Chapter 497 Deadly Trap! (Thanks to book friend 16571 for the reward!)
After casually praising Gu Shouting, Ye Mingsheng let him sit down and prepared to start talking about the main topic...

Because the matter was urgent, Ye Mingsheng had no interest in beating around the bush with Gu Shouting, so he just came up and asked:
"Mr. Gu, have you reached an agreement with Commander Zhang Hongxiang in the city on surrender?"

Seeing Ye Mingsheng getting straight to the point, Gu Shouting also focused and nodded and said:
"Commander Zhang has always admired your majesty, so other things are easy to deal with, but Commander Zhang is only a little worried. He doesn't know how the commander-in-chief will arrange him and his troops after he surrenders!"

Hearing Gu Shouting talking about this, Ye Mingsheng asked back without any surprise:

"What does Commander Zhang think about this?"

Facing Ye Mingsheng's question, Gu Shouting did not answer directly, but after a moment of silence, he changed the subject and asked:

"Sir, you used your military skills like a god in this battle, and you moved as fast as the wind. In one battle, you defeated Zhao Yong's troops and captured countless prisoners. You can be said to have cut off an arm of the traitor Zhao Fuqu!"

Hearing Gu Shouting say this, Ye Mingsheng narrowed his eyes slightly, as if he realized his subtext. Sure enough, after Gu Shouting finished speaking, he secretly observed Ye Mingsheng's facial expression. Seeing that Ye Mingsheng looked normal, he continued:

“If Commander Zhang surrenders the city, he will be regarded as a mortal enemy by the Yan army. They will be eager to remove him as soon as possible. Therefore, Commander Zhang hopes to go into battle and kill the enemy, and do his part for the Fengwu Army and for you, the commander-in-chief, to eliminate the traitor Zhao Fuqu…”

Having said this, Gu Shouting bowed to Ye Mingsheng again with a solemn expression.

After Gu Shouting finished speaking, Ye Mingsheng smiled, picked up the teacup and took a sip, then said leisurely:
"Is this Commander Zhang's idea, or yours, Mr. Gu?"

Seeing that Ye Mingsheng had exposed his little thoughts, Gu Shouting's expression changed, and he said frankly:

"This is our common idea! We have surrendered to you, Lord Commander. Given the character of the Zhao family, eating our flesh and sleeping on our skin is considered light, so in order to protect ourselves we also hope to kill them first!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng glanced at Gu Shouting again, and then said:
"Are you sure you can handle Zhang Hongxiang?"

Facing Ye Mingsheng's gaze, Gu Shouting said confidently;
"If I hadn't been so sure, I wouldn't have shown up here. Who else in the world would be so bold as to deceive you, the commander-in-chief?"

Ye Mingsheng smiled and didn't pay much attention to Gu Shouting's horse and continued to ask:

"Tell me, how many soldiers do you want?"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng's words, Gu Shouting was shocked and said in a deep voice:
"I want all the prisoners of the Yan army under your command..."

After hearing this, Ye Mingsheng laughed dumbly, shook his head and said:

"You have a big appetite, but do you know how many Yan army prisoners we have? Do you want them all?"

Listening to Ye Mingsheng's words, Gu Shouting took a deep breath and said in a deep voice:

"My lord, in the two battles of Jizhou and Yijing, your troops captured about 7,000 to 8,000 Yan soldiers. In this battle, you defeated Zhao Yong's troops, so you should have captured 12,000 to 13,000 people. So if my guess is correct, you probably have nearly 20,000 Yan soldiers in your hands!"

After saying this, Gu Shouting stood up from his chair, knelt down in front of Ye Mingsheng again with a plop, and said to Ye Mingsheng very sincerely:

"Sir, you already know what happened between me and the Zhao family, so you can trust my loyalty. I will lead the army to fight on the front line of the Yan army until I shed my last drop of blood for you. In addition, you don't need to support the food and grass for these 20,000 prisoners of war. I will prepare it myself!"

“In addition, as long as Yijing is destroyed, Gu can mobilize the influence of his family and persuade the powerful people in Youyan to rebel against Zhao Fuqu and join you, sir. With these people's defection, it will be just around the corner for you to defeat Zhao Fuqu and unify Youyan. It is a foregone conclusion...”

Listening to Gu Shouting's beautiful blueprint, Ye Mingsheng had to admit that the chips in Gu Shouting's hand were indeed very attractive. After thinking for a while, Ye Mingsheng had an answer in his mind. He looked at Gu Shouting and said lightly:

"Once Yijing City is captured, I will form the Provisional Sixth Division of the Fengwu Army. Don't let me down!"

When Gu Shouting heard this, a gleam of light flashed in his eyes. The next second, he knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times to Ye Mingsheng.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

"Thank you for giving me this opportunity. If I disappoint you, I will commit suicide to thank you for your kindness!"

Feeling the determination revealed in Gu Shouting's words, a barely perceptible strange color flashed in the depths of Ye Mingsheng's eyes, and then he waved his hand and Gu Shouting said goodbye and left.

When Gu Shouting walked away, his back turning into a small black dot, Ye Mingsheng suddenly asked Qi Dechao beside him:

"What did you feel from Gu Shouting?"

Qi Dechao did not dare to be careless about Ye Mingsheng's test. He considered it carefully before answering carefully:
"Hatred! Deep-rooted hatred towards Zhao Fuqu and the entire Zhao family!"

Ye Mingsheng smiled and shook his head when he heard this, then said leisurely;

“No! It’s ambition! It’s forbearance…”

Listening to Ye Mingsheng's answer, Qi De Chaoshi was shocked and understood what Ye Mingsheng meant. After hesitating for a moment, he replied with some confusion:

"If that's the case, why did you hand over the 20,000 prisoners to Gu Shouting? Wouldn't that encourage his ambitions?"

Ye Mingsheng smiled and said:

"Because besides his ambition, Gu Shouting has a lot of value that is worth exploring!"

After saying this, Ye Mingsheng didn't care whether Qi Dechao could understand him or not, and continued to instruct him:

"Send a message to Ye Dong, tell him not to prepare to come to the Royal Guard Camp, I have new arrangements for him! Also send a message to Wang Xuecheng, ask him to develop some spies for me among these 20,000 prisoners of war, I will be of great use to them then!" "Yes!"

Qi Dechao bowed and accepted the order and left.

Ye Mingsheng picked up the teacup and drank it all. People said that Ye Mingsheng had the eyes of an eagle and the back of a wolf, and was a traitor. Now it seems that Gu Shouting is not a bad person!

If a person like him is used well, he will become the sharpest sword in his hand, expanding his territory and sweeping the world. But if he cannot control it, it will become the most poisonous dagger stabbing at himself!

Honestly speaking, if he was not short of the kind of talent who could stand on his own, and if there was not huge value to be tapped in Gu Shouting, Ye Mingsheng really didn't intend to accept such a person. It was enough to have only one Ye Mingsheng in the world, and there was no need for a second one...

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At noon, in the southern part of Youyan, on an unknown hillside outside Yanshan Mountain.

Riding on a tall horse, Zhao Yong looked into the distance at the seemingly quiet and peaceful small mountain village, which was his destination, Sunjiagou!
Although he thought that the Fengwu Army cavalry would not chase here, but for some reason, Zhao Yong felt a little fear in his heart when looking at Sunjiagou.

Although he didn't know where this fear in his heart came from, Zhao Yong hesitated and decided to trust his intuition. He instructed the soldiers around him:

"Order the entire army to stop advancing. Take a few people with you and disguise yourself to go in and take a look at the situation in Sunjiagou!"

Regarding Zhao Yong's order, the guards were somewhat puzzled and said:

"Sir, what do you mean? The Fengwu Army has stopped chasing us a long time ago..."

Zhao Yong, who was in an irritable mood, heard the words and was too lazy to follow his personal soldiers. He immediately whipped the horse whip and shouted loudly:

"I told you to go, so you just go. Why waste your words?"

Seeing the violent Zhao Yong, the personal soldier who was whipped by a horse whip did not dare to say much. He could only follow the order, change into ordinary people's clothes, and sneak into the village. After about an incense stick of time, the personal soldier came back with people and reported:

"My Lord, everything is normal in the village, nothing suspicious!"

Zhao Yong frowned slightly after listening to the report from his personal soldiers. He still felt a little uneasy, so he ordered his men around him:
"Send out the scouts to thoroughly investigate the area within a ten-mile radius of Sunjiagou!"

"Yes!"

Following Zhao Yong's order, dozens of elite scouts dispersed towards the vicinity of Sunjiagou.

An incense stick of time passed, half an hour passed, and an hour passed. None of the dozens of scouts who had been sent out came back. Zhao Yong realized that something was wrong and his face darkened. He asked the soldiers he had just sent to Sunjiagou fiercely:

"I asked you to find out the situation in Sunjiagou. What do you think, you bastard?"

Feeling Zhao Yong's murderous intent, the guard stammered in fear:

"I entered Sunjiagou...I only saw a few old men playing chess at the entrance of the village. The village was also very quiet. I thought there was nothing wrong in the village. But there was nothing wrong in the village...Sir, please spare my life..."

Zhao Yong was so angry after hearing this that his hair stood on end. Without any hesitation, he drew his sword and slashed the soldier's neck. After a scream, the soldier fell to the ground, twitched a few times and died.

Zhao Yong seemed to be still not satisfied after killing someone, and cursed viciously again:

"How dare you take my words for granted? I'll kill you with one knife, you damned bastard!"

Looking at the bodies of the personal soldiers on the ground and the furious Zhao Yong, the men around Zhao Yong lowered their heads and remained silent, fearing that Zhao Yong would vent his anger on them in the next second.

Just when Zhao Yong was very annoyed and took his anger out on his own people, Guo Zhiping was in Sunjiagou, drinking tea and eating cakes leisurely.

When he was chasing Zhao Yong at the very beginning, he realized that the disadvantage in horse breeds made it difficult for the Fengwu Army's cavalry to catch up with the Youyan Cavalry. At the same time, he also realized that food and grass supply would be Zhao Yong's lifeline, so he found the strategic point of Sunjiagou on the map!

Guo Zhiping knew that Zhao Yong would definitely come to Sunjiagou, so when he started to chase Zhao Yong, he sent a group of troops to Sunjiagou in advance to make preparations, and now everything is just as he thought. Zhao Yong really came here. The only difference is that Zhao Yong is still as alert as ever and saw through his trap, making the pre-planned ambush plan bankrupt...
Cui Desheng, who was sitting next to Guo Zhiping, was surprised to see that Guo Zhiping was still not so calm even though his ambush plan failed. He hesitated and asked Guo Zhiping:
"General, we have killed Zhao Yong's scouts. Zhao Yong already knows we are here. Should we send a signal to the brothers outside to surround and capture them all?"

After listening to Cui Desheng's words, Guo Zhiping swallowed the cake in his mouth, then looked at Cui Desheng and asked:
"Are you worried that Zhao Yong will run away?"

In response to Guo Zhiping's question, Cui Desheng nodded truthfully. Seeing this, Guo Zhiping said confidently:
"Don't worry, Zhao Yong will definitely attack Sunjiagou!"

Feeling the confidence in Guo Zhiping's words, Cui Desheng frowned slightly, wondering where Guo Zhiping's confidence came from. Zhao Yong was not a fool, so why would he fall into the trap even though he knew it was a trap?

Seeing that Cui Desheng was still worried and his face was full of doubts, Guo Zhiping shook his head and explained to him:
“Zhao Yong didn’t bring much food to begin with, and after these two days of consumption, it’s almost gone. The next place he can get food and grass after leaving Sunjiagou is Liujia Tent, 120 miles away. A hundred and twenty miles will probably take them more than a day or nearly two days even when they are fully energetic, and now they are exhausted...”

"If they don't attack Sunjiagou, it would be better for them to set off for Liujiapeng right now. They are exhausted now, both in terms of people and horses, and they can't get rid of us at all. I can lead my brothers to slowly wear them down along the way, and they will die more miserably that way. So Zhao Yong's best choice is to attack Sunjiagou and give it a try! Bet his life and the lives of his men with me!"

After Guo Zhiping finished speaking, Cui Desheng suddenly realized what was going on. He bowed to Guo Zhiping and praised him sincerely:
"The general's foresight is truly admirable!"

Guo Zhiping showed a hint of complacency on his face when he received Cui Desheng's praise. At this moment, one of his personal soldiers came over and reported:

"General, the Yan army outside the village has begun to line up and is preparing to charge towards Sunjiagou!"

Guo Zhiping stood up immediately after hearing this and calmly ordered:

“Tell the brothers below not to bring out all their weapons at once, but to fight and retreat to lure the enemy deep into the territory and draw the Yan army into the village. Also, no one can kill Zhao Yong for me. I’m going to fight him this time. I’m going to chop off this son of a bitch’s head with my own hands and present it to our commander-in-chief to wipe out the shame of my Third Division in Guangzong County…”

(End of this chapter)