How could Xu Ping have been ruling with Wang Yan again? Having said that, although Wang Yan is very fame and honor, his personal abilities are beyond reproach. It is indeed appropriate for him to manage river affairs. Promoting river affairs is not only about building the Yellow River, but more importantly, managing hundreds of thousands of people transferred from the imperial guards. Wang Yan has experience in leading the army in recent years in Lingnan or in the northwest.

As for how to build the Yellow River, Xu Ping has not yet matured plans, so he has to continue to investigate before he has decided. The basic conditions of the Yellow River are that. If you want to do it once and for all, you are afraid that the project volume will be very large.

After discussing the reform of the imperial guards, Zhao Zhen said to Xu Ping: "The Prime Minister said a few days ago that if the Khitan did not make a pledge with this dynasty, war might start again this autumn and winter. I am always worried that I can't grasp it well."

Xu Ping bowed: "Whether you can grasp it well depends on the military strength of our dynasty. Most of the foreign countries are subject to military affairs, and military affairs are of course determined by military strength. Even if you trade with each other, return of envoys, exchanges between people, and other things, they are mostly based on military strength. To promote peace with the fight, it must be based on the military strength of our dynasty, whether we can defeat the Khitan, and where can we fight if we win."

Ming Hao said: "Before the restructuring of the imperial guards was completed, most of the Hebei army could not rely on. There might be more defense, but the attack was not enough, so it was impossible to restore Yan Yun by the northern expedition. Fighting with the Khitan was only a small matter like Fengzhou last year, not a big battle."

If the unreformed imperial guards only play an auxiliary role, the troops that can be used to fight against the Khitan will only have about 300,000 troops except Fengsheng Road. The 300,000 army, without a subsequent echelon, is not enough to completely defeat the Khitan and occupy the sixteen prefectures. This is a foundation that cannot be laid. Unless the restructuring of the imperial guards is completed, with sufficient troops and a hierarchical structure of regular troops and reserves is formed, there will be a foundation for a full-scale war with the Khitan. The entire nomadic people are soldiers, and the ability to mobilize wars cannot be underestimated.

To restore Youzhou, strategically speaking, we should first occupy Yunzhou and cut off the road from the northern grasslands. Only by breaking this arm can the Central Plains dynasty concentrate its forces and fight under Youzhou city with Liaodong. Therefore, this year's battle can only be similar to the battle of Fengzhou last year, a local war with limited goals.

Xu Ping said: "In the present, the people in Yanyun have not yet been attached to their hearts and the Khitan country is still strong, which is not the time to launch a large-scale Northern Expedition. The two countries have made a covenant, maintained peace for a period of time, renovated the country's foundation, and responded calmly. However, the Khitan relied on its strong military strength and did not have silver and silk, so it refused to make a covenant, and it has been delayed until now. Before the vow was made, the dynasty could not reform the imperial guards on a large scale, and the troops were dragged here, and the restructuring was completed in unknown years. The reason for the fight was to eliminate the superstition that the Khitans felt that they had superior military strength, let them face the reality, and sign a peace agreement that both countries recognized."

Xu Ping and others had a discussion with Zhao Zhen about this, but they did not decide the details. In recent days, Xu Ping has already developed a general strategy after understanding the mountains, rivers and geography of the Khitan in the north and the army's defense.

"In the next days, we will strive to gather about six to eighth army and 200,000 to 300,000 reorganized imperial guards in the front line of Xinzhou and Daizhou on Hedong Road to Dingzhou on Hebei Road. If the Khitan did not make a promise at that time, no matter what reason, we must fight a battle. The imperial guards on Hedong Road came out of the Pingxing Village, seized Lingqiu and Feihu, and jointly attacked Yizhou with the imperial guards on the north of the Beiping Army. This battle captured Feihu Pass, making it difficult for the Khitan to echo in front of and behind the mountains. Without this road, only the northern Juyong Pass in the north can be connected. In the future, whether to attack Youzhou or Yunzhou, there is no need to worry about the enemy cutting off our retreat. The remaining troops on Hebei Road came from Xiongzhou and Bazhou went north to capture Yongqing and Fanyang. If this city could be occupied, the outer periphery of Youzhou was completely stripped away, and the territory was shared with the Khitan."

Ming Hao added: "There is another point. In the Battle of Fengzhou last year, the Khitan attacked the defense of the dynasty. In the end, the Khitan had no choice but to be helpless, but he was not convinced. He always felt that he lost a coward and had an unfair duel. Therefore, he was lucky and always felt that the military strength was still stronger than the dynasty, and he was not allowed to negotiate peace. If he defeated the Khitan head-on this year, he would let him abandon his fantasy and make a peace agreement as soon as possible. The two countries negotiate peace, the dynasty's imperial guards' reform will be carried out calmly and the governance will be pushed to Hebei, Hedong and other border areas."

In short, the battle to be fought this year is still second to occupy territory. The most important thing is to defeat the Khitan head-on, allowing them to accept the reality that the military strength is no longer as good as the south. Only by accepting the reality can we make peace agreements relatively fairly. The border is pacified, and there is no danger of a war at any time, and all reforms can be carried out calmly.

Before the Northern Tour, Xu Ping did not want to fight. Since the rebellion of the Dangxiang, the war has been fought for several years and cannot be endless. Reform requires a stable internal and external environment, otherwise it will be easily disturbed by external factors. With Xu Ping's current status, no military merit is needed to increase his prestige, and he has made enough contributions. However, the Khitan has refused to give up his annual monies and refused to bow his head. It is not a solution to drag on it, so he can only fight another battle. The northwest cannot conquer the Song army's defense line, and the Khitan is not convinced. Then change this year and let the Khitan defend and the Song army attack to see what the final result will be.

This is a competition between the two sides' military forces, and occupying territory is not the main purpose. If you want to completely eliminate the Khitan's lucky mentality, strategic deception and sudden attack are not advisable, just an offensive and defensive battle with drums in front of you and a formation. So Xu Ping is not afraid to tell Liu Liufu now. If you don't make a peace agreement in time, you will fight another battle in autumn and winter, and you won't even be afraid of telling him the attacking area.

Whether the Khitans believed it or not, they didn't care about the Song Dynasty. Anyway, they would prepare for this battle seriously. This time it was not a mobile war, but a large corps duel in a narrow area. The Song army would use all their strength to use all the most advanced military equipment.

Zhao Zhen was still a little worried about the war and said, "The Khitan is prepared. If he keeps his foothold, will it be easy to fight?"

Xu Ping smiled and said, "If the Khitans fight like this, how can they defend the Sixteen Prefectures? The attacking cities and defending the city is not the director of the Khitans. If they really fight against many people in those cities, they will definitely be defeated. Most of the Khitans will not defend the city, but will send cavalry to the south to find opportunities for war. The Khitans fight mostly by attacking and will not use their own shortcomings to fight the strength of the dynasty."

Du Yan said: "If the Khitan cavalry goes south, it is really difficult to resist, so you should be prepared early."

The Daming Mansion in the south is the emperor who was patrolling the north. Don’t let the Khitan army approach the city and make a fuss about the battle in Chanzhou when Emperor Zhenzong was Emperor Zhenzong. Zhao Zhen is full of confidence now. At that time, he may not be much better than his father.

Xu Ping said: "We have to be careful about this matter. Therefore, when the food is collected after autumn, the prefectures and counties north of the Hutuo River will be strengthened and cleared. All the food is received into the city, including the food of the people, and all the food is entered into the city. The people under their rule are organized and a special person is set up. They will retreat into the city. If the Khitan cavalry comes, they will have no food and grass to help them. The troops along the line will distribute scouts and do not let them wander around as if they are in a no-man. Of course, hundreds of thousands of troops on the front line cannot allow the Khitan cavalry to go south, just to prepare for precautions. Let the Khitans see it and relax, and the battle will be easy to fight at that time."

Wang Kai participated in the Dangxiang War in the Northwest from beginning to end. In his eyes, he was not a big deal, but just like attacking Zhuolo City back then. He said: "This war is an opportunity. The generals and schools in the school camp will be trained and speculated. When the war begins, you can also go to the front line to actually learn it."

Xu Ping nodded: "This matter is feasible. It is better to travel a thousand miles than to read thousands of books. No matter how much you learn, it is better to really participate in a war. They carefully deduced it before the war, visited it during the war, and explained it by the teacher after the war. This is a good thing."
Chapter completed!