Kaifeng Prefecture, Qionglin Palace.

A map platform has been placed in the main hall.

Zhao Ji, an official from the Song Dynasty, circled around the map platform with a blue expression, and followed several important officials around him, all of whom were full of melancholy faces.

Wu Haode had returned to Kaifeng Prefecture a day ago, bringing back worrying news. Wu Yijiu, the head of the Zhou State, offered harsh peaceful conditions to kill the retro gentleman, and also handed over the land of Hejian and Cangzhou.

Of course such conditions are unacceptable! It’s okay to kill the six gentlemen of the retro, how is it possible to cut two roads of land? After the cutting, the Hebei Bastion defense line will no longer exist, and the Zhou army will be able to drive straight into Kaifeng Prefecture City.

Since I can't accept it, there is nothing to say, so I can only prepare to start the war. Fortunately, Dasong has some capital now.

"Your Majesty, the Hebei defense line is solid, with more than 100 bastions, and the Zhou people will never think of breaking through for ten years!"

Zhang Shuye, the head of the Privy Council, was full of confidence. Because the Song Dynasty was still prepared! Although Zhao Ji had lost his aggressive spirit over the past ten years, he still spared no expense in defense.

Moreover, the Song Dynasty and Zhou Dynasty are actually making progress together. The progress of civilization on the Chinese continent has actually started with Confucianism obtaining the "tool for investigating things". This is a series of changes caused by the rise of the empirical faction more than 20 years ago.

The original base of the empirical faction was on the land of the Song Dynasty! Therefore, the Song Dynasty was not an ancient country left behind by rapidly developing capitalism, but a country like the Zhou Dynasty and was also at the forefront of the times.

The relationship between the two countries is a bit like Prussia and Austria before the Prussia-Austria War. Although Prussia is powerful, Austria is not a backward colony. It is just that the historical burden is a bit heavy, which trips the pace of progress.

Of course, the weakness of the Song Dynasty is only relative to the Great Zhou Dynasty. With the 300,000 new troops and powerful fleet of the Song Dynasty, it is enough to defeat any powerful country except the Zhou State.

Even the Jin Kingdom, which destroyed the Northern Song Dynasty in history, is not the opponent of the Song Dynasty's new army at all. The Jin army has no tricks when they meet Empress Xiao's Camel City, and of course they have to be killed when they face the Song Dynasty's new army's caravan.

Therefore, the alliance with Jin and anti-Zhou has become an optional thing now.

"Where is at sea?" Zhao Ji was not very worried about the breakthrough of Hebei's defense line. What he was really worried about was at sea.

The coastline of the Song Dynasty was very long, and the navy was still not as good as that of the Zhou Kingdom. So Zhao Ji was very worried about the Zhou Kingdom's invasion from the sea...

"Of course, Zhou State has the advantage in the sea, and their warships and cannons are better than ours."

Zhang Shuye said: "But artillery towers have been built in all important Haikous, which are enough to resist the Zhou fleet.

However, the defenders in various Haikou were limited, and non-important seaports did not build artillery barriers. Especially the coastal entrances along Jingdong East Road, except for Haizhou Jingdong Port and Mizhou Banqiao Port, they were relatively empty.

Haikou, including Dengzhou, Laizhou, Victoria, Qingzhou and other four states are the most dangerous. However, the four states and cities have been converted into bastions, each with a new general to defend it.”

Zhao Ji's eyes swept through the long coastline of the Shandong Peninsula, and he felt that there were loopholes everywhere.

But the coastline is indeed too long. The Shandong Peninsula alone is close to the Bohai Bay, and there are nearly 1,000 miles of winding winding land. Although there is only one in Dengzhou, there are many fishing ports. If you want to blockade with a bastion, at least dozens of them will be needed.

Moreover, the artillery and army field artillery owned by the Zhou Navy fleet are not of the same level as the same level. Therefore, the cost of building a coastal defense fortress is too high. If dozens of bastion fortresses are built in the northern part of the Shandong Peninsula, it will be enough to make the Song Dynasty's finances go bankrupt!

In addition, even though the Song Dynasty court built dozens of fortresses at all costs, the Zhou Navy would have given them in vain as long as it bypassed the Shandong Peninsula.

So after repeated consideration, the Song army had only four bastions in the northern part of the Shandong Peninsula, among which the Dengzhou Fortress, which controls the Dengzhou port, is the most sturdy.

"There are too few defenders in one general!" Zhao Ji said, "It increases to three, no, four generals!"

Uncle Zhang said in his night: "That's 12 generals, almost 60 battalions."

The East China Sea coast on the southern line also needs to be deployed. The official army has built a bastion in Wendeng, Rushan, Jimo and Banqiao Towns, and has also stationed a general."

"Double." Zhao Ji said.

"That is 8 generals, plus the previous 12 generals, a total of 20 generals, about 100 battalions."

Zhang Shuye frowned and settled the score, "Haizhou Jingdong Commercial City, Yuzhou Island, Lianshui Army, Tongzhou, Yangzhou, Xiuzhou, Suzhou, Changzhou, Runzhou, Jiangning Prefecture, Hangzhou, Yuezhou, Mingzhou, Taizhou, Wenzhou and other southern coastal prefectures also need to arrange defenders. If it is important, it also needs to build a bastion... It is really necessary to deploy troops everywhere!"

Zhao Ji's brows became tighter and tighter. The Song Dynasty had thousands of miles of sea border! If defenses were needed everywhere, how could a new army of 300 battalions be enough?

"Can the navy of Zhou transport troops to Jiangnan?" The young master Su Chi asked in a question as he looked at the map.

"How can't it not?" Ji Yi said, "Even Annan and Java can go, but what can't Jiangnan go?"

Zhang Shuye said: "It is difficult for ordinary land troops to go to war immediately after voyages for thousands of miles, but the Zhou Navy has the so-called Marine Corps. This army has about 10,000 people, which is extremely powerful and adapted to the wind and waves on the sea. You can travel thousands of miles and land on the shore without resting and directly landing on the shore for combat."

Ji Yi thought for a while, "then you have to set up at least one new general in the coastal states of Fujian, Jiangnan and Huainan. There must also be two or three generals on Guangnan Road, that is..."

"At least 23 generals are needed!" Zhang Shuye frowned and calculated, "Including the 20 generals placed along the coast of Jingdong East Road, there are 43 generals, at least 215 camps... not enough! Now there are 150 camps in Hebei, and Hedong, Kaifeng, Shaanxi, and Shuofang must also have elite troops.

In addition, the court also needs an elite soldier who can go to and from all over the place to reinforce. I am afraid that another 200 battalions will be needed."

Now the Song Dynasty court has 320 new troops, divided into more than 60 generals, with a total force of about 300,000!

The number is quite large, but the Zhou State can mobilize as many as 700,000 troops.

It also has maritime advantages and can land on all parts of the long coastline of the Song Dynasty.

So 300,000 new troops are obviously not enough...

"Why is it so easy to build a new army of 200 battalions?" Zong Ze, the Tongzhi Privy Council, just shook his head, "Nearly 180,000 people! Even if the soldiers can be recruited, they still have to be trained and equipped... I'm afraid we can't form an army in less than a year!"

He sighed: "The Revenge is right. Compared with Zhou State, we are just in terms of "announcement of annexation" and "governing military fields". If we can have hundreds of thousands of military households, wouldn't 180,000 new troops be at our fingertips?"

After he said this, everyone in the hall was silent.

Not to mention "suppressing mergers" and "granting military fields", hundreds of thousands of military households are not allowed to reach hundreds of millions of acres of land? Where can I get it? Even if I recruit 180,000 soldiers, it is enough to make people feel troublesome.

Now is not a peaceful era, but a wartime period! Being a soldier is life-threatening, and it is also very big!

Without a 180-yuan settlement fee, can a strong man be recruited? 180,000 strong men are 18 million... Then, at least 90,000 yuan of military pay and 10,000 stone of military rations are spent every month. They have to be equipped with armor, horses, artillery, and vehicles (the Song army mainly focuses on the car-fort tactics), and they have to be equipped with officers.

In addition, when these old soldiers set off, when they go into battle, they have to give them a reward when they fight!

200 battalions must be prepared with tens of millions of dollars at any time, otherwise there will be no time to allocate the money when things are about to come.

Zong Ze then said: "If you want to raise 180,000 Ding Zhuang, you have to prepare 20 million yuan. After the recruitment is completed, you will spend 10,000 military pay per month, and at least 10,000 shi of military rations to the battalion. Various equipment, horses and vehicles will cost 10 million yuan, and the reward will cost 10 million yuan.

In addition, the bastions must be built and warships must be built. As for, it will also cost tens of millions of dollars.

To help get rich, the court has to prepare 50 million yuan and a budget of 150,000 yuan per month."

Zhao Ji immediately looked at Ji Yi and Su Chi. Although the Song Dynasty court was rich, its expenses were extremely large, and it had been a childless deficit for almost many years. It was only possible to barely maintain the loans by raising loans in the Song Dynasty Bank in Xuzhou and the bond market in Jingdong City. Now it has to pay an additional 50 million at once, which really cost the court the life.

"Ji Qing, Su Qing, are you rich?" Zhao Ji asked Ji Yi and Su Chi.

"Yes, yes." Ji Yi said, "The court can issue bonds and raise funds. At worst, the interest rate can be increased a little, and 50 million yuan will not be a problem."

Su Chi also said: "I will go to Xuzhou immediately and find a way to raise funds with my brother. You can raise 50 million in three months!"

"Give you a month!" Zhao Ji said, "Anyway, 50 million will be raised!"

Su Chi glanced at Ji Yi, Ji Yi nodded, and then Su Chi said: "I will not be humiliating my order!"

It has to be said that the progress of the Song Dynasty was still huge! Not only were there hundreds of thousands of new troops standing on the threshold of hot weapons, but there were also a group of industrial and commercial cities that crossed the threshold of capitalism, and a financial market that could raise large amounts of funds.

Compared with the Song Dynasty in history, it is also a complete transformation, and it can even be said that it has touched some fundamentals!

Of course, this fundamental progress was achieved under the pressure of the Great Zhou Republic.

The Great Zhou Republic is a Han country, and the pressure on the Great Song Dynasty can be imagined. If the king and minister of the Great Song Dynasty dare not make progress, they will not even have the power to resist at this moment.

However, the real reform of the land system and imperial examination system in the deep waters was still stubbornly preserved. This made the Song Dynasty, which had 100 million people, become a completely weak country in front of the Zhou Dynasty with more than 10 million people.

If we say it more clearly, this "Civil War" in China is actually a war between hundreds of thousands of citizens and hundreds of thousands of scholars of the Song Dynasty.

Citizens go to fight on their own, while scholars go to the battlefield by becoming officials and collecting taxes... After a circle, their efficiency naturally declined a lot.
Chapter completed!