The Prodigal Son

Yiling.

Huang Dengxing stared quietly at the sand table in front of him.

The military deployment around Yiling can be clearly and intuitively seen from the sand table.

Huang Dengxing's existing 50,000 troops were deployed in three locations.

Fifteen thousand troops were deployed in Yeniu Valley, ten miles north of Yiling and near Xiaojianshan.

Fifteen thousand troops were also deployed at Heishiling, about seven miles west of Yiling and close to Yuwang Mountain.

There were still 30,000 troops in Yiling City, including 12,000 cavalry.

Huang Dengxing was quite satisfied with his setup.

The three locations are not far apart, and both Bison Valley and Blackstone Ridge are strategically important places.

If any place is attacked, other places can quickly provide support and divide the enemy forces.

Beside Huang Dengxing were several generals from the Min Kingdom.

Two of them were his trusted confidants who had once guarded Yuwang Pass with him.

Yin Ye and Huo Tianwen were generals who surrendered after Yu Wu usurped the throne.

There was another person, Ji Lianhuan, who was once an advisor to Zhao Chong, the Prince of Chengyang.

Ji Lianhuan was originally serving under Yu Wu, but Huang Dengxing took him over.

There was no other reason than that Ji Lianhuan had been Zhao Chong's top strategist, and he understood Fang Junji better than any of them.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle!

Huang Dengxing had already received some intelligence about the Da Ning army.

Huang Dengxing was very puzzled by the fact that Da Ning only sent 40,000 to 50,000 troops.

He believed that Da Ning was also aware of the situation on their side.

If you include the 30,000 troops from the State of Chu, they have a total army of 170,000!

In a while, there might even be an army of 200,000!

Da Ning actually plans to use only 40,000 to 50,000 troops to help Yu Jing reclaim the throne?

Moreover, it was Fang Junji, a nobody, who was in charge?

Where does Da Ning get his confidence?

He has been suspecting for the past two days that Da Ning likely has more than 40,000 or 50,000 troops.

"Report..."

A scout rushed in, "Reporting to General Qi, our scouts have discovered that the enemy's vanguard of over ten thousand troops is advancing towards Yiling, and on their right flank, there are also over ten thousand cavalrymen carrying the 'Qin' flag!"

"The Qin-character flag?"

Huang Dengxing's heart skipped a beat, and a name suddenly appeared in his mind.

Qin Fumeng!

But soon, Huang Dengxing denied his guess.

It couldn't be Qin Fumeng!

Qin Fumeng is in charge of the military affairs of the seven northern prefectures of Da Ning. Putting aside whether he can get away to come here, even if he can, he will definitely come to take command. How could he possibly lead his troops to cover the right flank of the vanguard?

"If I'm not mistaken, the enemy cavalry commander should be Qin Yu, the grandson of Qin Fumeng!"

Ji Lianhuan picked up the conversation.

"Oh?"

A strange light flashed in Huang Dengxing's eyes. "This Qin Yu shouldn't be very old, right?"

"He's not even nineteen yet," Ji Lianhuan replied.

Hearing Ji Lianhuan's words, Shen Tu Hong, Huang Dengxing's confidant, immediately sneered: "Is Ningguo out of talent? They actually sent a nineteen-year-old greenhorn to command tens of thousands of cavalry?"

"A kid who hasn't even grown all his hair yet, leading an army?" another person scoffed.

"Neither of you should underestimate our opponent!"

Ji Lianhuan said solemnly, "As far as I know, Qin Yu shone brightly in Chenzhou a few months ago, defeating the Chenzhou rebels with a water attack and then taking advantage of the situation to advance and occupy the territory of the Nuoli tribe in the southern border! This man has been playing the role of a playboy for more than ten years, but now he has made a name for himself and is deeply trusted by the Empress of Ningguo. He should not be underestimated!"

"What's so formidable about them?"

Shen Tu Hong scoffed, "So what if they won a battle with just a little cleverness? Anyone who can think of a water attack strategy could win..."

Before Shen Tu Hong could finish speaking, a gust of wind suddenly swept in.

Bang!

Shen Tu Hong was powerless to resist and was sent flying backwards in a sorry state, crashing into a pillar in the room.

Fortunately, Huang Dengxing only wanted to teach him a small lesson.

Otherwise, he would be dead by now.

Shen Tu Hong didn't dare to utter a sound. He quickly ran forward, stood up straight again, and lowered his head, saying, "This humble general misspoke."

Huang Dengxing coldly glanced at Shen Tu Hong, his sharp gaze sweeping over the others. "Underestimating the enemy has always been a cardinal sin in the military! I don't want to repeat myself!"

"yes!"

The group accepted the order in unison.

After warning the men, Huang Dengxing turned to the scouts again: "How far apart are the two enemy armies?"

"About ten miles."

"Does the enemy's left flank have any support?"

"No!"

"Is it not there, or did you fail to detect it?"

"Are you sure you don't have it!"

Having received a definite answer, Huang Dengxing immediately looked at the sand table, but secretly harbored doubts.

The enemy's left flank was completely unprepared?

This is clearly illogical!

After a moment's thought, Huang Dengxing realized what was going on.

This was a deliberate opening created by the enemy, giving them an opportunity to attack from the left flank!

The enemy's left flank has relatively open terrain, which is more conducive to the deployment of cavalry.

If they actually mobilize the defenders of Buffalo Valley to attack the enemy's left flank, the enemy's right-wing cavalry will quickly flank them and join forces with the vanguard to attack them from both sides.

Even worse, the enemy might have prepared a deadly trap for them on their left flank.

The enemy is clearly trying to lure them into engaging in battle so they can wipe out a portion of their forces!

Ha ha!

This Fang Junji is far too naive!

Does he really think he can't see through such a small trick?

"Let's explore again!"

Huang Dengxing waved to the scout, then looked at Ji Lianhuan, "What do you think?"

Ji Lianhuan realized that Huang Dengxing was testing him, and replied with a smile, "It's just a trap set by the enemy! I know Fang Junji; although he's steady, he's not good at adapting to changing circumstances. If the opportunity arises, General, you might be able to strike from this angle!"

Huang Dengxing secretly approved, watching him with great interest. "Tell me more details!"

Ji Lianhuan pointed to the sand table and said, "The middle strategy is to turn the tables on the enemy. We will send some cavalry to block the enemy cavalry in the Yujia Mountain area, and together with the garrison of Heishiling, we will launch a pincer attack on the enemy cavalry. We do not aim to defeat the enemy cavalry, but only to disrupt Fang Junji's plans. Before Fang Junji can react, we will send the main force of cavalry to launch a surprise attack on the enemy's vanguard."

"The worst-case scenario is that we feign being tricked, wait for the enemy's right flank cavalry to encircle us, and then order the defenders of Buffalo Valley to launch a swift attack to cut off the enemy's vanguard's retreat..."

Ji Lianhuan spoke eloquently, and Huang Dengxing's eyes showed even more admiration.

There's a reason why Ji Lianhuan became Zhao Chong's top strategist.

"Then what's the best course of action?"

Huang Dengxing continued to inquire.

"Remain inactive and wait for the enemy to tire themselves out!"

Ji Lianhuan smiled: "The more the enemy tries to lure us into attacking, the less we'll fall for it! We'll wait for them to reveal a fatal flaw before delivering a fatal blow! Right now, dragging things out with the enemy is in our favor; we're not afraid to fight them to the bitter end!"

Ji Lianhuan's words struck a chord with Huang Dengxing.

Yes!

Stand still!

His idea was to remain inactive and wait for any eventuality to unfold!

If the enemy wants to forcefully attack the city, then bring it on!

If the enemy doesn't attack the city, they will keep at it until the enemy is defeated.

At present, they do not know much about the enemy's specific situation, and he also has many questions in his mind.

Trying to devise a strategy to defeat the enemy under such circumstances would not only distract them but also give the enemy an opportunity to exploit.

This Ji Lianhuan is quite clever!

He must have guessed that this was his thought, which is why he deliberately chose this as the best course of action.

"Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking!"

Huang Dengxing nodded slightly, his deep gaze sweeping over the group. "This battle concerns the fate of our nation. Even if the enemy forces charging at us are tens of thousands of pigs, everyone must be fully alert and take this seriously! Anyone who underestimates the enemy or slacks off will be killed!"

As soon as the word "kill" was uttered, a powerful killing intent emanated from Huang Dengxing.

Under the oppressive aura, the hairs on their bodies stood on end, and they seemed to have difficulty breathing. They hurriedly responded loudly...