Chapter 816

Liang Qi wanted to give the Feng army's camp to his side, which was beyond Xu Qing's expectation. The latter was stunned for a long time before he reacted. He was surprised and happy and hurriedly bowed his hands and thanked him repeatedly.

The Feng army gave its camp to the Huan army. It seemed very generous, but in fact, it didn't leave anything behind. It was just some tents, food, medicine and other necessities, which were insignificant compared to the supplies seized by the Feng army in this battle. The weapons, armor, war horses, food and various supplies of the Huan army were all looted by the Feng army. The more than 70,000 Huan army returned home almost empty-handed.

The An army and the Huan army were defeated by the Pingyuan army and the Sanshui army successively. This greatly relieved the pressure on the Feng country to a certain extent. At least there was no need to worry about the chaos in Ningdi.

After the victory, the Pingyuan army and the Sanshui army originally planned to return to Baguan, but at this time both armies received Tang Yin's military order, ordering the two armies not to return to the pass for the time being, but to stay in the Mo country.

Tang Yin had his think tank around him, and the advisers all thought that Pingyuan Army and Sanshui Army were not suitable to return to Baguan.

Once entering Baguan, it was equivalent to being on the defensive, and Pingyuan Army and Sanshui Army were good at attacking but not good at defending. Moreover, it was a waste to use such two elite armies for defense. Secondly, when the armies of Chuanzhen and Zhen arrived at Baguan, they also needed troops to contain the enemy outside Baguan. Tang Yin thought carefully and felt that the advisers' opinions made sense. He then sent a message to Xiao Muqing and Liang Qi, asking them to lead the army to stay in Mo State in case of emergency.

Now that Tang Yin has arrived at Baguan, the number of troops in Baguan has also increased sharply.

Currently, there are 60,000 Baguan defenders led by Ying Bu, 100,000 Chifeng troops led by Peng Haochu, 70,000 to 80,000 new troops led by Nanye, 150,000 Western Border troops led by Zuo Shuang, and nearly 100,000 direct troops stationed in Baguan.

Not counting the Pingyuan Army and Sanshui Army, the number of defenders in Baguan alone is about to reach 500,000. However, nearly half of them are Ningxia troops. Whether they can be deployed on the battlefield is still unknown. Although he has a large number of troops, Tang Yin is unsure.

Because the war is imminent, the people and family members of the Baguan Pass have been completely evacuated, and the city is completely filled with the Feng Army. Various city defense weapons are continuously pushed up the city walls and piled up on the top of the city. The tense atmosphere before the war is already full.

The general's mansion in the pass has never been as lively as it is now. Tang Yin lives in the general's mansion, which has become the command center and hub of the entire Feng Army. The Feng Kingdom guards and sentries are standing inside and outside, and many Feng soldiers and generals are in and out, busy.

In the main hall of the general's mansion, Tang Yin is there, the commanders of the various armies are there, and many counselors are also there. People are busy formulating countermeasures to the enemy based on the intelligence that keeps coming back.

Many of Feng's advisers have seen that there are huge differences between Chuan and Zhen. They look down on each other and think that the emperor should be handed over to the two countries as a condition for the two countries to withdraw their troops. As long as the armies of the two countries withdraw, it won't take long for a war to break out between Chuan and Zhen, and then the alliance against Feng will collapse.

Another part of the advisers firmly opposed this, represented by Qiu Zhen. Qiu Zhen truly felt the huge benefits of leaving the emperor in Feng. With the emperor, Feng would be the best in everything it did. With the emperor, Feng would always stand at the highest moral point. This was too important in the chaotic world of constant disputes. Therefore, Qiu Zhen believed that he would rather devote all his national strength to fight the Chuan and Zhen coalition to the death than hand over the emperor to other countries.

As for whether to hand over the emperor, Tang Yin certainly stood on Qiu Zhen's side. In his opinion, the battle with the Chuanzhen coalition must be fought. Whether Fengguo can truly rise and be respected and valued by other countries depends on whether this battle can be won. If it wins, Fengguo will become the overlord of the north, and if it loses, Fengguo will be removed from the list of other countries.

That night, Tang Yin went up to the tower to inspect. Upon learning that the king had come, Yingbu, who was supervising on the city, hurried forward and saluted.

Tang Yin smiled and asked, "General Yingbu, haven't you rested yet?"

Yingbu said seriously, "I can't sleep, so I went to the city to see how the city defense is arranged."

Tang Yin said happily, "I thought I was the only one who couldn't sleep!"

Yingbu saw that Tang Yin was in a good mood and seemed to be in a good mood, so he was relieved and said, "King, there is another person who came earlier than you."

"Oh? Who is it?"

"General Zuo Shuang."

Zuo Shuang? Tang Yin was stunned and asked, "What is he doing here?"

"Like the king, he is here to inspect the city defense."

Tang Yin looked up and did not see Zuo Shuang, so he asked, "Have you gone back now?"

"Not yet, General Zuo Shuang should be at the west wall now." Ying Bu replied.

Tang Yin nodded, put his hands behind his back, and walked towards the west wall, saying, "Let's go and take a look."

While walking to the west, Tang Yin also checked the defense on the wall. There were already a lot of rolling logs and stones piled up, and there was a pile every few steps, like a small mountain. In addition, there were many city-breaking crossbows and army-breaking crossbows on the top of the city. A rough estimate showed that there were no less than hundreds of them.

Ying Bu explained, "The army-breaking crossbow can be used to kill the enemy soldiers attacking the city, and the city-breaking crossbow has a long range, so it can be used to deal with the enemy's catapults. As long as the enemy's catapults are destroyed, the pressure on our side will be greatly reduced."

Tang Yin secretly said that it made sense. Ying Bu was indeed a veteran in defending the city. He praised, "Well arranged."

Ying Bu bowed his head and said, "Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty."

As the two talked, they walked to the west wall unknowingly. Looking forward, they saw Zuo Shuang leaning on the arrow saddle not far ahead, stretching his neck to look out.

Not knowing what he was looking at, Tang Yin walked forward. Zuo Shuang didn't notice Tang Yin coming, but the two soldiers beside him saw him and hurriedly saluted and greeted him. Tang Yin waved his hand, signaling the two to keep quiet, then walked behind Zuo Shuang and looked out. Outside the city, there was nothing but a flat plain, not even a ghost. Even with Tang Yin's night vision, he couldn't see anyone, let alone Zuo Shuang?

Tang Yin shook his head helplessly and asked, "What is General Zuo Shuang observing?"

Suddenly, he heard a voice behind him. Zuo Shuang was startled and turned back subconsciously. It turned out that Tang Yin and Ying Bu were standing behind him. He bowed and said, "I pay my respects to the king!"

Tang Yin waved his hand and asked, "There are plains outside the city. What is General Zuo Shuang looking at?"

Zuo Shuang said, "I am looking at the plains outside."

Tang Yin raised his eyebrows and looked at him puzzled.

Zuo Shuang continued, "Baguan has been known as a natural barrier, but in my opinion, it is not the case. The plains outside the city are very wide. It can not only accommodate the stationing of a million troops, but also facilitate the offensive of a million troops. If our army insists on defending this battle, it will be extremely difficult."

Ying Bu didn't like to hear this. He had been the commander of Baguan for seven or eight years. Baguan was impregnable and had never been lost. How come Zuo Shuang said that it was not a natural barrier?

He took a deep breath and said proudly: "General Zuo Shuang used to live in Ningdi and didn't know the situation of our Feng country. When Feng and Mo were at odds, they relied on Baguan to keep Mo's army out of the country." Zuo Shuang sighed secretly, lowered his head, and stopped talking. He was a Ningren, but now he has defected to Fengguo and is a member of Fengguo. What's more, he is the commander of an army, but Ying Bu's tone is full of contempt. You know, in terms of military rank, the two are several levels apart. Tang Yin noticed Zuo Shuang's embarrassment, he was slightly stunned, and then said to Ying Bu: "General Yingbu, General Zuo's concerns are not unreasonable. General Zuo used to be a Ning general, and it is reasonable that he doesn't know the situation of our Feng country. You can explain to General Zuo, but be careful about your tone." If others said this, Ying Bu might not agree, but he dared not disobey Tang Yin. He bowed and said, "Yes, Your Majesty." Then, he bowed to Zuo Shuang and said, "I am sorry."

Zuo Shuang was surprised and moved that Tang Yin would protect an "outsider" like him. He immediately responded, "General Yingbu, you are polite."

Tang Yin was not interested in listening to their polite words and asked directly, "General Zuo, what do you think needs to be added to the defense of Baguan Pass?"

Zuo Shuang pondered for a moment and said, "General Yingbu's defense is very complete. He has done what he should and can do. I think that if you can defend a pass, you should defend it. If you can't defend it, you can abandon it."

This made Tang Yin and Yingbu's faces change. Especially Yingbu, Zuo Shuang's words were like touching his heart. He clenched his fist, suppressed his anger, and said in a gentle tone: "General Zuo Shuang, Baguan is the southern gate of our country. Once Baguan is lost, the enemy can march straight in, all the way north to Yancheng." Zuo Shuang replied: "Losing a pass does not mean destroying the country. Leading the enemy into the wind... Fighting on our homeland is more conducive to the deployment and detour of our army. If we defend Baguan to death, the two armies will consume each other and finally fight out all the troops. We will suffer. We are using all our national strength to defend a pass, while the troops of Chuanzhen and Zhen are far more than one million. When the troops of both sides are exhausted, we will have no backup, and the troops of Chuanzhen and Zhen can be continuously dispatched from the homeland. At that time, what can we use to resist the enemy? Home? Putting all the power of the whole country and betting the fate of the country on a mere city gate, I think... is not a wise move. "

Ying Bu sneered and said: "If there is a natural barrier, do we have to abandon it to the enemy? It is easy to lead the enemy to fight in the mainland, but how many people will be killed by the enemy? How many cities will be looted by the enemy? Has General Zuo Shuang ever considered these?"

Listening to the argument between the two, Tang Yin slowly frowned and looked out of the city.

Ying Bu was right, but Zuo Shuang's words also made sense. It is difficult to say who is right or wrong. In fact, isn't war a gamble? As long as the war is not over, as long as the two sides have not yet decided the winner, it is difficult to say whether the original choice was right or wrong.