Chapter 453: Unintentional intervention!
As the owner of the largest opera troupe in Liaoyang, Chen Shengcai was well-informed. He had heard that although the current governor was young and wise, he was not a gentleman in his private life and had recently taken a widow as his concubine...

Upon hearing this news, Chen Shengcai naturally didn't dare to bring Shen Yutong with him anymore, fearing that Ye Mingsheng would take over his position! Although he had some connections and relationships, he might be able to deal with others, but facing Ye Mingsheng, his connections and relationships were not worth mentioning at all!

Now hearing Ye Mingsheng mention Shen Yutong's name, Chen Shengcai felt miserable in his heart. Although he was reluctant to give up Shen Yutong, this cash cow, no amount of money could be more important than life. He had made up his mind that if Ye Mingsheng was really interested in Shen Yutong, he would offer himself with both hands and try to leave a good impression on Ye Mingsheng!

Just when Chen Shengcai's heart was in turmoil, Ye Mingsheng withdrew his gaze from him, then waved his hand to signal Chen Shengcai that he could leave.

Seeing this, although Chen Shengcai couldn't figure out Ye Mingsheng's thoughts, he retreated respectfully, not daring to stay beside Ye Mingsheng and disturb him...
Ye Mingsheng didn't know what was going on in Chen Shengcai's mind. Although Shen Yutong was famous, Ye Mingsheng had never seen her in person, so there was no point in talking about anything. Although he was lustful, he was not greedy. Besides, he had no shortage of women around him, so he was just asking.

So since Shen Yutong didn’t come, it didn’t matter. Anyway, if Ye Mingsheng really wanted to come one day, it would only take a word!
After watching the Drunken Concubine on the stage for a while, just when Ye Mingsheng felt a little tired, Qi Dechao quietly walked up to him and whispered.

After hearing what Qi Dechao said, Ye Mingsheng narrowed his eyes, picked up the teacup and took a sip of the fragrant Longjing tea in the cup, then turned and walked towards the study...
Think about how your queen treated you when you first entered the palace and how much she loved you?
You are ungrateful till today,

The beautiful lady Yu fell on the carriage.

It's getting late, please return to the palace.

Get ready!

Go, go, go back to the palace!
Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty deceived his slaves and failed him.

Deceiving me into pleasure,
Long live, I am left alone to return to the palace!

··········
··········
After a cup of tea, the drunken concubine finished singing, and Su Xiaolian left the stage amid applause. Before she had time to take off her costume, she hurried to find the troupe owner Chen Shengcai, and asked with expectation in her eyes:
"Master, did the commander-in-chief talk to you about me just now?"

The Drunken Concubine was not originally her play, but when Su Xiaolian heard that the commander-in-chief had personally chosen this play, she relied on her fame to snatch it from someone else just to perform well in front of Ye Mingsheng.

Although she is not as famous, pretty or attractive as Shen Yutong, Su Xiaolian is definitely a famous actor in Dongting Theater and even in the entire Liaoyang Opera House, just slightly inferior to Shen Yutong.

Su Xiaolian is particularly good at singing Legend of the White Snake in folk art. And it is precisely because he heard that Governor Ye’s mother liked to listen to Legend of the White Snake that Chen Shengcai specially brought Su Xiaolian with him to perform opera at the Governor’s Mansion this time, intending to let her please the old lady...

As a famous actress, Su Xiaolian naturally had no shortage of suitors, including young handsome talents, powerful officials, and wealthy businessmen. However, Su Xiaolian was also a proud and arrogant person who looked down on everyone. No matter how sincere those suitors were, she remained indifferent and would not give in at all!

Su Xiaolian was very happy to be able to perform in the Governor's Mansion this time. She felt that the opportunity she had been waiting for had finally come!
Although she had heard some rumors among the people that the newly appointed Governor Ye was very young and not even thirty years old, Su Xiaolian still couldn't believe it. In her impression, those governors and governors-general were all old men over sixty years old with gray hair and a belly full of fat.
How can a young man who is not even thirty years old hold a high position and lead a region?
However, when she stepped onto the stage and saw the man who was the center of attention below the stage, she realized that the rumors were true. General Ye from Liaoyang was indeed very young, and seemed to be only a few years older than her. Although he was very young, she could still feel his powerful aura even from a few feet away, and his majesty that could silence even the most trembling of men with just one word or one action...
Perhaps in order to attract Ye Mingsheng's attention, Su Xiaolian sang the Drunken Concubine with great effort, using all her skills. Just now, Ye Mingsheng's action of greeting Chen Shengcai and pointing at her for questioning was naturally seen by Su Xiaolian on the stage first.

Although she didn’t know what Ye Mingsheng said to Chen Shengcai, at that moment Su Xiaolian could clearly hear her heartbeat. Although Su Xiaolian sang the following scenes steadily, her heart was no longer on the play. Her mind was full of what Ye Mingsheng said to Chen Shengcai...

Does he want himself?

Should I stay in the Governor's Mansion to serve Q tonight?

What should I do?
What should I do if the wife of the governor's mansion doesn't like me?
Do you want to have a boy or a girl?
After thinking about it for a while, Su Xiaolian finally waited until the song was over, and she couldn't help but find Chen Shengcai.

Feeling the expectation and desire in Su Xiaolian's eyes, Chen Shengcai understood her desire to climb up the social ladder, and said coldly:
"Don't think too much. The commander-in-chief has three thousand beauties in his harem. How could he be interested in a mediocre woman like you?"

Su Xiaolian was stunned at first, then seemed a little unbelievable, and said with a slightly crying voice:
"No way, how could this happen? I saw him pointing at me!"

"You little bitch, believe it or not! If you don't believe it, go find General Ye and see if he will pay any attention to you, a shameless bastard."

After saying this coldly, Chen Shengcai turned around and left. Su Xiaolian was one of his cash cows. Now this cash cow actually wanted to leave and climb up the social ladder. As the owner of the opera troupe, he naturally would not give her a good look...

After listening to Chen Shengcai's words, Su Xiaolian, who was originally full of joy and expectation, felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave. She felt extremely disappointed and aggrieved, and she sobbed alone.

·······················
·······················
At this time, Ye Mingsheng had no idea how big a misunderstanding his accidental action had caused. He was now listening to Wang Xuecheng's report in the study.

"Report to the Lord, there is news from Luoan!" "Shangguan Hongyuan has also learned from our Liaoyang Liaoyang and established a Tongfu Trading Company, hoping to sell bonds to raise money to ease the financial situation!"

"But the bureaucrats in Shangguan Luo'an's court didn't take the bonds seriously. The bonds they bought generally didn't exceed 100 taels. Even the Minister of Personnel Cao Shanchang, who bought the most, only spent 1,000 taels!"

This directly angered Shangguan Hongyuan. Just seven days ago, the Supervisory Office raided some gambling dens, illegal salt businesses, smuggling, and some illegally occupied farms in Luoan area of ​​Guanzhong. They arrested at least 3,000 people and executed them all without trial...

After hearing this, although Ye Mingsheng knew that Shangguan Hongyuan was an iron-fisted tyrant, he couldn't help but sincerely admire the bloody and ruthless methods of Shangguan Hongyuan.

You have to know that the person who can do such illegal business in Guanzhong, Luoan, under the feet of the emperor, doesn't have a backer?

I'm afraid that behind these more than 3,000 people are at least half of the civil and military officials of the Luoan court!
There is no doubt that Shangguan Hongyuan is now blatantly killing people to establish his authority!

However, with Shangguan Hongyuan's face-saving character, he could do such a thing, which was enough to show that the Luoan court was in deep trouble!

After sighing for a while, Ye Mingsheng nodded to Wang Xuecheng and said:

"Keep talking!"

Wang Xuecheng organized his words and continued:

"Although the Supervisory Department has seized a lot of illegal businesses, according to our observations, the Supervisory Department has been very targeted. They have not violated the businesses of Li Chengen, Liu Buyi, Feng Han, and other generals who commanded a large number of troops, as well as Shangguan Hongyuan's several trusted ministers. Most of the people living there are those who have no foundation but are very rich!"

In addition to arresting these illegal activities, Shangguan Hongyuan also dismissed and confiscated the property of seven officials including Wang Song, the Right Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, on charges of colluding with treason, and handed them over to the three courts for trial. After these two incidents, the bonds of Tongfu Company sold like hot cakes, and in just a few days, they had raised 500,000 taels of silver..."

"Combined with the silver confiscated from those illegal businesses, I estimate that Shangguan Hongyuan can raise at least one million taels of silver this time! The maximum can reach two million taels of silver."

Hearing these two numbers, Ye Mingsheng raised his eyebrows and his expression became extremely serious. In his eyes, Shangguan Hongyuan was now facing two main problems. One was the external situation with the Sichuan Southern Tour Court, the King of Qin in Yongliang, and Zhao Fuqu in Youyan. He was attacked from both sides and suffered heavy losses!
Another major internal problem is money. Guanzhong and Hanzhong cannot afford to support those arrogant and powerful generals of the imperial guards!
If Shangguan Hongyuan can really get one to two million taels of silver this time, then his internal problems can be alleviated to a great extent, so Shangguan Hongyuan can concentrate on dealing with external problems. If this is the case, then the situation in the entire north is likely to undergo some unpredictable changes...
Realizing this, Ye Mingsheng immediately asked Wang Xuecheng:
"What is the current situation of the battles in Sichuan, Guanzhong, and Jinyang?"

Facing Ye Mingsheng's questions, Wang Xuecheng said one by one:

"Sichuan is still the same now. Facing the natural dangers of the Shu Road, Li Chengen led the main force of the imperial army to seek stability and refused to take risks, so the progress is still slow. However, the imperial court on the southern tour can't do anything to him, so they can only resist step by step to delay time."

"It is said in Guanzhong that the Western Liang army led by the King of Qin has been attacking Chencang for a long time and has not only suffered heavy casualties but also has problems with food and grass. The King of Qin has begun to think about retreating! In addition, there is reliable news that Shangguan Hongyuan sent Chen Tingshu, the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, to the King of Qin, saying that he wanted to negotiate with the King of Qin. As for the content of the talks between the two sides, the colleagues in Luoan's coordination office are working hard to collect information!"

"As for Yunbing, the weather is cold as the New Year is approaching. Currently, the main force of the Yan army under Zhao Fuqu has no intention of heading to Jinyang. They are still occupying the Jinzhong area, and it seems that they want to celebrate the New Year in Jinzhong!"

From the information Wang Xuecheng told him, Ye Mingsheng had a bad feeling. Shangguan Hongyuan was indeed a world-famous hero. In the dead end set by Lin Shize, he actually managed to find a way out...

If the information Wang Xuecheng told was true, then Ye Mingsheng boldly guessed that Shangguan Hongyuan wanted to force the King of Qin to retreat first. Xiliang was also located in the border area and was surrounded by dangerous places. Its geographical and financial conditions were not much better than those of Liaoyang, which Ye had. It was very likely that they had run out of energy to fight until now. Under such circumstances, it had to be said that the King of Qin had lived up to his status as a royal family member.

Now the New Year is approaching, and both the common people and the soldiers are tired of war and eager to go home for the New Year, so Ye Mingsheng feels that under such circumstances the King of Qin is likely to withdraw his troops!
If the King of Qin retreated, Shangguan Hongyuan would only have to face Zhao Fuqu and the southern tour court. Besides the fact that the pressure would be much less, he could also invest part of the troops originally used to deal with the King of Qin into these two families.

So once this situation happens, will Shangguan Hongyuan deploy the freed-up troops to Yunbing, or to Sichuan, or divide them between the two?

Ye Mingsheng didn’t know what Shangguan Hongyuan would do, but if he were asked to make this choice, he would choose to invest the freed-up troops in Yunbing...

The reason for doing this is not complicated, because the natural dangers of the Shu Road are too great a geographical advantage for the defenders. Even if you invest troops in it, it will be difficult to chew this hard bone in a short time. If you take risks in a hurry, you may even break your teeth!

Therefore, if the King of Qin retreated, then after defeating Zhao Fuqu, Shangguan Hongyuan could concentrate on thinking about how to take over Sichuan and get rid of the southern tour court!

If Shangguan Hongyuan thinks the same as Ye Mingsheng, then things will go in an unpredictable direction. Facing Shangguan Hongyuan's reinforcements, will Zhao Fuqu choose to fight after attacking Yunbing? Or will he choose to temporarily avoid the sharp edge? Only time will tell the answer to this question!

(End of this chapter)