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  "Afeng, dare to resist——" Zou Fang wanted to scold again when Liu Feng had already gone far away.

  In the empty and spacious tent, only Mu Fang was left with a red face, staring at the two young figures leaving in the distance. Mu Fang's eyes were filled with hatred, and she stood still for a long time, her breathing heavy, before letting out a cold hum and fiercely flinging her outer cloak.

  Liu Feng stormed back to his own military tent, also filled with anger. As soon as he entered the main tent, he slammed his hand on the wooden table: "It's fine to use others to suppress me, but you still want me to follow you to death? Don't even think about it."

  Ma Si, who followed in, didn't look good either. Generally speaking, people with talent are all concerned about their reputation. Liu Feng looked up to him and gave him face, so he worked hard for Liu Feng. Who would have thought that suddenly a Meng Fang appeared, making a show was one thing, but openly rebuking himself, this tone, Ma Si couldn't swallow either.

  "General, forgive my blunt words. This uncle of yours is eager for merit, but doesn't understand the slightest bit about military strategy. Rushing into battle like this will surely lead to a dead end." Ma Su also noticed that Liu Feng and Mi Fang had differences, so he dared to criticize Mi Fang without reserve.

  A cold wind blew outside the tent, and the autumn wind pierced into the tent, making Liu Feng feel a chill. It was this chill that made his burning anger subside slightly.

  "Calm down, a moment of impatience can ruin great plans, must remain calm."

  Under repeated self-suggestion, Liu Feng gradually regained his calm mind. He walked back and forth in the account for a few steps, and he gradually realized the severity of the situation.

  Liu Bei had instructions before he left, and the affairs north of the river would be controlled by Guan Yu. Although Mi Fang's actions were suicidal, if Liu Bei didn't follow them, it would ultimately be disobeying military orders. Perhaps what Mi Fang did was actually under the instruction of Mi Zhu, intentionally designing to harm him.

  Thinking of this, Liu Feng realized that the matter could not be treated so simply. After a moment's thought, he had an idea: "I will immediately write a letter explaining the pros and cons and send it to my second uncle right away. I believe he will definitely veto the plan to go to war."

  Ma Chao said, "General Guan is far away in the Stone Yang region. Even if we send a letter immediately, it will take several days for the letter to arrive and General Guan's response to return. I'm afraid by then, disaster will have already struck."

  Liu Feng sighed slightly: "Even so, this letter still has to be written. In the end, even if it's of no use, at least we can clear our names and get out of this losing situation."

  This is Liu Feng's true intention, let Zou Fang go and die if he wants to, Liu Feng doesn't care.

  "However, has the young master ever thought that if General Miao loses the battle, the Lu Shan camp will only have the 200 soldiers we have on hand. At that time, the enemy's thousand-strong army will take advantage of their victory and come to us. Even if we defend without fighting, can our mere 200 soldiers hold out?"

  One word awakened him, and Liu Feng felt a thorough chill on his back.

  Ma Su is right, Mi Fang is detestable and his death would not be worth mourning, but the 700 troops under his command are crucial. The main reason why Liu Feng thought they could hold out earlier was also because of the additional 700 troops under Mi Fang's command. If these troops were to suffer losses, as Ma Su said, even if they wanted to defend, they would not be able to do so.

  The change in the situation was beyond Xu Shu's expectation, and it was also beyond Liu Feng's expectation. Now Liu Feng's primary goal is to get through the current crisis, otherwise, how can he talk about leaving Liu Bei?

  "My uncle has really given us a big problem." Liu Feng's sword-like eyebrows were furrowed, his four fingers rhythmically tapping on the table as he searched his mind for the military strategies he had learned before, trying to find a way out for himself.

  "It seems that withdrawing from Xia Kou is the only way out." Liu Feng muttered to himself, and this seemed to be the only way he could think of to protect himself.

  Ma Chao was unwilling, in fact, he was even more reluctant than Liu Feng to choose the humiliating option of retreating.

  Liu Feng never wanted to make achievements, he only wanted to seek safety and then plan to leave Liu Bei. Ma Su was different, he thought of making a name for himself, this was his first battle in life, if he retreated without fighting, it would be a great shame for him.

  Seeing Liu Feng's intention to retreat, Ma Su hastily said: "The lord ordered us to defend Lu Shan in order to coordinate with the Wu army's main battlefield at Red Cliff. From a military perspective, we can indeed withdraw, but from a broader perspective, this withdrawal will put our lord in an unfavorable position. Young master, we absolutely cannot withdraw."

  It's easy to talk big, but if you don't retreat, you'll have to fight; with our current strength, how can we fight?

  Liu Feng could not express his true thoughts, and only said: "What you say I also understand, but to fight we must have capital. With two hundred soldiers, how can we resist the strong enemy?"

  Ma Su's eyes suddenly lit up: "Since we can't hold on, why don't we take the initiative to attack and win with a surprise?"

  "Win with an unusual move? Hehe, follow me."

  Liu Feng strode out in big steps, and Ma Su, unaware of his intention, could only follow him out.

  The two men mounted their horses, accompanied by a dozen or so guards, and left the Lu Shan camp, heading west. For the first four or five miles, the terrain was still flat and dry, but as they went further west, the road became increasingly narrow and muddy. The Yunmeng Ze in the north gradually shifted southward, forming a V-shaped terrain with the Yangtze River to the south.

  After walking out for ten miles, the big road along the river has shrunk to no more than 50 or 60 steps wide. Standing in the middle of the road, the Yangtze River is on the left and the muddy marshes are on the right, with a panoramic view of several miles around.

  Liu Feng raised his hand and pointed to the large area of mud on the right: "Since ancient times, those who wanted to win with weakness and defeat many with few have used clever strategies like ambushes. I understand this point too. However, looking at the terrain on the right, if it were a forest or a mountain range, we could still set up an ambush. But this swamp, as soon as people and horses enter, they will get stuck and cannot hide troops. If we can't set up an ambush, I really can't think of any other clever strategy to use in a place like this."

  Liu Feng was not afraid to fight, but in fact, he had also inspected the battlefield before and imagined how to respond if the enemy came to attack, but apart from head-on resistance, he couldn't think of a good solution.

  After seeing the terrain, Ma Xiao's expression also darkened. He dismounted his horse and walked to the edge of the swamp with a heavy heart, looking around, except for the sparse reeds growing everywhere, it was a vast expanse of mud that seemed to have no end in sight.

  He tried to step into the swamp with one foot, and at first it was fine, but as soon as his body weight pressed down, his whole leg sank in immediately, all the way to the calf, and the sinking trend still showed no signs of stopping.

  Ma Chao hastily pulled his leg out, and didn't even bother to clean off the mud that was stuck on it. He sat dispiritedly by the side of the marsh, randomly picking up a withered branch to poke at the rotting mud beneath his feet, muttering to himself: "Could it be that Ma Chao's first battle in life is really destined to end in retreat...?"

  On his young face, there was a hint of helplessness and a hint of unwillingness.

  Suddenly, the dim eyes sparkled with excitement, and Ma Chao jumped up, turning his head to shout excitedly at Liu Feng: "Young Master, I've thought of a brilliant plan for victory!"

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