In Yizhou City, Yelu Pode heard that he had two courages when he came back, and was overjoyed and his orders were quickly brought to the official hall.

Sun Dong and Tang Xi entered the official hall and saluted together. They said, "The young men went to Song to find out the news under the order of the magistrate. They were careful along the way and were very attentive. For five days, fortunately, they fulfilled their mission and returned today."

Yelu Pode said: "These days, five groups of spies have been sent, and only you are back, which shows your intentions! What is the news? Tell me quickly!"

Sun Dong looked at Tang Xi quietly and was secretly proud. Sure enough, those spies who went to the plains did not come back, only the two of them, so they were just talking casually? If they were really or not, they would like to talk about it, they would definitely be rewarded.

He bowed and said, "The young men walked south along the mountain road and walked for two days before they saw someone. They said they were hunters in the mountains and stayed there overnight. They heard a lot of news."

Yelu Pode said: "If you have any news, please tell me quickly! If you have made great contributions this time, you will definitely receive a great reward!"

Sun Dong was overjoyed and said, "The young men spent a night in Song Dynasty and heard a lot of news. Now, the plains in Song Dynasty have become solid and clear, and the people are all concentrated in various cities. All pedestrians on the road must be officials and merchants are not connected. There are military patrols everywhere, and the roads are guarded by the government. Once there are people, they will be imprisoned first."

After hearing this, Yelu sighed: "I don't want the Song people to be so cruel and not allow the people to leave the city, but they miscalculated. Many spies went there but never returned, and they thought they missed their way and were taken into custody by the Song people. - What news do you have? Let's talk about it one by one."

Sun Dong was excited and said, "Only the mountainous areas are different. There are no cities that can be built, and there are no hunters to patrol, for fear that someone will sneak into the country. Therefore, the families in the mountains are still the same as the road. They are still hunting, but they have to patrol the place for the government."

Yelu Pode nodded and said, "You are all innocent. Have you been questioned by the Song people?"

Sun Dongdao: "The young man only said he was a hunter in the mountains because he lived in a remote place, so he was born in the face. The Song people did not ask in detail, but just warned him not to go out of the mountains, because the road was blocked. The young man saw that it was not a solution, so he asked for some information and returned."

Yelu Pode hurriedly asked, "What news? How many soldiers and horses did the Song people have in the south? How to arrange them?"

Sun Dong had already thought about these words on the road and said, "The Southern Dynasty had 50,000 troops stationed in Baozhou, stationed in various cities and defended them very closely. There were 50,000 troops in Dingzhou later, and it was said that they had been put on the whole army and were ready to go north. If this dynasty attacked Baozhou, they would have 100,000 troops guarding there."

Yelu Po nodded: "Yes, the Song people should have been like this. There are so many mountains in the north of Dingzhou. If there are too many soldiers and horses, it is useless to defend Baozhou. However, there are 100,000 troops stationed in Baozhou. Where do their food and supplies come from? I heard that the Song people have railways and can run trains. Have you ever seen them?"

Sun Dong hurriedly said, "The young ones are in the mountains, where can they see them? But the young one asked the Song people, and they really went out to take the train. They said that the train was a lump of iron, running on the railway, as fast as the wind. They were pulled behind them, loading up the cargo, and they didn't know how much a truck could hold. The young one heard them say that only the railway would lead to no worries about the lack of food in the army ahead."

Yelu nodded slightly, feeling difficult in his heart. In this era, due to transportation difficulties and not during the war, a large number of troops would rarely be stationed in one place. Otherwise, it would be difficult to solve the problem if only food and grass were needed. In the past, the Song Dynasty, most of the troops were stationed on Hebei Road in the second line. There were cities and villages in dangerous passes in front. Once a war broke out, the city walls would delay the enemy's operations and the army in the rear gathered for rescue. Now it is different. Since the railway was built along the border, the army stationed along the railway and directly reached the border.

The Khitan army was good at maneuvering and not good at siegeing cities. The Song Dynasty built a large number of cities on the border and stationed heavy troops, which made the Khitans unable to attack. The Song Dynasty also strengthened the walls and cleared the fields within dozens of miles, and did not capture the city. The Khitan did not dare to go deeper. Once it went deeper, it would not be able to grab food and grass in the front, and the Song army behind it cut off its retreat, which was unpredictable.

Yang Ji from Zhuozhou was destroyed by the Song army last year and was determined to take revenge, and the memorials were mostly false. However, Yelu Pode of Yizhou was very clear about the situation on the front line and never advocated the start of war against the Song army at this time.

After asking about some news, Sun Dong made up randomly. He made up one principle: he was not talking nonsense, but based on the rumors he heard, whether true or false. Many news were true or false, so people couldn't find fault.

After hearing Sun Dong's words, Yelu Po ordered the two to reward the money and told them to go out. He sat alone in the official hall, frowning.

At this time, the Khitan army had been completed, and a large number of tribal troops were heading towards Youzhou, and they were on the verge of arrows and had to be fired. However, Yelu Po was worried after hearing the news that Sun Dong had visited. Looking at the present, it was already extremely difficult for the Khitans to break through the border. What should hundreds of thousands of troops arrive in Youzhou? If you can't win, you can retreat. Youzhou is in a miserable state.

Seeing that it was still early, Yelu Po ordered his subordinates to take a team of soldiers and rode north to meet Yelu Renxian, who was left behind in Nanjing. On the third morning, he entered Xijin Mansion and arrived at the left behind in the mansion.

At this time, Yelu Renxian and Yelu Zongyun were worried because the situation in the Song Dynasty was unclear. When he heard that Yelu Po was here, he hurriedly received it.

After entering the official hall, Yelu Po was able to salute, and Yelu Ren first ordered to sit down.

From then on, Yelu Po was given a hand: "These days, the king and the left-behind repeatedly ordered to send people to the Song territory to investigate their news. The lower officials sent many batches of people to the crossing, but they did not return and did not know the news. It was not until a few days ago that someone sent to the Song territory from the mountainous area came back and found out that the news there. The lower officials thought that this matter was important, so they arrived at Nanjing City quickly and reported to the left-behind."

Yelu Renxian was worried about this matter. These days, he ordered many spies to be sent in Zhuozhou and Yizhou to investigate the arrangements of the Song Dynasty. Who knew that the Song people had strict defense and that spies had gone but never returned, which was unimaginable. He heard that Yelu Po had news and hurriedly said, "This matter is important, the magistrate will tell you quickly!"

Yelu Pode said: "These two people pretended to be hunters in the mountains, crossed the border from the mountains, and arrived in the territory of the Song people. Fortunately, the Song Dynasty did not blockade in the mountains, and some people took them in and heard some news. Now, south of the border, the Song people gathered heavy troops in Baozhou and Xiongzhou. In a few months, they built dozens of cities, stationed in them. After collecting autumn grain, all the people under their jurisdiction entered the city, and the walls and cleared the fields outside the city—"

After hearing this, Yelu Zongyun said: "Xiongzhou, Baozhou, and tens of thousands of households in the two states all entered the city - where were there so many cities in the Song Dynasty?"

Yelu Pode said: "I heard of this before, but I was half-believing and half-doubted. This time I heard what the spies said. Now, people in Baozhou and Xiongzhou in Song Dynasty have disappeared, and merchants are blocked. Those walking on the road are all military soldiers. Whenever there are people, they will be arrested immediately. Because of this, there are no news about the spies sent to the plains. These cities have been newly built in the past few months, and they are extremely difficult to deal with."

This news has been spread for a long time, but most Khitan officials do not believe it. The border states and tens of thousands of households all moved into the city. How many cities are needed? These people need to eat and drink, but it is difficult to support them. Now, I finally believe it after hearing Yelu Pode's words.

Yelu Renxian said: "Have you found out clearly how many miles the Song people have strengthened the walls and cleared the fields? Which state troops are there?"

Yelu Po said: "Xiongzhou, Xiongzhou, and the northern borders of the two states are all strong and clear, and there are no people outside the city. Moreover, the roads of these states are blocked and pedestrians are extinct, making it extremely difficult to find out the news. Now there are only people in the mountains."

Yelu Ren sighed first: "This is difficult to do. It is not difficult to quickly enter the Song realm, with hundreds of thousands of troops, how to support Nanjing Road? Now not only the government has no storage, but the people have no surplus food. What should the army eat when it comes?"

Yelu Zongyun said: "There are still troops in the surrounding states, so don't worry about staying behind. The arrival of the army, let the states transport grain."

Yelu Ren shook his head first and said nothing. When the surrounding prefectures were fighting for the establishment of the two emperors, Yelu Hongji conscripted all the grain. They were not the same as Nanjing Road? Except for Zhongjing Road in the north, there was no food or grass around. Zhongjing Road was a place where nobles and princes gathered, and many of them were the head Xiazhou troops under their rule. That was the private property of the kings and the public. How could they transport grain?

Nanjing Road is the area in front of Shanqian, Youzhou is now the Xijin Prefecture. In addition, there are Pingzhou, Yizhou, Zhuozhou, etc., all under the rule of Xijin Prefecture, which is different from the administrative divisions of the Song Dynasty. In addition to Youzhou, Pingzhou is also considered one. These areas are the foundation for Yelu Hongji's victory. The two emperors fought for the establishment and the land had long been scraped off.

Various armies came to Youzhou for 500,000 to 600,000, and Yelu Ren sold himself first, but he could not afford to support him. The Khitan's plan was to quickly attack the Song territory as soon as the war started, and to use the local food and grass from the Song Dynasty to support him. If he did not break through the border, he would go hungry first.

After a moment of silence, Yelu Zongyun said: "The most important thing now is to understand the arrangement of the Song army. The borders of hundreds of miles are not believed to be able to defend the Song army without any leakage! With only a little breakthrough, the army enters the Song army, and the Song army cannot imagine it!"

Yelu Renxian said: "The Song people were firmly on the wall and clear the fields. As soon as the spy entered the country, they were caught by the Song people. How can I figure out their arrangements?"

Yelu Zongyun said: "With a heavy reward, there must be a brave man! As long as you are willing to reward money, what news can't be done? Stay behind, you can make a noise. Anyone who surrenders to this dynasty at this time will have a heavy reward! There are hundreds of thousands of people in the Song army, but no one is moved if they don't believe it!"

Yelu Renxian shook his head: "Now the Song Dynasty is not allowed to go out, how can the news be transmitted to their ears? - Forget it, there is no other way, so I can only do this first. I will post a notice tomorrow to tell the people to see if anyone wants the money."
Chapter completed!