The senior officers of the Yellow Turban Army attending the council debated fiercely over how to defeat the invaders. Some proposed meeting the attack, others advocated a temporary retreat, and still others urged taking the initiative and carrying the fighting into enemy-held territory.
Everyone had a valid argument, and for a time, no one could persuade anyone else.
"The Imperium's forces are far too powerful! Our troops are inferior in both quality and equipment. We must abandon Ovisgral. The Celestial Master himself said it: preserve the land at the cost of the people, and you lose both!" the retreat faction argued.
"Mobile warfare requires well-trained soldiers. As you said yourself, we've had too little time to train our troops. They simply aren't capable of fighting a mobile war. Besides, we don't have enough warships to evacuate the people.
Are we supposed to abandon them just after liberating them?" the faction in favor of holding their ground objected.
"Our only option is to divert the reactionaries' attention. We must take the initiative, enter reactionary-controlled territory, and draw them into fighting on their own ground. Only then can we buy the liberated regions more time and room to maneuver," some generals said, proposing an advance.
"Go into enemy territory without the people's support? What are you thinking?" Both the advocates of fighting and those of retreat rejected his fanciful strategy.
Only Cheng Mingrui gave that general a glance.
The argument continued for a while longer. Then, with Veronica mediating, everyone turned to Cheng Mingrui, the Celestial Master who had founded the Yellow Turban Army and worked miracles time and again.
They waited for Celestial Master Zhang Jiao to make the right decision.
Cheng Mingrui swept his gaze over those present once more before slowly saying, "Retreat is not an option..."
The faction