After Li Wenhou's cavalry attacked the camp several times but failed, they had already retreated outside the west gate of the new city and stopped.

Li Wenhou ordered the cavalry to be on guard against the attack of the Han army, and then immediately took people into Xincheng to rescue his subordinates.

In the northwest, there are few water sources, and there are only a few springs in the new city, which is not enough to get water to put out the fire.

Dorky could only lead his subordinates to escape outside the city. Fortunately, there were no more Han troops in the city, which reduced their losses. However, even so, most of the infantry and some archers were still killed in the fire, and only about two thousand escaped by five thousand soldiers and horses, and some of them were burned.

Li Wenhou looked at his subordinates' embarrassing look and felt extremely angry.

But at this time the camp had been occupied by the Han army. Through the scout's report, he also knew that the three thousand infantry soldiers led by Han Tao had arrived. In addition, there were more than 5,000 soldiers and horses in the original Xincheng.

As one goes up and down, the number of troops on both sides is almost the same. Although the number of rebels is still slightly superior, the morale status of both sides is obviously much higher than that of the Han army.

Especially now the Han army has a large camp that can defend, rest, or even make fires to replenish their energy.

On the side of the rebels, the new city was unable to enter and could only stay outside the city gate. After this catastrophe, they were hungry and tired, and they had no intention of fighting.

Li Wenhou knew that if he delayed here, his troops would not be able to rest and his combat power would continue to decline, especially if the camp was robbed and had no food and grass, it would be difficult to support the battle.

The Han army is not in good condition now. Taking this opportunity to evacuate, Han Jin can avoid pursuing and cause losses to his troops. Once the Han army is rested, it will be a disaster for Li Wenhou.

"The whole army obeys the order and immediately evacuate to the southwest!" Li Wenhou gave the order to retreat helplessly.

The rebels began to retreat slowly towards the southwest, preparing to leave Xincheng and return to the rebel base camp of Jincheng County.

...

"Report to the lord, the rebels' troops began to move and were evacuating to the southwest." The rebels' movements were immediately discovered by the scouts and reported to Han Tao.

"That's great. These rebels have finally evacuated, and our army can finally take a breath." Tan Chu, who had no chance to speak when he heard the rebels withdraw, said happily...

Originally, he was only responsible for escorting prisoners and leading troops to guard them, but unexpectedly it turned into a fierce battle with huge differences in strength.

After persisting until now, his mentality was almost collapsed. When he heard the rebels withdraw, he felt the huge pressure finally disappeared.

"Yes, cousin, you have been rushing all the way and finally scared the rebels away. You can have a good rest." Han Chong also agreed with Tan Chu's words.

"The rebels evacuate, everyone, what do you think?" Han Tao did not answer the words of the two of them, and asked Xun's uncle and nephew, Jia Xu, and Yan Zhong.

This is a good opportunity to test the mentality and wisdom of his subordinates, so although Han Tao already had an idea in his mind, he did not say it directly, but instead asked about their opinions.

"Don't force the enemy to defeat, and the siege of the city will be lost. Since the enemy retreats, we think our army can hold on to the camp, but the enemy goes far away and make plans." Yan Zhong first expressed his opinion.

As a safe idea, his suggestion was not at fault, at least it could ensure that the Han army would not make any major mistakes.

Han Tao did not make a statement immediately, waiting for the others to express their opinions.

Xun You pondered for a moment and spoke in support of Yan Zhong’s statement: “Address.”

Xun Yu pondered and didn't speak immediately, as if he was still struggling with something and didn't make up his mind.

Seeing that he didn't say anything, Jia Xu spoke first: "I think it's a good opportunity to send troops to pursue and damage the enemy again."

"Wenhe, although the rebels retreated, their strength was not weaker than our army. Most of our troops rushed over long distances, which consumed a lot of physical strength. Even if they pursued, it would be difficult to win, and it would only increase casualties." Yan Zhong immediately refuted Jia Xu when he saw that he opposed his suggestion.

"Lord, I think Wenhe has a very good opinion, and our army does have a force that can complete the pursuit mission. However, this move is indeed more dangerous, so I have not dared to say it for a long time." Xun Yu, who had been silent, spoke at this time.

Seeing that Xun Yu agreed with his opinion, Jia Xu even said that there was a unit suitable for pursuing him. He turned to look at him, obviously surprised that Xun Yu and his ideas were consistent.

By this time, Han Tao had already known the ideas of the four people. Xun You and Yan Zhong were more stable and suggested not to move their troops; Xun Yu and Jia Xu both thought of a way to pursue them.

"Wenruo, Wenhe said well. We do have a unit suitable for pursuing. This is the Xincheng soldiers under General Tan's subordinates. They have always been defending the Xincheng and have not exhausted their troops. They have not directly participated in the battle today. They should have enough physical strength to pursue the enemy!" Han Tao spoke at this time, expressing his recognition of Xun Yu and Jia Xu's opinions.

Hearing that Han Tao was also thinking about it with him, Jia Xu's eyes lit up again. Although he followed Yan Zhong's recommendation and agreed to serve Han Tao, Han Tao was only a sixteen or seven-year-old boy after all.

Jia Xu is in Xiliang and has never heard of how Han Tao used tricks to defeat the Yellow Turban Army many times. He still had some doubts about this young lord.

At this time, the other party's words made Jia Xu realize that Han Tao was young and could be the county magistrate, which was indeed outstanding.

"Han Envoy, only a small number of soldiers under my command were soldiers brought from the Central Plains. In fact, most of them were craftsmen who were originally captured by moth thieves. They could barely play a role in defending the city. They were pursuing the enemy, but they were afraid..." Tan Chu raised doubts about Han Tao's statement.

"General Tan is right. Most of these soldiers were Yellow Turban prisoners migrated from the Central Plains. They left their hometowns and went to the bitter and cold places. It was difficult for them to build the new city to begin to take shape, and many of them also became workshop craftsmen. They had a skill to settle down and live a peaceful life."

"But because of the rebels' attacks, their homes were destroyed and their relatives and friends were killed. Do they hate these rebels the most?! If they were given the opportunity to kill the rebels to take revenge, would they attack with all their strength and vent all the hatred for half a month? Will the combat power burst out in this state be even more terrifying?" Han Tao told Tan Chu and everyone present about his thoughts.

"I insist on pursuing the rebels to let them know that I, Han Tao, have come to Liangzhou and want to use this battle to establish authority and make these rebels feel awe of our army. This is also of great significance for us to launch troops to conquer and recover Jincheng in the future!"

Han Tao understood that from this moment on, he would officially start the Liangzhou quelling rebellion, causing psychological shock to the enemy, and had a profound impact on the future war trend...
Chapter completed!