In the yamen of the camp field, Du Zhongxiao was chatting with Feng Yuan. Since the beginning of autumn, Feng Yuan's business has flourished again, buying furs and other goods from the Volcano Army and selling them to Guanzhou. Every time he came back, he helped the government bring back a different amount of iron money.

Du Zhongxiao said: "I have already stated that the Volcano Army has stored a lot of grain and grass in the past few months, and can continue to come to see the wheat harvest. The money and grain sent from the state have been mainly cash in the past few months, and the rest of the miscellaneous goods are not collected. The staff is tired of being a little tired, and then helps to transport some cash back. ”

Feng Yuan arched his hand: "Everything is under the orders of the Zhijun." However, the Volcano Army here, there are many Tibetan tribes, and there is a lot of cash, so I am afraid that there will be Tibetan people who will secretly be trafficked out of the country and flow into the Khitan. Dongjiazhai is still better to use less cash. ”

Du Zhongxiao said with a smile: "The money is made of iron now, and the Fan Ministry is willing to exchange the goods for it, so naturally go with them." Outside the staff, now that the iron money is minted, the imperial court does not lose money, and is not afraid of flowing abroad. ”

Feng Yuan didn't know about this, and when he heard Du Zhongxiao say this, he said, "It's the best." ”

In the past, the Khitan secretly smuggled copper coins, which were precious metal currency, and there was nothing to say, and the outflow was the loss of the Song Dynasty. The current iron money, but because of its excellent manufacturing, slowly began to cover the area of Khitan Xijing Datong Mansion. Of course, the most important reason why the Khitan was willing to use the new iron money was that the commerce in the Song Dynasty was developed, and the purchasing power of these currencies was guaranteed. The cost of making iron money has been reduced, and the currency that goes out is really exchanged for things, and the Song Dynasty did not suffer a loss, and the ban was no longer strict.

At this moment, an official came in from outside and sang a promise: "Official, Zhang Dujian came to meet!" ”

Du Zhongxiao got up, sent Feng Yuan away, went to the official hall in front, and sat down with Zhang Qi who was waiting there.

Zhang Qi took out an official letter and handed it to Du Zhongxiao: "After the strategic secretary, I am allowed to enter Tanglong Town from here." You supply me with food and grass, and send some village soldiers to help me as you deem necessary. On the other side of the river, I have ordered Wang Kai to enter Baoning Village to deter the surrounding Tibetan tribes. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded. The so-called sending some village soldiers is actually musketeers and artillery, which the two have long discussed. Tanglong Town is under the jurisdiction of Fuzhou, and in principle, Du Zhongxiao's soldiers and horses should not go there, but they should still be dominated by Zhang Yu.

After pondering for a while, Du Zhongxiao said: "The so-called good things come in pairs, and the capital eunuch wants to reoccupy Tanglong Town with soldiers and horses, so it is better to take this opportunity, and I will also send soldiers and horses here to rebuild the partial head village." Tanglong Town is west of the Yellow River, and when the road is rushed, it is a key place. However, the head village is the barrier to the east of the river, and the Khitan should go south to the road, if it is rebuilt, it will go to the hundreds of miles of the Lan army, all of which are owned by me. Relying on the Volcano Army, Tanglong Town and Bianguanzhai were like two fists, stretching out to defend a large area of land east of the Yellow River. A few years ago, the Khitan placed Wuzhou, and there was a suspicion of competing with me for land, so the imperial court should have prepared as soon as possible. ”

Zhang Qi said: "What Zhijun said is good. Hundreds of miles from Yatou Village to Ningyuan Village, the first few decades were all abandoned land, inward residents, no cultivation and no crops, and it was encroached upon by the Khitan over the years. The year before last, Ouyang Xianggong motioned and reclaimed the forbidden land in the north to fund military rations. Now that we have made peace with the party and stationed heavy troops on behalf of the party, it is quite expensive and food-intensive, and it is time to reclaim the forbidden land. In that area, it should be important to focus on the partial head village. ”

From the partial head village to Yanmen, it is the Song land. However, after the battle with the Khitan during the Yongxi period, Pan Mei guarded the east of the river and moved the border people into the interior, abandoning hundreds of miles of land without cultivation and becoming a waste land. For decades, the Khitan coveted this land and continued to encroach on it. A few years ago, they took advantage of the war between the Song Dynasty and the party to establish new Yongbyon Prefecture and Wuzhou, intending to slowly expand their territory, which is the origin of the contradiction in this area.

The year before last, Ouyang Xiufeng sent an envoy to Hedong and suggested that the forbidden land be reclaimed, first, to fund the military rations of the border army, and secondly, to block the opening of the Khitan encroachment. However, it was opposed by the then Hedong Economic Envoy Ming Ho, and the motion ended in failure.

If it weren't for Du Zhongxiao's arrival at the Volcano Army, the matter might have gone on like this. One day, the Khitan went south and occupied more land than the psychological defense line of the Song people, and the relationship between the two countries intensified again. Zhang Qi patrolled the border and was keenly aware of the great role of muskets and artillery in defending the city, and at this time, the cost of building a walled city and occupying the city dropped sharply, so he decided to occupy Tanglong Town.

Tanglong Town is the territory of Fuzhou, and Du Zhongxiao is not easy to interfere with. This matter could not be left out of the matter, so it was proposed to re-Gong Biaotouzhai. The village was originally under the rule of the Volcano Army, and when it fought against the party a few years ago, it was occasionally abandoned due to the rebellion of the Tibetan Ministry, and the imperial court has been asking for reconstruction.

After thinking for a long time, Zhang Qi said categorically: "That's it, the newly made muskets and artillery of the Zhijun army, we are half of us." You go to the side head village, I go to Tanglong Town. If the Khitans come to attack, just fire guns and cannons and disperse. The Khitan conquest of the party is newly defeated, what can it be! ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded, a little eager to try. Originally, he intended to be in Tanglong Town, but because of the territorial relationship, he could only slowly try it. Now that Zhang Qi has arrived, he has taken the credit for occupying Tanglong Town, so he will change his direction and go to occupy the partial head village. The side head village and Tanglong Town are one left and one right, just choking both sides of the Yellow River. With these two important lands, the newly built Yongbyon Prefecture of the Khitan was abolished.

As for the troops, the Volcano Army still has five or six hundred people, and it is enough to defend that kind of place.

There is still more than a month for the Yellow River to freeze, and this more than a month is the preparation time for Du Zhongxiao and Zhang Qi. It is necessary to build the walled city before the Khitan people are dispatched. As long as there is support, the Khitan invasion is not terrible. But as long as you firmly hold on and win, the subsequent pen and ink lawsuit will be easy to fight. The written records on this side of the Song Dynasty are clear and the inheritance is orderly, and these places are indeed the territory of the Song Dynasty.

Zhang Qi said goodbye and left, and Du Zhongxiao sat alone in the official hall, carefully considering the next action. The heavy Khitan troops gathered in Datong Prefecture, and the front line with the Song Dynasty was Daizhou, and there were not many garrisons in this area. The so-called looting is nothing more than a small number of Khitan soldiers and horses, coercing a large number of Tibetan tribes, and robbing everywhere in the autumn and winter season. Those who fight will not be serious, and those who defend will not work too hard.

However, the village is not far from the newly built Yongbian Prefecture of the Khitan, and as long as the war ends are together, there will be constant conflicts in the future. Once you occupy it, you must be prepared for a long battle in the future.

Standing up, Du Zhongxiao walked into the courtyard and looked at the surrounding mountains. By this time, the snow has long since melted, and the weather is much warmer, making people forget that the bitter cold of winter is coming. As long as there is a cold snap, the rushing Yellow River may freeze, and the geography of the entire surrounding area will be completely different.

The Yellow River flows through the Loess Plateau, and the valley in this area is deep and rapid, which is a natural barrier. Once frozen, this barrier is not complicated, and soldiers and horses can walk on the ice on the Yellow River and come and go freely. The fighting in this area takes place in winter, which is why it is for this reason.

Since coming to this world, this is the first time Du Zhongxiao has participated in the war, although the scale is not large, but he is cautious. According to the information he obtained, the Khitan soldiers and horses in Ningbian Prefecture were only three to five hundred, but there were still some nomadic tribes belonging to the Khitans who could also draw troops. If the surrounding Xiaobo tribes do not participate, the Khitan army, which is used for warfare, will only be one or two thousand at most.

Du Zhongxiao could pull out about 500 people from the Volcano Army to the Yatou Village, plus the township soldiers equipped with muskets and artillery, a total of 6 or 700 people.

Six or seven hundred against more than a thousand, one against two, and it is enough to defend the city. If there is a mistake, it can only mean that he is a complete waste in the military. In this battle, Du Zhongxiao also has to test how much he knows about the war of this era.

Please remember that the first domain name of this book is .. Mobile version reading URL: m.