Seeing that Zhang Han remained silent for a long time, Lu Yunxue asked again.
"And what should be done with these traitors, Commander?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Han snapped out of his daze and casually waved his hand.
"Those who commit treason according to the laws of Dali shall be executed!"
Lu Yunxue nodded upon hearing this and then continued to ask.
"What are Commander Zhang's plans for today's siege?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Han's expression turned cold.
"Lieutenant Lu, I'm afraid you don't need to worry about this matter."
Lu Yunxue's expression stiffened. Indeed, as a mere eighth-rank captain, she had no right to inquire about the vanguard army's battle plan.
Lu Yunxue clenched her fists tightly, and the humiliation she had finally managed to suppress resurfaced in her heart.
"It was my rudeness."
Zhang Han remained silent, and Lu Yunxue, not wanting to make a fool of herself any further, turned and left.
Meanwhile, Wu Yan, the 10,000-household commander left behind in Gongzhou City, looked grave.
"Those Han Chinese didn't attack the city?"
One of his centurions nodded.
"No! They are building a stockade outside the city."
Upon hearing this, Wu Yan fell into deep thought.
Because of the strategy of dividing the troops, the number of Xiongnu cavalry left in Gongzhou City at this time was only two thousand, plus three thousand surrendered soldiers, barely reaching five thousand.
Although five thousand men were enough to hold Gongzhou City from falling, they waited for the Left Wise King to send reinforcements.
However, what Wu Yan fears most right now is not the 30,000 elite troops of Dali outside the city, but the rebellion of the 3,000 surrendered soldiers inside the city.
Although the three thousand surrendered soldiers had been very obedient before, Wu Yan was still worried about the current situation.
The centurion beside him seemed to have noticed Wu Yan's worry and asked.
"Is Wan Chang worried about the Han people in the city?"
Wu Yan nodded upon hearing this.
“My position as commander is not secure right now. Once Gongzhou City falls, the Left Wise King will certainly not spare me.”
"The large number of Han soldiers who surrendered is ultimately a variable. These Han people are too cunning and cannot be trusted at all."
Wu Yan was a commander who had been temporarily promoted by the Left Wise King in the last half month due to his bravery in battle.
Therefore, he had no powerful backing among the grassland tribes. If he wanted to secure his position as the chieftain, he had to produce military achievements that would impress the Left Wise King.
Otherwise, the position of commander of ten thousand men would be nothing more than a mirage.
The centurion standing beside him was also a newly promoted confidant of Wu Yan.
The two men in the room exchanged a glance, and then the centurion spoke.
"Since we can't determine whether these people will betray us, we might as well kill them all!"
Upon hearing this, Wu Yan quickly shook his head.
"No! We still need them to defend the city."
"Moreover, killing them all would inevitably provoke resistance and panic among the Han Chinese soldiers who had surrendered in the city."
"If chaos breaks out in the city, these people outside the city will take advantage of the situation."
Upon hearing this, the gaunt centurion's eyes darted back and forth in their sockets.
Then he whispered in Wuyan's ear.
"How about we do this..."
In a short while, Wu Yan's eyes became even brighter.
After the centurion finished speaking, he immediately slammed his hand on the table and said...
"Okay! We'll do it your way!"
"These Han Chinese generals who surrendered are ultimately a threat! We should eliminate them first!"
"As long as the Left Wise King's reinforcements arrive, I will go out of the city to meet them. With the help of both inside and outside, we will surely be able to defeat these Han vanguard troops outside the city."
"With this achievement, our positions are secure!"
Inside the room, Wu Yan and his centurion burst into laughter.
At this moment, on the city wall of Gongzhou, several surrendered generals of Gongzhou gathered together, each with a solemn expression.
"What should we do? The imperial army is here! Are we really going to follow these damned Huns to the bitter end?"
"We have already betrayed our country and surrendered to the enemy! If Gongzhou City falls, we will all be doomed!"
At that moment, the people in the room all let out a sigh.
Just then, Liu Zhong, a surrendered general sitting in the corner, spoke up quietly.
“These Xiongnu people always rob and leave, so they can’t possibly stay in Dali for long.”
"If they withdraw, are we all going to go back to the grasslands and become slaves with them?"
These words immediately plunged the room into silence once again.
After a long while, a dark-skinned man spoke up and asked.
"So either way, it's the same: death?"
"Isn't our surrender precisely to secure a way to survive?"
As soon as the burly man finished speaking, the man named Liu Zhong sat up slightly.
"Mountains may crumble, and people may run away!"
"We are originally from Dali, and now we are just enduring the Xiongnu and waiting for an opportunity to act."
"Now that the time has come, let's set things right! If we successfully encircle and annihilate these two thousand Xiongnu cavalrymen in the city, we will not only be innocent but may also have merit."
Upon hearing this, the generals in the room immediately felt as if a ray of hope had appeared after a period of darkness.
None of the people gathered here right now are tough, and they have absolutely no bottom line.
For them, whether to remain loyal to the Xiongnu or to leave the country depends entirely on the current situation.
"What should we do if the imperial court holds us accountable?"
One of the generals asked.
Upon hearing this, Liu Zhong immediately smiled slightly.
"Why not just pin the blame for the surrender on the dead general and lord of Gongzhou?"
"Dead men never defend themselves."
"Our feigned surrender is merely to lull these Xiongnu people into a false sense of security and to protect the people in the city."
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