The Prodigal Son

Yuwang Pass.

Qin Yu stood on the gate tower, his heart filled with worry.

After several days of reorganization, the surrendered soldiers at Yuwang Pass have completed their reorganization.

He can now be considered to have a strong and well-equipped force.

But they are now facing a serious problem.

We're running out of supplies!

Originally, the grain supplies at Yuwang Pass were enough to feed Wu Zhang's 10,000 troops for two months.

But now there are 7,000 more men and more than 10,000 more warhorses.

The grain supplies at Yuwang Pass suddenly seemed pitifully small.

At their current rate of consumption, the little food they have won't even last seven days.

They had previously been traveling around, eating wherever they went, and had basically never worried about food.

Now that they have captured Yuwang Pass and settled down, they are facing a food shortage.

This is fucking painful!

Or, how about we go to the State of Chu and seize some territory?

Just as Qin Yu was frowning in worry, Qi Dachui led Qin Xiong, who had just returned, up to the city wall.

Qin Xiong, panting, stepped forward to report: "Thirteenth Young Master, Yu Wu led ten to twenty thousand men across the Qujiang River and destroyed the Sanli Bridge. After joining forces with the Chu army, they plundered grain and forcibly conscripted laborers to transport supplies, and are now marching in large numbers towards Yuwang Pass!"

"They've really come to kill us?"

Qin Yu's lips curled into a smile. "Are they going to fight to the death?"

"That should be true!"

Qin Xiong chuckled, "They are now at their wits' end. Only by retaking Yuwang Pass can they have a way out."

"That's true!"

Qin Yu smiled and asked, "How far away are they from us?"

Qin Xiong thought for a moment and replied, "Including the time it takes me to get back, we should be less than a hundred li away!"

"That would be great!"

Qin Yu laughed, "I actually wish they would attack Yuwang Pass right now!"

He wasn't afraid to attack Yuwang Pass with those remnants of defeated troops.

He feared that these defeated soldiers would not attack the city but instead besiege it.

Their supplies wouldn't last much longer, and once they faced starvation, they would have no choice but to venture out of the pass and engage in a decisive battle with the enemy.

Therefore, their casualties would certainly be greater than those who defended the pass.

Well, we still need to find a way to get food!

As long as we have food, we can keep fighting them for as long as we want!

After pondering for a moment, Qin Yu immediately ordered Qi Dachui, "Go and fetch Yuan Dingguo and Xiong Quhu!"

Soon, Yuan Dingguo and Xiong Quhu arrived with Qi Dachui.

Qin Yu didn't waste any words and directly ordered, "Take five thousand men, put on the armor of the Min army, and march into Chu territory. Loot any grain you see! Return immediately when you've looted enough! Send out many scouts, and make sure you don't get ambushed by the Chu army!"

The Chu army's camp at Shanyang was only thirty or forty li away from Yuwang Pass.

We still need to be careful of being ambushed by the Chu army at the Shanyang camp.

"This...isn't that inappropriate?"

Yuan Dingguo frowned slightly. "What if this provokes a full-scale war between us and the Chu Kingdom? What about the imperial court...?"

"Are you fucking stupid?!"

Qin Yu glared at him. "That's why I made you put on Min army armor! It was the Min army who stole it, what does it have to do with us?"

"this……"

Yuan Dingguo was both amused and exasperated. "Isn't this a bit self-deceptive?"

Xiong Quhu nodded in deep agreement.

It is indeed self-deception.

Wu Zhang has already fled to the State of Chu!

The people of Chu must have known that they had already occupied Yuwang Pass!

Even a fool would know it was them!

Upon hearing this, Qin Yu immediately rolled his eyes at him. "Who cares if he's deceiving himself or not, as long as it makes sense! Chu has already sent 70,000 troops to support Min, yet they keep saying they haven't started a full-scale war with us. Isn't that just deceiving themselves?"

Some things are just like that!

Even if everyone knows the truth, as long as it's acceptable on the surface, that's fine.

If the Chu army is so capable, they can also disguise themselves as the Min army and raid Yinzhou. As long as Da Ning does not want to completely break ties with the Chu state, they will not say a word.

"Why don't we plunder Wuzhou or Xingzhou instead!"

Xiong Quhu had a sudden inspiration and suggested, "This way the risk is lower, and we don't have to worry about the imperial court."

Qin Yu's lips twitched, and he slapped Xiong Quhu on the head. "Didn't you even look at the roster of those surrendered soldiers?"

"I saw it!"

Xiong Quhu scratched his head, his eyes both foolish and clear. "What does this have to do with the roster? We've plundered Min Kingdom before! Haven't we always done it this way?"

"yes!"

Qi Dachui nodded repeatedly, completely agreeing with Xiong Quhu's words.

Haven't they plundered enough from the Min Kingdom?

They marched and traveled in a circuitous route, carrying only a small amount of dry rations.

If it weren't for plundering, they wouldn't even be able to fight a war; they'd be lucky to avoid starvation!

"I……"

Qin Yu stared at the two of them with a dark expression.

For a fleeting moment, he was practically officiating their wedding!

Seeing Qin Yu's expression, Yuan Dingguo couldn't help but laugh. "I think I understand what General Qin means!"

"What do you mean?"

Xiong Quhu asked, puzzled.

Yuan Dingguo replied, "I've seen the roster of those surrendered soldiers. Most of them are from Wuzhou and Xingzhou. If we go to those two places to plunder, what will those surrendered soldiers think?"

They used to plunder because there were relatively few surrendered Min soldiers in their ranks.

Even if those surrendered soldiers had some disloyalty, they could still control the situation.

But things are different now!

Now, they have more than nine thousand surrendered soldiers in their hands!

Regardless of the individual combat strength of these surrendered soldiers, as long as they are wearing armor, they are a force to be reckoned with!

"Oh, right!"

Qin Yu nodded slightly, then said seriously, "At this time, Yu Wu and his men can plunder Wuzhou and Xingzhou, but we cannot plunder them now! Moreover, we need to send some surrendered soldiers to accompany our scouts to see how Yu Wu and his men are plundering..."

If they really go to these two places to plunder, when Yu Wu and his men attack Yuwang Pass, they will probably have to worry about those surrendered soldiers turning against them on the battlefield!

Their current goal is to spread rumors that Yu Wu and the Chu army are plundering and harming their brothers, sisters, and fellow villagers in Wuzhou and Xingzhou, so that the surrendered soldiers will hate Yu Wu and the Chu army and thus be of one mind with them!

Only in this way can we truly turn those surrendered soldiers into our own people!

"So that's how it is!"

Xiong Quhu suddenly realized, then blushed slightly and gave Qin Yu a thumbs up, "General Qin is truly insightful!"

"Alright, stop flattering me!"

Qin Yu glared at Xiong Quhu with a smile. "Now that you understand, you should hurry and get on with it! Yu Wu and the Chu army are already on their way, and we don't have much time left to gather supplies!"

"good!"

Without saying another word, the two immediately accepted the order and left.

"etc!"

Qin Yu suddenly called out to the two, "I'll go and ask Senior Ning to come with you!"

"what?"

The two stared at Qin Yu in astonishment.

Would you please let Ning Huang come with them?

Isn't this a bit... a waste of talent?

"Bullshit!"

Qin Yu glared at the two of them. "Who knows if there are any grandmaster-level experts in the Shanyang camp? It's always better to be careful!"

He might not have been so careful if he hadn't witnessed the terrifying power of a grandmaster firsthand.

But after witnessing the terrifying power of a grandmaster, he felt that he couldn't be too careful!

Encountering a grandmaster might not be enough to wipe out all five thousand of them, but it would definitely inflict heavy losses on them!

Since Qin Yu had already said that, the two of them couldn't say anything more.

Soon, Qin Yu found Ning Huang.

Upon learning Qin Yu's purpose, Ning Huang kicked him without hesitation, but ultimately agreed with a dark expression...