Chapter 764: Take a break from the busy schedule!

Yijing, Governor's Mansion,
A small meeting was going on in the Zhongyong Hall. Ye Mingsheng looked around at the people in front of him and said calmly:
"Now that you have all seen Lin Huaiwu's memorial, please share your thoughts..."

After Ye Mingsheng finished speaking, the civil and military officials of the Fengwu Army in the Zhongyong Hall seemed to have no intention of taking the initiative to stand up. Seeing this, Yuan Song also understood that he was now the chief of the general staff and had no choice but to stand up and give advice:
"Reporting to the Marshal, after receiving Commander Lin's suggestion, our colleagues in the General Staff have been conducting sand table simulations. The result of the sand table simulation is that if the situation on the front line is true, then Commander Lin and his team's plan is likely to succeed!"

"But we also need to pay attention to the time. It's already the end of September, and winter will come in two months at most!"

After getting Yuan Song's suggestion, Ye Mingsheng nodded, then looked at Cui Shao, the first person standing on his left.

Feeling Ye Mingsheng's gaze, Cui Shao also stood up and said:
"General, this year is a bumper year. The thirteen granaries in Youyan are basically full of grain. However, according to the plan, Youyan will also transport a total of 500,000 dan of grain to Qilu, Yunbing, and Anqing. Therefore, Jiyu still has a surplus of 200,000 dan of grain!"

“As for finances, after retaining the operating expenses of various government departments, our Youyan Provincial Government currently has a surplus of 110,000 taels of silver...”

Hearing this, Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly, and then asked Zhang Juning, the Financial Secretary, who was standing beside him:

"How much silver can our army mobilize at present?"

Zhang Juning heard this and introduced;
"There are probably still 220,000 taels of silver in the Treasury!"

Ye Mingsheng frowned when he heard this and continued to ask:

"How much money is left if the special budget is included?"

"Reporting to the commander, if the special budget is included, there will be about 350,000 taels of silver!"

Upon hearing that there was only 350,000 taels of silver, Ye Mingsheng frowned even more deeply but still asked:

"Zhang Juning, have you and the General Staff calculated how much money it would cost to attack the Yunbing front if we follow Lin Huaiwu's strategy?"

Zhang Juning said without hesitation:
"I've calculated that the minimum daily cost is about 5,000 taels of silver. If the intensity of the war escalates, the daily cost will be even higher!"

After getting this answer, Ye Mingsheng felt a headache and he also silently calculated in his mind. Because Jinzhong had been at war for the past two years and the Fengwu Army had recruited a lot of soldiers, in order to reduce the burden on the people, Ye Mingsheng had just ordered the exemption of taxes for the people of Jinzhong for the next two years, including this year.

In addition to exempting Jinzhong's taxes, Ye Mingsheng also does not plan to collect taxes from these three provinces this year in order to support reforms in Anqing, Qilu, Hebei and Henan, improve people's livelihood and support local infrastructure construction.

In addition to leaving taxes in the local area, Ye Mingsheng also planned to send a batch of grain from Youyan and Liaoyang to stabilize the local grain prices, and try to ensure that most of the people have food to eat and no one starves to death...

Therefore, if the Yunbing War wants to continue, it will have to rely on Liaoyang and Hebei and Henan for support. Because a big case happened in Liaoyang, which involved many people, causing some people to feel insecure and work efficiency has dropped a lot. The accounts of the governor's office have not been audited yet. According to the rules, the money and grain need to be audited before they can be used.

Therefore, for now we can only rely on the support from Hebei and Henan. Now the Hebei-Henan Provincial Government has 110,000 taels of silver, and the Finance Department has only 350,000 taels of silver including the special budget. If we get some silver from the Dadongsheng Company, it seems that it will not be difficult to collect 500,000 taels of silver.

However, this is all the assets that the Fengwu Army can mobilize now. If something happens in the next two or three months, Ye Mingsheng will be in a difficult situation.

Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng looked at Yuan Song again and asked:

"Does the General Staff have any other plans for the current situation in Hebei and Henan?"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng's question, Yuan Song once again spoke on behalf of the General Staff:

“At present, the threat posed by the enemy on the Yunping battlefield to our logistics supply lines has been reduced a lot, but the main force of the enemy still has about 70,000 soldiers and horses. Under the deployment of the enemy, the two cities of Dagu and Pingyun have formed a pincer attack and support each other from a distance. If our army attacks head-on, it is very likely that we will be trapped in a bitter battle...”

Hearing Yuan Song's words, Ye Mingsheng also understood the subtext of his words. After thinking for a while, he made a decision:
"Approve Lin Huaiwu's battle plan! All departments must do their best to ensure the logistical supply for the Yunbing front!"

"Also tell Lin Huaiwu! I'm waiting for good news from him in this battle!"

"Yes!"

After Ye Mingsheng made the decision, the meeting gradually came to an end. After discussing some details, the meeting was officially adjourned. Ye Mingsheng leaned back in his chair somewhat tiredly. The recent arms smuggling case in Liaoyang, the counterattack on the Yunbing battlefield, and the chaos in Gongdu had all taken up a lot of his energy, making him feel physically and mentally exhausted.

The only good news recently is that Wang Xuecheng has stabilized the situation in Gongdu, and the rebels under the command of Gongdu Li Xuanchang have been compressed to the vicinity of Kangshan Port. If nothing unexpected happens, Li Xuanchang will at most struggle until the end of the year before being completely destroyed.

As for the Liaoyang case, although Ye Mingsheng had a premonition from the beginning that this matter would involve many people, to be honest, he was still somewhat surprised that it would involve such far-reaching consequences. However, since he had decided to investigate, Ye Mingsheng had made up his mind that no matter who was involved, he would investigate it to the end!
This time he really wanted to see how much mud would come out when he pulled out the carrot...

The only thing that worries Ye Mingsheng now is the situation in Yunbing. Although the civil servants represented by Cui Shao and others did not express any opinions at the meeting just now, Ye Mingsheng has already noticed that there are voices among these civil servants who believe that Yunbing has already recaptured Wankang County, Pingrong County, and Lingyuan County, and it is completely possible to stop while the going is good, and there is no need to continue to waste people's time and money to attack Pingyun and Dagu!
Ye Mingsheng is not a man who likes to show off. He has also thought about these voices. However, after comprehensive consideration, Ye Mingsheng decided to insist on completing the established combat goals and exert more pressure on the Luoan court!

The current Luoan court is relying on Shangguan Hongyuan to survive. The precarious situation caused by internal and external troubles is enough to describe the complexity of their internal situation. Therefore, I have to exert more pressure on them from the outside. In this way, even if I cannot make the Luoan court fall apart, I can make the internal friction of the Luoan court more serious!
While Ye Mingsheng was thinking carefully, Ye Cheng, the chief attendant, seemed to see Ye Mingsheng's fatigue. He came to Ye Mingsheng and reported: "Marshal, there is nothing important this afternoon. The fumigation room in the mansion has been repaired. Do you want to experience it?"

Hearing Ye Cheng's proposal, Ye Mingsheng's eyes suddenly lit up, and after thinking for a moment, he asked:

"Is Ji-soo in the mansion today?"

Ye Cheng took a look at the sky outside and said:

"Sir, it is now three quarters past three in the evening. Madam Pei will return home at 3 p.m., so there is less than an hour left..."

Ye Mingsheng nodded and said
"Ask the kitchen staff to prepare a pot of hot pot meat for me, and ask Qian Changjiang to come over."

"Yes!"

Half an incense stick later, Ye Mingsheng moved to the side room, where a copper stove hot pot had been set up, as well as fresh mutton slices, vermicelli, cabbage, dried tofu, Chinese cabbage, coriander and other dishes. In addition to the dishes, there was also a small jar of wine on the table. This was the health-preserving wine that Pei Zhixiu specially prepared for him!
Ye Mingsheng only knew that ginseng and wolfberry were added to the wine. As for what other medicinal materials were added, he was not sure. However, after drinking this wine, he did feel that he slept better and was more energetic. The most important point is that this wine has a unique aroma, is soft on the palate, and is not easy to get drunk. Even if he drinks a little too much, he will not have a headache the next day.

Feeling the heat from the copper stove hot pot, Ye Mingsheng suddenly felt a little hungry. He had lost his appetite recently. He had a meeting in the afternoon, so he didn't eat well at noon and only had two pieces of cakes to fill his stomach.

Facing the sumptuous shabu-shabu meat on the table, he immediately began to enjoy it. He first made himself a bowl of sauce with chili mahjong peanut butter, and then poured the large knife of mutton that the chef had just cut into pieces into the pot and started shabu-shabu...

Compared to shabu-shabu meat piece by piece, Ye Mingsheng prefers to put the whole plate into the pot. It is not satisfying to shabu-shabu meat piece by piece, and it is more enjoyable to eat the whole plate together. Just when Ye Mingsheng was enjoying the meal, the door of the room opened again, and an elegant scholar in a long gown walked in.

This person's name is Qian Changjiang. He is a very popular storyteller in Yijing recently. He is especially good at telling stories about Water Margin. Some time ago, when Ye Mingsheng went to Chen's Teahouse to drink tea, he listened to this person's storytelling and found it very interesting. So during this period of time, he asked him to come to the mansion to tell stories to him to entertain him!

When he saw Ye Mingsheng, he wanted to kneel down and pay his respects, but Ye Mingsheng waved his hand and said:
"Mr. Qian, you told me about the Fengxue Mountain Temple last time. Can you continue telling me about it now?"

"Yes! I understand!"

After hearing Ye Mingsheng's instructions, Qian Changjiang also prepared himself and began to speak in a clear and loud voice:
“Master Lin entered the temple and closed the door. There was only a large stone next to it, which he lifted and leaned against the door. When he looked inside, he saw a statue of a golden-armored mountain god on the hall, with a judge and a little devil on both sides, and a pile of paper on the side…”

While listening to the storytelling, Ye Mingsheng drank wine and ate meat. He was really having a great time!
Half an hour later, Qian Changjiang finished talking about Master Lin at the Snow Mountain Temple. Ye Mingsheng was also full and satisfied. He nodded with satisfaction and ordered:
"You're right! Go to Ye Cheng to claim your reward!"

Upon hearing this, Qian Changjiang naturally thanked him profusely. Although Ye Mingsheng did not allow the news of his coming to the Governor's Mansion to spread, the reward Ye Mingsheng gave him was very generous. If he came to the Governor's Mansion and told Ye Mingsheng about it once, it would be enough for him to give lectures in various teahouses outside for half a month!
Of course, in addition to the reward money, being able to tell stories to Ye Mingsheng also made Qian Changjiang feel an unprecedented sense of accomplishment. He had never thought that there would come a day when he would be able to tell stories to a great man like Marshal Ye. If this matter could be spread, it would be a great honor for him, Qian, to be recorded in the history of storytelling.

Because there was nothing else important today, Ye Mingsheng planned to relax completely tonight. After soaking in the bathtub, Ye Mingsheng couldn't wait to go to the fumigation room.

Because he really likes the feeling of sweating profusely during the fumigation process, in order to get a better experience, Ye Mingsheng spent more than one thousand taels of silver to upgrade the fumigation room in his mansion, making the steaming effect even better.

Just as Ye Mingsheng was sitting on the stone chair with his eyes closed, feeling the sweat seeping out of his pores, a soft sound of footsteps sounded behind him···························
Although he didn't open his eyes, Ye Mingsheng knew who the person was based on his intuition!
As the voices came to his ears, Ye Mingsheng also said lightly:
"coming!"

Listening to Ye Mingsheng's words, Pei Zhixiu hummed softly, and then slowly massaged Ye Mingsheng's back.
After another half hour, Ye Mingsheng lay comfortably on the bed, while Pei Zhixiu took up the fire and concentrated on using the cupping jar to treat Ye Mingsheng.

As the bamboo jars were pulled out one by one on his body, Ye Mingsheng also felt some pain. In order to distract his attention, he asked Pei Zhixiu:

"How has mother been treating you lately?"

Listening to Ye Mingsheng's words, Pei Zhixiu pulled a can on Ye Mingsheng's calf and said softly:

"Mom has always been very nice to me!"

Hearing this answer, Ye Mingsheng was somewhat helpless and continued to ask:

“Is it better than before?”

Pei Zhixiu nodded and said softly:

"Mom gave Jingxuan a very good longevity lock and a peace of mind plaque a few days ago. They are both very good things..."

Hearing this, Ye Mingsheng nodded in satisfaction. The relationship between Pei Zhixiu and Ye Cui has always been a headache for him. He has also thought of some ways to try to improve the situation, but the results have not been very good. This time, Ye Cui took the initiative to find Pei Zhixiu, which he thought was a good opportunity!

(Due to special reasons, there are some modifications! Please forgive me!)

(End of this chapter)