The Prodigal Son

Qin Yu pondered, "I think we shouldn't limit ourselves to the main battlefield; we can also focus our attention behind enemy lines..."

Simply put, it's about messing with Yan Wujiu's and Yan's army's mentality!

They could send out small elite units, not necessarily to kill many Yan soldiers, but simply to disrupt their morale.

Burning grain supplies, spreading rumors, launching small-scale surprise attacks, including what Yuan Dingguo called luring the enemy—all of these are acceptable!

Anyway, as long as it makes Yan Wujiu and the Yan army unhappy, I'll do it!

Moreover, Yan Wujiu is a member of the imperial clan!

If you can sow discord between the ruler and his ministers of Yan, that would be even better.

Of course, he also knew that this was quite difficult.

The fact that the Emperor of Yan dared to entrust his uncle, Yan Wujiu, with military power shows that he must have trusted him to a certain extent.

But it's always worth a try!

Anyway, they didn't suffer any losses!

At the same time, they also began to advance their troops towards Luzhou Prefecture. If Yan Wujiu wanted to fight, they would fight back; if Yan Wujiu did not fight, they would occupy Luzhou Prefecture.

Qin Fumeng was quite satisfied with Qin Yu's suggestion.

After giving his affirmation, Qin Fumeng looked at Dong Heshang and asked, "And you, what are your thoughts?"

Monk Dong shook his head and said, "I have no particular thoughts on the current battle, but Qin Yu's ideas are quite good! However, in the long run, we should divide our forces..."

Since they have a Grand Marshal, Second Route Marshals, and Flanking Marshals, they should make good use of their abilities.

Their division of forces was intended to keep Yan Wujiu busy defending himself.

Of course, dividing the troops would have to wait until the main force arrived.

Right now, he believes that they should do as Qin Yu said.

It doesn't necessarily have to be limited to the front lines. Right now, the situation in the rear of the Yan army is even worse than on the front lines.

"Alright! Let's do it Qin Yu's way!"

Qin Fumeng made a decisive decision: "Qin Yu, this is your forte, so I'll leave this matter to you! From now until Commander Xue arrives with the vanguard, everyone, including myself, will obey your orders!"

Holy crap?

Even the old guys obey my orders?

If he says that, I'll take it seriously.

Qin Yu was slightly taken aback, then asked with a smile, "Is that really true?"

Qin Fumeng: "Of course it's true!"

"Starting from now?"

Qin Yu asked again.

"right!"

Qin Fumeng nodded slightly.

"OK!"

Qin Yu readily agreed, immediately saying with a sly grin, "Grandpa, go pour your grandson a cup of tea!"

Qin Fumeng's face suddenly stiffened, and he abruptly roared, "You beast!"

Then came a commotion of chickens flying and dogs barking...

……

Over the next two days, Ning Jun began to find all sorts of disgusting ways to harass Yan Wujiu.

Qin Fumeng, Zhao Po, Gui San, Gui Si, and Dong Heshang were all sent out by Qin Yu to cause trouble, leaving only Ning Huang by his side to cover for him.

After all, if they can send experts to cause trouble, so can Yan Wujiu.

Their mission was simple: to cause trouble behind enemy lines while ensuring their own safety.

There's no need to search for high-ranking generals; just assassinate the middle and lower-ranking generals of the Yan army, and burn down the Yan army's granaries as much as possible, then run away!

Let's see if Yan Wujiu can handle it!

At the same time, Qin Yu also sent people to spread the news that Zong Bi had been killed in battle and that all of Zong Bi's troops had been wiped out.

He attributed the root cause of Yan's food shortage and economic crisis to the Yan Emperor, Yan Li, and high-ranking officials in the court, and ordered people to spread the message throughout the country, even sending people to travel over mountains and valleys to places like Yuanzhou and Cuizhou.

In just two days, Yan Wujiu of Xiaxing had received news of the assassination of more than ten generals.

Some of them will belong to the troops already deployed around Xiaxing, while others will belong to the troops still gathering around Xiaxing.

Fortunately, these generals were mostly at the level of centurions or thousandth-rank generals.

Generals at this level don't need to be exceptionally capable. If ten or so die, he can easily send someone to replace them, so the impact isn't significant.

But the problem now is that junior and mid-level officers are all feeling insecure.

Everyone is afraid of becoming the next target for assassination.

In order to save their lives, these middle and lower-ranking officers increased the patrols in their camps at every level.

Some ordered all their soldiers to patrol in two shifts, some didn't even dare to wear their armor, and some simply hid, making it impossible to find anyone to deliver an order.

When lower-ranking officers become disorganized, it leads to chaos throughout the entire army.

The troops that were still converging on this side were advancing at a much slower pace. What should have been a one-day journey was now taking a day and a half or even two days.

Meanwhile, the troops that had already reached the vicinity of Xiaxing were exhausted and suffering greatly due to the increasingly heavy patrol duties.

Yan Wujiu had considered various solutions, but while they were in the open, their enemies were in the shadows. Moreover, those assassins were all exceptionally skilled and never lingered in battle; they would kill and run away, making them virtually untouchable by ordinary soldiers.

Upon receiving yet another report of a general's assassination attempt, Yan Wujiu's adjutant, Ji Ying, finally couldn't sit still any longer. "Your Highness," he said, "this can't go on forever!"

"I know!"

Yan Wujiu's face was grim. "The Ning people are trying to demoralize our troops, cause us to collapse without a fight, and force us to launch an attack before our army has fully assembled!"

Including those rumors that suddenly appeared in the past few days, they all serve this purpose!

Ning's move was shameless, but also very effective.

With the news of Zong Bi's death in battle and the annihilation of his entire army, their morale was already damaged. Now, the Ning people were spreading rumors that were detrimental to the court, causing the people and soldiers to vent their resentment on the court, making their hearts very unstable.

If these rumors are allowed to continue to spread, their internal situation will fall into chaos before the battle even begins!

The problem is, they can't silence the people!

Moreover, these rumors about Ningren are mostly a mix of truth and falsehood, and they can't even explain them clearly.

No matter how you explain it, can you really explain the food shortages and the stockpiling of pepper?

After a moment's thought, Ji Ying suggested, "Your Highness, why don't we retaliate in kind?"

"No need! Their morale is high right now. Killing a few of their lower-ranking officers is pointless, and killing a general is too risky and far more dangerous!"

Yan Wujiu said in a deep voice, "They have ways to disgust us, and we also have ways to disgust them..."

"How disgusting?"

Ji Ying had doubts.

Shouldn't we retaliate in kind?

Yan Wujiu said calmly, "Aren't they slowly advancing towards Luzhou Prefecture? Send men to dismantle the city walls, and fill the moat with all the bricks and stones they remove! Also, make plenty of feints along the way, let them guess!"

Ji Ying was taken aback for a moment, then quickly realized what was happening.

"Your Highness is wise!"

Ji Ying looked at him admiringly, then asked, "Regarding those rumors, what should we do...?"

"Stay calm and don't let these things disturb your peace of mind!"

Yan Wujiu gestured for him to calm down and said in a deep voice, "Let's wait and see!"

Ji Ying frowned. "When exactly are we going to have to wait?"

Yan Wujiu did not answer, but simply gestured for Ji Ying to leave.

There are some things that Ji Ying doesn't know, but he does!

He had to wait for a reply from Bei Qi!

Whether Bei Qi agrees to send troops, and from where, will determine his next move!