The Prodigal Son

Before long, all the officials of the third rank and above rushed over.

Zhao Luan handed the report to everyone for review.

Upon seeing the contents of the report, everyone's expressions turned grim.

Rebellion!

They even lured foreign enemies across the Golden Lock Pass!

Sins cannot be forgiven!

"That damned Shen Jue! How dare he collude with the Holy Fire Sect in a rebellion!"

"Your Majesty, I suggest that Shen Jue's family be immediately imprisoned in the Imperial Prison!"

"What's the rush? The report already states that it's still unclear whether the rebellion is related to Shen Jue! We can wait until we understand the situation and confirm that Shen Jue initiated the rebellion before imprisoning his family!"

"Even if the rebellion has nothing to do with Shen Jue, he still bears undeniable responsibility!"

The crowd argued noisily, causing Zhao Luan to frown deeply.

"Alright!"

Song Zhuo stopped everyone, "Shen Jue's family is in the capital. We can imprison them anytime! Now is not the time to discuss this! Let's all think about how to deal with what happens next!"

Hearing Song Zhuo's words, the indignant crowd temporarily stopped and gathered in front of the map, whispering among themselves.

"Why doesn't the report specify what Qin Yu's strategy for defeating the enemy actually is?"

"Is this kid just bragging?"

"If they truly had a strategy to defeat the enemy, why didn't they mention it in their report?"

"I guess they have their own concerns?"

"Right, Meng Zhangping wouldn't just make things up in his report, would he?"

"Leaving aside whether Qin Yu understands how to lead an army, even if he does, with such a disadvantage, even the veteran generals in the court wouldn't dare say they could definitely defeat the enemy, would they?"

"..."

The crowd was abuzz with discussion. Some believed they had a plan to defeat the enemy, but most remained skeptical.

You're just talking about having a strategy to defeat the enemy, so why don't you just tell us?

Saying nothing and just talking about having a strategy to defeat the enemy makes it hard for anyone to believe.

War is a matter of vital importance to the state!

This is not something to be taken lightly!

Everyone knows perfectly well how capable those ten thousand-plus garrison troops are.

With just over 10,000 garrison troops, let alone defeating the enemy, they would probably have trouble even holding Xining Prefecture.

Heaven knows what kind of spell Qin Yu cast on Meng Zhangping, that made Meng Zhangping so confidently claim in his report that they had a plan to defeat the enemy.

Moreover, judging from the content of the report, Meng Zhangping must have been quite excited when he wrote it.

This doesn't feel like a report about urgent military matters; it sounds more like a report of victory.

Damn it!

Zhao Luan glanced at everyone, her gaze settling on Xue Chengdao. "Lord Xue, if you were in that situation, facing such a disparity in troop strength, what strategy could you devise to defeat the enemy?"

Xue Chengdao turned his gaze away from the map, bowed, and replied, "For the time being, I cannot think of a good solution. However, I believe that opening the Golden Lock Pass to let the Nuoli army enter would be an absolutely terrible move..."

As he spoke, Xue Chengdao began to analyze the situation with them again.

Bringing foreign enemies into the pass will not be supported by either the former inhabitants of Lang Kingdom or the people of Da Ning!

Without the support of the people, they would be unable to assemble a large army in a short period of time.

This would be more conducive to the imperial court suppressing the rebellion.

"Lord Xue is right."

Song Zhuo nodded in agreement, but then changed the subject, "However, even if Qin Yu has a strategy to defeat the enemy, the imperial court should send troops to aid Chenzhou as soon as possible! They only have so many people, and the situation on the battlefield changes rapidly. Before a real victory is achieved, no one can guarantee a win!"

Throughout history, how many battles that were certain to be won have been lost?

Moreover, this was Qin Yu's first time on the battlefield!

"I have already sent someone to deliver an imperial edict, ordering Lin Gong to lead three thousand Wudang Flying Cavalry from Dieguan and five thousand elite cavalry from Longzhou to reinforce Chenzhou."

Zhao Luan raised his eyes and scanned the crowd. "I summoned you all here to discuss the next steps with you."

Xue Chengdao thought for a moment, then said, "I suggest that Cao Dian of Longzhou be ordered to personally lead 15,000 elite infantrymen to Juzhou to prevent the rebel army from entering Juzhou!"

"As for the other troops, hold off for now and see how things develop!"

Whether Qin Yu and his team can win will be clear in ten days at most!

Su Yu frowned, worriedly asking, "Isn't 15,000 infantrymen a bit too few?"

"That's quite a lot!"

Xue Chengdao said solemnly, "If we have a good general, those eight thousand elite cavalry, plus the men from the Baojing Division, would be enough to defeat the enemy! These fifteen thousand infantrymen are merely a precaution! I actually hope that even those eight thousand elite cavalry won't be needed..."

An army marches on its stomach!

With such a large army mobilized, provisions are of paramount importance.

With 8,000 elite cavalry and 15,000 elite infantry, they are now able to attack or defend!

They've already hastily mobilized heavy troops to support the front lines before the battle has even begun. If the front lines win, won't all the supplies they've mobilized be wasted?

Most importantly, Bei Qi was already restless. If the imperial court mobilized a large army to support Chenzhou, Bei Qi might think that something terrible had happened in Chenzhou and launch another invasion.

Their decision not to mobilize significant forces to provide support is a clear statement.

It's nothing serious!

Everything is under control!

If the Northern Qi are considering launching an invasion, they'd better think twice!

"Lord Xue is absolutely right!"

Zhao Luan nodded approvingly, then asked with interest, "Lord Xue seems to have a lot of confidence in Qin Yu?"

"Not entirely!"

Xue Chengdao replied, "In my opinion, if they want to defeat the enemy with their small garrison and the forces of the Baojing Division, they must resort to unconventional tactics!"

"The key to a successful tactic isn't whether you have experience leading troops in battle, it's all about the 'unconventional' aspect!"

"If you use unconventional tactics well, it's not uncommon for the weak to defeat the strong!"

A surprise move?

Zhao Luan's gaze returned to the map.

Hopefully, Qin Yu really has a clever trick up his sleeve!

……

At noon, Xu Wan and Qi Dachui met Shen Jue, led by a secret agent from the Baojing Division.

"Little Xu!"

Upon seeing Xu Wan, a look of surprise flashed across Shen Jue's face.

"Greetings, Uncle Shen!"

Xu Wan bowed to Shen Jue.

"No need for such formalities."

Shen Jue quickly stepped forward to help Xu Wan up, a sheepish and embarrassed smile on his face. "I'm so sorry you had to see this..."

"The situation is urgent; now is not the time to talk about these things!"

Xu Wan gently shook her head and immediately took out the imperial gold token: "Shen Jue, listen to my command!"

"what?"

Shen Jue was stunned for a moment, then came to his senses and quickly knelt down on one knee.

Xu Wan, with a stern face, said sternly, "The Holy Envoy has ordered: no matter what method you use, you must reclaim Jin Suo Guan..."

Hearing Xu Wan's words, Gui San and Gui Si were too lazy to expose her!

Holy Envoy?

There's no holy envoy here!

It must be that little bastard from the Qin family who's pretending to be a holy envoy!

That bastard is really audacious!

Not only did he impersonate a holy envoy, but he also wanted Shen Jue to obey his orders?

Is he good at fighting?

While the two were still having doubts, Xu Wan had already relayed Qin Yu's orders to Shen Jue.

Shen Jue slowly stood up, his brows furrowed as he looked at Xu Wan: "What's the use of retaking Jin Suo Guan at this time?"

He already had a plan.

First, try to create divisions within the rebel army, thereby gathering some troops to harass the rebels, delaying their advance and buying time for the imperial reinforcements.

This unprovoked order immediately disrupted his plans.

"You don't need to worry about that, just follow orders!"

Xu Wan didn't explain, "The Holy Envoy also asked me to tell you something: if you dare disobey, even if His Majesty doesn't kill you, he will do everything in his power to take your entire family's lives! Uncle Shen, the Holy Envoy is a man of his word. You are already guilty, so I advise you to obey his orders. That way, you can atone for your sins!"

Meeting Xu Wan's gaze, Shen Jue's heart skipped a beat.

He knew Xu Wan's personality; this girl would never speak carelessly, nor would she treat such an important matter as a joke.

It seems that the holy envoy still doesn't trust me!

Shen Jue sighed silently to himself, bowed, and said, "This humble general... obeys!"

"Xu girl, come here!"

Gui San walked to the side and waved to Xu Wan.

Xu Wan roughly guessed his purpose and quickly stepped forward.

Gui San lowered his voice and asked Xu Wan, "Why would that little bastard Qin Yu give such an order?"

Xu Wan trusted these two people who had been secretly protecting Qin Yu.

After a slight hesitation, Xu Wan whispered in Gui San's ear.

Hearing Xu Wan's words, Gui San's eyes lit up...