Chapter 487 Zhao Yong’s trick!
“General Ye, regardless of the good relationship between the two families, on the day of Chinese New Year when the whole world is celebrating, you brazenly led the Fengwu Army to launch a sneak attack in defiance of the world. This is truly a betrayal that is hated by both humans and gods and has lost the support of the people…”

"My lord Zhao Fuqu has occupied Youyan for twelve years. He has repeatedly defeated the Luobei people's attempts to move south, and has protected the mountains and rivers of the Great Zhou, allowing the people of Youyan to live and work in peace without being harassed by foreign races. When people in Youyan mention my lord, they all praise him sincerely. This is what the people want!"

"Although you, General Ye, have gained the upper hand by attacking and surrounding Yijing, you will not be able to keep the people's support for long. When my lord leads the army to join us, you will be defeated!"

Sun Zhunde's words caused everyone present, except Ye Mingsheng, to glare at him angrily. However, this man was indeed one of Youyan's most senior officials. He continued to speak fearlessly without changing his expression. Seeing that Sun Zhunde seemed to want to tell him a story of ten wins and ten losses, Ye Mingsheng was too lazy to listen to his nonsense, so he waved his hand to interrupt Sun Zhunde's words and said lightly:

"Mr. Sun, you said that your Governor Zhao resisted Luo Bei in the north and defended the country. I admit that Governor Zhao did a very good job in this regard, but you want to say that the people's wishes are sincere and praised? I can't say this. Don't tell others. Just tell me, Mr. Sun, do you believe it yourself?"

Ye Mingsheng's words directly hit Sun Zhunde's sore spot, causing Sun Zhunde's expression to change slightly. Although he subconsciously wanted to nod in affirmation, feeling Ye Mingsheng's sharp eyes, his conscience allowed him to do so...
Just as Ye Mingsheng said, Zhao Fuqu, as a governor who had fought his way up from the army, was indeed a military strongman. During the years he was in charge of Youyan, the Luobi people never took any advantage of him. At most, they dared to take the risk of going south to make a fortune because they could not bear the cold on the grassland.

Although there were no more invasions by the Luobi people, it did not mean that the people of Youyan lived well. Although it was undeniable that Zhao Fuqu's achievement in resisting the Luobi people in the north was due to his personal factors, it was indeed based on the hard work of the people of Youyan!

In order to prevent the Luobei people from invading from the south, Zhao Fuqu had been improving the Great Wall in Youyan and building various cities and fortresses in Youyan. As a result, every household in Youyan had to bear heavy labor, and the number of people who died from labor every year was at least four digits.

In addition to forced labor, Zhao Fuqu was also warlike. As a province of the Great Zhou, Youyan had a total population of only more than 900,000, while the Yan army's standing army maintained a size of more than 100,000 all year round, which was equivalent to one soldier for every eight civilians, not to mention that these soldiers were young and middle-aged people who were the main force of productive labor.

If all these young and strong men go to serve in the army, it means that the heavy farm work will have to be handed over to the elderly, women and even children to complete, which makes the common people miserable...
Although Youyan had heavy labor and was warlike, it was after all a defense against the Luobi people and to protect the entire Youyan people from invasion, so Zhao Fuqu still had an excuse on this point!
What Zhao Fuqu really did wrong was that he was ambitious and fond of extravagance. He established his governor's offices in various places in Youyan, imitating the emperor's palaces. Each of these offices occupied a huge area and was built in a magnificent and gorgeous manner.

These magnificent buildings, without a doubt, required the local people to labor and build them free of charge. Therefore, these governor's offices, although beautiful, were like a huge mountain weighing on the heads of the local people, making it hard for them to breathe!
As the saying goes, what goes up comes down. Zhao Fuqu, the Zhao family members around him, and a group of high-ranking Yan army officials are all greedy by nature. They try their best to exploit the people at the bottom, wishing to squeeze every last bit of oil out of them. When Shangguan Hongyuan was at the peak of his career, Zhao Fuqu could restrain himself to some extent and did not dare to exploit them too much in order not to give Shangguan Hongyuan an excuse to deal with him.

However, with Shangguan Hongyuan stepping down from the altar, Zhao Fuqu saw the possibility of competing for the world, which made Zhao Fuqu more free-spirited. He desperately expanded the army and prepared for war, putting these heavy burdens on the people, making it difficult for the people of Youyan to breathe. There were countless poor people who sold their children to pay the taxes...
In the past two years, peasant uprisings have occurred one after another in various parts of Youyan, but Zhao Fuqu's hand is indeed tough and iron-blooded, and each time they have been suppressed forcefully. However, no matter how tough and iron-blooded Zhao Fuqu's hand is, the voices of the people who can't survive and are rising up in rebellion still continue to rise!
Since the Fengwu Army entered the pass this time, the people of Youyan, after initially watching, felt the strict discipline of the Fengwu Army, as well as Ye Mingsheng's care for the people's strength and his political ideas that care about the world. So the people also welcomed the royal army with food and drink!
Looking at Sun Zhunde who had fallen into silence, Ye Mingsheng said lightly:
"Mr. Sun, we all know that Yijing can't hold on for much longer, so go back and tell Zhao Jianan that if he is willing to hand over Yijing peacefully, I, Ye, will guarantee with my personal integrity that his life and property will not be violated. If he is willing, he can even lead the remaining Yan army in the city to leave. I will never make things difficult for them!"

“But if he insists on doing what he wants and tries to stop a chariot with his bare hands, the day when Yijing falls will be the day when Zhao Jianan dies…”

After he finished speaking, Ye Mingsheng waved his hand, and Qi Dechao, with a cold face, asked Sun Zhunde to leave.

After experiencing what happened with Sun Zhunde, Ye Mingsheng was ready to rest. However, just as he turned off the light on the bed, he heard hurried footsteps outside the tent and Qi Dechao's voice rang out again.

"My Lord, are you asleep?"

Although he didn't know what had happened, Ye Mingsheng knew that he had turned off all the lights, and Qi Dechao had asked him about what had happened, so it must be something serious. So he forced himself to be alert, got up from the bed and ordered:
"Come in and report!"

"Yes!"

After entering the tent, without waiting for Ye Mingsheng to ask, Qi Dechao said directly:
"My Lord, there is an urgent report from Zhuo County that Zhao Yong has sent 5,000 cavalry to help Yijing, but they did not go through Guangzong County, but bypassed Guangzong County and took the road to Liucheng Township!"

“In addition, Zhao Yong has been recruiting young and strong men to prepare for war these days. The army under his command has expanded to more than 30,000 people. Judging from all his movements, he will send troops to rescue Yijing today…”

Listening to Qi Dechao's words, Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly. He had expected that Zhao Yong would send troops to rescue Yijing. Although there were deep conflicts between him and Zhao Jianan, since Zhao Fuqu was able to keep him in charge, it meant that this person's overall view was not that bad. He could sit back and watch himself capture Yijing and not help Zhao Jianan!
However, he did not go through the nearest Guangzong County, but took a long detour to Liucheng Township. This was beyond the staff's prior war simulation!
"How long have Zhao Yong's cavalry been gone?" Ye Mingsheng asked as he asked the guard to wash a towel for him:

Qi Dechao thought for a moment and replied:

"Three days ago!"

Ye Mingsheng nodded when he heard this, then took the hot towel from the guard and wiped his face. After he felt refreshed, he instructed Qi Dechao:
"Notify the generals of this matter and tell them that a military meeting will be held after one stick of incense has passed and everyone must be present!"

"Yes!"

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In the tent, Ye Mingsheng looked around at all the generals present and said:
"Everyone knows about the matter. Tell us what you think!" Hearing Ye Mingsheng's question, the generals seemed to be very cautious and no one answered first. Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng shifted his attention to Guo Zhiping. The original task assigned to Guo Zhiping's Third Division by the General Staff was to occupy Guangzong County to prevent Zhao Yong from supporting Yi Jing, and the Fengwu Army troops currently near Guangzong County were all Guo Zhiping's subordinates.

In addition, the news said that Zhao Yong's troops supporting Yi Jing were 5,000 cavalrymen, and the most experienced cavalry commander in Fengwu Army was none other than Guo Zhiping. Therefore, Guo Zhiping should be the first to bear the brunt of this problem and have no choice but to take responsibility...

Feeling Ye Mingsheng's gaze, Guo Zhiping did not hesitate to stand up and said:

"Your Excellency, although it takes nearly 300 miles longer to go from Liucheng Township than from Guangzong County, the terrain along Liucheng Township is very flat, and the cavalry can gallop all the way to the foot of Yijing City."

"According to the news, Zhao Yong's cavalry has been on the march for three days now. I estimate that within two to three days, the 5,000 cavalry sent by Zhao Yong will be able to reach the city of Yijing!"

When Guo Zhiping said this, the generals in the tent seemed a little surprised. Lin Huaiwu, who was sitting next to him, hesitated for a moment and questioned:

"General Guo, I know you are an expert in cavalry combat, but the road from Zhuo County to Yijing via Liucheng Township is nearly 600 miles! Isn't it a bit too much to travel nearly 100 miles a day?"

Facing Lin Huaiwu's question, Guo Zhiping shook his head and said:

“The cavalry under Zhao Yong’s command are all the most elite Youyan cavalry of the Yan Army. Their horses are the best grassland horses, and are in no way inferior to the Luobei people on the grassland. With light equipment and a few followers, one man riding two horses day and night can travel a hundred miles a day…”

Listening to Guo Zhiping's words, Ye Mingsheng pondered for a moment and asked Guo Zhiping:

"How many miles can our cavalry travel per day at their fastest speed?"

Facing Ye Mingsheng's question, Guo Zhiping hesitated for a moment, but decided to tell the truth and said with some shame:

"Your Excellency, although our army can also ride two horses per man, the breed of horses is still not as good as that of the Youyan Iron Cavalry. In addition, the combat quality of our cavalry is also inferior to that of the Youyan Iron Cavalry. Therefore, the fastest speed of our cavalry is about 60 to 70 miles a day!"

"But now our army is equipped with carbines, so although our marching speed is not as fast as the Youyan cavalry, we are not afraid of the Youyan cavalry in a head-on battle!"

Ye Mingsheng was a little disappointed after getting this answer, but he didn't say anything. After all, the Youyan Iron Cavalry could be said to be the best cavalry of the Great Zhou Dynasty. It was the trump card unit that Zhao Fuqu had painstakingly managed for more than ten years and spent countless money and food to build up. Since its establishment, it had made brilliant military exploits and was Zhao Fuqu's dearest treasure. It was no worse than the Longxiang and Iron Cavalry armies during the heyday of the Imperial Army...
However, Ye Mingsheng's cavalry unit was established just over a year ago, and there is still a lot of gap between the two sides. It is very commendable that Guo Zhiping can bring the cavalry unit to its current level!
Ye Mingsheng nodded at Guo Zhiping and asked him to continue. Seeing this, Guo Zhiping continued to analyze:

“Although the Youyan Iron Cavalry is very powerful, they are still human after all. After such a high-intensity march, they will also be very tired. Moreover, with the size of their 5,000 people, it is almost impossible for them to stop our army from attacking the city. At most, they can harass our rear and delay our offensive against Yijing. Another symbolic meaning is to tell the enemy in Yijing that reinforcements have arrived and they are not fighting alone, so as to boost the morale of the enemy in Yijing!”

"The area around Yijing is all plains, which is very suitable for cavalry combat. In this case, the enemy should adopt the tactic of shooting and moving to another place. They will definitely not tangle with our army and will try their best to tie down our troops. In this case, the best way to deal with cavalry is cavalry!"

“My Third Division has 7,000 cavalrymen, General Yuan’s First Division has 2,000 cavalrymen, and General Lin’s Second Division has 1,000 cavalrymen, for a total of 10,000 cavalrymen. However, because we were preparing for Zhao Yong’s support from Guangzong County, we sent 5,000 cavalrymen to Guangzong County. It will take about four or five days to return from Guangzong County…”

Although Guo Zhiping did not say what his response plan was, Ye Mingsheng had already heard his thoughts. Guo Zhiping wanted to concentrate all the cavalry forces to encircle and annihilate the 5,000-man Youyan cavalry.

Just when Ye Mingsheng was about to ask for other people's opinions, Yuan Song, who had been thinking silently with his head down, suddenly looked up as if he had thought of something and said:
"The cavalry in Guangzong County cannot be transferred back!"

Ye Mingsheng and the other generals were a little surprised to hear Yuan Song's decisive answer. At this moment, Yuan Song walked to the sand table in the middle of the tent, pointed to the coordinates of Guangzong County on the sand table and introduced:

"Sir, Zhao Yong's move of sending cavalry to Liucheng Township is actually a ulterior motive. What he wants is for us to transfer the cavalry back to Guangzong County to concentrate their forces to encircle and suppress the 5,000 Youyan cavalry to attract our army's attention. In this way, without the 5,000 cavalry in Guangzong County, there will only be 3,000 of our troops left in the county!"

“And Zhao Yong now has more than 30,000 soldiers and horses. It is difficult for our army in Guangzong County alone to stop Zhao Yong’s army. Once Guangzong County is lost, Zhao Yong can lead his army directly to the city of Yijing…”

(End of this chapter)