The civil and military officials who were full of martial arts were dragged out by the guards, and there were thirty or forty of them. These are all officials at the rank of prefectural commander and lieutenant.

It wasn't until Zhao Xun stopped investigating the culpability of officials that the rest breathed a sigh of relief. Subsequently, all the officials except the directors of the divisions and the generals can leave. But no one let go of the worries in their hearts, today, they found out that Zhao Xun and Xiao Guojun are far from being as simple as they understand, and they will do things in the future, do more and talk less.

"It's still the Young Guards that is reassuring!" Zhao Xun said with a faint sigh, and then said with a straight face: "The government secretary will restore order in all prefectures and counties in the next few days, and at the same time recruit new literati as officials. In addition, it is necessary to continue to hoard grain and grass and prepare for the army. ”

Zhao Xun sighed casually, but the ten generals of the government army, the eight cavalry captains, and the Beihai Protector all jumped in their hearts. Since Zhao Xun came back this time, they have become more and more aware that Zhao Xun is more difficult to understand, or rather, more mature and deeper.

Subsequently, Zhao Xun, together with these high-ranking officials, gathered in the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion Chamber. Discuss the final issue, which is the Khitan question.

"The three southern divisions have been defeated, and the alliance of the northern five divisions has been achieved, and there should be Situ Lei and Murong Cheng to match them. There are less than 500,000 troops in the three southern divisions, and there are only more than 100,000 soldiers with armor, even if all the people are soldiers, they can't stop the union of the five divisions in the north. Zhao Xun said slowly. You see, how do you solve it now? How to get involved. ”

Now only Situ Liang and the newly incorporated Li Huaiyuan are on the side of the military envoys, and the rest have their own tasks. Speak, since the two of them are the mainstay.

After a while, Li Huaiyuan spoke: "The three Khitan tribes must be saved, and they can't be swallowed up by the five northern tribes." Not only because he is our northern external defense, but also because they are also vassals supported by our Xiaoguo army. If we give in and ignore it, who will surrender in the future? ”

"The northwest of the Khitan is the Murwei people, and if the south is annexed, not to mention the Turkic people in the west, even the Murwei people will also be mixed in. In the past, when the people of Murowei were strong, they repeatedly coated with the border. Now that the Turks are strong, let them retreat north. If they reach the border of Shunzhou Prefecture, they will unite the five northern divisions and enter Youzhou south again. ”

"In the end, the Khitan Third Department can provide us with the war horses, cattle, sheep, livestock, skins and other items we need. But the Northern Five Divisions will not be so obedient. So, we can't just ignore it. ”

Zhao Xunyou looked sideways at Situ Liang, and Situ Liang also said: "I agree with Lord Li's meaning, the Khitan three departments, we must take care of it." What's more, we also have the ability to manage, but we just have to consider how to manage and to what extent. ”

Zhao Xun nodded and said: "Since you all think so, then set the tone, the three Khitan tribes can be annexed, but they can only be annexed by us, and no one else can do it!" How much of the army can be provided with the necessary logistical supplies according to the budget? ”

Lu Ziliang said: "The 100,000 army is in March, and the 50,000 army is in one year. ”

"March of 100,000 Army...... An army of 50,000 a year! Zhao Xun also knew that going out of the Shunzhou Mansion to participate in the war was more troublesome than in the territory, the terrain was not familiar, whether there was a city to protect the safety of the place where the grain was stored, and transportation from afar was also a problem.

"What do you two think? How many troops are good this time? Zhao Xun looked at Situ Liang and Li Huaiyuan.

"Fifty thousand!" "Fifty thousand!" The two said in unison.

"Fifty thousand? Isn't it too little? Someone muttered.

If you want to talk about the Xiaoguo army, there are a lot of soldiers now, and there are no powerful enemy troops around. In other words, the absence of a frontal enemy is enough to send an army of 100,000 to sweep north.

But whether it is Zhao Xun, Situ Liang, or Li Huaiyuan, they all know that this is impossible. Entering the northern steppes, the logistical supply of the 100,000-strong army is a problem. Because the Khitan tribes are all cavalry, this is much stronger than the cavalry of the Tatar people. If the attack is far away, the logistics cannot be guaranteed, in addition, most of the Xiaoguo army is an infantry army, and after facing a blow from the cavalry, the technique of fleeing thousands of miles away is also incorrect.

If the 100,000-strong army is really defeated, the consequences are unpredictable. It's not that the Xiaoguo army is insufficient, as long as it is needed, based on the territory controlled by the Xiaoguo army, it is feasible to recruit another 200,000 troops. But if the Xiaoguo army is really defeated on the Khitan side, then the Su Mo Jing and Liaodong Kingdom will immediately turn back. Don't think about it, they will definitely take advantage of the fire.

This is still an external cause, or an unpredictable reason. But there are two other internal reasons that are the decisive conditions for determining the number of people this time.

One is that Zhao Xun's method of dealing with the northern Zhuhu is to balance each other, weaken each other, and finally achieve the goal of annexation or annihilation. Zhao Xun did not use the lives of his subordinates to forcibly conquer the tribes, if Zhao Xun's forces could occupy more than half of the world, he could consider it. But with the current capital, Zhao Xun really didn't dare to carry out such a pair of enemies at the same time.

The second is that Zhao Xun is fighting Jizhou's idea. When he came back this time, Zhao Xun understood. To Situ Lei and Murong Cheng, there is nothing to talk about. Just because they attacked the caravan, Zhao Xun had no good opinion of them. In the end, Zhang Yuanjing's guess of the assassination added fuel to Zhao Xun's fire. This also made Zhao Xun agree to the destruction of the Shenwu Army and the Changwu Army by the Taihang Mountain Army in Hanoi Province, Xingyang Mansion and other places.

The reason why Zhao Xun disagreed before was because of the damage caused by the Taihang Mountain Army, and Situ Lei would take it from the hands of the people again, whether it was manpower or materials. But after the assassination, Zhao Xun lost these benevolent hearts.

The assassination incident also made Zhao Xun determined that he must take the entire territory of Jizhou, even if it was a war. Therefore, there should not be too many soldiers from the three Khitan departments to rescue this time. Of course, it can't be too little, otherwise it won't play any role.

"In addition, in this operation, it is best to use cavalry, and the infantry army goes to the Khitan grassland, I am afraid that the effect is not ideal." Situ Liang continued.

Zhao Xun nodded, he also thought that this Khitan rescue, the cavalry was better than the infantry army.

"Look, how many cavalry should you send?"

"My lord, each of the ten armies has a cavalry, which adds up to more than 30,000 people, and the eight cavalry are all 25,000 people, isn't this just more than 50,000 people?" Bao Muyang said puzzled.

"General Bao, don't forget, under the command of the Xiaoguo Army, it's not just these cavalry!" Li Huaiyuan said with a smile.

"More than ...... Oh, I almost forgot, there are also the Wudu Cavalry, in addition to the Eight Banners. The cavalry of the Fifth Province can participate. Bao Muyang suddenly realized.

"My third government can also participate!" "Lord, there is also the Ninth Mansion!" ……

"Lord, the cavalry and the Eight Banners must send troops, and it is best to bear half of them, and the rest of the cavalry and the cavalry of the government army will share half of each." Li Huaiyuan said. Although he is Zhao Xun's father-in-law, he still has to abide by the necessary rules on formal occasions.

Li Muzhi also spoke: "The black-armored cavalry can also participate!" "The black-armored cavalry was originally the Li family's private army, and there are still 6,000 troops, but Zhao Xun still has Li Muzhi in command, and there is no problem with the logistics all the way around. Now it doesn't have a big role in the Beihai Protectorate, so it's better to go to the grassland and fight the Khitans.

Zhao Xun said with a smile: "The black-armored cavalry must not be moved lightly, and they must stay in the Beihai Metropolitan Protectorate, not only to deter the Beihai tribe, but also to deter the Eight Banners of the Spirit." ”

The cavalry attacked, it was necessary at that time, otherwise it would be impossible to stay in Youzhou and only eat and not work. Besides, it's better for them to die than to die for their own men. But it can't be all of them, lest there be accidents. As the saying goes, if you are not afraid of 10,000, you are afraid of what happens. If that 1 in 10,000 chance is met for you, it will be a big loss.

"In this way, the five capital of the cavalry of the Yan Dynasty will send troops to three capitals, a total of 10,000 people. The Eight Banners of the Eight Banners sent troops to three banners, totaling 15,000 people. That's 25,000 places. The cavalry of the government army sent troops to three capitals, totaling 10,000 people, and the cavalry sent troops to four capitals, totaling 12,000 people. That's pretty much it. As for the grain and grass, then let the war be fed by war. At the beginning, our grain could be handed over to the Khitan three departments, and they were responsible. They live on the grassland, and they are the real experts on how to deal with this. Of course, we can't forget to ask them for payment, horses, cattle and sheep. Zhao Xun said slowly.

"The commander of the troops this time, in my opinion, Li Huaiyuan's military envoy is the most suitable. How is it? ”

Li Huaiyuan was stunned, since he took refuge in Zhao Xun, he basically lived idle for the first year. He also knows that people like him cannot move recklessly, nor can they disappear. After Zhao Xun returned, he appointed him as the military envoy of the Military Affairs Department, and now let him lead the army, Li Huaiyuan couldn't help but be surprised.

Situ Liang said with a smile: "If you want to lead the army to fight, no one here has the experience of Master Li. It can be said that our generals here are all novices, and they all learn in battle, and no one has ever led a large army to fight alone outside the war, or in a hard battle. So Master Li, you are also the most suitable person. ”

Speaking of "this ......", Li Huaiyuan is also an orthodox general, and he naturally yearns for leading the army. But he also knew that his identity as the former governor of Youzhou was a hard wound for him, and he was afraid that leading the army would have a lot of impact. In addition, Li Muzhi, as the protector of Beihai, is also the commander of the heavy army, and then let himself lead the army, one is not good, that is, big trouble.

Zhao Xun also seemed to see Li Huaiyuan's worries, and said: "This rescue not only has to fight, but also has to deal with the complicated relationship with the Khitan Third Division. More importantly, these 50,000 troops are still a mixture of various armies. If you want to screw them together and form one, ordinary people really can't do it. Also, in this battle, logistics or something, you can rest assured that no one will pull back. I want to see the strength of the real Long Xiangwei generals in the past! ”

Li Huaiyuan said in a deep voice: "The subordinates will not live up to the orders of the lord!" ”

Zhao Xun said to Li Muzhi, who was smiling and grateful: "You have transferred three flags there, and then you will recruit people from the Beihai tribes to replenish it." I heard that even the people of Liaodong began to run to the Beihai tribes in order to join the Eight Banners of the Yao, how can we not support it? ”

"Yang Wangzhen, send a message to Liaodong and tell them that my Xiaoguo army wants to recruit soldiers, and they must not deliberately stop it, otherwise, they will bear the consequences. However, I don't think they have the energy to pay attention to that. "Under the instigation of Yang Wangqing, the Su Mo Yan tribe has begun to prepare for the conquest of Liaodong.

Later, after discussing some trivial matters with the officials, Zhao Xun solved the problems to be solved one by one.

"Husband, what did you do today?" As soon as he entered the back house, Li Xinyan jumped over and asked.

Zhao Xun shook his head and said, "You are pregnant, can't you be quiet?" I am inexplicable when you ask this, how do you ask me to answer? ”

"My dad and my brother just said that they were separated, which is a bit abnormal." Li Xinyan said with a wrinkled nose.

Zhao Xun pinched his small nose and smiled: "It's nothing, I just let your father lead the army from the beginning, let him restore the reputation that a general should have, and let him have no regrets." ”

"Thank you!" Li Xinyan suddenly said with a straight face.

"Why? Leading the army to fight, relying on real skills, I didn't favor him because of you. ”

"I know! Since becoming the governor of Youzhou, although his father has always held a large army, he has not been able to recover from the previous situation and dominate the battlefield. Later, in order to repay the favor, he lost a large amount of territory, and was scolded by the people of the world. Alas...... The sorrow in my father's heart naturally no one can understand...... You should understand the meaning of this leading battle. Li Xinyan said with a bitter face.

"I believe that your father will definitely restore his reputation and let the people of the world correct his name." Regarding the distress in Li Huaiyuan's heart, Zhao Xun is still understandable. Otherwise, he would not have directly handed over Youzhou to a young man like himself. Come to think of it, the most important reason is that he has recovered the four northern provinces occupied by the Tatar people.