The next day, Zhao Chen immediately summoned Han Yanzhi, Zhao Ruyu, Wang Yan, Ye Hao, and Zhou Kui to discuss the matter, and Xin Qiji and Yang Yan participated.

Although Xin Qiji is not a minister of political affairs, he is a privy deputy and is allowed to participate in the discussion of military operations. Although Yang Yan's grade is not low, his current position is still the head of the soldiers and horses of the East and West Roads in Lizhou, although he is the most senior military leader in the local area, but after all, he is not an official of the DPRK and the Central People's Republic of China, so he is not qualified to participate in this kind of discussion.

But Han Yanzhi, Zhao Ruyu, and Wang Yan all knew that Yang Yan was actually returning from an envoy to Mongolia, and maybe he would bring back information that was enough to affect the new trends of the imperial court, and any military operations in the Great Song Dynasty at present would be inseparable from Yang Yan. So there is no objection. Although Ye Hao and Zhou Kui didn't know about Yang Yan's mission to Mongolia, they also knew the special relationship between Yang Yan and Zhao Chen, and seeing that the other three had no objections, they would not take the initiative to object, so they would listen to what Yang Yan had to say before making a decision.

Yang Yan first explained the agreement he reached with Mongolia this time, and then briefly explained the reason for taking Western Xia first and then attacking Jin. What surprised Zhao Chen was that after listening to Yang Yan's words, the six ministers did not object, at least not immediately, but they all fell into deep thought.

Of these six ministers, five were adamant advocates of recovering lost territory by force. Only Zhou Kui believes that the current situation of confrontation between the north and the south should be maintained, and troops should not be used lightly. But Zhou Kui also knew in his heart that because the emperor resolutely supported the main battle, the recovery of lost ground by force was unstoppable in the current view, as long as he was waiting for a good opportunity to send troops. Therefore, whenever he discussed the matter of recovering the lost territory by force, although he did not support it, he was by no means clearly opposed, and he was also very conscientious about other government affairs, so he could squeeze into the ranks of the ruling ministers as the lord and faction.

Although the other five people are all advocating the restoration of force, they are all very knowledgeable people, and they also have a very clear understanding of the current situation between Song and Jin, and they will not think that the time has come for a large-scale northern expedition because of the change of throne in the Jin country.

Yong Qi is Han Yanzhi, Wang Yan, and Xin Qiji are all proficient in military affairs, and they all know that although Wan Yanyong is dead, there is no sign of obvious weakening of Jin's military strength at present, and it is still very strong, and several famous generals of Jinguo are still here. Although the combat effectiveness of the army has been improved to a certain extent after the military reform of the Great Song Dynasty, it is also more than self-preservation, and it seems that it is still insufficient to attack the Jin State in an all-round way.

Although Zhao Ruyu and Ye Hao were not very proficient in military affairs, they were more familiar with the internal affairs of the Great Song Dynasty. At the same time, the implementation of the new policy has not been long, it has not been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the voice of opposition has never stopped, just because there has been no major mistake in the implementation of the new law, and before the victory over the Western Xia two years ago, it has also greatly enhanced the prestige of the imperial court, so it has been suppressed temporarily, but once there are major changes in the imperial court, such as the setback of the Northern Expedition, it will inevitably cause a large-scale turmoil. In the absence of greater certainty, it is better not to raise troops for the Northern Expedition.

But several people know that the change of throne in the Jin Kingdom is also a rare opportunity after all, and it would be a pity if you don't seize this opportunity and do something, and I am afraid it will be difficult to have a better time in the next few years. And Yang Yan's strategy of taking Western Xia first and then attacking Jin State was just in line with the wishes of several people.

Western Xia has always been a vassal of the Jin State, as early as the Jin State's southern expedition, the Western Xia had sent troops to help. And two years ago, Western Xia also sent troops to attack the borders of the Great Song Dynasty. Although it is not a big problem for Da Song, it is always a constraint. Therefore, the capture of Western Xia was also for the Great Song Dynasty to eliminate a future trouble before attacking the Jin State.

Moreover, now that the throne of the Jin State has been replaced, it is unlikely to interfere, and the Great Song Dynasty has the help of Mongolia, so the chances of winning the attack on the Western Xia are very great, which can not only expand the territory of the Great Song Dynasty and increase the national strength, but also weaken the power of the Jin State, and can also further enhance the prestige of the imperial court by defeating the Western Xia, which is really a matter of killing one stone.

Therefore, the other ministers did not object, and Zhao Chen was also a lot more relieved, and at the same time admired Yang Yan's strategic vision. So he ordered Zhongshu Province to come up with a plan to attack Western Xia as soon as possible.

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The plan of military action was naturally drawn up by the Privy Council, and Yang Yan was the leader of the attack on Western Xia, and he was also the number one general in the Great Song Dynasty, so this task fell to Yang Yan without a burden.

In fact, as early as on the way back to the Great Song Dynasty from Mongolia, Yang Yan had seriously considered the plan of attacking Western Xia, so he also gladly accepted this task. I also took advantage of this time to hide at home, while accompanying my wife and children, while writing down my plan carefully. And he repeatedly studied with Wang Yan, who had been stationed in the northwest for many years, Xin Qiji, who was proficient in the art of war, and others to make up for what he couldn't think of. After five days of thinking and repeated revisions, a plan was finally preliminarily formulated, and then after Wang Yan and Xin Qiji carefully read it, and put forward a few revisions, it was submitted to the Chinese book province.

According to Yang Yan's plan, the Song army would divide its troops into three routes and attack Western Xia between September 10 and 20. The entire plan to attack Western Xia will be carried out in two stages.

The march plan of the Song army in the first stage of the Song army was: the Western Route Army was attacked by Zhuo Luo and the Southern Military Division, attacked Xiliangfu to the west, and cut off the route of the Gansu Military Division's return to the army, and the main army of the Song army would be sent from Xinhuizhou, first to capture the Xishou Baotai Military Division and the Jing'an Military Division, and then divide the troops into two routes, and the Middle Route Army went north along the Yellow River to attack Lingzhou as a base, and then looked for an opportunity to attack the area around Xingqingfu. The Eastern Route Army switched to attack the Jianing Military Division to prevent the Jin Army from aiding Western Xia. The entire war will be fought mainly in October and is expected to end within November.

At that time, Mongolia will also launch an attack on Western Xia from the northern Montenegro Fuwei Military Division, Heishui Town Yan Military Division and other places, and Western Xia will inevitably fall into the enemy on both sides. In addition, within the Western Xia, there was Ren Dejing as internal support, so the combat objectives at this stage should be achievable.

Once the operational objectives of this stage were completed, the harsh winter would also come, and the Western Xia would inevitably adopt the tactics of defending Xingqing Mansion, fortifying the walls and clearing the wilderness, and attacking the supply lines of the Song army, forcing the Song army into a predicament and asking for help from Jin.

Therefore, at this time, the Song army and the Mongol army could temporarily besiege the area around Xingqingfu without attacking, and gradually sweep away other cities outside Xingqingfu, on the one hand, to prevent the Jin soldiers from rescuing the Western Xia. On the other hand, it is also possible to isolate Xingqingfu, gain a foothold in Western Xia, survive the winter, and wait for the beginning of spring before launching an attack on Xingqingfu, and without the intervention of Jin, it is expected that the second phase of the offensive can be completed between three and six months.

In the first stage, the Song army will invest in the troops, Yang Yan is expected to be between 18 and 200,000, the specific force deployment is: in Sichuan and Shaanxi, the strength of two armies, a total of about 60,000 horses, and from the Jiankang Mansion Sanya forbidden army 70,000 to 80,000 horses, with these 130,000 to 140,000 horses as the main combat force for this attack on Western Xia, which must ensure at least 50,000 cavalry troops, and then from other places to recruit another 40,000 to 50,000 Xiang troops, In Sichuan and Shaanxi, about 20,000 local troops can also be dispatched. Then, depending on the battle situation in the first stage, it will be decided to increase the number of troops in the future.

According to Yang Yan's estimate, Mongolia can dispatch 60,000 to 80,000 horses, most of which should be cavalry, and they have strong combat effectiveness, and Ren Dejing's side is expected to send 50,000 horses to support, so the total strength of this attack on Western Xia will be close to 350,000.

In the Western Xia, the army controlled by the monarch Li Renxiao was about 300,000, but it was defeated by the Great Song Dynasty in the war two years ago, and it was in the battle of the Yellow River, and the main force of the Western Xia was greatly injured, although in the past two years, the army may be basically replenished, and the number of people who can be used exceeds 250,000, plus the temporary recruitment, it is expected that 10 to 15 people can be added, but the number of really trained veterans is about 100,000, so from the comparison of the military strength of the two sides, The odds of winning in the Great Song Dynasty are also very great.

At the same time, the military expenditure of the first phase of the war is expected to be between 15 million and 20 million yuan. It is necessary to requisition 400,000 to 500,000 people, and at the same time, it is necessary to prepare about 500,000 stone of grain and a number of other materials.

Although Jin is in turmoil now, Yang Yan also does not dare to ignore the movements of Jin Guo. As for the actions that the Jin State might take, a detailed response plan was also made in the plan, and its length was almost no less than that of the plan for attacking Western Xia.

There are three ways in which the Kingdom of Jin intervenes:

One plan was for the Jin State to send troops from Sichuan and Shaanxi to attack Xinhuizhou, Lanzhou, Gongzhou, Lintaofu and other places in the Great Song Dynasty, and cut off the connection between the Song army attacking Western Xia and the Great Song Dynasty itself. Therefore, Jin Guo is the most likely to use this plan, and it is also the most important for the Great Song Dynasty.

The Great Song Dynasty's response was that the other three imperial garrisons stationed in Sichuan and Shaanxi needed to closely protect the back of the Song army, and when necessary, they could also take the initiative to attack Qinzhou, Fengxiangfu and other places in the Jin State to contain the strength of the Jin army. And the imperial court must also increase troops to Sichuan and Shaanxi in time to ensure that Sichuan and Shaanxi have enough troops to support the use of troops on both sides.