Chapter 488 Radical or conservative?
After listening to Yuan Song’s speech, Ye Mingsheng and the generals in the tent suddenly realized Zhao Yong’s true intention.
Zhao Yong's 5,000 cavalrymen took a detour to Liucheng Township to support Yi Jing, which was a conspiracy!
Because the terrain around Yijing is flat, the speed advantage of the cavalry can be fully utilized. This also means that although Ye Mingsheng's Fengwu Army has an absolute advantage in manpower, the division of the cavalry units in Guangzong County has led to a shortage of Fengwu Army cavalry around Yijing, so it is difficult to completely annihilate a force of 5,000 Youyan cavalry.

If Ye Mingsheng sits back and does not call back the 5,000 cavalry of the Third Division from Guangzong County to maintain the status quo, then the 5,000 cavalry who come to support can use their speed advantage to constantly harass the Fengwu Army on the vast plains around Yijing, obstruct the Fengwu Army's offensive against Yijing, demonstrate their presence to the remnants of the Yan Army guarding Yijing, and boost the morale of the Yijing defenders.

And if Ye Mingsheng decided to call back the 5,000 cavalry from Guangzong County, it would be exactly what Zhao Yong wanted. Zhao Yong could take advantage of the situation to send troops to capture Guangzong County and lead a large army to support Yijing.

Even if Ye Mingsheng recalled the cavalry from Guangzong County and sent an infantry to Guangzong County for defense, if he wanted to stop Zhao Yong in Guangzong County, the strength of this infantry would have to be at least 5,000 men, so it was equivalent to dispersing the forces attacking Yijing...
After figuring out all this, Ye Mingsheng narrowed his eyes slightly, and he actually developed a little interest in Zhao Yong. In the intelligence from the Coordination Office, this person has always been labeled as brave but not wise, but now it seems that he has been underestimated!

Ye Mingsheng pondered for a while and couldn't think of any good solution. He looked at Yuan Song and asked:

"General Yuan, since you have seen through Zhao Yong's trick, what good strategy do you have to defeat the enemy?"

Listening to Ye Mingsheng's words, Yuan Song thought for a moment, shook his head and replied:

“Unless our army captures Yijing within three days, there is no particularly good way to deal with such evil plots. The most we can do is to send more scouts near Liucheng Township to detect the movements of the 5,000 Youyan cavalry as much as possible, and then concentrate our forces to set up an ambush. It is not difficult to defeat them, but it is also very difficult to annihilate the enemy completely…”

After hearing Yuan Song's proposal, Ye Mingsheng fell into deep thought. Judging from the current situation, although the Yan army in Yijing City is already at the end of its strength and cannot hold out for too long, the city gate will be broken within five to ten days. However, it is unrealistic to capture Yijing within three days, even if there is a fierce attack day and night!

If we cannot capture Yijing within three days, it seems that we will have no choice but to accept the harassment from these Youyan cavalry.

Ye Mingsheng glanced at the generals present, wanting to see if anyone else had any good ideas. However, to Ye Mingsheng's disappointment, none of the generals had any good ideas. Just when Ye Mingsheng's mind was gradually tilting towards Yuan Song's idea, Guo Zhiping suddenly spoke up;
"Sir, if we continue to insist on taking Yijing as our combat target, then what General Yuan said is the best way for our army at the moment! But if our army changes its mind and changes its combat target, then perhaps new opportunities will emerge!"

Ye Mingsheng became interested after hearing this and asked Guo Zhiping:

"General Guo, please tell me your thoughts in detail!"

"Yes!"

With Ye Mingsheng's permission, Guo Zhiping came to the sand table again and pointed at Guangzong County and said:
"The enemies in Yijing have been able to hold out until now only because they believe that reinforcements will arrive!"

“But what if we defeat his reinforcements…”

As soon as these words were spoken, a hint of doubt appeared in the eyes of the generals. They had just analyzed that it was very difficult to wipe out the 5,000-man Youyan cavalry in the flat terrain near Yijing. In this case, what did Guo Zhiping mean by "destroy it"?

Although there were many people who were confused, a few people like Ye Mingsheng and Yuan Song changed their expressions after hearing Guo Zhiping's thoughts, as if they realized something!
After thinking for a moment, Ye Mingsheng broke the window paper and said:

"General Guo, do you mean to abandon Yijing and concentrate our forces to eliminate Zhao Yong?"

Guo Zhiping nodded and said:

"Yes, sir! No matter what our army does now, as long as we still take Yijing as the main siege target, we will fall into Zhao Yong's trap and be harassed and restrained. In this case, why don't we temporarily give up Yijing and transfer the blade to Zhao Yong, tricking Zhao Yong to send troops to Guangzong County, and then our main force will move to Guangzong County to fight Zhao Yong!"

"Although Zhao Yong has expanded his army to 30,000, our army has already entered Youyan with more than 80,000 troops, which is still twice the number of the enemy. As long as we start a decisive battle, our army will surely win. If Zhao Yong is defeated, Yijing will be in a panic and collapse!"

It has to be said that Guo Zhiping's plan is very imaginative and bold. It is full of opportunities as well as risks.

While Ye Mingsheng was considering the pros and cons, Lin Huaiwu stepped forward and asked first about Guo Zhiping's plan:
"General Guo, if our army turns its attention to Zhao Yong as you said, then what about the defenders of Yijing and the 5,000 Youyan cavalry coming from Liucheng Township? If we don't deal with them properly, our army will be attacked from both sides and won't be able to take care of both ends!"

In response to Lin Huaiwu's question, Guo Zhiping already had a plan and said:

"It's difficult for our army to completely annihilate the 5,000 Youyan cavalry, but it's not impossible to defeat or severely damage the enemy! Since our army already knows that the enemy is coming from Liucheng Township, we can concentrate our forces to deploy defenses in advance and do our best to kill the enemy's living forces, so that the enemy will be afraid and dare not advance rashly!"

“After completing this step, our army will stop attacking Yijing, so that the enemy will not be able to figure out our strength. Then, under the cover of night, our main force will quietly move towards Guangzong County. After arriving in Guangzong County, we will order our cavalry in Guangzong County to pretend to rush to support Yijing and trick Zhao Yong into attacking Guangzong County. After Zhao Yong arrives in Guangzong County, our army can concentrate its forces to annihilate him…”

“As for the remnants of the Yan army in Yijing City, after the continuous attacks by our army over the past few days, they don’t even have enough troops to defend the city, so how can they dare to go out of the city to fight?

"Many of the defenders in the city are young men they temporarily recruited from the city. These young men have never received any training before. They are OK for guarding the city now, but if you want them to go out of the city to fight, they will be a group of lambs to be slaughtered. If they really dare to come out, then our army will directly destroy them and take advantage of the situation to charge into Yijing City!"

Although Lin Huaiwu couldn't find any loopholes in Guo Zhiping's words, he still shook his head and said:

"General Guo, your plan is very good, but the risk is still too great. If you change the combat objectives directly, it will inevitably overturn the combat plan previously set by the General Staff. So I am still not optimistic about your plan. I think our army has already taken the lead, so we should play it safe and not take such risks!"

“Although the Youyan Iron Cavalry is famous, there are only 5,000 of them, while our army has 70,000 soldiers under the city of Yijing. Even if they try their best to harass us, how much effect can they have?” Seeing Lin Huaiwu being so conservative, Guo Zhiping could not help but retort:
"General Lin, the situation on the battlefield changes rapidly. As a general, you should make corresponding responses according to the changes in the situation. You should not stick to the rules and stick to the pre-planned battle plan without considering the changes in the situation!"

As soon as Guo Zhiping finished speaking, Lin Huaiwu was about to stand up and continue speaking. Seeing that the two were still arguing, Ye Mingsheng, who had been thinking, raised his head and said:
"It's getting late, so let's stop here for today. Everyone is tired, let's go back to sleep!"

Although Lin Huaiwu and Guo Zhiping wanted to continue arguing after hearing this, since Ye Mingsheng had already spoken, they did not dare to act rashly. They bowed to Ye Mingsheng like everyone else and then left the tent.

The combat meeting was over, but Ye Mingsheng did not return to his bed. Instead, he sat in his seat and continued to think and weigh the pros and cons...
What Lin Huaiwu and Guo Zhiping said both made sense. If Guo Zhiping's plan succeeded, the situation would indeed become clear. However, if the operation was not carried out well during the process, there would be a risk of being attacked from all sides, and the great advantages in the early stage would completely disappear!
To be honest, Ye Mingsheng was a little undecided about the two options, not knowing whether he should take a gamble!
If the situation is unfavorable to our side, or the two sides are in a stalemate, then Ye Mingsheng will not have any hesitation and will definitely give it a try. He has the courage to do so. However, what Lin Huaiwu said is not wrong. The other side has only 5,000 people, and even if it is harassment, the degree of it will be very limited.

Moreover, they have plenty of time to capture Yijing. Even if the capture of Yijing is delayed for a few days due to the enemy's harassment, it is not unacceptable. There seems to be no need to make a tactical gamble because of these 5,000 Youyan cavalry.

Just as Ye Mingsheng was considering carefully, Qi Dechao saw that it was already dark outside and Ye Mingsheng had not rested yet, so he came over and advised:
"Sir, it's already midnight! You should go back and have some sleep..."

Ye Mingsheng came back to his senses after hearing this. He hesitated for a moment and felt that there was still time. It would not be too late to make a decision tomorrow, so he nodded and walked towards the couch!
Although he was feeling heavy-hearted, Ye Mingsheng was also very tired physically and mentally after experiencing the events of the day, so as soon as his head touched the pillow, he quickly fell asleep. He slept soundly and deeply, and he did not wake up until one quarter of an hour before noon the next day.

Feeling the weather outside, Ye Mingsheng realized that he woke up late, but he didn't care much. He felt a little thirsty and shouted outside:

"water!"

After hearing Ye Mingsheng's instructions, Qi Dechao walked into the tent holding a kettle. Ye Mingsheng was a little surprised to see Qi Dechao. Logically speaking, Qi Dechao should be sorting out the information and preparing to present it to him at noon. He should not be here.

As soon as Ye Mingsheng's doubts arose, Qi Dechao gave Ye Mingsheng the answer. After handing the kettle to Ye Mingsheng, he whispered:
"Sir, news came from Yun Bing an hour ago that Zhao Fuqu has led the main force of the Yan army to leave Jinzhong and return to Youyan..."

Hearing this news, Ye Mingsheng was a little surprised. He took the kettle and took a sip before asking:

"Did Zhao Fuqu reach an agreement with Feng Han so quickly?"

Qi Dechao shook his head and explained:

"The talks between Zhao Fuqu and Feng Han broke down. Zhao Fuqu left Jin Zhengrui and 10,000 Yan troops in Hanzhong, and he led the remaining Yan troops back!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng shook his head helplessly and said:

"This old fellow Zhao Fuqu is quite decisive. Since he is so anxious to come and die, I will help him!"

After saying this, Ye Mingsheng looked at Qi Dechao and said:
"Next time, such emergency military information must be reported immediately!"

"Yes!"

Qi Dechao nodded in response. He had originally planned to report it immediately, but seeing that Ye Mingsheng was very tired and slept so soundly after working so late, he couldn't bear to disturb Ye Mingsheng's rest and wanted Ye Mingsheng to have a good sleep.

After a pause, Ye Mingsheng gave another order:

"Ask Yuan Song to come over in half an hour! I want to see him!"

"Yes!"

After giving these instructions, Ye Mingsheng simply washed up, tidied his appearance and started to eat breakfast. Although he could enjoy privileges as the supreme commander of the army, Ye Mingsheng's breakfast was not very luxurious. It was just two bowls of millet porridge, a plate of stir-fried cabbage with black fungus, a plate of scrambled eggs with green onions, and a dish of braised beef...
After finishing this simple breakfast, Yuan Song arrived outside the tent in advance and waited. Seeing him coming, Ye Mingsheng did not let him wait any longer and called him into the tent.

After paying respect to Ye Mingsheng, Yuan Song bowed and asked:
"Sir, are you looking for me?"

Because time is precious, Ye Mingsheng did not talk about other things, but asked directly:
"What do you think of Guo Zhiping's plan?"

At the combat meeting last night, Yuan Song had been sitting on the sidelines and remained silent regarding the argument between Lin Huaiwu and Guo Zhiping, because this time when entering the pass, Ye Mingsheng left He Jingyun in Dongning to look after the family, so Yuan Song is now the number one general in the Fengwu Army after him.

Therefore, Ye Mingsheng wanted to hear his opinion to see whether Yuan Song supported Guo Zhiping's radical strategy or Lin Huaiwu's conservative strategy.

Facing Ye Mingsheng's question, Yuan Song seemed to be well prepared and said without much thought:
"Sir, I think the ideas of General Lin and General Guo each have their pros and cons..."

(End of this chapter)