The Prodigal Son

Liang Jingzhe only brought ten personal guards, and traveled along back roads, covered in dust, to Yuyang.

When Liang Jingzhe passed through Qixia Pass, he had already received news of the surprise attack on Jiashi Wharf.

Liang Jingzhe was not surprised at all by this news.

Let alone the cunning Qin Yu, anyone with even a little military skill, whoever knew that there was grain supplied by the State of Chu at Jiashi Wharf, would definitely do it.

Even though he had anticipated this, Liang Jingzhe was still somewhat flustered at this moment.

If nothing unexpected happens, Qin Yu's next step will be to attack their retreating troops!

His greatest fear was that his more than 20,000 remaining troops would be wiped out by the Ning army, just like Deng Pu's troops.

Upon returning to Yuyang, Liang Jingzhe immediately went to the palace to see the new emperor, Yu Wu.

He panicked, but Yu Wu panicked even more!

The continuous stream of bad news brought Yu Yang to the throne, completely extinguishing the joy of Yu Wu who had only recently ascended the throne.

Last night, he woke up from nightmares several times.

The State of Min is now in complete chaos!

The entire land of seven states is in chaos!

Without a miracle, his throne would likely be in jeopardy.

Therefore, Yu Wu was not angry at Liang Jingzhe's suggestion to retreat to the south bank of Qujiang River; on the contrary, he considered it very seriously.

"Your Majesty, please don't consider it anymore!"

Liang Jingzhe looked anxious. "If we don't retreat now, once the Ning Kingdom's army presses in, you won't even have a chance to escape!"

Yu Wu is still useful!

If they bring Yu Wu back to the south bank of Qujiang, with Yu Wu as a puppet, they can quell the unrest in Wuzhou and Xingzhou more quickly.

The State of Chu has contributed both manpower and supplies in this battle, and suffered heavy losses; it must have gained something in return.

Yu Wu suppressed his inner turmoil, striving to maintain his imperial dignity, and asked with deep concern, "If we retreat, what about our father-in-law?"

Although Yu Wu was not mature and steady, he was not stupid either.

He knew in his heart that if he followed Liang Jingzhe now, he would most likely become a puppet of the Chu Kingdom.

When he loses his usefulness, even saving his life becomes a luxury!

He still needs to cross at a yellow light!

With Grandmaster Huang Dengxing and his tens of thousands of troops, he still had his own power base, and the Chu Kingdom dared not easily touch him.

"I've already sent word to General Huang; they should have already begun their retreat by now!"

Liang Jingzhe sighed and said, "However, once General Huang retreats, the Ning army will definitely pursue him. Nobody knows how many troops they can withdraw! Not to mention their side, even the more than 20,000 troops that withdrew from Dongyuan may not be able to retreat safely..."

Although there were 25,000 people evacuated from Dongyuan, there were still many wounded among them.

The number of truly combat-ready soldiers is less than 20,000!

Although Qin Yu probably doesn't have many men left, he's cunning and resourceful, so he can't help but worry about those 20,000-plus men!

"Can……"

Yu Wu hesitated, his mind racing.

What should I do?

What should I do now?

Huang Dengxing and his troops were the only force he could rely on!

Just as Yu Wu was hesitating, a guard rushed in with a messenger, "Your Majesty, Qin Yu is leading a large force of cavalry and is heading towards Qixia Pass..."

As he spoke, the messenger quickly took the letter tube off his back and held it up.

Liang Jingzhe frowned.

Qixia Pass?

Instead of heading towards their retreating troops, Qin Yu marched towards Qixia Pass.

He also wants to occupy Qixia Pass?

After a brief moment of distraction, Liang Jingzhe hurriedly asked, "How many enemy soldiers are there?"

The messenger replied, "I heard there are tens of thousands!"

"fart!"

Liang Jingzhe angrily rebuked, "Qin Yu led his troops in continuous battles against Deng Pu and Sheng Qiao's forces. Did they suffer no losses at all? Tell me, how many men did they have?"

He didn't believe Qin Yu still had tens of thousands of troops under his command.

Unless, Qin Yu's army consists entirely of experts at the seventh realm or above!

The Chu army was no pushover either!

No matter how cunning Qin Yu is, he cannot defeat Deng Pu and Sheng Qiao's troops without suffering any losses.

That bastard must have been terrified by Qin Yu and is giving false intelligence about the enemy!

Faced with Liang Jingzhe's roar, the messenger's heart trembled: "I only heard about it! As for the exact number, General Tu may have mentioned it in his urgent military intelligence to His Majesty..."

At that moment, the messenger just wanted to curse.

I'm just a messenger, what the hell is it to me!

I haven't seen any enemy troops, so how would I know how many there are?

Can't you read military intelligence reports yourself?

Upon hearing the messenger's words, Liang Jingzhe suddenly realized that he had lost his composure.

My mind is in turmoil!

After taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, Liang Jingzhe looked up at Yu Wu, who was reviewing urgent military reports.

Seeing the barely concealed panic on Yu Wu's face, Liang Jingzhe couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

After a long silence, Yu Wu, trembling, handed the urgent military report to Liang Jingjingzhe, saying, "Take a look!"

Liang Jingzhe hurriedly took it.

After just a cursory glance, Liang Jingzhe's eyes widened suddenly, and he almost tore the urgent military report in his hand to shreds.

Fuck your mother!

Twenty thousand?

The messenger had just said that Qin Yu's troops numbered ten thousand when he almost strangled the messenger.

Now, this urgent military report says that Qin Yu is leading 20,000 troops to attack Qixia Pass.

Twenty thousand troops?

Where did Qin Yu get 20,000 troops?

Moreover, they were cavalry!

If Qin Yu really had 20,000 cavalry, he would dare to grab a handful of shit and stuff it into his mouth!

asshole!

These bastards must have been terrified of Qin Yu, fearing that he would attack Qixia Pass, which had few troops, so they deliberately gave false information about the enemy situation in order to get them to quickly reinforce Qixia Pass.

Yu Wu quietly pressed down on his trembling hand, his gaze falling on Liang Jingzhe. "What do we do now?"

Liang Jingzhe was about to speak, but then suddenly stopped.

Qixia Pass originally had 3,000 garrison troops.

Sheng Qiao's troops, along with more than two thousand defeated soldiers, retreated back to Qixia Pass.

Upon learning that the Yan state was attacking Guanzhou, Yu Wu transferred another 5,000 troops from the city guards of Yuyang to Qixia Pass for defense.

Qixia Pass now has 10,000 troops. If Qin Yu really dares to attack Qixia Pass, it may not be a bad thing for them!

After a moment of contemplation, Liang Jingzhe spoke, "I will first head to Qixia Pass and lead a portion of my troops to Sanliqiao to defend it! I also urge Your Majesty to seriously consider the matter of crossing the Yangtze River to the south! We don't have much time left!"

Yu Wu's heart sank, and he nodded silently.

It seems they really have no hope of winning!

If we stay and guard Yuyang any longer, I'm afraid we won't even be able to save our lives!

"I will immediately summon my ministers to discuss this matter, and will provide Marquis Liang with an answer before nightfall!"

Yu Wu gave the exact time.

"Then I will await His Majesty's news at Qixia Pass!"

Liang Jingzhe nodded, bowed, and took his leave.

Watching Liang Jingzhe's retreating figure, a murderous glint flashed in Yu Wu's eyes.

After Liang Jingzhe left, Yu Wu immediately asked for writing materials, quickly wrote a letter, and personally sealed it.

Then, Yu Wu summoned his trusted confidant and ordered, "Immediately send someone via a back road to deliver this letter to your father!"

As long as Huang Dengxing returns in time, he will not be afraid of Liang Jingzhe!