In the Chongzheng Palace, several ministers looked at the map and sand table on the table, and no one spoke for a while.

After a while, Wen Yanbo said, "How is Quyang now?" Liu Jianji came out with heavy troops, did he block the Khitans? ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "According to Liu Jianji's words, the two sides have fought several battles, and the Khitan has been defeated and lost. Originally, he wanted to immediately bombard Quyang City and wipe out the Khitans. The cardinal told him to wait, and now he is gathered there. ”

Wen Yanbo pondered for a while and said, "Tens of thousands of Khitan troops, it's better to destroy them as soon as possible." One is not good, let them run out and go south to the Zhaozhou area, but it will be troublesome. There are no heavy troops south of Zhending Mansion, and as soon as there are Khitans harassing them, it is easy to provoke the shock of Texas County. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Jia Kui has broken through the Lingqiu, and now he is going in the direction of the flying fox with all his strength. If Liu Jianji breaks through Quyang, the Khitans inside have no way out but to retreat from the flying fox. At that time, it was much more difficult for Jia Kui to attack the city. He set out from Daizhou, all the way to the mountains, and the transportation of materials was extremely difficult, compared to the army outside the mountains. When Jia Kui arrives at the Flying Fox, Liu Jianji can attack the city. ”

Everyone looked at the map and understood what Du Zhongxiao meant. The flying fox is in the mountains, which is the intersection of several Taihang Mountain roads, and can be said to be a military powerhouse. After capturing the Flying Fox, the Song army blocked the road in the Taihang Mountains and took the advantage.

Jia Kui attacked the flying fox, and he was in the mountains all the way, and it was very inconvenient to carry supplies. If there are too many Flying Fox defenders, it will be bad for Jia Kui. Liu Jianji first surrounded Quyang, and after Jia Kui occupied the Flying Fox, it was most appropriate to annihilate the enemy army.

Han Qi said: "The Khitans raided Dingzhou this time, and it seems that it was finally blocked. However, the enemy army in Quyang was only a surprise army, and the heavy Khitan army was still in the north. These days, is there any news of the Khitan army? ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "The armies of the Khitan tribes have been assembled in Youzhou. The vanguard of more than 60,000 cavalry arrived in Yizhou. It is estimated that the Khitan may still want to storm Baozhou. It is estimated that in about ten days, the war in Baozhou should be fought. ”

This is the limitation of the times, transportation and information are not convenient, and the time is often very long. Yelu Hongji has been in Youzhou for half a month, and he is still transferring troops and generals, and he has not attacked quickly. Of course, in the eyes of the Khitans, this speed is already very fast. But in Song Jun's view, action was very slow. There is a railway maneuver, and during this time, the Song Dynasty can send the forbidden army of the capital to Hebei Road.

After looking at the map, everyone returned to their seats and sat down.

Zhao Zhen said: "In the first battle of Quyang, according to Liu Jianji, the combat strength of the Khitans was quite inferior to it. If they fought in formation, the Khitans had no chance of winning. According to him, if we fight in formation, our 10,000 will fight against 30,000 Khitan soldiers, and there should be a chance of victory. ”

Tian said: "What Your Majesty said is extremely true. This is a place that our army has not estimated, and the combat strength of the whole army after the whole training is not comparable to the Khitan army at all. The 200,000 troops on Hebei Road, as long as there are no mistakes in the layout, the actual Khitan cannot be attacked at all. ”

Du Zhongxiao didn't say anything. Actually, this makes sense. After the Song army was reorganized, all of them used guns and cannons, the military discipline was strict, and a large number of officers were replenished in the army, which was not the same army at all as before. Such an army should be able to easily defeat the Khitan. It's just that there is no actual combat, and this conclusion is not easy to make. The army was arranged in front, but it was actually arranged according to the combat power of the Song army in the past, and the Song army was not overestimated.

Wen Yanbo said: "If this is the case, this time the Khitan will attack the country, and it will not be a trivial matter. As long as the generals are attentive, it is not difficult to prevent the Khitans. Suffering this defeat, the Khitan should understand that it is not as good as before. ”

Zhao Zhen said: "The Khitan poured into the country, and hundreds of thousands of troops gathered in Youzhou. If the combat power is only like this, and this dynasty operates properly, maybe it can be completely annihilated! Annihilation of the Khitan army, what is the difficulty of recovering Yanyun? ”

Hearing this, several ministers were frightened. This kind of intention, Zhao Zhen said it directly for the first time. The army was greatly expanded in front, and it was always said that it was to prevent the attack of the Khitans. To completely annihilate the enemy, it is not the same thing at all.

Wen Yanbo praised: "Your Majesty, the Khitan is a big country, and there are more than a million with armor!" Even if it annihilated its hundreds of thousands of troops and turned its head, it would easily recruit hundreds of thousands more. By that time, the two countries had become enemies, and there would be no more peace in the north! ”

Zhao Zhen turned his head, looked at Du Zhongxiao and said, "The Privy Council thinks that if the Khitan soldiers and horses are completely annihilated in Youzhou, what will happen?" ”

Du Zhongxiao lowered his head and thought for a while, and said: "Usually, when I talk about Khitan, I always say that its territory is thousands of miles and it has a million. In the end, there is no exact number of how many soldiers and horses it has under its control. The tribes under the rule of the Khitan, the core is nothing more than the Khitans, mainly the royal family and the descendants, how many of them are there? In addition, it is the Xi, Bohai and other clans, which are also considered the core of the Khitan, how many people are there? In addition, there are Han people, mainly Yan and Yun Shizhou, how many people are there? As for the other tribes under his rule, they are nothing more than fetters. When the Khitan was strong, these tribes were extremely loyal and willing to fight to the death for the Khitan. When the Khitan is defeated, I am afraid that I will no longer contribute to the Khitan. ”

Tian said: "However, there is still no exact number of how many people there are in the Khitan and how many soldiers can be sent. Even if hundreds of thousands of its soldiers and horses are wiped out, it is uncertain whether they will collapse. Not to mention how difficult it is to completely annihilate hundreds of thousands of troops, even if it can be done, I am afraid that it will not be able to make the Khitan break its muscles and bones. This dynasty has been reconciled with the Khitan for decades, and the people are happy, so why should they fight at this time? ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "It's not this dynasty that raised troops, it was the Khitan people who raised hundreds of thousands of troops. Don't make a mistake, Captain. Immortal Khitan, this kind of thing will continue to happen after all. Now that the imperial court has the financial and military resources to defeat the Khitan, it should decisively send troops. This is to destroy the strong enemy and not make it worry about the children and grandchildren! If you just blindly do it, the appetite of the Khitan people will grow bigger and bigger, and there will be no peace in the north! ”

Speaking of this, Du Zhongxiao looked at everyone and said in a deep voice: "How many households there are in the Khitan and how many soldiers can be dispatched, although there is no exact number, it can be roughly estimated. The main force of the Khitan army is its leather room army, that is, the palace tent soldiers dominated by Huluduo. According to the information obtained, there are less than 100,000 households in the main household of Huluduo, and there are more than 100,000 households in various transfers, totaling about 200,000 households. The Khitan army this time is the main force of the palace tent army, counting about 100,000 people. One household and one soldier has basically reached the limit. There are also tribal soldiers, about 200,000, mainly Khitan and Xi people. This time, the Khitan came as a soldier from all over the country, roughly the same as the palace tent army, and it was one household and one soldier. After destroying these main forces, it will be difficult for the Khitan country to organize a large army. The rest of the people under the rule of the Khitan, mainly the Bohai people and the Han people, totaled less than one million households, and its requisition of two or three hundred thousand troops was also the limit. If the Khitan army can be completely annihilated in Youzhou this time, in fact, half of the domestic men will be consumed, and the troops will be gone! ”

After Du Zhongxiao finished speaking, no one spoke for a while. After a long while, Wen Yanbo said, "Captain, is this number accurate?" ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "It is impossible to be completely accurate. But the information from the people who have been deployed in Khitan in the past two years is, on the whole, roughly like this. ”

Wen Yanbo exhaled lightly: "The meaning of the Privy Council is to dispatch a large army to fight a decisive battle with the Khitan in Youzhou?" ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "It should be so." According to Liu Jianji's battle report, the Khitan cavalry could not fight head-on with the forbidden army after the training. If this dynasty can concentrate four or five hundred thousand troops on the Hebei Road and command it properly, it is not impossible to completely annihilate the Khitan army. Of course, it is best if Jia Kui occupies the flying fox before making this decision. Only by occupying the Flying Fox and controlling the Taihang Mountain Road can this dynasty really have an advantage. ”

Wen Yanbo shook his head: "If this is the case, we will also send troops to the country." It's hard to make this determination. ”

The ministers were silent and looked at Zhao Zhen above.

Zhao Zhen looked at everyone and said slowly: "In the past few years, opening up the river meandering road, restoring the Western Regions, and quelling the party can be described as invincible and invincible. Now the great enemy of the imperial court is only the Khitan. If the two countries reconcile, it would be enough, this time the Khitan hundreds of thousands of troops attacked the Hebei Road, and the atmosphere was very arrogant. If there is a possibility of annihilating the Khitan in Youzhou, if I don't do it, how can I have the face to see the ancestors and ancestors! ”

Seeing Zhao Zhen's serious face, all the rulers praised the wat and said: "Your Majesty Shengming!" ”

Zhao Zhen said: "It has been some time since the Beijing Forbidden Army was organized into five armies, and their respective training has achieved initial results. If it is all thrown into Hebei Road and fought a life-and-death battle with the Khitan, there will be no difficulty in getting up. The railway is connected to Xiongzhou and Hejian Province, and the materials can be delivered quickly, and this dynasty should have the advantage. Let's see if Jia Kui can occupy the flying fox in the shortest time. If it can be done, and the Khitan army will be completely annihilated and invaded in Quyang, the war should be expanded! ”