Chapter 253: Xinfa County Crisis
In November, in Fengzhou City, in the lobby of the General’s Mansion.

Ye Mingsheng, with a serious face, sat in the main seat, and below him, including He Jingyun, Liang Xuezhan, Guo Zhiping, Ye Tie and all the military officers at the sentry level, sat on his left and right.

Ye Mingsheng, who was in a bad mood, looked around at the generals. No one dared to look at him wherever his eyes swept. Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng immediately looked at Ye Tie who was sitting in the crowd and ordered:

"Ye Tie, please introduce the current situation in Xinfa County!"

"Yes! Sir General!"

Walking to the giant map of Xinfa County hanging on the wall, Ye Tie began to introduce:

"According to the information sent back by Commander Lin, the Khitans who have appeared in Xinfa County are divided into three groups!"

"The first group has about 1,000 to 1,500 people, wandering around Xiaoxitun on the east side of Xinfa County. The leader should be Xiao Xiu!"

"The second group has about 2,000 men and is currently setting up camp ten miles north of Xinfa County. The name of the leader is unknown."

"The third group has only 800 people. They are currently in the Panjiabao area on the west side of Xinfa County. The leader is called Yelu Hange!"

"These three groups of troops total about 4,500 people. Although they are divided into three groups, the distance between the three groups is not far, so they can interact and take care of each other..."

Listening to Ye Tie's introduction, Ye Mingsheng's face showed a gloomy look. Over the past month, while he was busy with the technology tree, the situation in Xinfa County became increasingly tense, and the Khitan intrusions became more and more frequent.

Under the instruction of Ye Mingsheng, Lin Huaiwu, who was stationed in Xinfa County, also showed great strength and ruthlessly suppressed the Khitan cavalry who dared to invade.

Maybe it was Lin Huaiwu’s dominance that angered the Khitans, or maybe the Khitans began to lack clothes again. In short, the Khitans gradually began to gather around Xinfa County. In just seven days, the number of people increased from the original one thousand to nearly five thousand...

Lin Huaiwu, who discovered this situation, immediately became alert. On the one hand, he fortified his city and cleared the countryside, withdrew his troops to stabilize Xinfa County, and on the other hand, he wrote a letter to Ye Mingsheng to explain the situation.

Today's meeting was initiated by Ye Mingsheng after he received Lin Huaiwu's letter. He wanted all the generals to get together to discuss a way to find a way to lift the siege of Xinfa County!

After introducing the situation of the Khitans, Ye Tie pointed to the coordinates of Xinfa County on the map and said:
"At present, the Xinfa County garrison consists of a battalion of 2,000 people under the command of Commander Lin Huaiwu. According to the information sent by Commander Lin, because the situation is tense, he has temporarily recruited 1,000 strong and capable local warriors to defend the city. Now there are 3,000 combatants in the city, and they are equipped with 30 tiger squat cannons, 100 bird guns, and 200 three-barreled guns."

"With such military strength and equipment, as well as Commander Lin's ability, it is undoubtedly wishful thinking for the Khitans to capture Xinfa County!" Standing in front of the map, Ye Tie gave his conclusion very confidently.

After Ye Tie introduced the enemy situation, the generals, under the instruction of Ye Mingsheng, began to discuss. Everyone generally agreed with Ye Tie's idea that Xinfa County was impregnable. The Khitans with more than 4,000 people would definitely not be able to capture Xinfa County guarded by Lin Huaiwu's 3,000 people. If the Khitans attacked by force, they would definitely suffer heavy casualties...
Seeing that everyone had almost finished their discussion, and He Jingyun, who was sitting on his left, had not spoken, Ye Mingsheng could not help but feel curious about what he was thinking about, and immediately asked:
"General He, what do you think about this matter?"

As soon as Ye Mingsheng said this, the lobby, which was noisy and bustling a second ago, suddenly became quiet, and everyone's eyes were on He Jingyun.

Under the gaze of everyone, He Jingyun, who was silent for a while, first clasped his fists towards Ye Mingsheng who was sitting in the main seat, and then said:
"Your Excellency the General, I believe the Khitans will not attack Xinfa County!"

"Oh? General He, please tell us in detail!" Seeing that He Jingyun had a different opinion, Ye Mingsheng also became a little expectant.

"The Xinfa County City is about ten feet high, with very complete defense facilities. It also needs Commander Lin's garrison troops to be stationed there, and the adults have specially strengthened the firearms. This is a very tough nut to crack."

"Although the Khitans are barbaric and crude, they are not fools. They should know how many defenders there are in Xinfa County. Although the Khitans are fierce, they are only good at field battles. Lacking artillery and heavy equipment, they are not good at sieges."

“If my guess is correct, the two thousand Khitans located ten miles north of Xinfa City will stay where they are to tie down the defenders in Xinfa City, while Xiao Xiu and Yelu Hange’s troops will bypass Xinfa County and plunder Shiquan County and Linmao County in the rear. They will rob enough food to survive the winter before the first snow...”

After listening to He Jingyun's story, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly, even though there was no evidence yet to prove that the Khitans intended to do so.

But in Ye Mingsheng's heart, he was already certain that the Khitans would definitely act as He Jingyun said!

Shiquan County and Linmao County are an important part of his economic development plan. If they are looted by the Khitans, it will be a major blow to Ye Mingsheng's plan.

In addition, although Ye Mingsheng now has some stored grain, it is only enough for his soldiers to eat. There is no extra grain at all to be used for disaster relief. If Shiquan and Linmao counties are really lost, there will be starving people everywhere, and it will be a tragic scene!

Just as Ye Mingsheng was making a decision in his heart, Liang Xuezhang, who had been sitting quietly beside him, added at the right time:
"General, I have dealt with the Khitans before. Xiao Xiu and Yelu Hange are both generals under the command of the Khitan prince Yelu Yan. They are stationed on the east and west sides respectively, so the one in the middle leading the two thousand men is probably Yelu Yan himself!"

"Yelü Yan is well-read in military books and is very cunning. If he were to lead the troops, I guess he would most likely let Xiao Xiu and Yelü Hange attack the rear as bait, lure Commander Lin out of the city to pursue, and then make use of the advantages of cavalry in the field battle..."

Although Liang Xuezhang hadn't finished speaking, Ye Mingsheng immediately understood what he meant. A cold light flashed in his eyes, and without any hesitation, he immediately gave orders to the generals in the hall:
"Send a message to Lin Huaiwu right now, and tell him to defend Xinfa County to the death. He cannot leave the city no matter what. If he violates military law, he will be punished!"

"All other troops muster up, rush to the aid of Shiquan and Linmao counties, and chop off the heads of these Khitan bastards!"

(End of this chapter)