Chapter 301 Negotiation and Compromise (Thanks to book friends Mo Shaobao and s自由风雨b for the reward!)

As the governor of Liaoyang, Song Wenhui must have known that Fengzhou was now completely under the control of Ye Mingsheng...

Under such circumstances, he also deliberately emphasized in the letter that he should let Murong Yuliang and himself share the responsibilities of civil and military affairs and make some achievements.

This made it difficult for Ye Mingsheng not to wonder whether Song Wenhui intentionally let Murong Yuliang restrain him and go against him!

Thinking of the expressionless Ye Mingsheng, he raised his head and shifted his gaze from the letter to Murong Yuliang, and said lightly:

"Lord Murong, Fengzhou is located at the border, and there are many bandits. The public security is not very good. I'm not afraid of you laughing at me, but I, the general of Fengzhou, don't know if I will get my head chopped off in my sleep one day..."

Ye Mingsheng's voice sounded somewhat distressed, just like an ordinary official complaining to his colleagues, but when these words entered the ears of Cui Dakai and Murong Yuliang, they had a different meaning.

Cui Dakai's face turned very ugly, and there was a hint of fear in his eyes when he looked at Ye Mingsheng. Although he knew that Ye Mingsheng was very courageous and his methods were very brutal, he did not expect that Ye Mingsheng would be so rampant and dare to threaten Murong Yuliang like this.

Murong Yuliang is the second master of the Murong family. He may very well be the Shangshu of the Zhou Dynasty in the future. If Ye Mingsheng really wants to kill Murong Yuliang here, he will definitely suffer the most crazy revenge from the Murong family!

Although the Murong family does not have much power and influence in Liaoyang, as the top family of the Great Zhou, they have too many ways to deal with you, a general on the border. They can completely use the method of exchanging interests to kill with a borrowed knife...

I believe that as long as the benefits given up are great enough, Song Wenhui, or even Chen Dechang, would be very willing to help the Murong family get rid of Ye Mingsheng.

Compared to Cui Dakai, Murong Yuliang, who had experienced many ups and downs, seemed much calmer when facing Ye Mingsheng's death threats. However, the calmness on the surface did not represent his innermost thoughts!

Looking at Ye Mingsheng's calm eyes, Murong Yuliang's experience told him that Ye Mingsheng was not trying to scare him, and Ye Mingsheng really had the courage to kill him!

Although Murong Yuliang had anticipated the audacity of these border town warriors when he was preparing to take up his post in Fengzhou, he still couldn't help but feel a little suspicious when he really encountered them. This was really like a scholar meeting a soldier, and he couldn't explain himself clearly...

Murong Yuliang felt a little regretful now. He had originally wanted to use Song Wenhui's letter to try to make Ye Mingsheng compromise and give him some power, but he didn't expect that the letter would stimulate Ye Mingsheng instead and arouse Ye Mingsheng's viciousness. If he had known this, he would not have taken out the letter and showed it to Ye Mingsheng...
Although Murong Yuliang wanted to compete with Ye Mingsheng, the situation was stronger than him. As the saying goes, "When you are under someone's roof, you have to bow your head." So in order to avoid the situation from getting worse, he decided to soften his attitude to stabilize Ye Mingsheng, and said:
"Master Ye, you are joking. This Khitan man is no problem for Master Ye, so how can this little bandit threaten Master Ye?" Murong Yuliang said with a double meaning:

After saying this, Murong Yuliang looked at Ye Mingsheng deeply, and then said meaningfully:

"Master Ye, I am not satisfied with what you said. My purpose in coming here this time is not to enter Fengzhou, but to enter the imperial court in the future. I came here this time just to make some achievements, so as to add a strong and colorful chapter to my resume. I have no intention of making enemies with anyone!"

Ye Mingsheng's expression remained unchanged when he heard Murong Yuliang's words. If Murong Yuliang wanted to make political achievements, he must have power. Now that the power is in Ye Mingsheng's hands, how could Ye Mingsheng give up the power in his hands to him?

However, Ye Mingsheng values ​​practicality, while Murong Yuliang values ​​reputation. The conflict between the two is not necessarily a life-and-death struggle that cannot be reconciled...

Ye Mingsheng pondered for a moment, restrained the murderous intent in his eyes, and asked Murong Yuliang:

"I wonder what Lord Murong thinks of Fengzhou's future development?"

Murong Yuliang was a little surprised when he heard Ye Mingsheng's question. For a moment, he was confused about what Ye Mingsheng wanted to do by asking this question. However, since Ye Mingsheng asked, he naturally had to give Ye Mingsheng an answer. But before that, he had to ask Ye Mingsheng a question first.

"Master Ye, how confident are you that you can defend Fengzhou?"

"Master Ye, this question is very important. Your answer is related to my future development of Fengzhou!"

"Oh? What if I can hold on? What if I can't?" Ye Mingsheng was not in a hurry to answer Murong Yuliang's question, but asked with interest:
"If you can defend Fengzhou, Lord Ye, and keep it from being threatened by the Khitan, then I will fully support Fengzhou's current immigration policy and strive to accept 100,000 immigrants in the next year. At the same time, we will overhaul water conservancy projects, open up wasteland and expand farmland, and turn Fengzhou into a land of plenty."

"If you are not sure, Lord Ye, then the immigration can be slowed down. At the same time, I will mobilize the masses to repair fortifications in Xinfa County and other places connected to Khitan, and try to keep the area safe as much as possible!" Murong Yuliang said in a deep voice:
Hearing Murong Yuliang's answer, Ye Mingsheng was somewhat satisfied, but not particularly satisfied. After thinking for a while, he asked Murong Yuliang again:

"Then Lord Murong, do you think I can hold on?"

In response to Ye Mingsheng's question, Murong Yuliang shook his head and said very honestly:
"I don't know. Lord Ye, although you encourage immigration, actively expand the army, and use land instead of food and wages, although the progress is rapid, but judging from the current strength comparison between Fengzhou and the Khitans, the enemy situation has not changed fundamentally, and Fengzhou is still at an absolute disadvantage!"

"And there is another key point, that is, I don't know how deep the relationship between you, Lord Ye, and the An family is..."

Ye Mingsheng was a little surprised to hear Murong Yuliang talking about the An family. It seemed that this old guy must know about the business between the Dalongchang Trading Company and the Khitans!

Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng sighed in his heart. The interest group behind An Zhirong was so powerful. So many people knew about it, but it hadn't been exposed yet. How powerful was this force? After pondering for a while, Ye Mingsheng said, "Lord Murong is a civil servant. The Khitans are not a problem for you to consider. As the general of Fengzhou, I have an unshirkable responsibility to defend the country!"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng's answer, Murong Yuliang's face suddenly relaxed a lot, although he was skeptical about whether Ye Mingsheng could stop the Khitans.

However, he knew that the Dalongchang Trading Company was doing business with the Khitans, and the two sides had great interests involved. Ye Mingsheng was the umbrella for the Dalongchang Trading Company in Fengzhou. Therefore, at present, the relationship between Fengzhou and the Khitans was very complicated, and it was not a simple enemy relationship.

And it is precisely because of this complex relationship of interests that it may be possible for Fengzhou and the Khitans to reach a tacit understanding...

Knowing that his safety was guaranteed, Murong Yuliang began to explain to Ye Mingsheng his governance philosophy and the various measures he was going to implement in Fengzhou.

Next, Ye Mingsheng and Murong Yuliang discussed the development issues of Fengzhou for nearly an hour in the lobby. After several rounds of debate, Ye Mingsheng and Murong Yuliang finally reached a consensus and reached a unanimous opinion on important issues such as immigration and land allocation, water conservancy construction, and border control.

After talking for such a long time, Ye Mingsheng, who felt a little dry, took a sip of tea to moisten his throat. He finally made up his mind and promised Murong Yuliang:
"As long as Lord Murong can work within our consensus and benefit the people of Fengzhou, I will fully support you!"

"Thank you, Lord Ye and my colleagues in the Zhenwu Army!"

Hearing that Ye Mingsheng had finally made a promise, Murong Yuliang finally showed some joy on his face. In the previous discussion, in order to reach an agreement with Ye Mingsheng, he had made considerable compromises and concessions. Now he finally got Ye Mingsheng's promise.

Cui Dakai, who was sitting aside and couldn't get a word in, looked at Murong Yuliang, then at Ye Mingsheng. He originally wanted Ye Mingsheng to withdraw the policy of land distribution for immigrants, but perhaps he had realized that his words were worthless in front of Ye Mingsheng, so he wisely kept his mouth shut...

"Master Ye, I am very sorry. It was my fault for not disciplining my butler and causing him to attack your military officer. I am willing to donate 5,000 taels of silver to compensate for your loss!"

After reaching an agreement with Ye Mingsheng, Murong Yuliang bowed to Ye Mingsheng with an apologetic look and said:
When Ye Mingsheng heard Murong Yuliang asking for five thousand taels of silver, a fleeting hint of strangeness flashed across his eyes.

Damn it, the Murong family is a top-notch family and really is a top-notch family!
He asked for five thousand taels of silver, which was enough to pay the military salary of a battalion under his command for half a year...

Originally, Zheng Xu was just a tool used by Ye Mingsheng to control Murong Yuliang. Now that he had reached an agreement with Murong Yuliang, Ye Mingsheng was planning to let him go back as a gesture of goodwill towards Murong Yuliang. Now that Murong Yuliang was willing to pay to redeem him, that was naturally the best thing that could happen.

"Considering that this is his first offense, let's leave it at that this time. Lord Murong needs to keep a close watch on his men. If it happens again, I won't be able to control my brothers!" Ye Mingsheng nodded and said:

"Thank you Lord Ye for your mercy! If anyone in my house commits such a crime again, Lord Ye will punish him or her without hesitation!"

Hearing that Ye Mingsheng was willing to return Zheng Xu to him, Murong Yuliang, who was completely relieved, also vowed to Ye Mingsheng:

"That would be the best!" Ye Mingsheng nodded and said:
After finishing the business, Murong Yuliang invited Ye Mingsheng again, and three days later, they went to Nanfuxiang Restaurant to entertain the officials of Fengzhou. Ye Mingsheng knew that he wanted to use this opportunity to convey his support to all the officials, but after considering it, Ye Mingsheng agreed to his request...

After discussing everything, Murong Yuliang said goodbye and left without staying in Ye Mingsheng's general's mansion for long. Ye Mingsheng thought that since the main person had left, the person who was invited to help would also leave in disgrace. However, he did not expect that Cui Dakai was so thick-skinned. He said that he had not seen Ye Cui for a long time and wanted to see his cousin Ye Cui.

Ye Mingsheng originally wanted to directly reject this shameless guy, but then he changed his mind and realized that his mother lived in seclusion in the general's mansion and she was the only relative he could see normally.

Although Cui Dakai was a worthless person, he was still a member of Ye Cui's family. If the two of them could meet, have a meal and chat and laugh together, it would make Ye Cui feel better, so she agreed to Cui Dakai's request.

After dealing with all these matters, Ye Mingsheng returned to the study, leaned back in the armchair, closed his eyes and reviewed his meeting with Murong Yuliang today.

Ye Mingsheng has the courage and determination to kill Murong Yuliang, but considering the Murong family is a top family, Ye Mingsheng really doesn't want to kill Murong Yuliang unless it is absolutely necessary...
The high-intensity work and the endless stream of official documents during this period also made Ye Mingsheng gradually think about delegating power!
Human energy is limited. Ye Mingsheng feels that he should invest his limited energy into the technology tree, rather than focusing on those trivial and messy things in Fengzhou!

Besides, Ye Mingsheng is not good at those things!
Although he wanted to delegate power, it was not something he could do just because he wanted to. Although there were many Fengzhou officials who defected to Ye Mingsheng, only very few of them could be used by Ye Mingsheng.

Although Tongzhi Liu Zhengxian is honest, he values ​​his reputation too much and his abilities are mediocre. He may be able to be a person who maintains the status quo, but it is nonsense to expect him to take on any important responsibilities!
Judge Wang Jin is the one Ye Mingsheng wants to kill as a warning to others, needless to say...
The only suitable candidate in Ye Mingsheng's mind is his current adviser Gu Sansi. He is capable and skillful and can help share some government work.

Unfortunately, Gu Sansi now has more important things to do. He has to facilitate the transaction between Ye Mingsheng and the Khitans, and also win over and divide the Khitans internally. The task at hand is also very arduous, and he has no time to deal with these government affairs.

Whenever Ye Mingsheng thought of this, he couldn't help but sigh that as someone who came from a poor family, he really lacked talented people under him and there was not even someone who could share the burden.

If you were a descendant of a noble family with a good reputation, it wouldn't be so difficult. People would rush to seek refuge without considering the reputation of their family.

Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but secretly look forward to his marriage with An Miaoyi. He didn't know if his current situation would be improved if he married An Miaoyi and had the support of the Kunshan Hou An family...
(End of this chapter)