Chapter 1035: Take sides!

In the study of a luxurious mansion in Jinzhong, Ye Mingsheng was looking at the memorials submitted in recent days, and on the other side of the study, Jiang Cong, the newly ascended Emperor of the Great Zhou, was eating freshly made cakes and dried fruits...

After taking a bite of the almond pastry, Jiang Cong seemed to have thought of something and asked Ye Mingsheng:

"Marshal Ye, those grassland people have always been brutal and cruel, why are they more obedient than cats in front of you?"

Ye Mingsheng, who was reading the memorial, spoke without raising his head and without thinking:
"Your Majesty, do you want to hear the truth or a lie?"

Ye Mingsheng's answer made Jiang Cong even more interested. He thought for a while and said to Ye Mingsheng:
“I want to hear them all!”

Ye Mingsheng replied calmly:
"The lie is that these grassland barbarians do not respect education, do not abide by etiquette, and have no reverence in their hearts. I educated them, taught them etiquette, and made them reverent, so they are grateful to me!"

Jiang Cong seemed to be thinking about what he said, then he blinked and asked Ye Mingsheng again:
"What about the truth?"

Ye Mingsheng put down the memorial in his hand and said to Jiang Cong with a smile:

"I am worse than them, more brutal and barbaric, so they are afraid of me!"

Although Ye Mingsheng's answer seemed like a joke, but for some reason Jiang Cong felt a hint of blood from Ye Mingsheng's smile...
Jiang Cong seemed to be shocked. He was silent for a long time before he said nothing. He just ate the almond cake in his hand silently. After a while, when Ye Mingsheng handed him the memorial, Jiang Cong mustered up the courage to speak to Ye Mingsheng:
"Marshal Ye, can you be my teacher?"

Jiang Cong's question surprised Ye Mingsheng. After a little hesitation, Ye Mingsheng refused:

"I am just a warrior and cannot teach Your Majesty anything. Besides, Your Majesty has a teacher. Mr. Sun is a great sage in the world and it is enough for His Majesty to have him teach you!"

Facing Ye Mingsheng's decisive refusal, Jiang Cong seemed to want to say something, so Ye Mingsheng said again:
"Your Majesty, don't think too much. How can a traitor who intends to usurp the throne be your teacher?"

Jiang Cong's face suddenly fell when he heard Ye Mingsheng's answer. Then, without saying anything else, he picked up the plate of pastries in front of him and walked straight out of Ye Mingsheng's study.

Looking at Jiang Cong's young back, Ye Mingsheng shook his head slightly. He knew that Jiang Cong was still trying to struggle. This seemed normal to Ye Mingsheng. After all, no one was willing to give up the inheritance left by their ancestors easily!

The contact with Jiang Cong during this period made Ye Mingsheng appreciate this little emperor more and more. He felt that although the little emperor was young, he was a rare and wonderful person. To be honest, Ye Mingsheng really didn’t want to hurt him, so Ye Mingsheng felt it necessary to break all his possible fantasies very decisively at the very beginning································
After expressing his emotion, Ye Mingsheng once again focused on the memorial in front of him. In the war on the Ulan Grassland a few days ago, the Fengwu Army could be said to have won a great victory!

Not only did they kill more than 5,000 enemy soldiers and capture more than 6,000 enemy soldiers, but they also directly killed the Golden Horde Khan Asdogan. After this battle, there was no doubt that the Golden Horde was rejuvenated. In Ye Mingsheng's view, their originally prosperous national fortunes would decline from then on.

Although it is unknown what role and function Jamukha played in this war, the mere fact that he sat on the mountain and watched the fight between two tigers was enough to make Ye Mingsheng, who already lacked trust in him, choose to kill him at the same time!

In fact, Ye Mingsheng also planned to do so, but Zhamuhe had a very sensitive nose and ran away before Ye Mingsheng could do anything to him!

Jamukha found an excuse that Ibugel and Nurjiang were secretly colluding with the Cumans, and directly launched a surprise attack on Ibugel's troops, causing Ibugel's troops to suffer heavy losses when they were caught off guard. Ibugel himself was nearly killed in his surprise attack, but fortunately the Fengwu Army arrived in time and rescued Ibugel, but Jamukha saw that the situation was not good and ran away!
Although Ye Mingsheng sent people to chase him all the way, this kid Zhamuhe ran very fast, as if he was growing on a horse. Besides, they were originally from the grassland and were very familiar with the grassland environment...

Therefore, the pursuers sent by Ye Mingsheng failed to catch up with Jamukha, and they couldn’t even touch the hair of this guy!
Although it was a pity that Jamukha was not killed successfully and the expected alliance was not successfully held, but Ye Mingsheng was quite satisfied with the result of this meeting because he got rid of Asdogan, the biggest threat to him!
Now the Cumans are bound to retreat back to the northern desert. They are no longer a concern, and what Ye Mingsheng has to do now is to clean up Luo Bi's mess!

In order to clean up the mess, Ye Mingsheng must first understand the truth of the matter. Because Jamukha sat on the mountain and watched the fight between tigers at the last moment, Ye Mingsheng no longer believed the series of evidence he produced!
Ye Mingsheng has asked Gao Shen to return to Yijing to report for his post. At the same time, Ye Mingsheng asked the Coordination Office to investigate the truth of the matter. The Coordination Office has already sent some news in the past few days!
For example, Nurjiang did have improper thoughts about An Miaoyi, but according to the report of the spies planted by the Coordination Office next to Nurjiang, this time Asdogan’s attack on the alliance should not have been arranged by Nurjiang!
As for the bribe to Gao Shen, it did happen and Gao Shen did receive benefits, but Zhamuhe exaggerated the amount of the bribe a lot!

The reason why Nurjiang did not attend the meeting this time was very simple. He was worried that Ye Mingsheng would kill him if the matter was exposed. Therefore, he did not dare to attend the meeting and was in a state of panic in the tribe...
As for Jamukha, he has returned to the tribe and led his tribe towards the northern desert. Obviously, he was on guard against Ye Mingsheng attacking him!

So although the matter has not been investigated clearly yet, Ye Mingsheng feels that he has reason to suspect that it is Jamukha who is behind all this!

Of course, Nurjiang is not an honest boy either. Ye Mingsheng really didn't expect that this boy would be so bold. He even dared to think about his own woman and even gave that woman the same name. It can be said that he is courting his own life!
Ye Mingsheng was no longer prepared to forgive Nurjiang, and the Coordination Office began to implement the plan under Ye Mingsheng's order. Because of the previous example of Jamukha, while supporting Nurjiang's troops, the Coordination Office also increased its efforts to win over Nurjiang's people!
However, Nurjiang is very average in terms of personal charm and the ability to control his subordinates, so it is expected that things will come to a conclusion soon. It is believed that it is only a matter of time before Nurjiang's head is placed in front of Ye Mingsheng!

Nurjiang’s matter was just a small matter. What really gave Ye Mingsheng a headache was this kid Jamukha. If he was a little lenient with him, this guy would really cause trouble for him!
After this incident, Ye Mingsheng no longer planned to keep him. However, it was also disgusting that this kid led his troops to move to Mobei. The Fengwu Army now really lacks the ability to carry out long-distance raids on the grassland...
But this does not mean that Ye Mingsheng cannot deal with him. Ye Mingsheng has already planned to confirm the evidence of his collusion with the Kipchaks. The Robe and the Kipchaks are mortal enemies. Fighting against the Kipchaks is the political correctness of the Robe tribe. Once this is confirmed, Jamukha's position as the Khan will be shaken and he will be despised by the Robe people!

Ye Mingsheng's next step was to let Ibugel convene a Luobi Congress on this basis to announce the removal of Jamukha from the position of Khan and declare Jamukha a Luobi traitor!
Although this will not have any impact on Jamukha's headquarters, it will have a huge impact on the small tribes that follow him!

Originally, many of these small tribes were fence-sitters, and they would surrender to whichever side was more powerful. After Jamukha successfully became the Great Khan of Luobi, some small tribes also attached themselves to him and became a great help to Jamukha!
And now Ye Mingsheng wants to separate these people from Jamukha. Mobei is a bitter and cold place. Compared with the lush and grassy Erlunqin grassland, there is a world of difference!
So when Jamuka fled to Mobei to prevent Ye Mingsheng’s revenge, many small tribes were reluctant to follow Jamuka, but under the threat of Jamuka’s force they had no choice but to follow him...
Therefore, Ye Mingsheng believed that as long as Jamukha was removed from the position of Khan at the Luobi Congress on the grounds that he was colluding with the Cumans and declared a Luobi traitor, these small tribes who were sitting on the fence would undoubtedly betray Jamukha and even become the sharpest knives stabbing Jamukha!

Without the support of these small tribes, Jamukha's power will inevitably decline significantly, and then Ye Mingsheng will withdraw from Ibugele and compete with him!

Ye Mingsheng was basically satisfied with Ibugele's performance, so Ye Mingsheng also planned to reward Ibugele to commend his loyalty and show his kindness on the grassland!
Ibugele almost died because of Jamukha's sneak attack, so he hates Jamukha to the core, and Ye Mingsheng will use him as the core of his plan to start a proxy war on the grassland!

As Sun Tzu's Art of War says, attacking a city is inferior to attacking the heart. Ye Mingsheng believes that with his series of combined punches, Jamukha will pay a price in blood for his actions!
Ye Mingsheng is looking forward to the day when he can walk through the gate of Yijing again wearing shackles and shackles·································

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Jiangnan, Lin'an

In the study of the Governor's Mansion, Lu Jianchao, Lu Houde and Lu Yun were all silent. The atmosphere in the room was very dull and depressing. As the Governor of Jiangnan, Lu Jianchao looked as ugly as if his father had died!
Although the atmosphere was very dull and depressing, there was still something to say, so Lu Houde organized his words and took the lead in breaking the silence in the room and spoke:
"Dad, Shouchun has sent a message saying that the news of Xu Zhaojie's capture has reached Shouchun. Shouchun's army is in disarray now. Considering the time it took for the news to be transmitted back, Shouchun should have most likely fallen into the hands of the Fengwu Army!"

Although Lu Jianchao had anticipated the possibility of this situation the moment he learned that Xu Zhaojie was defeated and captured, he still couldn't help but hope for a miracle to happen!
Now, his son Lu Houde's words undoubtedly shattered Lu Jianchao's last fantasy, forcing him to face the cold reality!
Seeing that his cousin was the first to break the silence, Lu Yun also continued in a low voice:

"There is also news from Sichuan that Song Weijie's younger brother Song Weikai will lead a delegation to Yijing to meet Ye Mingsheng. If nothing unexpected happens, Song Weijie will pledge his loyalty to Ye Mingsheng in an attempt to gain a reward from Ye Mingsheng!"

Lu Yun's words undoubtedly dealt another heavy blow to Lu Jianchao. After a moment of silence, he said in a deep voice:

"Search the entire Jiangnan area for the Thousand Tiger Guards!"

Lu Houde frowned slightly when he heard his father's order. If Lu Jianchao had issued this order before, then some of the situation could have been salvaged...

But now the Fengwu Army has won a great victory on the battlefield, so doing so is undoubtedly not enough!

Thinking of this, Lu Houde also reported directly to his father:

"Dad, Deputy Governor Zhao He has long been accepting money and women from the Thousand Tiger Guards, and has been promoting Xu Zhaojie in Jiangnan. He is a shameful person and his heart is worthy of death. I suggest that Dad chop off his head to appease the officials and people of Jiangnan!"

When Lu Jianchao heard his son say this, he felt very complicated. As an old hand who had been in the officialdom for decades, he knew very well that Zhao He had accepted money and women from Xu Zhaojie, but he just pretended not to know!

The reason why Lu Jianchao did this was, on the one hand, that he wanted to wait for the outcome of the battle between Xu Zhaojie and the Fengwu Army before deciding on which side to take. On the other hand, Zhao He did speak out some of Lu Jianchao's inner thoughts, and his idea of ​​resisting the Fengwu Army was also recognized by Lu Jianchao!

But now Xu Zhaojie was defeated and captured, and the Zhennan Army is on the verge of collapse. They in Jiangnan were hesitant before, and gave some support to the Zhennan Army openly and secretly. It is difficult to conceal these things!
Therefore, in order to avoid being implicated, Zhao He should be killed immediately to draw a clear line between himself and the Zhennan Army, sending a positive and friendly signal to the Fengwu Army!

Thinking of this, although Lu Jianchao was a little reluctant to leave Zhao He, he also understood that at this time he could only sacrifice the car to save the king, so he nodded and said:

“Houde, I’ll leave this matter to you…”

"How is Zhengshan's injury?"

(End of this chapter)