Chapter 355 The choice of the aristocratic family!

At three quarters past ten the next day, a group of elite cavalry entered the Fengzhou military camp at Liujiaopo in the dark night.

"I am Yun Hanjie from the Yun family, nice to meet you, General!"

A middle-aged man who was well-dressed, a little overweight, but still had an extraordinary demeanor, walked into the central army tent, bowed to Ye Mingsheng who was sitting in the main seat, and said:
Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng looked up and down at the man who called himself Yun Hanjie. If he remembered correctly, the intelligence given to him by the Coordination Office showed that Yun Hanjie was the uncle of Yun Guanjing, the current head of the Yun family. He was the absolute core figure of the Yun family and had great authority in the Yun family...

Although the conversation has not started yet, the fact that the Yun family sent this person out has a meaning that is really thought-provoking!

Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but sigh. To be honest, he liked to make a fortune quietly and let Song Wenhui take the lead so that he could fish in troubled waters. But now it seems that our Governor Song is really disappointing. Although he felt a little regretful, Ye Mingsheng still nodded with a smile and said to Yun Hanjie:

"Show us a seat, my dear guest!"

"Thank you, General, for your compassion."

After Yun Hanjie thanked him, he sat on the chair that his guards had brought to him. He seemed a little anxious, and before he even sat down on the chair, he didn't bother to continue the greetings and asked Ye Mingsheng:

"Please forgive my rudeness, sir. I have a question in my mind that is really like a thorn in my throat. I wonder if you are willing to help me solve it?"

Looking at Yun Hanjie's sincere face, Ye Mingsheng smiled and roughly guessed what the Yun family boss would ask, and then said lightly:
"Mr. Yun is a distinguished guest, but you can speak freely!"

Hearing what Ye Mingsheng said, Yun Hanjie did not bother to be polite with Ye Mingsheng and directly stated the problem.
"Liaoyang has undergone a huge change. The general has tens of thousands of troops under his command. What plans do you have?"

Seeing that Yun Hanjie was asking this, Ye Mingsheng restrained the smile on his face and said very seriously:
“Although Ye is of little virtue and talent, he cannot bear to see the people of Liaoyang suffering and the war continuing. He is willing to use his own strength to stop the war and let the people recuperate...”

Although Ye Mingsheng spoke in a subtle and euphemistic way, and found an excuse for himself to be compassionate, Yun Hanjie, the old fox, could hear what Ye Mingsheng really wanted to express. The old guy rolled his eyes and immediately expressed his opinion:

"Your Excellency's ambition is truly admirable to me. I am willing to donate 100,000 taels of silver and 100,000 shi of grain to the Fengzhou Army. I hope you will accept it!"

Even though the other party offered 100,000 taels of silver and 100,000 dan of grain right off the bat, Ye Mingsheng frowned slightly when he heard the news. Yun Hanjie said that he was doing it in his own name, not in the name of the Yun family. The implication of this was really intriguing!
Looking at the frowning and silent Ye Mingsheng, Yun Hanjie felt a little uneasy. He knew that Ye Mingsheng must have sensed something was wrong, but there was nothing he could do about it. For a clan like theirs, safety was the most important thing in matters like this. They could not win, but they must remain undefeated and always stand on the winning side...

Although he was somewhat dissatisfied with the Yun family's behavior, Ye Mingsheng had no other way to deal with the Yun family now. Moreover, he must be careful at this time. The righteous will have many supporters, while the unrighteous will have few. He must not completely push the Yun family to the other side. So Ye Mingsheng adjusted his mood, smiled and nodded and said:

"Thank you very much Mr. Yun for your generosity. If Ye can accomplish this life's ambition, I will definitely repay you with a spring of gratitude!"

Yun Hanjie was a little surprised by Ye Mingsheng's words. In his opinion, Ye Mingsheng was young and successful, and he was full of vigor and vitality. He might not be so aware of the reality. Even if he did, his attitude would be very bad.

To be honest, Yun Hanjie was already prepared for Ye Mingsheng to turn against him, but what he didn't expect was that Ye Mingsheng was more mature and experienced in politics than he thought. This made Yun Hanjie look up to Ye Mingsheng even more, and he also said with a bow:
"Your Excellency is too kind. If Your Excellency is able to take power, both I and our Yun family are willing to contribute our modest efforts!"

"Okay, okay!" Ye Mingsheng nodded with a smile.

After talking about these, Yun Hanjie said goodbye to Ye Mingsheng. Ye Mingsheng had no intention of keeping him any longer and let him go. After Yun Hanjie left, Ye Mingsheng, who had been smiling just now, suddenly became gloomy...

This damn Yun family really is worthy of being a merchant family, they are really good at calculating!
Seeing that Song Wenhui was in a bad condition, he actually wanted to bet on both sides, between himself and the Zhenwu Army. Moreover, it seemed that the bet he placed on himself would not be as good as that placed on the Zhenwu Army.

I am just pretending to be a snake to you now. After I kill Chen Dechang and the others, I will definitely give you a good lesson!
Let you understand what it means to have a nice autumn with cool weather!

In the meeting just now, Ye Mingsheng did not ask Yun Hanjie about the situation on Song Wenhui's side. This does not mean that Ye Mingsheng does not care about this issue, but because Yun Hanjie's arrival and his investment of 100,000 taels of silver and 100,000 shi of grain are enough to prove one thing, that is, Song Wenhui is finished!
Therefore, since he has already gotten the answer to the matter from the other party's actions, why should Ye Mingsheng waste more words?
Now that he knew the answer, Ye Mingsheng prepared to summon his subordinates to deploy a battle plan. He had to swallow up the 10,000 soldiers in Shoucheng in one gulp and must not let this piece of fat meat fly away...

Because they had a plan in place and their forces were nearly four times that of the enemy, and they also had a great advantage in artillery and cavalry. In the face of such an absolutely overwhelming advantage, they did not need any complicated tactics. They only needed to surround the enemy from all sides and prevent them from escaping.

Therefore, the combat deployment went very smoothly. It only took an incense stick of time for the generals to clarify their respective combat tasks and go back to prepare.

After doing all this, seeing that it was already the hour of Hai, Ye Mingsheng prepared to rest early so that he could command the battle tomorrow. However, just as he finished washing up and was about to hug Pei Zhixiu to sleep, Ye Dong's voice was heard outside the tent.

"Sir, Cui Dakai from the Cui family is here!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng, who was still sleepy, suddenly became half awake. After Cui Dakai was used by him last time, he was confined by the Cui family. Now that he came again, it was definitely not an individual behavior. There was a 99% chance that he was here on behalf of the Cui family.

Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng felt a little more expectant. If the arrival of the Yun family was within his expectations, then the arrival of the Cui family was beyond his expectations...

After all, there had been no progress in the previous contacts with the Cui family, so Ye Mingsheng did not have any expectations for this "relative" of his. Now the Yun family came to bet on both sides, so what did the Cui family mean by coming?

Do they want to take a chance on themselves? Or do they want to bet on both sides like the Yun family?

Ye Mingsheng wanted to know the answer to the question, so he thought for a while and then climbed up from the bed. Seeing Ye Mingsheng get up, Pei Zhixiu also got up from the bed, lit a candle and changed clothes for Ye Mingsheng.

After giving Pei Zhixiu a gentle kiss on her fair face, Ye Mingsheng said, "You go to sleep first. I'll go out and do something and be back soon!"

"Okay, I'll wait for you to come back!" Pei Zhixiu nodded obediently.

Ye Mingsheng, neatly dressed, walked out of the tent and saw Cui Dakai and his group not far away. However, he was a little surprised that there were more than a hundred people following Cui Dakai, and at a glance he could tell that these people were all martial artists, and they were all ruthless characters who had killed people...
This made Ye Mingsheng a little confused. Although Cui Dakai had some status in the Cui family, he didn't have such a strong guard lineup when he came to his place.

Just when Ye Mingsheng was about to ask, Cui Dakai gave Ye Mingsheng a very covert look and quietly pointed his hand at an follower behind him who was dressed in ordinary clothes and wearing a bamboo hat. No one could see the man's face under the cover of the hat.

Although he couldn't see the man's face clearly, looking at Cui Dakai's expression and actions, as well as the guards sent by the Cui family, a name instantly emerged in Ye Mingsheng's mind.
Realizing this possibility, Ye Mingsheng took a deep breath to suppress his excitement, then calmly led Cui Dakai and the others to a safe and secluded tent.

Cui Dakai and Ye Mingsheng, escorted by a group of guards and several followers, entered the tent. As soon as they entered the tent, Ye Mingsheng's attention was focused on the follower. Under Ye Mingsheng's gaze, the man slowly took off the bamboo hat on his head...

"Long time no see!" Cui Shao handed the bamboo hat to the person next to him and said with a smile:

Looking at Cui Shao who suddenly appeared, Ye Mingsheng said with a complicated expression:

"I didn't expect to see you again under such circumstances..."

Cui Shao shook his head upon hearing this, and said with some helplessness:

"I didn't expect that, but things are unpredictable!"

Facing an old fox like Cui Shao, Ye Mingsheng knew that he would not gain any advantage by beating around the bush, so he went straight to the point and asked knowingly:
"What brings you here this time?"

In response to Ye Mingsheng's question, Cui Shao said:
"Come and see what your Fengzhou Army looks like..."

Ye Mingsheng narrowed his eyes when he heard this. Cui Shao's answer obviously did not satisfy him, but Cui Shao's arrival already made him very surprised. After all, if the Cui family wanted to bet on both sides like the Yun family, then there was no need for Cui Shao to come in person. They only needed to choose an important person to come with some gifts, just like the Yun family.

And if they are not betting on both sides, then what does the Cui family want to do?

Ye Mingsheng was really looking forward to the answer more and more!

"Have you met the people from the Yun family?" Without any warning, Cui Shao suddenly asked Ye Mingsheng:
While Ye Mingsheng was considering how to answer, Cui Shao said to himself:

"Shen Jianzhong is indeed a powerful man, more powerful than the previous Liaoyang pacification envoys of the Supervisory Office. He has set up a big banner in Liaoyang, and many generals and officials under Song Wenhui have been won over by him. Even if Song Wenhui is willing to fight to the end now, he is probably unable to do so..."

"In five days at the shortest, or ten days at the longest, the Zhenwu Army will be able to take over Dongning Prefecture. Over the years, the Yun family has gradually moved their assets to Dongning Prefecture to show their support for Song Wenhui. So when Dongning Prefecture falls under the control of the Zhenwu Army, betting on both sides is the limit of what they can do!"

"And compared to you, Chen Dechang, who has the support of the imperial court, is more likely to become the final winner!"

At the end, Cui Shao looked at Ye Mingsheng meaningfully.

Listening to Cui Shao's words, Ye Mingsheng became more and more confused about what Cui Shao was thinking. Since you think Chen Dechang has a greater chance of winning than me, why do you come to me instead of going to Chen Dechang's place?

"You and Miaoyi's marriage has been planned for so long, it's time to choose a good day to get married. I think the tenth day of next month is a good date. Go back and ask your mother what she thinks!" Just when Ye Mingsheng was confused, Cui Shao dropped another heavy bomb.

After hearing the news, Ye Mingsheng looked at Cui Shao with some disbelief. If he felt before that Cui Shao might want to stand on his side, then now after hearing the news, Ye Mingsheng was completely sure that Cui Shao really wanted to support him.

Ye Mingsheng has always wanted to marry An Miaoyi. With An Miaoyi, it is equivalent to having the endorsement of the An family. He can use the influence of the An family to attract talents and gain a new channel to communicate with the aristocratic class. In short, there are many benefits.

After learning about An Miaoyi's situation in the Cui family, Ye Mingsheng realized more clearly that An Miaoyi was now a bargaining chip in the hands of the Cui family to negotiate with him...
Ye Mingsheng couldn't understand why Cui Shao would hand her over to him so suddenly. After thinking for a while, he still couldn't come up with an answer and was too lazy to guess anymore. He asked Cui Shao very seriously:
"why?"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng's question, Cui Shao smiled and did not answer his question. Instead, he kicked the ball back to Ye Mingsheng and asked:

"What do you think?"

"I don't know why you do this, but I understand this. People like you will never choose to gamble with me unless it is absolutely necessary. You will choose a safer way to end it with a smile!" Looking at Cui Shao, Ye Mingsheng's eyes flashed with a gleam, and he analyzed very calmly:

Now it seems that Cui Shao's behavior is to help himself who is in a disadvantageous situation and to provide him with timely assistance, but in fact, Ye Mingsheng believes that Cui Shao needs him now, and helping him is actually saving himself. He and the Cui family must have encountered some trouble!

After Ye Mingsheng finished speaking, Cui Shao was silent for a while, then he raised his head without any explanation, and just said faintly:
“I just figured it out…”

(End of this chapter)