In Chongzheng Hall, Zhao Zhen looked at several ministers and said, "Hebei Taiwei Du came to report, and the Khitan seemed to be in disarray in recent days. I was worried that it would retreat, so I planned to mobilize a large army and devote all my strength to the conquest. What do you think?"

Wen Yanbo held the scepter: "I don't know what the Taiwei Du's intention is to fight?"

Zhao Zhen said: "I wiped out 400,000 Khitan troops in Youzhou, and I will not let them return only by horses!"

After hearing this, several ministers in Chongzheng Hall were a little puzzled. Although they had heard the words that they wanted to completely wipe out the Khitan army many times, they were still shocked when they reached this moment. For everyone, it was not a strange thing to defeat the Khitan people, and it was extremely difficult to completely wipe out the Khitans.

Wen Yanbo said: "Your Majesty, the Khitan soldiers are 400,000, all of them are tigers and wolves. It is not easy for Du Taiwei to wipe them out. Of course, it is really a great achievement. However, there are only more than 400,000 people on the front line. Can they do it?"

Zhao Zhen said: "According to what Taiwei Du said, although there are difficulties, we must strive to do it. However, what my husband said is that it is really difficult to do it with 400,000 people on the front line. Therefore, I wanted to kill Zhang Yu, the Dragon Guard Army, and rushed to Xiongzhou as quickly as possible to obstruct the command of Taiwei Du. The Khitans were cavalry, and it was difficult to wipe out the entire cavalry. Now, the Japanese and Shengu Army were in the Dezhou area, and they could not reach the north for a while."

All the ministers held the scepter together: "Your Majesty is wise."

The Long Guard was the original Supreme Army, belonging to the Cavalry Division, and it was still a cavalry after the training. Du Zhongxiao had many cavalry under his command, but they were all scattered under each army and had no separate cavalry units. If the Khitans retreated, it would not be easy to chase them.

Now, in addition to Du Zhongxiao's troops, there are also the front-line troops who blocked the Japanese troops of Shisanlang's troops south on Jingdong Road and the Shenwei troops of Liu Huan's troops. If Du Zhongxiao advances north, these two troops must go north immediately and cooperate with Ma Huaide and others to encircle and suppress the Khitan troops.

The army directly commanded by Du Zhongxiao was 300,000, plus the 100,000 people of Shisanlang and Liu Huan, and about 90,000 people of Ma Huaide, had more troops than the Khitan. The combat power of the two sides was far different, and they were actually at an absolute advantage.

However, the ministers in the hall did not think so. In his eyes, the strength of the army was mainly the number of people. To a certain extent, even if the Khitan army was smaller, it was still a strong army. Du Zhongxiao had to use more than 400,000 people to wipe out the Khitan army, which was surprising.

Zhao Zhen looked at everyone and didn't say anything for a moment. He didn't expect that there would be such a day that he would not only regain Yan Yun, but also to completely wipe out the Khitan army. These days, Zhao Zhen knew very well that the Khitan army of 400,000 was the entire combat power of the northern grassland. If he had completely wiped out the grasslands in one go, the attack on the grasslands would be a victorious march. Since the Middle Tang Dynasty, the grassland forces that were pressing on the Central Plains have been wiped out from now on.

What kind of achievements is this? I will become the most powerful emperor in all dynasties, unparalleled. In more than ten years, I have destroyed Dangxiang, restored the Western Regions, and then went north to the grassland. No one has ever achieved such a victory.

Tian Kuang held the scepter: "Taiwei Du said that Youzhou was stripped by the Khitan and there was no surplus grain among the people. After the army headed north, the court would provide relief. Otherwise, there would be no food among the people, and hundreds of thousands of people were hungry and cold, and they would be afraid of a great chaos."

Wen Yanbo shook his head repeatedly after hearing this: "Taiwei, hundreds of thousands of troops have been on Hebei Road for several months. With the original Hebei Road Imperial Guard, I don't know how much food has been spent. If you want to provide relief to the people of Youzhou, where can I convert the grain?"

Zeng Gongliang said: "At this time, there must be food no matter what. Otherwise, the court will re-occupy Youzhou and the people under the rule have no food to eat, what will happen? My husband, no matter what method is used, he must have food."

Wen Yanbo only felt like a big head and didn't speak for a while. In recent years, wars have continued, and supplying military rations has caused headaches for the Zhengshi Hall. If you help Youzhou again, it would be too difficult.

Han Qi said: "If this happens, we can only find a way from Liangzhe and Jiangnan Road. Let the food be transported there as soon as possible and transported to Hebei Road. There is no grain collection on Liangzhe and Jiangnan Road, and there should be surplus grain among the people."

Zhao Zhen nodded: "That's it, I'll recruit the transfer from Liangzhe and Jiangnan Road. I printed bonds a few days ago, and the court still had extra money, so I could use the money to buy from the people and the people. Now as long as I can buy it, it's a big deal."

Learn to use bonds, and many things will be simple all at once. If you spend money on war, you can’t borrow one year in advance? With the current economic strength of the Song Dynasty, the annual fiscal revenue and one year of money, it is enough to deal with the war.

After discussing the war, several ministers said goodbye. After leaving the Chugong Gate, Wen Yanbo said to Tian Kuan: "Taiwei, just at the beginning of the month, why did Taiwei Du attack the Khitan? What I said before, wouldn't we go to war again when the weather is warm after the New Year?"

Tian Kuang said: "There is no way. Now it seems that the Khitan is not as capable as we imagined. If we don't start a war, they will retreat if they can't hold on. The 400,000 army coming south is not an easy thing to encounter and cannot be let go."

Han Qi said: "That's right. This time the Khitans went south and did not even break a city, which is unbelievable. Even if it was a field battle, it fought outside the Qianning Army City for more than ten days, but our army became stronger and stronger as the battle took place."

Zeng Gongliang nodded: "It's true. Especially in the battle outside the Qianning Army, it can be seen that the Khitan military strength is indeed not an opponent. At the beginning, Ma Huaide had a very hard defense and was almost dispersed by the Khitan several times. After five or six days, he could defend it. After more than ten days, he had already steadily gained the upper hand and did not take the Khitans on the opposite side seriously. This time, Ma Huaide was impatient and demanded a counterattack."

Wen Yanbo said: "What's the reason? Although reinforcements were sent to the Qianning Army, many people died in the war, and the number did not increase. Why did they steadily suppress the Khitans after more than ten days?"

Tian Kuang said: "My husband, our army uses guns and cannons and is well-trained. How can the Khitans compare? But at the beginning, the Hejian Prefecture Military Academy was only opened for a year, and there were not enough officers, so there were flaws. After more than ten days, if the officers who could be used came out and the army was fully organized, the Khitans would naturally be no match. This is not uncommon, our army must be stronger than the Khitans."

Wen Yanbo nodded and said, "If this is the case, wouldn't this counterattack be sure to win?"

Tian Kuang smiled and said, "Donald, the Khitan army has been fighting for two months and cannot defeat Cangzhou. At the Qianning Army, there are more than 100,000 troops, and they cannot defeat Ma Huaide and 80,000 troops. Until now, the main force of this dynasty has not sent troops, and the Khitans have no choice but to support this battle. Of course, it is a sure victory."

Wen Yanbo thought for a while and said, "Master Du has never been out of the army in Hejian Prefecture, just to wipe out the main force of the Khitan?"

Tian Kuang nodded: "Yes, if it weren't for the entire Khitans, how could they have fought to this day? The Khitan army is no longer comparable to that of this dynasty. However, they were born on the grassland and were born with cavalry. If there was no such opportunity, it would be difficult to annihilate it."
Chapter completed!