Shuaifu, Bao Zheng came in, bowed to Du Zhongxiao, and said, "The Khitan envoy has left?" ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "Just sent away." - It's funny to say that the envoy even wanted to stay in Shengzhou for a few days as a gesture of goodwill. It seems that I am still a little uneasy, and I want to see the situation in Shengzhou. They're going to start fighting there, what are they doing here? Got rid of it early. ”

Bao Zheng stepped forward and saw that Du Zhongxiao had spread a piece of paper on the table, drew a picture, and filled in the names of people one by one. The first time I saw this practice, I couldn't help but step forward to watch it, and asked, "What is the festival commander doing?" ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "This is the various forces of the Khitan, I will make a tree diagram." Looking at the dragon picture, this image doesn't look like a tree? From the top, it gradually branches and becomes a large tree. There is really no way, except for the Xi people, Bohai people and Han people, the Khitan people are divided into royal families and descendants. There are many branches in the royal family and the descendants, and looking at the same clan, the relationship is actually extremely estranged. Outsiders don't know what to do, where can they tell the difference? Not to mention that he has a Khitan name, a Han name, a milk name, and a variety of characters. In the past few months, Shuai Si has spent a lot of effort, and all Khitan nobles and high-ranking officials have collected a lot of information. I have divided them here, and marked their families and branches clearly, so that there will be no confusion. ”

Bao Zheng looked at the Agu line of the descendants on the table, and from the beginning of Agu, the descendants of the descendants were clear. Not only men, but also important women and family marriages are clearly marked, and they can't help but nod their heads again and again.

The Khitan also carries a tribal heritage, and a person is first a member of the tribe, and then an official of the imperial court. Without a clear distinction between tribes, the tendencies of Khitan officials are unpredictable. In the past, the intelligence of the Song Dynasty was very weak, and it was often impossible to even understand the names of the Khitan and important party officials, let alone predict the actions of the two countries. When Du Zhongxiao arrived at Hequ Road, he initially established an intelligence network to grasp the movements of the two countries.

As autumn intensified, the Khitan civil war was inevitable. Although the imperial court has decided not to participate, it is impossible not to care about the battle situation, and it is even more important to predict which side is likely to win. Don't bet on the wrong treasure and be eaten back.

After laying out the tree diagrams on the table one by one, Du Zhongxiao looked at it for a while, and said to Li Fugui on the side: "After judgment, draw a few capable people, and arrange the Khitan officials like this according to the diagram on the table." By the way, it is necessary not to transfer personnel, carefully check the laid pictures, and there must be no mistakes or omissions. ”

Lee Fu-gyu promised. The Department of Economic Strategy has its own intelligence agency, and there are special personnel to do these things. Du Zhongxiao just put on a show and told his subordinates to do this, of course, he didn't need to do it himself.

After putting away the tree diagram on the table, Du Zhongxiao and Bao Zheng sat down, and the soldiers served tea.

After asking for tea, Du Zhongxiao said: "After sorting out the various Khitan forces, the party items must also be handled accordingly." In the first battle of Qu Yehe last year, the party and the minister of the state did not hide the false Pang and led the army to help, but as a result, stealing chickens did not lose a handful of rice, but lost the land Jinze. In the past few months, he has been embarrassed by many forces in the party, and his power is not as strong as before. Although Liang Zuo is young, he can only be at the mercy of the ministers, and the Queen Mother is not the same as the Tibetan family. We can't figure out the situation of the party, one is not good, the Wuzang clan suddenly attacked, and seized the power of the Wuzang clan, and it is inevitable that we will be at a loss. ”

Bao Zheng said: "What the marshal said is true. Except for the party, should the rest of the forces do the same? For example, Gao Changguo. At the end of the year, the railway will be built to Blackwater City, which is not far from Gaochang. But the imperial court didn't know anything about the power of Gaochangguo, only that its king was Aqilan, and the high-ranking officials and nobles didn't know it at all. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Not only high-ranking officials and nobles, but even King Gaochang doesn't know much. Agaran language means lion, and it is customary to use this title in the Western Regions, not only King Gaochang, but also many kings call it the Lion King. ”

Bao Zheng nodded: "I also said this." I heard that the Qarakhanid King is also called the Lion King, and I think it is their custom there. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "There is no way, this matter can only be left for later." When the trade route in the Western Regions was opened and there were more merchants, we learned about the situation there, and we could also send caravans there. As long as the railway reaches Blackwater City, they can't help but disagree. ”

Bao Zheng said: "During the Taizong period, Wang Yande made an envoy to the Western Regions, and when he arrived in Gaochang, the Khitan envoy was also there, and the two envoys almost caught fire. Last year, Zong Zhen died in Tanglong Town, and I don't know if there are still Khitan envoys in Gaochang. We might as well write to the imperial court and send envoys to the Western Regions to see what their attitude towards the imperial court is, and then make a decision. ”

Du Zhongxiao shook his head: "This time is different from the past, and the imperial court has sent envoys again, so they must send envoys first." ”

"That's right." Bao Zheng nodded and didn't mention the matter again. Wang Yande sent an envoy to the Western Regions, first, because he didn't know anything about the situation in the Western Regions at that time, and he didn't know how many forces there were still nominally belonging to the Central Plains Imperial Court. The second is that Hexi is not appeased, and the imperial court needs the support of the Western Regions forces. Now it is different, for the several major forces in the Western Regions, although I don't know their details, I know the general distribution. With the defeat of Gaochang and the annexation of Gua Sha, there was no longer any independent Han Chinese there, and there was no need to contact them. The Song army now has a military advantage, and if it wants to expand westward, it does not need the support of the Western Regions forces.

After drinking tea for a while, Du Zhongxiao said: "In addition to the Gaochang Kingdom and the Qarakhanid Kingdom in the Western Regions, there are also Tatar tribes in the north. The Khitan has a collapsed ridge section envoy, a northwest road recruitment division, and a Zhenzhou city, and the Tatar tribes are extremely deferential to the Khitan. Wherever there is war, the Tatars call for war. If Chongyuan and Hongji go to war this year, the Tatar tribes will inevitably join the war. Now Shangjing Province is occupied by the Yeluren Xian Division, and there is a chance that the Tatars will join Hongji to fight against Chongyuan. In these two months, it is necessary to find out the various forces of Tatar. In the first battle at the beginning of the year, Zhuang Langbu first took refuge in the imperial court and promised them to expand their pasturelands. We did not participate in the Khitan Civil War, but the forces to the west of it could not let it be at ease. ”

Bao Zheng listened and said: "What does the marshal mean, do you want to do something to the Tatar department in the north?" ”

Du Zhongxiao shook his head: "The north is a desert grassland, which is sparsely populated, so it's not easy to start. It is not an easy task to build a railway in the desert steppe, and it cannot be maintained even if it is repaired. To attack the Tatars, it is necessary to have tens of thousands of cavalry, and the desert can only be done, and the time has not yet come. You can give support to Zhuang Lang's department, sell more grain in winter, and let them compete with the Tatars, but you can't let them be stable. ”

To the north of Zhuanglangbu, it is the Gobi Desert, not a place for fighting. If you want to pacify the land of Mobei, the safest way is to destroy the Khitan and build a railway from the east, which is much easier. The Khitan could build a Zhenzhou in the heart of Mobei and completely control the Tatar tribes, and of course the Song Dynasty could. As long as the railway reaches Khitan Zhongjing, the north side can be repaired all the way.

The meandering road controlled the south of the desert, and the steppe nomads were going south, losing the most important springboard. If you want to control Mobei, it is not economical to use this as a base, and you should use Youyun as a base.

When the training of the army is completed, of course, it cannot honestly hold these states. Compared with the hundreds of thousands of Song troops, the surrounding forces are too weak, except for the Khitan and the party, tens of thousands of people can go sideways.

Du Zhongxiao's plan was to collect intelligence for a few months, and then support the Zhuang Lang army to press the Tatars north, and the Song army used Blackwater City as a base to plot against the Western Regions. Especially Gao Changguo, to find out the situation, whether it is war or appeasement, the power of the Song Dynasty must go deeper.