Chapter 703 Sister, please protect me and my son!
At 1:00 a.m. on May 25, the Fengwu Army camp at Sanshengpo

“General Ma, the enemy troops in Shangzhou City broke out of Shangzhou three hours ago. Commander Yuan ordered your troops to intercept the fleeing enemy troops at Sanshengpo…”

Hearing what the messenger in front of him said, Ma Zhongjun instantly became energetic and shouted with a smile:

"Come on! These thieves from the Zhennan Army are the real deal. If there is a way to heaven, you won't take it. If there is no door to hell, you will throw yourself into it!"

"Go back and tell Commander Yuan to rest assured that I, Ma Zhongjun, will completely annihilate this defeated enemy at Sanshengpo. Commander Yuan, please expand our prisoner camp, otherwise it won't be able to accommodate so many Zhennan troops, hahahaha!

Upon receiving the news, Ma Zhongjun immediately gave orders, and the two battalions of more than 7,000 Fengwu troops stationed at Sanshengpo were ready for battle. The Zhennan Army that broke out of Shangzhou was also very fast. After only an incense stick of time, they arrived at the foot of Sanshengpo.

Using a telescope to observe the miserable appearance of the defeated land, Ma Zhongjun curled up a cruel smile at the corner of his mouth, and immediately waved his hand and ordered the deployed artillery to fire.

In order to avoid being hunted down by the Fengwu Army, the thousands of Zhennan Army who broke out of Shangzhou City did not dare to stop for one night and ran all the way to Sanshengpo. They thought they should have gotten rid of the Fengwu Army, but they were once again subjected to fierce artillery fire from the Fengwu Army at Sanshengpo.

Shell after shell accurately fell into the defeated army, and the broken shrapnel mercilessly harvested lives one after another. Gao Song, the commander of the defeated army, could only grit his teeth and reluctantly withdraw his troops temporarily...
Seeing this, Ma Zhongjun did not hesitate and directly ordered a pursuit. At this time, the defeated army had been running all night and was now exhausted, so now could be said to be the perfect opportunity to take his life while he was sick!

Just as Ma Zhongjun thought, facing the well-rested Fengwu Army, the exhausted Zhennan Army found it difficult to organize an effective resistance. Under the fierce attack of the Fengwu Army, many people either chose to abandon their weapons and weapons and flee like birds and beasts, or completely gave up resistance and lay on the ground ready to surrender. The Fengwu Army treated prisoners very well, and they could not afford to lose their lives.

Just as Ma Zhongjun was smiling and preparing to welcome the victory, he heard two cannon shots from the south of Sanshengpo. A team of more than 5,000 Zhennan Army rushed out and attacked the Fengwu Army from the south. Another Fengwu Army of about 3,000 people detoured to the flank of the Fengwu Army's pursuit force and launched an attack. Because the pursuit force was caught off guard due to the sudden arrival, more than 100 people were killed or wounded in a short time.

Seeing the reinforcements coming, Gao Songdang was shocked and cheered up under the protection of the guards:
"Brothers, the Marquis has sent someone to rescue us! Follow me and rush up the Three Saints Slope!"

Along with Gao Song's loud shouts, the morale of the Zhennan Army that broke out from Shangzhou also increased greatly and gradually stabilized, and they launched a counterattack against the pursuit troops sent by Ma Zhongjun.

Seeing that on this small slope of Sanshengpo, the enemy and our side were fighting each other for a while, and there was even a situation where you were in me and I was in you. In order to avoid accidental injuries, the artillery advantage of the Fengwu Army could not be demonstrated. Instead, the enemy relied on its advantage in troop strength to surround Ma Zhongjun’s troops step by step...

At this critical moment, more than a thousand Fengwu cavalrymen arrived. Seeing the appearance of the Fengwu cavalrymen, Ma Zhengze, who had suffered a lot at their hands, could only sigh and reluctantly gave up the opportunity to fight that was within reach. He pulled Gao Song's troops who had retreated from Shangzhou and retreated like a tide.

Seeing the enemy retreating, Ma Zhongjun immediately wanted to lead his troops to chase them, but he was stopped by Xia Yunsheng, the commander of the cavalry.

"General Ma, don't chase after the desperate enemy!"

Listening to Xia Yunsheng's instructions, Ma Zhongjun, who was a little bit overwhelmed, also regained some calmness. Looking at the departing enemy troops, he sighed helplessly. He messed up the task assigned to him by Yuan Song! Without blocking the defeated army of Shangzhou under Sanshengpo, with these thousands of defeated soldiers of Shangzhou to supplement, the next attack of Fengwu Army on Shenzhou will undoubtedly be more difficult!

Three days later, May 28th.

Greeted by Yuan Song, Ma Zhongjun and other generals of the First Army, Ye Mingsheng, who led his troops to provide support, arrived in Shangzhou City. Ye Mingsheng first walked into the military camp, visited the meritorious soldiers and the wounded, and then walked into the mansion prepared for him with Yuan Song and others.

Looking at Yuan Song, Ma Zhongjun and others who looked ashamed, Ye Mingsheng asked calmly:
"What is the situation around Shenzhou now?"

In response to Ye Mingsheng's question, Yuan Song immediately introduced:

“Reporting to the commander, Xu Zhaojie has brought all the troops outside Shenzhou back to Shenzhou City. Currently, the total force in Shenzhou City is about 20,000. In Chengfeng County of Anqing, the Zhennan Army has 8,000 to 10,000 troops. I guess this is a backup plan left by Xu Zhaojie for himself to break out of Shenzhou in the future…”

Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly, then shifted his attention to the sand table. He needed to think carefully about what his next move should be!
Seeing Ye Mingsheng looking at the sand table, Ma Zhongjun felt uneasy and thought that if he stuck his head out, he would be in danger. Rather than being pointed out by Ye Mingsheng, he might as well take the initiative to stand up and admit his mistakes. After realizing this, Ma Zhongjun gritted his teeth, took the initiative to stand up and kneel on the ground, and apologized to Ye Mingsheng:

"I failed to complete the blocking mission at Sansheng Slope, causing the defeated army of Shangzhou City to flee to Shenzhou. Please punish me, Marshal!"

After hearing what Ma Zhongjun said, Ye Mingsheng did not respond immediately, but continued to observe the sand table. After a cup of tea, he slowly turned back and asked Ma Zhongjun:
"A tiger will use all its strength to fight a rabbit! Do you still dare to underestimate the Zhennan Army?"

Ma Zhongjun shook his head in shame after hearing this. Seeing that this outstanding young man in the Fengwu Army had been taught a lesson, Ye Mingsheng immediately ordered:
"A half-year salary deduction! A serious offense! I hope you can learn from your shame and then be brave again!"

"I will follow your instructions!" Ma Zhongjun kowtowed to Ye Mingsheng.

After teaching Ma Zhongjun a lesson, Ye Mingsheng asked him to stand up from the ground, then looked at Yuan Song and smiled and ordered:
"I brought more than 8,000 people from the Ninth Division, and now they are all handed over to you..."

Hearing this, Yuan Song's heart moved, as if he realized something, and he couldn't help but look up at Ye Mingsheng. According to the previous report, Ye Mingsheng personally led 10,000 people from the Ninth Division and 3,000 personal guards, totaling 21,000 people, from Yijing to Shangzhou.

Now Ye Mingsheng said that he brought 8,000 people from the Ninth Division to Shangzhou, so where did the remaining 10,000 people from the Ninth Division go? Yuan Song had a vague answer to this question in his mind, and he looked at Ye Mingsheng with a questioning look.

Feeling Yuan Song's gaze, Ye Mingsheng nodded with a smile to indicate that he was right, then he took out the urgent report from five hundred miles away that he had just received an hour ago from his sleeve and handed it to Yuan Song.

After reading the secret report, Yuan Song, who was always calm, also showed a look of surprise on his face and exclaimed sincerely:

"General Zhang is truly as brave and invincible as his name suggests. The Fengwu Army is lucky to have him!"

Ye Mingsheng also nodded, indicating that he agreed with Yuan Song's idea. Although it was he who made Zhang Meng's move, he did not expect the effect to be so good. Zhang Meng really brought him a surprise!
After pondering for a moment, Ye Mingsheng asked Yuan Song very calmly:
"Are you sure you can keep Xu Zhaojie here?"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng's question, Yuan Song's face became serious. After thinking for a moment, he spoke to Ye Mingsheng very sincerely:
“Marshal, our army’s great victory is inevitable under this situation. If the enemy general is replaced by someone else, I dare to guarantee that I can annihilate the enemy army, even if I face the Luoan Imperial Guards. However, Xu Zhaojie is a military genius who is far superior to me. I am not very confident...”

Hearing Yuan Song's answer, Ye Mingsheng frowned slightly and was a little disappointed. After thinking for a moment, he instructed again:

"It all depends on man!"

"Yes!"

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Yijing, Governor's Mansion

At one o'clock in the morning, Pei Zhixiu, who had been busy in the clinic all day, finally returned to the Governor's Mansion in a carriage. After getting off the carriage, Pei Zhixiu quickened her pace towards her own courtyard. Although she liked the feeling of curing diseases and saving lives in the clinic, since she became a mother, Pei Zhixiu also missed her son Ye Jingxuan very much.

At first, she even wanted to bring Ye Jingxuan to the clinic as well, but considering that there were too many people in the clinic and she couldn't take care of little Jingxuan when she was busy, and with Ye Cui's obstruction, Pei Zhixiu had to give up this idea and let the wet nurse and the maid take care of little Jingxuan during the day, and when she returned home at night, she would take care of the baby Jingxuan herself.

Perhaps it was the mother-son bond. As Pei Zhixiu approached the room, Xiao Jingyuan, who had just been asleep, opened his eyes and woke up. Looking at Pei Zhixiu who had just returned home, he opened his arms and asked for a hug. Pei Zhixiu was very happy to see this. She immediately took Xiao Jingxuan from the nanny and started playing with her son.

After playing for a while, Pei Zhixiu prepared to cook. Although there were very good chefs in the mansion who could prepare meals for her three times a day, Pei Zhixiu refused the meals delivered by the kitchen because of her vegetarian habit and cooked instead by herself.

It’s been almost half a year since Xiao Jingxuan was born. Logically, it’s time to try weaning him off and feeding him some porridge. Because she was a vegetarian before, Pei Zhixiu was also prepared to let Xiao Jingxuan become a vegetarian with her. However, this idea was opposed by Ye Mingsheng...
Ye Mingsheng felt that children should not only eat vegetarian food after birth, but should also supplement with some meat products. Only in this way can they be nutritious and healthy. Eating only vegetarian food is not conducive to the growth of children. In the end, for the healthy growth of Xiao Jingxuan, Pei Zhixiu made some concessions and began to cook some meat porridge for Xiao Jingxuan.

After cooking the meat porridge, Pei Zhixiu prepared to feed little Jingxuan. Like other children who were not used to weaning, the five-month-old Jingxuan was crying and making a fuss. Seeing this, Pei Zhixiu felt a little soft-hearted and asked the wet nurse to feed him some milk, and then began to feed little Jingren some meat porridge.

At first, little Jingxuan was not happy, but the meat porridge made by Pei Zhixiu was very sweet and delicious, so the little guy slowly began to try to drink it.

At this time, an uninvited guest arrived in Pei Zhixiu's courtyard. Pei Zhixiu wanted to refuse the guest with the excuse that she was tired, but then she thought that since the guest was already at the door, it would be inappropriate for her to do so. So she could only nod at Xiaohuan and ordered:
"Please invite Madam Murong in!"

"Yes!"

A moment later, Murong Qingwu, in a light blue dress, appeared in front of Pei Zhixiu. She invited Murong Qingwu to sit down and asked the maid to serve her fragrant tea. The two of them started chatting...
After chatting for a while, seeing that Pei Zhixiu was still pretending not to understand her hints, Murong Qingwu felt a little helpless, but there was no other way but to make it clear:

"My sister has just found a treasure, please come and taste it, Sister Pei!"

After she finished speaking, Murong Qingwu signaled to Pei Zhixiu to dismiss the people around her. Seeing this, Pei Zhixiu felt helpless. She knew that Murong Qingwu's visit was definitely not for good reasons. However, she could not drive Murong Qingwu out now, so she could only wave at the maids who were serving her. The maids who were ready to serve immediately bowed and retreated.

Seeing that the maids had all left and only she and Pei Zhixiu were left in the room, Murong Qingwu stopped hiding and immediately stood up and came to Pei Zhixiu's side. Just when Pei Zhixiu was a little confused about what she was going to do, Murong Qingwu bent her knees and was about to kneel down to Pei Zhixiu. Although her action was sudden, Pei Zhixiu was even quicker and directly supported her, and said with some surprise:
"Sister Murong, what are you doing?"

Seeing this, Murong Qingwu burst into tears and said:
"Please, Sister Pei, keep my mother and I safe!"

Pei Zhixiu reacted quickly after hearing this and asked Murong Qingwu for confirmation:

"Sister Murong, are you pregnant?"

Under Pei Zhixiu's gaze, Murong Qingwu nodded slightly and said:
"I haven't had my period these past few days. My body feels heavy and I get sleepy easily, and I also have dry heaves. If I calculate the date, it should be three months ago when I was serving my husband..."

(End of this chapter)