Chapter 907 Jiang Yuyan's Purpose
April 27, Yijing

At a quarter past four in the morning, a carriage slowly stopped in front of a mansion in the east of the city. As the carriage stopped, Jiang Yuyan, who was wearing a white veil and conservative and decent clothes, slowly got out of the carriage with the help of her maid Qiao'er...

Seeing Jiang Yuyan appear, Bai Mansion's housekeeper Zhao Quan, who had been prepared for a long time, immediately came over with a smile and said:
"Madam Wang, our master has been waiting for a long time. Please come in!"

Seeing the main door open, Jiang Yuyan nodded with satisfaction. Then, under the guidance of Zhao Quan, she entered the Bai Mansion. When she entered the main hall, Jiang Yuyan saw Bai Wanhao with a head full of white hair waiting for her.

Because the two had met before due to some business matters, they were not strangers to each other. After exchanging a few words of greeting, they sat down as host and guest.

"Master Bai, I am sorry to bother you so much this time. I have no time to prepare anything. I can only bring you a root of old mountain ginseng. I hope you will accept it!"

As Jiang Yuyan spoke, she gestured for the maid Qiaoer to take out a beautifully packaged box and handed it to Zhao Quan, the steward of the Bai residence.

Although Jiang Yuyan said it simply, Bai Wanhao knew that the age of the ginseng in this box would definitely not be less than ten years, and he smiled and said:

“Madam Wang, you are too polite. It would be so polite for me to bring a gift to a distinguished guest like you, as it would bring honor to our humble residence…”

The two men began to exchange pleasantries again. Over the years, relying on his keen political sense, Bai Wanhao took advantage of the Fengwu Army's encouragement of the development of private businesses and made the Bai family's business flourish and extremely large.

Up to now, the Bai family's business has spread to the six provinces controlled by the Fengwu Army, namely Liaoyang, Youyan, Yunbing, Jiyu, Qilu, and Anqing. It is a large business with thousands of employees and craftsmen and an annual turnover of more than 100,000 taels of silver.

The Bai family's business was so big that it had frequent dealings with banks. The Rishengchang Bank under Jiang Yuyan's name was currently the largest private bank in Hebei, Henan, Shandong and Qilu.

The scale of the banknote exchange was not much smaller than that of the official banknote exchange Dadongsheng, so the Bai family business also had a lot of cooperation with Rishengchang Banknote Exchange. In order to facilitate business in Hebei, Henan, Qi and Lu areas, the Bai family also deposited tens of thousands of taels of silver in Rishengchang, becoming a major depositor of Daxinchang.

As the actual controllers of the Baijia Trading Company and the Daxinchang Bank, some important cooperation intentions were also reached through Jiang Yuyan and Bai Wanhao.

After discussing the business matters, Jiang Yuyan pondered for a moment and said to Bai Wanhao:
"Master Bai, I came here this time because I want to discuss an important cooperation with you!"

Bai Wanhao was not surprised to hear Jiang Yuyan's words. The cooperation intention they had just reached, although involving nearly 100,000 taels of silver, was not a small amount...

But it wasn't just Jiang Yuyan who came to visit him in person to talk to him, so Jiang Yuyan must have something more important to discuss with him this time.

Bai Wanhao smiled and said calmly:
"It's rare that Madam Wang thinks highly of you. I would like to hear more about it!"

Hearing this, Jiang Yuyan said in a deep voice:
"Master Bai, I believe you have heard about the birthday of the old lady of the Ye family in July. The budget from the government is not much, only 15,000 taels of silver at most!"

Seeing Jiang Yuyan mention this matter, Bai Wanhao was a little surprised, hesitated for a moment and said:
"I've heard some rumors about this matter. The Fengwu Army is still fighting with the Luoan court, and the government doesn't have much money right now!"

Jiang Yuyan heard this and said in a deep voice:

"Master Bai, I want to work with you to get money to hold a birthday party for the old lady!"

Bai Wanhao was also very surprised when he heard this. Although he knew that Jiang Yuyan must have something important to tell him when he received Jiang Yuyan's visiting card yesterday, he never expected that Jiang Yuyan came to him just for this matter!

He knew that Jiang Yuyan was Ye Mingsheng's mistress outside, which was why he treated Jiang Yuyan with such courtesy.

Now Jiang Yuyan's proposal also made Bai Wanhao a little confused. He didn't know whether this was Jiang Yuyan's personal idea or Ye Mingsheng's idea expressed through Jiang Yuyan's mouth.

Seeing Bai Wanhao seeming to hesitate to speak, Jiang Yuyan, who was also a smart person, understood Bai Wanhao's thoughts at the moment, so she immediately spoke:
“Mr. Bai, please don’t misunderstand. This is my, Jiang Yuyan’s personal opinion. It has nothing to do with anyone else…”

Bai Wanhao was even more curious about Jiang Yuyan's purpose after hearing this. After pondering for a moment, he said directly:

"Madam Wang, can you tell me why you did this? And why did you drag me into this?"

Facing Bai Wanhao's question, Jiang Yuyan was silent for a while, then raised her head and looked into Bai Wanhao's eyes and said:

"Master Bai! You should know my story, so isn't it enough to please the Marshal in your eyes?"

"Since ancient times, it has been difficult to be both loyal and filial. With more than 100,000 Fengwu troops on the expedition, it can be said that the daily expenses are burning money. The war has emptied the government's treasury, and the Marshal has no money to celebrate the old lady's birthday. I think that sharing the Marshal's worries is not a sufficient reason?"

"The Marshal will not agree to my misappropriation of the money from Rishengchang Bank. In the eyes of the Marshal, it is the life-saving money of the people and nothing can go wrong. So the only money I can use is the money from Wang's Yuchun Hall."

"Although the business of Hongfu Yuchuntang is now quite big, the business is bigger and the money needs to be spent. The most I can take out is more than 30,000 taels of silver!"

"According to my budget, the birthday party will cost at least 50,000 taels of silver, so I need someone to help me complete this task!"

Jiang Yuyan paused for a moment and looked at Bai Wanhao's meaningful speech:

“As for why I have to involve you, Master Bai, the reason is very simple. Madam Bai is about to give birth after ten months of pregnancy. I heard from an expert that Madam Bai will be giving birth to a boy…”

After hearing Jiang Yuyan's last words, Bai Wanhao's originally calm expression finally showed some ripples.

After another moment of silence, Bai Wanhao spoke to Jiang Yuyan seriously, "Madam Wang, your reasons are very sufficient, but I don't think your purpose is limited to this. If you don't tell me your true thoughts, I'm afraid I won't be able to help you!"

Seeing Bai Wanhao insisting on asking questions, Jiang Yuyan was a little annoyed. However, looking at Bai Wanhao's determined expression, Jiang Yuyan carefully weighed the pros and cons before sighing and saying:

"The Fengwu Army will soon attack Guanzhong. I was born into the royal family of the Great Zhou Dynasty, so I naturally cannot bear to see my family members being slaughtered. So I would like to ask the commander-in-chief to lead his troops into Guanzhong and not to wantonly kill the royal family members. Leave them a way out!"

To be honest, Bai Wanhao was very surprised by Jiang Yuyan's answer. He thought that Jiang Yuyan wanted to please the Marshal so much because she wanted some policies or other benefits.

I didn’t expect that Jiang Yuyan was actually trying to save her family, but when I think about it carefully, it seems reasonable for Jiang Yuyan to do this!

Jiang Yuyan confessed and asked Bai Wanhao:
"Master Bai, I have now told you everything! You should give me an answer now whether this is okay or not, right?"

Bai Wanhao heard this and preached with a serious look:
"Madam Wang, I can cooperate with you on this matter, but I have two requests!"

"First of all, this matter must be approved by the Marshal! Only when the Marshal nods can it be done!"

"The second thing is that you and I will each pay half of the money!"

After thinking about it for a while, Jiang Yuyan agreed:

"Master Bai, I agree to both of your conditions!"

Hearing Jiang Yuyan's affirmative answer, Bai Wanhao also smiled and raised his teacup and said:
“Then Madam Wang, I wish us a pleasant cooperation on this matter…”

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The next day, at 1:00 p.m.

The Ye Mansion's Loyalty and Bravery Hall, the highest decision-making place for the Fengwu Army to discuss important matters, was already packed with distinguished guests. All the important military and political leaders of the Fengwu Army in Yijing attended today's meeting without exception.

As the guards arrived, Ye Mingsheng slowly appeared in everyone's sight, and everyone immediately bowed to him.

Glancing around at everyone in the hall, Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly when he saw that most people had arrived, and the Zhongyong Hall meeting was officially convened.

Looking at Huo San standing in the line of military officers on the right, Ye Mingsheng opened his mouth and ordered:

"Huo San, please introduce the current situation of the Luoan court to everyone!"

After receiving Ye Mingsheng's order, Huo San immediately stood up and introduced:

"Yes!"

"After the defeat at Pingyang, the main force of the Luoan imperial army was severely damaged by our army. The Luoan imperial court has become a frightened bird. Many dignitaries have begun to flee to Sichuan with their gold and silver. Under internal and external pressure, Shangguan Changgong has asked for peace with our army!"

“Although he is currently communicating with our army, Shangguan Changgong said that as long as our army can guarantee that they will not liquidate their Shangguan family and protect the safety of their Shangguan family’s lives and property, he is willing to hand over power and allow our army to enter Guanzhong peacefully…”

"But according to our investigation, this is just a trick of Shangguan Changgong. Shangguan Changgong is currently doing two things. The first is to withdraw as many troops from Sichuan and Shu as possible to Guanzhong, and then reintegrate the imperial army to strengthen the defense of Weiguan!"

"According to our investigation, in the past month, Shangguan Changgong has transferred 12,000 soldiers from Sichuan and Shu. He has deployed all of these 12,000 soldiers to the Weiguan front. Currently, the enemy's strength at the Weiguan front is about 50,000, which accounts for 70% of the total strength of the Luoan court in Guanzhong!"

"In addition to dispatching troops to strengthen the defense of Weiguan, Shangguan Changgong is also actively negotiating with the Golden Horde, willing to cede Yongliang in exchange for reinforcements from the Golden Horde!"

"From these two things, it can be seen that Shangguan Changgong has no sincerity in surrendering to our army. He just wants to use negotiations to delay time with our army!"

After introducing these situations, Huo San saluted Ye Mingsheng and then returned to the queue.

Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng gave Ye Cheng another look, and Ye Cheng immediately understood, took out a letter and said loudly:
“My lords, this is the letter sent back by Lord Yuan Song from the front line. Now, let me tell you Lord Yuan Song’s views on the direction of the war…”

Hearing Yuan Song's opinion, everyone in the Loyalty and Bravery Hall also focused their attention. Over the years, Yuan Song fought in the south and the north under the command of Ye Mingsheng, and also established a considerable reputation within the Fengwu Army. He was recognized as the number one general of the Fengwu Army, so everyone attached great importance to Yuan Song's views on the war situation!
Under the gaze of everyone, Ye Cheng also directly read out the most important part:
"Although our army won a great victory in the Battle of Pingyang, our casualties were close to 20,000. At the same time, after more than a month of fierce fighting, the troops of all units are very tired and the consumption of supplies is also very huge. However, the enemy is in a panic right now, which is a rare opportunity. Therefore, if the rear can send a large number of reinforcements, the front-line soldiers will fight hard for the Marshal and the Fengwu Army."

As soon as Ye Cheng finished speaking, the expressions of the people in the Loyalty and Bravery Hall became a little excited. They all knew what it meant to break through Wei Pass!
Compared with the excited expressions of the crowd, Cui Shao, Gu Sansi and Zhang Juning looked calm, especially Cui Shao, who looked serious and unsmiling···························

Ye Mingsheng, who was sitting in the main seat, also noticed the change in Cui Shao's expression. After a moment of hesitation, he asked:
"Central Envoy, do you have any ideas?"

Following Ye Mingsheng's question, the other people in Zhongyong Hall immediately turned their eyes to Cui Shao!

Although Yuan Song has a high position in the army, there is He Jingyun who can be compared with him. As the central envoy, Cui Shao is truly a leader in the civil service system of the Fengwu Army, and no one can match him.

Everyone knows that the Fengwu Army is powerful, but few people know that behind the Fengwu Army's powerful combat power is the civil service system led by the old bureaucrat Cui Shao, which continuously supplies fuel to the Fengwu Army's war machine to keep the machine running.

Yuan Song’s meaning in the letter just now was very clear. Only with a large amount of aid can the fight continue. Whether there can be a large amount of aid now depends on Cui Shao, the central envoy who is second only to the emperor in the Fengwu Army and has the final say...
(End of this chapter)