Chapter 354 Choice!

Whether to let the Liaoyang army leave Shoucheng is a question that Ye Mingsheng needs to make a decision!

There are advantages to letting go and there are advantages to not letting go. Each has its pros and cons!

Song Wenhui still has 10,000 soldiers in Dongning Prefecture, and Xing Dalin, who withdrew, brought back several thousand people. If Ye Mingsheng sends back the 10,000 soldiers in Shoucheng, then Song Wenhui can gather together and put forth an army of almost 30,000 people.

Thirty thousand people is neither too many nor too few. With these 30,000 soldiers and relying on Song Wenhui's prestige in Liaoyang for more than ten years, it is not impossible for Song Wenhui to defend Dongning Prefecture. Even if he cannot defend Dongning Prefecture, he can probably delay the Zhenwu Army for a while.

This is very beneficial for Ye Mingsheng. During this period of time, he can sit on the mountain and watch the fight between the Zhenwu Army and Song Wenhui, fighting for life and death. On the other side, he will integrate the resources of Xuantu Mansion and wait for the best time to send troops to intervene in the war!
However, the plan is good, but the reality is cruel. Letting these 10,000 soldiers go back to Dongning Prefecture is also very risky for Ye Mingsheng. Once Song Wenhui fails to hold on, or like this time, there are problems within them that cause the Liaoyang Army to collapse, these 10,000 soldiers will be swallowed up by the Zhenwu Army to enhance their strength...

Originally, the Zhenwu Army had swallowed up the main force of the Liaoyang Army, and had the help of the Shiwei people. In addition, they also probably arranged the Khitan people as a backup for Ye Mingsheng. No matter in strength or situation, they were undoubtedly the one with the upper hand. If they got these 10,000 soldiers, the gap in strength between the two sides would become larger and larger, and Ye Mingsheng would face a very difficult situation.

If they don't let go, Ye Mingsheng can take action when they withdraw from Shoucheng. At that time, the Liaoyang army is in a panic and fleeing in haste. Ye Mingsheng's military strength is nearly four times theirs. There is no reason why Ye Mingsheng cannot win!

Although the current military force is already the financial limit of Fengzhou, it would not be difficult to raise another 10,000 soldiers as long as Xuantu Prefecture is captured.

Of course, once Ye Mingsheng did this, Song Wenhui would undoubtedly be defeated. Without Song Wenhui as a shield, Ye Mingsheng would soon face the power of the Zhenwu Army!

After thinking about it carefully, Ye Mingsheng realized that the key to the matter was whether Song Wenhui could hold on!

If Song Wenhui can hold on, Ye Mingsheng will definitely let him be a shield first, but if Song Wenhui can't hold on, Ye Mingsheng can only rely on himself and face the Zhenwu Army!

After thinking about it carefully, Ye Mingsheng felt that he should not act arbitrarily on this issue. He should listen to everyone's opinions first and then make plans.
Ye Mingsheng, who had an idea, called He Jingyun, Gu Sansi, Yuan Song and other military generals to discuss the matter together.

After Huo San informed everyone of the current situation, Lin Huaiwu stood up and reported to Ye Mingsheng:

"Sir, I think the Liaoyang Army was caught off guard by the Shiwei rebellion this time and suffered such a great defeat. The Liaoyang Army still has its strength, so I think we should let these 10,000 soldiers go and return to Dongning Prefecture. With these 10,000 soldiers to help, the Liaoyang Army will definitely be able to stop the Zhenwu Army."

Everyone seemed optimistic that Song Wenhui could defend Dongning Prefecture, so they all agreed with Lin Huaiwu's opinion. Only a few people remained silent, including Ye Mingsheng's chief military advisor Gu Sansi. Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng immediately turned his attention to him.

Feeling Ye Mingsheng's gaze, Gu Sansi naturally knew what Ye Mingsheng meant. He pondered for a moment and stood up and said:

"My lord, it is difficult for me to judge Song Wenhui's current truth from the information I have now, but I know someone must understand..."

At the end, Gu Sansi gave Ye Mingsheng a meaningful look. Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng was stunned at first, and then he instantly understood what Gu Sansi meant.

Seeing that Ye Mingsheng understood what he meant, Gu Sansi raised two fingers and said:
"Whether it's fighting or releasing them, it will take time. The Liaoyang Army in Shoucheng will receive the order to retreat tomorrow at the earliest. The mobilization of 10,000 soldiers is no small matter, so we have to prepare in any way. Therefore, the Liaoyang Army is likely to evacuate Shoucheng the day after tomorrow morning!"

"If they arrive before the Liaoyang Army withdraws, it means that Song Wenhui is likely to die, and vice versa!"

"That makes sense, let's do it!"

Ye Mingsheng nodded and felt that what Gu Sansi said made a lot of sense. That group of people were the most realistic. Now let's see whether they would vote with their feet.

Seeing Ye Mingsheng and Gu Sansi playing dumb here, all the generals were confused. They didn’t know who Gu Sansi was talking about. Only He Jingyun, who was in contact with a higher level, had a slightly moved expression, as if he thought of something...

Lin Huaiwu, who always claimed to be Ye Mingsheng's "direct confidant", could not suppress his curiosity and bowed to Ye Mingsheng and asked:
"Sir, who are these "they" that Mr. Gu is talking about?"

"How come they are so powerful that they can know the strengths and weaknesses of the Liaoyang Army?"

Seeing Lin Huaiwu speak, although the doubtful people did not speak in agreement, they all looked at Ye Mingsheng with expectant eyes.

Feeling everyone's gazes, Ye Mingsheng felt a little helpless. It was not that he wanted to conceal it deliberately, but the matter had not yet been finalized. If he said it now and things didn't work out in the end, it would not only be a blow to morale, but also damage Ye Mingsheng's prestige in front of his subordinates. So Ye Mingsheng wanted to be cautious in this regard.

But I really didn't expect that Lin Huaiwu, this young man, would break this window paper. Now if Ye Mingsheng doesn't say anything, his subordinates will definitely understand that Ye Mingsheng doesn't trust them...

So now Ye Mingsheng needs to reveal some information appropriately, both to eliminate everyone's doubts and to stabilize the morale of the troops.

"Our army has been in contact with some famous families in Liaoyang recently. They have deep roots in Liaoyang and can bring some help to our army!" Under the gaze of everyone, Ye Mingsheng replied in a deep voice:
Although Ye Mingsheng's words were a little vague and he did not mention any specific names, when the generals present heard the news, most of them showed a hint of surprise on their faces. Because Ye Mingsheng came from a poor family, most of his subordinates also came from poor families. Only He Jingyun came from the noble family of He, Duke of Shen, but he was also a bastard and his status was not high.

In this era of class stratification and internal competition, children from poor families have a love-hate relationship with the aristocratic families. What they hate is that the children from the aristocratic families occupy their path to the upper class and most of the world's resources, such as educational resources and sexual resources.

However, in their hearts, everyone longs to become a member of an aristocratic family. Even if they cannot be born into an aristocratic family, they hope to marry the daughter of an aristocratic family and enjoy the glory of the aristocratic family. Often, the more a poor kid curses the aristocratic family, the more he may lick them behind their backs. Therefore, being able to contact and interact with these aristocratic families is naturally a good thing for everyone. At least it proves that the development momentum of Fengzhoujun, a startup company, is very strong. It has big customers and big investors. The original shares of the company in everyone's hands are still very potential. Following Ye Mingsheng, there is meat to eat...

After accepting a few compliments from everyone, Ye Mingsheng announced the end of the meeting and asked everyone to go back and prepare for the battle. After everyone left, Ye Mingsheng, who was left alone in the tent, rubbed his tired temples and couldn't help but sigh in his heart that Gu Sansi's brain was indeed useful.

As Song Wenhui's biggest supporter among the Liaoyang aristocratic families, the Yun family was involved in every aspect of Song Wenhui's regime in Liaoyang. There is no doubt that if anyone knew Song Wenhui's situation best at this time, the Yun family would definitely be one of them. And such an aristocratic family that has existed for hundreds of years is the most shrewd and practical.

When you are good, they will lick you in every way. When you are not good, they will abandon you as quickly as possible and start looking for a new partner.

Before the Liaoyang Army suffered the current major defeat, but only suffered a small defeat in Posa Prefecture and showed signs of decline, the Yun family changed from the previous clear rejection to ambiguous attitude towards the Fengzhou Army's contacts. Although there has been no progress between the two sides, the contacts are still relatively smooth.

Now that Song Wenhui has fallen into such a big setback, the Yun family will naturally evaluate carefully whether to hang themselves on Song Wenhui's tree!
Ye Mingsheng believed that the Yun family's envoy would definitely come to see him. It was only a matter of time. The sooner the envoy came, the worse Song Wenhui's current situation would be...

"Sir, General Lin wants to see you for something important!" Just when Ye Mingsheng was about to take a nap, Ye Dong walked into the tent and reported to Ye Mingsheng:

When Ye Mingsheng heard that Lin Huaiwu wanted to see him, he probably guessed his intention and said after a moment of hesitation:
"Go out and tell him I'm busy and ask him to come back later!"

"Yes!" Ye Dong nodded and left.

After a while, Ye Dong came back and reported:

"General Lin didn't leave. He stood outside and said he was waiting for you."

Ye Mingsheng sneered when he heard this. Lin Huaiwu was quite sensible. Then he ordered:
"Then let him stand outside for half an hour, and then bring him in..."

"Understood!"

After explaining, Ye Mingsheng leaned back in his chair and wanted to take a nap. He had not been sleeping well at night in the past few days. He had been concerned about what would happen in Changqing Prefecture and how he should deal with the Shoucheng issue. Now that everything had been settled and there was a rough solution, Ye Mingsheng, who looked relaxed, naturally wanted to make up for his sleep.

While Ye Mingsheng was sleeping soundly, Lin Huaiwu outside the tent was feeling extremely nervous and uneasy. During this period, he was promoted by Ye Mingsheng and was in high spirits. He was also a little complacent and not as cautious as usual.

This is also why during the meeting in the tent just now, even though he knew that Ye Mingsheng might not want to say it, he still asked Ye Mingsheng questions.

Honestly speaking, Lin Huaiwu regretted what he said just now, and wanted to slap himself twice, but there were so many people present at the time, so he had to hold on for the sake of face. After the meeting, the more Lin Huaiwu thought about it, the more uneasy he felt, so he came to Ye Mingsheng obediently to apologize...

However, the only thing that made Lin Huaiwu feel fortunate was that what Ye Dongchuan said just now meant that Ye Mingsheng didn't want to see him now, but was still willing to see him, which meant that things could still be salvaged.

After standing in the wind for half an hour, Lin Huaiwu was finally led into the tent by Ye Dong. When he saw Ye Mingsheng, he bowed and said with great shame:
"My lord, I was wrong!"

"How could you, General Lin, be wrong?" Ye Mingsheng, who had just woken up, leaned lazily on the chair and said lightly:
Upon hearing Ye Mingsheng's words, Lin Huaiwu lowered his head even lower and apologized to Ye Mingsheng:

"I have spoken carelessly and disturbed your plans. I hope you will punish me!"

Looking at Lin Huaiwu, who had a fairly decent attitude, Ye Mingsheng didn't say anything but just looked at him quietly.

Lin Huaiwu was becoming more and more nervous as Ye Mingsheng was looking at him. He didn't know how Ye Mingsheng would deal with him. Of course, Lin Huaiwu was still confident about his personal safety, after all, he had been with Ye Mingsheng for such a long time.

Lin Huaiwu was very familiar with Ye Mingsheng's style of doing things. Although his superior attached great importance to military rules and discipline and was ruthless when it came to killing people, he was broad-minded and was definitely not a petty person. He would not kill an important official under his command at a time like this because of a momentary negligence in words...

Just as Lin Huaiwu was under Ye Mingsheng's gaze, his expression was extremely nervous, Ye Mingsheng spoke again:
"As a general, you need to be down-to-earth and take one step at a time. You can't be proud and complacent even if you have achieved a little success. I have entrusted tens of thousands of brothers to you. How can you be so reckless? Don't you think before you speak?"

After hearing Ye Mingsheng's criticism, Lin Huaiwu felt relieved and said with great shame:
"You are right, sir! I have failed to live up to your expectations and disappointed you!"

"It doesn't matter if you disappoint me. What you need to do is not let yourself down. Huaiwu, you have already achieved the position of a sixth-rank general at such a young age. You have a bright future commanding tens of thousands of troops. Do you know how many people envy and hate you secretly?"

"At times like this, you must be strict with yourself and not give others a chance to catch you. If your future is ruined because of a small negligence, Huaiwu, do you think it's a pity? Do you regret it?" Ye Mingsheng pretended to be heartbroken and said:
After hearing Ye Mingsheng's earnest teachings and realizing his situation, Lin Huaiwu's forehead was covered with a layer of cold sweat and his face turned pale. After a long while, he said very earnestly:

"Everything I have now was given by you, sir. Without your promotion and cultivation, I might have died in that stinking ditch now. As long as I can serve you, sir, I will never feel sorry or regretful!"

(End of this chapter)