"Everyone!"
Ruan Ping stood up, attracting the attention of everyone in the hall. Many people thought that Ruan Ping was going to personally make things difficult for Buddha He.
The atmosphere in the hall became more and more solemn.
"Everyone." Ruan Ping looked around and said, "Please listen to me. Now is not the time to hold anyone accountable. The most important thing is, what should the alliance do next? "
As soon as he said that, the hall fell silent again.
Everyone's mood instantly became heavy, and they no longer had the mood to argue.
That's right, what should the alliance do?
At this moment, there were only two choices.
One, continue to increase the number of troops and fight to the death with Shanhai City.
Although the alliance had suffered heavy losses, they still had a strong foundation, and there were still 110,000 soldiers left. In terms of numbers, they were still twice the number of Shanhai City's army.
As long as they gritted their teeth, they could still fight.
Two, tuck their tails between their legs and retreat.
The rear of the alliance was still stable for the time being. If they retreated now, Shanhai City's army would not be able to do anything to them. But if that happened, the Southern Alliance would not be able to raise their heads anymore.
Apart from the issue of face, there was also the issue of strategy.
Once the alliance retreated, Zhaoqing County would fall in an instant. And if they lost Zhaoqing County, the other counties in Lingnan Province would have to face the threat of Shanhai City's army.
Therefore, in the long run, retreating now was definitely not a good idea.
Unexpectedly, most of the lords chose to retreat. These lords were truly stunned by Bai Qi and Han Xin's words, and they were completely scared out of their wits.
All they saw was the real threat in front of them. As for long-term plans, there was still plenty of time. Who knew what would happen in the future?!
Typical ostrich mentality.
"Everyone, the longer the war drags on, the more advantageous it will be for Shanhai City. They will have enough time to transfer troops from other places to surround and destroy us. By that time, it will be too late to retreat. Instead of that, it would be better for us to cut our losses and retreat as soon as possible. Now that our morale is low, it would be better for us to retreat temporarily, and wait for an opportunity to fight Shanhai City after we recover. The current strategic retreat was for the sake of dealing an even fiercer blow to Shanhai City in the future. No matter what, we've taken down Grey City and forced the Killing God Bai Qi to retreat. This is already a very impressive achievement. "
"Well said!"
Ruan Ping's words won the crowd's approval.
One had to admit that this person's eloquence was truly impressive. According to Ruan Ping, the Allies didn't seem to have lost the battle. Instead, they seemed to have won.
Although Ruan Ping hated Ouyang Shuo to the point of gnashing his teeth, he was one of the core members who advocated for the evacuation. He had his own plans. Although they lost this battle, it wasn't a bad thing for the Alliance.
After this battle, it was enough for the Alliance members to realize how terrifying and threatening Shanhai City was. When they returned to the territory, the first thing they would do would definitely be to strengthen their armaments.
Apart from that, they had to stick together.
Under the strong pressure of Shanhai City, not only would the [Southern Alliance] not disband, but it would also become even tighter, and develop even closer cooperation, for example the city-state system that Buddha He had previously planned, would be realized.
As such, to Ruan Ping, it was a chance to rise up. In the Alliance, Buddha He's prestige had already hit rock bottom, and Ruan Ping naturally became the most advantageous candidate to become the next Alliance Leader.
If he could lead the Alliance and successfully form a city-state system, then Ruan Ping's position would be like the sun in the sky. Not only in the Lingnan Province, but in the entire China region, he would have a place to stand.
More importantly, only then, would Ruan Ping have the capital to fight against Ouyang Shuo.
Thus, Ruan Ping was the most determined to retreat.
With Ruan Ping's encouragement, even some of the neutral factions chose to retreat.
Of course, there were also those who chose to defend, such as Buddha He. Because his territory had long fallen, and he could not return. Conquering the southern part of Zhaoqing Province was Buddha He's only hope.
The moment his territory was conquered, Buddha He had no way of retreat.
Unfortunately, Buddha He's words carried little weight.
As time passed, all parties argued endlessly, and those who advocated for retreat had the absolute advantage.
Ruan Ping was preparing to enjoy the fruits of victory and look forward to the future, but he was awakened by a loud shout.
"You can't retreat!"
This shout was loud and clear, and immediately attracted everyone's attention.
Following the direction of the voice, the one who spoke was the Zhaoqing Province Lord's camp that had been silent all this while. [Southern Alliance] wanted to retreat, but the Lords of the northern part of Zhaoqing Province naturally did not agree. If the [Southern Alliance] left, they would have to face the Shanhai City Army alone.
"Brother, you don't seem to understand the situation right?"
Hearing this, a [Southern Alliance] member stood out, and said in a mocking tone: "At the end of the day, our [Southern Alliance]'s expedition to Zhaoqing Province is only for humanitarian assistance. What? What can the Lord of Zhaoqing Province order us around? If we want to retreat, we will, who cares about you? "
"That's right, we are only here to help, okay?"
The [Southern Alliance] member's attitude was bad, and spoke without thinking, instantly angering the Lord of Zhaoqing Province. The honeymoon period of both parties seemed to be coming to an end.
"Stupid teammates!"
Ruan Ping heard this and shook his head.
If you want to retreat, then retreat, is there a need to pour salt on their wounds?
So stupid.
The Lord of Zhaoqing Province who spoke just now stood out again, and said in a mocking tone: "I think, you guys are the ones who do not understand the situation. If you want to retreat, we naturally cannot stop you. There is only one rule, our territory's teleportation formation is only for friends. Those who are not friends, better walk back by yourselves! "
"… …"
The [Southern Alliance] members suddenly became silent.
They then remembered that the teleportation formation was still in the hands of the Lord of the northern part of Zhaoqing Province. If they did not agree, the [Southern Alliance] would not be able to use the teleportation formation.
This time, they had lost a lot of face.
He Fu sat at the seat of honor, and coldly watched the performance below.
A bunch of idiots!
Great, they had shed all pretense of cordiality, and still did not gain anything.
This time, even if the [Southern Alliance] wanted to retreat, they would not be able to do so.
"Brother, everything can be discussed. I apologize on behalf of my companion just now. "
Seeing this, Ruan Ping could only try to smooth things over.
Unfortunately, the Lord of Zhaoqing Province did not buy it.
The entire discussion was in a deadlock, no one was able to convince the other.
Luckily, the Shanhai City army did not make any further moves, and both sides were in a deadlock.
In the end, the ones who broke the deadlock were the Praetorian Guards.
August 24th, Tianshuang County.
Lin Yi led the disguised Praetorian Guards, and finally arrived at the outskirts of Tianshuang County.
Under Lin Yi's signal, a quick-witted soldier went up and shouted to the guards on the city wall. "Open the gates, quickly open the gates!"
"Who are you people?
The ones in charge of guarding Tianshuang County were naturally the thirty thousand strong army of the alliance. As the logistics center of the alliance, the defense of the entire Tianshuang County was extremely tight.
Even in the day, the gates were tightly shut.
Only a small door was left at the side, as an entrance for the transportation of rations. Even this small door was completely shut before the Praetorian Guards arrived.
"You dogs are blind, we are General Qu Yi's army." The soldier Lin Yi chose was truly an award-winning actor, his acting was perfect, and his attitude was extremely arrogant.
The guards at the gates were not completely clueless about Qu Yi's army. Just by looking at the different armors of the cavalry below, they already believed half of it.
The entire northern part of Zhaoqing County was a cavalry unit, Qu Yi's army.
Even so, the guards at the gates did not let their guard down, and asked as usual, "So you are General Qu Yi's army. May I know what brings you here?"
"The camp is running low on rations, so the general sent us here to deliver them."
This was the reason that Ouyang Shuo and Lin Yi had discussed long ago. The logistics of Qu Yi's army was indeed handled by Tianshuang County, and there was no loophole.
"Do you have a token?"
"Of course, we brought the general's seal."
"Bring it up!"
As they spoke, a basket was lowered from the top of the city wall.
The soldier walked up and put the seal they found on Qu Yi's body into the basket.
The guards at the gates received the seal and confirmed that there was no mistake. They would never have thought that Qu Yi's army had been completely wiped out, and even the seal had fallen into the hands of the thieves.
At this time, the guards had no reason to stop them.
"Since you are General Qu Yi's army, according to the rules, the number of people entering the city cannot exceed five hundred. The rest of you can set up camp outside the city! "
The guards at the gates were really competent.
"Bullsh * t! We were ordered by the general to ride at top speed, and the horses were tired. We thought that we could rest in the city after arriving at Tianshuang County. How dare you make us camp outside the city? Did you eat a leopard's gall? I will report to my general when I go back. "
"This …"
The guards at the gates were in a difficult position.
"Why do you want us to starve?"
…
"Let us in!"
Under Lin Yi's hint, the Praetorian guards burst out in dissatisfaction.
The guards at the gates wiped the sweat off their forehead, not daring to provoke these guys. After weighing the pros and cons, they decided to let them in. After all, they were allies, and it was not against the rules.
After a while, the drawbridge of the moat was lowered, and the gates opened.
Just like that, Lin Yi led the Praetorian guards into the city.
What happened next was self-evident.
After entering the city, the Praetorian guards suddenly attacked and took control of the gates. Their second target was the relay station in the city, in case the news of Tianshuang County's attack spread out.
What followed next was a feast of slaughter.
Facing the sudden attack, the thirty thousand soldiers of Tianshuang County were completely unprepared. In less than three hours, the Praetorian guards had completely taken control of Tianshuang County.
The thirty thousand soldiers were either killed or captured.
After half a month, Tianshuang County was once again in the hands of Shanhai City. (To be continued.)
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