The Prodigal Son

Sanliqiao.

Surrounded by Huang Dengxing and a group of his confidants, Yu Wu arrived at the south bank of Qujiang River in a disheveled state.

Wearing a crooked crown, Yu Wu stood dejectedly on the banks of the Qujiang River, gazing at the north bank, wanting to take one last look at the capital.

However, the distant Shigong Mountain blocked his view.

From a distance, all you can see is a lush, green forest.

"Am I perhaps the most down-on-his-luck emperor in history?"

Yu Wu's eyes were bloodshot, and he muttered to himself with grief and indignation.

Looking back on his experiences these past few days, he suddenly felt like he was a joke!

He had worked so hard to get that position, but in just over a month, he was driven out of the capital and forced to flee south in a sorry state.

He originally thought that with the Min Kingdom's hundreds of thousands of troops plus the Chu Kingdom's seventy thousand troops, they would be able to withstand the Ning people's advance.

However, reality slapped him hard in the face.

From the start of the war until now, less than a month has passed, and nearly 200,000 troops have been wiped out.

Now, the entire Min Kingdom is probably laughing at me, isn't it?

Seeing Yu Wu looking as if he had lost his soul, Empress Dowager Wu sighed silently, slowly walked to Yu Wu's side, and said softly, "My son, don't look anymore, looking will only add to your sorrow..."

Yu Wu slowly turned his head, his face full of self-mockery, and asked, "Mother, do I look like a stray dog ​​right now?"

Hearing Yu Wu's words, Empress Dowager Wu felt a sharp pang in her heart and quickly shook her head, saying, "No, you are still the Emperor of Min!"

"emperor?"

Yu Wu gave a bitter smile. "Can I still be considered an emperor now?"

"Of course it counts!"

Empress Dowager Wu's eyes reddened, and she comforted her with a sob in her voice, "We still have two prefectures! We can regroup and fight back in the future..."

As she spoke, Empress Dowager Wu's tears began to fall uncontrollably.

Not to mention Yu Wu, even he himself didn't believe these words!

Fight back?

There's no chance of fighting back!

Now, the Qin traitors have occupied Yuwang Pass, and Miaozhou and Wuzhou are also filled with refugees.

Forget about fighting back, they'll have trouble even holding onto these last two states!

Just as the mother and son were talking, a commotion broke out on the other side of the Qujiang River.

Even though they were separated by a river, they could clearly hear the sounds of the riot.

Yu Wu felt a sudden panic. Could it be that the Ning army had attacked?

Did they arrive so quickly?

But there are still nearly 8,000 troops on the other side who haven't come over yet!

The total number of people who crossed the river to the south was more than 20,000.

Besides the officials and their families, there were also his remaining 17,000-plus men.

More than four thousand of them were remnants of the Chu army.

His actual army numbered only 13,000!

At this moment, even a hundred-man squad would be extremely valuable to him, let alone eight thousand men!

If even this small force is wiped out, he will truly be at his wit's end.

Just as Yu Wu was filled with despair, Tu Hui rushed over, his face full of panic, and reported: "Your Majesty, some soldiers on the north bank are unwilling to cross south and have mutinied on the spot..."

Uproar!

Yu Wu's expression changed drastically, and he almost tripped and fell to the ground.

Even if Ning Jun were to attack, he could barely accept it!

The result, however, was upheaval?

Why?

Yu Wu's suppressed emotions finally erupted, and he roared hysterically, "When have I ever mistreated them? I gave them a way out, why did they betray me? Why?"

Endless rage drove Yu Wu almost insane.

These soldiers are his elite troops!

Their pay was 30% higher than that of other soldiers!

However, it was his own trusted men who betrayed him when he was at his most vulnerable!

This was undoubtedly another heavy blow to him.

Tu Hui looked at Yu Wu, who was pretending to be crazy, with a complicated expression. He opened his mouth several times, but no words came out.

Of course he knows why!

Because many soldiers' families live on the north bank of the Qujiang River!

They knew that once they crossed south, they would never be able to return, and the soldiers knew the same.

They cannot surrender, but the soldiers can!

"ah!!!"

Yu Wu, disregarding imperial decorum, roared in fury to vent his grief and indignation. He drew a guard's sword and began wildly slashing at the air.

Every time Yu Wu swung his sword, it was as if he were killing someone who had betrayed him.

Seeing Yu Wu completely lose his mind, Empress Dowager Wu's tears fell like a broken string of pearls. "My son, calm down! My son..."

Empress Dowager Wu pleaded with her, weeping, but dared not step forward.

Tu Hui seized the opportunity to snatch the knife from Yu Wu's hand and then held the frenzied Yu Wu tightly in his arms.

"Let me go! Let me go..."

Yu Wu struggled incessantly, his eyes bulging outwards, roaring madly.

"Your Majesty, please calm down!"

Tu Hui held onto Yu Wu tightly, preventing him from struggling, while whispering angrily in Yu Wu's ear, "There are still so many people watching! Don't let us lose our last bit of morale..."

After Tu Hui's persistent persuasion, Yu Wu finally stopped struggling.

After a long while, Yu Wu's eyes gradually regained their clarity, and he growled menacingly, "Tell my father-in-law, anyone who stirs up trouble will be killed without exception!"

Since they refuse to accept the chance to live, then let them die!

Those who betray you must die!

"good!"

Tu Hui hurriedly agreed, "Your Majesty, please calm down, I will take care of it immediately!"

Tu Hui gestured for the guards to come and help Yu Wu before quickly leaving.

When he crossed the Sanli Bridge again to the north bank of the Qujiang River, the mutinous soldiers on the north bank were scattering and fleeing.

Huang Dengxing tried his best to stop it, but he couldn't.

After killing more than a dozen soldiers who had scattered and fled, Huang Dengxing stopped dejectedly and stared blankly at everything in front of him.

When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter—that's pretty much it!

A profound sense of powerlessness filled Huang Dengxing's body, leaving him feeling utterly exhausted.

I even want to just collapse right now, not think about anything, and just get a good night's sleep.

"General, are we just going to stand by and watch?"

Tu Hui looked at the yellow light with despair.

"What else can we do?"

Huang Dengxing sighed wearily, his face full of bitterness as he replied, "Even if they don't run now, they'll still try every means to escape once they reach the south bank..."

The morale of the troops has completely collapsed!

Even if you want to keep them, you can't!

Even if he is a grandmaster, can he really kill all these soldiers who have scattered and fled?

Tu Hui opened his mouth slightly, hesitated for a long time, but ultimately did not say a word.

In less than 15 minutes, nearly 10,000 soldiers had fled, leaving less than 3,000.

The reason these soldiers didn't run away wasn't because they were loyal, but because they were originally from the two states on the south bank.

After Tu Hui led the rest of the men across the bridge, Huang Dengxing glanced at the north bank one last time, then mustered all his inner energy and suddenly swung his sword.

A dazzling blade of light suddenly slashed towards the bridge surface.

boom!

With a loud crash, shattered stone slabs plunged into the Qujiang River with a series of thuds, creating large splashes of water.

It took Min Guo more than ten years to build the Sanli Bridge.

Huang Dengxing destroyed the bridge in the blink of an eye...