Great Song Super Scholar

Chapter 673
In the morning of the next day, in the Ziwei side hall, the Qixiang of Zhizheng Hall and the emperor Zhao Xu held a secret military affairs meeting.

Since the passage of the Educational Reform Law last year, all reforms have been put on hold temporarily, and Zhizhengtang's focus has shifted to fighting against the Liao Kingdom.

This military discussion was initiated by Fan Ning. He reported the inspection of Taiyuan to the emperor and the ministers of the Zhizheng Hall.

"Currently there are 52 people in Taiyuan City, 8 troops, 120 million shi of grain reserves, 70 dans of fodder, all kinds of war preparation materials and firearms are ready, and there is no problem in sticking to it for a year..."

Wang Anshi raised his hand and asked, "Mr. Fan, is 52 people too much? I think it will be enough to reduce it to 30."

Fu Bi also said: "Although the large base of people is good for recruiting civilians, the daily food and drink of 50 people is also a huge pressure on the city. If you are negligent, there will be epidemics, and it is impossible to prevent them. I also think that the population should be reduced. , 30 is enough!"

All the ministers expressed their opinions one after another, and they all believed that 50 people were too many, which was not conducive to management.

At this time, the emperor Zhao Xu said: "Fan Xianggong, you all think that 50 people are too many, what do you think?"

Fan Ning bowed slightly and said, "Your Majesty, the population of Taiyuan was initially over 40. With the addition of some people who moved from the counties, the population increased to 52. I consider it from the perspective of the militia, so I didn't move too much south."

"Then is there still time to migrate?" Zhao Xu asked again.

"Going by water, we should have time."

"Then the old and the weak, women and children will all migrate south. I also think that 30 people are more appropriate."

Seeing that everyone had the same attitude, Fan Ning nodded, "Since His Majesty and all the ministers agree that 30 is suitable, I will immediately order the army to organize the people to move south."

Zhao Xu smiled slightly and said, "A consensus has been reached on this issue, Mr. Fan, please continue!"

Fan Ning continued: "Just now I mentioned the waterway, now I'm talking about the eastern front. Judging from the information we have so far, the Liao army intends to cross the sea and land in Dengzhou or Laizhou, occupy the Shandong Peninsula with superior forces, and use this As the foundation, then the question arises, where is the focus of Liao's two fronts fighting at the same time?"

Fan Ning glanced at the crowd, and said slowly: "I think the focus of the Liao Army is still on the Eastern Front. This is determined by the goal of the Liao Kingdom's war. They want to plunder the Great Song Dynasty, and at the same time force the Great Song Dynasty to give them a lot of money every year. If the old coins are not used, then we must start from the Eastern Front.”

"Sorry! I'll interrupt you again."

Wang Anshi couldn't help but said again: "Since Mr. Fan believes that the focus of the Liao Kingdom is still on the eastern front, what's the point of them attacking Taiyuan?"

Fan Ning said calmly: "Attacking Taiyuan is just a kind of delusion. It gives us the illusion that they will focus on attacking the western front. Once we deploy heavy troops on the western front, the Liao army on the western front will immediately attack from Jingxing. Hebei, continue to go south from Hebei, and their Eastern Route Army, based on the Shandong Peninsula, continues to sweep the Central Plains and threaten the capital, while the Hebei Liao Army will build a pontoon bridge to go south, and join the Eastern Liao Army at Bianliang. This is my judgment .”

"But this is just Mr. Fan's guess?" Wang Anshi asked again.

"It is indeed my guess!"

Fan Ning said frankly: "But it's not guessing out of thin air. It's speculation based on a lot of information. Yelu Hongji is not a stupid person. With Liao's infiltration of the Song Dynasty, it is impossible for him not to know the actions of the Song army in Taiyuan, so he After deploying 15 cavalry in Datong, we knew that they had no intention of attacking the city, but just shot a false shot in Taiyuan, and then went to Hebei, so we must deploy heavy troops in Jingxing, Taihang, to prevent him from going from Taiyuan to Hebei.”

"If that's the case, why did you deploy [-] troops in Taiyuan?" Fu Bi asked puzzled.

Fan Ning smiled slightly, "That is to prevent the Liao Kingdom from failing to break through Hebei and having to turn around and attack Taiyuan, so the Liao Kingdom still wants to attack Taiyuan, but it is not an active attack, but a forced attack."

"Then what is Song Jun going to do on the East Road?" Ouyang Xiu asked.

Fan Ning said again: "Since the enemy army is coming by boat, we will of course go by boat. I will not let them land successfully!"

"Could Fan Xianggong be more specific?"

Fan Ning ordered someone to hang up a map, and he pointed to the map and introduced it to everyone.

"I have also made full preparations on the eastern front. The food sent from Kunzhou for two consecutive years was put on Shenmi Island and Heping Island. There were a total of one million stones. There are more than 5 ships, and the enemy ships sailed out of the Yalu River, so the troops at the base will deal with them. In case of emergency, I have deployed another [-] sailors and [-] warships in Dengzhou, and they will send troops to cooperate. Intercept, ensure nothing goes wrong."

After a pause, Fan Ning saw that no one had any doubts, and continued: "This time Kunzhou will also send troops. In the past two years, Jingzhou's logistics military city has been built, including seaports and warehouses. The Kunzhou army will attack from the waterway. The lair of the Liao Kingdom is under the charge of Sima Zhang."

"Then how should the Youzhou Liao Army respond?" Zeng Gongliang raised his hand and asked.

"Youzhou's Liao army will be dealt with by the Hebei army. In fact, in this Song-Liao war, my lowest strategic goal is to regain Youyan."

Speaking of recovering Youyan, all the monarchs and ministers sitting here were refreshed. He did not doubt Fan Ning's goal. Last year, no one thought of destroying Xixia and recovering the Hexi Corridor, but Fan Ning realized it.

This time Fan Ning proposed to regain Youyan, and everyone's hearts became hot. This is a great event that has been expected for a hundred years.

"Will the Han people in Youzhou join the Song Dynasty?" Zhao Xu asked a little worried.

"Will!"

Fan Ning said with a slight smile: "The Han people in Liao Kingdom are miserable now. In their dreams, they hope that Master Wang will take back Youyan, and the Song army will go north. I believe that the Han people in Youyan will welcome them."

The atmosphere in the meeting hall became heated, and everyone expressed their views on the Liao Kingdom's war one after another. Wang Anshi proposed to fight steadily, not to advance rashly, and to be prepared for a long-term war, which won everyone's approval.

Han Jiang proposed to contact the Tiele ethnic groups in the grassland and encourage the Tiele ethnic groups to resist the cruel exploitation of the Liao state.

Fu Bi reminded everyone to prepare for the return of Youyan Han people to the south and find a temporary resettlement place.

This military-state discussion has been discussed for a whole morning, and various details have been implemented. With this day's military-state discussion as the boundary, Da Song has entered the second stage of combat preparations. Da Song will invest 50 regular troops and 50 militiamen. 400 million shi of grain, 200 million taels of gold were invested, converted into 2000 million guan of money, and 3000 million jin of pig iron, which opened up the largest war preparations since the founding of the Song Dynasty.

After discussing the military affairs, Emperor Zhao Xu summoned Fan Ning alone.

"Your Majesty seems a little worried?" Fan Ning saw a trace of worry in Zhao Xu's eyes.

Zhao Xu sighed, "How could you not be worried? Although the Liao army's national strength has declined, the Khitan people's combat effectiveness is still very strong. If it weren't for Aiqing's use of the city defense and the superiority of the navy, we might still have no chance of winning."

"Your Majesty, please rest assured that the current Liao Kingdom is no longer the Liao Kingdom 70 years ago. If the dynasty established by the Hu people had not been completely sinicized, it would never last more than a hundred years. The Liao Kingdom looks powerful on the surface, but its foundation is empty. Although their territory is vast, they do not have the population of the Great Song Dynasty, let alone the rich land of the Great Song Dynasty, nor the strong cultural and historical heritage of the Great Song Dynasty, they have no support at all, and once they fall, they will be completely shattered."

Fan Ning's analysis made Zhao Xu's congested heart a lot more comfortable. He nodded and said: "During this time, the officials of the Manchu Dynasty are asking me to have peace talks with the Liao Kingdom, and they are all talking about the 50 cavalry of the Liao Kingdom. Even [-] cavalrymen can't reach it, the words made people feel panic, and I lost confidence, what Aiqing said today gave me reassurance."

Fan Ning lowered his voice and said, "Your Majesty, preparing for the war in Taiyuan is the biggest strategic deception that I have done. Whether the deception in Taiyuan can be successful is crucial to the entire campaign."

Zhao Xu was taken aback, "I don't quite understand, can Aiqing clarify?"

Fan Ning whispered a few words, Zhao Xu's eyes widened, "Can it really succeed?"

Fan Ning nodded, "Weichen came back this time and went to Jingxing, I'm sure it will be successful."

Zhao Xu was so excited that he was gearing up, and said again: "Then what do I need?"

"If His Majesty is willing to go to Taiyuan to inspect the defense, the strategic deception of this minister will be more successful."

Zhao Xu hesitated a little, Fan Ning understood his worry, and smiled again: "Your Majesty can go to Taiyuan by boat, and if the Liao army comes, His Majesty can also enter Fenshui by boat, with the navy guards, there will be no mistakes .”

Zhao Xu nodded slowly, "Okay! I will follow Fan Aiqing's arrangement and go to Taiyuan to inspect the defense in person."

(End of this chapter)