The Prodigal Son

Ning Huang's move terrified Wu Zhang and the soldiers around him.

After a brief moment of distraction, Wu Zhang quickly crouched down, his face pale as he looked at the arrow that had almost pierced through the pillar.

After piercing the general's throat, the arrow became almost completely embedded in the wooden post, leaving only its still-dripping tail feathers.

Wu Zhang was horrified and swallowed hard.

What terrifying power!

How could a bullet pierce a person's throat from such a distance still possess such power?

Is this...is this a grandmaster?

Perhaps only a grandmaster possesses such terrifying power?

Luckily, I was careful and had someone impersonate me to make the announcement!

Otherwise, I would be the one dying now!

Just as Wu Zhang was secretly rejoicing, the lieutenant who had taken several steps back staggered to the ground and turned his head with difficulty to look at Wu Zhang.

As soon as he opened his mouth, large gulps of blood gushed out.

The lieutenant was no longer able to speak, but from the way his mouth moved, one could roughly guess that he was probably giving a rather unfriendly greeting to the women of Wu Zhang's family.

The lieutenant's eyes were filled with resentment and anger.

Only at this moment did he understand why Wu Zhang had asked him to impersonate him.

This bastard is going to be made a scapegoat!

Unfortunately, he realized it too late!

Feeling guilty, Wu Zhang didn't dare look the lieutenant in the eye. He hurriedly shouted to the men around him, "Pass down the order! All soldiers inside the city, immediately take up the city walls! You must hold them!"

No sooner had the messenger run off than Qi Dachui's roar echoed from beyond the pass: "His Highness the Crown Prince has ordered that only the ringleaders be executed; the rest will not be pursued!"

"The traitor Yu Wu has been executed. Quickly open the gates and surrender, lest your wives, children, and elderly parents worry about you!"

Qi Dachui's voice was emanated from his internal strength, and coupled with his naturally loud voice, it was exceptionally clear to the ears of the soldiers guarding the city.

Hearing Qi Dachui's words, the soldiers, who were already fickle, immediately began to waver.

They didn't know whether Yu Wu had been executed.

All they knew was that Qin Yu and his men had already led their troops to Yuwang Pass!

If Yu Wu could still control the situation, how could he have allowed Qin Yu to lead such a large force of cavalry to Yuwang Pass!

"surrender!"

"surrender……"

At the same time, thousands of cavalrymen roared loudly.

The voices of thousands of people were perfectly synchronized, so loud it made one's ears ring.

Amidst the roars of thousands of imposing cavalrymen, many of the Min soldiers defending the city could not help but show fear, and began to seriously consider whether or not to surrender.

However, Qin Yu and the others were unaware that the person shot by Ning Huang was merely a scapegoat.

"Min Jun is not bad!"

Qin Yu nodded approvingly, "Even after the commander-in-chief was shot dead, he remains so calm!"

"It's really good!"

Zeng Guan nodded in approval, a strange smile appearing on his face. "At least, they're much better than the troops that withdrew from Dongyuan!"

When the topic turned to the more than 20,000 troops that had retreated from Dongyuan, everyone around Ning Huang laughed.

Qin Yu waited quietly for a while, and seeing that the enemy still showed no signs of surrendering, he turned to Ning Huang and said, "Senior Ning, let's give them another push!"

Ning Huang remained silent and quickly spurred his horse forward.

Just as he leaped into the air, Ning Huang suddenly swung his sword.

After landing, Ning Huang didn't even look at the results of the battle. He simply turned his horse around and calmly left.

"Boom!"

With a loud bang, the sturdy gate tower collapsed instantly.

Bricks and stones flew everywhere, and wooden pillars broke.

Dust filled the air, obscuring half the sky.

The once-standing city gate tower was reduced to ruins in an instant.

Wu Zhang fled the gate tower in a sorry state just before it collapsed. He stared blankly at the ruins, his dust-covered face filled with deep fear.

Grandmaster!

Previously, he only suspected that there were grandmasters among the enemy forces.

But now, it's confirmed!

"Surrender now! Otherwise, when we break through, not a single one of you will be spared!"

Qi Dachui's booming voice rang out again, striking the hearts of every soldier defending the city and causing quite a stir among the defenders.

After forcefully intimidating the enemy, Qin Yu did not order an immediate attack on the city, but instead led his troops to wait.

"When do we have to wait?"

Nan Que'er asked Qin Yu in a low voice.

"Let's wait until dusk!"

Qin Yu glanced at the defenders on the city wall and said with a relaxed expression, "Anyway, even if those 20,000 Chu troops come back, it will take them several days! At this point, there's no need to add any more unnecessary casualties."

They shot and killed the enemy's commander!

They now have time to put pressure on the garrison at Yuwang Pass.

At this point, winning hearts and minds is the best strategy!

A direct assault is a last resort!

Even with Ninghuang as a powerful weapon, if the garrison holds Yuwang Pass to the death, they will definitely suffer considerable casualties.

The best way is to coerce the enemy into opening the gates and surrendering.

In this way, they could not only avoid unnecessary casualties, but also incorporate the city's garrison into their service.

Qi Dachui craned his neck to look up at the gate tower, then looked at Qin Yu with confusion: "Thirteenth Young Master, why didn't you let Senior Ning just blast open the city gate? If you had, the enemy would have already surrendered."

"It's better to avoid trouble!"

Qin Yu smiled and looked at Qi Dachui, explaining, "The Chu army might very well come back! We've breached the city gate, but we'll still need time to repair it! Repairing the gates of such a formidable pass isn't easy..."

While breaking down the city gates directly would be more intimidating, it would also be asking for trouble.

All they need to do is let the defenders know that their ranks include a master capable of breaching the city gates, thus putting pressure on them.

"Oh, I see!"

Qi Dachui suddenly realized, and said with admiration, "Thirteenth Young Master is so smart!"

Time passed slowly, and just as Qin Yu was getting impatient, a commotion suddenly broke out inside Yuwang Pass.

At this moment, on the city wall, a burly general was leading a group of soldiers in a standoff with Wu Zhang.

At first, they also thought Wu Zhang had been shot dead, but when they tried to rush down the city wall to surrender, Wu Zhang suddenly led his men out and stopped them.

"What do you want to do?"

Wu Zhang displayed the imposing presence of a commander, glaring menacingly at the group of several hundred soldiers.

Faced with Wu Zhang's sudden "comeback", everyone was still somewhat uneasy.

However, once the arrow is released, there's no turning back.

Now that Wu Zhang has discovered their intentions, they have no way out.

After a moment's hesitation, Qian Jiang steeled his resolve and gritted his teeth, saying, "General Wu, Yuyang has already fallen. What's the point of us continuing to defend Yuwang Pass?"

"We've shared this food with everyone for so long. If General Wu wants to escape Yuwang Pass, we brothers will not stop him!"

"But if you want our brothers to die with you, we will never allow it!"

Hearing Qianjiang's words, the soldiers who were initially hesitant suddenly became emboldened and echoed his words.

"Yes, we absolutely cannot die with you in vain!"

As the old saying goes, "A wise man submits to circumstances."

"General Wu, we won't stop you, and you shouldn't stop us either..."

The group gripped their weapons tightly, chattering amongst themselves.

"How dare you!"

Wu Zhang suddenly drew his sword and roared menacingly, "Anyone who dares to utter a word of surrender will be executed on the spot!"

"General Wu, don't force us!"

The general gripped his weapon tightly. "If you obstruct us again, we won't hesitate to arrest you and claim the reward!"