In the Privy Council, Du Zhongxiao sat around Jia Changchao, Tian Kuang, and Cheng Huan, discussing Liu Changhao's return.

Tian said: "According to what Liu Zhihe said, after he passed Youzhou, he encountered two armies at Sanchakou and Xiazhou Iron Metallurgy to quell the rebellion. There was no follow-up at the three forks, and Di Qing, the iron smelting officer, made it clear that it was the soldiers who coveted the prosperity there, and used the excuse of the party to make a rebellion, and the troops plundered. From this point of view, it is very suspicious to be afraid of the rebellion of the party members in Hongzhou and other places. After a long time, I'm afraid that no one can tell the truth. ”

Jia Changchao said: "Di Qing, the rebellious army of Iron Metallurgy, has taken people and beheaded them in Shizhou, which shows that his army is extremely strict. In other places, it is not known whether it was really the party members who caused the rebellion. What is happening at the front, how can we make it clear? ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Yes, we can't tell you anything about the front line, how can Di Qing explain it clearly if it's far away from Shizhou?" He naturally knew about the place where he was close, so he took the soldiers who made a rebellion and beheaded them to show the public. Far away, because it is not clear, I have to leave it alone. ”

Jia Changchao was displeased: "When the deputy envoy said this, he thinks that there are indeed soldiers on the front line who are greedy for money and arson? ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "It's not just greedy for money, but also military merits." After breaking Lingzhou, the resistance of the party was not resolute, and most of the cities fell from the wind. The battle went smoothly, and the soldiers had no worries about their lives, but they also lost their military merits. As soon as you settle down, it is inevitable that some people will not think about it. ”

Jia Changchao said: "In this way, there is no way. Now it seems that Di Qing is extremely strict in governing the army. As soon as there is a mess, immediately bullet and suppress, even if it is a meritorious general, he does not hesitate to kill him. In the army, he is already a rare good general. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Tai Lieutenant, Di Qing is extremely strict in governing the army, and there are so many chaos under his rule, which is the problem." If it is connived by the boss, then as long as the court strictly orders, things are not difficult to do. In the case of the commander's strict military discipline, his subordinates also violated military discipline many times and robbed the people, and the court had nothing to do, so it was a real headache. Generals can't do it, they can change generals, and if there is a problem with the entire military system, what should I do? ”

Jia Changchao was speechless for a while, not knowing what to say. The training of the forbidden army, Jia Changchao was an official outside, and when he returned to the court as a privy envoy, the training had been completed. Du Zhongxiao's military system on Hequ Road and the template for the training of the forbidden army were not clear to Jia Changchao. Therefore, he presided over the Privy Council, based on his previous impression of the forbidden army. According to the appearance of the forbidden army before, Di Qing is already a rare good general, so he maintains it everywhere.

Du Zhongxiao was different, when he was appointed as Yu Shicheng, it showed that the emperor had doubts about himself, and he didn't care about the affairs in the army at that time. Now that he is appointed as a privy deputy, he shows the attitude of the emperor, of course, to keep a close eye on the military system. It can be seen from Liu Chang's recital that Di Qing is very strict in governing the army, but that does not mean that there is no problem with his department. Iron smelting was caused by the Song army, so it is likely that the same is true for other places.

Tian said: "No matter what, this is the case with the party war. No matter what happens in the future, you have to wait until the fight is over. ”

Cheng Jian said: "That's right. However, now only Yinzhou remains, and although it is densely populated and has a large number of party soldiers, it cannot resist for much time. After destroying the party, what should Di Qing's army do is the most important thing. ”

Hearing this, several people fell silent. Yes, that's all that matters. The Song army's action to seize Shuozhou and Dezhou did not start, in order to occupy an absolute advantage over the Khitan, after capturing Yinzhou, Di Qing's troops should be transferred to Hedong Road. Di Qing obviously thought the same way, and was preparing for the end of the Yinzhou War, the army went to the Baode Army and took the train to Bingzhou.

Tian said: "If the Khitan loses Shuozhou and does not start a war with this dynasty, Di Qing's troops do not need to garrison the border. ”

Jia Changchao said: "Yelu Hongji's army is claimed to be 400,000, if we take Shuozhou, how can we sit idly by?" If the 400,000 army attacks Shuozhou, can Han Qi's department support it? If not, it is still necessary for Di Qing's department to reinforce. ”

Tian said: "In the city of Shuozhou, Yelu Hongji's 400,000 troops, what do you eat there?" Han Qi arranged 100,000 people, and it was enough to capture Shuozhou. No matter how many people and horses there are, it is not easy to supply grain and grass in the rear. ”

Jia Changchao said: "Di Qing's department can go to the area of Bingzhou, and it should not be difficult to transport grain by rail." The 200,000 army is in the state, and it can come to the north to aid Shuozhou at any time, and Hongji will definitely not dare to raise a large army to come, which is to suppress people with power. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Since Yelu Chongyuan became independent, the two Khitan emperors have been standing side by side for nearly five years, and they have also fought for five years. Chongyuan and Hongji both fought as soldiers of the country, and they spent countless dollars. In the past few years, Xijing Road has been unable to make ends meet and has no savings, how can it support Hongji's 400,000 army? There is no railway to transport grain in the Khitan, and the 400,000 troops go to Shuozhou, what do they eat? ”

Jia Changchao said: "The Khitan is different from this dynasty, its army goes forward, and it doesn't need much food and grass. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Taiwei, that was when the Khitan attacked the dynasty, you can get grain on the spot, how can you do this in Xijing Road?" 400,000 troops attacked Shuozhou, and the Khitans had to transport half of the grain, which could still be supported. Han Qi arranged an army of 100,000 as a road, and the number of people was enough. Shuozhou is a state, and the Khitans will only send out 400,000 people when they are crazy. Most likely, the Khitan has been fighting for many years, and they are already exhausted, and they will start to recuperate after defeating Chongyuan. If we occupy Shuozhou in time, the two countries may find a small search, and a major war is unlikely. ”

Tian Guo said: "What the deputy envoy said is true. The two Khitan emperors have been fighting for five years, and the country is already exhausted, how can it be possible to go to war with this dynasty again? ”

Jia Changchao didn't support him when he saw it, so he had to say: "Before you think about victory, you need to think about defeat first, this art of war is essential." You can't always go wrong with more troops. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Since September last year, Di Qing led the army out of the Zhenrong army, and it has been nearly six months now. For the army, after such a long time, the veterans of the division are tired, and it is not good to let them directly participate in the war. broke Yinzhou, when they went to Yanzhou, take the train back to the vicinity of the capital. The capture of Shuozhou, Hequ Road and Hedong Road had enough soldiers and horses, and there was no need to pile up heavy troops on the front line, which made the Khitan suspicious. The area around Datong Mansion is not suitable for a large army to fight. More than 300,000 soldiers and horses on Hequ Road and Hedong Road are already very, and there is no need to add heavy troops. ”

Tian Guo nodded: "After seizing Shuozhou and fighting with the Khitan, it is not Hedong Road that should be careful, but Hebei Road." Hedong is mostly a mountain road, not a battlefield that the Khitan people like, and what they are best at is the Qianli Plain of Hebei Road. Letting Di Qing's subordinates return to the capital in time is the right way. ”

When Xia Zhu was the envoy of the Shaanxi Road, he was a judge and has been in the northwest for many years since then. Compared with Jia Changchao, Tian Guo has a clearer understanding of the situation in the army, and he can see the problems of Di Qing's department. Relying on Di Qing alone, under the current military system, it is difficult for him to command an army of more than 200,000. It's good that the whole army is gathered in one place, and once the troops are divided, the following can be taken care of.

After entering Hengshan, these chaos happened, and compared with the previous forbidden army, it was actually very good. In the past, there were more than 200,000 troops, and I don't know how much chaos would happen. Many times, so many armies go to war, and before they wait for a war, they will make chaos first. But now it is different, compared with the army that came out of the meandering road, this army is really too far behind.

Tian Guo faintly guessed Du Zhongxiao's thoughts. When Di Qing's army returned to the vicinity of the capital, it was likely that they would have to be retrained, and they could not continue like this. Fighting against the party, hundreds of miles have already been in the capital, and the general trend has gone. The Khitan is impossible, hundreds of miles are still Han land, and they have just touched the edge of the Khitan headquarters, and the war is still to come.