Chapter 357 The strength of the Cui family!
Right now, the Cui family has only two options.

The first is to endure humiliation, spend money to avoid disaster, and hand over the wealth and food accumulated by the family for generations to the Zhenwu Army in exchange for the safety of the family. It is believed that after obtaining these things, the Zhenwu Army will not risk the public opinion of the scholars to attack the Cui family.

However, in this way, although the Cui family was saved, without the support of money, the Cui family would definitely fail. Both the strength and influence of the family would plummet compared to the past...
The Cui family has been prosperous in Liaoyang for decades. Although the family has always been restrained and their style of doing things is not too overbearing and they rarely use their power to oppress others, over the years, there are countless people who are secretly envious, jealous and resentful of them. Naturally, they stop when the Cui family is in power.

But if the Cui family were defeated, these evil spirits would most likely come out and cause chaos!
The second is to rise up in resistance and give Ye Mingsheng a try!
Although Ye Mingsheng is now at a disadvantage in terms of strength and situation, with tens of thousands of troops under his command, he is still able to fight against the Zhenwu Army. And if he gets the support of the Liaoyang clan represented by the Cui family, even if the Fengzhou Army under Ye Mingsheng is not as good as the Zhenwu Army, its strength will not be much different!
So whether to choose to endure humiliation or to give it a try, for Cui Shao, the helmsman of the Cui family, the answer is very simple!

"Within seven days, we will transport 500,000 dan of grain and 500,000 taels of silver. Our students and old friends will also do their best to help you stabilize Xuantu Mansion."

"We can organize another 50,000 tenants within a month. The farmhands will be left to you. Lelang Prefecture is currently short of troops. If you, Mingsheng, intend to occupy Lelang Prefecture, you only need to send a small army, and leave the rest to us!" After a pause, Cui Shao said to Ye Mingsheng in a very serious tone:

Although he knew very well that the Cui family was very wealthy, but when he heard Cui Shao's promises, Ye Mingsheng was really surprised and happy. He was happy that he had received strong support from the Cui family, but he was also surprised that the Cui family was so powerful that they wanted so much manpower and material resources just by opening their mouths...

After calming down for a while, Ye Mingsheng also returned the favor and said:

"Thank you, Third Uncle, for your help. My Fengzhou Army is now eager for talents. With the help of the Cui brothers, we will be able to achieve twice the result with half the effort! Great things can be accomplished!"

Seeing Ye Mingsheng on his way, Cui Shao nodded with satisfaction. Although he and Ye Mingsheng needed each other now and needed to stick together for warmth in the face of the powerful Zhenwu Army, this did not mean that he would give these things of his own to Ye Mingsheng for free!

Since they have decided to support Ye Mingsheng's Fengzhou Army, the Cui family must occupy a place in the Fengzhou Army system...

Because Cui Shao had other things to do, after determining the general framework of the cooperation, he returned to Guangning Prefecture with his guards, leaving only Cui Dakai with Ye Mingsheng for communication between the two parties.

Looking at Cui Shao's departing back, Ye Mingsheng's calm expression also showed a hint of caution. From now on, he would be dealing with these aristocratic families in the true sense!

Ye Mingsheng was well aware that these powerful families were a double-edged sword for his current startup company!

If used well, their power can be harnessed to speed up Ye Mingsheng's progress in conquering the world, but if used improperly, the Fengzhou army, which was originally closely surrounding him, will be divided internally and fall apart.

Therefore, how to use the aristocratic families will be a great test of Ye Mingsheng's methods and his political wisdom!
Although allowing the Cui family's forces to enter the Fengzhou Army involves certain risks for Ye Mingsheng, is there anything without risks?

Even if you have a wife and children at home and a warm bed, isn't there still a risk of your house collapsing?

Ye Mingsheng holds an open-minded opinion on this matter. If a startup in the future takes investment from others, it is natural to reserve seats for them on the board of directors and in management positions.

Where can you find a good thing that only brings benefits without taking risks?

Moreover, in this feudal era, although there was an imperial examination system to select talents, the basic education model was basically based on private schools, and many high-quality educational resources were still in the hands of the aristocratic families. In addition to being open to their own people, the aristocratic families' clan schools also accepted some talented children from poor families.

The aristocratic families use the master-disciple relationship to contact and win over these young talents. If they think you are good and have great potential for development, they will establish a marriage relationship to completely lock you down.

Many children from poor families are willing to take the bait of the aristocratic family. As the saying goes, it's nice to take shelter under a big tree. Who doesn't want to have a beautiful wife and a big, powerful official at the same time?
Therefore, many talented people have close ties with the aristocratic families. In such an environment, Ye Mingsheng would not abandon the talents of the world just because he was afraid of the aristocratic families being too powerful, right?

Not long after Cui Shao left, the battlefield in Dongwogou was cleaned up. Yuan Song reported the battle situation to Ye Mingsheng:

"Reporting to the Lord, in this battle, our army suffered about 800 casualties, killed 1,500 enemies, injured 2,100 enemies, captured more than 6,500 enemies, seized more than 10,000 weapons, more than 100,000 dan of grain, and also looted several thousand taels of silver from the captured generals."

After hearing the report, Ye Mingsheng nodded with satisfaction, waved his hand and said generously:

"This battle was well fought. Let's distribute the captured silver to the meritorious soldiers!"

"Thank you for your consideration!" Yuan Song bowed and thanked:
As the commander-in-chief, Ye Mingsheng deeply understands the difficulty of leading an army. In order to ensure the combat effectiveness and high morale of the army, Ye Mingsheng has always been strict in managing the army. He rewards those who have made contributions and punishes those who have made mistakes. Only such fairness and justice can ensure that everyone is convinced and devotes themselves to the Fengzhou Army wholeheartedly.

In addition to rewarding meritorious soldiers, Ye Mingsheng also took the generals to inspect the front line of the army to understand the situation of the grassroots soldiers. After doing this, Ye Mingsheng led tens of thousands of troops into Shoucheng. Putting aside its strategic significance, Shoucheng in Xuantu Prefecture is not big. It is just a small town with a population of only more than 20,000.

This is just a temporary stopover for the Fengzhou Army, but here Ye Mingsheng needs to make a far-reaching decision.

"Sir, this is the battle plan that General Yuan, General Lin and I made after you proposed it last time. Please take a look at it!" He Jingyun handed a document to Ye Mingsheng.

Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng took the document and slowly browsed through its contents. After a moment, he put the document on the desk and fell into deep thought.

He Jingyun was not very surprised by Ye Mingsheng's thoughts at the moment. After all, plans cannot keep up with changes. This battle plan that they had worked on for several nights was likely to be wasted as the current situation changed. Although it might be a waste of time, He Jingyun was still very happy. After all, even as the developer, he felt that this battle plan was very risky...
After learning about the Zhenwu Army's reversal, Ye Mingsheng summoned the core members of the Fengzhou Army one after another to discuss the situation in Liaoyang at the time. At the meeting, Ye Mingsheng pointed out a problem: they had no time advantage!

The current situation of the Fengzhou Army is that there are wolves in front and tigers behind. If they accept Xuantu Prefecture step by step, the Zhenwu Army will have time to integrate the surrendered Liaoyang Army, defeat Song Wenhui and occupy the most wealthy Dongning Prefecture in Liaoyang.

Then the Zhenwu Army, which has bribed the Shiwei people, will be able to break through 100,000 troops in an instant, nearly twice the number of the Fengzhou Army!
Not only that, the Fengzhou Army not only has to face the threat of the Zhenwu Army, but there are also the Khitans eyeing them covetously behind them. In such a situation where they are attacked from both sides, the Fengzhou Army's chances of winning are slim...
So Ye Mingsheng proposed a very radical and bold strategy!
That is the first decisive battle with the Zhenwu Army, and the outcome will be decided by a bloody battle with bayonets!

While Song Wenhui has not completely collapsed and the Zhenwu Army has no time to reorganize, these surrendered Liaoyang Army soldiers took the initiative to rush to the Zhenwu Army at this critical moment to fight for their lives!

When Ye Mingsheng came up with this idea, all the generals, including He Jingyun and Yuan Song, were shocked by Ye Mingsheng's madness, but after thinking about it carefully, they were all convinced by Ye Mingsheng.

Although there is a gap in strength between the Fengzhou Army and the Zhenwu Army, the gap is not that big. If they really fight, it will be a 30-70 chance.

But if the Zhenwu Army is really given enough time to prepare for the sake of Xuantu Mansion’s tiny profit, then the chance of winning may be 19-10. So between 37 and 19, even a fool would know what to choose...
After being persuaded by Ye Mingsheng, He Jingyun and other generals began to make detailed deployments and supplements based on Ye Mingsheng's idea, and finally formed the combat plan that He Jingyun has now handed over to Ye Mingsheng.

"Do you all think that if our army cannot defeat the Zhenwu Army in seven days, we will have to retreat?" After a brief thought, Ye Mingsheng broke the silence and asked He Jingyun:

Hearing Ye Mingsheng's question, He Jingyun nodded and said;

"In fact, seven days is already the most ideal result. The Zhenwu Army is now at its peak. If our army cannot defeat them in a short period of time, we will most likely be entangled by them. By then, it will be difficult to withdraw even if we want to!"

Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but shook his head slightly when he heard that. To be honest, he didn't want to give the Zhenwu Army time, but this life-and-death battle plan was a last-ditch effort. It was a desperate fight in the face of despair. However, with the arrival of the Cui family, Ye Mingsheng's situation took a turn for the better. Suddenly, as if a spring breeze came overnight, thousands of pear trees blossomed...
With the support of the Cui family, even if it gives the Zhenwu Army time, Ye Mingsheng can still confront them head-on. There is no need to make strategic gambles.

Ye Mingsheng can now steadily occupy the entire Xuantu Prefecture, and then invade Lelang Prefecture with the help of the Cui family. In this way, among the six prefectures in Liaoyang, Ye Mingsheng controls Posuo Prefecture, Xuantu Prefecture, and Lelang Prefecture, and the Cui family has Guangning Prefecture!

The Zhenwu Army only has Changqing Prefecture and Dongning Prefecture, so they have an advantage over Ye Mingsheng in a four-on-two situation. Even taking into account the threat from the Khitans, they are evenly matched and not at a disadvantage at all!
After thinking this through, Ye Mingsheng knew that he should make a rational decision, and immediately instructed He Jingyun:

"Let Yuan Song lead his troops to Lelang Prefecture. The Cui family will send people to assist them, but they must also be careful of the local Shiwei people. As for Lin Huaiwu's capture of Xuantu Prefecture, there are only a thousand or so defenders there at most. Within half a month, I want all the people in these two prefectures to be named Ye!"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng's order, He Jingyun, who was originally a little worried, instantly felt relieved and bowed to Ye Mingsheng and said:
"Yes! Sir, I'll arrange it right away!"

Although he knew that Ye Mingsheng was very rational under normal circumstances, He Jingyun was really afraid that Ye Mingsheng might get carried away and ignore the safe method and take the risk to fight the Zhenwu Army...

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Dongning Prefecture, Yingcheng County.

The three giants of the Zhenwu Army in the county government, Commander Chen Dechang, Commander-in-Chief Gongsun Heng, and Commander-in-Chief Wang Muzhi, all gathered together. The three of them agreed to hold a meeting here to exchange some information.

Wang Muzhi, who had the lowest official rank among the three and was also responsible for commanding the troops, was the first to report the battle situation on the front line to his two superiors.

"The battle is going smoothly. Our army has cleared all obstacles leading to the city. We expect to surround Dongning City by tonight. In the past few days, only soldiers from Liaoyang Army have surrendered to our army in droves!" Wang Muzhi, who looked very tired, narrated excitedly:

Although the continuous, high-intensity command operations during this period made the young and strong Wang Muzhi a little exhausted, the consecutive victories also stimulated Wang Muzhi's nerves and made his mental state very high.

Regarding Wang Muzhi's report on the battle situation, seeing that victory was just around the corner, Chen Dechang also clapped his hands and exclaimed:
"Very good! You fought very well! General Wang, you have worked hard!"

Wang Muzhi couldn't help but smile proudly at Chen Dechang's praise, but the training during this period in Liaoyang also made him more humble. He also bowed to Chen Dechang and said:
"Our army was able to achieve such a victory, which was truly the result of the commander-in-chief's planning and strategizing. I dare not take credit for it!"

"General Wang, you are too serious, too serious!"

Listening to Wang Muzhi's flattery, the smile on Chen Dechang's face became three times more intense, and he even liked Wang Muzhi a lot better.

Compared to Chen Dechang and Wang Muzhi who were flattering each other, Gongsun Heng who was sitting next to them seemed a little silent and his expression was a little solemn. After realizing the true intention of the Zhenwu Army, the Gongsun family was very angry.

The Zhenwu Army is an outsider and they may not care about the future of Liaoyang, but as one of the three clans in Liaoyang, the Gongsun family has been rooted in Liaoyang for decades and is a local force in Liaoyang. A chaotic situation in Liaoyang will not benefit them at all...

Although they were dissatisfied, the Gongsun family had already invested too much in the Zhenwu Army's pirate ship, and they could no longer get off the ship!

(End of this chapter)