Chapter 645: Yunbing goes to war!
Yijing, Dongcheng Anfu

Looking at the pitch-black medicine brought over by the maid, Yasuda Yu suddenly looked embarrassed and begged his wife in front of him:

“Ruolan, this medicine is too bitter. I’ve been drinking it for several days. Can I not drink it today?”

Listening to An Tianyu's words, Xiao Ruolan took the medicine bowl from the maid, scooped a spoonful of medicine with a spoon, blew it, and then handed it to An Tianyu's mouth and said lightly:

"This is the medicine my sister found for you, my husband, by a famous doctor. It is very good for your health. My sister specially asked me to watch you take the medicine on time. Husband, drink the medicine quickly!"

Listening to Xiao Ruolan's words, An Tianyu sighed, and drank the medicine that was delivered to his mouth as if he had accepted his fate. After drinking the medicine with a grin, he looked at Xiao Ruolan like a child expecting a reward. Feeling An Tianyu's eyes, Xiao Ruolan also understood what he wanted to do, and a hint of resistance instinctively emerged in her beautiful eyes, but it seemed that she thought of something, which made Xiao Ruolan close her eyes.

Seeing Xiao Ruolan closing her eyes, An Tianyu seemed to be encouraged immediately. He kissed Xiao Ruolan very impatiently. His weak hands became restless and began to try to climb the majestic mountain.

At the same time, Nanny Sun, who was secretly observing the situation inside the house, nodded slightly when she saw this scene, and then left quietly.

As soon as Nanny Sun left, Xiao Ruolan's eyes flashed with a gleam of light. She pushed away An Tianyu who was pressing on her and tidied her clothes and said lightly:
"My husband, you are in poor health, please take care of yourself!"

Yasuda Yu, who was pushed away, showed a little disappointment on his pale face, and nodded silently...
In response, Xiao Ruolan straightened her clothes and prepared to turn around and leave. However, just as she was about to reach the door, An Tianyu suddenly raised his head and asked Xiao Ruolan:
"Ruolan, do you women all like powerful men like your brother-in-law?"

As soon as she said this, she was about to leave Xiao Ruolan. A barely perceptible gleam flashed across her beautiful eyes, and she stopped walking. Just as she seemed ready to say something, An Tianyu gave up on herself and said in frustration:
"It must be like this. Even my sister is so devoted to him. What woman in this world would not love a man as heroic and extraordinary as my brother-in-law? I am so weak that I can't even have sex. I am so useless!"

Feeling An Tianyu's self-blame, Xiao Ruolan also showed some sympathy, but she did not turn around and walk towards An Tianyu. Instead, she turned her back to An Tianyu and comforted him:

"Take your medicine well and don't think too much! You will get better one day!"

After saying that, Xiao Ruolan walked out of the room, leaving An Tianyu alone there. Because An Tianyu was still taking medicine to maintain his health, at the instruction of An Miaoyi, An Tianyu and Xiao Ruolan were currently sleeping in separate rooms. An Tianyu slept in the best main room in the house, while Xiao Ruolan slept in the east wing.

After returning to the room, Xiao Ruolan sat on the chair and fell into deep thought. Her slender white fingers subconsciously played with a very delicate sachet. However, she did not have much time to think quietly. Cuiyun, a maid in the mansion, walked into the room in a panic. Hearing the footsteps, Xiao Ruolan frowned slightly, and then hid the sachet in her hand in her sleeve...
"Madam, there is a little girl seducing you!" Cuiyun reported to Xiao Ruolan very seriously:

However, to her great disappointment, Xiao Ruolan did not seem to care much about her words. Instead, she looked at her calmly and said:
"Cuiyun, I told you to knock before entering my room!"

Cuiyun was a little confused when she heard this. Why didn't the lady care about what she said, but was concerned about whether she should knock on the door. Although she didn't quite understand, under Xiao Ruolan's gaze, she nodded and said:
"Madam, I was wrong!"

After hearing Cuiyun's apology, Xiao Ruolan was still not satisfied, and said with a hint of chill in her voice:
"Do it yourself, don't let me do it!"

After hearing this, Cuiyun's expression suddenly showed a little more grievance, but she didn't dare to disobey Xiao Ruolan, so she could only grit her teeth and slap herself twice.

Looking at the red slap marks on the little maid's face, Xiao Ruolan nodded slightly with satisfaction and said:
"Now you can go on!"

Cuiyun was forced to slap herself twice. She felt more and more wronged the more she thought about it, but she dared not complain. She could only say in a low voice with sobs:

“Madam, after you walked out of the main room, I saw Xiaorui’s shameless cousin sneaked into the main room not long after. Not only did she say those dirty words to the young master, she also buried her T in the young master’s vagina…”

Xiao Ruolan's expression remained unchanged as she listened to Cuiyun's words. She had known about the scandal between An Tianyu and the maid Xiaorui for a long time, but she didn't care. Compared to this matter, she cared more about another thing.

"What has Madam Sun been doing recently?" Looking at Cuiyun, Xiao Ruolan asked as if nothing had happened:

This Nanny Sun was sent by An Miaoyi to serve. An Miaoyi was always very worried about her younger brother An Tianyu. She thought he was too naive and was afraid that he would be bullied, so she sent someone to look after him.

In response to Xiao Ruolan's question, Cuiyun said without hesitation:
"Madame Sun usually checks the accounts to see what has been bought in the mansion, or goes out to meet with Qiqige from the Governor's Mansion every week. Apart from these, she doesn't do anything else!"

Xiao Ruolan didn't say anything when she heard this, but just threw a piece of silver from her sleeve to Cuiyun. Cuiyun took the silver and weighed it in her little hand. Her originally aggrieved look suddenly showed a hint of joy.

She was sold to the mansion to be a maid during the famine years. Her parents and brothers had starved to death long ago. Due to her average appearance, she knew that it was impossible for her to marry into a wealthy family and become a phoenix. So her biggest dream was to save some money and get married. Now, every bit of money she saved would be her dowry, and also the confidence she would have in her future in her husband's family!
"Thank you, Madam, for the reward!" Cuiyun knelt on the ground and said respectfully to Xiao Ruolan:

Xiao Ruolan said calmly: "If there is anything, come and report it as soon as possible. You will get the money..."

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Yunbing, Jinzhong, Dagu County

Above the county town, Fang Dawei, the deputy commander of the Second Army of Fengwu Army, dressed in military uniform, looked seriously at the barracks of the Luoan Imperial Guards outside the city. If his intelligence was correct, the strength of the Luoan Imperial Guards outside the city would exceed 20,000, while the Fengwu Army in his city only had one battalion with about 3,000 soldiers.

Half a year ago, General Lin Huaiwu of the Second Division successfully captured Jinzhong. After proving his ability to Ye Mingsheng and his colleagues in the Fengwu Army, he was promoted by Ye Mingsheng to commander of the Second Army as he wished. With the promotion of Lin Huaiwu, the deputy general of the Second Division, Fang Dawei, also followed suit and became the assistant commander of the Second Army.

Because recently, the Luoan court declared the Fengwu Army to be rebels and continued to send reinforcements to the Jinyang area, resulting in a strong sense of tension in the area. In addition, the Coordination Office had already informed in advance that the Luoan Imperial Guards might launch exploratory attacks on the Jinzhong counties controlled by the Fengwu Army.

Therefore, under the order of the Second Army Commander Lin Huaiwu, all the troops of the Second Army strengthened their vigilance. For this reason, Lin Huaiwu originally planned to inspect the defense of each county in person, but considering that Lin Huaiwu was the main general and needed to command in Jinzhong, the commander-in-chief Fang Dawei took over the task of inspecting the counties.

And Fang Dawei never expected that he had just started his inspection in Dagu County and encountered so many Luoan Imperial Guards besieging the city...

"Sir, the red cannon has adjusted its position, and the rest of the troops have also taken their positions!"

A resolute-looking general of the Fengwu Army came over and reported to Fang Dawei:

Even though he had grown a beard, his skin had turned brown from the sun, and his hair was a little messy from lack of care, one could still tell from his features that he was not actually very young.

This man is named Ye Tao. He is the commander of a battalion of the Second Army stationed in Dagu County. He is also a member of the Ye family's collateral branch. He is only 25 years old this year. Although he is very young, he is one of the first members of the Ye family who followed Ye Mingsheng when the Fengwu Army was founded.

However, Ye Tao's ability to become the commander of the Fengwu Army was not entirely due to his status as a member of the Ye family and his qualifications in the Fengwu Army.

Like many members of the Ye family, Ye Tao joined the Fengwu Army with his admiration for Ye Mingsheng and the desire to make a name for himself. After arriving in the Fengwu Army, he made many military achievements with his hard-working spirit and the courage to fight. Coupled with the natural advantage of having the surname Ye, Ye Tao quickly stood out and was promoted to the sentry leader of the Second Division in the battle of Youyan's entry into the Pass.

In the Battle of Jinzhong, Ye Tao’s troops were the first to enter the city, and Lin Huaiwu commended him and wrote to Ye Mingsheng, recommending Ye Tao to be the commander of the Second Army. Later, he was arranged to garrison in Dagu County, the forefront of the Fengwu Army...
After hearing Ye Tao's report, Fang Dawei nodded and said:

"In another hour or two, the Luoan Imperial Army will attack the city. Tell the artillery to save some shells and not use them all up at once. We may have to hold out in Dagu County for a while!"

Ye Tao asked with some doubt:
"Sir, didn't you ask the commander for help last night? Logically speaking, your reinforcements should arrive soon!"

Fang Dawei smiled bitterly, shook his head and asked:

"Ye Tao, do you know how many enemy troops there are in Jinyang now?"

Facing Fang Dawei's inquiry, Ye Tao frowned slightly. He was only a commander and had no access to intelligence from above. He only knew that the Luoan Imperial Guards on the opposite side had increased their troops a lot, but he didn't know the exact number of enemy troops.

Seeing that Ye Tao didn't say anything, Fang Dawei didn't keep him in suspense and spoke directly:
"Feng Han had almost 30,000 troops in Jinyang before, and another 30,000 reinforcements arrived from Luoan a few days ago. Moreover, the Coordination Office also said that Luoan is likely to increase its troops by 20,000 to 50,000 in the future..."

"Although winter is coming soon, the enemy will not launch a large-scale attack at this time, but some small-scale harassment is inevitable. The defense pressure of our army in Jinzhong will be very great. I estimate that it is not necessarily only our Dagu that has encountered the enemy."

"Ye Tao, you are also aware of the situation of our army. Even if the commander wants to send more troops to Dagu County, there may not be enough manpower!"

After Fang Dawei said this, Ye Tao understood what he meant and knew that he had been too optimistic before.

After Lin Huaiwu captured Jinzhong, Ye Mingsheng promoted him to the commander of the Second Army. The General Staff was also preparing to expand the Second Division into the Second Army, making Lin Huaiwu the commander of the Second Army worthy of the title.

However, at this critical juncture, Ye Mingsheng felt that there was an opportunity to take advantage of in the Hebei-Henan region, so the strategic focus of the Fengwu Army was concentrated on moving south again. Money, food, weapons, armor, cannons and muskets were all allocated to the Hebei-Henan battlefield first...
The strategic resources of the Fengwu Army were limited and were primarily concentrated on the Hebei-Henan battlefield. Naturally, they could not invest more strategic resources in the Yunbing battlefield. Therefore, the expansion plan of the Second Army was temporarily shelved. This also led to the fact that although Lin Huaiwu was nominally the commander of the Second Army of the Fengwu Army, in fact, the number of troops under his command was still only more than 20,000 people from the original Second Division!

Therefore, on this basis, even if Lin Huaiwu gathered the militia from various towns and villages and temporarily added them to the Second Army, the total number of troops would not exceed 30,000 at most. But now the enemy has 60,000 troops, more than twice that of the Second Army. The Fengwu Army's strength will be very tight!
What’s more, the main force of the Fengwu Army, with more than 10,000 people, are stationed in Jinzhong City. Therefore, the gap in strength between the two sides in the periphery counties and towns will be even greater. Therefore, with such a large gap in troop strength and the entire defense line being oppressed by the other side, Lin Huaiwu, as the commander-in-chief, will definitely adopt a more cautious defensive tactic. In all likelihood, he will not send more reinforcements to Dagu County, which is at the forefront of the battle between the two sides. This requires Dagu County to be self-reliant...
(End of this chapter)