In Tianzhang Pavilion, Du Zhongxiao sat with Zeng Gongliang, Wang Zhu, Hu Su, Fan Zhen and others, talking about the recent war in the northwest.

Zeng Gongliang said: "Two days ago, Captain Di reported that he had ordered the artillery to come forward and fight against the artillery at the head of the party. Within a few days, you can break through the defense of the party wall and try to attack the city with ants. If it goes well, maybe you can take Lingzhou City in the first month. ”

Fan Zhen said: "This is a blessing for the imperial court. The 300,000 army gathered under the city of Lingzhou is not a small amount of materials. To the north of the Zhenrong army, including the people of Huanju and Gyeongju, they were all requisitioned and transferred to transport grain and grass. If you can't capture Lingzhou in the first month, it will affect spring sowing. ”

Zeng Gong nodded: "Yes, the battle in Lingzhou is the last hope of the party." Their plan was to let Captain Di besiege Lingzhou and not be able to capture it, and the logistics could not be supported, and finally withdrew the army. If this is the case, if you attack Lingzhou in the future, you will encounter the same problem. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "When the two armies meet, the brave wins." This dynasty has more artillery than the party, and it is correct to fight more accurately and faster than them, so it is correct to approach the artillery battle with the party. The guns have not been used for a long time in the army, and how to use them is still too little thought. ”

Wang Zhu said: "In this way, isn't it useless to use cannons at the head of the city?" If the enemy comes to attack, there are more cannons, and what if the cannons at the head of the city hit far? As long as they fight to step forward, both sides can hit each other anyway, and it is useless to fight far away. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Nehan, that's not what you said. The first thing that the cannon at the head of the city does is that the enemy can't hit it, or even if it can hit it, it can't be broken. If there is no protection, what difference does it make whether the cannon is placed at the head of the city or under the city? ”

Zeng Gongliang said curiously: "How to protect? The cannon is at the head of the city, and the shells fall, so you can only be beaten? ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Why is the cannon placed at the head of the city? Why can't it be placed in the middle of the city wall? Why not build a fortress where there are cannons? As a heavy weapon in the army, how can the cannon be placed directly at the head of the city? ”

Zeng Gongliang was stunned for a while, looked at Du Zhongxiao, and didn't know what to say for a while.

Yes, why are the cannons placed directly on the city walls? Why are they all already loaded with guns, and don't build a protective cover outside, so that the guns outside the city can't hurt? The artillery defending the city is inconvenient to move, and if there is no more protection, then what is the use?

Looking at everyone, Du Zhongxiao sighed secretly. A lot of things, without a lot of use, without the experience of success and the lessons of failure, it is really difficult for people to think of how to defend and how to crack. These practices are actually not difficult, but the difficult thing is that there is no experience.

Hu Su said: "The army has changed guns and cannons, but in a few years, how to use it, the generals have no experience, and this kind of thing will inevitably happen." After a long time in the future, everything will naturally be understood. Zhao Zi on the front line was originally a general of Hequ Road, and he knew a lot about how to use artillery, and came up with a strategy of pushing the cannon forward and bombarding the enemy, which solved the problem of the enemy defending the city with artillery. ”

Wang Zhu shook his head: "You can't say that. Military and political affairs are major affairs of the country, and if one place cannot think of it, it may be a disaster to destroy the country. Just like this party, Lingzhou just put the cannon on the city wall, and gave Captain Di a chance. And if they build gun emplacements on the city walls and protect the guns, it will not be so easy. Even if you have a good weapon, whether you can use it well or not is the difference between a good general and a mediocre general. ”

When they heard this, they were silent for a while. It seems that since guns have been used in the army, the best one is Du Zhongxiao. Since he led the camp Tianxiang army north to save Tanglong Town, he has been invincible. In the end, the Western Regions were almost a march of a large army, and there was no big war. Of course, this is because there are guns and artillery in the army, and the combat power is not comparable to other armies, but why is it not the credit of Du Zhongxiao's command?

In this attack on the party, Han Qi led Zhao Zi's army, crisscrossing thousands of miles, invincible, and fought all the way to the city of Xingqing Mansion. And Di Qing led an army of 300,000, but he was slow to act. When it came to attacking Lingzhou, it was still up to Zhao Zi to propose an approach to bombardment, which gave Di Qing the idea of winning quickly.

Du Zhongxiao returned to Beijing as the emperor in the imperial history, in order to seize his military power. Is that the right thing to do? is also a big victory, Di Qing can return to the court as a privy envoy, but Du Zhongxiao can only no longer lead the army. Is it worth it for the imperial court?

At this moment, Zhao Zhen came in from outside, and the ministers stood up and saluted.

After the ceremony, everyone sat down, and Zhao Zhen said: "Good news has come from the front line, and Captain Han has broken the party's troops and horses in Jingzhou. ”

The ministers hurriedly congratulated together.

Zhao Zhen said: "Di Qing was in Lingzhou, and he ordered the artillery to come forward and confront the party artillery in the city, which changed the situation at once. When the news reached Xingqing Mansion, the party was in a hurry and had to send a large army to Lingzhou to rescue. Han Qi and Liu Ji commanded the army, defeated the reinforcements in one fell swoop, and killed countless people. Now it seems that Lingzhou can be broken this winter, and the party's demise is imminent! ”

After speaking, he waved his hand and said: "The front-line war, although it is related to the major affairs of the imperial court, after all, the overall situation has been decided, so there is no need to talk about it." Come tonight, I would like to ask Du Zhongcheng to talk to you about military affairs. Although the party is defeated, there is still the Khitan. Since Yelu Chongyuan returned to Datong Mansion, Yelu Hongji is pressing forward step by step, and it seems that Chongyuan's time is running out. The fact that the ministers of the DPRK and China are aware of the military affairs will have many benefits for the future. ”

All the ministers said yes together. Obviously, the victory of the party war gave Zhao Zhen a lot of confidence and the courage to dominate the world.

Du Zhongxiao got up and arched his hand: "For the minister, you don't have to know the details of the war, as long as you know the general outline, the minister calls it strategy." To make a strategic decision, we must first judge the strategic situation. It will take advantage of the party war. Before taking the meandering road, there are only three ways to attack the party. One is to attack Hengshan from Dunyan Road, and the other is to set off from Huanqing Road to attack Lingzhou. The third is to start from the Zhenrong army, or to attack Lingzhou. The Yanyan Road and the Huanqing Road are both rugged mountain roads, which are actually not conducive to the march of the army, and can only be used as auxiliary attacks. Although the valley road of the Zhenrong army is flat, Tiandu Mountain, like Hengshan, is an important place for the party, and it is not easy to advance. This candidate made a decision, if he wanted to attack the party, he should mainly use the Zhenrong army and seek to capture Tiandu Mountain first. ”

Zhao Zhen nodded: "That's a good point." In the past, ministers discussed fighting against the party, and most of them were based on Yanyan Road and Huanqing Road, which was still too light on the enemy. Only by taking Tiandu Mountain first and calming the road can you take Lingzhou from the Zhenrong army. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded and said, "With the meandering road, of course, it is different. To fight against the party, we must look at the strength of our army and the strength of the party. If you want to encroach on the party's land step by step, you should take Hequ Road and Yanyan Road as the main force and seize the land of Hengshan first. If you have the Western Regions, you should take the land west of the river. If there is a war to destroy the country, then a large army will be sent out to attack Lingzhou directly from the Zhenrong army. The battle to attack the party was mainly based on the attack on Lingzhou by the army of Captain Di Tai, which was actually a battle to destroy the party. Han Taiwei took Hexi, but he only divided the party and the troops. ”

Speaking of this, Du Zhongxiao stopped and let Zhao Zhen and several ministers think.

In fact, judging from the original strategic concept, Di Qing is still not qualified all the way. It wasn't until Han Qi took Liangzhou that the army left Tiandu Mountain. Di Qing attacked Lingzhou, and Han Qi had already taken Jingzhou and forced it to the city of Xingqing Mansion. Originally, Di Qing should have captured Lingzhou, but Han Qi's army arrived, and the two roads jointly attacked Xingqing Mansion. Now the fact is that Di Qing has slowed down the offensive speed of the whole army all the way.

Speaking of which, Du Zhongxiao no longer said party items, but turned to the Khitan direction.

"A few years ago, the two emperors of the Khitan stood side by side and fought for several years. It wasn't until last year that Yelu Hongji showed signs of victory, advancing step by step. Yelu Chongyuan retreated step by step until he retreated to Datong Mansion. At this time, it is a good time for this dynasty to intervene in the Khitan. Because of the Youyan area, they are actually each other's inside and outside. Youzhou is based on Yan Mountain, controlling a large area of plains, and it is an important place. However, there are several roads leading to its surroundings that can assist in the defense. The military strength of the two countries is equal, and whoever occupies Datong Mansion will have an advantage. Therefore, the battle of Youyan is in Datong Mansion. ”

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