Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1580

After Yuan Song's matter came to an end, Ye Mingsheng began to look at the Ministry of Revenue's budget report again.

Thanks to Ye Mingsheng's unremitting efforts, although the salaries of G members still occupy a large part of Daqian's finances, the overall proportion has decreased, which has freed up some silver. Although all this silver has been invested in the war on the grassland, the war will end one day.

Therefore, in order to improve efficiency, the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works also made some engineering plans. These projects are basically water conservancy projects. After all, Daqian is still struggling on the food and clothing line, and grain production can be said to be the top priority!

Although Ye Mingsheng said that the current agricultural situation in Daqian depends on the weather, if the weather is good and the people of Daqian have a good harvest, they will be able to have a good year. Otherwise, they may have to tighten their belts.

Although Ye Mingsheng said this, it does not mean that Ye Mingsheng will rely entirely on good weather and good harvests for Daqian's grain production. Since the beginning of the Fengwu Army's morale, Ye Mingsheng has put a lot of effort into agriculture!

In government, Ye Mingsheng fully mobilized the enthusiasm of the people to engage in farming, reduced the obstacles facing the people in farming, and provided various protection measures for the people.

In terms of infrastructure, Ye Mingsheng encouraged the construction of canals and reservoirs in various places to ensure that agriculture had sufficient irrigation water.

In order to improve farming efficiency and reduce people's working hours, Ye Mingsheng also asked the Second Manufacturing Bureau to improve and mass-produce agricultural tools to ensure that every citizen has sufficient agricultural tools to help with labor and improve work efficiency.

In order to increase food production, Ye Mingsheng also organized a fertilizer research team and has been working hard on scientific research. At the same time, the Second Manufacturing Bureau is also producing fertilizers on a large scale, so that the people of Daqian can enjoy the fruits of scientific and technological development as much as possible...

It is precisely these measures that have kept the overall grain price in Daqian in a stable range, ensuring that 95 percent of the people have enough food to eat.

But honestly speaking, this is not enough. Ye Mingsheng wants to do more, to enable most of the people to progress from the stage of having enough food to eat to the stage of having enough food to eat. In order to achieve this goal, Ye Mingsheng and the entire Daqian court have a lot of work to do.

Now, Deshui, the second largest river in Daqian and also the largest river in the north, has been very unstable recently, putting some cities and farmlands in danger. In fact, these problems existed before, and Ye Mingsheng also wanted to manage Deshui, but he was short of money, so things have been delayed until now!

Although the water conservancy plan for controlling Deshui has been drawn up, according to statistics from the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Households, the entire project costs at least one million taels of silver, the project period is five to ten years, and the initial investment in the project is approximately two hundred thousand taels of silver.

Originally, this project should have been implemented this year, but because of the need to support the war on the grassland, the plan cannot be launched immediately.

However, according to the plan of the General Staff, if everything goes well, the war on the grassland will be over within three months. In this way, the plan to control Deshui this year can be deployed this year...

To be honest, Ye Mingsheng didn't understand water conservancy, let alone how to control water. Ye Mingsheng knew he couldn't understand the technical report on the project submitted by the Ministry of Industry without even looking at it, so he simply didn't read it.

Ye Mingsheng gathered together the experts in Daqian who were good at water control and formed an expert group to review the technical report.

Ye Mingsheng took a look at the budget report issued by the Ministry of Revenue. From a financial point of view, Ye Mingsheng felt that the court could afford the initial 200,000 taels of silver as long as there were no major wars. The remaining silver to be paid over five to ten years was not too much and the court could still afford it!

Moreover, according to the description in the report, after the Deshui River is managed, the risk of flood disasters will not only be reduced, but some silt fields can be cleared and canals can be built to divert the Deshui River to irrigate crops in Yunbing, Youyan and other places. So after reading the budget report, Ye Mingsheng pondered for a while and put the report in the drawer of his desk!

From a financial perspective, Ye Mingsheng has already agreed to the plan and is now waiting for the expert group to evaluate the technical plan for controlling Deshui. As long as the technical evaluation passes, the plan to control Deshui can be approved!
Just as Ye Mingsheng was about to handle the next official business, the attendant Zhang Yufeng walked in and reported to Ye Mingsheng;

"Your Majesty, Minister Su has sent a message that the Cuman envoy Wuerken has arrived in Yijing!"

Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly when he heard this. About two months ago, the Minister of Rites Su Yi reported to him that the Golden Horde had expressed to Daqian through some channels that they hoped to send an envoy to meet Ye Mingsheng to discuss some issues of concern to both countries...
At that time, although Ye Mingsheng felt that the Golden Horde had evil ambitions and the clouds of war were already gathering over the northern grasslands, and a brutal battle was inevitable, since the other party wanted to talk, Ye Mingsheng would not refuse, so he agreed to the other party's idea of ​​sending an envoy.

Originally, Ye Mingsheng thought that it might take more than a month for the Cuman delegation to reach Yijing, but now it seems that these Cuman people are much faster than expected and have arrived in Yijing now.

Just when Ye Mingsheng was thinking about when to summon these Cuman envoys, Zhang Yufeng reported:

"Your Majesty, we discovered that in addition to the Kipchaks, there were also several blond and blue-eyed Romans in the Kipchak delegation."

"Romans?"

"Yes! There are five Romans in total. According to Akkin, the chief envoy of the Cuman Mission, these five Romans are envoys from the Roman Empire who came to visit Daqian. The leader is named Alexi, and he is a member of the royal family of the Roman Empire!"

"However, Xu Ming, a doctor from the Ministry of Rites, tried to communicate with Alexei, but Alexei was very arrogant. He just said that he was a member of the Roman royal family and came to visit His Majesty the Emperor Daqian on the orders of the Roman King. Apart from that, he did not answer any other questions!"

"From the situation of the delegation, it seems that the Cumans and the Romans are not as close as they seem. Akkin deliberately keeps a distance from Alexei!"

"At present, the Ministry of Rites has arranged for the Cuman envoys to stay in the Fusheng Inn, and the patrol camp of Yijing has also protected them all!"

Ye Mingsheng pondered for a while and then ordered:

"My schedule is quite full at the moment, so I don't have much time to meet them. Let's just leave them alone for a while..."

After hearing what Ye Mingsheng said, Zhang Yufeng also took the order and left.

Ye Mingsheng worked on the memorial in the study for a while. When the light outside the window dimmed, Ye Mingsheng belatedly asked the palace maid outside:
"What time is it now?"

"Your Majesty, it is now the hour of You!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng subconsciously glanced out the window and shook his head. In Yijing, the days are long and the nights are short in summer, while the days are short and the nights are long in winter. In winter, it is completely dark at the hour of You, but in summer, it is still bright at the hour of You!

Therefore, Ye Mingsheng really didn't notice that he had been working until the hour of You. Calculating his working hours today, he and An Miaoyi accompanied the Queen Mother for dinner at the hour of Chen. They had dinner and chatted for half an hour, so his working hours in the morning were two and a half hours.

I took a sauna at noon and started working at 3:00 p.m. During this time, except for going to the toilet, I worked in the study. It took more than two hours in total, so I worked for more than four hours today, less than five hours!
Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng nodded secretly. He thought that he was still very diligent and had done his best for the people of Daqian!

With this idea in mind, Ye Mingsheng ignored the memorial that had not been processed yet and got up and left to start his own nightlife.

Before, Ye Mingsheng had the habit of finishing today's work today, but now Ye Mingsheng finds more and more that there are always these memorials. No matter how hard you work, you will never finish processing them. When you finish one pile, Ye Cheng will bring you a new pile...

So now Ye Mingsheng is kind of lying low. Except for those extremely urgent matters, Ye Mingsheng will occasionally work overtime and take the time to deal with them as quickly as possible. For other less important reports, Ye Mingsheng will just do whatever he can during working hours!
Ye Mingsheng has never been a particularly hardworking person. He doesn't want to work himself to death like Yongzheng! After entering the harem, Ye Mingsheng stopped and his expression became hesitant. At this time, there were dozens of concubines waiting for him in the harem.

But who should I choose to spend this wonderful night with?

Regarding this issue, Ye Mingsheng had some difficulty making a decision for a while!
Ye Mingsheng first ruled out An Miaoyi. Ye Mingsheng had just visited her place a few days ago, and had breakfast with her this morning.

Murong Qingwu?

Ye Mingsheng subconsciously didn't want to go. It wasn't because Murong Qingwu was a bad person, but it was very tiring to be with her. Not only Ye Mingsheng himself was tired, but Murong Qingwu was also tired.

Now Ye Mingsheng has worked a day and his body must be very tired. Now Ye Mingsheng just wants to find a place to eat a meal and have a good rest!
Ye Mingsheng figured out his needs and immediately had a candidate in mind. He walked quickly towards a certain direction of the harem.

A moment later, Ye Mingsheng came to a quiet courtyard. Before he entered the courtyard, Ye Mingsheng saw Pei Zhixiu and Murong Xinyun coming out...
Ye Mingsheng was a little surprised to see this, and Pei Zhixiu and Murong Xinyun were also very surprised, but they quickly saluted and said:
"I pay my respects to Your Majesty!"

"I pay my respects to Your Majesty!"

Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly and asked:

"Xinyun, are you leaving?"

Murong Xinyun nodded and said:
"I have something to ask Concubine Pei today!"

Ye Mingsheng didn't ask any more questions after hearing this, but just said:

"It's dark and the roads are slippery! Be careful on your way back!"

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty!"

After seeing Murong Xinyun off, Ye Mingsheng and Pei Zhixiu also walked into the room.

Seeing Pei Zhixiu's peaceful appearance, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but think of how she looked when she was fighting, and a fire rose in his lower abdomen. At this moment, Ye Mingsheng heard Pei Zhixiu's voice.

"Your Majesty, have you eaten yet?"

Ye Mingsheng shook his head subconsciously, and Pei Zhixiu asked:
"Your Majesty, would you like the imperial kitchen to serve you food?"

"Jisu, what do you have to eat?"

"Some pork tenderloin, some coriander, rapeseed, cabbage, tofu and other dishes. I'm preparing to cook!"

Hearing the words "pork tenderloin", Ye Mingsheng asked in surprise;
"Jisu, when did you start eating meat?"

Pei Zhixiu shook his head and said:

"I don't eat meat. I bought the pork tenderloin for Jingxuan and Yiren. These two kids want to eat meat, so I bought some pork tenderloin and prepared to make sweet and sour pork for them!"

As a loyal fan of sweet and sour pork, Ye Mingsheng was immediately interested when he heard the words sweet and sour pork from Pei Zhixiu.

"Jixiu, can you make sweet and sour pork?"

"I learned from Master Liu from Yuchu before. Master Liu taught me very carefully, but I could never make it taste like him!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng made the decision:
"Ji Xiu, just do it! Let your husband see my wife's cooking skills..."

Although they were already an old married couple, Pei Zhixiu seemed a little embarrassed to hear Ye Mingsheng say this, and then she said:
"I'm sure my cooking isn't as delicious as Master Liu's!"

"That's fine! It's good to change the taste. It's boring to always eat the same taste!"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng say this, Pei Zhixiu nodded and walked towards the kitchen.

Looking at Pei Zhixiu's departing back, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help feeling a little emotional. Pei Zhixiu had always been the special one in the palace. Apart from her, his dozens of concubines were all very idle and had nothing to do in the palace. They just had to stretch out their hands for clothes and open their mouths for food. Not to mention cooking, they probably had never even washed the dishes.

Only with Pei Zhixiu could Ye Mingsheng feel a hint of worldly affairs and calm down.

While Ye Mingsheng was sitting on the sofa resting, Jingxuan and Yiren also returned home. Seeing Ye Mingsheng coming, the two little guys were very happy, especially the younger sister Yiren. She chirped to Ye Mingsheng:
"Father, I went to read a book with my brother today!"

"Oh! What book did our Princess Yiren read? Can you tell Dad about it?"

"I've read the Analects and the Records of the Grand Historian. What's the point of reading a university?"

Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly and said:

"They are all good books. Did Yiren remember any knowledge?"

Yiren, who had just been thinking without thinking, became hesitant when she heard Ye Mingsheng's question. Ye Mingsheng couldn't help laughing when he saw this. But at this moment, Yiren seemed to have thought of something, and said in a baby voice while looking at her father:

"My brother taught me something today: Only those who endure the most hardships can become the best..."