Chapter 1374 The vengeful concubine!
This cabinet meeting lasted for about an hour. Considering that some of the ministers attending the meeting were already quite old, Ye Mingsheng specially allowed everyone to rest for a quarter of an hour to drink some tea, go to the bathroom and rest.

At the end of the cabinet meeting, Ye Mingsheng also announced an important decision, that is, the court must continue to focus on the issue of layoffs. Now is August, and by the end of December this year, the court, provincial governments, prefectures and counties must once again cut 10,000 T jobs, of which 1,000 are G-level employees, releasing more than 150,000 taels of silver in fiscal space each year.

Upon hearing Ye Mingsheng's decision, several cabinet ministers had different expressions. They all felt that this task was extremely difficult!
After all, layoffs are tantamount to destroying people's jobs, so you can imagine how difficult it is. In the past few months, from the imperial court to the provincial governments and counties, everyone has put in a lot of effort, and yet they have only laid off 6,000 people.

And now, with only four months left until the end of the year, we have to lay off 10,000 people. Everyone feels that the possibility of completing this task is not high!
Although several ministers did not speak at the meeting, Ye Mingsheng understood what they were thinking. Ye Mingsheng also pointed out directly that he knew the difficulty of this task and it was a very tough nut to crack!
But the imperial court cannot back down when faced with difficulties. It should face up to challenges when doing its work and do its utmost to serve the people and reduce their burden!
In order to increase everyone's enthusiasm, Ye Mingsheng also announced that as long as this task is completed, the New Year bonuses of various provincial governors, prefects, and county magistrates will be doubled. Whoever completes the task well will also be rewarded by the court and given priority in subsequent promotions and appointments...
Of course, although Ye Mingsheng wants to lay off employees, layoffs cannot be done for the sake of laying off employees. The purpose of layoffs is to reduce the financial burden and better serve the people. Therefore, those who need to be laid off are the black sheep and those who are just sitting there doing nothing. The efficiency of government offices across the country must not only not decline, but must be further improved!
At the same time, we must do a good job of post-dismissal work for the laid-off personnel, organize these people to receive skills training, ensure that they can acquire a skill and guarantee their basic living in the future.

In order to ensure that his will could be implemented, Ye Mingsheng also selected more than one hundred smart and capable people from various government offices of the imperial court and sent them to serve as inspectors to monitor the situation in various places!

These inspectors report directly to the Secretariat, and no one else has the right to interfere!
When Ye Mingsheng announced this decision, several cabinet ministers had different expressions on their faces, and no one knew what they were thinking.

After Ye Mingsheng made these decisions, he asked everyone if they had any objections as per convention, but when he saw that no one spoke, Ye Mingsheng ended the cabinet meeting.

Although holding meetings is not physically demanding, Ye Mingsheng was a little tired after the cabinet meeting that lasted for more than an hour.

Seeing this, Ye Cheng brought a cup of tea to Ye Mingsheng at the right time. After Ye Mingsheng took a sip of tea, he casually asked Ye Cheng:

"Has the tiger kite been delivered to Jingren?"

Ye Cheng nodded without hesitation:

“Zhang Hu arranged for someone to go to the kite maker’s house last night. He spent one or two taels of silver to have the kite maker make a tiger kite overnight, and then delivered it to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in the morning. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince liked the tiger kite very much. He just flew a kite with Princess Xingtong and His Royal Highness Jingcheng in the Imperial Garden…”

Ye Mingsheng immediately smiled and nodded slightly. At this time, Ye Cheng said tentatively:

"Your Majesty, I heard from Guard Zhang Hu that he was not the only one who sent people to the kite maker's house yesterday!"

Ye Mingsheng was a little surprised when he heard this. Feeling Ye Mingsheng's gaze, Ye Cheng continued:
"Last night, the kite maker made a swallow kite in addition to this tiger kite!"

Hearing this, Ye Mingsheng immediately understood what Ye Cheng meant and shook his head helplessly. This is really the case of a loving mother having a spoiled child.

Although his sons and daughters are real princes and princesses, Ye Mingsheng does not want them to become second-generation rich. Ye Mingsheng hopes that they can understand that there is a price to pay for anything in this world, and they need to control their desires and not act recklessly.

But unfortunately, not everyone agrees with his educational philosophy. However, Ye Mingsheng does not intend to delve into it. After all, on the surface, it is understandable that Bai Yuanyuan, as a mother, bought a swallow kite for Xingtong. It is not a big deal, and Ye Mingsheng does not want to make a fuss about it.

Just when Ye Mingsheng was about to let this matter go, he suddenly realized a problem and immediately ordered:

"Call Zhang Hu!"

"Yes!"

Half a cup of tea later, Zhang Hu came to Ye Mingsheng.

"Your Majesty! You're looking for me?"

Ye Mingsheng asked directly:
"The cloth shop Xingtong went to ask about the price yesterday was Zhu's Cloth Shop, right?"

"Your Majesty, you remember correctly. The cloth shop that Princess Xingtong went to yesterday was Zhuji Cloth Shop..."

"How's the cloth shop today?"

After hearing Ye Mingsheng's question, Zhang Hu, who had just responded fluently, became a little hesitant.

Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng realized that his guess was correct, but in order to confirm, he still asked:

"Zhang Hu, I asked you to speak, what are you hesitating about?"

After hearing this, Zhang Hu did not dare to hide it anymore and whispered:

"The Zhuji Cloth Shop on Ping'an Street had its account books checked by the Yijing government today and is now sealed and closed."

"Where's that fellow?"

"This man was beaten up this morning. His injury is not serious, just a broken rib!"

Hearing this answer, Ye Mingsheng's heart was filled with anger. Although he knew that Bai Yuanyuan was not a broad-minded woman, he did not expect that Bai Yuanyuan would become so vindictive.

Yesterday, the clerk in the cloth shop said to Xingtong who was asking about the price, "Go and play over there and don't disturb me while I'm doing business." In Ye Mingsheng's view, it was just a bad attitude and not a big mistake. So even though Xingtong kept crying, Ye Mingsheng did not intervene.

Ye Mingsheng just wanted Xing Tong to understand that not everyone in this world revolves around you, and not everyone is obligated to take care of your emotions.

Originally, Ye Mingsheng thought that the matter would end here, but he didn't expect that Bai Yuanyuan was so petty. The other person just had a bad attitude, but you forced him to close down his business and even broke his ribs. Isn't this too vicious?
If you had only bought a swallow kite for Xingtong, I wouldn't have said anything!

But now that something like this has happened, Ye Mingsheng can no longer ignore it and immediately ordered:
"If there is no problem with the account book of Zhuji Cloth Shop, let them resume business immediately. Don't make things difficult for them!"

“In addition, the attacker must be caught as soon as possible and severely punished. Bai Yuanyuan must reflect on her mistakes for three months, and then she will be asked to pay ten taels of silver to the waiter as medical expenses…”

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The next day, when Chief Constable Yang Tao had just arrived at the Yijing government office in the morning, he heard someone informing him that the prefect was looking for him. Yang Tao did not dare to hesitate and immediately came to the classroom of prefect Liu Ning. Just as he was about to enter the classroom, he was stopped by Sun Fei, the full-time clerk of prefect Liu Ning, and taken to a side room.

At this time, there was a burly middle-aged man in plain clothes in the side room. Yang Tao, whose family had been detectives for three generations, only took a glance at the man and realized that this man was definitely not ordinary, but a rare and ruthless character. He became secretly alert in his heart.

At this time, Sun Fei said:
"Captain Yang, this is what happened. The prefect went to inspect the factory in the south of the city. Before he left, he asked me to inform you of the matter!"

After saying that, Sun Fei also looked at the middle-aged man in plain clothes and introduced:

"Captain Yang, this is Officer Zhao Yuan from the Ministry of Justice. He has something he wants to talk to you about!"

Because the head of the Ministry of Justice is a sixth-rank official, and although Yang Tao, the head of the police force, is no longer a petty official because Yijing is the imperial capital, he is still only an eighth-rank official. Therefore, Yang Tao took the initiative to bow and said:

"I pay my respects to Chief Zhao!"

Facing Yang Tao’s greeting, Zhao Yuan smiled and nodded slightly in response. After introducing Sun Fei, he said a few polite words and left the room, leaving only Zhao Yuan and Yang Tao in the room...

Yang Tao looked at the smiling Zhao Yuan and seemed to realize something in his heart, but he still asked calmly:
"Excuse me, Mr. Zhao, how can I cooperate with you?"

Zhao Yuan waved his hand and said:

"Captain Yang, let's not talk about this right now. I've heard of your great name for a long time!"

Although Yang Tao's family had been detectives for generations, and he had learned how to solve cases from his elders since he was a child and had honed his skills, and was well-known in Yijing and was known as Yijing's number one detective, when he heard Zhao Yuan say that he had heard of his name for a long time, Yang Tao did not feel any pride in his heart, but instead had a bad premonition.

At this time, Zhao Yuan also said to himself:

"Captain Yang, your ancestor was a constable from Yijing, so you have a family background in the field of constables. I also heard that you are very good at martial arts and swordsmanship. When you were hunting down the fierce bandits Scar Liu and Fifth Brother Xue, you killed them with one strike of your sword without hesitation!"

"I also heard that you have a nickname, something like Yijing's No. 1 Detective?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Tao said in a deep voice:

"Master Zhao, you are too kind. This is just the kindness of friends, don't take it seriously!"

Listening to Yang Tao's refusal, Zhao Yuan smiled but then changed the subject and said:
“Captain Yang, come to think of it, we used to be in the same line of work. I used to be a constable, and like you, my father was also a constable. He caught bandits in Liaoyang for twenty years…”

Listening to Zhao Yuan's words, Yang Tao not only did not feel a bit of closeness, but instead felt that the other party came with bad intentions.

At this time, Zhao Yuan also said to himself:

"Although my father taught me martial arts, he didn't intend for me to follow in his footsteps. He thought being a constable was too dangerous, so he originally wanted me to do some small business for a living. But unfortunately, he died during a bandit suppression operation before he could save enough capital for me!"

"After my father passed away, my family lost their livelihood, but fortunately my father was popular, so the county magistrate and the head of the police allowed me to take over as a constable, so my family could have a meal. I worked as a constable for five years when I was seventeen, and then as a head of the police for another three years!"

"Later, His Majesty came to Liaoyang to recruit soldiers to suppress bandits. In order to avenge my father, I also responded to the call and joined the army. Since then, I have followed His Majesty and fought all the way from north to south!"

"After the unification of the country, the army began to relocate. Since I worked as a constable before, I came to the Ministry of Justice and became a chief officer!"

Zhao Yuan paused for a moment, then looked at Yang Tao and said:

"Perhaps it's because we hit it off right away, Captain Yang, so I said a little more. I wonder if you understand what I mean, Captain Yang?"

Although Zhao Yuan had a smile on his face when he spoke, Yang Tao felt a chill under his gaze and said slowly:
"Master Zhao, what you mean is that you are also an expert in solving cases..."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yuan immediately clapped his hands and praised:

"Captain Yang, you are indeed a smart man! You understood it immediately!"

After the words fell, Zhao Yuan suddenly restrained all the smiles on his face and said lightly:
"So now, Captain Yang, can you tell me the truth about Ziyun's death in Pan's Theater?"

Although Yang Tao had a premonition when Sun Fei introduced Zhao Yuan's identity just now, his heart still sank when he really heard what Zhao Yuan said. However, he still pretended to be a little surprised and said:

"The truth? What do you mean, Mr. Zhao? I have already submitted everything about this case to the prefect!"

Hearing Yang Tao say this, Zhao Yuan seemed a little disappointed and shook his head and said:

"Captain Yang, I just said you are a smart man, why are you doing something stupid again?"

"I've read your report before. A servant in the theater coveted Ziyun's beauty and stole her clothes before. Now he wants to steal her money to pay off his gambling debts. He was discovered by Ziyun while stealing the money, so he strangled her to death and pretended it was suicide!"

"Prefect Liu is a civil servant who doesn't know much about solving cases, so he might believe what you said. But Captain Yang, you can't satisfy me..."

(Although the recent subscriptions are pretty good, there aren't many comments, so I'd like to ask everyone what they think of the recent plot and what they expect. Please feel free to speak up, I'm all ears!)