Hanzhou, Miyun City.

At this time, Lin Zhongyun had already arrived at the Miyun Reservoir, and the two armies of the rebel army had finally joined together. He sat on a high platform, staring at the front with deep eyes, listening to Li Zhongwu's detailed report on the battle situation in Miyun City.

"According to what you said, the Northern Barbarian Cavalry is truly invincible!" Lin Zhongyun frowned slightly, and his fingers involuntarily clicked on the wooden table, making a crisp sound.

This sound seemed to strike at the hearts of everyone present, and everyone's face was filled with a solemn and deep expression.

Among them, Li Zhongwu's face was particularly grim. He knew very well that every word he said could affect the morale of the entire rebel army, and saying so would only boost others' morale and destroy his own prestige. But he also knew that as a commander, he must face reality and not hide any truth.

"Not bad!"

He lowered his head tightly, took a deep breath, and said, "Ask yourself, there is still a big gap between the current rebel army and the Northern Barbarian Cavalry."

His words were like a bucket of cold water, pouring down on the hearts of everyone present. Everyone felt the heaviness and helplessness, but no one dared to refute him, because they knew that what Li Zhongwu said was true.

If they were really sure, they would not have defended their position instead of pursuing. If they were really sure, they would not have successfully broken into the Northern Barbarian camp and then been forced out.

Whether they are willing to admit it or not, the reason they were able to repel the Northern Barbarians in that great battle was not due to their cavalry skills, but the surprise attack of the Wu Dang Flying Army.

Lin Zhongyun looked at Li Zhongwu with deep eyes, but he didn't blame him at all. On the contrary, he felt relieved. Li Zhongwu was outspoken and courageous, without any flattery. This was exactly the talent he needed.

Up to now, although he does not have many brave generals and talents under his command, they are definitely not a small number. At this time, compared with their talents, he pays more attention to the character of these people.

In times of chaos, only the talented should be employed. However, now that the world has basically been pacified, he must only employ the virtuous.

"In your opinion, how can we deal with the Northern Barbarian Cavalry?" He looked down at the ministers, his gaze finally falling on Li Zhongwu, with a hint of expectation in his voice.

Li Zhongwu raised his head, looked at Lin Zhongyun firmly, and said slowly: "Although the Northern Barbarians' Iron Cavalry is powerful, our righteous army should not underestimate itself.

In my opinion, we should play to our strengths and avoid our weaknesses. Since we cannot beat the Northern Barbarians in cavalry, we can find another way to deal with them."

"Your Highness, please look!"

As he spoke, Li Zhongwu gestured on the sand table and said eloquently: "Now the Northern Barbarians have retreated to the northern border. Although the Northern Barbarians fled in the last battle, they were also frightened.

In this case, they would only choose to defend the city and would never take the initiative to attack. Although this ensured that the Northern Barbarians would not be defeated in a short period of time, it also made the Northern Barbarians' cavalry useless. "

Lin Zhongyun followed Li Zhongwu's instructions, looking at the terrain on the sand table, and asked thoughtfully: "So what do you mean? We can use their defensive strategy and do the opposite?"

"That's right, Your Highness." Li Zhongwu nodded and continued, "My army may not be as good as the northern barbarians in cavalry charge, but when it comes to siege, the northern barbarians are exactly inferior to us."

Lin Zhongyun nodded slightly, his eyes flashing with thought. He knew that what Li Zhongwu said made a lot of sense. Although the Northern Barbarians were strong, their advantage was charging on the plains, not attacking and defending cities. If the battle could be brought into the city, the advantage of the Northern Barbarians would be weakened.

Seeing Lin Zhongyun nod in agreement with his idea, Li Zhongwu became even more excited, and then said: "First of all, the northern border is different from other states and counties. It is vast, and the distance between cities is more than 200 miles at the longest and 60 to 70 miles at the shortest. It is extremely difficult to defend."

“Even with such a huge military force in the North, it is extremely difficult to radiate the entire North.”

Listening to Li Zhongwu's analysis, Lin Zhongyun's eyes gradually brightened and he said, "We can completely divide and attack. Since he wants to defend the entire northern border, he must disperse his forces."

"Once they disperse their forces, we can focus our efforts there," Li Zhongwu continued, his eyes gleaming with wisdom. "Concentrate our elite troops and attack a key city, catching them off guard."

"In this way, we can slowly eat away at them, and by then it will be too late even if they react."

Lin Zhongyun thought for a moment, nodded, and continued to ask: "So, which city should we choose as a breakthrough point?"

He had already agreed to this plan, but there were so many cities in the North that it was a question worth considering which city they should start with.

Li Zhongwu gestured on the sand table, pointed to a location and said, "Your Highness, Yinshan City, an important town in the northern border, is the main supply and command center for the Northern Barbarians. If we can capture Miyun City, we can not only cut off the supply line of the Northern Barbarians, but also greatly shake their morale."

"Besides, Yinshan Town is backed by Yinshan Mountain. Once we take it, the Northern Barbarians will have to pay a heavy price if they want to take it back."

Lin Zhongyun's eyes lit up, and he looked at Li Zhongwu approvingly, saying, "You are right. Yinshan City is indeed a key point. If we can capture this city, the Northern Barbarians will definitely be put in a passive position."

Lin Zhongyun was extremely excited. He seemed to have seen the dawn of victory. He said with great pride, "Very good. Let's set out immediately!"

He nodded in satisfaction, turned to look at the other generals present, and said in a loud voice: "Now that Daqian has been destroyed, the only ones standing in our way are the Northern Barbarians.

The Northern Barbarians are a foreign race, and their hearts must be different from ours. No matter what, we must go all out to capture Miyun City as soon as possible and completely defeat the Northern Barbarians!"

"Yes, Your Highness!" The soldiers responded in unison, their voices full of firmness and confidence.

Lin Zhongyun looked at the determined faces of the generals and felt full of pride. He seemed to have seen the day when the world would be unified, and his heart was filled with endless pride and fighting spirit.

"In that case, then you guys go down and prepare!" Lin Zhongyun said this, with a determined light flashing in his eyes.

The soldiers took orders and took quick action to prepare for the upcoming battle.

Li Zhongwu stood aside, his eyes flashing with determination. He knew that the future battle would be more difficult, but he was fearless.

Because he believed that the peaceful and prosperous era in his heart would soon arrive, and no one could stop them.

……

At the same time, in the Northern Barbarian camp.

The first thing the middle-aged Confucian scholar did when he returned to the North was to gather the scattered troops in the North to fight against the offensive of the rebels.

However, if they wanted to gather their forces, it would mean that they would have to hand over some of the cities that they had conquered with great difficulty to the rebels.

This was naturally difficult for many people to accept. No one was willing to give up something they had worked so hard to obtain, so there was an uproar in the tent. The tribal leaders looked at the middle-aged scholar with anger on their faces and scolded him.

"What are you doing? We fought hard for many years to capture these cities, and you want us to give up so easily? Wouldn't this make all our previous efforts in vain!" A burly tribal leader said angrily, his voice as deafening as thunder.

"Yes, why should we hand over the city we conquered with great effort? This is simply ridiculous!" Another tribal leader echoed indignantly.

"That's right. My Northern Barbarian army is so powerful. Could it be that we are afraid of the rebel army?" Someone even shouted at the middle-aged Confucian scholar mercilessly.

"..."

For a moment, the entire tent was filled with condemnations of the middle-aged Confucian scholar, each one more uglier than the last.

In this situation, even though the rebels were ready for battle, they were still unwilling to give up the territory they had worked so hard to gain, and were still unwilling to suffer losses in their own interests.

Facing the rebuke from the crowd, the middle-aged Confucian scholar remained calm, with a hint of determination in his eyes.

He knew that his proposal would inevitably be opposed by many people, but he also knew that this was the only way out for them, the Northern Barbarians.

Faced with the rebels' overwhelming offensive, they could no longer fight alone as before, and had to concentrate their forces, otherwise they would be defeated one by one by the rebels.

"Leaders, please listen to me."

The middle-aged scholar raised his hand, motioning for everyone to be quiet, and said, "The rebel army is now sweeping across the world, and their last target is our Northern Barbarians.

What do you think he will do to us Northern Barbarians? If he succeeds, what will be the fate of us Northern Barbarians?"

He scolded everyone present, his eyes sharp and calm, "The reason why you don't want to withdraw your troops is simply because you don't want to give up this hard-won territory.

But have you ever thought about this, if the Northern Barbarians are completely defeated? Can you hold on to your current territory by yourself? "

"The Northern Barbarians are completely defeated? Are you kidding me?"

An elderly tribal leader sneered, "Although we suffered a loss in front of the rebels, it does not mean that we, the Northern Barbarians, are inferior to the rebels.

As long as we hold on to the city, what can the rebels do to us? Besides, if we abandon the city, won’t it give the rebels a chance to annihilate ours? "

"good."

At this time, Chagan Wuli, who had been silent all the time, couldn't help but speak up: "Although my Northern Barbarians suffered a loss, it doesn't mean that the rebel army is invincible.

Didn't you say that the Northern Border has great strategic significance to our Northern Barbarians? As long as we have the Northern Barbarians as a bridgehead, we can invade the Central Plains at any time and make the rebels afraid to act rashly. Why are you going to hand over this Northern Border to the rebels now?"

Although he had always obeyed the middle-aged Confucian scholar's words, at this moment he did not understand the significance of the middle-aged Confucian scholar's actions.

You know, he had just given Hu Yan Leng a death order, asking him to stop the rebels outside the Northern Territory at all costs. Now he was going to give up most of the Northern Territory, and it was really difficult for him to issue such an order.

Moreover, he, the Northern Barbarian, had just suffered a loss at the hands of the rebel army. He gave up the city voluntarily. Doesn't this mean that he, the Northern Barbarian, was afraid of the rebel army?

Doing so would only shake the morale of the army and cause panic among the people.

The middle-aged scholar took a deep breath and said slowly: "Great Khan, I understand your concerns, and I also understand the anger and confusion of the leaders. But please listen to my detailed explanation. This decision was not made lightly, but after careful consideration."

He paused and continued, “As you said, the North has great strategic significance to us Northern Barbarians, but it is precisely because of this that the rebels will concentrate their forces to attack the North.

If we continue to disperse our forces, the rebels will probably defeat us one by one, and then we will lose more cities, or even the entire North."

The middle-aged scholar's voice was calm and firm, and his eyes swept over everyone in the tent.

"In fact, the North is vast, and the distances between cities are very far. Once the rebels concentrate their forces to attack one place, even if we discover it, by the time reinforcements arrive, the city may have already been captured by the rebels."

Seeing that everyone had calmed down and did not refute again, he continued: "Although there are many cities in the Northern Barbarians, the land is vast and the population is sparse, so there are only a few truly important cities.

As long as we concentrate our forces to protect the key cities, even if the rebels capture some empty cities, it will not be a big deal for the entire North. We can take this opportunity to divide the rebels, counterattack at the critical moment, and recapture the lost cities. "

"As long as those key cities are in our hands, the North will still be firmly under our control."

Chagan Wuli frowned, still somewhat puzzled: "But, will this hurt our morale? If the army's morale is shaken and the people are in panic, wouldn't that be even more disadvantageous?"

The middle-aged scholar nodded, expressing his understanding: "The Khan's concerns are correct. Although we have to give up some cities, it does not mean that we will not fight back."

He paused and continued, "On the contrary, we need to let the soldiers understand that this is a temporary strategic adjustment in order to better concentrate our forces and ultimately achieve victory. We need to adopt a series of measures to stabilize the military and boost morale."

After listening to the middle-aged Confucian scholar's explanation, many tribal leaders in the big tent were still somewhat dissatisfied, but they gradually understood his intentions.

After all, as the middle-aged Confucian scholar said, if the rebels really attacked one place together, they would definitely not be able to hold it.

Anyway, they will fight back sooner or later. Instead of letting them get hurt in vain, it is better to give up temporarily now.

"We can take away all the food and important supplies before retreating, and even set up some traps and obstacles in the city to create trouble for the rebels." The middle-aged scholar continued, "In this way, even if the rebels capture the city, they will not be able to use the resources of the city immediately. Instead, they will fall into trouble due to lack of supplies."

"This will also invisibly slow down the pace of the rebel army, buying us time to actively prepare for war."

Chagan Wuli pondered for a moment, finally nodded, and said: "In this case, then everything will be done as you say, but there are many cities in this northern border, which cities do we need to defend?"

The middle-aged scholar smiled slightly, his eyes revealing a hint of determination: "Holding on to those few, all of this is still unknown, and it can only be confirmed after Lin Zhongyun reveals his intentions.

But we can also make some preparations early..." (End of this chapter)