The next morning, in the Ziwei Parting Hall, the seven prime ministers of Zhizheng Hall and the emperor Zhao Xu held a secret military and national discussion.

Since the passage of the Educational Reform Law last year, all reforms have been temporarily shelved, and Zhizhengtang's focus has shifted to fighting against the Liao Kingdom.

This military and national discussion was initiated by Fan Ning, who reported to the emperor and the prime ministers of the Zhizheng Hall about the inspection of Taiyuan.

"At present, there are 520,000 people and 80,000 troops in Taiyuan City, 1.2 million stones of grain reserves, 700,000 dan of forage, and all kinds of combat materials and firearms are all ready. There is no problem in sticking to it for a year..."

Wang Anshi raised his hand and asked, "My husband Xiao Fan, is there a little too many people of 520,000 people? I think it is enough to reduce it to 300,000."

Fu Bi also said: "Although the base of the people is large and it is good for recruiting civil servants, the daily food, drinking, defecation and urination of 500,000 people is also a huge pressure on the city. A little negligence will lead to epidemics, and it is hard to prevent them. I also think that the population should be reduced, 300,000 is enough!"

All the ministers expressed their opinions, all thinking that 500,000 people were too many, which was not conducive to management.

At this time, the emperor Zhao Xu said, "Grandpa Fan, everyone thinks that the population of 500,000 is too large. What do you think?"

Fan Ning bowed slightly and said, "Your Majesty, the population of Taiyuan was initially over 400,000, and some of the population moved to each county, which increased the population to 520,000. The ministers considered it from the perspective of militia, so they did not move too much south."

"Is it still time to migrate now?" Zhao Xu asked again.

"It should be too late to walk from the water."

"Then the elderly, weak, women and children are all moving south. I also think that 300,000 people are more suitable."

Seeing that everyone was in agreement, Fan Ning nodded, "Since Your Majesty and all your husbands think that 300,000 is suitable, I immediately order the army to organize the people to move south."

Zhao Xu smiled and said, "A consensus has been reached on this issue, so Mr. Fan please continue!"

Fan Ning continued: "I just mentioned the water route, and now I will talk about the Eastern Front. Judging from the information currently available, the Liao army planned to cross the sea and land from Dengzhou or Laizhou, use superior forces to occupy the Shandong Peninsula, and use this as the foundation. Then the problem comes. The Liao Kingdom's two fronts are fighting at the same time. What is its focus?"

Fan Ning glanced at everyone and said slowly: "I think the focus of the Liao army is on the Eastern Front. This is determined by the Liao Kingdom's goal of launching a war. They want to plunder the Song Dynasty and force the Song Dynasty to give them a huge amount of annual monies every year, so they must start from the Eastern Front."

"I'm sorry! I'll bother you."

Wang Anshi couldn't help but say again: "Since Xiao Fan believes that the focus of the Liao Kingdom is still on the Eastern Front, what's the point of their attack on Taiyuan?"

Fan Ning said calmly: "Attacking Taiyuan is just a confusion, giving us the illusion that they will focus on attacking the Western Front. Once we deploy heavy troops on the Western Front, the Liao army on the Western Front will immediately attack from Jingxing to Hebei and continue to move south from Hebei. Their Eastern Army will take the Shandong Peninsula as the foundation and continue to sweep across the Central Plains and threaten the capital. The Liao army in Hebei will set up a floating bridge to go south and meet with the Liao army on the Eastern Front in Bianliang. This is my judgment."

"But this is just a guess of Xiao Fan's husband?" Wang Anshi said again.

"It's indeed my guess!"

Fanning said frankly: "But it was not a speculation out of thin air. It was based on the speculation of many intelligences. Yelu Hongji was not a fool. With the infiltration of the Song Dynasty by the Liao Kingdom, he could not have known the actions of the Song army in Taiyuan. So he deployed 150,000 cavalry in Datong Prefecture and knew that they had no intention of siege. Instead, they just shot a shot in Taiyuan and then rushed towards Hebei. Therefore, we must deploy heavy troops in Jingxing, Taihang to prevent him from killing from Taiyuan to Hebei."

"Since that's the case, why should we deploy 80,000 heavy troops in Taiyuan?" Fu Bi asked in confusion.

Fan Ning smiled slightly, "That was to prevent Liao from failing to break through Hebei and had to turn around and attack Taiyuan. Therefore, Liao still had to attack Taiyuan, but not take the initiative, but was forced to attack."

"What is the Song army planning to deal with it on the East Road?" Ouyang Xiu asked.

Fanning said again: "Since the enemy's ship is coming, of course we are going by the ship. I will not let them land successfully!"

"Can Xianggong Fan talk about it in detail?"

Fanning ordered people to hang a map, and he pointed to the map to introduce it to everyone.

"I have also made full preparations on the eastern front. The grain sent from Kunzhou for two consecutive years is placed on the Peace Island of Sinmi Island. There are as many as one million stones. There are 50,000 soldiers and more than 500 warships of all sizes on Sinmi Island. The enemy ships sailed out of the Yalu River, and the base troops will deal with them. In order to prevent the situation, I deployed another 10,000 naval troops and 200 warships in Dengzhou. They will send troops to cooperate in interception to ensure that there is no accident."

After stopping, Fan Ning saw that no one had any questions, he continued: "This time Kunzhou will also send troops. In the past two years, the logistics military city of Jingzhou has been built, including the seaport and warehouse. The Kunzhou army will attack the old nest of the Liao Kingdom from the water, and will be responsible for Sima Zhang."

"How did the Liao army in Youzhou respond?" Zeng Gongliang raised his hand and asked.

"The Liao army in Youzhou is dealt with by the Hebei army. In fact, my lowest strategic goal in this Song-Liao battle is to recover Youyan."

Speaking of regaining Youyan, the monarchs and ministers who were sitting were all excited. He did not doubt Fanning's goal. Last year, no one thought that he would destroy Xixia and recover the Hexi Corridor, but Fanning achieved it.

This time Fan Ning proposed to recover Youyan, and everyone felt excited. This was a major event that had been waiting for for a hundred years.

"Will the Han people in Youzhou join the Song Dynasty?" Zhao Xu asked with some concern.

"Certainly!"

Fan Ning smiled and said, "The Han people in Liao Kingdom are now miserable. They dreamed that the royal army would recover Youyan. The Song army went north. I believe that the Han people in Youyan would definitely dust a pot and pick up the juice to welcome him."

The atmosphere in the meeting hall became warmer. Everyone expressed their opinions on the Liao Dynasty's combat. Wang Anshi proposed to take steady steps, not to advance, and be prepared for long-term combat, which won everyone's approval.

Han Jiang proposed to contact all ethnic groups in the grassland and encourage all ethnic groups to resist the cruel exploitation of the Liao Kingdom.

Fu Bi reminded everyone to prepare to welcome the Han people in Youyan to return to the south and find a temporary place to settle.

This time, the military and national deliberations were discussed for a whole morning, and all kinds of details were implemented one after another. Taking this day's military and national deliberations as a boundary, the Song Dynasty entered the second stage of combat readiness. The Song Dynasty would invest 500,000 regular troops and 500,000 militias, four million stones of grain, two million taels of gold, which was equivalent to 20 million jin of money and 30 million kilograms of pig iron, opening up the largest war preparations since the founding of the Song Dynasty.

After the military and national agreement, Emperor Zhao Xu summoned Fan Ning alone.

"Your Majesty seems a little worried?" Fan Ning saw a trace of worry in Zhao Xu's eyes.

Zhao Xu sighed, "How could it be that you are not worried? Although the Liao army's national strength has declined, the Khitans' combat power is still very strong. If it weren't for the advantage of the city defense and naval army, we would probably still have no chance of winning."

"Your Majesty, please rest assured that the Liao Kingdom is now no longer the Liao Kingdom seventy years ago. If the dynasty established by the Hu people was not completely sinicized, it would never exceed a hundred years. The Liao Kingdom seemed powerful on the surface, but its foundation was empty. Although their territory was vast, it did not have the population of the Song Dynasty, nor the rich land of the Song Dynasty, nor the powerful cultural and historical heritage of the Song Dynasty. They had no support at all. Once they fell, they would be completely crushed."

Fan Ning's analysis made Zhao Xu feel much more comfortable when he was blocked. He nodded and said, "During this period, all the officials in the court have been asking me to negotiate with the Liao Kingdom, and they are talking about the 100,000 cavalry of the Liao Kingdom, and the 500,000 cavalry of the Song army can't resist. It made people panic and made me lose confidence. What I said today gave me a reassurance."

Fanning lowered his voice and said, "Your Majesty, Taiyuan preparations for war is the biggest strategic deception that Weichen has done. Whether Taiyuan deception can succeed is crucial to the entire battle."

Zhao Xu was stunned, "I don't understand very well. Can you explain it clearly?"

Fan Ning whispered a few words, and Zhao Xu widened his eyes, "Can it really succeed?"

Fan Ning nodded, "Weichen came back this time and went to Jingxing specifically, and he is sure to succeed."

Zhao Xu was so excited that he was ready to beat his hands and said, "What do you need me to do?"

"If Your Majesty is willing to go to Taiyuan to inspect defense, Weichen's strategic deception will be more successful."

Zhao Xu was a little hesitant, Fan Ning understood his concern and smiled and said, "Your Majesty can take a boat to Taiyuan. If the Liao army comes, Your Majesty can also take a boat to enter the Fen River. With the escort of the navy, there will be no mistakes."
Chapter completed!