The imperial army is facing high mountains and long distances, making it difficult to supply supplies. The food routes are also cut off, and the longer they delay, the worse they will be.

Instead, the Baiyue army gained a rare respite.

So far in the Battle of Lingnan, the empire has suffered more than 200,000 casualties among soldiers and civilians, and the Lingnan Baiyue people have accounted for at least one-tenth of the entire population.

The losses on both sides were tragic.

"Sir, with the death of General Tu Sui, the war in Lingnan will not..." After pondering for a long time, Zhang Han asked Gu Xun with a hint of worry.

Gu Xun raised his hand and waved, "It's not that bad. Even if Tu Sui doesn't die, there will be many casualties among the imperial army."

The empire's war against Lingnan was an out-and-out war of aggression. Lingnan Baiyue was never the area ruled by the Central Plains Dynasty, so naturally they would not surrender easily.

Gu Xun has no intention of commenting on right and wrong. The empire is not a living individual, and there is no point in dwelling on this.

But this war is destined to be extremely difficult. If the empire wants to succeed, it must cover the entire Lingnan with blood and bones... There are Baiyue people and the imperial army.

A momentary defeat could not change Ying Zheng's mind, it would only arouse him to respond more violently.

"But..." Gu Xun changed the topic and commented on an individual, "That person Tu Sui deserves to die."

"Sir, are you talking about General Tu Sui's behavior towards the local people?" Zhang Han cautiously asked after hearing this.

Tu Sui is the highest military attache of the empire. Even if he died in battle, Zhang Han would not be able to arrange him at will.

"What else?" Gu Xun didn't care at all, rolled his eyes and replied, "His actions at least made it more difficult for the empire to conquer Baiyue."

Zhang Han opened his mouth, but still did not judge Tu Sui's actions.

Just listen to Gu Xun's criticisms, it's better for him to behave himself.

Gu Xun ignored his caution and said to himself, "The emperor asked him to conquer Baiyue, but he went to kill the people. How can he not die?"

It was said before that at least one-tenth of the Baiyue people had died, and Tu Sui was indispensable.

He not only attacked the Baiyue army, but also ordinary Baiyue natives who were not soldiers. His methods were even worse than those used by white people to colonize Indians.

It was precisely because he did not give anyone in Baiyue a chance to survive, and also killed the most prestigious person in the hearts of the Baiyue people, Xioujun Yi Xusong, that the Baiyue people spared no effort to assassinate him regardless of the cost.

It is impossible to guard against thieves for a thousand days without making any omissions, otherwise you will die.

"General, I heard that the people in the Baiyue Mountains were violent and disobedient to discipline. General Tu Sui's cruel methods were also to suppress the occupied areas. Is this excusable?" Zhang Han thought for a moment and put forward his own opinion.

It's not that he deliberately competed with Gu Xun, but he really felt that there was nothing wrong with doing so.

In the past, when the princes and kings who were entrusted by the Emperor of Zhou tried to seize territory from foreign tribes, they would kill without batting an eye.

If you do something like this, you won't be able to survive.

Gu Xun glanced at him and asked with a sneer, "Did Tu Sui successfully stabilize the occupied area?"

"Uh..." Zhang Han was speechless.

Of course it's not stable.

If he had stabilized, he would not have been assassinated.

"The art of war emphasizes the importance of encircling the enemy, which means not to force people into a dead end." Gu Xun continued, "You should all know this truth when studying the art of war."

"In the past, the Central Plains attacked foreign races from all directions. In essence, they were just expelling the wolves, Qiang, Hu, Yi, and barbarians... No matter which race they were, they would have a retreat even if they lost."

"But now the Baiyue people have no way to retreat and nowhere to go. If they can't survive, they have to find a way to take others with them to die."

Zhang Han understood it instantly.

He had indeed ignored this before.

This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! The emperor's order this time is to directly conquer the entire Baiyue area in Lingnan, and the Baiyue people will completely lose their living space.

Of course, they still have somewhere to go, after all, the earth is so big.

To the east and north, there are the Yelang Kingdom and the Dian Kingdom.

Or continue to go south, there is still a large area of ​​land.

But no matter which choice they make, for the Baiyue people, it is not much different from death.

The former requires them to compete with other tribal nations for precious living space in a defeated state.

As for the latter... the Baiyue people may be more adaptable to the harsh environment in Lingnan than the Central Plains people, but they are not made of iron, and they have limits and may not be able to withstand it.

Opening up to the south sounds simple, but it is not something that the sparse Baiyue people can do easily.

The empire is just trying to dig out their roots, and it doesn't want to give people any way to survive, and it's just waiting for them to die.

"Will the empire's military strategy in Lingnan be adjusted in the future?" Zhang Han asked instead.

Gu Xunyi shrugged and asked, "What do you think?"

Zhang Han nodded silently.

If you want him to feel that, then of course he has to change it, and it won’t work if he doesn’t.

The empire is now unable to mobilize more troops to Lingnan, and it will not be easy to restore the blocked grain routes.

For the next period of time, no matter whether the emperor wanted it or not, he could only maintain a stalemate and suspend the offensive.

As for whether this will give the Baiyue people a chance to breathe... no matter how you think about it, they cannot slow down faster than the empire.

When it comes to consumption, the empire definitely has the upper hand... but it may not be worth it.
Chapter completed!