Chapter 913 Family Affairs! National Affairs! World Affairs!
Yijing, Ye Mansion

Bai Yuanyuan, who was lying in bed during the confinement period, looked at the baby in her arms contentedly, with a happy smile unconsciously on her face····························

Compared to her last pregnancy, Bai Yuanyuan had a harder time because of her age. Her pregnancy reaction was very severe. She vomited after eating. Sometimes, even though she felt very nauseous, she still had to force herself to continue eating.

In addition to the physical difficulties, Bai Yuanyuan also bore considerable psychological pressure because Bai Yuanyuan herself and the rest of the Bai family were all looking forward to Bai Yuanyuan giving birth to a son for Ye Mingsheng.

For Bai Yuanyuan, she is already 35 years old this year and has given birth to a daughter, Ye Xingtong. Although Ye Mingsheng's favor remains unchanged, Bai Yuanyuan can already feel that she is slowly aging, which is very difficult for Bai Yuanyuan to accept.

Bai Yuanyuan knew very well that what the Ye Mansion lacked the most was young and beautiful women. However, she was not like An Miaoyi, who had the status of a eldest wife, nor did she have an extremely powerful family like Murong Qingwu, nor did she have a relationship foundation with Ye Mingsheng that started from humble beginnings like Pei Zhixiu.

Therefore, even though Ye Mingsheng is not cold to her now, when she grows old and loses her beauty, Ye Mingsheng will inevitably move further and further away from her.

For this situation, Bai Yuanyuan thought of the only solution, which was to give Ye Mingsheng a son and use the child to tie down Ye Mingsheng...

Driven by such thoughts, Bai Yuanyuan was under great pressure. In addition, because she gave birth to a daughter last time after great expectations, Bai Yuanyuan was afraid that this time she would repeat the same mistake.

It was okay at the beginning of the pregnancy. Bai Yuanyuan was immersed in the joy of being pregnant again. But the later the pregnancy got, the more anxious Bai Yuanyuan became. Sometimes she even had nightmares and woke up from them.

Although Ye Mingsheng would occasionally come to comfort her and ease her emotions, he was too busy with official duties to accompany her every night. Bai Yuanyuan still had to deal with the pressure on her own.

For this reason, Bai Yuanyuan prayed to God more than once, hoping that God would open his eyes and let her get her wish!
And perhaps God really took pity on Bai Yuanyuan's hard work, and this time he really let Bai Yuanyuan give birth to a baby boy. When she learned the result, Bai Yuanyuan cried with joy, feeling that all her efforts and hard work were worth it!
Just when Bai Yuanyuan was enjoying a warm parent-child time, Ye Mingsheng came to her side. Seeing Ye Mingsheng's appearance, Bai Yuanyuan's expression brightened.

Looking at Bai Yuanyuan who was full of maternal radiance, Ye Mingsheng felt very emotional. He whispered a lot to Bai Yuanyuan about the child to soothe her emotions...

Seeing Ye Mingsheng cherish his son so much, Bai Yuanyuan felt very sweet in her heart, and even saw a bright future. Suddenly, Bai Yuanyuan seemed to have thought of something, and asked Ye Mingsheng with great anticipation:

"My husband, what are you going to name your son?"

Ye Mingsheng was stunned at first when he heard this, and then he looked a little embarrassed.

It has been three days since Bai Yuanyuan gave birth. He had originally planned to look up a name for the child in a book, but he had been busy with official duties these days, so he had forgotten about this matter. If Bai Yuanyuan hadn't brought it up today, Ye Mingsheng would not have remembered it.

However, feeling Bai Yuanyuan's fiery gaze, Ye Mingsheng knew that if he told the truth it would be too hurtful, so he immediately made up an excuse and said:
"I have read through the Analects of Confucius and the University these days, trying to come up with a good name for my child, but unfortunately I still haven't found a suitable one. Naming a child is a big deal that will follow him throughout his life, so it cannot be done casually and must be considered carefully. Yuanyuan, give me a few more days. I want to give the child a name with a particularly good meaning!"

Bai Yuanyuan was very happy to hear Ye Mingsheng say this. She felt that Ye Mingsheng valued her and her children very much. Just when she was about to say something, she thought of the past again. She raised her red lips slightly and said with some complaints:

"My husband, you must choose carefully this time. You can’t give your child the name of your old lover again..."

Ye Mingsheng was very helpless when he heard Bai Yuanyuan say this. He knew that Bai Yuanyuan would never forget the matter of Xing Tong in her life. He then explained again that he did not have an old lover named Xing Tong at all, but Bai Yuanyuan did not seem to believe it at all.

After spending some time with Bai Yuanyuan, Ye Mingsheng also checked on the condition of his daughter Ye Xingtong. Because he had always wanted a boy, Bai Yuanyuan was not particularly fond of his eldest daughter.

Normally, Bai Yuanyuan only fulfilled her obligations and responsibilities as a mother. Now that Bai Yuanyuan has achieved what she wished, her love for her daughter has naturally diminished.

After playing with Xiao Xingtong for a while, Ye Mingsheng also warned Bai Yuanyuan to pay attention to Xiao Xingtong's feelings and to treat the two children equally without any discrimination.

After Ye Mingsheng's admonition, Bai Yuanyuan also realized her problem. She also wanted Ye Mingsheng to assure her that they were all her children, and she would definitely treat Xingtong well to reassure Ye Mingsheng.

After finishing these busy official duties, Ye Mingsheng had to go back to handle official business. He immediately told Bai Yuanyuan to take good care of herself and the children and that he would come to see her again in a few days.

After bidding farewell to Bai Yuanyuan, Ye Mingsheng returned to his study. Gu Sansi and Zhao Han were already in the study, waiting for Ye Mingsheng’s arrival··································

After paying his respects to Ye Mingsheng, Gu Sansi began to introduce himself to Ye Mingsheng.

"Marshal, regarding the new reward and pension plan for our soldiers, Chief of Staff Zhao and I have almost finished discussing it, and now I am here to report to you!"

"After your suggestion last time, we think the main task of this matter is to publicize it, so that the soldiers can realize that this new plan is for their benefit and is to help them better manage their wealth!"

"We plan to send some propaganda teams to the front line to perform some shows for the soldiers on the front line. We will use some real cases to remake these shows!"

"For example, after our soldiers returned victoriously, they received rewards and pensions from the higher-ups. It should have been a happy thing, but they became addicted to prostitution and not only spent all their rewards, they also contracted syphilis. In the end, they recovered with the help of the army!"

"Also, after our soldier died in battle, his brother and sister-in-law received a pension. Originally, according to the personal wishes of the deceased soldier, this pension was to support his parents at home, but unexpectedly, his brother and sister-in-law spent all the pension, leaving his parents helpless and alone without anyone to take care of them. In the end, they spent their old age happily with the help of our army!"

As he spoke, Gu Sansi handed Ye Mingsheng a stack of files and introduced them:

“Sir, the two stories I told are based on real cases. They are the case of Du Daniu in Youyan and the case of Liu Huaisheng in Liaoyang. We have planned several programs similar to this, and they are all based on real cases…” “After these programs are performed on the front line, we plan to withdraw this new plan and let the soldiers on the front line freely choose which plan to reward and provide pensions!”

Seeing Gu Sansi's plan, Ye Mingsheng nodded with satisfaction. Gu Sansi had come to him a few days ago and submitted his plan.

However, Ye Mingsheng felt that it was too stiff and was not satisfied with it, so he sent the plan back to Gu Sansi, and suggested that Gu Sansi could perform these cases in the form of opera, which would be easier for the soldiers on the front line to empathize with them than dry words.

This not only serves to comfort the troops, but also lays the groundwork for new reward and pension plans.

Ye Mingsheng could already imagine that after these shows were performed, the soldiers on the front line would certainly welcome the new plan. They would not think that this was because the Fengwu Army had financial problems and had to temporarily cut spending, but would think that the Fengwu Army was thinking about them and solving their problems.

Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng still felt a little ashamed, but there was no other way. In order to attack Guanzhong as soon as possible and seize Luoan, the political and economic center of Da Zhou, the Fengwu Army must send large numbers of troops to the front line. In order to increase the number of troops, the current expenditure must be reduced. Although some sacrifices are helpless and painful, they must be made...
Ye Mingsheng felt that the only thing he could do was to fulfill his promise to the soldiers on the front line after conquering Luoan and unifying the world, give them the silver they deserved, and distribute all the promised subsidies in full.

Only in this way can we not let down the front-line soldiers' trust in the Fengwu Army and in Marshal Ye!

Putting down the plan submitted by Gu Sansi, Ye Mingsheng asked in a deep voice;

"How much money is expected to be saved after this plan is implemented?"

Gu Sansi said without hesitation:
"The finance department estimates that we can save at least 200,000 taels of silver, but I think this estimate is very conservative. I estimate it to be at least 300,000 taels!"

Ye Mingsheng was quite satisfied after hearing this. If he could really save 300,000 taels, then all the efforts would not be in vain.

After a pause, Ye Mingsheng looked at Zhao Han who was silent and asked;
"Has the General Staff calculated how many soldiers can be armed and trained with the three hundred thousand taels of silver saved?"

Facing Ye Mingsheng's question, Zhao Han thought for a moment and said:
"The General Staff had already prepared the plan for the training of the 13th and 14th Divisions half a year ago. All materials have been prepared. As long as the money is in place, we can officially start the training!"

"Since they are all reserve soldiers, they don't need much training. It only takes about a month to complete the training and be deployed to the Yunbing battlefield..."

In response to Zhao Han's answer, Ye Mingsheng nodded with satisfaction and said:

"I am very satisfied with your work. Now you can officially start implementing your plan!"

After getting Ye Mingsheng's permission, Gu Sansi and Zhao Han were both quite excited. They immediately said goodbye to Ye Mingsheng and prepared to go back and start implementing it.

After the two men left, Ye Mingsheng was also ready to leave the Ye Mansion. According to the schedule, he should now inspect the First Manufacturing General Administration's factory in Yijing, listen to the First Manufacturing General Administration's work report, meet with the craftsmen's representatives and have dinner together.

However, just when Ye Mingsheng was about to leave, Ye Cheng came over and said that An Miaoyi wanted to see him for something.

Because they were in a hurry to go to the factory of the First Manufacturing General Administration, Ye Mingsheng planned to ask An Miaoyi to wait until he came back in the evening or the next day if she had anything to say.

After giving the instructions, Ye Mingsheng, surrounded by guards, prepared to take a carriage to the factory of the First Manufacturing General Administration.

However, who would have thought that there would be unexpected changes in the weather. Before Ye Mingsheng's carriage left the mansion, it suddenly started to rain heavily from the sky.

Ye Mingsheng felt happy when seeing the heavy rain. The weather in Youyan has been a bit dry recently, and some river branches have dried up due to lack of water.

In order not to affect the irrigation of crops, the Youyan Provincial Government even proposed a plan to dig 100 deep wells, and even made a contingency plan in case of poor autumn harvest and the need to transport grain from Hebei, Henan, Liaoyang, Qi and Lu to meet the food needs of the people of Youyan····························
So under such circumstances, this heavy rain can be said to be a blessing after a long drought for the people of Youyan, which is what the people have been looking forward to.

The only pity was that Ye Mingsheng's travel plan seemed to have been ruined because of the rainstorm. After hesitating for a while, Ye Mingsheng ordered to suspend the plan of inspecting the First Manufacturing General Administration factory and postpone the plan for a few days. It would not be too late to inspect it when the weather was good.

After making this decision, Ye Mingsheng got off the carriage and returned to his study. However, to Ye Mingsheng's surprise, before he could finish his official business, Ye Cheng came in again and reported:
"Sir, the eldest lady is here and she wants to see you for something important!"

Hearing Ye Cheng say this, Ye Mingsheng was a little curious. What on earth was An Miaoyi looking for him for so urgently? After pondering for a moment, he nodded.

After receiving Ye Mingsheng's instructions, Ye Cheng bowed and left. A moment later, An Miaoyi slowly walked into Ye Mingsheng's study.

Looking at An Miaoyi approaching, Ye Mingsheng asked directly:
"Miaoyi, has something happened at home?"

An Miaoyi nodded and said:

"There are a few small matters that I want to ask my husband for his advice!"

Hearing An Miaoyi say this, Ye Mingsheng knew very well in his heart that this small matter was probably not small at all, otherwise the usually calm An Miaoyi would not be so anxious to see him. He immediately pointed to a chair beside him, motioning An Miaoyi to sit down and talk to him·······························
(End of this chapter)