Chapter 744: A scheme to praise and kill!

Listening to Qian Buli’s loud explanation, Ye Mingsheng did not have any special reaction. He just looked at Qian Buli indifferently····························

To be honest, when the Coordination Office first received this information from the top leaders of the Golden Horde, Ye Mingsheng did not believe that Shangguan Hongyuan would do such a thing!

Although the Fengwu Army and the Luoan Court are now irreconcilable enemies, Ye Mingsheng still respects Shangguan Hongyuan!

Not for anything else! Just because he led the imperial guards to guard the border and fight against foreign races many times when the Great Zhou was in turmoil in the past twenty years, retaining the last dignity for the Great Zhou. If it weren't for Shangguan Hongyuan, the Golden Horde might have been destroyed.

So when Ye Mingsheng got the news that the Luoan court gave up the land to the Cumans, he really couldn't believe that the iron-blooded prime minister who had drawn his sword and mounted his horse to prevent the barbarians from crossing the Yinshan Mountains would do such a thing!
However, after the spies from the Coordination Office visited Yongliang in person and reported to Ye Mingsheng what they had seen with their own eyes, Ye Mingsheng could not help but sigh that the hero was too old!
Although Qian Buli did not enter the cabinet of the Luoan court, the Minister of War was also a key position in the Luoan court. In addition, he had a close relationship with Shangguan Tingshu, so he definitely knew about this matter. However, it was normal for him to make excuses for Shangguan Hongyuan now. After all, this matter was of too great a magnitude, and even if Shangguan Hongyuan did it, the Luoan court would not recognize it!

Ye Mingsheng didn't want to engage in unnecessary arguments with Qian Buli, so he took out a letter from the drawer of his desk and threw it to Qian Buli, saying calmly:
"This is the declaration of war I wrote to Lord Shangguan. Two months later, the Fengwu Army will launch a counterattack in Yunbing. I sincerely invite Lord Shangguan to come to Yunbing in person..."

The Fengwu Army did not hide the fact that it launched a counterattack in Yunbing. After all, the battle of tens of thousands of soldiers involved too many aspects, and this level of military and logistical mobilization could not be hidden at all. The spies of the Supervisory Office were not there to just sit there and do nothing, and they must have sent the intelligence to Luoan long ago!
Looking at the declaration of war thrown by Ye Mingsheng, Qian Buli looked somewhat helpless. To be honest, before this trip, he felt that although the Fengwu Army had a slight advantage strategically in this battle, he believed that the Fengwu Army would also suffer heavy losses and would need a long time to rest. Therefore, he felt quite confident that he could persuade Ye Mingsheng to cease fire this time.

However, just a few days ago, Ye Mingsheng actually allowed him to visit the farmlands and factories of the Fengwu Army. Although he didn't know why Ye Mingsheng did this at the time, Qian Buli was very willing to do so in order to understand the strength of the Fengwu Army. So in the next five days, he visited the factories of the First Manufacturing Bureau and the Second Manufacturing Bureau of the Fengwu Army, the farmlands outside the city of Yijing, and so on.

After reading this, Qian Buli knew why Ye Mingsheng allowed him to visit. Ye Mingsheng was showing him, the envoy of the Luoan court, the powerful strength of the Fengwu Army!

Looking at the muskets, cannons and various commodities produced on the assembly line in the factory, as well as the grain and cloth in the Fengwu Army’s granary, Qian Buli’s expectation for the success of the peace talks plummeted. He knew that Ye Mingsheng would not let it go so easily. Sure enough, Ye Mingsheng issued a declaration of war to Shangguan Hongyuan today...

Taking the letter of challenge with both hands, Qian Buli originally wanted to persuade Ye Mingsheng again, but seeing the confidence in Ye Mingsheng's expression, he knew that he could not change Ye Mingsheng's mind, and immediately did not intend to waste his time, so he nodded and said:

"I will give your declaration of war to Prime Minister Shangguan!"

After saying this, he put the tactics in his arms. Then, as if he had thought of something, he immediately asked Ye Mingsheng, "In the Battle of Yunbing, the imperial court captured a total of 3,761 Fengwu soldiers, including Cui Desheng, the commander of the Third Army of the Fengwu Army. I wonder if Marshal Ye is willing to redeem them?"

Hearing Qian Buli talking about this, Ye Mingsheng smiled slightly. He knew that Qian Buli would talk about this. After all, this is one of the few trump cards in the Luoan court!
After speaking, Qian Buli saw that Ye Mingsheng didn't say anything, and a glimmer of hope rose in his heart, and then he continued:

"Prime Minister Shangguan said that as long as Marshal Ye is willing to stop the war, he can not only return these prisoners to the Fengwu Army unconditionally, but also report to the emperor to confer the title of King Zhenbei on you, and your family will inherit the throne and guard the northern border forever!"

Hearing this, Ye Mingsheng showed a playful expression on his face and said:
"Sir Shangguan, do you like to judge others by yourself? Just because you want to be the King of Zhenbei, do you think others like to be the King of Zhenbei? I, Ye, have been deeply favored by the emperor and I should be loyal to the emperor and serve the country. I will clear the court and His Majesty of the treacherous and return peace to the Great Zhou!"

"The declaration of war has been issued. Don't say more! As for our prisoners, please let Lord Shangguan treat them well. When our army captures Jinyang, I will redeem them with three times the number of imperial army prisoners..."

After listening to Ye Mingsheng's words, Qian Buli looked at Ye Mingsheng deeply, then sighed and did nothing but bow deeply to Ye Mingsheng and left the room!

Looking at Qian Buli's back, Ye Mingsheng shook his head slightly. It was considered that Shangguan Hongyuan was sensible to send Qian Buli as an envoy!

To be honest, he had many cronies in Luoan, but as the Fengwu Army became the main enemy of the Luoan court, these people began to distance themselves from him. Many people publicly denounced him for his wolfish ambitions and despicable behavior during the previous propaganda war between the Fengwu Army and the Luoan court! Some people even put the blame on him!
Among them were Ye Mingsheng's good friend Kong Ruian, his old subordinates Chen Yannian and Wang Xian, and even Ye Mingsheng's fellow villager Fang Jing, who had helped Ye Mingsheng a lot. Although he knew that most of these people were forced to do so, Ye Mingsheng still felt uncomfortable.

Among these people, only Qian Buli publicly declared that he was not familiar with him, and did not blame him too much under the tyranny of Shangguan Hongyuan. This is why Ye Mingsheng gave him face today!
If Shangguan Hongyuan sent other people, Ye Mingsheng would not even meet them, and would just let Cui Shao or Gu Sansi meet them!

Shangguan Hongyuan is a pretty bad guy. He named himself the King of Zhenbei, a hereditary title that allows him to live and die with the country. It seems that he is very sincere in peace talks, but in fact he is harboring evil intentions!
You should know that the Great Zhou has an ancestral precept that only members of the royal family with the surname Jiang can be crowned king. Anyone with a different surname who is crowned king will be punished by the whole world!
Therefore, if I agree to his words and become the King of Zhenbei, I will probably become the target of public criticism and be despised by the people of the world, and I will never be able to raise the banner of clearing the court of evil officials again. When the war comes again, Shangguan Hongyuan can stand on the moral high ground and attack me!

Ye Mingsheng would naturally not fall for Shangguan Hongyuan's shady trick. Anyway, he, Ye Mingsheng, now has the final say in the area controlled by Fengwu Army and is the real ruler. So why bother pursuing a worthless reputation...
If you want to be someone, just be the emperor. What’s the point of being the King of Zhenbei?

(My liver hurts a bit today, so I’ll just write this much for now and make up for it another day! If you have any thoughts on the plot, please feel free to speak up!)
(End of this chapter)