Chapter 939: Swear to go to war!

May 30, West Gate of Yijing

Amid the expectant gazes and cheers of tens of thousands of people, Ye Mingsheng, dressed in military uniform, gave an impassioned speech surrounded by the crowd···························
In his speech, Ye Mingsheng listed the ten major crimes of the traitor Shangguan to the people, and announced the news that Emperor Jiang Rui died at the hands of the traitor Shangguan.

Because the Fengwu Army had been in control of Yijing for many years, the weather was good, the government was stable and the people were harmonious, and their governance of Yijing was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. In addition, with the deliberate guidance of some propaganda departments of the Fengwu Army, the people of Yijing only knew Marshal Ye, but not the nominal ruler of the world, Jiang Rui.

So at this moment, when Ye Mingsheng said in his speech that Jiang Rui died at the hands of Shangguan Changgong, the public generally did not feel much. Fortunately, there were many "shills" who were ready to guide public opinion.

Therefore, under the deliberate guidance of these "shills", the public opinion of the people present also developed in the direction that Ye Mingsheng hoped for, and they all accused and cursed the treacherous Shangguan for his evil deeds!
Seeing that the effect he wanted was achieved, Ye Mingsheng announced at the right time that his trip to Luoan was to eliminate the remaining poison of the traitor Shangguan in the court, support the Zhou Dynasty, and defend every inch of the territorial sovereignty of the Great Zhou. Anyone who offends the Great Zhou will be punished no matter how far away they are!
After Ye Mingsheng announced his decision, warm cheers and applause spontaneously broke out among the people without any guidance. The common people sincerely hoped that Marshal Ye could restore peace to the chaotic world and restore the prosperous era of peace and prosperity with all nations coming to pay tribute to him...
Amid cheers and applause, the oath-taking ceremony came to an end. Ye Mingsheng personally led the Royal Guard Battalion and the 13th Division. A total of 35,000 soldiers of the 13th Division set off for Luoan!
Watching the Fengwu Army's receding backs, some people with their own thoughts also left quickly, preparing to pass on the message that Ye Mingsheng had just conveyed to their masters.

This was already within Ye Mingsheng's expectations. He had asked Huo San and Ji Xian to work together to clear out these bugs hiding in Yijing!

However, what Ye Mingsheng did not expect was that at this moment, a little girl in the crowd was looking at Ye Mingsheng's departing back, with a complicated expression on her pretty face.

Because Luoan had been conquered and the traitor Shangguan had been executed, the Western Expedition Army was systematically conquering the prefectures and counties in Guanzhong.

Therefore, Ye Mingsheng was not in a hurry to go to Luoan. In addition, Ye Mingsheng also intended to inspect the Fengwu Army's governance in Yunbing during the journey west to Luoan. Therefore, the army's marching speed was not particularly fast. It took a full seven days to reach Jinzhong.

As soon as Ye Mingsheng arrived in Jinzhong, he received a series of news. The most important one was that Jincheng surrendered to the Golden Horde and the Golden Horde was gradually occupying Yongliang. In addition, the Great Khan of the Golden Horde, Asdogan, also publicly offered sacrifices to the sky in Jincheng and delivered a speech...
To put it simply, Esidogan believed that the Astai region, also known as Yongliang, had belonged to the Cumans since ancient times!
In the past few hundred years, the Astai region had been shamelessly invaded by the Great Zhou. Now that the Cumans have taken back the land that belongs to them, no one can take the Astai region away from them.

Ye Mingsheng had already anticipated this situation, and Huo San had also mentioned this when he gave him a report!
After all, given the character of the Cumans, they have spent so much effort and gathered so many people this time, they must get some benefits!
If Asdogan doesn't take some benefits back, he will have trouble explaining to the Golden Horde. The rapid collapse of the Luoan court has left Asdogan with no foothold to interfere in the internal affairs of the Great Zhou!

It would be very risky to rashly go deep into Guanzhong and face the Fengwu Army, so they would most likely swallow up Yongliang and stop while they are ahead.

As for the Fengwu Army, although Jincheng had asked for help from the Fengwu Army before surrendering to the Cumans, the Western Expedition Army under Yuan Song had just captured Luoan, and the army was now scattered across the country to conquer various prefectures and counties in Guanzhong.

If they want to rush to Jincheng for assistance, the army needs to regroup, and it takes time to go back and forth. However, the Cuman army is approaching, and Jincheng’s internal strength is very weak. There are only some militia armed forces that cannot hold out for too long. Therefore, the first problem for the Fengwu Army to rush to the assistance is that there is not enough time...

Secondly, although Yuan Song's Western Expedition Army won successive victories along the way from Jinyang to Wei Pass, it suffered heavy casualties. The troops urgently needed rest and replenishment and were not prepared for a major battle with the Cumans.

Therefore, what Ye Mingsheng and Yuan Song had agreed upon before was that the Western Expedition Army under Yuan Song's command would first ensure the safety of the Guanzhong area, and then wait for Ye Mingsheng to lead reinforcements to conquer Yongliang, resist foreign humiliation, and safeguard the territorial sovereignty and integrity of the Great Zhou!

In addition to maintaining the territorial sovereignty of the Great Zhou, Ye Mingsheng also intended to use this battle with the Kipchaks to establish his power in the world and prove the legitimacy of his own regime!
As the saying goes, political power grows out of the barrel of a gun. The best way to establish prestige is through war, especially foreign wars, which can not only divert domestic conflicts, but also establish unbreakable authority if won, and be trusted by people all over the world!

The reason why Shangguan Hongyuan was able to quickly accumulate high prestige was that he preserved Yongliang for the Great Zhou through a series of wars with the Cumans and won the respect of people all over the world!

So now Ye Mingsheng also intends to follow Shangguan Hongyuan's example and use the war with the Cumans to establish his power in the world! Tell the world that the Fengwu Army is the orthodoxy of the world!

Just as Asdogan could not accept withdrawing without any spoils, Ye Mingsheng could not retreat in pursuit of the orthodox legitimacy of his regime!
When two tigers fight, one of them is bound to get hurt, but Ye Mingsheng firmly believes that he will not be the one hurt...

In addition to the news from the Cumans, Ye Mingsheng also received a memorial from Yuan Song on how to deal with the rebellious Tang Peng and tens of thousands of captured imperial guards.

Ye Mingsheng has actually been thinking about this issue. The Imperial Guards are different from the previous Yunbing Army. Most of the Yunbing Army are farmers recruited from rural areas, while most of the Imperial Guards are professional soldiers. Ye Mingsheng served in the Imperial Guards before, so he understands the combat effectiveness of the Imperial Guards very well.

Therefore, Ye Mingsheng felt that it would be a pity to send these imperial guards home according to the previous approach. Secondly, many of these generals and soldiers were old soldiers who could do nothing but fight and kill people. Therefore, sending them home would not be conducive to local security work.

The war between the Fengwu Army and the Golden Horde is inevitable. If the Fengwu Army follows its normal recruitment model, with the General Staff training new soldiers and then assigning them to various units to supplement their forces, it will definitely be too late!

So in order to win the war, Ye Mingsheng planned to make some adjustments and allow the Western Expedition Army to absorb the former imperial guards to supplement its forces.

However, as for Tang Peng, Ye Mingsheng has not yet figured out how to arrange for him. As the first noble of the Great Zhou Dynasty to surrender to the Fengwu Army, Tang Peng has, after all, presented the great gift of Wei Guan. Even if it is for the sake of buying a horse’s bones with a huge sum of gold, Ye Mingsheng will definitely reward him generously...

However, Ye Mingsheng did not want to give him the position of military commander as Tang Peng hoped. He planned to give him a high-ranking position but without real power. After pondering for a while, Ye Mingsheng wrote back to Yuan Song, saying that he was going to appoint Tang Peng as the second-rank commander of the imperial army, controlling all the troops of the imperial army.

This position seems very powerful. If it were a peaceful and prosperous era, it would be a great honor. But now the Imperial Guards have been defeated by the Fengwu Army, so this position is in name only and of no use.

After dealing with these things, Ye Mingsheng came to the backyard of the mansion to visit Pei Zhixiu and Murong Qingwu.

Two days before leaving Luoan, Ye Mingsheng found Pei Zhixiu to talk about the bumpy journey and whether it would affect her current pregnancy.

Pei Zhixiu said that she was not that delicate and the baby in her belly was only four months old, so the situation was not that serious. Moreover, she was able to take care of herself and the baby unlike ordinary women, so Ye Mingsheng did not need to worry about her.

Hearing Pei Zhixiu say this, Ye Mingsheng was completely relieved. He knew Pei Zhixiu's abilities very well. Since Pei Zhixiu said there was no problem, then there really was no problem!
If possible, he really hopes to revisit the old place with Pei Zhixiu and relive the things that happened in Luoan back then...
At this time, Murong Qingwu and Pei Zhixiu were talking in the backyard, while the two little guys Xinyi and Jingxuan were reading books on the side.

Because the two children are still young and cannot leave their mother, and although An Miao is looking after them, Murong Qingwu and Pei Zhixiu are still worried about leaving them at home, so Ye Mingsheng simply takes the two children with him so that they can also see the beautiful country and broaden their horizons!
Seeing Murong Qingwu and Pei Zhixiu talking and laughing, Ye Mingsheng was also very relieved. Ever since the incident in the Murong family, Murong Qingwu hadn't smiled for a long time. She looked groggy and not as lively as before.

While feeling relieved, Ye Mingsheng was also a little curious about what the two of them were talking about. He walked over to them and asked:
"What are you two talking about?"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng's words, Murong Qingwu smiled softly and said:
"Sister Pei is telling me what happened to you in Luoan!"

At this point, Murong Qingwu blinked her beautiful eyes and asked:
"It turns out that the reason why Xu Zhaojie took the initiative to resign was because of you, my husband, who was behind it!"

Hearing this, Ye Mingsheng recalled that when he left Luoan, he informed the Supervisory Department of Xu Zhaojie's hidden weapons and evil intentions, and then he said:
"These are all old things!"

Murong Qingwu heard this and said:

“This incident hurt Xu Zhaojie very badly back then. He donated most of his family’s wealth to the court to save his life. It is said that Xu Zhaojie investigated for a long time to find out who informed the court. I wonder how he feels now that he knows it was you, sir, who did it…”

Hearing Murong Qingwu mention Xu Zhaojie, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but think of his former boss.

According to intelligence from the Coordination Office, after Xu Zhaojie made a desperate charge into Jiangnan, Lu Jianchao, who fought fiercely at the beginning, was at a loss.

However, no matter how powerful Xu Zhaojie was, he was alone in the deep enemy territory after all. Lu Jianchao had been operating in Jiangnan for many years and had always had a good reputation among the people. In addition, with the support of the Fengwu Army's firearms, he quickly stabilized his position and pushed Xu Zhaojie back to Chishan Prefecture.

It is said that Xu Zhaojie's condition is not good now. He may be driven to the Nanjiang River by the Jiangnan Army to feed the fish. Ye Mingsheng is still very worried about this!

He has always been very concerned about the situation of his old leader, and he hopes to reminisce about the past with him and personally express his gratitude to him for his cultivation in Gongdu!

Ye Mingsheng originally planned to solve the problem of the Cumans now, and then settle the old grudges with Xu Zhaojie after a year or two. Now, if Xu Zhaojie died at the hands of Lu Jianchao, things would not be fun!
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Just when Ye Mingsheng was thinking about Xu Zhaojie, Ye Mingsheng's old leader was leading his personal guards in a bloody battle in the camp of the Jiangnan Army outside Chishan Prefecture!

Despite the fierce attack from the Jiangnan Army, the Chishan Prefecture guarded by Xu Zhaojie always stood firm, firmly holding out a glimmer of hope for himself and the Zhennan Army!
But Xu Zhaojie knew very well that it was hopeless to continue holding on. If one Zhennan Army soldier died in the city, there would be one less soldier. The young and strong men who were recruited were not in the same mind as the Zhennan Army. So under such circumstances, Xu Zhaojie knew that Chishan Prefecture would be breached by the Jiangnan Army sooner or later!

If you want to avoid the city being breached and your own defeat and death, the only way is to use surprise attack!
Therefore, Xu Zhaojie deliberately let the Zhennan Army defending the city show signs of fatigue, making the enemy general Lu Yun think that the Zhennan Army in Chishan City was exhausted. And just when Lu Yun thought that victory was in his grasp, Xu Zhaojie ordered his men to use the surrender of the city as bait to lure the Jiangnan Army into the city and ambush and kill them!

Originally everything went according to plan. Due to Xu Zhaojie's conspiracy, thousands of Jiangnan troops who had rushed into the city were all killed in an ambush by the Zhennan Army.

However, just when Xu Zhaojie wanted to take advantage of the situation to turn the tables and lead his troops to attack the Jiangnan Army camp outside the city in an attempt to change his fate, Lu Yun remained calm and relied on the numerical advantage of the Jiangnan Army to organize a tenacious resistance, dragging the Zhennan Army into a chaotic battle.

Even if Xu Zhaojie was resourceful, he had no solution. His only option now was to lead the guards to charge at the front line and inspire the soldiers of the Zhennan Army to fight to the last moment...

(End of this chapter)