The Prodigal Son

The day after Yan Li left, Su Hebao killed the Northern Qi envoy sent by Xiao Yanguang to persuade them to surrender, and formally led his troops to surrender to Da Ning.

When the news reached Huyao, Xiao Yangguang immediately went berserk, roaring murderously, "Suhe Baoyin! I will kill you!"

Damn Suhe Baoyin!

If it weren't for this scoundrel's interference, the Northern Qi army would have already entered Huzhou!

In that case, the three prefectures of Huzhou, Cuizhou, and Yuanzhou will all be incorporated into the territory of Beiqi!

Huzhou was the most prosperous place in the Yan Kingdom besides Huyao!

Wonju also has a natural pasture.

Now, they've all fallen into the hands of the Ning people!

This scoundrel, why didn't he surrender earlier or later? He just happened to kill the messenger he sent to persuade him to surrender and then surrendered to the Ning people.

That scoundrel did it on purpose!

This is clearly an insult to myself and Bei Qi!

General Yelü Shu, the vanguard commander, was also furious. His face was frosty as he said, "Suhe Baoyin has already surrendered to the Ning people. This traitor has sent a large force to guard Hu Pass. There is no point in us occupying Hu Yao anymore. We should retreat to Yunzhou and quickly seize Xiazhou, our bridgehead..."

Tiger Pass is in Suhe Baoyin's hands; a direct assault on Tiger Pass would come at too high a cost.

If they suffer heavy losses and still fail to capture Tiger Pass, their losses will be even greater if Ning Ren and Suhe Baoyin join forces to attack.

They even had to give up the three states they had already occupied.

Rather than doing that, it would be better to occupy Xiazhou first.

After the food shortage crisis in Yan has passed, we will send troops from Xiazhou to occupy more of Yan's territory.

"No!"

Xiao Baoju chimed in: "Occupy Shengzhou!"

Shengzhou?

Yelü Shu frowned slightly. "Isn't this a bit too radical? Going to Shengzhou in this mess now might not be good for us."

He certainly knew the benefits of occupying Shengzhou.

Once Shengzhou is captured, the remaining three prefectures of Bo, Liao, and Xia can be incorporated into the territory of Beiqi.

But right now, the area around Shengzhou is the most chaotic.

Their food supplies were also limited, and they had to ensure that no major unrest occurred in the territories they had already occupied, and that too many people did not starve to death.

It's already winter, and he doesn't want to wade into the muddy waters of Shengzhou at this time.

"There's no such thing as muddy waters! Just grit your teeth and get through it!"

Xiao Baoju's face darkened. "To occupy only Xiazhou would be a disservice to our 100,000-strong army! If we don't occupy Shengzhou, the Ning people will! Moreover, Bozhou has an ice-free bay, perfect for building our navy!"

The Yan navy has already surrendered to the Ning people.

If they don't occupy Bozhou, and the Ning people's navy sails into Bozhou, then Beiqi will be in big trouble.

They hadn't occupied Shengzhou before because they were always eyeing places like Huzhou, and the Ning people were too busy to occupy Shengzhou.

However, with Suhe Baoyin's surrender to the Ning people, Huzhou was no longer of interest. The Ning people had obtained a large number of troops from Suhe Baoyin and could easily march out and occupy Shengzhou!

"That makes sense!"

Xiao Yanguang nodded slightly, then stood up with a frosty expression: "Yelü Shu, I order you to immediately lead 20,000 elite cavalry to seize Shengzhou!"

"yes!"

Yelü Shu accepted the order and then asked, "What about... the provisions?"

Xiao Yangguang said in a deep voice, "It's freezing cold, and it will take time to transport the supplies. Let's figure out a solution ourselves first!"

Solve it yourself?

Yelü Shu's face twitched violently. "What can I do?"

This is the food supply for 20,000 cavalry!

That's equivalent to the mouths of 100,000 infantrymen!

Let him handle it himself?

How did he solve it?

Shengzhou already had very little food, and the rebels there must have looted it extensively.

Even if he snatched grain from the rebels, he couldn't get that much!

People eat people, and horses graze on barren grass?

When winter comes, even weeds are hard to find!

Although Yelü Shu had done things like massacring entire cities, he would never actually do something like cannibalism!

Use your brain!

Xiao Yanguang glared at Yelü Shu, annoyed. "The Ning people only occupy Yanzhou right now! It takes us time to transport supplies there, but don't the Ning people need time too? You just need to make sure you seize Shengzhou before the Ning people do!"

Yelü Shu pondered for a moment, then loudly accepted the order: "Yes!"

Go!

Xiao Yanguang waved his hand gently, "Pay close attention to the movements of the Ning army in Yanzhou! If the Ning people do not launch an attack, just defend Shengzhou!"

In the dead of winter, he didn't want to start a large-scale war with the Ning people.

If we're going to fight, it'll be sometime after spring or even next autumn.

After Yelü Shu received the order and left, Xiao Yanguang quietly began to ponder.

Occupying Huyao at the moment doesn't really mean much anymore.

If the Ning army were to cut off the bridge over the Panjiang River, they would be trapped and die at Huyao.

The people and wealth of the Yan state can be taken away from Huyao, but these houses cannot!

He could give Huyao to the Ning people, but he didn't want to leave them anything!

After a moment of contemplation, Xiao Yanguang looked at Xiao Baoju again, "Do you think it's necessary for us to burn Huyao to the ground?"

"It's best not to."

Xiao Baoju shook his head, "Huyao is, after all, the capital of Yan. If we burn Huyao to the ground, it will not be conducive to winning the hearts and minds of the people."

Xiao Yanguang sighed softly, gritting his teeth as he said, "That's what I think too, but I don't want to let Ningren benefit from this!"

"Our dynasty has already gained a great advantage; Prime Minister Xiao need not do this."

Xiao Baoju smiled slightly. "Let's take everything we can from Huyao, leaving them with an empty city. Then we'll destroy the bridge over the Panjiang River. Neither Huyao nor Huguan will have much strategic significance anymore..."

With the bridge destroyed, if the Ning people want to attack, they will have no choice but to bypass Shengzhou and Xiazhou and then attack Yunzhou.

Alternatively, build a pontoon bridge!

But as long as they keep an eye on things, it won't be easy for the Ning people to build a pontoon bridge!

In this way, Shengzhou becomes more strategically important.

Xiao Yanguang pondered for a moment, then finally nodded: "Alright, we'll do it your way! I'll personally lead the troops to keep an eye on the enemy forces at Huyao. You take your men and hurry up and empty Huyao! However, the Yan Kingdom's palace must be burned down!"

"Um."

Xiao Baoju agreed, then added, "Yan Li still needs a proper burial! I suggest burying him in Yunzhou!"

Yan Li is dead.

As for how Yan Li died, they didn't know.

After Yan Li's guards returned the body, they drew their swords and committed suicide to follow Yan Li in death, leaving no way to inquire further.

However, judging from the knife wound on Yan Li's neck, he most likely committed suicide.

Mentioning Yan Li, Xiao Yangguang immediately became angry again, waving his hand impatiently, "I don't have time to worry about these trivial matters! You can handle this yourself!"

Crown Prince Yan Li is a truly prestigious figure!

He originally intended to make good use of Yan Li to win people's hearts, and then eliminate Yan Li when the time was right.

As a result, Yan Li's death disrupted his plans once again!

Right now, their only hope is Yan Wujiu's son.

However, Yan Wujiu's son's reputation cannot compare to Yan Li's.

The only good thing is that Yan Wujiu's son has a blood feud with the Ning people!

This point might be useful...