The Prodigal Son

At dusk on the second day, Qin Yu, who had been on a long march, finally led his troops to Xiaogongshan, which was thirty miles away from Wulin.

A disheveled Qin Yu ordered his army to rest on the spot and wait for Gui San and Gui Si, who had been sent to Wulin ahead of time.

After their long journey, they only had a little dry rations and beans left.

After this rest period, they were truly out of ammunition and supplies.

"Go and summon Yuan Dingguo, Xiong Quhu, Pei Xiao, and Han Chong immediately!"

Qin Yu gave Qin Xiong an instruction and then unfolded the map to look at it.

This map was given to him by Xue Chengdao before they set off.

This is a detailed map drawn by Xue Lie, who sent a large number of spies to infiltrate Wulin.

Urin's defense mainly focuses on two areas.

One was inside Wulin City, and the other was a military camp about eight miles away from Wulin City.

The military camp was located near the Yi River, mainly to guard against the Ning army on the other side of the river.

Qin Yu stared at the map for a while, and then Yuan Dingguo and the other three, who were also covered in dust, rushed over.

They had traveled a long distance and had been covered in dust along the way; they were all in a sorry state now.

Xiong Quhu was holding a handful of fried rice, eating as he walked, making a crunching sound as he chewed, which made Qin Yu admire his teeth.

When he eats fried rice, he always soaks it in a water bag beforehand.

"How are your injuries?"

Qin Yu's gaze fell on Yuan Dingguo.

"fine!"

Yuan Dingguo said nonchalantly, "This minor injury won't stop me from going into battle!"

"If you can't handle it, just say so. Don't try to tough it out; there are many more battles to come!"

Qin Yu gave a brief instruction, then pointed to the map in his hand and said, "Right now, we don't know the situation in Wulin. If the Wulin garrison receives the news in advance, they will most likely concentrate their main force at the Linjiang military camp..."

He wasn't too worried about the rest.

They feared that Yan Wujiu had already sent someone to Wulin via a side road to inform the garrison commander of their approach.

Although he had sent people to stake out the area beforehand, as the saying goes, all roads lead to Rome.

Who knows if they can actually hold out and intercept them!

A large group of people is easy to spot, but if three or five people deliberately avoid the main road, it may not be easy to intercept them.

If they fail to intercept them and the Yan army generals are prepared in advance, the surprise attack will have to be treated as a hard battle!

Hearing Qin Yu's words, Yuan Dingguo said nonchalantly, "We've already come this far, there's no turning back now. We'll fight however we have to! Even if it's a tough battle, we have to go for it!"

"that is!"

Xiong Quhu scoffed, "We're an elite force that's fought our way here. What's there to be afraid of?"

Pei Xiao was equally confident: "Even if the Yan army defends Linjiang Military Camp to the death, we can still take Wulin City!"

"Yes!" Han Chong nodded and smiled, "It should be the Yan army that's afraid!"

Looking at the group of people brimming with confidence, Qin Yu couldn't help but shake his head and smile.

According to Dong Heshang, becoming a general requires going through several stages.

The first stage is the initial experience on the battlefield, characterized by instinctive fear.

The second stage is characterized by a strong desire to achieve great things and a fearless spirit on the battlefield.

The third stage is characterized by high spirits and extreme self-confidence after achieving success and fame.

The fourth stage, where one holds a high position and every order concerns the life and death of thousands of people, suddenly makes one cautious and timid, and is also the stage where inner demons are most likely to grow.

The fifth stage involves growth and mental refinement to become a true commander.

They should all be in the third stage.

People at this stage are bursting with self-confidence!

If you let them lead a few hundred men to raid the capital of Yan, they would probably dare to go.

However, they are right!

Open the bow without turning back the arrow!

They've already come all this way, and there are no supplies. Even if there are mountains of knives and seas of fire ahead, we have to fight!

Afterwards, Qin Yu had a brief discussion with them and made some simple arrangements.

They are not yet clear about the troop deployment in Wulin City and Linjiang Military Village, nor have they made any detailed arrangements; they have only given a general outline.

Specifically, adjustments will need to be made based on the deployment of the Yan army.

As it was getting dark, Gui San finally arrived as they had agreed beforehand.

"How is it?"

Qin Yu immediately went to greet him, asking questions with some nervousness.

Gui San chuckled, "Yan Wujiu did indeed send someone via a back road to deliver the message! But we intercepted them ten miles outside Wulin City! Right now, there should be absolutely no trace of troop movement in Wulin City; they certainly don't know we've already attacked!"

"Very good!"

Everyone was overjoyed.

If they're caught off guard, then it'll be much easier to fight!

Qin Yu was overjoyed and hurriedly asked, "Have you found out the Yan army's deployment?"

If the Yan army is unprepared, then it will be easy to fight!

"We've found out."

Gui San replied, "There were originally 40,000 garrison troops here, but Yan Wujiu urgently transferred 10,000 a few days ago! The remaining 30,000 troops are divided equally between the city and the military camp..."

In addition, they also learned that the garrison commander of Wulin was named Si Rong.

The Linjiang military camp was also under Si Rong's control.

"Shi Rong?"

Qin Yu looked at Gui San with suspicion, "Is there anything special about this person?"

Gui San was speechless. "You don't know who Yan Li's Crown Princess is?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Qin Yu's face immediately darkened. "Senior, I may be a womanizer, but I wouldn't stoop to coveting Yan Li's Crown Princess!"

He can swear to the lamp that he truly had no designs on Yan Li's Crown Princess!

They haven't even reached Huyao yet, what's the Crown Princess doing who cares about Yan Li?

"I……"

Gui San was speechless at Qin Yu's antics. "Si Rong is the elder brother of Crown Princess Si Long, which makes him Yan Li's brother-in-law!"

"oh oh……"

Qin Yu gave an awkward laugh, "Oh, I see! I thought you..."

"I really don't know what you're thinking about all day long!"

Gui San gave a weak remark and continued, "Last year, Si Rong was just a lieutenant general commanding 10,000 troops. He only became the garrison commander of Wulin after Yan Li became the crown prince..."

It was precisely because Si Rong was promoted so quickly because of his relationship with Crown Prince Yan Li that many generals in Wulin were dissatisfied with him.

This point might be useful!

In addition, the garrison commander of Linjiang Military Camp was named Li Yichun.

This man was a convicted general. He was pardoned last year when Yan Li led his army to launch a surprise attack on Guanzhou. He was later promoted for his merit in the attack on Guanzhou.

Li Yichun is most likely a staunch supporter of Yan Li.

After listening to Gui San's words, Qin Yu immediately pointed to a village on the map and ordered, "Han Chong, I order you to lead your troops here to defend against enemy forces coming from the direction of Wulin and to block their reinforcements!"

"yes!"

Han Chong accepted the order, then tentatively asked, "What if the enemy forces inside Wulin City don't send reinforcements?"

The enemy was completely unprepared!

Now, they're basically just here to bask in the glory!

If the Yan army in Wulin City doesn't provide support, won't they become mere spectators?

"Even without reinforcements, hold the line!"

Qin Yu glared at Han Chong with a dark expression: "Just do your own job. This is nothing! Are you worried about not having a chance to make a contribution?"

Han Chong chuckled and immediately dared not say anything more.

Qin Yu looked up at the generals and said, "Go and prepare! I'll remind you all one more time: even a lion must go all out to hunt a rabbit! Even if the Yan army is completely unprepared, we must not underestimate them!"

"yes!"

The group suddenly straightened up and immediately went down to prepare...