Chapter 381 Cui Shao’s trick!
Guangning Prefecture, Cui Family Courtyard

Cui Shao sat in the pavilion in the back garden, leisurely enjoying the cool summer breeze and the rare relaxing moments in his busy life.

At this moment, Cui Guang came quietly, came to his side and reported in a deep voice:

"The head of the family, Sun Cheng, has already followed your orders and taken the initiative to contact the Fengzhou Army. If nothing unexpected happens, the Fengzhou Army will be able to cross Huanglinling soon!"

When Cui Shao heard this, a gleam of light flashed in his eyes, and then he nodded slightly, indicating that he understood.

Seeing Cui Shao nod, Cui Guang seemed to remember something. He hesitated for a moment but decided to speak:
"The head of the family just received news that Wang Xuecheng and Huo San went to see Ye Mingsheng together. Our plan should have been known to Ye Mingsheng..."

Upon hearing this, Cui Shao raised his eyebrows as if he was a little surprised. Of course, he was not surprised that Ye Mingsheng knew about this matter. This was already within his expectations.

He was surprised that Huo San and Wang Xuecheng were more efficient than he thought. He had expected that it would take some time for them to figure out the whole story. Thinking of this, Cui Shao couldn't help but shook his head and sighed:
"Ye Mingsheng and his gang of lackeys are much more difficult to deal with than I imagined!"

Cui Guang was moved when he heard this, and asked tentatively:

"Sir, do you want us to send someone to kill them? And then put the blame on the Supervisory Office or the Black Dragon Society, or expose their whereabouts to these two groups. Both Shen Jianzhong and Sato Kaga of the Black Dragon Society are very interested in the heads of Huo San and Wang Xuecheng..."

Regarding Cui Guang's idea, Cui Shao said without comment:
"Things haven't gotten to that point yet. Even if you can get rid of them without anyone noticing, Ye Mingsheng can still find someone else to replace them. Can you get rid of every one of them? You should think about things in a different way. Why can't you let them become our friends?"

Hearing what Cui Shao said, Cui Guang suddenly showed a look of surprise, and said in great astonishment:
"The head of the family and his men are Ye Mingsheng's lackeys, right? Ye Mingsheng asked them to come and bite us, so how could they possibly be friends with our Cui family?"

Cui Shao smiled and said meaningfully: "Nothing is difficult in this world as long as one is determined and successful..."

After saying this, Cui Shao didn't care whether Cui Guang could understand what he meant. He closed his eyes again and continued to enjoy his rare rest time.

This time, he hid in the dark and dug a pit for the Fengzhou army, and then rescued the Fengzhou army from the pit. It seems contradictory, but if you think about everything carefully, you can fully understand what Cui Shao did. The purpose of his doing this is all for the interests of the Cui family!
The Zhenwu Army's feint in Guangning Prefecture to rob the Cui family's money and food, forcing the Fengzhou Army to abandon the strategic deception of clearing the countryside, was proposed by a lieutenant named Wang Hongbo who was close to Wang Muzhi. This person was one of Wang Muzhi's confidants brought from Luo'an, but few people knew that after Wang Hongbao came to Liaoyang, he was secretly lured and corrupted by the Cui family with money, beauties and other means, and became an important chess piece of the Cui family in the Zhenwu Army.

The plan he proposed this time was not his own idea but a conspiracy of Cui Shao. Cui Shao told Wang Muzhi through Wang Hongbo...

Wang Muzhi is a pure military commander. He hates politics and wants to stay away from it as much as possible. This characteristic of his has won him the admiration of Prime Minister Shangguan Hongyuan. Under Shangguan Hongyuan's care, he has risen rapidly. However, this has also become his biggest weakness now, as he really lacks sensitivity to politics.

This deceptive plan can be said to be very good from a military perspective alone, and it can directly force Ye Mingsheng to abandon the strategy of clearing the countryside, which is the biggest headache for Wang Muzhi.

Therefore, after Wang Muzhi got this plan, he felt like he had found a treasure and started to implement it immediately. And since it was a strategic deception, confidentiality was naturally the top priority of the plan!
Therefore, in the Zhenwu Army, only Wang Muzhi and a few of his most trusted generals knew about this plan. The Liaoyang local faction knew nothing about it. Wang Muzhi just wanted to make a feint. He did not really want to give up Dongning Prefecture so that he could concentrate his forces to capture Guangning Prefecture...

This was exactly Cui Shao's trick! He wanted to use this to divide the Zhenwu Army camp and deepen the conflict between the Liaoyang local faction and the imperial army faction in the Zhenwu Army!
More than a month ago, Ye Mingsheng sent the roster of tens of thousands of newly trained recruits to the Cui family, and made it clear that half of the military officer positions of this new army would be given to the Cui family.

Although Ye Mingsheng's move was nominally a betrothal gift to An Miaoyi, Cui Shao knew very well that a strong man like Ye Mingsheng, who had a strong desire for power, would never make so many sacrifices just for An Miaoyi!

Ye Mingsheng must have had a deeper purpose in doing this. Although Ye Mingsheng did not say anything, Cui Shao sensed some clues through a series of deployment adjustments of the Fengzhou army at that time and realized that Ye Mingsheng wanted to make a political exchange with him.

Use part of the Fengzhou Army's military power in exchange for the Cui family's support for the Fengzhou Army's strategy of clearing the fields!
And the support Ye Mingsheng wanted was the Cui family’s strong financial support in the war of attrition.················
Ye Mingsheng Ye Mingsheng's idea is very direct and simple. You and I will cooperate to deal with the Zhenwu Army. Now the situation is 50-50. I have thought of a way to win, but it will empty your family's assets. Your Cui family must take responsibility for this matter and make sure that we can win. Then I will give you some compensation in other ways.

After careful consideration of Ye Mingsheng's plan of fortifying the city and fighting a war of attrition, as well as the political exchange proposed by Ye Mingsheng, Cui Shao knew that if Ye Mingsheng's plan was implemented, the Zhenwu Army would basically be doomed and the Cui family and the Fengzhou Army would have the last laugh, but from the Cui family's perspective, it was still difficult for him to accept it.

The reason is very simple. Ye Mingsheng, who first proposed this plan, is extremely hostile to the aristocratic families. Although he has not expressed it directly on the surface, he has been making preparations in secret.

The Cui family is the largest family in Liaoyang. Although they are related by blood to Ye Mingsheng, this blood relationship is not enough in the life-and-death political struggle. As long as Ye Mingsheng does not give up his policy of suppressing the aristocratic families, the political struggle between the Cui family and Ye Mingsheng over power and status in Liaoyang in the future is inevitable!
(End of this chapter)