Chapter 774 A secret conversation between father and son!

Hearing Lin Huaiwu's question, Xun Ke thought for a moment and replied:

“I believe that Wang Muzhi’s move is as it should be. Now we should first find out who Wang Muzhi has arranged to guard Dagu County…”

Lin Huaiwu nodded and looked at the messenger. Seeing this, the messenger was also very perceptive. Without waiting for Lin Huaiwu to speak, he took the initiative to say:
"After Wang Muzhi withdrew, the flag with the word Yu flying above Dagu County is now flying! As for the other scouts, they are still trying to obtain more intelligence!"

Upon hearing the news, Lin Huaiwu and Xun Ke looked at each other at the same time, and then Lin Huaiwu waved his hand to signal the messenger to leave.

After the messenger left, Xun Ke said:
"Master Lin, I think Wang Muzhi should have left Yu Chao in Dagu County!"

As the name Yu Chao came out of Xun Ke's mouth, Lin Huaiwu's eyelids twitched unnaturally, then he nodded and said solemnly:
"It should be him!"

Xun Ke pondered for a while and said:
"Yu Chao is a veteran of the Imperial Guards. He has a calm and sophisticated fighting style, and is especially good at defending cities. Wang Muzhi entrusted the defense of Dagu County to him. I think Wang Muzhi is still unwilling to fail!"

Listening to Xun Ke's words, Lin Huaiwu nodded slightly, but his thoughts involuntarily went back to two months ago.

Two months ago, when the Yunbing counterattack just began, the high-spirited Lin Huaiwu didn’t care at all who the Pingyun County garrison commander was. In his eyes, no matter who this person was, he would either become his prisoner or a corpse in a few days, so he didn’t need to care at all...
However, as the battle progressed, Lin Huaiwu felt more and more exhausted. He also knew that the defender of Pingyun County at that time was named Yu Chao. In order to break through Pingyun County, Lin Huaiwu racked his brains to think of various ways. He tried fire attacks, tunnels, night attacks and other methods. However, under Yu Chao's flawless defensive command, Lin Huaiwu could only admit defeat.

However, a blessing in disguise. Because of the past battles between the two armies, many people in the Yunbing Army believed that Pingyun County was a desperate situation, so they were unwilling to defend Pingyun. In the end, the responsibility fell to the veteran Yu Chao.

And because the Yunbing Army achieved a rare victory over the Fengwu Army in the last battle of Pingyun County, many people in the Yunbing Army realized that the Fengwu Army was not as invincible as they imagined. In addition, Wang Muzhi strengthened the military force in Pingyun County, so many people thought that guarding Pingyun was not a big problem, and they all scrambled to guard Pingyun County and wanted to go to the front line to gain merit.

Ultimately, this led to the replacement of veteran Yu Chao, and Cai Yunhui, who had connections behind the scenes, became the defender of Pingyun County. If Yu Chao had not been replaced, then with his experience and caution, the Fengwu Army might not have been able to successfully capture Pingyun County even with Wang Zhide as their trump card.

Seeing Lin Huaiwu thinking, Xun Ke continued to introduce:

"Sir, I think Wang Muzhi asked Yu Chao to guard Dagu because he probably wanted Yu Chao to turn Dagu into Pingyun!"

“Wang Muzhi will send troops from Jinyang to support Pingyun, so that our army cannot attack Dagu County with all its strength. Now there is less than a month and a half before winter. I guess Wang Muzhi wants to drag the battle into winter as much as possible...”

After hearing Xun Ke's analysis, Lin Huaiwu came back to his senses and nodded with some emotion, saying:
"Wang Muzhi is still very rational! He also acts very quickly. We only need one day to surround them in the Great Valley!"

Xun Ke smiled and said:
"The battlefield situation is ever-changing. To use the Marshal's words, plans cannot keep up with the changes. Wang Muzhi is Shangguan Hongyuan's favorite general, so he is definitely not an ordinary person!"

After listening to Xun Ke's words, Lin Huaiwu's regret was alleviated and he immediately said:

"Now that we have occupied Pingyun County, the artillery and muskets that were replenished in the rear have also been transported up. With sufficient supplies this time, our army can fully utilize its firearms advantage during the siege!"

Hearing what Lin Huaiwu said, Xun Ke naturally understood Lin Huaiwu's thoughts. He knew that Lin Huaiwu was unwilling to give in and wanted to have another fight with Yu Chao, but what Lin Huaiwu said also made sense.

The reason why Pingyun County was able to hold on last time was not only because Yu Chao was experienced and strong, but also because the logistics of the Fengwu Army was harassed, and supplies such as shells could not be transported up. Without shells, the Fengwu guns with many red cannons could only watch helplessly. But this time, the logistics of the Fengwu Army are smooth, so they can fully exert the advantage of firepower!
Therefore, after pondering for a moment, Xun Ke bowed and said:
"You are absolutely right, sir. We will definitely be able to smash Yu Chao's turtle shell this time!"

After getting Xun Ke's approval, Lin Huaiwu felt relieved and waved his hand:

"Very good! Then we will march to Otani as planned!"

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Yijing, Cui Mansion

In the study, Cui Shao looked at the four big words "It's rare to be confused" on the table in front of him and couldn't help but fall into deep thought. He had just written these four words. As for why he suddenly wrote these four words, Cui Shao himself didn't know. Maybe it was just a whim!

Just as Cui Shao was thinking quietly in the study, there was a sound of footsteps outside the door. When Cui Shao heard the footsteps, he knew who was coming. Without waiting for the other party to knock on the door, he said lightly:
"come in!"

As soon as Cui Shao finished speaking, Cui Zibo slowly walked into the room and handed a letter to Cui Shao, saying:

"Dad, this is a letter sent by Brother Xiaowen!"

Hearing this, Cui Shao took the letter, opened the envelope and read it carefully. As he read, Cui Shao's eyes became more and more profound.

After reading the letter, Cui Shao threw it into the fire. Seeing the letter burnt completely in the fire, he slowly said:
"What's the news about Murong Yuliang?"

Cui Zibo said without hesitation:
"Yanzi said that Murong Yuliang's wife Wang had a big quarrel with Murong Yuliang because of this matter. Wang believed that it was you who did it and asked Murong Yuliang to fight back against us. Murong Yuliang is a little hesitant now!"

“In addition, Yan Zi also found out that Murong Yuliang has a booklet, which records the evidence he found about our family, the Gongsun family, and the Yun family…”

Hearing this news, Cui Shao said with interest:

"Oh? I didn't expect he had this habit!"

"Zi Bo, what evidence can Murong Yuliang find?"

Facing his father's question, Cui Zibo thought for a moment and said:
"They should be just some trivial matters. There are hundreds of people in our Cui family, plus your students and old subordinates, as well as so many relatives. Adding them together, there must be two to three thousand people. It is not difficult for Murong Yuliang to find something to hold against them!"

Cui Shao nodded and said with a smile:
"Women's opinions are women's opinions after all!" "Murong Yuliang is not that good-tempered. If he really had any fatal evidence on us, he would have taken action long ago and would not have waited until now!"

"He hasn't taken action until now, simply because he knows that the evidence he has obtained is just a bunch of useless little things!"

Murong Zibo also responded with a smile:

"Dad, you are absolutely right! Murong Yuliang is really overestimating his own abilities and asking for trouble by trying to compete with you!"

After another moment of silence, Cui Shao said slowly:
"I think there are probably many people who have the same idea as Wang, and they all think that I did this in secret!"

Cui Shao seemed to have thought of something when he said this, and a slight smile appeared on his face.

“What I didn’t expect was that Gu Sansi actually came to me and used the story of the fall of the Western Han Dynasty to warn me not to engage in factional strife and internal consumption. I originally thought he would be a smart man, but now he is still a little lacking in patience…”

After saying this, Cui Zibo said with some disdain:
"Gu Sansi is just a poor scholar. He thought he was promoted by the Marshal, but he didn't know that he was just a dog raised by the Marshal, just like Huo San!"

Cui Shao smiled and shook his head when he heard this, then he opened his mouth and ordered:

"Now that the mantis has caught the cicada, the oriole should also appear. Tell Xiaowen that it's time to start closing the net!"

"Also, you have to do your best to act. You can't be too cautious when doing big things, and you can't let people see any flaws!"

Hearing his father say this, Cui Zibo hesitated and said:
"Dad, what about the Yun family? They have already paid a price, Lu Chaogui."

Cui Shao waved his hand and preached nonchalantly;
"What's a mere Lu Chaogui?"

"Tell the Yun family not to compromise on this matter. The Marshal is such a man of great talent and strategy. Such a big thing happened in Liaoyang, and it has nothing to do with our three families. Wouldn't the Marshal see the clues at a glance?"

"The people in the Coordination Office and the Internal Guards are not here to do nothing. Tell the Yun family that if anyone gets into trouble because of his reluctance to sacrifice, don't blame me, Cui Shao, for not being polite to him based on our past friendship!"

Hearing his father, who was usually gentle and polite, say this, Cui Zibo also realized the seriousness of the matter. He immediately nodded more seriously and said:

“Dad, I understand! I will convey this message to them…”

After finishing the business, Cui Shao seemed to have thought of something. He looked his son up and down and said:
"What insights have you gained during your time in Yecheng?"

Seeing his father asking this, Cui Zibo said without hesitation:
“Of course I have some insights!”

"Local forces are intertwined and intertwined, and one move can affect the entire body. The policies of the governor are all very good in my opinion, but once they are implemented in the local area, there are always many obstacles and they cannot be implemented well. Even many officials are secretly disobeying their orders, saying one thing in public and another in private!"

"Also, although many officials in Hebei and Henan have learned the lesson and dare not take bribes due to the previous anti-corruption campaign, lazy and incompetent governance is still very common.
"They think that if they don't commit corruption or bribery, they can't be punished, so they are all very lazy. It often takes a long time for the orders of the Chief Secretary to be implemented. The efficiency is very low. Even if some orders are implemented, they are just for show to fool the situation!"

Hearing Cui Zibo's words, Cui Shao nodded with satisfaction. When Ye Mingsheng promoted Cui Zibo to be the prefect of Yecheng, although he was very happy that Cui Zibo would be valued and the Cui family would have a successor, he was also a little worried that Cui Zibo would leave Yecheng after leaving his wings to expand his new horizons.

But now it seems that he may have underestimated his son. Cui Zibo's work in Yecheng is still very good!

After a moment of silence, Cui Shao began to speak:
“Zi Bo, the situations you mentioned have also been noticed. The Chief Secretary and the Provincial Court are also jointly discussing countermeasures for these problems. There is not much time left this year, so we may not be able to count on them, but if nothing unexpected happens next year, corresponding policies will be introduced to address these problems…”

Hearing this news, Cui Zibo smiled and said without hesitation:

"This is really good news! It will be more convenient for us to carry out our work next time!"

After hearing what Cui Zibo said, Cui Shao hesitated for a moment and then asked:
"Zi Bo, do you want to come to Yi Jing to work?"

Cui Zibo was a little surprised to hear his father say this. He had been working as the prefect of Yecheng for more than a year. Although he was not satisfied with the first few months, as he got more involved in the work and with the guidance of his father, he had begun to feel like a fish in water. He didn't understand why his father wanted him to leave at this time.

Seeing this, Cui Shao hesitated for a moment and began to speak:
"Zi Bo, I'm going to tell you something top secret. Don't tell anyone else!"

After hearing this, Cui Zibo became even more curious and nodded heavily. Cui Shao said in a deep voice:
"I will probably only be able to serve as the governor of Youyan until next year!"

Before the voice had even finished falling, Cui Zibo said in shock and anger;
"Why did he dismiss you?"

"Even if he doesn't consider you as his uncle, he should understand how much you have contributed to the Fengwu Army. How could he be so cruel to you?"

Seeing Cui Zibo like this, Cui Shao frowned and said:

"Just be patient and listen to what I have to say!"

“Now that the Fengwu Army’s territory is growing, the current administrative structure can no longer meet the demand, so many people have suggested that the Marshal set up six departments to coordinate management. The news from the Imperial Guards is that there is already a plan, and I may very likely play an important role in it. Therefore, I can no longer serve as the Governor of Youyan…”

(End of this chapter)