The quarrel in the outside world continues, Qin Hui is still stranded in Dengzhou, and the palace is still calm, the official family does not seem to take this to heart at all, every morning after dealing with some necessary official affairs, he hides in the Tianzhang Pavilion of the inner court and sits until midnight, and even stays here at night, and outside the cabinet, Wangfu leads more than ten internal guards to guard day and night, without his permission, no one is allowed to enter, and everyone is used to his mysterious appearance, knowing that the Taoist official is planning big things again, and does not disturb him.

"Official, you hide in the pavilion every day, are you busy with these?" Zhao Xin didn't see the emperor's face for a few days, and he thought about pulling Zhe Meiluan to visit the class, looking at the room full of papers, and the walls were full of maps.

"The tide rises and the water is three feet deep... Oh, don't touch those things, mess up what I can't find! Zhao Ta lay in front of a map and said something in his mouth, and when he saw that Zhao Xin was going to help him clean up the house, he hurriedly shouted.

"Alas, who is willing to help you, look at the emperor's study here, it's just..."Zhao Xin sighed and put down the things in his hand and said.

"Who are you going to beat?" Zhi Meiluan covered her mouth and smiled, and whispered in Zhao Xin's ear.

"It looks like you're going to use troops against Yanjing!" Zhao Xin has followed the emperor for the longest time, it can be said that he was his first military secretary, he is familiar with his work habits, looking at the maps hanging on the wall, most of them are detailed maps of the Yanjing region, and he has already guessed the emperor's intentions.

"Here..."

"What I see and hear here, no one is allowed to mention it when I leave this door, not even my own father and mother, right?" Don't wait for Zhao Ta to finish speaking. Zhao Xin snatched it and said as if he had endorsed it.

"Well, that's good. Remember the rules of the past! Zhao Ta stood up, stretched and looked at the two of them and said with a smile.

"Hmph. You've told me eight hundred times that you've never forgotten it in my life! Zhao Xin glanced at the official family and said.

"The official family said this to me, it seems that I came to the wrong place!" Zhi Meiluan's face darkened and said.

"No, no, the matter here is related to the life and death of tens of millions of people, once half a sentence is leaked for those who are interested to hear, I don't know how many people will fall to the ground!" Zhao Ta hurriedly said.

"So the official family really has to use troops against the Jurchen? But now that there is a lot of noise outside, there is endless debate about whether the war is or not, why don't the officials express their opinions! "Zhe Meiluan has also heard of the controversy in the outside world, but now he sees the two heavens inside and outside. Puzzled, he asked.

"The official family did this on purpose, he was spreading the fog so that the Jurchens couldn't figure out his thoughts, maybe those arguments were provoked by the officials, right or not?" Zhao Xin said to the official family.

"Alas, I have to lock you up tomorrow, otherwise I will be arrested by the Jurchens one day, and I will not have no secrets to speak of!" Zhao Tan looked at Zhao Xin and sighed helplessly, Zhao Xin was right, and now this turmoil is indeed behind him. One is to understand the attitude of the government and the opposition towards war and peace, and the other is to let the Jurchens relax their vigilance.

"Look at the two of you, you haven't seen each other for many days, and you're still bickering when you finally meet!" Zhi Meiluan watched them 'tear down' each other and teased. "Official, what do you think of me as this?"

"Huh!" Zhao Ta looked at the two beauties in front of him with a smirk, went up and hugged the shoulders of the two of them, and looked left and right, "I think the two of you are very feminine without wearing military uniforms!" ”

"The officials are here to make fun of us again. Is it still possible for us to walk around in the palace in military uniforms? Zhao Xinyan said.

"That's not bad, there are more scenery in the palace. Wouldn't it be better if you could give birth to two more generals for me! Zhao Ta moved his hand to the lower abdomen of the two of them and rubbed it with a wicked smile.

"The official family...", both of them blushed and said coquettishly, but they didn't feel good in their hearts. Earlier, the four of them didn't see any movement in their stomachs, although they were anxious, they didn't feel embarrassed, but this year, the queen and Yu Liyan had given birth to dragon seeds, but their lower abdomen was still mediocre, so they were really anxious.

"Ha Luha, don't worry, when I'm done with this big thing, I can accompany you more!" Zhao Ta saw the embarrassment of the two and hurriedly comforted.

"Does Your Majesty want to attack Yanjing Mansion?" Zhao Xin struggled and asked, getting rid of the arms of the official family and changing the topic.

"Yes, but this will be a big battle that will completely change the strength of the Song and Jin countries, Yanjing will become the focus of this battle, but it will not be easy to capture it!" Zhao Ta walked to the center of the room and lifted the cloth on the table, revealing a huge sand table.

"Yanjing is the sad place of my Great Song Dynasty soldiers, the battle for Youzhou in the early years of the founding of the country, the battle of the Gaoliang River in Song Liao, the battle of the Song and Jin joint attack on Yanjing, and the humiliation of the Jin army to overcome Yanjing, among the hundreds of thousands of soldiers, there are piles of white bones!" Zhe Meiluan looked at the sand table and sighed, her ancestors had also participated in the battle for Yanjing, and many people spilled their blood on Youyan.

"Well, this is the land of a hundred battles, Yanjing has an advantageous territory, although the Jin army has been defeated by us several times, its strength is still there, and it is indeed not easy to capture it!" Zhao Ta frowned and nodded, the reason why this situation occurred was also determined by a series of subjective and objective conditions.

There are a series of natural barriers and barriers around Yanjing, which constitute the protection of Yanjing, and in order to seize Yanjing, it is necessary to break through these barriers and dangers. In the west, north and northeast of the city, there are Xishan and Yanshan Mountains to form the natural barrier of Yanjing, only through the canyon pass formed in the mountains can enter Yanjing Mansion, especially Juyong Pass, Gubeikou, Songting Pass, Jinpo Pass, Yuguan several major passes are the most important.

Juyongguan is located in Changping, northwest of Yanjing, and is 100 miles away from the city. It is located at the junction of the northern vein of Taihang Mountain, West Mountain and Yanshan Mountain Range, Jundu Mountain. It includes the entire Guangou area from the north entrance to the south entrance of the ancient city. Xiang is known for his danger. The mountain pass canyon reaches more than 40 miles from the north mouth to the south mouth, the two mountains are sandwiched, a water flows beside it, its pass is like a line, its side is like a tilt, it is difficult to twist and turn, and it is difficult for cars and horses to travel; Hao Jing called it "the mountain is interrupted, the two cliffs and gorges are bundled, the stone road is entrenched, and the gap is lingering"; "Water Jing Note": "The mountains are deep, the side roads are narrow, the forest barriers are dangerous, and the road can accommodate the tracks." The dangerous situation of Juyong Pass was called "absolutely dangerous" by Gu Zuyu, and this pass is not only dangerous, but also an important traffic artery. It is an important channel to communicate Beijing with Shanxi and the Mongolian Plateau, and has been a battleground for soldiers since ancient times.

Gubeikou. Also known as the Tiger North Mouth, Shen Kuo made Liao once passed through the "zigzag northward gorge." Jiluanshui, through more than 30 miles, hook fold into the mountain gap to degree, the so-called Gubeikou also". In the northeast and west of Yanjing, two hundred miles away from the city, it is located in the deep mountains in the middle of Yanshan, and the water of the Luanhe River flows from here. The city pass is set up by the mountain and the river, the pass is two cliffs and walls, and there is only one car in the road. There is a deep stream below, a boulder Leike, where forty or fifty miles. Su Zhe has a poem "chaotic mountains and strange roads, the trail lingers long and long, and the Shu road is sought in the dream, and the east valley of Xingzhou is the west of Fengzhou." It can be seen that Gubeikou is also a dangerous road. From Yanjing out of the Gubei Pass, to the north to the Mongolian Plateau, to the east to the Songliao Plain, is an important passage from the northeast into the Central Plains.

Bauhinia Pass. Also known as Jinpoguan, it is located in the northwest of Yizhou. There are Taihang Mountain peaks in the east and west, and the Juma River in the north is blocked, and the valley in the middle is rugged. "The cliff is steep, like a column", and it slopes up the Bauhinia Ridge from south to north. If the valley ladder is cleverly set, it is closed like the gate of heaven suddenly open. There is indeed a trend that is not open to the public, and it is the seventh tower of Taihang Mountain - Puyin. An important passage from Shanxi to cross the Taihang Mountains into the North China Plain, it is the southwest gateway of Yanjing.

Songting Pass, one hundred and twenty miles north of Xifengkou, is also an important pass in the Yanshan Mountains, out of the pass to the east to the Songliao Plain, is an important passage to enter Yanjing from the northeast; Yuguan, that is, Shanhaiguan. The Yanshan Mountains stretch across the northern part of the North China Plain, from west to east, to the Bohai Sea. Yuguan is a narrow area between the mountains and the sea, the northwest is the Yanshan peaks, the east is the sea, the throat of North China and the northeast, is an important pass to enter Yanjing from Liaodong.

For this dangerous situation around Yanjing, the "Itinerary of the Envoy" said: The land of Youzhou is fertile for thousands of miles, the north limit is heavy and mountainous, there are five passes, Juyong can pass through the big car to transfer salary, Songting, Jinpo, Gubeikou only pass through people and horses, not driving. There are eighteen rabbit paths and bird paths outside, which can only pass people, not horses. Therefore, in order to attack Yanjing, it is first necessary to break through these dangers around Beijing.

"Of the many passes, only the Bauhinia Pass is in our hands, if we want to occupy Yanjing City, we can only sweep away the peripheral passes first, which requires the investment of a large number of troops, and it will last longer!" Zhao Xin pointed to the sand table and said.

"What Concubine De said is extremely true!" Zhe Meiluan said, "Yongxi Northern Expedition, the Song army only has 100,000 people in the East Road Cao Bin, plus the Central and Western Routes, the total number of troops participating in the Northern Expedition exceeds 200,000, and the Liao army is also more than 100,000. The two sides engaged in a fierce battle at Qigou Pass. The Liao army surrounded the Song army several times, and the Song army was forced to defend itself around the grain truck, as a result, the Song army was defeated, the soldiers were scattered, tens of thousands of people died, and the battle was extremely fierce. This battle of our army was out in February and lasted until July and August for half a year, but it did not even touch the gate of Yanjing City. ”

Zhao Ta nodded, knowing that they were right, this kind of large-scale war in the Yanjing region was mainly determined by its important strategic position. In the early Liao Dynasty, Yanjing was an important military town in the Central Plains in the Later Tang Dynasty to resist the southward movement of the Khitans. After Shi Jingjiao ceded Yanyun, Liaosheng Youzhou became Nanjing, which was one of the five capitals of Liao. However, whether it is a military town, a capital or a national capital, it is very important for a regime, and there are often heavy troops, so in order to seize the Beijing area, there must be enough troops, so it often leads to a large-scale war.

It is precisely because of the large scale of the war in the Yanjing area, the large number of troops invested, and the long duration that all sides will mobilize the vast majority of the power of the political power before entering the war. Song Taizong's two northern expeditions were concentrated in the main force of the Song Dynasty, only the requisition of grain and grass involved the whole country, and the Liao army in the defense of the Song army, also poured out, Liao Shengzong, Empress Dowager Xiao personally to the battlefield, and requisitioned the tribal army and even the army of Tokyo. At this time, the war in the Yanjing area not only had local significance, but also often affected the whole country, and had the nature of a struggle for power.

"Even if it can capture the periphery of the dangerous pass, but Yanjing City is well defended, the city wall is three battles high, one zhang and five feet wide, and the enemy towers and battle oars are all available. There are corner towers built in all four corners, and there are arrow towers at the upper end of each city gate. Outside the walls is a wide moat, which is navigated by a drawbridge. The degree of solidity is much stronger than the Lingzhou City we have attacked, this kind of tall and strong city, easy to defend and difficult to attack, it is difficult for the attacking side to easily break the city, and the enemy army can resist with the city, or stick to it and wait for help! Zhao Xin also said.

"Listen to the two of you, Yanjing City can't be attacked!" Zhao Ta said with a smile, "But the Khitans have once attacked Yanjing City, and the Jurchens have also captured this city, can't I defeat it?" ”

"The official family is right, but our Great Song Dynasty has no precedent for breaking the city once, but due to the heavy loss of troops, the national strength has declined, the soldiers are cold, and the officials are afraid of war. If a lot of military resources and financial resources are spent, but the Northern Expedition fails, it will definitely cause a crisis! Seeing that the official family was full of confidence, Zhao Xin couldn't help but pour a bucket of cold water on him.

"Well, what you say is not unreasonable, but Yanjing doesn't take it, our Great Song Dynasty has always been under the threat of the Jurchens' iron hooves, and we have to bear the humiliation of destroying the country for generations!" Zhao Ta said solemnly, obviously his determination to go on the Northern Expedition has been made... (To be continued......)