Chapter 762 involves a lot of people!

After an incense stick of time, Lin Huaiwu looked at Xun Ke’s leaving back, and a complex expression appeared on his face...

If he had not been friends with Xun Ke for many years and believed in Xun Ke's character, he would really think that Xun Ke had ulterior motives in making this suggestion!
Although he didn't quite understand Xun Ke's idea of ​​waiting for changes at first, but as Xun Ke introduced it, he realized that Xun Ke's suggestion was indeed a good way to defeat the enemy!
If this plan could be implemented, the enemy would either have to take the initiative and engage in a head-on battle with the Fengwu Army, or they would have to watch their internal conflicts grow, their military morale become increasingly unstable, and they would be caught in a dilemma!
However, although this is good for the current situation, it may not be a good solution for Lin Huaiwu!
Although Ye Mingsheng did not hold him accountable this time, Lin Huaiwu knew that after the defeat in Pingyun County, he was now a criminal. There were many voices in the General Staff calling for replacing generals and holding people accountable, but they were all suppressed by Ye Mingsheng.

And now Ye Mingsheng has mobilized various resources to support him, hoping that he can produce results as soon as possible to silence the gossips. However, if he follows Xun Ke's method, it will not be effective in a short period of time. In this way, Lin Huaiwu will be labeled as a coward!

Will Ye Mingsheng still give himself a chance at that time?

If it weren't for Xun Ke's character, if someone else had made this suggestion, Lin Huaiwu would really not help but doubt whether the other party was making this suggestion just to replace himself··························

After pondering for a while, Lin Huaiwu looked at Yun Bing's sand table again, thinking about the best strategy to defeat the enemy. Although the enemy's main cavalry had been annihilated, the safety of the logistics supply line was guaranteed.

However, in the Battle of Pingyun County, in order to ensure that more troops could retreat smoothly and prevent the Fengwu Army's firearms and supplies from falling into the hands of the enemy, Lin Huaiwu had no choice but to order the destruction of more than 20 red cannons and many other supplies. In addition, many muskets also needed to be replenished.

According to what Xun Ke just said, these equipments will be delivered in a month, and a month is almost enough time for the Second Army and the Third Division to complete the repairs.

However, the two armies combined now only have a little over 50,000 men. If Wang Muzhi's troops can still maintain the tenacity and fighting spirit of Pingyun County, then even if the Fengwu Army's artillery can exert better power, they will probably fall into a tough battle, and eventually repeat the same mistakes and return empty-handed.

Thinking of this, Lin Huaiwu's expression undoubtedly became more solemn. If he tripped over a stone twice, then even if Ye Mingsheng kept him, he would be embarrassed to continue serving as the commander of the Second Army and stay in the front-line combat troops to command operations.

Frowning, Lin Huaiwu carefully weighed the pros and cons. After an incense stick of time, he made up his mind and sighed. He might not be as good as Yuan Song and Guo Zhiping, but he could never stain his hat with the blood of his brothers in the Second Army, and use their corpses to keep his official position.

He decided to report the matter to Ye Mingsheng and let Ye Mingsheng make the final decision···················
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Yijing, Marshal's Mansion
"Sir, Director Huo is here!"

After hearing Ye Cheng's words, Ye Mingsheng pondered for a moment, and remembered that today was the day he gave Huo San the deadline, so he nodded and ordered:

"Let him in!"

"Yes!"

At Ye Mingsheng's command, Huo San quickly walked into Ye Mingsheng's study and bowed to him. Ye Mingsheng nodded and asked directly:
"Tell me! How is your investigation going?"

Facing Ye Mingsheng's question, Huo San said in a deep voice:
"Marshal, I have already found out that the mastermind behind this arms leak is Ye Zhanpeng, the Liaoyang manager of the Dadongsheng Company. He has woven a huge network of interests in Liaoyang and corrupted many officials, including those from our Coordination Office!"

"Song Geng, a centurion in Liaoyang, has become his protector and has received a lot of benefits from him over time. In addition, Ye Zhanpeng also took advantage of the Dadongsheng Company's exemption from inspection to transport firearms to Gongdu more safely and conveniently!"

"After confirming Ye Zhanpeng's suspicion, we immediately launched a capture operation. However, Ye Zhanpeng was very well-informed and cunning, so he escaped early. However, after we increased our manpower to search, we still found his hiding place!"

"In order to avoid being caught by us, Ye Zhanpeng chose to commit suicide by taking poison, but we found these documents next to him..."

Huo San placed some document fragments in front of Ye Mingsheng. Looking at the document fragments with obvious burn marks in front of him, Ye Mingsheng frowned and asked:
"How is this going?"

As soon as these words came out, Huo San started to explain:

"When we arrested Ye Zhanpeng, he knew he couldn't escape and started burning the documents. Although we saved them in time, only these fragments were left. Although they are just fragments, we can still make out some of the content!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng began to carefully study the contents of these fragments. If he was not mistaken, the contents of these fragments were mostly some customs clearance documents, official documents on land taxation, and letters written by someone to Ye Zhanpeng.

After thinking for a while, Ye Mingsheng looked at Huo San and asked:

"What have you discovered about these things?"

Facing Ye Mingsheng's question, Huo San said seriously:
"Sir, we have checked all of this. Ye Zhanpeng is not only in the arms reselling business, he also acts as a white glove for some people. According to the policy of the Chief Secretary, it is to encourage the rational development of business, so Ye Zhanpeng helped people apply for land from the Chief Secretary in the name of opening a textile factory and dyeing workshop!"

“Nominally, they applied for some wasteland, but in reality, they got some excellent farmland. Those workers who were nominally factory dyeing workers were actually tenants they found, and they were farming every day!
Not only that, they also used some factories and dyeing houses that existed only in name to obtain tax benefits from the Chief Secretary. They even forged account books and fabricated accounts to launder some of the stolen money into clean silver...”

Hearing Huo San's introduction, Ye Mingsheng was also furious, but his mind remained clear and he said calmly:
"Are you trying to tell me that Ye Zhanpeng's people are in Liaoyang Provincial Government?"

Huo San nodded and said:

"Yes, we have suspicions in this regard, and we have confirmed that five people in the Governor's Office have accepted Ye Zhanpeng's money. However, these five people are all in charge. With such experience, officials do not have enough power to assist Ye Zhanpeng's plan, so we suspect that there is another big fish in the Liaoyang Governor's Office!"

As soon as these words came out, Ye Mingsheng's eyes flashed with a cold light and he said coldly:

"Have you confirmed the identity of this person?"

Huo San shook his head and said:

"Not yet, but we already have a clue!" Hearing this, Ye Mingsheng glanced at the document fragments on the table, then picked up a piece of letter fragment and said:

"Is this your clue?"

Huo San preached respectfully:
“The Marshal is wise! Although Ye Zhanpeng burned the letter to fragments and most of the information is lost, we can guess from the content of the letter that the writer approved a hundred acres of land. Therefore, we suspect that the person who wrote this letter to Ye Zhanpeng is the one who assisted Ye Zhanpeng in committing the crime…”

Ye Mingsheng was silent for a while after hearing this, and then suddenly asked Huo San:

"Do you accept money from Song Geng?"

Huo San hesitated for a moment after saying this, then he knelt on the ground with a plop, slapped himself hard twice, and said to Ye Mingsheng in shame:
"I feel ashamed of my trust. I accepted Song Geng's gold bars during the Chinese New Year. When I accepted his gold bars, I really didn't expect that he would be so bold as to team up with Ye Zhanpeng to do such a thing!"

Seeing that Huo San was still honest, Ye Mingsheng continued:
"Ye Hongsheng and Zhang Dehui also accepted money from Ye Zhanpeng, right?"

At this point Huo San did not dare to hide anything and immediately said honestly:
"According to our investigation, this is true. However, Shopkeeper Ye and Director Zhang did not know that Ye Zhanpeng was actually doing such a business. Ye Zhanpeng gave Director Zhang two thousand taels of silver to ask Director Zhang to promote Wang Beitao. And this was the only time. The rest was given by Wang Beitao to Director Zhang!"

"Ye Zhanpeng gave Manager Ye a lot of silver, which should be no less than 10,000 taels in total. However, Manager Ye only thought that Ye Hongsheng was using Dadongsheng's channels to smuggle some cattle and sheep back from the grasslands. He didn't know that he was actually trafficking in firearms and pig iron!"

Ye Mingsheng was filled with disappointment when he heard this. He never thought that although he had been vigorously fighting corruption, the people around him had become corrupt to this extent...

After taking a deep look at Huo San, Ye Mingsheng said:
"Just take care of yourself!"

Hearing what Ye Mingsheng said, Huo San's expression changed immediately. He wanted to say something, but Ye Mingsheng closed his eyes and waved his hand, and then Huo San was asked to leave by Ye Cheng.

An hour later, in the courtyard of An Miaoyi in the backyard of the Governor's Mansion, bursts of babyish recitations were heard.
Confucius said: "To learn and to practise what one has learned, is it not a pleasure? To have friends come from afar, is it not a joy? To not be offended when people do not know one, is it not a sign of a gentleman?
Youzi said: "It is rare to see a person who is filial and respectful to his elders but likes to offend his superiors; it is even rare to see a person who does not like to offend his superiors but likes to make trouble. A gentleman should focus on the basics, and the way will come into being after the basics are established. Filial piety and respect for elders are the foundation of benevolence!"

Confucius said: "Those who are good at speaking and having an ingratiating appearance are seldom kind."

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Listening to Xiao Jingren's reading, An Miaoyi, who was sitting beside him, couldn't help but smile. When Xiao Jingren finished reading, she asked him:

"Jingren, what do you mean when you say learning and practicing from time to time is not a pleasure?"

Facing his mother's question, little Jingren tilted his head and thought for a long time, but he still couldn't say it. Seeing this, An Miaoyi also restrained her smile, but seeing little Jingren's aggrieved look, she had to patiently say:
"Jingren, remember this for me!"

"What Confucius meant by this sentence is that it is a happy thing to review what you have learned frequently after studying."

"I'll ask you again at this time tomorrow. If you can't beat me, I'll beat you with the stick!"

Hearing the "board", Jingren's face looked even more aggrieved, but he still nodded obediently and said:
"Mom, I will definitely remember this!"

Hearing this, An Miaoyi touched little Jingren's face, and then emphasized the importance of studying earnestly, and at this moment Qiqige walked in.

Looking at Qiqige's anxious expression, An Miaoyi knew that there was trouble again, and immediately asked the nanny beside her to take Jingren to rest.

When they were the only two left in the room, Qiqige whispered:
"Madam, Director Huo went to meet with His Excellency to report about the Liaoyang incident. However, he did not expect that the Internal Security Bureau had already investigated all of Director Huo, Director Zhang, and Shopkeeper Ye for taking bribes. The Marshal was very angry about these things, and Director Huo was even asked to come out by Ye Cheng..."

Hearing this, An Miaoyi suddenly felt a headache. Although she knew that these three people were not clean, she did not expect that these three people could be dug out so easily.

Although she knew that it would be best for her to keep out of this matter, An Miaoyi knew that these three people would definitely come to her to plead for Ye Mingsheng.

Ye Hongsheng is a member of the Ye clan. He has supported me in various matters and helped me a lot. Although I returned the money to Zhang Dehui, I also gave him hope. As for Huo San, I asked him to help me deal with a life-threatening matter a few days ago.

Although she felt a little embarrassed, An Miaoyi still whispered:
"Let Huo San go find Gu Sansi! The Marshal is very angry right now, and he won't listen to anyone else except Gu Sansi."

"Send a message to Ye Hongsheng as well, asking him to deal with his dirty business quickly, but remember not to ask the old lady to intervene. The Marshal hates it most right now is that the clan always asks the old lady to intervene. This is a red line in the Marshal's heart, and whoever touches it will be unlucky!"

After listening to what An Miaoyi said, Qiqige asked again:
"Madam, what about Zhang Dehui?"

An Miaoyi shook her head helplessly and said:

“I can’t take care of him now…”

(Recently, there has been little feedback from readers. I don’t know how my writing is doing. Please give me more feedback!)

(End of this chapter)