Chapter 879 Lord Xu’s Inner Demon!

Looking at Xiao Jingxuan, whose expression was full of expectation, Ye Mingsheng touched his head and asked with a smile:

“Jingxuan, you did a great job on your homework. What reward do you want…”

Hearing his father's words, little Jingxuan immediately showed a happy smile on his face. After thinking for a while, he raised his little head and said to Ye Mingsheng:
"Dad, I want a younger brother!"

After hearing this, Ye Mingsheng was stunned and laughed. Pei Zhixiu next to him also looked a little embarrassed.

Ye Mingsheng was also somewhat curious, and asked Xiao Jingxuan again:
"Why did you think of this?"

Facing Ye Mingsheng's question, Xiao Jingxuan said seriously:

"Brother, both my elder brothers have younger brothers but I don't, so Jingxuan also wants a younger brother!"

Looking at his youngest son with innocent eyes, Ye Mingsheng also turned his gaze to Pei Zhixiu beside him. Pei Zhixiu's expression also showed a hint of shyness, but she still changed the subject and did not let the father and son talk more on this issue.

At night, Ye Mingsheng hugged Pei Zhixiu on the bed and whispered in her ear:

"what happened?"

Pei Zhixiu hesitated for a moment but still said:

"I think I'm pregnant again!"

Ye Mingsheng was also very surprised to hear the news. He kissed Pei Zhixiu and said with a smile:

“This is good! Jingxuan wanted a younger brother, and now his wish can be fulfilled…”

Pei Zhixiu was silent for a while after hearing this, then suddenly hugged Ye Mingsheng tightly, leaned in Ye Mingsheng's arms and whispered with a complicated expression:

"Husband, I keep dreaming about my past!"

Ye Mingsheng was a little surprised when he heard this. Pei Zhixiu's past was a tacit understanding between him and Pei Zhixiu. He never asked about it, and Pei Zhixiu never mentioned it to him on her own initiative.

Gently stroking Pei Zhixiu's back, Ye Mingsheng spoke gently and firmly:
"Don't worry, my husband will always be your backer. No one can hurt you while I'm here!"

Pei Zhixiu was very moved when she heard Ye Mingsheng say this, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Ye Mingsheng held Pei Zhixiu like this the whole night until Pei Zhixiu fell asleep in his arms. Early the next morning, Ye Mingsheng smiled and said goodbye to Pei Zhixiu and her son, and returned to his study, to his battlefield. The first thing Ye Mingsheng did was to call Huo San over.

Ye Mingsheng looked at Huo San and asked directly:

"What happened at Changshan Clinic?"

Huo San was startled when he heard this. Ye Mingsheng's question also confused him. After hesitating for a while, he reported to Ye Mingsheng very cautiously:

“Sir, I haven’t received any abnormal reports from the clinic yet…”

Ye Mingsheng immediately ordered:

"There must be a problem. Please investigate it carefully!"

After all these years together, Ye Mingsheng knows Pei Zhixiu very well. This woman rarely reveals her weakness to him, but Pei Zhixiu's condition last night was very unusual.

Ye Mingsheng's intuition told her that something must have happened that she didn't know about, and he had spies everywhere in the mansion, so he knew everything that happened. So this incident must have happened in Changshan Medical Clinic. Certain people or certain things reminded her of the past that she wanted to forget.

Although he didn't know what happened, seeing Ye Mingsheng's serious look, Huo San nodded and said:
"I understand. I will investigate thoroughly!"

After getting Huo San's answer, Ye Mingsheng planned to let Huo San leave. He still had a lot of work to do today. In the morning, he had to hold a meeting with the Central Academy to discuss this year's commercial and agricultural policies. In the afternoon, he also had to go to the General Staff to listen to the General Staff's analysis report. In addition, he had more than twenty memorials to comment on.

However, Huo San was not in a hurry to leave, but reported to Ye Mingsheng:

"Your Excellency, we have a plan for the political situation in the Luoan court. I wonder if you have time to listen to my report?"

Ye Mingsheng glanced at Huo San after hearing this, and then said calmly:
“You have time for a cup of tea…”

After getting the answer from Ye Mingsheng, Huo San didn't dare to waste time and immediately reported:

"Sir, some news from the Luoan court confirmed that Yang Chongqing's decision to abandon Jinyang and lead his troops to encircle Pingyang was not approved by Shangguan Changgong in advance. Yang Chongqing made the decision without prior approval!"

"Shangguan Changgong is said to be very angry about this, and our spy in the Supervisory Department recently sent back news that the Supervisory Department is investigating the connection between Murong Lun and Yang Chongqing. So based on this information, we suspect that there is already a rift between Shangguan Changgong and Yang Chongqing, and Shangguan Changgong's trust in Yang Chongqing has been shaken!"

"Also, Commander Yuan at the Yunbing front reported to our Coordination Office that before Wang Muzhi, the enemy's Yunbing governor, set himself on fire, he left a blood letter that was most likely accusing Yang Chongqing, and asked his subordinates to deliver it to Shangguan Hongyuan!"

"Our Coordination Office intends to use this blood letter to make a fuss, exacerbate the rift between Shangguan Changgong and Yang Chongqing, and cause the Luoan court to fall into distrust and internal friction!" Ye Mingsheng thought for a while and nodded.

"Good idea! I agree with your plan. If you need any help, you can go and coordinate with the staff!"

Seeing that Ye Mingsheng agreed with his idea, Huo San immediately became alert and bowed to Ye Mingsheng and said:

"Thank you for your approval! I will do my best and live up to your trust..."

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Jiangnan, Chishan Prefecture
Chishan Prefecture is located in the middle reaches of the Nanjiang River. It is the northern gate of the Jiangnan region. It is across the river from Yining County in Huainan, so it is also a strategic location in Jiangnan. The Jiangnan Governor Lu Jianchao stationed a full 20,000 troops here.

Although Lu Jianchao had tried his best to ensure that everything would be foolproof, five days ago Xu Zhaojie had successfully lured the main force of the Jiangnan Army to Qingyang Prefecture, upstream of Chishan, through a series of strategic deceptions. He then led 30,000 Zhennan troops to raid Chishan Prefecture and successfully captured this bridgehead for the invasion of Jiangnan.

The largest merchant in Chishan Prefecture is named Huang, and his Huang Mansion is also the most luxurious mansion in Chishan Prefecture. But unfortunately, this mansion no longer belongs to him!
Ever since the Zhennan Army invaded Chishan Prefecture, the Huang family's granary, old house, and silver vault have all been requisitioned by the Zhennan Army. Although the Zhennan Army said that this was only a temporary measure, the Huang family was still helpless.

At this time, in a side room of the Huang Mansion, Xu Zhaojie convened a high-level military meeting of the Zhennan Army.

General Liang Wei of the Zhennan Army introduced Xu Zhaojie and his colleagues:
“Although the Jiangnan Army was fooled by our army, the main force of the enemy has now completed its deployment in Chizhou and Lanxi County. According to the scouts’ investigation report, the enemy has a total of 25,000 troops in Chizhou, and the commander is the Jiangnan Army’s general Gan Sheng…”

"Although Gan Sheng is unknown, he is a fierce general in the Jiangnan Army. He led his troops to decisively suppress the Chi Lian Cult rebellion that broke out in Jiangnan more than a year ago. In addition, he has also wiped out armed forces such as pirates many times. He is a rare general in the Jiangnan Army who has actual combat experience and has been promoted step by step based on his military exploits!"

"In the Lanxi direction, there are 30,000 Southern Guard troops commanded by Lu Jianchao's nephew Lu Yun. Compared with Gan Sheng, Lu Yun's resume is relatively weak. He was promoted more by his uncle Lu Jianchao. In terms of ability, Lu Yun should be inferior to Gan Sheng."

"It is worth noting that both Gan Sheng's 25,000 men in Chizhou and Lu Yun's 30,000 men in Lanxi County are equipped with a large number of Weiyuan guns and Hudun cannons. According to some intelligence, Gan Sheng will have 5,000 musketeers, more than 100 Hudun cannons, and 15 Zhengdong cannons purchased from the Luoan court."

"Lu Yun has at least 8,000 musketeers, 200 tiger squat cannons, and 20 Zhengdong cannons under his command. Their firepower is very strong. Our army must be careful!"

After hearing what Liang Wei said at the end, the generals of the Zhennan Army in the side room, who had originally disdained the fighting power of the Jiangnan Army, all became serious...

A considerable number of them were defeated by the Fengwu Army in the Battle of Hebei and Henan, and knew the power of the Fengwu Army's firearms. Although they had not participated in the Battle of Hebei and Henan, they had learned about it from their colleagues, so they were all aware of the situation. Therefore, even though their opponents were not the fierce and wolf-like Fengwu Army, they still did not dare to be negligent.

After introducing these situations, Liang Wei first bowed to Xu Zhaojie who was sitting in the main seat, and then stood back in the queue.

Seeing this, Xu Zhaojie looked around at the generals in the room and said in a deep voice:

"What do you want to say about the current war situation?"

As Xu Zhaojie finished speaking, a burly general spoke up:
"This damn Fengwu Army is really haunting us. Their traces are everywhere. Fuck Ye Mingsheng's ancestors. This bastard really thinks he is the emperor. Bah!"

After hearing this man's speech, all the generals seemed to have just woken up from their dreams. They cursed Ye Mingsheng in front of Xu Zhaojie one by one, and each one cursed more harshly and foully than the other, wishing they could eat Ye Mingsheng alive.

What was originally a high-level military meeting of the Zhennan Army instantly turned into a meeting to criticize Ye Mingsheng. The generals of the Zhennan Army all understood that the two words Ye Mingsheng and Fengwu Army had become a demon in the heart of their Lord Xu. They were not allowed to show off their power with words even though they could not win on the battlefield, so they all used this method to please Xu Zhaojie...

Although he knew that if the men under his command really encountered the Fengwu Army and Ye Mingsheng, most of them would cower in fear, but at this moment, Xu Zhaojie still enjoyed hearing the angry curses against Ye Mingsheng. He listened for a whole cup of tea before he stretched out his hand with satisfaction, signaling everyone to calm down.

Everyone who had calmed down looked at Xu Zhaojie, waiting for their Lord Xu to come up with a battle plan and assign tasks to them.

Xu Zhaojie was arrogant and had a great talent for military command, so when his subordinates proposed combat ideas during a battle and he was not satisfied with them, he would reprimand them mercilessly.

In addition, the battle plans proposed by Xu Zhaojie himself often seemed to be the best options, so over time the generals of the Zhennan Army developed a habit of not thinking about how to fight the battle, but waiting for Xu Zhaojie to assign them tasks.

Feeling the looks from everyone, Xu Zhaojie felt a little tired, but he still told them his plan:

“Jiangnan has been at peace for a long time. Although the Jiangnan Army has a large number of people and is equipped with a lot of firearms, their fighting spirit and training level are very average. Although they have the same firearms as the Fengwu Army, they are not the Fengwu Army at all. There is no need to be too afraid of them…”

"The enemy troops are stationed in Chizhou and Lanxi County respectively. Their plan is to wait for our army to attack one direction, and then take advantage of the opportunity to attack and retake Chishan Prefecture!"

"However, as the Art of War says, when the enemy is weak, then make him strong, and when the enemy is strong, then make him weak. This time, we must let the enemy outsmart themselves!"

"This time I will personally lead 25,000 people to Lanxi County. As long as the Jiangnan Army sees me leading the main force to appear in Lanxi, Gan Sheng will definitely attack Chishan Prefecture!"

At this point, Xu Zhaojie looked at Liang Wei in the queue and ordered:
"Liang Wei, I will leave you 5,000 men. I ask you to hold out for three days after Gan Sheng arrives. After three days, I will lead the army back and attack Gan Sheng's troops from the front and back together with your troops. In this battle, we must annihilate Gan Sheng's troops at the foot of Chishan City!"

After hearing Xu Zhaojie's order, Liang Wei stood up and said:
"I obey your command! I will make sure that Gan Sheng and this thief return empty-handed!"

Feeling the strong confidence in Liang Wei's words, Xu Zhaojie nodded with satisfaction, and then assigned tasks to other generals.

Half an incense stick later, after assigning tasks to all his generals, Xu Zhaojie emphasized the key points of the battle to them again, and then announced the end of the meeting and asked the generals to go back and prepare.

After finishing all this, Xu Zhaojie originally wanted to find two women to relax, but he did not expect that Shi Youtian, the lieutenant general of Zhennan Army, hurried into the room and reported:

“My Lord, the news from Jingchu said that Sun Chenggong is very dishonest. He has been gathering troops in the direction of Hanyang and even purged the internal power of the Luoan court. He obtained a large number of firearms from the Fengwu Army. General Chen suspects that he will soon attack Xian’an Prefecture…”

(End of this chapter)