Chapter 682 What is intolerable?
After listening to Zhao Han’s analysis, Ye Mingsheng told him to always pay attention to the situation on the front line and to ensure the supply of materials on the front line. Then, Ye Mingsheng ended the confidential meeting and returned to his Governor’s Mansion...
Leaning back in his chair, Ye Mingsheng fell into deep thought. After he decided to take over Qi and Lu, He Jingyun, Cui Shao, Gu Sansi and other important officials of the Fengwu Army all told him openly or secretly that the Fengwu Army had spread its business too wide and its financial resources were too weak to support a three-line operation!
In fact, Ye Mingsheng himself was aware of this problem without their reminder, and in order to solve the problem he decided to take a defensive stance in the Battle of Yunbing!
In fact, in this Yunbing battle, Ye Mingsheng did not want to passively defend like he is now, but wanted to compete with Shangguan Hongyuan for the initiative in the war. Even the General Staff had planned for more than two months for the two sides to fight in the field.

The Fengwu Army had already assembled Lin Huaiwu's Second Army and Guo Zhiping's Third Army in Jinzhong, totaling more than 100,000 people. Ye Mingsheng had also planned to lead the newly formed Zhang Meng's Seventh Division, Ye Dong's Ninth Division, and the Tenth Division that was originally planned to participate in the war.

In the initial calculation, although the number of soldiers and horses under Shangguan Hongyuan was nearly twice that of our side, according to intelligence, the artillery advantage of the Fengwu Army was about three times that of the enemy. So even if they set up their troops in the wilderness and fought a big battle, Ye Mingsheng, who had the advantage in cavalry and artillery, was still confident that he could defeat Shangguan Hongyuan in one battle...
However, Murong Lun's letter reduced the profits from Jiangnan's trade by 30%, and the plan to train the 10th Division came to nothing. In addition, man proposes, God disposes. Xu Zhaojie, who had always remained silent in the face of Fengwu Army's provocations and was believed by Ye Mingsheng to attack Jiangnan first, unexpectedly changed his previous low-key and forbearing attitude towards Fengwu Army and began to make small moves in the Hebei-Henan front.

His move of joining forces with Yin Biao forced Ye Mingsheng to face the question of whether to take the northern line or the southern line. After careful consideration, Ye Mingsheng chose to give up the plan of deploying Zhang Meng's Seventh Division and Ye Dong's Ninth Division, the two strategic reserve forces of the Fengwu Army, to the Yunbing battlefield. Instead, he chose to let Zhang Meng's Seventh Division rush to Licheng and control the situation in Qi and Lu as soon as possible, so as not to give Xu Zhaojie and Yin Biao any opportunity to take advantage!

In the original plan, Ye Mingsheng was going to come to the Yunbing battlefield in person, and the General Staff would suggest that he make the final decision. However, because the strategy has changed, Ye Mingsheng will not go to Yunbing but will stay in Yijing. Then, with the two commanders Lin Huaiwu and Guo Zhiping on the Yunbing battlefield, there will be a command problem. In order to solve this problem, Ye Mingsheng chose to let He Jingyun come out and go to Yunbing to command.

Although the Imperial Army's offensive is very fierce at present, with 170,000 troops divided into three routes, they seem to be ready to fight a decisive battle with the Fengwu Army on the Yunbing battlefield. However, Ye Mingsheng knows that the Imperial Army's offensive is fierce, but it cannot last long. After all, the daily cost of food for more than 200,000 troops is an astronomical figure...

Although Shangguan Hongyuan eliminated the southern tour court and regained control of the little emperor, the Luoan court he led was exhausted and unable to make ends meet. The reason why it was able to mobilize an army of more than 200,000 people to fight against him after more than half a year was that it had squeezed the people under the control of the Luoan court to the extreme.

But even so, according to the estimate of the General Staff, Shangguan Hongyuan's offensive of more than 200,000 people would only last two months at most. If he fails to capture Jinzhong within two months, he will most likely not be able to pay the wages, and there may even be problems with the supply of food and fodder.

Although the finances of the Fengwu Army were not very good, according to the joint calculations of the Finance Department, the Provincial Government Department, and the General Staff, as long as the intensity of the war was not too high and there were no large-scale casualties on the front line, the Fengwu Army's two armies of 100,000 soldiers in Yunbing could probably hold out for three months, which was exactly one month longer than the Imperial Army.
Based on this judgment and at the suggestion of the General Staff, Ye Mingsheng formulated a tactic of active defense and delaying the battle on Yunbing for the current situation. If necessary, he could abandon the outer counties and keep the main force to defend Jinzhong City. After two months, the Imperial Army would fall into a bottleneck period of the offensive, while the Fengwu Army would make progress on the Qilu battlefield and then return to Yunbing to launch a counterattack!

In the initial plan, although Ye Mingsheng did not expect to completely defeat the Luoan court led by Shangguan Hongyuan in one battle, he also hoped to recapture Dagu County, capture Jinyang, control the entire Yunbing area, and completely grasp the strategic initiative with the Luoan court...

And now because of the change in the situation, Ye Mingsheng has also lowered his expectations for the outcome of the battle against Yunbing!

Ye Mingsheng did not have to control the entire Yunbing area, and he did not even have to capture the important city of Jinyang. He only had to take back Dagu County.

The reason for lowering expectations on the Yunbing battlefield is entirely to be able to exert efforts on the situation in Qi and Lu!
After some painful thinking, Ye Mingsheng decided that even if he could not win on the Yunbing battlefield, he had to take a piece of the fat meat of Qilu into his mouth. This was related to his basic base and was of utmost importance, and he must not be negligent in the slightest.

Because the war is currently tense, Ye Mingsheng only has Ye Tie's Sixth Division and Ye Dong's Ninth Division left. The Sixth Division is deployed in various places in Liaoyang and Youyan. They are basically local garrison troops, preventing chaos in various places and maintaining their rule. Unless it is absolutely necessary and it comes to a life-and-death battle, Ye Mingsheng will not let them go to the battlefield.

Therefore, the only one that can be mobilized now is the newly reorganized Ninth Division with more than 15,000 people. This is almost Ye Mingsheng’s last trump card and reserve force. Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng felt a little resentful towards Murong Lun. Su Yi from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has returned from his mission to Jiangnan. Although Jiangnan has guaranteed under his efforts that it will not continue to impose more restrictive trade measures on him, the tests that have been implemented such as increasing tariffs and restricting imports will not be cancelled...
This means that one letter from the old man Murong Lun caused him to lose tens of thousands of taels of silver every month, which indirectly forced him to cancel his plan to train the 10th Division. If the 10th Division could be trained now, the Fengwu Army would not be so stretched.

Now the only card left in his hand is the Ninth Division. Ye Mingsheng does not intend to play this card so soon. He wants to wait for the bullets to fly for a while before deciding where to send the Ninth Division!

If the situation on the Yunbing battlefield is tense, the Ninth Division will be sent to Yunbing. If the combination of the First Army and the Seventh Division cannot stop Xu Zhaojie from taking over Qilu, then Ye Mingsheng will send the Ninth Division there to ensure that they can safely take over Qilu and maintain their base!
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"Sister Pei, this is the wild ginseng sent from Baitou Mountain in Liaoyang. My mother said that stewing chicken soup with this is the best way to replenish qi during confinement!"

Looking at Pei Zhixiu lying on the bed, Murong Qingwu asked Ying'er, the maid beside her, to take out a box of beautifully packaged ginseng and said:

Pei Zhixiu shook his head and said:

"Sister Murong, I appreciate your kindness, but this ginseng is too precious!"

Murong Qingwu sighed lightly upon hearing this and said to herself:

"I should have known long ago that my husband dotes on Sister Pei so much that I probably don't need to do it again and again here!"

Pei Zhixiu shook his head and said:

"Sister Murong, you are joking. My husband is very kind to us sisters and never favors one over another!"

When Murong Qingwu heard Pei Zhixiu say "favor one over the other", a half-smile appeared on her face, and she said to Pei Zhixiu meaningfully:

"Sister Pei, are you really impartial? I heard someone cried all night a few days ago and almost ran out of tears."

There was a hint of helplessness in Pei Zhixiu's eyes. In the past few days, she had also heard what happened in Bai Yuanyuan's yard on the night of delivery. Although she was called a vixen by Bai Yuanyuan, she was not a petty woman who would envy Bai Yuanyuan...

In her eyes, Bai Yuanyuan was just a little woman, and it was not worth getting angry at her. The only trouble was that Ye Mingsheng's unintentional action put her at the center of controversy in the backyard, and it would be more difficult for her to live a peaceful and harmonious life in the future.

Under Murong Qingwu's half-smiley gaze, Pei Zhixiu could only shake his head to signal Xiaohuan to accept the things, and then said to Murong Qingwu:

"Thank you for the gift, sister Murong!" Seeing Pei Zhixiu accept her gift, Murong Qingwu's smile became even more intense and she said to Pei Zhixiu:

"Sister Pei, you are too polite. I will have to learn more from you in the future!"

As soon as Murong Qingwu finished speaking, Pei Zhixiu was about to say something when they heard footsteps outside the door. Murong Qingwu and Pei Zhixiu seemed to realize something, and their expressions changed slightly. At the same time, the door was opened, and a graceful woman walked into the room.

Looking at Murong Qingwu in the room, An Miaoyi's eyes flashed with a strange look, but she still smiled and said calmly:
"Sister Qingwu, you are here too!"

Murong Qingwu nodded obediently and said with a smile:

"I'm here to give Sister Pei some supplements. Sister An, you smell like the Golden Phoenix. Did you just get it from Sister Bai?"

Murong Qingwu's seemingly unintentional words caused a flash of coldness in An Miaoyi's beautiful eyes. Seeing this, Murong Qingwu smiled slightly, stood up and said:

“Sister An, you must have something to ask Sister Pei, so I won’t bother you here…”

After saying this, Murong Qingwu stood up and said to Pei Zhixiu who was lying on the bed with a smile:

"Sister Pei, Qingwu will come visit again another day!"

After saying that, Murong Qingwu bowed to An Miaoyi again, then left calmly with her maid Xiaohuan.

Pei Zhixiu, who had been silent since Murong Qingwu left, looked at An Miaoyi, who had a calm face. She felt that she should say something at this time, but she didn't know what to say. When the atmosphere in the room became a little heavy, An Miaoyi sat down and asked Qiqige beside her to hand the supplements to Xiaohuan, and then said to Pei Zhixiu with a smile:

"I don't know what supplements are suitable for you right now, so I gave you some. If you need anything else, Jixiu, send someone to the medical school to get it!"

"Thank you, Madam!" Pei Zhixiu said softly:

After explaining this, An Miaoyi told Pei Zhixiu some trivial matters, and then left in a hurry without staying in Pei Zhixiu's room for long. After An Miaoyi left, Pei Zhixiu sighed secretly in the room. She knew that after giving birth to a son, she would have to face these troubles.

However, when Pei Zhixiu thought of the promise Ye Mingsheng made that day, her expression disappeared, and a little warmth appeared on her pretty face.
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"Ye Mingsheng's concubine gave birth to a pair of children for him?"

On the city wall of Chengfeng County, listening to Liu Zhaohu's report, Xu Zhaojie turned around and asked with great interest:

Liu Chaohu bowed and nodded when he heard this and said:

"Yes, according to the news from Yijing, Ye Mingsheng's two concubines just gave birth to a son and a daughter for him in the past few days. Ye Mingsheng named the son Ye Jingxuan and the daughter Ye Xingtong. Ye Mingsheng is preparing a full-month banquet for his children these days!"

After hearing the news, Xu Zhaojie nodded slightly. After a moment of silence, he smiled and asked Liu Zhaohu:

"Chao Hu, now that Ye Mingsheng has such a great thing, given the friendship between him and me, shouldn't I give him a big gift?"

Xu Zhaojie was smiling at this moment, but Liu Chaohu could sense the murderous intent behind his smile, and immediately agreed:

"Of course! When you treated him with great kindness and promoted him to the position of commander, who would have thought that he would betray you and stab you in the back in the palace? You, my Lord, don't bear grudges and don't bother with him, but he has repeatedly plotted against you. This is intolerable!"

Listening to Liu Chaohu's righteous words to defend himself, Xu Zhaojie smiled and pointed at him and ordered:

“Let Uncle Ben Lei give Ye Mingsheng a big gift on my behalf…”

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)