The Prodigal Son

That night, Gui San and Gui Si sneaked into Zhao Yi's camp under cover of darkness.

Even though Zhao Yi and Zuo Jiangyue were prepared, they still couldn't stop the elusive Gui Si from creating chaos in the camp.

The chaos in the camp gradually subsided as dawn approached.

"How much...?"

Upon receiving the report from his subordinate generals, Zhao Yi and Zuo Jiangyue nearly vomited blood on the spot.

"Nine...nine thousand more."

The general, feeling extremely guilty, reported: "The rear guard tried to stop those deserters, but suffered over two thousand casualties..."

Upon hearing that number again, Zhao Yi could no longer suppress his rage, roaring with bloodshot eyes, "Useless! They're all useless!"

Overnight, more than 9,000 people fled!

Including the several hundred deserters from before, half of their 20,000 elite border troops have already fled!

Before the war even started, their own strength had already been reduced by more than half!

This is a fucking bullshit war!

Zhao Yi was so angry that he trembled all over, and in his heart he cursed Fan Bing's ancestors for eighteen generations.

They had already implicated several generals in the Qingxi camp, and there were also some centurions and generals in the camp who were their men.

With the support of these people, and given his status as a prince, he could gradually gain complete control over the Qingxi Camp.

But that fool Fan Bing actually led the enemy across Jin Suo Guan!

This foolish decision has put them in an extremely passive situation!

Seeing Zhao Yi's uncontrollable rage, Zuo Jiangyue, equally furious, suppressed his anger and advised, "Your Highness, now is not the time to lose your temper! We must stabilize the situation quickly. If this continues, we'll all run away before we even see the enemy..."

"Stabilize the situation? The morale of the troops has collapsed. Tell me, how can we stabilize it?"

Zhao Yi glared at Zuo Jiangyue, "If it weren't for your idiot crown prince, would we be in such a passive situation?"

Zuo Jiangyue's face darkened, and he glared at Zhao Yi with a fierce look: "How dare you insult the Crown Prince?"

"Insult? Does this idiot even need me to insult him?"

Enraged, Zhao Yi disregarded everything else and roared through gritted teeth, "The current situation is the greatest insult to him!"

"Zzzzt!"

Zuo Jiangyue was furious and suddenly drew his sword.

Although he also felt that Fan Bing's move to bring foreign enemies into Chenzhou was a terrible one, Fan Bing was his pillar of support.

He would never allow anyone to insult the Crown Prince!

"You think you can kill me?"

Zhao Yi didn't take Zuo Jiangyue seriously at all.

He used to be polite to Zuo Jiangyue partly because of Fan Bing's influence, and partly because he needed Zuo Jiangyue to control the Qingxi Camp.

But now, they need to rely on themselves to stabilize the already dwindling morale of their troops!

Why should he be polite to Zuo Jiangyue anymore?

Even without Chen Guanhai protecting him, Zuo Jiangyue wouldn't dare kill him!

With his death, their remaining forces will completely collapse!

Seeing the two men on the verge of exchanging blows, Chen Guanhai couldn't help but roar, "Enough! What time is it now? Instead of trying to stabilize the situation, you're fighting amongst yourselves? Do you want all your years of hard work to go to waste?"

Amid Chen Guanhai's roar, the two men, who were in the heat of the moment, finally calmed down a little.

Zuo Jiangyue reluctantly sheathed his sword and sighed, "Your Highness, let's all calm down! Mr. Chen is right. Things have already come to this point, and there's no use in being angry. We still need to find a way to solve the problem."

"What else can be done to solve this?"

Suppressing his anger, Zhao Yi said irritably, "Now the only way is to join forces with Second Prince Fan and take Xining Prefecture as quickly as possible!"

With morale already low, it's practically impossible to stabilize the soldiers by relying on his status as the second prince of the late emperor.

Only by relying on the large army under Fan Bing's command can those soldiers who intend to flee be deterred from even considering doing so.

Once they engage the imperial army and capture Xining Prefecture, and then allow these soldiers to commit rape and plunder in Xining Prefecture, these soldiers will have no way back and will have no choice but to follow them to the bitter end.

Zuo Jiangyue lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then nodded helplessly.

Right now, this is truly the only way.

"Report..."

Just then, a scout rode up at full speed.

The two composed themselves and their faces gradually returned to seriousness.

Soon, the scout dismounted and quickly stepped forward to report: "Your Highness, our reconnaissance has revealed that a large number of enemy troops are deploying in the Shuimo Mountain and Majia River area!"

"Shuimoshan?"

"Majiahe?"

Zhao Yi and Zuo Jiangyue were both taken aback.

At this time, instead of defending Xining Prefecture, the enemy actually went to these two places to set up defenses?

After a brief moment of distraction, the two quickly walked to the map.

Looking at their location on the map, the gloom in their hearts finally dispelled.

"Okay, okay!"

A smile finally appeared on Zhao Yi's face.

Zuo Jiangyue was secretly pleased and asked the scout, "Approximately how many enemy soldiers are there?"

The scout replied, "There are about three thousand people in the Shuimoshan area, and about two to three thousand people downstream of the Majia River."

Is that all there are?

The two were slightly surprised.

Even if the terrain is advantageous to the enemy, such a small garrison cannot stop their advance, can it?

What are they trying to do?

Zuo Jiangyue pondered for a moment, then asked, "Have you discovered anything else?"

The scout thought for a moment, then replied, "The enemy seems to be gathering firewood around Shuimo Mountain, but we haven't seen any smoke coming from their chimneys..."

Dry firewood?

The two immediately grasped the key information.

After staring at the map for a moment, the two suddenly understood.

Fire attack!

The enemy clearly intended to attack them with fire!

Even if we can't defeat them, we can hinder their advance, thus buying more time to hold out until reinforcements arrive!

Hmph, the enemy is cunning!

But it's also very foolish!

They already have insufficient troops, and they still want to divide their forces for defense?

After a moment's thought, Zhao Yi asked the scout, "Is there anything else?"

"No more for now."

The scout shook his head in reply.

"Go down!"

Zhao Yi waved his hand and stared at the map again.

After a moment, Zhao Yi spoke, "It seems the only way to quickly capture Xining Prefecture is to attack from the Majiahe area!"

Attacking from the Majiahe side, although it would be a longer detour, would still be faster than dragging the enemy out at Shuimoshan.

Zuo Jiangyue nodded. "I suspect the enemy doesn't have just that many troops at Majiahe. Their main force might even be there. They're probably planning a surprise attack while we're crossing the river!"

"They'd better have the skill to launch a surprise attack while the river is crossing!"

Zhao Yi scoffed, "How much ability can a few thousand garrison troops have? We'll just send out some elite troops to disrupt the enemy's formation on the other side, and then send the main force across the river!"

The enemy's plan is pretty clever!

However, they overlooked the difference in combat strength between their soldiers!

It's obvious that the enemy will definitely deploy defenses at the narrow pass of Majiahe.

The narrowest part of the Majia River is only seven or eight zhang (approximately 33-40 meters)!

At this distance, as long as the defending troops on the other side are thrown into disarray, a few dozen logs can be thrown into the water to form a temporary pontoon bridge for the army to cross the river!

Zuo Jiangyue pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "However, we must also be wary of Shen Jue gathering deserters and launching a sneak attack from behind!"

Zhao Yi nodded: "Therefore, we need to join forces with Prince Fan! They're also closer to the Majia River! This way, while the vanguard crosses the river, the rearguard can intercept any enemy attacks!"

"Yes! That's what we'll do!"

Zuo Jiangyue nodded, secretly approving in his heart.

Zhao Yi, this prince of Ningguo, does have some real skills!

Judging from his performance this time, he was indeed better than His Highness the Crown Prince!

His Highness the Crown Prince's move was truly a terrible one!