Chapter 833 The debt is due!

“Chang Gong, what do you think Ye Mingsheng is doing now…”

Shangguan Changgong was stunned when these words were spoken, not knowing what his father meant. While he was stunned, Shangguan Hongyuan took the spoon and porcelain bowl from him and started eating bite by bite.

Shangguan Hongyuan ate a simple bowl of rice and lean meat porridge very carefully and seriously, as if it was not a bowl of meat porridge but some delicacies from the mountains and the sea. However, even so, Shangguan Hongyuan did not eat much. He only ate half a bowl of meat porridge and then put the bowl down.

Seeing his father only eat so little, Shangguan Changgong felt sad and said:

"Dad, do you want to have some more porridge? If you want to eat something else, I'll ask the kitchen to make it for you. Isn't roasted lamb leg your favorite?"

Listening to his son's words, Shangguan Hongyuan shook his head and said:
"I'm not hungry after drinking some porridge. I'll eat the roasted lamb leg and other things after a few days!"

After saying this, Shangguan Hongyuan seemed to remember something and asked:
"Chang Gong, what is the current situation in the world like?"

Facing his father's question, Shangguan Hongyuan thought for a moment and said:
"It's still relatively stable at the moment. Sun Chenggong is recuperating and licking his wounds in Jingchu. However, there is news that he has secretly recruited another 10,000 men. The total strength of the Chu army is now close to 60,000. I think he is still not satisfied with this!"

“As for Xu Zhaojie, he has recently wanted to remove the poisonous thorn Cao Heng of Jinghai. However, because the First Division of the Fengwu Army has been making continuous moves in Kangyin, it has tied down a lot of forces of the Zhennan Army. Lu Jianchao in Jiangnan has been giving blood transfusions to Cao Huan. Therefore, the progress of the Zhennan Army is not smooth…”

"The Fengwu Army has been very quiet recently, but I heard that they have made a lot of moves internally. Ye Mingsheng first established new departments such as the Personnel Bureau and the Legal Affairs Bureau to strengthen control over the local areas. He also launched a large-scale anti-F movement in the army. I heard that hundreds of people in the Fengwu Army were punished because of this, and even senior generals were held accountable!"

"In addition to this, Ye Mingsheng also ordered a large number of troops to be drawn from several other divisions and added to the Third Division to rebuild the Third Army. It seems that he intends to restart the war in Yunbing!"

"But I think Ye Mingsheng is a little too conceited. His large-scale anti-corruption campaign in the Fengwu Army will inevitably cause panic among the people in the Fengwu Army and affect their combat effectiveness. This is very good news for our army. It would be fine if he doesn't start a war, but if he dares to start a war, the court will definitely give him a head-on blow!"

"According to your instructions, the court has recently sent a lot of money and food to Jinyang. Governor Wang also wrote to say that the situation in Jinyang has basically stabilized. If the Fengwu Army starts a war again, he is confident that he can repel the invading enemy and guard the East Gate for the court!"

Hearing this, Shangguan Hongyuan nodded slightly, and the gloom in his expression eased a little, and then asked again:

"What is the current situation within the court?"

Shangguan Changgong heard this and introduced:
“During the time when you were ill, Lord Yang Chongqing has recovered, and I handed over the military power to him. After learning the lesson from last time, Murong Lun and the others have become much more honest, and they dare not act rashly again…”

After hearing this news, Shangguan Hongyuan finally relaxed and said:
"Chongqing has recovered from his illness. This is the best news in recent times. I feel relieved to have him by your side to assist you!"

Shangguan Changgong smiled and agreed upon hearing this:
"Lord Yang is truly a loyal minister to our Shangguan family. After he recovered from his injury, he has been asking to see his father!"

Although he trusted Yang Chongqing very much, Shangguan Hongyuan had become very sensitive and suspicious after decades of political career. He didn't know whether Yang Chongqing really wanted to meet him or was testing him because he realized something. He pondered for a while and said:
"I'll go see Chongqing in a few days when my body recovers!"

"Yes!" Shangguan Changgong nodded and replied:
At this time, Shangguan Hongyuan continued:

"Xianxian is fifteen years old this year. I think Tang Peng's eldest son is very good. Ma Chongyang has a little daughter who is about eleven years old. Although she is two years older than our Lie'er, their ages are about the same. Both of these marriages are very good. Let's settle them in the future! Even if it's just to bring good luck to an old man like me!"

Hearing Shangguan Hongyuan say this, Shangguan Changgong was stunned at first, and then his eyes were full of confusion. It was not that he did not understand the deep meaning of his father’s actions, he just did not understand whether it was really necessary to do this considering Chongqing’s loyalty to their family································

Feeling his son's intention, Shangguan Hongyuan sighed and said:

"Chang Gong, I know you have a very good relationship with Chongqing, and he even saved your life, but you can never know a person's heart, and people will change!"

Shangguan Hongyuan paused and continued:
"Chang Gong, I know even without you telling me that I don't have many days left to live. When I was alive, Chongqing was a loyal and capable general of our family. But now that I'm gone, and you've handed over all the military power to him, everything is uncertain!"

"Even if you trust Chongqing, you can't give him all the military power. Then why can Ye Mingsheng command hundreds of thousands of Fengwu troops at will? Isn't it because he knows how to check and balance and never lets anyone have too much power?"

"It's the same principle now. You need to use Ma Chongyang and Tang Peng to check and balance Chongqing. Don't underestimate the impact of power on a person. Once you have tasted the beauty of power, it will be very difficult to give it up. So you must do a good job of checks and balances from the beginning!"

“Only with the means of checks and balances can you safely hand over power to Chongqing. Although Wang Muzhi is brave and resourceful, he is young and lacks experience. He may not be able to do things thoroughly. At that time, Chongqing will be the main person and Wang Muzhi will be the auxiliary. With these two people in charge, even if they cannot defeat Ye Mingsheng, they can protect you..."

"You can delegate government affairs to Murong Lun. He is a man of great talent. Although he has always been indecisive and has been flirting with the Fengwu Army, he is a smart man and knows that there are some things that Ye Mingsheng cannot give him, so he has not yet completely surrendered to Ye Mingsheng!"

"As long as our army has not been completely defeated militarily, he will be optimistic and will not really surrender to Ye Mingsheng. On the contrary, once our army shows a complete decline militarily, you must kill Murong Lun first, otherwise he will definitely sell you out in exchange for the wealth and glory of the Murong family!"

At this point, Shangguan Hongyuan also started coughing continuously. Listening to his father's violent coughing, Shangguan Changgong gently pounded his back while speaking with great distress:
"Dad, don't worry, take a rest and tell me later!" Shangguan Hongyuan coughed and waved his hands when he heard it. He knew that he didn't have much time left. If he rested now, he wouldn't know when he would wake up next time, so he had to take advantage of the time he was awake to tell him as many things as possible.

Shangguan Hongyuan drank a sip of tea and stopped coughing. He lay very weakly on the bed and continued to speak after a pause:
“Chang Gong, don’t get lucky. Ye Mingsheng’s control over the Fengwu Army is even stronger than you think…”

"He has made such a great effort to rectify the internal problems of Fengwu Army this time. In my opinion, he must stabilize the country before fighting against foreign enemies. He has basically solved the more prominent and serious problems within Fengwu Army. After the New Year and the end of spring plowing, his next step will definitely be to target Jinyang and then seek to seize Guanzhong!"

"So you, Chang Gong, must be well prepared. You must not let the Fengwu Army take Jinyang. If Jinyang is lost, Guanzhong will have no room for buffer. By that time, the court will be shaken and the people will be in panic. Basically, the situation will be over!"

"If it really comes to a point where nothing can be done, you can give up Luo An and flee to Sichuan. Ye Mingsheng and Xu Zhaojie are mortal enemies. If you take down Luo An, with Ye Mingsheng's arrogance, he will definitely not regard you as his primary opponent. He will turn around to deal with Xu Zhaojie!"

"Although the Fengwu Army is powerful, Xu Zhaojie is the best fighter I have ever seen in my life. Moreover, with Lu Jianchao supporting him from behind, it will definitely not be easy for Ye Mingsheng to completely deal with him. You can take this opportunity to recuperate in Sichuan and Shu!"

“In short, Chang Gong said, you must fight Ye Mingsheng to the end. God may favor him once or twice, but I don’t believe God will favor him forever…”

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While Shangguan Hongyuan was unwilling to give up, explaining his final arrangements to his son, Ye Mingsheng of Yijing, thousands of miles away, was meeting with the Financial Secretary Zhang Juning in his study.

"General, according to your instructions and requirements, our Finance Department has accumulated 970,000 taels of silver for the Western Expedition in recent months. After the tax silver from Anqing and Qilu is collected in the spring, it is estimated that this amount of silver will exceed 1.2 million taels of silver!" Zhang Juning reported to Ye Mingsheng confidently:

Recently, due to Ye Mingsheng's government reforms, Zhang Juning and the Finance Department were transferred to the Government Affairs Bureau, and Zhang Juning became the deputy director of the Government Affairs Bureau. Although he was promoted in name, in reality Zhang Juning was still mainly responsible for the affairs of the Finance Department. He served as the God of Wealth of the Fengwu Army and looked after the Fengwu Army's purse for Ye Mingsheng.

After hearing Zhang Juning's report, Ye Mingsheng was also very satisfied. He knew that Zhang Juning was always very rigorous in his words. Since he now reported to him that the amount of silver could reach 1.2 million taels, there would be 80% no problem with this matter, and even if there were any changes, it would only be more and less!
However, just as Ye Mingsheng was about to praise Zhang Juning's work, Zhang Juning continued:

“Sir, although we have silver in our account, we have such a problem now. After our Fengwu Army entered the pass, we issued a three-year short-term bond in order to maintain stability. Now this bond will mature in two months. Please think about how to deal with it...”

After hearing Zhang Juning talk about this matter, Ye Mingsheng thought for a while and remembered that there was indeed such a thing. He then said:

"What is the total amount of this bond? Who are the creditors?"

Zhang Juning said without hesitation:
"The total is 350,000 taels of silver, and the interest rate is 5%. In the past two years, I have paid them the interest according to your orders. This year, I will pay back the principal and interest. The total is 367,500 taels of silver!"

"As for the creditors, they are mainly the Cui family, the Gu family, some gentry in Liaoyang and Youyan, and some generals in our Fengwu Army!"

Ye Mingsheng fell into deep thought after hearing this. Seeing this, Zhang Juning couldn't help but guess what Ye Mingsheng was thinking. He knew that Ye Mingsheng attached great importance to the Western Expedition and had asked him to prepare silver for several months for this purpose. If this bond was redeemed now, it would definitely have an impact on the Western Expedition.

Therefore, Zhang Juning felt that Ye Mingsheng was unlikely to want to pay back the money, but as the commander-in-chief, it would be difficult for him to ask for it. Therefore, as a subordinate, Zhang Juning should share the commander-in-chief's worries and immediately said:
“Marshal, Lord Cui, Lord Gu and other lords are all loyal to the country and have a broad mind. The Western Expedition is now the top priority of our Fengwu Army. Other matters should give way to this…”

"I believe that you all will understand the Marshal's difficulties and are willing to donate these bonds!"

After saying these words, Zhang Juning felt a little complacent in his heart, thinking that he had figured out Ye Mingsheng's thoughts, and was waiting for Ye Mingsheng's admiring look.

However, what he didn't expect was that after hearing his words, Ye Mingsheng said firmly:
"Integrity is the foundation of a person and should never be discarded casually!"

"We, the Fengwu Army, must pay back the three hundred and seventy thousand taels of silver. Not only that, we must do it with great fanfare and honor, so that everyone knows that we, the Fengwu Army, have fulfilled our promise and returned all the interest and principal to them!"

"How about this! Zhang Juning, you negotiate with Ye Cheng for some time and hold a repayment ceremony. I will attend the ceremony. At this ceremony, we will return the silver to them without missing a cent!"

Zhang Juning was confused by these words. He didn't know what Ye Mingsheng meant. Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng also spoke meaningfully:

"Zhang Juning, remember, we must recognize the bonds issued by the Fengwu Army. You must not refuse to recognize them for the sake of a small profit. You have to settle the debt for generations to come. As the old saying goes, if you borrow, you must repay. It will not be difficult to borrow again!"

"Yes! The commander is far-sighted, and it is I who am foolish!"

Zhang Juning was also a smart man. After listening to Ye Mingsheng's words, he suddenly understood what Ye Mingsheng meant.

After explaining the matter to Zhang Juning, Ye Mingsheng gave a few more instructions on the details and then let Zhang Juning leave. His schedule for the day was very full. If he remembered correctly, the next one would be that woman. He didn't know what her plan was, but she had to come to Yijing to report.

But it doesn't matter if I come. I also want to know how her bank is doing...
(End of this chapter)