Tong Mu thought he was already high enough to look at the combat power of the Shandong Army, but he never thought that such a result would occur. Sun Tu only defeated the 100,000 Wu army with only tens of thousands of soldiers, but also took down all Suzhou City. This made him feel a little fake, right?

But looking at Lu Bofei's solemn look, he quickly gave up the idea and then smiled bitterly: "It seems that I am too worried. Qianli is indeed far stronger than I thought. By the way, what is Zhu Shuai's plan?" He was really curious about how Zhu Xie would react after learning that Sun Tu had won such a big victory. Although there was no clear evidence, he had guessed what Zhu Xie was thinking before.

Lu Bofei smiled awkwardly: "Ship Zhu has summoned many generals and is ready to lead troops to Suzhou now to prepare for the next pacification of the thieves in Jiangnan."

"Is that true?" Tong Mu was also a smart man, and immediately captured some hidden information from his expression. I'm afraid that Zhu Xie would take the people over to not only consider the future, but also have the intention of robbing merit. To put it bluntly, he planned to take the opportunity to pick peaches in Suzhou. After all, such a big victory is also extremely needed for Zhu Xie, who has always been criticized.

However, he didn't say much, just sighed softly: "So, we will be able to return to Suzhou soon?"

"Yes, I can finally go back. I don't know what the situation is there now."

The two of them said nothing, but Tong Mu was a little anxious. He wanted to send someone to send a letter to Sun Tu to remind him to prepare in Suzhou, but Zhu Xie could not take all the credits he had earned. However, since he sent someone to send Xie Mo away, he could no longer find someone who could be trusted around him, and it would be difficult to send the letter again.

No matter what Tong Mu thought, Zhu Xie and the generals below had quickly reached an agreement. The various officials who had been staying in Jinling for a long time and had not fought with the Wu army very much finally started to move completely this time. In addition to leaving thousands of troops who were already under Jinling to continue to garrison, the other soldiers and horses led by Zhu Xie went straight to Suzhou. Everyone made up their minds and had to arrive at the place as soon as possible and then take some credit from it.

When nearly 100,000 people from Jinling drove south, Wu Guoan's fine work also took action quickly and passed the news back as quickly as possible so that his army could prepare early to deal with the possible battles that might arise in the coming.

In fact, without doing this, the many cities occupied by the Wu Kingdom in the south were all as if they were facing a great enemy and were ready for defense early. The Wu capital Hangzhou continued to send food, supplies and various weapons and armor to the front, which was considered as giving all the best defense preparations.

At this time, in Hangzhou City, two generals of Wu State stood in front of a large-scale palace gate, waiting for the summons inside. This palace was built by the Wu State more than a hundred years ago. After the Wu State surrendered to the Song Dynasty, this place became the palace of the emperor. However, for a hundred years, almost no emperor of the Zhao family had been welcomed. Instead, it has become the palace of the newly established Fang Wu State.

The two generals standing in front of the palace gate are Pang Wanchun and Fang Shifo. The latter is still injured and cannot walk around easily, but he still insists on waiting, and even the person who is supporting him is directly scolded by him.

After waiting for a long time, the imperial guards in the palace invited the two of them in. After all, the Wu Kingdom had just been established for a short time, and the current situation was not optimistic and the national treasury was not full, so everything was simple. Not only did the palace just make a little renovation, but even the people who were used inside were military soldiers, and there were no eunuchs and other middle-level officials.

In a side hall, the two met their own emperor Fang La. This was a thick man with a wide mouth, big waist and round waist. He only wore a black robe, and he looked like a hero in the world, not a king. His attitude was the same as his temperament. When he saw the two of them coming in, he said hello first: "Wanchun, Ten Buddhas, you are here just right, I am planning to discuss major events with you."

Although he was so stubborn, the two of them, as ministers, did not dare to lack etiquette, so they wanted to kneel down and salute. But just as he bowed his knees, he was supported by Fang La, who had been snatched up: "Don't care about these red tape between you and me."

If some civil servants in the court were changed, they would definitely insist on ceremonies and say a few words of loyalty, but these two obviously did not have the awareness and thoughts. Seeing that he said this, they would follow the trend. Then, the monarch and ministers sat down separately. It seemed that Fang La did not have the majesty that the king should have.

In fact, any short-lived regime leader is like this. Liu Bang and Zhu Yuanzhang can always be close to each other and call each other brothers when they fail to achieve anything. But once it really happens, it is hard to say whether the king and his ministers can continue to get along with each other.

After glanced at Fang Shifo, who had a pale face, Pang Wanchun said, "Your Majesty, I am here to apologize today. If I had not failed the previous battle and caused Suzhou to fall into the opponent, there would not have been such a passive situation today. Please punish him severely." As he said that, he stood up and arched to the ground.

Fang Shifo then stood up and said with great difficulty: "What Pang Shuai said is that in fact, the ministers are also very responsible for this matter. I underestimated the Shandong Army, which gave them an opportunity to take advantage of it, and even the loss of Sanyuanling, I would like to ask Your Majesty to punish him."

Pang Wanchun frowned when he heard this. To be honest, if this guy hadn't acted without permission and disrupted his overall arrangement, how could such a result be? But now he was fine, and he didn't mention it at all, only saying that the defeat of Sanyuanling was caused by his underestimation of the enemy. Is this planning to take all the sins of himself?

Fang La's eyes swept quickly on the faces of the two, and he had a judgment in his heart. He smiled and said, "It is also said that victory or defeat is common in military affairs. How could I blame the two brothers for this small defeat? Please sit down and talk, and there is no need to mention the apology."

Seeing that the emperor said this, the two of them thanked each other again and then sat down again. Fang La then reached the point: "Actually, if you don't come, I plan to invite you to discuss the current situation. The news has been heard back, and the Song army in Jinling has begun to move south. It seems that the loss of Suzhou has given them a lot of confidence. This is to fight us head-on. But I wonder what are the solutions you two have?"

"Your Majesty, although I am not talented, I still want to do my best for my Wu Kingdom. As long as your Majesty allows me, I will lead my troops north again and swear to guard other cities and never let the Song people occupy my city and land again!" Fang Shifo said immediately, but his pale face made his statement unconvincing.

Fang La nodded without commenting, and looked at Pang Wanchun again: "Wanchun, what do you think?"

"I think the Song army is in the momentum now, so we don't have to stand it, nor do we have to worry about the gains and losses of a city and a place. The most important thing is to shrink the troops and defend several important cities first. As for some small counties in the north, if they want, they will give it to them."

"Pang Shuai, your actions will increase others' ambitions and destroy our prestige. If this affects the morale of the army, what should we do?" Fang Shifo opposed unhappily.

"General Fang, fighting against the enemy is not just a way to fight hard. Advance and retreat freely is the way to use troops." Pang Wanchun was also a little angry and replied immediately.

"Hmph, this is why you gave up Suzhou? In my opinion, Suzhou could have been easily taken back, but because you had too many concerns, you gave up the retreat south without much damage to our army!"

Seeing that the two subordinates had already started arguing, Fang La frowned, and then smiled and said, "Okay, don't argue endlessly about the past. What we should do now is to focus on the present. I know that you are also loyal to the Ten Buddhas, but the wounds on your body are far from healed. Even if you are determined to kill the enemy, I am still afraid that you will make a mistake. Since that's the case, it's better for Wan Chun to resist the Song army this time. You go back and recover the wounds first."

"But..." Fang Shifo was quite unwilling to say something, but after meeting his brother's eyes, he immediately did not dare to insist. He could only respond softly and stop speaking.

Afterwards, Fang La asked Pang Wanchun about some details. Pang Wanchun was prepared and immediately expressed his thoughts and was recognized by Fang La: "Then according to your wishes, this time you must keep the Song army out of my Hangzhou, and you must not lose any more."

"I will do my best!" Pang Wanchun immediately made a statement, and then the two of them retreated with their own thoughts.

It was not until the two left that Jiang Shihu and Fang Fei walked out from the other side. Fang La immediately asked, "What do you think of them?"

"Pang Wanchun was so mature that he was a little too impatient. And if you really want to deal with the responsibility for this failure, the Ten Buddhas are still above Wanchun." Fang Fei did not favor him because of his relationship with Fang Shi Buddha's clan. Jiang Shihu just smiled and said nothing, but he was also an attitude.

"Actually, I also know that Wanchun is more competent to be the commander of the three armies than the Ten Buddhas. I had thought about asking them to cooperate with each other before, but I did not expect that it would be a mistake to backfire. Alas..." Fang La sighed and then said again: "But now, it is useless to hold the responsibility accountable. Now the most important thing is how to retreat to the enemy. Do you have any good strategies?"

"Pang Wanchun's command and defense should be able to ensure that we can protect our security. We can protect our security in Hangzhou within at least one or two years." Fang Fei replied.

But Fang La was not satisfied with this: "Is there a way to reverse the situation and break the enemy?"

Jiang Shihu pondered for a moment and said, "There is always a solution. As long as the Song army is discord and a rift is created, everything will be beneficial to me. We can spread the news that Zhu Xie secretly joined forces with us, and then reiterate the statement that he had fought before to kill Zhu Xie. I believe that there will be civil strife in the Song army. Then I know Sun Tu very well. This is not a person who swallows his anger. Once their generals lose harmony, it will be our chance!"

"Is it a plan of separation? You can try it! And it can also disrupt the morale of the army and the people, and you can kill the numbers in one fell swoop." Fang Fei also said in agreement.
Chapter completed!