Chapter 722: A woman’s heart is as deep as the sea!

Seeing that Ye Mingsheng was about to drive her away without saying anything, Jiang Yuyan felt a little frustrated, but she still said to Ye Mingsheng immediately:
“Since you, Marshal, think highly of our Wang family, then the Wang family is also willing to contribute to the people’s livelihood in Hebei and Henan…”

Seeing that Jiang Yuyan, who was just reluctant, actually accepted this matter directly, Ye Mingsheng was also a little surprised and said after a moment of hesitation;
"Have you really thought it through? Don't you need to go back and discuss it again?"

Jiang Yuyan nodded seriously and said:

"I am the woman who can make the decisions on the Wang family's affairs! We in the Wang family will do our best to complete the tasks that you have assigned us!"

Although he was a little puzzled as to why Jiang Yuyan suddenly changed her mind, since her attitude was so certain, Ye Mingsheng was willing to give her a chance and said:
"In that case, go back and make preparations. I'm waiting for your good news!"

"Yes! The Wang family will definitely not let you down, Marshal!"

Jiang Yuyan said respectfully:

Ye Mingsheng nodded when he heard this. Seeing this, Jiang Yuyan also said goodbye and left Ye Mingsheng's study.

After walking out of the study, although Jiang Yuyan tried her best to conceal her feelings, her beautiful eyes still sparkled with excitement.

Although she was very annoyed with Ye Mingsheng, the traitor who stole the Great Zhou Dynasty, Jiang Yuyan was somewhat curious about Ye Mingsheng himself. After all, some rumors said that Ye Mingsheng was rebellious, cruel and ruthless, and had the look of an eagle and a wolf. Although it was not a good word, it also made Ye Mingsheng a legendary and mysterious person...
Although Jiang Yuyan did not believe all of these rumors, she was curious about how Ye Mingsheng, a commoner from a humble family, could lead the Fengwu Army to become a powerful lord in the north.

And just in the conversation with Ye Mingsheng, Jiang Yuyan thought she had found the answer!

All emperors and rulers in history knew that in order to promote agricultural development, it was necessary to build water conservancy projects. Everyone understood the principle, but it was not the same thing in practice. Such large projects were time-consuming and labor-intensive. Once some natural disasters or man-made disasters occurred, it would easily drain the court's finances. At the very least, the project would be abandoned halfway, and at worst, it would lead to instability.

Now Ye Mingsheng has proposed to introduce private wealth to build water conservancy projects, purchase agricultural materials and promote development. This is undoubtedly a feat that breaks the shackles of traditional concepts and opens up a new era.

To be honest, when Ye Mingsheng proposed this idea, Jiang Yuyan realized the benefits behind it and had already decided in her heart to get involved in this matter.

Although she had made up her mind, Jiang Yuyan still pretended to be confused and asked Ye Mingsheng this and that. This was to test how carefully Ye Mingsheng had thought about the matter and his determination to do it. Although this was a good thing, if it succeeded, it would surely bring Hebei and Henan into a period of rapid development.

However, on the road to success, there are bound to be many obstacles and setbacks. It is not enough to rely on the power of the Wang family alone to overcome these obstacles and setbacks. She and the Wang family must rely on Ye Mingsheng, so knowing Ye Mingsheng’s attitude is the most important thing··························

In addition to testing Ye Mingsheng's attitude, Jiang Yuyan also has a second purpose, which is to disguise herself as an ordinary woman and use traditional concepts to make herself look disadvantaged, so as to get more benefits and more favorable policies from Ye Mingsheng!
Jiang Yuyan had always used this tactic successfully before. What she liked most was to make those arrogant men look down on her, thinking that she was just an ordinary woman. She could then use this opportunity to make these men pay the price.

Therefore, facing Ye Mingsheng, Jiang Yuyan used the same old trick. However, what disappointed her was that Ye Mingsheng was completely different from those men. He had no sympathy for women at all. After she told him about the difficulties, he did not think about how to help her solve the problems, but wanted to replace her. This was simply unreasonable!
Although she hated Ye Mingsheng in her heart, in order not to let this good opportunity slip away from her hands, Jiang Yuyan had no choice but to agree immediately.

Next, she should plan this matter carefully. First of all, she must make Ye Mingsheng satisfied. If Ye Mingsheng is not satisfied, then all the matters will be over. However, she also has to seek more profits from it·······················
Ye Mingsheng, who was unaware of the inner drama of Jiang Yuyan, originally wanted to meet with some political and business figures in Hebei and Henan, but an urgent letter disrupted his plan.

"Sir, this is an urgent secret letter from Director Wang!" Ye Cheng handed the letter to Ye Mingsheng and said in a deep voice:
Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng's expression became serious. Although he had not read the secret letter yet, his intuition told him that at this time, Wang Xuecheng sent him such a secret letter, which must be of great importance. It is very likely related to the situation in Yunbing!
Without thinking too much, Ye Mingsheng immediately opened the letter and started reading. After a cup of tea, Ye Mingsheng put the letter down, closed his eyes and sighed heavily.

Shangguan Hongyuan withdrew his troops from Jinzhong!

There is no doubt that this is good news for Ye Mingsheng. Although Shangguan Hongyuan gritted his teeth and held on for more than ten days compared to the two months of the Fengwu Army, he was ultimately unable to withstand the pressure of logistics and withdrew from Jinzhong. This ambitious Prime Minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty, who led an army of 200,000 to the east, never saw the gate of Jinzhong from beginning to end.
The strategic point of Jinzhong was still in the hands of the Fengwu Army. From this point of view, the Fengwu Army was victorious and they had thwarted the enemy's strategic intentions.

For a long time in the future, the Luoan court will not be able to gather so many forces for an eastward expedition again. It can even be said that after this battle, the offensive and defensive situations of the Luoan court and the Fengwu army have changed...

However, Ye Mingsheng was not happy about this at all. In the battle of Dakou Township, Guo Zhiping risked his life and fought back. Although he repelled the Shenwu Army, he forced Wang Muzhi to lead the Liang Army to rush to the rescue and lifted the siege of Dakou Township, rescuing tens of thousands of Fengwu Army soldiers who were besieged.

However, the Fengwu Army suffered heavy casualties in this battle. More than half of the 10,000 cavalrymen that Ye had carefully trained were killed, and even the commander Guo Zhiping was shot in the leg.

Although Cui Desheng's troops in Dakou Township were rescued, Cui Desheng, the commander-in-chief of the Third Army, disappeared during the final breakout. It is very likely that he was killed in the enemy's artillery fire!

In addition, together with the loss of General Peng Ce of the Fourth Division who was seriously injured and in critical condition in the battle of Wankang County, the Fengwu Army lost two senior generals. This had never happened in previous wars. If senior generals suffered so many casualties, let alone the casualties of ordinary soldiers below.

In this secret letter, Wang Xuecheng informed Ye Mingsheng that the casualty report of Jinzhong was still being counted, but the estimated casualties were very heavy! Guo Zhiping's Third Army was basically crippled, and the casualty rate of each unit was generally above 50%, and some units even had a casualty rate of 60% to 70%!
The situation of Lin Huaiwu's Second Army was relatively better because the main force of the Second Division was stationed in Jinzhong, but the troops supporting Sanchuanjiang and Xun Ke's Eighth Division also suffered more than half of their casualties.

Before the war, the Second Army and the Third Army together had more than 100,000 soldiers, but now they have less than 50,000 soldiers combined...

Of course, the casualties of the Fengwu Army on the defending side were so heavy, so needless to say the casualties of the Luoan Imperial Army on the attacking side were also heavy. The exact number of casualties is unknown, but a rough estimate shows that the enemy's casualties should be between 80,000 and 110,000, which is more than the total casualties of the Imperial Army during the Sichuan and Shu expedition and the southern tour of the imperial court!

Although the enemy suffered so many casualties, when Ye Mingsheng thought about the fact that his two main armies were crippled and five counties outside Jinzhong were lost, he really didn't think that the Fengwu Army had won the Yunbing battlefield. If he had to count it, he might have won strategically, but he was on par with the enemy tactically.

Although the situation was tragic, after all, Jinzhong was not lost, so Ye Mingsheng could still accept it. The next thing to do was to count the casualties and pay pensions. Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but have a headache. Although the financial situation on his side was better than that of the Luoan court because of the reform, he almost bit his teeth and insisted on fighting this war to the end!
Although the Yunbing War is over now, the rewards for meritorious soldiers and the pensions for the injured and dead soldiers will cost a huge sum of money!

Does the Fengwu Army Finance Department still have any money now?

Ye Mingsheng had not seen Zhang Juning since leaving Yijing. He was not very clear about the specific situation of the Finance Department, but he felt that even if the Fengwu Army still had silver in its account, there might only be tens of thousands of taels of silver left. Even if they robbed Peter to pay Paul, they could at most gather hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, which was not even enough for half of the rewards and pensions.

In addition, Ye Mingsheng is also planning a counterattack to retake the five counties outside Jinzhong occupied by the enemy, and the counterattack also requires money...
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Yujing, Murong Mansion
Chen Yiyun held the pipa and sang softly:
Red lotus root fragrant and residual jade in autumn.

I take off my silk dress and go on the boat alone. Who sent me this letter from the clouds?

When the wild goose returns, the moon is full of the west building.

The flower is floating and the water flows by itself, a kind of lovesickness, and two sorrows.

This situation can be eliminated, only to brow, but to the heart.

Murong Yuliang, who was sitting opposite Chen Yiyun, was holding a wine glass and was a little drunk, immersed in Chen Yiyun's beautiful singing.

Recently appointed by Ye Mingsheng as the governor of Hebei and Henan, he can be said to be very successful in his attempts, but perhaps it is God's will that if he succeeds in officialdom, he will fail in love. The stable harem that Murong Yuliang has always been proud of is full of ups and downs!

Although he had agreed to rest with his ex-wife Wang a few days ago, Murong Yuliang came back late from the Governor's Office due to overtime work. Not wanting to disturb Wang's sleep, he went to rest with Chen Yiyu.

Murong Yuliang originally thought that this was just a small matter and not worth mentioning, but what he never expected was that the usually tolerant and generous person in the past kept it in mind and talked strangely about it many times...
If it was just strange talk, Murong Yuliang would not take it to heart. After all, he still felt somewhat guilty towards his original wife, Wang, for taking Chen Yiyu as his concubine. But what he could not accept was that Wang was looking for trouble with Chen Yiyu because of this matter.

And Chen Yiyun, a weak woman with a miserable life, was no match for Wang, a wealthy lady. She didn't even dare to complain to him when she was bullied. Even when he found the scars on her body, she said she fell. He had lived for almost fifty years. How could he not tell the difference between the scars from falling and those from being beaten?
Murong Yuliang really didn't understand how the gentle and lovely wife who had shared his joys and sorrows for decades could have become the hateful and jealous woman she is today?
The reason why I didn't take a concubine before was not because I couldn't, but because I respected you!
But now that I have a concubine, it is also my right as a man!
As a wife, you must be a good wife!

You must not commit jealousy, one of the seven reasons for divorce!
Although he was very angry about Wang’s actions, Murong Yuliang did not lose his mind. He knew that Wang’s health was not very good. If he had a big quarrel with Wang because of this, Wang might be too sad and it would pass quickly...

Although he was worried about Wang's health, looking at Chen Yiyu who was obedient and sensible and only cared about him, Murong Yuliang secretly made up his mind not to let anyone hurt her again.

For this reason, he also instructed the housekeeper Wang to stop Chen Yiyu from causing trouble. In addition, Murong Yuliang also arranged two good men to protect Chen Yiyu.

Looking at the drunken Murong Yuliang, Chen Yiyun put down her pipa and walked to his side, carefully admonishing him:

"Master, don't drink too much. You've drunk enough today!"

Murong Yuliang smiled upon hearing this, gently patted Chen Yiyun's hand, and then said with indignation and indignation:

"Yiyun, you have suffered following me, Murong Yuliang! I, Murong Yuliang, am a seven-foot-tall man, born in the Murong family and serving as the governor of Hebei and Henan, but I can't even protect a weak woman like you!"

Listening to Murong Yuliang's words, Chen Yiyun leaned on his shoulder and said softly:
“Master, you are very good to me. The reason I can meet a good person like you in this life is because Yiyun did good deeds and accumulated virtue in her previous life…”

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(End of this chapter)