The Mighty Tiger Division marched for a day and a night.
After leaving Maicheng, they chose a mountain forest, quietly bypassed the two opposing armies, and successfully reached the rear of the Northern Underworld Emperor's plan.
They were getting closer to Mengcheng, but the terrain ahead was mostly flat, and going out would definitely expose their whereabouts.
Just as Xia Yixin was considering how to launch a surprise attack, she received an "unexpected surprise."
The vanguard of the film crew brought news that they had discovered Prince Rui's whereabouts several kilometers away. Moreover, he was hiding in the mountains with 50,000 well-equipped and well-supplied soldiers.
Xia Yixin's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and she immediately ordered the entire army to hide in the grove and rest on the spot. She took advantage of the gradually darkening sky to scout ahead first.
Sure enough, a large camp appeared by the stream deep in the dense forest. The other side seemed to have the same idea as them, hiding quietly without even lighting a campfire. Judging from the number of tents, there were at least 50,000 people.
However, these 50,000 people were of mixed quality, as if they had been temporarily assembled. There were middle-aged people in their forties and teenagers as young as thirteen or fourteen, but the armor they held in their hands and wore on their bodies was all brand new.
Xia Yixin subconsciously glanced at the armor of the vanguard soldiers beside her. Although they were now soldiers of Nanyu, Chu Mubai's side could not produce the uniforms of more than 5,000 Nanyu soldiers at the moment, so the armor they wore was still their old armor.
Looking at it this way, it does seem rather shabby.
However, when she turned her gaze to the camp of 50,000 people, Xia Yixin's lips curled up. Regardless of how Crown Prince Rui got here, she gave him full marks for this "delivery".
"Ying, notify the troops behind. Have the first battalion speed up their march. The second and third battalions are responsible for the encirclement. They should surround the area at 500-meter intervals, making sure not even a fly can get out. The first battalion and the vanguard will attack after dark. They will act on the signal and try to capture them alive. They should finish the battle quickly. The other troops will protect Zi Linglong from the rear and remain still," Xia Yixin ordered in a deep voice.
Yingwei, now the captain of the vanguard, was slightly surprised. "Including the vanguard, there are only 1,500 people in total. The enemy has at least 50,000. Is this alright?"
"Don't worry, Ying, it's enough." Xia Yixin patted Ying's shoulder, feeling that the man who had lived like Zi Linglong's shadow during this period of military life had gradually changed.
Ying received the order to leave, and with his exceptional lightness skill, he quickly returned to the rear.
On the other hand, Prince Rui had no idea that he had already become someone else's meal.
It turns out that after leaving Maicheng, Crown Prince Rui did not go far at all. He wrote a letter to the Northern Underworld Emperor, begging him to give him one last chance.
The Northern Emperor was worried because the Southern Emperor had torn up the peace treaty, so he hurriedly dispatched troops to defend the towns around Maicheng. It should be noted that Maicheng was only about 800 li away from the capital of the Northern Emperor. If they traveled day and night, they could reach it in just a few days on horseback.
Emperor Beiming hastily assembled a large number of soldiers in Liangcheng and Yicheng, opposite Maicheng, in an attempt to block Nanyu's soldiers in Maicheng. However, Zhao Tuo led a large army to harass and attack Xicheng, a major town in the northwest. Only then did Emperor Beiming realize that he was in an embarrassing situation where he had no one to rely on.
For many years, eunuchs controlled the government, and the truly capable generals in the court had long been either killed or demoted.
Left with no other choice, Emperor Beiming threw out his dozen or so princes, but they were utterly incompetent. Within days, they were routed by Zhao Tuo's army and fled in disgrace, leaving behind hundreds of thousands of elite Beiming soldiers.
Seeing that more than a third of the more than one hundred cities of Beiming had been swallowed up by the army of Nanyu, the Emperor of Beiming, in his desperation after receiving a letter from Crown Prince Rui, hastily conscripted 50,000 soldiers from the vicinity of the capital and gave them to him.
Crown Prince Rui was ambitious this time; he hadn't slept for days and nights, all for the sake of revenge.
This time he was smarter. He deliberately chose desolate mountains and wilderness, waiting for the new emperor to send troops to launch a surprise attack and wipe out the new emperor and Chu Mubai in one fell swoop. He even sketched out countless images in his mind of how he would skin Yan Jiu alive after capturing him.
Prince Rui chose a flat, secluded spot deep in the dense forest to set up camp, which was well hidden. However, Prince Rui was extremely unlucky, as the spot he chose happened to be the same place where Xia Yixin's team had passed through.
To avoid being discovered, Prince Rui even ordered that no fires be lit. The soldiers, who had been temporarily conscripted, had been traveling for more than three days. In addition, they had been eating raw food in the area, and many of them, including Prince Rui, suffered from diarrhea.
Late at night, Crown Prince Rui felt another sharp pain in his stomach. Frustrated, he left his tent and waved away the soldiers who were following him, shouting, "Get out! You have to follow me even when I go to the toilet! Go wait somewhere else!"
Prince Rui found the latrines used by the other soldiers disgusting, so he went to his own private spot on the other side of the tent to relieve himself. As he was tying his belt and walking back, he suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck.
His heart skipped a beat, because he had left in such a hurry that he hadn't even brought his sword.
What's even more terrifying is that at this moment he heard a voice he never dreamed of.
"Your Highness, it's been a long time."
It's Yanjiu!?
What's he doing here? Shouldn't he be in Maicheng?
Crown Prince Rui opened his mouth to shout, but something was suddenly stuffed into his mouth. The pill melted instantly in his mouth, and cold sweat broke out on Crown Prince Rui's forehead. "What...what did you give me?!"
"Of course I'll make you behave. If you dare to move, your intestines will burst open immediately."
Yan Jiu's (Xia Yixin's) words were like the words of a demon to Crown Prince Rui. He was already weak from diarrhea, and now he simply collapsed to the ground.
Xia Yixin looked at the limp Crown Prince Rui with disdain, truly not understanding how the original owner could have fallen for such a person.
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