Zhao Bin looked at Hou Tai who was kneeling on the ground and the tens of thousands of soldiers behind him, lowering their heads in thought. After a while, Zhao Bin turned to the others and said: "Follow me and leave the city."
Qin Fang, Xiao Chu, Wang Wu, Lu Biao and others were all shocked. There were tens of thousands of troops outside the city. If there was a mutiny, it would be out of control. Moreover, Hou Tai was originally a member of the prince's party. If there was a rebellion, they would be killed. They didn't know what to do, so they all opened their mouths to stop him.
"My lord, you can't do that!"
"No, my lord!"
"This is too dangerous, Your Majesty. If Hou Tai is sincere in his submission, I will order him to enter the city."
Zhao Bin also knew that it was too risky to do this, but if he didn't do this, how to get these soldiers to surrender sincerely? Now he could only take a gamble, bet that they would not dare, bet that they would really surrender!
"I know there are risks in doing this, but I must do this now, lead the horse!" Zhao Bin said firmly.
However, several people stopped in front of Zhao Bin and refused to let Zhao Bin leave the city. Zhao Bin had no choice but to emphasize it again with a commanding tone, and then several people agreed.
The north city gate opened with a creak. Zhao Bin, wearing armor and riding a tall horse, drove out of the city. Xiao Chu, Lu Biao and others were guarding him on the left and right, followed by fifty cavalry.
Zhao Bin rode his horse and came to Hou Tai. Hou Tai looked up, then lowered his head and said, "I will see His Highness King Yan at the end."
Zhao Bin got off his horse and bravely walked up to Hou Tai. He was really afraid that Hou Tai would suddenly rise up and pull out his knife to kill him.
But if they don't do this now, these people will definitely have scruples. Maybe they will rebel again and stab themselves in the back. At that time, it will be more fatal.
Zhao Bin used both hands to support Hou Tai's arms.
"General Hou, please rise!"
Hou Tai stood up slowly from the ground and looked at the man in front of him without saying a word. Instead, he stepped aside and let Zhao Bin face the tens of thousands of soldiers in front.
Zhao Bin got back on the horse, took a deep breath, and walked toward the military formation ahead with his horse under his belly.
Arriving in front of the formation, Zhao Bin suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of oppression. This was his first time appearing in front of so many people.
As the saying goes, if there are more than a thousand people, the clouds cover the sky; if there are more than 10,000 people, there are no borders. With tens of thousands of troops in front of you, it can be said that you can't see the horizon.
"Where is the herald?" Zhao Bin asked loudly.
I saw a soldier at the front of the military formation riding a horse in front of Zhao Bin. He did not dismount, but just cupped his hands on the horse and said: "I have a humble duty!"
"Command the troops to slowly approach the city wall and gather under the city!" Zhao Bin ordered
"yes!"
The messenger turned his horse and headed towards the military formation. Zhao Bin also turned around and walked towards the city. Hou Tai also got on his horse and followed him towards the city.
Tens of thousands of troops stretched out under the city. Zhao Bin stood on top of the city and shouted at the top of his voice at the tin trumpet: "Soldiers,
I believe that Zhang Da's escape this time was the work of Zhang Da alone and has nothing to do with the officers and soldiers. I will report it to the emperor and your family will never be implicated.
And I heard that most of you are from Hebei Province. Your wives, children, and parents all live in this land of Hebei Province.
Now that the Jie people have captured Xiguan, the people of Hebei Province, your families will once again face the iron hoofs and swords of the Jie people. They will face endless killing and slavery. Tell me, is this what you want to see? "
Tens of thousands of soldiers under the city wall looked at the armored King Yan on the top of the city, and they loudly replied:
"no no!"
The shouts of tens of thousands of people were deafening and the city walls trembled. The people in the city also heard the shouts outside the city, but the people did not know what was happening outside the city walls. Many people thought that an attack on the city had begun.
"Since you don't want to see your parents, wives and children being enslaved and killed, what should we do?"
"Take back Xiguan!"
"Take back Xiguan!"
The shouts started again!
"Okay, on behalf of the people of Yancheng and the people of Hebei Province, I would like to thank all the soldiers. We will set up camp today and we will retake Xiguan together tomorrow!"
After receiving the order, tens of thousands of soldiers began to arrange their camps according to the instructions. Food and grass in the city also began to be transported outside the city.
Zhao Bin led everyone back to the city tower. Zhao Bin said to Xiao Chu: "Xiao Chu, immediately draft two military reports and send them back to the court. The first one reports on Zhang Da's escape from the battle, and the second one reports on my execution of Zhang Dazhi." The two military reports arrived in the capital one day apart."
After receiving the order, Xiao Chu immediately began to draft a military report.
Zhao Bin turned to Hou Tai and said, "General Hou, you know the situation in Xiguan best. Let me tell you about the situation in Xiguan first!"
Hou Tai stood up from the crowd and bowed his hands and said: "Your Majesty, there are not many Jie people attacking Xiguan this time, only about 30,000." After saying this, Hou Tai felt ashamed and his face suddenly turned red.
Zhao Bin saw Hou Tai's embarrassment, so he said, "It's okay, General Hou, keep talking!"
"Yes, Your Majesty, there are about 30,000 Jie people attacking the city this time. In the previous battle, we should have lost 4,000 to 5,000 people.
The general suspects that these people are just the front troops, and there should be the main force behind them, so if you want to retake Xiguan now, you must do it as soon as possible.
Once the enemy's main force arrives, it may be impossible to recapture Xiguan! "
Qin Fang said from the side: "I'm afraid it's already difficult to recapture Xiguan now. Siege warfare is not as good as confrontation warfare. You need to outnumber the enemy several times to have any chance of winning."
Hou Tai thought for a while and said: "Actually, it is not completely impossible to win. There are two underground culverts on the side of Xiguan close to Yancheng.
Because Xiguan is located in a special geographical location, there will be mountain rain every summer, and a large amount of rainwater will pour into the pass from the mountains.
Therefore, in order to increase the drainage speed, on the basis of the open channels, culverts were also added. Firstly, water can be stored for use in the city. Secondly, drainage can be accelerated to ensure that the pass is not flooded by accumulated water.
The culvert was built to accommodate one person walking normally. As long as someone could be sent quietly into the city to open the city gate, there was still hope that Xiguan could be recaptured. "
"Even so, once the army approaches Xiguan, it will be discovered by the Jie tribe. Even if it can lurk into the culvert, it may be difficult to succeed," Qin Fang continued.
"You can attack at night. Didn't the Jie people attack Xiguan at night? They would never have thought that we would come back and attack Xiguan at night." Lu Biao reminded.
Hou Tai hesitated for a moment and said: "Your Majesty, the soldiers have been marching for a day and a night. If we rush back overnight, even if we don't meet the Jie people, we will be very tired."
"Tonight is definitely not going to work. Let the soldiers eat and drink well and have a good night's rest. We will break camp at dawn tomorrow and try to reach Xiguan in the evening. We will make a surprise attack in the middle of the night. What do you think?" Zhao Bin said.
Everyone felt that there was no other better way, so they all agreed. Then Zhao Bin looked at Lu Biao meaningfully. After more than half a year of contact, he found that Lu Biao was definitely more thoughtful than Xiao Chu, Qin Fang and others. ability, so Zhao Bin said: "Lu Biao, will you lead a hundred security guards into the military camp tonight?"
Lu Biao was stunned for a moment, then suddenly said: "I will obey the prince's instructions!"
"Well, General Hou, if you can recapture Xiguan tomorrow, you will have made a great contribution, and no one will criticize you in the future. Tomorrow you and Lu Biao will set off together with 20,000 troops each."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will definitely cooperate with General Lu." Hou Tai replied.
He knew that for the Prince of Yan's Mansion, he was once a member of the prince's party, and he surrendered to Prince Yan only out of helplessness. Only in this way could he have a chance to survive.
If he really returns to the prince, I am afraid he will eventually be thrown out as a scapegoat. The prince will never admit that he instigated Zhang Da and him to abandon Xiguan.
And he will never have the opportunity to see the emperor to complain. Now it is not so much that the Yan Palace has taken away half of the military power.
It would be better to say that the Yan Palace gave him half of the military power. If it were anyone else, I am afraid that no one would be left to him.
In fact, Zhao Bin has also considered taking back military power completely, but taking back Xiguan is the most important thing right now.
Although Hou Tai did not have much reputation in the army, fortunately, he had been familiar with the army's situation for a long time and had a good understanding of the terrain of Xiguan, which was helpful in recapturing Xiguan.
In addition, this can be regarded as completely placing Hou Tai on the opposite side of the prince's party.
In the evening, Lu Biao entered the military camp with a hundred escort brothers and formally took over the command of the 20,000-strong army.
Along with this came thousands of fat sheep, which Lu Biao and Zhao Bin wanted. To make people obedient, they had to be well fed. Zhao Bin was not stingy and also let Hou Tai lead thousands of fat sheep.
These are the only two thousand fat sheep left in Prince Yan's mansion. The rest are either eaten or distributed to the people. It is said that many of the people's sheep have given birth to lambs.
After drinking and eating, the soldiers quickly fell asleep. They hardly closed their eyes all day and night, their tired eyelids rolled, and they fell asleep almost at the moment they fell down.
