Your Majesty said that my life is worthless, so why are you crying when I increase my troops?

When Ma Guangyuan led five thousand soldiers to the valley ahead, his many years of military experience made him suddenly alert.

He turned around and looked at Xia Lingfeng, who was panting from exhaustion on horseback.

"Your Highness, did the army really catch up with Xia Mingyuan from here?"

Xia Lingfeng was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "Yes, our people caught up with Xia Mingyuan here."

"Xia Mingyuan is being beaten back step by step. I think he has probably been forced to flee from the mountain valley."

"Zhang Ziqian is one of the best commanders of the Imperial Guards. If he were to take action, even if Xia Mingyuan had some advantages in terms of manpower, he would not be able to challenge the Imperial Guards of Great Xia."

"Didn't he just send a team to inform us?"

As he spoke, Xia Lingfeng looked triumphantly at Yu Liang behind him and winked at him.

Yu Liang suppressed the urge to curse, stepped forward, bowed, and replied according to Xia Mingyuan's instructions: "General Ma, when we came out to report the news, Xia Mingyuan was already retreating step by step. He was forced to fight to the death at the entrance of the mountain."

Hearing this, Ma Guangyuan still frowned, with some doubt in his eyes.

After a while, he often sighed and looked at the mountains on both sides of the valley with a serious look.

"If I were the commander, I would definitely set up an ambush in this terrain. If we fall into the trap, even if we have 5,000 troops, we will suffer losses."

Hearing this, Xia Lingfeng suddenly sneered and glanced at Ma Guangyuan with an unfriendly look.

"General Ma, you are one of the chief generals of Huaiqing Prefecture. Could it be that your brain is not as good as a seven or eight-year-old child like me?"

Hearing this, Ma Guangyuan was stunned and subconsciously looked at Xia Lingfeng, with a flash of anger in his eyes.

As a general of an army of tens of thousands, it would be very unpleasant for him to be looked down upon by a kid who hasn't even grown all his hair yet.

If the person in front of him was not of noble status and was not the most beloved prince of His Majesty the Emperor, he would have taught him a lesson no matter what.

Before he could open his mouth to defend himself, Xia Lingfeng suddenly grinned and said, "General Ma, according to your intelligence from Huaiqing Prefecture, Xia Mingyuan's total military strength is only about 7,000 to 8,000 men."

"Now my army of 15,000 is about to besiege Hanyang. Even if he is extremely brave, he must leave at least 6,000 men to defend the city."

"Xia Mingyuan previously brought over a thousand cavalrymen to harass and attack us. I'm afraid this was his last trump card."

"Even if he wants to set up an ambush here, he needs someone to do it."

"Even if there really were a thousand men lying in ambush here, even if they broke their teeth, I'm afraid they wouldn't be able to eat so many of us, right?"

"If he really has that ability, why would General Zhang still have the energy to divide his troops and send someone to pass on the news to me?"

When Ma Guangyuan heard this, he couldn't help but feel suspicious.

He had never fought with Xia Mingyuan before, so he had no idea what level this general was at.

Judging from the distribution of troops alone, although this matter is abnormal, we have to admit that what Xia Lingfeng said makes some sense.

After a long silence, he gritted his teeth and bowed to Xia Lingfeng.

"Your Highness, there must be something fishy going on. To be on the safe side, we should send some troops to investigate."

"Don't worry, in half an hour at most, we will be able to determine whether there is an ambush here."

"Half an hour?" Before Ma Guangyuan finished speaking, Xia Lingfeng's voice suddenly rose a few degrees.

"Ma Guangyuan, are you kidding me?"

"Half an hour. What if Xia Mingyuan escapes with his remaining troops? I want to capture him alive. Can you bear this responsibility?"

Xia Lingfeng's voice was cold, and his eyes flashed unfriendlyly at Ma Guangyuan.

Ma Guangyuan bent over, a thin layer of cold sweat oozing from his forehead.

"Your Highness, even if Xia Mingyuan escapes, Hanyang only has a few thousand troops, and it will take him down in an instant."

"presumptuous!"

Xia Lingfeng's expression darkened. "Ma Guangyuan, I've noticed that every single one of these generals from Huaiqing Prefecture doesn't take the royal family seriously."

"My decision is clearly the most correct, yet you insist on going far away instead of near. Are you secretly disobeying my orders?"

Xia Lingfeng's voice was cold and emotionless.

Ma Guangyuan wanted to curse in his heart, but he didn't dare to be negligent in the slightest and quickly knelt on the ground.

"Your Highness, please calm down. I would never dare to have such thoughts."

"I just want to be more cautious and ensure the safety of Your Highness."

"Humph, now you dare!"

Xia Lingfeng waved his sleeves fiercely, "Don't try to play tricks on me."

"Today I said to go directly into the valley and pursue the enemy. That is an order."

"If you are unwilling, I will lead my imperial guards there myself."

"However, when I return to the capital, I will report this to my father in person and let him decide where to put your head."

After saying this, Xia Lingfeng waved his whip in anger and looked at Yu Liang and others behind him.

"Let's go. No matter what, we must capture Xia Mingyuan alive today!"

After saying this, he took the lead and ran straight towards the valley.

Yu Liang followed behind him, with a smile on his face and a cold look in his eyes.

"Misfortunes sent by heaven can be forgiven, but those brought upon oneself cannot be forgiven."

"Xia Lingfeng is seeking death. I'm afraid even a god wouldn't be able to save him today."

Seeing Xia Lingfeng about to enter the valley without saying a word, Ma Guangyuan gritted his teeth, with black lines on his forehead.

"General Ma, why don't we follow them?"

"Your Highness is right. Xia Mingyuan's current military strength is indeed no longer capable of organizing an ambush."

Behind Ma Guangyuan, a captain rode forward with a serious look in his eyes.

"Even if we're ambushed, we have a total of 5,000 men. Unless Xia Mingyuan has 3,000 men, he won't be able to cause any harm to us even if we're ambushed."

"Whether or not to follow His Highness now is a matter of attitude on the part of our Huaiqing Mansion."

When Ma Guangyuan heard this, his face showed even more hesitation.

"This, this is not the way to fight a war!"

"I actually hope there's some ambush in the valley this time. Otherwise, if this brat takes charge of the troops, the consequences will be disastrous."

After saying that, Ma Guangyuan hesitated for a moment and looked back at the army behind him.

"Send out a thousand men to guard the mountain roads. Do not enter the valleys. This will allow for prompt response in case of any emergency."

"The rest of you, please pay attention to your realm and follow His Highness into the valley."

"If there is an ambush, be sure to take him out."

At Ma Guangyuan's command, Huaiqing Prefecture's 5,000-man army quickly split into 1,000 men and quickly headed towards two directions of the valley.

On the top of the mountain, Xia Mingyuan looked at the Huaiqing Prefecture army that had been divided into two groups, his face becoming more solemn.

"It seems that the enemy general is more difficult to deal with than we thought!"