The first thing Liu Ping did after receiving the order was to take power, because he knew very clearly that the Liao Kingdom was not a mixed fish like Dangxiang. Although Li Yuanhao is still stirring up trouble on the border of Liao Kingdom, it seems that Liao Kingdom really can't do anything to him, but in fact, the Liao Kingdom just did not have time to suppress Li Yuanhao because of internal reasons. If he really waited for the Liao Kingdom to free up his hands, Li Yuanhao's fate would be very miserable.

It was precisely because of the power of the Liao Kingdom that Liu Ping asked the court to give him the power of free command. If he still restrained the master's hands and feet like before, no matter how capable Liu Ping was, he would probably not have the confidence to take back the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun.

"No problem, Your Majesty said, there will be no military supervisor in this time!" Li Zhang agreed without hesitation. When Liu Ping could think of this, Zhao Zhen and Li Zhang and others would naturally think that this matter was even the first to propose by Lu Yijian. After all, this attack on the Liao Kingdom is of great significance and is related to the future national destiny of the Song Dynasty. Therefore, he specially agreed to not have a military supervisor in the army this time, which is equivalent to completely letting go of Liu Ping's hands and feet.

Liu Ping did not expect that Zhao Zhen would have such great courage. There was no military supervisor in the army, which also represented the court's trust in him. This made Liu Ping burst into tears for a moment and immediately saluted loudly: "Thank you for your kindness, I will die to repay Your Majesty!"

"General Liu doesn't have to be too polite. Your Majesty has devoted endless effort to attack Liao this time, and even went to Cao Wei's old general Cao's mansion to visit. General Cao also gave his experiences he wrote to His Majesty. This time I will bring them to General Liu, hoping to give you some reference!" Li Zhang said as he took out the box that stored Cao Wei's strategy to attack Liao, and handed it to Liu Ping with both hands.

When Li Zhang said the above words, his eyes were always observing Liu Ping's expression. When he attacked Dangxiang last time, Liu Ping had great hope of becoming the chief general, but Cao Wei recommended Zhao Zhen, and many people knew about this, so Liu Ping must have known it. This time he deliberately did not say that it was Cao Wei's recommendation, just to test Liu Ping's measurement?

Sure enough, when Liu Ping heard that the box was written by Cao Wei to attack Liao, his expression changed, but he was not as repulsive as Li Zhang imagined. Instead, he immediately reached out to take the box and said, "Thank you, General Cao is also a person I admire very much. I will definitely study his strategy of attacking Liao!"

Liu Ping looked very sincere when he spoke, and immediately opened the box after he finished speaking, took out the strategy inside and flipped it out. Especially when he saw the map at the bottom, he immediately became interested. He immediately took out the map and expanded it, put it on the table to watch it carefully.

However, Liu Ping soon woke up and looked at Li Zhang with a little embarrassed look and said, "Don't blame Mr. Dingbei, I'm a little too impatient, I'm really rude!"

"General Liu, don't be polite. This attack on Liao is also related to the future national destiny of our Song Dynasty. If this burden falls on General Liu, you must have felt the pressure." Li Zhang smiled without any mind.

It can be seen that Liu Ping was very interested in the strategy of attacking Liao sent by Cao Wei. However, Li Zhang is here now, and it is not convenient for him to watch carefully. Li Zhang also had some things to explain, so he chatted with Liu Ping for a while before he was about to say goodbye. Liu Ping immediately asked someone to send Li Zhang to the inn to arrange a residence.

It was also his first time to come to Yanzhou. After he was resettled in the inn, he wanted to go out for a walk. After all, it was rare to come. Moreover, he was very tired, so he must have to rest for two or three days before going back. However, after he settled it, he found that it was almost dark outside, and Yanzhou was a military center. The curfew here was earlier and stricter than in the capital, so he could only stay in the inn to rest.

Maybe he was really tired. When Li Zhang woke up, he found that it was already midday outside. At that moment, he ate something casually in the inn, so he took people around Yanzhou. He found that Yanzhou was so similar to Qingzhou. Both places were border towns and military centers, and their customs and even urban construction were very similar.

At that moment, Li Zhang was wandering around Yanzhou City for a long time and tasted the local specialty food. However, in the afternoon, Liu Ping's people suddenly hit him and said that Liu Ping was treating him to the house. This made Li Zhang difficult to refuse, so he came to the banquet.

Liu Ping did not set up a banquet outside, but was at his own home. When Li Zhang came to Liu's mansion, he found that Liu Ping's mansion was not small, but this was normal. He was the top military leader in Yanzhou, and the salary of military generals was originally richer than that of civil officials of the same level, so the generals of the Song Dynasty generally did not lack money to spend.

Liu Ping also went out to greet him in person, and then the two of them came to the living room together. Because they might have to talk about some attack on Liao, it was not convenient for others to accompany him. Liu Ping didn't even call out his own family, and there were only two of them at the whole banquet.

Liu Ping also became interested in making friends with Li Zhang, so he took the initiative to chat at the beginning of the banquet and also inquired about some things about the capital. Li Zhang was also quite interested in Liu Ping. In addition, he had been in the northwest for a while and was very familiar with the army, so he had a very similar conversation with Liu Ping.

However, as he talked, the topic could not help but turn to the attack on the Liao Kingdom. Li Zhang also took the opportunity to ask about Liu Ping's plan. Liu Ping was not polite and took Cao Wei's map directly, which marked several marching routes planned by Cao Wei. Liu Ping also commented one by one. These marching routes have their own advantages and disadvantages. Li Zhang had heard Cao Wei say about this long ago, and Liu Ping was similar to Cao Wei's words, which was enough to see that Liu Ping must have read Cao Wei's strategy to attack Liao yesterday.

"If General Liu, you are going to attack Liao, which route will you choose?" After hearing Liu Ping's comments on Cao Wei's strategies, Li Zhang suddenly asked curiously.

Liu Ping pondered for a moment, then took a picture of the map and said, "Although these routes of General Cao have their own advantages and disadvantages, they are the best choices under normal circumstances. However, if I serve as the chief general this time, I am afraid I will not choose any of them!"

"Why?" Li Zhang asked with a surprised expression when he heard this.

"Not anything, the offensive and defensive momentum is different!" Liu Ping said confidently at this time, "When General Cao planned these march routes, the Liao Kingdom did not have civil strife. Although our Song Dynasty has gradually increased in recent years, it is still on the defensive front against the Liao Kingdom. Therefore, most of the strategies of General Cao are very conservative, almost steadily and step by step."

When he said this, Liu Ping paused for a moment and then said: "But now that Liao is in chaos, the troops on the border must be drawn back. In this way, the troops on the border are empty. If this kind of steady combat tactic is used, it will no longer be appropriate. Instead, it must fight slowly with fast and slow, and directly eliminate the main force on their border before the Liao Kingdom reacts, and thus swallow the sixteen states of Yanyun with one blow!"

When Liu Ping spoke at the end, he slapped Yanyun's territory on the map with his right hand, as if he wanted to completely get Yanyun back. If others heard these words from him, they would definitely think that Liu Ping's approach was too radical. After all, a lean camel is bigger than a horse. No matter how weak the Liao Kingdom is, it is still a giant, and few people dare to have such a risky tactic.

However, Li Zhang smiled faintly when he heard this. In fact, before leaving the capital, he went to see Cao Wei again and asked about his views on the attack on the Liao Kingdom. Cao Wei also clearly stated that the strategies he had written before could only be used as a reference. Now the situation has changed, the routes he chose were too conservative, so if he was Liu Ping, he would definitely choose the most direct and bold route, such as directly attacking the Liao Kingdom's military center.

Sure enough, just as Li Zhang thought of the above, Liu Ping suddenly pointed to a winding line among the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun: "This is the ancient Great Wall. However, since the Liao Kingdom occupied the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun, the Great Wall defense line has almost been abandoned. In the territory of Liao Kingdom south of the Great Wall, there are two important military cities, namely Nanjing and Xijing of Liao Kingdom. If I use troops, I will lead the main force to attack Nanjing. As long as I capture Nanjing Xijin Prefecture, Xijing will be isolated and helpless. At that time, the entire land south of the Great Wall will be under the control of our Song Dynasty!"

When Li Zhang heard Liu Ping's words, he carefully looked at the terrain near the Great Wall on the map. In fact, as Liu Ping said, Nanjing Xijin Prefecture and Xijing Datong Prefecture are both on the south side of the Great Wall. These two big cities were originally important military centers for the Han Dynasty to resist grassland ethnic groups, but now they have become bridgeheads for the Khitans to go south, which is quite sad.

"Last time I went to Liao Kingdom, I passed by Xijin Prefecture. At that time, I also observed it specifically and found that the city of Xijin Prefecture is deep and the walls are high, and there are even heavy troops stationed in the city. Even if some of them are being transferred away now, it is probably not easy to capture such a strong city." Li Zhang pondered for a moment and spoke again.

"Dingbei Hou doesn't have to underestimate himself. You are more familiar with firearms than me. Whether it is a siege tube or a cannon, they are powerful weapons for siege, especially artillery. As long as the court is willing to allocate dozens of artillery to me, I am sure to break through the Xijin Mansion in a short time!" Liu Ping said with great affirmation again at this time.

Artillery has begun to be equipped in the Northwest Army, and Liu Ping is also very concerned about artillery. He has specially studied the use of artillery. As a result, he found that when artillery is used in a concentrated manner, it can have a strong attack effect. For this reason, he also wrote to the court and suggested that a special artillery unit be built by imitating the Musketeers Army. However, the output of artillery is still limited and it is not yet reached the level of independent army establishment.
Chapter completed!