After inspecting the second manufacturing plant, Ye Mingsheng, who was in a good mood, returned to his governor's house. As soon as he returned to the study and his chair was still warm, his attendant Qi Dechao came to report with a memorial. ············
Glancing at the memorial in Qi Dechao's hand, Ye Mingsheng's heart moved and he asked:
"Is there news from Gongdu?"
"Yes! Sir, when you just went to inspect the second manufacturing plant, the staff sent someone to deliver the memorial!" After saying this, Qi Dechao respectfully presented the memorial to Ye Mingsheng.
Ye Mingsheng, whose eyes were a little tired, ordered while rubbing his temples:
"You tell me!"
"yes!"
After hearing this, Qi Dechao took back the memorial and began to preach:
"General Yuan Song of the First Division reported that his troops had successfully captured Xianxing County and captured the enemy guard Li Xuanren. Li Xuanren has now been handed over to the Coordination Office. After entering the palace, the First Division has lost 360 people. Eleven people and 677 wounded. The First Division will rest in Hamhung County for one day and then continue to advance to Seosan County as planned..."
Qi Dechao paused here, hesitated a little and said:
"General Yuan said in his memorial that Ye Dong was brave and resourceful in the battle in the palace, and he made great contributions and captured thousands of palace officers and soldiers. However, one of his commanders suffered a recurrence of an old injury and could not continue to participate in the battle in the palace. , so General Yuan asked you to approve Ye Dongsheng as commander!"
Hearing the name "Ye Dong", Ye Mingsheng, who was leaning on the chair and rubbing the Qingming point, could not help but slow down a little, and a trace of complicated emotions emerged in his heart. As the first few people after he came to this world, Little brother, he has always trusted Ye Dong. He took him with him and made him the captain of his own soldiers. He has been trying to cultivate him by teaching him through words and deeds.
Although Ye Dong was loyal to him, even if he asked him to jump into the fire pit, I believe he would jump down without hesitation, but he was always a bit impatient in his actions. When he was in Shoucheng, it was because of his negligence that he almost died Put yourself in danger.
Ye Mingsheng, who hated iron after that, removed him from his position as captain of his own soldiers and sent him to Yuan Song to train at the forefront of the Fengwu Army... ····
Although Ye Dong was transferred away from him, Ye Mingsheng had been secretly paying attention to his movements. Ye Dong had made many military exploits under Yuan Song when he promoted the military army.
Even more so, when Yuan Song was besieged by the Zhenwu Army at the foot of Dongning City, he personally led the death squad to block the gap in the camp where the camp was destroyed. He made great contributions to the fact that Yuan Song's tribe was able to survive the siege by the main force of the Zhenwu Army at that time!
Yuan Song, who was deeply impressed by Ye Dong's bravery after the war, personally wrote a memorial to Ye Mingsheng to commend Ye Dong, hoping to promote Ye Dong to the rank of commander. Ye Mingsheng also expressed his support for Ye Dong's great contribution. I am happy for my little brother.
However, it was only a few months before Ye Mingsheng transferred Ye Dong. Ye Mingsheng was worried that promoting Ye Dong so quickly would easily make him complacent and the lessons he would learn would not be profound, which would be detrimental to his future growth, so he transferred The matter was suppressed, and Ye Dong was allowed to continue to be the deputy commander.
Now more than half a year has passed. When people from the Coordination Office reported to him, they all said that Ye Dong was much calmer and more mature, and no longer as frivolous as before. Now that Ye Dong has made such great achievements again, Ye Mingsheng believes in him. He had already settled down a lot, so now the time was ripe to promote him, so he nodded and said:
"Yuan Song's request is approved. He promotes Ye Dong to the rank of seventh-rank commander. In addition, I have a message for Ye Dong to follow Yuan Song in the palace and work hard to bring honor to the Ye family!"
"yes!"
"Besides these Yuan Song's memorials, is there anything else?"
"General Yuan said nothing else!"
Qi Dechao glanced at the time on the memorial and said to Ye Mingsheng:
"By the way, sir! General Yuan's memorial was sent from the palace three days ago. It is estimated that General Yuan's first division should have arrived in Ruishan County by now... ········”
"Um!"
Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly, picked up the tea on the desk, took a sip and continued to ask:
"Do you have any news about Guo Zhiping and the others now?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Qi Dechao said without thinking:
"General Guo and the others have now arrived at Wanfeng Mansion. According to the plan, they just launched a feint attack on Wanfeng Mansion. However, according to General Guo's report, the Gongdu garrison in Wanfeng Mansion is very weak. He asked for instructions if they can capture Wanfeng Mansion in one fell swoop. Feng Mansion?"
After hearing this, Ye Mingsheng pondered for a moment and said:
"Reply to him! Tell him that the purpose of our army's troops in the palace is not to occupy the palace, but to eliminate Wang Kangxin, Shen Jianzhong and other remnants, so let him act according to the plan and pay close attention to Liu Jing's enemies. Once Wang Kangxin takes the bait, he and Peng Ce must ensure that they support Yuan Song's First Division as quickly as possible and annihilate all the enemy's effective forces!"
Remembering Ye Mingsheng's instructions verbatim in his mind, Qi Dechao continued:
"Director Wang from the Coordination Office went to Gongdu five days ago to assist Kobayakawa Takahide in his work. He reported that he had met with representatives of the Gongdu clan, and the negotiations between the two parties were progressing very actively. The other party He said that as long as our troops are not in the palace, we will continue to station troops in the palace and interfere in the internal affairs and diplomacy of the palace."
'They can help us capture Wang Kangxin and Shen Jianzhong, and continue to recognize us as the suzerain state, and pay tribute to us every year...'
When Ye Mingsheng heard this, a sneer appeared on his face and he replied lightly:
"Now eliminating the two hidden dangers of Wang Kangxin and Shen Jianzhong is the top priority. The interests of Gongdu can be put aside first, so that Wang Xuecheng can agree to the request of the Gongdu clan. When our army enters the pass and captures Youyan, we can spare our efforts. It’s not too late to take back the palace!”
When Ye Mingsheng decided to send troops to kill Wang Kangxin in the palace before listening to the staff's battle plan, he considered the possibility that Wang Kangxin and Shen Jianzhong would play with him to hold on to the city and clear the country, delaying time, so Ye Mingsheng He used Kobayakawa Takahide's chess piece to make the first move, contacting the forces within the palace, drawing them in and dividing them, and turning them against Wang Kangxin.
In this way, even if Wang Kangxin and Shen Jianzhong want to clear the country and defend the city, they will not be united in their internal support. Ye Mingsheng can still break through their defenses from within and send these two guys to the west... ········
After saying this, Ye Mingsheng's eye fatigue was almost relieved, and he started to deal with the accumulated official documents. He just finished writing a few words on a memorial asking for money transfer for disaster relief. Ye Mingsheng Seeing that Qi Dechao did not exit the study as usual, he asked with some surprise:
"Is there anything else going on in Gongdu?"
Qi Dechao shook his head and said:
"There is something else, but it's not about the palace, but news from within the customs!"
Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng suddenly became interested. He put down the brush in his hand and leaned on the back of his chair to preach:
"Tell me about it!"
"Sir, first of all, there is news from Yunbin. After Zhao Fuqu led his troops into Yunbin, although they encountered a stubborn resistance from Feng Han's troops, now Zhao Fuqu has successfully reached Jinzhong, which is only a few hundred miles away from Jinyang. , there are only 10,000 Jinzhong defenders, and if Feng Han, who is stationed in Jinyang, does not send troops to support, the staff estimates that Zhao Fuqu will be able to capture Jinzhong in half a month at the latest!"
After listening to Qi Dechao's words, Ye Mingsheng's eyes narrowed and he began to think silently.
Previously, He Jingyun and other staff members of the staff believed that Zhao Fuqu could capture Jinzhong before the cold winter came, but now it seems that Zhao Fuqu's progress in dispatching troops to join the army was ten to twenty times faster than the time deduced by the staff. sky···············
It seems that the Yan army under Zhao Fuqu is stronger than expected!
If this is the case, then the previous operational deductions of the general staff should be postponed and the progress of Zhao Fuqu's dispatch of troops to Yunbin and the strength of the Yan army should be recalculated
Seeing Ye Mingsheng lost in thought, Qi Dechao hesitated for a moment, but still wanted to express his opinion and said tentatively:
"Sir, I think it is not strange that the Yan army is advancing so fast..."
After listening to Qi Dechao's words, Ye Mingsheng calmly ordered:
"Keep talking!"
With Ye Mingsheng's permission, Qi Dechao's confidence was somewhat encouraged and he organized some speeches.
"Sir, according to the report from the Coordination Office, Zhao Fuqu has been planning to invade Yunbin for a long time. The Yan army's secretaries had disguised themselves as traveling merchants a few years ago and began to set foot on the boundaries of Yunbin, measuring the terrain, mountains, rivers, and preparing for the invasion of Yunbin. prepare for!"
"The land of Youyan has been full of heroes since ancient times, and the people are fierce. The Yan army under Zhao Fuqu has been fighting with the Luobi people all the year round. Their combat effectiveness is already at the forefront among many vassal towns in the Great Zhou Dynasty. This time they have accumulated a lot of experience and gained from us. The manufacturing method of Polu Guns has been obtained here, and the combat effectiveness of thousands of Polu Guns has been greatly increased. It is normal for the progress to be so fast!"
"However, judging from the following, Feng Han is not an ordinary person that Shangguan Hongyuan values and sits in Yunbin. Jinyang is one of the most powerful cities in the world with high walls and thick walls. Shangguan Hongyuan will not sit back and watch Feng Han. Han was destroyed in Yunbin, so I think Zhao Fuqu’s next actions in Yunbin will not be so smooth again..."
After telling Ye Mingsheng everything he was thinking, Qi Dechao looked at Ye Mingsheng with some expectation and some anxiety.
Under Qi Dechao's gaze, Ye Mingsheng glanced at him, then a faint smile appeared on his face and said:
"Yes, if you can think of these things, it means you are using your brain!"
Hearing what Ye Mingsheng said, Qi Dechao said with some embarrassment:
"It's all the words and deeds of adults who teach me well, and De Chao has benefited a lot!"
"It's only through your own efforts that you can make progress!"
After encouraging Qi Dechao for a few words, Ye Mingsheng asked again:
"Did the two thousand Polu guns that Yan Jun ordered from us last time be sent to You Yan?"
After hearing Ye Mingsheng's question, Qi Dechao recalled it and said:
"Sir, if I remember correctly, Youyan needs the two thousand Polu guns very urgently. In order to get the full amount as soon as possible, we also provide loans to farmers to buy seeds and agricultural tools, so we directly borrowed them from our combat troops. I took out some old muskets and sent them over..."
"Although we use second-hand ones, the quality is better than those produced by Youyan. So a few days ago, I heard that people from Youyan were discussing with Mr. Gu to purchase another thousand Polu guns from us. So, In addition, I also want to purchase two thousand Weiyuan guns!"
After introducing these situations, and thinking of the previous content, Qi Dechao asked thoughtfully:
"Sir, are you not going to sell it this time? Are you going to hold Yan Jun back?"
Ye Mingsheng waved his hands, smiled, and said meaningfully:
"Buy! Of course I have to buy it! As long as Zhao Fuqu can afford the price, I will sell him as much as he wants. Why don't I make money from the money delivered to my door?"
"However, when our army sends troops to Gongdu, it also consumes a huge amount of firearms, so it cannot be delivered in one go like in the past. It needs to be delivered in batches, and we have to coordinate the time of batch delivery!"
"In addition, we in Liaoyang are poor and have financial difficulties, so in order for the factory to start producing firearms for them, Youyan needs to pay the expenses in advance!"
After Ye Mingsheng finished speaking, Qi Dechao gave him a thumbs up and said sincerely:
"Sir, this trick of yours is really good! It's like killing two birds with one stone!"
In response to Qi Dechao's compliment, Ye Mingsheng just smiled and asked without paying much attention:
"Except Zhao Fuqu, Shangguan Hongyuan and Lin Shize, how are they doing outside the pass?"
"Shangguan Hongyuan is based in Luo'an and has sent his general Li Cheng'en to lead 100,000 forbidden troops to encircle and suppress Lin Shize's southern patrol court. At present, Li Chengen has captured Hanzhong, and the next step should be to enter Shu. Although the offensive of the forbidden troops is fierce, it is gone. We don’t know how long the world’s money and food supply can last, and Sichuan and Shu are protected by natural dangers, so it’s still unclear who will win and who will lose between them..."
"Duan Yuting, the envoy of Anqing'an who was loyal to the Southern Patrol Court, was seriously ill and was about to die, so he reported to the Southern Patrol Court in the hope that the emperor could send someone to take his place!"
Hearing the news, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but feel a little emotional. Although the vassal towns of the Great Zhou Dynasty are now divided and heroes are everywhere, after three hundred years of the Great Zhou Dynasty, there are still many people who cherish the Zhou family and want to be loyal to the emperor.
Anqing is a wealthy place. Duan Yuting, the Anqing patrol envoy, also has tens of thousands of troops under his command. If he said he didn't want it at first, he would give it to the southern patrol court directly. This man named Duan is really a loyal minister of the Zhou Dynasty!
Just as Ye Mingsheng was sighing with emotion, Qi Dechao continued to introduce:
"It is said that the imperial court visited the south and intended to send Xu Zhaojie to take over Duan Yuting's position and personnel..."
