Chapter 313 The Dark Night Before the Storm ( words long chapter!)
Faced with Jiang Chong's question, Xing Dalin did not speak immediately, but silently calculated Jiang Chong's strength in his heart.

Jiang Chong now has two thousand cavalrymen, and his brother Jiang Yuan has more than one thousand men, a total of more than three thousand people!

Once the 15,000 taels of silver arrive in the account, with the money and Jiang Chong's reputation, it will be no problem to expand the army by 5,000 troops.

Although the five thousand troops were not as good as the initial plan, they were also a force that could not be underestimated. If used well, they would be the sharpest dagger to pierce Zhen Sanshan's heart...

Thinking of this, Xing Dalin immediately whispered to Jiang Chong:

"In a month, General Ji Qiwei, who is in charge of suppressing bandits under the Governor-General's command, will lead 30,000 troops to station in Posuo Prefecture. With the threat of these 30,000 troops, Zhen Sanshan will not dare to kill the general before the battle, lest everyone in the army is in danger. If Zhen Sanshan says that he will send you to fight, you will turn against him in front of the battle and kill him by surprise!"

"If Zhen Sanshan doesn't send you to fight, you should find a way to burn Zhen Sanshan's granary in Baihu Mountain, disrupt Zhen Sanshan's rear, and create opportunities for our army to fight a decisive battle!"

Listening to Xing Dalin's arrangement, Jiang Chong frowned slightly. Xing Dalin's plan looked very good. It seemed that both aspects were taken into consideration and it could be used for both offense and defense.

But based on Jiang Chong's understanding of Zhen Sanshan, Zhen Sanshan was able to rise step by step from an ordinary green forest bandit to the position of the green forest leader. He has never lacked courage!
If Song Wenhui's army were to invade, it would be very likely that Zhen Sanshan would be determined to eliminate the internal troubles and sacrifice his own head!
Realizing this, Jiang Chong's expression became more serious. Noticing the change in Jiang Chong's expression, Xing Dalin asked impatiently:
"Master Jiang, do you have any questions?"

Jiang Chong wanted to tell his concerns upon hearing this, but sensing the impatience in Xing Dalin's tone, he thought for a moment and replied:
"I know what to do!"

After hearing this reply, Xing Dalin was somewhat satisfied. After eating and drinking, he confirmed with Jiang Chong that the first batch of deeds would be delivered and he was the first to leave Liu's Restaurant.

Looking at Xing Dalin's departing back, Jiang Chong's face gradually became gloomy...
The reason why he didn't tell Xing Dalin was actually very simple, because even if he did, it would be useless, Xing Dalin wouldn't be able to help him much, and Xing Dalin would think he was hesitant and indecisive.

At this point, he could only take things one step at a time. If it really didn't work out, he would have to take his men and run to Yanjiang County to avoid the limelight. He had realized that it was better to have something yourself than to have it from your parents! The only people he could rely on were his brothers!
The only good news now is that Song Wenhui sent 20,000 more people than the originally planned 10,000.

With Ji Qiwei's 30,000 troops holding him back in the front, as long as he ran to Yanjiang County, Liang Zhen Sanshan would not dare to send troops to pursue him!

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Fengzhou, Xinfa County.

Thousands of Khitan cavalrymen rushed to the county town and surrounded the city. Arrows fell like raindrops. Everyone on the city wall was in danger. From time to time, someone was hit by arrows and screams were heard.

Ever since Wang Mu and his party arrived in Xinfa County from Xiangshuiyuan two days ago, the Khitan people in Songmo area also heard the news and launched an attack on Xinfa County.

Fortunately, Yuan Song had already received the news in advance and made arrangements, so although the current situation in Xinfa County looks terrible, the actual losses are not that great.

However, the only thing Yuan Song did not expect was that when he saw the war coming, Wang Muzhi insisted on going to the front line in person, and even asked his men to join the battle to fight against the Khitans together. Yuan Song persuaded Wang Muzhi with all his might, but he was forced to agree to Wang Muzhi's request to go to the front line in person.

Seeing the Khitan arrows becoming more and more dense, Yuan Song came to the center of the city wall and bowed to Wang Muzhi, who was standing there in military uniform, and asked tentatively;

"Sir Wang, the enemy's attack is fierce. Do you think you can..."

Wang Muzhi, with a stern look on his face, glanced at the Khitans who were gradually attacking outside the city wall, then looked at Yuan Song and said coldly:

"Commander Yuan, what are you talking about?"

"The soldiers of the Great Zhou Dynasty are not afraid of death, so how can I, as a general, be afraid of death?"

"The Khitans have not yet created the arrow that can kill Wang Muzhi!"

After Wang Muzhi said this, although they were in different camps, Yuan Song couldn't help but respect him...

Yuan Song, who came from the Longxiong Imperial Guard, had long heard of Wang Muzhi's great reputation in the army, but after all, he had never seen him in person before, so he was still a little skeptical about the rumors.

But now that I have witnessed Wang Muzhi's behavior with my own eyes, I understand that there is no false reputation behind his reputation!
After being rejected, Yuan Song apologized to Wang Muzhi, and then commanded his soldiers to resist the Khitan's siege. The Khitan attacked for two hours, and Wang Muzhi stayed on the city wall for two hours. After the Khitan sounded the retreat, Wang Muzhi walked down the city wall and returned to his residence in the city.

When Wang Muzhi returned to the room, he saw the man in black robe sitting on a chair before he could reply. He asked him:
"How did the Khitans fight?"

Seeing that the man in black robe had entered his room without his consent, Wang Muzhi frowned slightly. However, for the sake of the overall situation, he did not say much and answered the man in black robe's questions in a deep voice.

“The Khitans lack siege equipment, so their offensive is mainly based on suppression with bows and arrows. It seems that they just want to prevent the soldiers in the county from leaving the city, and then they will plunder the countryside…”

After hearing Wang Muzhi's story, a smile appeared on the face of the man in black robe. Wang Muzhi, who was already disgusted with him, thought that the man in black robe was expressing disdain for his opinion, and asked angrily:

"what are you laughing at?"

"Xiao Ye Mingsheng is really willing to spend money to let the Khitans play this drama so realistically that you, General Wang, are fooled!" The black-robed man said lightly:
"What are you talking about? What is Ye Mingsheng acting like?" Wang Muzhi asked in confusion:
"These Khitans were hired by Ye Mingsheng to make you, General Wang, think that Fengzhou is unable to send troops under the attack of the Khitans!" The black-robed man said very calmly. Although his tone was very calm, for some reason, when this black-robed man said this, a hint of complicated emotions emerged in his eyes.
This emotion contains disappointment, regret, and a hint of remorse...

Wang Muzhi was undoubtedly shocked to hear what the black-robed man said. Although he knew that Ye Mingsheng, who had his own troops, would not easily send troops to support Changqing Prefecture, he never expected that Ye Mingsheng would actually do so. If what the man in front of him said was correct, then Ye Mingsheng was colluding with the Khitan and disobeying orders, which was a serious crime against the three tribes!
Although he was a little bit unconvinced that Ye Mingsheng, a general, would actually collude with the Khitans, but when he thought of the identity of the man in front of him, Wang Muzhi couldn't help but believe it a little!

After thinking for a while, Wang Muzhi asked the man in black robe for confirmation:
"Do you have any evidence?"

"evidence?"

"We will set off for Fengzhou City tomorrow. You can ask Ye Mingsheng in person!" The man in black robe shook his head and said with a smile:

"Leaving tomorrow? There are Khitans everywhere outside!" Wang Muzhi asked with a frown:

"They will withdraw tonight!" the man in black robe said calmly:
"How do you know?" A look of surprise appeared on Wang Muzhi's face.

"Since Ye Mingsheng can let them come, then I can naturally let them leave!"

The man in black robe still spoke calmly. Although his voice was calm, it was full of unquestionable confidence...
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Fengzhou General's Mansion, early morning
"Is Cui Dakai here?"

After eating a few mouthfuls of millet porridge, Ye Mingsheng seemed to remember something and asked Pei Zhixiu beside him:

"He came yesterday at noon and chatted with the old lady for a long time. Seeing him coming, the old lady was in a good mood." Pei Zhixiu nodded gently and replied:

Recently, probably because of the cold weather and she caught a cold, Ye Cui had some minor health problems, so to be on the safe side, Ye Mingsheng asked Pei Zhixiu to look after Ye Cui's condition.

Although Pei Zhixiu is not as considerate as Geun-ok, who was a personal maid, she has a good emotional intelligence and behaves very well and sensible in front of the old lady, so she is quite popular with Ye Cui.

After hearing Pei Zhixiu's story, Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly. Cui Dakai was not completely useless. At least he could make his mother happy. With this advantage, it was worth it for him to let him go in the first place...

Looking at Ye Mingsheng who was drinking millet porridge, Pei Zhixiu hesitated and said softly:
"Cui Dakai seems very curious. Why did you ask him to come here, my husband? He kept asking questions in a roundabout way when I went there..."

Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng smiled and looked at Pei Zhixiu with interest and said:
"And how did you tell him?"

"I said I don't know. I've never been interested in the swordplay between you men!" Pei Zhixiu shook his head and said:
Seeing this, Ye Ming nodded slightly. For Pei Zhixiu, perhaps healing the dying and the wounded is the best thing for her and it is also something that makes her feel fulfilled.

After having breakfast with Ye Mingsheng, Pei Zhixiu got on the carriage of the general's mansion and went to work in her clinic. Ye Mingsheng took a stroll in the garden and exercised, then returned to his study to prepare to start his first day of work.

As soon as he sat down in the study, Ye Mingsheng saw a letter marked with three black dots placed on his desk...

Looking at the letter appearing, although Ye Mingsheng has not opened it to check the contents inside, his expression has become three points more solemn!

In order to make his work more efficient, Ye Mingsheng would ask his subordinates to grade the things they reported and mark them with black dots, with three black dots being the highest and one black dot being the lowest. Ye Mingsheng would also give priority to handling things with more black dots based on the grades.

Obviously, this letter marked with three black dots means that something very important has happened!

After opening the letter, Ye Mingsheng read every word on it very carefully.

The letter came from Xinfa County and was written to him by Yuan Song. The content of the letter was not much. To put it simply, Yelu Kang's men broke their promise and did not withdraw from Xinfa County as agreed, but withdrew two days in advance. Without the siege of Yelu Kang's cavalry, Wang Mu and his party had now left Xinfa County and headed towards Fengzhou City...
After reading the contents of the letter, Ye Mingsheng put the letter paper down, narrowed his eyes, and subconsciously tapped the desk surface with his fingers.

It is not new for the Khitans, a foreign race, to be treacherous and break agreements. They have done this many times in history, and Ye Mingsheng has never had too many expectations of them.

But this matter was the responsibility of Gu Sansi. Gu Sansi solemnly assured Ye Mingsheng that Yelu Kang would definitely do as agreed. Out of trust in Gu Sansi, Ye Mingsheng did not ask much, but he knew that Gu Sansi was a very cautious person. Since he was so confident that Yelu Kang would fulfill the agreement, he must have his reasons!

Ye Mingsheng didn't want to blame Gu Sansi, but he realized a problem, that is, Yelu Kang's betrayal this time was not just an ordinary betrayal, but there was a high possibility that something went wrong!

Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng immediately wanted to summon Huo San to see if Huo San, who had become the director of the Fengzhou Military Statistics and Investigation Bureau, could know some useful information.

Ye Mingsheng was about to give orders when he suddenly remembered that Gu Sansi and Huo San were working for him. Things were at a critical moment. If he disturbed them now, it might affect the progress of the matter...

If it were a normal time, it wouldn't matter. But according to what Yuan Song said in the letter, if Wang Muzhi had already come to Fengzhou from Xinfa County, then he would arrive in Fengzhou City tonight at the earliest, or the day after tomorrow at the latest. Time is very tight.

After hesitating for a while, Ye Mingsheng shook his head and suppressed his curiosity. The focus of his work now should be on Wang Muzhi and his group who were about to arrive. Even if he knew what happened to Yelu Kang, he was powerless to interfere now. So it didn't matter much whether he knew it or not. So he let Huo San and Gu Sansi concentrate on doing that thing!
After handling official business for an hour and a half, just when Ye Mingsheng was about to stand up, walk around and drink some tea, Huo San suddenly came to Ye Mingsheng in a hurry.

Seeing the solemn expression on Huo San's face, Ye Mingsheng gradually had a bad feeling in his heart. Sure enough, after greeting Ye Mingsheng, Huo San reported in a deep voice:

“Sir, I just received reliable information that the people from the Supervisory Department are very active within the Khitan people. There are even reports that people from the Supervisory Department have met Yelu Kang. So I suspect that Yelu Kang’s early withdrawal of troops from Xinfa County is most likely caused by the Supervisory Department…”

(End of this chapter)