In Tianzhang Pavilion, Du Zhongxiao sat with Zeng Gongliang, Wang Zhu, Hu Su, Fan Zhen and others, talking about the recent war in the northwest.

Zeng Gongliang said: "Two days ago, Taiwei Di reported that he had ordered artillery soldiers to come forward and fight against the artillery soldiers at the top of Dangxiang City. I think within a few days, he could break the defense of the Dangxiang City Wall and try to attack the city of Ant Support. If it goes well, he might be able to take down Lingzhou City in the first month."

Fan Zhen said: "This is a blessing for the court. The 300,000 troops gathered at the city of Lingzhou, and the materials needed are not small. To the north of Zhenrong Army, including Huanzhou and Qingzhou, the civilians in Qingzhou, were all recruited to transport food and grass. If Lingzhou cannot be conquered in the first month, it will affect the spring sowing."

Zeng Gongliang nodded: "Yes, the battle in Lingzhou is Dangxiang's last hope. Their plan was to let Taiwei Di besieged Lingzhou and unable to conquer Lingzhou, and his logistics could not support him, so he finally withdrew his troops. If so, he would encounter the same problem in the future."

Du Zhongxiao said: "When the two armies meet, the brave will win. The dynasty has more artillery than Dangxiang, and it is faster than them. It is correct to approach the battle with Dangxiang. The guns and cannons have been used for a short time, so how should we use it or think too little about it."

Wang Zhu said: "In this way, wouldn't using cannons at the city be useless? If there are more cannons to attack the enemy, so what if the cannons at the city be shot far? As long as they fight forward, both sides can hit each other anyway, and it is useless to hit far."

Du Zhongxiao said: "Nehan, that's not what he said. The first thing he can do on the cannon on the city is that the enemy cannot hit it, or even if it can be hit, it cannot be broken. If there is no protection, what is the difference between the cannon on the city or under the city?"

Zeng Gongliangqi said: "How to protect it? The cannon is on the top of the city and the shells fall, so don't they just be beaten?"

Du Zhongxiao said: "Why are cannons placed on the top of the city? Why can't they be placed in the middle of the city wall? Why not build a fortress to defend it in places with cannons? As a heavy weapon in the army, how can guns be placed directly on the city?"

Zeng Gongliang was stunned for a moment, looking at Du Zhongxiao, and didn't know what to say for a moment.

Yes, why are the cannons placed directly on the city wall? Why are they already installed? No protective covers are built outside, so that the cannons outside the city cannot be damaged? The cannons guarding the city are inconvenient to move. If there are no protective measures, what is the use?

Looking at everyone, Du Zhongxiao sighed secretly. Many things, without extensive use, without successful experience and lessons of failure, are really difficult for people to think of how to defend and crack. These practices are actually not difficult, but the difficult thing is that they have no experience.

Hu Su said: "How to use guns and cannons in the army in just a few years? If the generals have no experience, they will inevitably have such a thing. After using it for a long time, they will naturally understand everything. Zhao Zi was originally a general on Hequ Road, and he would understand a lot about how to use cannons. He came up with a strategy of pushing cannons forward and bombing against hostile bombing, which immediately solved the problem of enemy troops defending the city having cannons."

Wang Zhu shook his head: "You can't say that. Military and political affairs are major issues for the country. A place could not imagine that it might be a disaster for the destruction of the country. So this time, Dangxiang and Lingzhou just put the cannon on the city wall, which gave Di Taiwei a chance to take advantage of. And if they repair the cannon position on the city wall and protect the cannon, it would not be so easy. Even if they have good weapons, whether they can use them well is the difference between good generals and mediocre generals."

After hearing this, everyone kept silent. It seemed that since the army used guns and cannons, Du Zhongxiao had the best use. Since taking Yingtianxiang's army to the north to rescue Tanglong Town, they have been invincible. In the end, they took the Western Regions and almost had a large army march, without any major war. Although this is because there are guns and cannons in the army, and their combat power is not comparable to other troops, but is it also the credit of Du Zhongxiao's command?

This time, Han Qi led Zhao Zi's army to cross thousands of miles, and was invincible. He attacked Xingqing Prefecture all the way. Di Qing led an army of 300,000, but he was slow to act. When he attacked Lingzhou, Zhao Zi still had to propose a close-up attack, which gave Di Qing the idea of ​​winning quickly.

Du Zhongxiao returned to Beijing to be the chief censor of the Censor in order to seize his military power. Is this right? In the same great victory, Di Qing could return to the court to serve as Privy Councilor, but Du Zhongxiao could only stop commanding the army. Is it worth it to the court?

At this moment, Zhao Zhen came in from outside and the ministers stood up to salute.

After the ceremony, everyone sat down. Zhao Zhen said: "Just a good news came from the front line. Taiwei Han defeated the Dangxiang Army in Jingzhou."

All the ministers hurriedly congratulated each other.

Zhao Zhen said: "Di Qing was in Lingzhou and ordered artillery soldiers to come forward and fight against Dangxiang's artillery on the city, which changed the situation at once. The news reached Xingqing Prefecture, and Dangxiang was extremely anxious and had to send a large army to Lingzhou for rescue. Han Qi and Liu Ji commanded the army and defeated reinforcements in one fell swoop and killed countless people. Now it seems that Lingzhou can be conquered this winter, and Dangxiang is about to perish!"

After saying that, he waved his hand and said, "Although the war on the front line is related to the major affairs of the court, the overall situation has been decided, so there is no need to talk about it. Tonight, I would like to ask Du Zhongcheng to talk about military affairs to you. Although Dangxiang was defeated, there was still Khitan. Since Yelu Chongyuan retreated to Datong Prefecture, Yelu Hongji pressed step by step. It seems that Chongqing Yuan has not had much time. The ministers in the court knew about military affairs, which would have many benefits for the future."

All the ministers said it was together. Obviously, the victory of the Dangxiang war gave Zhao Zhen great confidence and the courage to unify the world.

Du Zhongxiao stood up and bowed, "For ministers, there is no need to know the details of the war. As long as they know the general strategy, I call it a strategy. To make decisions on the strategy, I must first judge the strategic situation. Then, take the Dangxiang War as a benefit. Before taking the Hequ Road, there are only three routes to attack Dangxiang. One is to attack Hengshan from Fuyan Road, and the other is to attack Lingzhou from Huanqing Road. The third is to start from Zhenrong Army or attack Lingzhou. The Fuyan Road and Huanqing Road are both rugged mountain roads, which are actually not conducive to the advance of the army and can only be used as auxiliary attacks. Although the Zhenrong Army's valley road is flat, Tiandu Mountain is like Hengshan, and it is not easy to advance. If you want to attack Dangxiang, you should focus on the Zhenrong Army and first seek to capture Tiandu Mountain."

Zhao Zhen nodded: "This is a good thing. In the past, ministers discussed fighting against Dangxiang, and mostly focused on Fuyan Road and Huanqing Road, but they underestimated the enemy too much. Only by taking Tiandu Mountain first and calming the road can we take Lingzhou from the Zhenrong Army."

Du Zhongxiao nodded and said, "With Hequ Road, of course, it is different. When fighting against Dangxiang, it depends on the strength of our army and Dangxiang. If we want to erode Dangxiang's land step by step, we should take the Hengshan land first with Hequ Road and Fuyan Road as the main force. With the Western Regions, we should take the land of Hexi. If the battle to destroy the country, we should have a large army and attack Lingzhou directly from Zhenrong Army. This battle to attack Dangxiang was dominated by the army of Taiwei Di, which was actually a battle to destroy the country. Han Taiwei took Hexi and was just a division of the military force."

Speaking of this, Du Zhongxiao stopped and asked Zhao Zhen and several ministers to think.

In fact, judging from the initial strategic concept, Di Qing was still not qualified all the way. It was not until Han Qi took Liangzhou that the army left Tiandu Mountain. Di Qing attacked Lingzhou, and Han Qi had already taken Jingzhou and forced him to the city of Xingqing Prefecture. It was originally Di Qing who captured Lingzhou, Han Qi's army arrived, and the two groups attacked Xingqing Prefecture together. Now, Di Qing dragged down the attack speed of the entire army.

Speaking of this, Du Zhongxiao no longer talked about Dangxiang, but turned to the direction of Khitan.
Chapter completed!