Early in the morning, Li Jiuzhou ordered people to find out when Yang Guozhong's army would arrive in Yizhou.

The spies will report soon. According to the current schedule, the army will not arrive until tomorrow.

This made Li Jiuzhou very angry. Yang Guozhong was three days behind him.

After a while, drums were beating loudly outside the city, and the shouts of killing were deafening. Li Jiuzhou hurriedly left the house and saw Lu Qianqian commanding at the top of the city from a distance.

Li Jiuzhou hurriedly ordered soldiers to go to the city wall to help in the battle. Lu Qianqian was a good fighter, without panic, and commanded in an orderly manner.

After repelling one wave after another, the enemy troops relied on their large numbers and their offensive became more and more urgent. They fought until dark before retreating.

Counting the soldiers, there were more than 4,000 casualties in today's battle alone.

"If we use this kind of attack, the more than 30,000 people in the city will be exhausted sooner or later. I'm afraid that the city of Sizhou won't be able to defend for a few days." Lu Qianqian threw his head away and said anxiously.

Li Jiuzhou nodded in agreement, "It's not an option to just stick to it."

"The main army has retreated to Jiannan. The soldiers in the city are all exhausted and have no intention of fighting anymore. If it weren't for my strict supervision, most of them would have escaped long ago."

Li Jiuzhou added: "On the way here, I have seen many stragglers and defeated troops. If we continue to defend like this, it will be difficult to stabilize the morale of the army."

"Sigh." Lu Qianqian picked up the kettle and drank a few sips. "The military is exhausted and no one wants to take the initiative."

Li Jiuzhou then asked: "Is there anyone willing to go to the plan you mentioned yesterday about sneaking into Hushan?"

Lu Qianqian just shook his head and said nothing.

"If you can divert the enemy troops and buy some time, I may be able to lead people to sneak into Hushan." Li Jiuzhou said calmly.

Lu Qianqian hesitated: "But..."

"I have made up my mind. As soon as Duke Yang's army arrives and there are enough troops in the city, I will sneak out with my men and attack his granary." Li Jiuzhou stretched out his hand to stop him.

Lu Qianqian had been waiting for his words for a long time. He couldn't say it directly, so Li Jiuzhou had to take the initiative to ask for a fight.

After leaving the camp, Li Jiuzhou wandered around.

It was midsummer, and the blood-red sunset gradually faded away, but it was still very hot. The soldiers were simply shirtless, sitting together in a group, bandaging each other to comfort each other.

When I climbed up the city wall, I saw that the battlefield was desolate. No one paid attention to the discarded weapons and armor, and the damaged chariots. The piles of corpses were left unattended. A few vultures fell down with a sharp sound, and stopped on the corpses, hungry.

Yang Guozhong finally led his army to Xizhou, bringing hope but also disappointment to the soldiers who had been fighting hard for many days in the city.

The first order Yang Guozhong gave when he came here was to stand still and drive back the enemy troops.

In comparison, this is the doorstep of Nanzhao, but the Tang army came from a long way away. If it were to be heavier than the food and grass supplies, the enemy army would obviously have an advantage.

Li Jiuzhou and Lu Qianqian revealed their plan to take the initiative in front of Yang Guozhong, but Yang Guozhong disagreed.

"Standing firm is only a temporary measure. Sooner or later, the food and grass will be exhausted. When the time comes, we will have to withdraw, and the retreat will be completely defeated." After leaving the camp, Lu Qianqian was a little angry.

Li Jiuzhou said calmly: "I'll talk to him later. Maybe I can convince him."

"Can't General Li see that he has lost respect for us? In his eyes, we are not as important as those who only follow his orders."

Li Jiuzhou was startled and said gloomily: "Then what can I do."

"Without Yang Gong's order, you can't do anything." Lu Qianqian answered simply.

"I thought about it all night. I want to go to Hushan."

Lu Qianqian stood in front of him, "If you go without Yang Gong's order, you are disobeying the military order."

Li Jiuzhou looked up at the sky, "If I don't go to hell, whoever goes to hell will have nothing to do with it. You are willing to lead people out of the city to distract the enemy and buy me time."

Lu Qianqian gritted his teeth and said, "Okay! If you want to risk your life, I will risk my life to accompany you."

The cicadas were chirping non-stop, and an adventure was about to begin.

Li Jiuzhou saw that the sky was getting dark and he stood in front of a thousand soldiers who had been gathered: "Tonight we are going to take the initiative and sneak attack the enemy's granary."

These thousand people were all fresh troops he brought from Chang'an. When he heard his words, the situation exploded, "Just us people taking the initiative to attack is tantamount to seeking death."

"There are 600,000 Tibetan troops and 200,000 Nanzhao troops outside. The mountains and plains are full of enemy troops. Aren't you telling us to go and die?"

Li Jiuzhou raised his voice: "Tubo and Nanzhao are barbaric places with sparsely populated areas. How could there be so many troops? It's probably just a bluff."

One of the leading captains shouted: "Even if there are not 800,000 people outside, there are still hundreds of thousands. If we have a thousand people, we will be like sheep among wolves. General, please think twice."

Everyone is afraid of death, not to mention that these soldiers are just ordinary people who keep their peace, a group of people who only know how to cry and mourn.

Li Jiuzhou walked up to him and stabilized the trembling captain: "I'm afraid of death just like you, but if we can't win this battle, the enemy troops will march straight in. All life in Shu will be devastated, and Chang'an will be in danger. You just have to bear it.

It’s so painful to see your wife and daughter being bullied.”

If there is a reason why you have to go, then this is the reason.

Li Jiuzhou's words finally became a little desolate: "Few people will come back alive during this sneak attack. Your names will also be forgotten, and all that will be left behind are piles of bones."

A group of people were dejected.

"One night a hundred years from now, when your descendants look up at the stars in the sky, they will say, look, that is heaven. My ancestors went to heaven and bought us this peace." Li Jiuzhou added

He said while swallowing.

I don't know who took the lead, everyone couldn't help but raise their heads and look up at the stars.

They seemed to have really seen the paradise Li Jiuzhou said.

"Well said, I'm willing to go!" A voice came from the crowd.

Li Jiuzhou saw that it was Jiang Chong, and dozens of people with him also stood up.

Jiang Chong swung the knife in his hand, "We are not trying to make any achievements, nor can we talk about serving the country or the people. This fight is just for our family to live a stable life."

"Wannan Mountain, are you willing to go?" Li Jiuzhou turned around and asked sternly.

Wan Nanshan behind him said in response, "The man is buried in the battlefield, so there is no need to fear death. Kill one without losing anything, but kill two with blood. If I can kill the leader, then I will make a fortune."

This aroused the excitement of some soldiers, and one after another people in the crowd stood forward.

"Okay, count me in."

"I am coming too."

Seeing that hundreds of people were willing to go, Li Jiuzhou was overjoyed and said loudly: "Those who are willing to go will receive three times the settlement allowance if they die, and the same as if they were alive."

"Since we are all here, we are going to die before and after, so we might as well die quickly."

"Damn it, give it your all."

Li Jiuzhou took the roster and vigorously called out the names of a thousand people from beginning to end.

"Whether you are dead or alive, I will remember each of your names!"

The fighting spirit of the team of a thousand people instantly rose with his words. They drank the practice wine from the bowl, huddled in the corner, and prepared lightly.
Chapter completed!