Chapter 683 The Emperor’s Aunt!
Jinzhong, Fengwu Army Camp
Looking at the sand table in front of him and the dozen or so generals in the hall, He Jingyun felt infinite emotion in his heart. Although he participated in all the war plans when the Fengwu Army started its uprising, because of Ye Mingsheng's will, he had never been able to actually go to the battlefield to command the operations before...
And now, facing the aggressive Shangguan Hongyuan, Ye Mingsheng was finally willing to send him, the Chief of Staff of the Fengwu Army, to meet the enemy!

After calming down for a while, He Jingyun asked the generals below with a serious expression:

"Where are the three enemy armies now? What is the enemy and our situation?"

In response to He Jingyun's question, Cui Desheng, who was in charge of collecting intelligence, stood up and said:
"Reporting to Chief of Staff He, the enemy Ma Chongyang's troops have already attacked Lingyuan County and Pingyun County on the northern front. He wants to defeat them one by one, so he has concentrated more than 40,000 main forces to launch a fierce attack on Lingyuan County, leaving only 10,000 troops to guard Pingyun County!"

"In response to his offensive, General Xun Ke, who was responsible for guarding the northern front, used heavy artillery to fight the enemy in Lingyuan County. On the other hand, he ordered the defenders in Pingyun County to harass the enemy and disrupt their logistical supplies. In general, the northern front was in a stalemate."

“Compared to Ma Chongyang on the northern front, Tang Peng on the southern front is more busy. So far, only 30,000 soldiers have arrived in Pingrong County, and the remaining 40,000 soldiers are expected to be in place in three days. Judging from Tang Peng’s current actions, he is not in a hurry to attack the city. He seems to just want to make sure that our garrison in Pingrong County and Wankang County will not support the central route…”

"General Peng Ce's Sixth Division, which is currently responsible for guarding the southern front, has sufficient food and fodder and is ready for battle. All supplies can last at least two months!"

He Jingyun nodded slightly after listening to Cui Desheng's introduction. Although the current situation of the north and south lines is somewhat different from before the station, it is generally within expectations. Now it depends on how the situation in the middle develops. Thinking of this, He Jingyun turned his gaze to the sand table and asked in a deep voice:

"Tell me about Wang Muzhi's current situation!"

"Yes!"

"After Wang Muzhi and his Liang army set out from Dagu County, they were lightly armed and had a very fast speed. At present, his vanguard has crossed the Sanchuan River and has already fought with General Guo's cavalry on the east bank of the Sanchuan River. Although our army defeated the enemy cavalry and killed more than a thousand of them!"

"However, the Liang army led by Wang Muzhi has basically gained a foothold on the east bank of the Sanchuan River by virtue of its superior military strength. It is expected that the main force of the Liang army will soon cross the Sanchuan River!"

Hearing this news, He Jingyun's expression suddenly became very serious. After pondering for a few seconds, he asked Cui Desheng:
"How many people are there in the Third Division under Commander Guo?"

Faced with this question, Cui Desheng said without hesitation:
"Excluding the cavalry battalion sent out to harass the enemy's food supply route, it is currently estimated that Commander Guo still has more than 25,000 soldiers and horses under his command..."

Upon hearing this information, He Jingyun immediately ordered Lin Huaiwu, who was sitting first on his left:

"Commander Lin, I want to transfer two battalions from your Second Division and hand them over to Commander Guo!"

Lin Huaiwu frowned slightly when he heard this. According to He Jingyun's deployment and coordination, his Second Army was responsible for the protection of the northern line and Jinzhong City, and Guo Zhiping's Third Division was responsible for the defense of the central and southern lines. Now that the war had just begun, two battalions were transferred from his side to Guo Zhiping. Of course, he was skeptical about He Jingyun's decision!
The defenders of Jinzhong now only have more than 30,000 soldiers from his Second Division. To withdraw two battalions is almost to withdraw 10,000 soldiers. The remaining 20,000 soldiers will be somewhat difficult to guard a big city like Jinzhong. Moreover, his Second Division was originally the reserve force for the Yunbing battlefield. It is not a good sign to mobilize the reserve force right after the battle!

Thinking of this, Lin Huaiwu was about to say something, but then he saw the sword on He Jingyun's waist!

This sword is of simple style and made of fine steel. Although it looks very good, it was just a sword equipped by the Imperial Guards of the Great Zhou Dynasty to the commander-level generals for commanding battles. Because it was mass-produced, many commanders in the Imperial Guards were equipped with this sword. It is not a rare and peerless sword...
However, Lin Huaiwu, who had followed Ye Mingsheng since the days of the Imperial Guards, could tell the difference of this sword at a glance. If he was not mistaken, the handle of the sword was engraved with the name of its master - Ye Mingsheng!

This sword is exactly the sword that Ye Mingsheng wore when he was in the Imperial Guards. It was under the command of this sword that more than a thousand Imperial Guards invaded Liujing in one fell swoop and created the prosperity and wealth they have today!

Over the years, the First Manufacturing Bureau has forged many new swords for Ye Mingsheng, but Ye Mingsheng still only carries this sword. According to Ye Mingsheng himself, he wants to use this sword to remind himself of his past hardships and not to get lost in the power and desire of today.

It is such a knife with extraordinary significance, but now Ye Mingsheng asked He Jingyun to bring it over. The meaning is self-evident!

Thinking of this, Lin Huaiwu couldn't help but change his mind, nodded at He Jingyun and said:
"Your humble servant, I will arrange this matter after the meeting!"

Hearing Lin Huaiwu's answer, He Jingyun nodded slightly, and then instructed Cui Desheng beside him:

"The two battalions of the Second Army will set out tonight and must reach the east bank of the Sanchuan River within two days. Tell Commander Guo to drive Wang Muzhi back to the west bank of the Sanchuan River. This battle has just begun, and we must not let their conspiracy succeed!" Feeling the determination in He Jingyun's words, Cui Desheng also nodded in response with a stern expression:
“I obey your command…”

After explaining the combat mission, He Jingyun ended the combat meeting. After everyone had left the tent, He Jingyun picked up the sword at his waist and began to observe with a complicated expression.

The most important purpose of Ye Mingsheng's transfer of the Chief of Staff of the Fengwu Army to the Yunbing battlefield this time was not to use his command ability to command the battle, but to solve the command problems of the Yunbing battlefield.

After all, on the Yunbing battlefield, there are two Fengwu Army commanders, Lin Huaiwu and Guo Zhiping. Although the two have no grudges against each other on weekdays, now that the war is imminent, no matter whether Lin Huaiwu or Guo Zhiping is in command, the other will definitely not accept it!
Among them, Lin Huaiwu is particularly special. He claims to be the earliest general to follow Ye Mingsheng. He and Ye Mingsheng are both from the imperial guards. In the Fengwu Army, he has always regarded himself as Ye Mingsheng's confidant. Even generals of the same rank rarely give him face. Although Guo Zhiping looks like a Confucian general, he also has a sense of chivalry in his heart as he came from a bandit family.

If he is paired with Lin Huaiwu, there will definitely be friction between the two of them. At that time, poor command and internal strife will result in the Fengwu Army's combat effectiveness not being able to be fully exerted.

The best way to solve this problem is to send someone recognized by both parties to take command. According to the plan, Ye Mingsheng was supposed to be in charge of the Yunbing battlefield himself, but now the plan has changed and Ye Mingsheng can’t come. In He Jingyun’s eyes, there are only two people left in the Fengwu Army who can suppress Guo Zhiping and Lin Huaiwu······················

One of these two people is Yuan Song, who is known as the first general of the Fengwu Army, and the other is He Jingyun himself, who has served as the Chief of Staff of the Fengwu Army for many years and is recognized as the second in command of the Fengwu Army after Ye Mingsheng!
And now that Yuan Song is in charge of the battlefield in Hebei and Henan, the only one in the Fengwu Army who can complete the mission is He Jingyun!
It was precisely because of this confidence that when He Jingyun was assigned by Ye Mingsheng to stay in Yunbing, he accepted the task with a slight reluctance. However, when he set off from Yijing, Ye Mingsheng, who was seeing him off, personally handed him the sword!

He Jingyun certainly understood Ye Mingsheng's intention, but he was still a little hesitant about whether to accept the sword. After all, in his opinion, with his status and position in the Fengwu Army, even without the blessing of Ye Mingsheng's sword, he would be able to completely intimidate Lin Huaiwu and Guo Zhiping!

However, now it seems that He, that person, is a little self-righteous!
When he gave the order just now, he could clearly feel that Lin Huaiwu was hesitant and even wanted to refute his order. In the end, he looked at Ye Mingsheng's sword on his waist and finally agreed to his order!
He Jingyun was naturally very indignant about Lin Huaiwu's reaction. He had long heard that Lin Huaiwu was very arrogant and would not listen to anyone except Ye Mingsheng. However, he never expected that Lin Huaiwu would dare to disobey the orders of him, the Chief of the General Staff. Was he really a group of arrogant soldiers?
While He Jingyun was indignant, he also felt a little relieved in his heart...

Fortunately, he did not refuse Ye Mingsheng's sword before leaving. Otherwise, if Lin Huaiwu openly refuted his orders at the combat meeting just now, he would have no good solution. Even if he wrote a letter to Ye Mingsheng to report Lin Huaiwu, it would be too late!

This incident also made He Jingyun clearly realize that his prestige and influence in the Fengwu Army were far less than he thought. The combat plan he had formulated before could be implemented smoothly because everyone relied on Ye Mingsheng's authority and support for him. Thinking of this, He Jingyun, who was very hurt, could only shake his head helplessly, and then looked at the sand table.

The Luoan court was in poor financial condition and was eager for a quick victory. This was a consensus among the Fengwu Army's staff. Based on this judgment, one could draw a conclusion that Shangguan Hongyuan, who did not want to engage in a wasteful battle with the Fengwu Army, must have wanted to defeat the Fengwu Army with his tremendous force at the very beginning of the war.

As the military strategy says, the first wave of attack will weaken the momentum, the second will weaken, and the third will be exhausted. This means that as long as they can withstand the first, which is also the fiercest wave of attack from the Luoan Imperial Army, the subsequent attacks of the Luoan Imperial Army will automatically weaken. This is why He Jingyun did not hesitate to use the reserve troops to let Guo Zhiping repel Wang Muzhi!
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Governor's Mansion, in the study room

Ye Mingsheng, who was relaxing during his lunch break, rested his head on Jinyu's round and slender buttocks, enjoying Jinyu's careful massage, while looking at the latest information sent by the Coordination Office in the morning!

It has to be said that Huo San responded very quickly to Ye Mingsheng's orders. In just three days, they completed the report that Ye Mingsheng wanted, and Huo San delivered it to the Governor's Office personally.

There is a lot of content in the report, including the situation on the Yunbing battlefield and the Qilu battlefield. However, since there has been no further progress on these two battlefields, Ye Mingsheng is more concerned about the content about Wang Jiang in the report.

From Zhang Zhiwen's official document and Ye Cheng's story that day, Ye Mingsheng had a premonition that the young widow Wang Jiang was no simple woman. However, after receiving a more detailed report about her from the Coordination Office, Ye Mingsheng could not help but marvel at it, and lamented that Wang Jiang was truly a rare and extraordinary woman.

Although Ye Mingsheng had learned from Ye Cheng before that the young widow Wang Jiang was a descendant of the royal family and had royal Jiang blood, Ye Mingsheng did not care too much about it. After all, the Great Zhou Dynasty lasted for 300 years, and the royal family had reproduced countless generations in 300 years.

I don’t know how many former royal relatives and nobles have fallen into the ranks of the common people. Nowadays, in the Great Zhou, anyone with the surname Jiang, even if he is a farmer, a straw sandal seller, or a pig butcher, dares to claim that he is a descendant of the royal family...
It was based on this understanding that Ye Mingsheng initially thought that Wang Jiang, a descendant of the royal family, was just a title and actually had nothing to do with the royal family.

However, this investigation report from the Coordination Office made Ye Mingsheng realize that he was wrong. This young widow, Wang Jiang, was indeed a legitimate descendant of the royal family.

According to the investigation of the Coordination Office, Wang Jiang's maiden name was Jiang Yuyan. She was the daughter of Liu, the wife of Prince of Qi, a member of the royal family of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Prince of Qi was the great uncle of the young Emperor Jiang Rui, who is now the Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. This means that in terms of the royal family's seniority, the young Emperor Jiang Rui should call Wang Jiang "Aunt"!
Just when Ye Mingsheng was looking a little excited, he felt a resentful gaze looking at him quietly the next second. Ye Mingsheng subconsciously followed the gaze and saw that Jinyu's face was full of resentment. When she looked into Ye Mingsheng's eyes, Jinyu couldn't help but feel sour in her heart and said to Ye Mingsheng sourly:
“What’s so good about these old women? Why are you so interested in them, my husband?”

(I have missed some of the reading recently. If you have any opinions, please leave a message to Tongming. I will make corrections if necessary!)

(End of this chapter)