Chapter 345: Winning Over (Thanks to book friend s自由风雨b, 09018 for the reward!)
Before Ye Mingsheng's words fell completely, He Jingyun's brain was already working quickly. Although Ye Mingsheng only talked about the transfer of a few people, he keenly felt Ye Mingsheng's thoughts...

Yuan Song is currently the most capable general in the Fengzhou army except for himself. He has always been entrusted with important tasks by Ye Mingsheng. First, he guarded the trade route in Xiangshuiyuan, and later he took over from Lin Huaiwu to guard Xinfa County against the Khitans. All the tasks he performed were related to the life and death of the Fengzhou army.

In addition, whenever the artisan camp invented any good firearms, Ye Mingsheng would give priority to distributing them to Yuan Song's troops. This shows how much Ye Mingsheng valued him.

Lin Huaiwu was one of the first subordinates to follow Ye Mingsheng. This time when they went to the expedition to Posuo Mansion, Ye Mingsheng entrusted him with the important task of guarding the house, which was enough to show how much trust he had in him.

After such a long period of training, Lin Huaiwu's abilities have made great progress, and his level can be ranked in the middle among the generals under Ye Mingsheng.

It can be said that the two generals Yuan Song and Lin Huaiwu are the backbone of Ye Mingsheng's Fengzhou Army and the cornerstone of the stability of the regime!
The fact that Ye Mingsheng has now pulled these two people out of their respective positions reveals a message, that is, Ye Mingsheng is determined to shift the strategic focus of the Fengzhou Army to full participation in Liaoyang's internal affairs. Therefore, when facing the Khitans, the Fengzhou Army may take a defensive stance...

After coming to this conclusion, He Jingyun felt relieved and said to Ye Mingsheng:
"I agree with your move. The situation in Liaoyang is on the verge of breaking out. This is when our Fengzhou Army needs the two commanders to escort us!"

Ye Mingsheng was not surprised by He Jingyun's statement. He nodded and said as if nothing had happened, "How many troops do you think should be assigned to them?"

Hearing this question, He Jingyun's heart skipped a beat. He knew that Ye Mingsheng was still unwilling to let him go so easily, so he couldn't play dumb anymore. He had to answer seriously:

"I think the troops assigned to the two commanders still depend on whether you decide to expand the army and how many troops you want to expand!"

"Our army now has nearly 30,000 troops, including 5,000 in the reserve of the militia, 15,000 old brothers, and 10,000 new recruits. If you want to maintain this number, I suggest that you arrange 8,000 to 10,000 for Commander Yuan and 4,000 to 6,000 for Commander Lin..."

Ye Mingsheng did not comment upon hearing this but continued to ask:

"What if I plan to expand my army to 50,000?"

He Jingyun was a little surprised when he heard the number "50,000". He originally guessed that Ye Mingsheng would do what he could and would not expand blindly. This time, the army would be expanded by about 10,000 to 15,000 people.

"I didn't expect Ye Mingsheng to take a much bigger step than he imagined, and directly increased the total force to 50,000. However, judging by the money and food that were seized this time, this is also within the acceptable range for the Fengzhou Army.

He Jingyun thought for a moment and then said:

"If you intend to expand the army to 50,000, then I think you can arrange 10,000 troops for each of the two commanders, and Commander Yuan can have a little more!"

After He Jingyun finished speaking, Ye Mingsheng narrowed his eyes slightly. After asking He Jingyun about his opinion, he finally understood. He Jingyun believed that Yuan Song and Lin Huaiwu together could command about 40 to 50 percent of the troops under his command. This coincided with Ye Mingsheng's idea.

As a superior, when Ye Mingsheng considers allocating troops to his subordinates, he not only has to consider their abilities, loyalty, and virtues, but also pays attention to the overall balance and cannot allow a single person to dominate.

Moreover, the power structure under his command cannot be unbalanced. How to achieve a balance and make everyone unite as one and cooperate sincerely is a great test of the means and mind of the superior...
After thinking carefully, Ye Mingsheng said:
"I intend to ask the Zhenwu Army to promote Yuan Song, Lin Huaiwu, and Guo Zhiping to the sixth-rank guerrilla generals. Yuan Song will command five battalions with 15,000 soldiers, Lin Huaiwu will command three battalions with 13,000 soldiers, and Guo Zhiping will command one cavalry battalion and two infantry battalions with 10,000 soldiers!"

After hearing Ye Mingsheng's plan, He Jingyun vaguely felt that the 38,000 men under the command of Yuan Song, Lin Huaiwu, and Guo Zhiping were the total force that Ye Mingsheng expected to interfere in Liaoyang affairs. However, if he only wanted to increase the number of troops to 50,000, then these three people would have too many troops.

After all, most of the remaining manpower will be local militia and militia, with only a small number of standing troops. It is really difficult to rely on these people to pacify the local area and guard against possible attacks from the Khitans at any time...

Thinking of this, He Jingyun was ready to put forward some different opinions to Ye Mingsheng. Just as he was secretly thinking about how to say it to Ye Mingsheng in a tactful way, Ye Mingsheng seemed to see through his thoughts and said with a smile:

"The 50,000 people I mentioned are all regular troops. As for the reserve forces such as the militia, they will be expanded from 5,000 to 10,000 to ensure the rear of our army!"

When Ye Mingsheng said this, He Jingyun was shocked. According to Ye Mingsheng's statement, the Fengzhou Army would reach 60,000 people. With so many people, even with the large amount of money seized this time, the financial situation of the Fengzhou Army would be close to the limit and it would collapse in a short time.

Although he did not want to go against Ye Mingsheng's opinion, for the sake of the development of Fengzhou Army, He Jingyun could not help but dissuade him:

"Your Excellency has expanded the army by so many people all at once. Recruiting and training soldiers are both problems. What's more, our army is now living off its resources. After all the captured money is used up, Fengzhou and Posuo Prefecture simply cannot afford to support so many people..."

Looking at the worried He Jingyun, Ye Mingsheng smiled and shook his head and said:

"You are right. According to our standards, Fengzhou and Posuo Prefecture combined can support 30,000 people, which is already very good, but the entire Liaoyang can fully support 50,000 people!"

"I heard someone say that when you feel a crisis, you must seize every opportunity to strengthen yourself and strive to survive the crisis!"

'I asked the logistics department to calculate that our seizure this time can support 50,000 standing troops for at least three months! Three months is enough. If we can take Liaoyang, then finance will no longer be a problem for us. If we can't take it, then when that time comes, we don't need to worry about money and food..."

Looking at Ye Mingsheng, who was smiling and speaking with confidence, He Jingyun had a complicated expression. It was hard for him to understand where Ye Mingsheng got so much confidence from, and how he could burn his boats and die if he failed, and he said it so calmly and unhurriedly.

But perhaps it was this calmness and composure that gave He Jingyun some confidence. He took a deep breath, bowed to Ye Mingsheng and said:
"I am willing to follow you to create great achievements together!" Ye Mingsheng nodded with satisfaction, helped He Jingyun up, and said sincerely:
"I am so lucky to have the general's help. Why should I worry about not pacifying Liaoyang?"

After the words fell, Ye Mingsheng and He Jingyun smiled at each other. The estrangement and resentment of the past were all blown away by the wind...
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After beheading hundreds of unforgivable bandit leaders in front of tens of thousands of troops, using these heads to intimidate those who were ready to make evil moves, Ye Mingsheng led the army, pulling cart after cart of wealth and food, to Posa City.

Ye Mingsheng had just arrived in Posa City, and before he even had time to exchange a few words with the enthusiastic gentry and landlords here, he encountered a new problem.

Sitting in the spacious main hall, Ye Mingsheng looked at the tall, smiling, handsome and elegant middle-aged man in front of him and said with interest:

"Are you Han Chen? Governor Song's top lobbyist?"

Facing Ye Mingsheng's question, Han Chen smiled and bowed:
“My last name is Han Chen, and I am an aide to the Governor-General. As for the title of the number one lobbyist, I don’t dare to take it…”

Seeing that this person was indeed Han Chen, Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly. Although it was the first time they met, Ye Mingsheng had heard of this person's name a long time ago. Han Chen was a Jinshi during the previous emperor's period.

Although he is now a commoner without any official position and is just Song Wenhui's aide, everyone in Liaoyang officials knows that he is Song Wenhui's number one lobbyist, which is equivalent to Song Wenhui's foreign minister, and can represent Song Wenhui with full authority.

The fact that Song Wenhui was able to take control of Liaoyang and secure the position of Governor of Liaoyang back then was largely due to Han Chen's ability to form alliances and make strategic decisions!
Ye Mingsheng could guess more or less the purpose of Han Chen's visit. It was nothing more than Song Wenhui wanting to pull him in to deal with Chen Dechang. Ye Mingsheng, whose strength had greatly increased, was open-minded about this. However, Ye Mingsheng was more interested in how much price Song Wenhui could offer to win him over!
Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng was too lazy to exchange pleasantries with Han Chen and just said:
"Han Chen, I know you are here to give me a gift, just tell me what you brought me!"

Han Chen's smile froze when he said this. He had met countless high-ranking officials from powerful families on behalf of Song Wenhui, but he was the first one who was so direct right from the start like Ye Mingsheng...

However, Han Chen was experienced after all, and he immediately adjusted his state and said to Ye Mingsheng: "Lord Ye is a man of few words, so I will not hide anything. The Governor has indeed prepared a generous gift for you!"

"Since arriving in Liaoyang, you have made many remarkable achievements. First, you wiped out the fierce bandit Wang Laogun who had been threatening Guangning Prefecture for many years. Then you defeated the invading Khitans in Fengzhou and boosted the military power of our Great Zhou. Now, you have captured the big bandit Zhen Sanshan and cleared the bandit problem in Posuo Prefecture!"

"With such great achievements, how can he be just a fifth-rank general, the general of Fengzhou?"

"It is shameful that Chen Dechang did not reward his meritorious service. When our Lord Governor learned about this, he often stood up for you! He hated Chen Dechang for burying talents. Since Chen Dechang is unwilling to reward you, then our Lord Governor is willing!"

As he spoke, Han Chen took out a document from his arms and handed it to Ye Dong beside him. After Ye Dong checked it and confirmed that there was no problem, he handed the document to Ye Mingsheng.

"Sir, this is a commendation letter written by our governor specially for you! You are promoted to the rank of fourth-rank recruiting envoy! Congratulations!" Han Chen smiled and congratulated Ye Mingsheng:
Looking at the commendation in his hand, Ye Mingsheng showed no expression on the surface, but he sneered in his heart. Song Wenhui's method was really too clumsy...
Throwing the commendation order on the table, Ye Mingsheng continued to ask Han Chen:

"anything else?"

Looking at Ye Mingsheng's actions, Han Chen had a bad feeling in his heart. He thought that this commendation order would be enough to make Ye Mingsheng ecstatic and accept the official position of the fourth-rank recruiting envoy. Then he could use this as a breakthrough to sow discord between Ye Mingsheng and Chen Dechang.

But now it seems that he was completely wrong. Ye Mingsheng seemed to have no interest in this fourth-rank recruiting envoy at all.

Looking at Han Chen, who looked a little embarrassed but didn't speak, Ye Mingsheng frowned and asked:
"You're not going to tell me that your gift is just a recruiting envoy, are you?"

Feeling Ye Mingsheng's dissatisfaction, Han Chen forced himself to keep a smile on his face and said:

"We came here in a hurry and are not well prepared! If you need anything, please let me know and I will go back and pass it on to our governor."

Seeing that Song Wenhui was really planning to play a trick on him, Ye Mingsheng got a little angry and picked up the commendation letter on the table and threw it on the ground. Then he shouted:

"Go back and tell Governor Song that this kind of cage method can be used on others, but not on me, Ye Mingsheng!"

After saying that, Ye Mingsheng waved his hand without waiting for Han Chen to reply. After receiving the order, Ye Dong immediately asked Han Chen to leave.

Ye Mingsheng was really angry this time. You, Song Wenhui, are at least the governor of Liaoyang of the second rank and a powerful feudal lord. You want me to betray the Zhenwu Army and attack them, but the only price you offer is a commendation order and a crappy recruiting envoy?

After all, the last time the Zhenwu Army tried to win him over, they gave him 30,000 taels of silver, 100,000 dan of grain, and some other benefits. Without these things, it would be difficult for Ye Mingsheng to launch this offensive against Posa Mansion!

Now it's your turn, Song Wenhui, to give me a title without any practical benefit...

You are too stingy. You don't take me, Ye, seriously at all. Are you coming to me to get something for free?

Are you treating me like a prostitute in a brothel, thinking that I will follow you obediently just because you have a piece of paper to redeem me?
He made you drink wine, but you don't even take a piss and look in the mirror. Who do you think you are?
(End of this chapter)