"Where are the other route armies?" Emperor Liu turned his attention away from the East Route Army he was most concerned about, and looked at Shi Shouxin and asked, all the exposed emotions on his face had restrained, and he was very calm.
The Han army in the Central and Western Routes also made some gains in the early stages of the war, but they were all small gains, insignificant and insignificant. Since then, there has been no bigger breakthrough so far.
Therefore, Shi Shouxin's answer also contained a hint of caution, saying: "The response arrangements of the Liao State are just as we expected before the war. They concentrated their forces to resist in Liaodong, and seemed to defend Liaodong to the death.
After Yelu Xiezhen returned to Liaoyang, he urgently deployed troops and stockpiled grain and equipment in Liaodong. For more than a month, the Liao Kingdom was also actively preparing for war. The Liao Emperor recruited troops nationwide, with the intention of supporting Liaodong at any time.
On the Central and Western Routes, a conservative contraction strategy was adopted. The army, tribesmen, and people all retreated to the depths of their territory, not to engage in battle or to compete with others.
Therefore, to this day, Liu Tinghan and Yang Ye’s two armies still have no new results reported!”
After hearing this description, Emperor Liu's expression remained unchanged, but his expression seemed to be tense, and he said: "In other words, since the little fight last month, there has been no progress between the two armies?"
It was impossible to tell how Emperor Liu was feeling, but Shi Shouxin did not dare to hide anything and responded honestly with one word: "Yes!"
"What is the progress of Liao's preparations for war?" Emperor Liu asked.
Shi Shouxin immediately replied: "According to the secret reports of the Military Intelligence Department and the Wude Department, the Liao State has gathered about 100,000 troops in Liaodong, and more than 200,000 troops in the desert, distributed in Moxi, Monan and Shangjing areas, among which are the elites of Shangjing.
Gather together!”
"With more than 300,000 troops and horses, considering the current situation of the Liao Kingdom, if the armed forces are assembled, I'm afraid they will do their best!" Emperor Liu said.
Shi Shouxin: "Although the Liao Kingdom claims to control millions of soldiers and all the people are soldiers, according to the estimates of officials and others, with the national strength of the Liao Kingdom, it is already difficult to maintain these 300,000 soldiers and horses. If the offensive and defensive situation is maintained for a long time, even if the fierce fighting lasts for a long time, even
If we cannot make a quick decision, if we continue to migrate, the victory will still be with me, and I may even drag the Liao Kingdom to collapse... Of course, this is also the most conservative estimate!"
Under the influence of Emperor Liu, the civil and military ministers, public ministers and generals of the Han Dynasty also became good at talking about the national power and general trends. Listening to his words, Emperor Liu said leisurely: "Isn't it too frustrating for the Liao Kingdom? The Han Dynasty
So much military and civilian financial resources have been invested, even if the Liao Kingdom is brought down, the Han Dynasty will probably suffer a lot of losses in national power!"
After saying this, Emperor Liu's tone became a little more relaxed, as evidenced by the slightly raised corners of his mouth. Obviously, Emperor Liu still likes to use his power to overwhelm others, make steady progress, and win by crushing him in battles. Moreover, he is also used to this.
This is a way of playing, even if it involves huge losses and huge costs.
"However, the King's Division has finished its training and has already launched a fierce attack on Liaodong. However, the Liao Kingdom has not yet shown any sign of reinforcements to Liaodong!" Shi Shouxin said again.
"What's the reason for this?" Emperor Liu asked.
Shi Shouxin: "I have speculated that there are no more than two reasons. One is that they need to take care of the desert and be prepared for our army on the west route; the other is that the Liaodong war has not yet started, and they want to see the fighting situation first and make some preparations in the rear.
Be more prepared, be more prepared, and act randomly..."
"It seems that our oppression of the Khitans is not enough. According to this situation, they still have some strength and ideas!" Emperor Liu said coldly: "Do you think that the 100,000 troops in Liaodong can resist our east route?
military?"
Hearing this, Xiang Xun, who had been thinking for a long time, took the initiative and said: "Your Majesty, if this is the case, the Liao army in Liaodong can only be completely on the defensive. If we attack and defend the other, then our army will have the upper hand!"
"Perhaps the Liao army wanted to use the Liaodong defenders as bait to wear down our exhausted army. After all, our army was on an expedition to a foreign land. After a long time, the soldiers were exhausted and their morale dropped. They then responded with elite troops and suddenly came out...
..." Shi Shouxin added.
Hearing what he said, Emperor Liu couldn't help but straighten up his waist, his expression became extremely serious, and many similar battle examples suddenly flashed through his mind.
"Shi Qing's words make sense!" Emperor Liu responded, but he quickly calmed down and chuckled: "However, the enemy army in Liaodong must be able to resist!"
"Our army needs to be unprepared!" Xiang Xun couldn't help but glance at Shi Shouxin. This privy envoy is really quite talented, and said to Emperor Liu: "Your Majesty, you may send a message to the camp to remind you!"
"Make a book!" Emperor Liu looked at Shi Shouxin and ordered directly.
"Yes!" In fact, Shi Shouxin had already arranged this kind of thing.
"According to what you just said, the Shanyang and Yulin Route armies have had a bad impact on the Liao Kingdom?" After thinking about it, Emperor Liu asked Shi Shouxin again.
Naturally, it had some influence. After all, it forced the Liao State to scramble and flee northward in a hurry. However, this had no actual effect, and the containment effect expected by the Han court was not obvious.
With hesitation on his face, Shi Shouxin thought about it for a moment and reported: "Your Majesty, the Liao Kingdom retracted decisively in the northern part of the Great Wall and avoided war blindly, so it achieved little results. Those who seek the top will get the bottom, and those who seek the bottom will get the bottom. The court will give them to both sides.
The general's orders are only for feigning attacks, so the soldiers will inevitably have concerns in combat..."
The old brow suddenly frowned. Apparently, Shi Shouxin was hinting to Emperor Liu that the previous military order had restricted the frontline soldiers' operations. After thinking for a while, he looked at Shi Shouxin intently, and Shi Shouxin looked calm.
Emperor Liu was also a decisive person, and immediately gave instructions: "Then change the tactics, take the initiative, and give them full autonomy! The purpose is still to contain them. As long as it can be effective, make decisions on the fly and let the generals do it!"
"Yes!" Shi Shouxin responded.
After a pause, Shi Shouxin reported again: "Your Majesty, two generals, Yang Ye and Liu Tinghan, also requested to take the initiative to attack. On the other side of Shanyang, the Liao Kingdom has Han Kuangmei, the Southwest Recruitment Envoy, as the commander-in-chief, responsible for military affairs and has troops.
More than 20,000 people are active at the northern foot of Yinshan Mountain, and Liu Tinghan intends to attack from the north."
"Han Kuangmei, it's the Han family again. The Lord of Liao really trusts these Han ministers. He really trusts them and gives them military power and important responsibilities!" Emperor Liu said with a smile.
"These people who have forgotten their ancestors have been in the Liao Dynasty for a long time. As Han people, their hearts belong to the Khitan. They have long forgotten what the ancestral temple belongs to!" Xiang Xun said coldly.
Shi Shouxin said: "Han Kuangmei is the son of Han Zhigu. It is said that he is a talented man in both civil and military affairs. He was the person who assisted Xiao Siwen in defending Tanzhou. Although he was defeated by Duke Wei, he worked very hard!"
"Then beat them, they will hurt these traitors!" Emperor Liu raised his eyebrows and ordered.
Shi Shouxin nodded and continued: "Yang Ye also reported that he is increasing the number of horses, food and equipment, and preparing for the expedition. He wants to lead the Yulin cavalry deep into the desert, directly attack the tribes in the northwest of Liaoning, and support the war with war. That is the Liao Kingdom
If we destroy the weakly governed areas, we can cut off one of Liao's wings, isolate the east and west, and cooperate with the Hexi army to attack!"
"Yang Chonggui is still the same Yang Wudi he was back then. He is full of courage and has not changed after so many years!" Emperor Liu gave a hearty smile. His trust and love for Yang Ye had not changed after so many years.
"I accept the request of the second general!" Emperor Liu replied after the laughter stopped.
"I can prepare a reply later!" Shi Shouxin said.
"However, once this happens, we will be completely out of the border. Logistics will be worrying, the risks will increase sharply, and the outcome will be unpredictable!" Xiang Xun reminded: "And the Liao Kingdom's strength in the desert is still strong, with only these 50,000 troops.
....."
Feeling the worry expressed by Xiang Xun, Emperor Liu looked away and waved his hands with a very courageous look: "Why are they all equipped with cavalry? Isn't it just to fight in the fortress? Sooner or later, let them do this."
Go try it!”
"What's going on over there in Hexi?" Emperor Liu asked about the Hexi Army, which had received little attention.
Because the distance was too far and the specific situation was even less controllable, Shi Shouxin simply responded: "Wang Yansheng and Guo Jin divided their troops into two groups, each leading a division to attack, and Wang Yansheng led the north to Ju Yanze.
, trekking through the desert for an expedition, led by Guo Jin all the way, to conquer the Western Regions!"
In this regard, Emperor Liu could not give any specific instructions. Generals Wang and Guo had been preparing for many years, and they cared about sending troops freely. In contrast, he was more concerned about another thing: "Where is Liu Fang?"
"The Duke of Zhao is heading north with Wang Yansheng!"