Chapter 566 Strategic Game! (Thanks to the book friend Long Xiao 111 for the reward!)

As to whether Lin Huaiwu should be promoted to the commander of the Second Army, some people in the Fengwu Army’s high-ranking officials believed that he was one of the earliest people to follow Ye Mingsheng and was a veteran of the Fengwu Army. In terms of seniority, Yuan Song and Guo Zhiping were not as good as him. He should be the commander of the Fengwu Army’s expansion and reorganization this time...

However, there are also some people who believe that Yuan Song is the first on the list of those promoted to commanders, which is undisputed. Although Guo Zhiping's military achievements are not as good as Yuan Song's, but relying on the battle of entering the Pass, the merit of annihilating Zhao Yong, and the merit of containing the main force of the Luobi people in Yuyang this time, it is no problem for him to occupy a place!
However, compared with the first two people, although Lin Huaiwu has enough experience, his military achievements are much inferior. The only victory at Mingyun Mountain can be proud of. However, the victory at Mingyun Mountain is not entirely due to Lin Huaiwu. Zhang Meng’s support and assistance are also very important.

It was precisely because of Lin Huaiwu's mediocre military achievements that the two factions quarreled fiercely. Each faction had its own reasons and neither could convince the other. It was after hearing these discussions that Ye Mingsheng did not directly promote Lin Huaiwu to the commander of the Second Army in order to break the tradition of seniority in the army and establish the culture of capable people taking the position.

However, considering that Lin Huaiwu has been loyal and conscientious since he followed him to Liaoyang, and although he has not made any great contributions, he has worked hard, and he has been able to complete the tasks assigned by him properly, Ye Mingsheng feels that he should still give Lin Huaiwu a chance to avoid disappointing his old subordinate.

After carefully examining Lin Huaiwu, Ye Mingsheng said slowly:
“Zhao Jianan is recruiting the remnants of the Yan army in Jinzhong, preparing for war, and secretly colluding with the traitor Shangguan Hongyuan, dreaming of betraying the court and counterattacking to endanger the safety of Youyan. General Lin, what do you think of this matter?”

Hearing Ye Mingsheng's words, Lin Huaiwu, who was originally very disappointed, was stunned for a moment, then looked up at Ye Mingsheng with great surprise and said:
"General, the Zhao family has been poisoning the people of Youyan for decades. Everything they have done today is their own fault. Our army entered the pass to respond to the call of the people of Youyan and eliminate the harm to the people. To this day, the Zhao family still refuses to repent and even fantasizes about returning to Youyan to act tyrannically. This is intolerable!"

"Zhao Jianan should die to atone for his crime. Please give me this mission. Huaiwu will capture Zhao Jianan alive and present him to you!"

After listening to Lin Huaiwu's impassioned speech, Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly and said:

"Since you are so eager to fight, General Lin, I will give this mission to you. I will let Zhang Meng's Seventh Division provide cover for your flank. Zhao Jianan has gathered more than 20,000 troops in Jinzhong, and there is also the big city of Jinzhong as a cover. You must remember not to be careless. I am waiting for your good news in Yijing! I will let the spies and secret agents of the Coordination Office in Jinzhong City cooperate with your actions!"

"Thank you for your kindness, sir. Huaiwu will not let you down!" Lin Huaiwu assured confidently:
After getting Lin Huaiwu's guarantee, Ye Mingsheng felt relieved. After reminding Lin Huaiwu to be careful, Ye Mingsheng let Lin Huaiwu go!
Letting Lin Huaiwu attack Jinzhong was a decision Ye Mingsheng made after careful consideration.

Although Ye Mingsheng wanted to interfere with Shangguan Hongyuan's offensive against Sichuan, he did not want to change the established policy of the Fengwu Army's southward advance.

Moreover, Ye Mingsheng did not want to really fight a big battle with the Luoan Imperial Guards under Shangguan Hongyuan just for the southern tour of the court. If he did that, even if he could win, Ye Mingsheng would not gain much, and it would also attract all of Shangguan Hongyuan's attention to himself. In short, the gain would not make up for the loss.

In addition, due to the previous pincer attack from the Luobei people and the Yan army, although the Fengwu army won a great victory, the money and food accumulated before were basically consumed. After these brutal and fierce battles, the army also needed some time to rest, so the Fengwu army was unable to carry out large-scale operations now.

After comprehensive consideration of his own situation and the overall strategy, Ye Mingsheng decided to first eliminate Zhao Jianan who was entrenched in Jinzhong on the grounds of collusion with Shangguan Hongyuan. Keeping this guy around would always be a scourge!
After killing Zhao Jianan, he can use Jinzhong as a bridgehead, gather some troops there, and pretend to attack Yunbing, forcing Shangguan Hongyuan to separate part of the troops attacking Sichuan and Shu to return to Jinyang.

In this way, we can effectively support the resistance of the Southern Tour Court in Sichuan and Shu, and on the other hand, avoid as much as possible the possibility of a large-scale war with Luoan. At this stage, the primary task of the Fengwu Army is to focus on digesting the territory of Youyan as quickly as possible, integrate the resources in hand, and accumulate strength for the next expansion action...
After meeting with Lin Huaiwu, Ye Mingsheng dealt with some other government affairs. A few days ago, Gu Sansi compiled the specific sales information of the bonds into a list, and recorded in detail the purchase amounts of the wealthy families in Youyan.

After getting the list, Ye Mingsheng thought that Gu Zhongshi and the Gu family would be reluctant to cooperate. Ye Mingsheng had already thought of ways to crack down on Gu Zhongshi, but what surprised him was that the Gu family actually took out 210,000 taels of silver, which was nearly a quarter of the amount of bonds sold!

Ye Mingsheng was very satisfied with the Gu family's performance, so he gave up on bullying Gu Zhongshi. Then he picked out several families on the list whose bond purchase shares did not match their family's financial resources, and gave the list to Huo San, asking him to take charge.

Huo San was naturally very good at this kind of thing. He first used the intelligence network of the Coordination Office based on the list given by Ye Mingsheng to conduct an in-depth investigation of these families. He uncovered cases of price manipulation, market bullying, exploiting the people, as well as some bribery and buying and selling of official positions.

Regarding these matters, Huo San handed over the evidence and witnesses to the Censorate, who then handled them according to the law. In addition, Huo San also invited the leading figures of the families who did not cooperate with the bond sale to watch the execution ceremony of Ma Hongde and other Ma family criminal gangs.

Seeing the head of Ma Hongde, who used to drink and chat with them happily, falling to the ground with a thud, these "big shots" who used to live a life of luxury and debauchery no longer dared to make a sound. They honestly took out their real money and bought the bonds of Dadongsheng Company...
After such an operation, the one million taels of silver bonds that Ye Mingsheng planned to sell were actually oversold by 1.3 million taels of silver. This made those guys lament that it would have been better if they had handed over the silver obediently at the beginning. Now not only did they have to pay more, but they also suffered so much in vain!
Even though they bought Dadongsheng's bonds, Ye Mingsheng did not write off the criminal facts of those people. These people must pay the price for the crimes they committed. Those who deserve to be killed should be killed, and those who deserve to serve prison terms should serve their sentences.

However, with a broad mind and the idea of ​​curing diseases and saving lives, Ye Mingsheng also gave some reduced sentences to some people whose crimes were minor, who had a good attitude towards confession and had a strong desire to improve, so that they can reform and start a new life!

After getting the 1.3 million taels of silver, Ye Mingsheng, who had money in his hands, began to arrange rewards for the soldiers who had made contributions in this battle and the follow-up handling of the casualties. This is why Ye Mingsheng had to get the silver.

The reason why Fengwu Army has strong combat effectiveness, in addition to its sharp firearms and complete training, the most core internal reason is that Fengwu Army rewards and punishes fairly. Ye Mingsheng is not stingy with rewards. As long as the battle is won, a lot of gold and silver will be distributed. In addition, the perfect pension plan is also a very important part. This also eliminates the worries of many soldiers and makes them more determined to die for the Fengwu Army and work for Marshal Ye...
After working until noon, Ye Mingsheng had a quick meal and wanted to continue working to finish the Jizhou farmland investigation report that had not been completed in the morning. However, feeling the bulging belly on his abdomen, Ye Mingsheng, who had not exercised for a while, hesitated for a moment, and walked out of his study and headed towards the back garden to do some boxing and sweat. After all, the body is the capital of revolution!

Ye Mingsheng found a piece of open space and started to practice Bajiquan. Although he had been practicing this style for more than two years, he did not persist due to his busy official duties. Therefore, Ye Mingsheng could obviously feel that he had become a little unfamiliar with this style and could clearly feel tired.

After insisting on finishing the set of punches, Ye Mingsheng took over the punch from Ye Cheng beside him, wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked casually:
"Is Madam Pei still in the clinic?" Ye Cheng said without hesitation:
"No, Madam Pei has been in the mansion these two days!"

Ye Mingsheng was a little surprised when he heard this. Pei Zhixiu was very concerned about her Changshan Medical Clinic. She would always go there, rain or shine, and take the carriage to and from get off work on time every day. How could she suddenly stop going?
As if sensing Ye Mingsheng's doubts, Ye Cheng hesitated for a moment and then explained:

“The old lady has been feeling unwell recently, so Madam Pei will stay in the mansion to take care of her these few days…”

Seeing Ye Mingsheng's serious expression, Ye Cheng quickly explained:

"Mrs. Pei has already diagnosed it. It's just a cold. It's not a serious illness! After taking the medicine prescribed by Mrs. Pei, the old lady's complexion has improved a lot. Because she knows that you are busy with official duties, the old lady specifically instructed me not to tell you about this matter, for fear that it would affect your work!"

After listening to what Ye Cheng said, Ye Mingsheng's expression eased a little, but he looked at Ye Cheng deeply and said:
"Ye Cheng, you need to remember one thing, you are my attendant! This is the first and last time, if it happens again you will get out of here immediately!"

After saying this, Ye Mingsheng ignored Ye Cheng, who was pale and terrified, and immediately walked towards Ye Cui's yard. It was a coincidence that when Ye Mingsheng arrived at the yard, he happened to meet Pei Zhixiu who was taking Ye Cui's pulse. In order not to disturb the two and affect the diagnosis results, Ye Mingsheng did not walk into the yard immediately, but stood outside the house and waited for a while.

About half a cup of tea later, Pei Zhixiu finished taking the pulse, smiled at Ye Cui who was sitting on the chair and said:

"Mom, you're fine now, but you still have to continue taking the medicine!"

Listening to Pei Zhixiu's words, Ye Cui looked a little embarrassed and said:
"How long do I have to take this medicine? This medicine is too bitter, much more bitter than the medicine I drank before!"

Pei Zhixiu smiled and comforted him:

"Mother, good medicine tastes bitter but is good for the disease. You have to persist in taking it before the disease is cured. If you stop taking the medicine now, all your efforts will be wasted. You need to drink it for at least another seven days. If you really think it is bitter, you can ask the kitchen to get you some candied fruit to neutralize the bitterness..."

Listening to Pei Zhixiu's words, Ye Cui sighed, but could only nod. After hearing these words outside the house, Ye Mingsheng walked into the room. When she saw Ye Mingsheng coming, Ye Cui's eyes lit up with surprise and said:

"Mingsheng, why are you here?"

Listening to Ye Cui's words, Ye Mingsheng said with some guilt:

"Mom, my son is late!"

Recently, due to the outbreak of war, there were many things that needed Ye Mingsheng to personally decide. Therefore, Ye Mingsheng just came to have breakfast with Ye Cui every morning. Apart from that, he had not accompanied Ye Cui much and did not notice anything unusual about Ye Cui.

Looking at Ye Mingsheng, who looked apologetic, Ye Cui said soothingly:

"What do you mean it's late? Am I not fine now? Everything will be fine with Jisoo here!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng looked at Pei Zhixiu and nodded gratefully. Pei Zhixiu pretended not to see it and continued to remind Ye Cui of some precautions.

Originally, Ye Mingsheng took an afternoon off to play mahjong with Pei Zhixiu and Ye Cuishi, to accompany Ye Cuishi as a way of making up for being her son. However, Ye Cuishi knew that Ye Mingsheng was busy with official duties and did not have much time, so after playing a round of mahjong, she refused to listen to Ye Mingsheng's advice and took the initiative to drive Ye Mingsheng out.

After walking out of Ye Cui's yard, seeing that Ye Cui was not seriously injured, Ye Mingsheng's heart gradually settled down. Smelling the faint fragrance on Pei Zhixiu's body, he couldn't help but feel a little distracted, thinking of the beautiful woman in front of him who was doing W and H under him...

(End of this chapter)