Zhao Gou pondered the march route of January, and told Song Huizong to listen to it all; Song Huizong had no opinion, and what Zhao Gou said was the information that the spies had heard. Now, Zhao Gou has the name of the defender of the sixteen states of Yanyun, and the strength of the army is clear, the only thing that needs to be paid attention to is the natural danger of Taihang Mountain, which can not be captured overnight.

Zhao Gou is ready to fight a protracted battle! Because, this battle is a tough battle, recalling that Emperor Taizong failed to conquer the sixteen states of Yanyun and returned, but he needed to recover the lost territory in a short time, it was impossible, only to be mentally prepared.

At the same time, Song Huizong approved the list of generals played by Zhao Gou, and the holy decree had been prepared. The guards set out from the palace and went their separate ways, so that they must join the army and not have to return to Bianjing. If you return to the capital, it will be delayed to set off again.

Lu Junyi, Song Jiang, Yue Fei and others all received holy decrees at different times, and let them get ready to go!

The next day, Song Huizong personally sent Zhao Gou and Zhao Yougong out of the capital. Moreover, Zhao Cheng was the generalissimo of the expedition against the Khitan, the generalissimo of Yiping Liao, and Zhao Yougong was the deputy marshal. Follow the route discussed yesterday, as well as the allocation of personnel.

Zhao Gou led Gao Zhong and others from the capital, went to Taiyuan Mansion, and arrived at Yanmen Pass, where the five armies of Xiansheng, Pingding, Kelan, Ninghua, Volcano, and Baode were ready, totaling more than 60,000 people; As long as Zhao Gou arrives in Taiyuan Mansion, he can command the army and conquer the Khitan.

Zhao Yougong led a team to the Daimyo's Mansion, Qianning, Yongjing, Baoding, Xin'an four road army, a total of more than 50,000 people, as long as he arrived, he could send a message to Zhao Gou, and then discuss a two-pronged approach to jointly crusade against the Khitan.

A total of 22 generals, including Song Jiang, Lu Junyi, Yue Fei, Wu Yong, Hu Yanzhuo, Dai Zong, Chai Jin, Guan Sheng, Li Kui, Ruan Xiaoqi, Li Jun, Lin Chong, Liu Qi, Yang Yizhong, Wu Lan, Wu Jue, Tang Huai, Wang Gui, Zhang Xian, Yang Xiong, Gao Chong, and Niu Gao, set off with Zhao Gou.

More than 20 generals, including Seed Master Dao, Zhang Jun, Han Shizhong, Zong Ze, and Liu Guangshi, set off with Zhao Yougong. It can be said that there were more than 40 generals in this battle. Some are unknowns, while others are veterans of the army and have experienced a lot of battles.

Zhao Gou commanded all his former subordinates, each of whom was able to fight well, and Wu Yong became a military advisor; Song Jiang and Lu Junyi are deputy generals, and the others are pioneers or regimental training envoys. Moreover, Lin Chong also hurried over and joined in.

It can be said that Zhao Gou's position in the army cannot be shaken by anyone, he is a veritable generalissimo of Pingliao, and anyone must abide by military orders; Zhao Yougong is led by the generals of the older generation in the DPRK and China, and it can also be said that they represent the traditional faction.

Originally, Zhao conceived to separate Song Jiang and the others and let Zhao Yougong govern them, but Song Huizong felt that in this way, the combat effectiveness would be insufficient. So, he decided to send the seed master Dao and others to go out with him, in order to ensure combat effectiveness, this battle is very dangerous, not so simple, everything must be careful.

If only Zhao Gouyan is in the army, then his behavior must be said to be cronyism. As long as it is a military general, no one is willing to let go of the merits of making meritorious contributions and give it to others in vain. Even if that person was Zhao Gou, it wouldn't work, so Song Huizong thought about it again and again and decided to accede to their request.

This time, the recovery of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun exceeded the previous troops, so as to win with one blow. The Great Song Dynasty only had 200,000 troops, and it was unprecedented to send half of their troops to recover the sixteen states of Yanyun. In order to prevent soldiers from other countries from attacking, all other armies went without moving.

Zhao Gou took command of the expedition, and the troops were divided into two routes, Song Huizong gave him enough military power, did not send people to supervise, and did not have any restraint on his behavior, as long as Zhao Gou was willing, he completely relied on this power to draw the land as the king. The government and the opposition once again set off an uproar, and Song Huizong's behavior had exceeded their expectations.

After more than 20 days of marching, Zhao Gou and others finally arrived at Yanmen Pass, and Zhao Yougong also arrived. They agreed to attack at the same time the day after they arrived, that is, on the 15th. Zhao Gou has already touched the situation of the sixteen states of Yanyun almost perfectly, and conveyed the situation to Zhao Yougong, so he knows the terrain, mountains, and troops well.

"Dashuai!" The crowd shouted.

"You brothers haven't seen each other for a long time, let's sit together!" Zhao Gou smiled slightly, everyone sat down when they heard the voice, and then said: "Brothers get together again, I think everyone should also know the reason for summoning you this time!" ”

Wu Yong said in a deep voice: "Dashuai, is there anything else that is unknown to his subordinates?" ”

"What the military advisor wants to ask is, why did you attack the Khitan, and why did you form an alliance with the Jurchens?" Zhao Gou expressed the doubts in Wu's heart, because of the natural danger of Taihang Mountain, the sixteen states of Yanyun are easy to defend and difficult to attack, and he continued: "Because the sixteen states of Yanyun belong to the Central Plains, and they have been separated from the Central Plains for nearly a hundred years, it is time to recover them." No matter what the cost, you must recover it! ”

"If you lose the protection of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, the Central Plains region will be like an ant on the fire. The strategic location of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun is too special, as long as the control of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun is recaptured, there will be a natural barrier and the support of a large army at that time, and there will be no fear of the Khitan or the Jurchens! ”

Wu Yongdao: "The people of the sixteen states of Yanyun have been living under the rule of Liao for a hundred years, and they must not have such a strong desire to return to the Great Song Dynasty. If we solve it by force, we will inevitably encounter strong resistance, and there will be countless casualties! ”

"Since the founding of the Great Song Dynasty, there have been several conquests of the Khitan, among which the 'Battle of the Gaoliang River' is the most famous. However, everyone knows what is going on, and I am afraid that we will encounter difficult resistance when we send troops to attack this time. ”

"Even so, the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun must be taken back!" Zhao Gou replied unswervingly, "The sixteen states of Yanyun are too special, and from a long-term perspective, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. If you are confined to the present, there will be endless troubles, and I don't want to live in fear all day long! ”

Wu Yong said: "But we don't know anything about the situation in the sixteen states of Yanyun, so what should we do?" ”

Zhao Gou smiled and said, "Don't worry about this, please take a look!" ”

Everyone rushed forward to find out. Zhao Gou took out the topographic map of the sixteen states of Yanyun, as well as the strategic deployment, as well as the march route of the Song army, and the targets of the attack. In addition, Zhao Gou ordered someone to prepare the sand table and simulate the sixteen states of Yanyun, and Zhao Gou introduced them to everyone one by one.

Although it is only a short time, it is better than not knowing anything, with a strategic map and a sand table exercise, everyone has a number in their hearts.

(End of chapter)