After returning to Jianmen Pass, Lu Yan immediately summoned his generals for a meeting.
"Although this battle was a great victory, the Northern Xiang Kingdom has not been seriously injured, so we must not let our guard down."
Lu Yan said in a deep voice.
"Next, we need to do two things well."
"First, strengthen the defense of Jianmen Pass to prevent a counterattack from the Northern Xiang Kingdom."
"Second, send people to investigate the strength and weakness of the Northern Xiang Kingdom, look for opportunities to fight, and strive to annihilate the Northern Xiang Kingdom's forces in one fell swoop."
"Your Excellency is wise!"
The generals said in unison.
"in addition,"
Lu Yan paused, his gaze sweeping over the crowd.
"Although we won this battle, we must also learn from our mistakes."
"Our intelligence work is not good enough."
"From now on, we must strengthen our intelligence gathering efforts to ensure we know ourselves and our enemy, so that we will never be defeated."
The generals all nodded in agreement.
At this moment, Li Kui suddenly spoke:
"My lord, I have a huge question!"
Lu Yan's eyelids twitched:
"What's your question? Hurry up and say it, stop dawdling."
"I just don't understand, that brat Mu Qing has run so far that only his butt is left, why didn't we chase after him?"
"If we capture them and take them hostage, won't the Northern Xiang Kingdom be begging for peace?"
Li Kui scratched his head, looking completely puzzled.
Lu Yan chuckled, patted Li Kui's big head, and explained:
"Xiao Kui, you idiot!"
"Mu Qing is a great general of the Northern Xiang Kingdom, he must have a bunch of underlings by his side!"
"If we chase after them, won't we get ganged up on and beaten to a pulp?"
"Besides, that old bastard is incredibly cunning. If he sets a trap for us, we'll have nowhere to turn to cry!"
"That's why you shouldn't pursue a cornered enemy, understand?"
"This is the wisdom passed down from our ancestors!"
Li Kui nodded, looking completely bewildered.
I feel like I understand, but I also feel like I don't.
Lu Yan waved his hand and roared at the crowd:
"Alright, alright, everyone disperse! Go back and recharge your batteries!"
"Continue training tomorrow morning. If those little brats from Beixiang Kingdom dare to come again, make sure they don't leave alive!"
The generals scattered in a flurry, afraid that if they were too slow, Lu Yan would catch them and make them do extra training.
...
On the other side, Mu Qing ran all the way back to his camp.
He dismounted, staggered a few steps, and almost fell to the ground.
A guard quickly stepped forward to support him and asked with concern:
"General, are you alright?"
Mu Qing waved his hand to indicate that he was fine, but his face was frighteningly pale.
He walked to the table, picked up the kettle, and gulped down several large mouthfuls before feeling a little better.
"General, please take a rest."
His personal guards advised him.
Mu Qing took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down.
He walked to the map, staring blankly at the direction of Shannan Prefecture, his fists clenched tightly.
He suffered heavy losses in this battle, and his strength was severely depleted.
"Report—"
A soldier covered in blood scrambled into the tent.
His voice trembled like a candle flickering in the wind.
"Reporting...reporting to the General, our army...our army..."
"What are you stammering about!"
Mu Qing slammed his hand on the table, and the already shaky table collapsed with a loud crack.
The soldier trembled with fear and stammered:
"Our army... has less than 40,000 men left..."
"What?!"
Mu Qing felt a sudden darkness before her eyes and almost collapsed to the ground.
Of the 100,000 troops, less than 40,000 remain. This battle was fought worse than a man's crotch!
Mu Qing slumped down on the tiger-skin chair, the rough animal hide digging painfully into his buttocks, but he felt nothing at all.
His eyes were bloodshot, and the whites of his eyes had a yellowish tinge.
He looked as if he hadn't slept for days, his face devoid of any color.
He took a deep breath, trying to suppress the surging anger in his chest.
Now is not the time to lose your temper; the most urgent task is to find a way to turn this damn situation around.
"The muskets of Shannan Prefecture... are simply divine weapons!"
The guard said with lingering fear, his voice trembling, as if he were still in terror.
"Our soldiers were simply unable to resist, and they fell in droves..."
As he spoke, he raised his hands, which were trembling, and gestured in the air.
It's as if you can still see the horrific scene of blood and flesh flying everywhere.
Mu Qing nodded helplessly. How could he not know how powerful the musket was?
These defeats were all thanks to those damned muskets!
Without this thing, he would have already razed Shannan Prefecture to the ground and captured that bastard Lu Yan alive!
"Now, Lu Yan has destroyed all the grain and provisions..."
Mu Qing rubbed his temples hard, feeling waves of throbbing pain.
He felt a deep sense of helplessness. "What should we do now?"
The tent was deathly silent, the atmosphere so heavy it was suffocating.
The generals looked at each other, their faces full of worry.
They all lowered their heads, not daring to meet Mu Qing's gaze, and no one could think of a good solution.
Mu Qing paced back and forth in the tent irritably, his heavy footsteps echoing in the silent tent.
The heavy military boots pounded on the carpet with a dull thud.
He knew in his heart that if he retreated back to Beixiang in such a disgraceful manner, the king would definitely not let him off easily.
With an army of 100,000, they couldn't even take down a small prefecture like Shannan. This is an utter disgrace!
The king would surely use his poor performance in battle as a pretext to punish him, or even behead him.
However, continuing the attack on Shannan Prefecture would be asking for trouble, akin to throwing an egg against a rock.
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