The Prodigal Son

The next day at noon, Yu Wu and his army marched in a great force to a position about three miles outside Yuwang Pass.

Instead of rushing into an attack, they relied on Yuwang Mountain to slowly construct a large camp and build siege equipment.

Qin Yu and his generals stood on the gate tower, gazing at the enemy forces in the distance.

"Looks like there are quite a few enemy troops!"

"How much more could it possibly add?"

"I reckon many of them were forcibly conscripted laborers!"

"Definitely! Right now, the only ones still capable of fighting are probably the 20,000 Chu soldiers and Yu Wu's imperial guards..."

The generals stood on the gate tower, discussing amongst themselves, completely oblivious to the impending great battle.

It was as if the enemy forces on the other side were nothing more than clay chickens and earthen dogs.

Seeing that the crowd didn't seem to take the enemy seriously at all, Qin Yu couldn't help but frown.

Their state of mind is both a good thing and a bad thing.

Their relaxed state could give the surrendered soldiers confidence.

However, there is also the possibility of underestimating the opponent.

"Don't you dare underestimate us! Even a lion needs to go all out to catch a rabbit!"

Qin Yu surveyed his generals and declared sternly, "We must despise the enemy strategically, but take them seriously tactically!"

The generals looked at each other, and finally all turned to Qin Yu with questioning eyes.

Clearly, they did not understand what Qin Yu meant.

Under everyone's gaze, Qin Yu couldn't help but frown, explaining, "What I mean is, we must have the belief that we will win, but we must also treat every battle seriously and cautiously!"

Everyone suddenly realized and showed expressions of "I see".

Yes, no wonder she comes from a military family!

Even simple words are spoken in such a profound way!

Pang Zhan glanced at Qin Yu and tentatively suggested, "Why don't we take advantage of the enemy's fatigued journey and unstable foothold, and first dampen their morale?"

"right!"

Xiong Quhu immediately echoed, excitedly saying, "If we attack now, we'll definitely catch the enemy off guard!"

"That's bullshit!"

Qin Yu glared at Xiong Quhu. "The enemy is practically begging us to switch from defense to offense! We're the defenders, the enemy is the attackers! What kind of logic is there in abandoning our position to defend and launching a preemptive strike?"

Pang Zhan was eager to show off, so why did he join in the commotion?

Why do they need to wait until now to take the initiative?

Qi Dachui opened his mouth slightly, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

Qin Yu noticed Qi Dachui's expression, looked up at him, and said, "Dachui, what do you want to say?"

Qi Dachui gave an "Oh," his clear eyes showing a hint of confusion: "Thirteenth Young Master, didn't you say that the best defense is offense?"

"..."

Qin Yu's face darkened, and the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.

Damn it!

You didn't remember anything else, but you remembered this one clearly.

If these words hadn't come from Qi Dachui's mouth, he would have thought someone was deliberately trying to sabotage him.

I did say that.

But doesn't that depend on the time?

"Pfft..."

Seeing Qin Yu hit by the boomerang, Nan Que'er and Xu Wan couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Seeing the two women laughing so hard they were shaking, Qin Yu couldn't help but glare at them with wide eyes.

However, the two women were not afraid at all, and instead cast provocative glances at him.

Upon seeing this, Qin felt an irresistible urge to use his hands.

If it weren't for the presence of so many people, I would have definitely let them taste my Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms!

We'll deal with them later!

Qin Yu temporarily suppressed the distracting thoughts in his mind and shook his head at the generals: "Let's not think about attacking for now. If we take the initiative to attack at this time, it will only benefit the enemy! They may have already laid a trap and are just waiting for us to attack! Let's focus on defense first. I'll send someone to Liang Jingzhe with a letter of persuasion to surrender later."

"Isn't that a bit difficult?"

Nan Que'er frowned. "We killed so many Chu soldiers before, the Chu army probably won't surrender easily now."

When they ambushed the Chu cavalry earlier, it was because of their killing of prisoners that the Chu army fought to the death despite knowing they were doomed to defeat, causing them considerable casualties.

"really!"

Yuan Dingguo nodded in deep agreement, "We even caused a large-scale mutiny in the Chu army. Liang Jingzhe is probably only thinking about revenge now."

"Yes!" Han Chong agreed. "If Liang Jingzhe wanted to surrender, he would have surrendered long ago, instead of dragging it out until now."

Hearing their words, many people nodded in agreement.

If there had been no killing of prisoners or mutiny in the camp, Liang Jingzhe would very likely have led his troops to surrender under these circumstances.

But now, that possibility is too small.

If they were Liang Jingzhe, they certainly wouldn't surrender either!

"Whatever!"

Qin Yu smiled dismissively, "Even if Liang Jingzhe doesn't surrender, as long as my letter can arouse Yu Wu's suspicion towards him and create some conflict or rift within their ranks, it's all worthwhile..."

Although the Chu army and the Min army are now united, they are definitely harboring their own agendas.

Even creating a small rift between them would be helpful in the upcoming battle.

It was just a letter urging surrender!

It doesn't require any sacrifice, nor does it delay their business.

Upon hearing Qin Yu's words, everyone was taken aback at first, and then burst into laughter.

Yes!

Even if the letter of persuasion to surrender had no effect whatsoever, they wouldn't suffer any loss!

Amidst his laughter, Xiong Quhu suddenly had a flash of inspiration. "Since we won't lose anything whether it succeeds or not, why not write a letter to Yu Wu urging him to surrender? Two letters would increase our chances of success!"

"There's no need for that!"

Yuan Dingguo chimed in, "Right now, the Chu army is their core strength! By persuading Liang Jingzhe to surrender, we're clearly telling Yu Wu that we don't take him seriously at all! We don't care whether he surrenders or not!"

"right!"

Qin Yu gave Yuan Dingguo an approving look. "Our goal is to make Yu Wu worry that Liang Jingzhe will surrender, to make him anxious, to make him panic..."

That's it!

Everyone understood and began to grin mischievously.

"Alright, that's all for now!"

As Qin Yu spoke, he suddenly raised his voice: "All units, be on high alert and deploy defenses tightly. Victory or defeat hinges on this final battle. We must not give the enemy any opportunity to exploit! Anyone who dares to falter at this crucial moment, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

As he spoke, Qin Yu's aura suddenly changed, and a cold and fierce aura burst forth from his body.

At this point, he didn't want anything to go wrong.

"yes!"

The generals straightened up abruptly and accepted the order in unison.

After giving instructions to his generals, Qin Yu led Nan Que'er and the others away from the gate tower, preparing to write a letter of persuasion to Liang Jingzhe to surrender.

Xu Wan caught up with them, looking at Qin Yu with a charming smile, "If Liang Jingzhe doesn't surrender, you must have other methods up your sleeve, right?"

How did you know?

Qin Yu looked at Xu Wan in surprise.

Xu Wan raised her pretty face, "You knew this person was full of bad intentions and would never just passively defend himself forever."

"Look at what you're saying!"

Qin Yu retorted, "What do you mean by 'full of bad intentions'? I call this strategic planning and decisive victory!"

"Pah! What a self-aggrandizing act!"

Xu Wan spat lightly, then asked curiously, "What are you planning to do?"

Qin Yu's lips curled into a smile. "It's nothing, just a big gift prepared for them!"

"What wonderful gift?"

Xu Wan pressed for details.

You'll find out then!

A wicked smile crept across Qin Yu's face...