Chapter 450 Double Agent!

"Sato Kaga came to see me!"

In the land temple outside Dongning, Kobayakawa Takahide said to Akiyama Morie:

"Oh? He wants to unite with you?"

Akiyama Morie asked calmly:
"Well, I still underestimated this old guy. Ten days ago, the day before Shen Jianzhong died, Sato Kaga suddenly showed up in Liujing and found me. He wanted me to cooperate with him again and gave me a lot of benefits..." Kobayakawa Takahide nodded and said:

"Did you promise him?" Akiyama Morie asked with interest:

In response to Akiyama Morie's question, Kobayakawa Takahide said seriously: "I have thought about it seriously!"

At this point, Kobayakawa Takahide suddenly sighed and said:

"The Coordination Office is too strong and overbearing. If things continue to develop as they are now, I'm afraid all the people here will be branches of the Coordination Office!"

“It would be great if Amaterasu could take in that old guy Sato Kaga right now… I know his methods too well. If I continue to cooperate with him, he will eat me to the bone sooner or later!”

"Also, Wang Xuecheng from the Coordination Office is like a ghost. He is everywhere. He has been watching me closely these days in the palace! He didn't give me any chance. If I wanted to do anything, he would definitely kill me first. I don't know where Ye Mingsheng found this guy!"

"So forget it. I'll just stand on the side of the Fengwu Army. If nothing else, I'll commit myself to others like you, Mori Hui. How about this? I heard that you haven't been happy in the mansion recently."

"Sister, your biggest weakness is that you are too soft-hearted sometimes. You should strike when the time comes! If you want that bitch to die at three o'clock in the morning with your means, she won't be able to live until five o'clock..." Kobayakawa Takahide chuckled and said:

Akiyama Morie seemed a little noncommittal about this and did not answer her question. Seeing that she was unwilling to say more on this issue, Kobayakawa Takahide did not continue the topic, but changed the subject and said:
"Gongdu and Fengwu Army have reached an agreement to give Fengwu Army 100 Gongdu maids every year. According to the usual methods of Gongdu people, they will definitely select the most beautiful ones to give to Ye Mingsheng. If they want to persuade him, you better be prepared, sister."

"Also, I arranged for someone close to Sato Kaga to pass on the news. Sato Kaga seems to have begun to notice you. He has recently been investigating the women around Ye Mingsheng. You must be on guard. Even though Ye Mingsheng may already know the truth, it will still be a very troublesome matter if Sato Kaga catches him..."

Akiyama Mori Hui nodded and said:
"okay, I get it!"

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Dongning Military Governor's Mansion.

"Sir, we have received information from Youyan that Gu Shouting of the Yuyang Gu family intends to join our Fengwu Army!" Huo San bowed and reported to Ye Mingsheng:

"Yuyang Gu family? Gu Shouting?"

Ye Mingsheng frowned slightly, as if he had heard this name somewhere before, but he couldn't remember it for a moment.

Seeing this, Huo San immediately continued to introduce:
"It was Gu Shouting, the man who gave up literature and turned to martial arts to defeat the Luobei people!"

After hearing what Huo San said, Ye Mingsheng suddenly understood and said with some doubt:
"I remember that he was seriously ill. He has been recuperating at home for several years. Why did he suddenly come to us?"

Upon hearing this, Huo San immediately told Ye Mingsheng everything that Gu Shouting had told him in the Lu'an Teahouse in Guangning that day...

After hearing what Huo San said, Ye Mingsheng had a general understanding of the matter. After a moment of silence, he asked Huo San again:

"Have you verified what Gu Shouting said?"

After the words fell, Huo San nodded and said affirmatively:
"Yes, I have been investigating the truth of what Gu Shouting said through various channels of the Coordination Office in Youyan these past few days. According to our investigation, what Gu Shouting said is basically true!"

"There is indeed a deep conflict between him and Zhao Yong. Back then, Gu Shouting was very famous in the Yan army for defeating the Luobei people. He also had the support of the Gu family, so he was promoted very quickly in the Yan army. Many generals in the Yan army were envious of him. Zhao Yong, the nephew of Zhao Fuqu, is indeed a narrow-minded person who will take revenge for any slight."

“Zhao Yong had expressed his disdain for Gu Shouting many times at cocktail parties among his colleagues. He believed that Gu Shouting’s victory over the Luobei people was just a blind cat catching a dead mouse, and that Gu Shouting was just a useless silver spear and candlestick…”

"In order to suppress Gu Shouting, Zhao Yong relied on himself as Zhao Fuqu's nephew and a royal relative in the Yan army, so he once took the initiative to bring up conflicts with Gu Shouting, but he was always taught a lesson by Gu Shouting. Gu Shouting even caught him once and exposed him for eating empty salaries." "If Zhao Yong was not Zhao Fuqu's nephew, and Zhao Fuqu personally stepped in to suppress the matter, then Zhao Yong might have lost his head. Even so, Zhao Yong was severely beaten by Zhao Fuqu because of this incident, and it took more than two months for him to get out of bed."

“Because the conflicts between the two did exist before, I believe that Zhao Yong hated Gu Shouting because of this, and then set a trap and forged a letter of surrender from Gu Shouting to Shangguan Hongyuan, which led to Gu Shouting being imprisoned and interrogated by Zhao Fuqu. After being tortured, Gu Shouting bore a grudge against the Zhao family and wanted to join our army to avenge the Zhao family. This reason is logical…”

"When I heard what Gu Shouting said and saw the scars on his body from being tortured, I didn't doubt what he said. But when I thought about it carefully later, I found a suspicious point. Zhao Fuqu is also a shrewd and shrewd hero. Would he really imprison and torture Gu Shouting, a general under his command, just because of a forged letter of surrender?"

"With this doubt, I started a new investigation. According to our investigation, we can confirm that what Gu Shouting said was correct. The letter of good faith to Shangguan Hongyuan was indeed forged by Zhao Yong. However, the relationship between Gu Shouting and the court led by Shangguan Hongyuan at that time may not be clean!"

"Gu Shouting has a concubine named Wang who has been with him for many years and gave birth to a pair of children. Wang's brother is named Wang Yong, who is currently serving as the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple in Shangguan Hongyuan's court. Wang Yong previously worked in the Ministry of War, but colleagues in Luoan reported that Wang Yong's identity might be somewhat special..."

"In addition, Gu Shouting's legal wife, An, is also Madam's cousin!"

After speaking for such a long time in one breath, Huo San looked at Ye Mingsheng. When he met Gu Shouting in Lu'an Teahouse, he did not give Gu Shouting a clear answer because he was cautious as an intelligence worker.

He must investigate the matter thoroughly and confirm its authenticity before he can report it to Ye Mingsheng. If he reports it to Ye Mingsheng rashly without verification, then if it turns out to be false, wouldn't he, Huo San, also be implicated?
"An Miaoyi's cousin?"

Hearing that there is such a relationship, Ye Mingsheng asked in surprise:
Facing Ye Mingsheng's question, Huo San nodded and said:
“Gu Shouting’s legal wife, Ms. An, her father’s name is An Zhitang, also of the An family’s generational name. He is the uncle of my wife’s fifth grandfather. His daughter, Ms. An, is five years older than my wife. She married Gu Shouting in the seventh year of Anhe in the Great Zhou Dynasty…”

Seeing that Huo San's words were so accurate, Ye Mingsheng was a little surprised, but he no longer had any doubts and confirmed that this Gu Shouting was really his brother-in-law!

After thinking for a while, Ye Mingsheng continued to ask:

"You just said that Wang Yong, the brother of Gu Shouting's concubine Wang, might have a special status. How is this special?"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng's question, Huo San frowned slightly, as if he didn't know how to tell Ye Mingsheng. After thinking for several seconds, he said to Ye Mingsheng as cautiously as possible:

“Sir, we don’t have any evidence yet, but our colleagues in Luoan suspect that this Wang Yong may have a connection with the Supervisory Department, and may even be a pawn planted by the Supervisory Department in the Ministry of War…”

"It is said that Zhao Fuqu imprisoned and tortured Gu Shouting. In addition to the letter of credit forged by Zhao Yong, it is also said to be related to this Wang Yong!"

"But Zhao Fuqu definitely didn't find any solid evidence of collusion between Gu Shouting and Wang Yong, otherwise Zhao Fuqu would definitely not release Gu Shouting from prison in the end!"

It has to be said that Huo San has very conflicting feelings towards Gu Shouting. As the director of the Coordination Office and currently the biggest spy chief in Liaoyang, his sense of intelligence makes him realize that Gu Shouting has great value, so he deliberately digs for information. However, his investigation into Gu Shouting also makes Huo San realize that there are some risks involved.

Ye Mingsheng narrowed his eyes and fell into deep thought. He knew why Huo San was hesitant about Gu Shouting!

Because this Gu Shouting might be a double agent. At present, the Yan army is attacking rapidly in Yunbing area and has already captured Jinzhong area. It is conceivable that if it were not for the logistical problems caused by the severe cold, the Yan army would have surrounded Jinyang by now...

Although Jinyang is one of the most famous cities in the world, and is garrisoned by Feng Han, a brave general under Shangguan Hongyuan, and 20,000 elite soldiers, to be honest, it is still not strong enough to face the main force of the Yan army led by Zhao Fuqu. As long as Shangguan Hongyuan does not send troops, it is only a matter of time before Jinyang falls!
But now, Shangguan Hongyuan's troops are, on the one hand, resisting the attack of the King of Qin's Yongliang cavalry, and on the other hand, the main imperial guards that Shangguan Hongyuan relies on the most are also struggling in Sichuan and Shu. The two-front war has already made Shangguan Hongyuan exhausted, so where can he get any reinforcements for Feng Han?
If Feng Han was not given reinforcements and Zhao Fuqu was allowed to capture Yun without any help, then Zhao Fuqu would definitely march straight into Shangguan Hongyuan's old nest in Guanzhong. In this case, if Shangguan Hongyuan wanted to survive, he would have to give up attacking the southern tour court and withdraw the main force of the imperial army from Sichuan.

However, doing so would be equivalent to chronic suicide for Shangguan Hongyuan. Although Guanzhong was rich, it could not afford to support the hundreds of thousands of arrogant and brave generals under Shangguan Hongyuan. If he wanted to support so many people, he could only use the emperor to command the princes, and then use the powerful military force to intimidate the world and collect taxes from all provinces in the world...

Now Shangguan Hongyuan can still hold on with his previous foundation and prestige, but as time goes on, no one will be able to hold on with these hundreds of thousands of troops. If the time comes and there is not enough money and food to appease these arrogant soldiers, then even if Shangguan Hongyuan is in charge, anything can happen!
Therefore, the best way for Shangguan Hongyuan at present is to bring out a new force to help him entangle Zhao Fuqu. In this way, Yun Beiyou will have no worries, and he can continue to persist in Sichuan and Shu, and compete with the southern tour court to see who has longer vitality...
Therefore, the appearance of Gu Shouting at this time was very subtle, and his behavior of providing intelligence to the Coordination Office was also in line with the logic of a double agent. He wanted to bring the Fengwu Army in Liaoyang into the game to break the siege of Yunbing!
If it were just this, Ye Mingsheng wouldn't care. He didn't care about the situation on Shangguan Hongyuan's side. As long as he could successfully take over Ruguan and Youyan, it would not be impossible for him to help Shangguan Hongyun break the siege of Yunbing.

Because of Liaoyang’s own limitations, the development of Fengwu Army has now fallen into a short-term bottleneck. If it wants to maintain its past rapid development, it can only actively expand outward. As long as Youyan is taken down, Ye Mingsheng, who owns Liaoyang and Youyan provinces, will be able to rank among the top princes in the world in terms of size. Coupled with Fengwu Army’s firearms and technological advantages, even if Shangguan Hongyuan holds the emperor hostage again to command the princes, Ye Mingsheng will have the confidence to defeat him...

So even if Gu Shouting is really a double agent, Ye Mingsheng dares to use him because he is the only one who comes to help the Fengwu Army capture Youyan!

But the key issue is that Gu Shouting or Shangguan Hongyuan behind him had no good intentions. What they wanted was not for the Fengwu Army to capture Youyan, but for the Fengwu Army and the Yan Army to be deadlocked in Youyan. So selling intelligence to both the Yan Army and their own side would be a bit troublesome.

Ye Mingsheng was not afraid of war, but because of his own financial and internal reasons, Ye Mingsheng was afraid of fighting a war of attrition and a protracted war. If the Yan army dared to come out of the city, soldier against soldier, general against general, Ye Mingsheng would not have planned so painstakingly!

But the problem is that by then the enemy will definitely retreat to the city. In this way, the firearms advantage of the Fengwu Army will be greatly weakened compared to a field battle. Once involved in such an offensive battle, the Fengwu Army, which is short of money and has no financial resources, will not be able to hold on for long...
(End of this chapter)