After Ye Yongjia returned to the court, he handed the victory document to Liu Zhennian without waiting for a rest. Liu Zhennian was overjoyed and showed the document to Yan Wen, who participated in politics, and asked him for his decision-making strategy. Although Yan Wen had a grudge against Niu Yuan, he was also worried about the quarrel among his colleagues, so he told him: "This matter is the result of serving the prime minister. The subordinates have not participated in the slightest. If they make arbitrary decisions, there will be resentment. Liu Gong can The Jie Shu is sent to the Prime Minister for him to deal with it himself."
Liu Zhennian was quite convinced, so according to Yan Wen's statement, he sent someone to present the Jie book to Niu Yuan for viewing. Niu Yuan had already learned the news from the border gate and had already made plans in his mind. Therefore, after receiving the letter, he without hesitation asked Li Wenshou to bring the letter to the emperor to claim credit for himself and to issue decrees to reward the ministers. Li Wenshou did not want to be used by Niu Yuan, but was afraid of his current power, so he had to submit.
Before long, the emperor ordered Gui Fu to draft an edict and announce to all officials: Ji Niuyuan was appointed as the young master and was given thirty pieces of silk; Ye Yongjia was appointed as the senior official and was given sixty pieces of silk and two hundred taels of silver; Du Qing was appointed as Huaiyuan. The general also gave thirty pieces of silk, and the rest Cai Xianqing, Li Wenshou and others gave different rewards. All the ministers were afraid of receiving the order and looked at each other speechlessly.
Since the victory of the New Deal led by Niu Yuan, his status has been unprecedentedly improved. He has become famous among the government and the public. He has become a leading figure in the Liu Party. Liu Zhennian himself has become more and more interested in him. I was amazed. The ministers were obviously aware of the old prime minister's thoughts. Except for those "upright" people, most of them rushed to the door of the prime minister, and all the general and political affairs were handed over to Niu Yuan for review before informing others.
Ye Yongjia naturally saw Niu Yuan's almost overwhelming power and believed that this was a God-given opportunity to deepen reforms. He took advantage of the few people in Japan and China and went straight to Zhongshu Province to see Niu Fengxiang.
"Sir, have you been very busy recently?"
Niu Yuan slowly raised his head and saw Ye Yongjia walking in with a smile, so he signaled with his eyes that he should sit down aside.
"I'm busy," Niu Yuan smiled bitterly and picked up the official document in his hand, "Look, these things are usually accumulated in Prime Minister Yan's room, but now they are all handed over to me for approval. It's not tiring."
Ye Yongjia could hear a bit of pride in his tone, and he said smoothly: "After all, it is you who have made such a great contribution, and everyone naturally admires it. This is also a blessing for the country. But Xuanhua has not yet been recovered. If Fengxiang can continue to initiate reforms, , update the military and political affairs, and by then Bei Saulu Court will be an immortal meritorious service, and no one else can compare it!"
Niu Yuan was used to hearing flattery, so he didn't care much at first, but when he heard the second half of the words, the pen in his hand wrote more slowly and his eyebrows furrowed: "Now that the new army has been formed, blunderbuss are also being sent in a steady stream. When we get to the border, what else needs to be changed?"
Seeing that his will was weak, Ye Yongjia murmured in his heart, but still slowly said to him: "Fengxiang, I think the power of making guns and artillery cannot always be controlled by foreigners. If the country can independently build firecrackers and artillery, my dear If we learn the casting method and understand its principles, then why do our people not know how to use firearms? If we keep taking them from others, I am afraid that after a few decades, when we are gone, there will be no one in the world who understands this thing, and the New Army will be destroyed. Sooner or later."
After hearing this, Niu Yuan became even more depressed. He put down his pen and said, "Master Ye, don't mention anything about the future decades. I don't like to talk about the future. After all, no one can be sure. The Ministry of Revenue is already dissatisfied with us. , and we have to offend others one after another, aren't we asking for trouble? Besides, if some people do the work for us, we can save craftsmen and save the country's wealth, isn't it a solution that has the best of both worlds? Now that the situation is overwhelming, that's enough. Why put so much effort into it?"
"Your Excellency, we must not waste this eternal move just because of temporary gains!" Ye Yongjia argued hard. "Even if we settle for second best, we still need to train a group of trainers and assign them to major border crossings to teach sergeants how to use fire cannons."
"I have more important things to think about," Niu Yuan suddenly turned serious, "If you have nothing to do, you can go out."
"I..." Ye Yongjia was speechless for a moment. Although he was mentally prepared, facing such a rejection in person was like a basin of cold water pouring down from his head, extinguishing his enthusiasm completely.
"I'm leaving." Ye Yongjia bowed deeply to him, but after receiving no response for a long time, he straightened up awkwardly and walked out the door. Niu Yuan didn't even raise his eyelids.
Ye Yongjia closed the door for him smoothly, and without leaving a moment, he left the study with his head sullenly, staring blankly at the road under his feet.
"Master Ye, what's wrong with you?"
Ye Yongjia didn't listen at all, and walked three or four more steps before suddenly waking up. When he looked up, it was Yan Liang.
"Sorry, I was thinking about something just now, so I didn't hear your question... I came to see the Prime Minister to discuss something, so I will return to the office." Ye Yongjia said.
"Oh..." Yan Liang saw that he was so lost that he didn't dare to ask anymore, "Then Tinglong, please go back quickly and have a good sleep at noon."
Ye Yongjia responded, and the two passed by each other.
When Yan Liang saw that he had gone far away, he sighed to himself: "It's really a hot and cold world. Now that Niu Yuan is in power, everyone goes to visit him, but they leave his brother aside and turn a blind eye... completely forgetting about his daily life. My kindness to them!" He swirled his feet on the ground hatefully, made a pit mark, and turned around to leave.
He walked through the houses and stopped in front of the largest one. He knocked lightly on the door and stepped back half a step - there was no sound from inside.
Yan Liang waited again and found that no one came to open the door, so he cleared his throat and shouted as low as possible: "Brother, it's me!"
"Yan Liang?" There was finally a voice inside, and the door was pushed open. Yan Wen was seen wearing white cloth, and his hair was half white.
"Brother," he quickly grabbed Yan Wen's hand and said, "Are you okay?"
Yan Wen smiled bitterly: "What can happen to me? It's just that I feel a little disappointed when I see a villain succeed."
After that, he invited Yan Liang into the house and made a cup of tea with him.
"I won't drink it yet," Yan Liang declined, "I'm worried."
"Why are you in a hurry?" Yan Wen sat down calmly and glanced at him.
"You're still asking me?" Yan Liang sighed heavily, "Now even Ye Yongjia has left you in the cold, and that official is here to curry favor with Niu Yuan? If this continues, our Yan family will lose power!"
"Don't be impatient, I already have an idea in my mind," Yan Wen blew a mouthful of tea, "Although Niu Yuan is now unrivaled, how many people actually support him? It's just because of the situation. This person has a intolerant personality. He cannot tolerate dissent, and many people in the Zhongshu Province hate him. Li Wenshou and Hong Lisan are proof of this. Don’t worry, as long as there are still people who are against Niu Yuan, you and I will not be defeated!"
