It was difficult for the chariots to get out of Yanmen Pass, and the track was even cut off at Xin County. As a new army that relies heavily on armaments, fighting outside the pass is the real test.
It can be seen from this east-west advance of the encirclement and suppression that there is a big difference between the New Army with tanks and those without tanks in fighting the Liao-Xia coalition cavalry.
Most of the soldiers' casualties came from the east and west routes.
Zhao Xi also told Di Qing in his secret order that once the losses on the east and west routes exceed 20%, the battle to regain Yunzhou will be postponed indefinitely...
As for the current battle losses, I hope that the initial encirclement and suppression was not a battle between Liao and Xia allied forces, and the intensity of the battle is the real battle strength...~ Zhao Xi is not sure.
Therefore, he is more worried about the army's outbound battle than the previous battles in Dingxiang and Xinxian...
There is another point that Mr. Zhengshitang also took into consideration, that is, the rewards before the army leaves the border...~ They are worried about repeating the mistakes of Taizong.
The carriages transporting military supplies in Gongfang City also brought the rewards of this victory in the siege.
"Prime Minister Wen, the Privy Council has ordered that the new troops from Chengdu Prefecture be mobilized to the south of the Yangtze River and move northward. Chengdu Prefecture will assist Qinzhou and defend the area around Qingqing, and Jiangnan Province will assist Hebei Province in defense..."
Really stretched thin! Zhao Xi is helpless. He has an army of 500,000 people idle, but he neither dares nor allows it to go to the front line... He is worried that such veterans of the Forbidden Army will cause the entire defense line to fester.
They have no fighting power, no courage, let alone the thoughts of family, country and world, and they don't even have any sense of shame.
Now, among the entire border garrison, 10% of the Forbidden Army is included, which is the maximum number. Zhao Xi does not dare to take any more risks.
"Your Majesty, with the great victory in the Battle of Yanmen, do Liao and Xia still have the intention to invade the south?"
Fu Bi was confused, and all the ministers were also confused.
The initial delay in meeting the envoys and the strong rejection of the envoys were based on the victory in the encirclement and suppression campaign, which could deter Liaoxia from easily launching troops to invade the south.
Now we have a great victory over the Song Dynasty, and nearly 100,000 Liao-Xia allied troops are besieging Xin County. Why do we need to mobilize troops again?
"I remember that when we made strategic arrangements, we once analyzed the so-called Liao-Xia coalition forces...that is, the forces that were thrown out were to serve the internal rule of Liao-Xia. Of course, we do not deny that these troops have tried to test our Song Dynasty.
The purpose of military power.”
"Now, whether it is the so-called killing with a borrowed knife or testing the military strength, it can be regarded as having results, and it cannot really hurt the Northern Liao and Xixia."
"If our army stops at Yanmen Pass and continues to be on the defensive, I think Liaoxia will not have any intention of disturbing the border. But now our army is heading north, intending to regain Yunzhou, Yingzhou, Shuozhou, not to mention Xixia, and Northern Liao will definitely not
It will be ignored.”
"The first initiator of this Liao-Xia alliance must be Xixia. Once our army goes north, it is inevitable that Northern Liao will send troops, and Xixia will also have to send troops for this alliance..."
This is the result deduced by Zhao Xi and Di Qing. Once the north leaves Yanmen, Beiliao will definitely send troops...
After Zhao Xi finished speaking, the princes once again gathered in front of the sand table...
"I'm afraid what your majesty said will be true. The Liao troops on Xijing Road have entered the pass, and the entire Xijing Road is empty. If the Bei Liao want to solve the crisis in Yunzhou, they can only try to encircle Wei and save Zhao."
"Your Majesty, the departure of our army should be delayed. We must wait until the new army from the south of the Yangtze River and the north of Chengdu are in place before we can launch the battle to regain Yunzhou!"
Han Qi had been in Hebei Province for a long time and knew the situation in Hebei Province best. After understanding what the officials said was possible, he directly changed from the original radical to conservative.
Once Hebei Road is lost, it will never be comparable to Yanmen Pass. It will really be a disaster for the country...
"Your Majesty, before the war, we had suggested transferring troops from the south to the north, but your Majesty rejected it. Since your Majesty has considered it, how can you avoid such a big thing?"
It's rare for Wen Yanbo to be so outspoken.
"Kuanfu, when Yanmen Pass was lost and soldiers from the south moved north, the impact was very different whether it was in the court or in the market. If you are not careful, it may lead to great turmoil in the entire country."
"Now that the southern troops are marching northward, it is a battle to expand the results of the battle for the market and the court. But when the southern troops marched northward, it was a sign of cowardice and a lack of confidence in Yanmen Pass. The results were very different."
"Moreover, the track between the country and the dynasty connects all the states. The effectiveness of the current troop deployment is the same as that of the original troop deployment. There is no urgency or exhausted troops. The officials and veterans have communicated about this matter. It is not the official's fault and has not been ignored.
It was my suggestion, Fu Bi, to discuss it in the Political Affairs Hall."
"Everyone, the country has been at war for decades, and only in the past ten years has there been a great victory over the Xixia. As for the Northern Liao, the court and the princes must have no idea of victory."
"You should know what kind of chaos the court and officials would have had if we had mobilized our troops to the north. The chaos before the war was not conducive to the frontline war."
Zhao Xi did talk about this matter with Fu Bi at the beginning, but he was not sure whether he should discuss the possible situation in the council hall.
His original intention was not to tell because he didn't believe in the firmness of the husband-in-law. But it was not advisable to hide everything from the husband-in-law, so he thought of using Fu Bi as a shield.
But I didn’t expect that Fu Bi was also strongly opposed to it at the beginning...~
"The whole border war has returned to the worst outcome originally envisioned..."
Wang Anshi's words represent the thoughts of all the ministers in Zhengshitang. They are not alarmist, but facts.
Starting a war on all fronts would definitely be quite difficult for the country and the DPRK. Even a slight accident may lead to the collapse of all fronts...~
"Your Majesty, please appease Qinzhou!"
Han Jiang felt that he needed to step forward. Regardless of whether he knew the military affairs or not, his coming out of Qinzhou would help control the situation on Qinzhou's defense line... The generals on the entire defense line against Xixia were not under each other, and no one could control the situation.
"No need! My suggestion: shrink the entire defense line facing Xixia, abandon all border villages with less than a thousand people, and I will retreat to the border for a hundred miles!"
"Your Majesty, no!"
"Your Majesty, you must not do this!"
…
Before Zhao Xi finished speaking, the ministers interrupted.
"Everyone, please be patient and wait for the officials to clarify!"
Fu Bi did not believe that the officials would compromise, let alone that they would go back on their word.
Just like the fall of Yanmen Pass, facing Xixia's retreat may not be without profound meaning.
"When Xixia sent troops to Yanmen, it was Xixia who encouraged Northern Liao, but now Liaoxia's harassment of the border is caused by Northern Liao forcing Xixia. There is a big difference between the two!"
Zhao Xi paused...
"Your Majesty's intention is to break the Liao-Xia Alliance as the entry point to break the border crisis?"
As long as you follow the official's thinking, it is not difficult to understand what the official is referring to...
"If so, the imperial court should send envoys to Xixia..."
"Order the Yanmen army to release the Xixia prisoners, and at the same time shout to the Xixia soldiers who are surrounded in Xin County...~"
"Withdraw the garrison at Dutingxi Station and let the Xixia envoys leave..."
"Resume the market for Xixia, open the border with Xixia, and allow merchants to pass..."
Political officials may not really understand pure military matters, but when it comes to playing this trick called strategy, all of them are really elites.
There was no need for Zhao Xi to inspire the whole group of people. With just a few words from you and me, the entire plan was quickly completed.