In Hedong City, Qu Tutong and Yao Junsu were waiting for news of the raid.

"Dong dong..."

Hearing the footsteps, everyone's eyes glanced over.

The soldier who reported the news took a breath and stopped walking.

Yao Junsu was in an anxious mood and shouted: "Why are you still standing there? Is there any news?"

"...Yes...Yes." The soldier stepped forward under tremendous pressure and replied: "General, our army attacked the enemy camp at night and the entire army was wiped out."

There was dead silence in the hall.

Xiaobing cautiously raised his head and glanced at Yao Junsu, who was standing in front of him to the left. As soon as his eyes touched Yao Junsu's livid face, he immediately lowered his head.

When he opened his mouth to speak, he saw the toe of the boot on the left front changed direction, and Yao Junsu's voice sounded in his ears.

"Let me just say, we should send more people. There are thirty thousand rebels, so why should we send ten thousand elite soldiers for a raid?" Yao Junsu's tone was full of dissatisfaction.

Qu Tutong still insisted on his opinion: "Since it is a surprise attack, it is not about the number of soldiers, but the quality of the soldiers."

Yao Junsu retorted: "But if we send more elite soldiers, we may have severely damaged the rebels by now, and we can take advantage of the situation to kill them."

"There are too many people, but it is difficult to dispatch. I think five thousand elite soldiers will have a greater chance of success if they are more mobile and flexible in a surprise attack."

"Bigger? Haha, look, the whole army has been wiped out." Yao Junsu retorted.

"..."

Qu Tutong was choked, and the quarrel ended abruptly.

The soldier finally found an opportunity and said cautiously: "I was wrong just now. It was not that the whole army was wiped out, but that the general was killed and the others abandoned their weapons and surrendered."

Yao Junsu: "..."

Qu Tutong: "......"

The two of them shot daggers at the soldier at the same time: "Didn't you tell me earlier?"

"...You didn't give me a chance to speak." Xiao Bing explained while retreating without leaving a trace.

Yao Junsu was furious and said to his left and right: "Pull him down and beat him with ten army sticks."

The two guards immediately went to pull the soldier away. The soldier felt aggrieved but did not dare to say anything.

Qu Tutong did not look at the soldiers, but said to Yao Junsu: "Look, if we had listened to you, we would have lost 10,000 elite soldiers at this moment. Fortunately, we only sent 5,000 people."

Yao Junsu: "..."

"Bang!"

Yao Junsu was so angry that he slapped the table: "He's a bastard. Let's just send out the whole army and kill him without leaving a single piece of armor behind."

Qu Tutong said coolly: "Aren't you afraid that when they leave the city, the whole army will surrender?"

Yao Junsu: "..."

"How dare they? If anyone surrenders, I will kill him." Yao Junsu picked up the tea cup and threw it to the ground.

Everyone looked at the shattered teacup on the ground and didn't dare to express their anger.

Qu Tutong glanced around at the generals who had their heads lowered in silence, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart, "Do you dare to try?"

Hearing this, Yao Junsu's expression froze. He recalled the scene when Sang Xianhe persuaded him to surrender. When Sang Xianhe shouted the words "surrender as soon as possible and return to Guanzhong to reunite with his family as soon as possible", the soldiers were shaken.

Thinking back to the news just now, the soldiers who left the city were like fish entering the river, happily surrendering.

Although their strength was twice that of the enemy, he did not dare to take risks.

If the soldiers surrender after leaving the city, what else can they do to defend the east of the river and prevent the enemy from advancing eastward?

No, he couldn't take the risk.

Yao Junsu sat back down silently.

Qu Tutong glanced at him and continued: "Don't worry, although we can't wipe out the rebels, as long as we hold on for a day, the rebels will not be able to enter Hedong.

"Standing fast to Hedong City and blocking the rebels from advancing eastward and invading the Eastern Capital, this is the only thing we can do for the imperial court and your majesty."

Having said this, Qu Tutong suddenly stood up, glanced at everyone, and said earnestly: "You are loyal and courageous, and you are the pillars of the country. Your Majesty has placed high hopes on us.

"We failed to protect Chang'an and have already failed His Majesty once. We must never fail His Majesty or the court again."

Everyone was shocked and stood up one after another to express their position: "General, please rest assured that we will not let down the court or your majesty."

Qu Tutong continued: "I have worked with you for many years, and I can trust you as a person. Please restrain the people below you.

"If anyone wants to surrender to the rebels, he will be killed."

"Yes." Everyone agreed in unison.

Seeing everyone's attitude, Qu Tutong was very satisfied: "Don't worry, I have thought of a way and will never let the rebels enter Hedong City."

Yao Junsu asked out of curiosity: "May I ask the general what good advice he has?"

Qu Tutong: "As long as we don't open the city gate, the rebels will be unable to do anything to us. If we wait for three to five months, the rebels will naturally leave."

Everyone nodded and expressed their agreement.

There is still enough food in the city now, so there should be no problem in holding on for a year and a half.

At this time, a general raised a question: "I heard that the rebels are building a powerful siege equipment these days, called a bed crossbow, which is more powerful than a winch crossbow.

"The crossbow arrows it shoots are thicker than spears. The arrows are shot into the city wall, but the arrow shafts remain outside. Soldiers can use the arrow shafts to climb up the city.

"There is nothing we can do about this kind of siege equipment.

"Besides, it's so powerful. If the rebels shoot at the city gate, how should we respond?"

The meeting hall once again fell into dead silence.

Although they have never seen it, many people have heard of this new siege equipment. It is very powerful and there is currently no way to resist it.

After a moment of silence, someone whispered: "I heard that they have a cavalry equipped with Zhuge Liannu."

Everyone was so shocked that they opened their mouths and were speechless.

"How about we surrender?" A young general sitting at the end suggested.

Yaojun Suhu was stunned and immediately ordered: "Here comes someone, take him out and kill him."

The soldier guarding the door did not move and looked at Qu Tutong.

Yao Junsu immediately realized his mistake, bowed his waist and said to Qu Tutong: "This man wants to disturb the morale of the army and has the intention of surrendering to the rebels. He cannot be tolerated. Please punish him severely, in order to boost the morale of the army."

Qu Tutong usually admired the upright Yao Junsu, and the relationship between them was relatively good.

Therefore, Qu Tutong did not pursue him for overstepping his authority, but ordered the soldiers: "Pull him down and chop him down."

The young general quickly knelt down and begged for mercy: "General, I just made a suggestion. I have no intention of surrender. I beg General for mercy..."

Unfortunately, Qu Tutong did not listen to his explanation. He waved his hand and the soldiers took him down.

The mass surrender incident had just occurred, and it was time to revive the morale of the army. This man bumped into him, which happened to give Qu Tutong a reason to kill others.

The others looked solemn and sat cautiously, not daring to speak easily for fear of offending the general.

"Don't be nervous, everyone. If you have anything to say, we can speak freely."

Qu Tutong smiled slightly, trying to relieve the heavy atmosphere.

It's a pity that when everyone heard the words "speak freely", they became even more afraid to speak.

No one spoke for a long time, and Qu Tutong felt a little embarrassed.

Fortunately, at this time, someone eased his embarrassment.

Yao Junsu stood up and said to everyone: "The wall of Hedong City is very thick. Even if they want to attack the city, it will not be easy for them in a short time.

"Although the city gate is covered with iron sheets, since the rebels' bed crossbows can shoot into the city walls, they might also be able to shoot through the iron sheets.

"Furthermore, if the rebels focus their attack on one point, they may not be able to shoot through the city gate. We have to guard against this."
Chapter completed!