Chapter 364 Regret and Great Victory!
After getting Ye Mingsheng's promise, Gu Sansi returned to his residence in Shoucheng. Although Shoucheng was only a temporary residence, as the chief strategist under Ye Mingsheng, his residence was of good specifications and was a large mansion with three entrances.

This large mansion was originally the residence of a wealthy businessman in Shoucheng. Because he felt that Shoucheng was in danger and there was a risk of war, the businessman fled to the countryside with his family a month ago, leaving only a few old servants to guard the mansion...
There are many similar situations. Therefore, after the Fengzhou Army entered the city, they temporarily borrowed several such houses as residences for Ye Mingsheng himself and the senior generals of the Fengzhou Army who accompanied him.

As soon as he returned to the mansion, Gu Sansi saw a middle-aged man in a tattered robe pacing anxiously in the courtyard. Although the middle-aged man looked a little shabby at this time, and the robe he wore was very clean, it had been washed to the point of being bleached. However, from his figure and behavior, one could vaguely tell that this man was extraordinary.

This middle-aged man was none other than the former Fengshan County magistrate - Ma Runchuan!

In the past half month, Ma Runchuan's life can be said to have experienced ups and downs far beyond the previous decades.

Dismissed from office, imprisoned, and his family wealth squandered, the successive blows left Ma Runchuan feeling a little breathless. During his days in prison, he had thought about ending the rest of his life once and for all.

But when he thought of the burden on his shoulders, Ma Runchuan strengthened his determination to live. He still had a large family. If he died, how would he survive in this chaotic time?

For middle-aged men like Ma Runchuan, the pressure of life can be said to be the greatest. They are the heads of the family and the backbone of the family. They have parents to support and wives and children to take care of. So for the sake of his family, Ma Runchuan must make a comeback and must not sink into despair...

After strengthening his conviction, Ma Runchuan began to conceive his own plan. For a civil servant like him, if he wanted to make a comeback, he had to rely on the power of others. Since Song Wenhui's defeat, there were only two forces left in Liaoyang: Fengzhou Army and Zhenwu Army.
So after being treated like this and humiliated by the Zhenwu Army, Ma Runchun had no choice but to rely on Ye Mingsheng!

Even though it would be embarrassing to go to Ye Mingsheng now, but when he thought of his own family, how could Ma Runchuan care about his own face?
After determining the target, Ma Runchuan began to act. The first problem to be solved was how to get from Fengshan County to the sphere of influence of the Fengzhou Army. As a civil servant whose property had been confiscated, Ma Runchuan needed money and someone to escort him...

Fortunately, Ma Runchuan had good relationships with people and had many friends. Those who had money contributed money, and those who had strength contributed strength, so Ma Runchuan soon quietly left Fengshan County and came to Shoucheng.

When Ma Runchuan arrived in Shoucheng, the first person he contacted was his junior fellow apprentice Gu Sansi. He had heard that Gu Sansi was a popular figure in front of Ye Mingsheng. Ye Mingsheng always liked to consult him on all major matters and he was very trusted by Ye Mingsheng. So if Gu Sansi came forward to intercede, Ye Mingsheng might buy into his proposal.

After contacting Gu Sansi, although Gu Sansi was surprised at the current situation of his senior brother, he naturally agreed to Ma Runchuan's request. He had been looking for an opportunity to repay Ma Runchuan's kindness over the years, but he never had the chance. Now that the opportunity has come, Gu Sansi will naturally do his best.

It just so happened that at this time Ye Mingsheng wanted Gu Sansi to write an anti-bandit manifesto to politically split from the Zhenwu Army, so Gu Sansi gave this opportunity to Ma Runchuan, and asked Ma Runchuan to take this opportunity to bring up the matter with Ye Mingsheng.

During the time when Ma Runchuan was writing these manifestos at Gu Sansi's house, he became more aware of the bright development prospects of Fengzhou Army and the status of his junior brother Gu Sansi in the Fengzhou Army. As a result, he could not help but feel endless regret in his heart. He hated himself for being so blind. Ye Mingsheng, a potential stock, came to him on his own, but he turned him away...
If he had not sought comfort in Fengshan at that time, but accepted Ye Mingsheng's invitation to govern Fengzhou, what kind of status would he, Ma, have now?

Whenever he thought of Ma Runchuan, his heart ached and he couldn't sleep all night. He even slapped himself several times when no one was around!
Today, Gu Sansi took the manifesto he had written to Ye Mingsheng to read, and took the opportunity to talk about this matter. Ma Runchuan was extremely nervous and hesitant, not knowing whether Ye Mingsheng would be willing to accept him. If Ye Mingsheng was unwilling, what should he do!

Just when Ma Runchun was extremely anxious, he heard footsteps coming from outside the door. He looked closely and saw that it was Gu Sansi who came back.

Seeing Gu Sansi walking into the house, Ma Runchuan, who looked anxious, suddenly had a glimmer of hope in his eyes. He did not even bother to exchange pleasantries with Gu Sansi and asked impatiently:

"Junior Brother Gu, what did General Ye say?"

Gu Sansi smiled when he heard this and said:

"Brother, I am lucky to have fulfilled my mission this time. The commander-in-chief has agreed to give you a chance."

"but············"

Hearing the first half of Gu Sansi's sentence, Ma Runchuan's face immediately broke into a smile. However, when the word "but" appeared, Ma Runchuan's smile immediately froze on his face. Having studied hard for so many years and served as a county magistrate for so many years, he naturally understood that the words after "but" were the most important.

Ma Runchuan suppressed his joy, took a deep breath, and said to Gu Sansi with a wry smile:

"Does General Ye want me to go over and apologize?"

"It doesn't matter. With my blind eyes, I should indeed take the blame..."

Gu Sansi shook his head and said:

"You underestimated the general. He is not as petty and narrow-minded as you think. He did not mention asking you to apologize."

Hearing what Gu Sansi said, Ma Runchuan was a little surprised but still nodded and said:
"I am judging others by my own standards!
"If that's the case, then Junior Brother Gu, what is this..."

"Although the Lord is willing to accept you again, he is still a little angry with you, so he did not let you return to your post as a county magistrate, but asked you to choose a county in Posuo Prefecture to be the chief clerk!" Gu Sansi explained:
Hearing that Ye Mingsheng only wanted him to be a chief clerk, if it were in the past, Ma Runchuan would have been furious and left in anger. However, having experienced so many ups and downs in his life, his mentality is now very stable and he is able to accept this demotion.

Compared to the county magistrate, the chief clerk was much inferior, but at least he was the second in command of the county. He was not completely demoted. Ye Mingsheng gave Gu Sansi some face.

Looking at Gu Sansi who looked apologetic, Ma Runchuan smiled and said to comfort him:

"Just be the chief clerk. It's great to have an official position!" Gu Sansi was relieved to see that Ma Runchuan had such a good attitude. He was afraid that Ma Runchuan would have some rebellious psychology, but now it seems that he was worrying too much.

After a pause, Ma Runchuan asked Gu Sansi:

"Think twice, do you think I should apologize to General Ye?"

Gu Sansi also thought about it for a while and shook his head and said;
"I think you'd better not do this. The general doesn't like you very much right now. You shouldn't see him for the time being!"

"The Fengzhou Army is developing very fast now, and its territory is expanding. The general is very strict in supervising the corruption and incompetence of officials, so there is a big gap in the government's need for qualified officials. Brother Ma, although you are now a chief clerk, with your ability, it won't take long for you to stand out!"

"Brother, don't worry. The general is a man of great ambition and will not abandon you just because of your previous rudeness!" Gu Sansi comforted Ma Runchuan:

"Alas, I was blind to the value of this talent before... But I did do one thing right by recommending you, Sansi, to General Ye. I hope you will continue to support me in the future!" Ma Runchuan bowed and said sincerely:
"Brother, what are you talking about? If you hadn't sent people to bring us money, food, rice and flour when I was at home, my family would have starved to death. How could we be here today?" Gu Sansi said sincerely:

After the words fell, both of them were filled with emotion. Finally, Gu Sansi seemed to remember something and immediately reminded Ma Runchuan:
"Although Senior Brother General can tolerate some minor faults of his subordinates, he still likes people who are honest the most!"

"Brother, I have never worried about your ability, but..."

"Also, the commander-in-chief has an organization called the Coordination Office, which has similar functions to the Supervisory Office. Their spies are omnipresent, so you must not take any chances, and it's best not to get involved in sex. You should take care of your health at your age, and be aware of the influence of people around you."

Hearing Gu Sansi's instructions, Ma Runchuan suddenly felt very embarrassed, but he could also feel Gu Sansi's kindness and immediately bowed and said:
"Thank you for your advice, Junior Brother. Don't worry, Senior Brother has turned over a new leaf and is ready to do something!"

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In the study of the Shoucheng General's Mansion.

Ye Mingsheng stared at the sand table in front of him and kept thinking. Three days ago, he officially published the anti-rebel edict to the public and spread it throughout the six prefectures of Liaoyang. He made a political break with Chen Dechang and others in the Zhenwu Army. Just as he imagined, the Zhenwu Army's reaction was very intense.

Chen Dechang, commander of the Zhenwu Army, personally drafted an article in which he denounced Ye Mingsheng as a traitor and listed in great detail Ye Mingsheng's wolfish ambitions and evil intentions. At the same time, they joined forces with the Gongsun family and the Yun family, which had just joined forces, to launch a massive public opinion offensive against Ye Mingsheng.

On Ye Mingsheng's side, with the help of the Cui family, the two sides fought back and forth and it was very lively. However, no matter how fierce the public opinion offensive is, it still needs to be backed by military strength, otherwise it will be like a flower in the mirror and a moon in the water...

Just in the early morning of the day before yesterday, news came back from Yuan Song's troops in Lelang Prefecture that his troops had already engaged in combat with Zhu Chengjie's troops of the Zhenwu Army in Yutai County of Lelang Prefecture. The fighting between the two sides was fierce and the situation was very stalemate.

Although he knew that Yutai County was hundreds of miles away from him and that he could do nothing but wait for news from Yuan Song to come back, Ye Mingsheng was still staring at the sand table, constantly calculating the enemy and our deployment, as if this could make him feel more at ease.

Zhu Chengjie, who was opposite Yuan Song, was a fierce general under Wang Muzhi. In the battle between Zhenwu Army and Liaoyang Army in Changqing Prefecture, in order to cover the large army's withdrawal to the prefecture city, he led a battalion of 3,000 men to block the 20,000-man Liaoyang Army at Heshan Hill in Changqing Prefecture for three days and three nights. He made great contributions to the final reversal of the Zhenwu Army and was loved by Wang Muzhi...
According to intelligence, this time Wang Muzhi gave Zhu Chengjie 15,000 soldiers and asked him to take Yutai County. Among these 15,000 people, there were 5,000 cavalry, which is nearly 80% of the cavalry under the current Zhenwu Army. This is enough to show how much Wang Muzhi values ​​Zhu Chengjie and the Zhenwu Army's determination to win Yutai County.

It was the appearance of these 5,000 cavalry that made Ye Mingsheng a little worried about Yuan Song, who was originally confident of victory. Yutai County has a relatively flat terrain, and the overall topography, except for a few hills, is very suitable for cavalry attacks. Therefore, after learning the news, Ye Mingsheng immediately ordered Guo Zhiping's unit, which was the strategic reserve, to go to Lelang Prefecture to meet Yuan Song in case of any accidents.

Time passed quickly while Ye Mingsheng was thinking. Seeing the sun rising higher outside the window, Ye Mingsheng immediately asked Ye Dong who was waiting beside him:

"What time is it now?"

"Master, it's just noon!"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng's question, Ye Dong, who had been silently calculating the time, immediately gave an answer.

After saying this, he couldn't help but said to Ye Mingsheng:

"Master, you didn't have breakfast. Can I ask the kitchen to make something you like for lunch?"

"Your body won't be able to bear it if you don't eat..."

Ye Mingsheng said nothing after hearing this. Now, nearly two days had passed since Yuan Song's last battle report. He had a strong premonition that the outcome of the battle in Yutai County was about to come out, so he had to stay in the study to make sure he knew the outcome of the battle as quickly as possible so that he could make corresponding countermeasures.

Nearly half an hour later, footsteps were heard outside the study, and Ye Mingsheng, who was resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes.

Leader Ye Dong appeared in front of Ye Mingsheng with a messenger. When the messenger saw Ye Mingsheng, he immediately said:
"Reporting to the Lord, a great victory was won in Yutai County. General Yuan used his musket team to defeat the Zhenwu Army Cavalry Battalion. Our army suffered 3,000 casualties, while the enemy suffered 5,000 casualties. Zhu Chengjie has been forced to retreat from Yutai County!"

(End of this chapter)