"The first victory is of course a good thing, but Nan Shang only showed one-third of its full strength. The rumored team of practitioners has not yet appeared. And this time, thanks to you, I think the current situation is not good. What do you think, Third Young Master?"

"The Southern Merchants are very strong, with more elite soldiers than us, and they do have a team of cultivators. Even if our army is composed of well-trained soldiers, it will be difficult to resist, but the advantage established in this battle will allow us to remain undefeated for a short period of time. But I have a question for the general, and I hope the general will not think Xia Xiao is stupid."

"Third Young Master is too modest. Please ask directly."

Xia Xiao would never forget the kindness of those who helped the Xia family, and would never lack courtesy. Lin Tian had helped the Xia family before, whether out of sympathy or the intuition of a general, he deserved his respect. In Lin Tian's eyes, Xia Xiao's eyes were cunning, and he seemed to be thinking about something that he had not thought of or paid attention to.

"How does the General plan to deal with Longgang?"

"As the first line of defense, we must naturally stabilize it and not open the country's borders to let the Southern Merchants invaders in."

"After Longgang, there is Xiyang. Although it is still far away, Xia Xiao feels that we cannot stick to this first line of defense, but should focus on the second line of defense."

"What's the meaning?"

If it was about some extraordinary tactics, Lin Tian would still listen to Xia Xiao's talk. He was a student at the academy, so his thoughts were definitely different from those of ordinary people. But when it came to military tactics and defense, Lin Tian was not arrogant, but he still felt that he was better than Xia Xiao. Xia Xiao seemed to sense his thoughts and shook his head slightly.

"General, the war between Daxia and Nanshang will last for a long time. War of attrition is the tactic we cannot face at the moment. You see, we are outnumbered and outnumbered by practitioners. The reason why Nanshang did not send out all its troops to crush us is just to conserve its troops. Although they sacrificed more soldiers than us today, we still cannot gain the upper hand in terms of percentage."

"What do you think should be done?"

Lin Tian did not express his thoughts, but raised his hand, signaling Xia Xiao to continue. The latter was not polite either. These words were the contents of the letter written by his second sister for him. His task was just to convey the meaning to Lin Tian. He was the leader of the army. Whether it was submitted to the emperor or to the powerful Qulun, it had to go through him.

The outcome of this war was like a balance. At this moment, Daxia was tilted upwards. If they wanted to raise Nanshang to be equal to Daxia, they would need a miracle. But even a miracle would require people to do it. The probability of a meteorite falling from the sky and crushing Nanshang people to death would never happen in this lifetime.

"First, we must seize this opportunity and launch a surprise attack on the premise of winning the next game. I suggest that we do it in the next few days. We don't need a lot of people. Ah Zhu and I can hide our auras and go straight to the deepest part to make some noise. It will be good if there are strong people in the Qulun Realm outside to support us and ensure that we can come back."

"Just the two of you?"

Xia Xiao and Lin Tian looked at each other. The former looked very serious behind the candlelight, but the more serious his look, the more scared Lin Tian became. As a general, he naturally had his own emotions, but it was his duty not to be moved by emotions. But Xia Xiao's suggestion was completely beyond his expectations and even disappointed him.

The opponent is an army of millions, among which there are as many practitioners as dogs, some strong and some weak. What can the two of them do? Xia Xiao has such an idea. Is he really a good idea, or is he a little arrogant? Lin Tian respects Xia Xiao enough to give him the opportunity to tell all his plans, but the more he talks, the more solemn Lin Tian's face becomes, and he is undecided about whether to praise or criticize.

"General, the purpose of the raid is not to deal a heavy blow to Nan Shang. Even a head-on confrontation cannot inflict heavy damage on them, let alone a raid by two of us. But now we need something to arouse the army's fighting spirit again. There is nothing more exciting than rushing into the enemy camp and burning their food supplies. No matter what arrangements Nan Shang makes, we can go there twice in a row. Such soldiers will definitely be able to stop Nan Shang's next attack."

"We don't know when the Southern Merchants will launch an attack. It could be half a week, or a whole week later, but it definitely won't be tomorrow, because they need to make battlefield arrangements just like us, and they also have to deal with the dead. This is a great opportunity! We have enough time to launch a surprise attack. As long as we succeed, we will have a great chance of winning the second time. If we win the first and second battles, our army will demonstrate unprecedented strength. By then, it will not be their bodies that will support them in the battle, but their will!"

"After three rounds, although we have suffered casualties, we have achieved our goal. As the time intervals of the war vary, our operational capabilities will obviously be weaker than those of Nanshang, so I think we should withdraw directly to Xiyang to ensure military strength. After the first and second divisions meet, we can resist. I am a dull young man, but before I set out, I asked the master of the academy for advice on military tactics. Although such tactics are a bit strange, it is incredible to voluntarily give up the first front, which is equivalent to opening the country's doors. But leaving the army behind is the top priority, otherwise how can we resist?"

Lin Tian, ​​who had many questions, fell silent when he heard the word "master of the academy". Ah Zhu looked at Xia Xiao, her eyes full of confusion. Isn't this the letter written by Xia Xiao? Why is it called "master of the academy"? She subconsciously wanted to ask, although her voice was very low and Lin Tian didn't care, but Xia Xiao had already taken over the topic.

"General, it's getting late. Should we prepare dinner?"

Lin Tian gave the order, and after thinking for a long time, he asked:

"Is this really what the academy master said?"

"I have no reason to lie to the general, because before the first unit retreats, my father and elder brother will also come. Although I am not a saint, I will not joke with the lives of my father and elder brother. Besides, I have tried my best to return from this war just to win."

When dinner came, Lin Tian was still silent. Ah Zhu bit the steamed buns mixed with grains one by one, and a few sips of egg drop soup were the best reward for half a day's hard work. A plate of rare minced garlic and diced meat was enough to show Lin Tian's attention to them. Xia Xiao was not as happy as Ah Zhu. He knew that this girl would not be greedy when she saw food, so he handed her his two steamed buns and looked at Lin Tian, ​​waiting for the latter to make a decision.

Lin Tian's yearning for the master of the academy is like Boya's yearning for Zhong Ziqi, who is more intelligent than the counselors in the dynasty. But he thinks it is not appropriate to open this door and let the southern merchants in.

Facing the Southern Merchants, it was difficult to hold on to a piece of land, and it was even more difficult to take it back. The troops in the rear could charge forward to support them in the battle, but if they retreated, they might lose a large piece of land. Lin Tian could not make a decision on such a risky behavior, but whether to report it to the emperor still required him to think over and over again.

Perhaps this behavior can confuse Nan Shang, make them relax their vigilance, and then achieve good results. But as Xia Xiao said, all the premises are that they must defeat Nan Shang, and they must seize the time to launch an attack tomorrow, but that kind of behavior is too crazy. Walking on the edge of the abyss, are you really not afraid of falling into it?

After chewing two bites of whole grain cake and drinking a mouthful of egg drop soup, Lin Tian felt the mellow taste of food in his mouth, but he did not answer Xia Xiao. The latter did not ask Lin Tian to believe him again and again. The previous words were long enough, and the rest depended on what decision Lin Tian made.

After dinner, Xia Xiao took Azhu to rest. He needed time to recover so that he could go on a raid tomorrow.

The powerful men of Daxia were also recovering. The moment the battle ended, they began to recover. Xia Xiao would go find them tomorrow. Even if Lin Tian did not report it, he would push Daxia to the winning side. He was never afraid of being spurned or gossiped by others. If he failed, he would bear the consequences. But even if there was only a one in ten chance, he would try. If he did not fight, he would have died on the way to the mountain.

There was no moon tonight, and it was extremely dark. Xia Xiao muttered that this was a good opportunity for a surprise attack, while walking into the spacious tent, sitting on his bed, forming seals with his hands, and absorbing the vitality of heaven and earth. Being able to enjoy a large bed that belonged to him alone on the battlefield was enough to highlight his and Ah Zhu's status.

Ah Zhu didn't know what Xia Xiao was mumbling, he just felt very tired and had no intention of practicing anymore, so he lay down on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

When many soldiers were fast asleep, Lin Tian was still thinking. On the edge of the battlefield during the day, many soldiers slept with dead bodies. However, those southern merchants whose bodies were not collected were only enough for these soldiers to rest their feet on. The purpose of the soldiers who stayed here at this time was obvious. They did not want the southern merchants to collect the bodies. The Daxia army called this behavior "Ya Mo". This was the second time it was used against the southern merchants, and it was only used against them.

The demons were cruel and needed the cooperation of military dogs. These furry children with keen sense of smell could detect the Nanshang soldiers who could not be heard or seen by the soldiers at night. They came from a distance to test the situation. In the process of attacking these soldiers, many military dogs died. However, these loyal military dogs protected the territory of Daxia even after their death. Just like at this moment, the soldiers and military dogs fell asleep because they were too tired, and some even snored.

The dogs lay at the feet of the soldiers, their heads on the ground, snoring no less than the soldiers. But a dog bark appeared in their minds, causing them to suddenly stand up and open their deep green eyes like the devils from hell.

"Woof!"

A dog bark made dozens of military dogs sit up. They stood up and barked wildly. When the soldiers sat up, they saw the horses fleeing in a hurry in the night and touched the heads of the military dogs beside them.

"Good job."

They would probably find a few bodies in the traps they had set up tomorrow morning, but it would not prevent them from sleeping now. Those who could sleep in such a place were all weathered veterans. They slept soundly, and the military dogs also slept soundly, imagining fighting bravely with their masters on the battlefield. Their sharp teeth could never hurt the soldiers of Daxia, but they might bite the bones of the southern merchants into pieces.

There were only a few blades of grass on the ice field high in the mountains. The horses galloped across it, becoming frightened and stumbling, almost falling.

Fujikawa is the closest city to Longgang, and the vanguards of Nanshang are stationed inside and outside the city. That's right, the army that almost competed with the Daxia Alliance was just the vanguard of Nanshang. However, the performance of this vanguard was not ideal, so General Tiemian is still looking for the reason with the generals in the camp.

The generals had no way to get information about Xia Xiao. Although Wang Ling sat at the top seat, which was no less important than the Iron-faced One, his words were gradually ignored by everyone, and he seemed to not be able to gain everyone's trust.

"Report——"

After a shout, the soldiers, who looked disheveled, covered in weeds and with their helmets askew, rushed into the camp. Before, at the city gate, his horse suddenly fell down, otherwise this would not have happened. But compared to these, the news he brought back was the most infuriating.

"General, there are still people from Daxia guarding there!"

The Iron-faced General waved his hand and ordered him to leave. He then smashed the wooden table in front of him with his palm, causing the noisy tent to quiet down again, with the sound of a pin drop being audible. The generals, both large and small, were shocked, and the counselors sighed secretly and looked at each other. The counselors did not choose to express their opinions, but some reckless generals had already said in a rough voice:

"These cowards are really going too far. But don't worry, General. When I capture Longgang, I will not leave them with intact bodies. I will make sure they have no bodies left to collect!"

"Shut up and say less."

A counselor offered some advice, but although it was light, it was misunderstood by the general, who immediately stood up and shouted angrily:

"I've been fighting for a whole day, isn't that more exhausting than you? And in the end you told me to shut up? I'm from the Southern Business community, not from the literary world! You've been denying my opinions before, so shouldn't we reorganize our troops and use our four million soldiers to crush Longgang? What do you mean by conserving our forces? Isn't that cowardice? You're just a strategist, hiding in the rear and being so cowardly, how can you talk about ruling the country and bringing peace to the world? What the hell are you trying to do?"

"How dare you! What do you think of the army? This is the fighting force that the country has cultivated with great effort. If ten people can be sacrificed, eleven will never be sacrificed. With your tactics, even if there are more troops, they will be exhausted. You are a reckless man who doesn't understand the art of war. Do you think you can take charge of the situation by rushing to the front? No matter how fast you rush, you can't keep everyone in mind!"

"Bullshit! How dare you fight me, a powerless dog? How dare you compete with me in leading troops? Go into the military camp and see who will listen to you?"

"Shut up."

This time, it was Tiemian who spoke and the generals stopped making noises.

"We've been arguing all night. A strong attack is too risky, and a steady approach is too conservative. But how can you have the best of both worlds? Go back and reflect on yourselves, reorganize tomorrow, and then talk about the meeting!"

The general lost on the battlefield today and was angry. After being refuted by the counselor, he snorted and left in anger. The counselor shook his head and sighed. He didn't care about the reckless man, but he was worried about his own inability to contribute. Most of them turned their heads every three steps, and finally saluted the iron-faced general with a bandaged arm and left quickly.

Soon, only Tiemian and Wang Ling were left here. Wang Ling looked at the candle that no longer flickered as people left and said calmly:

"We have argued all night but have not come to any conclusion. What do you think, General?"

"Xia Xiao disrupted our plan. We must re-formulate it in the future. However, I don't think we need to completely change the plan because of Xia Xiao. We can just hand him over to Senior Qu Lun. Our mission is not much different from before."

"Why didn't the general change his plan because of Xia Xiao? Is it because he doesn't have the ability, or does he have other ideas?"

Wang Ling hoped that the general would not take Xia Xiao too seriously. Even if he looked down on him, it was better than looking up to him. Nan Shang already valued Xia Xiao enough. If he continued like this, how could he stay here with dignity? Compared with Xia Xiao, Wang Ling did not attract the attention of Da Xia at all. They were originally students of the same mountain. Even though there was a gap in strength, this kind of treatment and the attention that the counselors and generals had paid to Xia Xiao before made him feel a little uncomfortable. And Lin Tian's answer made Wang Ling feel even worse.