Chapter 677 Take the initiative!

Yijing, South City

In a room in Yunfu Inn, a young follower was complaining in dissatisfaction:

"Marshal Ye of the Fengwu Army is too arrogant. You've been here for seven days, but you haven't even seen him..."

Listening to the complaints of his followers, Sun Jingan shook his head and ordered:

"We are in Yijing, be careful, there are ears on the other side of the wall, don't say anything more!"

In response to Sun Jingan's instructions, the follower nodded quickly, but still said unwillingly:

"It's a good thing that our master is a well-educated scholar. If it were any other Marshal Yin, I'm afraid he would have demolished this house!"

Sun Jing'an couldn't help laughing when he heard that. Although Yin Biao was a reckless man and behaved rudely, it didn't mean that he was a fool. Now that there was someone like this under his roof, even if he was here, he wouldn't act rashly!
But Ye Mingsheng still hasn't figured out what he is.

Yin Biao and Sun Jing'an had been planning this surprise attack for a long time. They were confident and determined to succeed. They wanted to defeat Han Wenbao's troops in one battle before the Fengwu Army could react, and make the Fengwu Army a fait accompli. Then, Yin Biao would say a few soft words to the Fengwu Army, give Ye Mingsheng some gold, silver and beautiful women to please him, and force the Fengwu Army to admit that he was in the territory of Qi and Lu!
However, what Yin Biao did not expect was that his very proud surprise attack had long been known to Han Wenbao, who ambushed him and caused him to lose thousands of soldiers. Although he later relied on his own strong strength to defeat Han Wenbao and forced him to retreat to Bozhou City, his own casualties still made Yin Biao unable to attack the city.

The current situation really made Sun Jingan angry and helpless. He really didn’t understand how Han Wenbao got their action plan...

He and Han Wenbao have known each other for decades and have dealt with each other for many years. He absolutely does not believe that Han Wenbao has this ability!

So Sun Jingan suspected that someone was playing dirty tricks in secret, and after knowing his action plan, he secretly told Han Wenbao!
As for the person who played dirty tricks, Sun Jingan also had two suspects!
The first one is Xu Zhaojie, the commander of Anqing and Huainan!

First, Xu Zhaojie secretly supported Han Wenbao and sent money, food and weapons to Han Wenbao by water. Because of this incident, Yin Biao refused Xu Zhaojie's solicitation and scolded Xu Zhaojie's envoy back. Therefore, Xu Zhaojie had sufficient reason to do this to retaliate against him!
And the second one is Ye Mingsheng from the Fengwu Army!

Ye Mingsheng is a man of great talent and ambition, and he seems to be aiming to unify the north. Although he has not yet sent troops to conquer Qi and Lu, he has provided firearms to himself and Han Wenbao respectively, and encouraged the two to fight. There is no doubt that he is also planning to take advantage of the situation.

If Yin Biao really killed Han Wenbao, it would definitely not be in line with his plan. This is why Yin Biao wanted to hide his actions from the Fengwu Army.

So from this point of view, Ye Mingsheng also had the motive to stab Yin Biao in the back!
In addition, Ye Mingsheng’s henchmen have been secretly bribing Qi and Lu generals and officials. Although Yin Biao also deliberately blocked the news and acted secretly, it was very difficult to hide it from Ye Mingsheng’s henchmen...

Although it is not known whether this was done by Xu Zhaojie or Ye Mingsheng, it is no longer important now. The only important thing now is that the Fengwu Army is holding their lifeline!
In order to kill Han Wenbao with one blow, Yin Biao led the Qi army out in full force, leaving only 3,000 troops and more than 2,000 city defense officers in the old nest of Licheng. However, as he failed to kill Han Wenbao quickly, Yin Biao led his troops to attack Licheng in vain, and the problem of Licheng's emptiness was also exposed.

Fengqiu, where the Fengwu Army had a large garrison, was only 370 miles away from Licheng. This meant that as long as the Fengwu Army was willing, they could capture Licheng before Yin Biao returned.

Sun Jing'an and Yin Biao were both very afraid of this, but considering that if they let Han Wenbao go, they didn't know how long they would have to wait to deal with this bastard, and now the Fengwu Army had not yet expressed its position, so after careful consideration, the two of them also had illusions and hoped to get the support of the Fengwu Army.

However, several envoys were turned away by the Fengwu Army. Sun Jing'an, as the governor of Qi and Lu, had no choice but to put aside his political responsibilities in Qi and Lu and visit Yijing in person as an envoy.

At the beginning, things went smoothly. Through his personal relationship with Su Yi, Sun Jingan met Gu Sansi, an important official of the Fengwu Army. During the conversation with Gu Sansi, Sun Jingan successfully persuaded Gu Sansi, and Gu Sansi agreed to introduce him to Ye Mingsheng...
Just when Sun Jing'an was delighted with the smooth progress of things and was imagining how to use his eloquent speech to convince Ye Mingsheng to support Yin Biao, what Sun Jing'an didn't expect was that things got stuck here in the end. Although Ye Mingsheng agreed to meet him, he was slow to set a date for the meeting. For seven days he just waited for news in this small courtyard!
During this period, Sun Jing'an also tried to find Gu Sansi and Su Yi to find out the situation. However, to his disappointment, Su Yi had been sent as an envoy to Jiangnan, and Gu Sansi had a lot of official business to deal with and had no time to see him.

Sun Jingan, who had not seen anyone, could only return to the yard helplessly, secretly trying to figure out Ye Mingsheng's intentions!

He has been in Yijing for seven days, which, including the time since he came from Licheng, has been more than half a month. During this period, he rarely heard about the changes in the battle situation of Qi and Lu, and he was also very concerned about whether Yin Biao had captured Bozhou.

Thinking of this, Sun Jing'an made up his mind and determined to wait for Ye Mingsheng for three days. If Ye Mingsheng did not summon him within three days, he would take the initiative to go to the Governor's Mansion to find Ye Mingsheng. For the future of Qilu, he must meet Ye Mingsheng and convince this man who was rumored to have the eyes of an eagle and the back of a wolf!

Sun Jing'an, who had made up his mind, had a determined light flashing in his eyes. At this moment, someone walked into his door, and then a familiar figure came in front of him.

"Xue Wuyi is not with the commander, why is he here?" Looking at the person in front of him, Sun Jingan asked subconsciously:

Facing Sun Jingan's question, Xue Wu, who was Yin Biao's close follower, whispered in Sun Jingan's ear. When Sun Jingan heard what Xue Wu said, a look of surprise flashed in his eyes...

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Fengqiu, in the Fengwu Army camp

Listening to what Ye Zhen, the captain of the Coordination Office, said, Yuan Song showed some surprise on his face, and then asked in surprise:

"You said Xu Zhaojie is in Chengfeng County?"

Ye Zhen nodded and said:

"General Yuan, yes. Our Coordination Office has received accurate intelligence that Xu Zhaojie is now in the Zhennan Army camp in Chengfeng County. Once the enemy troops transferred from Xuancheng are in place, Xu Zhaojie is likely to march north to attack Hebei and Henan!" "As for the specific combat plan of the Zhennan Army, our Coordination Office is still collecting further information. It is currently expected that it will be five days later. Please ask General Yuan and your troops to prepare for the battle!"

Yuan Song smiled and nodded when he heard this.

"Yuan understands. Thank you for your hard work, brothers in the Coordination Office!"

Ye Zhen bowed to Yuan Song and said:

"I wish General Yuan and the brothers of the First Army a successful battle and a great victory over the enemy!"

Yuan Song nodded with a smile and said:
"I accept your good words!"

After delivering the intelligence, Ye Zhen said goodbye and left. Having made great contributions in the battle of Hebei and Henan, he is now the fourteenth centurion of the General Coordination Office, specifically responsible for receiving intelligence from Anqing. Therefore, at this time when war clouds are gathering, he also has a lot of work to do······························

After Ye Zhen left, Yuan Song paced to the sand table in the camp and silently watched the evolution of the enemy and our situation on the sand table.

If the intelligence provided by the Coordination Office is correct, then the total local military strength in Anqing is probably around 50,000. The force Xu Zhaojie can use to launch an offensive against Hebei and Henan will not exceed 40,000. After all, Anqing is also needed, so leaving 10,000 soldiers to guard the house is reasonable.

It seems that even if Xu Zhaojie launches an offensive, he will not attack Fengqiu directly. After all, he only has the troops at his disposal, and lacks enough artillery and heavy weapons. When the gap in troop strength is not that big, attacking Fengqiu would be tantamount to seeking death!

Thinking of this, a cold light flashed in Yuan Song's eyes. If what he guessed was correct, Xu Zhaojie's main target of this battle in Hebei and Henan should be the weakness of the Fengwu Army's insufficient manpower in Hebei and Henan, and he should focus on attacking towns and villages where the manpower is especially insufficient. His purpose is to harass and influence the reforms being carried out by the Fengwu Army in Hebei and Henan.

A few months ago, at Ye Mingsheng's suggestion, Hebei and Henan, the most populous province in the Great Zhou Dynasty, began a full-scale reform campaign. The main measures included vigorously combating corruption, cracking down on gangs and evil, redeeming land, using work as a substitute for relief, public-private partnerships, and strengthening industry supervision.

Under a series of decrees and strong execution by the Fengwu Army, Hebei and Henan swept away all their ills and presented a thriving scene. However, due to the reforms promoted by the Fengwu Army, some conspirators who were unwilling to fail also tried to stop the chariot with their arms...
In order to break the conspiracy and fantasy of these people and ensure that the people can live and work in peace and contentment, the First Army of the Fengwu Army stationed in Hebei and Henan, under the order of Ye Mingsheng, dispatched tens of thousands of soldiers and horses to quickly suppress the rebellion with the force of thunder and lightning!
Although riots in various places have decreased a lot compared to the initial implementation of the reform, the bully gentry and corrupt officials who have witnessed the sharp swords of the Fengwu Army have gradually given up their actions of exploiting the people and have wisely chosen to hand over their power and cooperate with the Fengwu Army.

However, there were still some people who did not understand the situation and were stubborn. This also led to the Sixth Division's more than 20,000 soldiers, of which more than 10,000 were stationed in Yujing, and the rest of the troops, led by General Gu Shouting, were stationed in Hebei and Henan to suppress the resistance riots in various places.
The 25,000-man First Division was led by Yuan Song himself and stationed in Fengqiu to guard against the Zhennan Army. In order to prevent being defeated by the Zhennan Army, Yuan Song did not evenly distribute the limited troops in his hands to garrison in the towns and counties around Fengqiu.

Instead, he concentrated the main force of 20,000 troops in Fengqiu, and stationed the remaining 5,000 troops in various towns and counties. Therefore, if Xu Zhaojie really aimed at the towns and counties, it would not be particularly easy to defend!

Looking at Yuan Song, who had a serious expression and frowned, the First Division General Ma Zhongjun asked straightforwardly:
"General, are you worried about Xu Zhaojie?"

Facing Ma Zhongjun's question, Yuan Song did not hide but nodded very frankly·················

Seeing this, Ma Zhongjun said with a little indifference:
"General Guo's Third Division fought Xu Zhaojie here last year, but was still defeated by General Guo. What the Third Army can do, our First Army can not only do it, but we can also do it better than them!"

Seeing this, Yuan Song frowned slightly and warned:
"Xu Zhaojie was a famous general at the time. He had fought on the battlefield for more than a decade and had made great achievements with few defeats. We must not underestimate him in this fight!"

Feeling Yuan Song's warning, Ma Zhongjun, who was full of confidence, suddenly froze in his expression, and then he gradually restrained the arrogance in his expression, and nodded in Yuan Song's sight to indicate that he understood.

After teaching Ma Zhongjun a lesson, Yuan Song asked loudly:

"Where is the messenger?"

At Yuan Song's inquiry, a sturdy soldier walked into the tent, bowed and said:
"General, the messenger is here!"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Song immediately gave the order:

"Tell Xia Yunsheng of the Cavalry Battalion to gather his forces now and set out to attack Huai'en County in Anqing tomorrow morning! If the enemy's encirclement is not strict, we can kill them all the way along the roads of Huai'en County and Huaiyuan County to the city of Anqing!"

"In a word, he can do whatever he wants. I don't ask him to kill as many enemies as possible or capture the town of Anqing, but I want him to make as much noise as possible and give full play to the mobility and flexibility of their cavalry. Don't get entangled with the enemy and move in and out quickly. Turn Anqing into a mess!"

"I obey!"

After the messenger left, Ma Zhongjun looked at Yuan Song expectantly, but Yuan Song in his sight ignored his gaze and even leisurely picked up the teacup to drink tea...

Seeing this, Ma Zhongjun couldn't help but ask:
"General, the cavalry has a combat mission, so what about our First Division? Where should we attack?"

(I took a day off yesterday, and I feel deeply ashamed. If there is no special situation this month, I will not take a day off. I also hope that some people will give up when they see difficulties and not insist on going their own way, so that the world will be peaceful and stable without war!)

(End of this chapter)