Chapter 601 Rumors!

Although compared to the original firearms of the Fengwu Army, the Zhengdong Cannon and the Shenwu Gun have many defects and shortcomings, but compared to the bird guns, three-eyed guns, and old mortars previously equipped by the Luoan Imperial Army, they are still a huge improvement...
Therefore, Shangguan Hongyuan also ordered the craftsmen to mass-produce and equip the troops, in order to build an army that could compete with the Fengwu Army as quickly as possible. Because this matter was very secretive, even within the Luoan court, not many people knew about it. If Wang Qingshu had not participated in this plan some time ago, he would not have known about this matter, so he couldn't understand how Xu Zhaojie knew about the existence of these two firearms!

Looking at the ever-changing expressions on Wang Qingshu's face, Xu Zhaojie felt a little proud. After occupying Anqing, he, like most princes, invested a lot of resources in firearms, wanting to imitate the firearms of the Fengwu Army.

But unfortunately, due to the lack of a large number of qualified firearms craftsmen and the immaturity of technology, most of the resources he invested were wasted. Even the firearms he produced were far inferior to those of the Fengwu Army in all aspects and were not on the same level.

In disappointment, Xu Zhaojie also started to have evil thoughts. He sent his capable men to Liaoyang, intending to kidnap the technical backbone of the Fengwu Army Firearms Manufacturing Bureau to use for his own purposes. Unfortunately, before his men arrived in Liaoyang, his conspiracy was uncovered by the Coordination Office, leaving Xu Zhaojie with nothing.

Just half a month ago, when Xu Zhaojie was about to despair of firearms, with the help of his previous connections in Luoan, he learned about the existence of the Shenwu Gun and the Zhengdong Cannon. This rekindled hope in Xu Zhaojie's heart. However, what he never expected was that before he could figure out how to obtain these two types of firearms, Wang Qingshu, representing the Luoan court, appeared in front of him, and Xu Zhaojie naturally would not let go of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity...

"Since you want me to fight Ye Mingsheng to the death, then Prime Minister Shangguan should at least give me something good, right?" Looking at Wang Qingshu who was unable to answer, Xu Zhaojie said indifferently:
When Xu Zhaojie said this, Wang Qingshu shook his teeth and said:
"Two hundred thousand taels of silver, one hundred thousand dan of grain, one hundred thousand pieces of cloth, Lord Xu, this is the highest price I can offer you!"

Although Wang Qingshu's higher offer was very tempting, Xu Zhaojie was determined to get the firearm, so he insisted:
"I know you can't make the decision on this matter. Go back and report to Prime Minister Shangguan. Remember, things have to be done quickly, but there is not much time. Tell your Prime Minister to give me what I want within ten days. I promise to keep Ye Mingsheng in Jiyu and make it difficult for him to cross the line!"

After saying this, Xu Zhaojie turned around and left without waiting for Wang Qingshu's reply, leaving only his back to Wang Qingshu.

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In a heavily guarded house in Zhuo County

Countless Fengwu Army staff officers were shuttling back and forth in and out of the house, reporting on the latest battle situation.

"The 3,000-strong vanguard of the Fourth Division has already arrived at the vicinity of Yecheng, and the remaining 15,000-strong main force will arrive in Yecheng within two days!"

"News came from Yujing that the enemy is recruiting young and strong men to defend the city, but has no plans to leave the city to provide support!"

"The food, knife wound medicine and other supplies transported from Yijing have been delivered to Zhuo County, and will set off again to Yecheng tomorrow!"

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Ye Mingsheng, who was standing in front of the sand table observing the enemy and our own situation, immediately gave orders after hearing these reports:

"Tell Peng Ce that he has been gone for five days. He doesn't have that much time to waste. He must lead all the members of the Fourth Division to Yecheng tomorrow at the latest, otherwise he will be subject to military law!"

"Supplies are already running short at the front line in Yecheng. I know the soldiers in the logistics department are working very hard, but we need them to work harder and deliver the supplies to the front line as quickly as possible. If we send one more batch of supplies now, we can save many people!"

"Yes!"

After hearing Ye Mingsheng's instructions, the messengers took orders and went to convey Ye Mingsheng's will to their subordinate combat troops, while Ye Mingsheng shifted his attention back to the sand table and studied it carefully.

Ever since the battle to the south began, Ye Mingsheng was also very concerned about the direction of the Fengwu Army's battle to the south. In order to obtain the battle situation from the front line as soon as possible, he originally wanted to go to the front line in person. However, under the dissuasion of the Fengwu Army generals that a son of a wealthy family should not sit in the hall and a gentleman should not stand under a dangerous wall, Ye Mingsheng had no choice but to give up this idea and set up his command post in Zhuo County, close to Hebei and Henan.

After looking at the coordinates of Sanchaling on the sand table for half a cup of tea, Ye Mingsheng raised his head and looked at He Jingyun and asked:

"General He, do you think their plan will work?"

Just an hour ago, Ye Mingsheng met the messenger sent by Yuan Song to report in this headquarters. From him, he learned that Yuan Song and Guo Zhiping had changed the battle plan previously formulated by the General Staff without permission. Guo Zhiping led the cavalry of the Third Division to attack Sanchaling...
This is why Ye Mingsheng strictly demanded that Peng Ce's troops arrive at Yecheng as soon as possible. Without the help of the Third Division's cavalry, the only Fengwu Army force in Yecheng was the First Army under Yuan Song. On the one hand, the First Army needed to stop the enemy's reinforcements, and on the other hand, it had to attack the city. The pressure would increase suddenly!
To be honest, Ye Mingsheng had mixed feelings about Yuan Song and Guo Zhiping's change of battle plan. He knew that Yuan Song and Guo Zhiping, two important generals of his Fengwu Army, were on the front lines of the war and understood the situation on the front lines better than he did in Zhuo County. Therefore, since they changed the battle plan, it must be because they felt it was necessary.

However, no matter how to say it, this was still an unauthorized change of the overall combat plan without his permission, which disrupted his established deployment and put Ye Mingsheng and the staff in a very passive position.

Of course, as a cavalry general, Ye Mingsheng also understood that opportunities for battle were fleeting, and with the current means of communication, even with the fastest carrier pigeon, it would take two days and two nights to deliver the message from Yecheng to Zhuoxian. Therefore, if everything depended on reporting for authorization, then he would miss the opportunity to fight and would not be able to fight.

Although his emotions were complicated, Ye Mingsheng had no other choice under the circumstances. He could only choose to believe that Yuan Song and Guo Zhiping's choice was correct, and do auxiliary work to ensure that supplies and reinforcements could arrive in time, so that the soldiers fighting bravely on the front line would have no worries...

Hearing Ye Mingsheng's question, He Jingyun said with a sullen face:
"According to Generals Yuan Song and Guo Zhiping's report, the opportunity does exist, but the current situation is out of our control and anything is possible in the outcome of the war!" If Ye Mingsheng's current mood is complicated, then He Jingyun, the Chief of Staff, was furious when he learned that Yuan Song and Guo Zhiping had arbitrarily changed the battle plan. In his opinion, his plan was a very appropriate one that was jointly decided upon by the General Staff, senior generals of the Fengwu Army, and the General Coordination Office after a number theory seminar.

If there was a crisis in the battle plan he had formulated, and Yuan Song and Guo Zhiping, who were on the front line, made changes, He Jingyun would fully understand and fully support them!

Although the current battle plan has encountered some unexpected resistance like Wang Shouye, overall everything is going smoothly. Therefore, as long as Yuan Song and Guo Zhiping continue with their battle deployment, they can achieve the victory as planned. There is no need to make unauthorized changes without permission!

The changes of Yuan Song and Guo Zhiping made everything that He Jingyun had originally planned full of unknowns. Therefore, as the planner and chief of the general staff, He Jingyun was full of anger and indignation. He even felt that the actions of Yuan Song and Guo Zhiping were a provocation to himself and the power of the general staff...

If this kind of unauthorized change of the battle plan is a good solution, then everyone will be happy. But if it is a bad solution, who will take responsibility? Who will clean up the mess and wipe their asses? If everyone does this in the future, then what battle plan will their staff department formulate?
Of course, He Jingyun is very angry now, but things have come to this point and the other party has already acted first and reported later, so he can only wait and see the result?

Although He Jingyun had tried his best to remain restrained, Ye Mingsheng could still feel the anger in his heart. Ye Mingsheng also understood his feelings and comforted him:

"General He, we still need you to preside over the battle in Hebei and Henan. After this battle, I will let them give you an explanation!"

After hearing Ye Mingsheng's words, He Jingyun's emotions eased a little, and he bowed to Ye Mingsheng and said:
"I will go through fire and water for you!"

While the fighting was raging on the battlefield in Hebei and Henan, and Ye Mingsheng was sitting in Zhuo County worrying about the war situation, undercurrents began to surge in the usually calm Governor's Mansion in Yijing.

Under Qiqige's guidance, Bai Yuanyuan came to An Miaoyi. Looking at An Miaoyi, who was dressed neatly and sitting on a chair, a subtle strange color flashed in the depths of her eyes, and then she said enthusiastically:
"Madam, I'm here to see you! I heard from Miss Qiqige that the ginseng I brought you last time tasted delicious. My brother just asked someone to send me some more, so I immediately brought you some more..."

Listening to Bai Yuanyuan's words, An Miaoyi asked Bai Yuanyuan to ask the maid to give her a cup of tea. She did not refuse and nodded with a smile and said:

"Thank you, Sister Bai. The ginseng that my dear brother sent me is really effective. Thanks to it, I was able to recover so quickly!"

Bai Yuanyuan's expression became pleasantly surprised when these words came out, but she still said modestly:

"Madam, you are blessed by God, and Guanyin Bodhisattva is also blessing you!"

Because they hadn't seen each other for more than ten days, the sisters had a lot to say to each other when they met again. After chatting for half an hour, Bai Yuanyuan held An Miaoyi's hand and said with great concern:

"Madam, please accept my condolences. You are the pillar of our Ye family. Please don't get hurt! You have been bedridden these past few days. I don't know how those people with ulterior motives can be so happy behind my back!"

Although not many people knew about An Hetu’s death, the fact that An Miaoyi fainted due to a high fever due to excessive grief was also dug out by someone with ulterior motives. It has become an open secret in the Ye Mansion today, and everyone who should know it already knows it...

An Miaoyi could naturally hear the implication of Bai Yuanyuan's words, and immediately nodded slightly and said:

"Sister Bai, please rest assured. I will take good care of myself!"

When Bai Yuanyuan heard An Miaoyi say this, a flash of disappointment flashed across her eyes, but she also knew that saying more would easily violate taboos, so she immediately changed the subject and talked about other things.

After another stick of incense, Bai Yuanyuan said goodbye and left. An Miaoyi wanted to see her off in person, but Bai Yuanyuan said that An Miaoyi was not well yet and could not catch a cold, so she insisted on not leaving. So An Miaoyi had to settle for the second best and asked Qiqige to see Bai Yuanyuan off on her behalf.

After sending Bai Yuanyuan away, Qiqige returned to An Miaoyi and said sincerely
"This Bai Yuanyuan really cares about you, Madam. I have seen the mountain ginseng she sent. They are all treasures from Mount Paektu, and they are first-class things for replenishing qi and blood. I will take them to the kitchen to make chicken soup for you, Madam."

At this point, Qiqige seemed to remember something and said with disdain:
“Unlike that bitch Jinyu, who is loyal to her mother wherever she wants. After hearing the rumors outside these days, she runs to that bitch Murong Qingwu every day. It’s a waste that you, madam, treat her so well and even arrange an easy job for her brother. The conscience of this kind of person must have been eaten by a dog…”

Listening to Qiqige's complaints, An Miaoyi just smiled and said nothing, because she had not fully recovered since giving birth to Ye Jingren. This time, she heard the news of her father An Hetu's death. She was so sad that she had a high fever and fainted. For a while, the situation was very dangerous.
Although she was saved by Pei Zhixiu's miraculous healing hands, she was still unable to see guests because her body was still recovering. So rumors began to spread in the Ye Mansion and even in the Fengwu Army that An Miaoyi was dying and would not live long.

At this point in time, Ye Mingsheng married Murong Qingwu, which immediately attracted everyone's attention. To be honest, although Ye Mingsheng was the governor of Yan and Liao, and the local emperor in Liaoyang and Youyan, it was not a big deal for him to take concubines. For example, when Ye Mingsheng accepted Bai Yuanyuan, Shen Yutong, and the Su sisters, there were no waves. At most, when he married Shen Yutong, the people just chatted about it after dinner...
(End of this chapter)