At this time, no one knew that Yelü Dashi's main force had collapsed.

Even less known was that Yue Fei, who had just been demoted by the emperor to the northwest, had already reached Langjuxu Mountain, where he made a lasting contribution and forced Yelü Dashi back to the northern desert, changing the entire course of the war!

The effectiveness of the new military system of the Song Dynasty was also demonstrated in this battle.

When faced with a sudden war, the Song army's organizational and mobilization capabilities were many times stronger than they had been five years prior.

The supply capacity for provisions has been almost completely revolutionized. Liu Qi and Wang Si's army had just settled in the south of Heishui City, and the first phase of provisions had been almost completely supplied. The subsequent supply convoys were also running smoothly.

Tactics are indeed important in war. For example, Yue Fei's surprise attack caught Yelü Dashi off guard.

But in most cases, wars ultimately come down to resources, and the most obvious resources are population and food.

Therefore, the supply of food and provisions is actually a strategic matter.

The supply of provisions has always been Zhao Huan's biggest concern.

The emperor once set a rule: if there is any problem with the grain supplies, the person in charge of transporting the grain supplies will have their entire family wiped out!

For example, the officer in charge of supplying provisions this time was Fan Zhixu. If he caused problems with the supply of provisions and affected the front-line operations, his entire family would be exterminated.

Do not doubt the emperor's determination to exterminate three generations of a family; he is even capable of doing so with nine generations.

Not only were Liu Qi and Wang Si well-supplied with provisions, but Wu Jie on the western front and Zhe Keqiu on the eastern front also had their provisions not delayed due to the war.

No one dared to delay on this matter, because anyone who delayed even slightly was beheaded by Fan Zhixu.

If he didn't cut it off, the emperor would exterminate his entire family.

Not only that, Xingqing Prefecture dispatched another 30,000 troops, with Wang Kuian serving as the temporary commander-in-chief and supervisor of the entire army, to head to Heishui City.

They were all prepared for Yelü Dashi's army to march south, and at the same time, various prefectures in Shaanxi were mobilizing their troops.

Marshal Zhong Shidao issued an order to send an additional 200,000 troops into the Hetao region to fight Yelü Dashi to the death.

The officials in the imperial court, far away in the capital city of Tokyo, were in an uproar. Zhou Chao, the Minister of the Three Departments, was cursing Li Gang, the Privy Councilor, during a meeting in the Hall of State Affairs.

He placed the grain consumption figures for the Northwest War Zone and the Yan-Yun War Zone on his desk and angrily exclaimed, "This is blatant waste! And now your Privy Council still dares to ask for grain!"

"The entire Song Dynasty is facing a food shortage this year. The grain that was just transported back from Champa can only meet the needs of Tokyo and Jinghu Road. If more grain is diverted, the people will have nothing to eat!"

His spittle flew onto the table: "It's winter now, and the Lunar New Year is just around the corner. Are you planning to let the people have a year of famine?! Do you know how many people are starving to death?!"

"Li Gang, let me tell you, there's no grain!"

Zhou Chao made his stance clear: if he really transferred grain to Hetao Road for Li Gang, and people in Shaanxi Road starved to death and unrest broke out, Zhou Chao would lose his head.

Li Gang was also a straightforward man. His face flushed red, he slammed his fist on the table and roared, "The soldiers at the front are fighting a bloody battle. Uncle Fan Qian (Fan Zhixu's courtesy name) has already sent three memorials to urge for grain supplies. If the Hetao Road is lost, can you, as the Commissioner of the Three Departments, bear the responsibility?"

Zhou Chao retorted firmly, "If this becomes a peasant uprising in Shaanxi, can you, Li Gang, bear the responsibility?"

Xu Churen's head was throbbing. Grain could not be diverted any more, otherwise it would really cause a famine. Once there was no food, people would freeze and starve to death, which would inevitably lead to a large-scale popular uprising.

The emperor is most sensitive to the people's livelihood. If a popular uprising occurs, given the emperor's temperament, he will definitely turn his back on everyone and they will all lose their heads.

If only this war could end soon!

After spewing their saliva, the ministers of the various government offices returned to their respective offices.

This matter had not yet reached the level of the emperor's responsibility, so Xu Churen quickly wrote a letter to Zhong Shidao, explaining the situation regarding the grain and hoping that Zhong Shidao could resolve the issue from a military perspective.

End the war as soon as possible.

Zhong Shidao replied to him: "The border crisis is critical, and there is no room for error!"

This really put Xu Churen and Zhou Chao in a bind.

In Xingqing Prefecture, Marshal Zhong Shidao had just finished discussing matters with the officials of Xingqing Prefecture. Although he appeared calm on the surface, he was actually very worried.

As a marshal, his duty was to win great victories and protect the country.

But precisely because he was a marshal, he had to think about some issues from a higher perspective, such as the issue of allocating grain.

According to Fan Zhixu's statistics, the Hetao region also needs to prepare 100,000 shi of grain.

After all, we must be prepared for a protracted war when facing the formidable Yelü Dashi!

This is the best possible solution.

But he also knew that the Song Dynasty was deeply troubled by food shortages this year, and to transfer more grain would be to snatch food from the people's bowls.

Shaanxi had suffered greatly from the war against Xia two years prior, and was in a period of recuperation and rebuilding.

Drawing more grain at this time would undoubtedly make matters worse, as the grain supply in the Jingxi Railway was also insufficient.

If this leads to a popular uprising, no one can bear the responsibility.

Yelü Dashi, however, seized the opportunity presented by the Song Dynasty's food shortage to launch a surprise attack.

Military reports from the front indicate that Xiping Prefecture on the western front and Heishan Prefecture on the eastern front have both been attacked.

Fortunately, Wu Jie stabilized the situation on the western front. Although Zhe Keqiu and Yao Pingzhong were at odds, they worked together to stabilize the situation on the eastern front during this critical moment.

However, all of these hint at the problem of food and supplies.

As things stand, there is enough food; it has all been delivered.

But what about two months later?

If the supply chain breaks down, the front lines will collapse without a fight.

In order to avoid having his entire family wiped out, Fan Zhixu wrote memorials to the Privy Council and the State Council with an almost frantic enthusiasm, as if to say, "If you don't give me food, I'll fight you to the death."

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