Du Zhongxiao was discussing the situation in the Khitan in the north with several staff officers, including topographic surveying. The past was too simple, and now the borders are gathering, which is not easy to do. The more detailed these are done, the more beneficial it will be for subsequent war command.

A soldier came and said, "Taiwei, receive the official documents on the front line, the Khitan army is moving eastward!"

Du Zhongxiao brought the official documents, took them apart and handed them to the soldiers around him: "Go and give them to Taiwei Fu and Taiwei Zhao, and let them come over."

Soon, Fu Bi and Zhao Zi came in. Du Zhongxiao said, "The Khitan army is heading east. As we expected, they gave up Baozhou and might attack Xiongzhou. Order Zhang Ji and Liu Ji to prepare for the two armies!"

Fu Bi said: "How bad is Xiongzhou and Baozhou? There are 50,000 troops, all of which are strong cities, the same land, the walls and clear fields, and there are 50,000 troops from Hejian Prefecture behind them. I am afraid that there is no way for the Khitans to get there."

When Du Zhongxiao heard this, he was stunned for a while. After thinking for a while, he said, "Order Liu Ji to send a detective cavalry to carefully explore the east of Hejian Prefecture. If you find that the Khitans are heading south from Xin'an Army, you will immediately return the Shuaisi!"

Zhao Zi said, "The Grand Marshal thought that the Khitans would attack Xin'anzhou?"

Du Zhongxiao said: "There are three thousand soldiers and horses guarding Xin'an Prefecture, and the city is strong. Without accidents, it is difficult for the Khitans to capture it. However, if they do not forcefully attack the city, they will bring military rations on the road and go south all the way, and the defenders will have no way to defend the city. Three thousand soldiers and horses are enough to defend the city, but there is not enough attack."

Fu Bi said: "To the east of Hejian Prefecture are Cangzhou and Qianning Army, with a vast land and sparse population. In addition, the strong walls and clear fields are uninhabited within hundreds of miles. If the Khitan attacked there, they would not destroy the city and could only transport grain from the rear. Where did they get so many people to transport grain?"

Du Zhongxiao sighed: "We cannot use our own methods to think about what the Khitans would do. You must know that when did the Khitans transport their own grain when they went out to fight? They were all because of the grain from the enemy. As long as the soldiers brought more than a dozen days of grain, they would go all the way to clear the fields and maintain the place without a strong wall. In the future, the food and grass will naturally be snatched from the people."

Fu Bi shook his head: "If this happens, once they are defeated, they will not even have a way out."

Du Zhongxiao said: "Think about it, when did the Khitans think of retreating when they fought? Thirty thousand cavalry attacked Quyang, but they were surrounded. If they were gone, they would be gone. The Khitans would not even save them. Naturally, the same is true now. Just send troops and no matter how they withdraw them. For the Khitan army, you should know that they have the combat power of regular troops, but their tactics are similar to You Kou, and they cannot be judged rationally."

Zhao Zi pondered for a while and said, "According to what the Taiwei said, the Khitan really could attack Cangzhou. The Yongjing Army south of the Yellow River did not have a solid wall to clear the fields. If it attacked there, it would naturally be able to plunder food from the people. Four hundred miles away from the border, the soldiers brought ten days of food, which would not be difficult to attack."

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "We should have thought that it is not too late to make arrangements now. Order Liu Ji to make an immediate preparation for interception. Also, order the Yongjing Army, Dezhou and Enzhou to strengthen the walls and clear the fields. By the way, there are too few imperial guards on Jingdong Road, so the Privy Council will send a group of troops. Take the train, and it is not very far from Kaifeng Prefecture to Jingdong Road."

Zhao Ziyingnuo. In this era, due to the constant changes in the mouth of the Yellow River, the places close to the sea were large swamps, and the three states were all places with more land and fewer people. It was just to spend some money. Moreover, there were many grain storage on Jingdong Road, so you could deliver it nearby.

Looking at the map, Du Zhongxiao said: "Cangzhou is a vast and sparsely populated place, and the Khitan attacks it best. The millions of troops from the two countries will fight there! Order Dou Shunqing, Liu Jianji and Jia Kui to rectify the troops in the headquarters. If there is a military order, please transfer it immediately!"

Zhao Zi crossed his hands and responded to the promise, hurriedly ordered someone to draft an order and prepare to issue it.

As soon as the Khitan army was launched, Du Zhongxiao was generally at a loss. Fighting within the Song Dynasty was better than in the Khitan territory. The sea was in the east, and the army gathered in the west. As long as the Khitan retreat was blocked, these hundreds of thousands of troops would have nowhere to go.

At Baozhou Station, Jia Kui looked at the crowded and busy crowd and said to Liu Jianji beside him: "The Khitan army has already moved south, and only a small part of the artillery army in our army has transported. It's really a worry. Without artillery, I'm afraid the battle is unfavorable."

Liu Jianji said: "We are just transferred to Mozhou and Hejian Prefecture, and we will not fight immediately. Your army's pack horses will leave more people in Baozhou. Once the cannons arrive, they will be sent to the front line immediately. Although the Khitan army has arrived at Xin'an Army, the two armies will have to wait for some days to fight, and they will not be able to make a mistake."

Jia Kui nodded and sighed. He was the army that had been trained for the longest time, but his combat effectiveness was reduced a lot. If the war started quickly, he would be afraid that he would not be able to fight the main force. Everyone knows that the scale of this battle was unprecedented, and if he missed it, he could only regret it.

At this moment, a whistle sound came from a distance, and a train entered the station. Soon, Dou Shunqing rushed over to greet Jia Kui and Liu Jianji.

Looking at the messy crowd, Dou Shunqing said, "Shishen urged us to arrive at Hejian Mansion as fast as possible. But now the railway line is messy, and how many days will it take to walk."

Liu Jianji said: "It's not that easy to have an army of more than 100,000. Without four or five days, it's impossible to get there. Now the trains are commanded by Taiwei Li himself. If others can't speak, let's wait."

Dou Shunqing said: "Where is Taiwei Li? You have to urge him to urge him."

Liu Jianji shook his head: "I'm not worried. We have met Taiwei Li just now, but it's useless. Not only is there a hundred thousand troops coming, but all the food, grass and ammunition needed in the army must be missing. Taiwei Li is already in a state of great trouble. There is nothing important, so don't bother him."

As the logistics commander-in-chief of the Hebei Road Imperial Army, Li Fugui had to command the operation of military and civilian supplies throughout the Hebei Road, and was very busy. Not only did he have to complete the military transfer, but he also had more busy tasks. For example, when the Khitan marched into Youzhou, he was collecting various places. Now he was transporting to Hebei Road. The army was 300,000, and the pack animals transported were nearly 500,000, which was much more pressure than the transport of the army.

Now the Song Dynasty is increasingly considering this battle to the fate of the Khitan, and its energy is being invested more and more. The country's material and financial resources are concentrated on Hebei Road, let alone the army. The railway line connecting Baozhou and Kaifeng Prefecture is busy every day, and the trains are roaring every day.

After destroying Dangxiang and restoring the Western Regions, the imperial court actually didn't know how great the mobilization ability of the Song Dynasty was. It was not until the past month or two that the national material resources began to mobilize, and the national strength began to slowly reveal. In the past, the Song Dynasty lacked horses, but now it has everything. Not only horses, but there were 80,000 camels transported from the Western Regions and the river, which scared the Privy Council.

After saying a few gossips, Liu Jianji said: "Now it seems that our three armies have to arrive in Hejian Prefecture for three or five days. Moreover, Grand Marshal Li has installed vehicles for personnel, horses, and artillery trains, and cannot go one by one. There is no need to be anxious, wait patiently for a few days before talking. Tonight I will hold a banquet in the government office and ask the two to drink."

Jia Kui shook his head: "In three or five days, the Khitan has entered the country. Alas, I am so anxious to think about it!"

Liu Jianji said: "So what if they enter the country? They use their legs and can enter the country at most a hundred miles. When we arrived at Hejian Mansion, we had enough time to stop them in front. Now there is no shortage of supplies on Hebei Road and enough carrots, so why are we afraid that we can't catch up with them?"

Dou Shunqing nodded: "The reason is that more than 100,000 troops are most likely to get into trouble at this time. I hope that Grandmaster Li will make proper arrangements and not go on business trips, so that we can safely go to Hejian Mansion."
Chapter completed!