The Dragon Army is not Dugu Xian's ideal army, for a general who follows the rules, he really doesn't understand what is there to explain for a strategic shift.

But the Dragon King demanded that he must find a way to convince the entire army, and Dugu Xian could only do it reluctantly.

Ten thousand lieutenants, ten deputy thousand lieutenants, plus more than ten important generals, crowded the main account of the Dragon King, and thought with great interest that General Zuo was going to arrange troops for the upcoming big battle.

After a few months of contact, Dugu Xian slowly gained the recognition of the whole army, and even the soldiers of the Five Kingdoms who had accepted his command were also surprised, it turned out that General Dugu still had strength, but when he besieged the capital of Shiguo, he did not show it.

Duguxian's fame stemmed from a bet.

At that time, he had just been appointed as General Zuo, and not only did he have no prestige, but he also had to be on guard at all times against the swordsman of the Great Snow Mountain, who was anxious for revenge, and at any time, a certain enraged swordsman would rush up and give him a fatal blow.

Dugu Xian, whose martial arts are already average, is not even the opponent of the most ordinary soldier after losing his left arm.

The Dragon King assigned him dozens of guards, but Dugu Xian felt that he still had to rely on himself in this matter, if he walked in the barracks, he would have to worry about his own safety, how could he talk about training and commanding?

The Great Snow Mountain swordsmen are the core of the army, and only by reversing their attitude can they gain the support of the entire army.

Dugu Xian made a bet to the patriarch of the Great Sword Peak, claiming that in just ten days, he could train a hundred recruits to become qualified warriors and defeat the same number of swordsmen.

The gambling object is carefully considered, the person with the highest status in the army of the Great Snow Mountain swordsman is undoubtedly the Danduofeng patriarch Long Xiaoshi, because of this, no matter whether the bet is won or lost, Dugu Xian will not get the benefit, the original patriarch of the Great Sword Peak is killed, the new patriarch is just an agent, the qualifications are still shallow, and his temper is as hot and straightforward as his predecessor, defeating him will not offend too many people.

The swordsmen immediately accepted the challenge, and proudly cut their numbers in half, claiming that with only fifty men, they could defeat General Zuo's hundred recruits for as many days as they wanted.

This gamble attracted the interest of the whole army, more than half of them bet on it, the swordsman side won significantly greater than Dugu Xian, those who bet on General Zuo to win, really believe in him is not him, but the dragon king behind it.

Ten days passed in a flash, and the harassment of the Jinpeng killer had not yet ended, but the scene of the day of the battle still occupied everyone's memory, so that months later, the memories of the killer were blurred, but they were still deeply impressed by the hundred recruits.

In order not to incur unnecessary casualties, all weapons were made of wood, and those who were hit in the head, chest and abdomen were covered with lime before the battle began, had to withdraw from the battlefield.

At that time, there was no large-scale recruitment of the people of the Five Kingdoms, and the so-called "recruits" were actually a hundred slaves from the country of Xiangji, who had only received the most basic weapon training, and had hardly been on the battlefield.

In order to ensure fairness, the two sides agreed in advance that recruits could not use bows and javelins, and swordsmen would not attack from the flanks, so it was a battle of opposing charges.

Fifty swordsmen stood in a loose formation, the patriarch of the Great Sword Peak personally went into battle, standing in the middle, and the others lined up on both sides, their only complaint was that the wooden sword was too light and did not fit well.

On the opposite side, a hundred slave soldiers stood in three neat rows, almost shoulder to shoulder, with a variety of weapons in their hands.

The soldiers in the first row held a large half-man-high shield, which was closely connected to the shield to form a wooden wall, and there was no other weapon.

The weapons of the soldiers in the second row were only short knives, which were stuck in their belts and were not pulled out at all.

The soldiers in the third row held spears, almost two people tall when erected.

It is said that Dugu Xian spent a lot of effort in training these 100 people, and the means were extremely strict, and the training for betting really killed two soldiers who violated the order, but not many people believed in this rumor.

The battle begins.

Fifty swordsmen, led by the patriarch of the Great Sword Peak, shouted and charged, intending to crush the enemy in one fell swoop and win the gamble.

A hundred slave soldiers stood still, waiting for orders.

Dugu Xian will not participate in the battle in person, he stays at the back of the line, with a drummer standing next to him.

The first drum sounded, and the hundred-man squad marched forward, at a slow pace.

The second drum sounded, and the soldiers changed to trot, only slightly faster.

The two teams meet.

Fifty swordsmen almost crashed into the enemy's shields, and if they had a real heavy sword in their hands, it would be enough to split some soldiers with their shields.

The formation of the slave soldiers was under great pressure, but it did not disperse, and the soldiers of the second row pressed hard against the backs of the people in the front row, relying on the strength of two people, to withstand the attack of the swordsmen.

Even so, the swordsmen still had the upper hand, only the wooden swords in their hands dragged their feet, so that they did not achieve an immediate victory.

The third drum sounded, and the third row of spearmen struck, they were a little taller, and their spears pierced from the shoulders of the first two rows, striking the swordsmen, leaving a lime mark, and immediately withdrew.

The timing of the spear is very important, too early, you can't reach the enemy, too late, the first two rows of soldiers will "casualties" more than half, you must choose to shoot when the two sides are stuck together, and it is difficult to even turn around.

It's easy to say, in order to make these 100 slave soldiers proficient in this set of fighting methods, Dugu Xian has spent a lot of work.

Fifty swordsmen were defeated in this way, and they lost very unconvinced, first of all, they did not have real heavy swords in their hands, and their combat effectiveness was greatly reduced, and secondly, the spearmen in the enemy army had no strength, even if they held real weapons, they would only cause minor injuries, and they would have to withdraw from the battlefield if they were stained with lime, which was unfair.

Dugu Xian's explanation for this is: The main force of the Jinpeng Fort army has been trained for many years, and its combat effectiveness is far stronger than that of the slave soldiers, and the swordsmen of the Great Snow Mountain have changed to wooden swords, which just simulates the real gap between the two sides, and the strength of the spearmen can become stronger and stronger, as long as there is enough training time, they can completely turn the spear into a lethal weapon.

Through this battle, he wanted to explain that a group of soldiers of ordinary strength could also fight against a powerful enemy if they could strictly abide by military orders and advance and retreat in unison.

Long Xiaoshi, the patriarch of Danduofeng, was the first to admit defeat, and said in public that the swordsmen of the Great Snow Mountain were willing to follow General Zuo to the battlefield.

Dugu Xian's authority was gradually established from this day, and the subsequent reorganization of the army could proceed smoothly.

Tonight will be a test of him to see how far his authority is received.

"The army of Jinpeng Castle is coming. ”

Dugu Xian's first sentence caused a noise of excitement, among the dozens of generals, the swordsmen of the Great Snow Mountain occupied the mainstream, they were well-known belligerents, and they wished that the war would come as soon as possible.

But General Zuo's next sentence disappointed them and surprised them.

"Shiguo is not suitable for fighting, and the Dragon Army must retreat to Anguo on the south side of Xiaoyao Sea. ”

Gu Shenwei felt that Dugu Xian was too straightforward, even if he changed "retreat" to "retreat", but he still sat in his position silently as usual, trying not to express his position.

"Retreat? Why retreat?"

"Why is Shiguo not suitable for fighting? Jinpeng Fort can fight, and we can fight too. ”

"I've been preparing for so long......"

"The Dragon Army goes to Anguo, what about the other four countries?"

The generals were asking questions, apparently not supporting this decision.

The swordsmen of the Great Snow Mountain were anxious to fight a decisive battle with their old enemies, and the generals of the four kingdoms of Shi, Kang, Sha, and Hui were even more reluctant to cross the sea south and surrender their country to the enemy.

Dugu Xian can only explain them one by one.

"Strictly speaking, this is not a retreat, but just a choice of the most suitable decisive battle location for us according to the characteristics and strength of the Dragon Army. The only pass in Shiguo is the desert in the north, but without the obstruction of high mountains, the enemy can easily bypass the border city and drive straight in. ”

"Jinpeng Fort has many soldiers, well-trained, mainly cavalry, the dragon army is at a disadvantage in numbers, and there are few horses, and they are even more at a disadvantage if they want to win, they can only fight in a narrow area, take advantage of the terrain, and reduce the enemy's advantage. ”

"Crossing the country to the south is only temporary, defeating Jinpeng Fort and recovering the homeland is a natural thing. ”

......

Dugu Xian's explanation did not achieve much effect, and the opposition became more intense, especially the generals of the four countries outside Anguo, "The territory can be recovered, but what about the people? What about the houses? Once the Jinpeng Fort army passes, what will be left?"

"The messenger of the dragon king has set out to inform the royal families that all the kings should cross south, and that the people may also cross south of their own volition, and that whoever is willing to go will be provided with boats. ”

"Where are there so many ships? That's hundreds of thousands of people. ”

"Anguo is a narrow place, but it is suitable for fighting, but so many people have passed, where do they live, and what do they eat?"

Dugu Xian felt that this was more difficult than the battle with the most disparity in strength, so he could only explain it one by one, the dragon king did not speak, but fortunately, there was also Prime Minister Zhong Heng.

Zhong Heng rushed back to the barracks from the capital, and after thinking about it, he had already approved the retreat plan, and felt that it was the only possibility to defeat Jinpeng Castle.

For many detailed questions, only he can answer, ships, food, grass, housing, he has already drawn up a rough plan, will not be in a hurry, but he has to admit that all plans can only be emergency, Anguo cannot afford to support 30,000 troops and more fugitive people.

The real situation he only said to the Dragon King in private, according to his judgment, after crossing the sea in the south and losing the supply of the four countries, the dragon army could only hold out for about three months.

If the army of Jinpeng Fort had enough patience, it could have won without a fight.

The controversy started from the second watch and lasted until the second half of the night, Dugu Xian was already a little anxious, and still failed to convince all the generals.

Gu Shenwei was still silently listening, and it was much better to let everyone say all his thoughts in advance than to vent his dissatisfaction during the retreat, he was waiting for a suitable opportunity to make a final decision as the Dragon King.

The curtain was opened, and Chu Nanping quietly walked in, and the generals were arguing fiercely, and no one noticed him.

Chu Nanping was in charge of monitoring the palace guard Ju Chi, and he personally came to report to the Dragon King, which meant that the guard was dead, and the expected riot was about to begin.

Gu Shenwei hoped that Chu Nanping could get the details of the riot plan, and also hoped that this was an opportunity to convince everyone to cross to the south.