Du Zhongxiao's recital was sent out, and the government hall organized it to meet on a certain day. All of a sudden, there was a lot of discussion between the DPRK and China, and there was a lot of talk about it.

Without waiting for the assembly, the war against the party was already imminent. Di Qing and Han Qi played one after another, taking advantage of the autumn high horse fat, to launch an all-out attack on the party. After the morning of this day, Zhao Zhen summoned the ministers of the court and the central government to discuss the matter in the Chongzheng Palace.

Du Zhongxiao sat down, and saw that in addition to the two prefectures, all the scholars of Hanlin had arrived, as well as Li Shen, the envoy of salt and iron, Zhou Zhan, the envoy of the Du Branch, and Zhang Zhang, the envoy of the household department, were also all listed, as well as Fan Zhen of the Imperial Academy. With the addition of himself, the important ministers of the DPRK and the Central Committee are worried.

After giving tea and soup, Zhao Zhen said: "In the middle of the year, the two lieutenants Di Qing and Han Qi were divided into the north and south of the party item, and they already intended to use troops against the party item. It has been a month or two since the two of them arrived there, and now the sky is high and crisp, and it is the season to use soldiers. They have repeatedly gone to the top and demanded the use of troops and party items. This is a big deal, and I don't dare to make a decision. Today, all the ministers are summoned to discuss this matter in detail, and each expresses his own opinion, what is the best thing to do. ”

Wen Yanbo praised Wat and said: "Now that the imperial court has enough money and food, and the gunpowder, guns and ammunition prepared for the frontline armies are also ready, it is time to use troops." Since the Dangxiang rebellion, the northwest has used troops for many years, and the people are exhausted. It is time to exterminate the party and let the people of the northwest recuperate. ”

Zhao Zhen nodded: "Now that the soldiers are full of food, they should not keep this traitor." It's just that the forbidden army has been trained for several years, and now there are only more than 400,000 people, all of whom are used for party projects, is there any risk? This is a serious matter that cannot be acted recklessly, and requires detailed discussion by the minister. ”

On the other side, the privy envoy Wang Deyong kept silent, and Jia Changchao said: "It has been several years since the railway was repaired to the Zhenrong army, and it is running smoothly. Grain has been sent there for months and is well stocked. Di Qing is in charge of more than 200,000 troops, and he is all the way, how can the party resist! ”

Zhang Fangping, who participated in politics, said: "Gather heavy troops in the Zhenrong army, and worry about money and food." Although there is a flood in the Central Plains this year, it is not serious, and with the bumper grain harvest in the Lianghuai area, it can supply hundreds of thousands of troops. However, in addition to food and grass, the army now has to use guns and bullets. Du Zhongcheng was on Hequ Road, although he fought repeatedly and expanded his land for thousands of miles, but there were few actual battles, and there were not many gunpowder guns and bullets. This attack on the party, Han Qi's department is almost the same as when Du Zhongcheng was on Hequ Road, and there is no big concern. However, Di Qing gathered nearly 300,000 troops in the Zhenrong army, and if he couldn't win quickly, he would be worried about gunpowder and guns for a long time. The flame nitrate of this dynasty is collected from the ground, and there is only so much of it once a year, which is a troublesome matter. ”

Wen Yanbo said: "Du Zhongcheng won consecutive victories over the Khitan and the party, opened up the river meandering road, and went west for thousands of miles, restored the Western Regions, and had plenty of gunpowder and ammunition. Di Qing is just attacking the party's way, how can he be short? ”

Zhang Fangping said: "Xianggong, although Du Zhongcheng has opened up a lot of land, there are not many wars. And it's all field battles, the artillery is used less, and the materials consumed are actually not much. This time, Di Qing is not in the Zhenrong army, its soldiers and horses are nearly ten times that of Du Zhongcheng, and it will not be easy to face Lingzhou Jiancheng. ”

After the three divisions were split, it was actually impossible to completely distinguish them in the short term. Now Zhang Fangping is equivalent to participating in politics and being the third envoy, and he knows best about the preparation of war materials. Although he has participated in politics, the prime minister has the right to know and make decisions on the affairs of the three divisions, and the others are still inferior. The most important thing now is to fight against the party, and only when the supply of materials can the combat effectiveness be guaranteed.

In this attack on the party, Di Qing of the Zhenrong Army, mainly Shaanxi Road soldiers and horses, plus the Beijing Forbidden Army, there were nearly 300,000 people. Han Qi was in charge of the soldiers and horses on the original Hequ Road, with nearly 200,000 people. Those who fought directly against the party, plus other routes, had a total strength of about 500,000. This figure is ten times that of Du Zhongxiao, and the material support is no longer the same, of course Zhang Fangping is worried.

Wen Yanbo said: "How powerful the artillery, a Lingzhou, how can it stop the footsteps of Di Qing's army!" It is estimated that this battle will not take much time to end. It doesn't take much to prepare supplies. ”

Ouyang Xiu, a Hanlin scholar on the side, said: "Whenever you do something, you must first think of difficult prescriptions." Captain Di commanded the army to attack the party, which was a great plan of the imperial court, and it should not be taken lightly. War materials, Captain Di reported to the imperial court, to see if they were sufficient. ”

Zhang Fangping said: "According to the report of Captain Di, the imperial court has been fully prepared and will be sent to the front line one after another. It's just that the numbers I read in the newspaper may not be enough in the future. The number reported is less than that used in the past few years. ”

Ouyang Xiu said: "The so-called suspicious people don't need to be used, and the employment is not suspicious, since the number reported by Captain Di is sufficient, then it is enough." If something goes wrong in the future, ask Captain Di to blame. As a marshal, he should calculate these clearly. ”

Zhao Zhen saw that everyone was silent, and said to Du Zhongxiao: "Zhongcheng has been Shuai Hequ all the way for several years, and he has fought the most, what do you think?" ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Weichen has not been to the south of the party, I don't know how the current defense of Lingzhou City is after a few years of repair." If the city is strong and difficult to break, and the army is under the city of Lingzhou, it is different. The materials needed for combat should have been taught in military schools, and as long as the commander has set a strategy, then it should not be miscalculated. Of course, just in case, the imperial court should prepare more to avoid accidents. ”

Zhao Zhen said: "What Zhongcheng said is true. According to the number reported by Di Qing, add half to prepare in case of accidents. ”

Wen Yanbo and Zhang Fangping praised Wat and said yes. The most important thing in this attack on the party is Di Qing's all the way, as long as he doesn't have problems, there is no problem with the big strategy. Breaking through Lingzhou, the door to the core of the party is wide open, and there is no danger to defend.

After discussing the logistics supply, Jia Changchao said: "This attack on the party is mainly based on Di Qing's soldiers and horses attacking Lingzhou, supplemented by Han Qi's soldiers and horses. Originally, the intention of the imperial court was to concentrate Zhao Zi and Yang Wenguang's troops and horses, and attack the party Helan Mountain, and the troops came to the city of Xingqing Mansion. Han Qi suggested that the Shanhe Pass was strong, and the mountain road was nearly 100 miles after leaving the pass, which was not conducive to the operation of the army. He proposed that Yang Wenguang's troops be sent to Linshanheguan, and Zhao Zi's troops would go out of Xingxingxia to attack Shazhou, all the way to the east, and attack several counties in Hexi. There were few party troops, and they joined forces with Captain Di in Liangzhou. ”

Hearing this, Du Zhongxiao smiled. This is the route he decided after consulting with Han Qi when he left Hequ Road. For the hot-weapon army that fights with guns, the range of one or two hundred miles around the two states of Xingling, Di Qing's nearly 300,000 troops are enough, plus the road to the north does not have much effect. It is better to go out of the Star Gorge and attack the weak links of the party. The Song dynasty occupied Juyan and Yizhou, which already bordered Hexi directly.

After listening to Jia Changchao's words, he was silent for a while, and Wang Zhu, a scholar from Hanlin, said: "Shanheguan and Lingzhou are one south and one north, and they are facing the two states of Xingling, the core of the party. If you break one place in the north and south, you can besiege Xingqing Mansion, and at that time, the party item was in the palm of the dynasty. ”

Zeng Gongliang, who participated in politics, said: "It can't be calculated so simply. Now there is a railway, no more than before. There are nearly 300,000 people under Di Taiwei, and if it is fully expanded, Xingqing Mansion can become an isolated city when Lingzhou is besieged. At this time, it doesn't make much sense to attack Shanhe Pass. ”

Zeng Gongliang compiled the "General Essentials of the Martial Arts", and after the use of muskets and artillery, he made some efforts to teach materials in the army, and he has a deeper understanding of the current army than others. The army of 300,000 people, as long as it is out of the mouth of the Hulu River valley and completely expanded, is under its control for one or two hundred miles around. Lingzhou is less than 100 miles from Xingqing Mansion, if Di Qing besieges Lingzhou, the actual Xingqing Mansion will also be swept around. At this time, if Han Qi attacks Shanhe Pass all the way to the north, it is not of much significance, it is better to rely on the railway to attack from the west.

The ministers present, except for Du Zhongxiao and half of Zeng Gongliang, the rest of them don't know much about the current army. Even if I get the textbook of the military school, because there is a lot of math content, I still don't understand it. For the Northwest strategy, most of them rely on previous impressions and come from intuition.

If before, it was impossible to send 300,000 troops from the Zhenrong army in one place, and the rear could not support it. But now that there is a railway, it is possible to transport grain and grass directly to the Zhenrong army, which has become a large base, and the rear is along the railway, which is completely different from before. The 300,000-strong army has no idea how much space it will occupy on the front line, and it is impossible to imagine how this battle will be fought.

When it comes to front-line deployment, everyone has a lot of discussions, and there is nothing to say, and they can't make up their minds for a while.

Zhao Zhen said: "It was Du Zhongcheng who once commanded the battle, and now the forbidden army is also trained according to the meandering road. Zhongcheng, how do you think this battle against the party should be arranged? ”

Du Zhongxiao praised the wat: "Back to Your Majesty, the minister thinks that there is merit in Taiwei Han's proposal." The proposal to attack the mountains and rivers pass is nothing more than to want to advance from the north to the south, and attack Xingqing Mansion from two roads. As Yichen saw when he was on the winding road, the party project of Shanheguan took a lot of effort and was extremely strong. It is not easy to attack, not to mention that after the pass, it is dozens of miles of mountain roads, and the party can rely on the mountains to harass. It is better to work all the way to Lingzhou, and let Captain Di lead the army to attack the heart of the party. ”

The privy deputy envoy Tian Guo said: "Is it really useless to attack the mountains and rivers? If this is the case, why should the party go to great lengths to operate? ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "If the party doesn't spend a lot of effort to operate, this dynasty can attack from there." After they operated, the mountains and rivers were dangerous, and since there was another way to go, there was no need to go from there. The railway leads to Yizhou, if it is based on Xingxingxia and goes straight out of Shazhou, there are not many soldiers and horses in several counties in Hexi, and it is empty. There are few people, too many soldiers and horses to support, twenty or thirty thousand people is the most suitable. ”

Everyone knows that the party only has 20,000 or 30,000 soldiers and horses in several counties in Hexi, and the number of troops is indeed not much. However, such a long-distance attack can only be defeated by food, and there is some hesitation for a while. According to military law, soldiers are not allowed to plunder people's property. Of course, when it comes to actual combat, most people don't follow this rule. However, the central court could not follow this idea in arranging its strategy.

Tian said: "Hexi is one or two thousand miles away, if Han Qi's army goes deep, I am afraid that it will not be able to support it." ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Of course they don't have the ability to attack the city, but the counties in Hexi also don't have a strong city. This was originally to assist Captain Di's army, even if the march was not smooth, there was nothing. In fact, when the imperial court occupied the Western Regions, the party's Hexi was unstable. As soon as the imperial army arrived, there were bound to be many people who would surrender when they heard the news. Attacking there is much better than attacking other places. When the army arrives at the foot of Helan Mountain, the party will inevitably panic. ”

Hexi is the passage from the Central Plains to the Western Regions, since the decline of the Tang Dynasty, there have been several changes of rulers, and the number of households has been greatly reduced. The army that can support that area is 350,000 people, and no matter how many places there are, they can't bear it. Du Zhongxiao's plan was to occupy Liangzhou as soon as possible and rely on the Zhenrong army to sweep west of Helan Mountain.

Everyone was silent for a while, and the ministers couldn't imagine how to fight such a battle for a while, and they felt beyond their control.

In fact, for Du Zhongxiao, the army that the party can fight in the field is only 200,000, and Di Qing has 300,000 people in his hands, and he can directly attack Xingling and Lingzhou. If the party dares to send troops to the rescue, it will be annihilated on the spot. This battle was not difficult to fight. The problem now is that the imperial court does not have the experience of Du Zhongxiao leading troops to fight, and this battle seems to be full of concerns.

After discussing for a long time, Zhao Zhen chose to believe Du Zhongxiao's words, in the end, he had fought. said: "In this operation, I still obeyed Han Qi's plan on the front line, and Du Zhongcheng said the same, I think it's good." Di Qingtong's army attacked Lingzhou, and Han Qi went out of Xingxing Gorge to attack Guazhou, striving to succeed in the first battle. Wait until next summer, you can destroy the party and solve the trouble in the northwest! ”

The ministers praised the wat and said yes, and the strategy was decided. In fact, if he had been able to support such a heavy attack on the party in the past, the ministers of the DPRK and China might have been full of confidence. On the contrary, after Du Zhongxiao's many victories, he returned to the court from the front line, and the monarchs and ministers became cautious. The more unfamiliar the current military ministers are, the more they are willing to make efforts, but they have no bottom in their hearts. It's just that now the imperial court can support all kinds of results.