Liu Ji sat on the train, watching the trees outside the window running back, frowned and silent. As the main war faction in the court gained the upper hand, the dispatch of troops to the Khitan officially began. The first person to bear the brunt was Liu Ji's troops. He boarded the train from the volcanic army and the army came east.

The railway has been built to Dingzhou, and I don’t know if it can be built to Xiongzhou by the end of the year. If the railway is completed, several military important places will be arranged along the railway, and the Khitan cavalry will not be afraid of coming. Faced with the Song army that can move quickly along the railway, the Khitan cavalry will be restricted.

In late July, the summer weather has subsided and the weather has cooled down. The corn in the fields outside is already ripe and yellow, waiting for harvest. This is the most important grain north of the Yellow River, much more common than wheat.

When we arrived in Dingzhou, we had to get off the train a few times, arrange the army, and go to see Wang Su, the governor of Dingzhou.

Wang Su welcomed Liu Ji into the government office, each of them sat down, invited tea, and said, "The Taiwei is here! It's already July, and it's winter, and the officials in Dingzhou are worried. Because the court took in the people fleeing south, the magistrate of Zhuozhou of Khitan was very loud and threatened that if they did not return the people fleeing south, they would bring their own troops to take them in winter."

Liu Jidao: "There are heavy troops stationed in Dingzhou, why should the magistrate worry?"

Wang Su sighed: "Now, the Imperial Army is trained, and the Hebei garrison knows that they are being trained, and people are in panic and cannot rely on it."

Liu Ji nodded and didn't say anything. In fact, it was not just Hebei Road, but also the imperial guards in other parts of the country, including Hedong Road, which had just left. Knowing that he would be trained, these imperial guards were all calculating their own little plans, and people's hearts had already dispersed.

After introducing the recent military information, Wang Su said: "The Taiwei is here to be stationed in Hejian Mansion, but I don't know where his troops are stationed?"

Liu Jidao: "Before Zhang Ji's army came, they were arranged in Dingzhou, Baozhou, Xiongzhou, and prevent the Khitan from coming to the south. If Zhang Ji's army arrived, they would hand over these places to his troops and I would lead my troops to Hejian Prefecture."

Wang Su nodded and felt a little calm. Dingzhou was originally garrisoned by Dou Shunqing's army, but it was only recently that many of his army's troops were seconded to build railways, so they could only be handed over to other troops to garrison. In the autumn, Dou Shunqing's army would renovate and garrison here.

Liu Jidao: "The most important thing for the army is food and grass. The railway has been built to Dingzhou, so there is no need to worry about it here. However, Baozhou and Xiongzhou need local help to transport grain. This matter is the most important thing, so don't be careless."

Wang Su said: "The Grand Marshal doesn't have to worry. I have re-arranged the original local imperial guards. Then they will transport grain without urging the civil servants, which is very convenient. There is no shortage of money and grain on Hebei Road. In recent years, the imperial court has reduced taxes and a large amount of grain was transported from the Central Plains. Xiongzhou and Baozhou can be transported from Dingzhou. As for Hejian Prefecture, there is a lot of grain stored there, so there is no need to transport it out."

At this time, there were many rivers on Hebei Road, and grain could be transported by water except railways. The most important thing was dispatching, not insufficient. Now the Privy Council has set up a logistics department, and Li Fugui has unified dispatching, so he is not worried about lack of it.

Apart from a few gossips, Wang Su held a banquet for Liu Ji and stayed in Dingzhou for two days. Liu Ji's troops were transported by rail for more than ten days before they gathered in Baozhou. Liu Ji sent generals to various places, and he went to Xiongzhou himself.

In the north of Baozhou, Xiongzhou and Bazhou, because it was a Khitan, it was a military important place, many armies were set up, such as the Guangxin Army, the Ansu Army, the Baoding Army, etc., most of which were small and just a legitimate way. The military arrangements in this area were the previous pattern and needed to be re-planned.

When they arrived in Xiongzhou, Liu Ji and Ma Huaide met.

Ma Huaide said: "Xiongzhou is the post road where the Khitan and the dynasty traveled. It was only one Juma River, and there were many households with two households, which was the most troublesome. This year, the Khitans launched a war, and hundreds of households came to the south. According to the arrangements of the court, I settled hundreds of people south of the Nanyishui River. The Khitans were not angry. In the past few months, they have come to ask about this matter and asked us to return the people. How can we return it to them? Therefore, both sides are extremely nervous."

Liu Jidao: "According to the magistrate, will the Khitan go south in winter?"

Ma Huaide said: "It seems that the Khitans did not collect their troops, so it is impossible to go south on a large scale. However, the Khitans in several states opposite had tens of thousands of soldiers and 10,000 or 20,000 people were drawn, and it was possible to suddenly enter the country."

Liu Jidao: "Ten or 20,000 people are useless, why do the Khitans dare to come?"

Ma Huaide shook his head: "Taiwei, the two countries have been along the border for thousands of miles, and 10,000 or 20,000 people are looking for a gap in our weak defense. How can they block it? They don't go deeper, but just enter the country and go back in one or two days. What if they do?"

Liu Ji nodded, understanding a little. The Song Dynasty had no intelligence collection ability in the Khitan territory. The Khitans had no ability to collect intelligence in the territory of Khitans, and they knew nothing about it. What they were going to do was even more unclear. As long as they found a few miles of unguarded breakthroughs and suddenly headed south, the Song people had no choice. When they were dispatching troops here, the Khitans would have gone back long ago. This kind of thing had been done before. There were thousands or tens or 20,000 people, and suddenly went south in winter and entered the Song territory for twenty or thirty miles. The Song Dynasty had not many people along the border, so they received news and mobilized troops. A few days later, the Khitans had already robbed the neighborhood and returned to the border. Later, there was a lawsuit, and the Khitans accompanied them to fight.

Ma Huaide said: "What we worry most now is this matter. Our troops stationed in the city are relatively scattered. Ten thousand Khitans came, and one of them could not handle it, so they could only let them do whatever they wanted. When we mobilize the troops, they will go back."

Liu Ji said: "It's okay, I won't disassemble my troops, and there are at least a few thousand people in each unit. The Khitans come and fight directly."

Ma Huaide said: "It's not just that. The Khitans are all cavalry, and they don't enter the country deep, only twenty or thirty miles. When we send troops, they get the news and turn around and return to the border, which is still difficult to deal with."

Liu Ji said: "If the Khitans dare to come, we dare to go. They can cross the border, can't we?"

Ma Huaide sighed: "That would be a big deal. Without the Privy Council's promulgation, how could the local officials dare to make decisions?"

Crossing the enemy's border is equivalent to fighting between the two countries, and the matter will be serious. The local officials on Hebei Road certainly do not have such power and must wait for the approval of the Privy Council. It is so far away from the capital, and when the Privy Council decides, the Khitans will no longer be seen.

After hearing what Ma Huaide said, Liu Ji felt that he was too immense. The Khitans' invasion in depth and not in-depth methods really made people scratch their heads. In the past, there were even local officials who knew that the Khitans had come, but pretended not to know and just hoped that things would be over. Like this year, it was almost certain that the Khitans would definitely come south, and Ma Huaide could not cope with it, which was the most depressed.

Liu Jidao: "The magistrate doesn't have to worry. My tens of thousands of troops are here, and there is always a way to curb the Khitans. What's important now is where my troops are stationed and how food and grass are transported. When the army is stationed, we must first ensure that the money and food are worry-free."

Ma Huaide said: "A few days ago, the Privy Council had a document coming, saying that it was the troops in Xiongzhou, and the grain and grass were transported by railways. In the south, the grain and grass were used by the Hejian Prefecture, and it was transported by someone. The Taiwei did not have to worry. It was still easy to supply tens of thousands of troops on dozens of states in Hebei."
Chapter completed!