Chapter 414: Combining kindness and force!

"How much money does your Yun family want for the shares of these five companies?" Ye Mingsheng put down his teacup and looked at Yun Hanjie and said calmly:

Hearing what Ye Mingsheng said, Yun Hanjie, who was originally unsure, suddenly felt a glimmer of hope and bowed to Ye Mingsheng and said:
"General, Liaoyang has just been settled and there is a lot of work to be done. Although my Yun family cannot help you on the battlefield, we will never hold you back. I don't want any silver for the shares of these five companies. I will give them all to you!"

Although Yun Hanjie looked firm and generous under Ye Mingsheng's gaze when he said this...

But this was just on the surface. Deep in Yun Hanjie's heart, blood was already flowing. Even though their Yun family was wealthy and powerful, they had to give up thousands of hectares of land and then hand over so many shares. Their Yun family had already suffered heavy losses and was seriously injured!

If Ye Mingsheng had not held the military power and put the knife to their necks, and had not painted a beautiful pie of entering the pass for them, making them feel tempted and unable to stop, they would have turned against Ye Mingsheng long ago!
Seeing that the Yun family was willing to give him the shares of the five major businesses worth hundreds of thousands of taels of silver for free, Ye Mingsheng was somewhat surprised by the Yun family's courage.

After thinking for a while, Ye Mingsheng smiled and shook his head and said:

"Mr. Yun, you are joking. Although Liaoyang's finances are in a difficult situation, how can I take your shares for nothing?"

"How about this! I'll offer two hundred thousand taels of silver, but I want 30% of the shares of all five businesses!"

Listening to the first half of Ye Mingsheng’s words, Yun Hanjie was a little surprised, thinking that this greedy Ye Mingsheng finally found his conscience. But after hearing Ye Mingsheng’s second words, he couldn’t help but sigh in his heart, it turned out that Ye Mingsheng’s greed was indeed impossible to change...

The condition offered by Ye Mingsheng was to use 200,000 taels of silver and a ten percent stake in Jin Fusheng, Guangtaichun, and Quanrentang. Although according to the market price, the ten percent stake of these three companies would be worth more than 200,000 taels of silver, if they agreed to Ye Mingsheng's plan, Ye Mingsheng would get the upper hand again.

But when I thought about how Ye Mingsheng had already taken such a big advantage, these few things didn't matter. Since I had decided to satisfy Ye Mingsheng's appetite, there was no need to make Ye Mingsheng unhappy with this last piece!
Thinking of this, Yun Hanjie secretly gritted his teeth, endured the pain, nodded to Ye Mingsheng and said:
"Just do as the commander-in-chief says!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng looked at Yun Hanjie with appreciation, then opened the drawer on the right side of the main desk, took out a stack of memorials and handed them to Yun Hanjie.

"The Yun family is so generous. On behalf of the people of Liaoyang, I would like to thank you very much. Let’s forget about these trivial matters reported by the Coordination Office..."

Listening to Ye Mingsheng's words, Yun Hanjie opened the memorial and looked at the contents recorded on it. Suddenly, a chill ran down his back. This memorial clearly recorded the evidence of their Yun family's bullying, hoarding, forced buying and selling, etc. The level of detail of the evidence was shocking. There was no doubt that Ye Mingsheng had already been secretly collecting evidence of their Yun family's crimes!
Realizing this, Yun Hanjie, who originally felt a little painful, immediately felt fortunate in his heart. He had just agreed to Ye Mingsheng's plan. Otherwise, with Ye Mingsheng's strength, plus the evidence listed in this memorial, he would definitely make the Yun family pay the price!
Looking at Yun Hanjie, who was feeling very uncomfortable and had sweat on his forehead, Ye Mingsheng said calmly:
"I can stop pursuing Mr. Yun's past, but if he does it again in the future, don't blame me, Ye Mingsheng, for being merciless and ruthless!"

Yun Hanjie, whose heart tightened as Ye Mingsheng finished speaking, immediately stood up from his chair, respectfully placed the memorial back on the desk, then bowed to Ye Mingsheng and said:
"Thank you, General, for your compassion. From now on, our Yun family will be strict with ourselves and will never make the same mistake again!"

Hearing Yun Hanjie's assurance, Ye Mingsheng looked at him and nodded slightly. Then Ye Mingsheng casually threw the memorial on the desk into the brazier used for heating in the study. Watching the memorial that recorded his family's crimes being burned to ashes in the stove, Yun Hanjie felt a little relieved...

At this moment, Ye Mingsheng suddenly spoke again:

"Mr. Yun, Posuo Prefecture and Lelang Prefecture are short of two county magistrates. I think your Yun family's Bai Chongwen and Bai Chongde are good. There is also a vacant position for the commander of Lin Huaiwu's Second Division. Didn't your Yun family's Bai Chongwu practice martial arts since he was a child and led the Yun family's servants to fight off bandits? Do you think he is qualified for the position of commander?"

When Yun Hanjie heard this, he was shocked at first, but then he couldn't help but feel happy, knowing that Ye Mingsheng was returning the favor. The three young men that Ye Mingsheng had just mentioned were the best among the younger generations of their Yun family. The family had always placed high hopes on them, hoping that they could grow up as soon as possible and support the family's future.

The Yun family gave so much of their wealth to Ye Mingsheng, didn’t they just want to invest in Ye Mingsheng’s Fengwu Army regime, so that they can get a share of the future development of the Fengwu Army? And now Ye Mingsheng’s cultivation of these three Yun family descendants is undoubtedly an expression of his acceptance and welcome to the Yun family...

Thinking of this, Yun Hanjie was excited and bowed to Ye Mingsheng again and said:
"Thank you for your training, the three of them will definitely work hard and will definitely not let you down!"

After giving Yun Hanjie a sweet treat, Ye Mingsheng smiled and said:
"Tell them to prepare well. The official letter of appointment will be issued in the next few days!"

"By the way, Mr. Yun, I am planning to set up a trade department. I wonder if Mr. Yun is interested in working there?"

Listening to Ye Mingsheng's words, Yun Hanjie thought for a while and did not give Ye Mingsheng an answer immediately. Instead, he asked Ye Mingsheng tentatively:

"Sir, what kind of department is this Commerce Department? What does it manage?"

Seeing Yun Hanjie asking this, Ye Mingsheng also introduced him:
"You know about the Artisan Battalion of the Fengwu Army, right? I am planning to expand and upgrade the Artisan Battalion into a Manufacturing Bureau. The Manufacturing Bureau will be divided into two types: the Armament Manufacturing Bureau and the Civilian Manufacturing Bureau. The Armament Manufacturing Bureau will be responsible for producing military products, while the Civilian Manufacturing Bureau will produce some products used in the daily lives of the people for the benefit of the people!"

"At present, the Civilian Manufacturing Bureau already has a number of projects in operation. I believe that it won’t be long before some products will be produced..."

"So now I am going to set up a Commerce Department, which will be responsible for commercial trade. We will sell the goods produced by the Manufacturing Bureau to places outside Liaoyang and open up new sources of income for Liaoyang!"

"Mr. Yun, your Yun family is very experienced in business operations, so I would like to invite you to serve as the director of the Commerce Department. The rank will be set at the fifth grade. What do you think, Mr. Yun?" Hearing Ye Mingsheng's words, Yun Hanjie's heart began to beat. He naturally knew about Ye Mingsheng's craftsman camp. He had been invited to visit a firearms factory and had seen the assembly line operations of firearms production there!
However, it was precisely because of this that Yun Hanjie was very hesitant. He knew that the Artisan Battalion was very good at producing firearms, and could produce muskets and cannons, but this did not mean that the Artisan Battalion was also good at producing civilian goods. Civilian and military equipment were two different things!

What ordinary people need are pots, pans, and utensils; they don’t need murderous muskets and cannons!
In this chaotic world, with order broken down and bandits rampaging, it is extremely difficult to transport goods to another safe place. Moreover, every place has its own local businesses. As the saying goes, a strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake. It is very difficult for you to make money from others and steal their jobs.

Yun Hanjie is already over fifty years old this year. He is no longer a young man. When he heard that Ye Mingsheng offered him a fifth-rank official position, he immediately agreed excitedly. He wanted to carefully analyze the pros and cons of this...
Now he has taken over the position of director of the Commerce Department and is proud of being a fifth-rank official, but he has not completed the task assigned by Ye Mingsheng to sell the goods and bring back the money. What will be the consequences?
After pondering for a while, Yun Hanjie gradually made a decision. He bowed to Ye Mingsheng and said sincerely:

“My Lord, the Governor-General is so kind to me. I am really terrified. Although I am willing to serve you, I am already fifty-one this year. I am old and weak, and I have little energy. My health is not very good either. I often have to stay in bed and take medicine. My life is nothing. I am afraid that I will delay your important matters…”

Hearing Yun Hanjie's pitiful words, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but look Yun Hanjie up and down. Although this old guy was not young, he had an upright posture, a ruddy complexion, and was full of energy when he spoke angry words. No matter how you looked at him, he was not as old, weak, and sick as he said!

As a designer, Ye Mingsheng is very confident about the products in the manufacturing bureau. He believes that his products will be very popular once they come out. The reason why he hired Yun Hanjie is that he wants to use the Yun family's channels to sell them.

Of course Ye Mingsheng would take the lion's share of the sales revenue, but in order to motivate the Yun family for sustainable development and make them work hard, Ye Mingsheng would naturally leave them some leftovers.

Although it was just some leftovers, Ye Mingsheng believed that the size was enough to feed the Yun family. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Yun family. Ye Mingsheng did not expect that Yun Hanjie would actually refuse him...

Seeing Ye Mingsheng's face darken, Yun Hanjie did not dare to offend Ye Mingsheng, so he said with a little more leeway:
"Although I am too old to be the director of the Commerce Department, I am willing to contribute to your great cause. Your Excellency, can you arrange a position of consultant or counselor for me so that I can provide advice to the Commerce Department?"

Seeing that Yun Hanjie really didn't believe in the products produced by his manufacturing bureau and was unwilling to serve as the director of the Commerce Department, Ye Mingsheng didn't want to force him. After all, a forced melon is not sweet, so he waved his hand and ordered:
"Then you can just take on the title of consultant! Assist the Department of Commerce in its work. As for the director of the Department of Commerce, I will find someone else!"

Yun Hanjie heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this, and bowed to Ye Mingsheng again and said earnestly:

"Thank you for your understanding, General!"

After a cup of tea, Ye Mingsheng shook his head helplessly as he watched Yun Hanjie say goodbye. Perhaps this was the limitation of the times. Although Yun Hanjie was smart, he still couldn't escape the limitations of the times. Now he could decide whether to let him be his boss or not. Once the product was officially released, Ye Mingsheng believed that Yun Hanjie would come to find him. However, by that time, whether to let him be his boss or not would depend on Ye Mingsheng's own mood...

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Outside Dongning City, Xiaoliu Mountain.

Looking at the vague figure in the pavilion on the top of the mountain, Huo San couldn't help but frowned slightly. Although he couldn't see the figure's specific appearance clearly at a distance of hundreds of meters, he could still feel the graceful figure.

After thinking for a while, Huo San asked the bald man beside him:
"Are you sure that woman is Kobayakawa Takahide?"

Hearing Huo San's question, the bald man nodded affirmatively and said anxiously:

"Director Huo, how dare I lie to you about such a big thing?"

"That woman is indeed the president of the Black Dragon Society, Kobayakawa Takahide. My lord, you should be caught by her soon. If she runs away and knows that I betrayed her, she will definitely kill my entire family..."

Feeling the bald man's fear, Huo San rebuked in a low voice:
"Why are you panicking? How can a seven-foot-tall man be frightened by a woman?
"I brought so many people here. If this woman is really Kobayakawa Takahide, she won't be able to escape today even if she has wings!"

The bald man argued:
“Director Huo, this Kobayakawa Takahide is really not an ordinary woman. She is a female devil who kills people without blinking an eye. I saw her kill many people with my own eyes. With just a wave of her hand, a person’s head was gone…”

Listening to the bald man exaggerating Kobayakawa Takahide, Huo San became impatient and scolded in a low voice:

"Shut up, are you scared out of your wits by a woman? Or did your mother give you less courage when she gave birth to you?"

Under Huo San's scolding, the bald man could only shut his mouth tightly and dared not speak anymore.

After scolding the bald man, Huo San quietly observed the situation on the top of the mountain, and a hint of doubt emerged in his eyes.

If the woman on the top of the mountain is the rumored female devil Kobayakawa Takahide of the Black Dragon Society, then what is she doing on the top of the mountain?
Are you waiting for someone?
Could there be some fraud involved?

(End of this chapter)