Listening to Shisanlang talking about the military academy and the imperial guards in the capital, Du Zhongxiao couldn't help but sigh. He fought and won consecutive victories on Hequ Road, and made countless military achievements, but did not convince the generals. The system set by Du Zhongxiao was completely different from the previous military system. Those generals who led the troops felt uncomfortable everywhere. On the contrary, Di Qing tried hard to rely on the original system and absorbed new military ordnances and systems, so that the generals in the army felt used to it.

After entering the capital, most of the people on Hequ Road became instructors and idle positions and no longer led troops. The imperial guards after training were actually completely different from the original Hequ Road army. To a large extent, they were the original imperial guards who had replaced firearms.

Du Zhongxiao drank a glass of wine and said, "The soldiers and horses on Hequ Road were invincible back then. In addition to firearms, there was also a new military system. It is easy for the army to change firearms, but it is really difficult to change the military system. Let's see how they attacked Dangxiang this time. If the battle is unfavorable, there will be waves."

Shisanlang said: "Yes, we instructors in the military academy say the same in daily life. We are not afraid of laughing at the officials, and many people still hope that Taiwei Di is not effective in fighting. Since the great victory of Hequ Road, we are transferred to the capital, but we have been suppressed and suffered."

Du Zhongxiao said: "It is possible that Taiwei Di is not effective in fighting, and it is too difficult to defeat. The strength of the court and Dangxiang is not comparable to ten years ago. Even if it is purely suppressed by national strength, Dangxiang cannot support it. Don't feel wronged. Such a big country has many places to balance. If you are used, where can the original imperial guards have a way out? You have to really hit the wall and the court has made up their minds before they can truly learn. Let's see, where can everything go smoothly in the officialdom."

Shisanlang sighed: "Officials, when everyone was on Hequ Road, they won a lot of victories and were in a high spirit. As a result, when they came to the capital, everything went wrong. It took several years to go, and some resentment was normal."

Du Zhongxiao said: "I understand naturally. However, you should think about it the other way around. The original Yingtianxiang Army was not a regular army. If it weren't for the good times, and the Khitan and Dangxiang were not familiar with us, you wouldn't have made so many military achievements."

Chen Qin said: "Yes, Khitan and Dangxiang are not stupid. As long as we know how we fight, we will be prepared."

Shisanlang said: "So what about their defense? We won the past year, not by luck, but by defeating them on the battlefield!"

Du Zhongxiao smiled and said, "The words are good, but there are always luck in winning that year, so you don't have to take it too seriously. Dangxiang, no matter how it relied on geography and the court's inconvenience to attack, it suddenly rose. The Khitan was different. It was a big country. It was pure luck to destroy its king in one battle. Since the Khitan king died suddenly, there was no arrangement for the funeral. The two emperors had been fighting for four years. During these four years, I heard that he was used to using cannons, and although he was not as powerful as his dynasty, he should not be underestimated."

Chen Qin said: "When I was on Hedong Road, I heard that the attack and defense of the Khitan had become more stable. It turned out that Yelu Chongyuan's army attacked Ruzhou, but now Yelu Hongji's army attacked Fengshengzhou, and the offensive was very fierce."

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "The ancient Zhuolu in Fengshengzhou is a strategic location, and there is a war there, which is normal. Both sides are the same country, and the two are fighting to establish themselves, and many forces in the Khitan are bystanders. Generally speaking, there are many people in the Khitan who support Yelu Hongji and few people support Chongyuan. If Yelu Hongji gains the upper hand, the war will soon end."

Speaking of this, Du Zhongxiao looked at Shisanlang and said, "The split of the Khitan is an opportunity for the court. So now we have to fight to attack Dangxiang and eliminate this big problem. When the Khitan country decides its victory or defeat, the court can gather heavy troops to make a difference. At that time, if Dangxiang is not effective, your opportunity should come."

When Shisanlang heard this, he was shocked: "So that's it? The Khitan has been in civil turmoil for many years. The court has always been observing etiquette and never interferes in state affairs. He thought the court had no intention of the Khitan."

Du Zhongxiao said: "Since the establishment of the country, Taizu and Taizong dynasty had the intention to Yanyun, thinking that only by Yanyun could the whole world be unified, how could the court sit idly by? It was just because the two Khitan emperors were fighting for the establishment was civil strife. If the imperial army was in a hurry, they would definitely compromise quickly. They naturally did not care about the battle against the dynasty. If the winner was decided quickly, they would actively intervene to get the greatest profit."

Shisanlang and Chen Qin nodded together, but they didn't expect that there would be such a thing. Over the years, the Khitan has been fighting continuously, and the Song Dynasty trained the imperial guards, which has reduced the garrisons on the front lines of the Khitan. They all thought that the Song Dynasty had no idea about the Khitan, but they didn't expect that it was not at all.

How could the Song Dynasty have no idea about the situation in the Khitan? It was just that when Du Zhongxiao first won on Hequ Road, he had not many troops, and the imperial guards across the country had to be trained and could not move. After three or four years, most of the imperial guards had completed the training. They first practiced with the Dangxiang to solve the hidden dangers behind them, so that they could truly break up with the Khitan. Due to the rugged terrain between Youyun and the Khitans, relying on the city and artillery, the victory and defeat could not be decided for a while. The Song army concentrated its forces and strived to solve the Dangxiang first.

The north of the Song Dynasty was to some extent the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The three kingdoms were both hostile to each other and formed various alliances. Dangxiang was the weakest, but he was in the prosperous north of Guanzhong in the Song Dynasty. Only by solving it can he fight the Khitan with all his strength.

Speaking of these things, Du Zhongxiao couldn't help but think about the internal affairs of urgently waiting for reform, and couldn't help feeling tired. When he was on the frontier, he didn't feel that as soon as he entered the court, he found that there were countless things and he was no longer as leisurely as he did.

After drinking for a while, Shisanlang said, "Officials, the two Khitan emperors competed. Which side do you think is more likely to win?"

Du Zhongxiao said: "To put it, Yelu Hongji is more likely to win. Although the Khitan has not yet made it clear that his father and son have been one after another, and in name it still maintains the ritual of Chai Ce, after so many years of the previous king, most Khitan nobles still tend to Hongji. It was only because Chongyuan received the support of the Khitan mother that he had been in trouble for so long. As long as the front line wins and loses, the Khitan civil strife will soon end."

Shisanlang nodded: "We usually think so when we talk about it. Although the Xijing Road and Zhongjing Road in Chongyuan are connected together, Hongji's territory is scattered, but the troops are stronger. Moreover, Hongji relies on Liaodong and has no shortage of iron, so he can cast more cannons."

"Yes, you can cast more cannons." Du Zhongxiao nodded helplessly. The cannons really do not have much technical content. "Hongji relies on the iron of Liaozhou and has cast many cannons in recent years. However, their ability to make gunpowder is not good, and its power is far less than that of the original dynasty."

After Du Zhongxiao's reform, the Song army actually took artillery as the core. Especially in wars, they often relied on artillery positions and fought repeatedly. Although the Khitan and Dangxiang had put a lot of effort into producing muskets, they still could not produce muskets, but they learned the artillery technology. Dangxiang's domestic technology was too poor and could only produce artillery based on the city and had no field combat capabilities. The Khitan was different. Although it was not as good as the Song army, the artillery could maneuver off-road.

Yelu Chongyuan attacked Ruzhou but was finally pushed back by Yelu Hongji. Now the two sides are in a stalemate in Fengshengzhou. Once Fengshengzhou is lost, Hongji's army crosses Jiming Mountain and enters Guihuazhou. Open the door to Datong Prefecture, and the war is decided.

Speaking of the Khitan war, Shisanlang became interested and exchanged views with Du Zhongxiao. Most of the generals who went to the capital of Hequ Road to serve as instructors at the military academy. They usually like to discuss these things. Their opinions also believed that Yelu Hongji might win.

Du Zhongxiao said: "If the front line Chongyuan is defeated, the dynasty should attack Datong Prefecture from Yanmen and Shazhou. We will fight to block Hongji's army from the mountains and seize the mountains first. We will use the mountains as the foundation and cooperate with Hebei, and you can take Youzhou later."

Shisanlang nodded repeatedly: "What the official said is that we usually talk about it and think that this should be done. If we seize Yunzhou, threaten Youzhou in front of the mountain from behind the mountain, and cooperate with the Hebei army, it is easy to succeed. If we cannot seize Yunzhou, we will attack Youzhou from the river, and we will easily be threatened by the Khitans."

Du Zhongxiao said: "This is the right way for this dynasty to restore the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun. Take the mountain first and then, and the Youzhou in front of the mountain will become an isolated city, and it is difficult to defend anyway. If you don't take the mountain behind, you will attack directly in front of the mountain, and you will easily be caught in the back."

The Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun seized by the Khitan generally call the surroundings of Yunzhou behind the mountain and the surroundings of Youzhou in front of the mountain, and are divided into two large areas. The two places are the inner and inner sides of each other, and Youzhou is rich, while Yunzhou has a dangerous terrain. If one place is lost, the other place is isolated.

After occupying Hequ Road, the Song Dynasty formed a situation of attacking Yunzhou on both sides and gained a strategic advantage. However, until now, the court has not seriously discussed the strategy against the Khitan, but has been holding its troops on the grounds that it is not suitable for making a name.

If Du Zhongxiao was not concerned about Du Zhongxiao, the court would not want him to lead the army against Dangxiang, so he should have deployed troops against Dangxiang last year. This year, it was a little late, and the situation in the Khitan had changed. Strategically, it was required that the war against Dangxiang ended within a few months and that a large army could be mobilized to deal with the Khitan. No one in the court has proposed or discussed these obvious grand strategies now. Du Zhongxiao sometimes felt that he had to make peace with Dangxiang more than ten years ago, which had a great impact on the officials in the court, including the emperor, and no one proposed a long-term strategy.

Yesterday, when Chongzheng Palace was discussing, Du Zhongxiao mentioned the Khitan briefly and was immediately stopped. No one wanted to discuss this issue, which made him feel a little depressed. Today, sitting with Shisanlang and listening to him telling the opinions of the instructors in the military academy, many of the secrets that they had with him were so happy.
Chapter completed!