Chapter 690: Marshal Ye is kind-hearted!
Let's not talk about the fact that Bai Yuanyuan gave birth to a daughter for me. Just talking about Bai Changrong's contribution in Chengfeng County this time, I should also reward him...

But how should Bai Changrong be rewarded?

If Bai Changrong was not disabled, or if he only had one arm disabled, then things would be very easy to handle. It just so happened that the position of the commander-in-chief of the First Army was vacant, and Ye Mingsheng could directly promote Bai Changrong to this position. There would be no need to worry so much now!

But now Bai Changrong has to use a wheelchair and has difficulty moving around. It is definitely not possible for him to continue staying in a field force like the First Army. So how to solve Bai Changrong’s problem?
After thinking for a while, Ye Mingsheng gradually came up with some ideas in his mind. The first was to transfer Bai Changrong back to the rear to serve as the general of the rear garrison troops, and give him more money and luxury houses.

The second idea is to set up a position of deputy chief of general staff in the General Staff Headquarters and let Bai Changrong fill this position.

The third idea is to let Bai Changrong serve as the commander-in-chief of the Fengwu Army reserve. Xun Ke, who previously held this position, has now been transferred to the Yunbing Eighth Division as a general. Ye Mingsheng has not yet decided who to fill this position, so this position remains vacant.

Although Bai Changrong has not led a field army for a long time and lacks experience in major battles, considering all aspects, Bai Changrong's basic qualities as a military general are still strong, his ability to train soldiers is still good, and he is relatively upright, so he is still very suitable for this position.

Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng began to write down the order, and prepared to reward Bai Changrong with a mansion, as well as some gold and silver calligraphy and paintings as a way of comforting him...

After dealing with Bai Changrong's problem, Ye Mingsheng shifted his focus to Yunbing's battle report. As expected by the Fengwu Army's General Staff, after the failure of the divide and encirclement tactics, Shangguan Hongyuan directly attacked the four county towns outside Jinzhong due to the pressure of logistical supplies.

According to Yun Bing's battle report, the intensity of the war was very high. The Fengwu Army suffered nearly a thousand casualties every day. The casualties of the Fengwu Army, as the defending side, were so high, not to mention the Luoan Imperial Army, as the attacking side. They suffered at least two thousand casualties every day, or even three thousand casualties!
In addition, the imperial guards led by Wang Muzhi would occasionally make gestures of forced crossing on the west bank of the Sanchuan River, forcing Guo Zhiping's main force not to easily leave the east bank of the Sanchuan River. Therefore, in the absence of the Third Army's cavalry to connect with them, more than 100,000 Luoan imperial guards used their superior forces to complete the blockade and encirclement of the four outer county towns.

However, this was already part of the General Staff's plan. Over the past few months, the four counties outside Jinzhong have been in a state of preparation for war, repairing city walls, adding defensive facilities, and storing food, gunpowder and other items.

According to the forecast of the General Staff, every county town on the periphery has prepared at least enough food and gunpowder to sustain the battle for two months, and the battle has only lasted for half a month. Therefore, the four county towns on the periphery of Jinzhong can continue to hold on. If they want to take the city, the Luoan Imperial Guards must sacrifice tens of thousands of lives...

Although there is no need to worry about the battle on the Yunbing battlefield for the time being, Ye Mingsheng still feels some pressure. He must solve the trouble on the southern front as soon as possible. Only in this way can he lead his troops back to Yunbing to launch a counterattack one and a half months later when the Luoan Imperial Army is stuck in an offensive bottleneck on the Yunbing battlefield!

Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng gradually made up his mind. He would personally lead the Ninth Division to Fengqiu to meet Xu Zhaojie!

The 9th Division's six battalions with 18,000 soldiers have been reorganized. Although they have just completed the reorganization and have not participated in any major battles, the generals above the rank of captain are basically transferred from other troops. In addition, they are equipped with 30 light red cannons and hundreds of tiger squat cannons, so their combat effectiveness is still guaranteed.

As long as the 9th Division was also deployed to the Hebei-Henan battlefield, and Yin Biao's 4th Army was counted, the Fengwu Army would have concentrated more than 120,000 troops on the southern front, more than twice the number of troops of Xu Zhaojie's Zhennan Army in Anqing. Taking into account the advantage of artillery, the Fengwu Army's advantage was still very great. Only in this way could it be guaranteed that Xu Zhaojie could be captured.

From this perspective, perhaps it would be more beneficial for the Fengwu Army’s plan for Xu Zhaojie to invade Hebei and Henan now. After all, if Xu Zhaojie were to lead all his troops to retreat in Anqing, it would really be troublesome for the Fengwu Army...
Although it has been decided to lead the 9th Division to the Hebei-Henan battlefield, Ye Mingsheng still has some things to deal with in Yijing. During this period, due to the war, the Finance Department can be said to be spending money like water, and a full 500,000 taels of silver were spent in more than half a month.

Although he had made some preparations, Ye Mingsheng was still a little nervous about the speed at which the money was spent. So in order to continue the war, the Finance Department and the Provincial Department had come up with many ideas for Ye Mingsheng. Relaxing the restrictions on banknote exchanges was one of the measures. In addition, the Dadongsheng Company issued a bond of one million taels of silver, increased taxes on gambling houses and brothels, and so on.

In order to ensure the effective implementation of these policies, Ye Mingsheng will summon some important officials of the Fengwu Army and representatives of local wealthy families and gentry in the next few days. It will take some time for Ye Mingsheng to deal with these matters before he can lead his troops to Hebei and Henan.

In addition to defeating Xu Zhaojie and ensuring the safety of the Fengwu Army's southern line, Ye Mingsheng also wanted to inspect Hebei and Henan, which was something he had wanted to do a few months ago.

Although Ye Mingsheng learned from memorials sent from various parts of Hebei and Henan that the lives of millions of people in Hebei and Henan had been greatly improved under the reforms of the Fengwu Army, Ye Mingsheng still felt that he should see it for himself and visit the site to see with his own eyes the changes he had brought to the people of Hebei and Henan.

This time, I can take the opportunity to deal with Xu Zhaojie and get the job done at the same time. This can be considered killing two birds with one stone!

...
...
Licheng, Yinfu

Walking quickly into the study and looking at Yin Biao in front of him, Sun Jingan frowned and asked:

'Brother Yin, Xu Zhaojie's messenger is here to see you?'

Looking at the anxious Sun Jingan in front of him, Yin Biao felt a little disappointed, but still said calmly:
"Haven't I already killed the Sex King sent by Xu Zhaojie and handed him over to the Fengwu Army? Where did Xu Zhaojie's messenger come from?"

Seeing Yin Biao pretending not to know, Sun Jingan said in a deep voice:
"Brother Yin, you know I'm not talking about the guy named Wang!"

Yin Biao shook his head upon hearing this, pretending to be ignorant and said:

"Brother Sun, I don't know about that brother!"

Feeling Yin Biao's attitude, Sun Jingan sighed secretly in his heart, but still patiently explained to Yin Biao:
"Brother Yin, we have no other choice but to cooperate with the Fengwu Army. Marshal Ye has appointed you, Brother Yin, as the commander of the Fourth Army of the Fengwu Army. This is a high-ranking official in the Fengwu Army second only to Marshal Ye. Brother Yin, why do you have to be so persistent!"

Facing Sun Jingan's earnest exhortation, Yin Biao did not waver at all. He looked at Sun Jingan meaningfully and said:

"Brother Sun, are you enjoying your job as the governor of Qilu?" Sun Jing'an was speechless for a moment after hearing what Yin Biao said. Just when he was about to say something, Yin Biao interrupted him with a wave of his hand, looked at him and said seriously, word by word:

“Brother Sun, I don’t know what identity you have in coming to my house now. Are you here as Yin’s good friend, or as the governor of Qi and Lu appointed by Fengwu Army…”

Faced with the questions raised by Yin Biao, Sun Jing'an felt extremely painful. Although Yin Biao did not say anything during this period, he knew that Yin Biao was blaming him in his heart for not defending Licheng.

Now Yin Biao has killed Han Wenbao. If he had defended Licheng and prevented the Fengwu Army from breaking into Licheng, then Yin Biao and other high-ranking Qi Army leaders would not have been threatened by the Fengwu Army using their families, and there would be no need for Yin Biao to surrender to the Fengwu Army now!
However, Sun Jing'an, a civil servant, had no idea how to command a war. The Qi army troops responsible for defending the city had already secretly accepted money from the Coordination Office. Now, after being bombarded by the artillery of the Fengwu Army and the financial offensive of the Coordination Office, they simply opened the city gates and surrendered. In such a situation, what could he, a civil servant, do?

Sun Jing'an knew that although Yin Biao had surrendered to the Fengwu Army and accepted Ye Mingsheng's appointment as the commander of the Fourth Army, in his heart he still did not submit to the Fengwu Army and Ye Mingsheng. He felt that Ye Mingsheng was plotting against him with conspiracy.

It was precisely because of this idea that when faced with Ye Mingsheng's order to attack Anqing, Yin Biao not only kept disobeying it in secret and finding various reasons to delay time, but he also secretly contacted Xu Zhaojie in the hope of turning against the Fengwu Army.

Facing Yin Biao's gaze, Sun Jingan said sincerely:

"Brother Yin, I know what you are thinking, but how many people do you think are still willing to follow you in the Qi army?"

This remark immediately touched Yin Biao's sore spot. Yin Biao's expression changed and he said directly:
"So, Brother Sun, you have joined Ye Mingsheng?"

“Brother Sun, don’t forget, when you were humiliated by the Cao family, it was you who risked your life to help you become the Cao family…”

Seeing Yin Biao bringing up old issues, Sun Jingan immediately said:
"Brother Yin, I will remember your kindness to Sun Jing'an for the rest of my life! That's why I hope you can turn back from your wrong path!"

Listening to Sun Jingan's words, Yin Biao snorted coldly and said resolutely:

"Brother Sun, if you still consider Yin Biao as your friend, please leave now!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Yin Biao picked up the teacup and took a sip, as if serving tea to a guest. Seeing Yin Biao's stubborn look, Sun Jingan sighed again. He knew that if he continued talking, the two of them would really break off all ties and would not even be friends anymore. Thinking of this, he prepared to turn around and leave.

However, at this moment, a noisy sound suddenly came from outside the house, and Yin Biao immediately cursed:

"What are you sons of bitches doing?"

After Yin Biao finished speaking, there was silence outside the house for a few seconds, but soon the door of the study was kicked open. Yin Biao was about to curse, but he saw a burly man in armor, guarded by a team of Fengwu Army soldiers, coming to him with a hideous human head in one hand and his eldest son Yin Hu in the other.

Seeing the person coming, Yin Biao was shocked, but he still calmed down and shouted:
"Zhang Meng, what do you want to do? I am the commander of the Fourth Army. Do you want to commit treason?"

Facing Yin Biao's question, Zhang Meng grinned and threw the hideous head in his hand to Yin Biao's feet and asked:

“Mr. Yin, you still know that you are the commander of the Fourth Army…”

Although the head was covered in blood and the facial expression was hideous, Yin Biao recognized it at a glance. The owner of the head was none other than the messenger sent by Xu Zhaojie to find him, Xu Zhaojie's cousin Xu Yunwen!
And now that Xu Yunwen's head appeared here, there was no doubt that this meant that Zhang Meng had already known about the affair between him and Xu Zhaojie!

Realizing this, Yin Biao looked directly at Sun Jingan!

There is no doubt that he suspected that Sun Jingan had betrayed him. Sun Jingan smiled bitterly and felt helpless. Although he didn't want to see Yin Biao go down the wrong path, he would not betray him!

Then, Yin Biao, a bandit leader who had fought on the battlefield for decades, wanted to take up arms and turn against the Fengwu Army. As the saying goes, "A man dies and birds fly to the sky; a man who lives on will live forever." However, looking at the Fengwu Army soldiers holding swords and axes in front of him, and Zhang Meng who seemed to be smiling, the flame of resistance in Yin Biao's heart was immediately extinguished.

Seeing Yin Biao's uncertain expression, Zhang Meng was too lazy to talk nonsense with him. He clapped his hands and the next second an old general walked into the room. Seeing the person who walked into the room, Yin Biao suddenly became furious and pointed at the person and said viciously:

"How dare you betray me, you bastard!"

Zhang Meng snorted coldly and said:
"Yin Biao, you still have the nerve to speak so shamelessly here? You have been secretly colluding with Xu Zhaojie time and time again, but the Marshal not only did not care, but also entrusted you with important tasks. In the end, you do not repent and are still dreaming of plotting a betrayal. You are truly a disloyal and unrighteous person!"

“People like you should be executed by slow slicing, but our Marshal Ye is kind-hearted and willing to give you another chance. As long as you are willing to hand over the power of the Fourth Army to General Zhao, and then take your family to Yijing to recuperate, the Marshal will not only spare your life, but also let you enjoy your old age in peace…”

(End of this chapter)