There was laughter and laughter in the tent outside. The soldiers held buns in one hand and wine in the other, and talked loudly about today's battle. Originally, they were still a little afraid of the Khitans, but when they saw it on the battlefield today, their morale rose suddenly.

On the one hand, those soldiers who were punished for being late for the assembly could only envy while eating yellow rice. With the amount of food a soldier eats, one person can eat a large plate of meat buns, not one or two per person. There are meat buns to eat in the army, which is difficult to encounter.

Meng Xuexue sat in the tent, closed his eyes slightly, and carefully recalled the details of today's battle. As a commander, he had very little experience in warfare, mainly from textbooks. Every actual combat is precious, and everything you encounter cannot be let go.

It's December, and the cold wind is howling outside the tent. There was a brazier in the tent, and the charcoal was red. However, Meng Xuexue didn't feel warm, and it was still very cold. In a trance, he remembered his old days. During the day, I am busy plowing the fields, and it is easy to teach a few children in my spare time.

At this moment, the soldiers came in and said, "Commander, Captain Ma has arrived at the Qianning Military City, and he ordered the regiment leader to meet." ”

Meng Xue looked outside the tent and asked, "What time is it?" ”

The pro-soldier said: "I just entered the unitary time. The head of the regiment, I heard that the captain heard that the Khitan was coming today, and he specially came to call the head of the regiment to come over. ”

Meng Xuexue nodded, stood up and said, "Prepare the horse." It's getting late, if something happens, go to the military city to report to me in time. ”

Everything was arranged, Meng Xuexue took his own soldiers, left Mumen Town, and headed for the military city not far away.

Entering the military city, Yang Tu, who was guarding the city, welcomed Meng Xuexue into the city. After entering the city gate, he said: "Today, the scholar has a big battle with the Khitan, and I heard that the fight went very smoothly. Matthew, who was supposed to enter the city tomorrow, heard the news and hurried into the city. ”

Meng Xuezhu was stunned: "Why is Matthew in a hurry to enter the city?" The Khitan had been defeated, and the Qianning army had no fighting. ”

Yang Tu said with a smile: "Our troops are all newly trained and have not gone through war. In addition, the time for the opening of the Hejian Military Academy is too short, and the officers are not complete. The lieutenant was very worried in his heart, but when he heard that you were victorious today, he realized that there were people in the army who could fight. ”

Meng Xuexue nodded, and he didn't know that what Yang Tu said was true. Ma Huaide is a general who has fought many generals with the party on Shaanxi Road, and he has seen a lot of battles. In today's battle, he attacked decisively, seized the opportunity, and defeated the Khitan at no cost. Ma Huaide should have seen a lot of such a victory before, how could he suddenly enter the city because of this matter.

When he arrived at the official office, Zhang Binan greeted him and took Meng Xuexue into the mansion. Along the way, it was extremely flattering, which made Meng Xuexue a little uncomfortable.

When I arrived at the back office, I had already prepared a wine feast. Seeing Ma Huaide, Meng Xuexue hurriedly stepped forward to pay respects.

Ma Huai took Meng Xuexue's hand, looked up and down, and looked at it. said: "When I was in Renzhizhou, Xiongzhou, I heard your name. Every time there is an exam, it must be the first, and there is never anyone else who can compare. When I arrived in the Qianning Army today, I didn't expect to make military merits when I first came, which is really rare! Prepare some drinks tonight to celebrate your success! ”

Meng Xuexue hurriedly said that he didn't dare. He said: "Tai Lieutenant, his subordinates just did their best and did what they had to do." The Khitans suddenly crossed the river and were discovered by the scouts, and we hit them halfway. Although the Yellow River has been frozen, the ice surface is actually very slippery. There is also a big embankment, as long as the Khitan people cross the river in time, it is not difficult to hold it. ”

Ma Huaide smiled, sat down with everyone, and ordered the wine to be poured.

Raising the wine glass, Ma Huaide led the three glasses and congratulated Meng Xuexue.

After drinking three glasses of wine, Ma Huaide put down the wine glass and said: "Today, the Meng Party led his subordinates to defeat the Khitan army that crossed the river, which is really a rare victory. I have reported to the commander, and I will be rewarded. General Meng, tomorrow you give me a list of those with military merits, and I will ask for a reward! ”

Meng Xuexue hurriedly said yes. Ma Huaide's First Army now has incomplete officers and an unsound command system. In addition to the regiments below, there are no divisions above at all, and even Ma Huaide's own army is not in order. Many things such as reporting military merits had to be done by Ma Huaide himself.

After drinking two more glasses of wine, Ma Huaide said: "According to the pedants, is it difficult to prevent the Khitan people from crossing the river? ”

Meng Xue said: "Tai Lieutenant, as long as you carefully inspect and all the armies actively go to war, it is not difficult for the Khitans to cross the Yellow River." But if the Khitans chose a remote place and crossed the river at night, it would be difficult to prevent it. ”

Ma Huaide was stunned: "In this way, the Khitans still have to cross the river after all?" When the army arrived, the city of Qianning was only afraid of fierce battles. ”

Meng Xue said: "That's nature. The river is frozen, and the Khitans can cross the river from any place, how can they prevent it? After all, it was to be done under the Qianning Military City. However, if the army watches closely, the place where they cross the river can be farther away from the Qianning army. ”

Ma Huaide said: "What's the use of being far away? They can cross the river from the north. We don't have many troops, and we can't stand it. ”

Meng Xue said: "There is Diaoyutai Town in the north, and there is a garrison there. If the Khitans crossed the river from the north, the grain route behind them was unstable. In fact, it doesn't matter where the Khitans crossed the river from, what matters is where their grain and grass come from. If you want to be safe, there are not many places for the Khitans to choose from. ”

Ma Huaide listened and couldn't help nodding. I just arrived, and I was not familiar with the nearby geography, so I didn't think of this. The Song army deployed a lot of troops in the area of the Qianning Army, a total of 80,000 people. If the command is done properly, the Khitan will not have the upper hand if it does not have an army of more than 100,000.

Although the Yellow River is frozen, it still has its own defensive role. When the Khitan army comes, it can't bring much grain and grass, and there must always be logistics troops. If the grain transportation road is not in the right place, it is easy to be attacked by the Song army. Of the 80,000 Song army, it is not difficult to send a few thousand people to attack its grain route.

After thinking for a while, Ma Huaide said: "In this way, the army here should be well arranged. If they can cut off the Khitan grain route, how can they still stay here in the Qianning Army? This time, although the imperial court was strong, although it cost a lot, it caused great difficulties to the Khitan. ”

Meng Xuezhu said with a smile: "In fact, it is not only because of the strong walls and clear fields, but also because the Khitan is not good at attacking the city. Whether it is a big city or a small city, the Khitan is surrounded by dozens of layers, and there is no way to stop the city wall. In this way, as long as the people hid in the city, they had nothing to do. ”

Zhang Binan said: "That's true. Although the Khitans had a large number of troops, they had few cannons, and they could not afford to produce many shells, so they had no way to deal with the city. Just like the small city at the mouth of the Great Wall, the Khitans surrounded it for more than ten days, and more than 100 artillery pieces were all broken there, and they could not break through the city wall. ”

"Artillery is a real artifact!" Yang Tu listened and nodded repeatedly. "Here in the Qianning Army, Shuai Si is specially gracious, and there are more than 100 cannons in the city. The Khitan army came to attack, but I was afraid that even the city wall would not be close. ”

The Khitans had gunpowder, and if it took a long time, they would naturally come up with many ways to siege the city. The artillery at the head of the Song army actually had a lot of weaknesses, but for a while, the Khitans couldn't think of a way to deal with it. What's the solution? This is a new thing, if the Khitan can come up with a way to deal with it at once, then it will be a god. Even now, the Khitans don't even know how to use gunpowder packs.

Ma Huaide listened, nodded and said: "Now it seems that I am not afraid of the Khitan attacking the city, but I am only afraid of fighting with them." We have tens of thousands of soldiers and horses here, and we can't all hide in the city, and Shuai Si will definitely not allow it. How to fight a few beautiful battles outside the city is the most important thing. ”

Meng Xuexue just nodded and did not speak. Judging from today's battle, the Song army has an advantage over the Khitan. However, this kind of superiority in combat strength requires the entire command system to be effective and the whole army to cooperate in order to be transformed into victory. Only came here to wave the team, there is no problem with the non-commissioned officers, but the officer system is too bad. For a while, he may not be able to have much upper hand against the Khitan.

Ma Huaide drank wine and thought about his thoughts. He naturally knew that he had insufficient officers, that the command system had not yet been established, and that there were many things that were not handy. This time to fight against the Khitan, I am afraid that not every army can go so smoothly like Meng Xuexue.