Chapter 966 Murong Zhengshan’s purpose!
If Murong Zhengshan just wanted to meet with Lu Jianchao secretly and test Lu Jianchao's attitude and determination to resist, he would do it quietly and would not let everyone know about his visit to Lu Jianchao. But Murong Zhengshan's real purpose was to lure An Miaoyi to kill him...

Through the collection of a series of information, Murong Zhengshan believed that the union of An Miaoyi and Ye Mingsheng was originally a political marriage, and the feelings between the two were very limited!

At the same time, as a political strongman, Ye Mingsheng wants to monopolize power, so he cannot accept other people sharing his power, even if that person is his partner. An Miaoyi is also a person with more ideas, and dreams of having her own influence in the court of Fengwu Army.

Therefore, there was already a conflict between Ye Mingsheng and An Miaoyi. Although there was a conflict, it did not break out. This was entirely because Ye Mingsheng was strong enough as a strong man and completely suppressed An Miaoyi, and An Miaoyi's status had not been challenged.

Although Murong Zhengshan's cousin Murong Qingwu was nominally Ye Mingsheng's concubine, because she had the powerful backing of the Murong family, no one in the Ye Mansion, not even Ye Cui or An Miaoyi, really regarded Murong Qingwu as a concubine!
Because An Miaoyi of the Murong family was always wary of Murong Qingwu, and it was only because Murong Qingwu gave birth to a daughter that the relationship between the two sides was eased. If Murong Qingwu gave birth to a son, the two sides would probably be incompatible...
Under such circumstances, the Murong family persuaded Lu Jianchao to surrender on behalf of the Fengwu Army, allowing the prosperous Jiangnan to be incorporated into the territory of the Fengwu Army. Then there is no doubt that Murong Qingwu's status in the Ye Mansion will also rise!

If Murong Qingwu gives Ye Mingsheng a son by then, will An Miaoyi still be able to keep her position as mistress?

Murong Zhengshan believed that An Miaoyi would definitely think of this. He felt that with An Miaoyi's personality, she would definitely want to take precautions before things happen and take preemptive action before anything happens!
Without this great achievement, with the current strength of the Murong family, it would be difficult to break the current political structure of the Fengwu Army. Without the help of her family, Murong Qingwu would naturally not be able to threaten her, the eldest lady!
Therefore, Murong Zhengshan believed that An Miaoyi would definitely want to send assassins to kill him for her own benefit. This vicious woman might even want to pin the blame for her death on Lu Jianchao, completely cutting off the possibility of the Murong family using their influence to mediate between the two parties!

For An Miaoyi's personal interests, there is nothing wrong with her doing this. After all, if a person does not care about himself, he will be punished by heaven and earth!
However, standing at the height of the Fengwu Army, An Miaoyi's doing this for her own selfish interests is undoubtedly endangering the future and destiny of the Fengwu Army·························

Although the Fengwu Army is at its peak at this moment, the internal conflicts caused by its rapid rise have already begun to show. As the commander-in-chief, Ye Mingsheng possesses a high prestige and is able to control all parties. Coupled with the common dream of unifying the world, the Fengwu Army is now as powerful as a raging fire!
Faced with the internal problems of the Fengwu Army, Ye Mingsheng's choice is very clear, that is, to seek common ground while reserving differences, put aside differences, maintain the current strong momentum of the Fengwu Army, unify the world as soon as possible, expand the Fengwu Army, and then use this big pie to resolve conflicts!

With this choice, there is no doubt that the Fengwu Army will unify the world as soon as possible. Otherwise, if time drags on, even if Ye Mingsheng can keep it under control, there will be a risk of more trouble!
Therefore, if the Murong family can persuade Lu Jianchao to surrender for the Fengwu Army, it will be a great thing for Ye Mingsheng and the Fengwu Army!

Although Jingchu has been moved south by the Fengwu Army, among the two remaining southern families, Xu Zhaojie is a good fighter and Lu Jianchao is rich. If they can put aside their past grudges and cooperate with each other, it will not be easy for the Fengwu Army to conquer the south!

Therefore, even if the Murong family cannot persuade Lu Jianchao to surrender now, it will be a great achievement as long as they can persuade Lu Jianchao to remain neutral when the Fengwu Army invades Huainan next time!
In such a situation, if anyone sabotages the Murong family’s actions, there is no doubt that this person is standing on the opposite side of Ye Mingsheng and the entire Fengwu Army...
And this is Murong Zhengshan’s real purpose. He wants An Miaoyi to stand against Ye Mingsheng and the entire Fengwu Army!

He wanted to let Ye Mingsheng know what An Miaoyi was doing behind his back, so that the existing conflict between Ye Mingsheng and An Miaoyi would be completely detonated!

Therefore, Murong Zhengshan was not afraid of the assassins sent by An Miaoyi. He knew that An Miaoyi was not stupid enough to use the Coordination Office to kill him. An Miaoyi would definitely use An Zhirong's former subordinates, and he had already made arrangements. As long as An Miaoyi took action, he could catch the person red-handed!

Although the plan was well-made, Murong Zhengshan was only worried that An Miaoyi was not alone. There was a real old fox beside her. His plan might be able to deceive An Miaoyi, but it might not be able to deceive the old fox!
If An Miaoyi was dissuaded by the old fox, things would become a little troublesome and Murong Zhengshan would have no choice but to use the backup plan!

In fact, the key to this matter is not whether An Miaoyi sent out assassins, but whether Ye Mingsheng thought it was related to An Miaoyi after he was assassinated!
Murong Zhengshan has already made some arrangements around this. He believes that no matter what choice An Miaoyi makes, the gap between her and Marshal Ye will increase!
Murong Zhengshan is looking forward to this day very much, and when this day comes, his cousin Murong Qingwu will be the new mistress of Fengwu Army!
The Murong family will also reach a new height in the hands of Murong Zhengshan. Thinking of this, Murong Zhengshan couldn't help but slightly raise the corners of his mouth and whispered to himself:
“Then let’s see what happens next…”

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Yunbing, Wugang Mountain
In a simple marching tent, Ye Fu and several of his commanders were gathered together for a meeting.

"Reporting to the Lord, our battalion has lost 331 people and 6980 injured. Currently, there are about 2,100 soldiers who are injured but still able to fight!"

"Reporting to the Lord, our battalion has lost 511 men and more than 1,100 wounded. Now, including the wounded, there are more than 2,500 soldiers who can still fight!"

"Reporting to the general, our battalion has lost 719 people and more than 2,000 people injured. Now, including the wounded but still able to fight, there are more than 2,900 people!"

After hearing the reports from his three subordinates, Ye Fu felt very heavy-hearted, but he still looked at a middle-aged man beside him.

Under Ye Fu's gaze, the middle-aged man, Zhang Chongyun, the deputy commander of the Fengwu Army's personal guard battalion, said in a deep voice:

"About 300 of our guards died, and half of them are injured. Currently, there are about 900 people who can continue to fight!"

Hearing this number, Ye Fu couldn't help but shook his head. This time in the battle of Wugang Mountain, he brought the main force of the 14th Division, three battalions, totaling more than 10,000 people. Ye Mingsheng also gave him half of the troops of the personal guard battalion. His total force in Wugang Mountain was close to 12,000! It has only been nine days, and the casualties have reached nearly 30%. Although the fierce battles in the past few days have made such a tragic number of casualties within his expectations, when he heard the news, Ye Fu's heart still trembled...

Behind these numbers are human lives, the men he brought from Youyan, Ji and Yu!
Although the number of casualties was huge, Ye Fu did not regret coming to the dangerous Wugang Mountain. After all, if he did not lure these vicious Cumans here, they would harm the people of Yunbing, and then more people would die tragically under their knives!
Just as Ye Fu fell silent, Sun Kai, the commander of one of the battalions, mustered up the courage to suggest to Ye Fu:
"General, there have been too many casualties among our brothers. When the enemy charged today, many of our brothers were injured but still had to fight the enemy and hold on. I'm afraid our army is in danger of being wiped out!"

Sun Kai seemed a little hesitant at the end, but he still gritted his teeth and spoke out what was on his mind.

Hearing Sun Kai's thoughts, Ye Fu slowly raised his head and looked at Sun Kai expressionlessly and said:
"You want to retreat?"

Facing Ye Fu's question, Sun Kai was a little scared but still whispered:

"Didn't the Marshal say that if things get out of hand, our army can find an opportunity to break out!"

Ye Fu ignored Sun Kai's words, but looked at the other two commanders under him and said in a deep voice:
"What do you all think?"

Under Ye Fu’s gaze, the other two commanders under his command said that they would listen to Ye Fu. If Ye Fu ordered them to continue to hold on, they would lead their troops to continue to hold on. If Ye Fu told them to retreat, they would follow him to retreat...
Ye Fuxian was not quite satisfied with this answer. He knew that the other two commanders under his command were also shocked by the current casualties, and they were probably thinking of backing out like Sun Kai!

Ye Fu immediately turned his gaze to Zhang Chongyun standing aside. Although Zhang Chongyun was only a deputy commander, because he was in charge of the Marshal's personal guard battalion, his status in the Fengwu Army was not much worse than his, the general of the 14th Division!

Therefore, if even Zhang Chongyun thinks that they should break through, then even though Ye Fu is unwilling, he must carefully consider his next move!
Zhang Chongyun gave the answer very straightforwardly:

"I don't think it's time to break out yet! We should continue to hold on to Wugang Mountain. We have been holding on to Wugang Mountain for nine days now, inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy, but we can still do better. My idea is that we should hold on to Wugang Mountain for at least half a month!"

After hearing what Zhang Chongyun said, a big stone in Ye Fu's heart fell. This time he took the initiative to propose this plan and implemented it personally. In addition to wanting to help the people of Yun and avoid being massacred by the Cumans, he also wanted to perform well in front of Ye Mingsheng!

Ye Fu felt that if he could hold out in Wugang Mountain for ten days he would be qualified, but to achieve excellence he would need at least half a month!
So now Zhang Chongyun's idea coincided with his, and Ye Fu immediately made the decision and said:
"Commander Zhang, what he said makes a lot of sense. The Cumans have been completely fooled. As long as we stay in Wugang Mountain, they will have no way to harm the people of Yunbing. For the sake of the people of Yunbing, we should grit our teeth and hold on!"

"I understand that if we continue to persevere, there will be heavy casualties and high risks, but as soldiers, it is our duty to defend our country..."

At this point, Zhang Chongyun glanced at the three commanders under him, then changed the subject and said:
"Of course, I also sympathize with my brothers. Let's hold on for another six days and spend a full half month in Wugang Mountain!"

"Our army suffered heavy casualties as the defenders, and the enemy suffered even greater casualties as the attackers. Moreover, Wugang Mountain is only thirty miles away from Dagu County. We can withdraw in one night. The Marshal also promised to send troops to support us, so as long as we want, we can definitely withdraw!"

"As long as we consume enough of them, those Cuman bastards won't be able to stop us!"

Inspired by Ye Fu's words, the spirits of the three commanders gradually lifted, and they nodded in support of Ye Fu's idea to continue in Wugang Mountain.

Seeing Ye Fu unifying the opinions of his subordinates, Zhang Chongyun suddenly said:

"General Ye, I think we shouldn't just defend blindly. We should also try to counterattack and at least blow up the enemy's Serban cannon!"

"As long as we blow up the enemy's Serban cannons, our defensive pressure in Wugang Mountain will be greatly reduced!"

Several people fell silent about Zhang Chongyun's suggestion. In fact, everyone understood the truth. No one wanted to continue to be suppressed and beaten by the Cumans on Wugang Mountain. Everyone was holding their breath and thinking about fighting back!
It’s not like everyone has never tried a night attack before. On the first night of defending Wugang Mountain, the soldiers of the 14th Division tried a night attack in an attempt to blow up the Kipchak’s Serban heavy artillery. However, it ended in failure, with more than 200 casualties...
(End of this chapter)