In the Chugong Hall, Zhao Zhen frowned and looked at the memorials in his hand. The memorials on the desk in front of him were already piled up like a mountain. These were memorials about this war against Liao. The war was not just about the army, but a test of a country's comprehensive strength. Especially this time, it was a national war, which involved all aspects, and Zhao Zhen needed to worry about them.

"Why is there something wrong with the canal again? What are these officials doing? Do you know that the canal is related to the success or failure of this war?" Zhao Zhen suddenly slapped the memorial in his hand on the table and said angrily.

A hundred thousand army has gathered in Gubeikou. Although Yanyun has stabilized and has developed greatly in recent years, it is still difficult to supply a hundred thousand army, so logistics supplies still need to be transported from the rear, and the Grand Canal of Beijing and Hangzhou naturally undertakes this task.

However, since the Yanyun was captured, the transportation volume of the Grand Canal has also increased significantly. After all, the northern end of the canal was already deep into Yanyun, but the canal in Liao territory was greatly affected due to its disrepair, resulting in the canal being blocked from time to time. Now even the logistics of the army has been affected, which made him very angry.

But at this moment, a eunuch suddenly ran in quickly. Zhao Zhen was angry and was about to scold him, but he didn't expect the eunuch to report: "Report to Your Majesty, Mr. Dingbei is asking for a meeting!"

When Zhao Zhen heard that it was Li Zhang who came, he was stunned at first, and then he showed a happy expression. Although Li Zhang occasionally entered the palace in recent years, he always visited Empress Dowager Li and never came to the Chuigong Hall like before. Zhao Zhen also agreed to let Li Zhang rest, so he was embarrassed to summon him to come again, but he didn't expect that Li Zhang would come on his own initiative today.

Zhao Zhen originally wanted someone to invite Li Zhang in, but he felt it was inappropriate, so he simply ran out to greet him. Li Zhang was also standing outside the Chuigong Hall at this time. When he saw Zhao Zhen running out in person, he couldn't help but smile and said, "Why did Your Majesty come out in person? Could it be that he is too bored in the hall?"

"Haha~, it's great that you can come, cousin. I'm having a headache about the Liao Kingdom. Come with me!" Zhao Zhen ignored Li Zhang's teasing, but pulled him into the hall.

Li Zhang did not refuse, and followed Zhao Zhen to the Chuigong Hall again. Although he had not come for five years, there seemed to be no big change here. However, when he saw the mountains of memorials on Zhao Zhen's desk, he couldn't help but frown.

"Cousin, in order to attack the Liao Kingdom, all aspects need to be considered. These are memorials sent by the following war. I have a headache after reading them these days!" Zhao Zhen also noticed Li Zhang's gaze, and pointed to these memorials helplessly.

When Li Zhang heard this, he did not speak, but picked up a memorial and looked at it, then threw it down and read a few more copies. Finally, he raised his head and looked at Zhao Zhen and said, "Just leave these trivial matters to the ministers below to deal with. Why do you have to do everything yourself?"

"This...I...I'm mainly worried. After all, if such a big thing is happening, the ministers below may make some mistakes." Zhao Zhen said embarrassedly.

In fact, this is not the first time Li Zhang said to Zhao Zhen. Liu E liked to do everything himself, but as a result, all the big and small things were pressed on him, which led to Liu E's health getting worse and worse. Zhao Zhen also inherited Liu E's fault. He was originally weak, but now he is working day and night, so it is strange that he doesn't have any problems with his body.

"The minister's duty is to share your worries. If you do everything yourself, what's the use of supporting so many ministers?" Li Zhang advised helplessly again. Although the memorials in front of him are important, they can be left to the ministers to handle themselves. Zhao Zhen only needs to control the overall situation, so that the burden on him will be much lighter.

Zhao Zhen also knew that Li Zhang was thinking about himself, and he did not bear it during this period, so he nodded and said, "I understand, come here, send these memorials to the Political Affairs Hall, and Han Qi and the others will handle them at their discretion!"

After Lu Yijian's death, Yan Shu was only a transition, so last year, he stepped down as prime minister. However, this time, Han Qi was quite young. In fact, Han Qi and Li Zhang were no longer young. However, compared to the fact that he had a little short experience in the officialdom and was not very old, Zhao Zhen promoted him to become the prime minister of the Song Dynasty because he felt that the Song Dynasty was in a critical period of transformation and that an energetic and open-minded person had to help him, so Zhao Zhen chose Han Qi.

Following Zhao Zhen's order, the eunuch immediately hugged the memorials on the desk, and of course some extremely important memorials were left behind, which only Zhao Zhen could handle. However, compared to the mountain-stacked appearance before, these memorials were insignificant.

"Cousin, come with me. There is a strategic plan for the side hall. Please help me see!" Zhao Zhen pulled Li Zhang again and walked towards the side hall. There was a sand table there. The strategy for attacking the Liao Kingdom this time had been formulated. Of course, Cao Ma must have played the role on the battlefield this time, but the main framework remains unchanged.

Li Zhang followed Zhao Zhen to the sand table in the side hall, and saw that one of the Liao maps had marked two routes of troops with small flags. The starting points were Zhenzhou and Gubeikou, and the number of soldiers, marching routes, etc. were marked on it.

"Cousin, look, this time the main general is Cao Ma's army, but Di Qing's cavalry first launched the attack. They will go east along the Dudu River from Zhenzhou and threaten the Liao Kingdom Shangjing at the fastest speed. If the Liao army organizes troops to stop it, Cao Ma will immediately break out from Gubeikou. If the other party does not stop it, Di Qing will turn to attack Raozhou. Raozhou is the main transportation route between Zhongjing and Shangjing. As long as it occupies this place, the connection between Zhongjing and Shangjing can be cut off, so that Zhongjing has no way out..."

Zhao Zhen excitedly told Li Zhang about the entire strategic plan. Of course, although the plan is good, there must be variables, so there are also plans to deal with each variable, which also makes the entire strategic plan very large, but Zhao Zhen said it very seriously.

Li Zhang was not a military general and had only a little understanding of military tactics. So even if he listened to the complete strategic plan, he probably wouldn't make any suggestions. Moreover, the entire plan had been formulated long ago, and the army could go on a war at any time, and it was impossible to change the plan at this time. Therefore, Li Zhang could not help at all in the attack on the Liao Kingdom.

But Li Zhang still listened very seriously because he knew that Zhao Zhen did not need any suggestions, but needed to participate by himself and share some pressure for him.
Chapter completed!