Chapter 750: The tip of the iceberg of interest groups!
September 1st, Dongning.

In the private room of Wanchun Tower, Ye Zhanpeng sat alone in the main seat with his eyes closed. He didn’t know why his right eyelid kept twitching today...

Although he didn't believe in these ghost stories, the frequent twitching of his right eyelid still made Ye Zhanpeng a little restless.

He is 35 years old and is the shopkeeper of Dadongsheng Trading Company in Liaoyang. He is responsible for all the business of Dadongsheng Trading Company in Liaoyang.

Although Dadongsheng is still a business in name, it is responsible for the payment of Fengwu Army salaries, the exchange of banknotes in the areas controlled by Fengwu Army, the sales of goods of the Second Manufacturing Bureau, etc. Dadongsheng has actually become the largest commercial monopoly group under the rule of Fengwu Army, and is regarded by everyone as the "imperial merchant" of Fengwu Army.

The fact that Ye Hongsheng, the chief manager of Dadongsheng Company, was able to participate in the Zhongyong Hall meeting to discuss the highest military and political affairs of the Fengwu Army shows the status of Dadongsheng Company in the Fengwu Army!
As the person in charge of this commercial monopoly group in Liaoyang, Ye Zhanpeng's status in Liaoyang is also very high. He can directly meet with the current Liaoyang Governor Gu Zhongshi, Censor Zhu Xiaowen and other senior officials, and report his opinions to these senior officials.

To be able to get to this point today, the "Ye" in Ye Zhanpeng's surname has played a big role in helping him to struggle less for decades, but Ye Zhanpeng's personal abilities are also outstanding.

More than a year ago, Ye Hongsheng appreciated his ability and promoted Ye Zhanpeng to the position of manager of Liaoyang branch, regardless of the criticism of nepotism. In order to quell the criticism, Ye Hongsheng asked Ye Zhanpeng to sign a military order to increase annual profits by 20%, and he would have to resign if he failed to fulfill this military order...
After receiving the military order, Ye Zhanpeng began to work enthusiastically in the Liaoyang branch. He first cut down some unnecessary expenses of the company and fired some unnecessary staff to reduce the operating costs of the company. In addition, he also actively developed the company's business and expanded the market share of Dadongsheng Company!
As a result of these measures, the business profits of the Liaoyang branch have skyrocketed during the more than one year that Ye Zhanpeng has been in charge. In just one year, the profits have increased from 150,000 taels to 270,000 taels, an increase of more than 60%, far exceeding the 20% profit growth target set for him by Ye Hongsheng when he took office.

This completely silenced the voices of gossip, and it made Ye Hongsheng appreciate this younger generation of his own clan even more. He regarded him as his trusted and beloved general, and was ready to cultivate Ye Zhanpeng well, and even prepared to let him meet Ye Mingsheng.

However, what Ye Hongsheng would never have thought was that this descendant of his was far from being as simple as he seemed!
Ye Zhanpeng waited for about an incense stick of time, and then there was a knock on the door. Ye Zhanpeng knew that the person who came was not the distinguished guest he was going to invite. If the other party came, he would just walk in directly. However, he still opened his eyes and said lightly:
"Enter!"

As soon as these words came out, a heavily made-up madam walked into the private room. Looking at Ye Zhanpeng who looked serious, she said in a very flattering way:

“Uncle Peng, an old customer also ordered Miss Chunxue…”

Hearing this, Ye Zhanpeng looked at the madam and said calmly:
"I've already ordered Haruyuki-sama!"

The madam smiled apologetically and said:
"Master Peng, your distinguished guest hasn't arrived yet, so Miss Chunxue is just going over to greet him..."

Without waiting for the madam to finish her words, Ye Zhanpeng took out a banknote from his pocket and slapped it over, saying:

"Whether my distinguished guest comes today or not, I won't give you a penny less!"

Looking at the banknotes on the table, the madam's eyes flashed with greed, but she still cautiously advised:
"Master Peng, this is not about money. Just give me some face. Miss Chunxue will be back soon, and this table will be free of charge today!"

Feeling the meaning behind the madam's words, Ye Zhanpeng narrowed his eyes slightly and asked calmly:

"Who is the other party?"

Facing Ye Zhanpeng's question, the madam said helplessly:
"Gongsun Sheng, Cui Zijie."

Hearing these two names, Ye Zhanpeng smiled slightly and said lightly:

"Everything should be based on first come first served. I won't make it difficult for you to ask Miss Haruyuki to come over today. Just let them come over and talk to me!"

Seeing Ye Zhanpeng's tough attitude, a bitter look appeared on the madam's face. Just when she was about to say something, Ye Zhanpeng looked at her coldly. Feeling Ye Zhanpeng's cold eyes, the madam could only swallow the words that were on the tip of her tongue, nodded, bowed and retreated.

One is from the Ye family, the other is from the Cui family or the Gongsun family. No matter which one of them, she, a brothel owner, cannot afford to offend them...
After this little episode, Ye Zhanpeng did not close his eyes to rest, but picked up the teapot and started drinking by himself in the room. He did not care much about Gongsun Sheng and Cui Zijie mentioned by the other brothel owner.

In Liaoyang, there has always been a saying about the Three Clan of Liaoyang, which refers to the Cui family, the Gongsun family, and the Yun family. However, since the rise of Ye Mingsheng, the Cui family has also risen along with it, and the Gongsun family and the Yun family have gradually become vassals of the Cui family. The saying about the Three Clan of Liaoyang has gradually disappeared.

Compared with the Yun family, the relationship between the Cui family and the Gongsun family is closer because Cui Zibo married Gongsun Qiaoqing. Gongsun Sheng is the youngest son of Huan, the head of the Gongsun family, and Cui Zijie is the nephew of Cui Shao. Both of them are well-known second-generation rich people in Liaoyang.

Honestly speaking, if the opponent today was Cui Zibo, Ye Zhanpeng would really let Chunxue pass. After all, Cui Zibo's father was too awesome and he couldn't afford to offend him for the time being. However, facing these two second-generation rich kids, Ye Zhanpeng had no scruples. He didn't think that these two second-generation rich kids who only bullied the weak and feared the strong would have the courage to stand in front of him!

As expected, at Ye Zhanpeng's request, the other party did not really stand up and confront him because of a brothel girl, but what Ye Zhanpeng did not expect was that the distinguished guest he was going to invite did not arrive yet. Thinking of this, Ye Zhanpeng's expression became more and more solemn. Ye Zhanpeng knew that the other party was always punctual, and now it has been almost an hour since the agreed time, and the other party has not shown up. It is very likely that something has happened. This also made Ye Zhanpeng have some bad premonitions in his heart...
After waiting for a while, seeing that it was getting late and the other party showed no sign of showing up, Ye Zhanpeng, knowing that the other party would not come, decided not to wait any longer. He turned around and walked out of Wanchun Building and returned to his home in Dongning. After returning home, Ye Zhanpeng originally wanted to sleep.

As the manager of the Liaoyang branch, he has a lot of daily workload. He has an important meeting to preside over tomorrow. However, just when he was about to hug his beautiful concubine and have a good sleep, there was some noise outside the door. Hearing the sound, Ye Zhanpeng instantly became alert.

Just as he was about to draw out the dagger hidden under his pillow, a familiar voice came from outside the door.

"it's me!"

Hearing this voice, Ye Zhanpeng immediately relaxed. He knew that the other party must have come here to discuss something important, so he asked the concubine who was trembling on the bed to leave.

After doing all this, a tall and handsome masked man walked into the room. Seeing that the other party was still masked, Ye Zhanpeng couldn't help but said with some surprise:

"Brother Song, what happened?"

Facing Ye Zhanpeng's question, Brother Song was silent for a while, then slowly said:
"Our affairs have been discovered by the higher-ups, and they have launched an investigation!"

Ye Zhanpeng was shocked when these words came out. Although he knew that something must have happened when the other party came here late at night, he never expected that it would be this...
Just when Ye Zhanpeng was shocked, Brother Song continued:
"The reason why Wang Dajiang didn't go to your appointment today is probably because he heard something. His sister-in-law's husband works in the attendant department, so he is well-informed!"

Hearing the words "Attendant Department", Ye Zhanpeng was startled again, and subconsciously asked with some fear:

"Did this matter alarm the Marshal?"

"What do you think?" Brother Song asked in a deep voice:
After saying this, Brother Song paused and whispered again:
"Three days ago, the higher-ups sent someone to investigate this matter, but I secretly killed him. This should buy you a lot of time. Zhan Peng, you have to work hard. This matter has alarmed the Marshal, and the higher-ups will soon send someone to investigate again. We won't have much time!"

Hearing that Brother Song had actually killed the person sent by the higher-ups to investigate, Ye Zhanpeng was very moved. He knew very well how much risk his good brother had taken by doing this. After a moment of hesitation, he decided to reveal some secrets to this good brother and said:

"Brother Song, you don't have to worry too much. As the saying goes, a cunning rabbit has three burrows. I like to plan ahead, and I have already prepared a scapegoat. In addition, I have spent more than 200,000 taels of silver in the past year. Now it's time for them to protect me from the wind and rain!"

Brother Song seemed to know the power of Ye Zhanpeng's protective umbrella and said with a slightly relaxed expression;
“Zhanpeng, it’s good that you know this! Also, you should deal with those people under you. They will become a scourge sooner or later…”

Ye Zhanpeng was somewhat helpless when he heard this, but he also nodded and said:

"Brother Song, I know what to do. Don't worry, I will handle it!"

After getting Ye Zhanpeng's answer, Brother Song nodded slightly, then walked out of the room without saying anything else and quickly disappeared into the night.

Looking at the dark night outside the window, Ye Zhanpeng couldn't help but let out a long sigh. Although he had a premonition that such a day would come sooner or later, he didn't expect it to come so soon. This undoubtedly caught him off guard!
Although he was very lucky to have the same surname as the Marshal, Ye, his family was just an ordinary member of the Ye clan. His ancestors for eight or nine generations were farmers who made a living by farming. When he was seven years old, his father died of tuberculosis, and his mother soon abandoned him and remarried because she could not bear the burden.

Therefore, in the next few years, Ye Zhanpeng lived under the roof of his relatives, and when he was ten years old, his relatives sent him to a pawnshop in the town to be an apprentice.

Although he was born in the countryside, because he was very smart, the young Ye Zhanpeng became a book boy and companion to the son of the pawnshop owner. It was also at this time that Ye Zhanpeng began to read and write. The teacher saw that he was very smart and liked him very much. He changed his name from Ye Dazhuang to Ye Zhanpeng, which means a great roc spreading its wings and having a bright future.

After Ye Zhanpeng came of age, he quickly became independent in the pawnshop. The shop owner even married his daughter to her. He even wanted to let Ye Zhanpeng take over and let his own son become the boss and just live off the annuity dividends...
At this time, Ye Mingsheng rose in Liaoyang and became the governor of Liaoyang. Ye Zhanpeng saw an opportunity to change his destiny, so he immediately rushed to join him. Because of his business experience, he successfully joined the Dadongsheng Company.

After joining the Dadongsheng Company, Ye Zhanpeng was promoted very quickly because of his outstanding personal abilities and the fact that he was a member of the Ye family. However, the reason why he was promoted by Ye Hongsheng out of turn was not only because Ye Hongsheng appreciated him as a younger member of the same family, but also because Ye Zhanpeng gave him a fist-sized golden peach on his 50th birthday!

To be honest, when Ye Zhanpeng first followed Ye Mingsheng, he just thought it was a good opportunity to make a fortune. He did not expect that Ye Mingsheng would lead the Fengwu Army to its current level.

As his status improved and his horizons broadened, Ye Zhanpeng's ambitions also gradually grew. If he just wanted to make more money before, now he feels that he and the Marshal have the same surname, Ye, and he can do better with this. In this society where officials are the priority, no matter how much money you earn, it will not help. But if you can become an official, it is not impossible for your wife to be honored and your children to be famous for generations!
Ye Zhanpeng, who has been working in the business world since he was a child, knows very well that the so-called gold will shine wherever it is is simply bullshit. In real life, if a piece of rag covers you, your life is fucked up!
Therefore, if you want to become an official and climb up as high as possible, you have to find a backer for yourself. Although his surname is Ye, there are thousands of Ye family members, and one more or one less will not make any difference. A truly powerful backer will not look up to you just because your surname is Ye!
For this reason, Ye Zhanpeng thought of a way, which was to use his ability to make money to make arrangements with valuable people around him to form an interest group where all would prosper together and suffer together. With the support of the entire interest group, he would be able to have a prosperous career and be successful in everything he does...
(End of this chapter)