Chapter 614 Pre-war meeting!

After hearing this news and combining it with the battle report he had just seen, Ye Mingsheng had probably guessed what Xu Zhaojie was going to do next...

After a moment of silence, Ye Mingsheng instructed He Jingyun beside him:
"Notify everyone in the headquarters to come to the conference room to discuss military intelligence in one stick of incense!"

"Yes!"

Under Ye Mingsheng's order, dozens of staff officers immediately handled their work properly and came to the conference room. Seeing that everyone was present, Ye Mingsheng instructed Zhang Guangzhi:

"Let me introduce the current situation to everyone!"

"Yes!"

With Ye Mingsheng's permission, Zhang Guangzhi immediately stood up and told the story in front of dozens of staff colleagues:
"According to the current battle situation, the situation in Yujing is stable. Gao Zongchang is hiding in Yujing City. Commander Yuan's First Army has basically cut off all contact with the outside world!"

"The major change in the battle situation occurred in the southeast of Hebei and Henan, in Xiaohe Mountain in Fengqiu. Originally, there were tens of thousands of Anqing troops confronting General Guo's Third Division there. However, according to the latest battle report sent by General Guo of the Third Division, most of the Anqing troops entrenched in Xiaohe Mountain have now withdrawn to Anqing, leaving only about 2,000 troops to continue occupying Xiaohe Mountain!"

"At the same time, Lord Su Yisu, Deputy Director of the Foreign Affairs Department of our army, was assassinated in Licheng. At this time, the Qi army is gathering in Licheng, and it seems that they are ready to interfere in the situation in Hebei and Henan!"

Before Zhang Guangzhi finished speaking, many staff officers in the conference room began to whisper to each other. They were all very surprised at the sudden change in the battle situation.
Leaning on the armchair and listening to the discussion of his subordinates, Ye Mingsheng's eyes showed some emotion. Yesterday, he received the handwritten letter that Xu Zhaojie had someone send to him. There was nothing worth paying attention to in the letter, except that it was about a decisive battle with Ye Mingsheng in Hebei and Henan.

In addition, Dong Cheng also spoke under the manipulation of the Coordination Office. It did not take three days but only one day before he was willing to cooperate. However, he did not know more information. Apart from explaining some organizational relationships within the Anqing Army and Xu Zhaojie's journey to the north, there was no other information of any value.

Because Xu Zhaojie had released a sentry leader of the Third Division before, Ye Mingsheng originally wanted to let Dong Cheng go back, but He Jingyun and others had different opinions. They believed that Dong Cheng was plotting to assassinate Ye Mingsheng, which was different from the former situation. Therefore, Dong Cheng must be executed to warn those who were ready to make a move.

Ye Mingsheng thought about the suggestions of He Jingyun and others and felt that they made sense, so he followed their lead and beheaded Dong Cheng in public last night.

After the two incidents of Dong Cheng and Xu Zhaojie's handwritten letter, Ye Mingsheng actually thought that Xu Zhaojie was really going to fight him in Ji-Yu. But now it seems that this bastard is just bluffing. He is using Dong Cheng to drag Cao Changping into the water and let Cao Changping hold him back to buy him time. His next target is very likely to be Feng Keqin and the remaining half of Huainan's territory·······················

Although he might have fallen into Xu Zhaojie's trap, in Ye Mingsheng's opinion, this was not unacceptable!

Through the battle with Dong Cheng's troops and the battle report sent by Guo Zhiping, it can be clearly seen that Xu Zhaojie is worthy of being known as a famous general in the world. The Anqing army he trained is indeed very powerful, with very tacit coordination in battle formations, strong fighting will and high morale.

In the battle of Zhuo County a few days ago, although the 5,000 Anqing cavalry were completely wiped out, the soldiers of the Seventh Division also suffered nearly 3,000 casualties. This was under the ambush of the Fengwu Army. If it was an open battle, the Seventh Division might not be able to defeat the 5,000 Anqing Army. It can be seen that the strength of the Anqing Army is far from comparable to that of the Yan Army and the Henan Army. They can be said to be the strongest opponent the Fengwu Army has encountered since its establishment.

In addition, Xu Zhaojie had previously shown an attitude of a decisive battle with the main force, so the Fengwu Army was also facing a powerful enemy and did not dare to slack off. The staff led by He Jingyun even made a plan in case the battle might continue until winter.

Now that the Anqing Army has withdrawn, although Cao Changping’s Qi Army is likely to be replaced, the combat effectiveness of the Qi Army is still not comparable to that of the Anqing Army. The pressure that the Fengwu Army will face next will undoubtedly be much smaller. It is likely that they can swallow up the territory of Hebei and Henan before winter according to the predetermined plan...

Ye Mingsheng was naturally very angry about Cao Changping's double-dealing and secret stabbing of him. Although he wanted to capture Cao Changping from Licheng to vent his anger, considering that the battle in Hebei and Henan was not over yet, Ye Mingsheng originally planned to hold back his anger for the time being, and settle the account with Cao Changping in the spring of next year after he had conquered Hebei and Henan and digested the territory.

However, it now seems that Cao Changping was instigated by Xu Zhaojie and was worried about being retaliated by himself, so he planned to strike first. But it doesn't matter who he attacks. Cao Changping is always easier to deal with than Xu Zhaojie. He doesn't need to send as many troops to deal with him as he did to Xu Zhaojie.

Just as Ye Mingsheng was thinking, a young staff officer in the conference room stood up and shouted:

"Report to the commander! I have some ideas!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng looked at the young staff officer. Looking at the young staff officer's vigorous face, Ye Mingsheng felt that he looked familiar, but he couldn't remember his name for a moment. Ye Kui, who was standing next to Ye Mingsheng, immediately whispered in Ye Mingsheng's ear and introduced him:
"Marshal, this man's name is Luo Gang. He was the one who proposed the plan for the great victory over the Luobei people at Mingyun Mountain. You even specially met with him and promoted him to the second-class staff officer of the General Staff!"

Ye Mingsheng just remembered after hearing this, and nodded with a smile at Luo Gang and said:

"Luo Gang, if you have any ideas, you can speak freely!"

With Ye Mingsheng's permission, Luo Gang said without hesitation: "I think that after Xu Zhaojie's feint in Hebei and Henan this time, his next move is probably not to target us, but to attack Feng Keqin. He wants to completely take over the territory of Huainan and connect Anqing and Huainan into one..."

Ye Mingsheng was not surprised to hear this analysis. After all, Xu Zhaojie had put in so much effort, he must have gained something. Now, the army under Xu Zhaojie's command might have arrived in Shouchun or Kangyin.

Seeing that his idea did not impress Ye Mingsheng, Luo Gang took a deep breath and said word by word:

"Xu Zhaojie is now selling Cao Changping from Qilu to our army, which is actually paving the way for next spring and summer!"

As soon as these words were spoken, not only Ye Mingsheng, but everyone in the conference room focused their attention on this young staff officer. Everyone wanted to hear how this young man came to such a conclusion.

Ye Mingsheng nodded at Luo Gang and said:
"Keep talking!"

After getting Ye Mingsheng's approval, Luo Gang said calmly:
"From the latest intelligence, we can see that the situation in Rongcheng is getting worse and worse. The Luoan Imperial Guards are likely to take Jianmen within a month. Once Jianmen, the natural barrier, is gone, the high-ranking officials of the imperial court who are on a tour to the south will probably let Rongcheng fall without a fight in order to save their lives!"

“And Shangguan Hongyuan’s idea has always been very clear, that is, to unify the north. As long as the north is unified, he will have the foundation to become emperor. Therefore, he has always regarded our army as a thorn in his side. Even though the southern tour of the court has tied up most of his energy, he still gave Xu Zhaojie a lot of money, food and firearms, and secretly instructed Xu Zhaojie to oppose our army. It is enough to show that Shangguan Hongyuan regards our army as his biggest worry...”

"Once Shangguan Hongyuan conquers Sichuan and eliminates the imperial court on tour in the south, his strategic focus will inevitably shift eastward to attack our army. Therefore, judging from the cooperation between Shangguan Hongyuan and Xu Zhaojie this time, I believe there is reason to believe that Xu Zhaojie and Shangguan Hongyuan have already colluded with each other in jointly confronting our army.
"So I boldly speculate that this time Xu Zhaojie wants to trade space for time, and allow our army to swallow up the territory of Hebei and Henan in exchange for time to take over Huainan. Then, when our army and Shangguan Hongyuan have a decisive battle next year, he will wait for the opportunity to go north and attack our army together with Shangguan Hongyuan!"

When Luo Gang came to this conclusion, everyone in the conference room was shocked. Then, following Luo Gang's train of thought, everyone felt that Luo Gang's thinking was clear and what he said made a lot of sense. This was something that was entirely possible!
"In this case, do you have any good solution?" After thinking for a while, Ye Mingsheng asked Luo Gang:
Facing Ye Mingsheng's question, Luo Gang said calmly:
"Xu Zhaojie is one step ahead of us this time, and Feng Keqin is not on guard in Huainan, so it is difficult for us to stop his plot to capture Huainan. Therefore, for now, we should change our battle plan and focus on taking advantage of the opportunity of the Qi army entering Hebei and Henan. We will annihilate the main force of the Qi army in Hebei and Henan, and try to take over the entire Qi and Lu!"

“By taking over Qi, Lu, Ji and Yu, on the one hand, we can prevent Cao Changping and Xu Zhaojie from joining forces again and reduce the pressure on our army in the south. On the other hand, our core areas will also have a large number of buffer zones to prevent the flames of war from spreading to the Youyan area…”

"In addition, our army should use our cavalry advantage to harass the areas controlled by the Anqing Army. We don't seek to cause much damage to the Anqing Army, but to undermine the stability of the areas controlled by the Anqing Army and prevent Xu Zhaojie from integrating the resources of Anqing and Huainan areas."

After Luo Gang finished speaking, everyone in the conference room began to whisper again, while the Chief of Staff He Jingyun frowned slightly. He agreed with Luo Gang's analysis of Xu Zhaojie's movements, but he did not agree with Luo Gang's solution. He felt that one should eat one bite at a time. Although Qi and Lu were also one of the targets of the Fengwu Army, with the current strength of the Fengwu Army, it would be difficult to swallow up the two provinces of Hebei, Henan and Qi and Lu in one go!

You must know that the territories of Hebei, Henan, Shandong and Shandong provinces are not only larger than the entire jurisdiction of the Fengwu Army, but the population is two to three times that of the Fengwu Army's jurisdiction.

Previously, because Xu Zhaojie went north, the Fengwu Army had to suspend the previous plan to encircle Yujing, thinking of a decisive battle with Xu Zhaojie. But now that the Anqing Army has retreated, He Jingyun feels that they should continue with the previous plan and concentrate all their strength to capture Yujing before discussing other goals. Thinking of this, he stood up and said in a deep voice:
"I think Staff Officer Luo's idea of ​​using cavalry to harass Anqing is a good one, but now Xu Zhaojie has retreated, Yujing has no strong support outside and is surrounded by our army. We should not delay in attacking Yujing, otherwise things will change!"

Luo Gang instinctively wanted to refute He Jingyun's different opinion, but when he opened his mouth, he realized that it was He Jingyun who spoke, so he closed his mouth unwillingly and lowered his head. Ye Mingsheng did not say much about this, and casually chatted about something else, and ended the combat analysis meeting...

An incense stick of time after the meeting ended, Ye Kui, instructed by Ye Mingsheng, brought Luo Gang to Ye Mingsheng. Ye Mingsheng was very interested in Luo Gang's ideas, but the meeting was just held in the entire general staff department, and in front of He Jingyun's subordinates, Ye Mingsheng also needed to save face for his deputy. After all, Luo Gang was He Jingyun's subordinate, and there needed to be order of hierarchy in the army.

Luo Gang originally felt a little disappointed because of He Jingyun's different opinion, but when he saw Ye Mingsheng meeting him, hope rose in his heart again.

As soon as he saw Luo Gang, Ye Mingsheng asked directly:

"All our troops in Hebei and Henan are concentrated in Yujing. Can we take Yujing within a month?"

Facing the question raised by Ye Mingsheng, Luo Gang did not give an answer immediately, but thought carefully for a while before saying:

"I think the chance of success is 50-50. If the Anqing Army is not involved, then our army will quickly encircle Yujing after defeating Gao Dingshan and Wang Shouye, two major forces of the Henan Army. There is a high probability that we can quickly capture Yujing!"

"However, because of Xu Zhaojie's appearance, Gao Zongchang in Yujing bought a lot of reaction time. According to the front-line battle report, during the period when the First Army blocked Yujing's contact with the outside world, Gao Zongchang was not idle in Yujing. He first recruited all the young and strong people in Yujing to defend the city together, and then strengthened Yujing's defense."

"Although the main force of the Henan Army has been completely wiped out by our army in the previous battle, after Gao Zongchang organized young and strong men to defend the city, the current defense force of Yujing is at least more than 30,000, and may even reach 50,000. The total strength of our army in Hebei and Henan is only a little over 100,000!"

“Although these young and strong men organized by Gao Zongchang are of varying quality, such a large number of people will still bring considerable difficulties to our army’s siege operations…”

(End of this chapter)