Chapter 615 Cleaning Plan!

"Another very important point is the fighting spirit of the Henan Army...
"Yujing is not short of food now. According to the intelligence from the General Coordination Office, the food in Yujing's warehouse can last for at least three months. Under such circumstances, even if the First Army blocks Yujing's connection with the outside world, it will be difficult to cause too much damage to Yujing in a short period of time. In addition, the dispatch of the Qi Army is likely to double the confidence of the Yu Army and make them more determined to defend the city!"

"Under these circumstances, I believe that it is possible for our army to capture Yujing City by concentrating our forces. However, this is not the best option for our army. Even if our army captures Yujing City in the end, the casualties will be very large. Conservative estimates are that there will be at least tens of thousands of casualties!"

After speaking out his thoughts in one breath, Luo Gang looked at Ye Mingsheng somewhat nervously, not knowing what Ye Mingsheng's attitude would be towards his ideas.

After thinking carefully about Luo Gang's answer, Ye Mingsheng did not make any statement but continued to ask:

"So you want to surround Yujing without attacking it?"

Although he didn't know what Ye Mingsheng's attitude was, Luo Gang knew very well that now was the time for him to show himself, so he simply spoke freely, nodded, and said:

"Yes, Marshal. Yujing is important! But at the moment, its role in the overall situation in Hebei and Henan is very limited. The main force of the Henan Army, nearly 100,000 people, has been completely annihilated by our army!"

“Although there are many soldiers defending Yujing City now, only two or three out of ten are regular troops. Most of them are young and strong men organized by Gao Zongchang. These young and strong men can play a significant role in defending the city under the protection of the city, but once they are out of the protection of the city, they will be a group of lambs to be slaughtered in front of our army...”

"Marshal, there is still more than a month to winter, less than two months. I predict that Shangguan Hongyuan will most likely take down the Southern Tour Court before the end of the year. After a whole winter of rest and recuperation, and the sowing date in March, Shangguan Hongyuan will most likely attack our army in May or June next year!"

"As for the Anqing Army under Xu Zhaojie, his financial and logistical situation is even worse. If Shangguan Hongyuan hadn't helped him this time, he might not be able to pay the military salaries this month. At most, he can only ensure that his soldiers can have enough food to eat!"

"And according to the accounts of the Anqing Army prisoners, the Anqing Army has been fighting for more than half a year. Although they have achieved considerable results, the lower-level soldiers of the Anqing Army are already very tired and have begun to feel war-weary. So even though Xu Zhaojie was able to completely defeat Feng Keqin this time, he will need at least several months before he can launch a new campaign."

"Although Xu Zhaojie and Shangguan Hongyuan are in cahoots, neither of them is willing to sacrifice themselves for others. So I think Xu Zhaojie will never join the battle right from the start. He will wait until the main forces of our army are mobilized to deal with Shangguan Hongyuan before he attacks our army. He wants to be the fisherman who benefits from the quarrel between the snipe and the clam! So if Shangguan Hongyuan takes action in May next year, he will at least send troops in July!"

"Therefore, our army can afford to delay the Yujing issue. Even if it is delayed until winter, our army will have no problem at all!"

After listening to Luo Gang's long speech, Ye Mingsheng pondered for a while, then under Luo Gang's expectant gaze, Ye Mingsheng smiled and said:
“Go back and have a good rest…”

Seeing that Ye Mingsheng did not give a clear signal of support, Luo Gang, who was full of expectations, was undoubtedly a little disappointed, but he could only leave respectfully.

After Luo Gang left, Ye Mingsheng was silent for a long time, weighing the pros and cons in his mind. After an incense stick of time, Ye Mingsheng instructed Ye Kui beside him:

"Bring Wang Xuecheng to me!"

"yes!",

Half an hour later, Wang Xuecheng appeared in front of Ye Mingsheng.

"Master, are you looking for me?"

Looking at Wang Xuecheng who looked respectful, Ye Mingsheng asked calmly:

"How's the house cleaning going?"

Seeing the question asked by Ye Mingsheng, Wang Xuecheng's expression immediately became serious. Before deciding to send troops to Hebei and Henan, Ye Mingsheng convened a meeting of the senior leaders of the Fengwu Army. The focus of the meeting was discussed by Ye Mingsheng and others on how to solve the problem of peasant uprisings in Hebei and Henan.

On this issue, the top leaders of the Fengwu Army reached a consensus, that is, although the large-scale peasant uprising in Hebei and Henan seemed to be caused by a natural disaster that caused a reduction in grain production, the fundamental internal cause was the unbalanced distribution of land and grain in Hebei and Henan. A very small number of powerful landlords and gentry occupied most of the land and grain!

Therefore, if we want Hebei and Henan to restore peace and stability, we must first solve this problem. If we don’t solve this problem, even if Ye Mingsheng transferred grain from Youyan to provide disaster relief, it will only be a temporary solution. When a disaster year occurs again, the peasants who can’t survive will revolt again...

In order to solve the problem of land and food distribution, the think tank headed by Gu Sansi and Ye Mingsheng also provided some solutions to Ye Mingsheng, but Ye Mingsheng did not adopt any of these solutions. It was not because the methods proposed by the think tank were ineffective, but because it would take years for these solutions to take effect!

And what Ye Mingsheng needs most now is time!

Shangguan Hongyuan is facing a powerful enemy and Xu Zhaojie is ready to make a move. Ye Mingsheng does not have so much time and energy to waste on this!

So Ye Mingsheng asked the Coordination Office to formulate a cleaning plan, hoping that this plan would clean Ji Yu's house so that Ye Mingsheng would have more room to display his abilities.

The specific content of the plan was very simple. It was to secretly command the rebel army to physically destroy the landlords and gentry in the countryside, and then the Fengwu Army would go over to clean up the mess, redistribute the land and food, and finally bring the leaders of the rebel army to justice to appease the anger of the landlord and gentry class, thereby easing class contradictions and restoring stability in Hebei and Henan.

Facing Ye Mingsheng's gaze, Wang Xuecheng subconsciously lowered his voice and said:
"The areas near Yecheng and other northern areas of Hebei and Henan have been almost cleared. We originally planned to go to Fengqiu area, but because of Xu Zhaojie's invasion, we are afraid that it will affect General Guo's performance, so we have not gone to Fengqiu and other areas for the time being. Now the rebel army has a scale of more than 10,000 people..."

Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly and asked again:
"How much success has been achieved?"

In response to Ye Mingsheng's question, Wang Xuecheng said in a deep voice;
"There are more than 1.3 million taels of silver, more than 900,000 dan of grain, and countless gold, silver, jewelry, collectibles, calligraphy and paintings. The exact value is still being calculated, but roughly speaking, it is at least 300,000 to 500,000 taels!"

Although he knew that these gentry and landlords were very rich, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but be moved when he heard this figure. Although this wealth was very hot, if he could get it, it would still greatly alleviate the financial situation of the Fengwu Army. Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng immediately asked:
"Find an opportunity to transfer this wealth to our army! You can ask Zhang Meng to coordinate the details!" Wang Xuecheng was well prepared for Ye Mingsheng's order, nodded and said:

"I understand. I will make Feng Sanxi suffer a great defeat, and then take advantage of the situation to hand over this wealth to Lord Zhang Meng!"

"very good!"

After seeing Wang Xuecheng off, Ye Mingsheng silently calculated the distribution of the wealth. At least half of the wealth had to be used to provide relief to the victims. According to incomplete statistics, since the large-scale peasant uprising broke out in Hebei and Henan, thousands of people became refugees every day. Many of these refugees fled south, intending to start a new life in the wealthy south...

In a feudal era like today, population is wealth and the foundation for establishing a dynasty. Therefore, even though Hebei and Henan are one of the provinces with the largest population in the Zhou Dynasty, they cannot withstand the daily population loss. Therefore, it is necessary to provide relief to the victims in Hebei and Henan and reduce population loss.

As for the remaining half of the wealth, most of it will be used to subsidize the finances. Yesterday, Zhang Juning wrote to him, informing him that the silver and grain reserves in the treasury are now less than half, and must be replenished as soon as possible to ensure the smooth operation of the Fengwu Army system.

This last small portion should be distributed to meritorious soldiers as a reward to boost morale. Finally, if there is any gold, silver and jewelry left, you can consider returning it to the landlords and gentry to appease their emotions and maintain social stability!

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Yijing, Governor's Mansion

An Miaoyi was looking at the fallen leaves outside the window, her expression was very solemn, and no one knew what she was thinking.

A moment later, she heard familiar footsteps. In response, An Miaoyi instructed the maid beside her:

"You guys get out!"

"Yes, madam!"

After all the maids had left and closed the door, Qiqige returned and said softly without waiting for An Miaoyi to ask:

"I saw Master Tian Yu! But in order to avoid alerting him, I didn't recognize him!"

An Miaoyi's heart trembled when she heard this. Just two days ago, someone bribed the maid in the Governor's Mansion and handed her a note, telling An Miaoyi that her brother An Tianyu had arrived in Yijing.

An Miaoyi was very happy about the news at first. She and An Tianyu were siblings from the same father and mother and had been very close since childhood. If she could see her younger brother in Yijing, it would naturally be a very happy thing!

But the joy did not last long. The meticulous An Miaoyi realized that something was wrong. Although the An family had no value to be used after the Luoan Incident and had completely lost power in Shangguan Hongyuan's eyes, with the rise of the Fengwu Army, Shangguan Hongyuan, who felt deeply threatened by Ye Mingsheng, regarded the An family as a weapon to deal with Ye Mingsheng. Therefore, he kept a strict watch on the An family and did not allow any members of the An family to leave Luoan without permission...
So how did An Tianyu leave Luoan?
An Miaoyi is very clear about the character of her younger brother. Although An Tianyu, now 19 years old, was born into a family of military generals, he was born prematurely, so his health is not very good. He almost died several times when he was young. Because of this, An Tianyu's personality is somewhat weak and he is not very courageous. It is absolutely impossible for him to sneak out of Luoan alone to find his sister.

Since he didn't sneak out, the way An Tianyu came to Yijing is self-evident!
Although she really wanted to reunite with An Tianyu and his brother, An Miaoyi finally remained rational. She did not act rashly but let Qiqige explore the way for her first!

"Does he have people from the Supervisory Department around him?" An Miaoyi asked calmly:

Facing An Miaoyi's question, Qiqige was lost in thought for a moment before nodding and saying:
"There are indeed suspicious people around Master Tian Yu, but we cannot be sure that they are from the Supervisory Department!"

An Miaoyi smiled bitterly when she heard this. Seeing this, Qiqige continued:
"Ma'am, what are you going to do next?"

An Miaoyi did not answer Qiqige's question, but changed the subject and asked:
"How's the maid's investigation going?"

Qiqige nodded and said:
"She has confessed everything. She had a lover outside the mansion named Su Chunsheng. It was Su Chunsheng who instigated her to pass the news to the madam. I have already investigated this Su Chunsheng. He is a gambler and has disappeared now. It is very likely that he has been silenced..."

An Miaoyi sighed and said:

"Tell Ye Cheng about this and ask him to find Huo San. Let the coordination office handle this matter!"

Hearing An Miaoyi's words, Qiqi was very surprised and said in a somewhat incomprehensible way:
"Madam, Young Master Tian Yu is still in their hands. If the Coordination Office intervenes, Tian Yu's safety will be difficult to guarantee. What if these people become desperate? The master only has you and Young Master Tian Yu as his bloodline. What if something happens to Young Master Tian Yu?"

An Miaoyi shook her head in some pain and said:

"I am the mistress of the Fengwu Army. I should put the overall situation first. Now the battle is imminent. They asked Tian Yu to come to me at this time. They probably want to disrupt the morale of the Fengwu Army at this time. I must not fall for their evil plan!"

At this point, An Miaoyi paused, then closed her eyes and said with a determined heart:

"This is Tian Yu's fate. If he doesn't survive this, then this is his fate! Qiqige, don't say anything more. Do as I say. Leave everything to the Coordination Office!"

Qiqige originally wanted to persuade An Miaoyi again, but seeing An Miaoyi's firm attitude, she could only nod and follow the order.

After Qiqige left, An Miaoyi murmured in a low voice with a guilty look on her face:
“Tian Yu, don’t blame me for being cruel! If you can be safe and sound this time, I swear I will never let you get hurt again…”

(End of this chapter)