The night wind was cold and cold, and at some point the bright moon hung high on the top of the mountain again. Under the bright moonlight, Gao Jun's sad expression became clearer.
"Marshal, let's hurry back to the camp." Zhu Yun urged again carefully.
Gao Yun finally recovered from his grief and ordered Zhu Yun to send someone to bury him in a good coffin and return the body to Lanzhou the next day.
When Zhu Yun heard from Marshal that Chen Tuizhi's coffin had been returned to Lanzhou, he wondered: "Marshal, will this make the rebels think that we are provoking us? When the rebels are out in full force, I'm afraid this will cause more trouble!" "
"Just do as you're told." Gao Yun understood Lu Zuo, but he didn't want to explain to Zhu Yun.
"Report..."
Just as Gao Yun was about to mount his horse and return to the camp, a man from Yuexia came galloping on horseback. Only when he took a closer look did he realize that it was someone from Xu Shao's team. Gao Yun saw that the person's armor was in disarray. When he came closer, the man looked panicked, which made Gao Yun faintly uneasy.
The visitor came forward, got off his horse, and knelt in front of Gao Jun. He was panting from exhaustion, and all his words were choked in his throat. Gao Jun and Zhu Yun looked at each other, and Zhu Yun's face turned pale. He quickly asked General Xu Shao how he was doing.
"General Xu...he..." The visitor looked sad and still couldn't breathe.
Gao Jun quickly asked his men to give the man a sip of water to help him feel better. The man then replied: "General Xu..." Tears burst into tears as he said this, "He has already sacrificed his life for the country!"
Gao Yun and Zhu Yun suddenly turned pale and asked, "What's going on? Can you explain clearly?"
"We laid an ambush according to your request, but we didn't expect that the rebel generals, Huo Yan and Yin Ji, were too brave and our team couldn't resist it. General Xu was also beheaded by Huo Yan, and our people..." His voice was choked up as he said, "The whole army was wiped out."
Gao Jun frowned for a moment, eyes widened with anger, and looked at Zhu Yun fiercely. Zhu Yun was so frightened that he knelt on the ground and kowtowed one after another, "Marshal, I really don't know why the situation of the battle has suddenly changed..."
"Do you know you broke something big?"
"I... I really don't know."
"Let the tiger return to the mountain... This time we will definitely wipe out the entire army." When Gao Jun said this, he stamped his feet in anger.
"Marshal, how about we continue to lay an ambush at the pass to stop it?"
"What's the use? If Lu Zuo and the others know our true and false intentions, they will find ways to continue to weaken our spirit, and then counterattack and annihilate us in one fell swoop."
"Their soldiers and horses are claimed to be 150,000, but I think their actual number is only 80,000 or 90,000, which is just over 30,000 more than us. Moreover, our people are well-trained, and we can still fight against a mob like them. Why fear it?”
After Gao Yun heard this, he felt angry in his heart. He was indeed a mediocre person. He stretched out his kick and kicked Zhu Yun to the ground. "How do you know the seriousness of this?"
Gao Jun immediately led his men back to camp and summoned the generals for discussion.
In the Han army's central tent, the generals were all dejected. They had clearly won a battle just now, but all their efforts were in vain because of the loss of Huo Jin. Everyone saw Gao Jun frowning and rubbing his fists, wondering whether he was advancing or retreating, and no one dared to come out and comment.
Finally, it was Zhu Yun who stood up and spoke first: "Generalissimo, in this case, how about we withdraw our troops and then wait until we meet up with the reinforcements before counterattacking?"
Gao Yun ignored Zhu Yun's words and still lowered his head and rubbed the command arrow in his hand.
Zhu Yun looked at An Shiqing awkwardly, meaning that he would also like to ask General An to say a few words.
General An saw that all the generals were following Zhu Yun and looking at him, so he came to the rescue and said: "Now we absolutely cannot retreat. Previously, there were rumors in the army that food and pay were insufficient. Many soldiers believed it, so many defected. Thousands of people. In order to stabilize the morale of the army, Marshal Gao has already rationed most of the food and pay. Now he suddenly ordered the army to retreat. It would be fine if the rebels did not make a fuss and caught up. If they really caught up, our army would be demoralized and fall apart. What's more, it will damage the morale of the reinforcements."
"Then if we remain in a stalemate, wouldn't it lead to the same outcome?" Zhu Yun said.
Zhu Yun's words made Gao Yun furious again. Gao Yun rushed to Zhu Yun, grabbed his collar, pulled him from the seat to him, and cursed angrily: "If you had told the truth at that time, I will definitely send reinforcements to Xu Shao to stop the rebels again, and I will not let Huo Yan escape. It’s too late now.”
After Gao Jun finished speaking, he kicked Zhu Yun to the ground, and then pulled out the sword from his waist. Before Zhu Yun could recover, his head was missing.
Everyone was shocked and no one dared to speak. Xiao Renyi even shrank aside, his legs uncontrollably trembling slightly. Gao Jun glanced at everyone with his firm eyes: "Today, we have no retreat and can only stand firm to meet the enemy. If someone retreats even half a step..." Gao Jun pointed at Zhu Yun's body on the ground with his sword, "There is such a person."
At this time, the Lanzhou government office meeting hall was completely silent. When the people present learned the news about Chen Tuizhi, some were silent, and some were crying and choking with sobs. Huo Jin and Yin Ji knelt down in the hall and were already crying. Looking at Lu Zuo and Liu Xingyuan sitting in the hall, they all asked for an army to go and avenge Chen Tuizhi.
Lu Zuo stopped and said, "Tell me what's the situation in the enemy camp now?"
Huo Yan replied: "When I took the troops there, I saw that their military camp was empty, so I set up an empty city strategy. When I went to the granary to check, their ambush just appeared."
Yin Ji continued to add: "Although we didn't directly find anything wrong with them, there are still many suspicious things. For example, although there seem to be many stoves in their military camp, they are placed neatly. The disciple feels that these are all An illusion. And they have set traps in various places along the road, as if they have calculated our escape route. The most important thing is..." Yin Ji hesitated and thought.
Lu Zuo said: "Do I have to kill you all?"
Yin Ji nodded desperately, "That's right, Master. They should have given an order in advance not to leave anyone alive. In the end, after General Huo and I escaped from Xu Shao, he still pursued us desperately, and all the cavalry behind him fell behind. He was left alone, but he still pursued him. Finally, when we saw that he was alone, we turned our horses to fight and finally killed him."
Lu Zuo's brows relaxed, "Huo Quan, please send someone to spread the news. As long as the enemy surrenders, you will be rewarded with silver and food. Yin Ji, you go immediately to recruit troops and prepare for a major counterattack. This time, the Han army must be completely annihilated."
Huo Yan asked in confusion: "Does this... work?"
"What we want is not just a few enemy soldiers to surrender, but what we want is to undermine the morale of the other side's troops."
Lu Xiuyuan continued: "Although this move can undermine the morale of the opponent's military, we still have to be careful about Gao Jun. This person is brave and strategic, and we must be careful whether they will set up an ambush in advance."
Lu Zuo's eyes sank, thinking about Gao Yun's plans at this moment, "Even if Gao Yun sets up an ambush at this time, it is just a desperate struggle. As long as we release the news and let their soldiers believe that they are running out of food and grass, their morale will definitely be shaken. Then The Han army at that time could only be vulnerable to a single blow, but our army will definitely have the power to destroy everything."
Qin Fu looked aside and said disdainfully: "Do you think Gao Yun is stupid? How could he sit still and wait for death? Why don't we just retreat first?"
