Chapter 480: Gu Shouting's Two Cards! (Thanks to the book friend Yuexia Wuxianliang for the reward!)
Yuyang, Gu family.

In the study, looking at the information sent by the family's spies from Jizhou, Gu Shouting felt infinite emotion in his heart.

He thought he had thought highly enough of Ye Mingsheng and the Fengwu Army, believing that they could capture Youyan, but he did not expect that the Fengwu Army was much stronger than he imagined...
They entered the pass on the seventh day of the first lunar month and successfully captured Jizhou, the eastern gate of Youyan, in just one night. Shen Zhuo, the general of Jizhou, was captured, and his 10,000 Yan troops were wiped out. At the same time, a large number of cavalry of the Fengwu Army had sneaked into the northern hinterland of Youyan and raided Yijing, the provincial capital of Youyan.

Although they failed to capture Yijing due to the lack of heavy siege facilities, this cavalry unit successfully cut off Yijing's connection with the outside world, and attacked and defeated the local militia who attempted to rescue Yijing, severely undermining Youyan's subsequent war potential.

Judging from the current situation alone, although Yijing is a strong city with no shortage of food, without any support from other places, the total number of troops in the city is only more than 13,000. Once the main force of the Fengwu Army gathers under the city, they will not be able to hold out for long.

Judging from the current situation in Youyan, the situation is also very good for the Fengwu Army. The cavalry in the heart of Youyan has made Yijing an isolated island, and the main force of the Fengwu Army that has captured Jizhou has also set out for Yijing. The next step is to wait for the two sides to meet at the foot of Yijing City...
In Gu Shouting's opinion, if the situation continues to develop in this way, Yijing will most likely fall under the fierce attack of the Fengwu Army. The main force of the Yan Army of Zhao Fuqu in Jinzhong is of little use to the immediate cause. The only person who can change this situation now is his mortal enemy, Zhao Yong, who leads 20,000 Yan troops and is stationed in Zhuo County.

If Zhao Yong could stand up and immediately lead 20,000 troops northward to rush to Yijing's aid as quickly as possible, he could form a pincer attack with Zhao Jianan outside Yijing and gather militiamen from all over the place. Then, maybe he could delay the Fengwu Army and get Zhao Fuqu back from Jinzhong.

Based on Gu Shouting's understanding of Zhao Yong, if it was Zhao Fuqu who was trapped in Yijing now, then there is no doubt that with Zhao Yong's feelings and loyalty to his uncle Zhao Fuqu, Zhao Yong would definitely rush back with his troops day and night regardless of life and death, and would not hesitate to fight the Fengwu Army to the death!
But the problem is that the person in charge of Yijing now is not Zhao Fuqu, but Zhao Jianan!
The feud between Zhao Jianan and Zhao Yong was known to everyone in Youyan. Back then, Zhao Yong went to Zhao Jianan in person to beg for mercy, but Zhao Jianan, for the sake of his reputation among the people, showed no mercy and beheaded Zhao Yong's brother-in-law and the trusted generals who had followed him for many years...
From then on, the relationship between the two of them was irreconcilable. Even in front of Zhao Fuqu, Zhao Yong never gave Zhao Jianan a good look. In order to prevent Zhao Fuqu from getting old and Zhao Jianan coming to power to settle accounts with him, Zhao Yong had already gotten together with Zhao Jianwen. The two of them were in cahoots with each other, and the open and secret struggles between him and Zhao Jianan had never stopped in Youyan in recent years.

In the past, with Zhao Fuqu in charge, they fought each other but didn't dare to go too far. But now Zhao Fuqu is far away in Jinzhong. Based on Gu Shouting's understanding of Zhao Yong, it would be great if Zhao Yong didn't applaud when Zhao Jianan got into trouble! You still expect him to fight for Zhao Jianan and the Fengwu Army, that's almost impossible!
So as far as the current situation is concerned, Gu Shouting feels that the fall of Yijing is only a matter of time!
How long can Zhao Jianan defend Yijing?
three days?

five days?

Ten days?

Although the answer to this question is still an unknown, with the powerful combat effectiveness and sharp firearms displayed by the Fengwu Army, Gu Shouting feels that Zhao Jianan will not be able to hold on for long...
Speaking of the firearms of the Fengwu Army, Gu Shouting was particularly interested, because the Yan Army had purchased firearms from the Fengwu Army before, so Gu Shouting also knew that the firearms of the Fengwu Army were very sharp. When he first learned about the arms sale, he despised Ye Mingsheng and thought that Ye Mingsheng was as timid as a mouse, and was willing to give up such a sharp weapon.

But now it seems that Ye Mingsheng is a man of foresight. He had long been eyeing Youyan, and used a trick of pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger, using the arms sales case to make the entire Youyan relax their vigilance against him. Then he quietly laid out his plans, and only now did he suddenly reveal his bloody and sharp fangs! When Youyan was at her most vulnerable and weak, he stabbed Youyan with the most fatal knife!

Thinking of this, Gu Shouting couldn't help but shudder slightly. If he was not mistaken, then Ye Mingsheng was too terrible. In order to achieve his goal, he would do anything to achieve it, and he was not hesitant to give himself the stigma of being cowardly and timid!

What kind of tenacity and forbearance this is·················
After pondering for a long time, Gu Shouting sighed, his eyes full of admiration. He really wanted to meet Ye Mingsheng and see what kind of person this Liaoyang governor who came from a humble family and worked hard to create a sphere for himself was.

Shifting his thoughts from Ye Mingsheng back to himself, Gu Shouting began to think about his future.

If before Gu Shouting only intended to break free from the control of the Supervisory Office and really join Liaoyang, then now after feeling the strength of the Fengwu Army and the terrifying power of Ye Mingsheng, he has begun to consider the feasibility of the plan!

Since you want to join Ye Mingsheng and get his attention, you must prepare something, right?

Even though the Yan army's defense map in Jizhou had been given to Huo San before, Gu Shouting knew that it was not important enough to attract Ye Mingsheng's attention!
And now Gu Shouting has two cards in his hand, one is called Yuyang and the other is called Yijing!

The Gu family has been rooted in Yuyang since the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty. The family has lived in Yuyang, an important town in the northern part of Youyan, for more than two hundred years. Therefore, the Gu family's influence on Yuyang is in all aspects. For example, the current Yuyang deputy general Chen Lianggui is Gu Shouting's cousin-in-law, and Yuyang prefect Zhang Chengzhong was a student of his father Gu Zhongshi...
Therefore, as long as the Gu family expresses their desire to change their allegiance and join Ye Mingsheng instead of Zhao Fuqu, it would not be difficult for the entire Yuyang to change its ways. Of course, Gu Shouting faces considerable difficulties in getting the Gu family to do so. He not only has to convince his father Gu Zhongshi, but also the uncles in the family.

After all, this is a matter that determines the future destiny of the family. If you stand on the wrong side at this time, the entire family will be in disaster!
However, the greater the risk, the greater the reward. As long as the Gu family can stand up and support Ye Mingsheng at this time when the situation is not particularly clear, then if he is not stupid, he will definitely pay a huge sum of money to support Ye Mingsheng, and he will value the Gu family very much and establish the Gu family as an example to attract other powerful families in Youyan...
As for Yijing, the card in Gu Shouting's hand is the life-and-death friendship between him and Zhang Hongxiang!
With the protection of his father Zhang Hu, Zhang Hongxiang has been doing well in the Yan army in recent years and has become a commander-in-chief with 5,000 troops under his command. Now he is stationed in Yijing under the command of Zhao Jianan and is an important general defending Yijing!
If Zhang Hongxiang could counterattack and open the city gate, it would undoubtedly avoid a lot of casualties for the Fengwu Army and save a lot of time, allowing the Fengwu Army to have more time to deal with Zhao Fuqu's counterattack after returning from Jinzhong. So Gu Shouting was sure that Ye Mingsheng would be interested in this card in his hand and would be willing to pay something for it!
However, Gu Shouting still had some doubts in his heart as to whether this card in his hand could work. It was true that he and Zhang Hongxiang had been close friends for many years, and he had once saved Zhang Hongxiang’s life from the hands of the Luo Bei people. When he was in trouble, Zhang Hongxiang had also actively run around to use his connections in an attempt to get him out of prison...

However, the past was the past, and today is today. Although Gu Shouting was released from prison by Zhao Fuqu, Gu Shouting knew that Zhao Fuqu still had doubts about him. So in order to avoid suspicion and dispel Zhao Fuqu's doubts, he has been hiding at home all these years, keeping a low profile. He dared not contact his old friends for fear of arousing Zhao Fuqu's suspicion, so he gradually lost contact with Zhang Hongxiang.

But people change, so Gu Shouting was not completely sure whether his letter could persuade Zhang Hongxiang to surrender the city!
Gu Shouting sat in his seat and pondered for a whole incense stick of time. Gradually, a complete plan came into his mind. Before considering how to play the two cards in his hand, he had one very important thing to do, which was to resolve his own hidden dangers!

When he tried to take revenge on Zhao Fuqu, Zhao Yong and other members of the Zhao family, Gu Shouting regarded the Supervisory Office as a great helper to him. But it was obvious that things were different now. After he had decided to turn the fake into reality and really surrender to Ye Mingsheng, the connection with the Supervisory Office became a heavy burden for Gu Shouting. After all, no matter what, the reputation of being a slave of three surnames was not good, and it would easily affect Ye Mingsheng's trust in him...
Therefore, before joining Ye Mingsheng, Gu Shouting had to first settle things with the Supervisory Office and hide his disgraceful history!
With a stern look in his eyes, Gu Shouting bent over his desk and wrote a note, then instructed:

"Ada!"

As Gu Shouting finished speaking, a tall and strong man walked into the study, bowed to Gu Shouting and asked, "Master, are you looking for me?"

Looking at Ah Da, Gu Shouting asked back:
"Last time I asked you to find your people, did you figure out where they are?"

"Yes!"

Ah Da replied without thinking:

Gu Shouting nodded in satisfaction, then handed the note he had just written to the servant named A Da and instructed:
"Send this to Chen's Tea House and give it to someone called Shen Gang!"

"Ok!"

Ah Da took the note and left.

Evening
Shen Gang came to the Sanfu Restaurant. Out of professional habit, he did not go in directly, but hid in a secluded corner and observed for a while. The location of this Sanfu Restaurant was not very good and was very remote. Therefore, although it was already dinner time, there were still very few guests eating in the restaurant...

Seeing that there seemed to be no danger, Shen Gang felt relieved and walked into the restaurant. Seeing someone coming in, the idle waiter immediately perked up and hurried to greet him, shouting with a smile on his face:
"How many guests are there? Do you want to dine in or take out?"

Shen Gang waved his hand and said:

"I have an appointment in a private room!"

After saying that, Shen Gang walked towards the private room in the restaurant. When he opened the door, he saw Gu Shouting drinking by himself. Seeing Shen Gang coming, Gu Shouting smiled and greeted him:
"Hurry up and take a seat! Although this Sanfu Restaurant is not big, the food is very good!"

After saying this, Gu Shouting shouted to the waiter outside the door:
"We are all here, we can serve the food!"

"okay!"

Shen Gang sat on the chair and did not speak until the waiter served all five dishes and a soup. After he closed the door, he asked Gu Shouting with a serious expression:

"What important information did you get from the Coordination Office that made you so anxious to meet me?"

Feeling Shen Gang's urgency, Gu Shouting made up a story to make him relax:
“The Coordination Office told me that they have people in Yijing, and they hope that I can mobilize our Gu family’s connections to help them attack from both inside and outside…”

Although this was a fabrication by Gu Shouting, the effect was very good and soon attracted the attention of Shen Gang. The intelligence chief of the Supervisory Department said seriously:
"The offensive of the Fengwu Army is too swift. If we don't stop it, the Yan Army may lose Yijing very soon. We are asked by the higher-ups to stop the offensive of the Fengwu Army as much as possible and not let it take Yijing so quickly. What the court needs is a stalemate between the Fengwu Army and the Yan Army. We don't want them to decide the winner so quickly!"

Gu Shouting sneered in his heart when he heard this. He had long guessed what the Luoan court was thinking. The Luoan court was now preoccupied with their own affairs and did not want an overly powerful enemy to appear in the east, eyeing Yunbing and Guanzhong areas.

Although he thought so in his heart, Gu Shouting nodded on the surface and said hesitantly:
"Shen Gang, what you mean is..."

At this time, Shen Gang did not notice Gu Shouting's little thoughts at all, and still said very seriously:

"Shou Ting, you continue to contact the Coordination Office, and then take the opportunity to get clues about their personnel in Yijing, and then quietly inform Zhao Jianan and others of their conspiracy, thwart the Fengwu Army's conspiracy, and prevent them from capturing Yijing!"

Listening to Shen Gang's words, Gu Shouting remained silent. After a long time, he picked up the teacup and took a sip.

(End of this chapter)