Chapter 700 The Eight Immortals celebrate birthday!

Jinzhong, Wankang County.

Countless Fengwu Army soldiers are coming in and out of the Zhao Mansion in the city. The owner of the Zhao Mansion is named Zhao Huaqiang, a local squire and landlord. When the Luoan Imperial Army invaded on a large scale last year, he fled to Yijing with his family and all their valuables to seek shelter...

Therefore, after Peng Ce led his troops into Wankang County this year, he requisitioned the Zhao Mansion as the Fengwu Army's temporary headquarters in Wankang County and his personal residence.

In a side room of the house, Tang Kai stood in front of the sand table and said to Peng Ce, whose temples were already graying, with some guilt:

"General, if I hadn't abandoned the city without permission, General He wouldn't have been so harsh!"

Listening to Tang Kai's words, Peng Ce waved his hand and said:
"You did the right thing! If you hadn't led your troops to break out in Pingrong County, the two battalions of thousands of people would have been killed! You were surrounded by the enemy at the time. Let's not talk about whether you could send troops to break out and ask He Jingyun for instructions. Even if you could break out, by the time He Jingyun gave the order, it would be too late!"

"This He guy is just taking chicken feathers as a token of authority! Can't he just be his military advisor in Yijing? Why does he have to come to Yunbing to interfere?"

Although he was very indignant towards He Jingyun, Peng Ce couldn't help but sigh at the end. If He Jingyun came here alone this time, and he asked himself to commit suicide before the end of the month, he, Peng, would not pay any attention to him at all. Even if He Jingyun had two guts, he would not dare to kill himself!

After all, although He Jingyun is the chief of staff of the Fengwu Army, he, Peng Ce, is not without followers either. He may not lose if the lawsuit goes to the Marshal...
However, He Jingyun came with the Marshal's sword, which meant that He Jingyun was given the power to execute first and report later. If he did not commit suicide before the end of the month, He Jingyun would probably really kill him with the Marshal's sword!

Thinking of this, Peng Ce's eyes looking at the sand table became very solemn. The enemy in front of him was the 70,000 Tiger Guards led by the enemy general Tang Peng.

Although Tang Peng led his troops to defeat Tang Kai and capture Pingrong County a few days ago, giving an explanation to Shangguan Hongyuan, the Hu Jie Imperial Army also suffered a lot of losses. According to Tang Kai, the Hu Jie Imperial Army suffered at least 10,000 casualties, and before that, the Hu Jie Imperial Army launched a siege on Wangkang County, which also resulted in the loss of several thousand people.

Therefore, Peng Ce estimated that of the Hujie Imperial Guards, which originally had a full strength of 70,000 people, only about 55,000 people could fight at this time, but Tang Peng should leave a few thousand people to protect the flank food route.

On his own side, the two battalions of Tang Kai's troops had been crippled. Not only were all their artillery and supplies destroyed when they broke out from Pingrong County, but the casualties of the troops were close to half. Currently, only 3,000 people could continue to fight, while the original defenders in the city had about 8,000 people who could participate in the battle.

If we calculate this way, the number of troops on both sides is about 10,000 to 55,000, and the enemy's troops are five times as many as ours...

Realizing this, Peng Ce felt a lot of pressure in his heart. Since they captured Pingrong County on the 15th, the Hujie Imperial Army, which had suffered heavy casualties, began to rest in Pingrong County. According to the intelligence of the Fengwu Army scouts, during the period when the main force of the Hujie Imperial Army was resting, the enemy was constantly transporting food, gunpowder and other supplies to Pingrong County in preparation for the Hujie Imperial Army to siege the city.

And just yesterday, on the 19th, according to the intelligence of the scouts, the main force of the Tiger Guards in Pingrong County had sent a vanguard of 10,000 people to Wankang County, and it was expected to arrive at the vicinity of Wankang County tonight.
The main force of the Hujie Imperial Army remaining in Pingrong County is also actively mobilizing for battle and may arrive at Wankang County in the next three days. This means that the enemy will officially launch an attack on Wankang County on the 21st or 22nd. Peng Ce and his Fourth Division will have to hold on to Wankang County for about ten days under the fierce attack of the enemy!
Looking at Peng Ce who was frowning, Tang Kai hesitated for a moment and suggested:

"General, is there any news from Commander Guo? Can you send a cavalry unit to support Wankang County from the outside? We don't need too many people, just Lu Da's 1,000 men will do. With them, Tang Peng will have to allocate at least a part of his troops to protect the food route and flanks!"

Listening to Tang Kai's suggestion, Peng Ce shook his head and said:

“I have written to Commander Guo to explain the situation here and ask him to send cavalry support. Commander Guo has not replied yet. However, I heard that Wang Muzhi’s Liang army has been making frequent moves near the Sanchuan River and may force a crossing of the river at any time. So Commander Guo is probably under a lot of pressure and it may be difficult for him to send troops for support…”

Tang Kai looked somewhat helpless when he heard this. The enemy had seen through the shortage of troops on their side, so they adopted a posture of full-line suppression, trying to create a breakthrough in the outer defense of Jinzhong City, and then divide and encircle them by breaking through the point.

Perhaps Shangguan Hongyuan, who is now stationed in Jinyang, is hoping that Guo Zhiping will allocate more troops to support Wankang County. In this way, Wang Muzhi can force a crossing of the Sanchuan River and directly attack Jinzhong City. Although they know what the enemy is planning, because this is an open conspiracy to overwhelm the enemy, the Fengwu Army, which is not at an advantage in terms of troops, has no particularly good way to deal with it and can only grit their teeth and persevere.

"How is the recruitment of able-bodied men in the city going?" Peng Ce asked Tang Kai, as if he had thought of something:
Facing Peng Ce's question, Tang Kai said without hesitation:
"We have already recruited 3,000 people, but they can only do the transportation work at most. They are not very useful. In addition, 39 houses near the city wall have been demolished. We now have enough rolling stones and battering rams, enough to support us until the end of the month!"

"But because it rained all day yesterday and it was very humid, a lot of our gunpowder got damp, and now we only have two bases left!"

Peng Ce nodded and ordered after hearing this;
"Order all units to save gunpowder and avoid waste! When the enemy launches a tentative attack, do not use the red cannon to fight back. Let all units make full use of the effectiveness of the tiger squat cannon and Fengwu gun to fire accurately!"

"Yes!" After explaining this, Peng Ce pointed to a plain near Wankang County on the sand table and continued to order Tang Kai:
“The enemy’s 10,000-strong vanguard is here to build camps for their main army. Send out all of our division’s most experienced scouts to see where they have built the powder depot. Although the enemy’s artillery cannot compare with ours, it will be very troublesome if we allow them to bombard us…”

·····························
·····························
Yijing, Governor's Mansion

Although the New Year has passed for more than three months, the Governor's Mansion is now bustling with people coming and going because of the fifty-ninth birthday of old lady Ye Cui.

Although the war was in a time of financial strain, Ye Mingsheng ordered the Fengwu Army and government to tighten their belts and live a hard life, but Ye Cui's birthday banquet was a special case, and Ye Mingsheng personally approved a sum of money to organize it. At this time, in the back garden of the mansion, the best opera troupe in Yijing City, the Sun Family Troupe, and a group of famous opera actors were performing on stage!
“The first immortal, Han Zhongli, wears a phoenix hat and a golden robe, holding a banana leaf that flutters in the wind. He cultivated himself to become a Taoist on Mount Zhongnan. He is ranked among the immortals with high attainments. He comes here on a cloud wearing black boots. He comes here specially to offer birthday wishes and peaches. The second immortal, Li Tieguai, wears a bagua hat and a black and gold robe, holding a cane in his hand and his feet are also raised. He practices the method of immortality with a heart, carrying a gourd on his shoulder that reaches the sky. He comes here on a cloud wearing black boots. He comes here specially to offer birthday wishes and peaches…”

"Madam, are you performing the Eight Immortals celebrating a birthday?" Holding Ye Xingtong in her arms, Bai Yuanyuan asked An Miaoyi cautiously:
In response to Bai Yuanyuan's question, An Miaoyi nodded slightly and said with a smile:

"The old lady ordered it herself. The singing is pretty good, right?"

“The singing is good, but this Eight Immortals celebrating a birthday…”

Bai Yuanyuan looked a little hesitant and spoke haltingly. Born in a family of officials, she knew very well that the Eight Immortals could only be used to celebrate birthdays of the emperor, empress and empress dowager. Anyone else would be considered as overstepping their authority and would be subject to death or even the extermination of all nine generations of their clan!
Seeing Bai Yuanyuan like this, An Miaoyi smiled and patted her hands and said:
"This play was personally selected by my husband. He knew that the old lady had never seen the Eight Immortals Celebrating Birthday and had always been curious about how this play was performed, so he specially arranged for this troupe to perform this play. Sister Bai, you don't have to worry too much! The Emperor Zhou cannot issue orders outside the palace now, so what can he do?"

After hearing what An Miaoyi said, she nodded and felt relieved. Although she knew that the world was in chaos and her husband was one of the princes fighting for the world, because she was born in an official family, she was still quite taboo about such things. She was still a little uneasy subconsciously in her heart. However, after hearing what An Miaoyi said, she suddenly remembered what Ye Mingsheng was doing.

If Ye Mingsheng succeeds, he can watch the Eight Immortals Celebrating Birthday however he wants from now on. If Ye Mingsheng fails, even if he doesn’t watch the Eight Immortals Celebrating Birthday, his whole family will suffer a bad end··························
Although Ye Mingsheng made an exception and held a grand birthday banquet for Ye Cuishi, in order to prevent his generals and ministers from wasting money on gifts for Ye Cuishi, after obtaining Ye Cuishi's understanding, Ye Mingsheng directly told his subordinates that they could come and have a drink to share the joyous atmosphere, but gifts were not allowed.

As the birthday banquet continued, more and more people came to congratulate. Although Ye Mingsheng had said so beforehand, many people still brought gifts hoping to present them to Ye Cui. However, An Miaoyi, with Ye Mingsheng's instructions, politely declined these gifts one by one.

Although she rejected many gifts, An Miaoyi was troubled when faced with a longevity character!

Looking at An Miaoyi, Cui Shao, who came to celebrate his birthday, said with a smile:

“Miaoyi, everyone knows Mingsheng’s intention. Now Yun, Bing, Ji and Yu are all at war. Mingsheng hopes that everyone will not waste money and use the food and silver where it matters most. And I, the old man, have nothing good to give you. I can only give my dear sister this letter written by my own hand…”

Looking at the framed paper with a round and majestic "Shou" character in front of her, and then listening to what Cui Shao said, An Miaoyi looked back at Ye Cuishi, who made the final decision:
"Mingsheng doesn't allow me to accept gifts from others, but Third Brother is one of our own. Besides, it's just a piece of calligraphy. I like Third Brother's calligraphy the most. I will hang it in my room when I get back!"

Seeing that Ye Cui had spoken personally, An Miaoyi accepted the "Longevity" character and invited Cui Shao to the main seat at the banquet.

Logically, Ye Mingsheng should have attended Ye Cui's birthday party, but due to the delicate situation in Hebei and Henan, Ye Mingsheng had to leave early and let An Miaoyi host the birthday party. Naturally, An Miaoyi did her best to make the party both grand and decent.

Since she was the host of the birthday party, An Miaoyi also had her own little thoughts. When the atmosphere of the birthday party was at its peak, she directly arranged for the less than two-year-old Jingren to present a birthday poem to his grandmother in a baby voice, which not only won the favor of Ye Cui, but also aroused amazing applause from the whole audience.

The birthday banquet gradually came to an end in a peaceful atmosphere, and those who came to celebrate the birthday dispersed one by one. However, Ye Cui had not seen her family members for a long time and she missed them. There were too many people at the birthday banquet just now, and she was embarrassed to pull Cui Shao aside to ask...

So when everyone had left, Ye Cui asked An Miaoyi to lead Cui Shao to her courtyard. Walking along the corridor, An Miaoyi saw that everyone around her was her own people, so she calmly said to Cui Shao beside her:
"Uncle, Zibo will be the prefect of Yecheng in the near future!"

When Cui Shao heard the news, his expression did not change, but he sighed secretly in his heart.

As the Fengwu Army conquered cities and territories, Cui Shao, the mainstay of the Fengwu Army's civil service system, gained more and more power. However, in order not to give Ye Mingsheng any handle, Cui Shao was very disciplined in his actions. Although he sometimes sought personal gain, he never did anything that went against Ye Mingsheng's ideas on major issues.

As for his own son Cui Zibo's career, Cui Shao did not force his progress, but let Cui Zibo take one step at a time, starting as a chief clerk, then to a county magistrate, and then to a provincial governor. Although his promotion was not fast, it was very steady. Recently, Cui Shao was seeking to find a good job for Cui Zibo.

There is no doubt that Yecheng, the second largest city in Hebei and Henan, is a very good choice for Cui Zibo now.
(End of this chapter)