When the wine was served, everyone drank a glass and ate their own food. After three rounds of drinking, I slowly relaxed and said nothing.

Thirteen Lang said: "The official is now a captain, and the affairs of the world's marching and fighting are all under his control." It's better to change my errand and lead the troops on the front line. It was only said that Yelu Hongji of the Khitan was about to win, how could the imperial court sit idly by? Together with the war, we people have a chance. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "You have this kind of idea, but you can't do it." The world is peaceful, there is no war, it is the blessing of the people, where is the reason to think about war every day? To be a soldier in the army is to prepare for war, not to look forward to war. ”

Thirteen Lang shook his head again and again after hearing this: "Official, what you say is reasonable, but where can you make the soldiers of the world like this?" Soldiers don't want to fight, and they don't have the strength to train them. If you can't go into battle to fight for military merits, what's the point of being a soldier? ”

Du Zhongxiao pointed at Yao Shouxin and said: "Just like Mrs. Yao, I feel that the peaceful days are very good." But when it comes to using cannons, who in the world can match him? This is the mentality that a soldier should have, don't just be rich and noble. ”

Dou Shunqing said: "Where can everyone be like Mrs. Yao." When I first entered the capital, I thought it was a good day. After five years, I really felt like I was going to get moldy all over my body, and I couldn't keep it like this. If you have been in a military school all your life and do not enter the barracks, it is difficult to be a qualified teacher. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded, what he said was right. Except for some courses that have little to do with the military, teachers at military schools still have to go to the barracks after a while. Only practical experience in the military camp can be combined with textbooks to teach truly qualified students.

In the current military academy, many of the teachers in it are officers of the original Du Zhongxiao camp Tianxiang Army, and they have the intention of restricting Du Zhongxiao's military power. Now that I am a privy envoy myself, some people can use it, but most of them are difficult to join the army again. Not everyone is like Shisanlang, who is bent on going to the battlefield, and some are used to the stable life of the military school.

Du Zhongxiao can see this matter well and does not care too much. The army changed to its own system, and also used the people it brought out, how can such an army and the court rest assured? If you were yourself, you wouldn't tolerate this kind of thing happening.

These people entered the military academy from Hequ Road, and they were given preferential treatment for military merit and promotion, but they did not lead soldiers. In this world, in addition to himself, a special person with memories of his past life, how many people are indispensable? As long as they live happily, that's enough.

While drinking, the topic slowly turned to the upcoming military reform, and several people inquired about the content of the military reform.

Du Zhongxiao said: "Now it's just a decision on military reform, how to change it, it hasn't been decided yet?" What will the future look like, which one can say? ”

Thirteen Lang said: "How else can I change it?" As long as we follow our original military system, everything will be fine! Look at us when we are on Hequ Road, whether it is against the Khitan or the party, we are invincible! The Khitan army of hundreds of thousands is not to flee from the wind! ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Thirteen Lang, things can't be so simple. Not to mention that it is one thing to have an army, it is one thing to change to the whole army in a short time, and it is another thing to change to the whole army of the whole country. Speaking of the war at that time, it was actually the Yelu Chongyuan army that really collided head-on, and it was actually Yelu Chongyuan's army that was defeated. killed the Khitan lord entirely because they didn't know that the artillery was powerful, and they collided all at once. Later, Yeluren gave way to the meandering road first, because the new lord of the country died, the whole army had no heart to fight, and Chongyuan became the emperor, so he had to withdraw. As for the party items, it is basically to fight more and less. Only in the battle of Hue, the party's White Horse Army Division concentrated its forces to attack, and it was a complete victory. That opportunity no longer exists. ”

Thirteen Lang said: "What difference can it be?" The two armies fought in the field, and we had 30,000 soldiers and horses, and the enemy was still difficult to beat! ”

Du Zhongxiao sighed: "To win the battle, you need the right time, place and people, plus your own army's combat strength is outstanding. At this time, where to find the right opportunity at the right time? To fight against the Khitan, the large army often needs to go hundreds or even thousands of miles deep and fight in motion. At that time, even though the front-line troops were powerful, the follow-up grain and grass were easy for the enemy to take advantage of. When there is a setback, things are hard to say. When the two countries engage in military exchanges, they pay attention to the fact that the strength of the country can be truly turned into combat strength, and they cannot think that the victory or defeat will be decided in a war. ”

This is what Du Zhongxiao is worried about, the officials and generals of the DPRK and China will mistakenly think that a head-to-head confrontation can defeat the enemy and advance lightly. Once you have a setback, you don't know what to do. How easy is it to actually fight a war? There are many examples in history of European powers being defeated by weak enemies, and we cannot afford to ignore them. At that time, when the river meandering road was opened, Hue Ferry eliminated the White Horse Military Division, and directly approached Helan Mountain, which frightened the party. How can there be such a good thing in fighting against the Khitan? They don't even have an official capital, and it is normal for the Khitan lord to press the bowl at four o'clock, and it is normal to fight thousands of miles in a war. Moreover, now the Khitan is the time when the country is strong, and the two emperors are fighting, but in fact, the scope is limited to a small area, which has little impact on the actual situation.

The country of Khitan, until now, has been on the rise, and the strength of such a country should not be underestimated. Although the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun were the most important agricultural areas of the Khitan, the military strength of the Khitan was in the rear, on the steppe. At this time, the strength of the Jurchens was weak, the Tatars were loyal to the Khitan, and the two countries were in a full-scale war, and it was not possible to distinguish the winner from the loser in a few years. Unless the Song army completes the reform and has economic support, it can fight for several years in a row.

Imagine that it is the same as in the meandering road, after a few battles, it is impossible to let the Khitan Nagong surrender. If you really want to win the Khitan, you must recapture the sixteen states of Yanyun, and at the same time go deep into the grassland, plough the court and sweep the caves. At that time on Hequ Road, because he happened to kill the Khitan Emperor, the Khitan retreated because of civil strife, but he was not afraid of a war with the Song Dynasty. Thirteen Lang's comparison with that time was incorrect.

Dou Shunqing said: "Yes, the Khitan is not comparable to the party, and the national strength is strong. When Yuan Hao was not dead, he had a bad relationship with the Khitan, and the Khitan conquered the party for many years, and was defeated several times, but it had no impact on the national strength. In terms of losses, the losses of the Khitan and the party were far greater than those of the current dynasty, but in the end, the party bowed its head and admitted defeat and called the minister a tribute. Compared with military strength, the Khitan is indeed a big country in the world. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded. In fact, purely compared to military strength, the Song Dynasty and the Khitan were at most equal, and this was still with the help of a complete city defense. The military power of the Song Dynasty was mainly north of the Yellow River, mainly in Shaanxi, Hedong and Hebei, plus Jingxi and part of Kaifeng. The southern routes mainly provided money and food, and because of the long distance, they did not play a big role in supporting the front line. At present, only a very small part of the more than 800,000 forbidden troops come from the south of the Yangtze River, mainly along the border three roads. The national strength of the Song Dynasty was not actually transformed into military power. This is different from other dynasties, mainly from the inheritance of the five dynasties of the late Tang Dynasty, historical reasons.

Yao Shouxin said: "Fighting against the Khitan, except for Youzhou, the rest of the places are mostly mountainous, and the roads are difficult to travel. The army fights, and it is not easy to march. And now artillery is inseparable from the army, and it is not easy to transport artillery in those places. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Yes, the Khitan can concentrate the country's troops and fight with our army in Youzhou." Once it is unfavorable, the whole army retreats, and it is a big deal to give up the Youzhou place. That's when it's hard. Spanning tens of thousands of miles, how easy is it to seize the main Khitan force? Therefore, the battle of the Khitan is not enough for two or three hundred thousand people, but it must have several large armies. Otherwise, it is nothing more than occupying a few cities, waiting for the Khitan to harass on all sides, tired of coping. ”

Dou Shunqing said: "In this way, if you want to defeat the Khitan, you really have to reform the military." Otherwise, even if you win for a while, it will be difficult to save a lifetime. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded. This is the reason why he thinks that he must first reform the army before he can really start a war with the Khitan. The Khitan has a vast territory and a huge number of troops, and even if it fails for a while, it will soon be able to make a comeback. There are also a large number of servant troops, which are much more difficult to deal with than the party. In addition, the Khitan State was founded many years earlier than the Song Dynasty, and the original departments had been integrated, and this was the strongest time.