Li Huan stood on the city wall, looking at Cao Zhangjun who was still shouting and shouting below the city, and then looked back at the restless soldiers on the city wall who were barely suppressed, and his heart was filled with worries.
He knew that the current situation was already very critical. The soldiers in the city had gradually lost their confidence in defending, and relying on this kind of suppression could only have a temporary effect.
But if Cao Zhang's army continues to adopt this offensive strategy, and Li Jue will only use this brutal method to suppress it, sooner or later the soldiers will be unable to bear the riot, and then it will really be a dead end.
Li Huan was unwilling to die in vain. He called Li Ying and rushed down the tower together to catch up with Li Jue who had just left.
"Brother!" Li Huan saw Li Jue mounting his horse and preparing to leave, and immediately called him loudly.
When Li Jue saw the two men coming down from the city wall, he thought there was something going on on the city. He immediately reined in his horse, dismounted, and said sternly: "What's the matter? Do any of those soldiers dare to refuse to obey? Then give it to me." kill!"
Li Huan quickly waved his hand and said: "Brother, please lower your voice. The soldiers are not moving now. Don't provoke them. I have something to discuss with you."
Li Jue looked at the other party in confusion: "What's the matter?"
"Brother, now we have been completely surrounded. You have also felt the fierceness of the enemy's attack today. Although we are united and withstood the enemy's strong attack, our losses are also very heavy. In addition, the enemy's current attack This is a strategy to deceive the morale of our army. Our army's fighting spirit has reached rock bottom. If we continue to fight, we may not be able to defend it..." Li Huan objectively analyzed the actual situation to Li Jue.
Li Jue noticed something, glared at Li Huan and asked, "What do you want to express? Just say it!"
"Brother, what I mean is that we have two choices now. Either we can directly open the city and surrender. According to Cao Zhang, all the officers and soldiers in the city will be saved from death! Or we can just open the city and break out of the encirclement while we can still control our subordinates. Try to fight your way out, there is no need to wait here for death!" Li Huan expressed his thoughts to Li Jue.
After listening to Li Huan's suggestion, Li Jue immediately opened his eyes and cursed angrily: "Kaicheng surrender?! Didn't you hear what they shouted? I only spared the death of the officers and soldiers. Am I trying to give them a way to survive? Do you want to bear the thorns yourself and die?!"
"Brother, if you don't want to surrender, it doesn't matter. Didn't I just say that we can try to break out!" Li Huan did not get angry and was still patiently explaining to Li Jue.
"Breakout, there are tens of thousands of soldiers surrounding us, can we break out? Besides, even if we are lucky enough to break out, where can we go? Now the princes in Guanxi and Guanzhong have been recruited by the imperial court, and we have no way to There's a way to go!" Li Jue shouted dissatisfied.
"Brother, you can go to Bingzhou to join Yuan Shao's nephew Gao Gan. Now Yuan Shao has been busy fighting Gongsun Zan in Youzhou. Once he pacifies the north, he will definitely turn around and compete with Cao Zhang for the emperor. If we go to join him, he will definitely accept him! "Li Huan told Li Jue his plan.
"Brother, at this time, we don't need to worry about our identity anymore. We should save our lives first. If we can leave Qingshan without worrying about having no firewood, we will definitely have a chance to turn around in the future." Li Ying felt that Li Huan's words were reasonable, and he also tried to persuade Li Jue.
"Shut up! You were the one who said you were going to defend the city of Chang'an, and now you're urging me to break out and die. What on earth do you mean!? I think you clearly want me to die!"
Li Huan anxiously defended: "Brother, things are different from before. The situation has changed drastically. Before, we only faced Cao Zhang as an enemy. But now all the heroes from Kansai have arrived. If we insist on not breaking out, we will defend here. , sooner or later the city will be broken!"
"Nonsense, I think you are afraid of death and want to escape! I tell you, I will never go out of the city to die. I will defend Chang'an. I just said that anyone who deceives the military will be killed regardless of their military rank. !" Li Jue glared at Li Huan and repeated his order angrily.
Li Ying saw the tense situation between the two of them, and was afraid that they would quarrel again, so he hurriedly stepped forward to persuade him: "Okay, brother, don't be angry. Brother Huan just proposed a plan. If you don't want to break out, we will defend together!"
Li Jue glared at Li Huan fiercely: "Guard the city well for me, and you will be blamed for any mistakes!"
After saying that, he got on his horse and left.
Li Huan and Li Ying bowed and watched Li Jue leave.
The atmosphere became depressed, and both Li Huan and Li Ying fell into silence.
Li Huan let out a long sigh and said with infinite resentment: "The eldest brother's behavior is too selfish. He only cares about his own happiness and has no regard for the life and death of the officers and soldiers in the city."
Li Ying also agreed, saying softly: "Yes, especially after Shi'er died, he became moody, cruel and murderous!"
"If his son died, wouldn't we also die? Do we have to bury him with him? Is this kind of person worthy of our following?!" Li Huan complained unconvinced.
Li Huan sighed deeply, his eyes showing his helplessness about the current situation. He looked at Li Ying and persuaded: "We no longer have a son, do we still have to risk our lives? Do we really want Li's because of this?" Did he die alone?!"
Li Ying nodded, and he also understood Li Huan's worries. However, he maintained a sense of brotherhood and could not bear to betray Li Jue. He frowned, his expression showing conflict and struggle.
Li Ying fell into deep thought after listening to Li Huan's words. He understood that Li Huan's words made sense, but the friendship in his heart made him hesitant. He couldn't help but ask: "Do we have no choice but to give up brotherhood? After all, he is our relative now. It would be unreasonable for us to betray him now. What's more, he doesn't lead the army to break out, we only rely on ourselves It’s impossible to rush out with such strength.”
Li Huan looked at Li Ying's confusion and felt the entanglement in his heart. He sighed helplessly. He knew that what Li Ying said was the truth. Although Li Jue was cruel, his authority in the army was unshakable. Without him, Li Huan He personally ordered the troops to break out of the encirclement, and it was impossible to break out with only some of his own soldiers.
Li Ying reached out and patted Li Huan's shoulder gently, with helplessness in his voice: "Brother Huan, I understand how you feel now. But now we have no more choices. We and the eldest brother are ants tied on a rope. Grasshopper, under the current circumstances, we can only share life and death with him and fight to the end together.
Li Huan nodded sadly. He understood what Li Ying said. Although he still hesitated in his heart, he also understood that under the current situation, they could only continue to persevere...
