"Chang Gong, what do you think Ye Mingsheng is doing now..."
As soon as these words came out, Shangguan Changgong was stunned. He didn't know what his father meant by these words. While he was stunned, Shangguan Hongyuan took the spoon and porcelain bowl from his hands and started eating bite by bite.
Shangguan Hongyuan ate a simple bowl of white rice and lean meat porridge very carefully, as if it was not a bowl of meat porridge, but some delicacy. But even so, Shangguan Hongyuan didn't eat much, just some. Half a bowl of meat porridge was put down.
Seeing that his father only ate this little, Shangguan Changgong felt sad and couldn't help but say:
"Dad, do you want some more porridge? If you want to eat something else, I'll ask the kitchen to make it for you. Don't you always like roasted lamb legs the most?"
After listening to his son's words, Shangguan Hongyuan shook his head and said:
"I'm not hungry anymore after drinking some porridge. Wait for me to eat the roasted leg of lamb or something in a few days!"
After saying this, Shangguan Hongyuan seemed to have remembered something and asked:
"Chang Gong, how is the situation in the world recently?"
Facing his father's inquiry, Shangguan Hongyuan thought for a moment and said:
"It's quite stable now. Sun Chenggong is recuperating and licking his wounds in Jingchu. However, there is news that he has secretly recruited another 10,000 people. The total strength of the Chu army is now close to 60,000. I think he is still unwilling to accept this!"
"As for Xu Zhaojie, he has been trying to remove the sting of Jinghai Cao Heng recently. However, due to the continuous actions of the Fengwu Army's First Division in Kangyin, which has restrained many forces of the Zhennan Army, Lu Jianchao in Jiangnan has been giving Cao Huan received a blood transfusion, so the progress of the Zhennan Army was very unsatisfactory..."
"The Fengwu Army has been very quiet to the outside world recently, but I heard that they have made a lot of moves internally. Ye Mingsheng first established new departments such as the Personnel Bureau and the Legal Affairs Bureau to strengthen local control. There was also a big move in the army. It was a large-scale revolt. I heard that hundreds of people within the Fengwu Army were punished because of this incident, and even senior generals were held accountable!"
"In addition, Ye Mingsheng also ordered a lot of troops to be transferred from several other divisions and added them to the third division to rebuild the third army. It seems that he intends to restart the war in Yunbin!"
"However, I think Ye Mingsheng is a little too conceited. His large-scale anti-corruption campaign in the Fengwu Army will inevitably lead to panic within the Fengwu Army and its combat effectiveness will inevitably be affected. This is a good example for our army. According to the news, it’s okay if he doesn’t start a war. If he dares to start a war lightly, the imperial court will definitely give him a head-on blow!"
"According to your instructions, the imperial court has squeezed out a lot of money and food support recently to go to Jinyang. Governor Wang also wrote a letter saying that the situation in Jinyang has basically stabilized. Once the Fengwu Army starts fighting again, he is confident Defeat the invading enemies and guard the east gate for the imperial court!"
Upon hearing this, Shangguan Hongyuan nodded slightly, the gloominess in his expression slightly relieved, and then asked again:
"What's the current situation inside the imperial court?"
Shangguan Changgong heard the words and introduced:
"Father, during the time when you were ill, Yang Chongqing and Master Yang recovered. I also handed over the military power to him. After the last lesson, Murong Lun and the others have become much more honest and do not dare to make mistakes again..." ·····················”
After hearing the news, Shangguan Hongyuan relaxed and said:
"Chongqing has recovered from his illness. This is the best news in a while. I feel relieved to have him by your side to help you!"
When Shangguan Changgong heard this, he also smiled and echoed:
"Master Yang is really a loyal minister of our Shangguan family. He has been asking to see his father after he recovered from his injury!"
Although he trusted Yang Chongqing very much, his decades of political career had made Shangguan Hongyuan very sensitive and suspicious. He didn't know if Yang Chongqing really wanted to see him, or if he was aware of something and was testing him. He thought deeply. After a while he said:
"In a few days, when I feel better, I'll meet Chongqing!"
"Yes!" Shangguan Changgong nodded and replied:
But at this moment, Shangguan Hongyuan continued:
"Xianxian is also fifteen years old this year. I think Tang Peng's eldest son is very good. Ma Chongyang also has a little daughter who is eleven years old. Although she is two years older than our Lieer, she is still very young. Overall, it’s pretty much the same. These two marriages are very good. Let’s settle them down in a while! Even if it’s just for an old man like me!”
Hearing what Shangguan Hongyuan said, Shangguan Changgong looked startled at first, and then his eyes were full of confusion. It wasn't that he didn't understand the deep meaning of his father's actions, he just didn't understand how loyal Chongqing was to their family. Is it necessary to do this?······························
Feeling his son's thoughts, Shangguan Hongyuan sighed and said:
"Chang Gong, I know that you have a very good relationship with Chongqing, and he even saved your life, but if you know people but don't know their hearts, people will change!"
At this point, Shangguan Hongyuan paused and continued:
"Chang Gong, even if you don't tell me, I know that I have only a few days left to live. When I was alive, Chongqing was a loyal minister and good general of our family. But when I leave, you will hand over all the military power to him. , everything may not be possible!”
"Even if you trust Chongqing, you can't hand over all military power to him. Then why is Ye Mingsheng able to command hundreds of thousands of soldiers? Is it because he knows checks and balances and never allows anyone to have too much power? "
"It's the same thing now. You need to use Ma Chongyang and Tang Peng to check and balance Chongqing. Don't underestimate the change that power can have on a person. Once you have tasted the beauty of power, it will be too difficult to let it go. So you have to have checks and balances in place from the beginning!”
"With the means of checks and balances, you can safely hand over power to Chongqing. Although Wang Muzhi is brave and resourceful, he is still young and lacks experience. He cannot be thorough when doing things. When the time comes, Chongqing will Lord, with Wang Muzhi as your assistant, with these two here, even if they can't defeat Ye Mingsheng, they can still protect you..."
"You can delegate government affairs to Murong Lun. This man is a man of great talent. Although he has been half-hearted and flirting with Fengwu Army, he is a smart man and knows that there are things that Ye Mingsheng cannot give him. So he hasn’t completely surrendered to Ye Mingsheng yet!”
"As long as our army has not completely failed militarily, he will be lucky and will not really defect to Ye Mingsheng. On the contrary, once our army shows its military decline, you will be the first to kill Murong Lun, otherwise He will definitely sell you in exchange for the wealth and glory of their Murong family!"
At this point, Shangguan Hongyuan also started coughing continuously. Listening to his father's violent coughing, Shangguan Changgong gently hit his back and said with great distress:
"Dad, don't worry, you can tell me after you rest for a while!"
Shangguan Hongyuan coughed and waved his hands when he heard this. He knew that he didn't have much time. Now that he was resting, he didn't know when he would wake up next, so he wanted to explain as much as possible while he was awake. .
After taking a sip of tea, Shangguan Hongyuan stopped coughing and lay very weakly on the bed. He calmed down and continued:
"Chang Gong, don't take any chances. Ye Mingsheng's control over the various departments of the Fengwu Army is stronger than you think..."
"He has made such great efforts to rectify the internal problems of the Fengwu Army this time. From my point of view, he must first settle the internal problems before resisting foreign aggression. He has basically solved the more prominent and serious problems within the Fengwu Army. After the New Year, he will wait until the spring plowing. After that, his next step will definitely be to target Jinyang, and then to Guanzhong!"
"So you, Chang Gong, must be prepared. You must not let Fengwu's army capture Jinyang. If Jinyang falls and falls in Guanzhong, there will be no room for buffering. By then, the imperial court will shock people and panic, and basically the situation is over!"
"If it really comes to the point where nothing can be done, you can give up Luo'an and escape to Sichuan. Ye Mingsheng and Xu Zhaojie are the enemies of life and death. If you take Luo'an, with Ye Mingsheng's pride, he will definitely not regard you as his primary opponent. , he will turn around and deal with Xu Zhaojie!"
"Although the Fengwu Army is powerful, Xu Zhaojie is the best fighter I have ever seen in my life, and with Lu Jianchao giving him blood transfusions behind his back, it will definitely not be easy for Ye Mingsheng to completely deal with him. You can take advantage of this It’s a chance to recuperate in Sichuan and change pictures!”
"In short, Chang Gong said, you must fight Ye Mingsheng to the end. God, you can take care of him once or twice, but I don't believe that God will take care of him forever... ···············”
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Just as the unwilling Shangguan Hongyuan was explaining the funeral arrangements to his son, Yi Jing Ye Mingsheng, who was thousands of miles away, was meeting with Financial Secretary Zhang Juning in his study.
"Commander, according to your instructions and requirements, our Finance Department has accumulated 970,000 taels of silver for the Western Expedition in recent months. After the tax silver from Anqing and Qilu is collected in the spring, it is expected that this silver will be It will exceed 1.2 million taels of silver!" Zhang Juning confidently reported to Ye Mingshenghui:
Recently, due to Ye Mingsheng's government affairs reforms, Zhang Juning and the Financial Secretary were also assigned to the Government Affairs Bureau. Zhang Juning also became the deputy director of the Government Affairs Bureau. Although he was promoted in name, in fact Zhang Juning is still mainly responsible for the Financial Secretary. To do things well, be the God of Wealth of Fengwu Army, and be optimistic about Fengwu Army’s money bag for Ye Mingsheng.
After hearing Zhang Juning's report, Ye Mingsheng was also very satisfied. He knew that Zhang Juning had always been very strict in his speech. Since he now reported to himself that the amount of money could reach 1.2 million taels, then there is probably no problem with this matter. , and even if there is any change, it will only be more!
However, just when Ye Mingsheng was about to praise Zhang Juning's work results, Zhang Juning continued:
"Sir, although we have money in our account, there is such a thing now. After our Fengwu Army entered the customs that year, in order to maintain stability, we issued a three-year short-term bond. Now the bond is due in two months. It’s due, please see how to deal with it..."
Hearing Zhang Juning talk about this matter, Ye Mingsheng thought for a while and remembered that there was indeed such a thing and then said:
"What is the total amount of this bond? Who are the creditors?"
Zhang Juning heard this and said without thinking:
"The total amount is 350,000 taels of silver, and the interest rate is 5%. In the past two years, I have paid them the interest according to your order. I will pay back the principal and interest this year. The total is 367,500 taels. silver!"
"As for the creditors, they are mainly the Cui family, the Gu family, some squires from Liaoyang and Youyan, and some generals from our Fengwu Army!"
Ye Mingsheng fell into thinking after hearing this. Seeing this, Zhang Juning couldn't help but speculate on Ye Mingsheng's thoughts. He knew that Ye Mingsheng attached great importance to the Western Expedition and had prepared several months of money for it. But now if If this bond is paid, it will definitely have an impact on the Western Expedition.
Therefore, Zhang Juning felt that Ye Mingsheng probably did not want to pay back the money, but as a commander, it would be difficult for him to say this. Therefore, as a subordinate, Zhang Juning should share the worries of the commander and immediately said:
"The Commander-in-Chief, Master Cui, Master Gu and others are all loyal to the country and consider the overall situation. Now the Western Expedition is the top priority of our Fengwu Army, and other things should give way to this." ·····················”
"I believe that all of you will understand the commander's difficulties and be willing to donate this bond!"
After saying these words, Zhang Juning felt a little smug in his heart, feeling that he had figured out Ye Mingsheng's thoughts, and was waiting for Ye Mingsheng's admiring look.
However, what he didn't expect was that after hearing his words, Ye Mingsheng said very firmly:
"Integrity is the foundation of human beings and cannot be discarded casually!"
"We, the Fengwu Army, must repay the three hundred and seventy thousand taels of silver. Not only do we have to repay it with great fanfare and glory, let everyone know that we, the Fengwu Army, have fulfilled their promise and paid back all the interest and principal. Give it back to them!”
"Let's do this! Zhang Juning, you will negotiate with Ye Cheng for some time to hold a repayment ceremony. I will attend this ceremony. We will return every penny of the money to them at this ceremony!"
Zhang Juning was confused as soon as these words came out. He didn't know what Ye Mingsheng meant. Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng also said meaningfully:
"Zhang Juning, remember, we must recognize the bonds issued by the Fengwu Army. We must not ignore the debt just for the sake of small temporary gains. You have to settle the debt for generations to come. As the old saying goes, if you borrow something, you must repay it. It is not difficult to borrow again! "
"Yes! The commander-in-chief is far-sighted, but his subordinates are ignorant!"
Zhang Juning is also a smart man. After listening to Ye Mingsheng's words, he suddenly understood what Ye Mingsheng meant.
After handing over the matter to Zhang Juning, Ye Mingsheng asked Zhang Juning to leave after a few more details. He had a full schedule today. If he remembered correctly, the next one would be that woman, and he didn't know who she was. Whatever idea you have, you must report it to Yi Jing.
But come here, come here, I also want to know how her ticket account management is going... ·
