A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

But Yang Guang was so proud, how could he admit his mistake?

Yuwen Chengdu was his trusted and beloved general, so naturally he couldn't pin the blame on Yuwen Chengdu.

Yang Guang turned his gaze to Yang Xuangan, one of the commanders of this battle, and asked, "Lord Yang, with the same large army, our command was overwhelmed by the enemy. How do you explain this?"

Yang Xuangan had unspeakable bitterness in his heart. If it weren't for Yang Guang's reckless command, his single-minded focus on saving Yuwen Chengdu, and his ordering wave after wave of people to step into the traps set by the enemy, how could the situation have deteriorated to this extent?

Yang Guang's intention is clearly to make Yang Xuangan take the blame. Can he say no?

If he dares to speak out, it won't be as simple as just taking the blame; Jiuzu Xiaoxiaole should consider it.

"I am guilty."

Yang Xuangan knelt down in humiliation and admitted his mistake. Fortunately, Yang Guang still had a sliver of conscience, or perhaps he realized the inappropriateness of killing a general on the battlefield after killing Lü Guang.

"His official rank was reduced by three levels, and his salary was deducted for three years, as a warning to others."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

With a bitter expression, Yang Xuangan retreated back into the crowd, a disrespectful thought rising in his mind.

The emperor's incompetence indicates that the Sui Dynasty's fate is sealed, so why should he remain loyal to the Sui Dynasty?

You treat me as a national hero, and I will treat you as a national hero in return.

If you treat me like dirt, I will treat you like an enemy.

The moment this idea arose in his mind, he buried it deep within.

This is extremely disrespectful!

However, this idea took root in his heart.

He couldn't control it, or perhaps he didn't want to.

"Xue Shixiong, you will personally command the upcoming battles. Do not disappoint me."

Xue Shixiong, who was already standing at the very front, took a few steps forward, stepped forward, and bowed to Yang Guang, saying, "Yes, sir!"

As long as Yang Guang doesn't give reckless orders, even though they are currently at a disadvantage, he is still confident that he can defeat the enemy.

Before he could retreat back into the crowd, Yang Guang broke his promise and began to intervene and give orders.

"I have only one request: attack is permitted, defense is not allowed. We must never rely on our fortified cities to allow the Great Xia to attack us, otherwise, what will become of the Great Sui's reputation?"

Xue Shixiong paused in his retreat into the crowd. "Because of Your Majesty's command, they are at a disadvantage. Now you won't let them defend the city. Isn't this like fighting the enemy with your hands tied and your feet in shackles?"

Even Bai Qi of Qin and Han Xin of Han couldn't defeat him, let alone him.

"Your Majesty, we have a fortified city; why not defend it?"

"Our troops' morale has plummeted, while the enemy's morale is at its peak. We must adopt a defensive posture and wait for the enemy's morale to drop before launching an attack."

Xue Shixiong couldn't help but try to persuade him, saying that he had never seen a war like this in all his years of military service.

"No need for further explanation!"

"Do as I say!"

"The dignity of the Sui Dynasty is far more important than the lives of a few lowly commoners!"

"Even if we lose a lot of men, we can make up for it in a month or two, so there's no need to worry about it."

"You only need to think about how to charge and how to win; the rest is not something you, as the commander, should be concerned with."

Yang Guang said impatiently, "If it weren't for the fact that Xue Shixiong was one of the top three commanders of the Sui Dynasty, I would have captured him based on Xue Shixiong's persuasion alone."

They're all a bunch of useless trash. When the old Duke arrives, he'll have them all beheaded.

"minister……"

Xue Shixiong wanted to say something more, but seeing the coldness flashing in Yang Guang's eyes, he could only retreat in fear.

He had no doubt that if he continued to advise Yang Guang, Yang Guang would immediately strip him of his command position, imprison him, and possibly even execute him.

"Let's call it a day. Chengdu stays."

After leaving Yuwen Chengdu behind, Yang Guang comforted him and promised that Yuwen Chengdu could lead troops to attack at any time without having to obey orders, so that he could avenge his previous defeat.

Several days later, Yang Guang summoned all his generals together again.

"Xue Shixiong, it's been several days, why haven't we attacked yet? Every morning, the sounds of the Xia army attacking the city have reached my ears. What exactly are you doing?"

Once everyone had arrived, Yang Guang seized the opportunity to berate Xue Shixiong. He hadn't expected Xue Shixiong to ignore his words; several days had passed and they still hadn't launched an attack.

"Your Majesty, please calm down. Our army suffered a great defeat a few days ago, and our morale has not yet recovered. If we attack, the loss of soldiers and generals is a small matter, but the loss of face for our Great Sui Dynasty is a big one."

Upon hearing this, Yang Guang realized it might cause the Sui Dynasty to lose even more face, so he suppressed his impatience and asked, "Then tell me when it will be restored? Give me a definite date."

Xue Shixiong calculated in his mind, "Your Majesty, it will take at least a month."

"No, this is too long. I can't wait that long."

"Ten days. I'm giving you ten days. After ten days, either our army will launch a victorious attack, or you'll bring your head before me."

"Did you understand?"

"I obey your decree."

Under Yang Guang's piercing gaze, Xue Shixiong had no choice but to accept the imperial decree.

Ten days later, forced by circumstances, Xue Shixiong left the original Western Region troops to defend the city and led the Beijing army, whose morale was even higher, out of the city to fight in the field.

Fortunately, Yuwen Chengdu had some military knowledge and knew that in war, one must obey the unified command of the commander-in-chief. He did not act recklessly based on Yang Guang's orders.

Yuwen Chengdu had countless supporters among the troops in the capital. Even though he had just suffered a defeat, his record of beheading two generals on the battlefield remained. With him around, the morale of the capital's army would not be too bad.

Realizing that Xue Shixiong wanted to engage them in open battle, the Xia army cunningly retreated to their camp.

This camp was painstakingly built by them, and its defensive capabilities were second only to the city walls.

Now the roles of the two sides have been completely reversed, with the Xia Dynasty's army on the defensive and the Sui Dynasty's army on the offensive.

Looking at the camp in front of him, Xue Shixiong felt helpless. With such an emperor, he felt that the Sui Dynasty's western expedition was going to be in trouble this time.

This is a force of 500 million drawn from all over the country. If these 500 million troops are lost here, the entire Sui Dynasty will be thrown into turmoil.

Even if the Sui Dynasty could mobilize millions of troops again, both its combat strength and national power would be greatly reduced.

Furthermore, the rampant corvée labor imposed by Yang Guang in China reminded Xue Shixiong of the Second Emperor of the Qin Dynasty.

"General?"

His bodyguard gently called out twice, signaling Xue Shixiong to gather his chaotic thoughts.

"Withdraw the troops."

As the defenders of the city, how could they possibly have siege equipment?

Faced with the enemy's well-defended camp, are we supposed to pile up corpses?

Xue Shixiong changed the rear guard to the front guard and began to slowly retreat, keeping the front guard on guard to prevent the Xia army from attacking from their camp and catching them off guard.

Little did they know, the Xia army in their tents were also wondering what the Sui army was doing.

They can't understand it either.

It's not mentioned in any military treatises.

No military treatise mentions that when the forces of both sides are equal, the defending side will lead its troops out to attack.

They didn't implement any other schemes to force them out of the city; this must be a trap!

After a consensus discussion among many generals of the Xia Dynasty, they finally concluded that this was a trap, and thus they held their troops inactive.