Alas, it is really difficult to convince people who do not know how to do it and want to hold power. When only Li Buqi and Di Qing analyzed the situation in Hebei for Zhao Zhen, Zhao Zhen nodded again and again, and fully accepted Li Buqi and Di Qing's strategy of "clearing the wilderness, resolutely resisting, attrition one by one, containing the enemy with elite soldiers, and intercepting the Liao people in the area of Zhaozhou between Taihang Mountain and the Yellow Flood Area with field battles". However, after calling the civil officials of the Privy Council, the civil officials were unwilling to carry the black cauldron of "strong walls and clear fields", which offended people, and they were more steady, and pointed out in strict terms that the field war with the Liao people would inevitably fail, and Li Buqi and Di Qing were simply fighting for military merit and disregarding the safety of the country, but should rely on the strong city to block the Liao people according to their methods.

The emperor frightened them, and then they were two tigers. Although Zhao Zhen finally accepted the strategy of the Privy Council's division of defense, he also asked Li Buqi and Di Qing to lead an elite army to support the guerrillas in Hebei, but the number of troops under Di Qing was greatly reduced. Originally, Di Qing thought that 30,000 people were selected from the forbidden army in the capital, and they could attack and retreat and defend, but now they were reduced to less than 20,000.

"Your Majesty, I think that the total strength of General Di's command can be reduced, but the cavalry must not be less than four thousand. Otherwise, the field battle will really be defeated, and it will not be able to play a role in diversion at all. If General Di's army could not be used to contain the system, it was possible for the Liao people to cross the Yellow River. "Li does not give up in the alarmist.

Since Song Taizu came to power, the cavalry under the command of each general of the Great Song Dynasty and the Emperor generally did not exceed 2,000 people. This is a containment measure to prevent the generals from rebelling, and it has become an ingrained unspoken rule for decades. So before the emperor could say anything, Liang Shi immediately retorted out of a deep-seated distrust of the generals and his trust in Hebei Jiancheng: "Li Junjian is alarmist, right? Since General Di's task is to contain and not to fight a decisive battle, what do you want so many cavalry to do? It is difficult to supply grain alone. ”

Li Buqi did not hide his contempt for Liang Shi: "You people who have not been on the battlefield do not understand at all, the Liao people can penetrate into the hinterland of Hebei must be cavalry, and they can only be restrained by cavalry." Without 4,000 cavalry, the Liao people only need to draw a small number of troops to monitor, and then they can fight wherever they want. Our officers and troops are scattered in various cities and cannot support each other at all, and the Liao people can completely defeat each other. And there is no sufficiently strong cavalry as a means just in case, what if an uncontrollable situation arises? Do you want Your Majesty to drive the expedition in person? ”

As soon as he heard the word "Imperial Driver's Expedition", the emperor's heart trembled. Not only was the emperor's heart trembling, but Pang Ji, Liang Shi and others also trembled in their hearts - Kou Zhun, who forced Emperor Zhenzong to drive the expedition in person, became a villain in the emperor's heart because of this matter, and ended up dying of illness in Leizhou.

Pang Ji, who had not spoken much, glanced at Li Buqi, coughed and said to the emperor: "Just now, Xia Xianggong who stayed in Beijing recommended Han Zhigui to be the economic strategy of Hebei. Han Zhigui understood the military strategy, coupled with the strong city of Hebei, it was inevitable that the situation mentioned by Li Junjian would not occur. ”

Li Buqi ruthlessly exposed Han Qi's old bottom: "When Han Zhigui was in Shaanxi, he vowed to march into Western Xia, but he didn't even have a plan for how to march and where to march. Fortunately, he was facing the weak Western Xia, and if he faced the powerful Liao State, he would have buried Shaanxi cleanly. I bet that once the war starts this time, Han Zhigui will only watch the land of Hebei fall. I wonder if Pang Shumi dares to make a bet with me? ”

"If Pang Shumi loses, he and Deputy Shu Liang will personally lead the troops into battle to block the gap! This is also the duty of a national soldier! If the lower official loses, the lower official will make amends to the privy councillor and Han Zhigui. How is it? ”

As soon as the emperor saw that the atmosphere was not good, he hurriedly said to the mud: "Don't fight with will." I think it's safer for General Di to have 4,000 cavalry under him. If the cavalry of the forbidden army in the capital is insufficient, 2,000 cavalry will be transferred from Shaanxi. Anyway, there will be no big war on the Shaanxi side for a while. ”

Pang Ji really didn't dare to bet with Li Buqi. This is not to say that he can't trust Han Qi, but he is basically not optimistic about all the civilian officials who are now qualified to command the entire Hebei operation. No matter how much he couldn't get used to Li Buqi, he had to admit that Li Buqi was the most military-savvy among the civilian officials, and he also admitted that Li Buqi was not a Meng Lang person. Now Li Buqi belittled Han Qi so unabashedly, so he had to think about it more. He can't let his fame go down the drain for the sake of face, and he doesn't dare to joke with the fate of the Great Song Dynasty.

Therefore, Pang Ji finally echoed the emperor: "Since Li Junjian thinks that the number of cavalry is so critical, then the minister has no objection. ”

The privy envoys all compromised, and although Liang Shi still held his neck, he was also surprised that Li Buqi had no room for maneuver, and finally did not object again. That's it.

Li Buqi was appointed as the border patrol envoy of Hebei, and led the whole army of the Zhenwu Army and the cavalry team of the Police Division to be stationed in the Baozhou area to carry out guerrilla attacks, delaying the Liao attack. Di Qing led 20,000 men to enter the city, and once the Liao people reached this area, they contained the enemy army so that they did not dare to attack the Daimyo's Mansion and cross the Yellow River in the south. The important thing is that both have the right to be autonomous.

The Zhenwu army can be driven at any time, and it will go to Baozhou in recent days; The forbidden army always had to jump for a while, and it was also required to be pulled out within 15 days and go to Zhaozhou for pre-war training; The Privy Council immediately issued a letter to all roads in Shaanxi to transfer five cavalry commanders to Hebei and return to Di Qing's command.

When he came out of the palace, the sky was already dark, but Di Qing still grabbed Li Buqi and asked worriedly: "Li Junjian, are there really 400,000 Liao people this time?" But really? "You must know that once the Liao people attack the Daimyo's Mansion with all their might, he will have to share at least one-third of the pressure.

Li Buqi looked at the people around him who were not in the way and said, "It's just a little more." But General Di doesn't have to worry either. The ones who can fight are about 200,000, and the rest are nobles, and even ordinary people. Next year's spring famine in the sixteen states of Yanyun is certain, and anyone with a discerning eye can see that many people are planning to follow the army to Hebei to grab a handful, which is better than starving to death at home. These people are just bent on robbery, basically a rabble, and there is nothing to worry about. I'm just going to tell you about it, and you don't want to tell anyone else. ”

Di Qing looked surprised: "This matter should also be explained to His Majesty and the Privy Council, and it will also save Your Majesty from worrying." ”

Li Buqi looked helpless: "You have also seen the situation in the Privy Council, they are all those who can't fight. If I tell the truth, I can't guarantee that they will take it lightly. If anything happens, I'll die. Moreover, the Hebei Forbidden Army has not fought a major battle for more than 40 years, can General Di guarantee that they can still fight as they did 40 years ago? Therefore, even if the Liao people only have 100,000 to fight, they must be dealt with as 400,000 strong enemies. ”

Although Di Qing is very upright, it is impossible to achieve this position if he is too pedantic. He sighed heavily, and said nothing more.

Li Buqi told Di Qing here: "General Di, do you know why I want you to lead your troops to go to Zhaozhou as soon as possible?" ”

"Please make it clear to Li Junjian."

"There aren't many old subordinates of the general in the forbidden army in the capital, right? The soldiers assigned to you by the Privy Council are certainly not familiar to you. The general has now brought them to Zhaozhou to practice for a period of time, so that they will be familiar with each other, and they will not make big mistakes on the battlefield in the future because they are not familiar with each other. After the general leads his troops to Zhaozhou, he must step up his training, and if there are incompetent officers, he must quickly remove and replace them, and he must not be tolerated. ”

Di Qing said to Li Buqi, "Thank you, Jun Jian Li, for planning to be so careful. ”

Li Buqi said: "Once the fight starts this time, it will be a big battle. If you do a good job, the credit is indispensable. Defeated, I'm afraid that I won't be able to turn over after a hundred years. I can only fight for the general's right to be independent and arbitrary, and General Di can do the rest of the things himself. ”

Di Qing saluted again and said: "Di Qing thanks Li Junjian for his attention, and he will definitely not let people say that Li Junjian has seen the wrong person." ”

After saying goodbye to Di Qing, Li Buqi returned home and prepared to pack, Zhao Min and others were very worried when they heard that Li Buqi was going to go to the battlefield in person this time, but they still forced a good salute, and reluctantly sent Li Buqi out of the gate two days later.

Li didn't give up and didn't go by himself. From Qingyuan Academy alone, he took away fourteen talents who were proficient in military equestrianism and good at equestrianism. At the city gate, he met with Wang Zhongzheng, the overseer sent by the emperor, and Gao Zunyu, an old acquaintance who surprised him and was just appointed as the commander of the Zhenwu Army yesterday.

After drinking a few cups of candied wine, more than 3,000 Zhenwu troops also arrived outside the city in 600 side vans, and Li Bu gave up and led his men and horses to Baozhou. The young man must have received an order to assemble the cavalry of the police division and wait for him in Baozhou.