Hanyang, Guofu
Ye Pengchao, whose pseudonym is Guo Yuan, a wealthy businessman from Anqing, is carefully looking at the account books of the business firm under his name to see how the business is doing this month... ··
Even though as the Coordination Office's spy in Jingchu, the superiors would allocate a batch of funds every year, but in order to complete the tasks assigned by the superiors, Ye Pengchao needed to win over powerful people on the ground in Jingchu.
And if you want to win over others, you need money, and the funds of the Coordination Office are limited and cannot be reimbursed 100%, so Ye Pengchao needs to rely on his own business to make the extra money!
Looking at the deficit of more than two thousand taels of silver on the books, Ye Pengchao frowned but could not say anything. After all, all the money was spent from his hands!
In the past month, he has been preparing for the next reorganization of Hanyang. In order to transport the Fengwu Army's firearms to the Han River, he first bribed officials of the Chief Secretary hundreds of taels of silver to get the approval. Although he had Approval, but checkpoints along the way still need to be taken care of.
In addition, in order to prevent the news from leaking, he also planned a series of assassinations, including the assassination of Sun Chenggong's master Cheng Pingzhi. After learning that Cheng Pingzhi had been killed, Sun Chenggong was also very angry and ordered the City Defense Department and the Inspection Department to jointly investigate.
In order to frame all this on Qian Huwei's head, Ye Pengchao activated his money ability again, which cost another thousands taels of silver... ·········,
Although things have been settled smoothly now, Ye Pengchao is still not happy about the deficit. His only hope now is that the higher-ups will complete the approval of Duan Zhibao's request as soon as possible, so that he can launch this coup earlier!
Just yesterday, Li Zhengyong still sent someone to send a message. He felt that the 30,000 taels of settlement allowance that had been negotiated before was less. He said that it would be at least 50,000 taels of settlement allowance. Ye Pengchao had to talk hard before settling the matter with Li Zhengyong. , did not let Li Zhengyong speak loudly.
Now Ye Pengchao feels more and more like he has long nights and dreams. Let’s not talk about other situations. In terms of silver alone, the assets of his entire business bank are only more than 6,000 taels. This month, he has lost two thousand taels. The money in his account is almost It's all a loss.
If there are any changes next, if the money is not released from above, I am afraid that I will have to go to a pawn shop to mortgage my property in Hanjiang!
Thinking of this, Ye Pengchao couldn't help but sigh. Although he very much hoped that the superiors could take action earlier, he just got the news yesterday that the commander-in-chief led tens of thousands of troops to head west to Luo'an.
Although there is no other news, Ye Pengchao knows that the commander-in-chief doesn't like to do things that waste people's money and waste money.
Now that the Fengwu Army has captured Luo'an, and the Shangguan female thief and her accomplices have been ambushed, the commander-in-chief still has to lead tens of thousands of troops to Luo'an. I am afraid that there is still war in the direction of Guanzhong, and the opponent is Everyone is ready to come out...
So what Ye Pengchao is most worried about now is that the energy above is now concentrated on dealing with the Kipchak Khanate, and operations on Jingchu are suspended!
Just when Ye Pengchao was feeling worried, a subordinate came to him and reported to him:
"Sir, General Duan's butler Wang Hui is here! He wants to see you!"
Ye Pengchao's heart suddenly tightened when he heard this. He subconsciously felt that Duan Zhibao took the initiative to find him at this time. I'm afraid it was probably not a good thing!
Although he was in a bad mood, Ye Pengchao knew very well that he must stabilize Duan Zhibao now, so he calmed down his emotions and nodded to his subordinates to invite them over!
After a while, Wang Hui was led by his servants to come to Ye Pengchao. Ye Pengchao raised his hands with a smile and asked:
"Steward Wang, I heard magpies chirping as soon as I opened the door this morning. Sure enough, I was expecting a distinguished guest like you!"
"Please sit down quickly! Let the maids serve fragrant tea!"
Although he didn't know Ye Pengchao's true identity or the affair between Ye Pengchao and Duan Zhibao, Wang Hui was in a very good mood when faced with Ye Pengchao's hospitality.
He said things like "You don't have to be like this, Shopkeeper Guo, you're too polite".
But Wang Hui's body was very honest. He sat down on the chair and enjoyed the fragrant tea served by the maid... ····
After a few brief exchanges of greetings, Wang Hui explained the purpose of his visit, took out an invitation and handed it to Ye Pengchao and said:
"Shopkeeper Guo, the main reason I'm here this time is because my master's little son turns one year old today, so my master wants to invite some friends to his home to celebrate tonight!"
When Ye Pengchao heard this, a strange color flashed in his eyes, and then he asked with a smile:
"Is this Mr. Yinuo?"
Wang Hui immediately nodded and said:
"It's Mr. Yinuo! But this time our master doesn't want to be too showy. It's just a simple meal for a few friends to gather together. Our master knows that Mr. Guo has always been generous, so he specifically told me not to prepare anything. What an expensive gift!"
Ye Pengchao, who already felt bad as soon as these words came out, felt his heart sink even more, but on the surface he still smiled and nodded:
"I understand! I'm sorry to bother you, Butler Wang, to come over in person. Please tell General Duan that Guo will be on time for the appointment tonight!"
Upon hearing this, Wang Hui also stood up and cupped his hands and said:
"Understood! I believe our master will be very happy if you can come, Shopkeeper Guo. I still have some things to do in the house, so I'll take my leave first!"
Ye Pengchao sent Wang Hui to the door and then, amidst Wang Hui's refusal, asked the waiter to bring Wang Hui a few bags of good tea, and then sent the satisfied Wang Hui away... ·······················
However, when Wang Hui left, the smile on Ye Pengchao's face immediately disappeared. If he remembered correctly, Duan Zhibao's youngest son Duan Yinuo was born in August last year, and now it is June. Duan Yinuo is only ten years old. months old.
In addition, a full-year banquet like this should be invited a few days in advance to reserve a time, but now that he is invited to go during the day and at night, it is obvious that Duan Yinuo’s full-year banquet is most likely just a refusal. The actual situation is very likely that Duan Zhibao has If there is any urgent news, you should contact yourself immediately. The so-called New Year's Eve banquet is just a cover-up!
Thinking of this, a wry smile immediately appeared on Ye Pengchao's face. The news that makes Duan Zhibao so anxious is most likely bad news!
Although I don't know where the problem is now, for the sake of the overall situation of Fengwu Army, I must stabilize Duan Zhibao now!
Duan Zhibao is an important part of the Fengwu Army's plan to capture Jingchu. If something goes wrong with this person, the entire plan will suffer!
Just when Ye Pengchao was thinking about how to stabilize Duan Zhibao, suddenly another of his subordinates walked into the room and came to Ye Pengchao's side and whispered something.
Listening to his subordinate's words, Ye Pengchao's face immediately showed a look of surprise, and then he asked his subordinate:
"Where are they?"
The subordinate said respectfully:
"It has been arranged in the city!"
"Take me there quickly..."
······························
······························
Night, Duan Mansion
A New Year's Eve banquet was being held, and several of Duan Zhibao's friends and subordinates were gathering together to have a drink.
"Your Majesty, this young master is indeed a man of extraordinary valor, and very much like you!" Li Shaowen, Duan Zhibao's general, gave Duan Zhibao a thumbs up and complimented him:
Before Li Shaowen finished speaking, another general of Duan Zhibao, Zhao Meng, immediately stood up and answered:
"That's right! The young master will definitely inherit the mantle of the general in the future and contribute to the great Zhou Dynasty for our Jingchu army and make unparalleled achievements!"
As these two people spoke, other people also complimented them one after another.
Duan Zhibao smiled and nodded at everyone's compliments.
Although the wine shop was very lively and lively, Duan Zhibao was always a little absent-minded. Seeing that the sky outside was getting darker and darker, Duan Zhibao couldn't sit still. He called the housekeeper Wang Hui over on the pretext of going to the toilet and asked:
"Did Guo Yuan accept the invitation?"
Looking at Duan Zhibao's serious expression, housekeeper Wang Hui was a little surprised as to why his master cared so much about the shop owner. Isn't Guo Yuan a businessman with some money? As for letting the master take things so seriously?
Although he had some doubts in his heart, Wang Hui still preached very respectfully:
"Sir, I personally handed the invitation to Shopkeeper Guo. Shopkeeper Guo told me that he will definitely attend the appointment on time tonight..."
Seeing that Wang Hui was so sure, Duan Zhibao nodded with a heavy heart, and then returned to the banquet. Duan Zhibao was a little absent-minded. Although everyone didn't understand why Duan Zhibao was like this, they all left Duan's house early.
Looking at the chicken feathers on the ground after everyone left, Duan Zhibao sighed heavily, his expression full of regret.
Although he was promoted by Sun Chenggong, he saw that the Jingchu Army was stuck in the quagmire of war. Although Sun Chenggong had lofty ambitions, he was ambitious, self-willed, and had no sense of leadership. Therefore, Duan Zhibao felt that he was following Sun Chenggong. There is no future in the Jingchu army.
With this thought in mind, Duan Zhibao couldn't help but yearn for the Fengwu Army's Lien Zhan and Lianjie, who completely defeated the Luo'an court and had the potential to engulf the world.
So under such circumstances, when Ye Pengchao recruited him on behalf of Fengwu Army, Duan Zhibao agreed without much hesitation.
At that time, Shi Zhibao believed that after Fengwu's army defeated the Luo'an court, the next strategic direction must be to go south to completely unify the Zhou Dynasty, and Jingchu was the first step for Fengwu's army to go south, so he had the confidence to open his mouth and Guan Feng Wu Jun wants the position of commander of the first army!
Although he knows that he is a lion, Duan Zhibao thinks that he has the leverage to ask Fengwu Army for this price...
After all, he, Duan, was the commanding officer of the Jingchu Army. In theory, he was the third-ranking figure in the Jingchu Army after Sun Chenggong, the commander of the Jingchu Army, and Zhao Zongchang, the commanding officer.
If the Fengwu Army wants to stabilize the situation in Jingchu, it needs its own existence, so if it wants to betray its master and rebel, the Fengwu Army should show enough sincerity!
Because he firmly believed in his judgment of Fengwu Army's next move south, Duan Zhibao had always been confident that Fengwu Army would meet his request!
But when things have reached this stage, there has been no news about Ye Pengchao, and Duan Zhibao has also wavered in his judgment!
But what surprised Duan Zhibao the most was that Marshal Ye, who had just learned the news about the Fengwu Army, led tens of thousands of troops to Guanzhong. Although the Fengwu Army did not directly say what they wanted to do, they just He said that he wanted to wipe out the remnants of Shangguan's female thieves.
But even a fool can see that the Fengwu Army is a drunkard who cares not about the wine but the Kipchak Khanate!
Duan Zhibao really couldn't understand what Marshal Ye was thinking. In his opinion, the Kipchak Khanate occupied Yongliang and it was just a remote place.
The southern provinces are prosperous and wealthy places. Compared with the fierce prairie people, Sun Chenggong, Xu Zhaojie, Lu Jianchao and others in the south are obviously no match for the Fengwu Army!
Therefore, in Duan Zhibao's eyes, Ye Mingsheng's western expedition was an act of putting the cart before the horse... ··
In addition to not understanding Ye Mingsheng's decision, Duan Zhibao is even more worried about whether the Fengwu Army will capture Jingchu!
After all, the Kipchak Khanate is not an easy master to deal with. Shangguan Hongyuan was so powerful back then, but he could only fight to a draw with the Kipchak Khanate and save the land of Yongliang. Now the Fengwu Army The Kipchak Khanate will never be solved in a short period of time.
As a result, the Fengwu Army, whose energy was restrained by the Kipchak Khanate, still had the energy to go south to Jingchu?
Thinking of this, Duan Zhibao secretly scolded Ye Mingsheng in his heart. Everyone else was picking on the weak. You, Ye Mingsheng, did the opposite and wanted to gnaw on the hard bones. You had to go head-to-head with the Kipchaks even if the South was not fighting. As a result, I am now in a dilemma!
One of the important reasons why Duan Zhibao was promoted by Sun Chenggong was that his cousin was Sun Chenggong's concubine, and just yesterday this cousin sent him news that someone told Sun Chenggong that someone from the Coordination Office was assassinating Jing Chujun. General, so let Sun Chenggong be more careful!
After getting this news, Duan Zhibao was very nervous, worried that the failure of Ye Pengchao's plan would implicate him. At the same time, he also regretted very much why he was so obsessed with it and immediately agreed to Ye Pengchao's win over!
He should have observed more at that time, and waited until the matter of Fengwu Army's march south was completely settled before making a decision... ··
Now that Ye Pengchao doesn't come to see him, could it be said that Fengwu Army's plan has really been exposed?
