Chapter 571 Jinzhong! Jinzhong!
Ye Mingsheng would never have thought that when he was looking down on Liaoyang Youyan, Zhu Sanshan in Dayashan, far away in Jiyu, had been quietly watching him...

Although he was somewhat surprised that Ye Mingsheng, a man with a silver spear and a candlestick head who had no real talent or skills and only knew how to curry favor with his superiors, could actually build such a large foundation in Liaoyang Youyan, but this also inspired Zhu Sanshan and made him believe that if God gave him a chance, he could do better than Ye Mingsheng!
What Zhu Sanshan has to do now is to capture Yingcheng. He knows that the autumn harvest is coming soon and the officials in Yingcheng will start collecting grain. In the next month, hundreds of thousands of grains will be confiscated in Yingcheng. After these grains are confiscated, they will be transported to Yujing as military rations for the Henan Army.

In such troubled times as today, any vassal lord will implement a policy of putting the army first and do their utmost to protect the food supply of their own army. Therefore, even in years of natural disasters, the share of confiscated grain will not be reduced. This means that the already overwhelmed peasants will suffer more oppression and exploitation. Under such circumstances, the peasants will undoubtedly be very angry!
And this is the opportunity that Zhu Sanshan has been waiting for. He wants to obtain this batch of military rations, capture Yingcheng and use it as the foundation to establish an unprecedented achievement!
However, Zhu Sanshan was also very clear that although he now had 10,000 men under his command, more than 80% of them were farmers who had just put down their hoes. It would take some time for them to form combat effectiveness. However, there were as many as 5,000 government troops in Yingcheng...
Therefore, if he wants to achieve a complete victory, he must plan carefully, make full use of the people's anger, win the broadest support, arouse the inner resonance of the 5,000 government troops in the city, and weaken their will to fight!

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Jinzhong Governor's Office

"Master Zhao, what is the current situation in the city?" Liang Hao asked Zhao Jianan anxiously:
Although the Luoan side had anticipated that the Fengwu Army would continue to advance westward, what they did not expect was that the Fengwu Army would move so quickly. Less than a month after ending the battle of Youyan, they launched an attack on Jinzhong.

This was completely contrary to Luoan's strategic prediction. The important officials and think tanks around Shangguan Hongyuan generally believed that the Fengwu Army needed at least two months of rest before they could reorganize their troops and march westward. Now the Fengwu Army used its actions to tell them how wrong they were.

After discussing with Zhao Jianan, Liang Hao was ready to leave, but at this moment, the Fengwu Army rushed forward and launched an offensive towards Jinzhong. Liang Hao was shocked when he heard the news, and subconsciously wanted to leave Jinzhong as soon as possible. However, considering that the Fengwu Army was advancing very fast, if he left the city now, he would probably encounter the Fengwu Army outside the city.

You must know that the Fengwu Army respects the Sichuan-Shu Southern Tour Court as the orthodox one in the world, so this means that they are enemies of the Fengwu Army. In addition, they originally came to target the Fengwu Army this time, so once they fall into the hands of the Fengwu Army as prisoners of war, one can imagine what will happen to them!
Just when Liang Hao was struggling over whether to run or not, Lin Huaiwu's Second Division had already arrived at the city of Jinzhong, completely blocking the road out of the city, leaving Liang Hao with only one answer to the multiple-choice question!
Now the first thing Liang Hao does when he wakes up every day is to pray to God that the Fengwu Army will not rush into the city, and that Zhao Jianan and the Yan Army will be able to repel the Fengwu Army’s offensive...
Listening to Liang Hao's words, Zhao Jianan, with a serious expression, sighed and said:

"Mr. Liang, the current situation in Jinzhong is better than expected, but it is not optimistic!"

Liang Hao felt mixed emotions when he heard what Zhao Jianan said, not knowing whether he should be happy or unhappy. Zhao Jianan continued to introduce:
"According to the intelligence gathered by the scouts, only the Second and Seventh Divisions of the Fengwu Army are attacking Jinzhong at the moment, with a total of about 40,000 troops. However, the more than 10,000 troops of the Seventh Division are mainly stationed outside Jinzhong, providing cover for the Second Division and protecting its flank. Currently, only Lin Huaiwu's Second Division is attacking the city!"

"Lin Huaiwu originally wanted to win the battle quickly and catch us off guard. The Fengwu Army's offensive in the past two days was very fierce. The four walls were their main attack points. Although we withstood the Fengwu Army's fierce attack, we also suffered heavy losses and casualties!"

"After we thwarted the Fengwu Army's plot for a quick victory, they have changed their strategy and stopped the frontal assault. Instead, they use their red cannons to bombard and harass us. Although this has caused very few casualties to us, it has dealt a heavy blow to the morale of the army. I have organized death squads several times to destroy the Fengwu Army's artillery positions, but we have always returned in vain and suffered many casualties..."

Zhao Jianan paused for a moment, looked up at Liang Hao and said sincerely:
"Mr. Liang, can you write a letter to General Feng Han in Jinyang and ask him to send troops from Jinyang to support us? Although our Yan army is united as one, we are short of food and medicine. If this continues, we won't be able to hold out for long!"

Hearing what Zhao Jianan said, Liang Hao was constantly weighing the pros and cons in his mind. Considering his own safety, he certainly wanted to agree to Zhao Jianan's request and let Feng Han send troops to help. But he also knew very well that he did not have that much influence to get Feng Han to send troops with just a letter. If he wanted Feng Han to send troops, he had to get the order from Shangguan Hongyuan!
As Shangguan Hongyuan's brother-in-law, he certainly knew that Luoan's strategic focus was now on Sichuan and Shu. Shangguan Hongyuan was now obsessed with destroying the court on its southern tour and using the emperor to control the other lords again.

Therefore, at this stage, Luoan certainly does not want to open up a second battlefield and clash with the now unstoppable Fengwu Army before resolving the situation of the Southern Tour Court. This is also the reason why Luoan wants to support Zhao Jianan. They want Zhao Jianan to serve as a firewall against the Fengwu Army.

Therefore, if Feng Han sends troops to support Zhao Jianan now, he will undoubtedly take the initiative to provoke a conflict with the Fengwu Army. Once the conflict between the two sides escalates, it will inevitably affect Luoan's overall strategy of suppressing the southern tour court. Then no one knows how the situation will develop next...
But if we ignore Zhao Jianan's life or death and watch the Fengwu Army capture Jinzhong, then no one will know what the Fengwu Army is thinking. If the Fengwu Army stops after capturing Jinzhong, it will naturally be a blessing in disguise. But if they want to continue advancing westward after taking Jinzhong, then we must not let the Fengwu Army take Jinzhong too easily!
Therefore, the most urgent task is to find out the combat intentions of the Fengwu Army. As long as this is clear, the next step can be targeted!

Thinking of this, Liang Hao had a bold idea. Although the Fengwu Army was fierce, they were still very disciplined. As long as he was under the banner of the Luoan envoy, not only would his life be guaranteed, but he might even be escorted out of the country. After understanding all this, Liang Hao took a deep breath and said to Zhao Jianan:
"I will write a letter to General Feng in Jinyang and tell him the truth about the situation here, but whether he can send troops to help is not up to me to decide!"

"Besides that, I plan to go to the Fengwu Army's camp to tell them that General Zhao has surrendered to the court. If the Fengwu Army launches an attack on Jinzhong City again, it will be regarded as a provocation to the court. The Prime Minister's rage is not something Ye Mingsheng can bear!"

At the end, Liang Hao's words were even more stern, which made Zhao Jianan overjoyed, with a glimmer of hope in his eyes. Now with only an isolated city left, he certainly knew that his last straw was the reinforcements from Luoan. Even if Luoan sent troops, they might not be able to repel the Fengwu Army, but if Luoan did not send troops, the fall of Jinzhong would be inevitable!

In the face of life and death crisis, Zhao Jianan did not care about dignity and respect. He bowed deeply to Liang Hao and said:
"Then everything will be out of Mr. Liang's hands!"

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Just as Liang Hao and Zhao Jianan were discussing countermeasures, a scholar in blue, escorted by a team of Fengwu soldiers, walked into the Fengwu Army camp ten miles outside the city.

"General, the people from the coordination office are here!"

Lin Huaiwu, who was concentrating on the sand table, suddenly had a gleam in his eyes and ordered in a deep voice:

"Bring him here!"

"Yes!"

Following Lin Huaiwu's order, the scholar in blue slowly walked into the tent, bowed to Lin Huaiwu and said, "Zhang Cen, the captain of the General Coordination Office, greets General Lin!"

Lin Huaiwu said directly:

"No need to be polite. What's the situation in Jinzhong City now?"

Although Ye Mingsheng did not say it explicitly about the Jinzhong battle this time, Lin Huaiwu understood Ye Mingsheng's hint. With his current military achievements, directly promoting him to the position of commander of the Second Army would be a bit forced and would also cause a lot of controversy in the army, so Ye Mingsheng gave him a chance to prove himself!

If Jinzhong is captured beautifully in this battle, the controversy can be resolved, and Ye Mingsheng can promote him to the commander of the Second Army, making him equal to Yuan Song and Guo Zhiping...
Before launching the attack, Lin Huaiwu was still very confident about the capture of Jinzhong. In his opinion, the Yan army had been defeated by the Fengwu army and the morale of the army had fallen to the bottom. This time, the attack on Jinzhong would be an easy task without any suspense!
The first half of the war was just as Lin Huaiwu had expected. The remnants of the Yan army, who had been frightened by the Fengwu army, did not put up any effective resistance at all. It took the Fengwu army only two days to capture six military camps of the Yan army and directly marched to the city of Jinzhong.

Lin Huaiwu, who was full of confidence, originally thought that taking over Jinzhong City would be as easy and pleasant as before, so he started a fierce attack directly. However, he did not expect to run into a snag. Over a thousand men were killed in two days, but he still failed to take over Jinzhong as smoothly as expected.

Seeing this scene, Lin Huaiwu began to realize that something was wrong. He immediately changed his strategy, using red cannons to harass the enemy, and then prepared to use the power of the Seventh Division and the Coordination Office to capture Jinzhong City together.

Facing Lin Huaiwu's question, Zhang Cen said neither humbly nor arrogantly:

"Reporting to General Lin, our coordination office has received the latest intelligence that Shangguan Hongyuan's confidant Liang Hao is also in Jinzhong City at this moment!"

Lin Huaiwu frowned slightly and asked:

"I have also heard of Liang Hao. What is he doing in Jinzhong City?"

Zhang Cen continued to introduce:
“Shangguan Hongyuan intended to win over Zhao Jianan and ask him to stop our army’s possible westward advance, so he sent Liang Hao over to have a detailed discussion with Zhao Jianan. It is said that Liang Hao and Zhao Jianan have already discussed the details of the cooperation, but due to the sudden attack by our army, Liang Hao is now trapped in Jinzhong City…”

Hearing what Zhang Cen said, Lin Huaiwu's eyes became more serious. This old thief Shangguan has also begun to interfere in the affairs of Jinzhong. In order to avoid any more trouble, it seems that Jinzhong must be taken over as soon as possible!

After observing Lin Huaiwu's expression, Zhang Cen continued to introduce:

"Our Coordination Office has already made some arrangements in Jinzhong City. The matter between Liang Hao and Zhao Jianan will soon be made public. I believe this will cause some chaos within the Yan Army!"

Hearing Zhang Cen's words, Lin Huaiwu seemed a little dissatisfied and asked:

"The Yan army is in such a critical situation now. Can you bribe the commander of Jinzhong to open the city gate and let us in?"

Zhang Cen shook his head and said:

"Because Yijing City was captured before, Zhao Jianan has been on guard against this matter. Not only are the guards at the city gates all his trusted people, but they are also supervised in pairs to prevent anyone from betraying them. However, our Coordination Office is also actively promoting it. We will do our best to achieve our goal!"

"But even if we fail in the end, we still have a backup plan!"

"Backhand?"

Lin Huaiwu asked back in surprise:
Zhang Cen nodded and explained:
“Well, we bribed the Yan army’s personnel who were responsible for guarding the warehouse in advance because we were worried that Zhao Jianan would destroy all the supplies in the city’s warehouse when the city was captured. The warehouse in the city now stores all the Yan army’s food, gunpowder and other supplies. If we have to, we can set fire to the warehouse. Once the supplies in the warehouse are lost, the Yan army will not be able to continue to hold on…”

(End of this chapter)