The Prodigal Son

Qin Yu led his men to escort the prisoners and captured supplies to Shouchong, the nearest town to them.

Although Yan Mu had already been defeated, Qin Yu still ordered his men to conduct reconnaissance to prevent Yan Mu from gathering his defeated troops to launch a surprise attack on them.

However, Qin Yu's worries were clearly unnecessary.

When they arrived at Shouchong the next morning, they had not been attacked. Instead, they unexpectedly captured more than 300 defeated soldiers.

When they arrived at Shouchong, the prefect of Shouchong had already abandoned the city and fled, and the people in the city also fled in panic.

They moved into Shouchong without lifting a finger.

After a day and a night of turmoil, Qin Yu and his soldiers were exhausted.

But they can't rest now.

Qin Yu summoned Yuan Dingguo and the other three, instructing them: "Immediately take those six surrendered generals and select two thousand men from among the surrendered soldiers who still seem to be in good spirits to supplement your respective forces, integrating them with your existing troops!"

They were exhausted, and the surrendered soldiers were even more exhausted.

Those surrendered soldiers who were able to travel all the way to Shouchong with them and still retain some spirit should be considered the elite troops of the Min Kingdom.

From then on, these people were their subordinates!

"General Qin is truly exceptionally clever; he actually came up with this method to select soldiers!"

"I never imagined that General Qin's overnight escort of the surrendered soldiers to Shou Chong had such a profound purpose. How could I have failed to think of that?"

"General Qin's wisdom and foresight are truly admirable..."

Xiong Quhu and the other two showered Qin Yu with compliments, and their gazes toward him became even more respectful.

Two consecutive victories had made them admire Qin Yu to the point of complete awe.

Now, even without Qin Yu's previous warning, they would carry out Qin Yu's orders without hesitation.

"Could you be any more blatant in your flattery?"

Yuan Dingguo looked at the three of them with disdain. "Where did your arrogant and unruly attitude from back in Yunxiu go?"

Upon hearing Yuan Dingguo bring up the old story again, the three men's faces immediately turned red.

Weren't we blind to talent back then?

Han Chongqian smiled.

"That's right, that's right!"

Xiong Quhu followed with a silly, ingratiating smile, "This humble general is now completely convinced of General Qin's abilities!"

"This humble general is no exception!"

Pei Xiao nodded repeatedly, "This is the first time in my life I've fought such a satisfying battle! This one battle alone is enough for me to boast about for the rest of my life!"

Today's battle was truly exhilarating!

There were also a few skilled fighters among the enemy troops, otherwise their casualties would have been even lower.

Even now, thinking about yesterday's battle still fills them with excitement.

"Hmm, that's a good flattery!"

Qin Yu smiled at the three of them, "After the war, I'll give you a chance to slowly flatter me! I'm a rather vulgar person; I just love it when people flatter me!"

"..."

The faces of the group twitched simultaneously, and they looked at Qin Yu with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.

……

dusk.

Six li outside Dongyuan City.

During the day, Liang Jingzhe, a famous general of the Chu state, had already sent men to launch a probing attack on Dongyuan.

He has now basically figured out Dongyuan's strengths and weaknesses.

However, Liang Jingzhe does not plan to launch a major offensive tomorrow.

In his eyes, Dongyuan was already theirs.

He was now more concerned about the movements of Qin Yu's tens of thousands of elite cavalry.

He had previously received information that Qin Yu had led his troops into the southern part of Yuzhou, seemingly heading towards them.

Two or three days have passed, but the tens of thousands of elite cavalry have not made a move. He doesn't even know where they have gone.

The unknown movements of tens of thousands of elite cavalry made him more vigilant.

His biggest worry was that when they attacked Dongyuan, the tens of thousands of elite cavalry would suddenly attack from an unexpected direction.

If that were the case, they would inevitably suffer heavy losses, and might even suffer a major defeat.

He was truly restless and unable to eat or sleep until he figured out the movements of these tens of thousands of elite cavalry.

He had already dispatched a large number of scouts to conduct a thorough investigation of the surrounding fifty miles, but Qin Yu's troops seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Liang Jingzhe stood in the large tent, his eyes fixed on the sand table in front of him, trying to guess where Qin Yu might have led his troops to hide.

After a while, Liang Jingzhe turned his gaze away from the sand table and asked his deputy general Song Ling, "Where do you think Qin Yuhui and his troops are hiding?"

"This humble general does not know either."

Song Ling gently shook his head. "But I've been thinking all day, is it possible that Qin Yu's target isn't us at all?"

"Um?"

Liang Jingzhe narrowed his eyes slightly. "You mean, Qin Yu might turn around and attack Yan Mu's troops?"

"That's a possibility!"

Song Ling nodded slightly. "There's another possibility—Yu Yang!"

Yuyang!

Hearing Song Ling's words, Liang Jingzhe's eyelids twitched suddenly. "He shouldn't be that bold, right?"

Yuyang is the capital of the Min Kingdom!

Qin Yu dared to attack Yuyang with only 10,000 cavalry?

Is it true that a newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger?

However, if Qin Yu really dares to attack Yuyang, they will be in real trouble.

Qixia Pass, the natural barrier of Yuyang, was defended by only three thousand men.

Even Yu Yang only has a little over 10,000 troops to defend.

It sounds like a lot. Under normal circumstances, even if Qin Yu's 10,000-plus cavalry could capture Qixia Pass, they would not be able to capture Yuyang, which has strong city walls.

But there was one person in Qin Yu's unit whom none of them could ignore.

Ninghuang!

Ning the Madman!

With the assistance of a powerful top-tier grandmaster to break through the city, Yu Yang might not be able to hold it!

Wuguan Pass in Daning is the most direct example.

The story of Tuoba Liuyun breaking through the Wuguan city gate single-handedly has long been known throughout the land.

Ning Huang's strength is definitely inferior to Tuoba Liuyun's, but Yuyang's city defenses are no match for Wuguan's.

Just as Liang Jingzhe was secretly worried, a long voice came from outside the tent.

"Report..."

Immediately afterward, a messenger rushed into the tent, "Reporting to the Marquis, Qin Yu led his troops to a great victory over Yan Mu at Changxi Plain yesterday at noon, and Yan Mu's army was almost completely wiped out! Now, Qin Yu has led his troops to escort the prisoners and supplies to Shouchong..."

"What?"

Liang Jingzhe and Song Ling both exclaimed in surprise.

Yan Mu has 30,000 men under his command!

So... the entire army was wiped out?

What exactly does Yan Mu do?

waste!

Liang Jingzhe cursed inwardly, then strode to the map and quickly located the Changxi Plain.

With just one glance, Liang Jingzhe knew why Yan Mu had suffered such a crushing defeat.

He took back what he had just said.

This crushing defeat cannot really be attributed to Yan Mu's incompetence.

The terrain of Changxi Plain is so open!

Qin Yu must have planned this attack on Yan Mu's troops at Changxi Plain long ago.

Let alone Yan Mu leading the troops, even if he were to lead the troops in Changxi Plain, if they were caught off guard by a large-scale surprise attack by enemy cavalry, the outcome would likely be the same.

cheated!

No wonder they couldn't find Qin Yu's location; it turns out Qin Yu had gone in a big circle and returned to Xuanzhou!

What a brilliant scheme to deceive everyone!

Huang Dengxing was right, this Qin Yu is indeed not to be underestimated!

After studying the map for a while, Liang Jingzhe immediately ordered: "Send word to Sheng Qiao to immediately lead his troops to evacuate Lu'an and move into Qixia Pass! Also, conduct a thorough reconnaissance along the Qixia Mountain area!"