The Prodigal Son

Once Ning Huang single-handedly blasted open the city gate with his sword, the outcome of the battle was no longer in doubt.

Zhang Sheng led his 2,000 cavalry as the vanguard and quickly rushed into the city.

Yuan Dingguo led the Wudang Flying Cavalry in close pursuit.

Under Qin Yu's strict orders, they ignored the pleas for surrender from the terrified soldiers guarding the city and slaughtered all three thousand defenders inside.

When Qin Yu entered the Litang County Prefectural Governor's Mansion, the battle inside had already ended, leaving behind a scene of corpses.

Upon seeing Qin Yu, Yuan Dingguo immediately approached, his eyes gleaming, and said, "General Qin, I just received news from the enemy general that the nearby places of Long'an, Shouchong, and Shuyang have very few troops defending them; the largest garrison is estimated to be no more than two thousand..."

The elite troops of Xuanzhou were mainly concentrated in Xuanzhou Prefecture.

The garrison troops in the other cities were mostly young men forcibly conscripted after Yu Wu usurped the throne. They didn't even have half-body armor and were basically just for show.

Once they break through, conquering cities and seizing territory will be a piece of cake!

"Is that so?"

Qin Yu thought for a moment and then ordered, "Pass down the order: all units must immediately clean up the battlefield, rest in Litang for two days, and hurry up and prepare dry rations!"

"Huh? Take... a rest?"

Yuan Dingguo stared blankly at Qin Yu, wondering if Qin Yu had made a mistake.

They had only been out of Dongyuan for two days when all the local officials they passed through yesterday surrendered.

Is this all there was to today's battle, and now we're taking a break?

Qin Yu glared at him. "What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

"This humble general does indeed have a problem!"

Yuan Dingguo glanced at Qin Yu and said solemnly, "The surrounding cities are extremely vulnerable. In my humble opinion, we should seize this opportunity to launch a surprise attack and capture the enemy's cities one after another!"

He rushed over to report to Qin Yu, not because he needed to rest!

There are still at least three hours until it gets dark!

Given their speed of attack, they could easily raid another city before nightfall.

If we split our forces into two groups, we can easily raid both cities!

But Qin Yu actually wanted to take a break?

If they continue to rest, Yan Mu and Jin Tai's 30,000 troops will be coming to attack!

They are cavalry!

Why not take advantage of the cavalry to launch a surprise attack on the enemy, instead of holding out in Litang?

Qin Yu didn't offer much explanation, and said sternly, "Execute the order first! We'll talk about other things later!"

"yes!"

Yuan Dingguo accepted the order, glanced at him with a puzzled look, and quickly left.

Zeng Guan, standing to the side, also looked at Qin Yu with a puzzled expression, then whispered to Ning Huang, "Senior Ning, what mischief do you think this kid is up to this time?"

"I only care about killing people; I don't care about anything else," Ning Huang replied coldly.

Zeng Guan was speechless, unsure of what to say for a moment.

After the prefectural governor's office was cleaned up, Qin Yu assigned Zhang Sheng some tasks and ordered someone to summon Yuan Dingguo and others.

Qin Yu called the group into a room in the backyard and ordered Qi Dachui and Qin Xiong in a stern voice, "Stand guard outside. Anyone who dares to approach is to be killed without mercy!"

Hearing Qin Yu's words, Yuan Dingguo and the others couldn't help but exchange silent glances.

It seems Qin Yu has something extremely important to tell them!

The door closed, and Qin Yu looked up at the four of them. "Don't you all think we should launch a surprise attack on those almost undefended cities around us right now?"

The four exchanged a silent glance and nodded slightly.

"You're wrong!"

Qin Yu shook his head slightly, his face serious: "Our mission is not to conquer as many cities as possible, but to find an opportunity to defeat Yan Mu's forces!"

"yes!"

Xiong Quhu looked at Qin Yu with a puzzled expression. "So, shouldn't we be capturing the city, recruiting able-bodied men in Yu Jing's name, and building a large army in Xuanzhou to block Yan Mu's forces?"

Not only Xiong Quhu was confused, but the other three were also confused, and they all cast questioning glances at Qin Yu.

"By the time we've assembled our army, it'll be too late!"

Qin Yu was speechless. "We just need to defeat Yan Mu's forces, and then leave the rest to the Yan state!"

The State of Yan!

All four of them felt their eyelids twitch at the same time.

They suddenly realized that the war might be different from what they had imagined.

"Will the State of Yan also attack the State of Min?"

The impatient Xiong Quhu couldn't help but ask first.

"Um."

Qin Yu nodded slightly, "As long as we find an opportunity to wipe out some of Yan Mu's troops and drive them back to Guanzhou, when Yan attacks, Yan Mu will either have to surrender to Yan or try every means to forcibly conscript troops to fight Yan to the death..."

If Yan Mu surrenders to the Yan state, Yu Jing can take advantage of the situation to win over the people and recruit soldiers to attack the Yan state.

If Yan Mu does not surrender, the two sides will fight to the death, which will not only deplete each other's strength but also deepen their hatred for each other.

Therefore, whatever choice Yan Mu makes will be beneficial to Da Ning.

Upon hearing Qin Yu's words, Pei Xiao was the first to react, exclaiming in surprise, "Your Majesty intends to use someone else as a tool..."

Pei Xiao had only spoken halfway when Yuan Dingguo suddenly covered his mouth.

Pei Xiao's heart skipped a beat, and he forcibly swallowed back what he was about to say, then cast a grateful glance at Yuan Dingguo.

Although everyone here is one of our own, there are some things they really shouldn't say.

"It's enough for me to know."

Qin Yu's gaze swept over Du Peixiao, and he continued, "Right now, we need to feign a defense of Litang to cut off Yan Mu's troops' path to attack Dongyuan. In a couple of days, we'll feign a withdrawal from Litang and retreat back to Yuzhou..."

"Is General Qin trying to lull Yan Mu into a false sense of security and find an opportunity to launch a surprise attack?" Yuan Dingguo asked with a smile.

"Pretty much!" Qin Yu nodded, a smile appearing on his face. "Besides, the enemy is definitely counting on the same thing!"

"what?"

Xiong Quhu asked in confusion, "How did General Qin know that the enemy was relying on this?"

Qin Yu didn't answer, but instead asked the other three with a hint of testing in his voice, "What do you think?"

The three men lowered their heads in deep thought.

How did Qin Yu determine that the enemy was relying on this?

He's not a mind reader like Yan Mu.

Lost in thought, Pei Xiao suddenly looked up, "Dongyuan can't hold on!"

"Oh, right!"

Qin Yu gave Pei Xiao an approving look. "A force of 50,000 has been assembled in the direction of Yuyang to attack Dongyuan. We know the situation of the Dongyuan defenders, and the enemy should know it too! The enemy is probably counting on Dongyuan not being able to hold out, so we can retreat to support Dongyuan, and they can then retake Litang and advance towards Yuzhou..."

Anyway, if he were Yan Mu, once they withdrew from Litang, he would definitely think they were going to support Dongyuan.

If Yan Mu thinks that way, their opportunity has arrived!

They pretended to withdraw from Litang, but in reality, they secretly hid there.

We will launch a surprise attack when the enemy advances towards Litang!

Upon hearing Qin Yu's plan, the four men's eyes suddenly lit up, and they exclaimed in unison, "We understand!"

"Understood. Don't ask any more questions in the future! This is the first and last time I've explained this much to you!"

Qin Yu gave the four men a meaningful look, then warned them sternly, "Watch your mouths, or I won't hesitate to take a few more heads!"

"yes!"

The four of them straightened up abruptly, already understanding the situation.

The imperial court is playing a grand game!

There must be many secrets involved.

Knowing too much at their level is certainly not necessarily a good thing.

Qin Yu glanced at the four men and said in a deep voice, "Also, when we retreat, I will set the city on fire! Therefore, we need to drive the people of Litang away beforehand! Let's involve as few people as possible!"

As he continued, Qin Yu couldn't help but sigh helplessly.

Every war inevitably involves ordinary people.

Since he has taken command of troops, he is destined not to become a saint!

I can only follow my own conscience and try to involve as few innocent people as possible...