Chapter 444: Plan
The night was as dark as water, cold and chilly, just like Xiao Lin's mood at this moment.
In the main tent, Xiao Lin sat at the head, and the generals stood on both sides, not daring to make a sound.
Suddenly, the tent was opened, and General Zuo and the military doctor walked in.
General Zuo had multiple injuries on his body, and he had just been bandaged with medicine, and his face was pale and tired.
Xiao Lin glanced at him and waved for him to sit down.
The military doctor stepped forward and reported: "Your Highness, the right general is seriously injured. He has a high fever after falling into a coma. If he can't survive tonight, I'm afraid he will die..."
"Then let him die." Xiao Lin gritted his teeth in anger, and every word was squeezed out from between his teeth, wrapped in heavy anger.
The military doctor fell silent and swallowed the rest of the words.
Originally, he wanted to say that if he could be treated with the secret medicine of the Nanyan royal family, Tianxu Dan, there would
still be a chance of survival. But it was obvious that Xiao Lin didn't want to save him.
The generals looked at each other secretly, and no one dared to plead for the right general.
Today, Nanyan was badly defeated. The Right General was to blame. Even if he was still alive, Xiao Lin would have killed him as a warning to others. How could he waste the secret medicine to save him?
Tianxu Dan is extremely precious. Only ministers with outstanding achievements have been rewarded with one. How could a guilty minister deserve it?
After dealing with the life and death of the Right General, Xiao Lin dismissed the military doctor and discussed matters with the generals.
Someone said cautiously: "Now our army is far inferior to Dazhao, and it may be difficult to defeat them again."
Xiao Lin looked at him coldly and angrily: "You want me to withdraw my troops and go back in disgrace?"
The man said with a stiff face: "If we continue to fight, I am afraid that our army will... suffer more losses."
The words "the whole army was annihilated" rolled around in his teeth, and he didn't dare to say it out loud.
Now, let alone taking Yicheng, even saving himself is as difficult as ascending to heaven.
Seeing that someone had taken the lead, the other generals also echoed and advised Xiao Lin to withdraw his troops back to Nanyan and stop the losses in time.
However, Xiao Lin was unwilling to give up. He pounded the table angrily and said, "You all know very well what it means for me to go back like this!"
Rather than letting him go back to be punished after losing the battle, losing the throne forever, and all his previous efforts going to waste, it is better to die on the battlefield.
The generals were silent after hearing this.
Xiao Lin only cares about the throne and his own gains and losses, but does not care about the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers. How can they agree with this?
"You are rebelling. Are you going to disobey the commander's order? Then I will kill you now!" Xiao Lin was furious and stood up and drew his sword.
The generals knelt down hurriedly: "I dare not."
"Dare not? What do you mean?" Xiao Lin held the sword and paced in front of them, full of threat.
The generals were so scared that their backs were soaked with cold sweat, and they didn't know what to do.
If they went against Xiao Lin, they had no doubt that Xiao Lin would really kill them. But if they followed Xiao Lin, they would definitely lose if they continued to fight.
If the whole army was really wiped out, it would be the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers, and they couldn't bear it.
When they were in a dilemma, the left general spoke.
"Your Majesty, calm down."
Xiao Lin turned his head and looked at the left general with a very dissatisfied look: "You also want to persuade me to withdraw the army?"
Xiao Lin regretted today's battle very much. If he sent the left general to attack the South Gate, the result would definitely not be like this.
It's a pity that he was fooled by the right general at that time and thought it was a battle that he must win, so he appointed him. Thinking about it now, I really regret it so much that I gnashed my teeth in hatred.
In comparison, it was the left general who had a better chance of marching and fighting. Not only did he hold back nearly 20,000 people from Dazhao with his 10,000 infantry, he also expected that Dazhao would intercept them halfway and made arrangements in advance, saving several thousand soldiers.
Now that the right general is dead, the left general is the only one left in the army to rely on, and Xiao Lin really doesn't want to be at odds with him.
The left general glanced at the generals kneeling on the ground, and thought seriously: "With our current military strength, we are indeed no match for Dazhao. Continuing the battle is just courting our own destruction."
"So?" Xiao Lin gritted his teeth.
General Zuo said calmly, "So if we want to win, we need to take a long-term view."
Xiao Lin was surprised by this. He raised his eyebrows and said, "Go on."
General Zuo said carefully, "Our army has been badly damaged. Dazhao will not miss this opportunity and will launch a fierce attack in the next few days. Rather than passively taking the beating, it is better to take the initiative to evacuate and retreat to Shuncheng."
Shuncheng is a border town in Nanyan, just on the other side of Changling Mountain, only a few dozen miles away, and can be reached in half a day.
"Then what?" Xiao Lin asked patiently.
General Zuo not only has the emperor's trust, but also has great prestige among the generals. If he can support us, it will be much smoother.
General Zuo said calmly, "More than half of the troops of the main army and the beast army have been killed. It is unlikely to write a letter to request reinforcement, but the beast army can be mobilized."
"Dispatch the beast army, plus the 20,000 troops in Shuncheng, and we should be able to fight Dazhao again."
Shuncheng originally had 70,000 troops stationed, and Xiao Lin transferred 50,000 away, leaving only 20,000.
50,000 plus 20,000, plus the help of the beast army, is equal to the troops of Dazhao, and has a 50% chance of winning.
Xiao Lin insisted on not retreating, and of course he had considered the troops of Shuncheng.
After listening to General Zuo, he thought for a moment and said, "General, what you said makes sense. I will write a letter and send it back to the capital later. But I don't agree with the withdrawal of Shuncheng." "
Changling Mountain is a sacred place for raising tigers. We fought hard to conquer it. There is no reason to give it up."
Setting up camp in Changling Mountain is convenient for raising tigers. Secondly, it is close to Yicheng, which is convenient for attacking.
If we retreat to Shuncheng, the tiger-raising place is far away. It takes time and effort to summon troops. It takes nearly a day to travel to Yicheng, which is not conducive to fighting.
It is easy to abandon Changling Mountain, but it is difficult to take it back.
"This..." General Zuo frowned. What Xiao Lin said is not unreasonable.
Xiao Lin said: "I know what the general is worried about. Later, the King of Japan went to Shuncheng in person to dispatch troops for reinforcement."
"It will take at least more than 20 days to dispatch the beast army from the capital. It will be very difficult to deal with the attack of Dazhao in such a long time." General Zuo was worried.
Xiao Lin said arrogantly: "Judging from the recent battles, Da Zhao has not yet prepared everything to restrain the beast army, and will not launch an attack easily. Even if there is a battle, with the military strength of Shuncheng, it can also compete."
Da Zhao will not send out all its troops to defend Yicheng, and will definitely leave a part of its troops behind. In this way, the military strength of the two armies is almost the same, and it is still unpredictable who will win and who will lose.
Seeing that Xiao Lin had made up his mind, the left general knew that persuasion would not sway him, so he had to give up.
Xiao Lin was in a good mood after his major concern was resolved. He looked down at the generals kneeling on the ground and said: "Are you willing to advance and retreat with me and the generals?"
At this point, can they still say they are unwilling?
Everyone sighed and said in unison: "We are willing to obey the order of the prince."
"Very good." Xiao Lin was satisfied, put away his knife, sat back and raised his hand and said: "Everyone get up."
Everyone got up, Xiao Lin ordered people to bring paper and pen to write a letter, and General Zuo led everyone out of the tent.
After walking far away and confirming that Xiao Lin could not hear, everyone asked General Zuo: "Why do you want to help the prince?"
General Zuo sighed and said: "What if I don't help? Will I risk my life with you to persuade you?"
Everyone heard this and suddenly their eyes were opened.