In Chongzheng Hall, several prime ministers looked at the map and sand table on the table, and no one spoke for a while.

After a while, Wen Yanbo said, "How is Quyang now? Liu Jianji's heavy troops came out together. Has the Khitans blocked?"

Du Zhongxiao said: "According to what Liu Jianji said, the two sides have fought several times, and the Khitan lost a lot. Originally, he wanted to bombard Quyang City immediately and eliminate the Khitans. The Shufu asked him to wait a moment, and now he is surrounded there."

Wen Yanbo pondered for a while and said, "It would be better to eliminate tens of thousands of Khitan troops as soon as possible. If one is not good, let them run out and go south to Zhaozhou, it will be troublesome. There are no more heavy troops south of Zhending Prefecture, and once the Khitans are harassed, it will easily cause shock to the prefectures and counties."

Du Zhongxiao said: "Jia Kui has already captured Lingqiu, and now he is heading towards the flying fox with all his strength. If Liu Jianji has captured Quyang, the Khitans inside have no way to go and can only retreat to the flying fox. At that time, it would be much more difficult for Jia Kui to attack the city. He set out from Daizhou, and the road was full of mountain roads. It was extremely difficult for material transportation, which was not as difficult as the army outside the mountain. When Jia Kui arrived at Feihu, Liu Jianji could attack the city."

Everyone looked at the map and understood what Du Zhongxiao meant. The flying fox was the intersection of several Taihang Mountain roads among the mountains, which could be said to be a military important place. After occupying the flying fox, the Song army blocked the roads in the Taihang Mountains and gained an advantage.

Jia Kui attacked Feihu, and was in the mountains all the way, so it was very inconvenient to carry materials. If there were too many Feihu defenders, it would be unfavorable to Jia Kui. Liu Jianji first surrounded Quyang, and waited for Jia Kui to occupy Feihu and then annihilate the enemy.

Han Qi said: "The Khitans raided Dingzhou this time, and it seems that they were blocked in the end. However, Quyang's enemy was only a surprise soldier, and the Khitan's heavy soldiers were still in the north. Is there any news about the Khitan army these days?"

Du Zhongxiao said: "The army of various tribes of Khitan have gathered in Youzhou. The vanguard has reached more than 60,000 cavalrymen and arrived in Yizhou. It is estimated that the Khitan may still want to attack Baozhou. It is estimated that the war in Baozhou will start in about ten days."

This is the limitation of the times, and transportation and information are inconvenient, and time is often long. Yelu Hongji has been in Youzhou for half a month and is still dispatching troops and generals, but he has not attacked quickly. Of course, this speed is already very fast in the eyes of the Khitans. But in the eyes of the Song army, the action is very slow. With railway maneuvers, the Song Dynasty could send the imperial guards in the capital to Hebei Road during this period.

After looking at the map, everyone returned to their seats and sat down.

Zhao Zhen said: "In the battle of Quyang, according to Liu Jianji, the Khitans' combat power was quite inferior to that of them. If they fought in a formation, the Khitans would not have a chance to win. According to him, if we fought in a formation, we would have a chance of winning by 10,000 Khitan soldiers in a formation, and we would have a chance of winning by 30,000 Khitan soldiers."

Tian Kuang said: "What Your Majesty said is very true. This is a place our army has not estimated. After the training, the combat power of the entire army is not comparable to that of the Khitan army. As long as the arrangement is not made incorrectly, the Khitan cannot actually attack it."

Du Zhongxiao didn't say anything. In fact, this is just right. After the training of the Song army, they all used guns and cannons, and the military discipline was strict. A large number of officers were added to the army, which was not the same army as before. Such an army should be able to easily defeat the Khitan. It was just that there was no actual combat, so I dare not make this conclusion easily. In fact, the arrangement of the army ahead was based on the combat power of the Song army before, and the Song army did not overestimate the Song army.

Wen Yanbo said: "If this is the case, it will not be impossible to attack the Khitans this time. As long as the generals are dedicated, it will not be difficult to defend the Khitans. Due to this setback, the Khitans should understand that it is not the same as before."

Zhao Zhen said: "The Khitan came from the country, and hundreds of thousands of troops gathered in Youzhou. If the combat power was just like this, the dynasty would operate properly, and it might be possible to completely wipe out the Khitan army! What's the difficulty of recapturing Yan Yun in full? "

After hearing this, several ministers of the prime ministers frightened Wei. This was the first time Zhao Zhen said this intention directly. He expanded his army in a large manner, and he kept saying that he was defending the attack of the Khitans. It was completely different to wipe out the enemy.

Wen Yanbo held the scepter: "Your Majesty, the Khitan country has more than one million armors! Even if he annihilated hundreds of thousands of troops and turned around, he would easily recruit hundreds of thousands of people. By that time, the two countries had become enemies and there would be no more stable days in the northern border!"

Zhao Zhen turned his head and looked at Du Zhongxiao and said, "The Privy Council thought, what would happen if the Khitan troops were wiped out in Youzhou?"

Du Zhongxiao lowered his head and thought for a while, and said, "When I talk about the Khitan, it always said that its territory is ten thousand miles and its armor is millions. How many troops are there in the end? There is no accurate number of the tribes under the Khitan rule. The core of the tribes under the Khitan was nothing more than the Khitans, mainly the royal family and the Hou tribe. How many people are there? In addition, the clans of Xi, Bohai and other tribes are also considered the core of the Khitans. How many people are there? Besides, there are Han people, mainly Yan and Yunshi Prefectures, how many people are there? As for the other tribes under the rule, they are just dependents. When the Khitan was strong, these tribes were particularly loyal and willing to fight for the Khitan. When the Khitan was defeated, they probably would not contribute to the Khitan again."

Tian Kuang said: "However, there is no accurate number of Khitans and how many soldiers they can produce. Even if they destroy hundreds of thousands of troops, it is hard to say whether they will be in a slump. Not to mention how difficult it is to wipe out hundreds of thousands of troops, even if they can do it, I am afraid that the Khitan will not be damaged. This dynasty has been reconciled with the Khitan for decades, and if the people are not in peace, why should we fight at this time?"

Du Zhongxiao said: "It's not that our dynasty raised an army, but that the Khitans were coming to hundreds of thousands of troops. The Taiwei must not make a mistake. If you don't destroy the Khitan, this kind of thing will continue to happen. Now that the court has financial resources and military strength, you can defeat the Khitans, you should decisively send troops. This is to destroy powerful enemies and not worry about their descendants! If you just keep living alone, the Khitans' appetite will grow bigger and bigger, and there will be no peace in the north!"

Speaking of this, Du Zhongxiao looked at everyone and said in a deep voice: "How many households are there in the Khitan and how many soldiers can be sent? Although there is no accurate number, it can be roughly estimated. The main force of the Khitan army is its Pishi army, which is the palace tent soldiers dominated by Oluduo. According to the information obtained, there are less than 100,000 households in the main household of Oluduo, and there are more than 100,000 households in various transfers, totaling about 200,000 households. The army from the Khitan this time was the palace tent soldiers, with a total of about 100,000 people. Each household and one soldier has basically arrived.

The limit. There are also tribal soldiers, about 200,000, mainly Khitan and Xi people. This time, Khitan was a huge army, roughly the same as the palace tent army, with one family and one army. After destroying these main forces, it is difficult for the Khitan nationwide to organize a large army. The remaining Khitan people were mainly Bohai people and Han people, with a total of less than one million households. The recruitment of 200,000 to 300,000 troops was also the limit. If the Khitan army could be wiped out this time, in fact, half of the males in the country would be consumed, and the troops would be all!"

After Du Zhongxiao finished speaking, no one spoke for a while. After a while, Wen Yanbo said, "Taiwei, is this number accurate?"

Du Zhongxiao said: "It is completely impossible to be accurate. But the information sent by the people who have been deployed in the Khitan in the past two years is roughly the same."

Wen Yanbo exhaled softly: "The Privy Council means to dispatch a large army to fight the Khitan in Youzhou?"

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "It should be like this. According to Liu Jianji's war report, the Khitan cavalry cannot fight head-on with the imperial guards after training. If this dynasty could concentrate 400,000 or 500,000 troops on Hebei Road and command properly, it would not be impossible to wipe out the Khitan army. Of course, it would be best if Jia Kui occupied Feihu and made up this decision. Only by occupying Feihu and controlling the Taihang Mountain Road can this dynasty truly gain an advantage."

Wen Yanbo shook his head: "If so, we will also have to use the army that will sway the country. This determination is not easy to make."

The ministers said nothing and looked at Zhao Zhen above.

Zhao Zhen looked at everyone and said slowly: "In the past few years, we have opened up Hequ Road, restored the Western Regions, and pacified Dangxiang. We have been invincible and defeated. Now the only enemy in the court is left is the Khitan. It would be fine if the two countries reconciled. This time, hundreds of thousands of Khitan troops attacked Hebei Road, and the atmosphere is very arrogant. If there is a possibility of annihilation of the Khitan in Youzhou, if I don't do it, how can I meet my ancestors and ancestors!"

Seeing Zhao Zhen’s face was serious, the priests held the scepter and said, “Your Majesty is wise!”
Chapter completed!