Listening to Thirteen Lang talk about the Beijing Military Academy and the forbidden army, Du Zhongxiao couldn't help sighing. On the meandering road, he won consecutive battles and made countless achievements, but he did not convince the generals. The system set by Du Zhongxiao is completely different from the previous military system, and those generals who lead troops feel uncomfortable everywhere. However, Di Qing tried to rely on the original system and absorb new ordnance and systems, so that the generals in the army felt accustomed to it.

After the personnel of Hequ Road entered the capital, most of them became instructors and idle positions, and no longer led troops. The forbidden army after the whole training is actually fundamentally different from the original Hequlu army, and to a large extent, it is the original forbidden army that has changed its firearms.

Du Zhongxiao drank a glass of wine and said: "The soldiers and horses on Hequ Road were invincible back then, in addition to firearms, there is also a new military system. It is easy for the army to change firearms, but it is really difficult to change the military system. Let's see how well they attack the party this time, if the battle is unfavorable, there will be waves. ”

Thirteen Lang said: "Yes, we, the instructors in the military academy, say the same thing in our daily life. is not afraid of official jokes, and many people are still looking forward to Captain Di's ineffective battle. Since the great victory of Hequ Road, we have been transferred to the capital, but we have been suppressed bitterly. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "It is possible that Captain Di is not effective in combat, but it is too difficult to defeat." The current comparison of the strength of the imperial court and the party is not at all comparable to that of ten years ago. Even if it is purely pressed by national strength, the party cannot support it. Don't feel aggrieved, there are many things that need to be balanced in such a big country. If you are used, where will the original generals of the forbidden army have a way out? They must really hit a wall, and only after the court has made up its mind can they really learn. Let's do it and see, in the officialdom, where can everything go smoothly. ”

Thirteen Lang sighed: "Official, when everyone is on Hequ Road, but when you have won many big victories and your morale is high. As a result, when I came to the capital, everything was not going well, and it was several years at once, and some grievances were common. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "I naturally understand. However, you also have to think about it the other way, the original Yingtianxiang army was not a regular army, if it wasn't for the good time, and the Khitan and the party were not familiar with us, you would not have been able to make so many military achievements. ”

Chen Qin said: "Yes, the Khitan and the party are not stupid, as long as they know how we fight, they will take precautions." ”

Thirteen Lang said: "What about their precautions? Back then, we won not by luck, but by defeating them on the battlefield! ”

Du Zhongxiao said with a smile: "The words are good, but there are always lucks in winning back then, so don't take it too seriously." Regardless of the party, it was originally because of geography and the inconvenience of the imperial court to attack, so it suddenly rose. The Khitan is different, in the end, it is a big country, and it was pure luck to destroy its lord in the first war at that time. Since the sudden death of the Khitan lord, there has been no arrangement for the future, and the two emperors have been fighting side by side for four years. In the past four years, I heard that he was accustomed to using cannons, although he was not as powerful as this dynasty, but he should not be underestimated. ”

Chen Qin said: "When I was on Hedong Road, I heard that the Khitan had changed its offensive and defensive positions. It turned out that Yelu Chongyuan's army attacked Ruzhou, but now it is Yelu Hongji's army attacking Fengshengzhou, and the offensive is very fierce. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "Zhuolu, the ancient city of Fengshengzhou, is a strategic place, and it is common for there to be a big war there. The two sides were originally one country, and the two were in contention, and many forces in the Khitan country were watching. Generally speaking, there are many people in Khitan who support Yelu Hongji and few people who support Chongyuan. If Yeluhonki has the upper hand, the war will soon be over. ”

Speaking of this, Du Zhongxiao looked at Thirteen Lang and said, "The Khitan split is an opportunity for the imperial court. Therefore, it is now necessary to attack the party with all its might to put an end to this great calamity. When the Khitan country divides the winners and losers, the imperial court can gather heavy troops in order to have something. At that time, if the party is not effective, your opportunity should also come. ”

When Shisanlang heard this, he couldn't help but be taken aback: "Is that so?" After many years of civil strife in the Khitan, the imperial court has always adhered to etiquette and never interfered in its state affairs, thinking that the imperial court had no intention of the Khitan. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Since the founding of the country, the two dynasties of Taizu and Taizong have been interested in Yanyun, thinking that only with Yanyun can the world be unified, how can the court sit idly by?" Just because the struggle between the two Khitan emperors was a civil strife, if the imperial court soldiers pressed the border, they would inevitably compromise quickly. They naturally don't care about their own dynasty, and if they quickly decide the winner or loser, they must actively intervene to get the most benefits. ”

Shisanlang and Chen Qin nodded together, they didn't expect there to be such a thing. Over the years, the Khitan has been fighting endlessly, and the Song Dynasty has trained the forbidden army, but has reduced the garrison on the Khitan front. I thought that the Song Dynasty had no idea about the Khitan, but I didn't expect it to be at all.

The situation of the Khitan, how could the Song Dynasty have no ideas. It's just that when Du Zhongxiao had just won the victory on Hequ Road, there were not many troops, and the forbidden army in the whole country had to be reorganized, so he couldn't move his hand. After three or four years, most of the training of the forbidden army was completed, and only by training with the party items and solving the hidden dangers behind them could they really tear their faces with the Khitan. Due to the rugged terrain between Youyun and Youyun, the Khitan side relied on the fortified city and artillery, and could not distinguish the winner for a while.

The northern part of the Song Dynasty was, to some extent, the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, in which the Three Kingdoms were both hostile to each other and allied in various ways. The party item is the weakest, but it is in the prosperous northern part of Guanzhong in the Song Dynasty, and only by solving it can we deal with the Khitan with all our might.

Speaking of these things, Du Zhongxiao couldn't help but think about the internal affairs that urgently needed to be reformed, and couldn't help but feel a little tired. When I was in the frontier, I didn't feel that as soon as I entered the court, I found that there were countless things, and I was no longer as idle.

After drinking for a while, Thirteen Lang said: "Official, the two emperors of the Khitan are fighting, which side do you think is more likely to win?" ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Speaking of which, it should be Yelu Hongji who is more likely to win." Although the Khitan has not yet made it clear that the father and son have succeeded each other, and nominally still maintains the gift of the firewood book, but after so many years of the previous lord, most of the Khitan nobles still tend to Hongji. It was only because Chongyuan had the support of the Khitan mother that it had been making trouble for so long. As long as the front line won or lost, the Khitan civil strife soon ended. ”

Thirteen Lang nodded: "We usually talk about it, and we think so too. Although Chongyuan's Seokyeongdo and Chunggyung-do were connected together, Hongji's territory was scattered, but the army was stronger. Moreover, Hongji relies on Liaodong, there is no shortage of iron, and more cannons can be cast. ”

"yes, you can cast more cannons." Du Zhongxiao nodded helplessly, the artillery really didn't have much technical content. "Hongji relies on the iron of Liaozhou and has cast a lot of cannons in recent years. It's just that their ability to make gunpowder is not good, and their power is far less than that produced in this dynasty. ”

After Du Zhongxiao's reform, the Song army actually took artillery as the core. In particular, major battles often rely on artillery positions and are repeatedly contested. Although the Khitan and the party had put a lot of effort into it, they were still unable to produce muskets, but the technology of artillery was learned. The party's domestic technology is too poor, and it can only produce artillery that relies on fortified cities, and has no field combat capability. The Khitan is different, although it is not as good as the Song army, but the artillery can maneuver off-road.

Yelu Chongyuan attacked Ruzhou without stopping, and was finally pushed back by Yelu Hongji, and now the two sides are deadlocked in Fengshengzhou. Once Fengsheng Prefecture was lost, the Hongji army crossed Jiming Mountain, entered Guihua Prefecture, and opened the door to Datong Mansion, the overall situation of the war was decided.

Speaking of the Khitan War, Shisanlang became interested and exchanged views with Du Zhongxiao. Most of the generals who went to the capital on Hequ Road went to the military academy as instructors, and they usually had nothing to do, so they liked to talk about these. Their opinion was also that Yeluhonki might win.

Du Zhongxiao said: "If the front line Chongyuan is defeated, this dynasty should attack Datong Mansion from Yanmen and Shazhou." Fight to block Hongji's army outside the mountain, and take the mountain first. Based on the back of the mountain, with Hebei, you can take Youzhou behind. ”

Thirteen Lang nodded again and again: "What the official said is that we usually talk about it, and we think it should be so." Captured Yunzhou, threatened Youzhou in front of the mountain from behind the mountain, and cooperated with the army of Hebei Road, which was easy to succeed. Unable to capture Yunzhou, attacking Youzhou from the river, it is easy to be threatened by the Khitans. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "This is the right way for this dynasty to restore the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun. After taking the mountain first, Youzhou in front of the mountain became a lonely city, and it was difficult to defend anyway. If you don't take the back of the mountain, you will attack the front of the mountain directly, and it is easy to be copied from the back road. ”

The sixteen states of Youyun seized by the Khitan are generally called the back of the mountain around Yunzhou, and the area around Youzhou is called the front of the mountain, which is divided into two large areas. The two places are each other's inside and outside, Youzhou is rich, and Yunzhou has dangerous terrain. When one land is lost, the other is isolated.

After occupying Hequ Road, the Song Dynasty formed a situation of attacking Yunzhou on both sides and occupied a strategic advantage. However, until now, the imperial court has not seriously discussed the strategy against the Khitan, but has not moved on the grounds that it is not suitable for moving its name due to its internal strife.

If it weren't for Du Zhongxiao's scruples, the imperial court didn't want him to lead the army against the party, and he should have mobilized troops against the party last year. It dragged on until this year, and the time was a little late, and the situation on the Khitan side had changed. Strategically, it is required that the war against the party be over within a few months, and a large army can be mobilized to deal with the Khitan. These obvious grand strategies have not been put forward or discussed by the DPRK and China. Du Zhongxiao sometimes felt that he had to make peace with the party more than ten years ago, which had a great impact on the officials in the imperial court, including the emperor, and no one mentioned a long-term strategy.

Yesterday, when the Chongzheng Hall was discussing, Du Zhongxiao briefly mentioned the Khitan, and was immediately stopped. No one wanted to discuss it, which made him feel a little depressed. Sitting with Shisanlang today, listening to him talk about the opinions of the instructors in the military academy, many of them coincide with what he thinks, and I can't help but be happy.

I don't know if Di Qing, who is on the front line, has any understanding of the current overall situation, does he know that the situation requires him to make a quick decision. Only by quickly destroying the party could the Song army seize the opportunity of the Khitan civil strife and lead Yunzhou at the lowest cost. If Yelu Chongyuan admits defeat, the Song army will not be able to quickly pull out a large mobile corps, and can only sit back and watch the reunification of the Khitan and lose the best opportunity.