Chapter 19 Undercurrent
Judging from the map, as long as Ye Mingsheng captured Liujing, he would certainly face a counterattack from the Gongdu army. However, after Wang Kangxin and Li Wanshun led their troops to capture the Luochuan Road granary, the Gongdu army had one more target.

At least the palace troops near Luochuan Road would definitely not be able to gather to besiege him. In a way, this meant that Wang Kangxin and his men were the ones blocking the attack for him.

Realizing this, Ye Mingsheng was undoubtedly secretly delighted. He had no psychological burden at all in trying to trick Wang Kangxin and Li Wanshun, two bastards. Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but secretly congratulate himself for setting up a Hongmen Banquet a few days ago and getting these two people's endorsements. Otherwise, he would definitely be cautious now.

Although Liu Shilin's plan does seem very tempting, with internal and external support for a surprise attack on Liujing, the possibility of success is very high, and Ye Mingsheng can also use this military achievement to change his destiny.

However, in the face of such temptation, Ye Mingsheng did not agree rashly. Liu Shilin did not mind this. He gave Ye Mingsheng a day to consider it. If Ye Mingsheng was willing, they could meet again at Jufeng Pavilion tomorrow night.

In the conversation just now, Liu Shilin did not tell Ye Mingsheng why he wanted to cooperate with him. Ye Mingsheng also did not ask about this question. It was not because he was not curious, but because the answer to the question was very obvious!
Ruishan County is only 110 miles away from the palace capital Liujing. Ye Mingsheng's troops are the closest to Liujing's imperial guards. Except for Ye Mingsheng's troops, the closest imperial guards to Liujing are also 300 miles away.

Because of the internal and external cooperation, after Ye Mingsheng's army of more than a thousand people reunited with Heishanfeng, they did not need to carry any baggage. They only needed to travel light. With a quick march of one day, they could cover a distance of sixty miles, and it would only take two days to reach the city of Liujing. By that time, Liujing, the heart of the Gongdu Kingdom, would be completely exposed to Ye Mingsheng's saber!
Liu Shilin's entire plan was a surprise attack, a race between space and time. Once discovered by the palace capital, he would inevitably be surrounded and killed by the palace capital army. Therefore, he had to act quickly and capture Liujing before anyone noticed. In this way, the geographical advantage of Ruishan County was undoubtedly highlighted. There was no doubt that under such circumstances, Liu Shilin had no reason to seek a distant destination instead of a nearby one.

Now Ye Mingsheng’s only confusion is that although the forces behind Wang Kangxin and Liu Shilin are both from the Supervisory Department.

But no matter how it seems, the purposes of the two parties' plans are completely different. In fact, if Liu Shilin's plan succeeds, in a sense, it would be a trick on Wang Kangxin.

Although he was wondering whether Liu Shilin had any grudge against Wang Kangxin, it was not important to Ye Mingsheng. He had already decided to go to Jufeng Pavilion tomorrow night to have another talk with Liu Shilin.

···············
···············
Just as Ye Mingsheng was deep in thought in his mansion, in a brightly lit room in Jufeng Pavilion in Ruishan County, Liu Shilin, the eldest son of the Liu family, who had just finished a secret meeting with Ye Mingsheng, was sitting opposite a square-faced middle-aged man wearing a green robe.

"Sir Shen, I'll return the token to you!" Liu Shilin respectfully handed over the token with both hands.

Shen Jianzhong glanced at the token in Liu Shilin's hand, but did not take it. Instead, he said calmly, "I am serving as the commander of the Liaoyang Supervisory Office this time. The time is tight and the task is heavy. I still need your Liu family's help. I will leave this token with you first. It will at least provide you with some help!"

Hearing Shen Jianzhong say this, Liu Shilin was immediately delighted. Although he was a little hesitant, he did not refuse in the end. He bowed deeply to Shen Jianzhong and said gratefully, "Thank you, Lord Shen!"

"How's the matter going?" Shen Jianzhong didn't care much about Liu Shilin's thanks. He waved his hand and asked the main question.

"Your guess should be correct, sir. Judging from Ye Mingsheng's reaction when he just talked to me, Wang Zhongsen and Wang Kangxin, the uncle and nephew, should have found Ye Mingsheng!" Liu Shilin said with some concern:
"Don't worry, Ye Mingsheng is also my student. I know his character. Although he is indecisive, he is still very courageous. Believe me, he will definitely come tomorrow." Shen Jianzhong smiled slightly at Liu Shilin's concerns and said lightly:
Although Liu Shilin still had some concerns, seeing Shen Jianzhong so confident, he naturally couldn't say anything and could only nod.

"How is Wang Zhongsen doing?" Shen Jianzhong picked up the teacup on the tea table, took a sip of the top-grade Biluochun tea, and then asked:
Although Shen Jianzhong's question seemed to be nonchalant, Liu Shilin became nervous immediately after hearing it. After pondering for three seconds, he said carefully, "From what the informant has reported, Wang Zhongsen has everything ready. He is just waiting for the east wind, which will be seven days later at the latest..."

After hearing this answer from Liu Shilin, Shen Jianzhong was silent for a few seconds, then nodded. Seeing Shen Jianzhong nod, Liu Shilin felt as if he had been pardoned and relaxed.

"I am very satisfied with your arrangements these days! Do a good job, your future is immeasurable!" As if thinking of something, Shen Jianzhong's square face showed a smile and said to Liu Shilin:
Upon hearing this, Liu Shilin's expression immediately became ecstatic. He bowed deeply to Shen Jianzhong, and then said modestly: "You are joking, sir. It is my honor to serve the court and you, sir!"

Shen Jianzhong praised Liu Shilin twice before letting him leave. Liu Shilin returned to his room, but before he had time to rest, the old shopkeeper of Jufeng Pavilion came over and said with some embarrassment: "Young Master, this master's hobby is really... Every girl sent to him is covered with bruises, and no one is willing to serve him anymore."

When Liu Shilin heard that the shopkeeper was bothering him with such a small matter, he immediately said impatiently: "Shopkeeper Chen, can't you handle this matter properly?"

"If you don't want five taels of silver, then give me ten taels. If you still don't want ten taels of silver, then give me twenty taels. Anyway, I don't care what method you use, you must serve this master for me!"

After seeing off the shopkeeper, Liu Shilin, who was alone in the room, showed a trace of disdain on his face and cursed in a low voice: "Either drinking or playing with women. I don't know why the higher-ups sent an old pervert like you down here..."

···············
···············
The next day, Ye Mingsheng woke up slowly from his bed at noon. Last night, he compared the map of the palace and studied half of the plan given by Liu Shilin. He did not fall asleep until the fifth watch of the night. This study made him more convinced that Liu Shilin's plan was still very feasible.

After stretching twice, Ye Mingsheng got dressed and washed up under the resentful look of the maid, then sat in the room and drank a bowl of millet porridge with a faint rice aroma.

After the meal, Ye Mingsheng summoned Ye Tie and told him, "I will not go to the military camp for inspection today. Take some money and go to the market to buy a few pigs and send them to Kong Ruian. Ask him to arrange a cook to make a good meal for the brothers, and store the rest of the pork into jerky."

"I understand. Brothers, knowing the young master's kindness, they will definitely be grateful to him!" Ye Tie said with a cupped hand:
Seeing that Ye Tie understood what he meant, Ye Mingsheng nodded in appreciation. He was very satisfied with this loyal subordinate who could understand his meaning.

After Ye Tie went down to work, Ye Mingsheng, who still felt a little sleepy, took a nap in the study. Unexpectedly, he slept until the afternoon. Looking at the orange-red sun in the sky gradually setting, Ye Mingsheng, who had just woken up, felt speechless.

"What time is it now?" Ye Mingsheng, who had washed his face with well water and looked more energetic, asked the person next to him:
"Master, it is just past 3:30 PM now!" Ye Kui replied:
Ye Mingsheng nodded, and then arranged: "I will go to handle military affairs now. In an hour, you call Ye Dong, prepare casual clothes, and go out with me to do something!"

"understand!"

When Ye Kui heard that his young master wanted to take him out to do something, he immediately became interested and quickly agreed.

Although he has only a thousand men under his command, because he is located in Ruishan County, a transportation hub, Ye Mingsheng has to deal with a lot of official documents. And because most of them are related to logistics and supplies, he has to be careful and cautious in handling them and not be careless.

After finally dealing with these things, Ye Mingsheng didn't have time to rest for a while, and Ye Kui knocked on the door to remind him that the time was up.

Ye Mingsheng immediately brought his two personal soldiers, changed into casual clothes and walked out of Liu's house, quietly walking towards Jufeng Pavilion where he and Liu Shilin had agreed to meet. Jufeng Pavilion is the Liu family's largest industry in Ruishan County, and it is also one of the best restaurants in Ruishan County. A meal here is enough to equal the monthly meal of an ordinary family.

Before entering Jufeng Pavilion, Ye Mingsheng took out some loose change from his pocket and gave it to Ye Dong and Ye Kui behind him, saying:
"I'll go in first, and you two can follow. Order whatever you like, but don't drink. Be smart and listen to my signals. And don't forget to bring something back for the others."

(End of this chapter)