Jingtai raised his wine glass and said, "Tomorrow, Taiwei Shi and Taiwei Yang will return to our army. Today is a small banquet to see the two of you off. It just so happened that today is the first snow, so drink a glass of wine to get rid of the cold."

After drinking, Jingtai put down his wine glass and said, "It's been October, the weather is cold, and the river will soon freeze. The soldiers of various Khitan tribes have arrived in Youzhou one after another, and I think they will go south soon. To be honest, this battle will inevitably be hard."

Shi Yu said: "The Khitans come and fight them in one battle. In a few months, Baozhou has been prepared. The Khitans come south, and it is not easy to break the place. How big is Youzhou? Hundreds of thousands of people, once it takes a long time, how can the Khitans support it?"

Jingtai nodded: "Yes, as long as the Khitans are blocked and not allowed to cross the border, the food and grass of Youzhou cannot be supported. As long as the war lasts for two months, the Khitans will inevitably retreat. However, it is not easy for hundreds of thousands of troops to defend for two months."

Everyone nodded. This is good. Even if you are well prepared, it is difficult to guarantee an accident. The Khitans came with soldiers that were thriving in the country. Hundreds of thousands of troops gathered within a hundred miles. It is difficult to say what happened. The Song army must be prepared and have the ability to beware of accidents.

Lu Zheng said: "The battlefield changes rapidly and nothing happens. The most important thing is to have enough adaptability. You cannot be at a loss whenever there is something beyond expectations. As long as you deal properly, it is not difficult to prevent the Khitan."

At this moment, the soldier brought a small pot and placed it on the table.

Jingtai said: "Cooked mutton, come and taste it. Today we drink and enjoy the snow, and discuss the war at the same time. Even if the Khitan comes with a vast army, there is no need to be afraid. Behind us are Liu Taiwei from Dingzhou and Taiwei Dou from Zhending Prefecture. In just a few days, they can take the train to Baozhou. Even if the Khitan attacks here with all their strength, there is nothing."

Everyone said that after drinking wine, they each ate the mutton served. The meat was cooked crispy and sturdy, which was just right for this kind of weather.

After drinking meat for a while, and drinking a few glasses of wine, I felt much warmer.

Guo En said: "Ansu army has a Hulu Dike, with many water and water, almost connected to one line, and it is inconvenient to move. The most likely Khitan attack was the Guangxin Army. It was at the foot of the mountain. If there were any more troops coming from the mountain, several routes would come out, and it would not be easy to defend."

Jingtai said: "When we were discussing war with the other army's Taiwei, Liu Taiwei said that at the beginning of the Khitan, it was very likely that the army headed south by Taihang Mountain. The frontal army came to Baozhou, and another surprise troops attacked the back from Taihang Mountain and attacked the front and back. Liu Jianji's troops in Dingzhou also strengthened the arrangement of their subordinates and built several cities to clear the fields under Taihang Mountain. In fact, it was not scary for the Khitans to attack Baozhou from the front. Our cities could protect each other, and it was not easy to break through. What was most afraid of was that they came out of Taihang Mountain and cut off the back road of Baozhou. It would be difficult to stick to it at that time."

Yang Sui's heart moved: "What the Taiwei meant is that he was afraid that the Khitans would attack Dingzhou?"

Jingtai nodded and said, "Yes, Shuaisi's estimate that the Khitans may divide into two groups, one by one, one by one, and one by one, and one by one, the other by one, the other by one, the other by one, the other by one, the other by one, the other by one, the other by one, the other by one, the other by one, the other by one, the other by one, the other by one."

After thinking for a while, Yang Sui said: "There is a 50,000 army of Liu Taiwei, and it is not easy for the Khitans to break through there."

Jingtai sighed: "It should be like this. However, once the war involves Dingzhou, things will be in chaos. When the time comes, many things will not be explained clearly. Taiwei Shi and Taiwei Yang, you don't need to pay attention to these things, just keep the place carefully. If the Khitan really attacks Dingzhou, if there is something, you will have Taiwei Lu's troops to deal with it. The most important thing is that you must defend the Guangxin Army and the Ansu Army."

Shi Yu said, "Don't worry, Taiwei! Our troops have nearly 10,000 soldiers and horses, and they are full of guns and cannons, so there will be no trouble! The Guangxin Army is only that big, and it is useless for many soldiers and horses to come to the Khitan. After a few months, the Khitans wanted to surround us, but they couldn't surround us."

Yang Sui said: "There is a Hulu Dike in the north of Ansu's army, and there are not many places where the Khitans can cross the border and attack. The Taiwei is at ease."

Jingtai nodded: "In order to prevent the Khitans from going south, the Privy Council began to deploy several months in advance. After so much thought, if something goes wrong, we cannot explain it. Baozhou can only accommodate 50,000 troops, and no matter how many people there are, it will be useless. The most important thing is that we cannot be cut off from contact and surrounded by the Khitans. Therefore, when building cities, several cities gather together and can help each other. We estimate that as long as we keep it for two months, the Khitans should retreat."

After hearing this, Lu Zheng asked hurriedly: "The Khitans retreat, should we chase after us?"

Jingtai smiled and shook his head: "It's too early to talk about those things now. The court must be the master of that kind of big thing. However, you must be prepared. If you really repel the Khitans, how could you not take advantage of the opportunity to take back Youzhou?"

The generals on the front line were not very clear about the strategy of the Song army, and they were even less aware of the highest-level intention to wipe out the main Khitan forces in Youzhou. The order they received now was to defend the states and consume the Khitans' sharpness first.

The main focus is on defending and each built his own city instead of pursuing active attacks because in this era, defending the city had great advantages. As long as the defense party defended with sufficient materials, it would be difficult for the attacking party to gather hundreds of thousands of troops to break through. The Song Dynasty built dozens of cities in the front lines of Baozhou and Xiongzhou and contained all the people. Although the city was small, it was difficult for the Khitan to break through.

There is a railway to transport materials and sufficient troops to the front, the Song army's plan is to consume Khitan troops in the first few months. When they are exhausted, they will invest a large number of new forces to carry out offensive operations. The focus of the strategy is to focus the war on the front line in the early stages and not spread to the mainland. In particular, it is necessary to prevent Khitan cavalry from breaking through the front line and suddenly entering the mainland. Therefore, Liu Ji, Jingtai and others are particularly concerned about the possible attack on Dingzhou by the Khitan.

In the past, the Song army rarely had the main force, and they often defended the city and did not have many troops in each city. The Khitans often went south, and they often entered a few cities after rushing to the city. Even if there were no cities in the rear, they didn't care about it. Each city had less troops, and they had more than enough to defend the city, but they did not have the ability to attack. Perhaps the main force of the Khitan had already reached the Kaifeng Prefecture, and the Song army in the rear could only watch and could not react.

With the speed of Khitan cavalry, once it breaks through, it can reach Kaifeng City in dozens of days. At that time, the Song Dynasty often had no time to gather troops and faced the decisive battle between the two countries. The Song Dynasty was particularly taboo to Khitan to move south, so that was the case. Just by force alone, the Song army often had the upper hand. However, if it was scattered in various cities and arrived at the front-line battlefield, the Khitan often had an absolute advantage.

In the past, it was not easy to gather heavy troops on the line, and it was not easy to support it. Even if most of the grain and grass needed by the imperial guards on Hebei Road came from Hebei Road, it was not easy to transport it to the front line. In addition to guarding various cities, the garrison troops also collected grain nearby without transportation. Now, after the railway was built, the grain and grass in the rear could be transported continuously. The main corps of the Song Dynasty were located in several states along the border.

With the development of technology, the economy of the Song Dynasty improved, and the overall strategic situation was different from before. Relying on railways, the Song Dynasty could form various heavy army groups and defend the key road. If the Khitan did not defeat the heavy army groups on the border, once they went deeper, they might be surrounded. However, the Khitan could not recognize such a huge change for a while, and it would be difficult for the strategic deployment to adapt to new conditions.
Chapter completed!