The quarrels in the outside world are still continuing, Qin Hui is still stranded in Dengzhou, and the palace is still calm. The officials don't seem to care about it at all. After handling some necessary official business every morning, they hide in the inner court.

Sitting in Zhangge until midnight

, he even stayed here at night if he had something to do. Outside the pavilion, Wangfu led more than ten internal guards to guard him day and night. No one was allowed to enter without his permission, and everyone was used to his mysterious appearance, so they knew

The officials were planning big things again, but they didn't bother him.

"Guardian, are you hiding in the pavilion every day, is this all you are busy with?" Zhao Xin had not seen the emperor for a few days, and he was thinking about it and pulled Zhe Meiluan to visit the class. He looked at the room full of papers.

, and the walls are covered with maps.

"The tide is high and the water is three feet deep... Oh, don't touch those things, they will mess up what I can't find!" Zhao Tong was lying in front of a map and muttered something. Seeing that Zhao Xin was about to help him clean up the house, he hurriedly

shouted.

"Oh, as if anyone wants to help you, look where this place reminds you of the emperor's study, it's just..." Zhao Xin said to Meiluan Nunu, sighing and putting down the things in his hands.

"Who are the officials planning to hit again?" Zhe Meiluan covered her mouth and whispered in Zhao Xin's ear with a smile.

"It looks like we are going to use troops against Yanjing!" Zhao Xin has followed the emperor for the longest time. He can be said to be his first military secretary. He is familiar with his work habits. Looking at the maps hanging on the wall, most of them are detailed in the Yanjing area.

Tu, had already guessed the emperor's intention.

"Here..."

"What I saw and heard here, no one is allowed to mention it outside this door. Even my own father and mother are not allowed to reveal a word, right or wrong?" Before Zhao Yu could finish, Zhao Tuo said.

He snatched the letter and said as if he was endorsing it.

"Well, not bad. I still remember the rules from the past!" Zhao Tong stood up, stretched and looked at the two of them and said with a smile.

"Humph. You have told me not a thousand but eight hundred times. I'm afraid I'll never forget it in this life!" Zhao Xin rolled his eyes at the official and said.

"The officials said this to me, it seems I came in the wrong place!" Zhe Meiluan said with a dark expression.

"No, no, what's going on here is related to the life and death of tens of millions of people. Once you let out a few words and let someone who cares hear it, you don't know how many people's heads will fall to the ground!" Zhao Tong said quickly.

"Then the officials really have to use troops against the Jurchens? But now there is a huge quarrel outside. There are endless arguments about whether to fight or to fight. Why don't the officials express their views?" Zhe Meiluan has also heard about the arguments outside, and now

What he saw was two worlds inside and outside. He asked puzzledly.

"The official did this on purpose. He created a mystery so that the Jurchens could not figure out his thoughts. Those disputes may have been started by the official, right or wrong?" Zhao Xin said to the official.

"Oh, I have to lock you up tomorrow, otherwise I won't have any secrets if the Jurchens kidnap you one day!" Zhao Tong looked at Xin Zhao and sighed helplessly. Xin Zhao was right now.

This turmoil was indeed fueled by him. One was to understand the attitude of the government and the opposition towards Zhan He, and the other was to make the Jurchens relax their vigilance.

"Look at you two, you two haven't seen each other for many days, and you are still quarreling after finally meeting!" Zhe Meiluan looked at them and teased each other. "Guanjia, why do you think so of me?"

"Haha!" Zhao Tie looked at the two beauties in front of him and giggled, then went up to put his arms around their shoulders and looked around, "I think you two look very feminine without wearing military uniforms!"

"The officials are here to make fun of us again. Shouldn't they let us walk around in military uniforms in the palace?" Zhao Xinyan said.

"That's not bad. There's more scenery in the palace. Wouldn't it be better if I could give birth to two more generals!" Zhao Tong moved his hand to the lower abdomen of the two of them and rubbed it with a wicked smile.

"Official family..." Both of them said coquettishly with their faces red, but they felt uncomfortable in their hearts. Earlier, the four of them had not seen any movement in their stomachs. Although they were anxious, they did not feel embarrassed. But this year, the Queen and Yu Liyan both gave birth to their children.

Dragonborn, their bellies were still flat, and they were really worried.

"Haha, don't be anxious. After I finish this important matter, I can spend more time with you!" Zhao Tong saw the embarrassment between the two of them and hurriedly comforted them.

"Does your Majesty want to attack Yanjing Mansion?" Zhao Xin struggled for a moment and asked, getting rid of the official's embrace and changing the topic.

"Yes, but this will be a battle that will completely change the strength of Song and Jin. Yanjing will become the focus of this battle, but it will not be easy to capture it!" Zhao Tong walked to the center of the room and opened the table.

The cloth was covered with cloth, revealing a huge sand table.

"Yanjing is a sad place for our Song Dynasty soldiers. The battle for Youzhou in the early years of the founding of the country, the battle of Gaoliang River between Song and Liao Dynasties, the joint attack of Song and Jin Dynasties on Yanjing, and the humiliation of the Jin army's repeated defeat of Yanjing, which resulted in the loss of dozens of soldiers.

Among thousands of people, there are piles of bones!" Zhe Meiluan looked at the sand table and sighed, her ancestors also participated in the battle for Yanjing, and many people shed blood on Youyan.

"Well, this is a place of hundreds of battles, and Yanjing occupies a favorable position. Although the Jin army has been defeated by us, it still has strength. It is indeed not easy to capture it!" Zhao Tong frowned and nodded. The reason for this situation is that

It is determined by a series of subjective and objective conditions.

There are a series of natural barriers and dangerous passes around Yanjing, which protect Yanjing. To capture Yanjing, we must first break through these obstacles. To the west, north, and northeast of the city, there are the Xishan Mountains and the Yanshan Mountains.

Without the natural barrier of Yanjing, one can enter Yanjing Mansion only through the canyon passes formed in the mountains, among which Juyong Pass, Gubeikou, Songting Pass, Jinpo Pass and Yu Pass are the most important.

Juyongguan is located in Changping, northwest of Yanjing, a hundred miles away from the city. It is located at the junction of the northern range of the Taihang Mountains - Xishan Mountain and the Yanshan Mountains - Jundu Mountain. It includes the entire Guangou area from the north entrance to the south entrance of the ancient city. It is famous for its dangerous terrain. Mountains

The pass canyon stretches for more than 40 miles from the north entrance to the south entrance. It is flanked by two mountains and a river flows beside it. The pass is like a line, and its sides are like tilting. It is difficult to pass by vehicles and horses. Hao Jing called it "

The mountains are interrupted, two cliffs and gorges are bound together, the stone road is winding, and there are gaps." "Shui Jing Zhu": "The mountains are deep, the side roads are narrow, and the forest barriers are dangerous, so the road can accommodate the track." Juyongguan is such a dangerous point.

The situation was called "extremely dangerous" by Gu Zuyu. Not only was the situation extremely dangerous, it was also an important transportation thoroughfare. It was an important channel connecting Beijing, Shanxi, and the Mongolian Plateau, and it had been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times.

Gubeikou. Also known as Hubeikou, Shen Kuo’s envoy to Liao Dynasty passed through the gorge and passed through the Luanshui River for more than 30 miles.

, two hundred miles away from the city, is located in the deep mountains and ridges in the middle of Yanshan Mountain, with the Luanhe River flowing from

This flows through. The city pass is built close to the mountains and rivers. There are two cliffs at the pass, and there is a road in the middle that can only accommodate one car. There is a deep stream below, with huge rocks stretching for forty or fifty miles. Su Zhe has a poem that says, "Rounded by chaotic mountains."

Joining the road of Xintian, the path lingers back to the Changbang River, as if searching for the Shu Road in a dream, Xingzhou to the east, Fengzhou to the west."

It can be seen that Gubeikou is also a dangerous road. Exiting Gubeikou from Yanjing can reach the Mongolian Plateau in the north and the Songliao Plain in the east. It is an important passage into the Central Plains from the Northeast.

Zijingguan. Also known as Jinpoguan, it is located in the northwest of Yizhou. There are Taihang Mountain peaks towering to the east and west, and the Juma River blocking it to the north. The valley in the middle is rugged. "The cliffs are steep and towering, shaped like a screen", sloping from south to north.

Upper Bauhinia Ridge Valley

If the ladder to heaven is cleverly designed, the gate will suddenly open like the gate of heaven. There is indeed a man who can block the gate and ten thousand people can't open it. It is the seventh pass of Taihang Mountain - Puyin pass. An important passage from Shanxi across Taihang Mountain into the North China Plain is southwest of Yanjing

portal.

Songting Pass, one hundred and twenty miles north of Xifengkou, is also an important pass in the Yanshan Mountains. After exiting the pass, you can reach the Songliao Plain to the east. It is an important passage into Yanjing from the northeast; Yu Pass, now Shanhaiguan

.The Yanshan Mountains

It lies in the northern part of the North China Plain, extending from west to east to the Bohai Sea. Yuguan is a narrow area between the mountains and the sea, with the peaks of Yanshan Mountain to the northwest and the sea to the east. It strangles the throat of North China and Northeast China and is an important entrance to Yanjing from Liaodong.

pass.

Regarding the dangerous situation around Yanjing, the "Envoy's Itinerary" said: The land of Youzhou is fertile and wild for thousands of miles, with mountains and mountains in the north, and there are five passes in the middle. From Juyong, you can pass the big car to transfer, Songting, and Jinpo.

, Gubeikou can only be accessed by people and horses, not vehicles. There are eighteen rabbit trails outside, which can only be accessed by people, but not by horses. Therefore, in order to attack Yanjing, we must first overcome these dangerous obstacles around Beijing.

"Of the many passes, only Zijin Pass is in our hands. If we want to capture Yanjing City, we can only clear the outer passes first. This requires the investment of a lot of troops and will last longer!" Xin Zhao pointed at the sand table and said.

"What Concubine De said is absolutely true!" Zhe Meiluan said, "In Yongxi's Northern Expedition, the Song army only had 100,000 troops in Cao Bin's eastern route. Adding in the central and western routes, the total number of troops participating in the Northern Expedition exceeded 200,000.

The Liao army also numbered more than 100,000. The two sides launched a fierce battle at Qigou Pass. The Liao army

The Song army was surrounded by many heavy troops, and the Song army was forced to surround the grain carts to defend itself. As a result, the Song army was defeated, the soldiers were scattered, tens of thousands of people died, and the battle was extremely fierce. Our army set off in February and lasted until half a year in July and August.

It's been a long time, but I haven't even touched the gate of Yanjing City."

Zhao Tong nodded, knowing that what they said was true. Such a large-scale war in the Yanjing area was mainly determined by its important strategic position. In the early Liao Dynasty, Yanjing was an important military town for the Later Tang Dynasty in the Central Plains to resist the Khitan's southward march. Shi Jingtang ceded Yanjing to Yanjing.

After Yun, Liao promoted Youzhou to Nanjing

, is the companion capital of one of the five capitals of the Liao Dynasty. But whether it is a military town or a companion capital, the national capital is crucial to a political power. There are often heavy troops stationed there. Therefore, to seize the Beijing area, you must have enough troops, so

Often leads to large-scale wars.

It is precisely because of the large scale of the war in the Yanjing area, the large number of troops invested, and the long duration that all parties will mobilize most of the power of the regime before participating in the war. Song Taizong's two Northern Expeditions both concentrated the main power of the Song Dynasty.

The procurement of grain and grass involves the whole country.

When the Liao army resisted the Song army, they also came out in full force. Liao Shengzong and Empress Dowager Xiao went to the battlefield in person, and recruited tribal troops and even Tokyo's army. At this time, the war in the Yanjing area not only had local significance, but also often affected the whole country.

, with the nature of a struggle for political power.

"Even if we can capture the dangerous pass outside, Yanjing's city defense is strong. The city wall is three battles high and one and a half feet wide. It also has watchtowers and war oars. There are turrets on all four corners, and there are turrets at the top of each city gate.

There is an arrow tower. Outside the city wall is a wide moat.

It relies on the suspension bridge to pass through. It is much stronger than the Lingzhou City we attacked. This kind of tall and strong city is easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is difficult for the attacking side to easily break the city, and the enemy can refuse to defend with the city.

You can stick around and wait for help!" Zhao Xin also said.

"I heard from you two that Yanjing City can't be captured!" Zhao Tong said with a smile, "But the Khitans once captured Yanjing City, and the Jurchens also captured this city. Can't I defeat it?"

"What the officials said is true, but our Song Dynasty has no precedent of breaking a city. Instead, due to excessive losses of troops, the national strength declined, the soldiers were timid, and all the officials were afraid of war. The foundation of the official government is solid, and there are many wastes waiting to be revitalized. If

After spending a lot of military power and wealth, the failure of the Northern Expedition will definitely lead to a crisis!" Seeing that the officials were full of confidence, Zhao Xin couldn't help but pour a bucket of cold water on him.

"Well, your words are not unreasonable, but if Yanjing doesn't take them, our Song Dynasty will always be under the threat of the Jurchens' iron hoofs, and we will have to bear the humiliation of annihilation for generations!" Zhao Tong said solemnly, obviously his determination for the Northern Expedition has been
Chapter completed!