Chapter 1096 Be prudent and protect yourself!

Yijing, Ye Mansion

Led by the servants of the Ye Mansion, Gu Sansi walked quickly into the Loyalty and Bravery Hall. At this time, in this room which symbolized the highest power of the Fengwu Army, there had gathered Cui Shao, the Minister of Revenue of the Yijing court, Zhao Han, the Chief of Staff, and Yuan Song, the Marquis of Dingyuan...
Seeing the three men standing on the left and right of the civil and military officials, Gu Sansi immediately stood behind Cui Shao. Half an hour ago, Gu Sansi, who was doing work in the Ministry of Personnel, received a summons from Ye Mingsheng. Although he didn't know what had happened, Gu Sansi still rushed over immediately.

Just as Gu Sansi was wondering what big thing had happened and the Marshal called Cui Shao, Yuan Song, Zhao Han and himself to discuss the matter, Gu Sansi felt an eager gaze.

This gaze came from Zhao Han who was standing on the right. Although Zhao Han said nothing, Gu Sansi could feel the questioning meaning in Zhao Han's eyes.

Apparently, the Chief of Staff of the Fengwu Army did not know why the Marshal had gathered everyone together, and now he was trying to find the answer from himself!
Under Zhao Han's gaze, Gu Sansi shook his head secretly. Seeing this, Zhao Han also understood and withdrew his gaze.
The four important officials of the Fengwu Army did not wait too long in the Zhongyong Hall. After half a cup of tea, Ye Mingsheng arrived at the Zhongyong Hall.
After learning about the news of Sichuan from Wang Xuecheng, Ye Mingsheng decided to share the news with everyone and see what everyone thinks before making a decision.
Seeing that everyone who was supposed to come had already arrived, Ye Mingsheng didn't waste any words and directly announced the news:
"The Coordination Office assassinated Song Weijie. Now the Sichuan Army is leaderless, and even some places in Sichuan have started internal fighting. What do you think about this?"

After these words were spoken, the four of them were as shocked as Ye Mingsheng was when he first received the news. They felt a little bit unbelievable and incredible!

Among these four people, except for the Minister of Personnel Gu Sansi, the other three were involved in the planning of the action against Sichuan!
The first to bear the brunt of the attack was the Chief of General Staff Zhao Han. He and a group of staff officers in the General Staff were working intensively to advance the preparations for taking over Sichuan.

Yuan Song, who had just been named Marquis of Dingyuan, was currently unemployed, but he also participated in the formulation of the plan to capture Sichuan and Shu.

As for Cui Shao, although he did not participate in the military operations, the implementation of the military operations was inseparable from the support of him as the Minister of Revenue in terms of money and grain.

Originally, all this was being carried out in full swing, but who would have thought that the Coordination Office would just do it right now?

As the Chief of the General Staff, Zhao Han was also the person in charge of the preparations for the capture of Sichuan and Shu, so this matter had the greatest impact on him.

However, his status in the room was relatively low at this time, so he also looked at Cui Shao and Yuan Song, hoping that these two people could stand up and express their opinions first...
However, Cui Shao and Yuan Song, who were standing on the left and right at this time, for some unknown reason, both looked at their noses with their eyes, their mouths with their noses, and their hearts with their mouths, and they didn't seem to have any intention of speaking.

Seeing this, Zhao Han did not continue to be humble and asked directly:

"Excuse me, Marshal, does the Coordination Office have more news about Sichuan and Shu?"

Ye Mingsheng waved his hand and said:
"Not yet, but the Coordination Office expects that more news will be sent back in the next few days!"

Hearing this answer, Zhao Han hesitated for a moment and then spoke again:
"I think we are taking advantage of the situation. Send troops into Sichuan as soon as possible and bring Sichuan under the control of the imperial court!"

Ye Mingsheng was not surprised by Zhao Han's answer, and immediately asked back:

"How is the General Staff's preparation for the attack on Sichuan going?"

In response to Ye Mingsheng's question, Zhao Han organized his speech:

"Everything is currently in progress. Commander Guo's Second Army is basically ready and can enter Sichuan at any time!"

Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but frowned slightly when he heard this answer, because the remaining forces of the First Army and the Fourth Army combined were less than 100,000, and they controlled large areas of land in Huainan, Anqing, Jiangnan, and Jingchu provinces, and maintained the stability of hundreds of cities and tens of millions of people. The pressure was already very great...

Therefore, in the plan of the General Staff, there is no plan to withdraw troops from the First Army and the Fourth Army to attack Sichuan and Shu. Instead, it is planned to dispatch Ye Dong's Ninth Division from Yijing to Guanzhong, and Chen Chuanwu's Tenth Division to Jingchu. The commander of the Second Army, Guo Zhiping, will serve as the commander-in-chief and be responsible for the overall attack on Sichuan and Shu!
Regarding this plan, some people within the Fengwu Army believed that Yuan Song, who had more experience and a more brilliant record, should be in charge of the battle instead of Guo Zhiping, as this would be safer!

But Ye Mingsheng himself approved of the plan of the General Staff. After all, the Fengwu Army was so large that it couldn't always rely on Yuan Song and He Jingyun to lead the troops!

Although both of them have made outstanding military achievements and are trustworthy, they are no longer young, so other people should be used. Although Guo Zhiping's military achievements are not as dazzling as Yuan He and the others, he has also made great contributions to the Fengwu Army today, and his abilities have been verified in past battles, so he should be given such an opportunity to prove himself!

Therefore, with the support of Ye Mingsheng, this plan of the General Staff was also implemented, and according to this plan, the capture of Sichuan would be carried out after the beginning of next spring, so Ye Dong’s 9th Division and Chen Chuanwu’s 10th Division would go to Guanzhong and Jingchu in March next year...

So this means that currently only the Second Army under Guo Zhiping is ready for battle. According to the report from the Coordination Office, Guanzhong is not peaceful at the moment. Although it seems calm on the surface, there are actually undercurrents!
Some of the Guanzhong families that were attacked by Ye Mingsheng were not willing to accept Ye Mingsheng's arrangements. They tried to counterattack. Originally, Ye Mingsheng ordered the Coordination Office to lure out the snakes in Guanzhong this winter and carry out a major cleanup!
The Second Army stationed in Guanzhong is there to support the Coordination Office's operation. If the Second Army is mobilized to enter Sichuan at this time, the power in Guanzhong will inevitably be left empty. Then, can the Coordination Office's plan to lure the enemy out of its hole continue?
The Second Army has the Second Division and the Eighth Division. If they are split into two groups, leaving one division to enter Sichuan and the other in Guanzhong, the situation may become even more troublesome!
If reality does not go as smoothly as expected, not only will Sichuan and Shu not be taken, but the one division left in Guan will not be enough to suppress possible disturbances!

As if he had seen Ye Mingsheng's worry, Zhao Han hesitated for a moment and then began to speak:

"Although the Ninth Division and the Tenth Division are not fully prepared yet, they have made some preparations. Currently, the two divisions can basically mobilize about 10,000 people each, so the troops mobilized by these two divisions can go to Guanzhong first!"

“So we can let the Second Army attack Sichuan first, and when the vanguard troops of the Ninth and Tenth Divisions arrive in Guanzhong, we can also stabilize the situation in Guanzhong and ensure the safety of Guanzhong…”

Hearing this, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but shook his head. The distance from Yijing to Guanzhong is seven or eight hundred miles. It takes at least two and a half months to make a trip. If there is some delay, it may take three months. So by the time troops are sent from Yijing to Guanzhong, the food will be cold!
Seeing that Ye Mingsheng was not satisfied with his plan, Zhao Han couldn't think of any other good ideas, so he could only shut up and stand back! At the same time, Yuan Song, who was standing on the right, had a flickering look in his eyes, as if he had some good ideas, but after hesitating for a while, he still lowered his head and said nothing.

After thinking for a while, Gu Sansi seemed to have an idea and stood up to suggest to Ye Mingsheng:

"Marshal, I think given the current special circumstances, you can consider granting special approval to the Second Army!"

"Special approval? How does it work?" Ye Mingsheng asked with some confusion:
Under Ye Mingsheng's gaze, Gu Sansi preached solemnly:

"Special approval for the Second Army to recruit soldiers in Guanzhong!"

"When you went west to Guanzhong, you pardoned many soldiers of the Luoan Imperial Guards in order to appease the people. You sent them back to their hometowns to serve as civilians. Many of these people are experienced veterans, and many of them have followed the Luoan Imperial Guards to fight in Sichuan and Shu.

"It won't be long since they put down their weapons. If they are reorganized, they can still unleash strong combat power!"

“So I think we can gather them together, and then equip them with a certain number of Fengwu Army soldiers to form a new force, and then let them enter Sichuan and Shu to interfere in the situation in Sichuan and Shu…”

After Gu Sansi finished speaking, Yuan Song, who had been keeping his head down, suddenly had a gleam of light in his eyes. What Gu Sansi thought just now coincided with what he had just thought!

There is a time gap of about two months in Zhao Han's idea, so the risk of doing as he said is quite high. Once he acts according to his idea, those ambitious people in Guanzhong will most likely seize this two-month gap to launch a riot!
By then, the Second Army will only have one division in Guanzhong, and it is very likely that it will not be able to cope with it. The situation will be even more troublesome if one problem is solved!
Therefore, recruiting veterans of the Luoan Imperial Guard to supplement the Second Army is the only possible way to solve the dilemma at present!
The reason why Yuan Song thought of this but did not offer any advice to Ye Mingsheng but remained silent was because he wanted to protect himself!

After all, according to the rules of the Fengwu Army, field troops like the Second Army are not allowed to recruit soldiers privately. The recruitment process of the Fengwu Army is to recruit soldiers by a separate recruitment department, and then form a recruit camp to conduct a three-month training for new recruits!

After three months of recruit training, the new recruits will be sent to various units according to their needs!
The reason for doing this is actually that Ye Mingsheng wanted to prevent the troops stationed in various places from becoming independent and forming uncontrollable warlords!

Allowing the Second Army to recruit new soldiers now undoubtedly breaks this rule, and its significance is quite far-reaching...

Therefore, such a suggestion that breaks the rules and has far-reaching consequences must never come out of Yuan Song's mouth!
Although his nephew had offended the Marshal in Luoan, the Marshal did not care about it. Instead, he rewarded the Yuan family with a lot of wealth and properties, and now he has conferred the title of Marquis Dingyuan on himself. All this seems to be enviable, but in fact, Yuan Song knows his own situation well!
Yuan Song was well aware of his military achievements for the Fengwu Army. Although they had brought him today's glory and wealth, they also made him suspected of being more powerful than his master!
The Marshal took back his military power, gave him the title of Marquis Dingyuan and countless wealth, but did not assign him any specific position in the Yijing court. In fact, this has already explained some problems. There is no doubt that the Marshal has been on guard against him!
The Marshal was willing to fulfill his promise to give me an honorable title and wealth that would benefit my descendants, but he was unwilling to give me power!

And Yuan Song just happened to have served as the commander of the Second Army, so he had to avoid suspicion in such matters!

Not only this matter, Yuan Song has also made up his mind in his heart that unless it is necessary, otherwise in the court, he will only keep his ears and eyes, talk less and watch more, and try not to express his opinions...

To be honest, Yuan Song felt a little sad about this, but he also knew that this was an inevitable result!

After all, the current Fengwu Army has seized power and is representing the Yijing court of the Great Zhou. It is no longer the makeshift team of three or five people in Fengzhou, and everyone is no longer the big shot they used to be!

At this time, Ye Mingsheng was not aware of Yuan Song's inner thoughts. He thought about Gu Sansi's opinion for a while, and then asked Zhao Han again:

"Zhao Han, you are the Chief of Staff, what do you think of this idea?"

Faced with Ye Mingsheng's question, Zhao Han, as the Chief of the General Staff, was somewhat torn. Rationally, he thought that Gu Sansi's suggestion was a good idea!

But the problem was that this idea broke the rules, and he was unsure of the Marshal's thoughts, so after hesitating for a while he could only speak vaguely:

"Marshal, I think Minister Gu's ideas are very constructive, but some points are still worth discussing!"

After hearing this, Ye Mingsheng's expression did not change, but he couldn't help but shook his head in his heart. Although Zhao Han, the Chief of the General Staff, handled all the work of the General Staff in an orderly manner!

But on critical issues like this, he lacks the necessary sense of responsibility and is only interested in smoothing things over and not offending anyone!

If He Jingyun were here, he would probably directly suggest that he accept Gu Sansi's idea!
Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng made the decision directly:

'Send a message to Guo Zhiping to approve him to recruit soldiers in Guanzhong to form the 15th Division. The 15th Division has 30,000 men and is temporarily under the control of the Second Army. Let him form the 5th Division within one month to intervene in Sichuan...'

(End of this chapter)