Chapter 603 Big victory!

At the foot of Sancha Ridge, Henan Army Camp

Gao Dingshan was reassigning combat tasks to the generals of various departments. The fierce battle this morning had made him realize that the rebel army under Sanchaling was already at the end of its strength and unable to continue. So today he had to completely crush this obstacle in front of him...
It took Gao Dingshan an incense stick of time to explain the battle requirements and deployment. Just as he was about to emphasize to the generals again that Sanchaling must be captured today, a personal soldier walked into the tent and whispered something in his ear. Hearing this, Gao Dingshan immediately looked outside the tent. After a moment's silence, Gao Dingshan instructed the generals:

"Everyone, go back and prepare! We will launch the general attack in an hour! We will spend the night on Sancha Ridge tonight!"

"Yes!"

All the generals responded in unison that after suffering so many casualties and attacking fiercely for several days, they were finally going to take Sanchaling and everyone was very excited.

After the meeting, Gao Dingshan walked out of the central army camp and entered another tent. Although he had been informed, Gao Dingshan still had a hint of surprise in his eyes when he looked at the person in front of him. He said with some surprise:
"Brother Yang, why are you here?"

Listening to Gao Dingshan's words, Yang Yuanze, the governor of Jiyu who came from Yujing, smiled bitterly and said:
"My Lord, how can I sit still when I am in Yujing at this time?"

After hearing this, Gao Dingshan's heart sank and he quickly asked:
"Brother Yang, please tell me what's going on in Yujing and Yecheng? How is my father?"

Yang Yuanze sighed and said:

"You have been away for a long time, and the old marshal is very anxious. He wants to send someone to find you to see what's going on. So I volunteered to come..."

"I left Yujing three days ago. When I left, the latest news was that Yecheng was still under the control of General Shouye, but the situation in Yecheng was very bad. Our army suffered heavy casualties. Even General Shouye himself was shot and wounded by the firearms of the Fengwu Army. Now another three days have passed. Maybe Yecheng has been lost, and the Fengwu Army is heading towards Yujing!"

Yang Yuanze's voice became lower and lower, and Gao Dingshan became more worried the more he listened. He knew very well that there were only 20,000 Henan troops in Yujing now. If the Fengwu Army really marched on the border, Yujing City would be in danger. Thinking of this, Gao Dingshan felt more and more guilty. If he could see through the Fengwu Army's conspiracy as soon as possible and break through Sanchaling faster, the situation would not be so passive!
Seeing Gao Dingshan's self-blaming expression, Yang Yuanze comforted him and said:
"These are all my guesses. General Shouye is a good general of my Henan Army. He will definitely bring us surprises and prevent the Fengwu Army from going beyond the line. Your top priority now, young master, is to break through Sancha Ridge as soon as possible!"

"We have not been idle in Yujing these past few days. We have mobilized tens of thousands of young and strong men in the city to defend the city, and demolished many houses to make thunder and lightning logs. Even if the Fengwu Army attacks Yujing in the fastest possible scenario, with Yujing's elite troops and sufficient food, they will not be able to capture the city in a short time."

"As long as you can rush to help as soon as possible, and form a pincer attack with the old commander in Yujing City, there will be hope for a turnaround. The Fengwu Army has not yet won, and we still have hope of a comeback!"

With Yang Yuanze's encouragement, Gao Dingshan regained his confidence, nodded and said:

“Brother Yang, you’re right! We must capture Sanchaling before tonight and fight our way back to Yujing three days later…”

Gao Dingshan had made up his mind. He had only one thought at this time, which was to take Sanchaling as soon as possible and get everything back on track. Therefore, he did not bother to let his Henan Army soldiers rest for a while, and directly organized another attack on the village.

Under the cover of bows and arrows and firearms, tens of thousands of Yu army soldiers holding shields launched a charge towards the camp. If Tong Wen had seen this situation half an hour ago, he would have felt desperate and was ready to fight with the Yu army until the last moment of his life to repay Ye Mingsheng's kindness. But now, a faint smile appeared on Tong Wen's face, and he ordered Ye Zhen beside him:

"Tell your men to gradually abandon the outer camps!"

"Yes!"

After a cup of tea, Gao Dingshan stood on the observation tower and watched his soldiers successfully attack the camp that seemed out of reach in the past few days. He was not driven out. A look of surprise suddenly appeared on his face, and then he instructed the soldiers around him:

"Pass the order! All troops move out, I want to see Feng Sanxi's head on my desk in an hour!"

Following Gao Dingshan's order, tens of thousands of Henan Army soldiers rushed to Sanchaling, fearing that they would miss out on military merit if they were a step late. Seeing this scene, the smile on Tong Wen's face became three times more intense. He personally pulled a fire starter and lit a bunch of fireworks.

"Pah! Pah! Pah!"

With a few crisp sounds, a brilliant firework suddenly appeared in the sky above Sanchaling. Looking at the appearance of the fireworks, Gao Dingshan's eyes showed a hint of confusion. He really couldn't understand, at such a critical moment of life and death, how could those thieves on Sanchaling still have the mood to set off fireworks?

Gao Dingshan’s doubts did not last long, and he soon got the answer······················
Half a cup of tea later, Gao Dingshan felt the ground trembling slightly. As a veteran of the battlefield, he was stunned at first when he noticed this, and then he looked to the east, only to see smoke and dust rising from the east. It was obviously a large group of cavalry coming. Seeing this scene, Gao Dingshan's face turned pale instantly. To create such a scene, at least tens of thousands of cavalrymen had charged together, and their Henan Army had no cavalry, so it was self-evident who this cavalry belonged to!
Although he knew that he had fallen into the enemy's trap again, Gao Dingshan did not lie down and give up resistance. He still wanted to do his best to organize his troops and form a new formation to resist the attack of the Fengwu Army cavalry.

But unfortunately, under his order just now, all the soldiers of the Henan Army launched a charge towards Sanchaling, and the formation was already in chaos. It was very difficult to re-condense the formation at this time.

What's more, on the flat terrain, the Fengwu Army cavalry came very fast and had great impact. Without the protection of a military formation, the infantry of the Henan Army could only let these wolf-like Fengwu Army cavalry harvest their lives.
Gao Dingshan was disheartened upon seeing this scene and closed his eyes in pain. Knowing that he had destroyed the Gao family's last hope, he no longer had the courage to live in the world. He drew the sword from his waist and wanted to commit suicide to atone for his sins. However, the guards beside him were very loyal. They quickly snatched the sword from him and put a soldier's clothes on Gao Dingshan, wanting to escort him to escape...
The battle ended half an hour later. Seeing Guo Zhiping appear, Tong Wen quickly stepped forward, bowed and said:

"I, Tong Wen, a captain of the General Coordination Office, would like to greet General Guo. Thank you for saving my life!"

More than an hour ago, Tong Wen found a secret letter from Guo Zhiping on the pigeon. The letter was written in the Fengwu Army's special code. Without knowing the rules, even if the letter was intercepted, it would be useless. Tong Wen, who got the secret letter, learned that Guo Zhiping's Third Division Cavalry had been lurking around Sanchaling, so he cooperated with Guo Zhiping to stage this good show. After looking Tong Wen up and down, Guo Zhiping nodded and said:
"You've done a great job holding out for so many days! You're a real man!"

Tong Wen was very happy to hear Guo Zhiping's praise, but he still said modestly:

"Thank you General Guo for your praise! It's all thanks to my brothers who are willing to risk their lives. I just did my part!"

···························
···························
Yijing, Governor's Mansion

Qiqige walked to An Miaoyi's side. Seeing Qiqige's appearance, An Miaoyi handed her precious son Ye Jingren in her arms to the care of the maids, and she and Qiqige went to a side room.

"Madam, I have investigated Shen Yutong. Ever since that bitch Murong Qingwu entered the mansion, she has looked for Shen Yutong several times, but Shen Yutong has not seen her. However, I have found out a secret of Shen Yutong!" Qiqige said softly:
"Oh? What secret?" An Miaoyi asked in surprise:
Qiqige whispered:
"Shen Yutong is pregnant! If we count the date, it should be two months ago when the Marshal went to her room! But Shen Yutong doesn't seem to want anyone to know about this. She told the maids around her not to tell anyone!"

An Miaoyi was a little confused when she heard this answer. In this feudal society, it was important that a mother's status was determined by her sons, especially for women in powerful families. Without considering the factors of her natal family and the favor of her husband, those with children and those without children were treated completely differently, and the status and treatment of daughters and sons were also different.

Because of this, including An Miaoyi, Ye Mingsheng's wives and concubines are actively preparing for pregnancy, striving to give birth to a boy or girl to have someone to rely on for the rest of their lives. Once the pregnancy is confirmed, they can't wait to beat drums and gongs and set off firecrackers to celebrate.

Even An Miaoyi was no exception. During the short period after she confirmed her pregnancy, she paid double the salary to the servants in the mansion and sent incense money to almost all the temples near Dongning, just to accumulate virtue and pray for blessings for her unborn child.

But Shen Yutong did the opposite and concealed the news of her pregnancy. What was her intention?
Could it be that she wanted to wait for Ye Mingsheng to come back and give him a surprise?
After pondering for a while, An Miaoyi had no idea what Shen Yutong was doing. She didn't know what this sentimental woman was thinking, so she could only tell Qiqige:

"Arrange more people to keep an eye on her!"

"Yes!"

"Is there any news from Bai Yuanyuan recently?" An Miaoyi asked again:

"She recently went to Guanghua Temple in the same city. Madam, you knelt for the whole morning to pray for the Marshal. I hope the Buddha will bless the Marshal to win this battle!"

"In addition, because the Guanyin Bodhisattva enshrined in the Baique Temple in Yijing City is very effective, Bai Yuanyuan went there before and invited Huiru, the abbot of the Baique Temple, to study Buddhism in the mansion many times. She also shared her experience of Buddhism with the old lady, which greatly changed the old lady's attitude towards her!" Qiqige said softly:

An Miaoyi didn't say anything when she heard this, but her beautiful eyes that looked like both a fox and a phoenix flickered slightly. Her best friend was really busy!
From the perspective of feudal etiquette, things like going to the temple to pray for blessings are usually the responsibility of the wife and the mistress of the house. When Ye Mingsheng was conquering Youyan before, An Miaoyi bathed, burned incense, and went to the temple and Taoist temple to pray for blessings very seriously, hoping that Ye Mingsheng would return with a great victory.

And now that Bai Yuanyuan is doing this as a concubine, it really seems like she is overstepping her authority. Even if I have been ill recently and she is doing it in my own name, she should inform me first instead of acting on my own initiative and then reporting to me.

Moreover, Bai Yuanyuan knew very well that because she had been married before, Ye Cuishi disliked her and often gave her a cold shoulder. Therefore, Bai Yuanyuan was very tactful and avoided Ye Cuishi whenever possible. Except for the routine payment, she would never go to Ye Cuishi's yard.

And now, not only does he not hide, but he also insists on trying to curry favor with the cold butt, and gets close to Ye Cui to please the old lady. It's hard not to make people imagine...

····························
····························
Zhuo County, Governor's Office
At one o'clock in the morning, Ye Mingsheng was sleeping soundly on the bed, but unexpectedly, he heard footsteps outside the room. Ye Mingsheng, who was a light sleeper, woke up immediately. Just as he was about to ask who the visitor was, he heard the familiar voice of Ye Kui outside the room.

"Sir, the Coordination Office has sent a letter by carrier pigeon!"

As soon as these words came out, Ye Mingsheng suddenly came to his senses, put on his clothes immediately and called Ye Kui in. Because the matter was of great importance, Ye Kui did not waste time and directly handed a note to Ye Mingsheng. After glancing at the contents of the note, Ye Mingsheng's expression suddenly became solemn, and Ye Kui continued:

"Along with the note came another piece of news. Deputy Director Wang is coming to Zhuo County as quickly as possible to report the changes in the situation to you personally!"

Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly and said:

"Notify all accompanying staff to assemble immediately. See you in the headquarters conference room in half an hour!"

"Yes!"

Although Ye Kui did not see the contents of the note due to confidentiality regulations, seeing Ye Mingsheng's gloomy expression, he also became serious and hurried to pass on the order.

After Ye Kui left, Ye Mingsheng opened the note again and took a look at it, then murmured in a low voice:
"Let's put Shangguan Hongyuan's account aside for now..."

(End of this chapter)