The Prodigal Son

Two and a half days later, at noon, Fan Bing and Zhao Yi's troops, who had joined forces, were not far from Lianghekou.

Just as they continued their advance, the scouts they had sent out suddenly brought news.

"Crossing the river?"

Both of them were completely baffled when they heard the news.

How dare the enemy cross the river at this time?

What, does the enemy want to initiate a decisive battle with them?

With such a small number of enemy troops, how can we possibly fight them to the death?

It should be noted that after they joined forces, the desertion of soldiers in the camp was effectively contained.

Now, the two sides together have nearly 60,000 people.

According to their analysis, the enemy force on the other side of the Majia River is at most seven or eight thousand!

With such a small force, they actually took the initiative to cross the river and attack?

There's something wrong with this!

Seeing the two men with furrowed brows, Zuo Jiangyue immediately spoke up: "In my humble opinion, this is nothing more than a feint by the enemy! They simply want to slow down our march to buy more time for their reinforcements!"

"not necessarily!"

Fan Bing disagreed, "We're less than thirty li from Majiahe! Even if the enemy uses a feint, how long can they hold out?"

"this……"

When asked by Fan Bingyi, Zuo Jiangyue was momentarily at a loss for words.

The question raised by the Crown Prince is indeed worth considering.

The enemy's actions are indeed quite unusual!

After a brief moment of thought, Zuo Jiangyue suggested, "Why don't we send a small advance force to probe the enemy's strength and weaknesses?"

"good!"

Fan Bing nodded and decisively ordered, "Order the army to slow its advance and send two thousand cavalrymen to probe the enemy's position!"

"yes!"

Zuo Jiangyue quickly accepted the order and went to make arrangements.

Fan Bing turned to Zhao Yi and asked, "How long do you think it will take us to capture Xining Prefecture?"

Zhao Yi stared ahead and said in a deep voice, "Xining Prefecture doesn't have many garrison troops at all! With our forces, we can capture Xining Prefecture within a day!"

"No!"

Fan Bing shook his head and smiled, "I think half a day is enough!"

"I hope so!"

Zhao Yi answered casually, but his heart was filled with worry.

Half of the 20,000 troops under his command and Zuo Jiangyue's command fled.

Two days ago, he joined forces with Fan Bing, and he thought Fan Bing would be furious.

Instead of getting angry, Fan Bing comforted him and apologized, saying that it was his poor decision that led to so many deserters in the army.

At first, he thought Fan Bing had some magnanimity.

But the more he thought about it, the more something seemed off.

He felt that Fan Bing was actually very happy that so many of their soldiers had deserted!

The 30,000 elite border troops under Shen Jue's command were far stronger than the 30,000 southern border soldiers under Fan Bing's command.

If I control too many troops, it will threaten Fan Bing's position!

Now that so many people have escaped, our strength has been greatly weakened.

Of the remaining military commanders, only a small number were his own men; the rest were Fan Bing and Zuo Jiangyue's men!

He no longer had the strength to fight against Fan Bing, so he could only obediently serve him!

Even when Fan Bing led the soldiers from the southern border into Chenzhou, he wasn't momentarily confused, but rather wary of himself!

Fan Bing feared that if he gained control of those elite soldiers, it would threaten his position!

His move was anything but a terrible one!

It was clearly a premeditated scheme!

That bastard, he's already on guard against me the moment he started his rebellion!

Once he restores his kingdom, there's a high chance he won't help me reclaim the throne!

Throughout the journey, Zhao Yi was somewhat absent-minded.

About two hours later, the enemy cavalry unit that had been sent out to probe the enemy's strength returned with a report.

Before they could even get close to the enemy, the enemy had already retreated to the other side of the river.

"It was indeed a feint!"

Fan Bing snorted coldly. Seeing that it was getting late, he immediately ordered, "Pass down the order: choose a place to set up camp! Make sure everyone has a good meal and drink tonight! Break through the enemy lines before noon tomorrow!"

The more the enemy acts this way, the weaker they are!

This also confirms that the enemy's reinforcements have not yet arrived!

Once their army crosses the Majia River, capturing Xining Prefecture will be a piece of cake!

As long as we hold Xining Prefecture, we can restore the kingdom!

With Fan Bing's order given, the army immediately began to choose a location to set up camp.

Soon, they discovered the location of the confluence of two rivers.

The terrain here is open and there is a water source, making it difficult for the enemy to succeed in any tricks or schemes, making it very suitable for setting up camp.

Having determined the location for encampment, the army quickly marched to Lianghekou and set up camp.

That night, Fan Bing summoned the generals of the camp to his tent.

Inside the tent, there was not only a freshly roasted lamb, but also several jars of fine wine.

After everyone was seated according to their rank, Fan Bing picked up a wine jar and personally poured wine for everyone.

"Your Highness, this is unacceptable!"

Zuo Jiangyue, flattered, pressed down on Fan Bing's hand.

"It's alright!"

Fan Bing pulled Zuo Jiangyue's hand away in displeasure. "You all risked your lives to follow me in this uprising. What's wrong with me pouring you some wine?"

As he spoke, Fan Bing filled the wine bowls in front of everyone.

Everyone was extremely grateful and bowed deeply, but Zhao Yi cursed inwardly.

It's nothing more than a tactic to win people's hearts!

These are all tricks he's been using since he was a teenager!

Only after filling everyone's bowls with wine did Fan Bing pour one for himself.

Fan Bing looked at everyone: "We will be engaging the enemy tomorrow!"

"Even though we're facing a rabble, we'll still give it our all!"

"Today I offer you all a small bowl of wine as a token of my respect and encouragement!"

"Once we've conquered the entire Chenzhou, I'll hold a celebration for you all!"

With that, Fan Bing picked up his wine bowl with great flair: "Cheers!"

"Let's do it!"

Everyone raised their wine bowls and drank the wine in one gulp.

Setting down his wine bowl, Zhao Yi spoke up, "Your Highness, let my unit be the vanguard tomorrow!"

He still wanted his soldiers to engage the imperial army as soon as possible.

This will put them completely on the opposite side of the imperial court.

This will make it easier for him to firmly control this large army!

"No rush!"

Fan Bing waved his hand, "Good steel should be used where it's needed most. There will be plenty of opportunities for you to distinguish yourselves when we attack Xining Prefecture! Tomorrow, General Hu will lead 10,000 troops as the vanguard to break through the garrison on the other side of the Majia River!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yi's heart skipped a beat.

Attacking Xining Prefecture is definitely much more difficult than breaking through the garrison on the other side of the Majia River!

Fan Bing is trying to weaken his power again by attacking Xining Prefecture!

That bastard!

They're always scheming against themselves!

Zhao Yi, unwilling to give up, said again, "Your Highness, let my troops engage in battle first; it will boost our morale!"

"Don't rush!"

Fan Bing waved his hand and said with a smile, "If we win a small victory first, the morale of the entire army will naturally be boosted! Alright, it's just fighting a bunch of rabble, no need to fight over it!"

"That's right!" echoed one of Fan Bing's confidants. "Why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut? Just hand it over to General Hu!"

Most people echoed his words.

They didn't take the defending troops on the other side of the Majia River seriously at all.

Even if we are held back for half a day by the enemy's trickery, we can still easily defeat them tomorrow!

Zuo Jiangyue frowned slightly, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

He also felt that Fan Bing's arrangement was somewhat inappropriate.

But he couldn't very well help someone undermine his own prince, could he?

Looking at the group of people in front of him, Zhao Yi suddenly clenched his fist.

After a moment of contemplation, Zhao Yi slowly loosened his fist.

That's it!

We are currently at a disadvantage, so we must be patient for now!

We'll settle the score with him later!

There will be times when he needs my help!