At dusk, under Yun Zheng's order, all those who had war horses pressed forward.
Even the thousand or so Guifang cavalry who had just surrendered pressed forward.
At this time, they were less than five miles away from the enemy's rear guard.
Both the Guifang and Beifu armies could clearly see each other's armies.
Faced with the relentless pressure from the Northern Army, the Guifang army was already in a state of panic.
Even though they had an absolute advantage in military strength, they still did not dare to attack.
Tuo Lin is still in a coma, and now, Prince Chi Yan has become the backbone of their army of tens of thousands.
At this moment, Chi Yan was also panicked, and he urgently summoned all the generals to discuss countermeasures while still retreating.
"Let's fight them! As long as we can capture Yun Zheng alive, we still have a chance to turn defeat into victory!"
"What can we use to fight? Our army has no morale at all. Fighting against the Northern Army now is just suicide!"
...
...
"In my opinion, the enemy doesn't have that many people! If there really was a large army behind them, they would have been here by now! We have been deceived by the enemy before!"
"Yes, let's give it a try. We still have a chance! If we just keep retreating, our army will only lose its morale!"
"It's easy for you to think of it. Don't forget that Muliju has already been defeated! Another large force of the enemy will soon come over. By then, we won't even have the chance to retreat..."
"We can attack with all our forces. Can't the enemy retreat and buy time?"
“…”
The Guifang generals are now arguing with each other.
Now, many people have begun to suspect that the pursuers behind them are only this small number of people.
Under the current circumstances, their only way to win is to defeat the pursuers behind them and capture Yun Zheng alive!
If they just run away, their cavalry will have a chance to escape.
But what about their infantry?
Can those infantrymen outrun the enemy's cavalry?
Moreover, if they fled in panic, they would not be able to take their food and supplies with them!
Simply running away is obviously the stupidest way.
Listening to the quarrels among the generals, Chi Yan couldn't help feeling dizzy.
He also knew that simply running away was not a solution.
But if he really had to fight a big battle with the Northern Army, he wouldn't have the courage to do so.
The news that Tuohuan and his son led their troops to surrender to the enemy and that another army was defeated had spread in the army.
Now, all their tens of thousands of troops are in panic.
Without morale, even if the pursuers are really only that few in number, what can they use to fight them?
Just when Chi Yan was at a loss, the rear army suddenly sent someone to deliver a letter, saying it was a handwritten letter from Jingbei King Yunzheng.
Yun Zheng didn’t know that Tuo Lin had fallen into a coma, and the envelope still had: From Tuo Lin himself.
Chi Yan tore open the envelope at random and took out the letter inside.
Yun Zheng clearly stated the conditions for letting them go.
First, they had to leave 30% of the food and 5,000 war horses to the Northern Army as spoils of war.
Second, leave 20,000 people as prisoners!
Third, the Guifang forces withdrew from the Quanrong and ceded 300 miles of land.
Fourth, Guifang paid tribute to Dagan and offered 5,000 war horses and 10,000 taels of gold as tribute every year.
Finally, Yun Zheng also set a time limit for them.
If the Guifang do not agree to Yun Zheng's conditions before noon tomorrow, Yun Zheng will lead his troops to attack.
To be honest, the conditions offered by Yun Zheng were not too excessive.
However, after reading the contents of the letter, Chi Yan still felt angry.
"This is too much!"
Chi Yan angrily handed the letter in his hand to the generals, his face turning ashen.
Yun Zheng clearly treated them as lambs to be slaughtered!
You want to take so many things from them without spending any effort?
But no matter how angry he was, Chi Yan had to start considering Yun Zheng's conditions.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"
"Instead of this, it is better to fight Yun Zheng to the death!"
"What if we lose the battle?"
"Almost all of our troops are here. If we are defeated, we, the Guifang, will be finished!"
"In fact, we can consider Yun Zheng's conditions! If we don't agree now, when their other army attacks us, we may not even have the chance to make peace..."
The Guifang generals started arguing fiercely again.
Some advocate war, some advocate peace, and some are wavering.
Not only did the soldiers below lack morale, but the generals who led the troops had basically lost confidence as well.
Especially after learning that Muliju was defeated!
Even a smart man like Tuohuan chose to lead his troops to surrender, which shows that there was basically no hope of winning this battle.
"Your Highness, we must not agree to Yun Zheng's conditions!"
Muliju tried his best to persuade them: "Instead of giving them so many things for free, why not take 20,000 troops to cover their retreat! Winter is coming soon, and the enemy will have a hard time keeping up with the long expedition! As long as we withdraw, the enemy will never be able to invade our territory! But if we give them food and grass, they can continue to fight!"
"We need to be cautious about this matter!"
A general stood up to object, "How many people can we take to cover the retreat? Don't forget, the enemy has another large army!"
This man's words were quickly recognized by several generals.
It is easy to say that we should cut off the rear.
A mere 10,000 troops are enough to cover our retreat?
Now the enemy's two armies are approaching!
If they do not accept Yun Zheng's conditions, the price they pay will be even greater!
Even the destruction of the country!
In fact, more than half of the people agreed to Yun Zheng’s conditions.
Putting aside the so-called bloodiness and courage, agreeing to Yun Zheng's conditions is their best choice at this time.
By using those conditions in exchange for the safe retreat of the remaining 40,000 troops, the Guifang could at least save some wealth.
If the Guifang nation were to squander all its wealth, it wouldn't be long before it was destroyed.
The Beihuan, which was once so powerful, was beaten and forced to surrender to Dagan. It is not shameful for Guixiang to surrender to Dagan.
Faced with the quarrel among the crowd, Chi Yan felt even more upset.
He actually wanted to agree to Yun Zheng's conditions, but he was unwilling to do so.
After hesitating for a long time, Chi Yan asked again tentatively: "Everyone, do you think that if we fight the enemy with all our strength, do we have a chance of winning? This battle was too cowardly, and this prince is really unwilling to accept it!"
Faced with Chi Yan's question, the generals fell silent.
Fight the enemy with all your might?
If it was before Muliju and his army were defeated, there would still be a chance.
Now, there is really little hope.
Now, the Guifang generals are filled with regret and annoyance.
When their army first arrived and morale was high, they should have advised Tuo Lin to just charge forward!
At that time, Tuo Lin was thinking about preserving his strength and trying not to fight head-on with the Northern Army. After Dayue Kingdom and Qiuchi defeated the enemy forces in the Sulu River Plain, they would be able to win in one battle.
It is this mentality that has led them to their current predicament.
One wrong step, all wrong!
Seeing that everyone was silent, Chi Yan already knew the answer in his heart.
There is little hope!
It can even be said that there is no hope of winning at all!
What should I do?
well!
Chi Yan sighed helplessly, and then ordered: "First, tell the soldiers of each unit to be vigilant and guard against the enemy's night attack. Then we will discuss it carefully to see if there is any other way..."
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