In the battle of Yanzhou, Feng's army suffered more than 30,000 casualties and more than 10,000 soldiers surrendered.

Overnight, the casualties exceeded their expectations. Now it was midsummer, and even though they buried the bodies as quickly as possible, they still couldn't stop the stench of decay and blood that filled the city, which would not dissipate for a long time. However, with Yanzhou and Qingyang as their bases, it was easy for them to capture the surrounding weak cities. They would recruit more soldiers and more food from these prefectures, and then conquer larger cities and more vast territories.

After stabilizing Yanzhou, Feng Ye immediately sent envoys to Taiyuan, on the one hand to persuade them to surrender, and on the other hand to seize the opportunity to bribe Taiyuan officials. The brutal battle of Yanzhou made Feng Ye and Yan Sikong no longer want to fight a siege. With Taiyuan's strong city walls, large numbers of soldiers and sufficient food, it would be extremely difficult to capture such a city.

They also received some intelligence that the court was planning to transfer another 100,000 troops from the two lakes, first to reinforce Taiyuan, and secondly to attack Qingyang. In this way, the court would be unable to send more troops to Yunnan, and Chen Yu would have a chance to catch his breath. Now that the two sides were deadlocked, I'm afraid the next battle would be for food and grass.

Chen Yi wrote again, saying that the court's food and fodder would not last through the winter, but Zhongqing's food and fodder would also be insufficient, so he decided to go out of the city and fight.

Yan Sikong quickly wrote back to him, telling him to defend the place and not to fight the enemy. When the imperial court could no longer bear it and had to withdraw its troops, victory would be easy.

After writing the letter, Yan Sikong called Ali and asked him to deliver the letter.

Alichuai was pleased with the news and left the tent, but soon he retreated respectfully step by step.

Yan Sikong turned around and saw Feng Ye striding towards him.

"Ali, you go down first." Yan Sikong said.

"Stop." Feng Ye's voice was not loud, but it was stern.

Ali looked at Yan Sikong in embarrassment.

"What's wrong?" Yan Sikong asked puzzled.

Feng Ye put his hands behind his back, looked Ali up and down, and said expressionlessly: "Take it out."

Yan Sikong was startled and narrowed his eyes slightly.

Ali looked at Yan Sikong without moving.

"Take out the letter." Feng Ye emphasized.

Yan Sikong said softly: "Ali, take it out and then step back."

Ali took out the letter, handed it to Feng Ye, and left the tent.

Feng Ye opened the sealed secret letter in front of Yan Sikong. He glanced through it quickly and found many coded words in it, and he couldn't understand its meaning.

Feng Ye looked at Yan Sikong and asked, "How long have you been secretly exchanging letters with Chen Yi?"

"Always." Yan Sikong said calmly, "Why, did the Wolf King just find out that I was helping him?"

Feng Ye's eyes turned cold. "If you want to communicate with him, why don't you use my messenger? Why do you have to use She Zhun's underworld methods in secret? And write in code that only you two can understand. You said you wouldn't deceive me again."

"I have always been in contact with the King of Chu. If I rashly change the channel, wouldn't he be suspicious? I told you earlier that I would handle the crisis in Yunnan, and you agreed. How could this be a lie?"

"You are my adviser, but you communicate privately with Chen Yi in this way. Aren't you afraid that I will become suspicious?" Feng Ye threw the letter to the ground fiercely.

"I contacted him to help him save Zhongqing and accumulate strength so that we can join forces with you and conquer the world." Yan Sikong frowned and said, "What are you doubting about me?"

Feng Ye pursed his lips and clenched his fists behind his back. Although he knew that without Yan Sikong to stabilize Chen Yi, Chen Yi might not be able to save Yunnan, but when his scouts found out that Yan Sikong and Chen Yi were communicating secretly and using code words, he couldn't help but guess what these code words meant and whether there was any content he didn't want to see.

Yan Sikong picked up the letter, feeling upset. "This letter is from me advising Chen Yu to stay calm and not to send out troops. He should wait until the enemy's food and grass run out and then they will naturally retreat. What do you think I will say to him?"

Feng Ye took a deep breath. Whenever it came to personal matters related to Yan Sikong, he always found it difficult to control his temper. After so many years, he still couldn't treat this person indifferently. He whispered, "For both public and private reasons, I don't like you using code words that I can't understand to exchange letters with Chen Yi."

Yan Sikong sighed: "I can tell you what these code words mean."

"You can also make it up."

"Then what do you want from me?" Yan Sikong asked in a deep voice, "You want me to control Chen Yu, but you don't want me to contact him? If you can control him, you don't need me..."

"I can do it sooner or later!" Feng Ye growled.

Yan Sikong's body froze and he stared at Feng Ye.

Feng Ye said coldly: "Sooner or later, you will only need to please me."

Yan Sikong felt a chill penetrating his bones. The more Feng Ye controlled, the more he looked like the "Wolf King". The simple and uninhibited boy in his memory was fading away. He was really afraid that one day he would no longer be able to find the shadow of the Feng Ye he knew in this man.

Looking at Yan Sikong's stiff expression, Feng Ye paused for a moment, walked over, and held him in his arms: "I'm busy with many things, so my temper is inevitably impatient, you understand."

"……Um."

Feng Ye stroked Yan Sikong's back and said, "I said I would treat you well, and I will do it, but you can't hide anything from me. If you have any contact with Chen Yi in the future, you must tell me."

Yan Sikong said expressionlessly, "Okay." The days around Feng Ye were still like walking on thin ice. Even though the situation was much better than before, he dared not relax at any time, for fear that he would arouse Feng Ye's suspicion again, which would inevitably lead to questioning and arguments.

"When I take Taiyuan, I will let you lead the troops, how about it?" Feng Ye whispered in Yan Sikong's ear.

"Thank you, Wolf King."

Yan Sikong's indifferent tone made Feng Ye feel uncomfortable. He lifted Yan Sikong's chin and said, "Don't you want military power? I will give it to you. Whatever Chen Yi can give you, I will give you. Whatever Chen Yi can't give you, I will also give you."

Yan Sikong stared into Feng Ye's eyes and said, "To me, Chen Yi has only the relationship of a monarch and a subject, a teacher and a student. You don't have to be so jealous of him."

"What I fear is his improper thoughts about you." Feng Ye lowered his head and kissed Yan Sikong on the lips. "I can't stand it whenever I think about him wanting to do this to you."

"Then don't think about it."

Feng Ye sneered and kissed the soft lips again: "I will let him, dare not think about it."

——

After the envoys who went to Taiyuan returned, they learned some new information. Luo Ruoxin was the general of Taiyuan, but there was friction with the general Wang Mei, who led the 30,000 reinforcements sent by the court to Taiyuan. Especially after Luo Ruoxin was ambushed, he looked down on him even more and thought he was seeking fame.

Yan Sikong sent someone to find out about this Wang Mei. It was said that Wang Mei was a military man and was handsome, suave, and had his own way of leading troops in battle. He was a great general. Like Luo Ruoxin, he wanted to show his prowess in the Battle of Taiyuan. Luo Ruoxin was afraid that he would steal the credit, so he did not take him with him when he attacked the camp. Instead, he gave him an advantage. The relationship between the two became more and more subtle.

After discussing with Feng Ye, they planned to take advantage of the conflict between the two and alienate them.

They first spread rumors in the city that Wang Mei intended to surrender, then paid a large sum of money to bribe Luo Ruoxin's servants and hid a portrait of Wang Mei in the room of Luo Ruoxin's concubine. It was said that wherever Wang Mei went, local women admired him. If Luo Ruoxin found out that his concubine had hidden Wang Mei's portrait, he would probably turn green with anger.

Then, Yan Sikong wrote a letter to Zhu Lanting.

After Yan Sikong left Beijing, for safety reasons, he had very little contact with Zhu Lanting, but he never stopped. She Zhun and Zhu Lanting were his main sources of information about the situation in the capital, and Zhu Lanting was also waiting for him to bring the King of Chu to Beijing to inherit the throne. He wanted Zhu Lanting to report to Emperor Zhaowu and impeach Luo Ruoxin for his incompetence, but he was ambushed and did not save Yanzhou. He wanted Emperor Zhaowu to hand over the military power of Taiyuan to Wang Mei.

When Luo Ruoxin learned the news, he would definitely take the initiative to get rid of Wang Mei due to public and private hatred. The best way to get rid of Wang Mei was to use someone else's knife. The knife should be the knife of Feng's army. Wang Mei was also a smart man, so he would not be unprepared. They could just sit back and watch the fight and see what the two of them would come up with.

This strategy of creating discord is the best strategy that has been tried and tested in temples and battlefields since ancient times. If it succeeds, it can even easily overthrow a country. They want to find a way to break through the fortress that is difficult to break from the outside from the inside!

Not long after, they received the news that Luo Ruoxin was impeached. As early as the beginning of the fall of Yanzhou, Luo Ruoxin had written a letter to apologize and explain the whole story. Because his father was a meritorious general in the previous dynasty and the court was short of people at that time, he believed that although he had made mistakes, he would not be replaced. But now that he was impeached, it was different.

The court had not yet made a decision, but the news had already reached Taiyuan. Yan Sikong guessed that Luo Ruoxin must be extremely anxious at this moment. After all, the capital was so close to Taiyuan, and an imperial edict would arrive in two or three days. He was afraid that his position as general would be in danger.

Soon, Luo Ruoxin instructed his fellow countryman Yu Shi in the court to write a letter to the emperor, saying that there were rumors that Wang Mei had been bribed by Feng Ye and was suspected of treason.

Wang Mei hurriedly ordered the messenger to deliver his memorial to the capital.

At this point, the two are at loggerheads with each other, and all they need is a chance for an explosion.

Feng Ye and Yan Sikong watched the two fight for two months and felt that the time had come to take action and take the opportunity to get rid of one of them.