Looking at the rolling mountains, the green grassy land, and the occasionally dotted cattle and sheep, Du Zhongxiao said: "It's quiet and peaceful here. How could you think of a war next? The Khitan area has been in operation for a long time, and it seems that the lives of the people are better than those of Youzhou."

Li Zhang said: "It's not the case. It's just that after Yelu Zongzhen died in battle, Yelu Chongyuan and Yelu Hongji competed for status and exploited Youzhou too heavily, so that's what it was. In fact, in the past, Youzhou was much better than here."

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "It makes sense. At this time, the people's poor life is mostly related to the exploitation of the court."

Walking forward, Liu Ji and a group of officials were already waiting outside the city. Seeing Du Zhongxiao and others coming over, they hurriedly brought them up to greet him.

After the salute, everyone entered Yuzhou City. The area around Dading Prefecture is a prosperous place of the Khitan. The streets in Yuzhou City are neat and look lively.

When they arrived at the government office, they sat down with guests. Liu Ji introduced Xiao Jiuge, the governor of Yuzhou, and greeted Du Zhongxiao.

Du Zhongxiao said: "You have made contributions to the city, so don't be doubtful in your heart. The court will reward you in the future. These days, you will still handle the government affairs in the state, and waiting for the imperial edict is just for you. Don't worry about the war ahead, and don't bother you."

Brother Xiao Jiu bowed and said, "In the past, I often heard of the reputation of the Taiwei, and I used troops like a god. I have never lost a single battle for many years. Today I am really lucky to see him. I have been able to serve the Taiwei these days, which is a blessing for the lower officials."

Du Zhongxiao said: "You are an official of the court. Just do your part with peace of mind, and the court will definitely reward you."

After saying a few polite words, everyone sat down separately. Liu Ji ordered the wine and food to come and celebrate Du Zhongxiao and others together.

After drinking two glasses of wine, Du Zhongxiao said, "This battle is extraordinary. The two Taiwei Wang and Jia, I, took the cavalry first to rush forward. Now there are 30,000 cavalry, and the infantry are still behind. Taiwei Liu, what about the Dading Mansion in the north? Tell me about it."

Liu Jidao: "I led my troops into Yuzhou, and there was no movement in the Dading Prefecture. After receiving the news that the Taiwei led his army to leave Tanzhou, I sent someone to occupy the Luming Mountain Pass in the north, and the Khitan did not defend it. The situation is really confusing."

Du Zhongxiao said: "No matter what the Khitan is going to do, our army is here and everything is easy to handle. If they want to defend, we will concentrate our heavy troops and break through the city. If they want to escape, we have tens of thousands of cavalry chasing us, where can we escape?"

Liu Jidao: "Dading Prefecture is a Khitan city with a city of eight miles wide and eight miles long, which is not comparable to other cities. There are estimated to be about 13,000 defenders in the city, not too many. Except for Yelu Hongji, who regards it as his palace, the rest are mostly scattered around nomadic. Until now, these Olu Duo have not been gathered together, and they do not seem to be escaping."

Jia Kui on the side said, "It seems that the Khitan does not look like he wants to escape. Our army has arrived, and their Oludo has not yet gathered. How can we escape? Even if nomads ride horses, cattle and sheep are always unable to run fast, so how can we escape the pursuit of cavalry?"

Du Zhongxiao said: "We don't have to suspect it, we always guess it wrong anyway. Now that the army has arrived in Yuzhou, the Khitan has many tricks and cannot escape our hands and feet. Check the terrain tomorrow, and the army will pass Luming Mountain in a few days and the troops will be at the city of Dading Prefecture!"

The generals made a promise together. They were about to face the last battle against the Khitan, and there would be no big battle to fight since then, and everyone was very angry.

After the banquet, Du Zhongxiao arrived at his residence and rested for two hours. When he woke up, it was already dark. He ordered someone to call Zhao Zi, Wang Kai and Jia Kui to discuss matters in his room.

The three of them arrived and each sat down. Du Zhongxiao said, "I guess there may be no idea about the Khitan now. After Yelu Hongji was captured, they could not choose a new master. There may be several reasons. First, there are too many disputes between the parties. Yelu Hongji's descendants are young now, so many people are inclined to establish emperors. However, with the previous cases of Yelu Hongji and Yelu Chongyuan's struggle for establishment, there must be a lot of opposition. Another possibility is that the Khitans are waiting for news from Yelu Hongji. We put Yelu Hongji into the prison camp, but we have no contact with the Khitan again, and we are not planning to use Yelu Hongji to exchange for anything from the Khitan. The Khitans may not think so."

Jia Kui nodded: "What the Taiwei said is. We will lead the army to come, and the Khitan may not take it seriously. Maybe they thought that we should send people to contact them and tell them what conditions Yelu Hongji promised before sending them back. As long as they agree, Yelu Hongji will come back."

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "The Khitans are so abnormal, and this is the greatest possibility. Of course, it is also possible that the Khitans are just a mess, and no one makes any decisions, so that's how they look."

Zhao Zi shook his head: "The Khitan country has absolutely no possibility of all chaos. Although most of the princes and ministers were captured by us in Youzhou, there are still many ministers left in Zhongjing. At the critical moment, there are always people coming out to make ideas."

Du Zhongxiao said: "So, the most likely thing is that the Khitan judges what conditions we should use Yelu Hongji to exchange for the Khitan."

Du Zhongxiao thought about this question for a long time and was confused about the movements of the Khitan. No matter what happened, the upper class of the Khitan would not be unactive in preparing for the Song army's attack. If you want to escape, you should prepare early. In the end, you can only draw a conclusion that the Khitan and the Song Dynasty had different views on Yelu Hongji's positioning. The Song Dynasty thought that Yelu Hongji was an ordinary prisoner of war and never thought about what to exchange for from the Khitan. The Khitans did not think so. They always felt that the Song Dynasty should use Yelu Hongji to exchange for benefits from the Khitan.

What are the benefits? Now the Song Dynasty is strong and the horse is strong, and the soldiers are strong and the food is sufficient. Whatever you need is to take it away is to take it. The Khitan thought that the Song Dynasty would definitely make it compromise, but he did not expect that the Song Dynasty did not want to compromise at all, and what he wanted was to surrender.

Surrender. The Khitans must have thought it was ridiculous. As a great country, how could they surrender because of a war? The Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun were lost. It was nothing more than the Khitan retreating to the desert grasslands, slowly recuperating, and always recovering. In fact, how many of the great country will have the chance of recovery?

For a great country, even if its national strength declines, it cannot wake up from its previous recovery. It always feels that I have made a small mistake temporarily, and as long as I change it, I will immediately be resurrected with full blood. But I don’t know that the country is like a human being, with aging body and rigid minds, and it is actually impossible to recover. The so-called recovery is often reborn in blood.

Wang Kai said: "Taiwei, what should we do if the Khitan really thinks we just want to compromise with them?"

Du Zhongxiao said: "What can we do? When the army comes, we will fight it. What does the Khitans think? We don't need to know or understand them. Why do we care about what the Khitans think? We just need to know how to win."

Zhao Zi said: "What the Taiwei said is. We don't need to care about what the Khitans think, just fight the war well. Now there are only more than 10,000 defenders in the north, and Oluduo is distributed around us. We advance north, not only to besiege Dading Prefecture, but also to defeat these Oluduo."
Chapter completed!