to Dading Mansion to organize logistics. Together with Wang Kai and Jia Kui, he led an army of 100,000 to attack Linhuang Mansion. As we traveled north, farming became less and less frequent, and logistics were extremely important.

Staying in the house, Du Zhongxiao sat in the middle, with Zhao Zi and Li Fugui on one side and Wang Kai and Jia Kui on the other.

Du Zhongxiao said: "I have been preparing for a few days, and it is almost over, and I will leave tomorrow." This goes to Linhuang Mansion, the population is gradually sparse, there are more and more nomads, and the replenishment of grain and grass is not as easy as here in Dading Mansion. We have an army of 100,000 people, 50,000 people carry food, and 50,000 people fight. This figure is still not enough to transport grain. can only move forward while sending Khitan accumulation. This trip to the north, passing through Enzhou, Gaozhou and other places, there are many Khitan military states. They should have a store there, so they can't say it, so they can only use it first. ”

Zhao Zi said: "Linhuang Mansion is the place where the Khitan started, and it has been in business for many years, and there are a lot of savings. The captain led the army to plow the court and sweep the holes, and there should be no shortage of grain and grass in a few months. A few months later, it was time for the grain and grass brought from the Central Plains to arrive. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded and said, "Yes, if you really want to occupy these places, you still have to rely on the support of grain and grass in the Central Plains." Without the support of the Central Plains, there would be no army in this area, and after a long time, it would eventually be occupied by nomads further north. It's not easy to occupy this place steadily. ”

The stability of the northern frontier is tied to the strength of the Central Plains. If the Central Plains region weakens, it will soon be lost. To the north of Yanshan, between Dading Mansion and Linhuang Mansion, there is a mixed agricultural and pastoral zone for hundreds of miles. Further north, there is the vast prairie. Once the Central Plains weakened, there were always nomads from the steppes who went south to occupy it. Using this as a springboard, they continued to attack the Central Plains region southward.

These areas suitable for both agriculture and animal husbandry are the barrier of the Central Plains' defense, and once they are occupied by foreign races, the Central Plains will be very dangerous. From the Hequ Road in the west to the Khitan and the two capitals here, it is the key area for the Central Plains to defend its own security. When the activity area of the northern nomads was mainly in the Western Regions, the meandering road was the most important. When the area of activity of the nomads moved eastward, the area between Dading and Linhuang was the most important.

In these places, it is not possible to rely on immigration, assimilation, etc., and must be supported by a strong hinterland. The Central Plains is strong and will inevitably occupy here. When the Central Plains is weakened, many ethnic groups in the north, northwest, and northeast will eventually coalesce into a great power. This power, once it occupies these areas, will have a springboard to enter the Central Plains. If the Central Plains cannot be strong, it will be ravaged by it.

These places are places where troops are used, and for the Central Plains, the cost of using troops here is very huge. And once this place is occupied, all the surrounding ethnic groups have nothing to worry about, and they can be easily wiped out.

In the Battle of Youzhou last year, the Song army wiped out the living forces of the Khitan, and it was easy to go north this year. If there was no victory in the First Battle of Youzhou, at least hundreds of thousands of troops would be needed to fight here, and how huge would it be necessary to support it? The rich Central Plains, where the power is projected here, has been greatly attenuated. This is the real frontier of the Central Plains Empire, and it must have strong national strength to keep it.

Du Zhongxiao led an army of 150,000 this time, and it was not until today, six days after the occupation of Dading Mansion, that Wang Kai and Jia Kui's soldiers and horses arrived. The grain transportation team organized by Li Fugui has just arrived for the first time. If it is an army of 400,000, in order to ensure their logistics, the entire Yangtze River and all of them will be affected. There are more than 100 states, and the people have to serve on errands.

Roads and railways are underdeveloped, there are no cars and trains, and distance is a helpless thing. In order to overcome the difficulties of distance, the number of troops in foreign wars should be as small as possible, and the number of troops carrying grain should be as large as possible. In a big war, there may only be tens of thousands of soldiers in the front, and more than one million people will be transported grain in the rear.

Between Dading Mansion and Linhuang Mansion, it is the area where the Khitan has been operating for the longest time, and it is also very attentive. Rao is like this, Du Zhongxiao's 100,000 army can't be defeated by grain, because the grain and grass stolen are not enough at all. In order to ensure supply, it is necessary to disperse the army and lose its numerical superiority. At this time, the organizational advantages of the nomads became apparent. Unable to catch the main force and give it a fatal blow, the army will be dragged to death sooner or later.

Sighing, Du Zhongxiao said: "This time we are dealing with the Khitan, which has been established for a long time, and there is a Linhuang Mansion in the north. The Khitan army and the people can run, but Linhuang Mansion can't. If it weren't for that, our 100,000-strong army would have arrived on the vast grassland, and we really didn't know how to fight. ”

Zhao Zi said: "What the Taiwei said is true. In the past dynasties, it can be said that it is not without merit in these frontier areas. And how? When the national strength was strong, he beat the Hu people to the north. As soon as the national strength weakened, they made a comeback. What's the solution? ”

Wang Kai said: "Now is different after all. We occupy Linhuang Mansion and build a railway from the Central Plains, and the Hu people have no choice. ”

Du Zhongxiao smiled and nodded: "That's right, as long as a railway is built, the Hu people will have no choice at all." As long as the grain and grass are sufficient, no matter how weak the military strength of the Central Plains is, it is no problem to eliminate the surrounding Hu people. When the Hu people became powerful, they must first start from the depths of the grassland, and when they arrived here, they were wrapped up in an unknown amount of manpower and material resources, and then they went south, and it was difficult to stop the Han forces that joined Hu. When the train arrives at Linhuang Mansion, no matter how strong the Hu people are, they can't form much power there. The Central Plains can pile them to death with manpower. ”

Wang Kai and others don't understand, how could Du Zhongxiao not understand? For the first time in Chinese history, the entire Central Plains Dynasty was wiped out by the nomadic forces of the north. How was it eliminated? The Central Plains Dynasty fought here, and it became the end of the strong crossbow at a long distance, and the Hu people hit the south of the Yangtze River, so why not? But the problem is that when the Hu people hit Jiangnan, they integrated the northern forces and used the Han army to attack the Han dynasty. Without the power of the Han people in the north, the Hu people would not be able to defeat Jiangnan if they were tired to death.

However, when the Central Plains Dynasty was in its heyday, it was possible to fight far if it was willing to spend the price. Hit Linhuang Mansion, and even go west to the north, and occupy the entire grassland, and the Central Plains Dynasty will not be tired. After having a railway, it is nothing more than building a railway, and it is good to connect it.

This railway to be built is a railway that comes from Hequ Road, connects the Western Regions in the west, and goes all the way to the northeast in the east. In Du Zhongxiao's previous life, for various reasons, the railway connecting the east and west was further south. And at that time, the nomads were no longer a threat. But this railway still has great military value. When the country developed, it was still repaired.

With such a railway, the threat from the north is significantly reduced. The cost of ruling the steppe also became acceptable for the Central Plains Dynasty. After the destruction of the Khitan, the entire northern grassland will be ruled by the Central Plains Dynasty because of this railway.

Zhao Zi said to Li Fugui: "Taiwei has said many times that after this battle, the railway will cross Daqingshan and be repaired here from Hequ Road. With the railway, the Central Plains and the grassland were connected. If there is any more chaos, it can be easily calmed down. ”

Li Fugui said: "Such a railway is expensive, and it is not easy to repair!" If nothing else, where can the people who build the railroad go to find it? At the very least, it will take more than 100,000 people, do you use all van soldiers? ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Why use box soldiers? Destroyed the Khitan, there were hundreds of thousands of prisoners of war, and the number was enough. As long as there is food, won't they be able to repair it? At that time, the Hequ Road was taken, and the party captives were repaired all the way to the Western Regions. ”

Hearing this, everyone laughed together. Yes, there are Khitan prisoners of war, how can there be no one. At that time, 100,000 party prisoners of war built the railway all the way to the Western Regions. Now hundreds of thousands of Khitan prisoners of war, let alone repair to Linhuang Mansion, that is, to Liaoyang Mansion, all the way to the Northeast, what is so difficult? Prisoners of war don't have to pay wages, as long as they are fed, it is the kindness of the Great Song Dynasty.