The Prodigal Son

After boosting the morale of the 20,000 Chu soldiers, Liang Jingzhe finally gained some confidence.

After another day and a half of forced march, they were less than thirty li away from Sanliqiao.

As the distance between the two sides closed, Liang Jingzhe became more vigilant and kept sending out spies in all directions.

Qin Yu is cunning and treacherous, and he loves to use underhanded tricks!

Given Qin Yu's style, he wouldn't be foolish enough to just defend and wait for them to attack.

Qin Yu's troops were all cavalry!

They are now fully within the cavalry's attack range.

He guessed that Qin Yu would definitely try to ambush them and create chaos for them.

Just like dealing with Song Ling!

But he believed that as long as he did his reconnaissance in advance, he would not give Qin Yu any opportunity to take advantage of him.

Right now, their most important task is to press forward to a point about five miles from Sanliqiao and trap Qin Yu's troops at the southern end of Sanliqiao with an ironclad formation!

Zhu Baishi followed Liang Jingzhe to a high place to look into the distance, then frowned and said, "Lord Marquis, aren't we being too cautious? Didn't the scouts say that Qin Yu and the others are still reinforcing their defenses?"

"Do not underestimate your enemy, and even more so, do not underestimate a general who has never lost!"

Liang Jingzhe shook his head slightly, his face grave. "In my opinion, Qin Yu is definitely not a general who is content with passive defense! To have cavalry and not utilize its advantages is foolish!"

Clearly, Qin Yu is not a fool!

Moreover, they are extremely cunning!

He strongly suspected that the enemy troops at Sanliqiao were there to mislead them.

Qin Yu may have hidden an elite cavalry force somewhere they couldn't see.

If they are even slightly careless, they will be ambushed by this cavalry!

After pondering silently for a while, Liang Jingzhe pointed to the distant mountain hollow and said, "Pass down the order: tonight, set up camp and defenses in that mountain hollow. Remember, no tents should be placed against the mountain to prevent enemy fire attacks! Send men to carefully check the water sources, and be careful that the Qin traitors don't tamper with them! Tonight, no soldier is allowed to remove their armor..."

Liang Jingzhe gave instructions while continuing to ponder.

If I were Qin Yu, what would I do when faced with 20,000 infantrymen pressing in?

Night raids, water pollution, arson...

Liang Jingzhe considered all sorts of methods.

He also tried his best to be thorough in every aspect, striving not to give Qin Yu any opportunity to take advantage of him!

The army marched into the mountain valley and immediately began to set up camp as Liang Jingjing had requested.

Liang Jingzhe didn't rest either. He rode his horse around the camp, and whenever he saw any loopholes in the soldiers' camping or defensive arrangements, he would personally point them out.

Seeing Liang Jingzhe's appearance, Zhu Baishi couldn't help but secretly click his tongue in amazement.

Even something as simple as setting up camp required Liang Jingzhe's personal guidance, which demonstrates his caution.

Is Qin Yu really that scary?

Before we knew it, night had fallen.

However, Liang Jingzhe remained vigilant, not only arranging patrols around the camp but also sending people to lie in ambush in the nearby mountains.

It wasn't until late at night that Liang Jingzhe, utterly exhausted, finally fell asleep.

However, Liang Jingzhe only slept for a little over half an hour before waking up from his sleep and was unable to fall back asleep.

Liang Jingzhe closed his eyes and pondered for a while before getting up and walking out of the tent.

Looking at the starry sky, Liang Jingzhe kept praying in his heart that dawn would come soon.

If they can get through tonight, they'll be able to push their way to the vicinity of Sanliqiao.

He had already devised an attack plan, using overwhelming troop superiority to continuously compress Qin Yu's forces' operational space, preventing them from fully utilizing the advantages of cavalry.

Once his ironclad formation is complete, even if Qin Yu had three heads and six arms, he wouldn't be able to break through!

Liang Jingzhe had a very difficult night.

However, the result was good.

They did not encounter the sneak attack he had imagined, and most of the soldiers slept soundly.

As dawn broke, Liang Jingzhe finally breathed a sigh of relief.

There was also a hint of excitement in him.

Whether their offensive plan will succeed depends on today!

Liang Jingzhe clenched his fists, secretly vowing to defeat Qin Yu, cut off Qin Yu's dog head, and comfort the spirits of tens of thousands of Chu soldiers in heaven!

"Report..."

Suddenly, a long voice reached Liang Jingzhe's ears.

Upon hearing this voice, Liang Jingzhe's heart leaped into his throat.

At this point, he was genuinely afraid that the spies would bring back bad news!

Under Liang Jingzhe's tense gaze, the scout quickly approached him, excitedly reporting, "Reporting to the Marquis, Qin Yu's troops completely withdrew from Sanliqiao at dawn and fled eastward!"

"What?"

Liang Jingzhe suddenly raised his voice, "Say it again, evacuate everyone?"

"yes!"

The scout nodded, his smile particularly bright: "We were worried this was Qin Yu's trick, so we deliberately entered the enemy camp, only to find it completely deserted..."

The scout was very excited at that moment.

Qin Yu was scared away by them!

However, Liang Jingzhe couldn't laugh at all.

impossible!

Qin Yu went through such a long detour and returned to the south bank of Qujiang River. How could he possibly run away at this time?

Qin Yu is definitely not the kind of person who would desert his post!

"map!"

Liang Jingzhe roared, and his personal guards immediately brought him a map.

Liang Jingzhe grabbed the map and looked eastward.

Could it be that Qin Yu is planning a roundabout attack on their right flank?

impossible!

Even if Qin Yu were to launch another major flanking maneuver, he would not need to abandon the camp at Sanliqiao!

Liang Jingzhe racked his brains, constantly thinking, his fingers sliding back and forth on the map.

East side...

We can't exactly circle around behind them and attack from behind...

Flanking?

As he pondered this, Liang Jingzhe's expression suddenly changed, and his chest heaved violently.

It was definitely a flanking maneuver!

However, we won't attack them from behind!

Yuwang Pass!

That scoundrel Qin Yu is going to lead his troops to launch a surprise attack on Yuwang Pass!

From the very beginning, his goal was Yuwang Pass!

Everything he did was to get them to mobilize the Chu army at Yuwang Pass!

Once the gates of Yuwang Pass are closed, they will all be trapped like turtles in a jar!

Seeing that Liang Jingzhe's expression was off, Zhu Baishi hurriedly asked, "My lord, what's wrong?"

Liang Jingzhe didn't speak, but just clutched his chest in pain.

"puff……"

The next moment, a spurt of blood shot out, and Liang Jingzhe's body fell straight down.

"My lord!"

Zhu Baishi cried out in alarm, grabbing Liang Jingzhe to support him, his face filled with panic as he asked, "My lord, what's wrong?"

"Yu...Wang Pass!"

Liang Jingzhe managed to utter a few words, his face filled with grief and indignation: "We...we've fallen into a trap! Qin Yu's target is Yuwang Pass..."

As he spoke, Liang Jingzhe suddenly raised his hand and slapped himself across the face, tears welling up instantly.

He naturally assumed that Qin Yu intended to hold Sanliqiao and block Yu Wu's retreat route south.

But he forgot that as long as he controlled Yuwang Pass, whether Yu Wu crossed the Yangtze River to the south or not would no longer matter!

Even if Yu Wu destroys Sanli Bridge after crossing the Yangtze River to the south, Ning's army can still march from Yinzhou into Gongzhou of Chu, and then reinforce Yuwang Pass, completely trapping them in Wuzhou and Xingzhou!

Hearing Liang Jingzhe's words, Zhu Baishi visibly panicked.

Doesn't this mean that even their 20,000 troops' retreat has been cut off?

At this moment, Liang Jingzhe, as if grasping at a lifeline, grabbed Zhu Baishi and urgently roared, "Quickly turn around and head towards Yuwang Pass! There are still 10,000 Min soldiers at Yuwang Pass; they might not be able to take it! As long as we..."

"It can't be held..."

Zhu Baishi interrupted him with a look of despair, "My lord has no idea about the situation of the garrison at Yuwang Pass..."

He also stayed at Yuwang Pass for a period of time and knew the situation of the garrison there very well.

Many soldiers at Yuwang Pass had no fighting spirit whatsoever.

They're basically all opportunists who side with whoever sits on the throne!

If Qin Yu puts even a little pressure on them, they are very likely to surrender!

Liang Jingzhe's heart skipped a beat, and he opened his blood-stained mouth: "Then we'll join forces with the Shanyang camp to besiege Yuwang Pass from both sides, trapping Qin Yu there until he dies!"

Their chances of winning a direct assault on Yuwang Pass are too slim!

It could even be said that there is no hope of winning!

Only by besieging Qin Yu at Yuwang Pass and waiting for him to run out of food and supplies will he be forced to leave the pass and fight a decisive battle with them!

Only in this way can their chances of winning be slightly greater.

"it's useless."

Zhu Baishi's face was full of bitterness. "The Shanyang camp only has three thousand old and weak soldiers left to guard it..."

"What? How come there are only three thousand elderly and weak left?"

Liang Jingzhe's breathing became rapid again. "After you were transferred, didn't they send any troops to the Shanyang camp?"

"no."

Zhu Baishi closed his eyes in anguish. "The Ning army from Yinzhou is advancing on Gongzhou, and almost all of Gongzhou's troops are concentrated in the north of Gongzhou to resist the Ning army!"

Who would have thought that Qin Yu would occupy Yuwang Pass!

Faced with the advance of the Ning army in Yinzhou, we must concentrate our forces in the northern part of Gongzhou!

Upon hearing Zhu Baishi's words, Liang Jingzhe's face turned deathly pale.

Now, they not only have to worry about the capture of Yuwang Pass, but also about Qin Yu leading his army to attack Gongzhou in the State of Chu!

There are not many troops in Bizhou, Yazhou, and Feizhou behind Gongzhou.

If Qin Yu were to march into Chu territory from Yuwang Pass, he could even do the same thing he did in Min in Chu!

How did such a good battle turn out like this?