Chapter 557: Go west? Go south?
洛安
At Shangguan Mansion, Shangguan Hongyuan, who was in a good mood, threw fish food into the pond in front of him. Looking at these colorful little fishes rushing around to eat them, a faint smile appeared on Shangguan Hongyuan's face...
Ever since he forced the King of Qin to retreat and defeated Zhao Fuqu in Yunbing, the military pressure faced by the Luoan regime he led was undoubtedly much less. This also allowed him to invest more troops and resources in his current main enemy, the Southern Tour Court.

Therefore, with Shangguan Hongyuan's concentrated forces and resources, the Luoan Imperial Guards that penetrated deep into Sichuan and Shu quickly achieved a series of victories. They are now approaching Jianmen, an important pass in Sichuan and Shu. As long as they pass Jianmen, they can go straight to Rongcheng, the political center of the southern tour court. Seeing that victory was in sight, Shangguan Hongyuan's mood gradually improved.

Just when Shangguan Hongyuan was enjoying his rare quiet time, he heard a familiar sound of footsteps behind him. Shangguan Hongyuan's heart sank when he saw this, knowing that something else was coming. He immediately adjusted his relaxed state of mind, turned around and looked at Chen Jingyu who had arrived and asked:

"What happened in Sichuan and Shu again?"

Facing Shangguan Hongyuan's question, Chen Jingyu, the commander of the Supervisory Department, bowed first, then shook his head and said:

"There is nothing unusual in Sichuan and Shu. Our army is making smooth progress and gradually approaching Jianmen. Some people in Rongcheng are beginning to waver. Our Supervision Department is actively contacting them, hoping to provide some help to our army on the front battlefield!"

Shangguan Hongyuan felt relieved after hearing Chen Jingyu's answer. Now he was most afraid that something unexpected would happen in Sichuan. Having been a soldier for half his life, he had almost put all his chips on Sichuan. If something really went wrong in Sichuan, he and the Luoan regime he led would be finished...

"Sir, there is no problem in Sichuan and Shu, but there have been major changes in Youyan. General Yuan Song under Ye Mingsheng defeated the Yan army at Fuhugang in Youyan. Zhao Fuqu burned himself to death. The Yan army was completely wiped out, and at least 50,000 people surrendered to the Fengwu Army!"

"Besides, because the Kipchaks launched tens of thousands of troops to attack the Elunqin grassland, the Luobi people could no longer hold on in Youyan and were preparing to retreat!" Chen Jingyu quietly raised his head and glanced at Shangguan Hongyuan's expression, and continued:

Although Chen Jingyu didn't say many words, the amount of information was very large. Even with Shangguan Hongyuan's broad mind and scheming, there was a hint of disbelief in his eyes. He said in disbelief:

"You mean Zhao Fuqu is dead? He was killed by the Fengwu Army?"

In response to Shangguan Hongyuan's question, Chen Jingyu explained in detail:

"Sir, according to our intelligence, the situation is basically like this. During the counterattack against the Fengwu Army, the Yan Army suffered heavy losses and suffered a great blow to the morale of the army. Then, Yuan Song deliberately instigated the Yan Army, so the soldiers of the Yan Army mutinied and did not want to fight anymore. Some Yan Army generals even rebelled and attacked Zhao Fuqu's central army. In the end, Zhao Fuqu was defeated and burned himself to death. The Fengwu Army won this great victory!"

Although he still couldn’t believe that Zhao Fuqu, the fierce tiger of Youyan who had fought with him for most of his life, was actually dead at the hands of Ye Mingsheng, a young boy, Shangguan Hongyuan had to accept such a result rationally...

Logically speaking, Shangguan Hongyuan felt that he should be very happy when he heard the news of Zhao Fuqu's death. After all, if this old guy hadn't been obstructing him and working against him for decades, and even directly attacked Yunbing to tie down his troops, he might have already captured Rongcheng and regrouped, and once again become the Prime Minister of the Great Zhou who held the emperor hostage and controlled the princes!

In the past few decades, Shangguan Hongyuan hated Zhao Fuqu, a stubborn man who always went against him. He dreamed of bringing him back from Youyan and cutting him into pieces to vent his hatred!
But upon hearing the news of his death, Shangguan Hongyuan couldn't be happy at all. On the contrary, he felt very complicated and sad, even a little lost!

At the beginning of the year, Shangguan Hongyuan was very happy when he learned that Ye Mingsheng led tens of thousands of Fengwu troops to launch a surprise attack on the pass. He had fun every night for several days. Later, he saw that Ye Mingsheng had also captured Yijing, forcing Zhao Fuqu to give up the Yunbing offensive. He praised Ye Mingsheng highly and his impression of Ye Mingsheng changed a lot. He was ready to gloat over the joke of his old rival Zhao Fuqu!

Although the Fengwu Army had already taken the initiative on the Youyan battlefield at that time, Shangguan Hongyuan still thought that Ye Mingsheng had merely taken advantage of the sneak attack due to his contempt for Ye Mingsheng and the Fengwu Army. When Zhao Fuqu led the main force of the Yan Army back, the Fengwu Army would be defeated. However, things turned out to be beyond his expectations. Not only did the Fengwu Army not suffer a crushing defeat, but it also forced Zhao Fuqu, who had returned, to retreat to Zhuo County...
From that moment on, Shangguan Hongyuan gradually began to take the Fengwu Army seriously, but in his heart he still believed that his old rival Zhao Fuqu would be able to catch his breath, use his prestige from decades of managing Youyan to rebuild the country, and drive the Fengwu Army back outside the Great Wall. However, he never expected that he would receive the news that Zhao Fuqu had committed suicide by burning himself!
Shaking his head, Shangguan Hongyuan temporarily suppressed the sadness and sigh in his heart and began to think quickly again. He knew that with the death of Zhao Fuqu and the defeat of the Luobi people, there was no one in Youyan who could stop the Fengwu Army. Ye Mingsheng, the bug that he could crush to death with just a stretch of his finger, has now grown rapidly to be his equal!
After a moment of hesitation, Shangguan Hongyuan asked Chen Jingyu:
"Have your people from the Supervisory Department found any intelligence about the next move of the Fengwu Army?"

"Ye Mingsheng, this ambitious man, wants to continue to move south to the Central Plains, or to move west to Yun and oppose us?"

Under the gaze of Shangguan Hongyuan, Chen Jingyu had a lot of grievances in her heart. Under the inspection of the Coordination Office, their Supervisory Department's secret agents in the Fengwu Army were almost wiped out. The few remaining small fry were all in non-critical departments of the Fengwu Army, and the intelligence they could get was very limited!
Of course, these truths cannot be reported to Shangguan Hongyuan, otherwise, not only will Shangguan Hongyuan not forgive me, but I will also be scolded. Therefore, Chen Jingyu organized her words and said vaguely:
"Sir, our Supervisory Department is working hard to mobilize our personnel in Yijing to find out the next move of the Fengwu Army. It will take some time..."

Shangguan Hongyuan was obviously very dissatisfied with Chen Jingyu's answer. After all, the next move of the Fengwu Army was very important to the Luoan regime he led. After all, they were now concentrating all their efforts to launch an attack on Sichuan and Shu. If Ye Mingsheng led his troops westward to Yunbing at this time, their strategy would be in vain and there would be a risk of collapse. Therefore, Zhao Fuqu admonished in a deep voice:

"Understanding the next move of the Fengwu Army is of utmost importance. You in the Supervisory Department must take this seriously and find out the strategic intentions of the Fengwu Army as soon as possible!" Feeling Shangguan Hongyuan's tone, Chen Jingyu knew that if he couldn't give Shangguan Hongyuan an explanation now, it would be difficult to get through today, so he gritted his teeth, issued a military order and said:
"Sir, give me half a month, I will definitely be able to figure this out!"

Although Shangguan Hongyuan was somewhat disappointed that Chen Jingyu would need another half a month, he could only nod when he saw the embarrassment on Chen Jingyu's face.

After seeing Chen Jingyu off, Shangguan Hongyuan returned to his study. Looking at the map of Great Zhou hanging on the wall, his eyes became more and more solemn. He had been fighting with Zhao Fuqu for most of his life, and he knew Zhao Fuqu's abilities very well!
In his opinion, even if Ye Mingsheng took the initiative in the sneak attack and caught the Yan army off guard, the Yan army led by Zhao Fuqu should not have been defeated like it is now. In less than a year, they handed over the territory they had managed for decades to others...

And since it happened, it means that he really underestimated the Fengwu Army and underestimated Ye Mingsheng, who had the eyes of an eagle and the back of a wolf!

If Ye Mingsheng and the Fengwu Army were really that strong, then once they had completely integrated Youyan's resources, no matter whether it was Gao Zongchang of Hebei or Henan, or Cao Changping of Qi and Lu, they would not be Ye Mingsheng's opponent. If things really developed in this way, then even if he broke through Rongcheng and captured the little emperor again, would the world really be able to use the emperor to control the princes as he imagined, and all the princes in the world would dare not disobey?

Shangguan Hongyuan, who already had the answer in his mind, couldn't help but sigh. Although he was aware of this problem, he still could not do anything. He had put all his strength into Sichuan and Shu, and he no longer had the extra strength to interfere with the next progress of the Fengwu Army. He even had to hope that the Fengwu Army would not come westward to disturb him!
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Yijing, Military Governor's Mansion
Cui Shao, Gu Zhongshi, and Gu Sansi gathered in a side room near Ye Mingsheng's study. Seeing that everyone was present, Ye Mingsheng instructed Gu Sansi:

"Inform the two adults of the situation!"

After receiving Ye Mingsheng's order, Gu Sansi nodded and immediately introduced to Cui Shao and Gu Zhongshi:
"My Lords, the imperial court has officially issued an edict to promote the Marshal to the Governor-General of Yan and Liao. However, the imperial court hopes to use this as a condition in exchange for our army being able to advance westward to Yunbing and attack Shangguan Hongyuan's Luoan regime!"

After Gu Sansi finished speaking, Ye Mingsheng also said lightly:

"What do you two governors think?"

After Ye Mingsheng finished speaking, Cui Shao and Gu Zhongshi, the two old foxes, did not rush to answer. They lowered their heads in thought, as if waiting for the other party to speak first. Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng looked at Gu Zhongshi. Under Ye Mingsheng's gaze, Gu Zhongshi had no choice but to speak first:
“The court appointing you as the governor-general of Yan and Liao is undoubtedly a great thing, which will help you win the hearts of the people. However, the people of Youyan have been brutally abused by the Zhao bandits, and the people are poor and weak, so they should recuperate. Therefore, the matter of sending troops to Yun and Bing should be carefully planned with a long-term mind, and should not be hasty...”

After listening to this, Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly. Seeing this, Gu Zhongshi couldn't help but feel happy, knowing that he had guessed Ye Mingsheng's intentions. The court's order had no practical effect on Ye Mingsheng. Ye Mingsheng did not intend to go west to attack Shangguan Hongyuan.

After Gu Zhongshi finished speaking, Cui Shao's eyes flashed with a barely detectable gleam, and he said without hesitation:
"Ever since Shangguan Hongyuan focused on dealing with the imperial court on its southern tour, his Luoan Imperial Guards have achieved a lot of success in Sichuan and Shu. If we don't take action now, the imperial court won't be able to hold out for long. If we sit back and watch Shangguan Hongyuan break through Rongcheng and use the emperor to control the princes again, he will definitely regard our army as the next opponent!"

"So I think that even if our army does not attack westward, we should send a general to lead tens of thousands of elite soldiers to the western front to put pressure on Luoan and tie down part of the Luoan regime's forces, at least to prevent Shangguan Hongyuan from easily concentrating on breaking through Sichuan!"

Ye Mingsheng narrowed his eyes slightly after listening to Cui Shao's words. He was reluctant to get involved in the affairs between Shangguan Hongyuan and the southern tour court, but what his third uncle said was very right. If Shangguan Hongyuan was really allowed to hold the emperor hostage to control the princes again, plus the territories of Guanzhong, Yunbing, and Sichuan, Shangguan Hongyuan would be his biggest enemy in the fight for hegemony over the world, and would pose a great threat to the Fengwu Army's western front...
Although he had such an idea, Ye Mingsheng still needed to think carefully about the overall strategy, so he did not make a decision easily. He waved to Gu Sansi again, motioning him to continue the introduction. Gu Sansi continued to speak:
"The Robe people have sent a special envoy to visit us again, and they are already in Yuyang!"

Upon hearing the news, Cui Shao and Gu Zhongshi both became more serious. After all, the affairs of Sichuan and Guanzhong were relatively far away, while the Luobi people were right in front of them. As the parents of the people of Youyan, they naturally cared more about the Luobi people.

"The special envoy sent by the Luobi people this time is Jamukha, the brother-in-law of Luobi Khan Arsalan. He is a well-known pro-Zhou faction among the Luobi people. He admires our Great Zhou culture very much. Not only did he marry three Great Zhou women as concubines, he also gave himself a Great Zhou name, Zhou Zheng!"

“Combined with the information about the Kipchaks’ offensive on the Elunqin steppe, although we don’t know the specific intentions of Jamukha, we have reason to believe that the Robe people want to make peace this time and do not want to continue fighting with our army. They may even seek some support from our army…”

(End of this chapter)