The Savage Lady Wants to Kill Me! Reborn on the Path of Cultivation

With the withdrawal of the two rebel groups of Dong Zhi and An Qinshan, the so-called coalition forces collapsed, leaving only Zhou Baiyuan's rebel group fighting alone.

Originally Zhou Baiyuan had nearly 100,000 troops under his command, but after the battle of Longsha City, the army was reduced to 80,000.

In contrast, the Hongxing Army's strength increased by tens of thousands in just two or three days. This abnormal phenomenon was caused by the actions of Dong Zhi and An Qinshan.

The brutal acts of the rebels in Qingcheng, Ningcheng and Mengzhongcheng completely exposed their true colors, and the people of Xiguan hated them deeply.

They didn't care who did it, they only directed their anger at Zhou Baiyuan.

In order to protect themselves and avoid repeating the mistakes of Qingcheng, Ningcheng and Mengzhongcheng, the people flocked to the Hongxing Army and vowed to fight Zhou Baiyuan's rebels to the end.

The situation was reversed, and the Hongxing Army's strength quickly expanded from less than 100,000 to 120,000, while the "coalition forces" were reduced from 200,000 to less than 80,000.

The balance of power had fundamentally changed. Zhao Xuan saw that the time was ripe and no longer wanted to defend the city. He personally led the Hongxing Army out of the city, intending to fight to the death with Zhou Baiyuan's rebels.

Now it was Zhou Baiyuan's turn to avoid the fight. He knew very well that the outcome had been decided and continuing to fight would only increase casualties.

He believed that the reason for his defeat was not because he could not defeat the Hongxing Army, but because of his allies Dong Zhi and An Qinshan, who were worse than beasts.

In the end, Zhou Baiyuan could only lead the remaining troops to hastily retreat back to Shengluo City.

However, the war did not subside, and the withdrawal of Dong Zhi and An Qinshan put Fang Quan in a dilemma of fighting one against two.

Chi Xun made careful plans for Fang Quan, suggesting that he abandon Qingyuan Town and instead join forces with the Hongxing Army in Baishuo City to recuperate their troops together. In the future, they would first eliminate Zhou Baiyuan's rebels in Shengluo City, and then wipe out the surrounding hostile forces one by one. The ultimate goal was to control the entire Xiguan.

Fang Quan agreed with Chi Xun's strategy and realized that it would be difficult to provide effective support to the Hongxing Army by fighting separately, so he decided to abandon Qingyuan Town and go straight to Baishuo City to join the Hongxing Army in order to concentrate his forces to attack the enemy one by one.

However, the road to Baishuo City must pass through Shengluo City, and Fang Quan was worried that Zhou Baiyuan's rebels might set an ambush to block them.

Therefore, he asked Chi Xun to ask for help from the Hongxing Army and requested the Hongxing Army to go to Shengluo City to provide support.

After Zhao Xuan received Chi Xun's letter for help, he immediately called generals such as Guan Hu and Xiao Fang to discuss countermeasures.

After the generals read the letter one by one, Zhao Xuan asked for their opinions.

After Guan Hu and Xiao Fang exchanged glances, the former spoke first: "General Zhao, without Fang Quan's help, Dong Zhi and An Qinshan would not withdraw their troops, and Zhou Baiyuan would not retreat easily. This war may last for a long time, and our casualties are difficult to estimate. Fang Quan has made outstanding contributions to our army. Now that he asks for help, how can we not help him?"

Zhao Xuan pondered for a moment and said slowly, "Indeed, Mr. Chi also mentioned in the letter that in order to win Fang Quan's surrender, he promised in the name of the adults that Fang Quan would become the deputy commander of the Hongxing Army after joining."

Although the promise exceeded Chi Xun's authority, considering Fang Quan's merits, it was not excessive to grant him the position of deputy commander.

Guan Hu nodded, then asked, "What concerns does General Zhao have about this?"

Zhao Xuan replied solemnly: "Your Excellency is still unaware of this matter."

"Brother Tian is far away in Xifan and it is difficult for him to take care of such details. Sometimes, we need to make flexible decisions based on actual conditions." Guan Hu added.

"We can make some decisions on our own, but not on others." Zhao Xuan said, "Fang Quan is not alone. He has 60,000 soldiers under his command, which is almost half of our army. If he surrenders, how will the future situation of our army evolve?"

"What's the situation?" Guan Hu looked puzzled.

At this time, Xiao Fang, who had been silent, took over the conversation: "General Zhao is worried that there may be factional disputes within our army!"

"That's right!" Zhao Xuan affirmed, "Once Fang Quan takes over our army and serves as deputy commander, he will definitely use his old subordinates and form his own faction. In the past, our soldiers were united under your leadership, like a piece of iron. Although there were disagreements, there was no faction. Fang Quan's arrival may destroy this hard-won unity!"

Xiao Fang nodded as he listened, agreeing deeply with what he said.

After accepting Fang Quan's 60,000 rebel troops and appointing him as deputy commander, how could his followers not form their own faction?

Guan Hu asked: "General Zhao, what do you mean..."

"Call back Mr. Chi and let Fang Quan and the others fend for themselves." Zhao Xuan said slowly.

Guan Hu frowned upon hearing this and said in a deep voice: "Fang Quan has no choice but to retreat to our army. When passing through Shengluo City, he will be blocked by Zhou Baiyuan's rebels. At that time, with Zhou Baiyuan in front and Dong Zhi and An Qinshan behind, Fang Quan will be attacked from both sides. How can he deal with it? If we stand aside and watch, wouldn't it be a betrayal to watch them perish?"

Zhao Xuan said slowly, "The mere 60,000 rebels coming here are nothing to worry about. With the current prestige of our army, it is only a matter of time before we add another 60,000 soldiers. However, if factional disputes are introduced into our army, the disaster will be immeasurable. I will keep my original opinion and let Fang Quan fend for himself."

"I object!"

"I agree!"

Guan Hu and Xiao Fang spoke almost at the same time, but their opinions were completely opposite.

Guan Hu turned his gaze to Xiao Fang, who said, "Tiger, I think General Zhao is right. From a long-term perspective, it is the best strategy to let Zhou Baiyuan and others eliminate them."

"When we act, do we only consider benefits and disregard trust and reputation?" Guan Hu questioned loudly.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Fang was speechless and had no answer.

Zhao Xuan said firmly, "That's right! If you want to achieve great things, you must give up something. If you want to be a hero, you can take revenge. If you want to be a hegemon in troubled times, if you want to protect the safety of us and the more than 100,000 soldiers under our command and the millions of people in Xiguan, then sometimes you have to put aside propriety, justice, and honor. We are not only doing this for ourselves, but also for the overall situation."

"I'm sorry, I can't agree with this!" Guan Hu stood up and said in a deep voice, "You can be ruthless and ungrateful, but I can't. If you don't want to help Fang Quan, I will go alone!"

After saying this, Guan Hu strode out and left resolutely.

When dealing with this matter, Zhao Xuan was the only one who was able to consider his own interests purely without any personal emotions.

He completely weighed the pros and cons from the perspective of the Hong Xing Army: if it was beneficial to the Hong Xing Army, he would fully support it; on the contrary, if there were hidden dangers or disadvantages, he would firmly oppose it.

Regarding the question of whether to accept Fang Quan, Zhao Xuan believed that the disadvantages far outweighed the advantages, so there was no need for him to do so.

As for Xiao Fang, although he was the temporary head coach, in the absence of Duan Tianyang, there was a lack of a powerful decision-maker who could make the final decision.

If the two deputy commanders, Zhao Xuan and Guan Hu, had different opinions, everyone would be in a dilemma and no one would listen to anyone else.

Everyone had different opinions and after discussion they still couldn't reach a consensus.

Therefore, Guan Hu decided not to seek the opinions of Xiao Fang and Zhao Xuan, but to take action privately.

He found the messenger who came from Ningyuan Town and asked him to pass the message to Fang Quan. As long as they headed towards Baishuo City, the Hongxing Army would do its best and send a large army to support them.