The Prodigal Son

Early the next morning, Qin Yu and his men began their advance towards Haidong City.

Haidong City is only about fifty miles away from Shengzhou Prefecture, and it is an important passage connecting Shengzhou, Danzhou and Linzhou.

This is also why Haidong City is relatively prosperous.

However, this is only relative.

The entire population of Haidong City did not exceed 80,000.

But this is already considered quite good among the counties and prefectures east of Qiyun Mountain.

Qin Yu and his men began their advance in the morning, and Yelü Shu received the news in the afternoon.

Upon receiving the news, Yelü Shu was overjoyed and slapped his thigh, exclaiming, "Just as I expected!"

He deliberately didn't occupy Haidong City!

The purpose was to get the Ning army to seize Haidong City.

Only in this way could he have the opportunity to rob the grain!

Otherwise, what would they eat, along with the 20,000 troops they had recruited?

In order to seize the meager supplies brought by Shengzhou as quickly as possible, they could only hold out for three to five more days at most.

As for the grain and fodder obtained from the Yan rebels, it was almost negligible.

These rebels surrendered with incredible enthusiasm, as if it were New Year's Day. It was all because they had no food or pay and were counting on Bei Qi to provide them with food and pay!

Their grain transport team is estimated to take another half a month to deliver the grain.

If they don't target Ning's army's supplies, they'll have no choice but to take the last step.

Kill the warhorses!

But this is the final step!

Even though Beiqi had abundant warhorse resources, no one was willing to kill warhorses for food unless absolutely necessary.

While Yelü Shu was overjoyed, his deputy and younger brother, Yelü Xing, hurriedly inquired, "How many troops does the Ning army have?"

"There should be around 30,000 to 40,000 troops!"

The scouts reported back, "There are cavalry reinforcements at both the front and rear, and the army stretches for twenty or thirty miles!"

"Where are the provisions?"

Yelü Shu immediately pressed further, "How much grain and fodder did the Ning army carry?"

"That looks like a lot."

The scout reported, "There are probably at least six or seven hundred mule-drawn grain carts alone, and many wheelbarrows are also loaded with grain..."

Hearing the scout's reply, Yelü Shu became excited again and asked, "What banner is the Ning army flying?"

As long as there is food, that's good!

He didn't care how many Ning soldiers he could kill!

All he cares about is food!

As long as you can seize the grain, nothing is too difficult to discuss!

"The Qin Flag!"

The scout replied again, "Ning Jun is all wearing black armor and white cloaks! From a distance, he looks like a sea of ​​white."

Afterward, the two brothers asked the scout a few more questions until they had no more questions to ask, and then they let the scout go.

"Qin Yu should be the one in command!"

Yelü Xing looked at his elder brother.

Yelü Shu gently shook his head. "It could also be Qin Fumeng."

This grandfather and grandson are a second-rank marshal and a detachment marshal, respectively.

Just by looking at the flag, it's really hard to tell who it is.

Currently, Grand Marshal Xue Chengdao should be in Huzhou integrating the surrendered soldiers under Suhe Baoyin's command.

Both Qin Fumeng and his grandson Qin Yu are potential candidates for command.

It's even possible that both of them are in this army.

"It doesn't matter who's in command!"

A cold glint flashed in Yelü Xing's eyes. "These two, grandfather and grandson, are mortal enemies of my Great Ning!"

Qin Fumeng shot out the eyes of Murong Teng, the emperor of Northern Qi, an event that Northern Qi has always regarded as a great disgrace.

Qin Yu was considered a thorn in the side by Empress Murong Wujiang, who hated him with a vengeance whenever Qin Yu was mentioned.

Unfortunately, she failed several times in her attempts to kill Qin Yu.

They're going to rob the grain anyway!

Now that we've run into them, if we can take down one or both of these grandfather and grandson, that would be a great achievement!

"That's true!"

Yelü Shu quickly walked to the sand table, staring intently at it. "Proceed as planned. I will lead 10,000 cavalry and 5,000 infantry as the vanguard, launching a feigned attack from the front. You will lead 15,000 cavalry, passing through the valley of Qiyun Mountain, and launch a surprise attack from behind!"

"yes!"

Yelü Xing accepted the order.

"Remember, send out plenty of scouts to explore the area, and be careful not to fall into an ambush by the Ning army!"

Yelü Shu solemnly explained.

They also learned about the canyon hidden in Qiyun Mountain from the surrendered generals of Shengzhou.

Although the surrendered general swore that very few people knew about the canyon, no one could guarantee that the Ning army was unaware of its existence.

If we were ambushed by Ning's army in the canyon, it would be tantamount to suicide.

"I see!"

Yelü Xing nodded. "I'll lead my troops out of the city right away!"

"Um!"

Yelü Shu nodded slightly, "Let's proceed according to our previous plan. First, we'll detour north, pretending to meet the grain transport team, and then quietly slip into that canyon!"

"good!"

Yelü Xing quickly accepted the order and left.

Yelü Shu, however, was not in a hurry.

They are only fifty miles away from Haidong City, so they can wait until tomorrow to launch a feigned attack.

Even if Ning's cavalry seizes Haidong City first, he is not afraid at all.

Cavalry can be fast, but supply convoys cannot be.

Given the weather and road conditions, the 80 or 90 li journey from Xuegu County to Haidong City could take them several days.

If Ningjun's cavalry manages to seize Haidong City first, he only needs to hold Ningjun's cavalry back from the front, allowing Yelü Xing to lead his troops to raid grain with peace of mind!

……

At night, Yuan Dingguo and Liang Hongqiao led the main force of the Wudang Flying Army to Shangyuan County.

Qin Yu, who led the White Robe Army and the Wudang Flying Army with three thousand cavalry as the rearguard, stayed with the main force.

Although they had set up camp in the valley, the wind was particularly biting that night.

The cold wind howled through Qin Yu's tent, and he was worried that it would be blown over.

Qin Yu was chatting with Han Chong over a charcoal fire when Qi Dachui came to report that Du Fan had arrived.

"Bring it in!"

Qin Yu nodded and gave the instructions.

A moment later, Du Fan walked in.

Qin Yu invited Du Fan to sit down and warm himself by the fire.

Du Fan strode over casually, reporting as he warmed himself by the fire: "Commander Qin, we just received a report from below that over three hundred soldiers have fallen..."

Upon hearing this, Han Chong frowned slightly. "Why are there so many today?"

Why did more than 300 people suddenly collapse today?

Du Fan shrugged, looking helpless, and said, "During our previous march, some soldiers were already sick, and the number of sick soldiers was increasing. Now, with all the soldiers still carrying their armor and marching with heavy loads, it's likely that the illness will break out all at once..."

This is just the beginning!

He estimated that more and more soldiers would fall.

It's too much of a burden for the soldiers not to remove their armor in this cold weather.

"There's nothing we can do now. We can only have the army doctor brew some medicine for them and allocate some charcoal so they can endure it for a while. We'll figure out what to do when we get to Haidong City!"

Speaking of this, Qin Yu also felt helpless.

He knew that they would inevitably suffer non-combat casualties during their march.

But there's nothing we can do about it.

They have to march!

Even if someone falls ill or dies from illness, the army still has to march!

"We'll just have to hold on for now."

Du Fan sighed helplessly, then smacked his lips and asked, "Commander Qin, it's been a whole day, and Yelü Shu hasn't made a move yet! Do you really think Yelü Shu would send someone to seize our grain?"

Upon hearing Du Fan's question, Qin Yu and Han Chong both burst into laughter.

Du Fan looked at the two men with confusion, wondering what they were laughing about.

"We were just talking about this!"

Qin Yu smiled at Du Fan, "I told Han Chong that my intuition tells me Yelü Shu will definitely make a move!"