Fu Song

Chapter 42
Xiao Ding was finally invited into Cui Ang's small room.

At this time, Zheng Xiong, the prefect of Huazhou, did not know where to go.

Don't look at Zheng Xiong as the prefect of a state, but in front of Cui Ang, it's still not enough.Even in Cui Ang's eyes, the current Zheng Xiong may not be as important as Xiao Ding.

After seeing the ceremony, Xiao Ding sat upright on the chair. After glancing at Cui Ang, his eyelids drooped slightly, and he put his hands on his knees, maintaining a respectful attitude.

He knew Cui Ang.

Known since childhood.

But Cui Ang at that time was a kind elder to them.The relationship between them is the relationship between children and nephews and elders, but now, they are the relationship between superiors and subordinates, the relationship between privy and control.

That is quite different.

"Back then in Bianliang, you and Erlang were both well-known stray children, but in just a few years, you have achieved fame, gained fame, and made a big career." A very calm young general, Cui Ang couldn't help sighing. "It seems that the military is indeed a good place to train people. Erlang should have been sent to the military for training."

To be honest, he was somewhat envious of Xiao Yu.

Look at the two sons of the Xiao family.

The eldest son, relying on his military exploits, is already a senior officer, and his reputation has entered the ears of officials.

The second son was also well-known in Bianliang. According to Master Cen, the fame of raising a person to be a scholar should not be a problem.

It is impossible to say that in another ten or twenty years, the Xiao family will inevitably rise again, while his own family will decline with his resignation.

They are all the sons of others!

The eldest son is already old, and he has come to the end of being a state governor in his life, but the second son still has infinite possibilities.

Probably because the former friend's success has stimulated Cui Jin now. This kid has finally started to change his mind in the past two years, and he looks a bit like.

This time, he has the cheek to ask the official family for this position. With his own care, if he strives a little more, maybe he will be able to come first, and in the future, he will still be able to sit on the head of Xiao Ding and Xiao Changqing in front of him and rebuke Fang Qiu. .

Hearing Cui Ang's praise, Xiao Ding murmured slightly, and said, "The clergyman is wrong, and the subordinates have made a little credit, but it is only because the superiors have appeasement and commanders, and the subordinates have their soldiers to use their lives. I have been with the Privy Council for a long time, and I have the Privy Council's ear to help me, and my growth is not comparable to fighting on the front line under my post. Ziyu is far smarter than me, and his future achievements are limitless."

Cui Ang smiled, but he didn't seem to hear the difference between Xiao Ding's title and nodded: "My father and I naturally hope that both of you can grow up. Speaking of which, before I left Beijing this time, I paid special attention to it. The one who entertained your father, I hope he can look at the friendship of our generations, and tilt more towards Hebei Road in terms of financial planning!"

"My father is an upright man, and he must take state affairs as the top priority, and he never dares to misunderstand the secret affairs!" Xiao Ding answered without any leakage.

"That's true. I can trust your father's behavior." Cui Ang nodded and said, "Changqing, what is going on in the north now? You can tell me in detail. It's much more detailed and accurate than the reports. Liao people, are they still so rampant now? Didn't you kill that Abohe again a few days ago?"

Xiao Ding took a deep breath and calmed down.The family chat is over, and the next step is the normal response between superiors and subordinates. As a front-line general, he certainly has the responsibility to let the incoming appeasement envoy understand the real border situation.

"Privacy, above the border, it is generally calm. Conflicts involving thousands of people like a few months ago are actually extremely rare, and after this happened, the high-level negotiation between the two sides can be regarded as smoothing. If this matter is resolved, it will not cause a full-scale war between the two sides." Xiao Ding said.

"But this war was provoked by the Liao people and broke out in our Song Dynasty." Cui Ang said with some dissatisfaction.

"The privy said it right. So in the end, we killed more than a hundred Liao people and defeated the opponent's main force. The opponent also had nothing to say. In order to give us an explanation, we also replaced the general garrison Yeluhu in front." Xiao Ding said: "In this way Come, we have all the face, so it's not good to say anything more."

Cui Ang naturally heard the meaning of the other party's words.

"So, in fact, the Liao people still have the upper hand in terms of military power, right?"

"I can't say that." Xiao Ding shook his head and said, "It's because the two sides have different ways of fighting, so we have different ways of coping. The Liao people have more cavalry, they are more mobile, and all the people are soldiers, and they can organize at any time. A considerable number of troops and horses are launched to attack everywhere. Compared with the Liao people, we mainly focus on infantry, and form a defensive chain with fortresses, etc., and then look for opportunities to destroy the enemy.

"It's the Liao people who took the initiative!" Cui Ang said disapprovingly: "In the past few years, the imperial court has invested heavily every year to build cavalry in northern Xinjiang."

Xiao Ding said carefully: "Yes, but we absolutely cannot use cavalry to confront the Liao people head-on. This is because of our own shortcomings and the strength of the enemy. In the northern border, cavalry is more used for Scouts, auxiliary operations such as protection of food routes, and head-to-head confrontation must still be dominated by infantry."

"In a short period of time, you can't use horses to control the enemy?" Cui Ang asked: "During the Han Dynasty, Wei Huo, the second general, organized a huge cavalry team to defeat the Huns and almost died. The Song Dynasty was rich and prosperous, far surpassing the Han and Tang Dynasties."

"My Song Dynasty lacks a place to raise horses, and war horses are rare." Xiao Ding said directly: "If you want to organize a large-scale cavalry team, you must first obtain a place to raise horses. Even if we have war horses in the future, The last general also does not recommend organizing a large-scale cavalry, a qualified cavalry requires years of work."

"If that's the case, why do we have to have a place to raise horses?"

"Privy, if there are a large number of horses, even if they are not war horses, we can greatly enhance the mobility of our soldiers." Xiao Ding explained: "When marching, the soldiers have horses to ride on, and when fighting, the soldiers dismount. The formation is still mainly based on foot warfare, so you can make use of your strengths and avoid weaknesses. Then, you can choose good cavalrymen from the army and form a real cavalry force. It doesn't need much, as long as you can make a fatal blow at a critical moment. "

"Infantry riding on a horse, your proposal is ingenious!" Cui Ang laughed.

"If we want to take the initiative to attack Beiliao and try to recover Youyan, what are your best strategies?" Cui Ang asked directly.

Xiao Ding was stunned, he really hadn't thought about this question.

Above the border, Da Song has always been on the defensive, which is also due to the strength of both sides.In the past few years in northern Xinjiang, Zhao Zhe has vigorously rectified the military, but he has tried his best to get rid of some drawbacks in the past, and strive to make the army more adept at fighting. That's it.

It is precisely because of this that in the past two years above the border, it was possible to repeatedly defeat the invading Liao army, making the border gradually calm. As for the counterattack of the Liao border and the recovery of Youyan, to be honest, Xiao Ding never thought about it, he believed. , Zhao Zhe has not thought about this issue now.

Seeing that Xiao Ding was silent, Cui Ang asked impatiently, "So, do you think now is not the time?"

Xiao Ding nodded honestly: "Back to the Privy Council, that's exactly what happened."

"Then, when do you think it's a good opportunity?"

"If you want to expedition the Liao Kingdom in the north, it is not feasible to only rely on the people along the Hebei Road." Xiao Ding said: "If you really want to do it, you must use the strength of the whole country. , from the perspective of the ordnance reserve, it is not enough to support a major war."

"What has His Royal Highness King Jing done on Hebei Road in the past few years?" Cui Ang said dissatisfiedly: "Is it possible that some ponds have been dug?"

Xiao Ding glanced at each other and lowered his head again.

The privy envoy publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with King Jing, what can he say, and can he defend King Jing?
In the two years that Zhao Zhe went to Hebei Road, he first made great efforts to rectify his personnel. Just this, I don't know how much energy was involved.It is inevitable to have someone in advance.After these things are settled, then we can spare our hands to build these facilities on the border, and each of these items will cost a lot of money.

Rectifying personnel affairs is not like pruning a tree, using scissors to cut all the branches and forks that cannot be seen clearly, and all involved are money, material and huge interests.

And those military villages, ponds, and trees are nothing to look at, but they are actually huge amounts of money when they are actually operated.

However, although the investment is large, since last year, it has finally begun to receive results.

"Changqing, you and I are an aristocratic family, and you have a relationship with Ziyu. Today, we will not speak as a privy envoy and ruler. You only speak the truth as a junior in the family. Land, how long will it take?"

Xiao Ding was stunned. After a long while, he gritted his teeth and said: "His Royal Highness Jing has already laid the foundation. If the strategy set by His Royal Highness is above the strategy set by His Royal Highness, we will use the power of the whole country, gather together in ten years, and gather more than [-] soldiers and horses. To fight."

Cui Ang looked at Xiao Ding, and nodded after a while: "I understand what you mean."

Xiao Ding lowered his head, knowing that what he said was definitely not in line with the meaning of Cui Shumi in front of him, but he didn't feel that he was wrong. A major event must not be fooled. One wrong decision could cost thousands of lives.

Seeing that the room was cold, Xiao Ding stood up, bowed and said, "Privacy, I will retire at the end."

At this time, Cui Ang reacted and said, "I will hold a banquet tonight, you can bring those sergeants under your command along with them. The front-line killings are all heroes. I, the soon-to-be appeasement envoy, also They must be rewarded."

(End of this chapter)