Chapter 574: The center blossoms!
Under Zhao Jianan's gaze, Huang Wen Ze elaborated on his plan:
“It can be seen that the logistics situation of the Fengwu Army is not very good now, otherwise Ye Mingsheng would not have sent only Lin Huaiwu and more than 20,000 people to attack Jinzhong…”

"Lin Huaiwu has 20,000 men, while our army has 10,000 soldiers guarding the city. It is not easy for Lin Huaiwu to take us down. In addition, I guess that although Lin Huaiwu wants to take us down, he is worried that he will suffer too much damage and will not be able to deliver on his mission to Ye Mingsheng. That is why after the fierce attack in the past few days, he mainly harassed us in the past few days, and then let those sneaky people in the Coordination Office secretly stir up trouble to alienate our army!"

"So if we express our willingness to surrender to the Fengwu Army at this time, Lin Huaiwu is likely to be fooled and think of defeating the enemy without fighting!"

"What we need most now is time. Liang Hao's letter alone is not enough to persuade Feng Han to send troops to support us. If we want Feng Han to send troops to support us, we must get Shangguan Hongyuan's approval. Even if Shangguan Hongyuan agrees to send troops, it will take at least seven to ten days to go back and forth!"

Listening to Huang Wen Ze's story, Zhao Jianan's expression became serious. After thinking for a while, he whispered to Huang Wen Ze:
"Mr. Huang, this is a good idea, but I'm worried that if the matter is exposed, it will be difficult for General Jin to say anything!"

Although Zhao Jianan has been trying to eliminate the influence of these veterans in the Yan army and establish his own absolute authority in the army since he came to power, the reputation of these veterans in the army for decades cannot be eliminated overnight, and these veterans will not be willing to hand over all the power in their hands...

This time, knowing that Zhao Jianan wanted to surrender to the court during the southern tour, the group of old men led by Jin Zhengrui seized the opportunity and formed a group to cause trouble for Zhao Jianan.

Although Zhao Jianan wanted to seize their power, he could only act secretly due to their reputation. Therefore, facing the direct questioning and forcing of this group of uncles who had fought with his father to conquer the world, he was overwhelmed and didn't know how to beat or scold them. In the end, he had to rely on Huang Wen Ze to come forward to help her out!
If the news of asking for peace with the Fengwu Army gets out this time, people like Kim Jong-seo will probably come directly to attack us!

Hearing what Zhao Jianan said, Huang Wen Ze naturally understood his implication and said:
"I will go and persuade General Jin. I believe that he has devoted his whole life to the Yan army and will understand what is important at this moment!"

Zhao Jianan immediately smiled with joy when Huang Wen Ze said this, but before he could say anything, Huang Wen Ze continued:
"But I think that at this critical moment when the survival of our Yan army is at stake, you should trust veterans like General Jin more. They have worked hard for the Yan army and your Zhao family all their lives and are well-tested and experienced on the battlefield. I believe that with them in the battle, Jinzhong City will be more foolproof!"

As soon as Huang Wen Ze said this, the smile on Zhao Jianan's face froze, and his expression gradually became gloomy. He knew that Huang Wen Ze was negotiating conditions with him. He had finally taken back the power. If he shared the power with Jin Zhengrui and others, it would not only be a major blow to his prestige, but it would also be extremely difficult to take the power back later...
Looking at Zhao Jianan's gloomy face, Huang Wen Ze felt very calm in his heart. Zhao Jianan's narrow-mindedness really disappointed him. Despite Zhao Fuqu's dying wishes, he would continue to assist Zhao Jianan, safeguard the interests of the Yan army, and do his best to protect the foundation left by Zhao Fuqu.

However, considering himself and his family, Huang Wen Ze must also keep some tricks to prevent Zhao Jianan from getting rid of him in the end!
Just when Zhao Jianan and Huang Wenzhe were in a stalemate and neither was willing to give in, a noise suddenly came from outside the room.

"Commander Zhao Teng, why are you here?"

"I have something urgent to see you, sir!"

"Your Excellency is discussing important matters with Mr. Huang... Why do the guards around you look so unfamiliar?"

Li Musheng, who was following behind Zhao Teng and pretending to be Zhao Teng's bodyguard, saw that the guard in front of him had become suspicious and had already gone deep into Zhao Jianan's mansion. He no longer hid his true intentions and directly drew the sword at his waist and shouted:

"The Fengwu Army has entered the city. Anyone who kills the Zhao thief will be rewarded with a thousand taels of silver!"

Seeing Li Musheng suddenly attack, several secret agents from the Coordination Office around him also stood up and launched a surprise attack on the guards in the mansion. The guards in the mansion were caught off guard and several of them were chopped to the ground.

One of the spies from the Coordination Office took advantage of the opportunity when his colleagues were rushing to kill, took out a firework from his arms, put it on the ground and quickly lit it. Soon a red firework shot straight into the sky and bloomed brilliantly in the dark night sky. Several spies from the Coordination Office who were lying in ambush outside Zhao Jianan's residence immediately took action when they saw the signal and threw the grenades and kerosene they were carrying into the residence.

The explosion of the grenade immediately ignited the kerosene, and soon Zhao Jianan's official residence was engulfed in flames. Seeing this scene, the guards in the mansion looked at each other in bewilderment. They had been under the shadow of the Fengwu Army for some time, and many of them had a deep fear of the ferocious Fengwu Army in their hearts.

Hearing the shouts of Li Musheng and others at this moment, they actually thought that the Fengwu Army had already rushed into the city. Many people immediately put down their swords and fled in all directions. However, since they could serve as guards in Zhao Jianan's mansion, they were naturally people Zhao Jianan trusted. Therefore, many people were loyal to Zhao Jianan and were trying their best to protect him at this moment!
Looking at the raging fire in front of him, despite being protected by several guards, Zhao Jianan was still terrified and didn't know what to do. He murmured in disbelief:

“What’s going on… What’s going on… Why did the Fengwu Army suddenly appear…”

Seeing Zhao Jianan looking like he had lost his soul, Huang Wenzhe, who was standing beside him, said in a deep voice:

"Cheer up, sir! It's still uncertain whether the Fengwu Army has entered the city. Even if they have, we can protect you and fight our way out!"

Huang Wen Ze's words awakened Zhao Jianan, and a gleam of light flashed in his eyes again, making him say excitedly:

"Mr. Huang, you are right! It must be those idiots from the Coordination Office who are causing trouble! The Fengwu Army hasn't come in yet!"

Before Zhao Jianan finished speaking, a voice came from the crowd:
"These Fengwu troops were brought by Zhao Teng!"

Hearing Zhao Teng's name, and thinking of Zhao Teng as the commander of the north gate of Jinzhong, Zhao Jianan, who had already suffered a defeat in Yijing because of his subordinates' betrayal, immediately recalled the painful meeting half a year ago. He was like a deflated ball, and no longer had any doubts about the Fengwu Army's attack on the city. He covered his face with his hands and said in pain:
"Zhao Teng, how dare you betray me!"

Seeing Zhao Jianan's look of grief, Huang Wenzhe couldn't stand it anymore, so he was ready to take over the command and ordered the guards to cover Zhao Jianan and kill him. However, at this critical moment, Li Musheng and others finally discovered Zhao Jianan's whereabouts. He saw a cold light in his eyes, lit the grenade fuse in his hand with a fire stick, and threw it towards Zhao Jianan. "Sir, be careful!"

Seeing the flying grenade, several loyal guards immediately wanted to use their bodies to build a flesh wall for Zhao Jianan to protect Zhao Jianan’s safety. However, despite their loyalty, the grenade exploded in the air, and a wooden splinter hit Zhao Jianan in the face. Huang Wen Ze, who was beside him, was also not spared, as another wooden splinter pierced his neck...
Without any suspense, Zhao Jianan and Huang Wenzhe fell to the ground, their lives or deaths unknown. Seeing this scene, Li Musheng and other spies from the Coordination Office were immediately cheered up, while the guards were even more panicked and didn't know what to do. At the same time, the news of the blazing fire in the mansion and the Fengwu Army's rush into the city spread quickly from the mouths of the guards who escaped from the official residence.

Although they didn't know where the Fengwu Army had broken into the city from, when they saw the blazing fire in Zhao Jianan's official residence, the Yan Army's soldiers no longer doubted the news. The Yan Army, which had been barely maintaining its defense line, soon collapsed across the board. Both generals and soldiers fled for fear that they would be caught by the Fengwu Army if they were a step late!
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Yijing, Governor's Mansion

Ye Kui came to the outside of Ye Mingsheng's study and saw that the door was closed. He immediately stopped and asked Ye Cheng:

"Marshal, who are you meeting?"

In response to Ye Kui's question, Ye Cheng did not hide anything and said:

"Director Wang of the Coordination Office is reporting to the Marshal! Brother Kui, do you have anything to report?"

Ye Kui nodded and said:

"I have investigated the matter that the Marshal instructed me to do a few days ago and I am here to report to him!"

Hearing that Ye Kui was unwilling to say more, Ye Cheng also knew the rules and did not ask more questions, but nodded and said:
"Then you may have to wait for a while, Brother Kui. Director Wang just went in a cup of tea ago, so it may take some time for him to come out!"

"Yeah!" Ye Kui smiled and nodded.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries with Ye Kui, Ye Cheng returned to his post and began to work. Although he had the help of the Governor's Office and the General Staff, Ye Mingsheng only needed to make decisions on some major issues. However, given the current size of the Fengwu Army and the current situation where everything needed to be rebuilt, Ye Mingsheng's workload was still very heavy. So in order to do a better job, Ye Mingsheng would ask Ye Cheng to classify these tasks according to their importance.

However, as things became more and more burdensome, and he also had to deal with some private matters entrusted by Ye Mingsheng, Ye Cheng was a little overwhelmed, so he prepared to petition Ye Mingsheng to set up an attendant department to recruit more capable people to assist Ye Mingsheng in his work····················

After standing outside Ye Mingsheng's study for about an incense stick of time, Wang Xuecheng slowly walked out of the study with a serious expression. Seeing Ye Kui's appearance, he forced a smile on his serious face, nodded to Ye Kui and said:
"Kuizi, are you here to see the Marshal too?"

"Well, brother-in-law, I have something to report to the Marshal!" Ye Kui also responded with a smile:
Wang Xuecheng's wife Ye Ling is a member of the Ye clan. In terms of kinship, she is Ye Kui's cousin, so Ye Kui always calls Wang Xuecheng his brother-in-law!

"Go quickly! Don't let the Marshal wait for you. Remember to come to my house for dinner when you have time. Your sister Ling always misses you!" Wang Xuecheng patted Ye Kui on the shoulder and said with a smile:
"Okay, brother-in-law. I've been busy lately and don't have time. I miss my sister Ling too. I'll definitely go after this period of time is over!" Ye Kui said politely:

Although he said this, Ye Kui sighed in his heart. He and Wang Xuecheng's wife Ye Ling grew up together and had a very good relationship, but he consciously avoided visiting Wang Xuecheng's home.

As for the reason, it is very simple. Wang Xuecheng is the director of the Coordination Office and is Ye Mingsheng's eyes and ears in public, while Ye Kui is Ye Mingsheng's eyes and ears in secret. The purpose of his existence is to check and balance the Coordination Office. Therefore, if he gets too close to the Coordination Office, it will be very dangerous...
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Ye Kui walked into the study. At this time, Ye Mingsheng was rubbing his forehead Qingming acupoint with some fatigue. Seeing Ye Kui coming, he casually asked:

"Has the person from Chen's Teahouse found out?"

"Yes!"

Ye Kui nodded and introduced:
"Reporting to the commander, the man's name is Zhao Sheng. In his early years, he was a scoundrel in Yijing City and committed many murders. However, because he claimed to be a member of the Zhao family, the government did not dare to prosecute him, so he was allowed to go unpunished!"

Hearing this, Ye Mingsheng interrupted Ye Kui's story and asked;

"Is he really a member of Zhao Fuqu's clan?"

Ye Kui shook his head and said:

"Sir, I sent people to visit the village where Zhao Sheng was born. Although his last name is Zhao, he is hundreds of miles away from Zhaojiaji where Zhao Fuqu is from. There is no evidence to prove that Zhao Sheng has any blood relationship with Zhaojiaji. The reason why Zhao Sheng can be related to Zhaojiaji is because he has contacts with Zhao Xiwen, an uncle of the Zhao family!"

“When Zhao Sheng was young, he often led a few ruffians to fight bravely. Zhao Xiwen lent money at high interest rates, and when there were bad debts, someone had to collect the debts. So the two of them became involved. Therefore, under Zhao Xiwen’s manipulation, Zhao Sheng also put on the tiger skin of the Zhao family...”

(End of this chapter)