Chapter 1000: Murder and Frame-up!
In the study room of the Hanyang General's Mansion, Li Zhengyong looked at Ye Pengchao who was walking quickly. He didn't even plan to stand up to greet him. He just picked up the teacup and took a sip with a calm expression...

Seeing this, Ye Pengchao's eyes flashed with anger, but he did not flare up. He still bowed and said:
"Your subordinate Ye Pengchao greets General Li!"

Seeing Ye Pengchao bowing to him and calling himself his subordinate, Li Zhengyong felt as comfortable and proud as eating hot pot in the coldest days of winter!
He always believed that the success of the Hanyang Incident was due to the fact that it was him, Li, who led his troops in the uprising and laid the foundation for victory, so he, Li Zhengyong, was the person who made the greatest contribution!
In the end, Duan Zhibao, who was hiding in Tanzhou, took advantage of the situation and became the commander-in-chief of the Fifth Army!

Although the Fengwu Army gave him a lot of wealth and conferred on him the title of General of Hanyang, Li Zhengyong still felt unbalanced!
After much thought, he felt that the reason why he failed to compete with Duan Zhibao and lost the title of commander-in-chief was entirely because of Ye Pengchao's interference!
Ye Pengchao has a better relationship with Duan Zhibao. They have very close contacts, and Ye Pengchao may even have accepted money from Duan Zhibao!
So under Ye Pengchao's lobbying, Duan Zhibao took advantage of the situation and snatched away the position of commander-in-chief of the Fifth Army!
Although there was no evidence to prove what Li Zhengyong thought, Li Zhengyong was convinced of his own judgment. Therefore, while he was jealous of Duan Zhibao, he also hated Ye Pengchao...
However, in the later conflict with Zhang Shengli, Li Zhengyong, as the general, was somewhat embarrassed in the face of Zhang Shengli's uncompromising attitude.

Li Zhengyong originally wanted to ask Ye Pengchao to mediate and let Zhang Shengli take out some muskets, so that he, Li's face could be saved!
But what Li Zhengyong never expected was that Ye Pengchao did not give him any face at all. He directly said that he could not interfere in military affairs and directly hurt Li's face.

Finally, the matter came to nothing. Li Zhengyong, who did not get a musket from Zhang Shengli, was also humiliated. Li Zhengyong secretly hated Ye Pengchao and Zhang Shengli, and secretly vowed to settle accounts with these people sooner or later!

Although he wanted to settle accounts with those who bullied him, Li Zhengyong knew in his heart at that time that Jingchu was already under the control of the Fengwu Army.

Although he is now the general of Hanyang and the assistant commander of the Fifth Army, his status is not high in the eyes of the Fengwu Army. Although Ye Pengchao does not hold a high official position now, he is already a fifth-rank official and is temporarily acting as the deputy envoy of the Jingchu Censorate.

Considering his identity as a member of the Ye family, it is no exaggeration to say that Ye Pengchao's future prospects are limitless, so it is not very likely that Mr. Li will find Ye Pengchao to settle accounts!
However, what Li Zhengyong never expected was that not long after, the Zhennan Army went berserk again and directly killed the main force of the Fifth Army of Tanzhou. Even the bastard Duan Zhibao was now unknown whether he was dead or alive...
To be honest, when the messenger from the Thousand Tiger Guards found him last night and told him the news, Li Zhengyong was still a little bit unbelieving.

Although the relationship between Li Zhengyong and Duan Zhibao was somewhat strained due to the Fifth Army's commander-in-chief position, the two had worked together for many years and Li Zhengyong knew Duan Zhibao's abilities. In addition, the Fifth Army had an advantage in terms of military strength on the front line in Tanzhou!

So Li Zhengyong couldn't understand how Duan Zhibao could suffer such a miserable defeat?
Therefore, when Li Zhengyong first heard the news, he thought that the other party was deceiving him and wanted to capture these people and hand them over to the Coordination Office for handling.

Li Zhengyong was somewhat skeptical until the other party took out some of the seized seals of Duan Zhibao. It was not until today when the news of the defeat at Xiaowu Mountain came back that he completely believed that Duan Zhibao led the main force of the Fifth Army and suffered a great defeat at Xiaowu Mountain!
Although Li Zhengyong knew very well that Duan Zhibao's defeat at Xiaowu Mountain would completely ruin the Fengwu Army's good situation in Jingchu, the situation in Jingchu would take a sharp turn for the worse, and even Hanyang would be at risk!

This was not good news for Li Zhengyong, who had already surrendered to the Fengwu Army. But for some reason, when he heard the news, he felt a sense of relief as if he had achieved great revenge!

At this time, the envoy of Qianhuwei once again offered him a price on behalf of Zhennan Army. As long as he betrayed Fengwu Army and submitted to Xu Zhaojie of Zhennan Army, Jingchu would be handed over to him and he would be made the Grand Commander of Jingchu, controlling the whole territory of Jingchu and becoming a local lord...

It has to be said that the price offered by the Zhennan Army is still tempting. If Li Zhengyong said he was not tempted, he would be lying!

Although Li Zhengyong was very tempted, he was not completely overwhelmed and still knew his own capabilities!

First of all, Li Zhengyong knew very well that although the Zhennan Army won the battle of Xiaowushan and gained temporary initiative in the local battlefield of Jingchu, looking at the overall situation, the Fengwu Army still had a great advantage!

And if he accepted Xu Zhaojie's idea, then even if he could capture Hanyang, it would undoubtedly be equivalent to breaking off relations with the Fengwu Army!

When the Fengwu Army counterattacks and makes a comeback, they will never let him go!

Apart from this, Xu Zhaojie also has a bad reputation. His "glorious deeds" such as plotting against Cao Changping, Feng Keqin, and backstabbing Lu Jianchao have made him famous all over the world!

Therefore, despite the price offered by Xu Zhaojie, Li Zhengyong was very tempted by the promise of handing over Jingchu to him and making him a local lord.

But to be honest, Li Zhengyong didn't dare to completely trust Xu Zhaojie. After all, there were too many precedents of such things!
After thinking it over, Li Zhengyong felt that he should not be in a hurry now. In order to maximize his own interests, he should wait for the wind to blow for a while and see the situation before making a decision!
If the Fengwu Army can quickly stabilize and support Jingchu, then he, Li, will continue to be a loyal minister of the Fengwu Army. He will use this incident to show his loyalty to the Fengwu Army and strive to replace the unlucky Duan Zhibao and directly take the position of the commander of the Fifth Army...

However, if the Fengwu Army fails to react and the Zhennan Army gets out of control, then Li might have to establish his own faction.

Li Zhengyong, who had made up his mind at this time, looked at Ye Pengchao and said calmly:

"I believe you have heard about the defeat on the front line, Lord Ye. As the commander-in-chief of Hanyang, I am very busy with official duties. Sir Ye, if you have anything to say, please speak quickly. I still have a lot of things to deal with here, and I can't waste time!"

Seeing Li Zhengyong's leisurely appearance, Ye Pengchao could not detect the words "busy official duties" at all, but for the sake of the overall situation, he still patiently said:

"General Li, I think the enemy is so powerful that Tanzhou will not be able to hold out for too long. The enemy will soon be at the gates of the city!"

"At this time, the entire city should be under martial law, young and strong men in the city should be recruited, and soldiers should be sent to the major markets in the city to maintain stability and order in the city!"

Ye Pengchao hadn't finished speaking when he was interrupted by Li Zhengyong's cold snort. The Hanyang general said with a hint of disdain:

"Don't exaggerate here, Ye Pengchao. I am the general of Hanyang and I make the decisions on military matters. It is not your turn, Ye Pengchao, to make decisions!"

"Don't even mention that you are just a deputy censor now. Even if your censor Liang Xin came, he wouldn't dare to talk to me like this!"

After he finished speaking, Li Zhengyong picked up the teacup and took a sip. It was obvious that he wanted to serve the guest tea and didn’t want to chat with Ye Pengchao anymore...
Looking at the arrogant Li Zhengyong, Ye Pengchao knew that this guy thought that after Duan Zhibao's defeat, Jingchu would point to him, and the Zhennan Army offered a price to recruit him, so he thought he was good enough, so he was so presumptuous now! Thinking of this, Ye Pengchao's anger was beyond description and he said coldly:
"May I ask who General Li has seen these past two days?"

After hearing this, Li Zhengyong, who was originally complacent, was suddenly shocked, wondering what Ye Pengchao knew.

However, under Ye Pengchao's gaze, in order to cover up his guilty conscience, Li Zhengyong pretended to be furious, picked up the teacup and threw it at him, shouting loudly:

"Who do you think you are, Ye Pengchao? How dare you investigate me?"

"The enemy is approaching us now, and the entire city of Hanyang is in a state of war. I am the general of Hanyang, and I am the boss of the city. Everyone must obey my orders. Do you believe that I will chop off your head right now for obstructing public service?"

Faced with Li Zhengyong's death threat, Ye Pengchao, who felt that he had the support of the Fengwu Army and the Marshal, was not intimidated at all.

Facing Li Zhengyong's gaze, Ye Pengchao bowed in the direction of Yi Jing and said in a deep voice:
"God is watching what we do! The Marshal will never let any guilty person go!"

Li Zhengyong became even more furious after hearing this, but Ye Pengchao didn't want to argue with him anymore, so he turned around and left Li Zhengyong's study...
After an incense stick of time, Ye Pengchao returned to his own mansion. At this time, in addition to Huang Dale, Hanyang Deputy General Zhang Shengli also quietly came to his mansion.

Seeing Ye Pengchao return to the mansion, Zhang Shengli, a warrior, could not hide his thoughts and immediately asked:

"Master Ye, what does General Li say?"

Although Huang Dale on the side was not as anxious as Zhang Shengli, he also looked at Ye Pengchao. Obviously, he also wanted to know what Li Zhengyong thought!
Under the gaze of the two, Ye Pengchao did not answer immediately but fell silent. Just as Zhang Shengli and Huang Dale were getting more and more anxious, Ye Pengchao slowly spoke:
"Let's do it tonight, you two!"

After Ye Pengchao said this, Zhang Shengli and Huang Dale looked at each other in surprise. After knowing that Qianhuwei and Li Zhengyong had had contact, Ye Pengchao immediately wanted to kill Li Zhengyong, but was persuaded by Huang Dale!
Huang Dale later called Zhang Shengli over, and the three of them reached a consensus after discussion, that Ye Pengchao would go and talk to Li Zhengyong to see what Li Zhengyong’s attitude was. If Li Zhengyong had already sided with the Zhennan Army, then Zhang Shengli would send troops to kill Li Zhengyong tonight and control the entire Hanyang City...
Seeing Ye Pengchao once again proposing to kill Li Zhengyong, Zhang Shengli could not help but ask back:

"Has Li Zhengyong really decided to rebel?"

Facing Zhang Shengli's question, Ye Pengchao hesitated for a moment and decided to tell the truth;
"From what I can see right now, he hasn't decided to rebel yet, but I think he's just waiting for a good price. If the opportunity is right, he will definitely become a slave to a traitor!"

Hearing what Ye Pengchao said, Zhang Shengli frowned and stopped talking, while Huang Dale on the side persuaded:

"Sir, I think as long as Li Zhengyong hasn't really rebelled, I think there is still room for this matter to turn around!"

"Li Zhengyong is the general of Hanyang after all, and he has more than 10,000 men under his command in the city. Killing him rashly would cause a ripple effect!"

Ye Pengchao ignored Huang Dale and looked at Zhang Shengli who was standing aside and said:
"General Zhang Li Zhengyong is a traitor. As long as Xu Zhaojie offers the right amount, he won't mind selling us all to him!"

“Are you sure you can put your life, mine, and the lives of your thousands of brothers in the hands of such a person…”

Hearing what Ye Pengchao said, Zhang Shengli's frown deepened. Seeing the change in Zhang Shengli's expression, Ye Pengchao immediately knew that something was going to happen and encouraged him again:

"Zhang Zongbing, your death and mine is a small matter! But Hanyang is related to my great cause of unifying the world. Once Hanyang is lost, the whole world will be shaken. It will be very difficult for our army to take Hanyang back!"

"Although Li Zhengyong has not rebelled yet, he has shown signs of rebellion and may rebel at any time. We cannot put our lives and the Marshal's cause in the hands of such a person. We must control our own destiny!"

"General Zhang, the principle of striking first is the strongest and striking later will be the worst, even a three-year-old child understands it!"

Encouraged by Ye Pengchao, Zhang Shengli gritted his teeth, looked up at Ye Pengchao and asked:

"If we kill Li Zhengyong, what will happen to his subordinates?"

Ye Pengchao heard this and preached confidently:
"None of Li Zhengyong's trusted subordinates can be spared! We must root them out, even if it means killing the wrong person!"

"After killing Li Zhengyong, we can just push the issue of unpaid wages onto him. Tell all the soldiers that the reason they are unpaid wages is because of Li Zhengyong's corruption. Put the blame on Li Zhengyong!"

“Then we will take the silver we confiscated from Li Zhengyong’s house and distribute it to the soldiers. The soldiers below will definitely not be suspicious, and their morale will even be greatly boosted…”

(End of this chapter)