Chapter 631: Changes in Licheng! (Part )
In addition to the popular pills he developed, Li Wei is also very good at treating a series of diseases. Many dignitaries have been reborn under his treatment...

Because Li Wei is very important, many people are looking for him for medical treatment. For this reason, half a month ago, Dadongsheng Company specially submitted a memorial to Ye Mingsheng, saying that the market prospect of the drug is very broad. In order to meet the market demand, the company plans to invite several experts in this field to research a new drug, so it requests Ye Mingsheng's approval to recruit Li Wei for research.

In order to make money at that time, Ye Mingsheng agreed without thinking much and never expected the current situation to happen!
Seeing Ye Mingsheng silent, An Miaoyi was a little anxious. Since she had talked with Xiao Ruolan before, she knew that An Tianyu had problems and was unable to have sex. Xiao Ruolan was still a virgin. For the sake of family inheritance, An Miaoyi was very anxious. She immediately prepared to find Li Wei and let this expert treat her brother. However, she didn't expect that Li Wei was not in the medical school, but in the Dadongsheng Company.

An Miaoyi found the Dadongsheng Company without thinking too much. However, now is the most critical moment for new drug research, and Li Wei is the main force in new drug research. If he leaves, the progress of new drug development will be shelved. Moreover, Dadongsheng still has Ye Mingsheng's approval document in his hand, so even facing An Miaoyi, Dadongsheng took out the approval document and politely rejected An Miaoyi's request.

Although An Miaoyi was a little angry after being rejected, she had no other choice facing Ye Mingsheng’s approval document. She could only come to Ye Mingsheng for help...

Wiping the tears from her cheeks, An Miaoyi whispered to Ye Mingsheng

"The doctors at the medical school all said that the sooner this disease is treated, the better. Tian Yu has been dying for a long time. I've been dreaming these past few days. I dreamed that my father told me to take good care of Tian Yu and to leave a bloodline for the An family!"

At the end of the speech, An Miaoyi's expression became more and more sad, and her eyes became moist. Seeing An Miaoyi said so, Ye Mingsheng didn't say much, and directly stood up and lit the kerosene lamp. Under the light of the kerosene lamp, Ye Mingsheng wrote the note, stamped it with his own seal, handed it to An Miaoyi, and said with a smile:

"Miaoyi, your brother is my brother. If there is anything I can do to help you, I will do my best. You can always ask the medical school for help. I will inform the people below!"

Listening to Ye Mingsheng's words, An Miaoyi's beautiful eyes showed a touch of emotion. She took the initiative to kiss Ye Mingsheng on the face with her red lips. Looking at the beautiful woman in front of him, Ye Mingsheng's sleepiness slowly dissipated·················
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Licheng, Caofu

At 1:00 pm, Cao Changping opened his eyes and felt his back aching. He sighed inwardly that he was getting old. The next second, he hit the snow hill beside him hard. With two crisp sounds, the two delicate concubines woke up beside Cao Changping. Cao Changping, who was in a bad mood, cursed coldly:
"Get out!"

Seeing Cao Changping, who was full of energy last night, but now didn't recognize him after putting on his trousers, the two concubines' eyes were suddenly filled with resentment. However, feeling Cao Changping's cold attitude, they could only lower their heads, holding their clothes and leaving the room.

Watching the two concubines leave, Cao Changping suddenly sighed. Because of the peace talks with the Fengwu Army, the Qi Army had been in an uproar in the past few days, and he, as the boss, had begun to lose control of the situation. He had been so worried about this that he hadn't slept well for several days. Last night, he really had no choice but to call his two concubines to help him vent his anger. This was the best sleep he had had in nearly a month.

Although it was already the 9th hour and the sun was already high in the sky, Cao Changping did not want to get up or leave the room, because he knew that once he walked out of the room, all those troubles would find him!

The Fengwu Army asked him for war reparations, the lower-level soldiers demanded pensions and military pay, and the high-level generals asked him for silver to redeem their relatives and nephews. In short, it all came down to two words - silver!
But where can Cao find so much silver?

He originally had 500,000 taels of silver in the treasury, which he received after collecting the taxes from Qi and Lu in advance until next year. This amount of silver was neither too little nor too much, and if he spent it a little more sparingly, it could almost last until next year. By then, he could collect taxes a year in advance. Although it would be a bit awkward, it would at least ensure the overall operation of the entire Qi military system!

But as the saying goes, when a cannon is fired, it costs ten thousand taels of gold. The marching expenses of 30,000 Qi troops were as much as 100,000 taels of silver, and the cost of their battles in Hebei and Henan was even higher. After less than a month of fighting, half of Cao Changping's silver had been gone. Even if there was no compensation, pensions, or redemption of prisoners of war, with only more than 200,000 taels of silver left, they would not be able to last until next year.

Although Qi and Lu were once wealthy provinces of the Great Zhou, they were severely damaged by the continuous peasant uprisings in the previous few years. In the past decade, the population had lost millions. Although Cao was good at suppressing peasant uprisings, he was completely clueless about the economy and people's livelihood. He only knew how to impose heavy taxes and levies at all levels.

The common people of Qi and Lu now don't have much money, and those wealthy gentry, landlords, and aristocratic families are the basis of his rule. Collecting taxes and money from them is tantamount to destroying the Great Wall and digging one's own grave. Even if he collects the money today, he may be killed in his sleep tomorrow...
Therefore, this matter fell into a vicious circle, making Cao Changping irritable every day. The only solution now is the old way, that is to collect taxes two years in advance. Yes, after Cao Changping’s several advisers discussed it, they told Cao Changping that if he wanted to solve the current financial difficulties, collecting taxes one year in advance was not enough, and collecting taxes two years in advance would barely be enough!

However, collecting two years of taxes in advance sounds simple, but if things were really that simple, Cao Changping would not be as distressed as he is now. Although Cao was born a military general and did not know much about governing the people's livelihood, he had climbed up from the grassroots through blood and fire after all, and he was not a waste who should not just eat meat!
Cao Changping knew very well that although there had been no large-scale peasant uprisings in Qi and Lu in recent years, sporadic small-scale uprisings had never ceased, but they were only brutally suppressed by him. The financial problem had existed since the first day Cao Changping took office. If collecting taxes in advance was really a good idea, Cao Changping would have collected taxes ten years in advance, instead of only collecting taxes one year in advance as he did now.

Although Cao Changping was a rough man, facts had told him that collecting taxes in advance was like drinking poison to quench thirst. Although it would bring him a lot of silver, it would also bring a lot of uprisings and riots that threatened his rule. Knowing this, Cao Changping was cautious and did not dare to collect taxes in advance easily...
But now the situation is different. After suffering a disastrous defeat on the battlefields of Hebei and Henan, the wounded and killed soldiers began to make all kinds of troubles because they could not receive any compensation. This was like a fuse, igniting the dissatisfaction of the Qi army's soldiers over the widespread arrears of wages. According to the reports from the soldiers below, the Qi army camp is now like a powder keg that may explode at any time.

Cao Changping was also very anxious about this situation. He knew that once the gunpowder barrel exploded, he would be the first to be blown to pieces, so he immediately drew tens of thousands of taels of silver from the silver treasury to temporarily suppress the anger of his brothers, and promised to solve the problem of unpaid wages and pensions as soon as possible. Although the emotions of the lower-level soldiers were stabilized, Cao Changping was unable to do anything when faced with the high-level redemption of prisoners of war and compensation from the Fengwu Army!

Cao Changping, lying on the boat, had a worried look on his face. Although he had realized that the only way left seemed to be to collect taxes in advance, he really didn't want to do that!
Because once he did that, it would be tantamount to a slow death for Cao Changping and the Qi army. All his time and energy would be focused on suppressing the peasant uprisings in Qi and Lu, and he would have no time to take care of the situation outside Qi and Lu. In troubled times, it is like sailing against the current, if you don't move forward, you will retreat. What's more, in Qi and Lu where Cao Changping is, there are Ye Mingsheng in the north and Xu Zhaojie in the south. These two are as fierce as wolves and tigers, and they might tear him into pieces if he is not careful...

Just when Cao Changping was still undecided, there was a knock on the door. The knock on the door immediately disrupted Cao Changping's thinking. The Qilu Governor, who was lying on the bed, immediately cursed angrily:

"What are you knocking about, you son of a bitch?"

Hearing Cao Changping's scolding, the servant outside the door was silent for a few seconds, and then whispered:
"Marshal, General Yin Biao, General Meng Qingxing, General Wang He, and more than a dozen others have come to your house, clamoring to see you!"

Upon hearing this, Cao Changping immediately had a bad feeling. Yin Biao, Meng Qingxing, and Wang He were all veteran generals of the Qi army. What's more, they had one thing in common, that is, they all had relatives and nephews who were captured by the Fengwu army in the Hebei-Henan Campaign. They gathered together to find him today, most likely to force him to abdicate and demand that he pay money to redeem the people and hand over Duan Yanfeng to the Fengwu army.

Thinking of this, Cao Changping couldn't help but have a headache. Compared to the money, Duan Yanfeng's problem was what he was more unwilling to face. This was related to his dignity and face. He could earn money again if he lost it, but once the dignity was lost, the soldiers below would lose their awe, and it would be really difficult to turn things around!
After a moment of silence, Cao Changping knew that he could not agree to his subordinates' request. In this case, it would be better not to meet them. He immediately instructed the servants outside the door:

“Tell them that I caught a cold last night and am unable to see guests. Please come back another day. We are actively negotiating with the Fengwu Army, and there will be progress in redeeming the prisoners of war soon. Ask them to be patient and not to worry. I, Cao Changping, will not give up on these brothers…”

"Yes!"

After a cup of tea, in front of the main hall of Cao's mansion, the dozen or so Qi army generals who came together learned of Cao Changping's order. Although they were very dissatisfied with Cao Changping's failure to hand over Duan Yanfeng, they were still very satisfied with Cao Changping's statement on redeeming the prisoners of war. In addition, Cao Changping had accumulated prestige in the Qi army for many years, so most of them chose to leave.

There was only a tall, middle-aged man with a fleshy face who stayed in Cao's mansion for a long time. Seeing that Cao Changping really had no intention of meeting him, he slowly left. However, after leaving Cao's mansion, he did not immediately return to his magnificent home. Instead, he walked around the city for several times and then came to Sun's mansion. He walked in through the small door of Sun's mansion very secretly.

Looking at Yin Biao who walked into the room, Sun Jing'an smiled slightly and poured him a cup of tea. After decades of friendship, Yin Biao did not bother to be polite with Sun Jing'an. He sat down on the chair next to Sun Jing'an and drank the tea Sun Jing'an poured for him in a very generous manner. Looking at Yin Biao drinking it swiftly, Sun Jing'an couldn't help shaking his head. His tea was all good tea shipped from Jiangnan, it was a pity to give it to Yin Biao, a rough man.

After finishing his tea, Yin Biao sat in the chair and fell into silence. Sun Jingan did not urge him to slowly taste the tea. This lasted for nearly a quarter of an hour. Yin Biao seemed to have made up his mind. He looked up at Sun Jingan and asked in a deep voice:
"Are the Fengwu Army really willing to hand over Qilu to you and me?"

Hearing Yin Biao's question, Sun Jing'an smiled slightly. He knew that Yin Biao was moved. He immediately poured Yin Biao a cup of tea and said slowly:

“The Fengwu Army is powerful, but not as powerful as you think…”

After hearing this, Yin Biao's eyes flashed with doubt, not knowing what Sun Jingan meant by this. Sun Jingan did not keep him in suspense and said directly:

"In this battle between Hebei and Henan, the Fengwu Army did win a great victory and took over the Central Plains. However, with the intervention of our Qi Army and Anqing Army, the battle was not as smooth as they expected. If the Gao family father and son had not been stupid enough to rush out and fight the Fengwu Army, the situation in Hebei and Henan would have continued to be deadlocked!"

"Although I don't know the casualties of the Fengwu Army, if my guess is correct, the casualties of the Fengwu Army this time are not small!"

"Why do you think so?" Yin Biao asked doubtfully.
According to the information he had collected, the Fengwu Army had won many battles in Hebei and Henan, and had not suffered heavy casualties. So he was not sure how Sun Jingan knew that the Fengwu Army had suffered heavy casualties...

(End of this chapter)