Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1490 An Miaoyi? Truly cold-blooded!

Before Ye Mingsheng ascended the throne, he had the idea of ​​re-counting the world's population and arable land. In the past few decades, although the Great Zhou nominally had a census, due to the decline in the central government's control over the local areas, as well as wars and turmoil in some places, the census was not thorough, and many of the censuses were based entirely on experience!

In the process of fighting for hegemony over the world, Ye Mingsheng realized that this kind of census based on estimation was very misleading. Maybe this county actually had only 3,000 people and 2,000 hectares of land, but there were 7,000 people and 3,000 hectares of land on the register!

During the initial formulation of the ZC, Ye Mingsheng had suffered losses in this regard, so after Ye Mingsheng led the Fengwu Army to unify the world, Ye Mingsheng wanted to do a good job of census and clarify the cultivated land, so that the central government could have a clearer understanding of these two important data, which would facilitate the reform better.

Ye Mingsheng discussed this issue with Cui Shao at that time, and Cui Shao praised and supported Ye Mingsheng's idea.

Cui Shao believed that conducting a census and clarifying the cultivated land throughout the country could indeed help the court better understand the situation in the world and thus govern this huge country well!
But Cui Shao thought that these two things were a bit too hasty for the Fengwu Army, which had just unified the world, and the time was not yet ripe!

It won't be too late to do this after Daqian stabilizes...

At that time, Cui Shao's words were very general. He did not say why the time was not ripe or why he had to wait until the world was stable before doing this.

But Ye Mingsheng knew very well what Cui Shao meant. In history, Ye Mingsheng was not the first person to conduct a census and clarify arable land, so everyone was not a fool. Naturally, they knew what Ye Mingsheng would do after he found out everyone's financial situation. Therefore, this would definitely arouse resistance and cause some turmoil!
Originally, Ye Mingsheng's reforms had affected the interests of many people, causing some undercurrents beneath Daqian's calm surface. So if Ye Mingsheng carried out a census and clarified arable land with great fanfare, the contradictions would become even more acute!
After learning about Cui Shao's idea, Ye Mingsheng also made more detailed considerations. He believed that although Cui Shao's idea made sense, conducting a population census and clarifying arable land would, in general, benefit the present and future generations!

Even if there are some problems and turmoil, Ye Mingsheng is very confident that he can control the situation and allow things to proceed smoothly!

So Ye Mingsheng did just that and issued an order to conduct a population census and clarify the arable land in various parts of Daqian!

Because this is a big project, even though these investigations have been going on for about a year, they have not yet been completed, but some progress has been made!
Ye Mingsheng learned from these studies that Jiyu is still the most populous region in Daqian, with a total of 1.71 million households, or about 5.72 million people.

The second place is Jiangnan, with 1.53 million households and about 5.33 million people.

As for the third place, it is the Qi and Lu region, with 1.05 million households, or about 3.5 million people!
To be honest, when Ye Mingsheng got this data, he was a little surprised that Jiangnan surpassed Qilu to rank second, and that Qilu only had a population of 3.5 million...
But Wang Xuecheng, who was in charge of investigating the matter at the time, assured Ye Mingsheng that the figures might have some deviations in details. For example, it was possible that there were 1,800 more or 1,800 less people. After all, the population was mobile and not static. But the total population should be about the same and there would not be too much deviation.
The reason why Jiangnan has a population of over five million is entirely because due to previous wars, people from Huainan, Jingchu, Sichuan and even further north fled to Jiangnan. This has also caused Jiangnan's population to nearly double in the past ten years!
The reason why Qi and Lu have only 3.5 million people now is entirely due to the impact of the war. In fact, when the Fengwu Army first recovered Qi and Lu, the population of Qi and Lu had dropped to less than 3 million due to the impact of the war!
In recent years, under the governance of the Fengwu Army, Qi and Lu have enjoyed a harmonious political situation, stable public security, and a very positive economic situation. As a result, many people from Qi and Lu who had been affected by the war and fled to the south have returned to their hometowns one after another. In addition, many newborns have been born.

The combination of these factors has caused the population of Qilu to reach 3.5 million. According to the current growth momentum, if nothing unexpected happens, the population of Qilu will be able to recover to at least 5 million in the next ten years...
Although there is a big gap in population between Jiangnan and Hebei and Henan, Qi and Lu are at the same level as the former two in terms of the number of officials and servants. According to a statistic from the Ministry of Households, there are about 35,000 T jobs in Hebei and Henan, and about 29,000 T jobs in Jiangnan!

The salary of a T position in Qilu is about 30,000, but in this round of layoffs, Murong Yuliang laid off 1,700 people in Jiangnan, 600 people in Huainan, and Zhao Wanxian also laid off 1,500 people in Hebei and Henan. These situations made Ye Mingsheng happy and also raised his expectations!
So now Ye Mingsheng is somewhat dissatisfied with the fact that Ma Runchuan has been in Qilu for so long but has only laid off more than a thousand people. Ye Mingsheng feels that Ma Runchuan can do much better and make Qilu's banking system simpler and more efficient!
Just as Ye Mingsheng was considering how to word his reply to Ma Runchuan, Ye Cheng walked into the imperial study and reported to Ye Mingsheng:

"Your Majesty, I just learned something and I feel it is necessary to report it to you!"

Although his train of thought was interrupted by Ye Cheng, Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly when he saw Ye Cheng was so serious. Ye Cheng immediately began to tell the story, and as he spoke, Ye Mingsheng's expression became serious.

After Ye Cheng finished speaking, Ye Mingsheng fell into deep thought, while Ye Cheng stood quietly by the side waiting for Ye Mingsheng's decision.

After thinking for half a cup of tea, Ye Mingsheng slowly asked Ye Cheng:
"Who arranged that maid?"

Ye Cheng said without hesitation:
"Queen!"

"Does this have anything to do with the Queen?"

Faced with such a sensitive question, Ye Cheng, who had just been thinking without thinking, was now in hesitation. After a long time, he said ambiguously:

"Your Majesty, it's not clear yet!"

Ye Mingsheng said leisurely after hearing this:
"Then let's hold off for now..."

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Just half an hour after Ye Mingsheng received the news, the two sisters Murong Qingwu and Murong Xinyun were copying Buddhist scriptures in the room, and at this time Ying'er walked into the room excitedly and began to report.

After telling the story, Ying Er also excitedly narrated:

"My lady, that bitch is going to be in big trouble this time!"

Murong Qingwu hesitated for a moment and said:
"Is Ying'er's news accurate?"

Under Murong Qingwu's gaze, Ying Er nodded confidently and said:
"Don't worry, madam. This news came from the Inner Court. It is absolutely authentic!"

Hearing Ying'er say this, Murong Qingwu did not say anything, but asked Murong Xinyun:

"Xinyun, what do you think about this matter?"

Under the gaze of her sister, Murong Xinyun looked a little hesitant, while Murong Qingwu encouraged her:
"Xinyun, if you have any ideas, feel free to speak up."

Murong Xinyun also mustered up the courage to say:

"I don't think this is something a queen would do!"

After hearing this, Murong Qingwu hadn't said anything yet, but Ying'er beside her couldn't help but say:
“Empress Yunpin, this piece of information is a chess piece that the Empress personally planted in the Inner Court. It is very reliable. Moreover, this palace maid was personally arranged by the Empress to serve the Crown Prince…”

Murong Xinyun was a little speechless for a moment due to Ying'er's emphasis, as if he didn't know what to say. Seeing this, Murong Qingwu couldn't help but glance at Ying'er, stopping Ying'er from saying something, and then asked Murong Xinyun:

"Xinyun, why do you have such an idea?" Murong Xinyun hesitated for a moment, but still spoke honestly and thoroughly:

"I don't know why I would think this way, but I just have a feeling that the Queen would not do such a thing!"

Hearing Murong Xinyun say this, Murong Qingwu smiled and said:
"I also don't think this is the work of An Miaoyi!"

Ying Er was a little surprised to hear her own queen say this, and immediately wanted to reiterate it, but before she could open her mouth, Murong Qingwu continued:

"That person! I planted her there! Of course I trust her!"

"Even if that maid was arranged by the Queen to serve the Crown Prince, I don't believe that the Queen would let her do this!"

Ying Er was very puzzled when she heard this and asked back:

"Your Majesty, didn't you say that the Queen doesn't support layoffs? And there are so many people asking the Queen to whisper in Your Majesty's ear!"

Murong Qingwu shook her head upon hearing this and said:
"You still don't understand An Miaoyi deeply enough!"

"An Miaoyi is the most selfish person. In her eyes, the interests of her own people are the most important. As for the life and death of others, she doesn't care at all..."

"Even if there are frozen corpses on the road, it won't affect her luxury at all!"

"She is very clear about how determined His Majesty is in this regard. She is also very clear about the serious consequences of disobeying His Majesty in this matter!"

"So even if those people kneel down and die in front of her, An Miaoyi, and kowtow a thousand or ten thousand times, she will never show any mercy or pity. This woman is a cold-blooded animal, and can truly be as hard-hearted as stone!"

Ying Er seemed to want to say something after hearing this, but Murong Qingwu continued to analyze:
"But these are not the most important things!"

"The most unlikely thing is that this matter involves the crown prince. Even if An Miaoyi wants to use anyone as a gun, she won't use her son as a gun!"

"In her heart, your Majesty's position is probably not as high as that of the Crown Prince!"

"The Crown Prince himself has ordinary talents and is very weak and incompetent. The discussion about the Crown Prince's position in the court has never stopped, openly or secretly. So An Miaoyi is too busy protecting the Crown Prince, so how could she let the Crown Prince intervene in this matter?"

After Murong Qingwu's profound analysis of An Miaoyi, Ying Er was completely speechless, while Murong Xinyun on the side said with great admiration:

"Sister, you really understand the Queen!"

Murong Qingwu said lightly:
"Xinyun, His Majesty once said that the person who knows you best may not be your relative or your friend, but may very well be your enemy!"

"As for this woman named An Miaoyi, I dare not not understand her!"

“Otherwise, I might get bitten by her accidentally, and there will be no recovery from that…”

Hearing the words "eternal damnation", Murong Xinyun, who had just suffered a loss from An Miaoyi, couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart!
At this time, Ying Er said:

"Your Majesty, even if the Queen didn't instigate this, she sent that maid, so the Queen can't escape responsibility either. As long as we add fuel to the fire and make this matter bigger, that bad woman will be in trouble!"

At the end, Ying Er seemed eager to try, and she really looked like she was about to see the day when An Miaoyi fell.

Murong Qingwu was silent for a while after hearing this, and then made a decision that surprised the other two people present.

"Let's not interfere in this matter!"

"Sister! I think Ying'er is right. Even if the Queen didn't instigate this, the maid is the Queen's person, so the Queen can't escape responsibility either!"

Seeing that Murong Xinyun also supported her point of view, Ying Er continued:

"My lady, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, why would you give it up like this?"

Facing the gazes of Ying'er and Murong Xinyun, Murong Qingwu shook her head and said firmly:

"This matter is too sensitive. I think it has touched your Majesty's bottom line. Your Majesty should have received the news by now, so now is the time to shoot the first bird to stick its head out. If your Majesty knows who is involved in this matter, the consequences will be very serious!"

Ying'er seemed very unwilling to accept Murong Qingwu's decision, and Murong Xinyun also felt a little regretful.

Seeing this, Murong Qingwu smiled and said:
"Although we are not focusing on this matter, it does not mean that we don't want to deal with An Miaoyi. There are other things we can focus on!"

"Didn't Li Jian's wife, Cao, want to see An Miaoyi?"

"Then we can do something about this matter and tie An Miaoyi and Li Jian together..."