[This is yesterday's portion.] 】

Daizhou is a long and narrow basin in the southeast and northwest, whether it is Wutai Mountain in the south or Yanmen Mountain in the north. When nearly 100,000 horses from both the Song and Liao sides filled this small basin, and every mountain pass, road, passable flat land, and woods were monitored, any trick to outflank the back road and cut off the grain route was a joke.

As the two sides began to accumulate troops on the front line, the soldiers and horses of the two families were left with only one way to go. And the result of such a contest also made the curve on the casualty chart in front of Han Gang always be in a high position.

Throwing down the chart that made him more and more helpless, Han Gang whispered to himself: "Isn't it better to have less?" ”

Huang Shang didn't hear clearly, and immediately asked, "What?" ”

"Nothing?" Han Gang shook his head. The divination blockers are about to arrive, and stopping at this time will only make the previous efforts useless, and it will also make the morale of the cavalry plummet, so Han Gang quickly found an excuse: "I wonder if the divination people should be issued with a divine arm bow after they arrive." ”

"You shouldn't even be given armor! Not a single one. Huang Shang shouted sharply: "Give all the weapons of the military kingdom to those barbarians, in case they are in this trouble, the damage caused will not be less than that of the Liao people." ”

"Well, that's true. Neither the divine arm bow nor the armor can be given to the Liao. "Han Gang actually didn't believe that those barbarians would follow the rules. Even if they did follow the rules, weapons like the Divine Arm Bow and Plate Armor would not be distributed to them in vain. Even the Zhe family took eight or nine years to get together the Divine Arm Bow for the children of the clan, and the armor was not complete. Why do these diviners do good when they arrive?

The loss of the Divine Arm Bow was too great, and it wasn't a big deal. But the gap between this loss and the result is getting more and more wide, and it is difficult to make people agree with the expendable use of the Divine Arm Bow.

"However, the role of the Divine Arm Bow has almost come to an end, and the Liao people are becoming more and more difficult to deal with. I don't know what tricks those people in the Lu Dao Jingying can come up with. ”

The arm bow and cavalry equipped with the so-called horse shooting crossbow is actually a skill performed by the Jingying Forbidden Army in front of the Son of Heaven. It was also proposed by the general of the Jingying Forbidden Army, and there would be a probe horse equipped with a crossbow before.

Every March when the Jinming Pond opens, the Son of Heaven comes to this royal garden, and the Fourth Army will come out to perform some difficult skills, or juggling, which can compete with the folk opera [circus]. These techniques are not so practical, but they are very good-looking, and they always provoke the cheers of the ladies and gentlemen in the audience. But every time Han Gang sees such a performance, he can't help but think of the magic skills on the car like a peacock opening the screen during the military parade of that southern power thousands of years later.

In terms of cost and practicality, cavalry carrying the Divine Arm Bow is a tactic that will soon be eliminated, and Han Gang is well aware of this. But he didn't expect it to be so soon. It's a pity that the saber can't gnaw the cuirassiers, and firearms such as carbines don't even have blueprints now.

But the top priority now - whether it is the Liao army or the Song army - is a matter of food and grass, not any firearms or a divine arm bow or something.

The food in Han Gang's hands is very tight, and even in Xinkou Village, there is rarely a time to let go of his belly to eat. The Liao army just ate two months of grain storage in Daizhou, and almost all the collected grain was consumed. When even his own equipment was about to be exhausted, Han Gang did not believe that the food of the Liao army could be supplied.

"Grain and grass are good for us and good for the Liao people, it is a big problem. Let's not talk about it, the previous reserves were not expected for long-term large-scale operations, and it is already remarkable that they can last for half a year. And the Liao thief ......" Han Gang looked back and smiled.

Huang Sheng nodded knowingly, "If they can't grab it, they'll have to go hungry." The accumulation of Nanking Road is basically empty. ”

If you want to fight the Liao thieves for a long time, the tactic of shallow attack is the best and most suitable tactic for the existing conditions. The Daizhou Basin was dotted with well-walled villages and towns as the starting point and foothold of the attacking troops. The villages and towns that were constantly being destroyed by the Liao army were all restored. And then little by little forward.

Such a strategy is actually a summary of the tactics that the Great Song Dynasty used to be effective in attacking Western Xia in the past. With huge manpower, material and financial resources, the rope around the necks of the Khitan people was tightened step by step. This is an extremely difficult tactic to crack unless the interior gives up on itself.

Han Gang told the empress's envoys that as long as he could ensure that there was no shortage of baggage supplies, before the autumn, he would be able to sweep away the Liao thieves in Daizhou, recover the lost territory, and ensure that Wuzhou would not be lost. But in fact, he knows better that the supply that can be maintained steadily in Tokyo City can last until June at most.

After this battle, the storage in the Gyeonggi area was almost exhausted, and the remaining little had to be guaranteed to supply the city of Tokyo.

If Hedong had not been ravaged by the Liao army, it would not have fallen into such a predicament. Even as long as Taiyuan is kept, Han Gang opened ditches to build water conservancy in Taiyuan in the first two years, and promoted better farming techniques and machinery, and there will be no shortage of grain storage. It's a pity that now, together with Taiyuan, the imperial court has to ensure that the refugees will not be short of rations until next summer.

It's Hangang's side, and it's equally difficult on the Liao's side. Food can only be grown, but it cannot be changed.

Han Gang crossed the fingers of his hands and squinted at the latest military report. It is precisely because everyone is difficult that there is a way.

……………………

"Isn't there any news from Father Shang?"

"Nope. Hope to come soon. ”

Zhang Xiaojie and Xiao Shisan were waiting for news from Yelu Yixin at this time, but they were already half a day later than agreed, and there was no movement. And it has not even been determined whether Yelu Yixin has invested or not.

"Whoever dares to make trouble, just kill it." Xiao Shisan snorted coldly, "Father Shang's temper has been much better in the past two years. If it had been in the past, it would have started a long time ago, where would it endure now? ”

Zhang Xiaojie moved his lips and wanted to say something, but after thinking about it, he closed his mouth again. There is nothing to say, Xiao Shisan's words are right.

Emperor Xuanzong's ancestors and grandchildren were killed for three generations. Two sons of heaven, a prince, a queen and a princess, the blood of the heavenly family is stained with Yelu Yixin's hands, and they still want to eat fasting and chant Buddha? !

But Yelu Yixin's two years, especially this war with the Song people, actually went against his heart. But for the sake of his own prestige, and also for the sake of sitting in that position in the future with less resistance, he was very passively involved in the war.

It's just that now it seems that the choice made by Yelu Yixin was extremely wrong. If he had been more positive, the situation would have been reversed.

It's a pity that it's too late to say anything now.

Here in Hedong, the Song army is taking Xinkou Village as the core, and the Liao army is taking Daizhou as the starting point, constantly transferring the troops in their hands to the front line. Among them, the hole cards of each house are also constantly turned over to the table.

"Song people digging ditches?" When Xiao Shisan heard the news, he was thinking hard about how to deal with Song Jun's growing self-confidence and increasing movements.

"Yes. There are several places that are being excavated, and the farthest is the big and small wangzhuang......"

In front of Xiao Shisan was the topographical sand table found in the White Tiger Festival Hall of the Daizhou Prefecture Yahou, as well as a detailed map. However, there are only a few maps of Daizhou, and more of them are Shuozhou and Yingzhou on the right side of Daizhou, and Ulzhou on the other side of Feihu. The wolf ambition of the Song people can be seen clearly from this.

After Xiao Shisan took a detailed look at the sand table and map, he scolded the Zhizhou and Zhixian under the jurisdiction of Xijing Dao. The maps and sand tables stored in the Daizhou White Tiger Festival Hall were ten times more detailed and accurate than the geographical data in his hands.

This is not a work that can be completed in three or five months, how many detailed works have the Song people sent over the years to map and map the geography of the mountains and rivers of Xijing Road, just looking at these detailed maps to a mountain stream and a mountain village, you can know that Lu Dao must be an extremely large number, and even make Xiao Shisan feel that he has been stripped of his clothes.

But now, looking at the movements of the Song army against the sand table and the map can make people feel clear at a glance. Any strategy and strategy can be seen at a glance.

"Song Ren is preparing to defend." As soon as Zhang Xiaojie saw the battle report, and then corresponded to the position on the sand table, Han Gang's attempt was guessed.

"The stronghold at the forefront of the Song army was only eight miles away from Dawangzhuang, which was also a key area for the Song people to dig ditches. Once this line of defense is repaired for him, the cavalry of the big and small wangzhuang will be useless, and they will even be worried. There are high walls and deep bases behind them, if the Song army attacks here, even if the soldiers and horses of the big and small Wangzhuang win, they will inevitably lose most of their troops. ”

"You can defend and then attack. The Song people must be thinking about ensuring that they can defend steadily first, and then they will consider the offensive matter. ”

The Song army approached the big and small Wangzhuang step by step, and soon captured the two large villages. After the cavalry stationed in the two villages was defeated and retreated, the Song army could continue to advance towards Daizhou. Step by step, the speed is slow, but it is certainly as calm as the character of its owner.

All this process will only take two or three months at most. When the time comes, the Song army will be able to besiege Daizhou. Next, Daizhou can't be saved.

"Does Han Gang have three months?" Xiao 13 sneered, "...... It's a pity he didn't! ”

Zhang Xiaojie's expression became solemn, Xiao Shisan was not a person without a target: "Why is this?" ”

Xiao Shisan did not answer directly, but handed Zhang Xiaojie a document that was pressed by the paperweight and buckled upside down on the table.

Zhang Xiaojie took it suspiciously, looked down carefully. This is not the latest battle report, or the military order on the Nanjing Road, but it is a piece of information that has been passed back in detail.

After looking at it back and forth three times, Zhang Xiaojie leaned heavily on the back of the chair with relief, and in the squeak of the chair, he breathed a long sigh of relief: "Well, it seems that there is not." ”