After the wine came, everyone drank a glass and ate their own dishes. After three rounds of wine, they slowly relaxed and said nothing.

Shisanlang said: "The officials are now the Grand Marshal, and the world's marching and fighting are all under their jurisdiction. It's better to change my errands and then lead the troops on the front line. I only said that Yelu Hongji of the Khitan is about to win, so how can the court sit idly by? At the same time, we have a chance."

Du Zhongxiao said: "Your idea is not good. The world is peaceful and there is no war. It is a blessing for the people. How can you think about fighting every day? As a soldier, you are preparing for war, not looking forward to fighting."

Shisanlang shook his head repeatedly after hearing this: "Official, what do you say makes sense, but how can you let the soldiers in the world do this? Soldiers don't want to fight and they lose their strength during training. They can't go into battle to compete for military merits. What's the point of being a soldier?"

Du Zhongxiao pointed at Yao Shouxin and said, "It's like Taiwei Yao, and I think that the peace is very good. But when it comes to using cannons, who can match him? This is the mentality that a soldier should have. Don't be wholeheartedly devoted to wealth."

Dou Shunqing said: "Where can everyone be like Taiwei Yao. When I first entered the capital, I thought this life was good. After five years, I really felt that my whole body was going to get moldy and I couldn't always do this. If I stayed in a military academy all my life and didn't enter the military camp, it would be difficult to be a qualified teacher."

Du Zhongxiao nodded, saying that was correct. In addition to some courses that have little to do with military affairs, the teachers of the military academy still need to go to the military camp after a period of time. Only with actual military camp experience can we teach truly qualified students in combination with textbooks.

Many of the teachers in the military academy are formerly officers of the Tianxiang Army of Du Zhongxiao's camp, and they have the intention to restrict Du Zhongxiao's military power. Now they are the Privy Councilor themselves, and some people can use it, but most of them are difficult to join the army anymore. Not everyone is like Shisanlang, who is determined to go to the battlefield, and some are used to the stable life of the military academy.

Du Zhongxiao could understand this matter and did not care too much. The army used its own system and used the people he brought out. How could such an army and court feel at ease? If it were himself, he would not tolerate such a thing happening.

These people entered the military academy from Hequ Road, and their military merits and promotions were favored, but they did not lead troops. In this world, apart from their special person with memories of their previous lives, how many people are indispensable? As long as they live a happy life, it is enough.

While drinking, the topic slowly turned to the upcoming military reform, and several people inquired about the contents of the military reform.

Du Zhongxiao said: "Now it is just a decision on military reform. How to change it? It has not been decided yet? What will it look like in the future and which one can explain it clearly?"

Shisanlang said: "How else can we change it? As long as we follow our original military system, everything will be fine! Look at us when we are on Hequ Road, whether we are against Khitan or Dangxiang, we are invincible! Hundreds of thousands of Khitan troops are still trying to escape!"

Du Zhongxiao said: "Shisanlang, things cannot be thought of as simple as this. Not to mention that an army is one thing, a short time is one thing, but a whole country is another thing. Just talking about the war at that time, the real head-on collision was actually Yelu Chongyuan's army. The Khitan king was killed because they didn't know that the artillery was powerful and they suddenly bumped into it. Yelu Ren gave up the Hequ Road first because the king was newly destroyed and the entire army had no desire to fight. Chongyuan was forced to withdraw. For Dangxiang, they basically fought with more and less. Only in the battle of Hue, Dangxiang Baima Army concentrating its troops to attack, can it be considered a complete victory. This opportunity no longer exists."

Shisanlang said: "What's the difference? The two armies are fighting in field, and our 30,000 troops are still hard to defeat the enemy!"

Du Zhongxiao sighed: "To win the battle, it requires the right time, place and people, and his army has outstanding combat power. At this time, where can we find opportunities for the right time, place and place? Fighting with the Khitan, the army often needs to go deeper to hundreds or even thousands of miles to fight. At that time, even if the front-line troops are powerful, the subsequent food and grass are easily taken advantage of by the enemy. Once setbacks occur, things are hard to say. When the two countries fight, it is important that the country's strength can truly be transformed into combat power, and they cannot decide the outcome in one battle."

This is what Du Zhongxiao was worried about. The officials and generals in the court would mistakenly think that head-on confrontation could defeat the enemy and underestimate the enemy to advance. Once they encountered setbacks, they would be at a loss. In fact, fighting was not so easy? In history, there were many cases of European powers defeated by weak enemies, and they could not wait to see them. When the Hequ Road was opened, Huedu destroyed the White Horse Army and directly came to Helan Mountain, frightening Dangxiang. How could such a good thing be done when fighting against the Khitan? They didn't even have a formal capital. It was normal for the Khitan king to cross the pot for four seasons and cross thousands of miles in one battle. Moreover, the Khitan was at a time when the country was strong. The two emperors fought each other, but the scope was limited to a very small area and had little impact on the actual situation.

The Khitan country has been in an upward period until now, and its strength cannot be underestimated. Although the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun are the most important agricultural areas of the Khitan, the Khitan's military strength is in the rear and on the grassland. At this time, the Jurchens are weak, the Tatars are loyal to the Khitan, and the two countries go to war in full swing, and it is not possible to decide the outcome in a few years. Unless the Song army completes the reform and has economic support, they can fight for several consecutive years.

Imagine that if you fight a few battles on Hequ Road, you will make the Khitan pay tribute and surrender. It is impossible. If you really want to win the Khitan, you must regain the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, and go deep into the grasslands and plow the caves. At that time, you were on Hequ Road, because you happened to kill the Khitan emperor, and the Khitan retreated because of civil strife. It was not that you were afraid of a great battle with the Song Dynasty. Compared with that time, Shisanlang was incorrect.

Dou Shunqing said: "Yes, the Khitan is not comparable to Dangxiang, and its national strength is strong. When Yuan Hao was not dead, he had a feud with the Khitan. The Khitan conquered Dangxiang for many years and suffered several defeats, but had no impact on the national strength. In terms of losses, the losses in the Khitan battle with Dangxiang were far greater than those of the dynasty, but in the end, Dangxiang bowed his head and admitted defeat and paid tribute. Compared with military strength, Khitan was indeed a major country in the world."

Du Zhongxiao nodded. In fact, just comparing military power, the Song Dynasty and the Khitan were at most comparable, and this was only with the help of complete city defense. The Song Dynasty's military power was mainly north of the Yellow River, mainly Shaanxi, Hedong and Hebei, plus part of Beijing and Kaifeng Prefecture. The southern routes mainly provide money and grain, but due to the distance being too far, it has little support for the front line. Now, only a very small part of the more than 800,000 imperial guards came from the south of the Yangtze River, mainly along the three border routes. The national power of the Song Dynasty actually did not turn into military power. This is different from other dynasties, mainly from the inheritance of the late Tang and Five Dynasties, and historical reasons.

Yao Shouxin said: "Waring with the Khitan, except Youzhou, the rest of the places are mostly mountains and roads, and it is difficult to move. It is not easy to fight a large army. Moreover, the army cannot do without artillery. When it comes to those places, it is not easy to carry artillery."

Du Zhongxiao said: "Yes, the Khitan can concentrate national forces and fight with our army in Youzhou. Once it is unfavorable, the entire army retreats, and at worst it will give up the Youzhou area. It will be difficult at that time. It is not easy to catch the main force of the Khitan? Therefore, fighting against the Khitan is not enough to have 200,000 to 300,000 people, and there must be several large armies. Otherwise, it will only occupy a few cities, waiting for the Khitan to harass the Khitan everywhere, and it is exhausted to deal with it."

Dou Shunqing said: "In this way, if you want to defeat the Khitan, you must reform the military. Otherwise, even if you win for a while, it will be difficult to protect your life."
Chapter completed!