Chapter 122: Zhou Kuan's Proposal

Mu Shan Cheng.

In the temporarily erected military tent.

Guan Zhen sat in the chief seat with a downcast gaze.

As the commander of Mu Shan Cheng, his strength was roughly equal to that of Dan Ren Cheng's commander Xiao Yuanshan.

Although the two had fought a major battle, in reality it was more about restraining each other.

Therefore, after the battle ended, Xiao Yuanshan did not try to detain Guan Zhen.

Both withdrew, and neither suffered serious injuries.

But seeing the various Bijang in the camp bearing heavy wounds, Guan Zhen's heart had already sunk to the bottom of the valley.

Not long after, a city patrol came staggering to report,

"General Guan, the city gate is closed, and the Saber-Tooth Army has retreated several li to set up camp."

Guan Zhen nodded, indicating the patrol should withdraw.

After waiting a long time, Guan Zhen finally spoke in a low voice,

"This battle, everyone has worked hard."

Everyone remained silent, spirits low.

Those qualified to attend the meeting, aside from Guan Zhen and his two deputy commanders,

were the Bijang of the ten camps and each of their two deputy commanders.

In total, that makes thirty-three people.

But at this moment, only seventeen people are in the military tent!

Among them, five are Bijang and twelve are deputy commanders.

The Bijang of the Third Camp is Li Kai, and the Bijang of the Fourth Camp is Du Heng.

The Bijang of the Seventh Camp is Wang Jie, and the Bijang of the Eighth Camp is Mo Cai.

The Bijang of the Tenth Camp is Yu Luo, as well as one of Guan Zhen's deputy commanders, Fan Jian.

Six Martial Ancestors have perished on the battlefield.

They haven't even been wrapped in horsehide and returned!

Although dying on the battlefield is a soldier's destiny, and they had this resolve from the start,

but seeing comrades who lived and died together perish on the battlefield, not even a single corpse could be retrieved.

This still leaves the commanders, including Guan Zhen, with low spirits.

Even the Bijang and deputy commanders who survived are all seriously wounded.

Probably the only one who suffered relatively lighter injuries is Zhou Kuan, who was directly in charge of defending the city.

As for the Dutong and Captains of Hundred, whose strength is even weaker, casualties are too numerous to count!

"Deng Li that damned beast, he told the entire scout defenses of Mu Shan Cheng to the side of Dan Ren Cheng!"

Zhou Kuan spoke up angrily, his voice cold,

"I only regret that during the internal uprising, Dan Ren Cheng's spies caused a ruckus in Mu Shan Cheng, allowing that beast Deng Li to escape!"

Upon hearing this, Guan Zhen immediately furrowed his brows,

"Old Zhou, what happened inside the city?"

He had just returned to the city not long ago; although he saw many unidentified corpses inside, he hadn't yet had a chance to hear Zhou Kuan's report.

Zhou Kuan immediately gave Guan Zhen a rough report of all the events that had occurred in the city.

As for who exactly killed the many spies in the city—whether it was Di Ying or Gu Han—Zhou Kuan himself wasn't sure, so for now he could only credit both of them.

Upon hearing Zhou Kuan's account, Guan Shan, who had just regained a bit of color, instantly saw black and nearly fainted on the spot.

"Old Guan!"

Zhou Kuan hurried forward, supporting Guan Shan, preventing him from falling to the ground.

Guan Shan, filled with self-reproach, opened his mouth in regret,

"It's all my fault, my fault for trusting that beast Deng Li, which caused this great disaster!"

"If I hadn't handed the prison keys to Deng Li to guard, this battle would probably have ended long ago, and many fewer brothers would have died!"

The other Bijang and deputy commanders from the various camps, although their eyes blazed with anger, did not speak up to continue blaming Guan Shan.

Now Mu Shan Cheng has suffered heavy losses; the one most grieved is likely Guan Shan.

Guan Zhen rose, patted Guan Shan on the shoulder, and comforted him,

"Dan Ren Cheng paid such a high price to stage this act."

"Moreover, we are in the open while they are in the dark; given the clash of intention and carelessness, even if it were me, I probably couldn't have ferreted out the traitor Deng Li."

"He diligently taught new soldiers in Mu Shan Cheng for so many years; who could have anticipated this?"

After Guan Zhen finished speaking, several other Bijang also began to comfort Guan Shan.

But Guan Shan still sat there, dazed and speechless.

Regarding this thorn and self-reproach in Guan Shan's heart, Guan Zhen also had no better solution.

If this happened to anyone else, they would probably find it hard to face.

Seeing everyone's low spirits, Zhou Kuan, who had wanted to request merit for Gu Han, could only temporarily abandon that idea.

After an unknown amount of time, the officer Guan Zhen had sent out to register battle losses finally returned.

Seeing the numbers recorded in the military ledger made everyone's hearts bleed.

Aside from the Bijang and their respective deputy commanders, the Dutong of Great Martial Master rank suffered sixty-three deaths.

The Captains of Hundred of Martial Master rank suffered eight hundred seventy-two deaths.

The Martial Practitioner rank Combat Soldiers suffered six thousand three hundred fifty-four deaths!

Don't just look at Gu Han killing nearly a hundred spies in the city; in the City Gate battle, nearly a thousand of the invading Saber-toothed Army were killed.

However, taking everything into account, the losses of Mu Shan Cheng will absolutely far exceed those of the Saber-toothed Army.

"Qian Fu, although this battle suffered heavy losses, don't forget to register the soldiers' merits."

Guan Zhen looked at the officers with a heavy gaze,

"Wait until we repel the Saber-toothed Army's attack, then we will discuss rewards and punishments."

At this critical juncture, nobody has the heart to discuss rewards and punishments.

Qian Fu nodded and immediately prepared to bow and take his leave.

But Zhou Kuan suddenly had a bright idea and then said,

"Qian Fu, please wait a moment."

Then Zhou Kuan looked at Guan Zhen and said urgently,

"General, although the soldiers have retreated to Mu Shan Cheng, their morale is low, which is unfavorable for a war of attrition with Dan Ren Cheng."

Guan Zhen furrowed his brow,

"Old Zhou, what do you think?"

"In my opinion, we can select a Combat Soldier who has performed great merit in this battle for publicity; this would both demonstrate our clear rewards and punishments and boost morale."

Seeing Zhou Kuan speak in such a calm and orderly manner, Guan Zhen looked at him curiously,

"So saying, Old Zhou, you must already have someone in mind, right?"

Zhou Kuan gave a mysterious hehe laugh,

"This person is not only me; everyone also knows him."

Saying this, Guan Shan's heart stirred; he had already guessed eight or nine out of ten about the name Zhou Kuan was about to say.

"That person is Gu Han, the Squad Leader of the Logistics Camp under Guan Shan's Second Camp."

Zhou Kuan laughed heartily and said,

"Gu Han single-handedly uncovered Deng Li's plot, persuaded the leader of the Grey Wolf Gang, Di Ying, to exterminate hundreds of Saber-toothed Army spies in the city, among whom there were even two Martial Ancestors and over ten Great Martial Masters!"

"What? There are actually Martial Ancestors hiding in the city!"

A Bijang of the camp exclaimed in shock, then said fearfully,

"We actually didn't notice at first; we almost caused a great disaster!"

Two Martial Ancestors, together with over ten Great Martial Masters, can be said to have even a more than fifty percent chance of breaking through and capturing the City Gate by force!

Moreover, if we add the Saber-toothed Army outside the city colluding with internal sympathizers, Zhou Kuan alone would definitely be unable to resist!

"In that case, the leader of the Grey Wolf Gang must also be an outstanding Martial Ancestor, right?"

If not, it would basically be impossible to assist Zhou Kuan in defending the City Gate.

Faced with such a perilous battle, even Guan Shan, who had his life saved several times by Gu Han,

also does not believe that Gu Han could accomplish all of this.