"May I ask, Privy Master Shi, how many troops are you planning to use?"
It was Song Qi who asked the question. Shi Shouxin glanced at the solemn-looking prime minister, then stood in front of the military map and introduced: "The Privy Council has initially planned that the troops will be sent in three directions.
The main attack on the east road was to recruit 200,000 troops. Yanshan and Hebei garrisons, local troops and horses, and rural soldiers were mobilized to recruit 150,000, and another 50,000 infantry and cavalry were mobilized from the two imperial guards to go north.
The military order has been issued, the border troops have been assembled and prepared, and local troops and horses are being mobilized. Within a month, they can be gathered in Youzhou for consolidation. The Forbidden Army is also preparing and will be ready to go to war upon the order.
The middle road leads out of Shanyang, and 10,000 cavalrymen from the Tieqi and Longjie armies are mobilized to go north. Then all the cavalry armies from Hedong and Shanyang roads are mobilized, and 30,000 cavalrymen are mobilized to go out of the fortress. However, the middle road is only used as a containment, to disperse the Liao army's strength and not to defeat the enemy!
On the west route, all cavalry were also used, mainly Yulin and Guannai troops. Twenty thousand cavalry were mobilized to go out from Fengzhou north and pass through the western territory of the Liao Kingdom, still mainly raiding and harassing!
We should tell the generals of the Chinese and Western armies to advise them on how to respond to their goals, and not to be greedy for success! "
The plans made by the Privy Council were naturally carefully considered, especially in the dispatching of troops and horses. Emperor Liu would not have any objections in this regard.
However, Emperor Liu still habitually asked other people's opinions: "Is this arrangement appropriate?"
"appropriate!"
"Excellent!"
Cao Bin didn't say much, but at this time he took the initiative to remind: "Three armies are coming out. The most important thing is to supply equipment, especially the East Route Army. Once the army enters Liaodong, it will be a thousand-mile expedition, with hundreds of thousands of soldiers. It’s strong and consumes a lot of money, so nothing can go wrong!”
"Cao Bin is still stable!" Upon hearing this, Emperor Liu smiled slightly and looked at Zhao Pu, Song Qi and Pan Mei: "We have to rely on you to provide military supplies!"
"I and others should go all out and be thorough!" Zhao Pu took the lead in expressing his stance.
Emperor Liu turned back and asked Shi Shouxin: "Is an army of 200,000 strong enough to capture Liaodong?"
Seeing that Emperor Liu seemed to have doubts, Shi Shouxin immediately said: "I have made careful calculations. The expedition of 200,000 troops and horses requires an equal number of strong men to accompany the army as supplies. The actual number of people inside and outside the pass should be more than 400,000. If there are more, it will inevitably bring more difficulties in the transportation and supply of military supplies!"
Zhao Kuangyin pointed out: "The Navy should still be used!"
Shi Shouxin nodded. The Han Dynasty had not slackened on the construction of the naval army in these years. How could he ignore it? He immediately said: "Denglai and Mizhou's 30,000 naval divisions should go north to assist the land and attack the Liao Dynasty from the sea. .The Han navy has an absolute advantage over the Liao Dynasty. It can advance both by water and land, and it can achieve miraculous results!"
"Your Majesty, I have considered that it is difficult to transport the baggage on land. After the troops enter Liaodong and achieve results, and gain a foothold, the military supplies can be transported by sea!" Zhao Pu said on his own initiative.
"Very good!" Emperor Liu nodded with satisfaction: "The navy's advantages in shipping should naturally be fully utilized!"
In recent years, with the government's openness and support, the Han Dynasty's shipbuilding and navigation technology have been significantly improved, and sea transportation has long been mature.
The Liao Kingdom also invested a lot of money and food in the Bohai Bay and established a navy to prepare for attacks from the sea. However, the powerful advantage of the Han navy was enough to crush it and control the bay. It won't be a big problem to reuse it.
"We need to add another road!" Emperor Liu instructed again after staring at the map for a long time.
"Your Majesty, please tell me!" Shi Shouxin handed over his hand.
"Hexi soldiers and horses must also be used!" Emperor Liu said his plan: "There is no need to have many soldiers and horses. Whether it is crossing the quicksand in the north or heading out of Yangguan in the west, there must be some movement!"
Shi Shouxin hesitated for a moment, then reminded: "Your Majesty, this is still a full-scale attack. The east and west are thousands of miles away, so the response effect is difficult to achieve, and the northwest cannot be said to be strong. If too many troops and horses are used, it will lead to emptiness... .”
After listening to what he said, Emperor Liu said: "Is it okay to just send out partial troops, keep the priorities unchanged, and stick to the strategic goals unwaveringly?"
It can be seen that Emperor Liu's attitude is very determined. Shi Shouxin thought about it for a while and responded: "In this case, we can mobilize 20,000 cavalry from Helong to attack!"
According to the Privy Council's plan, the destruction of Liao must also be carried out in different levels, first from the east and then from the west, with the first place being Liaodong. The central and western regions do not need to be overly focused, and leaving the fortress will be a later matter. There is no need for it on the Hexi side. The stalls are spread too widely, which also puts pressure on oneself.
Of course, it would not be a big problem to send a partial force. In this way, the Liao Kingdom would be at war everywhere, giving the opponent the illusion of a full-scale attack by the Han Dynasty.
Emperor Liu was also thinking to himself, if calculated in this way, the total number of active soldiers on several fronts, navy and army would be 300,000. More than 70% of North China's army was involved, which inevitably left the Han Dynasty in the north empty.
If you include the auxiliary soldiers and strong men, the scale is even larger than that of the Northern Expedition. However, the situation faced is also different. The attack is farther away, the battle line is longer, the troops are more dispersed, and the difficulty of the attack is also greatly increased. These situations still need to be carefully considered and various response plans made.
"There is one last question left, how will the commander-in-chief arrange it?" After recovering, Emperor Liu continued to ask.
Shi Shouxin replied: "On the Shanyang Road, Liu Tinghan can be the leader, with Kang Yanze as his deputy; on the Yulin Road, Yang Ye can be the leader, with Wang Shenqi as his deputy; on the Hexi Road, Wang Yansheng can be the leader, with Guo Jin as his deputy; the navy can still be led by Guo Tingwei! "
"Guo Tingwei is already old, can he be tired?" Emperor Liu asked.
Shi Shouxin said: "With tens of thousands of naval troops in the East China Sea, only Marquis Guo can be used as a general of the Han Dynasty to dispatch conquests and defeat enemies in water battles! Moreover, Marquis Guo has been training naval forces for many years, and he is the only one who has experience in crossing the sea to attack the Liao Dynasty! Even though he is old, he , but his body has always been healthy, and he is still the best candidate to lead the floating sea battle!"
Emperor Liu frowned immediately. He couldn't bear to hear such words. If the Han Navy would have problems without one person, then this matter itself would be a big problem. However, at this critical moment, Emperor Liu would not delay important events because of personal suspicion. For the sake of safety, if Guo Tingwei is of sufficient use, then let him be appointed!
"Where is the East Route Army?" Emperor Liu asked again about the main army that Shi Shouxin did not mention.
In this regard, Shi Shouxin said conservatively: "It still needs His Majesty's approval!"
In this matter, Shi Shouxin didn't dare to take the authority for himself, and he didn't even dare to make suggestions first. You must know that since the time of Emperor Liu, such a large army and the concentration of so many elites have never been led by a general alone.
This time, Emperor Liu's attitude that he did not intend to personally conquer the army was already obvious, but who would be awarded this position would be very particular. There are many qualified people, but it still depends on Emperor Liu's thoughts.
It would be impossible for Zhao Kuangyin and others not to be moved, but it was difficult to be too active, including Han Tong, whose eyes almost overflowed with enthusiasm.
Probably also aware of Shi Shouxin's concerns, Emperor Liu glanced at the generals present, Zhao Kuangyin, Gao Huaide, Xiang Xun, Han Tong, and Pan Mei. Obviously, there was a high probability that he would be selected from among them.
But it is obvious that Emperor Liu himself is not so sure. Even if the guarantees in all aspects are sufficient, when he really wants to hand over the military power, he will inevitably have some murmurs in his heart.
"All preparations will continue to advance. The other generals, as discussed by the Privy Council, as for the head coach of the East Route, I will consider it again!" Emperor Liu did not make a decision directly after all.
"yes!"
