Chapter 29: The Fall of the City (3)
Observing the change in the situation ahead, Chen Yannian, who was in charge of the central army like Ye Mingsheng, immediately reported: "Commander-in-chief, the enemy general's personal soldiers have been dispatched. As long as we defeat this group of people, we can wipe out the East City Camp!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng nodded and immediately gave orders. The one thousand soldiers left as the reserve immediately joined the battle under the leadership of Chen Yannian. With the support of this fresh force, the Zhou army immediately launched another charge.

Under this wave of attacks, the troops entrenched in the central army camp, which were already at the end of their strength, relied on their bravery to support the palace army, and were quickly defeated without any suspense.

In an instant, the defeat was like a landslide. The soldiers of Gongdu wailed and fled for their lives. The Zhou army took advantage of the situation and attacked from behind. At this point, the camp in the east of the city was completely occupied. Most of the 3,000 soldiers of Gongdu were wiped out. Those who survived by chance could not gather together in a short time and could not pose any threat to Ye Mingsheng's next actions.

"Congratulations, young master, you have won the first battle!" Seeing that the East City Camp had been taken, Ye Tie, who was guarding the surroundings, immediately congratulated Ye Mingsheng:
In response to Ye Tie's congratulations, Ye Mingsheng, who was in a very good mood, nodded with a smile, and then led Ye Tie and others into the camp.

At this time, the Zhou army was in the camp, taking a short rest. When Ye Mingsheng saw Chen Yannian, he immediately asked, "Master Chen, can our army still fight?"

For Ye Mingsheng and the Zhou army he led, although they had captured the camp in the east of the city where most of the Liujing Palace Army’s forces were gathered, this was not the end but just a good start. Next, he had to eliminate the remaining Palace Army in the city and finally take on the hardest bone - the Palace Royal City.

Therefore, we must act quickly and decisively now. We must take advantage of the fact that the palace army has not yet reacted and their command system is in chaos to destroy as many of their manpower as possible. We must not delay any time.

Chen Yannian was also very clear about Ye Mingsheng's thoughts. He cupped his hands and said in a deep voice:

"No problem. Wang Xian, Lin Huaiwu and I will split into three groups to clear out the remaining palace troops in the city and try to surround the royal city before dawn!"

"Very good!" Ye Mingsheng nodded with satisfaction.

After bidding farewell to Chen Yannian, Ye Mingsheng, who was in charge of supervising the army in the rear, welcomed the returning Liu Shilin and his party.

"Fortunately, I have accomplished my mission!"

Seeing Ye Mingsheng, Liu Shilin said happily with a look of pride in his eyes. At this moment, he was covered in smoke and was completely different from the elegant and graceful young man in Ye Mingsheng's impression.

Seeing Liu Shilin so happy, Ye Mingsheng did not dampen his mood and complimented him casually: "Brother Shilin should be credited with the first merit for breaking through the East City Camp. Unfortunately, Brother Shilin is in the Supervisory Department, so I am afraid I can't recommend you for the credit!"

"It's okay, it's okay. Compared to being an official in the court, I prefer being a businessman!" Liu Shilin said nonchalantly:
After exchanging a few words of praise, Liu Shilin pulled a sturdy and strong general from the palace to his front and introduced him to Ye Mingsheng: "This is General Park Yongzhe whom I told you about, Lord Ye. We were able to accomplish this great success thanks to his decision to give up the dark and join the light!"

Hearing what Liu Shilin said, Ye Mingsheng immediately understood who this Park Yongzhe was, and looked at him with great interest. At first glance, one could see his pair of extremely eye-catching triangular eyes, which made a very deep impression.

It must be said that Park Yong-chul was quite tactful. Although his official position was higher than Ye Mingsheng's, he was still a person who had taken refuge, so he was very humble. He took the initiative to greet him in the not-very-standard Da Zhou official language, "Hello, Lord Ye!"

"Hello General Park!"

After greeting each other, Ye Mingsheng invited them to sit down, and then exchanged a few polite words. Seeing that the greetings were almost over, Ye Mingsheng pondered for a moment, then looked at Park Yongzhe and said:
"We will launch a three-pronged attack. If nothing goes wrong, we will be able to clear out the enemies outside the royal city by daybreak. However, the royal city is well-fortified, and there are also Red Tiger troops guarding it. It is indeed a tough nut to crack. I wonder what General Park can teach me?"

As soon as Liu Shilin heard this, he looked at Park Yong-chul, waiting for his answer.

Park Yong-chul seemed very confident about this question. He said without any hesitation: "Although the royal city is strong, Lord Ye, you don't have to worry. This city will be conquered without a fight!"

"Master Park, what do you mean?"

Ye Mingsheng was a little surprised when he heard this, and asked back with his eyes slightly narrowed:

"The camp east of the city has been breached by Lord Ye. The defenders in the city can now gather no more than 1,500 people, and are completely unable to counterattack. The fall of Liujing is an established fact, and the conflict between Da Zhou and Gongdu is inevitable."

"Although Li Zaiyuan is old and incompetent, he is not so blind as to not see this. From what I know about him, he will not choose to sit and wait for death. He will definitely choose to break through!" Park Yongzhe analyzed very calmly:

Hearing Park Yongzhe's analysis, Ye Mingsheng was a little surprised. After thinking for a while, he continued to ask:
"Then according to Lord Park, if Li Zaiyuan breaks out, in which direction is he most likely to break out?"

“I don’t know about that…”

In response to Ye Mingsheng's question, Park Yongzhe, who was originally very confident, showed a slightly embarrassed expression on his face. However, he did not pretend to understand. He hesitated for a moment and said:
"It is rumored that there is an underground secret passage in the royal city of Zhonggongdu that leads to the outside of the city. However, except for the kings of all dynasties, no one else knows where this secret passage leads to."

Ye Mingsheng's eyes flickered when he heard that. After a while, Park Yongzhe went downstairs to rest. Only Liu Shilin and Ye Mingsheng were left in the room. Neither of them spoke first, and the atmosphere became a little awkward for a moment.

Seeing that Ye Mingsheng had no intention of speaking first, Liu Shilin could only be the first to break the silence. He looked at Ye Mingsheng and said word by word: "The higher-ups don't want us to have any evidence!"

(End of this chapter)