In the autumn and winter of the first year of Tongguang, it was almost this time, Li Congjing was in Keying Prefecture at the beginning, and now two years have passed, and it can be regarded as a revisit to the old place if he occupies this city again. The current Yingzhou City is not much different from two years ago, if it is different, it means that there are fewer people in the city. After two major wars in two years, there are not many people in Yingzhou, and there are few left, because the city is extremely deserted, and the streets and alleys are full of Youzhou soldiers and soldiers roaming.

After a few days ago, the Youzhou army continued to bomb Yingzhou City, the city wall was extremely damaged, and there were large and small gaps everywhere, in the absence of gunpowder, although it was difficult to completely collapse a section of the city wall, but that was all. Yingzhou City is not large, and the boulders of 100 catties or even hundreds of catties are attacked in three days, and the power is no less than that of artillery salvos.

This is also something that cannot be done, and when attacking a city, you can't always take care of defense.

There is only one reason why Yingzhou can be captured in a seemingly easy way this time, in the final analysis, Li Congjing has been preparing for attacking Yingzhou for a long time. If you count the hard work during the preparation period, Li Congjing actually paid a lot for Keyingzhou.

During the siege, the catapult was overloaded and damaged nearly one-fifth, which is a terrible proportion. Others, such as siege engines of various sizes, ladders, strong bows, and thick armor, go without saying.

As Li Congjing said before the war, this time he fought a war that didn't care about money. Because he has money.

Compared with Yannan, Yingzhou City is a city after all, as the core stronghold of the Khitan to defend Li Congjing, and it is also the rear to protect the Liaodong battlefield.

In all fairness, Li Congjing, the ordnance of the Khitan army, was not very favorable, their sabers Youzhou army was not used to it, and they had better options: horse lance; The Khitan bow and arrow, both in quality and workmanship, are not as good as the Youzhou army, because the Khitan lacks iron; It is also because of this that the armor of the Khitan army is even more shabby in Li Congjing's opinion. Although the Khitan army has been developing over the years, there is still more leather armor and less iron armor in the army, not to mention thick armor.

However, in any case, it is better to have these things than nothing, although the quality is a little inferior, but it is also money when converted. Moreover, the main forces such as the Hundred Battles Army and the Lu Long Army could not be looked down upon, and the local garrisons could still be used. In addition, military food is a really good thing, the grassland people have a benefit, there is a lot of meat, although the Youzhou army is not short of meat to eat on weekdays, but it is impossible to eat it with an open belly, which is cheap for these soldiers.

When counting the seizures, Wang Pu shook his head and sighed: "I wanted to make a war fortune, but there are few poor people in Yingzhou, and the Khitan armament is so unbearable, which is really disappointing." According to this trend, it is not easy to feed the war with war! ”

The Youzhou army was able to defeat the Khitan army twice this time, and the military lead was one of the very important reasons, which was not a change in the hands of Li Congjing, but it had always been like this - compared to the grassland where the iron pot was a treasure, the Central Plains was rich after all - the difference was only that Li Congjing widened the gap.

Du Qianshu had been in the grassland for a long time and had a deeper understanding of the Khitan, he shook his head and said seriously: "Not all Khitan armaments are like this, and there are elite soldiers who are not inferior to us. Seeing that everyone looked at him, Du Qianshu continued: "This is no longer a secret in the General Staff Office, and the grassland military system is different from ours, which is an important reason for the difference in armaments. The Khitan is indeed short of iron, but since the founding of the Emperor by Yelu Abaoji, it has been greatly improved, and its headquarters, that is, the pro-army, the Department of the Near Division, the Heart Department, are well-equipped, and they are almost on par with us. As for the armies of other tribes, they are limited by the situation of their own tribes, and their armaments are different. ”

In the final analysis, the steppe peoples are still a tribal race, and this is a fact that has not changed at present.

When Wang Pu heard this, he didn't think that it would be difficult to defeat the well-equipped Abdominal Heart Department and the Si Near Division, but his eyes lit up, "In this way, when we fight with Yelu Abaoji, the capture we are waiting for will be much richer?" ”

Du Qianshu was stunned, and after a while, he said helplessly: "That's right." ”

When everyone heard this, they looked at each other and laughed.

Taking control of the city, cleaning up the battlefield, counting the seizures of supplies, counting military merits, dealing with the wounded, repairing the city defenses, and taking over civil affairs are all things that must be dealt with immediately after the war. There are some things that military generals can do, and there are also some things that military generals can't do, and civilian officials need to come forward.

Li Congjing's expedition this time was different from the past, with a large army in front of him and a scribe accompanying him. The army was responsible for attacking the city and winning the battle, while the scribes were responsible for logistics and taking over the territory.

A war with only soldiers and no civilian officials can only attack cities, not plundering land. In order to take the land as one's own and turn it into one's own land, it is necessary for civilian officials to take over the civil affairs, stabilize the locality, and at the same time issue their own laws and decrees to establish a ruling order, so that the enemy's sky can be engraved with the word Datang.

This time to conquer Yingzhou, Li Congjing took this way.

In front, there were troops attacking the city non-stop, and in the rear, there were civil servants in full swing to digest the results of the battle.

This is the mode of conquest adopted by Li Congjing.

That is to say, the purpose of Li Conghe's expedition to the north this time is not only to purely aid the Bohai Sea and fight the Khitan army, but to take this opportunity to grab territory.

Anytime, to help others and fight opponents, the ultimate goal is to benefit oneself. Speaking of which, the peace and war with the Bohai Sea and the Khitan are all diplomatic relations, so it is still applicable to the most basic principle of diplomatic relations: if it is advantageous, there will be diplomatic relations, and if it is not profitable, there will be no diplomatic relations.

Standing in the attic where he had stood two years ago, watching Wang Pu, Du Qianshu and others joking and laughing, Li Congjing said to Mo Li beside him: "In the far west, there was an outstanding commander who fought in all directions, and when he launched a foreign war, there would always be a large number of scholars in the army—that is, scholars, great talents, and talents in various fields. Whenever he conquered a place, he asked these scholars to study the culture of the place, in order to make it his own, and even more so to be able to completely control the place. The dynasty he founded was known as the First Empire. ”

Mo Li said with a smile: "There are also such bachelors and talents in our army, and the accompanying staff office, instructors of the Martial Arts Academy, students of the Martial Arts Academy, scholars, and civilian officials, aren't they all such people?" ”

Li Congjing breathed a long sigh of relief, and took another deep breath, as if the air in the north of the hundreds of miles was absorbed into his chest, and there was a certain surging emotion under his calm expression, he looked away, and said: "Yingzhou, Liaodong, the territory of the Tang Dynasty, it was before, and it will still be in the future!" ”

Mo Li nodded, and suddenly said: "I don't know what the situation of the Bohai Sea is, did Yelu Abaoji capture Buyeo?" ”

Li Congjing turned his head sideways, and not far away, Tao Yaoyao was quietly looking at the scenery, green silk was light, purple clothes and robes, in the embers of the war, but he seemed to be out of the matter. Li Congjing snapped his fingers and motioned for Tao Yao to come over: "How is the battle in the Bohai Sea?" ”

"Daming'an came to Fuzhou in person, and Yelu Abaoji attacked for nearly a month, but it has not yet been conquered." Tao said.

After Wang Pu, Du Qianshu, Li Shaocheng, Li Yanchao and others saw the seizure, they all walked up to the attic at this time, and heard that Li Yanchao took the lead and said loudly: "Military commander, since Yelu Abaoji has not captured Fuyu, this is the opportunity for us to march, and then we will attack from both sides with the Bohai Navy, just defeat Yelu Abaoji under the city of Fuzhou, and defeat this guy in one fell swoop!" ”

Li Congjing did not comment, and looked at everyone with a smile, "What do you think?" ”

Du Qianshu muttered: "Yelu Abaoji poured the strength of the country into attacking the Bohai Sea, the army was not less than 200,000, and our army was less than 40,000. ”

"But this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, if you miss the moment, where will you find such a good opportunity in the future?" Li Yanchao said, "Moreover, our army is united with Bohai, although the military strength is not as good as that of the Khitan, but the combat power may not be much worse, are we still afraid of Yelu Abaoji?" ”

Li Shaocheng said lightly: "Since you have already set out on the expedition, you will naturally not be afraid of Yelu Abaoji." He hugged Li Congjing with a fist, "Our army unites with the Bohai Sea, and the military strength is still less than half of the Khitan, and there are many Khitan cavalry, and we do not have an advantage in the field, but it is not without the strength of a battle." "Besides, what General Li said is indeed true, and now is indeed a good opportunity to advance." ”

Li Shaocheng's intention was still in favor of marching into Fuyu at this time, Li Congjing still did not express his position, Wang Pu continued: "After these two battles, the army will no longer have Khitan in Yannan and Yingzhou. Now that the roadblocks have been cleared, since the division has moved north, it will be a duel with Yelu Abaoji! "I looked excited, eager to try.

"Have you ever thought about going north at this time, where to put the Khitan army in Liaodong?" Mo Li said leisurely, "If the Khitan army in Liaodong is not removed, it will be difficult to ensure the safety of the flanks of the army." ”

"Those Khitan small fish and shrimp in Liaodong, send a partial division, and destroy them overnight, it's as easy as a snap, don't worry!" Li Yanchao said majestically, "At the moment, time is pressing, and the fighter plane is fleeting, so we can't affect the overall situation of going north because of this small section!" ”

Mo Li smiled, not intending to argue with him.

After everyone expressed their opinions in twos and threes, they no longer debated with each other, but turned their eyes to Li Congjing. They have been in the habit of military discussion for a long time, and they all know that if they say their opinions, they can let Li Congjing know, there is no need to fight for red-faced, and Li Congjing will naturally have an idea of how to choose in the end.

Li Congjing looked at the east with his hand in his hand and said, "Attack Liaodong!" ”

When everyone heard this, their expressions were different, and most of them were puzzled, but they didn't make any comments, waiting for Li Congjing to explain. Li Congjing waved his hand, and his own sergeant presented the map, he pointed to the map with a horizontal knife, and said to everyone: "On the side of the couch, no one is allowed to sleep soundly." If you don't conquer Liaodong, then the flank of our army will be threatened, and we will not worry about victory and defeat first, and rush north, once there is a change in Yingzhou, then our expeditionary division will be alone outside the country, and there is no way to advance or retreat, this is to give the opponent a chance, and it is not a wise man's doing. On the contrary, if we capture Liaodong, we can conquer Fuyu, retreat to coerce the Khitan flanks, attack and defend, and immediately take shape. At that time, it will be offensive or defensive, how to attack and how to defend, but with our intentions, is it not a wise choice? ”

The words analyzed the situation in front of him thoroughly, and everyone could not say it, even if there were radicals, they could not refute it, so that everyone had no objections.

Immediately, Li Congjing issued a military order, with Li Yanchao as the main general and Peng Zushan as his deputy, to lead Lu Longjun and the new army to march into Liaodong, clear the enemy in Liaodong, and open up the passage with the Bohai Sea.

The Khitan army in the land of Liaodong has become a lone army at this time, so naturally there is no need for all the Youzhou army to advance, and the combat power of the Lu Long army is not comparable to the Bohai Navy. As for the new army, this battle will not only have the effect of enriching their military strength, but also take the opportunity to train the army so that they can become elite as soon as possible.

After the generals dispersed, only Mo Li, Wang Pu, Du Qianshu and other strategists were left in the attic, and it was only at this time that Mo Li said: "The military commander does not march into Fuyu at this time, but attacks Liaodong, and his intention is probably not as simple as Fang Cai said, right?" ”