Chapter 347 Change your thinking!

After understanding Ye Mingsheng's thoughts, the first thing that came to Gu Sansi's mind was to stop Ye Mingsheng!
We often say that we should learn from history. The history of thousands of years ago is there. It is not that no one knows the harm of land annexation, but the question is, how many people in the world dare to crack down on land annexation?

Who are the people who annexed the land?

They are the aristocratic families! They are the nobles! They are the landlords and gentry!

They control public opinion, and own most of the world's wealth and land. They have great influence in politics and military affairs.
The land can be said to be their lifeline, and if anyone touches it, they will face a strong counterattack!

In the early years of Anhe, Shangguan Hongyuan, who had just become the Prime Minister of the Cabinet and was full of ambition, wanted to crack down on land annexation. However, even with his reputation and military power at the time, he ended up with nothing!
Although Ye Mingsheng has achieved some success now, the gap between him and Shangguan Hongyuan in terms of fame and strength is so huge that it may be an exaggeration to say that there is a world of difference, but they are still very far apart.

Therefore, it would undoubtedly be a bad move to attack these landlords and gentry now and touch their lifeblood!
Gu Sansi felt that Ye Mingsheng would understand this, but why did he have this plan in mind?
After a moment of silence, Gu Sansi asked Ye Mingsheng tentatively:
"Sir, is there any problem with the Cui family?"

Hearing Gu Sansi asking this, Ye Mingsheng rubbed his nose slightly and said in a deep voice:

"When we captured Baihu Mountain, the Cui family sent us some money and food. We also started to contact them at that time, but the Cui family did not show any sincerity. They wanted to lead some aristocratic families to join the Fengzhou Army."

"If they do that, even if I am not sidelined, I will definitely be controlled by others in every way. It will be impossible for me to order the Fengzhou Army around like I do now..."

Upon hearing this, Gu Sansi sighed in his heart, "It is as I expected." As Ye Mingsheng's military advisor, he has always known that Ye Mingsheng wanted to crack down on the powerful families, combat the increasingly serious problem of land annexation, ease the class contradictions that are rampant in every corner of the Great Zhou territory, thereby consolidating his own regime and creating an unparalleled prosperous era.

However, Ye Mingsheng was also well aware of the strength of the aristocratic families and the seriousness of the issue of land annexation.

Therefore, Ye Mingsheng had always been very restrained in dealing with this issue before, and had never publicly expressed his wishes.
The reason why they are willing to take the risk now is that they see that the war is approaching, and it is difficult to get help from the aristocratic families, so they want to see if they can find another way and try the mass line!

Looking at Gu Sansi who was thinking, Ye Mingsheng continued:
"Mr. Gu, I know what I am doing. Although I want to take action against these landlords and gentry, I won't do it myself. There are so many bandits in Liaoyang. Can I just find a knife if I look around?"

"I will use the bandit's knife to kill a few leaders among the landlords and gentry to serve as a warning to others. This will make them all feel insecure, and they will beg me to come and suppress the bandits. Then I can set the price."

Although Ye Mingsheng's tone was very flat when he said this, and his expression was calm, as if he was talking about what to eat later, but Gu Sansi could clearly feel the bloody taste in his words. If Ye Mingsheng really did this, then thousands of people would lose their heads...
After a moment of silence, Gu Sansi said:
"Sir, your trick of killing with a borrowed knife is fine for dealing with ordinary gentry and landlords, but it is very likely to be discovered by big families like the Cui family and the Gongsun family. By then, it will be difficult for us to improve our relationship with them and obtain their methods!"

"Besides, sir, this move of yours is a double-edged sword. Those peasants have been oppressed to the limit. If someone takes the lead and calls for action at this time, it may be a spark that can start a prairie fire and arouse the resistance consciousness hidden in their hearts. Once this happens, it will be difficult for our Fengzhou Army to completely control the situation in our own hands!"

"Liaoyang has strong enemies outside, and Song Wenhui and Chen Dechang are eyeing us covetously inside, so I think you can remember this and try to maintain internal stability at this time. Once we resolve the external conflicts, it won't be too late to deal with the internal problems!"

“As for how to gain the power of the clan, I don’t think we need to go into a dead end. Although the Cui family is the leader of the three clans in Liaoyang and has strong strength, they are also relatives of your Excellency…”

"But this does not mean that we must cooperate with the Cui family. The Cui family is now sure that we can only choose them, so they dare to ask for such a high price!"

"Among the three clans in Liaoyang, the Cui clan has the strongest overall strength. The Gongsun clan is good at military affairs and has a great influence in the army. Although the Yun clan is also a family of officials, their development direction has been increasingly towards commerce over the years."

"If we only consider how much grain is stored in the granary and how much silver is hidden in the cellar, they may not be much worse than the Cui family, and may even have more! And this is exactly what our Fengzhou Army lacks!"

"Sir, we can make preparations for both scenarios. On the one hand, we can contact other powerful families and try to get new opportunities. On the other hand, as you thought, we should prepare for the worst in case of any eventuality!"

Ye Mingsheng was slightly stunned when he heard Gu Sansi's suggestion, and then fell into thought. Because of his relationship with the Cui family and the fact that the Cui family was the largest aristocratic family in Liaoyang, Ye Mingsheng had always regarded the Cui family as his first choice. He had always been in contact with the Cui family and had no contact with other aristocratic families.

And now Gu Sansi’s words provided Ye Mingsheng with a new idea.

Although cooperating with the Cui family might be his best option, there is no need for him to rely on the Cui family. He can have other options to achieve his goal...
After thinking about it carefully, Ye Mingsheng, perhaps discovering a new problem, frowned and asked Gu Sansi:
"Your idea is good, but the Yun family is a die-hard supporter of Song Wenhui. Will they cooperate with us?"

Gu Sansi heard this and analyzed calmly:
"My Lord, this kind of thing is up to human beings!

"Aristocratic families like them will not easily act on impulse. Before, Song Wenhui was at the peak of his career in Liaoyang. As the weakest of the three clans, the Yun family naturally had to cling to Song Wenhui's thigh in order to maintain the family's status!"

"But the situation is different now. Although Song Wenhui still has tens of thousands of troops under his command, he is now in a state of decline. It is time for the Yun family to make early preparations. Our Fengzhou Army has just taken over Posa Prefecture and is in full swing. We can potentially stand on equal footing with Chen Dechang and Song Wenhui."

"As long as the Yun family is smart, they will definitely not reject our goodwill. Of course, we can also use the Yun family to force the Cui family to return to the negotiation table. After all, the Cui family is the best choice for our Fengzhou Army."

"The best way to deal with these aristocratic families throughout the dynasties is to prevent them from banding together, and to use interests to win them over and divide them so that they will kill each other!"

Gu Sansi's words gave Ye Mingsheng some confidence. He hesitated for a while and then gave the order:

“In that case, I’ll trouble you to take care of the matter of contacting the Yun family. I will ask the Coordination Office to provide all necessary support…”

"I will definitely fulfill my mission!" Gu Sansi, with a determined look in his eyes, stood up, bowed to Ye Mingsheng and said:
Gu Sansi was also very happy that Ye Mingsheng could trust him and accept his advice. A military strategist and advisor like him must rely on Ye Mingsheng’s trust and support to achieve something. Without Ye Mingsheng’s trust and support, all he could do was feel that his talent was not appreciated and waste his time...
·······················
Guangning Prefecture.

As the residence of the Cui family, the leader of the three clans in Liaoyang, it is one of the most magnificent mansions in Liaoyang. In comparison, even the Governor's Mansion of Song Wenhui, the Governor of Liaoyang, is much inferior.

As a place for the family's legitimate children to relax on weekdays, the Cui family's back garden is not only large, simple and exquisite, but also has all the facilities such as rockery, ponds, pavilions, etc.

At this time, a girl with a white veil on her face was sitting leisurely in the pavilion, feeding the fish swimming freely in the pond.

Although the girl's face cannot be seen clearly due to the veil, the pair of beautiful eyes exposed are enough to captivate people and make them unable to control themselves...

There is no doubt that this woman is the eldest daughter of the An family, An Miaoyi, who is known as "the reincarnation of Bao Si, a disaster to the country and the people"!

It seemed that An Miaoyi was in a good mood today. She smiled and slowly threw the fish food one by one. However, just when she had finished scattering the fish food in her hand, footsteps were heard behind her.

Hearing the footsteps, An Miaoyi seemed to realize who was coming. The smile on her pretty face gradually faded, replaced by a bit of helplessness!
“Why bother…” With her back to the person coming, An Miaoyi said softly:
After hearing An Miaoyi's words, Cui Zibo was silent for a while, then smiled bitterly and said:
"Don't worry, Miaoyi, I know you have made up your mind, I won't do anything stupid!"

"After thinking about it for so many days, I now understand why you are so determined to marry Ye Mingsheng..."

"During this period of time, I have been studying Ye Mingsheng's history of making a fortune. I have to say that he is a very resourceful person. Perhaps, he is indeed better than me."

Hearing Cui Zibo's nonsense, An Miaoyi frowned slightly, and said helplessly;
"I don't know what you're trying to say."

An Miaoyi's words were undoubtedly like a basin of ice-cold water to Cui Zibo who was about to continue speaking. It extinguished the flame that had been ignited in his heart and made the words he originally wanted to say die in his womb. After another silence for a while, all the words in Cui Zibo's heart were turned into one sentence.

"If Ye treats you badly, remember to come back to me!"

After saying this, the heartbroken Cui Zi Bo turned around and left sadly. Although Cui Zi Bo had left, his appearance and his words undoubtedly disrupted An Miaoyi's interest. She shook her head and returned to her room.

An Miaoyi, who had just returned to her room, was greeted by an unexpected yet expected person...

"Uncle, why are you here in person?" Looking at Cui Shao who suddenly came, An Miaoyi smiled and greeted him:

"Come and see you!" Cui Shao also said with a smile:

The two sat together and chatted about some family matters. Cui Shao saw An Miaoyi sitting there obediently, answering his questions one by one, without any initiative. He couldn't help but laugh and took the initiative to ask:
"Miao Yi, you are really patient. Now that the Posuo Mansion has completely fallen into Ye Mingsheng's hands, it won't be long before countless people will want to curry favor with him and give him money and women. Aren't you afraid that he will lose his patience?"

An Miaoyi smiled indifferently at Cui Shao's words and said lightly:
“It is better to help someone in need than to add splendid flowers to a beautiful woman. A man will cherish what he cannot get. If you let him get it easily, it would be a loss of face…”

Cui Shao raised his eyebrows when he heard this, and asked with interest:
"So Miaoyi, are you waiting for an opportunity to help Ye Mingsheng out?"

"Ye Mingsheng is now very proud and high-spirited. With the money and food from Zhen Sanshan, his army is expanding rapidly. Not only that, Song Wenhui and Chen Dechang are trying their best to win over Ye Mingsheng in order to kill him."

"Some time ago, Song Wenhui sent Han Chen to meet Ye Mingsheng, hoping to arrange a fourth-rank recruiting envoy for Ye Mingsheng. However, Ye Mingsheng scolded him back, saying that such a cage method could be used on others but not on him, Ye Mingsheng. Song Wenhui was so angry that he smashed several pieces of porcelain."

“But even so, no matter how furious Song Wenhui was, he could only hold his anger and not raise an army to attack Ye Mingsheng…”

"Ye Mingsheng is so powerful now. Miaoyi, why do you think Ye Mingsheng needs you to help him out?"

"What can you do to help him in his time of need?"

Facing Cui Shao's series of questions, An Miaoyi was not in a hurry and said meaningfully:
"Although I am alone in Liaoyang, I have you, my uncle. I know you will prepare everything for me!"

"If I'm not mistaken, Ye Mingsheng should have started to contact other clans first, right?

"The Yun family, or the Gongsun family?"

Listening to An Miaoyi's sharp answer, Cui Shao shook his head and said with great emotion:
"Miaoyi, it's a pity that you are a girl!"

"If you and your brother swapped genders, where would An Zhirong's place in the An family be?

"I will definitely give birth to a daughter and let her marry you..."

(End of this chapter)