Chapter 936: Seeking to Conquer Jingchu!

Jingchu Hanyang, Cheng Mansion

Although Cheng Pingzhi was nominally just an advisor to Sun Chenggong and did not hold any position in the government, high-ranking officials in Jingchu all knew what kind of influence Cheng Pingzhi had on Sun Chenggong...
This is especially reflected in some major military and political affairs. Before making a decision, Sun Chenggong would listen to Cheng Pingzhi's opinion. Therefore, Cheng Pingzhi was also given titles such as Sun Chenggong's adviser and Jingchu's underground governor.

At this time, when Cheng Pingzhi was enjoying his rare leisure time at home, a servant came to report:

"Master, Yang Zhaoxu, the head of the Chief Secretary, is here to see you!"

Cheng Pingzhi was a little surprised when he heard this. He had some impression of the name Yang Zhaoxu and knew that there was indeed such a person in the Governor's Office.

Although he knew of the existence of such a person, he and Yang Zhaoxu had only met him two or three times and they did not have much contact with each other on a daily basis.

So Cheng Pingzhi was a little confused as to why the other party came to visit him. After a moment of hesitation, he asked the servant:

"Did Yang Zhaoxu bring anything?"

The servant thought for a moment and said:
"Boss Yang brought two followers with him. The followers were holding a gift box, which looked quite heavy!"

Cheng Pingzhi guessed what Yang Zhaoxu was up to, and immediately waved his hand and said:
"Just say that I have caught a cold and am unable to see guests. Please ask Chief Yang to go back..."

"Yes!"

As Cheng Pingzhi's influence on Sun Chenggong grew, some officials and generals in Jingchu also wanted Cheng Pingzhi to say a few good words for them in front of Sun Chenggong so as to help them get promoted and pass approvals.

These people naturally would not ask Cheng Pingzhi for help without any reason. At first, they gave him silver, gold bars, and even women. Finally, they heard that Cheng Pingzhi liked antiques and collectibles, so they started giving Cheng Pingzhi some.

However, Cheng Pingzhi did not choose to work in the government, but instead worked as a staff member and advisor to the father and son of the Sun family.

In addition to the fact that his family was poor in his early years and had no spare money to arrange his career, it was also because Cheng Pingzhi disliked the extravagant and corrupt atmosphere in the officialdom of the Great Zhou.

So when faced with bribes from officials, even if they were antiques that he loved, Cheng Pingzhi would politely refuse and return them!
Although Cheng Pingzhi made his attitude clear, there were still some officials who refused to give up and wanted to come to Cheng Pingzhi to smooth the way.

Facing the visits of these officials, Cheng Pingzhi was really overwhelmed and helpless. Therefore, after hearing the servant say that Yang Zhaoxu, the head of the Provincial Administration Department, brought a gift box, he preconceived that Yang Zhaoxu was another person who came to give him a gift and wanted him to help with something...
Although he didn't know whether Yang Zhaoxu wanted to give him calligraphy or paintings by famous people or antique porcelain, Cheng Pingzhi didn't want to see him!

Originally, Cheng Pingzhi thought that he had found an excuse of catching a cold, and Yang Zhaoxu should be able to go back tactfully, so that no one would lose face. However, he did not expect that the servant would come back soon and say:
"Master, Chief Yang said he has something important to tell you. Please meet him no matter what!"

After hearing this, Cheng Pingzhi felt a little angry. During this period, most of the officials and businessmen who came to him to give him gifts and ask for favors chose to leave in the face of his excuses, but there were some shameless people who stayed and insisted on getting on his side.

Therefore, after forming a preconceived notion that Yang Zhaoxu was someone who came to give gifts and build relationships, Cheng Pingzhi also thought that this person was shameless and immediately said coldly:

"Then let him wait there!"

After saying this, Cheng Pingzhi waved his sleeves and walked towards the bedroom. About two hours later, the servant came to report to Cheng Pingzhi that Yang Zhaoxu had left with his entourage.

Cheng Pingzhi smiled contemptuously and didn't take it too seriously. He had seen many people like Yang Zhaoxu who were seeking official positions recently. They thought that he would meet them after making a fuss, but they were totally wrong...
Cheng Pingzhi waved to the servants and didn't care much about it. However, he never expected that several young men in civilian clothes would exchange glances when they saw Yang Zhaoxu leaving his house. Then two of them continued to follow Yang Zhaoxu, while one hurried away.
An hour later, in a mansion somewhere in Hanyang, Ye Pengchao looked at his men in front of him and asked in surprise:
"You said Yang Zhaoxu went to find Cheng Pingzhi!"

The subordinate nodded and continued:

"Yes, Master Centurion!"

After getting a positive answer from his men again, Ye Pengchao's eyes narrowed. Although he did not tell Duan Zhibao the Fengwu Army's plan when facing Duan Zhibao's test that day, he had to admit that Duan Zhibao was quite capable!
Duan Zhibao guessed correctly. In order to gain control of the Jingchu Land, the Coordination Office not only contacted him, Duan Zhibao, but also contacted another new general promoted by Sun Chenggong, General Pozhen Li Zhengyong!

Under the current power of the Fengwu Army, Li Zhengyong decided to join the Fengwu Army after a little consideration. The plan of the General Coordination Office was to use Li Zhengyong's two battalions and 7,000 garrison troops in Jingchu to launch a coup and capture Jingchu in one fell swoop!
And Ye Pengchao's purpose in going to find Duan Zhibao was to ask him to stabilize the Jingchu Army on the front line after the coup, so that their morale would not be disrupted and the Zhennan Army would not take advantage of them...
Because the main force of the Jingchu Army had been transferred to conquer the Zhennan Army entrenched in the southern prefectures and counties, the number of Zhennan Army in Hanyang City at this time was less than 20,000. To be specific, there were about 19,000 soldiers and horses, and these 19,000 soldiers were divided into six battalions!
Sun Chenggong's cousin Sun Hui commanded two battalions with 8,000 men, Sun Chenggong's cousin Lu Hu commanded a battalion with 2,000 men, and Li Zhengyong, who was promoted by Sun Chenggong, commanded two battalions with 7,000 men. In addition, Sun Chenggong also had a personal guard battalion of more than 1,000 men. This was the distribution of troop forces in Hanyang City.

Although Li Zhengyong has expressed his willingness to be loyal to the Fengwu Army and to implement the Fengwu Army's plan to launch a rebellion and seize the Han River, he only has 7,000 troops under his command, and not all of these 7,000 people are willing to follow Li Zhengyong in launching a rebellion!
Therefore, the success rate of the coup d'état relying solely on Li Zhengyong's troops was not high. Therefore, in order to improve the success rate of the coup d'état, the General Coordination Office decided to give Li Zhengyong's troops some support. The General Coordination Office gave Li Zhengyong some firearms to improve their combat effectiveness. In addition, it also gave Li Zhengyong 10,000 taels of silver and 30 gold bars to bribe some civil officials and generals in Hanyang City.

In addition, the Coordination Office also secretly dispatched several groups of assassins to Hanjiang City, so that when the coup broke out, they would come out to assassinate the officers and generals of the Jingchu Army, so as to create chaos in the city and cooperate with Li Zhengyong's reorganization operation···························

Originally, everything was going smoothly. Now they were just waiting for a reply from above as to whether Duan Zhibao's request to make him the commander of an army would be granted.

As long as Duan Zhibao's request was approved by the higher-ups, Duan Zhibao would apply to Sun Chenggong to take over the front-line command. Sun Chenggong was already very dissatisfied with Liu Zongchang's performance on the front line, and wanted to let his trusted general take over the front-line battle, so he would definitely approve Duan Zhibao's request.

And once Duan Zhibao takes over the command of the front line, Li Zhengyong's coup can be implemented!

Just when Ye Pengchao was dreaming of a successful coup in Hanjiang, where Jingchu would completely turn to the Fengwu Army, and he would be promoted to a thousand households based on this achievement.

However, Li Zhengyong secretly came to tell him that Yang Zhaoxu, the head of the Jingchu Provincial Government, might have accidentally discovered that his personal guards were training to use the Fengwu Army's Weiyuan Gun.

After learning the news, Ye Pengchao took it very seriously. He immediately denounced Li Zhengyong's reckless behavior. However, at Li Zhengyong's request, for the sake of the overall situation, Ye Pengchao was forced to promise Li Zhengyong that he would take care of the matter for him!
Because Li Zhengyong only said that Yang Zhaoxu might have discovered it, not that he had 100% definitely discovered that Li Zhengyong's trusted subordinates were learning to use the Fengwu Army's Weiyuan gun.

So after some thought, Ye Pengchao decided to monitor Yang Zhaoxu first, observe his recent movements and then decide whether to get rid of him··························

After all, Yang Zhaoxu was the head of the Governor's Office, and was a high-ranking official in Hanjiang City. If he was killed rashly, the Censorate and the Governor would definitely intervene in the investigation.

And before the coup, they must be as cautious as possible and not do anything unnecessary!

However, when he heard his subordinates say that Yang Zhaoxu went to find Cheng Pingzhi, although he didn't know what the two talked about, Ye Pengchao immediately recalled what Duan Zhibao had told him before, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of danger in his heart!
After some quick thinking, Ye Pengchao felt that he could no longer bet that Yang Zhaoxu knew nothing!

Although Ye Pengchao had never seen Cheng Pingzhi, he had naturally heard rumors about him as he had been in Jingchu for such a long time.

Knowing that this person is extremely intelligent and meticulous, and is Sun Chenggong's strategist, he has a great influence on Sun Chenggong. If Yang Zhaoxu really discovered something and reported his discovery to Cheng Pingzhi, then with Cheng Pingzhi's ability, he may be able to find some clues!
And once Cheng Pingzhi finds any clues, then with his influence on Sun Chenggong, the Fengwu Army's plan to seize Jingchu will undoubtedly suffer a devastating disaster!

If the plan is exposed, Ye Pengchao's life or death is a minor matter, but delaying the Fengwu Army's plan is a major concern·································

Thinking of this, Ye Pengchao's eyes showed a hint of murderous intent and he ordered his men:
"Let's get rid of Cheng Pingzhi and Yang Zhaoxu tonight!"

"Yes!"

After receiving Ye Pengchao's order, his subordinates prepared to convey the order to the killers below without any hesitation!
But just as he took two steps, Ye Pengchao called him and ordered:
"Killing only these two people seems a bit too deliberate. Let the people below kill a few civil servants at random to confuse the water a little. Don't let anyone leak the clues, and then push the matter onto the Thousand Tiger Guards!"

"understand!"

After his men left, Ye Pengchao paced back and forth in the room, and as he paced, he rethought the entire plan of the Fengwu Army to attack Jingchu!
Ye Pengchao was originally very confident in this plan and felt that he would be able to hand Jingchu over to the Fengwu Army and into the hands of the Marshal!
However, this unexpected situation gave him a bad feeling, and it made him begin to think that the coup plan should be carried out as soon as possible to avoid any more trouble!

Thinking of this, Ye Pengchao couldn't help but sigh. He did a lot of work for Duan Zhibao, hoping that Duan Zhibao would not insist on being the commander.
But Duan Zhibao's attitude was very firm. He must become the commander of an army. He would not take any action unless his condition was met!

Ye Pengchao also felt helpless about this. Right now the whole plan must win the support of Duan Zhibao. Compared with Li Zhengyong, Duan Zhibao has more experience in the Jingchu Army...

Only he can stabilize the people within the Jingchu Army after the coup. Ye Pengchao doesn't want the Fengwu Army to spend so much effort to launch a coup, but in the end it will benefit the bastards of the Zhennan Army, so Duan Zhibao is needed after the coup!
If Ye Pengchao could decide this matter, he would definitely meet Duan Zhibao's conditions. After all, in his opinion, although Duan Zhibao's conditions for becoming the commander were a bit excessive, compared with his role and the benefits to be gained after the plan was successful, this deal was still very cost-effective!

But unfortunately, Ye Pengchao is only a centurion in the General Coordination Office, and this matter does not depend on him. Only the Marshal can make the decision to promise Duan Zhibao the position of commander-in-chief. It is useless if anyone else nods!

However, Ye Pengchao had no idea whether the Marshal would agree to Duan Zhibao's conditions!
The only thing he could do was to report Duan Zhibao's conditions and attach a letter to explain his views to them!
As for the rest, Ye Pengchao could do nothing. After all, he was just a centurion in the General Coordination Office. In the eyes of ordinary people, he might be a great official, but in the eyes of the real high-level officials, he was just a small shrimp with little influence!
But even so, for the great cause of the Fengwu Army and the great cause of the Marshal, Ye Pengchao also did his best to promote the development of this plan to ensure that the vast land of Jingchu can be incorporated into the territory of the Fengwu Army·························

(With the end of the Luoan court, Tongming has been speeding up the pace in a planned way. I wonder what everyone thinks and suggestions about this. There have been few rumors recently, so please leave your valuable suggestions!
(End of this chapter)