The Prodigal Son

That evening, Qin Yu and his men buried the remains of the fallen soldiers.

Upon learning that Qin Yu had properly buried the soldiers and given Yu Jing two thousand warhorses so that Yu Jing could send people to take good care of the wounded soldiers, many soldiers privately praised Qin Yu's benevolence and righteousness.

This allowed Qin Yu to gain another wave of morale among his troops without even realizing it.

Early the next morning, Qin Yu and his men led their troops to Dongyuan.

Yu Jing also raised the banner of the Crown Prince of Min and led his newly gathered troops and prisoners to march with them.

The massive army marched towards Dongyuan.

The banner of Yu Jing, the crown prince of Min, was still quite effective, and people came to join him along the way.

After two days of marching, they finally arrived at Dongyuan.

At this point, including the prisoners, Yu Jing had nearly 15,000 men under his command.

Meanwhile, the governor of Dongyuan County had already opened the city gates and led officials of all ranks out of the city to welcome Yu Jing, who was "returning as king".

They entered Dongyuan smoothly without any obstacles.

That same day, Qin Yu and Yu Jing dispatched a large number of scouts to explore in all directions and spread the news that Yu Jing had raised the banner of rebellion in Dongyuan.

The next few days were exceptionally lively in Dongyuan.

Yuan Dingguo and his men led their troops around Dongyuan every day under the banner of Yu Jing to post notices or shout messages.

The gist of it is that the bastard Yu Wu colluded with Huang Dengxing and the State of Chu to usurp the throne and murder the late emperor—a crime unforgivable! Now, the late emperor's crown prince, Yu Jing, has raised the banner of rebellion in Dongyuan, sincerely inviting righteous men from all over the land to join in the campaign against the traitor Yu Wu…

Under these circumstances, people from all around came to Dongyuan every day to join Yu Jing.

Yu Jing finally had her moment in the spotlight.

Now, he has more than 25,000 men under his command, and he also has a core group of civil and military officials.

Yu Jing appointed Zhou Jishan as General Who Punishes Rebels and Minister of War, and appointed the Prefect of Dongyuan as Vice Minister of War.

All the other key officials were also appointed.

In just a few days, Dongyuan has already taken on the rudiments of a small court.

Yu Jing also followed Qin Yu's advice and continuously scavenged grain from the surrounding areas of Dongyuan and stockpiled it in Dongyuan. At the same time, he mobilized all the people in Dongyuan who could be mobilized to reinforce the city walls, make arrows, and prepare rolling logs and stones, etc.

They'll do anything that benefits their defense of Dongyuan.

Yu Jing also knew that Yu Wu would definitely try every means to take back Dongyuan, so he dared not neglect these matters.

However, Yu Jing rejected the advice of many people and refused to declare himself emperor for a long time. He claimed that he would only ascend the throne after killing the traitor Yu Wu and going to the ancestral temple to worship his ancestors.

Unlike Yu Jing, who was extremely busy, Qin Yu had been relatively relaxed these past few days.

In the morning, Qin Yu once again brought Nan Que'er and Qi Dachui to Ning Huang's residence.

These past few days he's been trying to do something big—to become Ning Huang's apprentice!

Unfortunately, Ning Huang completely ignored him.

But he still didn't give up.

At this moment, Ning Huang was lying in the shade of a tree in the courtyard, enjoying the cool air.

Poor Zeng Guan, the dignified head of the Baojing Division, was fanning Ning Huang like a maid.

"Senior Ning, how are you feeling today?"

Qin Yu eagerly sidled up to them.

Zeng Guanwei raised his eyelids, secretly admiring him.

His shamelessness and relentless persistence are truly admirable!

"Get lost!"

Ning Huang didn't even bother to open his eyes, and said impatiently, "I don't take disciples! If you bother me with this nonsense again, I'll beat you up!"

"Don't be so absolute, senior!"

Undeterred, Qin Yu said with a grin, "Senior has no children and no apprentices. Isn't it a pity that no one will inherit your skills? Looking across the entire Da Ning, besides a genius like myself, who else is worthy to be your successor?"

"I don't like hearing that!"

Zeng Guan looked up at Qin Yu and said, "If you're talking about becoming Senior Ning's apprentice, I'm ready! Who isn't a prodigy?"

Qin Yuchong, who was openly "stealing business" from Zeng Guan, rolled his eyes. "Senior Zhao is already your godfather, why would you need to become Senior Ning's disciple!"

"I desperately need this!"

Zeng Guan said in a serious tone, "This is the same principle as having many skills that are never a burden."

Looking at Zeng Guan, who was just as shameless as himself, Qin Yu was speechless.

You're about to break through to the Grandmaster level, how dare you compete with a young upstart like me?

Just as Qin Yu was secretly complaining, Ning Huang suddenly opened his eyes, and a violent killing intent instantly enveloped the group. "Get lost!"

At the same time, an invisible wave of energy emanated from Ning Huang.

Not to mention Qin Yu and the others, even Zeng Guan was almost knocked to the ground by this shockwave.

Seeing Ninghuang erupt, Qin Yu knew that there was no chance for him today, so he quickly took Nan Que'er and Qi Dachui and made a run for it.

Stepping out of Ning Huang's courtyard, Qi Dachui said earnestly, "Thirteenth Young Master, you can ask the Duke about matters of martial arts; there's no need to become Ning Huang's disciple."

"You don't understand."

Qin Yu gently shook his head. "I'm buying insurance for myself."

"what?"

Qi Dachui was indeed clueless, scratching his head in confusion.

Qin Yu sighed softly, but still did not give up.

Ning Huang is a true top-tier big shot!

If I could become Ning Huang's disciple, and with the old man's support, wouldn't I be able to do whatever I want in Da Ning?

Just as they were walking back, Yu Jing, along with Zhou Jishan and a group of guards, hurriedly came looking for them.

Before Qin Yu could even greet Yu Jing, Yu Jing anxiously said, "General Qin, I just received news that the traitor Yu Wu has gathered 50,000 troops, led by Liang Jingzhe, the Marquis of Hengjiang of Chu, and is marching from Yuyang towards Yuzhou. Yan Mu is leading 20,000 troops and is attacking from the direction of Guanzhou..."

According to reliable sources, Kim Tae of Xuanzhou still has 10,000 troops under his command.

If nothing unexpected happens, Yan Mu will gather 10,000 troops from Xuanzhou and come to kill us!

Eighty thousand!

Right now, an army of 80,000 is rushing towards them with great momentum.

Even if they include Qin Yu's troops, they only have 30,000 men!

Moreover, he himself was well aware of the fighting strength of his more than 20,000 troops.

Once those 80,000 troops arrive, Dongyuan will have no chance of holding out.

Seeing Yu Jing's anxious expression, Qin Yu couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

Have the troops from Guanzhou all come to attack?

Guanzhou only had 30,000 troops in total, but Yan Mu took 20,000 away in one go!

The remaining ten thousand probably wouldn't even be enough to satisfy the Yan Kingdom's hunger!

Yes, we should lend them a hand!

Qin Yu pondered inwardly, but a worried expression appeared on his face. "Eighty thousand troops? This is getting a bit troublesome!"

"yes!"

Yu Jing's face was also filled with worry. "That's why I came here specifically to discuss countermeasures with General Qin."

Qin Yu rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. "Let's talk as we walk!"

"good!"

Yu Jing agreed, and then secretly gave Zhou Jishan a wink.

Zhou Jishan understood, feigned hesitation for a moment, and then said, "I do have a plan, but I don't know what General Qin thinks?"

"General Zhou, please speak."

Qin Yu turned to look at Zhou Jishan.

Zhou Jishan slowly said, "According to the information we have, most of the enemy's 80,000 troops are infantry, with only 10,000 cavalry among the 30,000 troops of the Chu Kingdom, commanded by Sheng Qiao, Liang Jingzhe's nephew..."

"What?"

Qin Yu exclaimed in exaggerated surprise, "The Chu Kingdom still has ten thousand cavalry?"

"right."

Zhou Jishan nodded, "However, I believe that with the fighting strength of General Qin's troops, they are not afraid of the 10,000 cavalrymen of Chu at all."

"This isn't a question of whether you're afraid or not!"

Qin Yu's expression was grave. "Let's not talk about that now, General Zhou, please continue!"

"good!"

Zhou Jishan continued, "The traitor Yu Wu lacks cavalry. General Qin can fully utilize the rapid infiltration of your elite cavalry to constantly harass the enemy, cut off their supply lines, and then find an opportunity to decisively defeat them..."