The Prodigal Son

After leaving the palace, Liang Jingzhe hurried back to Qixia Pass on horseback.

Upon arriving at Qixia Pass, before Liang Jingzhe could even catch his breath, the garrison commander Tu Hui rushed forward, saying in a panic, "Lord Liang, we just received news that after Qin Yu's troops reached Shigong Mountain, they split into two groups. One group is carrying a large amount of grain and heading towards Sanliqiao, while the other is heading towards Yuzhou..."

"What?"

Liang Jingzhe's expression changed drastically, and he almost stumbled and fell to the ground.

Sanliqiao?

Qin Yu actually sent a group of men to Sanliqiao?

This is their lifeline!

Once Sanliqiao is occupied, if they want to cross the river to the south again, they will probably only be able to do so by taking a small boat on the Qujiang River.

You can take a small boat; it's enough for a dozen or so people to go at once.

With so many people, if they rely on small boats to cross the river, it would take them forever.

Moreover, once Qin Yu's men discover their crossing point, they will become easy targets as they cross the river in small boats!

asshole!

That persistent bastard!

Qin Yu must have guessed that they were going to abandon their plan to cross the Yangtze River south from Yuyang!

He had no intention of attacking Qixia Pass at all!

They even split into two groups!

Not only do they want to cut off their route south, but they also want to devour the troops they are withdrawing from Dongyuan!

How greedy!

That's incredibly bold!

The key point is that once they know their southward crossing route has been cut off, and with no chance of victory, a mutiny is very likely to occur in the army!

Do not!

It's not very likely!

This is inevitable!

Yu Wu originally relied on force to coerce those soldiers into submitting to him!

Now Yu Wu is almost at his wit's end, and those generals and soldiers who have surrendered will never fight to the last drop of blood for Yu Wu!

The more Liang Jingzhe thought about it, the more panicked and angry he became.

The next moment, Liang Jingzhe suddenly kicked Tu Hui.

Tu Hui never expected Liang Jingzhe to attack him, and had no time to dodge.

"Bang!"

Liang Jingzhe delivered a solid kick to Tu Hui.

Liang Jingzhe attacked in anger, and the force of his kick was naturally considerable.

Tu Hui was nearly kicked unconscious, his body slamming heavily to the ground. He coughed several times before recovering, his face frosty as he demanded, "Lord Liang, what do you mean?"

"What do you mean?"

Liang Jingzhe roared angrily, "Didn't you say Qin Yu was going to lead his troops to attack Qixia Pass?"

Knowing he was in the wrong, Tu Hui struggled to his feet and tried to defend himself: "Shigong Mountain is only about twenty li away from Qixia Pass. If Qin Yu led his troops to Shigong Mountain, and you were in charge of defending Qixia Pass, wouldn't you think Qin Yu was going to attack Qixia Pass?"

"You're lying about military intelligence, and you still have the nerve to argue?"

Liang Jingzhe's face turned ashen. "Today, I will punish you for the crime of falsely reporting military intelligence! Guards!"

"The one surnamed Liang!"

Upon hearing this, Tu Hui suddenly erupted, his eyes blazing with fury as he glared at Liang Jingzhe. "Let me tell you, this is my Min Kingdom, and it's not your place to act like a tyrant!"

Tu Hui was truly enraged.

He used to be Yu Wu's bodyguard captain!

He was already being very polite to Liang Jingzhe by taking a kick from him!

He still wants to punish himself?

Who does he think he is, to presume to punish himself?

"presumptuous!"

Liang Jingzhe flew into a rage and suddenly drew his sword.

Tu Hui quickly took a step back, drawing his sword with a clang, and confronted Liang Jingzhe menacingly: "When I was risking my life alongside His Majesty, you were just a nobody! Out of respect for His Majesty, I call you Marquis Liang! Without His Majesty's permission, you'd be no different from a stray dog ​​in my eyes!"

Liang Jingzhe suddenly gripped the sword in his hand, "You..."

"What do you mean, 'you'?"

Enraged, Tu Hui disregarded everything else, scoffing disdainfully, "You couldn't even conquer a worthless Dongyuan with 40,000 troops, and you still have the nerve to put on airs in front of me? If you're so capable, go kill Qin Yuqian, stop taking your anger out on me!"

Tu Hui's words were like a thorn, deeply embedded in Liang Jingzhe's heart.

Liang Jingzhe flew into a rage, "Guards! Seize this audacious madman!"

"You're the only one with connections?"

Tu Hui sneered, "Do you want to see where you are? You think I have more men than you? One-on-one, I'm not afraid of you! And when it comes to numbers, I'm even less afraid of you!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Tu Hui immediately whistled.

In an instant, soldiers from the general's mansion rushed over.

Seeing the soldiers closing in, Liang Jingzhe's killing intent intensified.

However, Liang Jingzhe's rationality ultimately prevailed over his murderous intent.

Of course he knew about Tu Hui's relationship with Yu Wu.

The fact that Yu Wu entrusted such an important place as Qixia Pass to Tu Hui at this time shows his trust in Tu Hui.

After struggling to suppress his anger, Liang Jingzhe said bitterly, "Do you know that because of the incorrect military intelligence you passed on, our army has been put in a desperate situation? Once Sanliqiao is captured, we won't have anywhere to retreat to!"

"What a joke! You're trying to pin everything on me?"

Tu Hui completely let loose, sneering, "Even if I said from the beginning that Qin Yu was going to split his forces into two groups, could you have stopped him? Your Chu army of 30,000 men was decimated, leaving only a little over 2,000 remnants. You don't even know if your nephew is alive or dead, while Qin Yu is completely unharmed! You're useless, yet you have the nerve to blame me?"

Liang Jingzhe was completely overwhelmed by the barrage of insults, his face turning pale and then flushed.

At that moment, Liang Jingzhe had already sentenced Tu Hui to death in his heart.

Once we retreat to the south bank of the Qujiang River, the first person we'll kill is Tu Hui!

"You're right, I am incompetent!"

Liang Jingzhe gritted his teeth and sheathed his sword. "Since you're so capable, tell me, what are you planning to do next?"

Faced with Liang Jingzhe's question, Tu Hui, still angry, didn't know how to answer for a moment.

What should I do?

How could he know what to do?

It's probably too late to chase after them at Sanliqiao now.

But if they don't regain control of Sanliqiao, what will they do if the armies of Ning and Yan come to press on? They won't even have a place to retreat to.

Although he enjoyed Yu Wu's deep trust, he was originally a guard captain, and leading troops in battle was indeed his weakness.

"My orders are to guard Qixia Pass; I have nothing to do with anything else!"

Although he has no solution, he refuses to back down now.

Why is he in such a hurry?

There's always someone more anxious than him!

Most of the troops that withdrew from Dongyuan were Chu soldiers!

If Liang Jingzhe isn't afraid of his people being eaten, then he'll continue to put on airs!

Let's see who can outlast whom!

Hearing Tu Hui's shameless words, Liang Jingzhe was so angry that he almost drew his sword again.

However, he is indeed more anxious than Tu Hui now.

Liang Jingzhe glared angrily at Tu Hui, then turned and sat down to the side, forcing himself to calm down and think of a solution.

As expected, Qin Yu should have only sent a small number of troops to defend the southern end of Sanliqiao.

The Sanli Bridge is only two zhang wide. Qin Yu and his men have the advantage of terrain, so they cannot send a large army to push through it.

Under normal circumstances, sending two thousand men to assist a few skilled defenders should be enough!

Qin Yu's main force is definitely going to launch a surprise attack on the troops that have retreated from Dongyuan!

There are still more than 2,000 cavalrymen at Qixia Pass. If we send these 2,000 cavalrymen to hold off Qin Yu's main force, we might be able to buy some time!

As long as the 20,000 Chu troops at Yuwang Pass press forward, the enemy forces on the other side of Sanli Bridge will definitely not be able to hold out!

With those 20,000 troops at our disposal, we can better control Yu Wu!

Otherwise, if you don't have any troops of your own, it's hard to say who will control whom!

Yes, that's it!

Kill two birds with one stone!

Having made up his mind, Liang Jingzhe immediately got up and had someone bring him writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.

After quickly drafting a warrant, Liang Jingzhe summoned three of his personal guards. "Immediately cross the Qujiang River in a small boat and get to Yuwang Pass as fast as you can. Make sure you deliver this warrant to General Wen at Yuwang Pass!"