The Prodigal Son

If you're going to put on a show, you have to go all the way.

After Qin Yu led his men to inspect the situation around Lianghekou, he entrusted Pei Du with the important task of breaching the dike, while he and Xu Wan led an army of 6,000 to march towards Majiahe.

"Qin Yu!"

Xu Wan rushed over, excitedly saying, "Shen Jue has been rescued by the two experts who were secretly protecting you! This is a handwritten letter from Shen Jue, delivered through our people!"

They've been rescued?

So that means the rebellion at Qingxi Camp had nothing to do with Shen Jue?

Qin Yu quickly took the letter and opened it.

However, Qin Yu's face darkened upon seeing the contents of the letter.

Shen Jue actually started giving them orders?

They were instructed to hold Xining Prefecture and request aid from the imperial court, leaving the rest to him.

Shen Jue also made grand promises to him in the letter, saying that as long as they could hold out for seven days, they would definitely win!

But this guy doesn't even consider that with their limited strength, how could they possibly hold out for seven days if they really tried to defend the city?

After complaining for a while, Qin Yu asked Xu Wan, "Since Shen Jue didn't defect, shouldn't he be able to disrupt the enemy's morale?"

"Definitely!"

Xu Wan answered without hesitation: "Shen Jue is, after all, a commander-in-chief, and he must still have some prestige in the Qingxi camp."

Qin Yu thought for a moment, then immediately handed the imperial gold medal to Xu Wan: "Immediately send someone to deliver an order to Shen Jue, instructing him to use whatever means necessary to disrupt the enemy's morale, seize the opportunity to gather some deserters, and recapture Jin Suo Guan for me! He doesn't need to worry about anything else; just keep an eye on our battle situation!"

Xu Wan accepted the gold medal, then asked疑惑地问道, "Why not tell Shen Jue our strategy for defeating the enemy and have him cooperate with our operation?"

Qin Yu shook his head and said, "It's best to be cautious at times like this!"

"As long as Shen Jue can induce a large number of deserters within the enemy army and then gather them to recapture Jin Suo Guan, nothing else will be a problem!"

"Besides, Shen Jue is a general commanding 30,000 troops. Once our water attack plan succeeds, he'll naturally understand the rest!"

Xu Wan thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

Indeed, at this time, no amount of caution is too much.

Even the people they sent to breach the dike were all from the Baojing Division.

After a moment's thought, Xu Wan said seriously, "Our two families have some connections, so I'll go and deliver the message to Shen Jue myself!"

"Alright!"

Qin Yu nodded, then said fiercely, "I warn Shen Jue again: if he dares to disobey, even if His Majesty doesn't execute his entire clan, I will do everything in my power to kill his whole family!"

"good!"

Xu Wan accepted the gold medal, saying, "Be careful!"

After saying that, Xu Wan turned and left.

"etc!"

Qin Yu suddenly called out to Xu Wan, "Let Da Chui go with you!"

Xu Wan turned around, a smile playing on her lips. "Don't you trust me, or are you afraid I'll be captured by the enemy?"

"nonsense!"

Qin Yu glared at her. "After all, you're operating behind enemy lines. If something happens to you, it will affect our grand plan!"

Xu Wan smiled, "Don't worry, we have secret communication channels, it won't..."

"Stop talking nonsense! Just bring it! It's always better to be careful!"

Qin Yu interrupted Xu Wan, then looked at Qi Dachui, "Protect Xu Wan well. I have the Great Monk here, so you don't need to worry!"

Qi Dachui was somewhat reluctant, but after looking at Dong Liu, he finally nodded.

Since Qin Yu insisted, Xu Wan didn't say anything more and immediately left with Qi Dachui.

Watching the two leave, Dong Liu couldn't help but tease, "You're quite chivalrous, aren't you!"

"Don't talk nonsense!"

Qin Yu snorted, "I'm doing this for the greater good! Besides, you know that old guy's temper. If I get hurt, he might offer a few words of comfort, but if Xu Wan gets hurt or anything, he'll beat me to a pulp!"

Upon hearing this, Dong Liu simply gave him a knowing smile, like an aunt, and said nothing more.

Qin Yu curled his lip, cursing inwardly: "You frivolous monk!"

He's supposed to be a monk!

All he thinks about all day is food, drink, and romance!

……

Imperial City.

Lu Si's guards ran so fast that several horses died, and it took them two days to deliver Meng Zhangping's memorial.

After reading the report, Zhao Luan was furious.

Bang!

Enraged, Zhao Luan slammed his hand on the imperial desk, ignoring the shattered pieces, and coldly ordered, "Summon all officials of the third rank and above to a meeting immediately!"

"yes!"

The eunuch dared not delay and hurriedly ran outside.

Shangguan Youyi comforted him, saying, "Since Lord Meng speaks so confidently that they have a plan to defeat the enemy, Your Majesty need not worry too much."

"There is no absolutely foolproof plan until the war is over!"

Zhao Luan strode towards the map and asked Shangguan Youyi, "Besides Longzhou, where else nearby are there cavalry?"

Sending infantry to reinforce Chenzhou would definitely be too late.

If we need to send reinforcements, we can only send cavalry to rush them as quickly as possible!

The worst-case scenario is that even the cavalry won't be able to arrive in time to provide reinforcements!

After all, Qingxi Camp is only about two hundred li away from Xining Prefecture.

Even if we send elite cavalry to support them right now, it will still take at least seven or eight days, including the time it takes to deliver the message.

By the time reinforcements arrive, Xining Prefecture might have already fallen.

Shangguan Youyi immediately followed to the map, pointed to it, and said, "There are still 20,000 elite cavalry in Shuo and Zhen prefectures. Besides them, the closest is the 3,000 Wudang Flying Cavalry of Dieguan."

"The troops in Shuo and Zhen prefectures must not be moved!"

Zhao Luan muttered to herself, her eyes scanning the map back and forth, while inwardly cursing Qin Yu, that bastard.

She always felt that Qin Yu was deliberately preventing Meng Zhangping from reporting the strategy to defeat the enemy!

I just want to make myself worry!

If that's the case, even if Qin Yu annihilates the enemy and wins the battle, she'll still give Qin Yu a good beating.

Hang him up and whip him!

Slap him hard!

After staring at the map for a while, Zhao Luan made a decisive decision: "Draft an imperial edict: Order Lin Gong, the garrison commander of Dieguan, to immediately lead three thousand Wudang Flying Cavalry to travel day and night to join the five thousand elite cavalry of Longzhou, and rush to Chenzhou's aid as quickly as possible..."

Shangguan Youyi hesitated, then tentatively said, "Your Majesty, shouldn't we consult with the court officials first before sending troops?"

"Actions must be taken as urgent as putting out a fire!"

Zhao Luan's gaze was firm. "Send out the reinforcements we can first. The discussions will be about what comes next! With these eight thousand elite cavalry at our disposal, even if they are defeated, we can hold off the enemy for a while longer and prevent them from entering Juzhou!"

At this point, even arriving a moment earlier than expected would be a good thing.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

As Shangguan Youyi spoke, he quickly began to draft an imperial edict for Zhao Luan.

Zhao Luan pondered for a moment, then said, "Let me add one more thing: If Qin Yu defeats the enemy, Qin Yu will be the commander-in-chief, and Lin Gong will be his deputy! If Qin Yu fails to defeat the enemy, Lin Gong will be the commander-in-chief, fully responsible for suppressing the rebellion!"

"yes!"

Shangguan Youyi replied with one sentence and continued to bury himself in drafting the imperial edict.

Once the imperial edict was drafted, Shangguan Youyi presented it to Zhao Luan for review.

After confirming the imperial edict was correct, Zhao Luan affixed his seal and summoned Yun Ying. "Immediately, ride at full speed to Dieguan to deliver the edict! Tell Lin Gong that upon receiving the edict, he must immediately lead his troops to reinforce the city! Any delay will cost him his head!"

"yes!"

Yun Ying quickly accepted the order and left.

As Zhao Luan stood before the map once more, she couldn't help but feel secretly relieved.

Fortunately, I didn't take back the imperial gold medal from Qin Yu, otherwise things might have gone wrong in Xining Prefecture as well.

There are also Gui San and Gui Si, who were originally sent to protect Qin Yu, but unexpectedly they came in very useful!

With their abilities, it shouldn't be difficult for them to create some chaos for the enemy and slow down their advance, right?

It really is a case of unintentionally planting willows and lush trees!

So, it seems Qin Yu has become a... lucky charm?