In early September, Yelu Zong was really lucky to Xijin Prefecture, Nanjing.

Xijin Prefecture was Youzhou, and was promoted to Nanjing during the reign of Emperor Taizong, also known as Yanjing. During the reign of Emperor Shengzong, Xijin was changed to Ximu. Xijin Prefecture was the Fangzhen of Lulong Jiedu during the late Tang and Five Dynasties, and the military quota was reduced in the first year of Kaitai in the Shengzong.

The Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun that Shi Jingtang cedeed to the Khitan were divided into the front and back of the mountain with Taihang Mountain as the boundary. The back of the mountain was also called Shanxi. The rear of the mountain was Yunzhou, which is now the Datong Prefecture of Xijing, and the front of the mountain was centered on Nanjing Xijin Prefecture. The two places were connected by several ancient roads across the Taihang Mountains. The three northern passes controlled by the Khitan were the northern passes, namely Feihu Xing in the south, Puyin Xing in the north and Jundu Xing in the north. Feihu Xing and Puyin Xing were connected with Feihu Xing in the north, and then to Weizhou, and to Jundu Xing. You can go around the side and back of Youzhou, go east to Puyin Xing to Yizhou, and then to the outer periphery of Youzhou.

The starting point of Puyin Xing and Feihu Xing is Lingqiu, the starting point behind the mountain. There are roads connecting Daizhou and Datong Prefecture respectively, which are another node. To Daizhou is the upper reaches of the Hutuo River. The most dangerous place is the border between the Song Dynasty and the Khitan, the Pingxing Village. The Pingxing Village was very famous in Xuping's previous life, and at that time it had been changed to another name, Pingxingguan.

All signs indicate that the Song army is preparing for a war with Lingqiu and Feihu as the center. Once the Song army captured Lingqiu and Feihu, the only connection between the Khitan Mountain and the back of the mountain was left is Junduxing in the north. Whether the Song army attacked Yunzhou on the western front or Youzhou on the eastern front, the Khitan did not have the opportunity to cross the Taihang Mountain to attack its side and back. The strategic situation of the Khitan's Sixteen Yanyun Prefectures became a thin shoulder pole carrying two heavy baskets, which were easily defeated by each one.

The information sent back by Liu Liufu was that the Song army had no secret of his strategic intentions. If he did not make a vow, he might launch an attack on Lingqiu, Feihu and Yizhou this winter. Such a war directly threatened the sixteen states of the Khitan Han area, which was much more dangerous than the Fengzhou war last year. Yelu Zongzhen did not dare to neglect and left his summer residence Fengshengzhou and visited Nanjing in person.

Nanjing Xijin Prefecture is 36 miles away, which is smaller than Beijing Daming Prefecture in the Song Dynasty. However, it is already the largest city of the Khitan and extremely prosperous. The imperial city is in the southwest of the city, with complete palaces and offices of the Secretariat and the Privy Council and its subordinate institutions. Strictly speaking, Nanjing is not the capital of the Khitan, but partly has the function of a capital. Especially in the past few years, before Yunzhou was promoted to Xijing, Nanjing managed all the affairs of the Han area in front of the mountain and the back of the Han area.

When he arrived at the palace, Yelu Zongzhen had a short rest and summoned ministers, including Yelu Chongyuan, who was left by Nanjing, to discuss matters.

With fatigue on his face, Yelu Zongzhen said to Yelu Chongyuan: "Sir Liu came to write a letter saying that if there is no peace agreement, the Southern Kingdom intends to use troops to this dynasty this winter. Moreover, the Southern Kingdom Prime Minister Xu Ping clearly stated that the area of ​​military use was in the Yizhou area."

Yelu Chongyuan came to defend Nanjing and was basically deprived of his identity as the crown prince. Although Yelu Zongzhen repeatedly gave him a lot, he was still unhappy and could not believe Yelu Zongzhen's words. He said: "That Xu Ping, when he was in Lingnan more than ten years ago, destroyed the great country Jiaozhi with a state. A few years ago, he was in charge of the northwest and then defeated Dangxiang, defeating me in Fengzhou. This guy is good at using troops and is extremely cunning. If he wanted to take Yizhou, how could he tell Liu Xueshi? The Han people talked about soldiers being deceitful, but if the real one is weak, it is weak. If the prime minister of the southern country said he wanted to attack Yizhou, I thought this dynasty should pay more attention to the Xijing."

Ma Baozhong stepped forward and bowed: "Your Highness is very right. Soldiers are the tricks. The southerners said they were interested in front of the mountain, so how could they know that they were not deceiving this dynasty. When this dynasty gathered its troops in Youzhou, and the mountain was empty, and they took advantage of the opportunity to advance, how could they deal with it?"

Yelu Zongzhen couldn't help but hold his forehead with his hands, and his headache was split. Dangxiang was destroyed, and the Song Dynasty stationed heavily on the northwest of Fengsheng Road, and the strategic situation of the Khitan deteriorated. On the Western Front, the Song army changed from defense to offense, which affected the eastern front, and the offense and defense were also easy to attack and defense.

When there was no Fengsheng Road, the Khitan garrison in the Shanhou area had no worries and confronted the Song army of Hedong Road on the Yanmen Pass. The Khitan army attacked from the south of Hebei Road. With Shanhou support, they could hold the Song army of Hedong Road so that they could not threaten the rear route of the Eastern Front. Now with Fengsheng Road, threatening the Shanhou area from behind, the imperial guards of the Song Dynasty Hedong Road were liberated and could be thrown into the battlefield in Hebei at any time. The Khitan army headed south, and once it was dragged by the Song army, it would face the danger of the rear route being cut off.

The deterioration of the strategic situation caused the situation on the front line to worsen, and the Khitan felt very stretched.

Xiao Guanning said: "If the Song army really intends to start a war this winter, as long as there is no big fight, it will be just a few places. Go north from Xiongzhou to the east, compete for new city along the road, Fanyang; start from Daizhou and Dingzhou in the middle, seize Lingqiu and Feihuo; or cross Yanmen Pass from Daizhou to the west, seize Shuozhou; go east from Yunneizhou to the west, seize Fengzhou. These places are almost the same, but the Southern Emperors must have some plans to go to Daming Mansion in the north, and it is the most likely to fight in front of the mountain."

Yelu Zongzhen raised his head and looked at Xiao Guanning and said, "In this way, should we gather troops and horses in front of the mountain?"

Xiao Guanning was silent for a while, lowered his voice and said, "I am afraid that the Song army will attack the east and west, and Xijing will have to be on guard."

Yelu Zongzhen was so angry that he didn't know what to say. The problem now is that the soldiers are not as large as those of the Song Dynasty, and the money and food are not as large as those of the Song Dynasty. Can't we confront them head-on? If we have 700,000 or 800,000 soldiers in our hands, how can we make sense of how to arrange them? In front of and behind the mountains, 300,000 to 400,000 troops were piled up, so why are we afraid that the Song army is false and real?

In the Battle of Fengzhou last year, although the battle was not fierce, the soldiers and horses gathered together, and the mountain behind the mountain was damaged. This year, who knows what would happen? The people's strength is limited. Once hundreds of thousands of troops passed, they ate several years of savings. This is different from the previous battle to the Song realm. After fighting out, the enemy was due to food and the money and wealth they robbed, they didn't lose much. Now, the soldiers and horses gathered together, and they ate their own food. Where did the Khitan get so much food?

Sighing, Yelu Zongzhen said: "Last year, in Fengzhou, we ordered 300,000 troops and horses to collect, and all the remaining grains were consumed after the mountain. If we ordered ingredients this year, where would the food and grass come from? In the past, there was a way to find a way, but now we have nowhere to buy them!"

Ma Baozhong bowed: "There has not been a major disaster in the mountains this year. If the imperial court collects food and grass from the people, it can last for several months."

Yelu Zongzhen nodded and shook his head again: "Forcibly recruited, it can really support another 200,000 to 300,000 people. But what about the future? The Prime Minister, if the grain in the autumn is collected, people will definitely starve to death in the next year. If the Song army said that they would attack Fengzhou next year, or even Xijing, there would be no food to recruit and no soldiers to order!"

Yelu Zongzhen didn't care much about the people starving to death, but he was hungry once, so he didn't want to fight again for ten or eight years. According to the current situation, the Song army can fight every year, how could the Khitan support it? Needless to say, the Youzhou area in front of the mountain must gather troops and requisition food and grass. Zhao Zhen visited the north and brought more than 200,000 imperial guards to Hebei Road. He had to make some noise, and the Khitan had to guard against it. As for the same sentence, what should I do if the Song army comes again next year?
Chapter completed!