In the Privy Council, Du Zhongxiao, Zeng Gongliang and Zhang Fangping sat around and looked at the map on the table.

Zeng Gongliang said: "Deputy envoy, Yelu Hongji has occupied Huaian, and there is only one pass from Tiancheng County to Datong Prefecture. Now it seems that Yelu Chongyuan can no longer support it. It is estimated that Yelu Hongji will unify the Khitan without summer."

Du Zhongxiao said: "If there is no Hequ Road of this dynasty, when Yelu Chongyuan lost Ruzhou, he should admit his failure and believing Yelu Hongji as the Khitan emperor. With Hequ Road, Yelu Chongyuan has a way out. If it really doesn't work, can he still surrender to this dynasty? In the current situation, whether this dynasty wants or not, the Khitan must guard against us to send troops and occupy the Xijing Road."

Zhang Fangping said: "The deputy envoy means waiting for Chongyuan to surrender?"

Du Zhongxiao said: "Before the New Year, the army on Hequ Road came out. Yelu Chongyuan did not dare to take risks, so he was honest in Datong Prefecture. When Han Qi led the army back to Shengzhou, I thought there should be something going on in Chongqing. However, no matter what Yelu Chongyuan thought, the war against the Khitan must be based on the original dynasty, and we cannot put hope on others. The emperor asked us to report the above strategy three days later, and we do not have to consider Chongqing."

Zeng Gong nodded and said, "Yelu Hongji led a large army of 300,000 to attack Datong Prefecture from Youzhou. The terrain around Datong Prefecture is complex and there are many passes. If Chongyuan does not surrender, it will not be able to capture it for a while."

Du Zhongxiao said: "The generals who follow Chongyuan must fight for wealth. Once they are defeated, how many people can continue to fight? It is not easy for Chongyuan to persevere until now, and it is still possible to fight to the end. Although the Khitan does not have the rules of father and son to succeed, Hong Ji is still more popular than Chongyuan. The Khitan war should be based on a rapid end, and this dynasty strives for the greatest benefit."

Zhang Fangping said: "Last year, the deputy envoy attacked the Western Regions and destroyed the Dangxiang in winter, and the court paid a huge amount of money. If he fought with the Khitan, he would be afraid that the court would not be able to support it. Moreover, the terrain of Datong Prefecture is complicated, and it would be difficult to dispatch large troops to transport grain."

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "This is the most important thing. Although the court has increased its income for a lot of money and grain in recent years, it has cost a lot more to fight in the market. Originally, if Dangxiang was destroyed and Taiwei Di led the army to Hedong Road and cooperated with Hequ Road, we could seize Datong Prefecture. Taiwei Di was still trapped in Lingzhou, with Hengshan between them, so there was nothing we could do."

After saying that, Du Zhongxiao pointed to the map and said, "The one who attacked Datong Prefecture from Shazhou was the nearest one who set out from Zhenwu County to cross the mountains. This road was actually not easy to walk, and it was also a roundabout way, which was not suitable for the army. What is really suitable for military use against Dangxiang is to start from Shengzhou and follow the mountain road to attack Datong Prefecture directly. Another one is to cross Yanmen Pass from Daizhou and take Shuozhou. The most convenient way to these roads is to pass Yanmen Pass. Only by taking Shuozhou, there is no dangerous road to Datong Prefecture, there is a road."

Zeng Gongliang and Zhang Fangping looked at the map, after a while, they said, "The deputy envoy meant to send troops from Hedong Road and pass Yanmen Pass?"

Du Zhongxiao said: "It may not be starting from Hedong Road. To be honest, although the road to Yanmen Pass is close, the Khitan defense is strict. It is best to choose the right time, start from Shengzhou, sweep the mountain troops and divide the troops into two routes at the intersection. Go south to take Shuozhou, so that the Khitan troops guarding Yanmen Pass are useless. The other route guards the mountain road and looks at Datong Prefecture from afar."

Zeng Gongliang frowned when he heard this: "The deputy envoy means not to take Datong Prefecture, but to only take Shuozhou?"

Du Zhongxiao said: "I thought about it all night last night. Think about it carefully. I am afraid there will be no chance of winning Datong Prefecture. As long as Yelu Hongji's army passes Tiancheng County, the soldiers and horses of Chongqing Yuan may surrender in large numbers. However, the soldiers and horses of Hedong Road on Hequ Road did not prepare early and fought against the Khitan army, and there was no chance of winning. The court prepared for this Dangxiang Battle for several years, mobilizing more than 300,000 troops. The journey went smoothly. It took more than four months, and the war has not ended yet. How could it be enough to fight the Khitan in such haste?"

Zhang Fangping nodded: "What the Deputy Envoy said is that the Battle of Dangxiang consumed a lot of money and grain. All the food and grass accumulated in Guanzhong and Jingxi Road in the past few years have been exhausted, and finally the grain and rice of Lianghuai will be transferred. If the battle with the Khitan is long, they will face a shortage of food."

Du Zhongxiao said: "If a big country like the Khitan wants to fight, it must be prepared for many years before it can be spared. If there is no Dangxiang war, our dynasty can take advantage of the opportunity of the two Khitan emperors to join forces and plan for the Xijing Road. Now, this opportunity is not great. Now the state is booming, and there is no need to take risks to the Khitan, so it is better not to take Datong Prefecture. If you only take Shuozhou and use the Hedong Road troops and horses on Hequ Road to work together, there is still a chance."

Zeng Gongliang and Zhang Fangping looked at the map and didn't say anything for a moment. The status of Datong Prefecture was too important. If the Song army attacked there, it would easily develop into a national war between the two countries. In recent years, it opened up Hequ Road, pacified the Western Regions, and then destroyed Dangxiang. The Song army had no spare energy for a while. Shuozhou was located in a remote area between Daizhou and Shengzhou, and could occupy it. When the Song Dynasty was established, it was fiercely fought with the Khitan many times in this generation, and it was only when the Taizong Dynasty was finally occupied by the Khitan.

The most important thing is that Shuozhou is already in the Datong Basin, and the road to Datong Prefecture is open. In the future, if you compete with the Khitan for Datong Prefecture, Shuozhou can be used as the base for advance. At that time, you can gather a large army, and this way you attack Dangxiang, and directly use your power to suppress people.

After looking for a long time, Zeng Gongliang straightened his waist and said, "If we only take Shuozhou, it would be much easier. Yelu Chongyuan takes Datong Prefecture, we can attack Shuozhou directly, but he has no time to defend. When we attack, even if the Khitan army comes, he can still defend it."

Zhang Fangping said: "Now the railway only reaches Xinzhou. If Shuozhou is occupied, it will not be difficult to extend to Daizhou. With the railway, Shuozhou is like a piece of iron. In the future, the imperial court had spare energy and it would be much easier to obtain Datong Prefecture from Shuozhou."

Although the Song Dynasty has a rare opportunity in the current Khitan civil war, if the appetite is too big, I am afraid I can't eat it. Even though I have collected more money and food in recent years, the court has some savings, and the war last year has been used up and I cannot go to war directly with the Khitan.

Looking at the map, Du Zhongxiao said: "Even if our goal is to only take Shuozhou, our momentum cannot be like this. When Han Qi was ordering Han Qi to lead the army back to Shengzhou. When he took Hongji's army to forge Datong Prefecture, the army set out from Shengzhou and swept the foreign troops in the mountains. He pacified the area within a radius of hundreds of miles. Shengzhou, Shuozhou and Daizhou were connected into one, which was the biggest advantage for the Khitan. Those mountains were originally places where the Khitan used to rob, and the foreign households were not loyal to the Khitan. Moreover, our march also made the Khitan worried about Datong Prefecture and did not dare to go south to fight in Shuozhou."

Zeng Gongliang said: "This is feasible. You can send another group of troops to set out from Pitouzhai and attack Shuozhou."

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "We are just deciding the strategy of taking Shuozhou. We should discuss with Taiwei Han on the front line on the front. According to his opinion, the rear will step up the transportation of supplies to Shengzhou. It does not take too many troops from Shuozhou, only 10,000 or 20,000 people. The savings of the court should be able to support it. In addition, the troops from Daizhou from Hedong Road should be able to defend it."

Zhang Fangping thought about it and couldn't help but smile bitterly: "The deputy envoy, I'm not hiding it. Since Lingzhou has not been sent, most of the supplies will be sent there. Now there are only more than 10,000 people who can support the battle of Hequ Road. No matter how many, the food and grass can be temporarily transferred from Jingdong Road, and there are only a shortage of bullets."

Du Zhongxiao said: "More than 10,000 people, only defending Shuozhou, should be enough. The Khitan civil war has been in war, and it is impossible to attack a large army for a city in Shuozhou. If there are not many people coming and more than 10,000 people defending the city, they cannot conquer them."
Chapter completed!