In the Privy Council, Du Zhongxiao put down his official documents and said, "The battle in Xiongzhou has been completed. Liu Ji and Zhang Ji reported to him and captured the Khitan commander Yelu Fonu, with a total of more than 1,300 people. In addition, nearly 8,000 Khitans were killed in this battle, which was a great victory."

Tian Kuang said: "Nearly 8,000 people were shot dead, and only more than 1,000 were captured. Why are there so few prisoners?"

Du Zhongxiao said: "This battle is at night, and there must be many people who die, and it's not surprising."

Fu Bi said: "Ninety thousand people were wiped out in one battle, and the Khitan would not give up. Some of them will be busy in the next days."

In fact, normally, even if the Khitan passes through the border, the Song army should be prepared early and scare the Khitans. This time, Du Zhongxiao deliberately asked Liu Ji to prepare early and wipe out the Khitan army, which was suspected of deliberately provoking trouble.

Du Zhongxiao has been under great pressure until now when the imperial guards were reorganized. After the Dangxiang was destroyed, the Song Dynasty had no military threats, and there were loud voices among the court officials to demand stability. Although it was a righteous act of unification of the world, although with the support of the emperor, he could not convince the entire court to be prepared for war. If he wanted to eliminate the differences, the best way was to fight.

This time, all the Khitans who crossed the border must be eliminated. Du Zhongxiao deliberately. If the Khitans do not fight, they will lose the initiative in dealing with the Song Dynasty, and the situation on the entire border will be dissolved. Once the Khitans prepare for war, they can use this to calm the discussion on the training of the imperial guards.

After receiving the front-line battle report, several Privy Councillors and deputy lieutenants discussed the next action.

Zhang Sheng said: "After this battle, the Khitan will send people to negotiate. How should the court respond?"

Du Zhongxiao said: "This battle was in Xiongzhou. From beginning to end, none of our troops crossed the border. What are you good to respond to? The Khitans crossed the border for no reason, which is equivalent to an invasion. We should ask the Khitans for guilt."

Tian Kuang shook his head: "How can things be that simple? After all, the Khitan has lost nearly 10,000 people and will not give up."

After a while of silence, Zeng Gongliang said: "Now in the twelfth lunar month, there are nearly two months left before spring. Do you think that after this battle, will the Khitan gather troops in Youzhou and go south to Hebei? There are only 150,000 troops trained on Hebei Road. It is still early to start a war with the Khitan."

Du Zhongxiao said: "Liu Ji has built a military academy in Hejian Prefecture, and the imperial guards on Hebei Road can be trained. If the Khitan wants to start a large-scale war, they have to wait until next year. We should speed up the time and we should be able to train enough troops."

After hearing this, the others shook their heads and did not speak for a while. Without sufficient training, the imperial guards after the training could only be like Di Qing's troops when the Dangxiang was destroyed. Although they could fight, they had many problems. Moreover, they were inconvenient to command, which was not a good thing for the court.

Looking at everyone, Du Zhongxiao sighed: "It has been more than half a year since the entire army was reorganized. Do you know that? The further you go, the more unsatisfactory the officers taught in the military academy are. Although it is much stricter than before, the atmosphere in the army really makes people shake their heads."

Tian Kuang said: "What are the ways? The contents of military academy are all about, and as long as you are careful, you can always learn it. Nowadays, most of the generals or those who have joined the army for generations. These people are always more difficult to manage than those newly recruited by the people."

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "In fact, you either learn well in a military academy or a good general. A true good general should have grown up in war. If you don't fight, the military academy cannot cure the imperial guards. Since the late Tang Dynasty, soldiers have been the generals, and the army has not considered the sufferings of the people in the world. How can we do it by relying on several military academies? "

After hearing this, Tian Kuang was silent for a while and asked, "What the Taiwei meant is to change the army during the Khitan war?"

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "Yes, that's right. Now the world is rich in money and food, and the army is in full swing. The morale of the army is booming. If you don't have to wait for the battle, what time will you wait? It's nothing to finish all the training for a while, and go to the battlefield. A true general can always stand out on the battlefield. A military academy alone cannot select generals."

Tian Kuang thought for a while and shook his head: "The Taiwei, because there is war, there is an army. He cannot provoke war for the training of the army. If he starts a war with the Khitan for the training of the army, I am forbidden to agree, I cannot agree."

Du Zhongxiao looked at Tian Kuang and said nothing for a moment. Tian Kuang said it well, without war, there is no need to have an army. But the question is, that's it, but will there be no war in the world? Even without Khitan, there will be other tribes on the grassland. As long as the imperial army is weak, the grassland army will inevitably go south, and there is no luck to imagine. In this sense, it is normal to provoke a war for a great power in order to train the army and change the face of the army. For Du Zhongxiao, there is no military merit bonus, and the current military merit is enough.

He must have started a war with the Khitan, and the faster the better. After Du Zhongxiao entered the Privy Council, he felt stronger and stronger. He trained a military force in Suizhou for several years and trained an army of more than 30,000 people. It is a coincidence that he has achieved today, and it is very amazing. Now, the army he led at that time is slowly infiltrating into the huge imperial guards. It is impossible to change the 800,000 imperial guards with these more than 30,000 people.

When the military academy was built, the generals of the imperial guards did not take it seriously at the beginning. For a while, even if they were illiterate, they could graduate from the military academy. Now the emperor attached great importance to it. The Privy Council has been strictly managed and the military academy is better than before. But it was only better, but it was not completely changed. So what if it was strict? In the past, many generals were illiterate, but because it was popular, it was useless to learn literacy in the military. Now, to graduate from the military academy, you have to learn more. There are also many such people in the generals. During this period, the generals of the imperial guards gradually adapted.

The military academy is changing the imperial guards that enter, and the imperial guards that enter are also changing the military academy. Du Zhongxiao estimated that in just two or three years, he would not recognize the military academy he had set up. What is the solution? Du Zhongxiao knew that this was not good, but he could not change it.

More than 800,000 imperial guards have their own style and their habits, which cannot be changed by forcibly teaching. The Song Dynasty was established for a hundred years, and if it were added to the late Tang and Five Dynasties, too many families had become accustomed to living in the army. Even if other ways were provided, they were unwilling to go, but were willing to change themselves and continue to stay in the army. If they did not fight, it would be a big battle, and this situation would be difficult to change.

Seeing the two Privy Councilors disagree with each other, Fu Bi said: "Now in the battle of Xiongzhou, there are so many tens of thousands of Khitans. This battle has been fought, and the Khitans will not give up. What we think about is how to deal with the Khitans."

Tian Kuang said: "The Khitans come across the border and just blame them for nothing. The captured Khitans can be returned and they will be strictly controlled!"

Du Zhongxiao shook his head: "If you win a battle ahead, you must not lose the merits of the soldiers. It is not a day since the Khitan crossed the border, and it was often the case before. During the Qingli period, the Khitan threatened to go south and demanded the land of the pass. Have you forgotten? In the end, the annual quota was increased. The barbarians feared their power but did not have virtue. If they did not fight, they would be able to settle the border. "

Tian Kuang said: "The Grand Marshal thought, what should I do?"

Du Zhongxiao said: "Xingwen Khitan severely denounced them for going south this time. If compensation is not given, the prisoners will be severely punished!"
Chapter completed!