In Zhuozhou City, the Southern Liao Kingdom, the one who stationed Zhuozhou City at this time was Xiao Talin, the largest general under Yelu Nelugu. Xiao Talin is a rare general with both civil and military skills in the Liao Kingdom. Half of the reason why Yelu Nelugu could win every battle should be Xiao Talin. Xiao Talin has been familiar with military books since childhood and commanding the army to fight is also unpredictable. Yelu Nelugu called him a "genius".

In the Eastern Liao Army camp of Zhuozhou, in Xiao Talin's central army tent, Xiao Talin was waiting for the military newspaper sent from the front line. As a qualified commander, Xiao Talin attaches great importance to the collection of intelligence. In Xiao Talin's army, the scout team is composed of soldiers with the strongest combat effectiveness in individual soldiers, and these people are composed of veterans.

"General, the front line sends military newspapers. The Song army has arrived at Qigou Pass, with a force of about 200,000." After the deputy general came in, he reported to Xiao Talin.

Xiao Talin frowned and said, "Twenty-hundred-thousand, it seems that the Song Dynasty court has invested a lot this time; our army only has 30,000 troops, and we cannot fight hard in this battle, we can only win a surprise."

The deputy general said to Xiao Talin: "General, the Qigou Pass where the Song army is located is only 80 miles away from Zhuozhou City. It can be reached in one and a half days according to the speed of the Song army. But the last general does not understand why the general handed over Qigou Pass to the Song army."

Xiao Talin said to the deputy general: "The Song army has many soldiers, but our army has few soldiers. Instead of dividing troops to block the attack in a row, it is better to gather all the troops together. It is a matter of time before the fall of Qigou Pass, so it is better to give up the Song army directly. Tell me what is his weakness in this Song army attack?"

When the deputy general heard Xiao Talin's question, he thought about it and said to Xiao Talin: "Although the Song army has a lot of troops, the food and grass needed is also very huge. Moreover, the food and grass of the Song army are transported from the Central Plains or the Jiangnan region, the journey is long..."

"It's right, it's a good thing for the children." Xiao Talin said with a smile. "The Song army was afraid that our army would defeat them one by one, so they did not divide their troops, but killed us all the way. Without other troops to support them, it was a lonely army to go deeper. Once our army cut off its food route, the Song army would be in chaos, and our army would take advantage of this to win a great victory."

"The general is wise, and the last general admires it." The deputy general flattered.

Xiao Talin said to the deputy general: "Okay, don't flatter. The most critical issue now is to figure out where the Song army's rations have arrived. Leave this matter to you. If something goes wrong, come and see it."

"Yes, the last general will receive the order." The deputy general said after the military order.

After the deputy general left, Xiao Talin fell into deep thought. Although Xiao Talin said it to the deputy general very easily, as if the Song army was vulnerable, Xiao Talin also knew that the difference in strength between the two sides was too great, and the Song army had enough troops to protect its own food route. If the Song army had heavy troops to protect the food, it would be a little more than worth the effort if it attacked rashly. In Xiao Talin's view, if the Eastern Liao army wanted to achieve the final victory, it would have to defeat the 200,000 Song army at the lowest cost.

Since he does not have an advantage in military strength and cannot lose too much, he must work hard on strategy and tactics. If the Song army is defeated once, he can regain its strength and start over. However, Xiao Talin cannot do it. Once it fails, it will mark the loss of Zhuozhou City and Xijin Prefecture has lost the last barrier in the south. Therefore, Xiao Talin must win in one go and completely defeat the Song army, so that it has no power to fight back. This shows how much pressure Xiao Talin is.

When Xiao Talin was thinking hard to defeat the Song army, the commander of the Song army, Wang Anshi and the vanguard general Xu Xi were discussing the next march plan in the tent. In fact, there was nothing to discuss. Wang Anshi was an outstanding politician and poet, but he was not suitable to be a qualified commander and knew nothing about leading troops to fight. Although Xu Xi was a general, his ability was limited and he was still able to command an army of 200,000 to 30,000, but he was a little helpless in commanding the 200,000 troops at once. The highest commander of the Song army was basically in a half-baked manner.

The reason why the Song army was able to make Xiao Talin afraid was that it was because it had a large number of soldiers. Two hundred thousand people were not a small number. These people could drown Xiao Talin at one mouthful of saliva, and get back to the point. Although Wang Anshi was not in charge of military power, he was still wearing armor. Looking around, he really had the style of a general. Wang Anshi stood in front of the map and didn't know what he was looking at.

After Xu Xi came in, he reported to Wang Anshi: "Sir, the soldiers have already set up camp."

"Okay." Wang Anshi said to Xu Xi with a smile; "This is my first time leading a army, but I didn't expect it to be so smooth."

Xu Xi flattered: "My wise man. If you don't have a plan, how could our army be at the city of Zhuozhou in just a few seconds? It's only one step away from Youzhou."

"I am also entrusting His Majesty's great blessing. The soldiers of the three armies have achieved their current record." Wang Anshi said with a smile.

When Xu Xi saw Wang Anshi's smile on his face, he asked Wang Anshi: "What will you do next by sir?"

Wang Anshi said without hesitation: "What else can I do? Of course, I will lead my army north to capture Zhuozhou first, and then take Youzhou."

When Xu Xi heard Wang Anshi say this, his heart skipped a beat, but he still kept flattering: "What the lord is saying is, what the lower lord means is how our army marchs next and what formations to use to fight the Eastern Liao army!"

"Oh!" Wang Anshi ran to the Supervisor's Case and opened the array maps and said, "Mr. Xu, come and see if this is the array map left by Taizu. Which array map do you think we will use to fight the Eastern Liao army."

The two of them chose an offensive formation map and said, "Just use this map."

Everyone may find it ridiculous, but the generals of the Song Dynasty have always sent troops to fight. The senior leaders of the Song Dynasty's army are different from other dynasties. First, the senior leaders of the Song army are outsiders and commanders, that is, civil officials command military generals. Secondly, when fighting, the battle is based on the formation map left by Song Taizu, and the actions are very old-fashioned and not flexible at all. This is also an important reason why the Song army will lose every battle.

Although the senior leaders of the Song army were all blindly commanded by a group of people, the quality of the Song army soldiers and the middle and lower-level officers at this time were still acceptable. Since the Song army implemented the recruitment system, the soldiers recruited were all brave and fierce. These soldiers had strong combat capabilities in individual soldiers and could advance rapidly as long as they did not defeat the battle. However, once they were defeated, it would be miserable and would be defeated thousands of miles away.

While Wang Anshi and Xu Xi were discussing how to march, Gao Wei led 15,000 Xia cavalry to the battlefield of Zhuozhou and hid in an unknown valley. Compared with the Song army, the Xia army was much more professional. In order to fear that the Eastern Liao army would find it, Gao Wei ordered the entire army not to make fire. The Xia army soldiers could only drink cold water, eat hard "compressed biscuits" like stones, and chew almost unbittered jerky.

After the army settled down, Gao Wei sent a scout team to disguise himself as the Eastern Liao army and the Song army to explore the battlefield intelligence. The Xia army had the least strength on the battlefield in Zhuozhou. There was only one way to go to victory, which was to fish in troubled waters. After the Eastern Liao army and the Song army were fighting fiercely, the Xia army came out to clean up the mess after both sides suffered. Although Gao Wei's idea was beautiful, the reality was too cruel. The next scenes left an unforgettable impression on Gao Wei.

Thanks to the recommendation of Wuming Book Friend and 88 Novels, Tianyu is very grateful...
Chapter completed!