Chapter 760 Internal Power Struggle!

As soon as Shen Cheng said this, the conference room fell into a brief silence, but soon several staff officers stood up and said:

"I agree with Staff Officer Shen's opinion. Commander Lin is responsible for the battle situation in Yunbing!"

"For the defeat in Pingyun County this time, Lin Huaiwu betrayed the Marshal's trust and should be held accountable!"

"The reason why our army is invincible is that we clearly distinguish between rewards and punishments. We will reward those who have made contributions and punish those who have made mistakes. If we don't severely punish Lin Huaiwu in this battle, we will not be able to rectify military discipline!"

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Ye Mingsheng glanced at the staff officers who stood up and demanded severe punishment for Lin Huaiwu. They were generally young people who, like Shen Cheng, were promoted when He Jingyun was in office. Then Ye Mingsheng looked at Yuan Song, who had not spoken a word, and asked:

"General Yuan, you are the Chief of the General Staff, what do you think about this?"

Facing Ye Mingsheng's question, Yuan Song pondered for a moment before saying in a deep voice:

"Reporting to the commander, I believe that changing generals before a battle is a taboo in the military. Moreover, Commander Lin is a rare and good general in our army. The defeat in Pingyun County this time was also caused by a moment of carelessness. I believe that after this battle, Commander Lin will be able to learn from his mistakes and successfully complete all the established goals of this counterattack!"

Ye Mingsheng did not respond, but continued to ask Guo Zhiping and Zhao Han:

"You two are deputy chiefs of the general staff, so please share your opinions!"

Upon hearing this, Guo Zhiping spoke first:

"General, I agree with General Yuan's opinion. Changing generals in the middle of a battle is a taboo in the military! It is absolutely not advisable unless it is absolutely necessary!"

Zhao Han, who was still a little hesitant, changed his mind after hearing Guo Zhiping's opinion and said:

“I also second the motion…”

Seeing that everyone had expressed their opinions, Ye Mingsheng slowly said:
"In that case, let's give Lin Huaiwu a chance. Also, Xun Ke performed well this time, so we'll promote him to deputy commander-in-chief of the Yunbing battlefield to assist Lin Huaiwu in his work!"

"The General Coordination Office and the First Manufacturing Bureau must fully assist in this Yunbing counterattack. The Ninth Division is preparing for pre-war mobilization!"

Seeing that Ye Mingsheng had finally made the decision, the young staff officers who demanded that Lin Huaiwu be held accountable had no choice but to nod in agreement even though they were reluctant.

An incense stick later, on the way home in the carriage, Yuan Song, who was alone in the carriage, sighed with some helplessness and regret.

When he was transferred to the position of Chief of the General Staff this time, Yuan Song also understood that he had taken Zhao Han's position. In addition, he was not familiar with the working procedures of the General Staff, so he handed most of the things over to Zhao Han and acted as a hands-off boss!
It just so happened that Yuan Song had been fighting outside for several years, and he was really tired, so he could take a good rest at this time.

Although he enjoys his leisure time, as the Chief of the General Staff, Yuan Song also has a basic understanding of the personnel of the General Staff. Among them, he admires Shen Cheng and other young people the most. He believes that these young people are very talented. If they can go to the front-line combat troops to gain experience in the future, they may be able to stand on their own in time.

However, at today’s emergency meeting, Yuan Song felt somewhat disappointed and helpless with these people...
Although Lin Huaiwu fought very poorly in this battle, overall Lin Huaiwu did not make any major mistakes, so he would not be held accountable for being replaced at the last minute.

The reason why Shen Cheng and others wanted to hold Lin Huaiwu accountable was that the failure in Pingyun County was just an excuse. In reality, these people wanted to vent their anger for He Jingyun!
He Jingyun was the former commander-in-chief of the Yunbing battlefield. The Yunbing Campaign he commanded a few months ago defended the Jinzhong City and fulfilled Ye Mingsheng's request of him. Logically, he should continue to serve as the commander-in-chief of Yunbing and be responsible for the Yunbing counterattack operation this time.

However, under his command, the Second Army suffered heavy casualties, and the Third Army was directly defeated and reduced in size. The Third Army commander Cui Desheng was captured, and the Fourth Division general Peng Ce was seriously injured and dying. This also led to a big quarrel between He Jingyun and Guo Zhiping.

Many people believed that He Jingyun later left Yunbing sadly and was transferred to Jiyu to serve as the commander of the First Army because of this quarrel.

However, few people know that after He Jingyun and Guo Zhiping had a quarrel, the Second Army Commander Lin Huaiwu also submitted a memorial to Ye Mingsheng, pointing out He Jingyun's command problems. This also led to Ye Mingsheng's decision to transfer He Jingyun to Hebei and Henan to serve as the First Army Commander to guard against the Zhennan Army.

Shen Cheng and the others were all promoted when He Jingyun was in office. They are all very grateful to He Jingyun for cultivating them. Therefore, they are now jointly targeting Lin Huaiwu. It is absolutely impossible to say that they have no selfish motives. In all likelihood, they just want to avenge He Jingyun...

To be honest, Yuan Song was disappointed with Shen Cheng and his friends' selfishness, but he didn't intend to get involved in this matter. After all, he always believed in the principle of keeping a low profile and never asked about things that had nothing to do with him. However, when Ye Mingsheng took the initiative to ask for his opinion, he guessed what Ye Mingsheng was thinking. Who is Lin Huaiwu?

He was the first general to follow the Marshal. It can be said that Lin Huaiwu had the longest seniority in the entire Fengwu Army, so he was deeply trusted by the Marshal. Although his military record was not very outstanding, the Marshal still promoted him to the commander of the Second Army despite some criticisms!

It is no exaggeration to say that Lin Huaiwu is the Marshal's trusted and beloved general!

Moreover, the decision to transfer He Jingyun and appoint Lin Huaiwu as the commander-in-chief of Yunbing was finally made by the Marshal. Therefore, changing the general and holding Lin Huaiwu accountable at the last minute is tantamount to slapping himself in the face and admitting that it was a mistake to transfer He Jingyun?
There was also a deep meaning behind the Marshal's asking for his opinion. He was also defeated by Xu Zhaojie in Chengfeng County, Hebei and Henan, and lost a lot of men and horses. However, the Marshal did not blame himself in the end. Instead, he continued to trust him and sent more troops and weapons for support, which led to the final victory in the Hebei-Henan battlefield.

It was because he understood Ye Mingsheng's idea that Yuan Song made his own voice heard at the meeting.

As for the Yunbing battlefield itself, Yuan Song felt that Lin Huaiwu still had a good chance of turning defeat into victory. However, since the Marshal had appointed Xun Ke as deputy commander-in-chief and asked the Ninth Division to make mobilization preparations, this meant that Lin Huaiwu didn’t have much time left. If he couldn’t produce any results, Xun Ke would most likely replace him...

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Just when Ye Mingsheng convened an emergency meeting of the General Staff, Shangguan Hongyuan, who was in Luoan, also received information about the battle in Yunbing.

Although he had been in the army for decades and had experienced many battles, Shangguan Hongyuan was very clear about how important the battle situation in Yunbing was to the Luoan court, which was currently in turmoil due to internal and external troubles. Therefore, when he opened the envelope, Shangguan Hongyuan was a little nervous.

However, when Shangguan Hongyuan saw Wang Muzhi's handwritten words in the battle report, which said that the Fengwu Army's offensive was repelled and more than 10,000 enemies were annihilated, he burst into laughter in surprise.

He knew that Wang Muzhi would not let him down!

The fact that they gave up three counties that they had conquered with great difficulty and at the cost of tens of thousands of casualties without a fight made many people in the Luoan court doubt whether the imperial guards could stop the offensive of the Fengwu Army. For a time, people's minds changed and some people were unwilling to be left out and became restless, which undoubtedly put Shangguan Hongyuan under great pressure.

While Shangguan Hongyuan was working hard to maintain the Luoan court, he also hoped that Wang Muzhi could win face for him on the Yunbing battlefield and deal a heavy blow to the arrogance of the Fengwu Army. Wang Muzhi did not disappoint him. The victory in Pingyun County can be said to be the greatest victory of the Luoan court over the Fengwu Army!

Shangguan Hongyuan was in a good mood when he thought of this. After pondering for a moment, he changed the description of annihilating more than 10,000 enemies in the battle report to annihilating more than 30,000 enemies. Then he handed it to his men and ordered:
"Send this battle report to Luo'an City, let everyone know that our army won a great victory in Yunbing, and beat the Fengwu Army into a mess!"

"Yes!"

After explaining this, Shangguan Hongyuan breathed a sigh of relief. Ever since the end of the Yunbing Battle, the Fengwu Army had been a thorn in his throat and he had been unable to swallow it. Now he can finally let it out...

Now, not only Shangguan Hongyuan needs this victory, but the entire Luoan court needs this victory to boost the morale of the low-level people, so it is appropriate to slightly polish the number of kills, so as to better boost morale!
After thinking for a while, Shangguan Hongyuan picked up his pen and started writing a letter to Wang Muzhi. He wanted to encourage Wang Muzhi to keep up the good work on the Yunbing battlefield, strive to win a great victory, and completely thwart the Fengwu Army's plan to counterattack. As long as Wang Muzhi could complete this task, he, Shangguan Hongyuan, would definitely reward him generously, and even make him a marquis!

At this time, Wang Muzhi, who was in Pingyun County, had no idea how much of a surprise his battle report had brought to Shangguan Hongyuan!

Moreover, Wang Muzhi, who was at the front line at this time, was far less optimistic than Shangguan Hongyuan!
"Governor, the casualties have been counted. 5,600 of our soldiers were killed in this battle, and more than 15,000 were injured. Currently, there are only more than 50,000 soldiers left in Pingyun County who can fight!"

Listening to his men's reports, Wang Muzhi couldn't help but frowned. He had carefully prepared for the Pingyun County battle for several months, so his appetite was also very big. He wanted to directly eat up the Second Army under Lin Huaiwu and give a big gift package to his former subordinate Ye Mingsheng...
However, although he had good intentions, the reality was somewhat disappointing. Although Lin Huaiwu was not as famous as He Jingyun, Yuan Song, Guo Zhiping and others in the Fengwu Army, his steady and cautious style allowed Wang Muzhi to gain too many advantages in the sneak attack on a rainy night a few days ago.

Although Lin Huaiwu was defeated with the life-and-death efforts of the three armies, Wang Muzhi's side also suffered many casualties. However, what saddened Wang Muzhi the most was the capture of Sun Bufang and the 2,000 cavalrymen!

The most crucial reason why Pingyuan County was able to win this victory was that by harassing the Fengwu Army's logistical supplies, the Fengwu Army's logistics were put in a difficult situation, thus forcing the Fengwu Army to be unable to exert the due power of its proud firearms!
After Sun Bufang and the two thousand cavalrymen were captured, Wang Muzhi could still gather more than a thousand cavalrymen to continue harassing the Fengwu Army's logistics supply lines, but it was obvious that the intensity and effectiveness of the harassment would be greatly reduced!
This means that the Fengwu Army will receive a large amount of ammunition supplies from the rear, and the Fengwu Army's firearms will be able to exert their due power!

Thinking of this, Wang Muzhi couldn’t help but feel fortunate that when Lin Huaiwu retreated from Pingyun County, he was forced to blow up all the red cannons of the Second Army because they could not carry anything. Otherwise, in the next battle, they would have to face the Fengwu Army’s iconic bombardment...
Although he felt somewhat relieved, Wang Muzhi was still not too optimistic about the upcoming battle. He knew that although a lot of Fengwu Army's manpower was killed and wounded on the street of Pingyun County, the Fengwu Army was far from being seriously injured. Therefore, with Ye Mingsheng's determination, the Fengwu Army would soon make a comeback!
The Fengwu Army still had the advantage in firearms and cavalry and held the initiative on the battlefield. He was so passive in taking the beating that even if he counterattacked it would only be limited. The fault tolerance rate of Lin Huaiwu on the opposite side was much higher than his own. He could make mistakes once, twice or even three times, but if he made a mistake once, he would be doomed and lose the whole game!
In addition to the threat from the Fengwu Army, the internal situation in Yunbing also gave Wang Muzhi a headache. He was appointed as the Governor of Yunbing by Shangguan Hongyuan. The governor not only had to be in charge of military affairs, but also internal affairs and people's livelihood. Wang Muzhi had been in the army for decades. You could ask him to fight without any problem, but if you asked him to be in charge of taxation, criminal law, agricultural and commercial policies, he really knew nothing about them!
Wang Muzhi had no choice but to hand over all the domestic and people's livelihood issues to the original team of the Yunbing Provincial Government. He only asked for money and food to train the army. This time, in order to deal with the counterattack of the Fengwu Army, he expanded his army to the extreme and expanded it to more than 80,000 people.

Although this gave Wang Muzhi a military advantage when facing the Fengwu Army, it also greatly increased his financial burden. Wang Muzhi originally wanted to ask Shangguan Hongyuan for support, but the Luoan court was also in a state of panic, so how could it help him solve the problem?

Wang Muzhi had no choice but to drain the pond to catch fish, which led to the collapse of Yunbing’s finances. If the Fengwu Army could not be defeated in a short time, Yunbing’s own problems would completely erupt, and by then no one knew what would happen...

(End of this chapter)