In Wang Pu's shop, Du Zhongxiao and Han Qi sat opposite each other, eating barbecue kebabs and drinking wine.

After drinking for a while, Han Qi said, "Now the Chinese Guardian in the Court is the prime minister. Ji Shuai went back to be the censor, but I'm afraid it's not easy.

Du Zhongxiao said: "When Beizhou destroyed the king, I had a public affairs with Wenxiang. He was decisive and extremely independent."

Han Qi nodded: "Yes, Xianggong Wen has his own opinions in his work. It is precisely because he has his own opinions that the censor is not good at saying anything."

Du Zhongxiao nodded silently, knowing what Han Qi meant. At this time, Wen Yanbo was in charge of major affairs when the emperor was sick, and he almost made decisions in the court with great prestige. Especially, he was cautious in his work and rarely left a handle, and no one could blame him. Faced with such a prime minister, it was relatively difficult for the chief censor to do. He could not argue with the prime minister for a long time, and the censor would not do it after all.

After eating a skewer of barbecue, Han Qi said: "Jiang Zheng has been abroad for many years, and his political achievements and military achievements are beyond the reach of others. As long as he is steady in his work, there is nothing in fact. Last year, the emperor was very happy and said that he would be more useful after pacifying the Western Regions. However, at the beginning of the year, the emperor was seriously ill and did not recover until the first two months, and it was delayed for another half a year. If not, he would have transferred you back to the capital a few months earlier."

When Du Zhongxiao remembered that after he arrived in the capital, facing the civil and military affairs of the court and various entanglements, he felt a little upset. After being an official in another place for a long time, the relationship between officials was simple and he didn't have to face too many people. Especially later, he was in charge of the government. Du Zhongxiao got used to this kind of life. After joining the court as the chief censor, it was obvious that there was no such convenience. But he could not be away all the time, so he always had to go to the capital to get familiar with it.

Sighing, Du Zhongxiao said, "I came from a farm family, and my parents and relatives didn't have an official. Later, I passed the Jinshi and worked as an official abroad. I don't know what happened to the court. This time I entered Beijing, I think I will definitely suffer."

Han Qi shook his head: "Don't worry too much. Your achievements in pioneering Hequ and Anxi Road have always been in the heart of the emperor. However, the changes afterwards were too great, and the emperor could not understand it for a while and was a little resistant. In recent years, he has seen more things, and the emperor slowly let go. With the emperor protecting him, what will happen in the court? It is because you know that you are not familiar with the government affairs that you become the chief censor. This position is a supervisor, and you are not responsible, and you can understand the operation of the government affairs. In this arrangement, you should know that the holy heart is good."

The two have experience working together on Hequ Road, and their relationship is beyond comparison. After the handover in the past few days, they went to this small shop to drink and say some heart-to-heart talk. Du Zhongxiao is no one in the officialdom, while Han Qi is experienced and can see that Du Zhongxiao's future prospects are limitless.

Du Zhongxiao had very little contact with the emperor and was somewhat resistant to the complicated situation in the court. Today, he was with Han Qi. He introduced the current situation in the capital and felt better. In fact, the court was actually similar to the officialdom in other places. However, the matter was made nationwide, and the court meeting was held the next day, which was much harder than being an official outside. Otherwise, the status of officials in the court would be comparable to those in other places.

After talking about the situation in the court, Han Qi said: "Jingsen is about to enter Beijing. Can you teach me about Hequ Road?"

Du Zhongxiao said: "When the Taiwei came out of the capital, the court was denied. In the past few years, Dangxiang and counties will be destroyed?"

Han Qi focused on the key point: "Yes, it's already decided. Moreover, the two strategic commanders were assigned to the Gang Xiang North and South Strategies. The court made great determination to do this. According to the discussion at that time, the Taiwei Di in the south was the main attacker, and I responded from Shanhe Pass."

Du Zhongxiao nodded and thought for a while and said, "Taiwei, I'm not to hide it. Compared with Lingzhou in the south, Shanhe Pass can only be regarded as a way to connect. With Lingzhou there, there is no benefit in attacking Shanhe Pass. It's not that it's impossible to break, but that the price paid is too high compared to attacking Lingzhou. In my opinion, it's better to order Yang Wenguang to go south to Hezhou and attack Shanhe Pass. Zhao Zi's main force is in Yizhou and advance west from there."

After hearing this, Han Qi hurriedly said, "If Zhao Zi is used to attack Hexi, the railway in the north-west--"

Du Zhongxiao smiled and said, "Although the railway is long and has special guardians, what role can Zhao Zi's troops play? He is stationed on the front line of Hezhou, Yizhou, and mainly guards against nomadic people in the north. Yang Wenguang entered Hezhou, and two or three thousand people were enough."

Han Qi nodded: "It makes sense to say this. Tens of thousands of troops attacked Hexi. Can logistics supplies be guaranteed?"

Du Zhongxiao said: "What is the difficulty of reaching Xingxing Gorge from the railway, 300 miles away from Guazhou? The few counties in Hexi have a small population, and Dangxiang's garrison is actually sparse, so it is considered a relatively weak road. Zhao Zi only needs to draw 30,000 troops and horses, and as long as there is no big mistake, he can reach the city of Liangzhou in one or two months. At that time, with the help of Zhenrong Army's supplies, he advanced westward and met with Taiwei Di at the city of Lingzhou."

Han Qi thought for a while and nodded, "Dangxiang is gone without Hexi, Hengshan is blocked, so it is difficult to defend."

Du Zhongxiao said: "Yes. Actually, the imperial court is now strong and Dangxiang dare not fight with me. It's nothing to lose when marching and fighting. Now that the field is defeated, there is a big problem. If Lingzhou is difficult to attack, it can surround and not fight, and directly send a large army to sweep the land between Xingling. If there are only a few cities left, what else can Dangxiang fight? At that time, I was afraid that Dangxiang would lead the way and sacrifice the city himself."

Han Qi said: "I think Lingzhou is not easy to attack?"

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "Dangxiang suffered a great loss in the Battle of Hue, how can he not attract lessons? In recent years, Dangxiang's main energy has been spent on building Shanhe Pass and building Lingzhou City. The city walls have been reinforced a lot, and they have tried many times with their own cannons. It is absolutely impossible to use cannons to knock down the city walls. Moreover, most of the cannons they cast in recent years have been installed in Lingzhou and Heshanhe Pass, and they have used countless efforts. How could it be so easy to attack?"

Han Qi sighed: "The trouble now is that the ministers in the court believe that although Lingzhou is strengthened, what kind of cannons can be blocked? As long as the court transported enough cannons, they will be able to collapse soon. Therefore, the deployment of troops is mainly based on Qinfeng Road, and the others are just restraints."

Du Zhongxiao shook his head: "Actually, what's the use of restraint? Dangxiang's troops and horses had no chance of winning at all. They just transferred all the troops from Shanheguan to Lingzhou, what's the use? They can't fight with our army in field, this is their fatal point."

In the past, the strength of the Dangxiang army was that they were fighting in field battles. They could not attack the city, and they could not defend the city either. The battle in Hue Du destroyed their confidence, but now they could only retreat to the city, which was their weakness. They just learned from the Song army to cast cannons and rely on the strong city to defend, and felt that they could defend it.

If Du Zhongxiao commanded the war against Dangxiang, he would have to send heavy troops from Zhenrong Pass, first surrounding Lingzhou, and then clearing the periphery. If Lingzhou is not easy to break, he would go around and attack Xingqing Prefecture and monitor Lingzhou with some of his troops. The key point in this is that Dangxiang's army was defeated in field battles, and as long as it left the city, it would be destroyed by the Song army. Now in the era of firearms, it is not a major transportation road, and it is useless to defend the city.

The court arranged this time to attack Lingzhou City with Di Qing from Qinfeng Road as the main force. Han Qi in the north played a restraining and supporting role, attracting Dangxiang's army, so that they could not concentrate a large number of troops in Lingzhou. In fact, Han Qi in the north was of no use, Dangxiang did not dare to go out, and he was unable to break through Shanhe Pass for a short time. The terrain of mountains and rivers in Xingling made it difficult to attack from the north, and Lingzhou in the south happened to be an exit.
Chapter completed!