The Yellow River is finally frozen!

The once surging yellow water turned into a flat channel, and countless vehicles, livestock and troops crossed the Yellow River on the thick ice.

At the end of October in the sixth year of the Tiansong Dynasty, the Liao Kingdom issued an order for the southern expedition.

With Zhennan King Yeluzhen as the commander-in-chief, he mobilized an army of 300,000 and began the southern expedition, vowing to completely complete the great cause of unifying the world that the late Emperor Yelujun had not completed.

The Liao army was divided into three groups. One group was led by Yelu Huan, the governor of Xijing Road. He led the troops and horses from the Xijing Road headquarters and joined forces with Liu Quanyi of the Jin State to attack the Shaanxi Road. At the same time, they paid close attention to the movements of the Western Army. Once there was any change in the Western Army, their mission was to

The Western Army must be blocked in the Hexi and Shaanxi areas to prevent it from intervening in the war in the Central Plains.

The second route was headed by Yelu Longxu, using Tokyo City in Kaifeng Prefecture as its base camp, and attacked Nanyang, Shangqiu and other directions.

The third route, led by Yeluzhen personally, launched a fierce attack from the east of Beijing to the Jianghuai River Basin. This route was also the focus of the Liao army's attack. Once the Huaihe River Basin was lost, the south of the Yangtze River would inevitably be in danger. Although the Yangtze River was dangerous, it was unstoppable.

The Liao Army and the New Song Dynasty court in Jiangning, who knew this well, also deployed heavy troops in the Jianghuai River Basin.

If we say that on the Shaanxi Road and the central battlefield, the Song Army was purely defensive, but in the Jianghuai River Basin, it was both defensive and offensive, assuming a posture of fighting the Liao Army here.

.

There are rumors that Xiao Chuo, the Empress Dowager Chengtian of the Liao Kingdom, has left Zhongjing and moved to Daoxijin Mansion in Nanjing. Others say that Xiao Chuo has secretly gone to Daming Mansion in Hebei Province to personally take charge and supervise the entire Liao army's southern expedition.

The person responsible for transporting logistics for hundreds of thousands of Liao troops was Empress Dowager Chengtian's father, Xiao Wen.

This final battle, which has been brewing and preparing for several years, has finally begun.

Food is just one of them.

This is his credit.

It obliterated Si Junchao's plan to form an army for the Southern Pioneer Regiment, but immediately gave the other party hope. Seeing Si Junchao nod helplessly, Xiao Cheng couldn't help but snicker in his heart.

"Your Majesty only remembers his grain output per acre and total output, but he doesn't care much about steel!" Si Junchao on the side laughed.

Sinong Temple is now undoubtedly the largest department in the Song Dynasty.

Now that Si Junchao can stand on the court again, even though he only has the power to discuss matters and has no decision-making power, it is enough to cheer up the traditional southern forces.

"Master is right, Taibao, there is no need to mention the matter of sending troops to the front line to supervise the army. Besides, Zhiqiuyuan and the Imperial City Department also reported all the situation to the generals as soon as possible. The imperial court is concerned about the movements of the army.

It’s still very clear.”

Zhao An said excitedly: "So the plan you formulated, master, is to maintain a stalemate with the Liao Kingdom first. As long as it takes two years, the Liao Kingdom will inevitably lose its strength."

"On the other hand, our army in the Song Dynasty has been successfully reorganized in recent years, and its military discipline is strict. However, because of its special nature, the Southern Pioneer Regiment has very loose military discipline. Let them fight in the local area. To be honest, I am worried! Over the years,

The friendship between the people and the army that we have finally built cannot be lost overnight because of them. It is difficult to build trust among officials and it takes several years or even longer, but losing this trust will only

Just need one thing."

"There are not many troops, what good strategy can the Taibao have?" Zhao An asked.

"Do the Liao people now all use iron farm tools?" Zhao An asked.

The characters of these guys in the pioneering group are not very good, but their combat effectiveness has been honed over the years as Si Junchao said, and they will definitely be able to compete with the Liao army.

The pioneering group did all kinds of bad things in those small countries in the south, and some things could even be called the wrath of heaven. Zhao An also knew from the reports of Zhiqiuyuan and the Imperial City Division that Xiao Cheng was so

As soon as he said that, he immediately changed his mind.

More than 100,000 copies of this issue of Jiangning Weekly were printed and distributed and posted free of charge throughout the country.

Xiao Cheng, the chief assistant, made a resounding statement in Jiangning Weekly.

Those guys in the pioneering group may be good at fighting, but if they come back to China, they may immediately become rats that ruin a good pot of soup.

If you are not allowed to go to court and participate in the governance of the government, you will not be able to display your talents no matter how great you are. Your agents in the court will not be able to exert their due influence without your influence.

effect.

"The chief minister has managed politics well over the years, and I admire him very much," Si Junchao said.

"Master, can we win this battle?" Zhao An looked at Xiao Cheng with some anxiety.

"Guan, do you know how many kilograms of steel our annual output is now?" Xiao Cheng asked with a smile.

This time the Liao army was larger in scale.

Listening to Si Junchao's words, Xiao Cheng couldn't help but sigh. This guy has always been thinking about having military power and controlling an army. He used to despise the army, but in recent years he has finally realized his previous bias and understood the importance of the gun.

There is a truth behind political power, but I understand it now, and it is too late.

From Anmin No. 1 to Anmin No. 3, from the early 400 kilograms per mu to the current over 600 kilograms per mu, he spent almost all his time in the fields. Although he was still far from the thousand kilograms mentioned by the master.

There is a huge gap, but Zhao An has now accumulated considerable confidence. As long as he gives himself enough time, maybe Qianjin is not the end.

However, fighting is not a group fight. A thousand people versus a hundred people will indeed have an absolute and irreversible advantage. But when ten thousand people versus a hundred thousand people, the outcome is hard to say.

"But admiration is admiration. I will definitely fight for what should be fought for."

The New Song Dynasty court in Jiangning issued a nationwide mobilization order in their Jiangning Weekly.

Zhao An tilted his head and thought for a moment: "I seem to have seen it in some brochure. The Ministry of Household Affairs should have done statistics, but I forgot."

Si Junchao said: "Guan Jia, over the years, our pioneering regiments in the south have been fighting. While grabbing countless wealth for the Song Dynasty, their combat effectiveness has also been steadily improving. As far as I know, the strength of these pioneering regiments

The total number of combatants exceeds 50,000. If we can recall them, we will be a tiger and wolf army!"

"In the past few years, under the rule of Empress Dowager Chengtian, the Liao Kingdom has gradually changed the current situation of insufficient steel production. However, their steel production last year only exceeded 200 million kilograms, which is only one-fifth of ours." Xiao

Chengdao: "More steel production means that we can produce more swords, guns, swords and halberds, and more armor can form a stronger combat effectiveness. And more steel can also produce more farm tools.

, can make our agricultural production more efficient. In the past few years, farmers in many places did not even have an iron hoe, but now, such things are basically invisible. "

"Since the official family has made a decision, the ministers will naturally obey it!" Si Junchao bowed and said: "The official family, the chief auxiliary, streamlined the troops and streamlined administration, and eliminated a large number of troops, certainly greatly improved the combat effectiveness of our Song Dynasty army.

But the number of troops is really too small. There are less than 50,000 people in Xiangfan. There are less than 30,000 people on the Shangqiu line. There are only 80,000 people in the most important Jianghuai River Basin. The total number of all naval divisions is less than 50,000, including two

More than 10,000 people are still fighting on the sea. Compared with the Liao army, their strength is far insufficient!"

If you have enough food and clothing, you will know honor and disgrace; if you have sufficient food and clothing, you will know etiquette.

Sometimes the words the master said sounded very vulgar, not at all like the words spoken by a second-ranked Jinshi, but at this time, the master was what Zhao An liked the most.

Seeing Zhao An looking at him, Xiao Cheng knew clearly that Zhao An was young and was frightened by what Si Junchao said about the numerical comparison between the Liao army and the Song army.

Well, it's okay to ask the people of Liao to help you clean up these guys, so as not to cause some new conflicts in the future.

If you ask hungry people to show justice and etiquette, you are acting like a hooligan.

"Officials, chief assistants, I think we still need to send supervisory troops to the front line!" Si Junchao said: "Supervisory troops can effectively urge the generals to fight hard, and at the same time ensure their loyalty. Once something happens, the court will also

You can know it as soon as possible.”

"Can the front line really be able to stop it?"

"In this way, Xiao will feel at ease."

"Officials, the southern pioneering group cannot move." Xiao Cheng said: "The pioneering group's actions in the south over the years have forged a lot of hatred with the local people. Now we are at war with the Liao people, and those small countries,

I'm afraid that each country is trying hard to cause trouble with us, so at this time, not only can the pioneering team not be able to return, but they must also increase their strength in these places to suppress these small southern countries and prevent them from having other ideas.

"

The 300,000 Liao army marching south, if you include the servant troops in Jingdong, Hexi, and Hebei, the number is 500,000 or 600,000, which is more than enough. The last time the Liao army defeated Tokyo, the total number was only 200,000.

In this way, the mountains and rivers are clear, and everyone is happy.

There are too many factors that affect war, and the number of people is never the decisive factor that affects the final outcome.

"Now we are naturally in the same boat." Si Junchao said: "We will wait until the counterattack."

"Drive out the Tartars and restore China!"

"Of course the official family can win!" Xiao Cheng said with a smile: "Thanks to the excellent seeds cultivated by the official family with Sinong Temple over the years, our Song Dynasty has slowly accumulated several years of food over the years.

Even if there is no harvest from this year, our Song Dynasty can still sustain it for two years without going hungry."

"Of course we hope so, but this first requires our army to be able to withstand the fierce attack of the Liao people on the front line. The officials and the Empress Dowager Chengtian of the Liao Kingdom put everything on the gambling table. Next, we will

The military must bear great pressure. Once the front line loses, the rear may not be able to maintain its current unity." Xiao Cheng said.

The improvement of various other crops and vegetables is already on the right track.

"Can stop it!"

In the past two years, under Xiao Cheng's tyrannical power, the traditional southern forces have been suppressed to the point of being almost completely defeated.

This is a life-and-death battle for the Han people, with no retreat.

So the title of Prince Taibao and King of Han fell on Si Junchao's head.

If we lose, China will not survive.

"Absolutely not!" Xiao Cheng objected categorically: "If the general is outside, the emperor will not accept your orders. The imperial court has formulated the overall strategy, and how to fight is the general's business. As long as their strategy is within the general framework established by the imperial court.

Just make steady progress towards the goal that the court wants to achieve. The so-called supervising the army will only make the frontline generals suspicious and hesitant, which is very detrimental to the war. In the officialdom, people should be employed without suspicion and those who are suspicious should not be used."

"More than one billion jins." Xiao Cheng said solemnly. "In the official family, the steel output during the peak period of the Song Dynasty was only 150 million jins. Last year, our output was more than six times that of that time.

"

The two wolves were fighting each other, and the tiger himself was watching from the sidelines, taking action at the right time to clear away the unsightly places.

"The land is not divided into north and south, and people, old and young, all have the responsibility to fight against the Tartars!"

"No, in order to launch this southern expedition, the Liao people turned almost all their steel into weapons. Their agricultural production was still at the level of many years ago. And the materials they needed to prepare for the war were almost

It is obtained by squeezing the people. In this way, although a large amount of wealth can be accumulated in a short period of time, it will not last long."

"Of course, the officials are not useless, but not now." Xiao Cheng glanced at Si Junchao, who was a little disappointed, and said with a smile: "When we turn to counterattack and enter the Liao border, these pioneering regiments will have

With rich experience in fighting in enemy territory, we can send them as vanguards and chief security officers. When the time comes, these people will be able to get as many military exploits as they want at their fingertips!"

The two of them bid farewell to Zhao An and walked out of the palace together.

"That's natural! But now..."

Of course, what is different from these nihilistic things is that Si Junchao can discuss matters with the court. This is a real thing.

"That's the truth!" Zhao An said.

"Thank you, Si Taibao!"

"so much?"

"Really?" Zhao An showed a happy smile on his face.

Although this person has long been idle at home, things are different now. With the large-scale invasion of the Liao Kingdom, the Song Dynasty needs to be more united internally, and appeasing Si Junchao is equivalent to appeasing the entire southern traditional forces.

On the square in front of the palace, the two carriages were on the left and the right, clearly distinguishable.

"I hope so!" Si Junchao took a deep breath: "Before the counterattack, whatever you want and use, we will never stop you. But if you want to take this opportunity to further eliminate dissidents,

Then you can't blame me for turning against others."

No matter what you want to do, the first step is always to fill the stomachs of those who follow you.

After several years of planning, publicity, and agitation, after the mobilization order was issued, it finally showed its effect. In a short period of time, the whole country was agitated, and everyone from officials to common people were mobilized.

The Liao Kingdom was not like those small countries in the south. When the Song Dynasty began to counterattack, these pioneering groups would inevitably hit the iron plate if they tried to pick a weak persimmon.

Food is the most important thing for the people.

"The Taibao wrongly blamed me. Over the years, has Xiao ever killed dissidents without any reason? What I want is rules and systems. The Taibao has been studying me for the past two years. I think I should gain something."

Si Junchao nodded: "I like rules and systems, so we will all do things within the rules and systems, right?"

"I think CPIC has already seen it. Will CPIC abide by this?"

"If anyone doesn't comply, let him go to Lingnan. No, let him go fishing on Haimen Island!" Si Junchao said.

Nowadays, Lingnan is no longer a fearful place for officials. It is very good there now.
Chapter completed!