Chapter 783: Decentralization!

Before the Battle of Yunbing started at the beginning of the year, the powerful military threat from the Fengwu Army was felt. Although the finances of the Luoan court were not good, Shangguan Hongyuan, as the chief minister, still granted the Supervisory Department hundreds of thousands of taels of silver every year to infiltrate and bribe the Fengwu Army...
The Supervisory Department is the premier intelligence agency of the Great Zhou, with spies spread all over the territory of the Great Zhou. According to incomplete statistics, there are at least 10,000 spies in the Supervisory Department.

Such a huge spy system, coupled with the special funds approved by Shangguan Hongyuan, brought considerable trouble to the Coordination Office!

In the past six months, the General Coordination Office has solved as many as fifteen cases involving the Supervisory Department, arrested and executed eighty-one spies from the Supervisory Department, and also arrested fifteen Fengwu Army officials who were bribed by the Supervisory Department. It is worth noting that among these fifteen people, one was from the Fengwu Army General Staff!

The Coordination Office learned from these people that the Supervisory Office had appointed a captain for the intelligence system within the Fengwu Army. His name was Jiang Kuang!

After learning of this information, the Coordination Office immediately deployed forces against Jiang Kuang and successfully captured him. They also learned a lot of useful information from him and uncovered three spies from the Supervisory Office who had been lurking in the Fengwu Army for many years.

Just when the Coordination Office was satisfied and thought that the matter had come to an end, their secret agents lurking in the Luoan court sent news back to the Coordination Office, saying that someone in the Supervisory Department’s intelligence network in the Fengwu Army was still sending information to the Luoan court in the identity of Jiang Kuang, including confidential information such as the Fengwu Army’s logistics supply in Yunbin...

After learning the news, the Coordination Office held a meeting and made special arrangements. After two full months of arrests, they finally killed the second Jiang Kuang. However, they did not expect to hear Jiang Kuang's name again, and this guy even tried to stir up internal friction within the Fengwu Army!
After thinking for a while, Huo San asked Gao Zhenghuan:
"Do those three know where Jiang Kuang is?"

Gao Zhenghuan said without hesitation:
"Director, those three people said that Jiang Kuang had been in single-line contact with them. Jiang Kuang could contact them, but they couldn't. In addition, when they met Jiang Kuang, he wore an iron mask, so they couldn't see Jiang Kuang's appearance. They only knew that Jiang Kuang spoke with a Yijing accent!"

Huo San was a little disappointed when he heard this, but he also asked the most crucial question.

"Do you know the whereabouts of the stolen money?"

Gao Zhenghuan heard this and said:

“Sir, according to what these three people said, Ye Zhanpeng found a gold mine near Denong County. He invested part of his silver in developing the gold mine. In addition, he also hid 210,000 taels of silver in the gold mine…”

Huo San's eyes lit up immediately after hearing the news, he knew that Ye Mingsheng had not completely forgiven him, and he was now redeeming himself for meritorious service. Therefore, if he could find this gold mine and the 210,000 dirty silver in it, and ease the financial strain on the Fengwu Army, then he would most likely be safe in this case!

Feeling Huo San's excitement, Gao Zhenghuan hesitated for a moment, but still cautiously poured a basin of cold water on him and said:

"Sir, according to what those three people said, Ye Zhanpeng only said that the silver was hidden in the gold mine, but he didn't reveal the specific location of the gold mine. They have been searching around Denong County for more than half a month, and they have looked everywhere, but they still haven't found any trace of the gold mine!"

Hearing this news, Huo San's heart sank. After thinking for a moment, he ordered:

"Go and get me that Denong County Magistrate Wang Yan right now!"

"And developing a gold mine is no small matter. It must involve a lot of manpower. So many things can't be kept secret. Go and investigate for me whether anyone in Denong County has recruited miners in the past year, or whether a large number of miners have come to Denong!"

"Your Excellency has left us with little time. We must find this gold mine as soon as possible!"

"Yes!"

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“A gentleman says: learning should never be stopped. Blue is derived from indigo, but is bluer than indigo. Ice is made of water, but is colder than water. A piece of wood is straight as a rope, and when made into a wheel, its curve is in line with the rule. Even if some are withered and no longer straight, it is because they were made that way…”

In the Governor's Mansion, little Jingren was reciting the text with his head shaking. Ye Mingsheng smiled and nodded as encouragement. Hearing that little Jingren was stumbling more and more as he recited, Ye Mingsheng interrupted his recitation at the right time and said:
"Very good! Jingren, you are so young, but you can recite such a long text. It is really rare. When I was your age, I was far inferior to you!"

After he finished speaking, Ye Mingsheng touched Jingren's little head lovingly. Hearing his father's praise, Jingren's chubby little face was immediately filled with excitement.

An Miaoyi, who was sitting nearby, saw this heartwarming scene and a smile appeared on her face. She thought that Ye Mingsheng would not come to her in a short time, so when Ye Mingsheng came here half an hour ago, she was happy but also a little surprised.

After laughing foolishly for a while, Jingren seemed to have thought of something. He shook Ye Mingsheng's big hand and said in a baby voice:

"Daddy, I want to eat hot pot!"

Feeling the expectation in Jingren's eyes, Ye Mingsheng wanted to agree immediately, but before he could open his mouth, An Miaoyi said:

“My husband Jingren has been greedy since he was young, always wanting to eat delicious food. We had hot pot five days ago, and he ate a full plate of mutton by himself. If I hadn’t stopped him, he could have eaten another plate…”

"Doctor Zhu from the medical school said that Jingren is prone to obesity and he must pay attention to his diet. Otherwise, he will easily become fat. So I have been paying attention to Jingren's diet and dare not let him eat too much. Besides, there is a war going on at the front and the finances are very tight. We can't help much at home. We can only save some money to support the front line!"

Hearing An Miaoyi talking about this, Ye Mingsheng nodded secretly in his heart. Although An Miaoyi had some small actions, she was still very much to his liking in terms of frugal spending. Three days ago, she gave the remaining 20,000 taels of silver in the mansion to the Finance Department. Although this amount of money was not much, it was of great significance!

However, I only visit Jingren once every ten days or half a month, so it is not too much for a child to ask for hotpot, not to mention that Jingren is looking at me eagerly.

Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng patted An Miaoyi's hand and said:
"Just this once! Boys are allowed to eat more, and now they get tired of it after eating more!"

After hearing this, An Miaoyi could only nod helplessly, and then gave little Jingren a look, hoping that Jingren could understand something.

However, little Jingren, who was immersed in the joy of eating hot pot, didn't care about his mother's eyes, and said to Ye Mingsheng in a baby voice:
"Thank you, Daddy. Daddy is the best to Jingren!" Hearing this, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but pinch his chubby face and said:
“You little heartless boy, your mother is the best to you! You must be filial to your mother in the future…”

After hearing Ye Mingsheng's words, little Jingren stuck out his tongue and looked at An Miaoyi with some fear.

Under Ye Mingsheng's instructions, the hot pot was quickly served, and the family of three started eating around the steaming hot pot.

Like Ye Mingsheng, little Jingren is also a carnivore. His pair of big black eyes are staring at mutton, and it can be seen that at such a young age he likes it very much.

Compared to Ye Mingsheng and Ye Jingren, father and son, who were feasting on mutton, An Miaoyi ate relatively lightly. She only ate some cabbage, coriander, and vermicelli. When Ye Mingsheng was sweating profusely while eating, An Miaoyi picked up a handkerchief and carefully wiped the sweat from Ye Mingsheng's forehead.

Feeling An Miaoyi's actions, Ye Mingsheng was also a little touched, but he didn't say anything. After wiping Ye Mingsheng's sweat, An Miaoyi said softly:
"My husband, I have been focusing all my energy on Jingren recently, and Ye Cheng is mainly busy with the Attendant Department, so some things in the mansion have been delayed, and some things have not been handled in time, so I want to find someone to help me share the burden!"

Hearing this, Ye Mingsheng said calmly:

"Everything in the mansion can be arranged by you, Miaoyi!"

Upon hearing this, An Miaoyi looked at Ye Mingsheng and said:
“Sister Zhixiu manages Changshan Medical Clinic in an orderly manner, which is enough to prove Sister Zhixiu’s ability, so I want her to help me…”

Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but feel a little surprised when he heard this. He thought An Miaoyi wanted to promote her trusted maid, but he didn't expect that An Miaoyi was talking about Pei Zhixiu!

What exactly is she up to?

As if seeing Ye Mingsheng's doubts, An Miaoyi said softly:

"My husband, Sister Zhixiu is beautiful and intelligent. Although she is in charge of a lot of things in the clinic, a Changshan Clinic is a bit of a waste of her talent. So I thought that Sister Zhixiu could come and help me after going to the clinic every day!"

Ye Mingsheng thought for a moment, looked at An Miaoyi and asked:
"Miaoyi, is this really what you think?"

An Miaoyi met Ye Mingsheng's gaze, nodded sincerely and said:
"Of course!"

After getting An Miaoyi's answer, Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly, and then whispered:
"Qingwu is going to give birth soon. Miaoyi, please help take care of her. You have experience in this area!"

An Miaoyi heard this and said softly:

"As long as Sister Qingwu needs anything, I will definitely help!"

After eating the hot pot, Ye Mingsheng played with little Jingren for a while, and then left slowly. An Miaoyi stood at the door, watching Ye Mingsheng leave, and only returned to the house when Ye Mingsheng’s figure disappeared...

"Madam, why do you suddenly want to share the power with Pei Zhixiu?" Qiqige came to An Miaoyi and asked in confusion:

Listening to Qiqige's words, An Miaoyi sighed and said somewhat sadly:

"It's better for me to bring it up myself than for him to bring it up!"

"It's much better to let Pei Zhixiu take care of this matter than Murong Qingwu! Although he came today, he is still angry in his heart, but this bastard still remembers the old friendship!"

Thinking of this, a complex emotion emerged in An Miaoyi's eyes. As a woman, she would of course wonder, if she and Ye Mingsheng were ordinary people, an ordinary couple in this world, then what would happen?

Will I live a life with Ye Mingsheng, with the man farming and the woman weaving?

An Miaoyi doesn’t know the answer to this question, but she also knows that there are no ifs in this world!
She had feelings for Ye Mingsheng, and Ye Mingsheng also had feelings for her, but both of them knew that their marriage was based on politics and interests from the very beginning.

Sometimes you may not want to do that, but there is no way to change it!
At night, the study of the Governor's Mansion

Ye Mingsheng was reading the battle report from Yunbing. He originally thought that this counterattack would be easy, but he did not expect that his former superior Wang Muzhi would bring so much trouble to the Fengwu Army. Fortunately, although it was a bit troublesome, the ending was still good...

Up to now, Dagu County and Pingyun County have all been recaptured by the Fengwu Army. This means that all the results of the offensive launched by Shangguan Hongyuan with an army of 200,000 personally in Yunbing in the first half of the year have come to naught. Shangguan Hongyuan's last fig leaf has also been pulled down by the Fengwu Army, which is of great significance in undermining Shangguan Hongyuan's prestige.

In addition to its political significance, the Fengwu Army killed more than 15,000 enemy troops and captured more than 30,000 enemy troops in this counterattack, causing heavy casualties to the enemies in Yunbing. After this battle, Jinyang no longer had any barrier for the Fengwu Army, and Jinyang had to face the blade of the Fengwu Army!
Of course, under Wang Muzhi's entanglement, the Second Army and the Third Division that carried out the Yunbing counterattack also suffered heavy casualties. According to incomplete statistics, the casualties of the two troops have reached nearly 20,000. In the short term, they are unable to launch a large-scale attack on the enemy and need to stay in the garrison for rest and replenishment.

At this point, the situation in Yunbing has reached a stalemate. Both the Luoan court and the Fengwu army need to recuperate before carrying out the next strategy!

Ye Mingsheng was basically satisfied with this situation. After all, time was on the side of the Fengwu Army, so he approved the battle report. However, just as Ye Mingsheng was working, Ye Cheng quietly walked in and said:
“Sir, Madam Pei wants to see you about something…”

(End of this chapter)