surrender?
Even Feng Xiaotian couldn't help but feel a little surprised.
This Ge Hang is a fanatical militant of the Xingluo Empire. Would he defect to the Tiandou Empire? This is obviously impossible.
Feng Xiaotian immediately thought of a possibility. Ge Hang had the strength of a Soul Saint. He might enter Huangshi City under the pretext of surrender and capture Xiao Se. By then, the army of the Xingluo Empire would be able to take over Huangshi City without any effort.
For some reason, Xiao Se believed Ge Hang's surrender without even asking, and immediately ordered the city gates to be opened to welcome them into the city.
"Are all the generals defending the city nowadays so brainless?" Feng Xiaotian couldn't help but complain in his heart, but he still had a smile on his face as he followed Ge Hang into the city.
Xiao Se walked down the city wall and immediately took them to the command post.
"Brother Ge, you're finally here." There were no outsiders around, and Xiao Se's attitude became extremely flattering, as if he was the one who surrendered.
No, he has rebelled.
Feng Xiaotian's heart tightened. The generals defending Huangshi City had all rebelled. Wouldn't it be easy for the Xingluo Empire to take over this military fortress? "Brother Xiao, you have worked hard in the Tiandou Empire over the years. I wonder how many soldiers are there in the city now?" Ge Hang asked with a smile.
Xiao Se sighed, "Originally, the Tiandou Empire stationed 30,000 soldiers here, but for some reason, 27,000 of them were withdrawn last month, leaving only 3,000 soldiers to defend the city!"
"Three thousand!" Ge Hang stood up suddenly.
Suddenly, he laughed and said, "It seems that Xue Qinghe has taken the initiative to give up Huangshi City. Brother Xiao, have you been exposed?"
Xiao Se explained helplessly: "The Empire has transferred all those troops to the Barak Kingdom. Besides, if I were exposed, I would have been captured by those nobles long ago. How could I stay here?"
This Xiao Se had accepted benefits from Ge Hang many years ago and had already surrendered to the Xing Luo Empire.
Feng Xiaotian understood that this decision was most likely proposed by his teacher. After all, the military strength of the Xingluo Empire far exceeded that of the Tiandou Empire. Fighting them to the death at the beginning of the war would only waste manpower.
But in Ge Hang's eyes, he didn't think so, "It seems that Xue Qinghe thought we would start a war from the Barak Kingdom. But that's good, the cities nearby probably don't have many guards."
"Brother Xiao, have you arranged your people? My troops will enter the city later and cannot be attacked by you."
Xiao Se just smiled evilly, and the next moment, the sound of fighting came from the city wall.
Immediately afterwards, the city gate that was supposed to be closed was pushed open.
Ge Hang was very satisfied with Xiao Se's approach and immediately fired a signal flare. His five thousand troops entered the city upon hearing the news.
"Brother Xiao, you will be one of my deputy generals from now on. If you work hard, you will have the opportunity to become a general in the future." Ge Hang said with satisfaction.
Xiao Se smiled flatteringly and said, "Brother Ge, don't worry. I will go through fire and water for you without hesitation."
Feng Xiaotian didn't agree with these words. This Xiao Se had no backbone at all, and he was still expected to fight in battle? It was good enough that he didn't run away from the battlefield.
Not long after, Ge Hang's troops captured Huangshi City without bloodshed.
As for the original soldiers defending the city, those who were unwilling to surrender were all killed. Those who were willing to surrender would serve as cannon fodder in the next battle!
…
The news of the fall of Huangshi City and the news that the Xingluo Empire declared war on the Tiandou Empire swept across the continent at the same time.
The reason given by the Xingluo Empire was simple. The strong men of the Tiandou Empire massacred the Nanyun City of the Xingluo Empire. The Tiandou Emperor Xue Qinghe not only did not actively cooperate in handling the matter, but instead openly challenged the Xingluo Empire.
As the emperor of the Xingluo Empire, Dai Mubai should seek justice for the tens of thousands of innocent people in Nanyun City.
This reason may seem absurd, but the statement he made earlier made the civilians of the Xingluo Empire believe that the massacre was committed by the Tiandou Empire. Now, Dai Mubai took the opportunity to declare war, which in their eyes was justified.
In the court of the Tiandou Empire, because the war had already begun, Xue Qinghe invited Han Yu to come over according to the request of the Spirit Hall to act as the speaker of the empire.
"Ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous!" Many ministers of the Tiandou Empire were so angry that their teeth were itching.
"My dear ministers, please don't panic. We should come up with a plan as soon as possible!" Xue Qinghe spoke to calm everyone down.
"Your Majesty, I am willing to lead an army of 100,000 to fight a decisive battle with the Xing Luo Empire." Marshal Ge Long stepped forward and said.
He was the highest-ranking general in the Tiandou Empire. Although he knew that Xue Qinghe's throne was not obtained in a legitimate way, he never criticized him from beginning to end, let alone betrayed him.
He was devoted to the Tiandou Empire, and many of Xue Qinghe's policies after he came to power were biased towards the common people, which was completely in line with his interests.
Xue Qinghe smiled faintly, "Marshal Ge Long, I have no objection to you leading the troops to attack, but the Xing Luo Empire has a total of 200,000 troops, and you only have 100,000 soldiers. Can you defeat them?"
After all, Ge Long was in Tiandou City, and he knew limited information about the border.
Moreover, the Xingluo Empire's army was equipped with Tang San's hidden weapons, and many spirit masters had joined the team. The 100,000-strong army of the Tiandou Empire would be lucky to destroy 10,000 of its opponents.
There was even a risk that Goron would be killed in battle.
For the Tiandou Empire, Ge Long is the backbone of the empire's soldiers. If he dies on the battlefield, the morale of the Tiandou Empire's army will collapse.
According to the news from Feng Xiaotian, the general who led the 200,000-man army of the Xingluo Empire was the second elder of the Haotian Sect. In terms of tactical accomplishment, he might not be as good as Ge Long, but if it was a one-on-one fight, how could Ge Long, who only had the strength of a Soul Douluo, be his opponent? "Your Majesty, are you serious?" Ge Long looked strange.
He didn't even know the enemy's troop strength, so how could Xue Qinghe, who was in the palace, know?
Of course, he would not guess Xue Qinghe's thoughts and just thought that it was provided by Han Yu.
"Today, I have summoned all of you here. One reason is for the upcoming war; the other is to announce that from today on, Dean Han will be the Imperial Master. From now on, all arrangements regarding the war will be planned by the Imperial Master."
Han Yu didn't want to be the imperial teacher, but if he didn't have an official position in the empire, it would be impossible for him to mobilize the army.
The position of the Imperial Master is second only to the Emperor. He is below one person and above ten thousand people.
Of course Ge Long was not convinced. He knew that Han Yu was very strong personally, even much stronger than him, but personal bravery did not mean that he could lead troops to fight.
Moreover, the position of the Imperial Master usually does not leave Tiandou City. In this way, can he command the soldiers on the front line? Once the command is wrong, the soldiers of the Tiandou Empire will bleed.
"Your Majesty, please take back your order. I am willing to stop the invasion of the Xing Luo Empire for the Empire. If I cannot stop the invasion of the Xing Luo Empire, I am willing to die as an apology!"
Ge Long issued a military order, clearly demonstrating his determination not to let Han Yu command the war.
Han Yu, who had been silent, finally said slowly: "Marshal Ge Long, Huangshi City has fallen, and the next is the three cities in the rear. If I remember correctly, the total number of soldiers defending the three cities is only 10,000. Even if you gather 200,000 troops and set off now, by the time you get there, the four cities of Huangshi will have already fallen."
Goron retorted, "The troops of the Barak Kingdom will assist us in retaking the Yellow Four Cities."
"No." The speaker was Xue Qinghe, "I have already ordered that the Kingdom of Barak must defend the territory of the kingdom to the death and will never support other places!"
"Your Majesty, this..." Ge Long was dumbfounded.
There is no wrong version in the 1619 book forum!
The army of the Barak Kingdom has always been the most powerful army of the Tiandou Empire. Without their assistance, how can we resist the Xingluo Empire? Han Yu said: "Our preparations are far less than those of the Xingluo Empire. Fighting them to the death will only waste the elite forces of the empire. Marshal Ge Long, keep enough manpower so that we will have a chance to counterattack the Xingluo Empire later. They can fight to support themselves, but we can't."
"If the empire's elite troops are wiped out at the beginning of the war, then even if we have the opportunity to counterattack later, it will still be difficult for us to recover all the land."
Ge Long certainly understood the truth behind this. They could indeed shrink strategically, but the people might not buy it. By then, those merchants would turn around and join the Xing Luo Empire to help them fight, and then their Tian Dou Empire would be in danger.
Han Yu smiled faintly and continued, "Marshal Ge Long, we are not doing nothing. We can send out elite spirit master teams of ten people to attack the enemy from behind. All teams should be dispersed. If the enemy wants to encircle and suppress us, it will consume a lot of their supplies. And we will only lose ten people at most at a time."
"In addition, the Spirit Hall will also arrange a number of spirit masters to assist us in the organization of this spirit master team."
The Spirit Hall only has a corps of soul masters. Although they do not directly join the war, it is not a problem for them to send out some low-level soul masters.
Even though the Xing Luo Empire's army was equipped with Tang San's hidden weapons, they were just ordinary people after all. Facing the attacks of spirit masters, they would most likely be so nervous that they would forget to use the hidden weapons, or even shoot them at their own people.
Ge Long analyzed the situation in his mind and felt that Han Yu's method was a pity, so he asked, "Where does Dean Han plan to launch the first battle of the counterattack against the Xingluo Empire? We can't retreat all the way to Tiandou City."
"Jialing Pass!" Han Yu said.
He didn't choose this place on purpose, mainly because the terrain of Jialing Pass is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Only by relying on Titled Douluo-level warriors to forcibly blast open the walls of Jialing Pass can there be a chance to break through. Of course, the defenders are not fools and will definitely send people to defend.
It can be said that even if the enemy has a Title Douluo and the highest combat power of one's side is only a Soul Douluo, it is still possible to successfully defend. Of course, except for Dugu Bo.
Xue Qinghe then asked, "Marshal Ge Long, do you still think that my decision was wrong?"
The ministers looked at each other.
They knew about guerrilla warfare, but it was difficult to implement. It was difficult for the Tiandou Empire to form hundreds of spirit master teams of ten people each.
But with the help of Spirit Hall, this problem can be easily solved.
When the Xingluo Empire invaded the Tiandou Empire, it was impossible for them to occupy only the four cities of Huangshi. As long as they marched straight in, the battle line would be very long. At this time, if they were attacked by the spirit master team in the rear, it was conceivable how much of a headache they would have.
But if they only occupied the four cities of Huangshi, there would be no need to prepare an army of 200,000.
All the ministers also understood Han Yu's brilliance.
Furthermore, the spirit master army did not need to attack the soldiers rushing to the front line. Burning their supplies would greatly slow down the enemy's offensive and buy time for the Tiandou Empire to build strong fortifications at Jialing Pass.
Ge Long continued to ask: "Your Majesty, there is one thing I don't understand. If the Xingluo Empire only fights as far as Jialing Pass and stops attacking, then won't we lose our land in vain?"
Yes, if Dai Mubai's appetite only stays in front of Jialing Pass, then wouldn't their move be a waste of territory? Xue Qinghe looked at Han Yu. He was just an ignorant puppet emperor, how could he understand military affairs.
Han Yu explained: "Jialing Pass is just the bottom line. They invaded first, so why can't we take the initiative to attack after we are ready?"
"Besides, don't you see how close Jialing Pass is to the Barak Kingdom?"
Jialing Pass is only a hundred miles away from the territory of the Barak Kingdom. If the Xingluo Empire reaches here, why can't they attack from both sides? Even if they don't advance here, the Barak Kingdom can still encircle these invaders together with the Tiandou Empire army.
Previously, Xue Qinghe not only withdrew troops from the four cities of Huangshi, but also transferred a total of 300,000 troops from other cities and kingdoms in the Tiandou Empire into the territory of the Barak Kingdom.
With these soldiers and the military strength of the Barak Kingdom, it will not be a problem to defend the Barak Kingdom.
According to Han Yu's idea, the Xingluo Empire will definitely continue to advance northward, and the Barak Kingdom will be located on their side. Once they take action, they can quickly cut off the enemy's logistics supply line and catch the turtle in the jar.
Hearing this, Ge Long completely dispelled his doubts. Moreover, the strategy formulated by Han Yu was a complete pity. The soldiers of the Xingluo Empire had won consecutive victories, so naturally they were arrogant. In this state, if they encountered a Waterloo, their morale would quickly collapse.
"Master, what should we do now?" asked Ge Long.
Han Yu smiled and said, "Marshal Ge Long, recruit and train soldiers in the empire first. The original soldiers will gather to the rear as soon as possible and assemble 500,000 troops near Jialing Pass."
The 200,000 troops of the Xingluo Empire are just the advance troops, and they will be supplemented by more soldiers later.
In a state of war, the speed of recruiting soldiers will be very fast. It is not impossible to fight a battle of one million people at Jialing Pass.
However, as a god, Han Yu did not intend to take action personally.
A million troops can be destroyed in a snap of his fingers, but he does not need to rely on killing to improve his strength. Moreover, many of the soldiers of the Xingluo Empire were also bewitched by Dai Mubai. Letting them live will allow for a better reconstruction of this continent in the future. (End of this chapter)