While the two were talking, Wang De came in and reported that all the generals who came to attend the meeting had arrived and were waiting for the ride in the conference room on the second floor of the Imperial Boat. Zhao Bing then ended the conversation between them and went down to the second floor with Liu Zhixue to discuss matters with the generals. Most of the officers attending the meeting were officers of the Imperial Guardians. When they saw Liu Zhixue and His Majesty, they were stunned. Then they looked at each other as if they had put aside their worries and stood up to salute the two.

In the military system of the Song Dynasty, it was originally divided into two factions, one was the sect of the court led by Zhang Shijie and Jiang Jin, and the other was the sect of the general's mansion led by Zhao Bing. However, Jiang Jin was dissatisfied with Zhang Shijie's autocracy and had his father's order. He made a lot of efforts in Zhao Bing's succession and had the merit of supporting the dragon, which could also be regarded as Zhao Bing's direct armed force. In the Battle of Yashan, Zhang Shijie's poor command of the direct force was greatly damaged and he was no longer able to fight with the commander's mansion and the imperial guards in front of the palace led by Jiang Jin. His confidants also gradually withdrew from the court under the suppression of Zhao Bing.

If the general's official army had to be distinguished, it could be considered two factions. One was the old army faction led by Zhao Mengjin and Jiang Jin. Most of them were from the old Song army, but most of them were middle and lower-level officers. After relying on Zhao Bing, they were valued and helped him establish the new Song army. They could be said to be ministers of the secret residence. They made great achievements in the war to defend Qiongzhou and recover Jiangnan. Now most of them have become senior officers and officials of the court who guarded one side.

Another faction of the General's Office is the Imperial Guardians led by Ni Liang and Chen Dun. Most of them were from Zhao Bing's personal guard camp and old camp. They were both young people at that time, and they grew up with the little emperor. They were taught by the little emperor. They had a very close relationship. They could be said to be the close confidants among their close confidants. With the growth of the Imperial Guardians, they also became officers at all levels and participated in the war to regain Jiangnan. However, they were still inexperienced and were not enough to take on the responsibilities, but they were also the backbone of the Song army.

In fact, from Zhao Bing and the generals who came from the General's Mansion, they had no faction. Zhao Mengjin and other generals watched Ni Liang and Chen Dun grow up, and the children in the old camp were mostly orphans in the army, so in their eyes they were like children and nephews, caring for them and willing to see them grow up. Ni Liang and others also realized that they had grown up under the wings of veterans and had only respect for them. Even after entering the military, they still treated them as their fathers. Therefore, the old and new support and help each other more, and there was no rift. The so-called two factions were imposed by those who were good at it, and their intentions were not clear.

If we must distinguish it, Zhao Bing can be divided into the old school and the young school. The old school, such as Zhao Mengjin and Jiang Jin, have not systematically learned military command, and they know that it comes from the influence of their practical experience and family in the army. They have been together in the old army for many years. They inevitably have the mark of the old army in their thoughts, and have become discomfort in the transition from cold weapons to hot weapons. They have been slow to accept new tactics and new tactics. However, they have rich combat experience and have experienced many military reorganizations, so their position in military management and combat command is still irreplaceable.

The young and strong people grew up around Zhao Bing, a "military strategist" who became a monk halfway through, and were influenced by his advocacy of technology, good at planning and innovation. Most of them have entered martial arts and received systematic military education, so they have a high degree of acceptance of the use of firearms and new tactics. Moreover, because they are young and have a strong bloody nature, they have the spirit of a newborn calf not afraid of tigers in war, and dare to fight and fight without fear of any opponents. But in the end, they lack combat experience, especially lack the experience of commanding major battles, and they still need to be trained to stand alone.

Although the two factions belong to the Imperial Guard and the Guard, they are not clearly divided, but they have frequent personnel exchanges, especially middle and low-level officers are often assigned to the other party for training. Zhao Bing treats the two ministries equally, without any prejudice, and clearly distinguishes rewards and punishments, so the two sides get along well. The Second Army captured Shouzhou and caused a large number of civilian casualties. Liu Zhixue was impeached by the imperial guards for a long time. The generals of the Guards for the front had already heard of it. The imperial guards were also worried when they were admitted to the imperial guards. However, when they saw Liu Zhixue and His Majesty came together, there was nothing unusual, and they realized that he had passed the test and everyone was very happy.

Seeing that the relationship between new and old generals was harmonious, Zhao Bing was naturally happy, but knew that he had protected Liu Zhixue this time and had to hit everyone. Otherwise, they would think that his Majesty would wipe their butts when he killed them, and then acted freely in the battle, no longer estimating the casualties of civilians. This would not only damage the image of the Song army as a liberator, but also cause great trouble to the aftermath and even cause chaos. This is not without precedent in history.

Therefore, before the meeting began, Zhao Bing emphasized that in future battles, he should try his best to avoid accidentally injuring civilians, and those who deliberately do it will be dealt with by military law. In order not to restrict the military generals, he also stated that civilians who engage in combat with weapons or assist in the enemy's combat are not included and can be treated by enemy combatants.

Zhao Bing then conveyed the combat strategy agreed upon after the Sizhou united troops. The intention was to seize Xuzhou, recover the two capitals, annihilate the enemy troops to aid, and occupy Haizhou, thereby opening up the transportation line formed by sea, land and canals. This laid the foundation for advancing Shandong and Hebei. The war ended in early May to avoid the difficulties in combat after the rainy season came. Then the deployment situation was reported to the war zone. Considering the current situation, the Second Army temporarily joined the West Route Corps and was built after the Fu Li was seized.

The next step was to discuss the combat plan to seize Fu Li. After a debate among the generals, two opinions gradually formed. One was to force the enemy to retreat voluntarily, so that they would give up Fu Li to avoid being encircled and annihilated; the other was to siege the city and trap Fu Li's land in the city, luring the main enemy forces who were still in Yingtian Prefecture to come to help, set up an ambush halfway and annihilate it, and then attack Fu Li.

"Your Majesty, my subordinates think that the enemy should be forced to give up Fu Li voluntarily, so that they can control the old canal without bloodshed, and open up a path for the army to go west to Yingtian Prefecture. At the same time, they can break the attack situation of the two enemy troops coming to support each other, and form a pincer attack on Xuzhou!" Sun Jin, the commander of the Second Brigade of the Imperial Guards, pointed to the map and emphasized.

"Sun commander, Fu Li's city lies across the Bian River, controlling the waterway to Bian Jing, and at the same time blocking the road to Xuzhou north, is an important hub. As long as you guard Fu Li, you can prevent our army from going west to Yingtian Prefecture and avoid Xuzhou being attacked on both sides. If you are the chief general of the enemy, will you give up easily?" Tian Zhong, the commander of the First Brigade of the Imperial Guard, asked back.

"Of course, I won't give up easily, but if he does not retreat, he will fall into a dangerous place of encirclement and annihilation. It's better to retreat to Yingtian Prefecture to join forces to fight our army with our army!" Sun Jin hesitated for a moment and analyzed.

"If the enemy does not retreat and defend the city, our army can only attack. However, our army will also face the attack of Xuzhou and Yingtian Prefecture, and will be in danger of being attacked by the enemy from both sides. If you take a step back, they can also attract our Western Route Army here, concentrate their troops in Xuzhou, and defeat the Eastern Route Army first, making our strategic deployment impossible!" Tian Zhong still insisted that it was inappropriate.

"Tian Zheng is too worried!" At this time, Luo Datong, the commander of the Fifth Brigade of the Imperial Front Guard, interrupted, "Now our Eastern Army has already entered Xia Pi, and it is just around the corner to capture the city. How dare the enemy in Xuzhou take the risk of losing it and easily come out for help!"

"Don't forget the Luo Command. The Mongol Yuan has mobilized the northwest zongwang army to go south to reinforce Xuzhou. How can we know that he will not send troops to Fuli?" Tian Zhong asked back with a smile.

"This..." Luo Datong was asked, and he understood in his heart that although the enemy and our army are equal in terms of military strength, if the strategy of forcing the enemy to retreat and fight against the enemy in Yingtian Prefecture, he also needs to stay in Fuli to guard the troops to ensure the safety of the rear. The enemy in Xuzhou is currently guarding against the attack of its own Eastern Route Army and it is difficult to divide its troops to help Fuli, but once the army of the Mengyuan Sect is strengthened, it is hard to say. At that time, the army of our side who went west to attack Yingtian Prefecture would really fall into a hint of being attacked from both sides and fighting on both sides.

"Look at it!" Tian Zhong said on the map again, "The terrain of Jingdong is flat and there are few rivers to block it. It is most suitable for cavalry mobility, which can quickly increase troops and escape quickly when there is a danger of being surrounded, making it difficult for us to achieve a strategy of annihilation of the enemy's living forces and weaken its military strength."

"Well, what the Tian Commander said is very true!" Li Zhen, the commander of the Second Brigade of the Imperial Guards, agreed. "Our army's mobility is controlled by the canal. Once it is far away from supply, it will be restricted. Most of the enemy troops are cavalry and can travel quickly. Once our army attacks a certain place, they can quickly dispatch troops to reinforce. However, once our army divides its troops, it will lose its advantage in force and it will be difficult to encircle the enemy, making it difficult to achieve results even if the battle is won."

"Dutong Liu, what do you think?" Seeing that everyone was arguing about this, Zhao Bing turned his face and looked at Liu Zhixuedao.

"Your Majesty, my subordinates think that no matter what kind of tactics you use, one condition needs to be met!" Liu Zhixue saw His Majesty ask himself, and stood up and pointed to the map and said, "The three places of Yingtian Prefecture, Xuzhou, and Fuli are triangular, and there are waterways and roads connected to each other, which are mutual support and mutual back and forth. Therefore, as long as you break a ground, you can break the stability of this area."

"Well, it's not bad!" Zhao Bing nodded. He also saw that the three places are all transportation hubs, and the enemy's troops can be quickly mobilized between the three places and help each other, and can change the comparison of troops in a short period of time. He also knew that with his own equipment and strength, he was completely sure that he would win when the troops were equal, or even less than the enemy. It was rare that to encircle and annihilate the enemy, a large number of troops were needed to surround the enemy, otherwise it would be possible to fight a defeat, and it would be difficult to achieve a large number of enemies.
Chapter completed!