Zheng Hangsu said: "First point, if Prince Xiao is indeed a timid person as you say, why should he personally take command of the expedition? He couldn't have come this time. Since he came in person, he must have been ready for defeat or death, so how could he temporarily retreat?

The second point is that if the Dali Forbidden Army is regarded as an empty elephant because it has never fought, then everyone will inevitably underestimate the enemy too much.

Although the forbidden army has no actual combat experience, as we all know, every year the forbidden army conducts simulation exercises, and the winning side in the simulation drill will be rewarded by the imperial court from top to bottom, so we cannot think that they do not have actual combat experience and think that they really know nothing about war.

There is only one end for underestimating the enemy, and that is to bring about self-destruction. ”

Qi Lian snorted coldly and said: "Zheng Gongzi is very good at growing the ambition of others and destroying his own prestige at such a critical juncture, then let me ask you, Prince Xiao inexplicably damaged all the bridges on the Yin River that we can pass through at this time, if it is not because he is afraid of war, why?" ”

Zheng Hangsu said: "He must be stalling for time, and when the time is ripe on their side, he will come by boat." If I'm not mistaken, he must have ordered ships to be built. Perhaps, they had already built their ships a few days ago, and they were just waiting for the time to attack us. ”

Qi Lian sneered and said, "Gongzi Zheng, then let me ask you, what better time is there than the previous day?" We were tired from days of marching, and they did not take advantage of our weakness to attack, so could we have been weaker than then? ”

"It's not impossible. For example, there is a disease epidemic in our army at the moment, and it may become more and more in a few days. He said with a heavy face.

Qi Lian said: "It is true that there is an epidemic disease in our army at the moment, but it is caused by walking in the wind, and now we are no longer traveling, and there will be fewer and fewer patients soon!" That's not a cause for concern! In addition, although many people have fallen ill, no one has lost their lives as a result, so the disease is not worth mentioning at all. ”

Zheng Hangsu said: "One person is not enough to worry, if most people in the army are sick at the same time, it is enough to worry." ”

Qi Lian sneered and said, "What basis do you have to think that the number of patients in the army will increase?" ”

Zheng Hangsu said: "General Qi, do you remember that only a few people in the initial army were sick? But the number of people increasing daily has increased exponentially over the past few days, which is not enough to tell the story? ”

Qi Lian said: "That's because the wind has been stronger than before in the past two days." ”

Zheng Hangsu said: "General Qi can still remember that a few days ago, Prince Xiao sent a group of tired and weak generals to attack our baggage troops? Didn't General Qi think this matter was suspicious? Could it be that then they meant simply to transmit their ailments to our troops? ”

Qi Lian said: "Zheng Gongzi, you really think too much. A contagious disease is called a plague, and it kills! Other cold diseases are caused by external evils such as wind and cold! It's late autumn right now, and it's a time when people are susceptible to cold. If there was a plague in Prince Xiao's forbidden army, they would probably have moved back to the dynasty long ago! ”

Other generals, you look at me, I look at you, and I don't know which side to believe.

Zheng Hangsu no longer paid attention to Qi Lian, but said directly to Zhou Jing: "Your Royal Highness, the advice is to either start building five thousand ships immediately, and you need to build them day and night, and tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, you will take a boat to the opposite shore and start attacking Prince Xiao's camp." Or, you must immediately retreat to a place that is easy to defend and difficult to attack, so that time can be seen when the plan of the crown prince Xiao is discovered. ”

Qi Lian listened to his last sentence, sneered again, and said, "Retreat to a place that is easy to defend and difficult to attack? Isn't it true that Zheng Gongzi saw that the war was about to be fought and was afraid of war, right? In that case, it's better for you to retreat alone, and we'll continue to follow our previous plan.

You're afraid of death, but we're not afraid!

As for what you said about building 5,000 ships to go to the other side, it is even more ridiculous, spending so much energy, cutting down so many trees, and building so many ships, just to get on the other side once? After the war, weren't these ships useless and had to be thrown away? You know, this area is not a water town, and there are not many times when you can use boats. Therefore, these vessels are only for one-time use. Doesn't Zheng Gongzi feel that it is too wasteful of trees? ”

"That'...... What does General Qi mean? A general looked at Qi Lian and asked suspiciously.

"Let's wait here, wait for a few days, if Prince Xiao still avoids the battle, we will take a long detour to attack. It's much better to take a long detour for a few days than to build so many ships that will be useless later! ”

The other generals nodded again and again and said, "Okay, then it's General Qi's." ”

They didn't want to build any ships, and such a large number of ships were not so easy to build.

If there is less shipbuilding, people will go to the other side little by little, and if the other side sends people to guard it, no matter how much they go up, they will be wiped out immediately.

And if many ships are built at once, a large number of people can pass together, and this worry is avoided, but it must be man-made.

It is not necessary to spend energy and trees to build a large number of ships, if it is only for temporary use.

Moreover, there were other reasons why the generals were more inclined to believe in Qi Lian than Zheng Hangsu, after all, Qi Lian was the highest-ranking official stationed in Chenzhou except for King Pingkang, and he was named a loyal general by the emperor three years ago for leading his troops to repel him, but Zheng Hangsu was naturally just a grass man now.

Although his father Zheng Jin is famous, that is long in the past. What's more, Zheng Jin's position as the prince has long been removed, and now it has been classified as dust.

Everybody is a little bit of a thriving, especially those in the military.

After all, the greater the power of the people who follow them, the brighter their future may be.

Zhou Jing saw that all the generals had agreed to Qi Lian's suggestion, so he couldn't help frowning, and said, "This matter can be discussed again." ”

Qi Lian saw that Zhou Jing was still swayed by Zheng Hangsu's words, and couldn't help but say with some jealousy: "Then what does His Royal Highness the county lord have to say?" If His Royal Highness the County Lord completely depends on Zheng Gongzi's, then there is no need to discuss. We won't be swayed by a straw bale that has never been to war. ”

When the other generals heard him say this, they also said together: "This matter still needs to be listened to by General Qi." ”

Qi Lian said: "If His Royal Highness the County Lord comes up with any other way, it will not be too late to summon us over for a meeting." ”

The implication is that it is time to adjourn.

Zhou Jing frowned and was silent.

But now, she really can't think of a different method than the one Zheng Hangsu said.

And if she said that she agreed more with what Zheng Hangsu said, she knew that she would definitely be opposed by all the generals in the army. It's not good for her.

Through this meeting, she saw clearly that her status in this army was higher than Qi Lian, but in fact it was inferior to Qi Lian.

She saw that the generals were only looking at the horses, and they were just polite and thoughtful to themselves.

She guessed why they were like that. In their opinion, Qi Lian is the only person in this army who can achieve great things.

In their hearts, they are just a little woman who has no experience in the world.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help frowning even tighter.