Chapter 1139 Untitled
Jiyuyujing

Although it was late at night, the light was still on in the study of Zhao Tao, the deputy governor of Hebei and Henan. Although the 55-year-old Zhao Tao looked tired, he was still pacing back and forth in the room...

During the period when Gao Zongchang was in charge of Hebei and Henan, Yang Yuanze served as the governor of Hebei and Henan, and Zhao Tao, as Yang Yuanze's confidant, served as the prefect of Yiyang.

Although the administration in Hebei and Henan was in chaos and the people were living in poverty, Yiyang, under Zhao Tao's governance, was a rare clear stream in Hebei and Henan at that time. Hundreds of thousands of people in Yiyang could barely eat a bowl of rice, and this also earned Zhao Tao a good reputation!

After Gao Zongchang was defeated, the Fengwu Army took control of the situation in Hebei and Henan. Zhao Tao was a close confidant of the former governor Yang Yuanze, so he was implicated and forced to resign due to Yang Yuanze's downfall.

After the Fengwu Army took over Hebei and Henan, Ye Mingsheng decided to appoint Wang Ke, a local Hebei and Henan faction, as the governor in order to stabilize the situation in Hebei and Henan and reduce resistance to reform. Zhao Tao, recommended by Wang Ke, once again served as the prefect of Yiyang.

Although Wang Ke was later forced to step down due to a corruption case, his successor Murong Yuliang also believed in Zhao Tao's talents and later recommended Zhao Tao to Ye Mingsheng as the deputy governor of Hebei and Henan!
Zhao Tao cherishes the position of deputy governor very much, and is also very grateful to Murong Yuliang for promoting him!
Therefore, in the process of Murong Yuliang promoting the new policy later, Zhao Tao also did his best to assist Murong Yuliang, so that his various measures could be effectively implemented and produce results······················
However, Zhao Tao assisted Murong Yuliang with all his heart. Although repaying a favor was an important reason, it was not the main reason!
The main reason was that Murong Yuliang had hinted to Zhao Tao that his ambition was not to serve in Hebei and Henan, but to serve the central government. Therefore, if he succeeded in entering the cabinet one day, the position of Governor of Hebei and Henan would be vacant. He was very optimistic about Zhao Tao, thinking that Zhao Tao was familiar with the situation in Hebei and Henan, and had deep feelings for the people of Hebei and Henan, etc.

Although Murong Yuliang did not say these words explicitly, they were enough to make Zhao Tao's heart surge. Who in the officialdom does not want to make further progress?
But Zhao Tao had been very pessimistic about his career in the Fengwu Army system. After all, as the old saying goes, it is easier to get things done when you have someone in the court, and vice versa!

As a native of Hebei and Henan, Zhao Tao feels that if he can govern Hebei and Henan in the future and become a frontier official, his life will be worthwhile!
Therefore, faced with the big promise made by Murong Yuliang, Zhao Tao took it directly and cooperated with Murong Yuliang's work wholeheartedly, hoping that one day Murong Yuliang would succeed in getting promoted and be able to help him!
Originally, when the Yijing court was established, Zhao Tao was looking forward to Murong Yuliang’s rise to power. He and many others believed that with his achievements in Hebei and Henan, Murong Yuliang could be on par with Cui Shaoping. Although it was a bit exaggerated, the position of the Minister of the Six Ministries was definitely one for Murong Yuliang...

However, what surprised everyone in the end was that Murong Yuliang, who was highly expected by everyone, was not even able to enter the core, let alone become the Minister of Six Ministries!
Zhao Tao was greatly disappointed by this situation and felt that something was wrong. He thought that Murong Yuliang might have lost Marshal Ye's trust. Zhao Tao had thought about jumping ship, but the problem was that he had too many sunk costs in Murong Yuliang and he lacked the courage to turn back!
Just when Zhao Tao was struggling with this, it didn't take long for the imperial court to announce that Murong Yuliang would be transferred to Huainan. Although the imperial court had not issued any official document yet, Zhao Tao thought that this was basically the case. Murong Yuliang had even begun to consider the issue of handover!

Although his position was provincial governor, everyone knew that Murong Yuliang had suffered a big setback this time!

Although Zhao Tao knew that Murong Yuliang would hardly play a key role in succeeding the governor, he really lacked the connections in the court.
His possible competitor for the successor to the post of governor, Zhang Zhiwen, another deputy governor of Hebei and Henan, was sent here when the Fengwu Army took over Hebei and Henan. His connections in the court must be stronger than his. So in order to be able to take over as governor, Zhao Tao still hopes that Murong Yuliang can lobby for him and fulfill his promise...
When Zhao Tao was planning how to take over as the governor, he never expected that one wave of troubles would come after another, because the Qilu governor Sun Jing'an was investigated, and there was a major earthquake in the Qilu G field, and the power also underwent a new round of reshuffle and reorganization!
Originally, this had nothing to do with Zhao Tao, but the problem was that Sun Jingan’s problem involved Rishengchang Bank, and Rishengchang Bank was the bank that came out of Jiyu!
Therefore, many people in Hebei and Henan are now paying close attention to the developments in Qilu to see if the commander-in-chief will expand this round of reshuffle and reorganization. Some cautious people have even started to prepare for a rainy day and are now cleaning their own messes!

At this time when undercurrents were surging, no one expected that Ye Baode had played a big trick on everyone a few days ago and directly attacked the Marshal!
It would be fine if you were just being reckless, but the worst thing is that you haven't done it yet, and now things will be troublesome!
Based on the Marshal's previous temper, many people predicted that the Marshal would be furious this time and would investigate the matter thoroughly without any leniency!
So some people suggested that instead of just sitting there and waiting for death, they should bite back and put the blame on others before the matter is investigated!
They believe that the law does not punish the masses, and as long as they unite, the Marshal will weigh the pros and cons between them and a woman!

But if we want to unite, we need a leader who is influential enough...
Thinking of this, Zhao Tao couldn't help but sigh, and just when he was worried, his butler led someone into his study.

This man has a slender figure, a fair complexion, no beard, and a very elegant temperament. Although he is wearing casual clothes at this moment, he has the aura of an official at first glance!

This person is none other than Hu Mingyuan, the current fourth-rank Yujing prefect of the Great Zhou court. He came to visit Zhao Tao late at night and asked eagerly when he saw him:
"Master Zhao, what did the governor say?"

Facing Hu Mingyuan's question, Zhao Tao smiled bitterly and shook his head:

"It seems that the Governor wants to watch the fire from the other side of the river!"

Hu Mingyuan was immediately disappointed when he heard this answer, and he couldn't help but say with some dissatisfaction:
"We have all followed the governor's lead for years. Now that something has happened, how can the governor ignore us?"

Zhao Tao heard this and said with some melancholy:

"I heard that Jiang Yuyan gave money to the governor, but he refused. Later, when the governor's wife celebrated her birthday, Jiang Yuyan gave her a pair of jade bracelets, and the governor reluctantly accepted them!"

After hearing this, Hu Mingyuan frowned and said:

"The governor confiscated Jiang Yuyan's money. Could it be that the governor had already expected that something bad would happen to this woman, Jiang Yuyan?"

Zhao Tao shook his head and said:

“I don’t know about that. I think the most urgent task now is to find out whether Jiang Yuyan participated in Ye Baode’s rebellion…”

Hu Mingyuan nodded and said:

"The Marshal entrusted the management of such a large business as Rishengchang Bank to a woman named Jiang Yuyan. I think the Marshal must still favor Jiang Yuyan. As soon as Jiang Yuyan got the news, she immediately went to Yijing. She must have gone to see the Marshal to clarify that there was no connection between her and Ye Baode!"

At this point, Hu Mingyuan couldn't help but complain:

"The little money we got was hard-earned. Compared with those people in Qilu, what we got is nothing. I heard that a councillor in Qilu's provincial government had nearly 100,000 taels of silver in his home. The prefect had at least 100,000 taels of silver, which is richer than me!" "I think that Jiyu has been thriving today, and you and I are both meritorious officials. The Marshal shouldn't pick on us for this little bit of silver!"

Zhao Tao smiled bitterly and shook his head after hearing Hu Mingyuan's words. Seeing this, Hu Mingyuan seemed to have thought of something and said:
"Master Zhao, we are not the only ones panicking in Yujing City right now. His surname Zhang is not much better than us!"

As soon as Zhao Tao heard this, he asked:
"Did Zhang Zhiwen also accept money from Jiang Yuyan?"

Hu Mingyuan shook his head and said:

“I don’t know whether Zhang Zhiwen confiscated Jiang Yuyan’s money, but I know that he and Jiang Yuyan had more dealings than we do…”

At this point, Hu Mingyuan paused and lowered his voice and said:
"Zhang Zhiwen secretly redeemed the two prostitutes from Chunmeng Pavilion half a month ago and kept them in a house on Lanqing Street. In the past half month, he must have lived in the house on Lanqing Street for at least ten days, if not every day. The house and the two prostitutes are not cheap!"

Zhao Tao's expression turned serious when he heard this and he asked Hu Mingyuan:
"You sent someone to monitor Zhang Zhiwen?"

Hu Mingyuan waved his hand and said calmly:

"Lord Zhao, the word 'surveillance' sounds harsh, but as the prefect of Yujing, I naturally have to be alert!"

Zhao Tao's expression changed when he heard this. Seeing this, Hu Mingyuan continued:
"Although the governor is unwilling to take the lead, if we report this matter to the provincial governor, Ji Heng, I believe that Ji will be willing to uphold justice for everyone!"

Hearing the name "Ji Heng", Zhao Tao snorted coldly and said:
"Master Hu, do you really think that Old Ji knows nothing? In my opinion, Old Ji definitely doesn't want to get involved in this mess. He has already cleared himself of it!"

After hearing this, Hu Mingyuan was somewhat discouraged and spoke helplessly:

"If that's the case, Lord Zhao, what do you think we should do? We can't just sit there and wait for death, right?"

Zhao Tao took a deep breath and analyzed calmly:

"Let's observe for a while. I think the Marshal attaches great importance to Rishengchang Bank. If Jiang Yuyan goes to jail this time, Rishengchang Bank will naturally not be immune and will inevitably be greatly affected!"

Hu Mingyuan's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he asked hopefully:
"Master Zhao, do you think Jiang Yuyan can survive this?"

“Well! Tell the people below not to act rashly. They need to observe how things develop…”

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Yijing, Liangzhen Camp

Accompanied by generals such as Yuan Song, Zhao Han, and Shen Quan, Ye Mingsheng inspected the military camp where more than 100,000 Fengwu Army soldiers were stationed, watched the soldiers' training, some New Year celebration programs, and delivered an important speech in public.

Ye Mingsheng said that the court is now on the right track, and the entire Great Zhou is thriving. Although some conspiracy speculators have tried to subvert the court and steal power through lies and deception, their conspiracies have been completely crushed, and the future of the court and everyone is bright!
After Ye Mingsheng finished his speech, Zhao Han, as the Chief of General Staff, solemnly promised to Ye Mingsheng on behalf of all the soldiers that they would remain firmly loyal to the court.

Afterwards, Ye Mingsheng also cordially met with some outstanding officers and soldiers, awarded them some medals, and encouraged them to continue to work tirelessly for the Great Zhou and the Fengwu Army!
After doing all this, Ye Mingsheng and a group of generals returned to Yijing City. At this time, Wang Xuecheng also reported a good news to Ye Mingsheng.

“Marshal, we found more than 90,000 taels of silver notes, 11 deeds to houses and shops, 15 deeds to land, and a large amount of gold and silver from the homes of Huang Can, Yang Guoxu and others. It is conservatively estimated that the wealth looted from these two people’s homes is at least 200,000 taels…”

As soon as these words came out, a hint of anger flashed in Ye Mingsheng's eyes. Huang Can, a deputy general and a captain of the General Coordination Office, these two people embezzled so much silver. It is conceivable how much Ye Baode took. His Fengwu Army really raised a group of parasites!
After adjusting his mood, Ye Mingsheng immediately asked again:
"How much did you copy from Ye Baode?"

Hearing this question, Wang Xuecheng spoke somewhat awkwardly:
"Because Ye Baode had burned Qingfeng Mansion, we didn't find much. We only found 20,000 taels of silver and 3,000 taels of gold. However, our coordination office found that Ye Baode had a secret vault in Yuyang and Licheng respectively. It is said that Ye Baode hid a lot of his wealth in them. I have sent people to track them down, and there will be a report soon!"

After Wang Xuecheng finished speaking, he saw that Ye Mingsheng seemed a little dissatisfied, so he quickly continued to speak:
"In addition to these three masterminds, we also seized about 300,000 taels of valuables from more than ten of their trusted accomplices!"

"This includes General Ye Fu's 70,000 taels of silver. General Ye Fu has received a total of about 37,000 taels of silver from Defengxing Company over the years. As for the remaining 33,000 taels of silver, it was earned cleanly through military merit..."

(End of this chapter)