Chapter 407: Fighting but not breaking! (Thanks to book friend JIA. for the reward!)
Looking at Yun Hanjie's departing back, Ye Mingsheng showed a sneer on his face. At this time, Qi Dechao walked into the study and reported to Ye Mingsheng:

"Sir, Chief of Staff He sent a message saying that everything is ready, and all we need is the east wind!"

Ye Mingsheng nodded in satisfaction after hearing this. Seeing that Ye Mingsheng seemed to be in a good mood, he hesitated for a moment and decided to ask:

"Sir, do you think the Yun family will surrender?"

"Neither yes nor no!" Ye Mingsheng said meaningfully:
Qi Dechao did not seem to understand the pros and cons of Ye Mingsheng’s answer, and his eyes were full of doubts.

Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng taught:

"The reason why I say it won't happen is because the benefits are too great. It is impossible to make them give up easily. The reason why I say it will happen is because no matter how powerful their magical powers are, they will never escape from my palm!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Mingsheng stretched out his hand and clenched it into a fist, his expression full of confidence!
Cui Shao arranged a tea party and invited An Miaoyi to test his reaction, simply to leave a way out for the Cui family.

The reason why this old fellow hasn't taken the initiative to find me until now is that he calculated that although the Yun Family and the Gongsun Family were instigated by me, they would definitely oppose my new policies and return to my arms to fight against me together. However, you, Cui Shao, have your own plan, and I also have a ladder. It just depends on who has the more clever means!

Qi Dechao suddenly realized what he had said and continued:

"Sir, did you deliberately leak the news of our army's deployment in Youyan to Yun Hanjie today?"

Ye Mingsheng smiled and said:

"Depending on the situation and purpose, sometimes we have to show weakness, and sometimes we have to show strength. Cutting off someone's financial resources is like killing their parents. It is basically impossible to make these noble families give up their interests easily. And for the sake of Liaoyang's stability, I don't want to completely break with them now!"

“So since I don’t want to completely break up but want to take back all these interests, I must show my strength and the development prospects of my army, and lure them with strength and benefits, so that they will be afraid to act rashly…”

"Although the Yun family has ulterior motives, their entire family is in Liaoyang. As long as they are not crazy, they will definitely not reveal the news to Zhao Fuqu before I fail and risk being killed by me."

"Even if the Yun family really did this, would Zhao Fuqu believe it?"

After saying this, Ye Mingsheng threw a letter to Qi Dechao and said:
"Take a look! This is the handwritten letter Zhao Fuqu sent to me yesterday!"

After hearing Ye Mingsheng's words, Qi Dechao immediately read the handwritten letter carefully. After a cup of tea, Qi Dechao put down the letter in his hand and said indignantly:
"Sir, this old bastard Zhao Fuqu is really going too far!"

Upon hearing this, a playful smile appeared on Ye Mingsheng's angular face.

Before yesterday, Ye Mingsheng had been hesitating whether to reveal the news of Fengwu Army's plotting against Youyan to these major families...
Although revealing the truth could demonstrate his confidence and ambition, he would also carry the risk of his plan being exposed, which Zhao Fuqu had taken precautions against.

However, after receiving this letter from Zhao Fuqu yesterday, Ye Mingsheng made the final decision!

In this handwritten letter, Zhao Fuqu did not speak to Ye Mingsheng as if he were a local lord, but used the tone of an elder teaching a younger generation. In his heart, he first praised Ye Mingsheng's plan to cut down the army and reduce the garrison in Guangning Prefecture. Then, he changed the subject and criticized Ye Mingsheng for having such a big appetite. He dared to ask him for 50,000 taels of silver for a technique to break the enemy's gun.

According to Zhao Fuqu's idea, he could send the remaining 30,000 taels of silver to Ye Mingsheng as pocket money, but he wanted Ye Mingsheng to sell him the technology of the Po Lu Gun and Zhen Tian Bomb, and also send someone to guide him.

At the end of the handwritten letter, Zhao Fuqu promised Ye Mingsheng an official title, asking him to guard Liaoyang well. When he, Zhao Fuqu, swept the world, he would make Ye Mingsheng and his descendants the king of Liaoyang for generations and enjoy wealth and glory...

From this handwritten letter, Ye Mingsheng felt Zhao Fuqu's deep-seated contempt and disdain for him. To be honest, after realizing this, Ye Mingsheng was not angry at all. On the contrary, he was even ecstatic. He hoped that Zhao Fuqu would despise him as much as possible!

As the saying goes, what goes up comes down. Zhao Fuqu's contempt for himself will be transmitted to the Yan Army under his command, which will cause the Yan Army to lack vigilance against Liaoyang. If nothing unexpected happens, the troops stationed in Jizhou will be withdrawn on a large scale. This is the opportunity that Ye Mingsheng wants to take advantage of!

Therefore, as long as Ye Mingsheng disguises himself more and behaves more respectfully, Zhao Fuqu, who is so contemptuous and disdainful of Liaoyang and Ye Mingsheng, will think that the Yun family is exaggerating even if he knows about Ye Mingsheng’s ambition for Liaoyang from the Yun family. He will continue to prepare his westward strategy, strive to seize Yunbing and Jinyang, lay the foundation for hegemony, and establish an unprecedented achievement...
This gave Ye Mingsheng the confidence to reveal the strategy of entering the pass to the Yun family. He wanted to make the Yun family and the other two families realize the possibility of following him, Ye, into the pass and unifying the world, as well as the rich rewards that would come with it.

Looking at the smile on Ye Mingsheng's face, Qi Dechao asked cautiously:
"Sir, do we really want to sell the technologies of the Weiyuan Gun and the Zhentian Bomb to Zhao Fuqu for the remaining thirty thousand taels of silver?"

"This is Gu Sansi's plan, so I'll let Gu Sansi handle this matter. I believe he will give me a satisfactory result." Ye Mingsheng said lightly while leaning back in his chair:

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Three hours later, Cui Shao, Yun Hanjie and Zhao Yu gathered together in a secret mansion in Dongning Prefecture. Each of them held a document in their hands. The content of the document was exactly the reform measures that Ye Mingsheng had shown Yun Hanjie in the study of the Governor's Mansion before.

“I used to think Ye Mingsheng was a brainless warrior, but now seeing this, Ye Mingsheng is more terrifying than I thought. If he really accomplishes these few things, maybe after a few generations our descendants will be the same as those mud-legged peasants…” Zhao Yu said with emotion:

Hearing Zhao Yu's words, Yun Hanjie smiled bitterly and continued:
"Not only that, Ye Mingsheng is also planning to take action against Zhao Fuqu and swallow Youyan next year, and I think he seems to have the idea of ​​​​competing for world domination!"

Zhao Yu couldn't help but show surprise when he heard this, and then his eyes subconsciously shifted to Cui Shao who was sitting in the main seat, wanting to see the expression of this big brother, but to his disappointment, Cui Shao was resting his eyes at this time, and his expression looked like he was resting his eyes.

Seeing this, Zhao Yu couldn't help but feel anxious, and said to Cui Shao:

"Master Cui, Ye Mingsheng's knife is almost on your neck, why are you still in this mood?" After he finished speaking, Cui Shao seemed not to hear him, still closing his eyes and resting without any reaction. Seeing this, Zhao Yu couldn't help but change his mind and said provocatively:
"Master Cui, you are so confident, could it be that Ye Mingsheng promised you something?"

“Come to think of it, Ye Mingsheng is your nephew. When he was fighting against the Zhenwu Army, you were the one who led the Cui family to support him against all odds. Ye Mingsheng married An Miaoyi, and you and she are like father and daughter. As the saying goes, a son-in-law is worth half a son. Lord Cui, you and Ye Mingsheng are very close…”

"From my perspective, it is not an exaggeration to say that you and Ye Mingsheng are father and son, Master Cui!"

When Zhao Yu saw that Cui Shao still ignored him, he couldn't help but add fuel to the fire and continued:

"But Lord Cui, I have to remind you that Ye Mingsheng is famous for his eagle-eyed and wolf-like eyes. He first rebelled against Xu Zhaojie in the palace, and then betrayed Chen Dechang in Liaoyang, and took the throne of Liaoyang Governor. Now that he has done it once and twice, do you think he can do it again and again?" Zhao Yu said jokingly, looking at Cui Shao

"Brother Zhao, what are you talking about? How could Lord Cui do this?" Yun Hanjie said. Although he was trying to smooth things over, he secretly glanced at Cui Shao out of the corner of his eye, wanting to see how Cui Shao would react.

For the Gongsun family and the Yun family, if Cui Shao really joined forces with Ye Mingsheng, then they would almost have no chance!
Listening to Zhao Yu and Yun Hanjie singing the same tune, Cui Shao finally opened his eyes, looked at Zhao Yu and then at Yun Hanjie, then picked up the teacup on the table. Just when both of them thought he was going to drink tea, Cui Shao picked up the cup and suddenly threw it at Zhao Yu.

"Snapped!"

Zhao Yu was caught off guard and hit in the chest by the teacup. Although the tea was not scalding hot, it made him look miserable...
Just when Zhao Yu reacted and glared at Cui Shao, Cui Shao looked at him coldly and said:

"Zhao Yu, who do you think you are? How dare you speak to me like that? Even the brothers Gongsun Huan and Gongsun Heng wouldn't dare to be so arrogant in front of me!"

Feeling the powerful authority in Cui Shao's words, although Zhao Yu was extremely angry, he did not dare to look Cui Shao in the eye. He could only hold back his anger and dared not to be presumptuous again.

Seeing this, Cui Shao glanced at Yun Hanjie again. Yun Hanjie also didn't dare to look at Cui Shao. As soon as Cui Shao's eyes came over, he quickly lowered his head.

Seeing that the two men dared not to talk anymore, Cui Shao spoke in a deep voice:
"Even a three-year-old child knows the truth that the lips and teeth are interdependent! I have lived for most of my life and I don't need you to teach me this truth!"

“Ye Mingsheng’s reform this time is like Xiang Zhuang dancing with a sword to target Pei Gong. His purpose is to reduce the power of our family in Liaoyang. At this critical moment, we should be more united and not rush over to meet Ye Mingsheng just because of his little tricks…”

While saying this, Cui Shao glanced at Yun Hanjie and Zhao Yu. The meaning of his words was self-evident.

After emphasizing the importance of unity, Cui Shao asked:
"How are you doing with what I told you to do before?"

Hearing this question, Zhao Yu, who was splashed with water by Cui Shao, was still very angry with Cui Shao in his heart, but at such an old age, he naturally understood the overall situation, so he did not act petty and took the initiative to say:

"Everyone who needs to be contacted has already been contacted, and everyone knows what to do!"

Cui Shao nodded in satisfaction after hearing this, and then looked at Yun Hanjie who was standing beside him. Yun Hanjie also nodded without hesitation and said:

"We have no problem here either. Once you give the order, Master Cui, we can start the action!"

After hearing these two answers, Cui Shao finally smiled and clapped his hands in praise:
"very good!"

“Ye Mingsheng first sowed discord, then held a military parade and asked you and me to watch his shooting range. Now it’s our turn to fight back…”

Yun Hanjie hesitated for a moment and said:
“Lord Cui, in my opinion, Ye Mingsheng and Song Wenhui are really different. If we really do that, Ye Mingsheng might really have the courage to take action. Ye Mingsheng has the advantage in soldiers and horses, and he has those lackeys in the Coordination Office working for him. If he is really angered, I am afraid that our three families will be in great trouble.”

Hearing Yun Hanjie's concerns, Zhao Yu immediately opened his mouth to refute, but after thinking about it, reason told him to shut his mouth.

Cui Shao smiled and waved his hand when he heard this.

"We are certainly not going to go into a complete confrontation with Ye Mingsheng. We have all seen the strength of the Fengwu Army under his command. A complete confrontation will not do us any good. What we have to do is to fight him without breaking him! Didn't Ye Mingsheng already tell you clearly that he wants to enter the pass and seize Youyan next year!"

"So Ye Mingsheng doesn't want to be completely hostile to us. He has many powerful soldiers and generals under his command. It is not difficult for him to kill you and me, but killing us will do more harm than good to him. If we die, the original interest structure of Liaoyang will completely collapse, and the whole Liaoyang will be completely plunged into chaos!"

"Even cleaning up this mess is enough to consume all of Ye Mingsheng's energy, leaving him no time to enter the east!"

"Ye Mingsheng is a smart man! He won't do such a stupid thing. What we have to do is to prove our own abilities and accumulate our bargaining chips at the negotiation table!"

"You two have lived to such an old age, don't you know that there are policies from above and countermeasures from below?"

"Ye Mingsheng is coming with such force that it is difficult to defeat him. We must overcome strength with softness! Since Ye Mingsheng wants to reform, let him do it. How many people in the government are Ye Mingsheng's men? Can Gu Sansi and Ma Runshan shoulder such a heavy burden?"

(End of this chapter)