Chapter 697 He Jingyun’s determination!

"He, Chief of Staff, Pingrong County is lost..."

On the morning of the 15th, He Jingyun had just woken up from his sleep when he heard such news from his personal soldiers.

Although the fall of Pingrong County was expected and He Jingyun had already been mentally prepared for it, when he really received such news, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart. After a simple wash, he came to the camp in the city.

Arriving at the camp and seeing Cui Desheng already waiting for him, He Jingyun asked directly:
"How was Pingrong County lost?"

Facing He Jingyun's question, Cui Desheng's face looked very unhappy and he said with some guilt;
"Tang Kai, the deputy general of the Fourth Division, led the remnants of the troops stationed in Pingrong County and broke out under the cover of darkness last night! The battle in Pingrong County was extremely fierce. Tang Kai only led more than 3,000 people out, and even among those who broke out, half of them were injured! They plan to go to Wankang County to meet up with General Peng!"

Hearing this, He Jingyun frowned slightly, and then continued to ask Cui Desheng:

"Did Commander Xu approve their breakout?"

Cui Desheng immediately shook his head upon hearing this and said:
"Commander Xu didn't know about this. Tang Kai made the decision on his own. However, the situation in Pingrong County is very dangerous. Tang Peng concentrated more than 50,000 Tiger Guards to attack Pingrong. Tang Kai and his men persisted in Pingrong for half a month..."

Just as Cui Desheng was defending Tang Kai, He Jingyun immediately interrupted him with a wave of his hand and said in a deep voice:

"I know Tang Kai and his men fought hard in Pingrong County and suffered heavy casualties! But this is not an excuse!"

"In Pingyun, Lingyuan, Wankang, and the Sanchuanjiang line, where did our army not suffer? Where did the casualties not come from? Aren't everyone gritting their teeth and holding on?"

"If everyone feels the pain of fighting like him and abandons the city without permission, then why don't we defend other places?"

After hearing this, Cui Desheng suddenly didn't know what to say. After all, according to He Jingyun's requirements before the war, if they wanted to abandon the city and break out, they had to get his permission. Without his permission, anyone who abandoned the city and broke out would be dealt with by military law. And it was obvious that Tang Kai's actions now broke He Jingyun's rules!
Seeing that Cui Desheng had nothing to say, He Jingyun said coldly:
"Tang Kai abandoned the city without authorization and broke out. According to military law, he should be executed as a warning to others! However, considering his previous military achievements, the death penalty can be recorded first, but he cannot escape the punishment of life. First, he will be dismissed from his position as the deputy general of the Fourth Division and ordered to stay in Wankang County to assist General Peng in the battle to see the results!"

Although He Jingyun's voice was very cold, Cui Desheng was overjoyed after hearing what He Jingyun said. Tang Kai had always been a member of their Third Army and had made many contributions. Although he abandoned Pingrong County this time, he held on until the last moment before being forced to give up.

But then again, a violation of military law is a violation of military law. The Fengwu Army has strict military law and Tang Kai must be punished. Therefore, Cui Desheng, the commander of the Third Army, is also very worried that He Jingyun will kill Tang Kai, so as to warn others not to abandon the city without authorization...

Although He Jingyun's punishment was severe and he deprived Tang Kai of his military post, he did not take his life. He allowed him to stay in Wankang to assist Peng Ce in command. This means that if Tang Kai performs well in the future, he will have a chance to be reinstated.

Thinking of this, Cui Desheng immediately expressed his opinion:

"Chief of Staff He, your punishment is fair. Tang Kai must be punished severely!"

Listening to Cui Desheng's words, He Jingyun nodded slightly, then shifted his gaze back to the sand table. From the beginning of the war to now, Pingrong County, which was guarded by Tang Kai, has always been the focus of enemy attacks. Facing the fierce attack of the enemy that was almost six or seven times larger than his own, Tang Kai defended Pingrong County for twenty-seven days.

It was for this reason that He Jingyun decided to spare his life. Otherwise, he, He, would not mind using Tang Kai's head for military prosecution!

After thinking for a while, He Jingyun asked again:

"Where are Tang Kai and the others now?"

Cui Desheng hesitated for a while and said:
"The exact location is still unclear, but if we calculate the time, even if Tang Kai and his team haven't reached Wankang County yet, they should be almost there!"

He Jingyun made no comment upon hearing the news and continued to stare at the sand table. Although the 4th Division of the Fengwu Army was one of the founding units of the Fengwu Army in Liaoyang, the soldiers and personnel of this division were originally composed of servants and tenants of the Cui family. The general Peng Ce who commanded this division was also promoted by the Cui family.

Although Ye Mingsheng later dispersed the Fourth Division’s troops to various units through reorganization and recruited many troops from various units into the Fourth Division, but for the sake of Cui family’s face, Ye Mingsheng never touched Peng Ce and some generals of the Fourth Division··································

This also led to the fact that although the Fourth Division was ranked fourth, its combat effectiveness was still much worse than the three main ace divisions in front. In addition, the general of the Fourth Division, Peng Ce, was over 50 years old this year and was the oldest general in the Fengwu Army.

Although Peng Ce has extensive experience in commanding operations throughout his military career, to be honest, he has always been very conventional in commanding operations and rarely makes minor mistakes. But don't expect him to give you any surprises.

Under his leadership, the 4th Division also followed the rules and was not very outstanding among the divisions of the Fengwu Army. In a series of previous operations of the Fengwu Army, the 4th Division was mainly responsible for the strategic reserve and the task of maintaining stability in the rear.

In the pre-war predictions, the generals of the Fengwu Army were mainly worried that Xun Ke's Eighth Division on the northern line would become a breakthrough point for the enemy. They did not expect Shangguan Hongyuan to target the Fourth Division. After all, although the combat effectiveness of the Fourth Division was not outstanding, as the starting point of the Fengwu Army, the combat effectiveness of the Fourth Division was still very guaranteed.

Relatively speaking, the Eighth Division was a newly established army less than half a year ago. Although many backbones were drawn from various units of the Fengwu Army to support the construction of the Eighth Division, it had not experienced the baptism of war after all, and its combat effectiveness was still very worrying. It was precisely because of this that He Jingyun also transferred some additional heavy artillery to the Eighth Division to assist the Eighth Division in defending the city.
Perhaps Shangguan Hongyuan realized this, so he did the opposite and made the southern line guarded by the 4th Division the focus of their offensive...

After thinking for a full cup of tea, He Jingyun finally told Cui Desheng:

"General Cui, the situation is very clear now. Shangguan Hongyuan is aiming at the southern line as a breakthrough point, intending to use this as an opportunity to disintegrate our army's defense system outside Jinzhong. Our army must not let him succeed so easily!" "It has only been a month since the Battle of Yunbing. The Marshal is preparing for the counterattack of Hebei and Henan in Yijing, so the Yunbing battlefield must not cause trouble for the Marshal!"

Feeling the seriousness and solemnity in He Jingyun's words, Cui Desheng's heart gradually became heavy. At the same time, He Jingyun continued:

"My colleagues from the Flying Tiger Battalion and the Coordination Office are conducting special operations behind enemy lines, causing great damage to the enemy's logistics supply. Now the enemy's logistics supply has become a problem. As long as our army can hold out for two months, the enemy will no longer be able to launch a large-scale offensive!"

"So now is the most critical and difficult time for the situation on the Yunbing battlefield!"

"We must not let up, we must grit our teeth and hold on until the last moment! As long as we can hold on, victory is not far away!"

After listening to He Jingyun's words, Cui Desheng took a deep breath and looked at He Jingyun very seriously and said:

“Chief of Staff He, just say whatever you want to say! All the officers and soldiers of the Third Army will resolutely complete the tasks you assign…”

After getting the desired statement, He Jingyun said directly:
"What I want is very simple! It is now May 15th, and I demand that the Fourth Division must hold out in Wankang County until the last day of the month!"

"As long as General Peng holds out for the whole month, even if Wankang County is lost on June 1st, I, He Jingyun, will take the blame for the loss of the city on the Marshal's side! But if Wankang County is lost this month, then please let General Peng decide for himself!"

After hearing this, even though Cui Desheng knew that He Jingyun must have an important task to assign to their Third Army, he did not expect He Jingyun to be so cruel!
Although He Jingyun said it very tactfully, asking Peng Ce to make his own decision!

But it is obvious that what He Jingyun meant was that if Peng Ce failed to complete the task, he would have to commit suicide to apologize!

Thinking of this, Cui Desheng was also a little angry. Not to mention that Peng Ce was the general of the Fourth Division and a senior general in the Fengwu Army, Peng Ce was a relative of their Cui family and not someone who could be bullied by anyone. And now He Jingyun actually directly asked Peng Ce to commit suicide if he failed to complete the task. He really didn't take their Cui family seriously and was really too bold!

As if sensing Cui Desheng's anger, He Jingyun stroked the sword Ye Mingsheng handed to him and said in a deep voice without changing his expression:

"The Marshal has granted me the power to make decisions on the battlefield of Yunbing and to act at my own discretion. I can act first and report later! The battle of Yunbing concerns the survival of our Fengwu Army and we cannot afford to make any mistakes! So I have no choice but to make this request. I hope my colleagues in the Third Army can understand!"

"If you think what I did was wrong, please report it to the commander-in-chief! But as long as I am in Yunbing, my orders must be obeyed! Otherwise, the law will not show mercy, so please don't make mistakes!"

･････････････
･････････････
Yijing, Governor's Mansion

Looking at little Jingxuan who was sleeping soundly in the cradle, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but smile, and his depressed mood due to the battle report from the front line was relieved a lot.

After pinching the little guy's face, Ye Mingsheng was contented and ready to leave. He was about to go on an expedition, so there were many things to do, so he didn't have much time to enjoy a pleasant parent-child time. This had to be said to be a small regret for Ye Mingsheng.

Ye Mingsheng walked out of the room and happened to run into Pei Zhixiu who was returning home. Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng smiled and asked:

"Why did you come back early today?"

Glancing at Ye Mingsheng, Pei Zhixiu said calmly:
"I heard from Xiao Huan that my husband was here, so I came back from get off work early!"

Ye Mingsheng was somewhat surprised to hear that Pei Zhixiu came specifically for him. After all, Pei Zhixiu was very dedicated to the work of Changshan Medical Clinic. She went to work almost rain or shine all year round and rarely left work early. However, Ye Cui had always been opposed and dissatisfied with the affairs of Changshan Medical Clinic, which had always been a headache for Ye Mingsheng.

However, Pei Zhixiu directly announced that Changshan Hospital would no longer accept male patients and would only treat female patients, and would not allow male family members to accompany them. Although this move did not completely satisfy Ye Cui, it did reduce Ye Cui's opposition a lot.

This undoubtedly solved some problems for Ye Mingsheng. Ye Mingsheng was very satisfied with this, knowing that his love for her was not in vain.

Just when Ye Mingsheng was about to say something, Pei Zhixiu suddenly came over, took his arm and walked into the house.

This action made Ye Mingsheng feel very surprised. Although Pei Zhixiu cooperated with him very well and solved some difficult physical exercises, she had never been so proactive. What happened today? Was he going to applaud for love in broad daylight?

Although he was very surprised, Ye Mingsheng's body was still very honest. He returned to the room with Pei Zhixiu. When Ye Mingsheng was a little distracted, Pei Zhixiu asked him to sit down, then put her slender jade fingers on his wrist and began to check his pulse very seriously.

Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng realized with some embarrassment that he had been overthinking, then turned around and glared at Ye Cheng who was waiting outside the house!
It must be this guy who told the secret!

During this period, the Fengwu Army was fighting on two fronts and the situation was very stalemate. In order to ensure that he could know the changes in the situation as soon as possible, Ye Mingsheng also asked for the battle reports to be sent to him at the first time, no matter when. However, many battle reports were sent in the middle of the night, which caused Ye Mingsheng to have a bad sleep.
In addition, He Jingyun was transferred to the Yunbing battlefield, and the lack of such a helper around him resulted in Ye Mingsheng having to do many military and political affairs personally, which greatly increased Ye Mingsheng's workload. This also forced Ye Mingsheng to work from morning to night, and his life was very tiring. He had no time to exercise himself and stayed in the study all day long.

I don’t know what happened in the last few days. It’s only May and the weather in Yijing is a bit hot. Ye Mingsheng has no appetite because of the heat and only eats one meal a day.

All these factors also caused Ye Mingsheng to feel very tired these past few days, and he even had a little dizziness. Because it felt like his blood pressure was a little high, Ye Mingsheng didn’t pay too much attention to it. But now it seems that Ye Cheng told Pei Zhixiu about this little thing...
(End of this chapter)