Inside the Qing army camp, the Fourth Prince and General Shen Hebi were discussing the war.
"Your Majesty, over this long period of time, I have fought the Xiongnu more than a dozen times. I have discovered that the Xiongnu have a deep understanding of our Eight Banners formations, and I fear that there are spies within our ranks!" Although Shen Hebi has suffered several defeats in succession, he has also observed the Xiongnu's tactics.
The Seventeenth Prince continued, "Could it be that there is a traitor in our army who leaked our plans beforehand, which is why the Xiongnu were able to cleverly respond each time?"
Shen Hebi shook his head. "But every time we make strategic plans, it's just a few of us discussing them, and then the generals assign tasks to each one. How could they possibly know our plans?" He had suspected there was a spy within the organization before, so he deliberately made sure they only deployed their own parts during battles, but they still suffered a major defeat.
The Fourth Prince sighed. The enemy knew a great deal about our forces, yet our army hadn't even figured out the reason. The situation was truly unfavorable! "According to my spies, some members of the enemy army are familiar with the Eight Banners formations. Therefore, every time we fight, they can effectively break through our defenses, turning defense into offense and defeating our army in one fell swoop." The Fourth Prince felt it was time to let them know about this.
Shen Hebi and the Seventeenth Master were shocked. They had always suspected there were traitors in the military camp, but they never thought that they had used the Eight Banners Formation so many times. Anyone who understands the formation can easily break through it.
"Your Majesty, but only the Eight Banners soldiers know the Eight Banners formation. How did the Xiongnu know it?" The Seventeenth Prince was puzzled. Could it be that there were Eight Banners people in the enemy camp?
"I haven't found out about this yet!" He had already sent his secret guards to investigate, but he didn't know the results. "But even so, when we didn't use the Eight Banners formation, the enemy seemed to be able to easily see through our intentions and objectives, and easily break through our defenses." Shen Hebi became more and more angry as he thought about it. He had been leading troops in battle for so many years and had never encountered such a thing.
Seeing that General Shen was agitated, Fourth Master comforted him, "General Shen, please calm down. The enemy is retreating from our side one after another because our army has lost several battles in a row, and the morale of our soldiers is low, so this situation is getting worse."
Shen Hebi felt sorry for Fourth Master. The enemy knew everything about our side, but he knew nothing about the enemy's situation. He was really disappointed in Fourth Master.
"Your Majesty, I wish to resign from the position of Grand General to demonstrate the Emperor's authority!" Shen Hebi thought that he was getting old and perhaps he was truly no longer suitable for the position of Grand General!
Fourth Master hurriedly stopped him, "General, what do you mean? Now is the time when we need people, so don't blame yourself anymore!" Shen Hebi has fought for the Qing Dynasty all his life. Although he has lost a few battles, his ability and loyalty are evident to all.
"Your Majesty, I am truly unsuitable for the position of Grand General. I beg you to choose someone more capable!" Shen Hebi thought it was time for him to abdicate and give way to a more worthy person.
When Fourth Master heard Shen Hebi say this, he was furious. "General Shen, given the current state of our army, if you step down now, do you still want to win this battle?" Fourth Master knew that everyone had their own thoughts, but everything should be for the sake of the overall situation.
The Seventeenth Prince chimed in, "Yes! General, we should prioritize the overall situation now! If you were to step down now, the soldiers would likely become even more demoralized!" Shen Hebi then stood up and dared not say another word.
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