"Your Majesty, from Xihe to Hebei Dao... if we start a war against Liao and Xia at the same time, I am afraid it will not only be a war of overthrow, but also a war of annihilation!"
Fu Bi was not disrupting the morale of the army, he was discussing politics. Looking at the sand table, everyone felt sad.
In the entire Hebei Road, all the way to Jingdong Road, and then to Bianliang, the country had no natural dangers to rely on, except for the quagmire washed out by the Yellow River and the intermittent state cities.
I have to admit that if there is a real war, the country and the DPRK will have almost no advantage at all.
New troops, chariots, and firearms are the highlights of the improvement of the military strength of the country, but the new army of the Manchu Dynasty is less than 300,000...
Even if the imperial court keeps chasing the progress of the imperial army's transfer to the new army, there are still more than 500,000 soldiers. Those generals in the old guard camp would rather be dismissed from their posts and investigated than lower the standards for selection into the new army.
Your Majesty still allowed them to do this. What was the result? Just like now, we really need to use troops. Looking at the nearly 500,000 soldiers, there are no troops available.
"Prime Minister Fu, we cannot win a war that will overwhelm the country, nor can we win a war that will destroy the country. To put it bluntly, this is still a local war."
Zhao Xi can be sure of this.
"Except for the Hedong Road, there are no war reports on the entire border with Bei Liao. Let's look at the military division of Xixia's expedition... ~ Zuo Xiang Shen Yong Military Division, that is a traditional force without a Tibetan family."
When it comes to fighting, perhaps the Xianggong of the Political Affairs Hall is really not as good as Di Qing, or even a few young men from the Jiangwu Hall. But when it comes to the tricks in the court, all the Xianggongs are old goblins.
At this time, Fu Bi, Han Qi, Wen Yanbo, including Han Jiang and Lu Gongbi all left their sight on the sand table...
Now in Xixia, the people in power are the Liang brothers and sisters, who are the descendants of Xixia.
As the former powerful family of the front and rear clans, the Wuzang family will definitely be suppressed by the Liang family.
This also makes it clear why the Zuoxiang Shenyong Army Division did not attack the two prefectures of Fulin, but quickly passed through the border of the country. They not only wanted to join forces with the troops in Xijing, Northern Liao Dynasty, but more importantly, they wanted to preserve their strength.
In other words, the other military divisions of Xixia may not disturb the border to support the operations of the brave military division in the left wing. Even if they do, it is probably just a pretense, right?
"Who is the coach of Xijing Road in Beiliao? And which part of the Pishi Army is the main force?"
In the Northern Liao Dynasty, the Pishi Army was renamed the Palace Guard Army, but Han Qi still used to call it the Pishi Army.
However, when Han Qi asked this question, most people already understood what it meant.
"Yelu Qi was originally close to Yelu Chongyuan and did not participate in the rebellion, or he acted according to the opportunity. But Emperor Liao still asked him to transfer from Zhongjing Road to Xijing Road."
"The Pishi army sent out this time is Yeluqi's headquarters and Oruluduo from the Xijing Road Recruitment Department, as well as the Han army from Xijing Road."
The Imperial City Division can still obtain such information.
Zhao Xi handed over the information in his hand...
The Liang family of Western Xia and Yelu Hongji of Northern Liao both had a bit of a head and two ends.
Due to the unknown and fear of the Song Dynasty's gunpowder, I was reluctant to fight with all my strength, and wanted to test the bottom line of the Song Dynasty, forcing myself to see if I could get some sweet spots.
They also made gunpowder, but after testing it, the effect was not great. Apart from making the sound louder, it was not very lethal.
I guess Xixia's promise was quite heartbreaking, so they had such an arrangement.
To test the strength of the Song Dynasty using forces that are displeased in their eyes...
If the coercion succeeds, it will be a top-level confrontation between the three parties. If the coercion fails, a local war on Hedong Road can also reveal the true military strength of the Song Dynasty.
As for how far the war will go? In their view, it is nothing more than withdrawing from the front line and sacrificing some forces that are insignificant or that they cannot destroy by themselves.
In terms of political power, the Liang family of Western Xia and Yelu Hongji of Northern Liao were just children in the eyes of the rulers of the Song Dynasty...
Comparing the military intelligence report, thinking about the meeting of the envoys today, combined with the reasons for this war, and the court disputes in Western Xia and Northern Liao, what they were thinking was closely guessed by the princes of the country.
"Your Majesty, are our army going to cooperate with them in acting?"
Han Qi squinted his eyes with a confident expression. This point must be clarified, how to fight, whether it is just pretending or serious, this is the basis for deciding on the formation of troops.
"No compromise! They started the war, and they have no say in how it will end!"
The court can compromise, but it must compromise. The country has not yet reached the point of life and death, so Zhao Xi did not choose to make bloody reforms in the court.
But Zhao Xi is not merciful to foreigners.
Han Qi rubbed his hands, walked back and forth, and exchanged looks with Fu Bi, Wen Yanbo and others from time to time... Wang Anshi's dark face did not change at all, and he did not make eye contact with Han Qi.
"Your Majesty, if that's the case, aren't we going to do their court a favor?"
"Then help!"
After Zhao Xi finished speaking, he suddenly burst into laughter.
Immediately afterwards, starting from Fu Bi, the Minister of Political Affairs, and then to Gongfang City, everyone in the Jiangwu Hall burst into laughter.
This burst of laughter is more effective than Zhao Xi's forceful unification of thoughts during the court meeting!
This burst of laughter, whether it was civil servants or military generals, all carried the pride of others!
This burst of laughter, that kind of tacit understanding, that kind of communication, that kind of feeling of mutual sympathy filled the entire council hall!
This is a courageous performance, this is a manifestation of unity, this is the first experience of daring to say no to a foreign country.
Every one of the important ministers present was a momentary hero, and no one wanted to show his face to the outside world with his head held high.
However, the country's long-standing record has forced them to bury their ambitions and move around within a limited range, clinging to the deficiencies and clinging to their last breath.
It’s different now!
This discussion will be a real turning point for the Song Dynasty court.
The sight is once again focused on the sand table...
"The lion fights the rabbit with all his strength. Whether the Yongjun Army Division in the left wing and the Recruitment Division of Xijing Road were really thrown to death by Liao Xia is our analysis. It cannot be used as a military intelligence report."
"How to fight this battle, how to win a big victory, and how to win completely, we still have to be cautious! We must not take it lightly!"
"Although our analysis is very likely to be close to the truth, in terms of deployment against the enemy, we must still respond with a full-scale war."
Fu Bi was mature and prudent, fearing that the officials would place too much emphasis on analysis and deduction and risk everything.
"What Prime Minister Fu said is absolutely true. Another possibility in Liaoxia is that once the attack on Hedong Road is effective, there will probably be many people in their court who want to make meritorious deeds."
"When the public sentiment becomes heated, it may lead to a full-scale war across the entire border! This is not what the country wants to see."
"Therefore, this battle must be a hit, annihilate them all as much as possible, and show the majesty of our Song Dynasty as much as possible!"
Then everyone continued to row along the border... Sigh! It's really frustrating.
On the basis of considering the complete annihilation of the enemies along the Hedong Road, we must also be prepared for the possibility of an all-out war on all border lines between China and North Korea.
Thinking about the available troops of the dynasty, it really feels like a clever woman cannot make a meal without straw.
Three hundred thousand! There are only three hundred thousand new troops!
The Liao-Xia Allied Forces numbered nearly 200,000 invading enemies from the Hedong Road alone. To completely annihilate the incoming enemies would require at least a similar number... But what about this long and safe border?