Fanzhi is a small county in the mountains and built on the Hutuo River. The county town is located in the mountains and has a sparse population under its rule. Jia Kui’s 50,000 troops were unable to all be stationed in the county town, so he could only set up villages around him. Jia Kui led his people to the magistrate, and the magistrate brought the officials of the county to the outside of the city early.

After entering the city gate, Jia Kui saw that the city was deserted and said, "There are no merchants here, and many of the supplies in the army are afraid that they can only be transported from outside."

The magistrate Yang Fang said: "Taiwei, Fanzhi is just a small border county, with a small population under his rule, so he is naturally not as prosperous as the big city."

Jia Kui nodded, knowing it. Fanzhi only has more than 2,000 households, and in later generations, they can't even compare to a village. It's a blessing to have a county town on the border. How can you support your army with the local population? I can't help but feel upset when I think of the bad road.

But it’s easy to transport grain. Now in the army, there are many types of supplies for guns and ammunition, and it’s not easy to transport them from outside. Fortunately, I came a few months in advance, and if things come to an end and suddenly march, it will be troublesome.

When we arrived at the county government office, when the reception banquet ended, Jia Kui said, "There are many military camps under the county government. Please call the magistrate to meet me tomorrow. The army came to this county and prepared a lot of things, and the most fear of leaking the news."

Yang Fang bowed and said that it was. This was a border county. Yang Fang himself was also a military general. He was also in charge of the troops of the county and was in charge of the troops of various villages. He was separated from the Khitan, and the two countries did not interact here and did not interact with the population. As long as he gave an order, it would be difficult for the Khitan to get the news.

When Yang Fang said goodbye, Jia Kui said to Hao Zhi: "In such a small county, 50,000 troops stationed, the supplies outside are indispensable in one day. Tomorrow, the food and grass officer Peng Yin will arrive, and then tell him. No matter what is missing, it must be transported in advance and do not miss the autumn war."

Hao Zhi said: "This place is remote on the border. In the past, there were no merchants who had transported goods. It was really not easy to not build the road. If not, how could the Privy Council let us come here now? It was a few months before autumn. It was too early to be discovered by the Khitans."

Jia Kui shook his head: "Even if the Khitans know, they will not take it seriously. How can they know so clearly about the enemy country?"

A few years ago, someone fabricated rumors that it was the Khitan who gathered troops and horses, which caused great fear in the court. A few months later, it was discovered that it was the rumors. In this era, the speed of information transmission was not comparable to later generations. Even if the Khitans received the news that the Song Dynasty concentrated troops and horses in Fanzhi, they could not confirm the authenticity.

This place is different from Hebei Road. Hebei Road is full of plains, and there are two households. The people are constantly coming and going, so information is relatively difficult to conceal. Fanzhi is surrounded by mountains, and the traffic between the two countries is cut off, and it is not uncommon for decades to have no one to communicate.

Standing up, Jia Kui looked out the window and said, "Fanzhi is a small county on the border. I see that there are only one or two inns and not a few shops in the city. If the army is stationed in the city, it will inevitably be in chaos. Tomorrow we will go to the area of ​​Pingxing Village to the east to take a look. Try to build a few military camps nearby so that the army can station them nearby. Use the next two months to clarify the surrounding geography and make a good plan for war."

Hao Zhi bowed and said yes.

Jia Kui said again: "Also, bring Peng Yin with him and ask him to clarify the geography here, determine how to transport materials in and how to allocate them. In more than two months, you must make all the preparations. Just wait for the imperial court to give the order and then kill him!"

For a 50,000 army, to go to Lingqiu Road, plan must be made. How many people are used by the vanguard, how to protect materials, how many people in the middle army, and how many people follow up. It is impossible to get together in the whole army. This road is too steep and not suitable for large army operations. However, there are not many defenders on the opposite Khitan, and they rely on the strong city to defend. As long as the army is equipped with artillery, it is not difficult to break through.

In the Privy Council, Du Zhongxiao ordered a small courtyard to be set up in the Privy Council as the command center for the autumn battle. He ordered Li Zhang to do his best and to clarify all the information of the Khitan in Youzhou in the next time, including the terrain, military deployment, and local officials. All roads can be marched, where can they be stationed, and how to transport materials must be planned in advance. It is not until the war that they find out what is unclear.

In less than ten days, the courtyard began to take shape and became the command center of the Privy Council. Du Zhongxiao asked Tian Kuan to take care of the daily affairs of the Privy Council, and he, Zhao Zi and Fu Bi, spent most of his energy on the war.

After entering the courtyard, the main room was a hall, with a rough sand table on the large table and a large map hung on the wall. On one side, the house was staff officers who handled various intelligence and formulated combat plans. On the other side, there were logistics officials who made material transportation plans.

Du Zhongxiao and Zhao Zi stood in front of the sand table, discussing the war that was about to happen.

Zhao Zi said: "If the Khitan attacks Baozhou, then defend for a month. When the battle situation is stable, the army will go north from Xiongzhou to take Zhuozhou. It is best to surround the Khitan's main force in the Yizhou area. If Jia Kui takes Feihu in the east, he will be siege several ways."

Du Zhongxiao shook his head: "The roads in Yizhou are difficult to block the mountain. The main force of the Khitan is cavalry. If we enter the Taihang Mountains and go north to Fengshengzhou, we have no choice. The most important thing in this battle is not to defeat the enemy, but to encircle and annihilate the enemy."

When Zhao Zi heard this, he couldn't help but frown: "If this is the case, it would be a bit difficult. Youzhou is vast, and it is really difficult to siege the enemy to death. Moreover, the Khitan cavalry acted quickly, and once they retreated, it would be difficult for us to catch up. Even if Youzhou is the land of the Khitan, they would take it as a common thing even if they plundered. If they want to chase, they would be difficult to catch up."

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "That's right. So we must do our best to surround Yelu Hongji! Capture the king first. As long as you surround Yelu Hongji, you can't escape, and the other Khitan troops will not dare to retreat. The two emperors fought for several years, and the current Khitan should not dare to abandon the king."

Zhao Zi looked at the map and said nothing. After a while, he said, "What should the Taiwei think?"

Du Zhongxiao said: "If the Khitan attacks Baozhou, he will abandon Guangxin Army and Ansu Army and ignore it and attract the main Khitan forces to the city of Baozhou. Baozhou arranges troops and defends the city to the death. At the same time, sufficient mobility is arranged around it to fight against the Khitan at the right time. At the same time, the main force of the army goes north from Xiongzhou to cut off the retreat route of the Khitan. The army in Baozhou must make the main force of the Khitan king unable to move, and the army in Xiongzhou north must cut off the return route of the Khitan at the fastest speed. At the same time, Jia Kui's army goes out of Wuhuiling to occupy Zijing Pass. In this way, he can fight against the Khitan in the Yizhou area. As long as the Khitans are left with a way out, there will be endless trouble in the future."

Zhao Zi sighed: "This is difficult to do. If the Khitans had a huge army of thirty or 400,000 troops, they would not have been under the city of Baozhou. Otherwise, it would be difficult for his military supplies to take a month."

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "That's right, so the most likely thing is that the Khitan came in two groups. From Baozhou to Xiongzhou, they attacked everywhere. At that time, they could not be wrong wherever they retreat, defend, and attack. Only by surrounding the Khitan king can they start a counterattack."
Chapter completed!