In the central army tent, the generals stood with helmets and armor. After these days of training, the military appearance of the Baoyi Army was already very neat, no longer as if they were a mob a few months ago. However, when Zhao Xingde talked about the rescue of Shuzhou, the generals were in an uproar.

"General Zhao, we have a lot of plans, less than 10,000 troops. The army of the state is less than 10,000 troops." Luo Xian said worriedly, "And most of them are infantry, and the two armies have only 3,000 cavalry. The Liao army has 20,000 cavalry, and Li Cheng has 30,000 to 40,000 rebels to fight for the tiger, which has a total of 50,000 or 60,000. The difference in strength and weakness is huge, how can we fight this battle?"

All the generals agreed with Luo Xianshi and were unwilling to send troops to rescue Shuzhou. On the one hand, after the Battle of Fangzhou, Zhao Xingde was worried that the generals underestimated the enemy too much. It is often said that a surprise victory cannot be relied upon, but it cannot be repeated. The first priority of the two armies in the battle was strength. Therefore, although the momentum of the Baoyi army was like a rainbow, the higher the generals, the more they dared to underestimate the Liao army. When they heard that the Liao army in Shuzhou had a large number of 50,000 or 60,000 people, they couldn't help feeling a little worried. On the other hand, the Baoyi army had been stationed in prefectures and counties near Ezhou for a long time, and this area has always been a wealthy land of fish and rice. In addition, Zhao Xingde allowed his subordinates to urge for food and food, so the supply of food and food was effective. Unconsciously, the army adapted to the local area and was unwilling to leave the garrison easily.

"Rescue Shuzhou is the decision of the Prime Minister and the Privy Councillor." In the eyes of the generals, General Zhao said with a firm expression, "There are thousands of people in the family, and one person in charge. If each does his own way, his lips will be lost and his teeth will be cold, and he will be defeated by the Liao army only in the morning and evening." Zhao Xingde sighed in his heart and said in a deep voice, "So, we must rescue Shuzhou, so Shi Commander led the two battalions of troops to stay. The others will prepare quickly. Once the food and grass of the Prime Minister's Mansion are ready, we will send troops to rescue Shuzhou."

"Does sir have any winning strategies?" Lu Mingyu asked.

Zhao Xingde pondered: "The north of Shuzhou is the rugged Dabie Mountains, and the south is the river, and the river flow is the narrowest here. There is only a narrow plain between the mountains and rivers, controlled by Shuzhou City. If there is sufficient troops, this place is indeed a place that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. On the one hand, the Liao army's cavalry cannot pass through the mountainous areas, and even Li Cheng's troops are mostly from Huaibei. They are not familiar with water wars and are easily ridden by our army on the water route. Therefore, for the Liao army, there is only

Capture Shuzhou and control the main road of this plain. On the other hand, this place is surrounded by mountains and rivers, and the surrounding terrain is complex, so it is difficult for the Liao army to intercept the continuous reinforcements. In this way, Shuzhou is indeed possible." If it persists until summer, the south is hot and humid, and the Liao army is mostly Khitans and the cavalry of the grassland barbarians, it may be difficult to adapt. The epidemic is rampant, and by then they will most likely retreat without fighting. However, Zhao Xingde was worried that the generals were lucky and did not say it.

"If there is enough troops?" Shi Jingkui pondered, "Does the lord want to recruit prefectures and counties to help defend?"

"That's true," Zhao Xingde nodded, "If Shuzhou is lost, it will not only be a loss of lips and teeth for the east and west routes of Jiangnan, but a door opening. If we can make Shuzhou a major city, we can block the water and land passages with artillery. The Liao army cannot advance westward, and our army can go downstream and reach Jiangning every night." Speaking of this, Zhao Xingde kept silent. Yue Fei was willing to risk being outnumbered and must protect Shuzhou. He did have his considerations. He wanted to use Shuzhou as a springboard to conquer Jiangning. Yue Fei was worried that it would be hundreds of times more difficult for the Liao army to recover after the consolidation of the operation of the Jianghuai River. If Jianghuai can be quickly recovered, all prefectures and counties would quickly submit. With the manpower and material resources of several routes in the southeast, the northern expedition of the Central Plains is just around the corner!

"Quick horses sent a letter to Jiangnan, Huaixi, and summoned the Yi soldiers of the prefectures and counties to carry their weapons and pack ten days of food to meet with our army in Nankang, and then went downstream to rescue Shuzhou with great fanfare." Zhao Xingde was still worried that Shuzhou would be captured by the Liao army before the reinforcements arrived. The place where the Yi soldiers of the prefectures and counties gathered were still set in Nankang, and they also meant to prepare for the second line of resistance. Since the Liao invasion invaded the south, the prefectures and counties in Huaixi and Jiangnan have been in a panic, and the governments and powerful men have trained Yi soldiers to defend the territory and defend the enemy. But it is hard to say how many of these Yi soldiers can come.

"This time, the navy is extremely important to assist Shu and fight against the Liao army. The power of the iron barrel cannon is very important. If possible," Zhao Xingde pondered, "The warships should be reinforced more. If you need iron bars, hardwood and other materials, come and tell me that I will go to the military commander's office in person." Zhao Xingde couldn't help but think of the scene where Li Sihai's warship was broken down because the shelling was too fierce and the hull could not withstand the recoil force.

"Abide by the order!" said loudly, the chief supervisor of the battleship.

The Zhenguo Army installed iron barrel cannons on river boats and opened up Xiangyang. The waterway battle was a great success. Not only did the Liao army quickly imitate it, but also installed iron barrel cannons on warships, but the Baoyi Army also installed small iron barrel cannons on the original small watercraft, which was the small Dou Ship. Zhao Xingde also asked the Junke's Mansion to buy some merchant ships that were sold at low prices due to the poor waterway of the Yangtze River. He installed several heavy iron barrel cannons on the deck, which was the big Dou Ship. The small Dou Ship can carry more than a dozen people, and the big Dou Ship cannons cannons. The Baoyi Army was originally dominated by Jingxiang watercraft, and now there are thousands of small boats, dozens of small Dou Ship, and eight big Dou Ship. However, the iron barrel cannons have a huge countershock, which is impossible for ordinary merchant ships to bear. The Dou Ship cannons are supervising the Licha. The money spent more than the money they spent on buying the ship itself.

"Sir," Shi Jingkui asked, "Can the prefectures and counties in Xiangyang and Bianliang need to be issued?" The Xiangyang and Bianliang he asked about were not a region, but a prefecture and county that regarded Xiangyang and Bianliang as orthodox prefectures and counties in Huaixi and Jiangnan. There were more than half of them. The prefectures and counties in the Song Dynasty now worshipped orthodox, with three in the three, forming a strange situation. However, under the pressure of the Liao army, the prefectures and counties did not cut off from each other. Except for their orthodox orthodox, they were also peaceful.

"Biography!" Zhao Xingde insisted on the railway, "Every man is responsible for the rise and fall of the world!"

"yes!"

The Baoyi Army was preparing to send troops in full swing, and one fast horse to send the proclamation to more than 100 prefectures and counties in Huaixi and Jiangnan. The clouds of a war enveloped the entire country and south. Since the Liao army marched south, it has been invincible. There were many cavalrymen, and the main forces of the Liao army carrying iron barrel cannons went, claiming that there was no city that could not be defeated in the Southern Dynasty for three days, and there were no invincible soldiers. The Song Dynasty's southeast camp and the Xijing camp gathered more than 100,000 troops, and with the victory of Xiangyang, they blocked the Liao army's western route north of Xiangyang. However, because the southeast was empty, the Liao army's eastern route seemed to be in an unmanned territory. Now they are even going up the river, trying to copy the retreat of the Song army in Xiangyang.

For a moment, the world was shaken. At this time, when the states and counties were in panic all day long, they suddenly received the decision of the Zhenguo Army to defend Shuzhou. Zhao Xingde summoned three groups of righteous troops to launch a large-scale east aid, preparing to gather in Nankang. The army clamored to go along the river and went to Shuzhou to fight the Liao bandits to the death. These manifestos spread throughout the country and people were cheered up.

............

"Mr. Zhao is doing it because he knows it is impossible?"

Zhang Xuji, the governor of Raozhou, received the manifesto and sighed. He was so slim, but he was not from a Jinshi. If the former governors and other officials abandoned their seals and fled, the provincial school officials would not be able to be a governor in this life. The Liao army came along Jiangxi, and Zhang Xuji had planned to wear an official robe and hold the seal of the governor, and his family burned themselves to sacrifice their country in the prefecture. After receiving the manifesto, he called his eldest son Zhang Jiurong and ordered all 800 soldiers in the wing army commanding the county to take them to Nankang.

"My father, if this army goes, there will be no more soldiers or soldiers in the city?" Zhang Jiurong hesitated. He was haggard and thin as a bamboo pole. This was because of the side effects of studying hard by his father since childhood. If other gentry were not willing to die, the errands to command the righteous army would not have fallen on him.

"The Liao bandits are powerful. If they really come to take Raozhou, what will happen to the 800-fang army? As the governor, I have the responsibility to defend the territory, and my family will live and die in Raozhou. If you come to the Nankang Army, if you have any fear and humiliate my Zhang family, you will not be the descendant of my Zhang family." Zhang Xuji smiled bitterly, stretched out his hand and stroked his beard and said, "Do it well!" He hesitated for a moment, and said, "In the future, on my monument, the 'The Great Song Dynasty' will be engraved with 'Zhang Gongxuji'."

"I understand." Zhang Jiurong's eyes were filled with tears, and he knelt down with a slight hem, and kowtowed to his father three times respectfully.

............

On the Xinzhou Post Road, a man in thick clothes was lying on the side of the road, with a few arrow feathers inserted on his forehead and chest, and his breath was gone. The horse could not linger around the owner. He held the reins of the horse, reached out to open the horse's mouth, looked carefully, and looked up and down at the horse's figure. Then he turned around and said happily: "The boss, this is a real Hexi horse, and it is not old enough. We have already made it this time."

The master of the boss was unaware of it. He looked at the dead man and said with a frown and sighed, "I killed the wrong person this time." He turned around and handed the manifesto found by the death to the military advisor, shook his head and said, "This person was sent by Mr. Zhao to summon Yi soldiers to Baozhou to fight the Liao thieves. You can also read Mr. Zhao's article." The military advisor took the letter and looked like a silly face and stuttered, "Then, master, what should we do?"

"What else can I do?" The boss stomped his feet and said regretfully, "Call the brothers in the village, I went to Nankang to apologize to Mr. Zhao." Not long after, more than a hundred people incompletely dressed in armor led a good horse and headed west along the mountain road.

............

In the yamen of Shezhou, Huang Zhongdu, the governor of Shezhou, carefully invited his aide Zhan Zhen into the inner room and took out a piece of paper from his arms to show him. After Zhan Zhen looked at it, his face changed color and said in surprise: "This Yue Fei is a crazy general. Can Chen Dong and Zhao Xingde accompany him to go crazy? How can Shuzhou be defended? Not to mention the Liao soldiers, Li Cheng's men passed by outside the city of the state, and the team was in sight."

Shezhou was where the Fang La Rebellion began. For several years, officers and soldiers and thieves killed extremely heavily. The people here were strong but sparsely populated, so there was not much trouble for the Liao army to pass through the border. Huang Zhongdu originally respected Xiangyang and held a belief in resting with the people. So when Li Chengjun arrived, he surrendered to Bianliang.

"Sir, look?"

The indoor light was dim, and Huang Zhongdu pondered: "This battle always needs to be fought, so we should be more careful. However, in this year, multiple roads are always good. Send a few people to Nankang to inform Zhao Xingde of the false and true aspects of Li Cheng's troops. It can also be regarded as giving him a mercy in the future." "Yes." Zhan Zhen moved slightly in his heart and nodded vigorously.
Chapter completed!