"Do you want to regain Yan Yun?" Cao Wei couldn't help but look at him with a surprised expression when he heard Li Zhang's words. This was the first time he said such words from a young man. After all, the Song Dynasty has been suppressed by the Liao Kingdom over the years, and many people have given up on the idea of ​​regaining Yan Yun.

"Yes, I didn't dare to think so before, but after this trip to Liao, I found that there were many conflicts within Liao and that military strength was declining. As long as we seize the opportunity, break through the blockade of the Liao army in one fell swoop, it is not impossible to recover Yan Yun." Li Zhang said with a confident expression at this time.

Cao Wei also showed a solemn expression when he heard this. After pondering for a while, he said again: "The Liao Kingdom is not that easy to fight. Even though Emperor Taizu swept across the countries, he ended up suffering a great loss under the Liao Kingdom. As for Emperor Zhenzong later, let alone Emperor Zhenzong later, we were on the defensive stage almost throughout the Chanyuan Alliance. Even if the Liao Kingdom's strength has declined, it is still not easy to recover Yan Yun."

"But this matter will be done sooner or later. Shanzhu, you are a veteran general in the army, so naturally you know more than anyone else what Yanyun means to us. Without the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, our Song Dynasty can only station heavy troops on the border. The military pay is spent every year. The Song Dynasty is already overwhelmed. If this continues, sooner or later it will drag down the finances of our Song Dynasty!" Li Zhang couldn't help but show a very sad expression when he spoke at the end.

The three major disadvantages of the Northern Song Dynasty: redundant soldiers, redundant officials, and redundant expenses. Among them, redundant soldiers and redundant officials are the direct reasons. It is precisely because of the too many soldiers and officials that the financial pressure is too great. Otherwise, the financial income of the Song Dynasty would not make the three departments feel stretched every year. In addition to the domestic situation of wing soldiers, the huge border troops are also a major problem.

Hearing Li Zhang say this, Cao Wei also showed a meditative expression again. After a while, he slowly said: "You just said that the conflict between the two palaces of Liao Kingdom will lead to civil strife. In your opinion, what level will this civil strife reach? Is it possible to significantly weaken the strength of Liao Kingdom?"

"Absolutely, Xiao Nojin is a woman who is profit-loving and has a very short-sighted vision. Apart from her ruthless means, I really can't see any advantages she has. When she comes to power, she will definitely cause great turmoil in the Liao Kingdom. If she takes the opportunity to send troops, it is very likely to retake Yan Yun in one fell swoop!" Li Zhang said with great affirmation.

Xiao Nojin is really cruel and ruthless. According to historical records, she killed dozens of Liao nobles as soon as she took power, and also abolished all the reforms of Empress Dowager Xiao and Yelu Longxu in the Liao Kingdom. This was the most deadly for the Liao Kingdom, which led to the more serious internal conflicts and the strength also regressed again. Xiao Nojin even wanted to abandon Yelu Zongzhen and make his other son the emperor for a while. In the end, he was plotted by Yelu Zongzhen and was imprisoned for the rest of his life.

"If it is really as you said, it may be a good opportunity then, but it is not too cautious about such a national war." Cao Wei was still cautious and said again. After all, he is old and not as radical as a young man like Li Zhang, but he is right, after all, this is related to the national destiny of the Song Dynasty.

Li Zhang also understood the reason why Cao Wei was so cautious. After all, not everyone was as familiar with the history as he did. So before Cao Wei saw the chaos in the Liao Kingdom, he was not sure if he had the chance to recover Yan Yun. But it didn't matter. Xiao Noujin should be in power. I believe her performance would definitely not disappoint the Song Dynasty.

After talking about the Liao Kingdom, Cao Wei asked about the big fire in the palace some time ago. Although he knew some of the inside stories, he was definitely not as clear as those involved like Li Zhang. Li Zhang also briefly said it, but he didn't say anything that could not be said. After all, Cao Wei was a military general, so it was not convenient to intervene too deeply in the government.

"By the way, the first batch of students will graduate and go to the army next year. I wonder if the martial arts has been arranged, should I go to Hebei or Northwest?" Li Zhang suddenly thought of the students' graduation and asked again.

Speaking of this, Cao Wei rarely smiled and said, "It's all arranged. During the period when you are not here, I have organized students to go to the front line to experience several times. The veterans in the army have a very vicious vision and also sell my face. So when the first batch of students graduate, they will be arranged to serve in the army. As long as they perform well, the influence of martial arts will become greater and greater!"

"That's great!" Li Zhang said excitedly immediately.

The reason why the Song Dynasty was able to suppress martial arts with literature was not only the tone set by Zhao Kuangyin at the beginning, but also was related to the lack of fighting among the military generals. Even if the civil officials in the Song Dynasty fought in internal struggles, they were all scholars after all, and they were supported by the giant Confucianism behind them. The interests in some things were consistent. In the words of later generations, it was that civil officials had unified ideas to arm themselves, and sometimes even the emperor had to make concessions to the civil servant group.

In contrast, the military generals were simply a mess. Although there were many military strategists, such as Sun Tzu, Sun Wu, Li Jing and others, their influence was far less than Confucius, and the military generals did not form any unified ideological program, so they naturally suffered a great loss to the civil servant group. Even if the military generals could gain a certain advantage in certain periods, such as when a dynasty was founded, they would still be suppressed by the civil servant group in the later period.

However, the emergence of martial arts has made up for this flaw of the generals. If all the generals in the army come from martial arts in the future, and in addition to teaching military tactics, martial arts has also been instilling in them the idea of ​​loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, the same experience will make these generals more united, and in the future, when facing the civil servant group, it will be easier to form a unified interest group, thus reaching the point of confronting the civil servant group.

Of course, martial arts has just begun, and even the first batch of students have not graduated yet, so the above are only Li Zhang's ideas, and he has not told anyone. Of course, some smart people have seen his plans without queuing up, but Li Zhang didn't mind because he used a dignified plot. Unless they could let martial arts close directly, they could only wait for the generals to be slowly integrated into a whole.

The student was about to enter the army, and Li Zhang also asked about this matter with great concern. Cao Wei also told him in detail that some things happened during the time when Li Zhang left, so it is necessary to let Li Zhang understand.

"By the way, I just saw a very mature student on the school ground. It seemed that he was not young. I wonder if you have any impression of him?" Li Zhang suddenly remembered the person he had just met at the school ground, so he asked casually.
Chapter completed!