Three days later, Liu Ji led his troops to the Xingzhong Prefecture and attacked Liaoyang Prefecture. This is the Khitan official road, which is very easy to walk on. Some of the cities on the road have surrendered, and there are not many garrisons. The possible battles are mainly in Liaoyang Prefecture.

Du Zhongxiao thought about it again and again, and finally decided to let Li Fugui come to Dading Prefecture and organize logistics. He and Wang Kai and Jia Kui led a 100,000 army to attack Linhuang Prefecture. This trip was heading north, with fewer and fewer farming and more nomadic people, and logistics was extremely important.

In the house where Du Zhongxiao sat in the middle, on one side were Zhao Zi and Li Fugui, and on the other side were Wang Kai and Jia Kui.

Du Zhongxiao said: "I have prepared for a few days and it is almost done. I will set off tomorrow. When I go to Linhuang Mansion, the population is gradually sparse and there are more and more nomadic people. It is not as easy as replenishing food here in Dading Mansion. Our 100,000 army transports grain with 50,000 people and fights. This number is not enough to transport grain. I can only go forward while sending Khitan reserves. This trip north, and there are many Khitan military prefectures passing by Enzhou, Gaozhou and other places. They should have reserves there, so I can only use it first."

Zhao Zi said: "Linhuang Mansion was the place where the Khitans started. It has been in operation for many years and has accumulated a lot of storage. The Taiwei led the army to plow the courtyard and sweep the caves. There should be no shortage of food and grass within a few months. After a few months, the food and grass transported from the Central Plains should also arrive."

Du Zhongxiao nodded and said, "Yes, if you really want to occupy these places, you still have to rely on the support of the Central Plains food and grass. Without the support of the Central Plains, this area cannot be stationed in large armies. After a long time, it will eventually be occupied by nomads from further north. It is not easy to occupy this place steadily."

The stability of the northern border is due to the strength of the Central Plains. If the Central Plains region weakens, it will soon be lost. To the north of Yanshan Mountain, between Dading Prefecture and Linhuang Prefecture, there is a mixed area of ​​agriculture and pastoralism for hundreds of miles. Then to the north, there are vast grasslands. Once the Central Plains weakens, there will always be nomadic peoples from the grassland to occupy the south. Using this as a springboard, we continue to go south to attack the Central Plains.

These areas that are both suitable for agriculture and animal husbandry are barriers to the defense of the Central Plains. Once occupied by foreign races, the Central Plains will be very dangerous. From Hequ Road to the west to the two Khitan capitals here, it is a key area for the Central Plains to defend their own safety. When the activity areas of the northern nomadic peoples are mainly in the Western Regions, Hequ Road is the most important. When the activity areas of the nomadic peoples move eastward, the area between Dading Prefecture and Linhuang Prefecture is the most important.

These places cannot be achieved by immigrants, assimilation and other methods. They must have strong hinterland support. The Central Plains are strong and will inevitably occupy this place. When the Central Plains are weak, many ethnic groups in the north, northwest and northeast will eventually form a powerful power. Once this powerful power is occupied, it will have a springboard to enter the Central Plains. If the Central Plains cannot be strong, they will be ravaged by it.

These places are places where troops are used. For the Central Plains, the cost of using troops here is very huge. Once the here is occupied, the surrounding tribes are not worth worrying about and can be easily eliminated.

Last year, the Song army destroyed the Khitan's vital power, and this year it was possible to move north easily. Without the victory of the Youzhou Battle, it would take at least hundreds of thousands of troops to fight here. How huge logistical power is needed to support it? The wealthy Central Plains, the power projected here has been greatly reduced. This is the real frontier of the Central Plains Empire, and it must have strong national strength to preserve it.

Du Zhongxiao led an army of 150,000 this time. It was not until today that after occupying Dading Prefecture for six days, Wang Kai and Jia Kui's troops arrived. The grain transport team organized by Li Fugui had just arrived for the first time. If it was a army of 400,000, in order to ensure their logistics, the entire Yangtze River would have to be affected. More than 100 states were occupied, and the people would have to serve in the service.

Highways and railways are underdeveloped, and there are no cars and trains. Distance is a helpless thing. In order to overcome the difficulties of distance, foreign war troops should be as few as possible and the teams transporting grain should be as many as possible. In a war, there may be only tens of thousands of soldiers in the front, and more than one million people transporting grain in the rear.

Between Dading Prefecture and Linhuang Prefecture, it was the area where the Khitan had the longest-running operation, and it was particularly attentive. Even so, Du Zhongxiao's 100,000 troops could not be used to the enemy because the robbery was not enough. To ensure supply, the army must be dispersed and the number of people was lost. At this time, the organizational advantages of the nomadic people were revealed. You cannot seize the main force and give it a fatal blow, and the army will be dragged to death sooner or later.

Sighing, Du Zhongxiao said, "We are dealing with the Khitan this time. We have been in the country for a long time. There is a Linhuang Mansion to go north. The Khitan army and people can run away, but the Linhuang Mansion cannot. If not, our 100,000 army has arrived on the vast grassland and I really don't know how to fight."

Zhao Zi said: "What the Taiwei said is that all dynasties have been working hard in these border areas. So what? When the national strength is strong, the Hu people were beaten to the north. Once the national strength is weak, they will make a comeback. What can I do?"

Wang Kai said: "It's different now. We occupied Linhuang Mansion and built a railway from the Central Plains, so the Hu people had no choice."

Du Zhongxiao nodded with a smile: "It's right. As long as a railway is built, the Hu people will have no choice. As long as there is enough food and grass, no matter how weak the military power of the Central Plains is, it is no problem to eliminate the Hu people around them. The Hu people must start from the depths of the grassland. When they arrive here, they will be filled with unknown amounts of manpower and material resources, and then move southward and join the Han forces who join the Hu people, which will be difficult to stop them. When the train arrives at Linhuang Mansion, no matter how strong the Hu people are, they will not form much power there. The Central Plains can even pile up people to death with manpower."

Wang Kai and others didn't understand, how could Du Zhongxiao not understand? The Song Dynasty was the first time in Chinese history. The entire Central Plains dynasty was destroyed by the nomadic forces in the north. How did it be eliminated? The Central Plains dynasty was defeated here and it was at the end of its strength at a long distance. Isn't it the same for the Hu people to fight Jiangnan? But the problem is that when the Hu people attacked Jiangnan, they integrated the northern forces and used the Han army to attack the Han dynasty. Without the Han forces in the north, the Hu people could not beat Jiangnan even if they were exhausted.

However, when the Central Plains Dynasty was in full swing, it was possible to spend a lot of money. When it hit Linhuang Mansion, or even to the west and north, occupying the entire grassland, it would not be exhausted. After the railway was established, it would be better to build a railway and connect it.

The railway to be built is a railway that comes from Hequ, connecting the Western Regions to the west, and the east to the northeast. Du Zhongxiao's previous life, for various reasons, the railway connecting the east and west was even more south. And at that time, nomadic peoples were no longer a threat. But this railway still had great military value. The country developed and built it.

With such a railway, the threat from the north was greatly reduced. The cost of ruling the grasslands became acceptable for the Central Plains dynasty. After the Khitan was destroyed, the entire northern grasslands would be ruled by the Central Plains dynasty because of this railway.

Zhao Zi said to Li Fugui: "The Taiwei said many times that after this battle, the railway would cross the Daqingshan Mountains and build it from Hequ Road to here. With the railway, the Central Plains and the grasslands will be connected. If there is any chaos, it can be easily pacified."

Li Fugui said: "This kind of railway is expensive, so it is not easy to build it! If nothing else, where can the railway builders go? At least, it will cost more than 100,000 people. Could it be that all the soldiers are used?"

Du Zhongxiao said: "Why use the wing soldiers? After destroying the Khitan, there were hundreds of thousands of prisoners of war, and the number was enough. As long as food was supplied, wouldn't they be able to repair it well? At that time, Hequ Road was taken, and the Dangxiang prisoners were built to the Western Regions."
Chapter completed!