Chapter 999: To promote, you must first suppress!

Li Zhengyong liked to make money in the first place, and after losing to Duan Zhibao in the competition for the position of commander of the Fifth Army, he felt that only money was the most real, so he became even greedier...
Therefore, when Zhang Shengli suggested that he rectify military discipline, Li Zhengyong felt that Zhang Shengli was challenging his authority!
Perhaps it was because he lost to Duan Zhibao and did not become the commander of the Fifth Army. Although Li Zhengyong surrendered to the Fengwu Army, he still disliked the Fengwu Army in his heart, especially the people in the First Division. He felt that these people were so arrogant and acted like they were the best in the world. It was annoying just to watch them!
However, based on the principle of not interfering with other people's business, Li Zhengyong had not taken any action. Now, Zhang Shengli's suggestion was seen as a provocation by Li Zhengyong, and he was a little envious of the First Division's excellent equipment.

So Li Zhengyong also made some responses. In the name of the Hanyang general, he asked Zhang Shengli to hand over 500 Weiyuan guns, 10 tiger squat cannons and 5 red cannons to the Fifth Army!
Li Zhengyong's request was immediately rejected by Zhang Shengli. In fact, Li Zhengyong did not want so much. He was thinking of asking for a high price and paying it back on the spot. He thought that Zhang Shengli should at least give him, the general, some face and would definitely hand over some firearms and equipment!
But he didn’t expect that Zhang Shengli didn’t give him any face, which made Li Zhengyong feel a little embarrassed··························
However, although Li Zhengyong was the general, he really had no way to deal with Zhang Shengli. He wanted to play dirty tricks on him, but considering Zhang Shengli's background in the Fengwu Army, Li Zhengyong was a little cautious.

So in the end, with the mediation of other officials, the matter was left unresolved, but the feud between the two people was indeed completely sealed!
Therefore, considering the grudge between the two people, if Zhang Shengli declared martial law in the entire city of Hanyang at this time and summoned all the young and strong men in the city to defend the city, it would indeed be suspected of exceeding his authority, and this would undoubtedly further intensify the conflict between Zhang Shengli and Li Zhengyong!
Thinking of this, Ye Pengchao also felt a little difficult. At this time, Zhang Shengli spoke:
"Lord Ye, there are only 18,000 defenders in the city now, and you know the situation of the Fifth Army. You are also aware of it and it is difficult to rely on them at a critical moment!"

"So I think you should ask for help from the rear now. Our General Ma Zhongjun's First Division is stationed in Kangyin, which is almost 700 miles away from Hanyang!"

"If our General Ma can lead his troops to come to our aid, even if Xu Zhaojie leads the Zhennan Army to come out in full force, Hanyang will definitely be safe!"

Zhang Shengli's words immediately made Ye Pengchao's eyes light up. Zhang Shengli was right. The Fifth Army was a bunch of useless people and they really couldn't be relied on at the critical moment!
The ace First Division of their Fengwu Army is stationed in Kangyin. At this critical moment, it is the time for the Fengwu Army to help each other...

Thinking of this, Ye Pengchao also spoke very straightforwardly:

"General Zhang, your words have really awakened me! I will send someone to Kangyin to contact the First Division now, but you must also be prepared in case of emergency!"

Hearing what Ye Pengchao said, Zhang Shengli also spoke very straightforwardly:
"Master Ye, don't worry. As long as we brothers are here, Hanyang will be fine!"

After hearing this, Ye Pengchao felt a lot more relieved. He said goodbye to Zhang Shengli and prepared to return to the government office to ask his men to go to Kangyin to contact the First Division.

However, just as Ye Pengchao had arranged to send someone to Kangyin for help, someone came running back in a panic and reported:
"Master Ye, something bad has happened. The Zhennan Army ambushed the Fifth Army at Xiaowu Mountain. The Fifth Army was defeated and suffered heavy casualties. The Fifth Army commander Duan Zhibao is also unknown whether he is alive or dead. The Zhennan Army is currently heading to Tanzhou!"

Although he was mentally prepared for this news, when Ye Pengchao actually heard the news, he couldn't help but be shocked and filled with grief.

After a few seconds of silence, Ye Pengchao thought about his men and asked:
"How many people know this news?"

The man preached without hesitation:
"Many people know about it. Some of the defeated soldiers from Xiaowushan ran directly back to Hanyang. Half of Hanyang should know the news now!"

Ye Pengchao slammed his fist on the table as soon as he said this. Now that so many people knew the news of the defeat at Xiaowushan, it was too late to block the news. This would inevitably affect the order in Hanyang City and cast a shadow on the defense of Hanyang...

Thinking of this, seeing the horrified eyes of his subordinates, Ye Pengchao quickly adjusted his emotions, and then immediately went to find his superior, Liang Xin, the Censor of Jingchu.

At this time, Liang Xin had just learned about the Fifth Army's defeat at Xiaowu Mountain and the emergency in Tanzhou, so Ye Pengchao immediately got to the point:

"Your Excellency, I suggest that we immediately block the city gates and prohibit all outsiders from entering or leaving the city gates. Let the City Defense Department and all the detectives in the city work together to stabilize the order in the city, limit the prices of various daily necessities in the market, and strictly prohibit anyone from raising prices at this moment!"

Facing Ye Pengchao's series of suggestions, Liang Xin's eyes flickered a few times and he slowly spoke:
"Pengchao! Your idea is very good, and I personally appreciate your suggestion!"

"But the matters you mentioned are of great importance. We, the Censor General, cannot handle them alone. We need to have a good talk with the Governor General and General Li, and make a long-term decision before we can make a decision!"

At this point, Liang Xin stroked his beard and said:
"Peng Chaoyue is in a critical moment like now, so we must stay calm and not panic!"

“The Zhennan Army is still attacking Tanzhou, which is still hundreds of miles away from Hanyang. We can take our time…”

After saying this, Liang Xin pretended to be amiable and patted Ye Pengchao on the shoulder. Ye Pengchao was about to explain something when he seemed to remember that Liang Xin's brother-in-law Wang Kui was the owner of the largest grain store in Hanyang!

When Jingchu was at war before, Wang Kui believed that the grain price in Jingchu would rise, so he immediately borrowed 100,000 taels of silver from a bank at high interest and added his original capital to purchase grain, trying to hoard grain and push up the price to make a fortune!
The grain prices in Jingchu had indeed risen a lot because of the war, but Wang Kui thought the price was not high enough and did not ship the grain.

After the Hanyang Incident, the Fengwu Army took control of Hanyang, which meant that the attack on Yongzhou and Hengzhou in southern Jingchu was stopped!

In addition, the Fengwu Army transported some grain from Anqing, Huainan and other places to Hanyang, and the grain price in Hanyang also fell back to the pre-war level. The grain that Wang Kui purchased at a high price was just wasted in his hands!
Wang Kui was very anxious about this matter. After all, in addition to his own principal, he also borrowed a loan of 100,000 taels of silver at high interest. The loan was 5% interest a month, and 100,000 taels of silver was 5,000 taels a month. If the grain price remained stable at a low level, it would not take long for him to go bankrupt!

In addition to being Liang Xin's brother-in-law, Wang Kui is also an important tool for Liang Xin to make money. There are even rumors in the underworld that a considerable part of the silver Wang Kui used to store food was the dirty silver that Liang Xin had embezzled over the years...

Therefore, now that the Zhennan Army is attacking, the food price in Hanyang City will inevitably increase. This is a godsend opportunity for Wang Kui and Liang Xin!
They can just get out of the market at a high price and take the opportunity to dump the stored grain to earn huge profits, so Liang Xin would be a fool to follow his advice to stabilize prices at this time!
Ye Pengchao realized that Liang Xin would never listen to his advice, so he was too lazy to talk to Liang Xin any more, and immediately said goodbye to Liang Xin and left. When Ye Pengchao left, Liang Xin immediately called his trusted family members and gave them detailed instructions:

"Hurry up and tell Wang Kui that the Zhennan Army is coming. Tell him to sell all the food he has. I don't care how much he earns, but I can't lose a single ounce of silver from him!"

After leaving Liang Xin, Ye Pengchao felt very helpless. He felt that he had a lot of energy but had no place to use it.

These officials in Jingchu are only concerned with their own selfish interests. They are either making money or on their way to make money. They don't care about the people, let alone the commander-in-chief!

Thinking of this, Ye Pengchao agreed in his heart very much. The idea of ​​the Fengwu Army's top leaders on rectifying the officialdom in Jingchu also made him more determined to collect evidence of the crimes of this group of people.

At this time Ye Pengchao finally got good news, that is, Hanyang General Li Zhengyong, who had gone out hunting to relax, finally showed up and came back...

Ye Pengchao immediately wanted to meet Li Zhengyong and have a good talk with him, hoping that Li Zhengyong would support his idea of ​​imposing martial law throughout the city, controlling prices, and maintaining stability in the city!
In wartime, the general is the highest commander of a city. Therefore, as long as he can get the support of Li Zhengyong, even if the Censor and the Governor cannot get through, he can still force the implementation of these policies!
In addition, Ye Pengchao also wants Li Zhengyong and Zhang Shengli to cooperate sincerely, avoid internal conflicts, and jointly defend the safety of Hanyang!

Ye Pengchao's ideas were very good, but unfortunately, Li Zhengyong had to hold a military meeting as soon as he returned to the city, so Ye Pengchao still did not meet Li Zhengyong.

While Ye Pengchao was waiting to meet Li Zhengyong, one of his subordinates came over and whispered something in his ear.

After hearing this, Ye Pengchao frowned slightly and thought for a moment, but finally gave up the opportunity to meet Li Zhengyong and returned to his home in Hanyang!

At this time, Huang Dale, who had just met him in the morning, was waiting for him at Ye Pengchao’s home. It was also he who sent a letter to Ye Pengchao, asking Ye Pengchao to return home quickly...

The situation was urgent. As soon as Ye Pengchao saw Huang Dale, he didn't care about anything else and asked directly:
"What emergency happened?"

Huang Dale said in a deep voice:
"The Thousand Tiger Guards have contacted Li Zhengyong!"

As soon as these words were spoken, it was like a bolt from the blue that exploded in Ye Pengchao's mind. At this critical moment, if Li Zhengyong, the general of Hanyang, defected to the side of the Zhennan Army, then there would be no doubt that Hanyang would be in danger!

Li Zhengyong himself was very dissatisfied with the Fengwu Army's appointment of Duan Zhibao. Coupled with his discord with Zhang Shengli and others, Ye Pengchao believed that the possibility of Li Zhengyong defecting was not low!
After all, if a traitor like him can betray Sun Chenggong, he can naturally betray the Fengwu Army and Marshal Ye!

Taking a deep breath, Ye Pengchao looked at Huang Dale and asked:
"What news did Bing Thirty-Seven send back?"

Faced with Ye Pengchao's questioning, Huang Dale hesitated. The Fengwu Army did not trust traitors like Li Zhengyong very much, so the Coordination Office bribed the people around him to monitor Li Zhengyong's every word and action!
This person was also numbered as Bing 37 by the Coordination Office. However, according to the rules of the Coordination Office, the information of these secret agents cannot be disclosed to the outside world. Although Ye Pengchao came from the Coordination Office system and was once a centurion of the Coordination Office, he has left the Coordination Office after all...
Therefore, revealing the information to Ye Pengchao was a violation of the rules, and the Coordination Office, as a spy agency, usually attaches great importance to rules. So Huang Dale felt a little embarrassed when facing Ye Pengchao's questions.

Seeing Huang Dale's hesitation, Ye Pengchao didn't want to embarrass his old subordinate, so he waved his hand and said in a deep voice:
"You don't have to tell me!"

"The first to strike is the strongest, the last to strike will suffer! Since he dared to contact the Thousand Tiger Guards, he will not be able to escape death. Prepare the men and we will kill this Li tonight!"

Seeing Ye Pengchao's murderous look, Huang Dale quickly shook his head and said:

"Although Lord Ye's Thousand Tiger Guards took the initiative to contact Li Zhengyong and offered a price for Li Zhengyong to serve as the Governor of Jingchu, they hope that Li Zhengyong will hand over Hanyang anyway!"

"But as far as I know, Li Zhengyong has not yet agreed to the request of the Thousand Tiger Guards, so Lord Ye, can you please come forward to talk to Li Zhengyong and strengthen his confidence in resistance?"

Feeling the meaning of Huang Dale's words, Ye Pengchao said in a deep voice:
"Did Li Zhengyong reject the proposal of the Thousand Tiger Guards?"

Faced with Ye Pengchao's very critical question, Huang Dale shook his head helplessly and said:
"Li Zhengyong neither agreed nor refused, he just said he would think about it!"

Upon hearing this answer, Ye Pengchao couldn't help but reveal a trace of contempt. These traitors were traitors and would never be able to become their own people in the Fengwu Army!
I really didn't misjudge Li Zhengyong's character!
When encountering a critical moment, he becomes indecisive and thinks of selling out his master for fame and fortune. He is really shameless······································

(As usual, we must first criticize before we praise. Please continue to look forward to the following plot!)
(End of this chapter)