When the deputy governor saw him sighing, he couldn't help but panic: "Sir, is Ye Yongjia really that powerful?"
"How can I be afraid of a weak scholar?" Shi Yiyi sighed, "But judging from the few words Shilang Ye said, it seems that Liu Gong intends to choose someone to replace the governor. During this patrol, he also asked how many artillery pieces and muskets there were. How many are there? Even the source needs to be investigated. It’s obvious that they don’t trust our army!”
He looked out the window at the cold city wall and slapped the wall angrily.
"Will the Beibei come to attack Xuanhua in a few days?" Shi Yiyi asked through gritted teeth.
"According to scouts, a troop of nearly 10,000 soldiers is coming here and will arrive in about two days."
"Damn it, we can't hang around anymore," Governor Shi pushed aside the desk in front of him and shouted to the deputy governor, "You quickly tell the soldiers that there will be a battle at the border soon. If you win and return, every day People are rewarded with ten taels of silver and promoted one by one. We can’t lose face anymore, do you hear me?!”
"I'll do it now, little man..." the deputy governor replied tremblingly.
The tense atmosphere here did not affect Ye Yongjia's patrol on the city wall. The missing pair of eyes beside him made him look extra calm, and he strolled to the bottom of the tower.
I saw that there were many soldiers here, and there was a bronze cannon mounted on the city wall, which was slightly rusty, and it was pointing at several paths under the city.
Ye Yongjia looked at the people around him and asked, "Who is the leader among you?"
"My lord, I am." A soldier wearing black armor came over, "I am responsible for the defense of Xuanhua Gate."
"You have worked hard." Ye Yongjia leaned against the wall and brushed away the dust on the crenel with his hands, "I wonder how Commander Shi usually rewards you?"
"The governor wants my soldiers to fight bravely, so he mostly rewards me with money and increases in salary. It's nothing more than these two methods."
"How many people were rewarded before and after?" Ye Yongjia spoke slowly, as if telling the other party that this was just an insignificant matter.
"My lord, I really can't remember this kind of thing. I need to go to the accounting room to check. But the soldiers and horses of the five battalions have received countless rewards." The officer didn't realize anything was wrong and just told Ye Yongjia everything.
'Where does a governor get so much money? There must be something fishy in it...' Ye Yongjia muttered in his heart, planning to put this aside for now, and then asked: "I heard that the deputy governor has also been here recently to take command. Are you willing to listen to his orders?"
"Adjutants come and go, and there are several groups of people leaving every year. How can we be angry with these customers?" The sergeant made no secret of his attitude. "Unless there is a personal order from Lord Shi, how can we give orders?" Everyone!"
Ye Yongjia was shocked when he heard this. He turned around and looked at the tall tower, dumbfounded and speechless.
"Why...are you asking these questions?" The sergeant suddenly noticed something and looked over in surprise.
Ye Yongjia trembled all over, and a few drops of cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He tugged at the hem of his clothes and said, "It's nothing. As a court official, I must be aware of important military and national affairs. I'm glad to hear that you all are united and stick to the rules. You guys should defend the city well and don't let the enemy take advantage of the loopholes." , I'm going back to rest, farewell, farewell!" After that, he bowed twice and went down the stone steps next to the city tower.
Ye Yongjia went to meet the deputy governor and other generals again. This time he did not dare to ask more questions, so he made some useless gossip and watched the sun go down. So the two left Xuanhua and returned to Suidi.
After Ye Yongjia had dinner at Shi's Mansion, he hurriedly changed into plain clothes and ran to Cai Xianqing's residence. He first told him all the information he had found out, and then analyzed it eloquently: "I have always suspected that Shi Yiyi was greedy for money. Without any other crime, who would have thought that this man had the intention of raising a private army. The army was completely defeated, but he did not hesitate to reward him. This action did not seem to encourage killing the enemy, but rather seemed to win people's hearts and regard Xuanhua as his own territory. The so-called "no merit, no reward" Lu, he rewards his soldiers with this all day long, no wonder he suffers frequent defeats."
Cai Xianqing said: "His military power is so strong that it is really difficult to touch him. He has tens of thousands of people under his command, and the country has to rely on them to fight the war. We cannot provoke their dissatisfaction."
Ye Yongjia smiled and said: "Don't you know, Mr. Cai, the principle of 'using the son's spear to attack the son's shield'? We can also use gold and silver to destroy Shi Yiyi's prestige based on his accumulation of gold and silver."
"This is a very clever plan," Cai Xianqing nodded, "But I don't have much money with me. I only have more than two hundred taels, which I put in a box. Isn't that enough?"
"That's enough for now." Ye Yongjia felt relieved after hearing this number. "I'm about to send someone back to the household department to ask about the cannon casting fee. If it doesn't match the price of Xuanhua's forty cannons, then Shi Yiyi's The charge of corruption has been confirmed. It's not difficult to bring some money over here."
"But sending people out must be kept secret. If Governor Shi finds out, it will be a narrow escape." Cai Xianqing felt a little worried for him.
Ye Yongjia smiled and slowly shook his head: "Mr. Cai is joking. Since I became an official in Chenzhou, I have experienced countless dangers and have never said a word about fear. Besides, this kind of desperate attitude is not what you like, old man. ?"
Cai Xianqing rolled up her sleeves happily and laughed loudly: "Master Ye really knows me! What else is there to say, let's do it!"
The two waited till night, and when they heard the noise getting louder, they immediately chose a close guard and asked him to pretend to be a merchant from out of town. He dragged his car and took advantage of the curfew to drive people away. They got out of Xuanhua City and waited for the day to buy horses. With strong horses, he galloped towards the capital.
At the same time, Shi Yiyi received a letter at his house. He looked at the paper and saw that it was the deputy governor's handwriting, so he quickly picked up the lamp to read it. It turned out that the soldier who was questioned on the city wall was suspicious of Minister Ye. Since he was illiterate, he went to the deputy governor and asked him to write a reply, which was then handed over to the governor's mansion in a hurry.
After reading it, Shi Yiyi became furious. He tore the letter apart again and again, clenched it into a ball of paper, and threw it directly into the fire, where it turned into ashes in a moment.
"Ye Yongjia, this fellow, is using chicken feathers as an arrow!" He was furious in front of his slaves, "If you dare to question this governor, please send someone to kidnap him!"
The slave didn't know who to invite. He stood there blankly and was scolded by Shi Yiyi: "You are a bitch slave, how do you teach me on weekdays? I have to call the master for this matter!"
The old housekeeper kowtowed twice, jumped up and down in the house, and finally pulled the master over. At that time, Governor Shi's anger was gone.
"What do you want to do with me?" The master closed the door casually.
"You have to think of a way to make Ye Yongjia leave as soon as possible," Shi Yiyi's tone became calmer, "otherwise, if we let him continue to visit like this, our foundation in Xuanhua will be ruined... As long as his flaws are not really revealed, This god of plague can definitely be sent away!"
