Lu Bu: My wife comes from two thousand years later

On the second day, Zhao Yun wanted to arrange the swordsmen and archers in the camp, and then break up the camp into a road, with the cavalry following behind, and press into the pass. However, Guan Hai's reckless fighting style severely frightened the Baima Yicong. Officers at all levels believed that this method was not feasible and advised him to ask Gongsun Zan for reinforcements before fighting again.

The elite White Horse soldiers dared not fight, not to mention the infantry who had watched the entire battle between the Golden Eagle Guards and the White Horses yesterday. No one agreed with Zhao Yun's idea, and none of them could refuse, especially Gongsun Zhi who opposed it the most strongly. Zhao Yun saw that the morale of the entire army was low and the army was scattered, and knew that the pass could not be taken without reinforcements. He could only apologize to Gongsun Zan on the one hand, and request more troops to boost morale on the other.

However, just as the letter was sent, two thousand vanguard reinforcements led by Ma Chao arrived on the third day.

Zhao Yun waited for another two days, and then Gongsun Zan's messenger arrived, agreeing to send an additional 5,000 reinforcements, but also asking Zhao Yun to resign from all his posts, hand over the troops to Gongsun Zhi, and go south to Bairen to take responsibility for his crime.

"General, this must be the result of that villain Gongsun Zhi slandering the king in advance. The king dismissed you from your post without even investigating the matter thoroughly. This is not the act of a wise leader." Zhao Quan said angrily.

Zhao Yun sighed, "In this battle, we lost nearly a thousand elite White Horse soldiers, yet we failed to capture the pass. It was indeed my fault for underestimating the enemy!"

These White Horse Volunteers were the lord's most precious troops, and he lost a thousand of them in one go. It was inevitable that he would be angry. Zhao Yun was ready to be punished, but he didn't expect that the lord would be so anxious and send people to the front line to relieve him of his post before the battle was over.

Zhao Yun took out the seal of the White Horse General of Yan State and gave it to Zhao Quan, saying, "Give it to Gongsun Zhi."

Zhao Quan took the seal and snorted, "It's clear that Gao Lan's intelligence was wrong. And how could you underestimate the enemy, General? They attacked us before our troops had even formed up, and they're fighting with a life-or-death style. They're so strong, even if Your Majesty had fought on your own, the result would have been the same. And those newly recruited troops are so sluggish in forming up, showing no discipline. If they weren't so slow, they wouldn't have given the enemy such an opportunity. This time, it's not your fault, General. Your Majesty actually convicted you without even asking any questions. You're so foolish and unworthy of your loyalty. I think it's better for you to surrender to the Tang."

Zhao Quan rambled on, "I heard from the people of Changshan that the Tang King abolished the head tax in Jizhou. No matter if they were royalty or common people, they only paid taxes based on the amount of land they owned. The people were grateful for the Tang King's kindness, but the officials and nobles were dissatisfied and united in rebellion, which gave the Yan King an opportunity to exploit."

Zhao Yun had naturally heard a thing or two about the new policies of the Tang Dynasty during his time in Changshan, and he also knew something about the reasons why the traitor Zong rebelled against Lu. He admitted that the King of Tang was indeed a benevolent and righteous monarch, much wiser than Gongsun Zan. However, he had followed Gongsun Zan for many years, and Gongsun Zan had treated him well. He would not easily betray his master because of this incident.

"I did do it this time, and I deserve the punishment."

Zhao Yun said this calmly, then turned and walked out of the tent. Outside, Gongsun Zan's messenger was waiting. Zhao Yun jumped on his horse and was about to leave with him when he saw a rider rushing towards him from outside the camp, shouting from afar, "Report—"

The man came running over, bowed to Zhao Yun, and said breathlessly, "General, Lü Bu's 5,000 troops are gathering outside Shiyi Pass!"

"what?"

Gongsun Zhi, who had just received the news and rushed over to take the seal, was the first to exclaim in surprise, asking repeatedly, "Five thousand soldiers? Where did the other side get five thousand soldiers? Who is the general leading them?"

The scout looked at Zhao Yun and then at Gongsun Zhi, and replied, "I don't know where this information came from, but there are indeed 5,000 men gathered outside the pass. Judging from their flags, in addition to the Bingzhou flag, there is also the Flying Bear flag. The character 'Lü' is written on the large banner, indicating that the commander is Lü Bu himself."

Upon hearing that Lu Bu himself was coming, Gongsun Zhi's scalp went numb and his face turned pale. He had just become the White Horse General when he encountered this killer god coming to help him in person. How could he be so unlucky?

Zhao Quan chuckled to himself, handed over the seal with both hands, and said respectfully, "General Gongsun, this is the seal of General Baima. Please keep it!"

Looking at this thing that he had always dreamed of, Gongsun Zhi now felt that it was a death warrant. The day he took it would be the day he would die. He wanted to take it but didn't dare to.

Seeing his timid attitude, Zhao Quan felt even more disdainful. He thrust the seal into his hand and said to Gongsun Zan's envoy, "Let's go! My general has already handed over his duties."

The messenger was frightened when he heard that Lu Bu was coming to kill him. He came to his senses and rode out of the camp. Zhao Yun wanted to stay to fight the enemy, but he had no position at the moment and was a criminal. What was the point of staying?

He turned his horse and was about to follow him when Gongsun Zhi, reacting quickly, rushed forward and grabbed his reins, almost pleading, "Zilong, no, General, you can't leave now. Lü Bu's army is coming, and without you to lead the charge, how can I withstand it?"

Zhao Quan sneered, "Isn't this what you want? My general is now a criminal, how dare he command you, the White Horse General?"

Gongsun Zhi quickly smiled and said, "My lord, there's been a misunderstanding. Zilong, you stay here and just hold off Lü Bu. I'll clarify the facts with you and give you justice."

He stuffed the seal back into Zhao Yun's hand and said, "As long as the seal is in your hand, you will be the White Horse General and have the authority to command them."

Zhao Yun had no intention of abandoning the troops at this moment. He dismounted, returned the seal to Gongsun Zhi, and said, "I will only take command."

After saying this, he said to Zhao Quan, "Quickly arrange the swordsmen and archers in front of the camp. The rest of the people should take two days' rations with them. The rest of the baggage should be abandoned. We should quickly withdraw from Yuanshi."

"Retreat? Aren't reinforcements coming soon, lord?" Gongsun Zhi was puzzled.

Zhao Yun patiently explained, "It's not that I want to boost others' morale or undermine my own prestige. If Lü Bu's army hadn't arrived, it would have been easy for my lord to send 5,000 more soldiers to take the pass. However, now that Lü Bu has arrived personally, we have no idea how many troops are still inside the pass. Even the 5,000 outside are too weak for our soldiers to withstand. If we don't retreat, we'll be annihilated."

Gongsun Zhi broke out in a cold sweat. "You ordered the retreat. If the lord investigates, you will bear all the consequences."

Even though Zhao Yun had a good temper, he really wanted to punch this villain to death. He said with a gloomy face, "Don't worry, it's not your fault. Go and organize a retreat!"

Lu Bu's cavalry arrived very quickly. Just as the archers in front of the camp had formed their formation, the 5,000 people spotted by the scouts in front had already arrived outside the camp. In addition to these, there were another 5,000 cavalry behind them, and 30,000 infantry were continuously pouring out from the pass.

Lu Bu no longer cared about martial ethics. This time he was prepared to use his superior numbers to bully the weak, surround and kill Zhao Yun's men, and then crush them all the way.

The cavalry that arrived first, led by Ma Chao and Yan Liang, split into two teams and bypassed the camp to block the road from the rear.

Seeing this situation, Zhao Yun's face changed and he had an ominous premonition in his heart. Sure enough, after a while, another scout came to report that countless soldiers were pouring out from the pass.

After hearing this, Zhao Yun immediately said to Gongsun Zhi, "Take the white horse and break out quickly. I will cover your rear."

Gongsun Zhi was overjoyed and ran back. The White Horse Volunteers were already fully equipped. They did not dare to confront the Golden Eagle Guards again, but they were not afraid of breaking out. Under the leadership of Gongsun Zhi, two thousand cavalrymen rushed out at full speed.