In this feast in the Pavilion of King Teng, it lasted until the time of Hai. At the end of the banquet, with the departure of the guests, the city lord of Luxiang said to Taihao and Zi Cai: "Two generals, night has fallen, according to the opinion of this official, it is better for you to stay in the city for a while, and then lead the troops to set off tomorrow?" ”

Tai Hao modestly excused himself and said: "I don't think it's necessary, thank you Lord Luxiang for your hospitality today, we have to rush overnight so as not to delay the military situation." ”

"Alas......" Zi Cai sighed lightly: "General Taihao, since Lord Luxiang is so retained, we will march tomorrow, and those soldiers are also exhausted, so let's rest in this Hongchuan City for the night." ”

Taihao hesitated: "But ......"

Zi Cai said: "Don't say more, General Taihao, I'm drunk like mud today, how can I still have the strength to march?" You have mercy on me, let me rest in this Hongchuan City for one night, and leave tomorrow! ”

Tai Hao said helplessly: "Since this is the case, then according to the opinion of Lord Zi Cai!" ”

When Tai Hao showed a helpless look, Zi Cai couldn't help but let out a chuckle. He self-righteously considered his delaying operation a success. Lu Xiang sent his subordinates to arrange accommodation for Taihao and Zicai. In order to ensure that Taihao would not escape at night, Zicai offered to share a room with Taihao, and Taihao had to agree.

In the middle of the night, Taihao accidentally woke up Zi Dish when he got up at night. Zi Cai, who was awakened, also got up quickly and stared at Taihao all night. Taihao noticed this, so he sneered: "Lord Zicai, you are really full of energy! Are you afraid I'll sneak away? As the lieutenant general of our army of thieves, how can I leave you alone? ”

After hearing this, Zi Cai did not respond, but just pretended to be asleep.

The next morning, when Zi Cai woke up, he saw Tai Hao still asleep on the side. He wanted to wake him up softly, but he thought in his heart: Let him indulge in dreams, after all, he is the culprit who delays the military situation, isn't this just what I want? If this development continues, by the time the army marches to Juchuan City, the Shaoling Horse has already returned from victory.

Zi Cai waited patiently until the third pole of the sun, and Taihao's sleep was still there. Suspicious, he hurried back to the room, calling Taihao's name repeatedly, but there was no response. So, without hesitation, he lifted the quilt on Taihao's body and shouted again, but there was still no movement.

In fact, Tai Hao has been pretending to be asleep, because the army of thieves has already embarked on a journey, and he is now deliberately delaying time, in order to contain Zi Bowl and prevent him from following the army of thieves, so as not to bring more trouble to the team.

Zi Cai rummaged through the clothes on Taihao's body and found that the "General's Order" was missing, and suddenly felt that something was wrong. Taihao slowly opened his eyes at this time, saw Zi Dish riding on top of him, and hurriedly asked, "Lord Zi Ware, what are you doing?" ”

Zi Cai jumped down from Tai Hao and asked, "General Tai Hao, where did you put your 'General Order'?" ”

Tai Hao pretended not to know and responded: "Isn't the 'General's Order' here? As he spoke, he reached into his bosom, but could not find it. Hurriedly asked Zi Cai, "Lord Zi Cai, you took the token?" Give it back to me, if I lose it, I'll be court-married. ”

Zi Chuan was filled with righteous indignation, and he tried his best to defend himself for nothing. Taihao pretended to be puzzled and rummaged through himself, but he found nothing in the bed or under the bed.

After a while, Zi Cai suddenly realized that he was sure that all this was done by Taihao. He hurried out of the door, got on his horse, and galloped out of the city. Tai Hao hurriedly shouted, "Lord Zicai, where are you going?" ”

However, Zi Cai turned a deaf ear to Tai Hao's cries and ignored them. Taihao also hurriedly jumped on a war horse and followed closely. Finally, when Zi Cai came outside the city, he was shocked to find that the army was gone. He asked Tai Hao with angry eyes: "General Tai Hao, where did the army go?" ”

Tai Hao pretended to be surprised and responded, "Lord Zicai, what's wrong with you?" Isn't our army always on standby outside the city? Where have you gone now? Didn't we come back last night, they went to garrison somewhere else? ”

Zi Cai asked angrily: "General Taihao, why is your 'general order' missing, and if you hand it over to your subordinates privately, aren't you afraid of being dealt with by military law?" ”

Tai Hao continued to pretend to be surprised and replied: "I obviously put the 'General's Order' on myself, how could I lose it, Lord Zicai, I was with you all the time last night." And I haven't been out since I went to Hongchuan City yesterday, have you come back? ”

Zi Cai sneered and accused: "General Taihao, your acting skills are really clever!" Do you think you can fool me? ”

Tai Hao said: "Lord Zicai, what do you mean by this?" ”

Zi Cai said: "I really didn't expect General Taihao to be young, since he has such a plan." ”

Tai Hao no longer had the intention of concealing it at this moment, bowed his head slightly, and coldly rebuked Zi Cai: "Lord Zi Cai, I originally wanted to avoid a dispute with you, because the contradiction between the general and the deputy general of the first army will demoralize the morale. However, your actions have made me unbearable. When you set out from Jintang City, you delayed the progress of the march with all kinds of excuses, do you think I don't know your intentions? The emperor's decree is to compete with the army of thieves in the east and west. Whoever can capture Xiao Siyi will be crowned the general of the hussars, you have always been eager to delay the progress of our army, in order to let the young spirit horse win. Then, you can falsely accuse the emperor of my military delay, and wait for the emperor to punish me. Lord Zicai, you can't help but underestimate me too much. As the main general, you are the deputy general, I could have let you go alone, but you have intensified. If I had used any of the tricks in "The Idle Cat Listening to the Sea", I would have been able to tie you up here, but I didn't, because I never thought you were a bad official. Therefore, if you will go with me, follow me silently; Otherwise, go back to Thousand Winds City, and I will personally write to the emperor to explain everything!" ”

Taihao's rebuke made Zi Cai dumbfounded and speechless. He had not expected this young and conceited young man to speak wildly, causing him to fall into confusion for a moment. Tai Hao, on the other hand, did not hesitate to steer his horse and gallop westward, and Zi Cai was not sure for a moment whether he would continue to follow or return to Thousand Winds City. After some careful consideration, he finally spurred the war horse to speed up and keep up with Taihao's figure.

Taihao and Zicai galloped all the way and left Hongchuan City. On the way, Taihao kept reviewing the scene of last night, and secretly congratulated himself in his heart that he had successfully restrained Zi Cai. He understood that only by marching as quickly as possible could the smooth movement of the army of thieves be ensured.

Taihao and Zi Cai walked side by side, silent with each other. After a long day, they finally caught up with the army of thieves at dusk, and by this time they were less than a hundred miles away from the city.

Tai Hao selected more than a dozen elite soldiers from among the soldiers and ordered them to take the first step and go to Juchuan City to explore the defenders of Juchuan City, while Tai Hao led the rest of the army to follow closely and set up camp thirty miles away from Juchuan City.

At this time, in Juchuan City, Xiao Siyi realized that he would be caught in a dilemma of being caught between two sides, and the number of new soldiers he recruited was not enough to deal with it. In the midst of the crisis, he summoned the civil and military ministers around him and held a court meeting in this palace.

Yao Siyi said: "Such as ...... As such...... Today, Hong ...... Hongchuan Castle will ...... Accept both sides ...... Enemy, we ...... Should...... What to do? ”

An elderly minister stepped out slowly, his voice calm and powerful: "Your Majesty, the old minister believes that we must act immediately and fight hard. ”

Another general in armor stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, in the opinion of our ministers, we should not start a battle with him. As far as the minister knew, the Eastern Empire sent two large armies, each with 10,000 brave warriors. They attacked our Juchuan City from the east and west. If we choose to resist hard, the chances of victory are slim to none. Therefore, the minister thought that we should evacuate the city as soon as possible and find a place of refuge that was easy to defend and difficult to attack. ”

Another minister, however, disagreed with the idea of escape, saying firmly: "We can't be deserters, we can't just run away. As the people of the Northern Feather Empire, we must not do such a thing. ”

The armored general couldn't help but ask, "Do you want Your Majesty to become a dead monarch?" We have less than 8,000 troops, how to deal with their strong army of more than 20,000? Besides, do you know who their two masters are? One is Tai Hao, who served as the general of Pinghe City, and the other is Shao Ling, who won the halberd fork. Who in the armies of our Northern Feather Empire can match them? ”

Xiao Siyi pondered for a moment and said, "Pai...... Send to ask for ...... Please...... Invite the four countries to ...... The love of the national teacher...... Aiqing, back to ...... Are you back? ”

A young official said: "Your Majesty, I received a report from the messenger yesterday that the four national teachers will arrive in Juchuan City today. ”

Hearing this news, Xiao Siyi's face showed a hint of hope. He said, "That'...... That...... That's too ...... Too...... That's great! Yes...... Yes...... There are four ...... The wisdom of the four national teachers...... Wisdom and strength...... Strength, I ...... I...... We may be able to...... Can...... Look for...... Find the ...... Should...... What to do. ”

The four national teachers they mentioned were the "Four Great Demons." At the beginning, when Yao Fuji was crowned emperor in Pinghe City, he appointed You Li, Weitian, Gongyi, and Poor as national teachers, and it was precisely because of their help that the rebels' combat power was doubled. Even after the mutiny, the Na Pawn still trusted the "Four Great Demons", allowing them to resist the attacks of the Eastern Empire's soldiers. However, after the halberd fork killed his father and ascended the throne, he ruthlessly canceled the status of the "national teacher", and the "four evil demons" led the "four little ghosts" to return to Kunwu Mountain in anger. After Yao Siyi fled from the north, he did not get any courtiers to follow him at first, however, with the news of the halberd fork's rebellion against his father, many ministers also fled to the south and followed in the footsteps of Yao Siyi. Among them, there are many officials who have intersected with Taihao, such as Fu Ganhe, Zhichenggang, Na Zhongding, Yu Qishuo and a number of officials who have betrayed the Eastern Empire.

Fu Ganhe took a step forward at this time and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, the minister would like to give advice with this word. Even if the four national teachers arrive, our Beiyu Empire may still fall into a disadvantage. Because the main general of the Eastern Route Army sent by the Eastern Empire is Taihao, this monarch must not be taken lightly. Chen had the honor to come into contact with him in Pinghe City, although he was young, he was strong in martial arts, and he was not inferior to the four national teachers. Therefore, the minister believed that we should wait for the support of the four national teachers at the same time, and lead a guard to quickly evacuate, not to escape, but to preserve our strength. ”