Chapter 1404 One Hundred Libraries!
After listening to Ge Xiong's words, Wang Xuecheng realized that these two things were definitely unusual, otherwise Ge Xiong should have reported to him in public at the meeting just now. He immediately asked Ge Xiong to sit down and report.

Although Ge Xiong sat down at Wang Xuecheng's suggestion, he only sat halfway to show his respect.

"Sir, the first thing is that I received news that the Ministry of Justice seems to be planning to set up a new department called the Inspection Department, which will be responsible for hunting down and arresting some wanted criminals!"

Wang Xuecheng couldn't help but narrow his eyes after hearing this, and then he said:
"Is this Minister Li's idea or the intention of the higher-ups?"

Hearing this, Ge Xiong said without hesitation:
"It's still unclear at the moment. Few people in the Ministry of Justice know about this matter. It is said that this plan is still in the works. However, considering Minister Li's character, he would not have taken such a move if there was no news from above!"

Wang Xuecheng didn't say anything after hearing this, but just fell into deep thought!
In fact, Ge Xiong didn't need to remind him, he also knew that Li Jian did this for the above purpose!
In recent years, as the Coordination Office has grown in size, the power of the Ministry of Justice has been seriously affected. As the Minister of Justice and the nominal head of SF in Daqian, Li Jian is certainly unwilling to be a weak Minister of Justice. This also led to the fact that in the previous confrontation between the Coordination Office and the Censorate, Li Jian had always secretly supported the Censorate, thinking of defeating the Coordination Office!
It has always been Li Jian's idea to set up a department independent of the Coordination Office and directly under the Ministry of Justice to specialize in hunting down and arresting criminals. He proposed this idea to Ye Mingsheng at the beginning of his tenure, but the matter was suppressed by Ye Mingsheng...
Although Ye Mingsheng did not give a reason for suppressing it, everyone understood why Ye Mingsheng did so, and Li Jian was also very tactful and did not mention this idea again!
Now that Li Jian brought up this idea again, there was no doubt that he had heard some news, or at least felt the change in Ye Mingsheng's mind.

As Ye Mingsheng's number one henchman, Wang Xuecheng is always trying to figure out Ye Mingsheng's thoughts!
He knew that the ZZ ecology that Ye Mingsheng advocated was a state of mutual restraint and balance, rather than a single dominant force.

Therefore, Wang Xuecheng has already realized that the expansion of the power of the Coordination Office is not a good thing in the eyes of His Majesty, and the splitting of Dadongsheng has made Wang Xuecheng realize that His Majesty wants to split up the Coordination Office!
Why is it that Your Majesty has been thinking about this matter in his mind and can make it a reality with just one order, but has not issued the order yet?
For a long time, Wang Xuecheng has been thinking about this matter, thinking about the value and significance of the Coordination Office to Ye Mingsheng!

And when Ye Mingsheng continued to introduce reform measures, Wang Xuecheng found the answer to this question!

It is obvious that Ye Mingsheng's reform measures will affect the interests of the GL gentry, so the resistance to the reform is undoubtedly unprecedented. Therefore, Ye Mingsheng needs a strong department to solve the resistance for him. That is why Ye Mingsheng has not yet split up the General Coordination Office like he split up the Dadongsheng Company...

Although Wang Xuecheng had worked in other departments before, this did not prevent him from being firmly labeled as a member of the Coordination Office. The Coordination Office and he were in a state of sharing weal and woe.
Therefore, once the Coordination Office is split up, Wang Xuecheng's power and status in the Daqian court will inevitably be affected, and may even bring some dangers.

So for Wang Xuecheng, he certainly does not want to see the Unified Coordination Office being split up. What he hopes is to maintain the status quo or even to strengthen the authority of the Unified Coordination Office!

So after realizing Your Majesty's intentions, Wang Xuecheng was so active in suppressing the riots in various places in order to prove to Your Majesty the value and significance of the Unified Coordination Office.

While Wang Xuecheng was thinking, Ge Xiong hesitated and said:

"Your Excellency has always been loyal to the emperor and patriotic. You have worked tirelessly for His Majesty and the court, and have worked hard to suppress riots in various places!"

"But there is one thing I don't know whether I should say or not!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Xuecheng glanced at Ge Xiong and said in a deep voice:
"Ge Xiong, feel free to say whatever you want to say!"

After receiving Wang Xuecheng's order, Ge Xiong said without hesitation:
"My Lord, I think it is because of your efforts that His Majesty feels that the resistance is not as great as expected, and that a powerful coordination office is not necessary!"

After hearing this, Wang Xuecheng seemed to realize something, looked at Ge Xiong deeply and said:
"What do you mean?"

Ge Xiong did not answer directly upon hearing this, but instead looked at Wang Xuecheng and said:

"Sir, the second thing I want to say is that there is news from the Imperial Guards that Liu Baichuan has returned to the capital to take up his post..."

Wang Xuecheng was stunned for a moment, and then a trace of worry flashed across his brows. Seeing this, Ge Xiong struck while the iron was hot and said:

"My Lord, at this point, I suggest that you consider retreating in order to advance!"

"Retreat in order to advance?"

"Yes! Retreat to advance!"

"How do you retreat to advance?" Wang Xuecheng asked with some curiosity and confusion:

In response to his boss's questions, Ge Xiong whispered in Wang Xuecheng's ear. As Wang Xuecheng listened to Ge Xiong's story, his expression kept changing.

After Ge Xiong finished speaking, Wang Xuecheng pondered for a while and said slowly:
"It's too risky to do this!"

"Sir, how can you get a tiger cub without risking it? You must put yourself in a desperate situation before you can survive!"

Wang Xuecheng looked at Ge Xiong who was speaking so loudly and shook his head and said:
"Ge Xiong, you are exaggerating. Things haven't come to that point yet. Not to mention that the plan of the Ministry of Justice to set up an Inspection Department is still in the works. Even if His Majesty really approves the establishment of the Inspection Department, it doesn't mean that our Coordination Office will have no place to use its power!"

After hearing what Wang Xuecheng said, Ge Xiong continued to ask:
"Your Excellency, be prepared for danger in times of peace! It will be too late to take action when the day comes. You must prepare for the rainy day!" Wang Xuecheng waved his hand and said:
"Ge Xiong, I know what's going on!"

Ge Xiong, who wanted to continue admonishing Wang Xuecheng, could only shut up in disappointment and helplessness. At this moment, Wang Xuecheng ordered:
"Hongyun is in some trouble! She thinks someone is following her. Send someone to check out what's going on..."

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Two days later, in the Imperial Palace's study

Ye Mingsheng, who had just returned from the workshop of the First Manufacturing Bureau, sat directly on the sofa, looking somewhat helpless.

Ever since the First Manufacturing Bureau developed the steam engine, Ye Mingsheng had been looking forward to putting the steam engine on ships and creating an unprecedentedly powerful ironclad fleet.

Ye Mingsheng knew very well that there would only be brave men when there was a big reward, so he set reward targets for Chen Changgui of the First Manufacturing Bureau and Liu Fei, the engineer in charge of the steam engine project. As long as the First Manufacturing Bureau can complete the concept of the ironclad ship, Ye Mingsheng will reward them with 10,000 taels of silver and a three-story mansion in Yijing City. At the same time, Chen Changgui will be promoted by one level, and Liu Fei will be promoted by three levels!

Stimulated by Ye Mingsheng's reward, both Chen Changgui and Liu Fei were eager to try and devote themselves to scientific research, vowing to put steam engines on ships and develop the ironclad ships that Ye Mingsheng valued most.

Ye Mingsheng was very satisfied with their enthusiasm, and also had high expectations for their work. In order to obtain the latest news, Ye Mingsheng once again went to the workshop of the First Manufacturing Bureau today and communicated with Liu Fei.

Liu Fei was a little terrified at first about Ye Mingsheng's coming again, but with Ye Mingsheng's comfort and encouragement, he also told Ye Mingsheng that they had encountered some technical difficulties and it might take some time to overcome them...

To be honest, Ye Mingsheng was a little disappointed with the answer, but he could understand the result.

After all, scientific research is not always smooth sailing. It is inevitable to encounter technical difficulties. Accumulating strength and then making a breakthrough is the right way to scientific research!
Therefore, Ye Mingsheng concealed his inner disappointment, and encouraged Liu Fei and other front-line scientific researchers, urging them not to be discouraged, to persevere and keep working hard, and the court would be their strongest backing.

After completing the condolence work, Ye Mingsheng also returned to the palace. After all, he didn't know much about scientific research, and staying there would only delay everyone's work.

The only good news for Ye Mingsheng recently is that the Second Manufacturing Bureau has produced a sofa!
Perhaps because of his age, Ye Mingsheng now sits in a chair for a long time to work, and his back and waist are very tired. Sometimes after working for a long time, he really wants to find a place to lie down for a while and rest, but it doesn't look good to lie in bed in broad daylight.

So Ye Mingsheng had the idea of ​​replicating the sofa some time ago, so that when he got tired of working, he could just lean on the sofa for a while.

Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng handed the task of copying to the Second Manufacturing Bureau. As a piece of furniture, the sofa is not technically difficult to make. It is just a matter of building a wooden frame, putting cotton inside, and finally covering it with a layer of leather.

So after learning about Ye Mingsheng's idea, the Second Manufacturing Bureau took less than ten days to produce the sofa and delivered it to Ye Mingsheng's imperial study...
Although the sofa made by the Second Manufacturing Bureau was very different from the sofa made by Ye Mingsheng in his previous life, it also exceeded Ye Mingsheng's expectations and met Ye Mingsheng's requirements for a sofa, so Ye Mingsheng was very satisfied with it.

After sending the sofa to Ye Mingsheng, Su Junjie also put forward his own ideas. He believed that the sofa was between a chair and a bed, and was a very good piece of furniture that could make people's lives more comfortable, so he hoped that Ye Mingsheng could approve their Second Manufacturing Bureau to mass-produce sofas and sell them commercially.

Su Junjie is very optimistic about the commercial prospects of furniture such as sofas, and believes that this will greatly increase the Second Manufacturing Bureau's revenue in the furniture field.

Ye Mingsheng admired Su Junjie's business acumen. He copied the sofa just to serve himself and make his back and waist more comfortable. He didn't think too much about it!
But since Su Junjie had such an idea, Ye Mingsheng encouraged him very much. In order to support Su Junjie's business plan, Ye Mingsheng directly placed an order for 30 sofas. Ye Mingsheng planned to give one to the empress dowager and each concubine, and then to the homes of ministers like Cui Shao, Gu Sansi, Yuan Song, etc.

This will have a good publicity effect, ensuring that the sofa will sell well and allowing the Second Manufacturing Bureau to earn more money!

After resting on the sofa for half an incense stick, Ye Mingsheng drank a cup of tea and then continued to work!
The first memorial that Ye Mingsheng dealt with was the memorial submitted by Su Yi, the Minister of Rites, on increasing investment in education.
Ye Mingsheng was deeply touched by the research he conducted on basic education in Daqian in Baishou County. Some conditions of Baishou Public School also left a deep impression on Ye Mingsheng.

Ye Mingsheng believes that his measure of providing free education for children in Daqian is valuable and meaningful, and is not a waste of money and time as some people in the court say. Of course, there is still a lot of room for improvement in this measure, which requires the court to continue to invest and increase investment in the future!
Because education is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites, Ye Mingsheng asked Su Yi, the Minister of Rites, to submit a plan for him to review!
Su Yi’s execution ability is still very strong. In just three days, his memorial was placed in front of Ye Mingsheng!

However, after reading his plan carefully, Ye Mingsheng felt that although Su Yi's plan was a good one, its practical application value was not great. After all, although he wanted to increase investment, the court did not have so much money to subsidize it!

The court’s current investment can only be minor repairs to improve the situation of those children as much as possible!

The idea proposed by Su Yi is as naive and simple as Jingren’s idea of ​​letting the children of Baishou Public School live the life of children of Baishou Academy!

While Ye Mingsheng was disappointed about this, he also had his own thoughts in his mind!
Ye Mingsheng called this idea the One Hundred Libraries Project!
Ye Mingsheng planned to invest 30,000 taels of silver to build a library in one hundred major cities in Daqian, and each library would be stocked with practical books.

This library only allowed literate people to enter and read, and charged fees to wealthy people who rode in carriages and wore brocade and embroidered robes to support the library's daily operations.

Then, for the poor people who walked and wore cloth clothes, as well as the children of public schools, there was no charge, so that they could learn knowledge for free in the library.