In the dormitory, Zhao Zhen looked at the few pages of large paper hanging on the screen, frowned, and looked carefully at one name after another. These are the generals of several armies that have now completed their training, including Yang Wenguang, Zhao Zi, Zhang Qi, Jia Kui, and Liu. From the commander of the capital to the lowest-ranking generals, it is clearly written in the shape of a tree.

Most of the generals here are from the forbidden army, and many people have an impression of Zhao Zhen. In addition, the most are the generals in the Tianxiang Army of Du Zhongxiaoying, in the past few years, some of them have been transferred to military schools, and with the expansion of the army, the number is no longer large.

As an emperor, the most important thing is military power, and if you can't control military power, the throne will be threatened. After Du Zhongxiao's victory on the winding road, even if a military academy was built to cultivate talents, the final training of the forbidden army was not satisfactory, and a very important reason was that Zhao Zhen was not at ease. New establishment, new generals, many people are fresh faces, how can Zhao Zhen be trusted? And the person he can trust is Di Qing's army of 300,000.

Straightening up, Zhao Zhen paced back and forth. After the Battle of Shuozhou, the forbidden army had to be reorganized and trained. Which of these people are available and which ones need to be investigated, Zhao Zhen must know in his heart. It is not easy to achieve the goal and ensure that you have military power.

Through the party war and the training of military academies in recent years, a large number of trustworthy middle- and lower-level generals have appeared, which can be arranged into the forbidden army after the whole training. Zhao Zhen felt that he could control it. What he is thinking about now is Yang Wenguang and Zhao Zi, but they are not reliable.

Both of them were born in the generals, and they have been in the army since childhood, and they are the most typical generals of the forbidden army. It's just a coincidence that when Du Zhongxiao was training the Tianxiang Army in Suizhou, he was sent there. With Du Zhongxiao, he made countless military exploits, thus soaring into the sky.

Rubbing his forehead, Zhao Zhen felt tired. Judging from this year's contact, Du Zhongxiao is not a person who holds military power. When he returned to the dynasty as the imperial historian, he had no contact with the front-line generals, and became a privy envoy, and he only had official contacts. It stands to reason that these people can be trusted. However, when it comes to national affairs, Zhao Zhen is still cautious. Until now, only Du Zhongxiao's plan has been refined, and it has not involved personnel in the army.

What is Right? In addition to the powers stipulated in the charter, the important thing is the personnel power, but also the financial power. Du Zhongxiao demanded that in the future, the Privy Council and the Sanya report the amount every year, and after the emperor and the prime minister approve it, they will transfer the money and spend it by the army. This is equivalent to saying that in the future, the army will have financial power, although this financial power is only partial, and it is already the same as before. Although the imperial court could also control logistics and control the supply of materials, the independence of the army was still strengthened. When financial power is released, the emperor will have to pay more attention to personnel power.

The list on this paper is the personnel power of the army. Which positions are in charge of which yamen, can be appointed, rewarded and punished, and which positions must be held by the emperor is a university question. Only when you do it well can you really control the army.

At this moment, Xiao Huangmen came in and arched his hand: "Official, the time has come, please move to the Chongzheng Palace." ”

Zhao Zhen nodded: "Okay, you can't let the minister wait for a long time, so let's go." ”

The Khitan on the Mayi battlefield on the front line could not break through the Song army's defense line, and the war had become a chicken rib. Under the threat of Liu Ji in the rear, Yelu Hongji did not have the courage to dare to make a desperate attempt, but only arranged artillery and continued artillery battles with Song. Its artillery was not as good as the Song army, and it was damaged a lot. Now it is obvious that once there are difficulties in the rear food and grass, Yelu Hongji can only withdraw his troops, and the war is over. Today, when the minister came to the Chongzheng Palace, he was discussing this matter.

When they arrived at the Chongzheng Palace, Zhao Zhen had just fallen, and Wen Yanbo, Han Qi, Du Zhongxiao, Tian Guo and others entered the hall and saluted like a ceremony.

After giving a seat, Zhao Zhen said: "Pang Ji from the front came to report that after the Khitan army of 300,000 arrived in Mayi, it attacked several times, but it was impossible to break through the Jia Kui defense line. Now the two armies are consumed there, and there is no fierce fighting. Let's talk about the follow-up. ”

Wen Yanbo praised: "The Khitan army of 300,000 people consumes grain and grass every day is not a small number. According to the report from the front-line spies, a few days ago there was a mutiny in Fengsheng Prefecture, and in recent days, there has been a lot less Khitan grain and grass. According to estimates, it is really difficult for the Khitan army to hold on. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "The Hequ Road passed through Sun Wei, and ordered Liu Ji's troops to go out of the mountains and threaten the Khitan back road. In order to prevent Liu Ji's attack, the Khitans arranged an army of 60,000 or 70,000 to take precautions from Jinsha Beach to Huairen. If there are really difficulties in the Khitan grain and grass, Liu Ji can attack and rob the Khitan grain and grass once, and it will be difficult to stay on the front line. ”

Zhao Zhen said: "The Khitan envoy Yelu Xiantong has stayed in Shuozhou since Hongji sent troops, obviously wait-and-see. A few days ago, Pang reported that Yelu Xiantong asked to come to Kaifeng Mansion, it seems that the Khitan does not want to fight, but wants to deal with the aftermath. ”

After Yelu Xiantong and Wu Zhan arrived in Shuozhou, they originally said that they were going to Kaifeng Mansion at that time. Yelu Hongji sent troops, but suddenly he couldn't come again, and stayed in Shuozhou. Pang Ji didn't bother to pay attention to them, and kept them in Shuozhou. A few days ago, Yelu Xiantong suddenly proposed to go to Kaifeng Mansion to negotiate with the Song Dynasty, obviously the Khitan did not want to fight.

At the beginning, after Yelu Hongji won a great victory over Chongyuan, in a fit of rage, Xingda army attacked Shuozhou. The result backfired, and now it is difficult to ride a tiger, and the situation is very unfavorable to the Khitan. If it is not possible to negotiate quickly with the Song Dynasty and the army retreats, the Song army may take advantage of the situation to attack.

Du Zhongxiao said: "Soldiers, don't raise soldiers because of anger." This time, the Khitan attacked Shuozhou, which was a taboo, and it was difficult to ride a tiger in Mayi. Yelu Xiantong is coming to Jingshi, thinking that he has received news from Hongji, and this battle cannot be fought. The Khitans want to negotiate a truce with the current dynasty while the army is still in Mayi, which will not be too ugly. In this case, we are not in a hurry to talk. ”

Zhao Zhen said: "Taiwei thinks that if you don't talk about it for the time being, what should you do?" ”

Du Zhongxiao praised the wat: "At this time, the Khitan is only slightly difficult, and it is not yet the time to have to withdraw. It is better to take advantage of the fact that the Khitan army is now pinned down in Mayi, and order Yang Wenguang in the north to continue to take the ninety-nine springs after winning Baishuiluo. In this way, the north of Datong fell into the hands of the imperial court, cutting off the southward route of the Tatar tribes in the north. These places were originally the junction of the Khitan and Tatar, and the Khitan had never paid much attention to it. After the imperial court seized it, it would negotiate with the Khitan to give these places together with Shuozhou, and let the Khitan cede to the dynasty. ”

Wen Yanbo said: "It's all wilderness, what hand does the imperial court get?" ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Xianggong, there are all good pastures, how can it be useless?" Moreover, the Tatars have always been obedient to the Khitan, and they often send troops to help each other in any war, and when they fight against the Khitan in the future, they have to be more careful. Once the imperial court had obtained these places, it could slowly recover the Tatar tribes, so that they would not send troops to help the Khitan when they fought against the Khitan in the future. ”

Han Qi nodded: "What Taiwei Du said is true." After the Khitan retreat, it is estimated that there will be no war for several years. If you take the ninety-nine springs, the entire Yangshan is owned by the imperial court, and you can take the opportunity to pass through the grassland. There is food, there are iron tools, and there is no fear that the Tatars will not return. ”

Between the Khitan Shangjing Road and the Xijing Road, there are the Tatar tribes, and the Khitan collapsed ridge section envoy. Unlike Shangjingdao, the Khitan did not set up a city here, nor did they have a garrison, and the Tatar tribes were relatively relaxed. Since the conquest of this place, the Tatars have been very deferential to the Khitans, and whenever there is a war, the Tatars often take the initiative to ask for troops to help. The subjugation of the Tatars was of great benefit to the future war with the Khitan.

Zhao Zhen said: "In this way, let Pang Ji stay in Shuozhou for ten days, and order Yang Wenguang to take ninety-nine springs." Ten days later, it was difficult for the Khitan to stay in Mayi any longer, and at that time, he would negotiate peace with the Khitan. ”

The ministers said yes.

At this time, for the Khitan, they could not advance if they advanced, and if they retreated, they would give the Song army a chance, and it would be more embarrassing to stay for one more day. Ten days, a lot can happen.