Chapter 727 Compassion!

Although it was a bit painful to pay more money, seeing that Ye Mingsheng was already looking at him, Cui Shao could only say:
"Thank you for your consideration. The Cui family will fully support the work of Dadongsheng Company..."

After hearing Cui Shao's statement, Ye Mingsheng nodded with satisfaction. It is comfortable to talk to smart people, and there is no need to say too much!

Now that the short-term bonds have matured, we can seriously consider the issue of rewards and pensions for the soldiers. Ye Mingsheng continued to ask Cui Shao, the governor of Youyan:
"Uncle, if I remember correctly, the next quarter's tax will be collected in a little over a month, right?"

Cui Shao nodded and said:

"Specifically, the collection will start in one month and ten days. It will take about ten days to half a month to collect all the taxes!"

Ye Mingsheng nodded and said;
"Let's add up the total for two months! During these two months, how much money should the Chief Secretary keep to maintain normal operations?"

Facing Ye Mingsheng's question, Cui Shao did not give an answer immediately. Instead, he thought about it carefully before slowly saying:
"About fifty thousand taels of silver!"

Ye Mingsheng got the answer, nodded slightly and ordered:

"I will leave 70,000 taels of silver for the Governor. He must ensure that there are no problems with the stability maintenance work! As for the rest of the silver, you are prepared to hand it over!"

"Yes!"

After talking to Cui Shao, Ye Mingsheng turned his gaze to Gu Sansi who was standing opposite him. Under Ye Mingsheng's gaze, Gu Sansi stood up and said:

“Sir, I think our Fengwu Army suffered heavy casualties in this battle. If it is not handled properly, it will inevitably affect the morale of the army. Therefore, I think we should protect the rights and interests that the soldiers deserve as much as possible…”

Hearing what Gu Sansi said, Ye Hongsheng and Zhang Juning's faces looked unhappy. In their opinion, Gu Sansi was talking complete nonsense!
Who doesn’t know that lowering the standards of rewards and pensions will affect military morale?

Do you need to tell me this now?

The key is where does the money come from?
There was already half of the hole that needed to be filled, and now with the 70,000 taels of silver left to the Governor, the hole is undoubtedly bigger!

Seeing the two gods of wealth of the Fengwu Army had very ugly expressions, Gu Sansi did not keep them in suspense and spoke directly:
"Although we must do our best to protect the rights and interests of the soldiers, in my opinion, rewards and pensions for the soldiers do not necessarily have to be paid with silver!"

As soon as these words came out, everyone became interested. Under everyone's gaze, Gu Sansi asked Ye Hongsheng:
"Manager Ye, I heard that in order to supply Jiangnan, the workers at the Second Manufacturing Bureau have been working in three shifts overnight to produce nearly 100,000 bolts of cloth?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Hongsheng nodded and said:

"That's what happened!"

After finishing speaking, Ye Hongsheng changed the subject again and said through gritted teeth:
"These 100,000 pieces of cloth were ordered by the merchants in Jiangnan. They also paid a deposit of 10,000 taels of silver in advance. However, last month, the Luoan court once again put pressure on Jiangnan in the name of the emperor in order to cut off our financial resources. Lu Jianchao couldn't stand the pressure and strictly checked the goods we sold to Jiangnan..."
"Originally, these cloths have been transported to the warehouse of Yutai County and are ready to be loaded on the ship. However, because of this incident, the merchants in Jiangnan no longer dare to take these 100,000 pieces of cloth. These cloths are now all stored in the warehouse of Yutai County!"

After saying these words, Ye Hongsheng sighed helplessly. Although the little emperor of the Luoan court had almost no influence on the Fengwu Army, as the orthodox emperor of the Great Zhou recognized by the world, he was still very influential in other territories of the Great Zhou. Many of the old and young people of the Great Zhou were thinking of him!
Therefore, facing the edict issued by the Luoan court in the name of the emperor, Lu Jianchao could not turn a deaf ear to it. The only one who suffered was him, the shopkeeper in charge of the Fengwu Army's trade. This business was becoming more and more difficult to do, and the profits were getting smaller and smaller!
Looking at the gloomy Ye Hongsheng, Ye Mingsheng also had some realization in his heart. Before the Battle of Yunbing, Shangguan Hongyuan wanted to cut off the financial resources of the Fengwu Army in Jiangnan and hit the Fengwu Army economically. For this reason, Shangguan Hongyuan even forced Murong Lun to use his personal relationship with Lu Jianchao.

For this purpose, Ye Mingsheng specially sent a personal letter to Lu Jianchao. Perhaps it was because Jiangnan still needed the Fengwu Army to train soldiers and build a firearms production factory for them at that time, so Lu Jianchao gave Ye Mingsheng face and turned a blind eye to the fact that Dadongsheng Company was making a lot of money in Jiangnan...
It was precisely because of the millions of silver coming from Jiangnan that the Fengwu Army, which was fighting on two fronts, did not collapse. It persisted under the siege of Shangguan Hongyuan and Xu Zhaojie and had the last laugh!
And now Shangguan Hongyuan is using the same old trick again, and wants to cut off the financial resources of Fengwu Army. If this trick succeeds, although the effect will be less severe than directly cutting off the financial resources of Fengwu Army during wartime, it will be enough to make Fengwu Army feel painful. After all, this war will directly turn the originally slightly surplus finances into a deficit!

In addition, there are many other places that require the Fengwu Army to coordinate resources to restore the people's livelihood and economy. Now the Fengwu Army would like to tear a tael of silver into two halves to spend.

If Shangguan Hongyuan's conspiracy really succeeded, the already fragile finances of the Fengwu Army would probably be made even worse!

Regarding this matter, what Ye Mingsheng wanted to know was what Jiangnan Governor Lu Jianchao thought!
At the very beginning, Shangguan Hongyuan gave orders to Lu Jianchao in the name of the little emperor, but Lu Jianchao ignored him. Later, Murong Lun stepped in and asked Lu Jianchao to increase tariffs and strengthen inspections on the goods sold by the Fengwu Army, and some goods were even banned from export to Jiangnan.

Now that Murong Lun did not show up again, Lu Jianchao listened to Shangguan Hongyuan obediently, which made Ye Mingsheng wonder if it was because the Jiangnan firearms troops were about to complete their training and the firearms production factory was about to be completed, that the Jiangnan side felt that the cooperation between the two sides had no value and was thinking of kicking the Fengwu Army away...

In addition, the cooperation between the Fengwu Army and Jiangnan was originally based on the common enemy Xu Zhaojie. Now Xu Zhaojie suffered a disastrous defeat in Hebei and Henan. Not only did he suffer heavy losses in troops, but he also lost his old nest Anqing. Now he is also in a mess in Huainan and will no longer pose a threat to Jiangnan in the short term.

Therefore, without this cornerstone, the interest connection between the two sides was no longer solid. Even with the Fengwu Army taking Anqing, the only place left for the Fengwu Army to reach Jiangnan was Huainan. Coupled with the decline of Xu Zhaojie's Zhennan Army, the Fengwu Army might also be seen as a threat of invasion by Jiangnan. So Lu Jianchao was naturally unwilling to allow the Fengwu Army to make money in Jiangnan.

Realizing this, Ye Mingsheng's expression became somewhat serious. If Lu Jianchao really had this idea, then perhaps he should reconsider his relationship with Jiangnan!
While Ye Mingsheng was thinking about the Jiangnan issue, Gu Sansi said with a smile:

"It's just right that we can't sell it in Jiangnan. We can use the discount of cloth as silver to reward and provide pensions to the soldiers! In addition to cloth, we can also have food, salt, pigs, chickens, ducks, fish, daily necessities produced by the Second Manufacturing Bureau, farm tools and fertilizers. These can all be used as silver at a discount!"

“Liaoyang and Youyan had a bumper harvest last year. Although a lot of grain was consumed in the recent war, many government coffers are still full. Instead of leaving all the grain gathering dust in the warehouse, it is better to use it as rewards and pensions for the soldiers!” “For the rewards for those middle and senior generals, the silver can be changed into mansions, beauties, slaves, gold, silver and jade, calligraphy and paintings, and ancient books. Some of these things were not dealt with when we cleared out Hebei and Henan last time…”

Listening to Gu Sansi's idea, Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly. Gu Sansi's idea might be the best way to deal with the current situation. He immediately asked everyone:
"What do you all think of Sansi's idea?"

In response to Ye Mingsheng's question, Cui Shao, Ye Hongsheng, and Zhang Juning thought about it and nodded in agreement with Gu Sansi's opinion. Seeing that everyone had reached a consensus, Ye Mingsheng made the decision:

"Since everyone thinks it's a good idea, then let's do it. Sansi, you will take the lead in this matter and work with the Second Manufacturing Bureau to handle it. Come up with a plan for me to review as soon as possible, and all your departments must cooperate accordingly!"

"Yes!"

Everyone said in unison:
After discussing the important matters, Ye Mingsheng ended the official meeting, and everyone said goodbye and left together. Just when Cui Shao was about to leave the Ye Mansion, Ye Cheng invited him back to the Ye Mansion to watch the show with Ye Cui. Naturally, Cui Shao would not object to this.

Ye Cui was naturally very happy about the arrival of her third brother. As people get older, they will naturally miss their family more. Although they all lived in Yijing and their houses were not far apart, it was very rare for brothers and sisters to meet. The last time they met was more than a month ago on Ye Cui’s birthday...

At noon, she specially asked Cui Shao to stay and have lunch with her and Ye Mingsheng. After the meal, Ye Cui, who felt a little tired, reluctantly said goodbye to her brother. After Ye Cui left, Ye Mingsheng smiled and asked Cui Shao:

"Uncle, how is General Peng's injury?"

Seeing Ye Mingsheng asking about Peng Ce, Cui Shaoxian sighed and said:

"Thanks to the medical experts you sent to treat General Peng, his condition has stabilized. However, because he was injured in the vital part of his abdomen, his vitality was seriously damaged. The doctor also said that he can only live one day at a time!"

Ye Mingsheng nodded when he heard this. Although Peng Ce, as the oldest general in the Fengwu Army, did not make any great contributions to the Fengwu Army, he was also diligent in the Fengwu Army's foreign wars. Although his contributions were not many, he definitely worked hard. As the commander-in-chief, he should be taken care of.

After a pause, Ye Mingsheng said:
"I have instructed the doctors at the medical school to visit General Peng every two or three days and try to extend his life. Even if it is the last straw, we should not let him suffer too much!"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng, Cui Shao also nodded and said:

“Thank you for your consideration…”

"Nothing. General Peng fought for our Fengwu Army in many battles, from outside the Great Wall to inside the Great Wall. He has made outstanding achievements. Now that our Fengwu Army is in trouble, this is what I should do. I wonder what the old general wants?" Ye Mingsheng nodded and continued to ask;
Facing Ye Mingsheng's question, Cui Shao also understood that Ye Mingsheng had just given him a blow at the meeting and was now going to give him a sweet treat.

After thinking for a while, Cui Shao said:
"The old general has two sons. The eldest son is named Peng Huan and currently serves as the deputy general in Guanning Prefecture, Liaoyang. The younger son, Peng Le, is still young and has not yet married!"

Ye Mingsheng nodded and said:

"Later, I'll let Zhao Han make the arrangements as appropriate! I'll make sure the old general is at ease!"

Cui Shao bowed and said:

"Thank you for your understanding!"

Ye Mingsheng smiled and waved his hand and said:

"It doesn't matter, this is what I should do!"

After saying this, Ye Mingsheng was silent for a while, then he looked at Cui Shao and said seriously:
“He Jingyun is also very sorry about what happened to the old general this time. He also expressed his remorse in the letter he wrote to me. He even wanted to come back and apologize in person at Peng’s house…”

When Cui Shao heard the name "He Jingyun", a gleam of light flashed in the depths of his eyes. Sure enough, things were not that simple. Ye Mingsheng mentioned He Jingyun after all. In the Fengwu Army, it was generally believed that the number one civil servant was Cui Shao, and the number one military officer was He Jingyun, the chief of staff.

In order to prevent Ye Mingsheng from becoming suspicious, the two of them kept to themselves except when talking about military expenditures, and they had no contact at all in private. But this time, Cui Shao really hated He Jingyun!

When Cui Shao was young, he encountered bandits in Liaoyang. When his life was hanging by a thread, Peng Ce, who was a squad leader at the time, arrived with his men, killed the bandits and rescued Cui Shao. The two of them developed a deep friendship and have been good friends for decades.

With the help of Cui Shao using the influence of the Cui family, Peng Ce became a general of the Liaoyang Army from a small sergeant. Peng Ce also turned his troops into the Cui family's private army, providing armed protection for the Cui family. This pattern was not broken until Ye Mingsheng appeared.

Although Peng Ceren is still alive, he doesn’t have much time left, and the culprit is He Jingyun!
He Jingyunfei held a chicken feather as a command, asking Peng Ce to defend Wankang County to the death. Otherwise, Peng Ce would not have been forced to go to the front line to fight in the last moment of defending the city at an advanced age, and was finally shot in the abdomen by the enemy and was seriously injured·······································
(End of this chapter)