Chapter 440 He is finished! (Thanks to the book friend Qing Fengye for the reward!)
Seeing Ye Mingsheng's embarrassed expression, Pei Zhixiu did not expand on this topic, but said:
"Put your hand out!"

Ye Mingsheng immediately extended his right hand to her, and put his jade hand on Ye Mingsheng's pulse to check for a while. Pei Zhixiu did not speak, and asked Ye Mingsheng to lie on the bed again, and carefully checked his back. After doing this, looking at Pei Zhixiu's serious expression, Ye Mingsheng tentatively asked:
"How about it?"

"What do you think?" Pei Zhixiu asked calmly while lighting a candle and using the burning flame to disinfect the silver needle:
Listening to Pei Zhixiu's mysterious tricks, Ye Mingsheng also felt evil in his heart and decided to teach this little bitch a lesson. He immediately hugged her from behind and whispered:
"I think it's okay, how about you go to the city!"

Pei Zhixiu's face flushed when she heard this, and then she held down Ye Mingsheng's mischievous hand and pretended to be angry and said:

"Even after all this, why are you still so stubborn and unwilling to stop..."

"It will be quiet if you bury it in the soil. It will be quiet even if you want to!"

Smelling the intimate fragrance so close, Ye Mingsheng said jokingly that among the women around him, An Miaoyi was definitely unique in terms of appearance, but in terms of beauty, Pei Zhixiu was his favorite.

Maybe it was because she had been dealing with medicinal herbs for many years, but there was a wonderful fragrance on Pei Zhixiu's body, which made Ye Mingsheng feel a little uncomfortable.

Hearing Ye Mingsheng talking about death, Pei Zhixiu frowned slightly and said:

"There are gods above your head, don't talk nonsense!"

Seeing Pei Zhixiu cared about him so much, Ye Mingsheng smiled and nodded. After a while of tenderness, Pei Zhixiu began to give Ye Mingsheng acupuncture...

Although it must look painful when the silver needles are inserted into his body one by one, Ye Mingsheng, as a patient, actually feels that it is okay. Pei Zhixiu's acupuncture technique is very advanced. Except for some tingling when the silver needles enter the acupuncture points, he basically does not feel any pain at other times.

After wiping the sweat off his forehead, Pei Zhixiu inserted the last silver needle into Ye Mingsheng's acupuncture point. However, unlike other acupuncture doctors who would let go after inserting the silver needle, Pei Zhixiu's slender jade fingers were still gently tapping on the silver needle after the last needle.

At this time, Ye Mingsheng, who was resting with his eyes closed, only felt a warm force in his body, which was very comfortable. He couldn't help but sighed:

"Jixiu, you said that we are all piercing the same acupuncture points, so how come your acupuncture is more effective than those acupuncture masters?"

Pei Zhixiu's mouth corners slightly raised when he heard this, but he still just said calmly:
"It's just a psychological effect. You think too much!"

"Really! After you give me the acupuncture, I always feel a warm power flowing through my body..."

Pei Zhixiu pretended not to hear Ye Mingsheng's words and continued to treat Ye Mingsheng.

About a cup of tea later, Pei Zhixiu finished the acupuncture and pulled out the silver needle from Ye Mingsheng's acupuncture point. At this time, Ye Mingsheng was surprised to find that the pain in his back had completely disappeared, and he became full of energy again.

After putting the silver needle into the medicine box, Pei Zhixiu took out a small black bottle that had been prepared long ago, placed it on the desk and instructed:

"You have been busy with official duties recently, and you have no time to exercise. Your body has been in a very tired state. You can't continue like this. Here are some medicines to strengthen your body and replenish your energy. You should take one pill each morning and evening. I will send you a dose of medicine at noon every day. You should also practice Bajiquan diligently. If you continue like this for half a month, you should be back to normal!"

Seeing Pei Zhixiu's serious and concerned look, Ye Mingsheng took all of this into account, then said with a smile:

"How about I go to your place in the next half month, and you take care of me like before!"

Listening to Ye Mingsheng's words, Pei Zhixiu seemed to be a little moved, but still said:

“Forget it! If you stay with me, there will probably be no peace in this mansion. There will be people crying every day, and some people will also remember me in their hearts…”

Listening to Pei Zhixiu's words, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help laughing. At this moment, Qi Dechao's voice was heard outside the study door.

"Sir, there is news from the palace!"

Ye Mingsheng's expression suddenly froze when he heard this. Seeing this, Pei Zhixiu quickly packed up her things, and then reminded Ye Mingsheng again:

"Remember to take your medicine on time! Exercise on time!"

Ye Mingsheng smiled and nodded when he heard this:
"Don't worry! I got it!"

After listening to Ye Mingsheng's words, Pei Zhixiu was satisfied. She put on her medicine box and pushed the door open to walk out.

Seeing Pei Zhixiu coming out of the study, Qi Dechao walked into the study, handed an envelope to Ye Mingsheng and said:

"The news of Yuan Song's coming has just arrived from eight hundred miles away!"

Ye Mingsheng narrowed his eyes when he heard this, and opened the secret letter from Gongdu with some anticipation. After glancing at the contents of the letter, Ye Mingsheng smiled and said:

"Yuan Song did a great job and didn't let me down!"

After saying this, he threw the secret letter to Qi Dechao. Qi Dechao picked up the letter and said with great joy:

"We annihilated 10,000 enemies, captured 30,000, and killed the bandit leader Wang Kangxin and his cronies, a total of 1,300 people. Sir! This is a great victory!"

"Yes! The palace has been pacified!" Ye Mingsheng nodded and said:

"General Yuan said that he is still in Ruishan County to reorganize the prisoners, but he has already contacted the royal family of Gongdu. The royal family of Gongdu has expressed their submission to our army and is willing to present a thousand taels of gold and a hundred beauties to you..."

Upon hearing this news, Ye Mingsheng was somewhat noncommittal and instructed Qi Dechao, "Come find Gu Sansi and Zhang Juning. I have something important to discuss with them!"

"Yes!"

After an incense stick of time, Gu Sansi and a middle-aged man who was five feet tall, somewhat plump, with a handsome face and a big smile, just like a Maitreya Buddha, came to Ye Mingsheng's study. The middle-aged man's name was Zhang Juning. He was the director of finance who Ye Mingsheng had observed for a long time and had recently promoted. He was in charge of the financial situation of the Fengwu military regime.

After asking Qi Dechao to report the situation in the palace to the two of them, Ye Mingsheng asked Zhang Juning:

"How much money and food did our army consume during this expedition to the capital? How much money and food do we need to make up for the shortfall?"

In response to Ye Mingsheng's direct question, Zhang Juning, who was already familiar with Liaoyang's finances, said without hesitation:
“Reporting to the Lord, this time our army has sent a total of 50,000 troops to the palace. The military reward is about 130,000 taels of silver, the pensions and subsequent resettlement of the soldiers are about 100,000 taels of silver, and the various food and supplies consumed are about 110,000 taels of silver. Taking into account some other miscellaneous expenses, our army’s expenditure on this expedition to the palace is about 370,000 taels of silver…”

After hearing this number from Zhang Juning, Ye Mingsheng had a rough idea in his mind. After thinking for a while, he continued to ask Zhang Juning:
"Then how much money does your Finance Department estimate it will take for the various matters concerning entry into the country? How big is the gap?"

Zhang Juning heard this and said without hesitation:

"Regarding our army's entry into the pass, the Finance Department estimates that if the battle lasts for three months, a total of one million taels of silver may be needed. We have prepared about 390,000 taels of silver before, but because of the dispatch of troops to the palace, 210,000 taels of silver were used, and 70,000 taels of silver were used for disaster relief, so now there are only 110,000 taels of silver left!"

"Also, it's almost the end of the year, and we need to distribute some benefits to officials and soldiers from all over the country. It will cost us about 30,000 taels of silver, so we should have 80,000 taels of silver left..."

Upon hearing that it would take one million taels of silver to enter the country and he only had 80,000 taels of silver left, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but frown. Although he had learned some about the situation before and knew that the difference was a bit large, he still didn't expect it to be so much. It was about eleven times!

Even if we can scrape some money back from the palace, it is likely that we won't be able to raise one million taels!

At this time, Gu Sansi seemed to have seen some of Ye Mingsheng's mood. He stood up and said at the right time:
"Your Excellency, the one million taels of silver that Director Zhang just mentioned is the total amount of silver our army will need for three months of fighting! As long as our army moves quickly enough, we can completely fight to support the war in Youyan, so our army should prepare about 300,000 to 500,000 taels of silver in advance, that should be enough!"

When Ye Mingsheng heard Gu Sansi say this, he suddenly understood, but in order to get a definite answer, he still looked at Zhang Juning, a professional.

Under Ye Mingsheng's gaze, Zhang Juning nodded and said:

"That's right. As long as our army moves quickly and can obtain food and grass supplies from Youyan within a month, then three hundred thousand taels of silver will be enough to support our army's initial operations..."

Seeing Zhang Juning also said this, Ye Mingsheng's pressure suddenly eased a lot, and then he looked at Gu Sansi and asked:
"You have always been in charge of Sansi's external affairs. How much money do you think we can squeeze out of the palace?"

In response to Ye Mingsheng's question, Gu Sansi pondered for a moment and said:

"Your Excellency, the palace has been in decline for many years, and the people are full of resentment. They have to support an army like the New Palace Army, and their finances are also very difficult. From my point of view, it is not easy for us to get 500,000 taels of silver as compensation!"

Ye Mingsheng's mood turned worse after hearing this. He had sent out 50,000 soldiers in this battle, spent nearly 400,000 taels of silver, and suffered thousands of casualties, but the report he received was only 500,000 taels of silver? He only earned more than 100,000 taels of silver?
Although Wang Kangxin, a potential threat after entering the country, has been eliminated, the return on investment is too poor!

After thinking it over for a while, Ye Mingsheng asked:

"Aren't these royal nobles in the palace very rich?"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng's question, Gu Sansi understood a little and replied:

"Yes, most of the wealth in Gongdu is concentrated in their hands. That is why the people in Gongdu are living in poverty..."

Ye Mingsheng asked in a serious tone:
"How much silver can I get if I put a knife to their necks?"

Although he had some premonition of Ye Mingsheng's thoughts, he was still a little surprised to hear Ye Mingsheng speak so frankly without any concealment. After a moment of silence, he said:
"It should be enough to raise the initial cost for our army to enter the country!"

Having said this, Gu Sansi paused for a moment, and then continued:

“But if we do this…”

Just as Gu Sansi started speaking, Ye Mingsheng waved his hand and interrupted him:
"No buts. The priority now is to enter the pass. The matter of the palace can be put aside for now. As long as my Fengwu Army is still strong, those people in the palace will have to keep their grievances to themselves even if they are resentful! Let's do this. I'll leave it to Wang Xuecheng!"

Ye Mingsheng made a decision quickly. He knew very well that the silver for entering the pass must be prepared. If he could not get it from the palace, then he could only get it from Liaoyang itself. If it was before, Ye Mingsheng could use some means of coercion and inducement to get the silver.

But now is the eve of entering the Pass. What Ye Mingsheng should do is to unite the forces of all parties and work together for the goal of entering the Pass, instead of creating conflicts and estrangements because of silver and affecting everyone's unity.

Although Gu Sansi still had some opinions, seeing that Ye Mingsheng was determined, he did not disobey Ye Mingsheng anymore. After discussing this most important situation, Gu Sansi and Zhang Juning also began to report some other miscellaneous matters to Ye Mingsheng.

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Just when Ye Mingsheng gathered his confidants to discuss financial affairs, a caravan of dozens of people quickly passed through the gate of Liujing and drove out of Liujing towards the palace capital Kangshan Port. After walking out of Liujing for more than ten miles and seeing that there were no pursuers as they had imagined, they immediately abandoned their caravan disguise and fled towards Kangshan Port at a high speed!

These dozens of people were none other than the remnants of the Liaoyang Supervisory Office headed by Shen Jianzhong!

Although there were many conflicts between him and Wang Kangxin, and they schemed against each other and wanted to kill each other, but under the common enemy, Ye Mingsheng, and the common life threat, the two of them chose to stick together for warmth. To be honest, in the past few days when Wang Kangxin led his troops out of the city to encircle and annihilate Yuan Song, Shen Jianzhong could really be said to have done everything he could to help Wang Kangxin...

He has been maneuvering between various forces in Liujing, using the personal connections he has built up over the years to do his best to ease the internal conflicts in Gongdu for Wang Kangxin and persuade everyone to strengthen their trust in Wang Kangxin and the new army in Gongdu. It must be said that Shen Jianzhong's efforts were very effective, because many people in his palace had temporarily suspended contact with the Supervisory Department.

However, it is futile to try to stop a tree with an ant or a chariot with a mantis arm!
Because his own life was at stake, Wang Kangxin had been very concerned about the development of the battle in which Wang Kangxin was encircling and annihilating Yuan Song. When he learned that the Gongdu New Army was defeated and Wang Kangxin had died in battle, he knew that he was finished!

(End of this chapter)