186 Predicting the future, actual combat or drill?
Yuan Yangguo didn’t know what Lin Ran was thinking. He continued as he recalled, “At that time, other than suddenly appearing, he didn’t show any strange behavior, so we weren’t too vigilant.”
“I asked him if he was a martial artist of the Great Yong Dynasty, but he didn’t answer. He only gave me this sword token and asked me to go to see you after the war…”
At this point, Yuan Yangguo suddenly paused. He frowned slightly and looked hesitant, as if he had a difficult time saying something.
“What happened?”
Lin Ran took the initiative to ask. Afraid that it was something private, he deliberately walked to a corner.
!!
As expected, Yuan Yangguo followed over. He lowered his voice and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, “Sword God, I suspect that that person is involved in the war that the Great Yong Dynasty started.”
Lin Ran said, “Oh?” as if he was very interested. “What do you mean?”
Yuan Yangguo’s expression was solemn. “That was the first day we rushed to the battlefield—the second night after the war began. The Heavenly Saint Dynasty had yet to defeat the enemy’s first attack, and we had no idea what the direction of this war would be.”
“But that person insisted that I come to see you after the war. It’s as if… as if…”
Yuan Yangguo hesitated again, as if he did not know how to describe it.
“It’s as if he knew that the Great Yong Dynasty would retreat.”
Lin Ran immediately continued the second half of Yuan Yangguo’s sentence because this was easy to guess.
Whether it was Fort Liushi or the city wall, it was only meaningful if it was placed at the border of the two countries.
If this war continued, no matter who won or lost, the location of the border would change. The Northern Garrison would either give up on these cities or build new ones near the new border.
Unless it was like now, before the border changed, the Great Yong Dynasty suddenly retreated—and it could only be the Great Yong Dynasty taking the initiative to retreat.
This was because if the Heavenly Saint Dynasty retreated, the Great Yong Dynasty might destroy the city.
Yuan Yangguo nodded repeatedly at. After a few seconds, he said, “I didn’t believe this at first, but since I really saw you here, it means that that person did foresee all of this in advance, so I think…”
At this point, Yuan Yangguo paused again. He turned around to look at the others. After making sure that no one was eavesdropping, he whispered, “I think this might be a test from the Great Yong Dynasty.”
“Test?”
Lin Ran raised his eyebrows and looked at Yuan Yangguo, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. “You’re saying that their plan was to attack for three days and then abandon hundreds of thousands of soldiers before retreating? The Great Yong Dynasty doesn’t have that much population, do they?”
“Sword God, I know what you’re saying. They’ve been laughing at me for a few days…”
An awkward expression appeared on Yuan Yangguo’s face. It turned out that he had lowered his voice not because he was afraid that others would eavesdrop, but because he was afraid that those people would laugh at him when they heard him talk about this.
Without waiting for Lin Ran to speak, Yuan Yangguo said with a serious expression, “But there’s something strange. I realized that every time the Great Yong Dynasty launches a large-scale attack, there will be a small team of hundreds of people watching at the back. Moreover, they’re all masters.”
“You’re talking about the supervising team, right?”
Lin Ran thought for a moment and chuckled. “Deserters are something that affects morale very much. Even if only one deserter appears, it might quickly cause the entire army to collapse. Therefore, in every large-scale war, especially this kind of country war, the supervising team will be arranged at the back of the army.”
“As long as a deserter appears on the battlefield, the supervising team will kill him immediately to prevent this fear from spreading. This is just a very normal thing. There’s nothing strange about it.”
“Sword God, I joined the army before I went to Mount Baiyun to become a disciple. I know what a supervising team is…”
Yuan Yangguo pursed his lips and replied softly. Before Lin Ran could say anything, he continued awkwardly, “But those people are clearly not the supervising team. They didn’t make a move at all. When they realized that their side was losing, they immediately retreated… Oh, right! Those people’s cultivation is clearly much higher than the main force at the front line!”
As if afraid that Lin Ran wouldn’t understand, Yuan Yangguo stretched out ten fingers and said, “For example, while facing the main force, each one of us was able to fight ten of them at the same time.”
“But if it’s the small team of a few hundred people at the back, it’ll be difficult even if it’s one-on-one. Sometimes, it’ll even take two to three to fight one of them! Our 49 brothers died while chasing after that small team!”
“Is that so?”
Lin Ran also felt that something was wrong. To him, a ninth level Senior Martial Master was not considered a master, but on a battlefield where those above the Grandmaster Realm did not participate, this cultivation level was already the highest.
The 500 people from Sin Camp could be said to be invincible on the battlefield. Even if they faced an equal number of elite troops, the death rate would not be as exaggerated as 10%—
Unless there were masters above the Grandmaster Realm in that small team!
At the same time, Lin Ran recalled something else. He remembered that Guo Fuzhen was also seriously injured when he was chasing after the enemy. Now that he thought about it, there was something strange about that chase.
The general of Northern Garrison personally led the troops to chase after the enemy. Under the premise that he had the advantage in morale and numbers, he was still severely injured by the enemy.
If this matter were to spread to the Heavenly Saint Dynasty, even a fool would not believe it. This was simply unbelievable!
The only problem was that Lin Ran didn’t know what Guo Fuzhen was facing before Yuan Yangguo and the others arrived that day.
Thinking of this, Lin Ran instructed Guo Fuzhen, “Get the others to return to their sects. In addition, bring one person in charge and choose 30 experienced martial artists. After you travel to a distance, change into the clothes of the Northern Garrison and come back secretly.”
Yuan Yangguo didn’t know what Lin Ran wanted to do, but he still nodded and walked towards the crowd.
When Lin Ran returned to the hall, the empress and Guo Fuzhen were chatting.
Seeing Lin Ran return, the empress held back her smile and asked in a low voice, “Is the list ready?”
Lin Ran was stunned. “What list?”
“The list of people who died in the Sin Camp.”
The empress pointed at Guo Fuzhen and said, “General Guo said that the Sin Camp is always in the most dangerous place. Over the past few days, many of them have died. Those who died in battle died for the Heavenly Saint Dynasty. I want to pardon them for their crimes.”
Lin Ran couldn’t help but look relieved. Previously, he was wondering how to tell the empress about this. After all, it was not a small crime to rebel. He didn’t expect the empress to think the same way as him.
“I’ll give you the list later. I have something very important to investigate first.”
Lin Ran waved his hand and changed the topic. Then, he looked at Guo Fuzhen and said, “General Guo, can I ask you something?”
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