The Prodigal Son

Although Yu Jing was unhappy, since things had already come to this, she simply told Qin Yu about the current situation.

According to reliable sources, Yu Wu has already deployed 40,000 troops around Yiling on the border of Min State, and is continuing to reinforce Yiling.

The enemy's commander-in-chief was Huang Dengxing, the Divine General of the Min Kingdom.

Huang Dengxing was not only a famous general of the Min Kingdom, but also the only Grandmaster of the Min Kingdom.

Several years ago, when the Yan state launched a surprise attack on Dingzhou, the Min state sent troops to support Dingzhou, and Huang Dengxing led the expedition.

It was also during that great battle that Huang Dengxing broke through on the battlefield and became a grandmaster in one fell swoop.

After the war, the Min emperor originally wanted to make Huang Dengxing a royal retainer, but Huang Dengxing kept saying that he wanted to continue leading troops to serve the country loyally.

The emperor of Min believed Huang Dengxing's lies and not only rewarded him handsomely, but also entrusted him with guarding the Yuwang Pass, a strategic location that connects Min and Chu.

Unexpectedly, Huang Dengxing betrayed the late emperor's trust by defecting to Yu Wu and colluding with the State of Chu.

When Huang Dengxing was mentioned, Yu Jing's eyes flashed with murderous intent, as if he wished he could tear Huang Dengxing to pieces.

"Huang Dengxing should be considered to have reached the pinnacle of his official career, right?"

Qin Yu frowned. "Why would he side with Yu Wu? Can't you and your father give him what Yu Wu can give him? Or, why doesn't he just usurp the throne?"

This doesn't make sense!

"That's what I don't understand either."

Yu Jing shook his head and smiled bitterly.

What Yu Wu can give him, they can give him too!

Moreover, it can make the yellow light traffic famous for generations to come!

However, Huang Dengxing still sided with Yu Wu, willingly becoming Yu Wu's lackey, turning from a pillar of the Min Kingdom into a traitor who will be infamous for ten thousand years.

Qin Yu was completely baffled and then asked, "Approximately how many troops does Yu Wu have?"

Yu Jing replied, "The traitor Yu Wu claims to have an army of 300,000, but in reality, he probably has around 120,000."

"120,000?"

Qin Yu's eyelids twitched. "Where did he get so many men?"

He understands!

Claims are just for show, nothing more.

Is there not a single soldier in the Min Kingdom's army who is loyal to the old emperor of Min?

When Yu Wu rebelled and seized power, did the Min state suffer any military losses?

Do they really need to cook this badly, father and son?

"In addition, I have also received news that the State of Chu has promised the traitor Yu Wu that it can lend him up to 50,000 troops."

Yu Jing dropped another bombshell.

"..."

Qin Yu's face twitched violently.

"General Qin, there is no need to panic."

Yu Jing glanced at Qin Yu and said calmly, "Of the 120,000 troops under the command of the traitor Yu Wu, very few are truly loyal to him..."

Yu Wu's true core strength should only be around 60,000.

First were the 30,000 elite soldiers who accompanied Huang Dengxing to guard Yuwang Pass.

Secondly, there were the two men responsible for the defense of the capital city of Yuyang and Qixia Pass.

In addition, Yan Mu, the eldest brother of Princess Yu Wu, also had 10,000 troops that he had secretly developed with the covert support of the State of Chu.

After Yu Wu rebelled and seized the throne, he replaced the main generals of each department with his confidants.

However, he believed that many soldiers in the army had only temporarily submitted to Yu Wu's tyranny.

Upon hearing Yu Jing's words, Qin Yu couldn't help but secretly wonder if he was deliberately leaving things unsaid to scare him.

Qin Yu glanced at him, then asked calmly, "If we defeat Huang Dengxing's forces head-on, how many troops will Your Highness be able to recruit?"

Yu Jing said confidently, "I can't say for sure, but thirty to fifty thousand should be no problem! If people run red lights, it will definitely be more!"

He was, after all, the rightful crown prince.

If he leads his men back to fight his way back, many of his former generals will surely support him.

Hearing Yu Jing's words, Qin Yu felt much more at ease.

Thirty or fifty thousand is not a small amount!

With each side gaining and losing, and after a period of mutual attrition and fighting, there won't be much left.

Qin Yu secretly pondered the situation and then began to inquire about the current troop deployment of the Min Kingdom.

Yu Jing also spoke frankly and without reservation.

In fact, he had already told Fang Junji about these things, and he wasn't afraid to tell Qin Yu as well.

In fact, despite Yu Wu having a large number of troops, the internal defenses of Min Kingdom were extremely weak.

Currently, the military forces of the Min Kingdom are mainly concentrated in four locations.

Yiling, Yuwang Pass, Guanzhou, and the vicinity of Yuyang.

Yuwang Pass currently has only 10,000 troops, led by Yu Wu's maternal uncle.

There should be around 30,000 troops in Guanzhou, of which 10,000 were troops secretly developed by Yan Mu.

Excluding the navy's more than 10,000 troops, there was practically no defensive force in other regions.

Once we capture Yiling, which is defended by Huang Dengxing, the rest will be relatively easy.

The Min Kingdom's cavalry, when all was added together, numbered only about 15,000, and most of them were now in Huang Dengxing's hands.

After hearing Yu Jing's words, Qin Yu felt even more reassured.

The emptier the better!

Afterwards, the two returned to the sand table.

Fang Junji and the others were still discussing strategies to defeat Huang Dengxing's forces. Qin Yu did not interrupt, but listened while examining the sand table.

Even with two grandmasters who could help them breach the city gates, none of them had any intention of launching a full-scale attack on Yiling.

Since the State of Chu could lend Yu Wu 50,000 troops at any time and send a grandmaster to assist in the battle, it was entirely possible.

They only have so many troops; if they attack Yiling, they will suffer heavy losses, making it difficult to continue.

After all, the State of Chu had promised to lend Yu Wu 50,000 troops.

They not only had to consider the current battle, but also the battles to come!

Their idea was to lure out Huang Dengxing's troops to fight.

However, judging from the current situation, Huang Dengxing seems to want to hold out in Yiling, forcing them to launch a strong attack on Yiling and constantly deplete their strength.

Once their losses reach a certain level, they will naturally withdraw their troops.

This is the right strategy.

If you switch their positions with those of people going through a yellow light, they will make the same choice.

Therefore, figuring out how to get through yellow lights is indeed a difficult problem.

The group came up with several ideas, including feigning an attack, feigning defeat, verbally abusing the enemy, and sending a small group of elite troops to flank and harass from behind. They discussed these ideas at length.

But after much discussion, it turned out that either it wouldn't work or the potential risks were too high.

Fang Junji stood in front of the sand table, his head bowed in deep thought, unable to make a decision for a long time.

Fang Junji was already over fifty years old, but this was the first time in his life that he had taken command, and it was against a larger force than his own.

He knew perfectly well that his years of being ordered to lie low involved the reputations of Emperor Xiaowu and the late emperor, and the court would certainly not make it public, nor would it be appropriate to reward him handsomely for this achievement.

Therefore, Zhao Luan gave him this opportunity.

If this battle is won well, the merits accumulated over many years of lying low will be combined with the merits of this battle and rewarded together, most likely with a generous reward!

But if he doesn't win this battle, given his age and experience, he'll probably never have another chance to lead a team again in his lifetime.

Faced with this situation, he was under considerable pressure.

Every decision needs to be made with caution.

However, excessive caution is also a major taboo for leaders.

After all, the situation on the battlefield changes rapidly, and there is often not enough time to think about everything.

Once an opportunity is seized, a decisive action must be taken.

Qin Yu stared at the sand table for a while, and seeing that Fang Junji still couldn't make up his mind, he finally couldn't help but speak up: "This humble general believes that a feint attack combined with verbal taunts is entirely feasible!"