Chapter 758: It’s time to pledge allegiance to the Marshal!
After capturing more than these two thousand cavalrymen, Xun Ke ordered a small number of people to stay behind to clean up the battlefield, and immediately ordered the transport team to continue moving forward to rush to Pingyun County for assistance...

Although the plan to lure the enemy out of their hole was finalized, Xun Ke also understood the difficulty of the Pingyun front. Therefore, just in case, yesterday afternoon, as soon as the convoy entered Lingyuan County, he ordered his men to immediately deliver the most needed gunpowder to the Yunbing front.

Despite having made such preparations, Xun Ke still had a bad feeling when looking at the dim sky, so he did his best to lead the Third Division and the more than 50 trucks of supplies towards Pingyun County, trying to reunite with Lin Huaiwu as soon as possible.

At the same time, at the foot of Pingyun County, the Fengwu Army camp was stationed.

Standing on the watchtower, Lin Huaiwu looked at the dilapidated Pingyuan County in front of him, his expression full of fatigue and impatience.

Today is the fifteenth day that the Fengwu Army has been carrying out the Yunbing counterattack, and it is also the thirteenth day that the Fengwu Army has been besieging Pingyun County. Lin Huaiwu never expected that this dilapidated county town before his eyes would actually block his Second Army for a full thirteen days!

During these thirteen days, the Fengwu Army fired hundreds of various artillery shells at the county town in front of them every day. In total, there were at least two thousand artillery shells in those thirteen days. Several of the Fengwu Army's red cannons had exploded, and several sections of the city wall had been blown down by them, but they still could not capture the county town in front of them.

Over the past three or four days, Lin Huaiwu felt that he could capture Pingyun County today, but every day when the sun set, the flag of the Luoan court was still hanging over the city...

With the logistics supply lines harassed by the enemy and large quantities of supplies unable to be delivered effectively, the thirteen days of attacking Pingyun County not only almost used up all the ammunition carried by the Second Army, but also severely undermined the morale of the Second Army. As the commander of the Second Army, Lin Huaiwu could clearly feel the fatigue of the entire army.

Although he knew very well that the Second Army needed to rest, Lin Huaiwu was unwilling to let go of Pingyun County.

Just as Lin Huaiwu was looking at Pingyun County with mixed feelings, Ye Tao walked up to him and whispered:

"Your Excellency, our scouts have just reported that at least 10,000 people from Jinyang entered Dagu County under cover of darkness the night before yesterday. In addition, it is very likely that Wang Muzhi has already appeared in Dagu County!"

Upon hearing this news, Lin Huaiwu's expression suddenly became serious. He turned to look at Ye Tao and said:

"What's going on?"

Ye Tao explained in a low voice:
“The troops coming from Jinyang moved very covertly. All the scouts we sent to follow the vicinity of Dagu County were killed, and none of them came back. After learning the news last night, we sent out another group of scouts. This group of scouts were once again hunted by the enemy, but they also captured someone alive and obtained this intelligence…”

After Ye Tao finished speaking, Lin Huaiwu's expression undoubtedly became more gloomy. The main theme of the counterattack plan he formulated was to defeat them one by one.

Therefore, he simply ordered his men to cut off the connection between Pingyun County and Dagu County, and keep an eye on the movements of Dagu County, and then attack Pingyun County with all his strength, intending to capture Pingyun County, then Dagu County, and recover all lost territory to complete the established goal of this counterattack!

Dagu County would naturally not let Lin Huaiwu's plan go as he wished, and it sent troops to attack the flank of the Fengwu Army many times, trying to contain the Fengwu Army's offensive and share the pressure on Pingyun County.

However, because there were not many defenders in Dagu County, and the defenders of Dagu County were also worried that Lin Huaiwu would make a feint in Pingyun County and lead his troops straight to Dagu County, the number of troops sent out to attack was not large, only about three to five thousand people, and the containment effect was also limited.

Therefore, in the past period of time, Lin Huaiwu did not pay too much attention to the developments in Dagu County, and focused his attention on Pingyun County. But now so many troops have come from Jinzhong into Dagu County. What do they want to do?
In addition, the appearance of Wang Muzhi is also an unusual signal. The newly appointed Governor of Yunbing by Shangshang Hongyuan has been stationed in Jinyang to coordinate the overall situation. If he really appears in Dagu County now, it may mean that the Luoan court does not only want to resist the counterattack of the Fengwu Army...
Just as Lin Huaiwu was thinking carefully, a quartermaster came over and reported:

"Sir, two more red cannons have broken down and can no longer fight. We only have 300 shells left, and there are not many bullets and gunpowder left! We only have enough food for two more days!"

Hearing the quartermaster's words, Lin Huaiwu suddenly had an idea in his mind, and then he suddenly looked up at the sky. Although it was only the 3:00 p.m. at this time, the sky was very gloomy, and it looked like it might rain at any time.

Seeing this, Lin Huaiwu took a deep breath and instructed the quartermaster:

"Distribute all the bullets and gunpowder to the brothers, and make the remaining food into dry rations and distribute them. We must act quickly!"

The quartermaster was a little confused when he heard Lin Huaiwu's order. He didn't know what Lin Huaiwu meant. But looking at Lin Huaiwu's serious face, he nodded obediently and said:

"Yes!"

When the quartermaster left, Ye Tao seemed to have discovered something and asked Lin Huaiwu carefully:

“My lord, you mean…”

Lin Huaiwu patted his shoulder and said:

"It's time to be loyal to the Marshal and defend the glory of our Second Army! Tell the brothers to start preparing!"

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Dongning, evening at Ye Zhanpeng's residence
"Husband, what happened?" Wang, holding her young son, looked at Ye Zhanpeng in front of her with some concern.
After hearing Wang's words, Ye Zhanpeng did not answer immediately, but looked at the young child in Wang's arms with some nostalgia, and then whispered:

"Something happened. You should go to the countryside to take shelter. I will pick you up after I have settled things here!"

Listening to Ye Zhanpeng's words, Wang asked in a panic:
"My husband, nothing will happen, right?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Zhanpeng kissed Wang on the cheek, and then said confidently:
"Don't worry, my lady. The sky won't fall as long as I'm here!"

Wang felt relieved after hearing this and said:

"My husband, my child and I believe in you!"

After saying that, she hesitated for a moment and then said, "If there is something wrong, my husband, don't hold on, come and join us!"

Listening to Wang's words, Ye Zhanpeng felt a warm current in his heart. He nodded and said:
"My lady, don't worry! We will be fine!"

After a while of tenderness, Ye Zhanpeng carefully reminded her again:
"My dear, you must keep the things I give you. They are amulets for you and your child!"

“Yeah, I know…”

After doing all this, Ye Zhanpeng sent Wang and the child onto the carriage. After watching them leave the mansion, Ye Zhanpeng returned to the study and sat quietly in the chair, as if he was waiting for someone.

An hour later, a tall figure slowly walked into the room. Ye Zhanpeng opened his eyes when he heard the sound, looked at Song Geng in front of him and said lightly:

"Your Director Huo has given up on you. You shouldn't have come here!"

Listening to Ye Zhanpeng's words, Song Geng was silent for a while before slowly saying:
"I'm only here to take my share!"

After hearing this, Ye Zhanpeng laughed dumbly, shook his head and said:

"The money I gave you in the past two years is enough for you, a centurion of the General Coordination Office, to earn for a hundred years!"

Song Geng stared at Ye Zhanpeng and said coldly:

"Without my help, how could your business be so big, Ye Zhanpeng? And because of Ye Zhanpeng, not only do you and I have nothing now, but we also have to flee with our family. Don't you think you should give me some compensation?"

Ye Zhanpeng felt helpless when he heard that. Although he knew that the higher-ups were serious this time, he still underestimated their attitude towards the matter. He thought that as long as he sent out a few scapegoats, the case would be perfect. For this matter, he even used some connections to let some bigwigs come forward to greet Huo San, hoping that Huo San would close the case as soon as possible...
Originally everything was going as planned, and Ye Zhanpeng also thought that he could get through this safely, but with the above sentence, everything changed completely.

Seeing Ye Zhanpeng silent, Song Geng said coldly:

"Ye Zhanpeng, do you think that if you send your wife and children out, they will be safe?"

Listening to Song Geng's words, Ye Zhanpeng smiled and shook his head and said:

"Brother Song, why do you have to do this?"

"You forced me to do this!" Song Geng said word by word:

Ye Zhanpeng smiled and said:

"Brother Song, since I dare to send my wife and children away, I am sure I can guarantee their safety. Zhao Hai and the others have been mine for a long time!"

As soon as these words came out, Song Geng's expression was suddenly shocked. The next second, a hint of murderous intent flashed in his eyes. He didn't waste any more words with Ye Zhanpeng and rushed straight towards Ye Zhanpeng. Facing Song Geng's attack, Ye Zhanpeng was not at all panicked, as if he had expected this.

Just when Song Geng rushed to within three steps of him in the blink of an eye, Ye Zhanpeng tapped the armrest of the chair lightly with his fingers, and more than ten silver needles popped out of the desk and shot towards Song Geng. Facing such a killing move, Song Geng had no time to dodge, and seven or eight silver needles pierced into his body before he was prepared...
As soon as the silver needle entered his body, Song Geng felt something was wrong. Before he could regain consciousness, his eyes went dark. Having witnessed Song Geng's death with his own eyes, Ye Zhanpeng did not feel proud at all. He sighed slightly, looking a little bleak.

Although he had prepared this final killer move at the very beginning of his career, it was just a precaution. He had never thought that he would really come to this point, let alone use this poisoned silver needle on Song Geng!
But it’s too late to say anything now!
After instructing two servants to dispose of Song Geng's body, Ye Zhanpeng prepared to flee. The reason why he did not leave with his wife and children was that he had his own plans. Ye Zhanpeng found out that not only those above him wanted to kill him, but also those Shandong family who he used to rely on were also preparing to kill him.

After all, I know too many secrets, and too many people have taken my money, so if I were caught alive, they would undoubtedly be in trouble, so they would definitely come to silence me!

It was based on such considerations that Ye Zhanpeng decided to run away separately from his wife and children. In this way, even if he was caught, or his wife and children were caught, as long as they were not all caught, the other party would be very afraid and dare not kill them. Only in this way would there be a glimmer of hope.

Ye Zhanpeng, who was calculating quickly, changed his appearance quickly after dealing with Song Geng's body. Then he took two trusted servants and disguised himself as passing merchants. He came to an ordinary inn and prepared to leave Dongning tomorrow morning.

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Dongning, Governor's Office

Ye Cheng was drinking tea very calmly in the firewood room. At the same time, a woman's cry and begging for mercy came from the next room. A moment later, an officer came to Ye Cheng and said:

"My lord, those two bitches have confessed. They said that Madam Gao from the laundry department threatened them with the mirror-grinding business and asked them to do..."

Hearing his subordinates stop talking about the key point, Ye Cheng raised his eyebrows and asked coldly:
"Just tell me what you're doing!"

When the subordinate saw Ye Cheng asking questions, he leaned over to whisper in Ye Cheng's ear. Ye Cheng was shocked when he heard it. The next second, he grabbed the subordinate's collar and said in a cold voice:
"You bastard, do you know what you are talking about?"

Feeling the chill in Ye Cheng's words, his subordinate hurriedly said:
"Housekeeper, this is true. They both admitted it. If I lie, I will be struck by lightning!"

Hearing his subordinates say this, Ye Cheng was still worried and immediately stood up to interrogate them personally. After a moment, he got the same answer and was silent for a while. Then, he ordered his subordinates with a very serious expression:
“If you want to live, you’d better keep this to yourself. If I hear any rumors outside, don’t blame me for being ruthless. All of you will die, and not only you will die, your families will suffer as well…”

(End of this chapter)