After inspecting the resettlement site in Tutang Village, Ye Mingsheng and his team spent another three days randomly inspecting some other resettlement sites and severely dealt with a group of corrupt officials. Some of them were honest and honest, but Officials who are lazy and do nothing will also be given warnings...
After understanding the actual situation of the people under his rule and their practical needs, Ye Mingsheng ended his several-day inspection and returned to Fengzhou City.
After being greeted by Liu Zhengxian and other officials, Ye Mingsheng, who entered the city, originally planned to return to his headquarters immediately, spend a few days in comfort, relieve his physical and mental fatigue, and also launch the ammunition he had accumulated.
However, when he passed by Caishikou, he was surprised to find that the beggars who used to beg around Caishikou had all disappeared, and there was no one left. Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but be curious, and turned to Fengzhou's fellow magistrate. Liu Zhengxian asked:
"Where have these beggars gone?"
"I'm telling you, Commander-in-Chief, it's lunch time now, and Master Murong's niece has opened a porridge factory on Beisantiao Street in front of you to give out porridge. All these beggars must have gone there to drink porridge!" Liu Zhengxian replied respectfully without hesitation:
Hearing that this was the case, Ye Mingsheng was really confused. He turned to Ye Dong beside him and asked:
"Master Murong's niece is in Fengzhou?"
When Murong Yuliang first came, in order to find out the news about Murong's house, Ye Dong arranged several spies among the slaves and maids prepared for Murong Yuliang in the government. However, Murong Yuliang did have great ideas. He only selected a few of the servants he was going to give to him, and returned all the remaining wine.
I don’t know if someone discovered it, whether it was the person Ye Dong bribed, or the person Ye Dong bribed. It was indeed impossible not to be chosen by others. In short, none of the people placed by Ye Dong were selected.
This made Ye Dong, who had vowed to get information about Murong's house, very embarrassed in front of Ye Mingsheng, but Ye Dong was not the same, it was of no use at all. After using some means, he also confirmed to Ye Mingsheng that Murong There was no news that Qing Wu followed Murong Yuliang to Fengzhou.
After knowing the news, Ye Mingsheng's interest in Murong's mansion suddenly dropped sharply. He just asked Huo San to send people to Murong's mansion as usual, so he didn't pay too much attention to it.
So now when Ye Mingsheng heard that Murong Yuliang's niece actually followed Murong Yuliang to Fengzhou, it was really surprising. A demoted official like Murong Yuliang took his wife, daughter, and children to work in other places. , although it exists, it is rare. This is the first time for Ye Mingsheng, who has his niece, to hear...
Hearing Ye Mingsheng's inquiry, Ye Dong nodded and introduced:
"Murong Yuliang did bring her niece here. It is said that her niece is called Murong Lianyun. She is the daughter of Murong Yuliang's brother Murong Wenlin. Murong Lianyun's mother was from Fengzhou and died of illness a few years ago. , it is said that before dying, he hoped that his fallen leaves would return to his roots after death, so in order to fulfill his mother’s last wish, Murong Lianyun followed Murong Yuliang to our Fengzhou!"
After hearing this, Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly. Although he was still a little surprised that Murong Yuliang would bring his niece with him, the reason for fulfilling his mother's last wish did make sense.
After all, the Zhou Dynasty, as an orthodox court, also highly praised filial piety, and the people also attached great importance to parents, especially last wishes, and usually tried their best to fulfill them... ····
However, in order to fulfill his mother's wish, she traveled thousands of miles and traveled from the flower-filled Luoan to the remote Fengzhou. Murong Lianyun was really precious. Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but become a little curious about this woman. I want to see what kind of person this woman is.
Because there was nothing important to deal with next, and it was getting late now, Ye Mingsheng hesitated for a moment and then ordered to Liu Zhengxian:
"You lead the way and show me where they are giving porridge!"
Although it was unclear why Ye Mingsheng was interested in giving porridge, since Ye Mingsheng had already given the order, Liu Zhengxian naturally followed the order.
Under the leadership of Liu Zhengxian, Ye Mingsheng and his party crossed the street and came to Beisantiao Street. Looking at the sea of people, shoulder to shoulder, and bustling scene, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but frown slightly.
Although he ordered that excess grain other than rations be collected from grain merchants, landowners and other individuals at official prices, all grains would be uniformly distributed and supplied as needed... ·
This kind of thing that directly infringed on the interests of landlords and grain was naturally strongly opposed by grain merchants and landlords. However, Ye Mingsheng turned a blind eye to their objections and directly enforced it with an iron fist. He honestly followed the guideline price of grain. A dishonest person would not even give a single tael of silver, but would confiscate the food.
Of course, in order to reduce the resistance to this matter and to win over those who were divided and opposed to this policy, Ye Mingsheng showed some mercy to Fengzhou officials and his Zhenwu military attaches, and did not confiscate all the excess grain in their hands. When I came up, I just purchased most of the grain according to the grain guide price.
Although it was Murong Lianyun who was giving the porridge in name, Ye Mingsheng believed that there must be Murong Yuliang's instruction behind it!
Ye Mingsheng originally thought that Murong Yuliang was giving porridge just to gain a good reputation. In addition, Murong's house did not have a lot of food, so the porridge could only be given to a few hundred people at most... ···
Who would have thought that it would be on this scale? In addition to the beggars, some residents in the city also came to wait for the free food. Although the specific number of people could not be determined, seeing this posture, Ye Mingsheng A conservative estimate is that there are at least three thousand people!
To give porridge to three thousand people, even if it is porridge instead of dry rice, the food needed for that day must be hundreds of kilograms. If the food belongs to Murong Yuliang himself, then this means that Murong Yuliang left too much food secretly. Yes, it has greatly exceeded the scope of Ye Mingsheng's acquiescence.
If the food comes from the government treasury, then giving porridge in the name of the Murong family is a matter of pretending to be public for private benefit, using public food to earn reputation for the Murong family!
Realizing the problem, Ye Mingsheng did not react immediately, but calmly asked a few soldiers to take off their clothes, put on ordinary people's clothes, and mixed in with the crowd to get porridge.
Ye Mingsheng wanted to see what the quality of the porridge served by the Murong family was like!
The Zhou Dynasty had strict regulations on government officials providing porridge for disaster relief, requiring chopsticks not to float in the porridge pot. Violators would be severely punished.
After waiting for a while, the soldiers sent by Ye Mingsheng brought the rice porridge to Ye Mingsheng. Looking at the consistency of the porridge, Ye Mingsheng asked Liu Zhengxian beside him;
"Do you know where the food for this porridge comes from?"
"I'm telling you, Master Murong, in the past few days, Master Murong has called in the Heshengchang Company. Heshengchang Company sold us three thousand shi of grain at one or two eight taels of silver per stone. In addition, Master Murong also personally invested in the purchase. I bought some grain, and the porridge here should be made from Lord Murong’s own grain!" Liu Zhengxian bowed and reported to Ye Mingsheng:
Ye Mingsheng fell into a brief thought after hearing this. Murong Yuliang was willing to make connections to help Fengzhou's food problem. Naturally, he was happy to see it happen.
As for the price of one or two eight cents per stone, although it was one cent higher than the one or two seven cents that Dalongchang Company sold to Ye Mingsheng, it was not much higher, so Ye Mingsheng didn't care. After all, Dalongchang Company's On the other hand, the food shipped is limited, so the price in Heshengchang will be higher.
With these three thousand kilo of grain, although it is not enough to solve the food problem in Fengzhou, it can alleviate the severity to some extent.
The key to the problem is that Murong Yuliang did not turn over the grains he purchased from Heshengchang to the government as required, but instead asked Murong Lianyun to open a porridge factory to provide porridge,... ··
This is a great test of Ye Mingsheng's political wisdom. He needs to make a choice!
Just as he was making a decision in his mind, accompanied by several Murong family guards, a graceful lady wearing a white veil, accompanied by a maid, slowly walked towards Ye Mingsheng.
Ye Mingsheng, who was thinking at first, did not notice the approach of the visitor. It was not until Ye Dong whispered a reminder beside him that Ye Mingsheng came back from his thoughts and looked at the graceful beauty not far away.
Although Ye Mingsheng couldn't see clearly what this girl looked like because of the veil, looking at that slim and slender figure, Ye Mingsheng had a feeling of déjà vu, but for a while, he couldn't tell where it was. Seen············
Just as Ye Mingsheng was thinking secretly in his heart, the woman put her right hand on her left waist, put her left hand on her left waist, put her right foot back, slightly bent her knees, and gave a gentle blessing ceremony to Ye Mingsheng, and at the same time said softly:
"Murong Lianyun has met Mr. Ye!"
Hearing Murong Lianyun's voice, Ye Mingsheng reacted instantly. A wonderful feeling of being lost and found filled his chest, and a strange color appeared in his eyes when he looked at the woman in front of him.
However, Ye Mingsheng at this time had already mastered the profound skills of the city. Although his mind was tumbling and it was extremely difficult to control himself, Ye Mingsheng still restrained his emotions and asked Murong Lianyun calmly:
"Miss Murong, do you know Ye?"
Hearing Ye Mingsheng's question, Murong Lianyun shook his head and said, "This is the first time Lianyun has met Mr. Ye!"
Hearing this, Ye Mingsheng seemed to have thought of something, and then asked with a faint smile on his face:
"Oh? Since this is the first time you see me, how do you know that I am Mr. Ye?"
"Although Lian Yun has never met Mr. Ye, I think that in Fengzhou City, the only person who can be defended by so many personal soldiers is Ye Mingsheng, Mr. Ye!" Murong Lianyun continued without being humble or arrogant:
Hearing Murong Lianyun's words, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but laugh. After shaking his head slightly, he couldn't help but look at the woman again. Although he couldn't see her face clearly, Ye Mingsheng could feel the integration of her body. Bookish to the core...
"I heard that this porridge factory was opened by Miss Murong? If Miss Murong has such a kind heart, Ye would like to thank her on behalf of the people in the city!" After saying this, Ye Mingsheng smiled and bowed his hand to Murong Lianyun.
"Sir Ye, you are serious. Although Lian Yun is a female, she is still willing to contribute her modest efforts to the people of Fengzhou. What's more, as my uncle is the governor of Fengzhou, it is his duty to govern the people!"
Hearing that Ye Mingsheng, the commander-in-chief, wanted to represent the people of Fengzhou, Murong Lianyun, who was behind the veil, frowned slightly, opened her mouth and said softly:
After understanding the hidden meaning of Murong Lianyun's words, Ye Mingsheng was not angry and continued to ask:
"Does your uncle know that Miss Murong is setting up a porridge factory here to provide porridge?"
"My uncle has been very busy recently due to Fengzhou government affairs. He has been struggling with food and clothing. He often lives in the government office. I just want to help him share some of the burden..." Murong Lianyun said unconsciously. With a trace of concern, it was obvious that she was very worried about Murong Yuliang's physical condition and whether he could bear it.
When Ye Mingsheng heard this, he suddenly realized that this was Murong Lianyun's fault. He said that Murong Yuliang, an old official fox, would not make such a low-level mistake!
Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng looked at Murong Lianyun and said:
"Miss Murong, if you finish running your porridge factory today, you won't have to run it tomorrow!"
Suddenly hearing that Ye Mingsheng refused to let her serve porridge, Murong Lianyun was extremely puzzled. She couldn't figure out why Ye Mingsheng would do this. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became and asked directly to Ye Mingsheng:
"General Ye, why are you doing this? These poor people need this..."
"Starting from tomorrow, the government will open a porridge factory to provide porridge! I won't bother you, Miss Murong!" Ye Mingsheng said calmly:
After hearing the answer given by Ye Mingsheng, Murong Lianyun behind the white veil seemed to have some different opinions. She bit her red lips lightly, was silent for a moment, and decided to retort:
"Master Ye, as the commander-in-chief, you may not know something. The Fengzhou government has no preparations for giving out porridge!"
Ye Mingsheng smiled and said:
"There's none?"
"Then it will happen from now on!"
"Really? Liu Tongzhi?"
Liu Zhengxian, who was standing next to Ye Mingsheng, heard Ye Mingsheng mentioning himself and quickly stood up and bowed and said:
"My lord, what you are saying is that tomorrow I will open three porridge factories in Fengzhou City to provide two meals of rice porridge for breakfast every day!"
Seeing Liu Zhengxian's understanding, Ye Mingsheng nodded with satisfaction, and then explained:
"The quality of the rice porridge must be on par with Miss Murong's. The court has regulations and violators will be severely punished!"
"Yes, sir!" Liu Zhengxian said loudly without squinting:
Looking at Ye Mingsheng, Liu Zhengxian and Murong Lianyun singing in harmony in front of them, they were still a little unconvinced and wanted to continue to say something. However, Ye Mingsheng did not give her a chance to speak this time. He looked at her and said seriously:
"Miss Murong, do you know that Fengzhou has promulgated regulations that the government will purchase all excess grain from individuals at a guided price of grain? This grain must be uniformly supplied by the government and distributed according to needs?"
