Chapter 31: Three Surrounded and One Missing
"Last night we wiped out about 3,000 Gongdu troops, captured about 500, and a few hundred escaped. I think the number of Gongdu troops in the royal city now is about 1,000 at most."

"As for the soldiers in our army who are able to fight, there are about 2,100 of them, 800 of whom are our imperial guards. About one-third of our firearms have been damaged!"

Chen Yannian, the front-line commander in the military tent, briefly introduced the current situation between the enemy and us to Ye Mingsheng.

Upon hearing Chen Yannian's report, Ye Mingsheng felt a pain in his heart. The total force that attacked Liujing with him was only more than 3,000 people. Now they have not yet completely conquered the hardest bone, the Royal City, and more than 1,000 people have been lost. It is conceivable that the casualties in the next battle will be even greater.

The casualties under his command are what Ye Mingsheng cares most about now. Except for the several hundred men under Liu Shilin and Park Yong-chul, he has no troops to replenish them. Every death of a soldier is one less.

Not only did he have to capture the royal city, but he also had to defend Liujing against the counterattack of the palace army and wait for Xu Zhaojie's army to arrive. The task was quite serious. As long as he thought about it, Ye Mingsheng could feel the huge pressure coming upon him.

Although the pressure was great, Ye Mingsheng was also very clear that among the more than 3,000 men under his command, more than 2,000 were farmers or miners who had put down their hoes and hammers a few months ago. They had only received brief military training from the Inspectorate. It was a stretch to call them militia in terms of combat effectiveness. If it were not for Chen Yannian's effective command, the casualties on his side would probably be even higher.

Shaking his head slightly, Ye Mingsheng did not dwell on the issue of casualties. He looked around at the generals in the tent and said:
"After a hard battle tonight, every soldier in our army has made contributions. Each of them will be rewarded with one month's salary. When the battle is over, I will personally ask the commander-in-chief for your contributions!"

After a night of hard fighting, everyone, who looked exhausted, had a gleam of light in their eyes for Ye Mingsheng's reward, and they all praised:
"Thank you for the reward, Commander!"

"Commander-in-chief, you are so righteous!"

After encouraging the generals, Ye Mingsheng pondered for a moment and said, "Everyone can speak freely about your ideas on conquering the royal city!"

As soon as Ye Mingsheng said this, everyone in the tent who were smiling happily because of the reward a second ago, became quiet. They looked at their noses with their eyes, their mouths with their noses, and their hearts with their mouths, as if they were meditating, and remained silent.

Seeing everyone's behavior, Ye Mingsheng, who was sitting in the main seat, was not surprised. After all, how to conquer a fortified city was one of the biggest challenges in ancient wars.

Moreover, they are currently lacking heavy weapons. Apart from sacrificing human lives, there is basically no good way to capture the royal city.

The most embarrassing thing now is that even if Liu Shilin and Park Yongzhe's hundreds of men are counted, the troops Ye Mingsheng can now command are no more than 2,500 people. Even if he wants to sacrifice lives to fill this number of manpower, he does not have the capital.

After looking around at everyone, Ye Mingsheng's eyes fell on Chen Yannian. Facing his boss's gaze, Chen Yannian, who also couldn't think of any good solution, could only shake his head.

Seeing that no one had a good idea, Ye Mingsheng did not get angry, and announced: "Since no one has a good suggestion, then I have decided to defend strictly, surrounding three sides with one left. Gao Zuorong, you are responsible for guarding the west gate, Lin Huaiwu, you guard the south gate, Wang Xian, you guard the north gate, and there is no need to defend the east gate. Remember not to put a single grain of food or a pot of water in there..." As soon as Ye Mingsheng finished his words, Liu Shilin, who was sitting below him on his left, suddenly became very solemn and looked at Ye Mingsheng with something hesitant to say.

Ye Mingsheng ignored Liu Shilin's gaze and turned to Chen Yannian and said:
"Sir Chen, you personally lead the team to ambush outside the east gate. As long as the palace troops in the royal city break out from the east gate, you will entangle them. I will take the opportunity to lead the main force, occupy the royal city and then support you."

"I humbly obey my orders!"

Realizing the seriousness of the task, Chen Yannian nodded seriously.

After giving instructions to the generals, Ye Mingsheng let them disperse and return to their respective departments to do their work. He closed his eyes and continued to think.

He knew very well what Liu Shilin wanted to say, but he couldn't do it. He couldn't capture the royal city with such a small number of people. Even if God helped him to capture the royal city, he wouldn't have many people left and couldn't withstand the counterattack of the palace army. So for now, he had to make a choice. He couldn't have his cake and eat it too...

Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but sigh. Just when he felt helpless and very upset, a pair of cool and delicate hands appeared on his temples and began to rub them gently.

Ye Mingsheng was stunned at first by this sudden enjoyment, but when he smelled the faint fragrance coming from behind him, he immediately relaxed and immersed himself in this moment of silence.

Although Pei Zhixiu's massage technique was still a little unfamiliar, Ye Mingsheng, who closed his eyes, could feel that she was doing it very seriously and attentively. This made Ye Mingsheng's heart flow with warmth. With the relaxation of his mind and the comfort of his body, Ye Mingsheng, who had not rested all night, felt his eyelids getting heavier and heavier. After a few seconds, he could no longer resist the fatigue, closed his eyes, and snored...

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While Ye Mingsheng's troops were besieging the royal city of Gongdu, a white carrier pigeon landed in Wanfeng Mansion, an important town in the north of Gongdu. It was a large mansion with three entrances. A moment later, a servant respectfully handed a note to the old man in the main room who had just woken up and was wearing a white robe.
The old man had a broad back and strong build, white hair and beard, and a very sturdy figure. He looked intimidating without even being angry.

This person is none other than Jin Yingquan, the sixty-year-old fifth-rank pacification envoy of Liaoyang of the Inspectorate!
Taking the note from the servant and opening it, Jin Yingquan's expression immediately changed. He scanned it carefully again. After confirming that the content on the note was correct, he burned the note with a candle and murmured in a low voice:
"This Shen Jianzhong is indeed worthy of being a talent valued by the Prime Minister. He really has some skills..."

After thinking for a while, he immediately ordered: "Undress me and prepare the carriage. I want to go see the general!"

After a stick of incense, Jin Yingquan's carriage drove into the most luxurious Jiangyuan Palace in Wanfeng Prefecture.

(End of this chapter)