Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1579 Compassion
Although Yuan Song was a famous general who was promoted and discovered by Ye Mingsheng, and it was Ye Mingsheng who helped Yuan Song from an unknown sentry captain of the imperial guards to a world-famous general, and Yuan Song himself was very grateful to Ye Mingsheng for his recognition, but this did not prevent Yuan Song from feeling disgusted and disappointed with some of Ye Mingsheng's practices!

Although Yuan Song never said it publicly over the years, he could see clearly many of Ye Mingsheng's thoughts!
When He Jingyun was in Liaoyang, he was very famous. In order to restrain He Jingyun, Ye Mingsheng first kept He Jingyun by his side to act as a military advisor, deprived He Jingyun of military power, and then made himself responsible for the specific operations.

After the Fengwu Army entered the pass, Ye Mingsheng captured cities in Youyan, Qilu, Jiyu and accumulated a certain prestige. Then, he put himself on the shelf and let He Jingyun serve as the commander-in-chief of Yunbing to fight against the Luoan court!

But when He Jingyun and Lin Huaiwu both performed poorly, in order to win the war against the Luoan court, Ye Mingsheng had to bring himself out again and let himself charge into battle for him!

After he fought desperately to defeat the Luoan court and repelled the Golden Horde, he was once again hidden away. He Jingyun also got the opportunity to lead his army to the south!
In short, these years seemed like a cycle. If I became famous, the next step would be to be hidden, and then He Jingyun would be promoted. When He Jingyun became famous, he would be hidden and I would be promoted.

Yuan Song could understand Ye Mingsheng’s desire for balance as a monarch, but for what Ye Mingsheng did, he still felt that he was not trusted by Ye Mingsheng. This feeling was that I worked hard for you, Ye Mingsheng’s imperial ambitions, but you were guarding against me behind my back. It was very disgusting...

Yuan Song's disgusting feeling reached its peak after the establishment of Daqian. Although he was nearly fifty years old, Yuan Song was still full of ambition and felt that he could still lead his troops on the battlefield.

But unfortunately, under Ye Mingsheng's arrangement, he had to retire!
In fact, it is not impossible for Yuan Song to retire and return to the countryside. Although he still has great ambitions, he is indeed not young anymore. He has many health problems after fighting on the battlefields for so many years. It would be good for him to recuperate at home.

In addition, although Ye Mingsheng was wary of him, he had given him all that was due over the years. Yuan Song was quite satisfied with the reward of the title, and it was also good for him to enjoy life at home!

But what Yuan Song didn't expect was that even if he had handed over all the military power and was enjoying his grandchildren at home, Ye Mingsheng would not let him go. The housekeeper beside him had reminded him more than once that there were spies from the Coordination Office in his house, and any disturbance in his house should be reported immediately!

Yuan Song was both angry and helpless about this. He didn't understand why Ye Mingsheng treated him like this?
He had been working diligently in the Fengwu Army and in Daqian over the years, and was loyal to Ye Mingsheng, but Ye Mingsheng was always worried about him. There were always more than one pair of eyes staring at him at his home and around him!
This feeling of someone always watching him from behind makes people very uncomfortable, and makes Yuan Song's life very tiring...
At that time, Xiao Lingyu, who was the Left Censor-in-Chief and cabinet minister in the early days of Daqian, retired and returned to his hometown. Yuan Song still didn't understand why Xiao Lingyu did this!

But now Yuan Song just felt that Xiao Lingyu was really foresighted. Given Ye Mingsheng's suspicious character, the sooner he left, the safer it would be. So he now also had the idea of ​​retiring and returning home!

Anyway, Ye Mingsheng doesn't trust me now. He is worried that I will become too successful and lose control of myself. It is basically impossible for me to lead the troops anymore. There is no hope for me to continue to lead the army on the battlefield!

Then he might as well go back to his hometown in Yunbing. Although Yunbing is not as prosperous as Yijing, he is too tired to live in Yijing now. Not to mention that he rarely goes out, even if his old subordinates come to visit him, Yuan Song will try not to meet them, for fear that Ye Mingsheng will misunderstand something!
So Yuan Song is really considering retiring and returning home, but he is worried that he is not sick or old, and if he hears that Ye Mingsheng is going to retire and return home, will Ye Mingsheng have any other ideas?

Therefore, when Yuan Song saw He Jingyun leaving, although he felt sad and melancholy, he was also a little envious!
After all, living in Yijing, under Ye Mingsheng's nose is really too tiring. The ancient saying that living with the king is like living with a tiger is true!
Just as Yuan Song was feeling emotional, the He family's convoy was heading out of the city. Yuan Song's guard Wang Zhen reminded him:
"Duke, General He is leaving soon, why don't you go and see him and say goodbye!"

Yuan Song snorted and said:

"You don't understand He Jingyun. He is a very proud person. How can he be willing to see others in his current state?"

"So as long as the intention is there, there's no need to meet again. This way we won't let down our comrades..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Yuan Song spurred his horse, turned around and drove towards home.

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An hour later, the palace

Ye Mingsheng was sitting in his seat looking at some budget reports from the Ministry of Revenue. At this time, Ye Cheng walked into the study and reported to Ye Mingsheng:
"Your Majesty, the He family left Yijing an hour ago!"

Ye Mingsheng continued to look at the report in his hand and asked without raising his head:

"Did Zhao Han and the others go to see He Jingyun off?"

"Yes!"

Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly when he heard this. Ever since He Jingyun was imprisoned by him, his former subordinates were afraid of him. Although they thought about He Jingyun, they did not dare to visit He Jingyun to see how their old boss was doing. But since he visited him last time and allowed He Jingyun to retire, it was equivalent to sending a positive signal. So after realizing that there was no problem between him and He Jingyun, his former subordinates all wanted to see He Jingyun off.

Although He Jingyun is a little arrogant and has some shortcomings in interpersonal communication, he is still caring and loving towards his subordinates, so many of his old subordinates still remember his kindness.

Ye Mingsheng had expected Zhao Han and his gang to see He Jingyun off. Ye Mingsheng would have been disappointed if Zhao Han hadn't gone.
Just when Ye Mingsheng was about to let Ye Cheng out, Ye Cheng suddenly spoke:
"Your Majesty, besides Chief Zhao and his men, Duke Qi also went to see Lord He off?"

Hearing the three words "Duke of Qi", Ye Mingsheng was also a little surprised, and then he looked up at Ye Cheng and asked:
"Who are you? Duke of Qi?"

"Yes! Lord Yuan Song, the Duke of Qi, also went to see He Jingyun off! At that time, Lord Yuan went to the west gate of Yijing in military uniform, but he did not say anything. He just stood by the west gate and looked into the distance silently!"

Ye Mingsheng was silent for a moment and then began to speak:
"I know what happened! Ye Cheng, go and get busy!"

"Yes!"

After Ye Cheng left, Ye Mingsheng pondered for a while in the study alone, and then he rummaged through the drawer of his desk. After a while, Ye Mingsheng found a report and began to read it.

This report was given to Ye Mingsheng by the Coordination Office a few months ago. It was a record of Yuan Song's behavior over the past period of time by a spy planted in Yuan Song's mansion by the Coordination Office.

A piece of news is recorded here, that is, Yuan Song once told his wife at home that he missed home because of his old age, so he wanted to retire and return home!
When Ye Mingsheng first saw the content in the report, he didn't take it too seriously and thought Yuan Song was just complaining.

However, considering the fact that Yuan Song went to see He Jingyun off today, Ye Mingsheng had a feeling that Yuan Song might have really decided to leave...
To be honest, from the perspective of function and value, Ye Mingsheng is willing to let Yuan Song go home to retire.

After all, since the establishment of Daqian, Ye Mingsheng has taken back the military power from Yuan Song and He Jingyun, and rebuilt a new situation in the top leadership of the Daqian army!
Currently in this structure, Zhao Han, as the Chief of Staff, is responsible for military logistics, training, weapons and equipment, etc., and Ma Zhongjun assists him in his work!
As for Guo Zhiping, Xun Ke, and Zhang Meng, they are all the new generation of generals of Daqian who Ye Mingsheng has high hopes for. Ye Mingsheng hopes that they can replace Yuan Song and He Jingyun to complete the historical task of expanding the territory for Daqian!

So from the current situation, not to mention He Jingyun who is already paralyzed and can barely speak clearly, Yuan Song has also become a totem-like figure. So from the perspective of value and role, for Ye Mingsheng, it doesn’t matter whether Yuan Song is in his hometown or in Yijing!

But when Ye Mingsheng makes a decision, he must not only consider the practical effect, but also the political impact of this matter!
After the establishment of Daqian, Ye Mingsheng completely took back the military power of Yuan Song and He Jingyun. Although he conferred the titles of Duke on Yuan Song and Cui Shao, Ye Mingsheng did not fulfill his promise to confer the title of Duke on He Jingyun and to let Cui Shao serve as the chief minister of the cabinet!
Therefore, there has always been a view in the court of Daqian that he is a cold-hearted person and will not tolerate others' misfortune. It is also a saying that when the cunning rabbit dies, the running dog is cooked.
Honestly speaking, Ye Mingsheng also felt that these ideas were not without reason. Some of his actions were indeed ungentle and immoral, which easily led to people gossiping about him!
However, Ye Mingsheng believed that although he had not fulfilled his political promise now, it did not mean that he had forgotten. He had once promised He Jingyun to confer the title of Duke of Shen on him and to let Cui Shao serve as the chief minister of the cabinet. Ye Mingsheng remembered these words clearly.

Ye Mingsheng only postponed it temporarily. This time when facing He Jingyun, Ye Mingsheng basically fulfilled his promise and put the imperial edict that He Jingyun was the Duke of Shen in the wooden box, allowing He Jingyun to become the Duke of Shen before his death!
This Duke of Shen is what He Jingyun has always been obsessed with. He is a bastard in the He family and has been bullied by his father's wife and legitimate son since he was a child. They always told him that he was a bastard and would never be able to inherit the family title!

So He Jingyun had an idea since he was a child, that is, I want to inherit the family's title of Duke, and he has been working towards this direction.

When Ye Mingsheng first talked to him in private when they were fighting for the throne, he had already made a clear promise. Originally, Ye Mingsheng planned to confer the title on He Jingyun after the establishment of Daqian.

But no one expected that He Jingyun had done so many bad things in Jiangnan. Ye Mingsheng originally just wanted to postpone his title of Duke to let him reflect on himself.
However, I didn't expect that this guy still didn't reflect on himself and was still proud of his achievements. After learning that he was not granted the title of Duke, he really complained so much and even scolded himself.

Fortunately, He Jingyun managed to stop himself from making the same mistake again with the help of his wife and staff. However, in order to punish him, Ye Mingsheng really wanted to offset his merits and demerits, so he would not confer the title of Duke on He Jingyun at all!
But when he heard that He Jingyun had suffered a stroke and was paralyzed on one side and could not speak clearly, Ye Mingsheng was moved with sympathy. He wrote an imperial edict to confer the title of Duke of Shen on He Jingyun and put it in a wooden box and gave it to He Dongshi.

But He Jingyun made a mistake after all, so Ye Mingsheng asked He Dongshi to open the wooden box and read the imperial edict to He Jingyun before He Jingyun died...
Ye Mingsheng also planned to do the same with Cui Shao. Ye Mingsheng would not forget his promise to Cui Shao. Ye Mingsheng would definitely let Cui Shao become the Prime Minister of the Cabinet and become the first Prime Minister of the founding of Daqian. However, this time would definitely not be too long. Cui Shao could retire and return home after serving for a year or half a year.

Although Ye Mingsheng had such an idea, he could not tell anyone about these arrangements, so he had to continue to bear the infamy of being cold-hearted and ungrateful in the court.

If Ye Mingsheng didn't care about this matter before, no matter if they cursed him or not, since no one dared to curse him in front of him, Ye Mingsheng would just pretend not to hear it. It didn't affect his eating or drinking!
But now that he has become the emperor, Ye Mingsheng has begun to cherish his reputation and pay attention to his image as an emperor!
It would be fine for He Jingyun to retire and return to his hometown. After all, He Jingyun had a stroke and was paralyzed on one side of his body. He could not even speak clearly. He needed someone to serve him every day. He could not do much in the court. It would be good for him to return home and spend his old age in peace. No one could say anything!

But Yuan Song was different. Although he stayed at home and rarely went out, he was in good health and had no major illness. He could eat, drink, run and jump at home. The spies from the Coordination Office even reported that Yuan Song was fighting with a maid at home!
Therefore, given Yuan Song's current situation, if I allow him to retire and return home, there will definitely be widespread accusations that he is being abandoned!
Ye Mingsheng knew this group of people too well. Although they didn't dare to say it to his face, they often talked about him behind his back. Although what they said made sense, it was true that Ye Mingsheng did some things that were not right!
But Ye Mingsheng still hoped that his image in everyone's mind could be improved, so he could only let Yuan Song down and let him go after a few years...