The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

Yan Yu stepped forward to stop Ping An and said, "Actually, your task is very simple. Just help me stop the people from entering the tent."

"Where are you going?" Ping An keenly and accurately grasped the meaning of Yan Yu's words.

"Well, I'm not going anywhere. I just need to find out some information and will be back soon." Ping An is becoming more and more difficult to deceive. Yan Yu sighed silently in his heart, wondering how he can continue to deceive Ping An if he doesn't agree.

"To gather information?" Ping An looked at Yan Yu as if he were a fool. "Sir, can you deceive me any better? You, a commander, go to gather information? Then what are scouts for? Whose commander goes to gather information personally?"

"How can I be called a commander? I'm just temporarily taking care of my father's worries." Yan Yu looked at Ping An and said, "This matter is really important. It's related to the outcome of the entire battle, so Ping An, you must help me. I promise to be back soon, no later than midnight today."

Ping'an was full of contradictions at the moment. If he didn't agree, what if he missed the opportunity to fight? If he lost the battle, it would not benefit his son at all. Not only would he be ridiculed and mocked, but he might also lose the master's attention, and thus return to the days of being manipulated by others and living in fear of his own death.

But if he agreed, it would not be good. This was a battlefield, and where on the battlefield was there any place that was not dangerous and safe? Those swords had no eyes, and if they were hurt, it could be fatal.

Even when Ping An hesitated, Yan Yu knew something was up. "Okay, Ping An, I promise you that not only will I be back soon, but I will also be back in one piece, without any injuries."

After saying this, Yan Yu didn't wait for Ping An's response, turned around and left the tent to meet up with Qin Gang and the others.

By the time Ping An realized what was happening, Yan Yu had already left the camp in disguise. Ping An was so angry that he stamped his feet, but he had no choice but to help Yan Yu hide the fact that he was not in the camp.

Yan Yu led a group of people out of the camp and headed straight for the back mountain. Yan Yu had done enough homework in advance and knew that there was a small path in the back mountain. Although it was a little difficult to walk on because it was rarely visited on weekdays, it could lead to the enemy's rear at the shortest speed without being easily discovered. This was exactly what Yan Yu wanted.

Led by a hunter who was familiar with the trail, Yan Yu and his group quickly crossed the forest path on foot and reached the enemy's rear.

Yan Yu observed the situation and found that this team did not seem to be a regular army, but rather a group of guerrillas. The soldiers were lazy and had no vigilance at all, and were not nervous about the impending war.

Everything in front of him made Yan Yu a little confused. He didn't know much about Li Bin, but he was sure that this person was not an uneducated fool. If he didn't have real ability, the Xirong people would not choose to cooperate with him.

But the scene before him made Yan Yu wonder whether this was Li Bin's main force.

Seeing Yan Yu frowning and not saying anything, Qin Gang stepped forward and asked, "Major General, what's wrong? Is there any problem?"

Yan Yu pointed to the tents ahead and said to Qin Gang, "Come and see."

Qin Gang walked up to Yan Yu and looked up. There seemed to be something wrong with the order of the tents in front of him.

"Why does this tent look a little strange?" Although Qin Gang was not a soldier all year round, he had been to the battlefield with Bai Qishan and could see the ins and outs of it.

"That's right, something's wrong." Yan Yu stood up and pointed ahead. "Tents are usually arranged in groups according to the order of the camps, but these tents are arranged in a mess, creating the illusion that there are many people here. But in reality, there are not only not many people here, but they are all scattered and guerrillas. In other words, is this really Li Bin's main force?"

Qin Gang was also a smart man, and he immediately realized what Yan Yu was trying to say. "No way, is there something wrong with our scouts? That's impossible. We've sent out at least a hundred scouts these past few days. A small number of them might have problems, but it's impossible for hundreds of them to have problems at the same time."

"If it's not our fault, then it must be the enemy's." Yan Yu's expression grew serious. "Is it possible that Li Bin has been creating false information to feed our scouts?"

This tactic of "the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind" was also used by Yan Yu in his previous life, and his method was much more sophisticated than Li Bin's. At least when he wiped out his opponents, his opponents did not notice any flaws.

Yan Yu's words startled Qin Gang. All's fair in war. In addition to the competition in numbers on the battlefield, there is also a competition in tactics. These generals who are well-versed in military tactics use almost the same tactics on the battlefield. The only thing they compete with is who uses them more skillfully and who can seize the initiative more unexpectedly.

"Then what should we do now?" Qin Gang was scared just thinking about it. If Yan Yu had not been careful enough to notice something was wrong, if they had acted according to the original plan, they would have suffered a great loss. It was not certain whether they could escape unscathed and return alive today.

Yan Yu was also in a dilemma at this time. The current situation was not within his expectations and was beyond his plan. However, if this matter was not clarified, there might be a big conspiracy waiting for them.

"Major General, let me take people to find out. Before I joined the Royal Guards, I was a scout in the barracks. It is not difficult for me to find out information." At this time, Meng San stood up.

Yan Yu looked up at Meng San. He felt that his luck was really too good. He always got what he wanted. "Okay, take a few people with you. Remember, be careful and don't let the other party notice."

"Don't worry, General. I know." Meng San turned around and said, "Xiao Hu, come with me."

"Okay." Although Du Xiaohu was not a scout, he was good at light work and also knew the turtle breathing technique, so he could walk past others without being noticed.

"Go quickly and come back quickly. It doesn't matter if you can't find out any information, as long as the person comes back safely." Yan Yu didn't actually have much illusions about this investigation. After all, time was short, and whether he could find out any information depended entirely on luck.

"Okay." After Meng San answered, he took Du Xiaohu and the other two people away.

After seeing them off, Yan Yu turned around and told Qin Gang, "Brother Qin, please go and tell Lieutenant General Li to hold his troops in place until we have a clear understanding of the situation before taking action."

"Also, go back and bring the front battalion and the left wing battalion. I have a feeling we may have to move our position." Yan Yu has an innate keen sense as a soldier. Although he doesn't know what is happening now, his premonition tells him that this is definitely not where Li Bin's main force is. He must make preparations in advance to avoid being caught off guard.

Yan Yu's guess was correct. Li Bin's main force was indeed not where he was. At this moment, Li Bin was hiding with his main force on Wuling Mountain, more than ten miles away from where he released the fog bomb.

According to Li Bin's plan, he originally intended to use a part of his people as the main force to confuse Yan Yu. When Yan Yu was fooled and attacked, he would lead the army to unexpectedly destroy and occupy Yan Yu's base camp, so as to wipe out all of Yan Yu's men here. Then he could lead his army to the capital to attack Li Rui unimpeded.

The plan was beautiful, but the reality was cruel. Li Bin thought that the person fighting against him was Yan Mingde, but he didn't expect it was Yan Mingde's son Yan Yu, a man who had fought more battles in his previous life than he had eaten.

It is already early summer, but Li Bin is still wearing a thin cloak made of crane feathers. He was born with a cold disease, so he has to wear very thick clothes even in the hot summer.

Li Bin stood on the highest peak of Wuling Mountain, gazing into the distance.

"Your Highness, the wind is strong on the mountain. Let's go down the mountain." Looking at the increasingly strong wind, the old butler Tan Bo beside Li Bin couldn't help but worry whether his frail master could withstand it.

"Ah!" Li Bin sighed. Due to his poor health, he had been confined to his room for most of his life, rarely even going out to the yard. Now he finally had the chance to experience the beautiful scenery described in the books, but in the end, he still had to take care of his failing health.

"Let's go." Li Bin turned around and prepared to go down the mountain. Uncle Tan quickly stepped forward to support him, and the two of them walked slowly together.

"How's the situation over there?" The way down the mountain was difficult, and Li Bin moved cautiously, as slowly as an old ox pulling a cart. Earlier, when he had gone up the mountain, he had brought no one except Uncle Tan with him, in order to enjoy this rare quiet time. Now, even if he wanted to find someone to accompany him, he couldn't find anyone.

"Yan Mingde has already believed that our main force is stationed on the banks of the Chuling River. He has ordered people to guard the ferry. It seems that they are ready for a fight to the death." Uncle Tan is old. He was almost exhausted from climbing the mountain just now. Now he was out of breath after walking down the mountain for only two steps.

Li Bin smiled with satisfaction, as if he could already see victory in sight. He had painstakingly cultivated his power for so many years, even resorting to foreign alliances, all for the sole purpose of returning to the capital to defeat Li Rui, take the throne, and make those who had bullied and looked down on him pay the price.

They were all princes, all born into humble circumstances. Why was it that Li Rui could escape the shackles of his status, becoming emperor overnight and enjoying the honor of being worshipped by the masses, while he could only continue to be criticized and despised, relegated to the most remote place as an idle prince? But since childhood, he had always been smarter and more capable than Li Rui, and he really couldn't accept this.

"Your Highness, we have acted without consulting the Left Wise King this time. If he knew about this, would he suspect that we were treacherous and stab us in the back?" Compared to Li Bin's complacency, Tan Bo was more worried that they would be attacked from all sides because they did not abide by the agreement with Ainuer Xiong'an, and would be in a difficult situation.

"Hmph! Negotiate with him? Is that even possible?" Li Bin had never intended to cooperate with the Xirong people from the beginning. He simply wanted to use their influence to help him. Once he achieved his goal, he would throw off their control. This was Yun Li's territory, so how could he still be afraid of them?

"Ainur Xiong'an, that idiot! I was originally hoping he could serve me, but he turned out to be such a useless piece of shit. Before I could even start, he was drugged and unconscious for days before he woke up. Good enough for me not to settle accounts with such a useless bastard. How could he even think of complaining to me?"

Although Li Bin was raised by Concubine Jing, who was from the Western Rong, he had great contempt and disdain for this barbaric nation in his heart.

The two were talking when Li Bin suddenly missed his kick and fell to the side. When Uncle Tan saw Li Bin fall, he reached out to help him, but he failed to catch Li Bin and they rolled down the hill together. Fortunately, they were stopped by a tree stump.

Although the man was stopped by the tree stump, the impact of the collision with the stump was much greater than the damage caused by rolling down the mountain.

Fortunately, Li Bin's body did not hit the tree stump directly, but hit Tan Bo.

Poor Uncle Tan was already old, and was hit by a double attack from the tree stump and Li Bin, which almost killed him on the spot.

Li Bin, who had recovered from his shock, immediately looked at Uncle Tan and asked, "Uncle Tan, are you okay?"

Uncle Tan is very special to Li Bin. He has been taking care of him since he was a child. In his heart, Uncle Tan is even more important than his wife.

Uncle Tan was hit so hard that he couldn't speak. He raised his hand and waved at Li Bin to indicate that he was fine.

But how could he look like he was fine? Li Bin was so anxious that he wanted to pull Uncle Tan away, but he couldn't take care of himself, so how could he take care of Uncle Tan?

Just when Li Bin was so anxious that he didn't know what to do, Meng San appeared with Du Xiaohu and two personal guards.

It was such a coincidence that Meng San and his group were riding horses and met a small group of soldiers who were out hunting for a snack. Although there were only four of them, they had all been specially trained. For them, the ordinary seven or eight people were not even a side dish.

After finding out that Li Bin's main force, including Li Bin himself, were on Wuling Mountain, Meng San and his men dealt with these people, changed into their clothes, took their military badges, and went around the back mountain to go up the mountain, ready to find out the truth and see if they could find out the situation of the troop deployment.

Who would have thought that they would meet Li Bin and his friends just when they climbed halfway up the mountain.