"The Khitan army has been stationed on the north bank of the Yellow River!"

Zhao Ji's face was gloomy. He asked Wu Haogu to enter the palace, not to introduce Guo Xiaoxiao to Wu Haogu, but to discuss military affairs.

So when Guo Xiaoxiao was preparing a health dinner, Zhao Ji talked to Wu Haogu about the military situation in Hetao.

"Your Majesty need not worry." Wu Haogu comforted Zhao Ji, "There is Gao Yu in Hetao, and the Liao people will never dare to attack rashly." ”

"What if there is no Gao Yu?" Zhao Ji immediately asked.

"Without Gao Yu, then we can only give up the land of Shuozhou, after all, Shuozhou is isolated in the north, and it is difficult to get the support of the other states on Shuofang Road. Once attacked, it is a lonely city. However, there are Tong Guan in Shuofang Road, and there is not much problem in the four states of Yin, Xia, You, and Yan. It's just that after losing the grassland of Shuozhou, the imperial court has no place to raise horses, and the plans of the herdsmen are about to come to naught. ”

Wu Haogu was not misleading Zhao Ji. Because Gao Yu has been blown out of deterrence, and the Khitan people have also "taught" too much, Gao Yu is a fierce man who defeated the Qing army and the leather room army with more than 10,000 horsemen who crossed the river with hundreds of armor horses, and the Liao people naturally did not dare to act rashly.

Therefore, as long as the flag of Gao Yu was erected in Shuozhou City, the Khitan people on the other side of the river did not dare to move. If there is no Gao Yu, then Tong Guan can only give up Shuozhou and the nearby prairie.

Because Shuozhou is actually far away from the four prefectures of Yin, Xia, You, and Yan, isolated on the grassland north of the Gobi of the Hanhai Sea. The logistical supply was very difficult, and the livestock in the tuntian or anything did not start. Therefore, it is impossible to garrison large soldiers, so you can only rely on the prestige of Gao Yu and use a small number of troops to defend it. Otherwise, as long as the Khitan crossed the river, they could rely on the number of cavalry to defend Shuozhou City, and they could starve the defenders in the city to death.

Listening to Wu Haogu's analysis, Zhao Ji's last point in his heart to withdraw Gao Yu's thoughts was gone. Because now the political hall has set its sights on the prairie of Shuozhou - it is a good place to raise horses! If the horse farm of the herdsmen can be moved to the Shuozhou prairie, an additional few million to more than 10 million mu of official land can be used for rent, and the annual income from land rent alone can be at least hundreds of thousands!

And how many harvests do you get in a year when these thousands of acres of land are used to grow grain? How many mouths can be fed?

When the common people can eat enough, those who are officials and those who are officials will not be able to engage in corruption with peace of mind?

As for the problem of self-respect in Gao Yu's support of the army, in fact, it is not impossible to deal with it.

First of all, Tong Guan is looking at Gao Yu!

Tong Guan's wrist is more powerful than Gao Yu, and his cronies in Shuofang's army are no less than Gao Yu. It's just that he is a eunuch with no eggs, and no one will criticize him for supporting soldiers, because the Northern Song Dynasty has always been taboo from internal officials in charge of the border army.

The second is the core of the Gao Yu army, that is, the officers from the Military Academy, which can actually be replicated infinitely!

"Your Majesty, in fact, if you remove Gao Yu and change whoever goes to Shuofang, you will still be said to be self-respecting." Wu Haogu began to exonerate Gao Yu.

"How so?"

Wu Haogu said with a smile: "Gao Yu is actually due to fate, and he has taken advantage of all aspects of the strong men of the government, the military attache of the military academy, the warriors and knights in front of the palace, so that he can achieve the prestige of a famous general."

And the government soldiers, military academy divisions, warriors and knights are not inherent in our Great Song Dynasty, and they will inevitably hurt the interests of some people. Gao Yu happened to gain prestige through the government soldiers, military academy divisions, warriors and knights, and presided over the Shuofang government soldiers, of course, he would be hated. If His Majesty is unwilling to give up the government military system, then whoever goes to Shuofang will become the target of public criticism. The difference is only that there are Gao Yu in charge, and the Khitan does not dare to attack, and the government military system can be successful. If others go, if they are defeated by the Khitan, the government military system will have to be abandoned. ”

"Is the government soldier really better than the recruit?" Zhao Ji asked again.

"That's natural," Wu Haogu said, "recruiting soldiers to serve until they are fifty or sixty years old, and they are all grandfathers, can they still go into battle to kill the enemy?" The most powerful part of a person's life is only the period from the age of seventeen or eighteen to the age of thirty. In other words, although His Majesty has been in service for thirty years, the real usefulness is only ten years. On average, only one-third of the barracks are strong, and the rest are getting old and weak. The government soldiers have only served for five years, and they all choose young and strong people, so naturally they are all strong.

As for martial arts and combat skills, it seems that the recruitment of soldiers is not as good as that of government soldiers. ”

"How so?"

Wu Haogu smiled: "Your Majesty is also Bianliangzi, don't you know how the forbidden army in Beijing usually live?" They were all surrounded by wives and children, saying that they lived in the barracks, but the barracks were no different from the people's homes. Even according to military regulations, it is only a few days, how can it be compared with the government soldiers? Shuofang's soldiers are thousands of miles away from home, and they live in the barracks day and night, and it is no problem to exercise twice a day. The time for a year's training in recruiting soldiers can't catch up with the government soldiers for a month! ”

Now the government soldiers that are being tried in the Northern Song Dynasty are different from the government soldiers of the Sui and Tang dynasties, the latter is also a lifelong service, while the former only has five years of military service. Therefore, it is possible to serve continuously, rather than taking turns as a soldier and a farmer. In the case of several years of continuous service, the army's management of soldiers can naturally be greatly strengthened, and soldiers can be "locked up" for training - the so-called militarized management in later generations is like this!

And the life of the Jingying Forbidden Army in Kaifeng Prefecture, from the perspective of later generations, is actually a group of ordinary people living at home, and they have nothing to do with the military at all, and it will be hellish if they can be trained. To fight with such an army that was actually the common people, of course, it was defeated by the Jurchens with a blow.

"In addition," Wu Haogu continued, "most of the military attachés who lead troops in Shuofang's army are from the Department of Military Science, and they have spent several years learning the methods of leading and training soldiers. How can the hereditary soldiers in the Jingying Forbidden Army be compared?

From a minister's point of view, this method is still very good. Your Majesty might as well add one or two years of military training to the military academy on the basis of the right list of jinshi, and then send them to serve in the Shuofang army. At the same time, the old officers in the Shuofang army were transferred out to form a new government army...... Gradually, a system of rotation of officers can be formed, just like the rotation of civilian officials, so that they are not afraid of cultivating power. ”

Zhao Ji nodded, with a little relief in his expression.

Wu Haogu is still reliable, and he is dedicated to the country, and has come up with the methods of "military science department stressing martial arts" and "officer rotation".

Let's go back and let the government hall discuss it, and come up with a charter as soon as possible......

……

It was the first time Gao Yu stood on the shore of the Yellow River in the Hetao area.

There are no rams as high as walls, no rushing rivers, only a large river that meanders through the endless grasslands.

Looking up at the north bank of the Yellow River, there is still an endless grassland, and the grassland is dotted with small felt tents everywhere. A flock of sheep like white clouds flows on the hillside. The whole world is like a grassland landscape painting.

"What about the Khitan army?"

Gao Yu asked to himself. The Khitan army is gone, gone, and Gao Yubai has run away.

"Taiwei, Liaogou has long been gone...... I left at night, and I don't know where I went? ”

Gao Yu looked back and saw that it was a dignified-looking man who spoke, it was Wu Song Wujilang.

Wu Song gave Gao Yu a collar of Qingtang Jia during the Battle of Hehuang, which made Gao Yu like it very much, and then regarded him as a confidant. And he is really capable of fighting, and he has made a lot of contributions along the way. Therefore, he was repeatedly promoted by Gao Yu, and now he is under the jurisdiction of the official to know the affairs of Shuozhou and the soldiers and horses, and the official has also mentioned the deputy envoy of the guest province from Qipin, and there is also a post of Xuanzan Sheren.

In the Shuofang army, he can be regarded as a number of figures. I don't know if it's because of the promotion or because of the experience on the battlefield. Now Wu Song's temperament is calm and vigorous, and his eyes show a determined gaze. Gao Yu looked at him, and suddenly thought of his good brother Wu Haogu, Wu Haogu is now becoming more and more condensed, and he can't see it clearly!

"It's okay to go," Gao Yu sighed, "If you don't leave, you can't stop them by relying on the Yellow River here!" If he really crosses the river, a famous general of the Great Song Dynasty will probably lose the battle. ”

He was actually ready to suffer defeat, so he left Tongwan City, and only brought 1,000 cavalry - 500 cavalry and 500 cavalry auxiliaries - to Shuozhou City. If he loses the battle in Shuozhou, as long as he doesn't die in battle, he will be relieved. Gao Yu was defeated, and the government soldiers were also defeated, and everyone was satisfied.

But the Khitans refused to cooperate!

Wu Song, on the other hand, was sent to Shuozhou by Gao Yu after the Liao soldiers appeared on the north bank of the Yellow River, with only one warrior under his command and an infantry general from the Yanyan Road, with a total of less than 5,000 people.

However, when facing at least tens of thousands of Liao soldiers, Wu Song was not too afraid. Because Shuozhou City, which was designed and supervised by Huang Zhisheng himself, is still quite strong.

Although the city is not large, it is located in a small bend of the Yellow River, facing water on three sides, and only the south is grassland. Moreover, Huang Shilang also adopted the method of rammed earth and sandbags, using rammed earth as the base, sandbags as the wall, and adding a moat canal, turning the small Shuozhou into a fortress as strong as possible.

Not to mention tens of thousands of Khitan soldiers, even if there are several times more, Wu Song is sure to hold it.

Therefore, he was not worried about the army gathered on the other side of the Yellow River, but felt worried after the Khitan army disappeared.

"Tai Lieutenant, the lower officials are worried that they may go to the southwest!" Wu Song expressed his concern.

"Qin Wangchuan?" Gao Yu asked.

"Yes!" Wu Song said, "Walking 600 miles southwest from here is the Qinwangchuan battlefield. The Khitan are all cavalry horses, and the configuration of one person, two horses and three horses can be reached in a few days! ”

"A few days...... Gao Yu frowned, "I'm afraid they've already arrived in Qin Wangchuan!" ”

"Then the Hexi Army ......"

"Fierce and auspicious!" Gao Yu took a breath and suddenly smiled bitterly, "Now the imperial court can only rely on our Shuofang army to maintain the situation in the northwest!" I'm afraid that this commander of soldiers and horses will have to be in office for a long time! ”