Chapter 796 Ready to take action!

While Zhang Chengzhe was reporting to Sun Taihai, in a private room of Chenji Teahouse in Yijing, two middle-aged men were sitting and listening to storytelling··························
It was late afternoon. Mr. Zhang, who was invited from Yujing by Chen's Teahouse, clapped the gavel in his hand and said:
"After waiting for another two or three days, Governor Cai arrived. The officials of the prefecture set up the road, and the drums sounded in the hall. The four government offices and the personnel of the prefecture went out of the city to welcome him. Shubao was a government official, so he followed the crowd out. When they arrived at the Ten-Li Pavilion, all the officials met each other. After meeting everyone, Governor Cai had worked hard on the journey, and he entered the city in a warm sedan chair. Shubao followed him into the city gate..."

Wu Kui looked at the middle-aged scholar beside him, who was dressed as a scholar and was listening to a story attentively. His fierce triangular eyes were full of fear.

After hesitating for a moment, he said to the middle-aged scholar in a low voice:

"Are you disgusted with adultery?"

Hearing Wu Kui's question, the middle-aged scholar took a sip from the teacup beside him and then said slowly under Wu Kui's vigilant gaze:
"Who will pity me for pretending to be crazy today?"

As soon as these words came out, Wu Kui felt relieved immediately. Two hours ago, he received a secret letter, in which the other party asked him to come to Chen's Teahouse. Although he didn't know the other party's identity, he still had some guesses in his mind. After hesitating for a while, he finally decided to come here to meet the other party.

After hesitating for a moment, Wu Kui asked with some dissatisfaction:
"There are so many people here, why did you meet here?"

Hearing Wu Kui's question, the middle-aged scholar smiled slightly, pointed down with his folding fan to a seat in a corner of the first floor and said:
“Do you know who likes to sit there the most…”

Upon hearing this, Wu Kui also looked over, and saw a few middle-aged men with decent clothes and big bellies sitting on the chairs in the corner. They were eating cakes and drinking tea, enjoying their rare leisure time.

Seeing this scene, Wu Kui frowned and said:
"what do you want to say?"

Feeling Wu Kui's displeasure, the middle-aged scholar said helplessly:
"Chen Shangye has been exposed. Your plan has failed, but you can meet your target here!"

Although these words were brief, they were like a thunderclap in Wu Kui's heart. He looked at the middle-aged scholar in front of him in disbelief. The middle-aged scholar said calmly:

"Don't ask me how I know this, just remember to wipe your butt!"

After saying this, the middle-aged scholar stood up and walked out of the private room. At this time, Wu Kui also recovered and said:
"How can I contact you?"

The middle-aged scholar said calmly:
"You are not qualified to contact me. I will contact you when necessary!"

At the end, the middle-aged scholar paused and then said in a deep voice:

"And don't let it fall into the hands of the Coordination Office!"

After saying that, the middle-aged scholar opened the door and left the private room without any hesitation. Looking at the middle-aged scholar's leaving back, Wu Kui's eyes were full of complicated colors...

Although it was still a little hard to believe that the plan he had worked so hard on for nearly half a year was on the verge of bankruptcy just at the beginning, he was still willing to believe what the middle-aged Confucian scholar had just said. After all, he was that person!
However, if what he said is correct, then being able to obtain such information could mean that he is... or that the information from his superiors has penetrated into their top ranks. If this is the case, it could explain why he was able to escape capture by the Fengwu Army time and time again!
Sitting in the private room, Wu Kui pondered for a long time until Mr. Zhang on the stage slammed the gavel and said, "Stay tuned for the next episode." Only then did he gradually come to his senses.

After taking a deep look at the person sitting in the corner on the first floor, Wu Kui also stood up and left the private room. If he was not wrong, then based on that person's security measures, half of the people in Chen's Teahouse might be spies from the Coordination Office!

Not only that, there are probably spies deployed by the Coordination Office in ambushes in the shops around Chen's Teahouse to ensure that nothing goes wrong, so things are far from that simple!
It seems that I have been thinking about things too simply. I can put plans aside for the time being. I must take drastic measures now...

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"Xu Zhaojie, you have to give me an explanation for this matter!"

Looking at Xu Zhaojie in front of him, Hou Zhen said angrily:
This time, under the aggressive posture of the Fengwu Army, the three families who were wary and cautious of each other finally united to a limited extent. Lu Jianchao, a local rich man in Jiangnan, provided money, and Jingchu and Huainan sent troops to catch the Fengwu Army off guard and annihilate the main force of the Fengwu Army under the city of Kangyin.

Everything went as planned. Hou Zhen and his 30,000 Chu troops marched all the way to the city of Kangyin, intending to join forces with Xu Zhaojie, who also led 30,000 troops.

However, plans cannot keep up with changes. When Hou Zhen arrived at Kangyin City, he found out that the most important part of his mother's plan, Kangyin City, which was used to kill the exhausted Fengwu Army, had actually been captured by the Fengwu Army!
The capture of Kangyin City by the Fengwu Army meant that the Fengwu Army's long-planned battle had been declared a failure, and they did not have the ability to take back Kangyin from the Fengwu Army!
Although Xu Zhaojie also felt extremely painful and regretful about the loss of Kangyin, when he heard Hou Zhen's question, he tried his best to remain calm and said:

"This matter is the fault of my Zhennan Army. General Hou, if you want to give up this battle and leave, I will never stop you..."

Hou Zhen was a little surprised to see Xu Zhaojie admit his mistake so straightforwardly. He thought Xu Zhaojie would deliberately shirk responsibility and make some excuses to justify himself. He never expected Xu Zhaojie to be so straightforward. If that was the case, should he lead his troops away?
If he led his troops away, although this battle had earned him one million taels of silver from Jiangnan and several cities in Huainan including Zhucheng, the Chu army seemed to have won a great victory and made a lot of money, but this was not good for Hou Zhen himself!
The reason why Sun Liangyu agreed to the joint action against the Fengwu Army this time was not only because he was tempted by Lu Jianchao's one million taels of silver, but also because he coveted the prosperity of Huainan and wanted to take this opportunity to intervene in Huainan. Hou Zhen was a supporter of this strategy, and it was under his persuasion that Sun Liangyu, who was afraid of the Fengwu Army's offensive, finally nodded and agreed to this plan.

At the beginning, Hou Zhen patted his chest in front of Sun Liangyu, guaranteeing that the main force of Fengwu Army could be wiped out in this battle. But now the main force of Fengwu Army has captured Kangyin, and he and the 30,000 Chu troops have done nothing. If he leads his troops back at this time, Xu Zhaojie can only watch them retreat to the south of Nanjiang in failure. In this way, Fengwu Army will surely win a great victory!

In this battle, given the vengeful character of the Fengwu Army and Ye Mingsheng, they will definitely put pressure on the Jingchu side, and may even directly send a large number of troops to exert extreme pressure. However, their own boss is very afraid of the Fengwu Army's offensive.

By then, he will most likely give in under the extreme pressure of the Fengwu Army, and it is even very likely that in order to resolve Ye Mingsheng's wrath, he will hand over himself, who has always advocated fighting the Fengwu Army to the end... Thinking of this, Hou Zhen's eyes flickered, and seeing the change in his expression, Xu Zhaojie knew that he had realized the pros and cons, and immediately struck while the iron was hot and said very sincerely:
"General Hou, I must admit that I made a mistake in this battle. The Fengwu Army's invasion of Huainan was not a spur-of-the-moment decision. They had planned it long ago. They had already colluded with Zhang Shiyu, the deputy general of Kangyin. It was with the help of that bastard Zhang Shiyu that they were able to capture Huainan so quickly!"

"Now that Kangyin City has been occupied by the Fengwu Army, our original plan has indeed failed, but this does not mean that we have no chance now. We can only accept failure and let the Fengwu Army be secretly proud of themselves!"

"I believe that as long as we capture Shunde and seize this important node on the Fengwu Army's return journey, then given the arrogance and pride of the Fengwu Army, they will definitely leave the city to seek a decisive battle with our army, and this is our chance!"

After listening to Xu Zhaojie's words, Hou Zhen thought for a while and said:
“He Jingyun has the 6th Division with 30,000 men in Hebei and Henan. If they come to attack us, we will be attacked from both sides in Shunde. Moreover, even if we get a chance to fight a decisive battle with the Fengwu Army, we will be facing the Fengwu Army’s trump card main force, the First Division. What is your chance of winning, Xu Zhaojie?”

Facing Hou Zhen's question, Xu Zhaojie patiently explained:
"General Hou, you may not understand the system of the Fengwu Army. In the Fengwu Army, Gu Shouting's Sixth Division is mainly composed of surrendered soldiers from the former Yan Army. Ye Mingsheng does not completely trust them. Although they and the First Division belong to the same sequence of the First Army of the Fengwu Army, their combat effectiveness is far apart!"

"Therefore, the Sixth Division is generally considered to be the force responsible for stabilizing the rear, and this is the case in Hebei and Henan right now. The Sixth Division's more than 30,000 troops are scattered across various prefectures and counties in Hebei and Henan. Even if they want to support the First Division, it will take time to assemble, which will take at least ten days!"

"The combat effectiveness of the Fengwu Army's First Division is indeed very strong, but they are not invincible. As long as we restrict their firearms, we can create a great victory over them, and it is not impossible to annihilate them completely!"

Hearing Xu Zhaojie say this, Hou Zhen looked at him and said in a deep voice:

"Do you have a way to deal with them?"

Xu Zhaojie didn't say anything after hearing this. He just pointed his baton at a point on the sand table and said:
"This is the battlefield I chose!"

"If we can start a war here, the Fengwu Army will definitely be defeated!"

Looking at the location Xu Zhaojie pointed to, Hou Zhen also recalled the terrain there. After a moment, his eyes lit up and then he fell into silence...

Seeing him like this, Xu Zhaojie also understood that he was waiting for a good price. He couldn't help but sneer in his heart, but still pretended to be sincere and said:
"General Hou, the situation has fallen into this predicament now. It is our Zhennan Army's fault that has implicated you. I, Xu, feel really guilty. How about this? After this battle, I am willing to cede Zhucheng, Bozhou, and Shunde to your Lord Sun!"

Hou Zhen was a little surprised when he heard this. He had already been persuaded by Xu Zhaojie and wanted to give it another try. The reason why he didn't say anything now was just to let Xu Zhaojie raise the price higher. He originally only wanted Zhucheng and Bozhou, but he didn't expect Xu Zhaojie to cede even Shunde to him.

Although he was a little surprised, Hou Zhen understood the reason after thinking about it. The Zhennan Army's strength was greatly damaged and it could no longer maintain its rule over the entire Huainan. Zhucheng was currently under his actual control, while Bozhou, Shunde and even Kangyin were all under the control of the Fengwu Army. So now Xu Zhaojie was just firing blanks at him.

Although he understood Xu Zhaojie's intention, considering his own interests, Hou Zhen decided to trust Xu Zhaojie once more and said:
“Lord Xu, since you are so willing, I will not refuse! Let’s fight the Fengwu Army again…”

Finally hearing a positive answer from Hou Zhen, Xu Zhaojie was very happy and immediately said:

"General Hou! This time I promise I will never let you and Lord Sun down!"

"Lord Xu, we believe you!"

After temporarily resolving the conflict between the two sides, Hou Zhen left, while Xu Zhaojie sat on the chair somewhat tiredly. Although the illness was no longer a problem, this serious illness also caused the physical fitness of Xu Zhaojie, who had always been in good health, to decline a lot. In the past, he had led the army to prepare for war for several days and nights without any problems, but now he felt tired after just a few hours!

While handing Xu Zhaojie a bowl of medicine, Liu Zhaohu gently reminded:

"Lord, I think Hou Zhen and the others have also set their sights on Kang Yin!"

Xu Zhaojie was not surprised to hear Liu Chaohu's words. He drank the medicine and said calmly:
"I am just a sick cat now, so naturally they all want to take advantage of me and eat a piece of my meat!"

Liu Chaohu heard this and said quickly:
"My Lord, you are not a sick cat. In my opinion, you are a crouching tiger who can tear them to pieces at any time!"

Xu Zhaojie shook his head indifferently, then asked Liu Zhaohu:
"How's the contact with the Lin family going?"

Liu Chaohu said in a low voice:
"Everything is going as planned. We are ready, and all we need is the east wind!"

Xu Zhaojie nodded with satisfaction and said:

“Very good! The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Let’s see who will have the last laugh…”

(End of this chapter)