Chapter 10 The whole story (2)

First of all, there were only 80,000 troops left in Gongdu after the war. In order to guard against a possible sneak attack by the Luobi people in winter, Xu Zhaojie transferred 50,000 able-bodied men out of the 80,000 Gongdu troops, including the initial 20,000 standing troops, to Wanfeng Prefecture to hold the front line, leaving only 30,000 troops in the rear.

Although the 30,000 people left behind seem to be a large number, more than 80% of them were newly recruited. A few months ago, they were all farmers or handicraftsmen, lacking training and equipment. What's more, the most important thing is that there are old, weak, sick and disabled people among them, ranging from 60 to 15 years old. You can imagine their combat effectiveness!
Secondly, the 30,000 Gongdu troops left behind were not gathered together, but were scattered in dozens of towns large and small in the rear of the Gongdu Kingdom. It would take a lot of time to gather them together, and now the war has just ended not long ago. The people of the Gongdu Kingdom are still immersed in the joy of suppressing the rebellion, and the war preparations in the rear are lax. They don't realize that their allies, the Great Zhou Imperial Army, will raid them!

The two thousand soldiers under the command of Wang Kangxin and Li Wanshun were all battle-hardened and well-equipped elite troops of the Great Zhou. If they planned intentionally or not, they might be able to launch a surprise attack and seize the granary in Luochuan Road, thus controlling the main source of supply for all the troops in the palace.

The reinforcements from Liujing that Ye Mingsheng wanted to stop would not exceed 8,000 people at most. Although he might not win a battle outside the city, there would basically be no problem in blocking the enemy in the city if he was well prepared.

It was precisely because of this that Wang Kangxin and Li Wanshun were very sure that they could get Ye Mingsheng to join their plan.

However, what Wang and Li never expected was that the original owner was very straightforward and rejected their ambitious plan without hesitation. No matter how much they talked, the original owner remained unmoved. In the end, the two people had no choice but to say a few harsh words and left in a rage...

The reason why the original owner rejected the plan of Wang and Li was not complicated. First of all, although the three of them were from the same Zhaowu Camp, from a factional perspective, the three of them did belong to the same faction in the army, but the relationship between the three was not good. Even when they were in the Zhaowu Camp, Ye Mingsheng and Li Wanshun had some minor conflicts because of jealousy.

Secondly, although the original owner was not a smart man, he was not stupid either. He knew very well how serious the consequences would be if he disobeyed military orders and started a war privately, and how great the risk he would have to bear was. If he was not careful, his family would be exterminated.
What's more important is that even if the plan was successful, when it came time to reward people for their contributions, his contribution would not be as great as that of Wang and Li who attacked the granary in Luochuan Road. So, despite the risk of having their property confiscated and their clan exterminated, the gain was not that great. After a little thought, the original owner naturally rejected the plan of Wang and Li.

Now that things have come to this, everything that happened before is no longer important. The most important thing is to look forward. Ye Mingsheng needs to find a way to get out of his current predicament.

Ye Mingsheng has been thinking about it over the past few days and has gradually understood the ins and outs of the whole matter. It seems that this matter is led by Wang Kangxin and Li Wanshun, two ambitious military officers of the Imperial Guards, but behind the scenes, it is very likely that the Supervisory Office is in control, and Wang and Li are just pawns pushed to the front.

Come to think of it, everyone knows how serious the crime of disobeying military orders and starting a war privately is. Although neither Wang Kangxin nor Li Wanshun are cowards, they are not so cruel. If there is no one to support them behind the scenes, they would never dare to do such a thing and risk being beheaded.

Realizing this, Ye Mingsheng suddenly thought of the rumors about the factional struggle between Prime Minister Shangguan Hongyuan and the noble group in the court of the Great Zhou Dynasty. He shuddered all over as if he understood something.

If he was not mistaken, the Supervisory Department was most likely a pawn behind this matter...

After a moment, Ye Mingsheng shook his head violently, as if to drive some thoughts out of his mind. He was only a seventh-rank imperial guard commander, commanding more than a thousand men. The fights between the bigwigs in the temple had nothing to do with him now. His most important thing now was to ensure his own safety. ···················
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Three days later, March 13th.

Wang Kangxin and Li Wanshun, dressed lightly and with only three or two trusted confidants, quietly came to Ruishan County. Once they entered the county, they, along with their men, went straight to Liu's Mansion where Ye Mingsheng was, as if they were familiar with the route.

As the captain of the personal guards, Ye Tie, after settling the two and their men, came to the study in the backyard and reported to Ye Mingsheng, who was resting with his eyes closed:

"Master, Wang Kangxin and Li Wanshun are here, and everything is ready!"

Hearing the names "Wang, Li", Ye Mingsheng opened his eyes, a cold light flashed in his eyes, and without saying much, he just nodded, then stepped out of the bedroom and walked towards the front yard of the house. Behind him, Ye Tie, the captain of the personal guards, followed him closely.

This Liu Mansion was originally the residence of a wealthy businessman in the city, so it covers a very large area. In addition, Ye Mingsheng deliberately walked slowly, so it took him a long time to walk from the backyard to the reception room in the front yard.

"Lord Ye, you are finally here. My brother and I came in person, and it would be fine if you didn't come out to greet us, but you actually made us wait here for almost half an incense stick of time. You are really outrageous!"

As soon as Ye Mingsheng stepped into the reception room, he saw Li Wanshun, a burly man in casual clothes with a goose-wing sword hanging from his waist, sitting at the octagonal table in the reception room and starting to speak in a sarcastic manner.

"Brother Wang, Brother Li, I'm sorry I'm late because of my busy military duties. I hope you won't mind!"

Ye Mingsheng turned a blind eye to Li Wanshun's dissatisfaction. Although he said "Brother Li, Brother Wang", his eyes were on Wang Kangxin, who was sitting opposite Li Wanshun and was also wearing casual clothes. He looked gentle and elegant, like a pale scholar. He did not even look at Li Wanshun.

Seeing that Ye Mingsheng dared to ignore him, Li Wanshun immediately wanted to explode. However, just as he was about to open his mouth, he saw the scholar Wang Kangxin sitting opposite him giving him a look. Then he remembered the purpose of his coming here, so he forced himself to suppress the anger in his heart and did not explode.

(End of this chapter)