The Prodigal Son

Thirty li outside Jinshuo Pass.

Shen Jue was leading a hastily assembled force of over six thousand men through the valley.

Originally, Shen Jue could have gathered more troops.

But there was no other way; their time was extremely limited, and they didn't have enough time to slowly gather the deserters back together.

They had no supplies, and even their dry rations were hastily looted by Shen Jue after he led his troops to capture a rebellious county.

Even so, they still didn't have enough dry rations.

Left with no other choice, Shen Jue followed Xu Wan's advice and ordered his men to plunder several larger towns along the way under the guise of rebels.

"Report..."

Just as they were marching at full speed, a hurried voice suddenly came from behind.

Hearing the scout's voice, many people felt a chill run down their spines.

Could it be that bandits have come to surround them?

Shen Jue felt uneasy and turned to look at the scouts galloping towards him.

Soon, the scouts sent out arrived in front of Shen Jue.

The scout quickly dismounted, his face beaming with excitement, and said, "General, the enemy suffered heavy losses in a water attack at Lianghekou..."

"What?"

Upon hearing the scout's words, Shen Jue suddenly became agitated, grabbed the scout, and asked in a trembling voice, "Are you sure?"

"Sure!"

The scout nodded vigorously, his voice trembling slightly: "We've been following the bandits from a distance! It's unclear how many bandits escaped, but we estimate that fewer than ten thousand fled..."

Less than ten thousand people?

Hearing the scout's words, Xu Wan could not contain her excitement. She clenched her fists tightly and almost roared to the sky.

"Great, that's wonderful!"

Shen Jue clapped his hands and laughed, then immediately ordered the soldiers around him, "Spread this good news loudly! Tell all the soldiers that as long as we take Jin Suo Pass, we can trap them and beat them to a pulp! Our time to redeem ourselves has come!"

"yes!"

The soldiers roared excitedly, but in their hearts they were overjoyed.

Thank goodness they escaped!

Otherwise, he would probably be a bloated corpse by now!

"call……"

The gloom in Shen Jue's heart vanished, and he turned to look at Xu Wan: "No wonder the Holy Envoy wanted us to reclaim Jin Suo Guan! Who came up with this brilliant plan?"

"Qin Yu!"

This time, Xu Wan didn't hide anything and answered with a smile.

"Who?"

Shen Jue suddenly raised his voice, "The only son of the Qin family?"

Although he spent most of his time in the military, he had heard of Qin Yu's great reputation.

You little bastard, aren't you just a spoiled brat who only knows how to eat, drink, gamble, and whore?

He actually came up with a brilliant plan to defeat the enemy army.

"right!"

Xu Wan nodded and smiled.

Shen Jue's shock was within her expectations.

If she were Shen Jue, she would definitely be even more shocked than Shen Jue is now.

Upon receiving confirmation from Xu Wan again, a hint of curiosity flashed in Shen Jue's eyes. "I'll definitely thank that little bastard properly later!"

Judging by the time, the vanguard of the imperial reinforcements should be arriving soon.

Once they capture Jin Suo Guan and close the gate, the rebel army will have no chance of escaping!

He must atone for his crimes through meritorious service!

This is a great opportunity for everyone in the Qingxi camp to redeem themselves through meritorious service!

With such a big incident happening this time, he's definitely going to be demoted!

But I really have to thank Qin Yu for saving my life!

As news of Qin Yu's decisive victory over the enemy with a water attack spread throughout the army, the morale of the several thousand soldiers soared.

Shen Jue seized the opportunity and led his army to Jin Suo Guan at a rapid pace.

Qin Yu has already eliminated the biggest hidden danger for him!

If he can't take Jin Suo Guan, he won't have the face to live!

With their morale soaring, they didn't feel tired even after a long march.

By the next morning, they could already see Jin Suo Guan in the distance.

Compared to formidable passes like Wuguan and Dieguan, Jinshuo Pass is not particularly impressive.

However, Jinshuo Pass is strategically located and has been reinforced multiple times. Under normal circumstances, it would be difficult for the enemy to breach it if only tens of thousands of troops were stationed there.

However, Shen Jue now has absolute confidence.

He had a ninth-level expert by his side who could assassinate the enemy's commander, and many soldiers did not genuinely want to rebel.

If the morale of the garrison at Jin Suo Guan is slightly damaged, the soldiers inside the pass may very well defect.

Shen Jue gazed at Jin Suo Pass and swiftly issued the order: "Pass down the word, everyone hurry and eat your dry rations. We will launch the attack in one hour!"

"A direct attack?"

Xu Wan looked at Shen Jue in surprise.

"Yes, attack directly!"

Shen Jue nodded. "However, in order to minimize casualties, we'll still need to borrow the imperial gold medal you possess!"

"I see!"

A look of understanding flashed in Xu Wan's eyes, and she took out the imperial gold medal and handed it to Shen Jue...

……

A day and a half later.

The sickly Fan Bingzheng led his remaining troops of less than 2,500 men in a retreat toward Jin Suo Guan.

They had originally gathered more than 3,500 remnants of the army.

However, the defeat before the battle even began greatly dampened their morale. Many of the soldiers who managed to escape also deserted, and Zhao Yi and the others were separated from him.

Fan Bing was completely numb to this.

The only hope now is to cross the Golden Lock Pass and enter southern Xinjiang to start over.

However, although he said he was going to rebuild his strength, Fan Bing had lost his fighting spirit.

He had lost all hope of restoring his country.

He knew in his heart that after this incident, the Great Ning court would definitely carry out a thorough purge of Chenzhou and strengthen its supervision of the border troops.

They never had the chance to gather enough strength to restore their kingdom!

For the rest of my life, all I'll do is eke out a living.

"Your Highness, something terrible has happened!"

Just then, the scouts sent out to explore returned in a great hurry.

Fan Bing's heart tightened, and he asked weakly, "What happened?"

The scout, panting heavily, replied somewhat flusteredly, "I just found out that a couple of days ago, a large army of five or six thousand men, using our banner, plundered a town ahead and then headed south..."

Upon hearing the scout's words, Fan Bing's already pale face turned even paler.

It's obvious without even thinking that those were deserters recruited by Shen Jue!

Golden Lock Pass!

Shen Jue definitely wants to take back Jin Suo Guan and trap them like a dog inside a cage!

Jin Suo Guan was originally guarded by 10,000 troops.

After the troops from the southern border entered the pass, he transferred another 7,000 men from Jin Suo Guan.

The Golden Lock Pass is now guarded by only three thousand people.

Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible for a mere five or six thousand people to breach the Golden Lock Pass.

But the one leading the troops is Shen Jue!

Shen Jue still enjoys considerable prestige in the army.

If Shen Jue were to stand outside the pass and shout, some soldiers would probably be tempted to defect.

Fan Bing grew increasingly uneasy and hastily ordered, "Immediately send men on horseback to Jin Suo Guan to investigate!"

Those around him dared not neglect their duties and quickly gave instructions.

Fan Bing turned around and looked at the remnants of his army behind him, a sense of desolation rising in his heart once again.

At that moment, he felt like he had become a joke.

Fifteen years of hard work, all for the sake of bringing glory to others!

How ironic!