The Prodigal Son

Early the next morning, Qin Yu led his troops away from Dongyuan.

Yu Jing's two thousand cavalrymen were commanded by his trusted confidant Zhang Sheng.

They carried only a small amount of dry rations and beans as supplies for their men and horses.

With the enemy's rear so vulnerable, it would be a disservice not to fight to sustain the war effort.

Yu Jing stood on the city wall, watching the departing army, feeling an unbearable pang of heartache.

These two thousand cavalrymen, all of whom were generals of the rank of 100 or above, were his trusted confidants who risked their lives to escort him to Yunxiu!

Just a few days ago, he was secretly pleased that he had two thousand cavalrymen under his command, but in the blink of an eye, he had become a scapegoat for Qin Yu.

Hopefully, that bastard Qin Yu won't let me down!

"Your Highness, please stop looking."

Zhou Jishan sighed softly, "We need to seize the time to prepare our troops before the enemy attacks! Otherwise, if they come, we might not be able to hold out!"

Now, even the cavalry that could break through and save their lives have been given to Qin Yu!

They have no choice but to defend Dongyuan to the death!

Fortunately, Yu Jing began plundering grain on the second day after he entered Dongyuan.

Otherwise, let alone defending the city, they would starve to death!

"Um."

Yu Jing nodded slightly, then gritted his teeth and said, "Before the enemy army arrives, conscript all the able-bodied men from the surrounding areas! Collect all the iron you can find to melt down and forge weapons! Also, give the order to improve the food for all the soldiers these next few days, so they can have meat every day..."

He has no way out now, he has no choice but to go all out.

The enemy forces from the direction of Yuyang could reach Dongyuan in seven days at most, and he didn't have much time to train his soldiers or boost morale.

The best way to boost morale right now is to make sure the soldiers are well-fed!

Under Yu Jing's watchful gaze, Qin Yu's army gradually disappeared from his sight.

……

A day and a half later, Qin Yu and his group successfully crossed Yuzhou and were about to enter Xuanzhou.

"Report!"

A scout galloped toward Qin Yu, angrily reporting, "General Qin, the garrison commander of Litang City refuses to surrender!"

Refusing to open the city gates?

A faint smile flickered across Qin Yu's face.

Ok!

Finally, I've met a stubborn kid!

This is the first city to refuse to open its gates since they left Dongyuan!

Before they even arrived in those cities, the city officials were so terrified by their tens of thousands of cavalry that they rushed to open the city gates to welcome them without the need for the officials to send anyone to announce their arrival, leaving the officials with no excuse to start a massacre.

Now, we can finally make the cut!

Without further ado, Qin Yu immediately led his men to join the vanguard.

Soon, Qin Yu joined up with the vanguard led by Yuan Dingguo and Zhang Sheng.

"I am Zhang Sheng, a general under the Crown Prince. I urge you to repent and open the city gates immediately!"

"If you do not open the city gates and surrender now, once our army captures this city, we will execute your entire family!"

"Quickly surrender the city..."

When Qin Yu arrived, Zhang Sheng was still standing outside the city, calling out to the city's garrison commander.

However, it was of no use.

No matter how Zhang Sheng shouted, the enemy generals on the city wall remained unmoved.

Qin Yu rode his horse all the way here.

Upon seeing Qin Yu, Zhang Sheng glanced hatefully at the city wall, then quickly spurred his horse towards Qin Yu, calling out, "General Qin!"

"How is it?"

Qin Yu asked the question knowing the answer already.

Zhang Sheng gritted his teeth and said bitterly, "This humble general has been shouting for almost a quarter of an hour, but the traitorous general refuses to open the city gates!"

"You ignorant fool!"

Qin Yu snorted coldly and asked again, "How many enemy troops are inside the city?"

Zhang Sheng replied, "Around three thousand."

"They dare to defend the city with such a small force?"

A sharp glint flashed in Qin Yu's eyes. "It seems the city's commander is a trusted confidant of the traitor Yu Wu!"

"Most likely."

Zhang Sheng nodded in agreement, "Yu Wu's fiefdom is in Xuanzhou. Yan Mu also served in Xuanzhou and secretly helped that traitor Yu Wu raise 10,000 troops there! There must be many of their people in Xuanzhou."

"In that case, don't waste your breath!"

Qin Yu made a decisive decision: "When the city falls, leave no one alive among the garrison!"

"Wh...what?"

Zhang Sheng's expression changed. "General Qin, most of the garrison in the city have also been coerced. In my humble opinion..."

"I wasn't coerced in any way!"

Qin Yu interrupted Zhang Sheng sharply, "As long as they haven't bound the city's garrison commander and surrendered, they are our enemies! We don't have time to waste with them! We must make an example of them!"

"this……"

Zhang Sheng hesitated, not wanting to do it.

Ultimately, these are all their own people!

Once the enemy general is killed, these people can be turned into their soldiers.

If we just kill them like that, we'll only be losing our own strength!

"You seem a little hesitant!"

Qin Yu's voice turned cold, his face frosty as he stared at Zhang Sheng: "Since that's the case, then you will lead the troops to the front!"

Meeting Qin Yu's icy gaze, Zhang Sheng trembled and quickly shouted, "This subordinate obeys!"

"Prepare for the siege immediately!"

Qin Yu roared, "If you don't take this city within two quarters of an hour, I'll take your head!"

"yes!"

Zhang Sheng roared and urged them to hurry and prepare.

Watching Zhang Sheng run away, a murderous glint flashed in Qin Yu's eyes.

If Zhang Sheng continues like this, then he cannot be allowed to live!

Having made up his mind, Qin Yu immediately found Ning Huang and Zeng Guan, saying, "I'll need you two to break through the city gates later. Leave the rest to Zhang Sheng's troops!"

"No need for that."

Ning Huang glanced indifferently at the city wall and said disdainfully, "This mere small city is more than enough for me to conquer by myself!"

Qin Yu, being the most ridiculous, gave Ning Huang a thumbs up again.

Having grown up, he would call himself the ultimate cool guy!

Ugh!

I really want a big shot to guide me through a fun time of showing off.

Since Ning Huang had said that Zeng Guan didn't need to be with him anymore, Qin Yu didn't say anything more.

Soon, Zhang Sheng's side was ready.

Ning Huang's body almost transformed into a streak of light, and in the blink of an eye, he was already ten feet away.

A moat more than two zhang wide was of no significance to Ning Huang, a grandmaster.

"Loose the arrows! Loose the arrows now!"

"Shoot him!"

Seeing Ning Huang easily cross the moat, the city guard hurriedly shouted at the soldiers on the city wall.

"Whoosh..."

A hail of arrows came.

Ning Huang didn't even frown. Suddenly, a powerful aura erupted from his body, forming an invisible barrier. The arrows that shot towards him were all shattered by the aura.

Seeing this scene before them, the garrison commander and the soldiers on the city wall stared in horror, a strong sense of fear instantly engulfing their bodies. Two words suddenly appeared in their minds.

Grandmaster!

Only a grandmaster possesses such power!

At this moment, besides endless fear, they even felt a ridiculous sense of honor!

Their city, guarded by a mere three thousand men, actually provoked a grandmaster to personally take action!

You really think highly of them!

But they also knew that this was a fatal "honor".

The enemy forces had a large number of cavalry, and also had a Grandmaster in command.

There's no way they could possibly defend a city with that many men!

Just as everyone was stunned and terrified, Ning Huang had already arrived at the city gate.

"break!"

With Ning Huang's angry shout, a domineering and unparalleled blade of light slashed fiercely towards the city gate.

boom!

A flash of light swept across the city gate, and the heavy gate collapsed with a deafening roar under the dazzling flash of light, kicking up a cloud of dust...