Chapter 872 I have drawn my sword, what about you? (Thanks to the book friend Sword Demon King for the reward!)

Facing Tang Peng's undisguised questioning, Yang Chongqing gave an answer without dodging or avoiding his gaze.

"I sent a letter to Luo An last night..."

Hearing this, Tang Peng's anger almost overflowed. He looked at Yang Chongqing who was speaking word by word:

"Marshal Yang, this is a matter of great importance. Since your order has not been authorized by the Prime Minister, our Tiger Army will temporarily suspend the execution of your order!"

"Once you get the authorization from the Prime Minister, our Tiger Army will continue to carry out your military orders!"

After he finished speaking, Tang Peng ignored Yang Chongqing and turned around to leave the room. But before he took a few steps, Yang Chongqing's voice came from behind him again.

"I am the Grand Marshal of the Army appointed by the court. All the troops of the court are under my control. Commander Tang, if you disobey my orders now, I have the right to remove you from your post immediately and take you back to Luoan to be dealt with by the court!"

As soon as these words came out, Tang Peng stopped immediately. After a few seconds, he turned around and looked at Yang Chongqing with a serious expression. He didn't say anything, but one hand was on the hilt of the knife at his waist!

Yang Chongqing ignored him and continued preaching:

"Tang Peng, although you are not a famous general, you are also an old soldier who has fought for half of your life. You should understand some basic military knowledge!"

“You should know the current situation very well without me telling you…”

"After the Fengwu Army broke through Heyi County, the situation in Yunbing deteriorated. Although we acted quickly, Yuan Song's actions were faster than ours. We have lost the initiative!"

"In this situation, what do you think we should do?"

"Pull all the troops to the vicinity of Jinyang and have a decisive battle with the Fengwu Army? And then wait for the Fengwu Army cavalry in Pingyang to attack us from behind?"

Faced with Yang Chongqing's series of questions, Tang Peng was speechless. He thought for a long time before he uttered a sentence.

"Jinyang is the most important place in Yunbing's situation. The Prime Minister and the Minister have already ordered that Jinyang must be saved. Marshal Yang, how dare you disobey the military order?"

Hearing this, Tang Peng snorted coldly and said:

"Commander Tang, you must have heard the saying that a general may not obey the orders of the king when he is away from home, right?"

"Although the Prime Minister has ordered us to defend Jinyang, he doesn't know the situation we are facing now!"

"I believe that the Prime Minister is also in Yun today and knows the situation we are facing. He will agree with our approach!"

Hearing what Yang Chongqing said, Tang Peng opened his mouth and refuted:

“Marshal Yang, I really cannot agree with your opinion. Right now our army’s morale is high. It is a good time to have a decisive battle with the enemy. As long as our army can win the battle in one go, the entire situation in Yunbing will be rewritten…”

Seeing that Tang Peng pinned all his hopes on achieving success in one fell swoop, Yang Chongqing's eyes showed a hint of disappointment and he said:

"It's ok that the soldiers below are just following the fanaticism, but Tang Peng, you participated in the first Yunbing War, so why do you still have such unrealistic fantasies?"

"If the commander-in-chief of the Fengwu Army was that idiot Lin Huaiwu, you might have a chance of winning, but we are facing Yuan Song now!"

"And Ye Mingsheng also spent a lot of money to win the Battle of Yunbing. He also added two divisions with more than 35,000 people and dozens of cannons to Yuan Song!"

"Have you ever thought about what would happen if you lost the decisive battle?"

After these words came out, Tang Peng was speechless again, and could only speak nonsense:
"The Fengwu Army has been on a long expedition, and the money and food consumed every day are countless. As long as our army can hold on by staying the same, the Fengwu Army's logistics will sooner or later be in trouble. By then, Yuan Song will definitely be more anxious than us. When he can't help but attack Jinyang, we can take the opportunity to launch a surprise attack!"

Yang Chongqing sighed and said:
"Commander Tang is right. The Fengwu Army is indeed suffering from heavy losses every day. They can't hold out for long!"

“But I would like to ask you, before you think about the Fengwu Army, can you please think about our situation…”

"Commander Tang, even if you don't care about state affairs, you should know something about the government's finances. It can't sustain us fighting outside for a long time!"

"We can't afford to delay any longer than the Fengwu Army. Every day we delay will make our situation more passive!"

After listening to Yang Chongqing's words, Tang Peng seemed to realize the danger of the situation, and his position was somewhat shaken.

"Is this the only way left?"

Seeing Tang Peng's attitude wavering, Yang Chongqing's eyes showed a glimmer of hope and he said again:
"Commander Tang, if we lose everyone in the land, we will lose everyone in the land. If we lose everyone in the land, we will save everyone in the land!"

"We have lost the initiative now. Jinyang is a trap set by Yuan Song. It is almost impossible for us to complete the Prime Minister's order now!"

"But as long as we can complete the current battle plan, we can completely cut off the Fengwu Army's major advantage. The Fengwu Army has occupied so many cities and counties, and they will inevitably be divided into garrisons. The Fengwu Army only has these people on the Yunbing battlefield!" "So don't be afraid of the Fengwu Army occupying Jinyang. How many people can the Fengwu Army take out to fight us after occupying Jinyang?"

"How the Fengwu Army captured Jinyang is how we will be able to take Jinyang back in the future!"

“The most important thing for us now is to crush the Fengwu Army’s offensive momentum! This is the most important thing at the moment…”

"Although the loss of Jinyang has a very bad impact, as long as we can win in other places, we can offset the impact of the loss of Jinyang!"

"Although Wang Muzhi is only a good general in terms of fighting skills, I agree with some of his views on the Fengwu Army!"

"The internal conflicts in the Fengwu Army are actually no less than those in the imperial court, but they were all forcibly suppressed by Ye Mingsheng. No one in the Fengwu Army dared to disobey Ye Mingsheng's will!"

"The most important support for Ye Mingsheng's power comes from the continuous victories of the Fengwu Army. Once the Fengwu Army's offensive momentum is defeated, Ye Mingsheng's power will be weakened!"

"By that time, the internal contradictions of the Fengwu Army will no longer be suppressed, and that bastard Ye Mingsheng will be devoured by power. He will taste the bitter fruit of his own actions!"

After hearing Yang Chongqing's earnest advice, Tang Peng fell into silence. Seeing this, Yang Chongqing looked at him expectantly.

Although he had already decided that for the last hope of the court, he had to carry out his battle plan no matter what. If Tang Peng insisted on going his own way, he would be captured!
But no matter what, Tang Peng is the commander of the Hujie Army, the second most powerful military officer in the Imperial Guards after himself, and the Duke of Chu in the court, representing the nobles. Taking him down will have a very bad impact, and may even make Shangguan Changgong suspicious of him...

In addition, half of the imperial guards participating in the Yunbing Battle were from the Hujie Army, and Tang Peng had many confidants in the Hujie Army. If he had captured their commander now, it would inevitably cause a shock within the Hujie Army. By then, once Tang Peng's confidants clamored to see Tang Peng, it would be somewhat of a headache!
Therefore, considering various circumstances and not considering the last resort, Yang Chongqing did not want to take down Tang Peng. This was why he talked so much to Tang Peng and wanted to win Tang Peng's support. If Tang Peng was a small figure, he would not bother to waste so much time talking to him and would just chop him down if he didn't listen!
After struggling for a whole cup of tea, Tang Peng finally stopped thinking and looked up at Yang Chongqing. His Adam's apple rolled and he swallowed a mouthful of saliva. He spoke with difficulty:
"Marshal Yang, tell me the truth. How confident are you that you can complete your battle plan?"

Facing Tang Peng's answer, Yang Chongqing thought for a moment and said:
"I'm definitely not 100% sure, but if the plan goes well, I'm 60% to 70% sure I can complete the battle plan!"

"Of course Yuan Song is unwilling to swap with us. That's the best scenario for us!"

Hearing Yang Chongqing’s answer, Tang Peng nodded silently, and something was moved in his heart. The fall of Jinyang would inevitably cause turmoil in the court, but what Yang Chongqing said was right. If they could achieve this combat goal, then they could offset the impact of the fall of Jinyang...
In this way, the fall of Jinyang would not have as great an impact as imagined, and completing this combat goal would be equivalent to cutting off an arm of the Fengwu Army, which would have many benefits for subsequent operations!
Thinking of this, Tang Peng basically agreed with Yang Chongqing's plan, but there was one thing he needed to make clear to Yang Chongqing, so he looked up at Yang Chongqing.

Seeing this, Yang Chongqing also understood Tang Peng's eyes and took the initiative to speak:
"I will report to the Prime Minister that this matter was done by me alone. I forced Commander Tang to do this. This matter has nothing to do with you, Commander Tang. If the court investigates this matter, I, Yang Chongqing, will take full responsibility and will never implicate you, Commander Tang!"

After hearing this, Tang Peng no longer had any reservations and bowed to Yang Chongqing, saying:
"I will lead the Tiger Army to carry out your orders, Marshal Yang. I hope your judgment is correct!"

After receiving Tang Peng's promise, Yang Chongqing finally smiled. He nodded and said:
"Thank you for your trust. We will definitely win this war! The world of Great Zhou will never fall into the hands of Ye Mingsheng!"

When Tang Peng heard this, a glimmer of hope appeared in his eyes. He then nodded heavily and walked out of the room.

After Tang Peng left, Yang Chongqing shifted his gaze to the sand table again, with a hint of anticipation on his face.

Now that Yang has led the imperial guards to draw their swords, how will Yuan Song respond?

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Hanyang, Sun Mansion

A group of Chu army's military and political leaders gathered in the meeting room of the palace. At this time, the representative of the Luoan court, the governor of Jingchu, Lin Jiesheng, stood up and pointed at Sun Chenggong who was sitting in the main seat and said:
"Young Marshal, I heard that the Chu army has been preparing for war. I wonder what you want to do?"

Facing Lin Jiesheng's accusation, Sun Chenggong's eyes flashed with murderous intent, but at this moment he still spoke as if nothing had happened:
"There are some bandit problems in Mazhou and Xiaochuan area, which make the people live in fear. So I want to send troops to wipe out this gang of bandits and give the people a peaceful life. I wonder if you, Governor Lin, have any opinions?"

Lin Jiesheng did not buy into Sun Chenggong's answer. He snorted coldly and said:
"Since there are bandit problems in the Mazhou and Xiaochuan areas, why did the Chu army move to the Heshan area in the south?"

Seeing Lin Jiesheng's relentless pursuit, Sun Chenggong couldn't help but narrow his eyes. Seeing this, his confidant Sun Dafu also stood up and angrily scolded:
"Lin Jiesheng, who do you think you are? It's not your turn to speak shamelessly about the Chu army's deployment situation!"

Facing Sun Dafu's angry rebuke, Lin Jiesheng couldn't help but sneer and said:

"All under heaven belongs to the king, and all the people are his subjects. Since Jingchu is under the jurisdiction of the court, it should obey the court's will. Marshal, do you think I am right?"

As soon as Lin Jiesheng finished speaking, he looked at Sun Chenggong who was sitting in the main seat again, and as Lin Jiesheng spoke, the eyes of other people in the room also focused on Sun Chenggong·······························

Although Sun Chenggong wanted to draw his sword and kill the treacherous Lin Jiesheng on the spot, under the gaze of everyone, he could only force out a smile and said:

"Governor Lin, you are right. Since Jingchu is under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, it is natural that we must obey the imperial court's orders!"

Hearing what Sun Chenggong said, Lin Jiesheng looked around and became more and more proud and continued:
"The court hopes that you, young commander, can protect the country and the people and not cause any more trouble. I believe that you, young commander, can understand this!"

Upon hearing this, Sun Chenggong almost couldn't suppress his anger. At this moment, his teacher Cheng Pingzhi gave him a look. Seeing this, Sun Chenggong endured the humiliation and nodded under Lin Jiesheng's gaze.

Seeing this, Lin Jiesheng, who thought he had won a great victory, also smiled and bowed to Sun Chenggong and said:

“Young Marshal, you are truly a loyal and capable general of the court. I will go back to the Prime Minister and submit a letter to him, asking him to commend you, Young Marshal…”

(End of this chapter)