Zhishan casually put the dagger into the scabbard, pushed it towards Zhou Ping, and said seriously: "Hide your edge until you can use it!" The majestic Taihang Mountains start from Wangwu Mountain at the junction of Henan and Shanxi provinces in the south. She is like A giant dragon winds its way northeast to the coast of the Bohai Sea, bordering the Shanxi Plateau to the west, the North China Plain to the east, and the vast Mongolian Plateau to the north. It runs from northeast to southwest and stretches for more than 400 kilometers, forming a huge " Factory" glyph. On the inside of the word "factory" is the fertile North China Plain, on the left side of the word "factory" is the Shanxi Plateau, and above the word "factory" is the vast grassland beyond the Great Wall and the black land of the Northeast. The Juma River, Hutuo River, Zhang River, Qin River and other rivers cut the mountains, so there are many cross valleys in the Taihang Mountains, which the locals call "paths", hence the saying of the "Taihang Eight Paths", which have been connecting the east and west with the outside world since ancient times. Important passages within the pass. The famous Zijingguan, Shanxi's Niangziguan, Hongtiguan, Huguan, Tianjingguan and other passes are one of them. For thousands of years, groups of nomads have passed through these tunnels and entered the northern part of the North China Plain. After flowing out of the Taihang Mountains, these rivers traveled through the vast North China Plain. While nurturing the Chinese ancestors, these east-west rivers also became an important barrier for them to resist the nomads who entered the North China Plain from beyond the Great Wall. Among these rivers, except for the Qin River, the rest of them merge into the Haihe River system and flow into the Bohai Sea near today's Tianjin. Youzhou, located at the southern foot of Yanshan Mountain, the end of the canal, and adjacent to Lugou in the north, naturally becomes the North China Plain. In the center of the north, the Han people fought against the nomadic people outside the Great Wall. And after 933 AD, Jin Gaozu Shi Jingtang ceded the Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures to the Khitan people. This became the bridgehead for the emerging Liao Empire to invade the Central Plains. After Emperor Taizong of the Northern Song Dynasty failed in his two Northern Expeditions, the offensive and defensive situation between Song and Liao changed, from Song attacking Liao and defending to Liao attacking Song and defending. Generally speaking, since the founding of the Northern Song Dynasty, the defensive strategy of elastic defense has been generally adopted. Generally speaking, garrisons mainly composed of archers and crossbowmen are deployed at key points on the border, and powerful field legions are deployed in the depth of defense. If a large number of enemies When an army invades, it does not seek to defend the enemy outside the country's borders. It determines the direction of the enemy's main attack through early border battles, and then maneuvers the field legions until the enemy's main force is exhausted. Then seek a decisive battle under favorable circumstances. In order to implement the above strategies. It is very necessary to control the key points and traffic channels of the buffer defense zone. Therefore, the defensive system of the Northern Song Dynasty against the Liao army was based on Yanmen as the frontier to the west of the Taihang Mountains and Taiyuan as the important town; to the east of the Taihang Mountains, Baigou as the trench and Zhending The three towns of Hejian, Zhongshan and Zhongshan are the horizontal axis, ensuring the traffic channels on both sides of Taihang Mountain, connecting Taiyuan to the west and guarding the danger of Yanmen. Once the Liao army invades in a large scale. The defenders guarding the key points of Bianjing were strong and clear. Slow down the enemy's advance. At the same time, they avoided fighting with the main force of the Liao army and attacked the small raiding detachments and logistics troops of the Liao army; while the rear field corps stationed in the area centered on Bianliang, Tokyo, used this time to complete assembly and maneuver to attack the Liao army. It should be said. In the decades of Song-Liao War since the founding of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Song army's elastic defense strategy was quite effective. This was very obvious when the Liao army went south in a large scale in 1004 AD. Although the Liao army went south in a large scale and penetrated deep into the Song Dynasty, The Song army's strongholds in the rear of the Liao army could not hold on. The Song army in the front had very strong morale under the emperor's personal expedition, and the Liao army's offensive had reached its limit. Under this circumstance, the top leaders of the Liao Kingdom also realized that the Liao Kingdom's strength at the time was not enough to achieve the strategic goal of capturing Bianjing and annihilating the enemy. In this general environment, the two countries signed the Tan Yuan Treaty of Generally Equal Rights. alliance. At this time more than a hundred years later, the balance of strength between the two sides on the North China Plain has undergone profound changes, and the Song Army once again became the attacking party. According to the content of the Song-Jin covenant, in order to avoid unnecessary conflicts between the Song and Jin armies, the Song army's offensive direction was limited to starting from Xiongzhou, crossing Baigou, and heading directly to Youzhou. As a result, the Juma River, Hutuo River, Zhang River, and Qin River, which run east-west on the North China Plain, became the main geographical obstacles to the Song army's attack. Yizhou and Zhuozhou, which controlled these rivers, became This is the nail that must be removed before the Song army attacks Youzhou. Zhuozhou. Zhou Ping jumped off the horse quickly. Compared with the last time he was sent as an envoy, the treatment of the Liao people was undoubtedly better. At least he no longer had to be locked in a carriage with no windows on all sides. He could also pretend to be curious and look at this thousand-year-old city, but in fact he was using the eyes of a former architect to judge the city's defense capabilities in the cold weapon age. "The generals are guarding the Chang Sheng Army, and Zhuozhou is staying behind. Chief Guo is here!" Following the somewhat prolonged Hongliangtong voice, Zhou Ping straightened his clothes a little and looked at the person who was walking out of the city gate. , I saw that the leader had a yellowish complexion, protruding cheekbones, and was dressed in a brocade robe. He smiled brightly and said to Xiao Huaidan and Zhao Zong who were leading the way: "I respectfully welcome Xiao Xianggong and Zhao Zong in this humble position!" "Mr. Guo is exempt from the courtesy!" Xiao ?Dan Dan's expression was a little weird, but Zhou Ping didn't notice it. His attention was completely attracted by the man in front of him. The reason is very simple. Anyone who studies the history of Xuanhe and Jingkang, Chang Shengjun is an unavoidable one. The concept of opening up, and Guo Yaoshi, the general manager of the Ever Victorious Army, is a figure that cannot be avoided. It can be said that the demise of the two great empires of Liao and Song Dynasty was all "contributed" to this man in front of him. "Xiao Xianggong and Master Zhao have worked hard all the way. I have prepared a banquet in my house to wash away the dust of the two Xianggong. I also ask you to give me a favor!" Medicine Master Guo's face was full of smiles and he looked gentle and polite. Compared with Looking at the men behind him who were wearing armor and looked like they were fighting men, he didn't look like he was from a small school of the Resentful Army who came out of the almost hellish Liaodong. Zhou Ping also had to lament that if nothing else, it was no fluke that Pharmacist Guo could reach this point just by relying on his adaptability. Zhou Ping was thinking about it when he suddenly heard a strange noise coming from behind him. When he looked back, he found that his follower Luo Sheer's eyes were red and his whole body was shaking. The strange noise was actually caused by his teeth clashing together. He was extremely angry. Zhou Ping quickly winked at Xue Liangyu who was behind him, and Xue Liangyu took Luo Sheer behind knowingly and sandwiched him in the group. "This must be Vice Envoy Zhou!" A voice came from behind. Zhou Ping turned around, but it was Medicine Master Guo. With a smile, he stretched out his hand and pulled Zhou Ping's right arm into his arms, saying in a low voice. : "A certain family heard that you are running under the command of Tong Shuai. Nowadays, things are in trouble. If there is any help in the future, please help me!" "What did Manager Guo say?" Zhou Ping couldn't help being surprised, secretly Although it was almost a semi-open secret between the Song and Liao Dynasties that the chief envoys were engaged in etiquette and the deputy envoys were engaged in intelligence, but not everyone knew about it. This guy from a small school with a background in the resentment army entered the industry very quickly. Qiang smiled and said: "The lower official is just a pawn under Tong Shuai. He can't compare with the general manager who has a lot of troops. Not to mention Tong Shuai, the emperors of both countries are very careful!" A wry smile appeared on Guo Yaoshi's face. : "With a heavy army in hand, a certain family is just forced to take this position to provide a safe living for thousands of children under its command, which is not as good as Brother Zhou. If you can throw this big burden away, let me Guo would be very satisfied if he went to the Southern Dynasty to be a farm servant!" What Guo Yaoshi said was sincere. Zhou Ping stared at the other person's eyes, trying not to see any hint of hypocrisy. No wonder Song Huizong and Tong Guan both said so. You have a lot of trust in me. This acting skill alone will be at least Oscar-winning actor level in future generations. "What did General Manager Guo say!" Zhou Ping also tried his best to pretend to be surprised on his face: "With a talent like General Manager Guo, if a certain family dares to make a decision for Tong Shuai, even if General Manager Guo comes naked, he is at least a controller. "If that's the case, thank you very much, dear brother!" Medicine Master Guo had a look of disbelief on his face, and then pretended to be honest: "In fact, it doesn't matter if you don't control it, as long as you can Just give my brothers a bite to eat!" "This is natural!" Zhou Ping hurriedly slapped his chest and issued a bad check, but he secretly laughed in his heart that this guy really showed his weakness. It was obvious that he still couldn't let go of his military power. . Pharmacist Guo chatted with Zhou Ping for a few words, and then ran forward to deal with Xiao Huaidan and Zhao Zong. Zhou Ping also saw that Xiao Huaidan's face was turning purple with anger, and thought to himself that he could not blame the other party. Chang Shengjun could be said to be the most powerful force in Yanjing Dao at that time. A very important military force, its leader openly colluded with the envoys of the enemy country in front of him. This was too disrespectful to him, but it also showed how unpopular the Yelv Chun regime was. "It's a pity that the Song army didn't even defeat such a weak enemy in history!" Zhou Ping couldn't help but sigh secretly. It seems that he should make a more pessimistic evaluation of Song's military strength. He would not fight if he could. Anyway, as long as the paper tiger is not poked If it is broken, others will not find it is a paper tiger. Although it is not difficult to see that Pharmacist Guo has tried his best to hold a banquet, no matter in terms of the quality of the wine and food or the level of the singing girls, there is still a considerable gap between the expectations of the envoys of the Song Dynasty. What's more important is that although Yaoshi Guo has a good talent for building relationships, after all, he is neither a scholar-bureaucrat nor has a good aristocratic education like Xiao Huaidan. If he wants to build a good relationship with Bachelor Zhao who is from a national family, he still gets twice the result with half the effort. . However, Zhou Ping also judged from the clues in the general manager's office that General Manager Guo had squeezed the bones and blood of the people of Zhuozhou to the point that he could not even organize a banquet that satisfied Bachelor Zhao. Obviously, these people did not have any fat. Spend it on himself. (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature. 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