What Zhao Xi said is a hypothesis, but this hypothesis is most likely to become a fact.
Although the current political affairs hall is preparing for war, if something really happens that makes Guochao Beier look good, the war may really end.
Even a few of them may not be able to firm up their determination to fight when the time comes.
Nowadays, there is civil strife in Northern Liao, and the Western Xia Alliance in Northern Liao is in ruins. So at this time, Xixia will probably retract its minions... and wait for an opportunity to stretch out to scratch others.
At this time, if Li Liangjiao sees the situation clearly and declares his vassalship directly, or even accepts the title granted by the imperial court, even if it does not change anything in fact, the imperial court will still overwhelmingly accept Xixia's sincerity...
Zhao Xi's words made the entire Chui Gong Hall fall into deep thought. Even his father seemed to be deeply touched.
Not to mention ministers, even he, Zhao Zhen, once Xixia becomes a minister, he will also choose to stop the war that wastes people, money, soldiers and generals... Mainly because it is too worrying, there is no peace at all, and there is no success.
War has caused too many injuries.
"Your Highness, can this be enough to provoke Xixia into starting a war?"
"Mr. Zeng, if we can't provoke a war, we don't have to worry. We can just continue to advance step by step. If necessary, I will find another way to promote a war."
With the current situation of all forces, Zhao Xi is not sure that Xixia will really choose war.
According to a report from the Imperial City Department, last year, Li Liangzhao had an affair with the Northern Liao Dynasty because of Siluo, and Li Liangzhao sent troops against Siluo.
Although Qingtang was defeated, it must be said that Li Liangjiao was a person who could judge the situation and was good at choosing the right time. He was also a very shameless and capricious person.
Since the Tanyuan Alliance, the relationship between Guochao and Bei Liao has been quite harmonious. Zhao Xi could not tell whether the civil strife in Bei Liao would give Li Liang the idea of deceitfully developing a large-scale war against Guo Chao.
However, Xixia has been harassing the border for a long time. It is no wonder that in the war against Xia, apart from defending the city and defeating it, the country really had no appreciable victory.
In fact, this time, Zhao Xi was completely confident that Xixia would start a war.
It’s just that I can’t explain it too clearly at this time.
Fu Bi is aware that the grain and wool trading matters operated by Xue Xiang are also gradually advancing.
If this fight fails to provoke the Xixia War, it will only speed up the progress of the grain and wool trading operations.
Nowadays, apart from the workshop city, there are very few merchants left in the Xixia grain trade... because they don't need wool, and they don't make much money just selling grain.
This is also Zhao Xi's other preparation.
"Your Highness, what are the chances of winning this battle?"
Here we are, finally back to the core issue, which should be what the entire political hall, including his father, is most concerned about and worried about.
"It's not a war to destroy the country, it's just a war on a larger scale. Xixia did not mobilize the country, nor did the dynasty use all its strength."
"Compared to the New Army, which has been trained for many years, and the Western Army, which has been on the border front, it should not be difficult to win such a war."
"What's more, today's new army equipment is different from that of the past, and Xixia has insufficient knowledge of firearms. With the combination of many factors, it is not impossible to achieve a major victory."
"At a minimum, if the new army joins the war and cooperates with the Western army, it can ensure that there will not be a major defeat."
Zhao Xi's remarks were already very humble.
Although he has not really seen the combat capabilities of the New Army, he has read the training logs and the soldiers in the guard battalion who were training in rotation all have unanimous assessments of the New Army, which means that the New Army should be capable of fighting.
In Zhao Xi's concept, this battle power is to return Xixia to a good ending of the Shuichuan Battle.
"Your Highness, it is not easy to go to war, and Xixia is not comparable to Annan. Why not wait for some time and wait until everything is ready before we discuss the war? This way we can be foolproof."
"Mr. Zeng, nothing is foolproof, let alone a battle. Preparation is never complete. Perfection is an assumption, and there will always be shortcomings."
"Now that the main line of the track is completed, the time for transporting troops and lifting weights can be greatly shortened. Nearly 200,000 soldiers have been equipped with new armaments, and the use of firearms has also reached a proficiency level."
"Moreover, the Neiyuan Food Factory has produced nearly enough new military rations for two hundred thousand soldiers for three months... To a certain extent, everything is ready."
Without sufficient preparation, Zhao Xi would not start a war stupidly. Defeating once is not a big deal, but if he is afraid of another defeat, the entire dynasty will really have no courage at all. That is not to say nothing about war for twenty years.
It's just a matter of fact, but until the dynasty is destroyed, there will be no more wars...
"Your Highness, what is the new military ration? Your Highness knows that the military ration matter is not a trivial matter, so how can you innovate at will?"
Zhao Xi found that Han Qi should be the most contradictory one.
What should I say about this old man? He is probably the one who most wants to teach Xixia a lesson, but he is also the one who is most afraid of provoking a war with Xixia.
Such a state of mind made him want to prepare for the war to the extreme...
"They are biscuits, another form of biscuits. Biscuits have been proven for many years, so there is no need to say more. And these biscuits can still be eaten after being left for half a year or even a year."
At the same time, Zhao Xi waved his hand, and Wang Zhongzheng quickly ran towards the inner garden.
"Your Highness, once a war begins, how many civilians will need to be recruited? How many soldiers will be mobilized? How much food reserves will be released? These cannot be prepared in a short time. But after the battle is completed, the war is likely to start in a short time."
Since there is no way to change it, let’s focus on how to win this war.
"My dear Sirs, this campaign does not require the participation of a civilian husband. All transportation of heavy goods will be handed over to the transportation team in Gongfang City."
"Because the new army's weight is different from traditional ordnance, except for gunpowder, other ordnance should not be transported by civilians."
"As for the mobilization of soldiers, in addition to the new army, we only need the cooperation of the Western Army. This is especially true for military rations. There is no need to open up reserves and all will be handed over to the Workshop City."
From the very beginning, Zhao Xi trained the rail troops, workshop city laborers, and the entire transportation team according to the engineering corps of later generations.
All of Zhao Xi's previous industrial plans were profit-seeking, but rather a complete industrial chain of armaments.
Coal, iron ore, steelmaking, firearms, biscuits, sleeping bags, tracks, transportation, etc., all of these are not related to war. At least now, all industries can serve the war at any time.
Similarly, Fu Bi, Han Qi and others are not easy to deal with. After listening to Zhao Xi's words, they then connected in their minds what Zhao Xi has done over the years... It turns out that His Highness the Crown Prince was planning a long time ago.
Looking forward to this war!
Food? Biscuits are food. Military-to-civilian transfer? On the contrary, it is dual-use for military and civilian purposes. The advantage of rail transportation? It is better to say that it is more convenient for the transfer of arms.
The husbands were chewing compressed biscuits. At this time, they really had mixed feelings.
So what about martial arts? At this time, His Highness the Prince's industrial chain is completely ready to leave the court and complete a major conquest on his own.
This is the real readiness. His Royal Highness is basically ready to realize his ambition.