Chapter 696: Bai Yuanyuan's resentment! (Thanks to the book friend BufeiL for the reward!)

Facing Ye Mingsheng's question, Gu Sansi opened his mouth to report:

“The Duan family and the Wang family each took 50,000 taels of silver…”

"The Wang family of Yuchuntang and the Duan family of Yecheng?" Ye Mingsheng seemed to have thought of something and asked back:

Gu Sansi nodded and said:

"Yes, Wang Jiang, the head of the Wang family, cooperates with our work very well. Although the Wang family has some wealth, they are not a wealthy family. In addition, they have to prepare a deposit of 100,000 taels, so they can only take out 50,000 taels of silver to buy Dadongsheng's bonds!"

"As for the Duan family, their head and I had agreed some time ago that the Duan family would buy 15 taels of bonds. But for some reason, the Duan family started to cry poor recently, saying that they had lost a lot of money in business recently, so they couldn't come up with 150,000 taels of silver, so they only took 50,000 taels of silver to buy bonds!"

Hearing this, a sneer emerged on Ye Mingsheng's face. The Duan family is a wealthy family in Hebei and Henan. In Yecheng, where the family is located, there is even a saying that their family owns half of the city. The Duan family is so wealthy that they can buy half of Yecheng. After the Fengwu Army captured Yecheng in the Battle of Hebei and Henan, the Duan family cooperated very well with the Fengwu Army. Therefore, in a series of subsequent clearing operations, Ye Mingsheng did not touch the Duan family!

But now it seems that some people are just cheapskates who don't accept toasts and then drink for punishment!
The bond issuance took place in the past half month. Is it really a coincidence that such a big change happened to the Duan family's business in such a short period of time?
Ye Mingsheng didn’t believe this at all. In his opinion, the Duan family wanted to change their stance according to the wind again. Now seeing Xu Zhaojie’s invasion of Hebei and Henan, they felt that the Fengwu Army’s rule in Hebei and Henan was not stable, so they were reluctant to spend money to stand on their side...
Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng had an idea in mind, and immediately instructed Gu Sansi:

"I know this!"

After hearing Ye Mingsheng's statement, Gu Sansi bowed and thought about leaving and going back to deal with his affairs. However, at this moment, Ye Mingsheng asked calmly:
"Think carefully, do you have any suggestions for the position of Jiyu Anchashi?"

Upon hearing the news, Gu Sansi was stunned. He had also heard that Chen Huaiyu, the Censor of Ji and Henan, and the Chen family were arrested by Ye Mingsheng and investigated for their crimes. He also knew that the current Deputy Censor of Ji and Henan, Murong Hui, had made great contributions in this matter. Like many people, he believed that Murong Hui, who was quite trusted by Ye Mingsheng, would replace Chen Huaiyu as the new Censor of Ji and Henan.

But now looking at what Ye Mingsheng meant, could it be that everyone guessed wrong?

Because he was busy with the affairs of the Foreign Affairs Department at this stage, Gu Sansi was not very familiar with the situation in Hebei and Henan. In addition, this matter involved the Murong family, so Gu Sansi really didn't want to get involved in this matter. So after organizing his words, he bowed to Ye Mingsheng and said:
"Your Excellency, I have limited knowledge of the situation in Ji and Yu, so I dare not speak without thinking!"

Looking at Gu Sansi's cautious expression, Ye Mingsheng smiled and nodded:
"Go back and have a good rest. Don't always work overtime. You have to take care of your body!"

Listening to Ye Mingsheng's instructions, Gu Sansi was also somewhat moved and said:
"Thank you for your concern, my lord. I will definitely keep your teachings in mind..."

After letting Ye Cheng send Gu Sansi away, Ye Mingsheng closed his eyes and fell into deep thought. He certainly knew that many people in the Fengwu Army currently regarded Murong Hui as the only candidate for the Ji-Yu Censor after Chen Huaiyu. To be honest, Ye Mingsheng also thought so at the beginning, but after receiving the latest memorial sent back by Murong Hui, Ye Mingsheng changed his mind.

This is not to say how good Murong Hui is. This young man performed very well, was very capable and had good moral character. Apart from the fact that he liked to do some small tricks behind the scenes, Ye Mingsheng still admired him very much. Otherwise, Ye Mingsheng would not have entrusted him with such an important task and let him serve as the Deputy Censor of Ji and Yu to handle the affairs of Ji and Yu.

However, the investigation report sent back by Murong Hui on Chen Huaiyu and the Chen family involved a person, and this person was the current Governor of Hebei and Henan Province - Wang Ke!
Wang Ke, now 55 years old, is an evergreen in the civil service system of Hebei and Henan. He has served as the deputy governor of Hebei and Henan for more than ten years and has very close relations with various local forces in Hebei and Henan. For this reason, after taking over Hebei and Henan, Ye Mingsheng promoted him to the position of deputy governor of Hebei and Henan, hoping to reduce the resistance to reform in Hebei and Henan.

Because Wang Ke always behaved very low-key, Ye Mingsheng had never paid much attention to him. However, according to Chen Huaiyu’s confession after being interrogated, it was learned that Wang Ke was the source of a series of unrest in Hebei and Henan. It was under his protection and connivance that some illegal and criminal activities of Chen Huaiyu and others were carried out smoothly...

After knowing this, Ye Mingsheng was determined to take down Wang Ke! However, taking down Wang Ke was very simple. It was just a matter of Ye Mingsheng's words and issuing an arrest warrant. But who would take over Wang Ke's position?
The main reason why Ye Mingsheng was willing to make certain compromises and give the two key posts of Governor and Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Hebei and Henan to the local factions of Hebei and Henan was to reduce the resistance to reform in Hebei and Henan, appease the local factions of Hebei and Henan, accelerate the process of reform in Hebei and Henan, better and faster control Hebei and Henan, the most populous province in the Great Zhou, and thereby make full use of the population and land of Hebei and Henan to increase the manpower and financial resources of the Fengwu Army.

Now, if they first capture the Surveillance Commissioner Chen Huaiyu and then the Governor Wang Ke, it will undoubtedly make the local faction feel insecure and feel that they are no longer trusted. You must know that Hebei and Henan are still war zones, but Xu Zhaojie's offensive was restricted by Yuan Song to several counties in the south of Hebei and Henan, and did not affect other areas of Hebei and Henan.

However, the work of maintaining stability in Hebei and Henan is still very important. Otherwise, any unrest in the region will have a great impact on the battle situation on the front line.

Therefore, in order to avoid such things from happening, Ye Mingsheng’s newly appointed governor of Hebei and Henan was very particular. This person had to be trusted by Ye Mingsheng and recognized by the local faction of Hebei and Henan. Only in this way could he do his job better!
To be honest, it is very difficult to meet this requirement, but it happens that there is someone in the Fengwu Army who meets this requirement!
This person is Ye Mingsheng’s cheap father-in-law, the second master of the Murong family, Murong Qingwu’s biological father, and the current governor of Liaoyang——Murong Yuliang···························

Although Murong Yuliang never served in Ji and Yu during his official career, his father Murong Chunsheng served as the Censor of Ji and Yu during the time of the previous emperor and served in Ji and Yu for seven years. His grandfather Murong Kui served as the Governor of Ji and Yu for more than ten years before entering the cabinet. When Murong Yuliang was young, he also lived in Ji and Yu with his father for a period of time!
Although several decades have passed and the relationship has become distant, some of Murong Chunsheng's former subordinates still hold important positions in Hebei and Henan. I believe that there is still a close relationship between the two sides. With this relationship, Ye Mingsheng believes that Murong Yuliang will still be recognized by the people of Hebei and Henan.

Transferring Murong Yuliang to Hebei and Henan was not only because Murong Yuliang met the requirements, but also meant that Ye Mingsheng recognized the ability of his cheap father-in-law. Although Liaoyang was the place where Ye Mingsheng rose to power, it had too small a population after all. In addition, there was still half a year of cold winter, so the current development potential was still a bit lacking, and a long-term and stable plan was needed to revitalize the economy.

As for the current situation, Ye Mingsheng urgently hopes that the populous province of Hebei and Henan can play a role in the Fengwu Army system. However, in Ye Mingsheng's opinion, there are only three people in the Fengwu Army who can accomplish this task!

The first one is Cui Shao, but I need this old fox to help me sit at the center, the second one is Gu Sansi, however, Gu Sansi has to deal with the affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the one hand, and lead the reform process on the other hand. The burden on him is already very heavy and he often works overtime until late at night, so it is obvious that he is not suitable for this matter..."

"The last one is Murong Yuliang. During his time as the governor of Liaoyang, he actively promoted reforms and strengthened infrastructure construction so that the people could have enough food and clothing. On the other hand, he also cracked down on the rich and unkind gentry and maintained social fairness and justice. His reputation as an official in Liaoyang is very good!"

Therefore, it can be said that it is only natural to transfer Murong Yuliang to govern Hebei and Henan!
It was precisely because he wanted Murong Yuliang to be the governor of Ji and Henan that Ye Mingsheng changed his mind and could not let Murong Hui be the provincial judge of Ji and Henan. Otherwise, this pair of uncle and nephew, one would be in charge of administration and the other in charge of administrative supervision. Although they were both very law-abiding people, Ye Mingsheng felt that this situation should be prevented from happening!
After much thought, Ye Mingsheng finally came up with a proper solution, which was to let the current Youyan Censor Ji Heng go to Jiyu to serve as Censor's partner with Murong Yuliang, and then let Murong Hui come back to fill Ji Heng's vacancy. As for the vacancy of Liaoyang Governor after Murong Yuliang, Ye Mingsheng thought that Gu Zhongshi should fill it.

Although Gu Zhongshi is a very selfish person, he has been in the officialdom for decades and is quite capable. I don't expect him to do well in Liaoyang. As long as he follows the policies and guidelines left by Murong Yuliang and continues to push forward the work progress, that will be enough!
After thinking about all this, Ye Mingsheng relaxed. He planned to lead the 9th Division to the Hebei-Henan battlefield to meet Xu Zhaojie in seven days. Now that he had finally sorted out all the relationships, should he relax?

...
...
"Madam, these are the new pastries made by Cuixiang Pavilion today. Which one do you like best?"

The maid Ziyun brought a plate of exquisite pastries to Bai Yuanyuan with both hands and said very respectfully:
Looking at the delicious cakes in front of her, Bai Yuanyuan was also a little moved, and subconsciously prepared to reach out to take them. However, she seemed to have thought of something the next second, and with a frustrated look on her face, she still withdrew her jade hand and said angrily:
"Take the food away and give it to you to eat!"

Zi Yun, who had served Bai Yuanyuan for many years, was a little surprised when she heard this. The pastries of Cuixiang Pavilion were the best in Yijing and Bai Yuanyuan's favorite. She had eaten them every three or five days to satisfy her craving. Why did she refuse today?
Just as Zi Yun was hesitating, Bai Yuanyuan ordered impatiently:

"What are you still standing there for? Take it down now if I tell you to!"

Hearing Bai Yuanyuan say this, Ziyun did not dare to hesitate and took the pastries away. Seeing her favorite pastries leaving her like this, Bai Yuanyuan had a look of grievance between her eyebrows. Of course she wanted to eat it, but now she didn't dare to eat it!
The reason was very simple. Ever since she had given birth and finished her confinement, although Ye Mingsheng had come to her place, he only came to visit the child and play with Xiao Xingtong, and never touched her once. Bai Yuanyuan saw this and was very worried!

When she was pregnant, in order to ensure the smooth and healthy birth of the baby, she really took a lot of supplements throughout the pregnancy, not to mention chicken soup and the like, she ate more than a dozen ginseng alone. This also caused her to gain a lot of weight, and her overall condition was not as good as before. The slender waist that was once slender now has some fat··························

Bai Yuanyuan also feels a sense of crisis about the current situation. She has been trying hard to lose excess weight during this period, so she dares not eat her favorite pastries now!
Thinking of this, Bai Yuanyuan couldn't help but sigh, and some tears emerged in her beautiful eyes. Even though Ye Mingsheng had kept it from her before, there is no wall that is impenetrable. She already knew that her elder brother Bai Changrong would have to use crutches or a wheelchair from now on. When she thought about her elder brother, who had been strong all his life, having to live like that for the rest of his life, Bai Yuanyuan felt heartbroken!
The only thing that could make Bai Yuanyuan feel a little comforted was that Ye Mingsheng was very kind to his elder brother. Not only did he reward him with fertile land and a beautiful house, servants and maids, he also arranged a job for Bai Changrong as a reserve general, so that Bai Changrong would not become a useless person.

Although Bai Yuanyuan had wanted to have a son before, after learning about what happened to her elder brother Bai Changrong, Bai Yuanyuan's obsession with having a son deepened even more!
Regarding the birth of a daughter, Bai Yuanyuan was secretly sad that her belly was not cooperating, and on the other hand, she was secretly complaining about the unfairness of God. Why could An Miaoyi, Shen Yutong, and Pei Zhixiu give their husbands sons, but she could only give birth to a little girl? This was really unfair...
(End of this chapter)