As if caressing his most beloved lover, Xiao Ding grasped the knife tightly and never let go.

"Second brother, if you are serious, this knife is much more valuable than the gift I gave you."

Xiao Cheng waved his hand: "Brother, what are you and me talking about? How can you and I care whether the gift is valuable or not? Even if the eldest brother gave me a feather, I will cherish it very much."

"That's right!" Xiao Ding laughed, "I won't be disrespectful to you then, brother."

The two brothers sat down and prepared to wait for Gao Qi to come over and feed them.

"Why did you think of giving me a knife?" Xiao Dingxiao asked: "Two years ago, you mentioned this Tiangong Iron Art to me in your letter. Isn't it for making small gadgets? How come you still have such superb craftsmanship?

"

"The owner of Tiangong Iron Art used to be a blacksmith in Grandpa's army. Making knives is his old profession." Xiao Cheng said: "But we did put in a lot of effort to get this knife for my eldest brother, mainly because

Materials are rare, and if there is a slight mistake in the making process, the materials will be useless, so I spent nearly two years working on it and finally came up with such a decent one."

"It's more than just okay, it's simply great. With him, I will be even more powerful as a brother!" Xiao Cheng laughed: "I will personally thank Tiangong Ironwork later."

"That's not necessary, I paid the money." Xiao Cheng looked around and said to him. "Brother, if you think about it, he definitely doesn't want to stay in a comfortable place like Bianliang. He will definitely go back to Northern Xinjiang. With this

With a sword, you can kill a few more Liao dogs who are attacking you."

When it came to this topic, Xiao Ding sighed. "To be honest with you, second brother, under the current situation, if I didn't miss my thousands of brothers who live and die together, I really don't want to go back."

Xiao Cheng was taken aback, "What's the truth?"

"Privacy Cui Angcui!" Xiao Ding spit out a name. "I bumped into him at Baima. After he had a long talk with me, I felt very worried."

"Bumped into it?" Xiao Cheng sneered: "I'm afraid he knows your whereabouts, brother, and is waiting for you on the white horse on purpose, right?"

"I'm just a deputy governor, so why would it be worth his while to wait for me?" Xiao Ding shook his head.

"Brother, you are too arrogant to belittle yourself." Xiao Cheng said: "Brother is now a representative figure among the troops stationed in Northern Xinjiang. Other military commanders may have higher official positions than you, but their prestige may be comparable to that of you, brother? Privy Cui wants to

To perform meritorious service on Hebei Road, you must control the Twelfth Army of Hebei Road. If my brother can become his man, it will be much easier for him to unite the entire Hebei Road army."

Xiao Ding smiled helplessly.

"Is this a big tree that attracts the wind?"

"Shu Xiaoke is ready to be slaughtered!" Xiao Cheng said. "Brother, do you think Privy Cui is unreliable?"

"That's not to say. It's just that Privy Cui is too eager to make meritorious deeds." Xiao Ding said: "If he just wants to make some small merits, then there are ways to satisfy him. I'm afraid he will do something special to Li."

Xun, this could lead to a catastrophe."

"In Hebei, we are more than conservative now, but not aggressive enough!" Xiao Cheng said.

"Second brother hit the nail on the head!" Xiao Ding glanced at Xiao Cheng appreciatively: "You can understand just by looking at the two victories I won. It can be regarded as luring the enemy deeper, and then looking for opportunities.

We can annihilate them, but even so, we can only cut off their wings, and it is impossible to completely annihilate their army."

"Brother is afraid that Privy Cui will deliberately stir up trouble and consciously expand the scale of the war!" Xiao Cheng muttered: "Privy Cui can't be so unwise, right? After all, he is also a member of the Privy Council with the same signature, so he doesn't know the strength comparison between the two sides, right?"

"I'm afraid that he will be blinded by King Jing's achievements on Hebei Road in the past two years, and take it for granted that he can do what King Jing can do!" Xiao Ding said: "King Jing is on Hebei Road, but

It was only after he had been working hard for more than three years that he gained enough prestige to be able to impose orders and prohibitions, and everyone above and below was convinced, then he let go. Privy Cui just arrived, how could he convince everyone on the road to Hebei?

"

"If we can effectively integrate and catch them by surprise, maybe we can catch the Liao people by surprise and then retreat to defend?" Xiao Cheng thought for a while and said.

Xiao Ding couldn't help but laugh: "Brother, fighting is not something you take for granted."

"Can't you do it?" Xiao Cheng blinked, a little puzzled: "Catch him by surprise, attack him unprepared, and with one successful blow, you can escape thousands of miles away."

"The Liao people can do such a thing, but we can't. In fact, even now, even the Liao people can't do it."

"What's the point?"

"If you have the opportunity to command the army in the future, you will know the clues. But before that, brother, you should get more involved in military affairs, listen to the explanations of some veteran generals, learn more about some real battle cases, and then go and command the army.

Otherwise, if you lead the troops like this, you will easily become the laughing stock of the generals below." Looking at Xiao Cheng, Xiao Ding said: "Let me tell you what's going on here."

Xiao Cheng nodded repeatedly.

"The kind of combat you mentioned requires very high mobility, and only cavalry can do it. The number of cavalry in our Song Dynasty is far from enough. If we want to attack with all our strength, we need to mobilize the entire army.

Are the Liao people deaf and blind due to such a large-scale mobilization of the cavalry among the armies on the Hebei Road? How could they not know it?"

"His Royal Highness King Jing has held a competition between armies on the border for three consecutive years. If he uses this as a name, he may be able to hide it from the Liao people!" Xiao Cheng started to come up with ideas again.

Xiao Ding shook his head and said: "Every time we have a big competition here, the Liao people are also on high alert. No one is a fool. Even if there is only a slight possibility, they will make complete preparations. The generals of the Liao people,

It’s not like he’s eating dry food either.”

Hearing this, Xiao Cheng sighed.

"And if it is a mixed battle of infantry and cavalry, there is no suddenness at all. The deployment of large armies and logistics and equipment require more manpower than the fighting army. What is suddenness? It is a head-on confrontation.

Build a strong stronghold and fight a stupid battle. Whoever has a harder fist and longer endurance will win." Xiao Ding continued.

"We, the infantry of the Great Song Dynasty, should be better, right?" Xiao Cheng said: "When we form an army formation, use strong bows and crossbows to anchor the formation, we should be in an invincible position!"

"That's true! Even the most elite troops of the Liao Army will not attack our strong formation unless it is absolutely necessary." Xiao Ding nodded in agreement: "But there is a big problem here, and that is a logistical supply

The problem."

"Insert encirclement, cut off our food routes, or even just harass us so that our food supply is no longer available, and it will demoralize our troops," Xiao Cheng said.

"That's right!" Xiao Ding said: "The most effective way for us to fight against the Liao people is to take one step at a time while ensuring smooth food routes and secure logistics. Don't take any chances. Don't think about it.

Take any side door."

Xiao Cheng pondered for a moment and said: "Then this is a contest of national strength, and the outcome is decided by the temple. According to the elder brother, the Liao and Song Dynasties have been in conflict for many years, and the two sides have understood each other too well.

The strength and ordnance of the two sides are actually almost the same. Even the generals of both sides know themselves and the enemy. When the two sides rarely make major strategic mistakes, the real decisive battle is in the temple."

Xiao Ding's eyes lit up, and he thought for a moment before saying: "I have been thinking about how to break the situation, but my second brother made me understand. What you said is very reasonable. In fact, His Highness King Jing seemed to have said something similar.

.”

"Oh, what did His Highness King Jing say?" Xiao Cheng was quite interested in King Jing. He had never met this second king!

"His Royal Highness King Jing said that the current situation in the Liao Dynasty and the Song Dynasty can no longer be solved by famous generals and marshals. It must be a national war with the power of the whole country to determine the outcome, and such a decisive battle can

, it is not possible to determine the outcome in just a few years!" Xiao Ding said.

Xiao Cheng sighed: "It's no wonder that my father has always valued His Highness King Jing. He has indeed seen the essence of the problem."

"It's not surprising that His Highness King Jing can tell. After all, he has a high position, has experienced many practical things, and has commanded the army on the border for many years. And my second brother, you can hit the mark without even leaving Bianliang. You are worthy of being said.

The person my father has high hopes for!" Xiao Ding praised: "Next year you will win the Jinshi, and in another ten years, maybe you can be in charge."

"Ten years is too early!" Xiao Cheng said with a smile: "But we have this good hope. I hope that by then, big brother, you will be a handsome minister, and I will be your transporter so that your logistics will be safe.

, as long as you can fight with peace of mind."

"Then I'm counting on it." Xiao Ding laughed: "Second brother, Privy Chen said that the officials will summon me and ask me to write a note and make some preparations, so as not to be at a loss when the time comes."

"This really requires a lot of preparation." Xiao Ding also became serious: "This is an opportunity to further impress the officials. Brother, I think you should make the officials think that you will be a handsome man in the future.

You are a minister, not just a warrior who charges into battle with unparalleled bravery. If you let the officials have an image of you as a handsome minister, the future path will be wider."

"You mean, we need to work harder on the fold?" Xiao Ding reacted immediately.

"Yes, the officials know about your bravery. Next, we have to make the officials think that you are thinking beyond the general plan, and you are also very reasonable."

"I can't think of anything at this moment." Xiao Ding was a little distressed. "No one knows when the officials will summon me!"

"Don't worry, brother, I usually think about these things. We brothers, we might as well go over the details together!"

While the two brothers were talking, there were footsteps outside the door, and then Gao Qi's voice rang out: "Guanren, second uncle, breakfast is here."

Xiao Cheng immediately stood up and walked over, opening the study door.
Chapter completed!