In the evening of the same day, Du Zhongxiao was edicted to enter the palace to discuss matters. There is no need to ask, it must be because of Han Qi's good news, and the emperor summoned the ministers.

Entered the Chongzheng Palace, and behaved like a ritual. Several ministers present were all smiling.

Zhao Zhen said: "Today, Han Qi is successful, his army has occupied Xingqing Mansion, and captured countless officials below the party and state ministers. Captain Ba Bu, who led the troops of the party, led the army into Helan Mountain, and had contacted Han Qi and was willing to surrender to the imperial court. The party and the state lord Liang Zuo is in the hands of Babu, if Babu leads the troops to surrender, the party will be destroyed. From the country to take Taiyuan, Hun Yiyu, this is an unprecedented achievement! ”

Everyone said congratulations together. Occupying Xingqing Mansion, it can be considered that the party is perished, and Han Qi's victory has great symbolic significance.

Wen Yanbo said: "Since Du Zhongcheng led troops to rescue Tanglong Town a few years ago, this dynasty has used troops abroad and has no defeat. This time, Han Taiwei Shuai Zhao Zi's department came from the east of Xingxing Gorge, all the way for more than 3,000 miles, broke countless cities, and went straight to Xingqing Mansion, which was a rare victory. ”

Zhao Zhen nodded: "Since Yuan Hao's rebels and thieves raised troops to commit treason, the party item number is difficult to govern, and it is a problem for the Northwest henchmen." This time, Han Qi destroyed this strong enemy, which was really a great achievement. The party has been extinguished, and the ministers have been summoned to discuss what the court should do next. ”

Jia Changchao said: "Your Majesty, although Han Qi has entered the Xingqing Mansion, the rest of the party has not yet been surrendered. The top priority at the moment is to pacify the party localities and bring them under their rule, so as not to make waves again. ”

The deputy privy envoy Tian said: "After the party is destroyed, how to govern its localities must also be discussed in detail. There is a lesson from Yuan Hao's treason, and it seems that it is not feasible to use local tyrants to govern the locality. When they are weak, they can't control the place, and when they are strong, they want to commit treason, and they should directly county their land. ”

Wang Yaochen, who participated in politics, said: "Du Zhongcheng opened up the Hequ Road, so there was no need for local tyrants, and the county was directly governed, and the imperial court sent officials to govern it." In recent years, it seems that this method is very good. Although it cost some money and grain at the beginning, in the past two years, the taxes have been paid, and there is no need for the imperial court to draw money and grain to distribute officials. Where the party is new, it is better to do the same, so as not to make another mess. ”

Hanlin Bachelor Hu Su said: "There are so many state capitals, but I am afraid that there are not enough officials. ”

Wang Yaochen said: "This year's opening of the department, you can take more people from the lift." ”

Tian said: "Jinshi is the person who governs the world in the country, and he must not open the door of grace and fortune indiscriminately. Although the party is large, the population is really small, and it can be governed first by merging with the state capital. Wait until the population multiplies and the number of officials slowly increases. ”

This year is the year of the imperial examination, and Ouyang Xiuzhi, a bachelor of Hanlin, has not yet held the provincial examination. Du Zhongxiao didn't know that this year's imperial examination was very important in history, whether it was the system or the talents who ascended to the top, it had a far-reaching impact on future generations.

Seeing that several people were talking endlessly, Wen Yanbo said: "What we are discussing now is what to do after the victory of the party." There is such a thing as a shortage of officials, and it will be left for later. Han Qi commanded Zhao Zi and Liu Ji's army of 80,000 and occupied Xingqing Mansion, where to go. Di Qing led the army to attack Lingzhou, and the city has not been broken so far, how should it be disposed of. There are also Helan Mountains, mountains and rivers, tens of thousands of party troops, what should I do. Although after occupying Xingqing Mansion, it can be regarded as destroying the party, but there are many remnants of its forces. Many things are complicated and cannot be ignored. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "In addition to the party, there is also the Khitan. After Yelu Chongyuan returned to Datong Mansion, it was worse than one day. On the contrary, Yelu Hongji is pressing step by step, and he thinks that Chongyuan will not be able to support it for long. Since the Xingqing Mansion has been broken, if Babu leads the army to surrender to the imperial court, with forgiveness in hand, the party will not need a large army. Han Qi's troops were ordered to immediately enter the Hequ Road from Shanhe Pass, and gather heavy troops in Shengzhou and Shazhou to prevent changes in the Khitan. After Di Qingshuai's troops and horses captured Lingzhou, they immediately took Yanzhou and cooperated with Yanyan Road to pacify the Hengshan area. ”

Jia Changchao said: "The army is all to the east, and the army west of Helan Mountain is less. There are only 10,000 or 20,000 people under Zhao Zi's department, and they are afraid that they will not be able to deter Hehuang and Tubo. When the party is there, he is worried about the court. The party is extinguished, but this may not be the case. Without the party members, the various ministries that originally belonged to the smiling people may not rise up without any momentum, and the Lanzhou area is only afraid that it will be chaotic for a while. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "The population in the Hehuang area is not large, and even if the Lanzhou area is chaotic, it will not affect other places. Wait until the Khitan stabilizes, and then send a large army through the Luohe River. The most important thing now is to pacify the party as quickly as possible and concentrate all efforts on the Khitan. ”

Zhao Zhen said: "The two Khitan emperors have been standing side by side for several years, and the imperial court has not intervened. Now that Hongji obviously has the upper hand, is it appropriate to meddle in the Khitan at this time? At this time, the imperial court intervened, and after the unification of the Khitan, it was bound to be an enemy of the imperial court. ”

Wen Yanbo said: "Your Majesty, now that the country is clear inside and outside, the army is even stronger after the destruction of the Khitan. If you don't restore Yanyun at this time, when will you wait? If you want to take Yanyun, how can you respect the Khitan like a guest again? What's more, after the defeat of the Khitan a few years ago, the brazen army came to attack Tanglong Town of this dynasty, how could it take into account the brotherhood of the two countries! ”

Jia Changchao said: "Yanyun is the inside and outside of each other, and now that Chongyuan is in Datong Mansion, it is a good time to take Yunzhou." Having said that, the party is not stable, and after all, it cannot draw a large army to the east. In the final analysis, the most important thing now is that Di Qingbu should quickly take Lingzhou. ”

Zhao Zhen nodded, was silent for a while, and said categorically: "When the country was established, Taizu Taizong intended to take back Yanyun and mix with one Yu. It's just that the sky doesn't follow people's wishes, and Taizong has cut down several times, but it has been fruitless. Now that I have destroyed the party, I dare to forget the will of my ancestors! Ordered Han Qi to surrender Babu, immediately break through the mountains and rivers, and lead the army back to Hequ Road. No matter what, this opportunity for Khitan cannot be easily let go! ”

The ministers said yes.

Jia Changchao said: "Now that Lingzhou is not broken, Di Qing's more than 200,000 troops have set foot in the city, what should I do?" ”

Zhao Zhen said: "Order Di Qing to send someone to recruit the Lingzhou guards, if they sacrifice the city, the court will definitely not be disadvantaged." If he did not surrender, he ordered Di Qing to step up the siege of the city. After Han Qi took Xingqing Mansion, there were no rescuers in Lingzhou, so it should be easy to take it. ”

Jia Changchao praised Wat and said: "You can order Yan Lu Xia An period again, lead the army from the Suide army to the north, and prepare to order Di Qing's troops to take the Hengshan area." Dang Xiang started in Hengshan, which is the fundamental place. Take Yokoyama, it's the end of the game. ”

The privy deputy envoy Cheng Hu said: "You can order Jia Kui's department on Hequ Road again to lead the army south and take Hengshan together." ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "There are not so many soldiers and horses in Hengshan, and the reason why it is difficult to attack is that the road is difficult to travel, and then the desert is after Hengshan." Di Qing's department came from the west, bypassed the mountains, and advanced north and south with the Yanyan Road, which was enough. The soldiers and horses of Hequ Road want to deal with the Khitan, which is intended to be in Datong Mansion, and should not be involved in the party war again. Zhao Zi and Liu returned to Hequ Road several times, plus the original Yang Wenguang, Zhang Qi, and Jia Kui's subordinates, and nearly 200,000 soldiers and horses on Hequ Road, which could deter the Khitan. After breaking the Xingqing Mansion, the party item has already died, and the Diqing Department will sweep the tail. ”

At this time, whether it was Zhao Zhen or the ministers of the court, they all realized that the army led by Di Qing had problems in terms of combat effectiveness. It's just that for various reasons, there is no way to investigate it at this time, so I will skip it. After breaking the Xingqing Mansion, the party lost its core, and Di Qing had more than 200,000 people, and there was no problem in sweeping the remnants. Even the original old forbidden army, it is not difficult to do this.