【2nd Update】

In these armies that are also alien to the Khitans, there is no shortage of elite soldiers who are brave and brave to fight. Even because of barbarism and poverty, he was more courageous and fearless than the Khitans after going into battle.

In the past, it was the object of the Liao people's restraint and vigilance, except in the event of a rebellion, or a tribe that planned to unify the grassland, they did not dare to use troops on a large scale. But now, the Liao army, which has greatly increased its combat strength, has taken the initiative to start sweeping the grassland.

In the past two years, the large and small tribes on the grassland, under the offensive of the Liao army, have a wave of westward flight momentum.

They also had to go west, the Liao army came from the east, the north was a deserted cold land, and the south was used by the Song people as miners' material - even in the north rumors, the Song medical officers liked to use live prisoners to practice their hands, and did not dare to take refuge in the south when they were idle - if they wanted to be unrestrained and not be the dogs of the Khitans, the only way to go west was to go west.

But these tribes only cared about heading west, and one of them accidentally intruded into the boundaries of the Beiting Metropolitan Protectorate.

After learning that several military cantonments on the border had been attacked, Wang Sunchen, who had not had much activity on weekdays, immediately led the army to chase and kill him. It is said that he was so excited that he didn't even wear shoes, and rode barefoot to the barracks.

With a large army raiding this group of fleeing robbers, the Beiting Protectorate finally captured tens of thousands of cattle and sheep, more than 3,000 horses, hundreds of women and children, and more than 1,000 beheadings.

According to the confessions of the captives, when their tribe set out, there were eight or nine hundred tents, nearly 2,000 men and horses, thousands of miles down, a group of people died, a group escaped, and only half of those who could become Wang Sunchen's beheading merit remained.

It is better to risk traveling thousands of miles than to flee westward, which shows how fierce the Liao people's offensive on the grassland was.

From a good point of view, the Liao people are angry and resentful on the grassland, and many people must be dissatisfied, and from a bad point of view, Yelu Yixin's determination and strength to unify the grassland are unprecedented.

If it is said that Temujin was able to unify the steppe because of his great talent and strategy, then it is not impossible for Yelu Yixin to become Genghis Khan even if he is slightly inferior to Temujin with more advanced weapons and equipment. What's more, the Liao State has been in the country for nearly two hundred years, during which time and again the south and the north have been conquered, and the blood in his hands is not counted, and his prestige on the grassland is not comparable to that of the Qiyan Department when Temujin first took over.

"If you raise wolves, you have to give them meat, unify so many tribes, and then break up and reorganize these tribes one by one, is it for them to farm?" Han Gang questioned Su Song, "What does Yelu Yixin want to do, Brother Zirong shouldn't need Han Gang to bother with his tongue, right?" ”

Su Song didn't get angry at Han Gang's harsh words, he still frowned, "Yukun, do you know how many people Yelu Yixin has recruited on the grassland?" ”

"How is this possible?" Han Gang sighed weakly, "Even the people of the grassland who were born and grew up in Si cannot know how many people and tribes there are in that grassland. Maybe it doesn't add up to the number of states in the Central Plains, it's too much, I'm afraid it can have all the way. ”

Su Song let out a long breath, "...... Even if there are several states, there are enough. He paused, "It's too much." ”

From the grassland, the number of troops that Yelu Yixin could obtain was a complete mystery to the Song people, who were thousands of miles away. 300,000, 500,000, or 1 million. Even high-ranking and powerful people such as Su Song and Han Gang have no way of knowing, and they can only guess out of thin air.

On the grassland, all the people are soldiers, and eleven or twelve-year-old boys can already ride horses and shoot hunts, and until they die, they can go into battle to kill the enemy.

Perhaps the total household registration is only equivalent to several states in the Central Plains, with three or four hundred thousand accounts and one or two million people, which can be used as a source of soldiers, which is enough to pull out an army of up to three or five hundred thousand. If you have a hukou all the way to the Central Plains, it is an out-and-out million Ding Zhuang, and you can give Yelu Yixin [This is all harmonious? A steady stream of replenishment of soldiers.

Han Gang had long given up counting the number of the Liao army, and perhaps Yelu Yixin himself was not so clear: "No matter how many thousands of people there are, Yelu Yixin has enough iron in his hands to arm them all." ”

Even if it was a million, it was not impossible for Jeruyisin to equip them. At least put an iron shell on their heads, and hang two more iron plates on their bodies, so that it would not be a problem at all.

When Han Gang was in charge of the weapons supervisor at the beginning of the year, the imperial court's armament was still a little tight, and the steel output was also very pitiful, even if it was fully produced, it was only a hundred thousand sets of basic model plate armor.

But today, as long as the entire production capacity of the military weapons and the two prisons is used, and the army of one million is equipped a year, just a word from the imperial court is enough.

In terms of military technology, the Liao State comprehensively studied the Great Song Dynasty. The development of the military industry and the steel industry is also a rapid progress. In three or five years, simply equipping an army of one million is by no means a problem.

With the enormous prestige of seizing Goryeo and Japan, and the huge profits that flowed from both places, Yelu Yixin had Liao firmly under his control, and was able to push his plans out of the way.

With an annual output of tens of millions of pounds of steel, war horses that seemed to never be in short supply, and millions of warriors, plus a system of rule and military that was even better than in the past.

Twenty years ago, the Great Song Dynasty, when it met the current Liao State, not to mention the alliance of the Yuanyuan, even the north was a vassal and the Yangtze River was demarcated, which may not be realized.

Han Gang said: "Once the Liao people have so many reserve troops, they are not afraid of fighting with the official army." ”

Su Song said: "There is the danger of mountains and rivers in the east of the river, and there is the solidity of the pond in Hebei, and it should be difficult for the Liao people to go south." ”

There are thousands of miles of ponds in Hebei, and since the thaw in spring, it has become a moat that stretches for thousands of miles. If the Liao people want to go south, they can only secretly send two or three thousand soldiers and horses over, and a large number of soldiers and horses want to cross the water to the south, and they will immediately run head-on with the Song army from the nearby cantonment point, and then compete with the Song infantry on the muddy and wet land.

No matter how many cavalry there are, they can't withstand such a waste. In the past, they could take advantage of the freezing of the pond in winter to try the wind.

"And the railroad." Su Song added, "The railway in the north of Hebei will be built in two years, and when the time comes, the Hebei railway will be connected into a network, and there will be no room for the benefits of the northern cavalry." ”

Han Gang shook his head and chuckled, "Strong passes are often broken from the inside. An Lushan Rebellion, Ge Shuhan guarded Tongguan with heavy troops, if there was no Tang Xuansong interference, urging him to go out of the pass to face the battle, can the rebellious soldiers enter the pass? ”

The railway in Hebei has been extended to Baozhou, not only the trunk line connecting the north and south has been completed, but also the branch line extending from the stations of the trunk line has been completed and there are many under construction.

From the map, it looks like a centipede, stretching its claws longer and longer, extending to every military state in Hebei.

And now, Hebei's railway construction has to go further. The imperial court had drawn up a plan to use Baozhou as a hub to build railways in the east and west directions.

At a distance of fifty to a hundred miles from the border, a second trunk railway was built, which was then extended by a branch railway to connect the border fortresses.

Once this plan succeeded, then the imperial court would no longer have to worry about the defense of Hebei. The Liao people will not be stupid enough to hit this copper wall. Even if the whole country goes south, there is no second result except for hitting the head and breaking the blood.

Naturally, this qiē is based on the premise of the stability of the Great Song Dynasty and the ability to unite and resist the enemy. If you are divided into two factions of intrigue and deceit, and you pull me back if you have something to do, and I will stumble on you, that is, build a great wall along the border, and you will still not be able to resist the enemy going south.

"If the Liao invade the south, I will lead the army to resist, what will the emperor do?" Han Gang asked Su Song, "Who can guarantee that the emperor will no longer be bad behind his back?" ”

Su Song closed his lips tightly and made a sound.

"I'd rather be with a foreigner than a domestic slave. When the waiko comes, he can still stay a little, and if the family rebels, there will be nothing left. Han Gang sneered, "When the time comes, if you don't send troops here, you won't transport grain there, and in the end, it will only be the soldiers and civilians of Hebei who will suffer." ”

"Yukun......" Su Song shouted tiredly, telling Han Gang not to say any more.

He wanted to defend the Son of Heaven for this kind of thing, but he couldn't find a reasonable explanation. I also know that when an emperor encounters this situation, he will not let the prime minister who leads the army return victorious, and he will not even let him lead the army to the battle, but will try his best to negotiate peace. There is a good reason why we must first settle down the outside, and only by calming the inside can we resist the foreign invaders.

"We are waiting for the eunuchs, for all the people, not for one person." Han Gang said more justifiably, "If the Son of Heaven is not virtuous, he is independent. Husband. We are Confucians, and we can be alone. Husband. If the Son of Heaven is holy ......," he said with a little cunning, "then the Son of Heaven hangs his clothes and rules the world." ”

Having said that, it is already a dagger. If Su Song can't give a satisfactory answer to Han Gang, then next, although he won't turn against him, at least, there won't be too much of his friendship over the years.

Han Gang looked at Su Song with a little nervousness, although he was sure that Su Song would not throw himself into the little emperor, he was also not sure that Su Song would fall completely to him.

"Yukun," after hesitating for a long time, Su Song finally opened his mouth, "I read the book you gave me a few days ago that tells the history of Taixi." He paused for a moment, thought for a moment, and continued, "Among them, the Greek and Roman election systems are indeed considerable. But only small countries and widows can elect the king of a country in this way. ”

That book, which was originally collected sporadically from the Great Eclipse, was then translated and sorted out, summarizing the ruling systems of Greece and Rome - the translation of their Chinese names and place names was personally reviewed by Han Gang.

"Small countries have the practices of small countries, and big countries also have the laws of big countries, but there is only one thing, big countries and small countries are common," Han Gang looked at Su Song, and then said firmly, "That is, state affairs cannot be entrusted to one person!" ”

Su Song took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled, but did not speak, and listened quietly.

"Even the so-called Son of Heaven should not gamble on the wealth and life of the people in the world on his virtue or insignificance. The saint never said that he should be foolish and loyal to the Son of Heaven, but he only heard that the master traveled around the world, and he did not hear that the first saint served the Son of Zhou and served him faithfully. ”

Han Gang is a strong word, how can Zhou Song be confused?

But Su Song would not have been foolish to the Son of Heaven in the first place. Those theories of destiny that can deceive the world are completely a broken skin lantern with loopholes in front of everyone in natural sciences like him.

Who would cast wholehearted loyalty to a yellow-mouthed widow who was only a teenager, had no virtue at all, and had no majesty in appearance?

The Confucian ministers maintained loyalty, one is the truth, and the other is the history. Confucianism is bound by the word loyalty and filial piety, and it is inevitable that the heart of fame and fortune will go down in history.

If you put aside these two things and proceed purely from interests, will there be fewer Confucian ministers who have served the rebellious ministers and thieves since ancient times?

Su Song can't let go of the reason, and he doesn't want to leave a stigma in history, if there is no reasonable reason to convince him, he will definitely not do anything rebellious.

But reasons, or excuses, and things like that, Han Gang does have.