Zhao Zi took the official document, hurriedly walked into Shuaisi, and said to Du Zhongxiao: "Tai Lieutenant, Ma Huaide has sent a message, asking for a counterattack!" ”

Du Zhongxiao took the official document and read it, put it down and said: "It has only been five or six days since he had the upper hand, and Ma Huaide couldn't help it." Why worry, let him wait a few more days to attract the Khitans to the Qianning army. ”

Zhao Zi said: "Taiwei, according to what Ma Huaide said, the Khitan has been unable to attack in the past few days. I'm afraid, seeing that it is not good, they suddenly began to withdraw their troops. If the Khitans retreat first and we attack again, it will be a bit passive. ”

Du Zhongxiao listened, stood up, took the official document and read it carefully. He lowered his head and pondered for a while, and asked Zhao Zi: "Wuqing, did you just get a batch of military rations?" How many? ”

Zhao Zi said: "Yes. I heard that there are nearly 10,000 stones, which is enough for the Khitan army for a few days. However, listening to the news in the Khitan, the grain and grass in Youzhou have long been requisitioned, and even the seeds of the people are gone. At present, the grain and grass are all transferred from other places, and it is no longer sustainable. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded and pondered for a while. said: "In this way, the Khitans are afraid that they will not last long." At this time, the counterattack cannot be said wrong. Today is the sixth day of the leap month, and there are not many days left before the New Year. ”

Speaking of this, he said to the pro-soldiers on the side: "Go and invite Fu Bi, Liu Ji, Li Zhang, and Li Fugui to come, and say that I have something important to discuss." ”

After a while, several people came in, saluted Du Zhongxiao, and sat down.

Du Zhongxiao said: "Ma Huaide of the Qianning Army, the message said that the offensive of the Khitans had declined, and asked for a counterattack. ”

Fu Bi said: "It's only the beginning of the leap month, is it a little early to counterattack at this time?" ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "I originally thought the same way. But if you think about it, it's not necessarily early. This time, the Khitan went south, in fact, it was very poorly prepared. The two emperors fought for several years, and Youzhou was already exhausted. The Khitan also mobilized the troops of the country, 400,000 troops went south, 400,000 signed troops to transport grain, a total of 800,000 troops. 800,000 people, how much grain and grass do they need for a few months to eat and chew horses? ”

Fu Bi was stunned: "What does Taiwei mean, is it that the Khitans may have no food and grass?" ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "Yes, there are not many places where Khitan can adjust grain and grass." The two emperors have been fighting for several years, and their savings have long been exhausted. Their original idea was to loot after going south, and they didn't need much food. As a result, the wall is clear and the field is clear, and the food cannot be grabbed, how long can it last? Yelu Hongji led a large army to attack Cangzhou, but there is no result so far. If the Qianning army is out of disadvantage, there is no point in the Khitans staying any longer. In recent days, the Khitan has transported nearly 10,000 stone of grain to Wuqing, which is estimated to be the last military ration. ”

Li Zhang said: "Recently, I got the news that it is indeed difficult for the Khitan to find grain. Also, the Jurchens in the Northeast have already started an incident because they have requisitioned too much grain, taking advantage of this opportunity. Judging from the news in the Khitan, the Khitans are likely to withdraw their troops soon. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "In this way, we used to overestimate the Khitan. It turned out that preparations were made for the New Year's counteroffensive, but now it seems that the time must be brought forward. Tell me when it's time to counterattack. ”

Liu Jidao: "If the Khitan army is exhausted, you don't have to wait until the New Year. Now the counterattack, the unfavorable factor is nothing more than that the rivers and ponds are still frozen, and the Khitans are afraid of escaping. As long as we use heavy troops to seize the Khitan military rations first, we are not afraid that they will escape. ”

Fu Bi said: "The Khitan military grain is in Wuqing, if we can grab it before the south, where can the Khitan escape without grain?" ”

Liu Ji said to Li Zhang: "Now in Youzhou, can you get military rations?" ”

Li Zhang said: "Some states and counties in the south should still have some grain in the city. As for the people, it should not be able to be levied. These days, many people in the Khitan depend on tree bark to feed their hunger, where is there still food? ”

Li Fugui said: "The Khitan transported grain for thousands of miles, and after more than two months, it was indeed difficult to support the grain and could not grab it. ”

Du Zhongxiao thought for a while and shook his head: "What I'm most worried about is leaving a way out for the Khitan." Under the good situation, let the Khitans finally escape, how to explain to the imperial court? It must be foolproof and completely seal the Khitan's retreat. ”

Zhao Zi said: "Taiwei, if the Khitan wants to escape, it is nothing more than two ways. One is to go to Zhongjing through Yanshan, the other is to Pingzhou, and then to Tokyo. Tokyo Road was looted too hard, and there was no surplus food like Youzhou. Hundreds of thousands of troops passed, and they couldn't find anything to eat. Not to mention, now that the Jurchens are in turmoil, how can the Khitans quell the chaos without grain and grass? As for the road to Nakyo-do, it is much easier to prevent. ”

Du Zhongxiao looked at everyone and said, "So it seems that they all agree to counterattack in the near future?" That's fine, keep waiting, wait anxiously. I will play to the imperial court, and the army will directly attack the Khitan in the near future. Zhao Zi, you will work with your subordinates to make the attack plan as quickly as possible. ”

Zhao Zi forked his hand and promised. There are actually a lot of copies of the plan, and the time has changed, so you just need to revise the old plan.

Du Zhongxiao said: "In this counteroffensive, the army is divided into three parts. One attacked Wuqing, seized the grain and grass, and divided the troops to attack Pingzhou in the north, completely cutting off the Khitan's retreat. The other went straight to the province of Setsu. There are not many Khitan troops in Youzhou, so don't care about those small towns, the army will go straight to surround Xijin Mansion and deter the Khitan's wave. There is also one, which will go north to capture the prefectures and counties, especially to block the retreat route of the Khitan to Zhongjing. As for the Khitan armies of Cangzhou and Qianning, they were surrounded and suppressed by the armies of Liu Jianji and Ma Huaide, plus the armies of the southern front. ”

When Fu Bi heard this, he frowned and said, "The army that attacked the main force of the Khitan is about more than 200,000 people. Is it enough for the 400,000 Khitan army? ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "As long as you are not defeated by them, it is enough." Then the army that goes north can come back to support. The most important thing is to seal the Khitan's retreat. Even if it's hard work in the early stage, it's worth it. ”

The crowd sang the promise together.

Du Zhongxiao said: "This is a battle related to the fortunes of the country, all cheer up, there must be no negligence!" This victory not only took back Yanyun and unified the world, but also severely damaged the Khitan and the army went north. Since the Tang Dynasty, the Khitan took advantage of the situation and lived in the grassland for several hundred years, and the Central Plains was unable to fight against it. Destroy his 400,000 main forces, and the situation will change greatly. ”

Speaking of which, everyone here felt a little excited. In the past, the Central Plains had not won battles, but against the Khitan, the most it was to repel it. The Khitans were defeated and returned to the grassland, recuperated for a few years, and healed their wounds, but they were still the great enemies of the Central Plains. This time is different, it is equivalent to annihilating all the Khitan new forces and not letting them go back.

What is the population of the grassland? The 400,000-strong army is afraid that it will take a hundred years to recover. After this battle, the Song army could calmly move north, not only the Khitan, but all the forces in the grassland. The great cause of the Han and Tang Dynasties is already beckoning.

Fu Bi took a breath: "Since the Taiwei went north to save Tanglong Town, his military prestige has been revived, and he has won consecutive battles. If this one is defeated, there will be no strong enemies in the world, and martial arts can be used in the Han and Tang Dynasties. We and others are comparable to Wei Huo, what a feat! ”

For thousands of years, Emperor Wu Shi Weiqing and Huo Qubing defeated the Xiongnu and made meritorious contributions, what a glory. Gong is better than Wei Huo, for soldiers, it is the highest honor. At this moment, Du Zhongxiao was extremely close to that distance.