Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1602 The wooden dragon is causing trouble!
Yijing, Dongcheng District
Dongliu Hutong is one of the main thoroughfares leading to Houde Street, the most prosperous business district in Yijing. Therefore, there are many people coming and going in Dongliu Hutong, which has also attracted many merchants to do business here and do some small businesses.

At this time in a small teahouse, Ye Mingsheng and Jingren, who were dressed in casual clothes, and more than a dozen guards, who were also dressed in casual clothes, were sitting in a corner of the teahouse, listening silently to the conversation at the next table while drinking tea and eating cakes.

"I'm telling you that the drought in the Central Plains is caused by the Wood Dragon, which brought down the punishment from the heavens!"

"Brother Liu, what is the wooden dragon causing trouble? What does this wooden dragon refer to?"

"Wood refers to the wood in the five elements of gold, wood, water, fire and earth. The dragon refers to the divine dragon. It is said that this wood dragon has the ability to fly to the sky, but unfortunately this wood dragon does not use this ability in the right way, so it was punished by the heavens!"

"I see! This wooden dragon is so abominable!"

After listening to the conversation next door for a while, Jingren, who was puzzled, couldn't help but whispered to Ye Mingsheng:

"Dad, are there really wooden dragons in this world?"

Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but look at Jingren when he heard that. Jingren, who was meeting his father's gaze, still didn't realize the problem and was still looking at Ye Mingsheng with great curiosity. Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but sigh in his heart and an idea emerged in his mind.

If Jingxuan was here, he would definitely not ask himself this question!

Although he felt a little helpless, Jingren was his son after all, so Ye Mingsheng patiently guided him:

"Jingren, what's your last name?"

Seeing that his father not only did not answer his question, but also asked him a question that he knew the answer to, Jingren's expression immediately became surprised. He looked at Ye Mingsheng in surprise, but seeing that Ye Mingsheng did not seem to be joking, he hesitated and said:

"Dad! My last name is Ye, just like yours!"

"What does this leaf grow on?"

“Leaves grow on trees!”

Looking at Jingren who was serious and hadn't reacted yet, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but shook his head but still chose to guide him:
"What is this tree made of?"

"Wood!"

Although Jingren was not very smart, he was not a stupid kid either. As soon as he said this, he realized the crux of the problem and blurted out:
"Does this refer to us?"

Seeing that Jingren finally reacted, Ye Mingsheng continued:

"Jingren, are you thinking about who is called a dragon?"

Perhaps Ye Mingsheng's question was too straightforward, so Jingren understood it all at once and said:
"Dad, could it be that the wooden dragon is referring to you?"

Ye Mingsheng smiled and nodded slightly, then asked Jingren in surprise:
"Dad is testing you! Since the wooden dragon refers to me, then think about it again. They say that I am the wooden dragon causing trouble. So what did I do to cause trouble?"

Jingren said cautiously:
"Dad, when they say they are making trouble, are they blaming the reforms you have introduced?"

Seeing Jingren's answer, Ye Mingsheng felt relieved. Although Jingren was of average talent and lacked comprehension and understanding, he still had basic ZZ sense. With a little guidance, he would be able to understand. He was not a pure fool!
If Jingren can't answer this, Ye Mingsheng might have to think about his life...
After sleeping in Liangzhen Camp with Jingren for a night yesterday, Ye Mingsheng set out from Liangzhen Camp in the morning and returned to Yijing City at noon. Originally, Ye Mingsheng wanted to go back to the palace directly, have lunch and rest for a while in the palace, and then continue working in the afternoon.

But Jingren told Ye Mingsheng that he wanted to go to Xinkangji for dinner. Ye Mingsheng thought that Jingren was doing well in Liangzhen Camp yesterday and was not picky about the food in the barracks. Ye Mingsheng wanted to reward him, so he took Jingren, Zhang Hu and more than ten other guards to Xinkangji for dinner in casual clothes!

On the way to Xinkangji, Ye Mingsheng also passed by the teahouse in Dongliu Hutong. By chance, Ye Mingsheng heard someone in the teahouse discussing the mischief of the wooden dragon. Ye Mingsheng was immediately attracted by these four words, and immediately brought people in, wanting to listen to what was going on!

This so-called wooden dragon's mischief was similar to what Ye Mingsheng had thought, that is, he used the wooden dragon to represent himself, saying that his reforms were mischief, thus angering the heavens, and therefore the heavens sent down drought as punishment. However, as long as the wooden dragon could wake up and correct his mistakes, the heavens would forgive the wooden dragon, and then they would send down a sweet rain!

Although he didn't know who came up with this story about the wooden dragon causing trouble, Ye Mingsheng really felt that it was nothing new.

Didn’t an official who was laid off previously create a story about a meteorite falling from the sky, in which he wrote about the death of a traitor and the division of the world, and compared himself to Ying Zheng!
To be honest, Ye Mingsheng felt that this meteorite falling from the sky was more innovative than the wooden dragon, but the work was done too roughly, with many loopholes...
Ye Mingsheng knew very well that as long as he insisted on pushing forward the reform, there would be no shortage of things like meteorites falling from the sky and wooden dragons causing trouble. It was entirely possible that he would dig up a three-eyed stone man in the river one day, or find a tortoise shell of some kind!
I hold the military power in my hands, and those people dare not confront me head-on. They can only play these little tricks on me in the dark!

Although Ye Mingsheng felt a little bored about this, he had to admit that although this trick was a bit old-fashioned, it was indeed very effective. After all, in this era, most people still believed in ghosts and gods!
When Ye Mingsheng started his army and proclaimed himself emperor, he took advantage of people's belief in ghosts and gods and created all kinds of auspicious signs to make himself look like the son of destiny, the one destined by heaven!
Although Ye Mingsheng felt that those auspicious signs were full of loopholes, especially in order to create a auspicious beast Qilin, the people from the Coordination Office simply made up a cow. They didn't dare to show it to others during the day, for fear that others would see it clearly and expose the truth. They only dared to show it secretly at night and then let the arranged people spread it.

But you know what, the common people really believe this, and many of them believe it without a doubt. Ye Mingsheng is very helpless about this. He can only sigh that Daqian has a long way to go to enlighten the people!
Ye Mingsheng can use the stories of ghosts and gods to help himself get to the top, so others can also make up rumors to discredit Ye Mingsheng, which can be regarded as a form of returning the favor...

Just as Ye Mingsheng was thinking about how to respond, Jingren said angrily:

"Dad, these people are so bad, you must punish them!"

Ye Mingsheng smiled and nodded, then asked Zhang Hu to pay the bill, and then took Jingren out of the teahouse and continued to head towards Xin Kangji.

It was noon, the time for lunch. As one of the eight major restaurants in Yijing, Xin Kang Ji was also bustling with people. Several waiters were standing at the door, bowing and informing the diners outside that there were no tables left in the restaurant and that they could not dine in. They could only take away food, and it would take at least an incense stick of time to take away food. Although the restaurant was full, the shopkeeper of Xin Kang Ji recognized Ye Mingsheng and Jingren, so he immediately used the condition of free meals to let a table of diners end the meal early, and then quickly cleaned up the box and invited Ye Mingsheng and Jingren to go in.

Seeing the shopkeeper handing him the menu, Ye Mingsheng pointed directly at Jingren and said:
"Jingren, you can order whatever you like, but don't order too much. Four or five dishes will be enough for the two of us!"

"Dad! I understand!"

After instructing Jingren, Ye Mingsheng looked at Zhang Hu and instructed:

“This Xinkangji Badalou Restaurant is pretty good. You can order some good dishes for the brothers to try. Just order whatever they like. It’s tiring to follow me around every day. It’s not easy to come to a big restaurant once. You can try some and see how it’s different from the food in the palace…”

As Ye Mingsheng's personal guard, Zhang Hu was also very clear about Ye Mingsheng's character, so he didn't say anything polite to Ye Mingsheng and just bowed and said;
"Thank you for your consideration, Your Majesty!"

I don’t know if the food ordered by other tables was delivered, but the food for Ye Mingsheng’s table was served extremely quickly. In just a cup of tea, half of the ordered dishes were served. Ye Mingsheng didn’t care about it and started eating directly.

Perhaps because they had just had snacks in the teahouse, Ye Mingsheng did not eat much, but Jingren ate a lot. He picked up the braised pork piece by piece and finished three plates of food and a bowl of rice by himself.

Just when Jingren wiped his mouth and Ye Mingsheng thought that the child was finally going to stop, he suddenly seemed to remember something and said to Ye Mingsheng:
"Dad! I want to order another plate of gourd chicken and another plate of sweet and sour fish!"

Ye Mingsheng was stunned when he heard this and then warned:

"Jingren, take it easy! You still have a long way to go before you eat more. You eat too much!"

Jingren shook his head and said:

"Dad, I'm full! I want to pack some for my mom. When we came here last time, you told me that this gourd chicken is a Guanzhong dish, my mom's hometown dish, and my mom likes sweet and sour fish, so I want to bring some back for her to try!"

Hearing Jingren's thoughts, Ye Mingsheng also praised:

"Good boy! You are filial!"

"Then order another gourd chicken, another sweet and sour fish, and another boiled cabbage. Take three dishes back to your mother and let her see how filial you are!"

The shopkeeper who had been serving on the side immediately asked the kitchen to make arrangements upon hearing this. Within half an incense stick of time, all the dishes were delivered. Perhaps they forgot to ask for packing, so when the dishes were served, they were not put in food boxes, but directly delivered to the table on plates!

It was not known whether the waiter did it intentionally or unintentionally, but when the sweet and sour fish was served, the fish head was pointed right at Ye Mingsheng. Seeing the fish's eyes staring at him, Ye Mingsheng instinctively frowned...

Seeing Ye Mingsheng frowning, Jingren immediately walked over and brought the sweet and sour fish aside.

Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng also raised his head and looked at Jingren. Seeing Jingren's well-behaved appearance, Ye Mingsheng hesitated for a moment and said:
"What did your mother tell you?"

"It's about the incident when you were stimulated on the battlefield!"

Although Ye Mingsheng had a premonition when he saw An Miaoyi move the fish away when they were eating in the palace last time, he still couldn't help but shook his head when he actually heard the words coming out of Jingren's mouth.

Seeing Ye Mingsheng like this, Jingren asked curiously:
"Dad, is the battlefield really that horrible? Is it like what the books say, with broken limbs and arms everywhere?"

Hearing his son's somewhat naive question, Ye Mingsheng answered seriously:

"There are broken limbs and arms on the battlefield, but it's not exaggerated to the point where they are everywhere. Jingren, you don't understand because you have never killed anyone. It's easy to hack or stab someone to death on the battlefield, but it's not so easy to cut off his arms and legs!"

"Nowadays, soldiers basically have cotton or paper armor, and there are bones in the flesh. It is very difficult to cut the enemy's bones with a knife through the armor. How much strength do you need to use to cut off someone's arms and legs!"

"Jingren, you don't have to go to the battlefield. Just chop a pig's bones once and you'll know it's not that easy!"

“Especially now that firearms are used more and more in wars, cold weapons are used less and less. Soldiers killed by muskets can basically keep their bodies intact, while those killed by artillery may only have broken limbs. However, those killed by artillery are more likely to have no remains left, and it is difficult to even find broken limbs…”

Jingren couldn't help but shudder when he heard his father's story. Seeing that his son was a little scared, Ye Mingsheng continued to tell his son about the cruelty of the battlefield:
"Personally, when I was fighting with the enemy, to be honest, I wasn't that scared. You are so brave and you don't feel scared. You don't even feel pain. You don't have time to think about those things. You can only focus on facing the enemy in front of you!"

"In a life-and-death fight, you must be absolutely focused. If you are a little slow or hesitate, you may be the next to fall!"

"The time I really felt scared and terrified was when I was looking at the corpses scattered all over the ground after the battle. I can't describe the feeling, but I will never forget it!"

"Especially when there is no time to clean up the battlefield, the bodies have not yet been buried and have not yet given off a smell, and the appearance they present!"

Having said this, Ye Mingsheng did not continue to speak but just shook his head. After adjusting his mood, Ye Mingsheng raised his head and looked at Jingren and said solemnly:
“Jingren, Dad has told you so much because I hope you can understand that war is a very cruel thing. You must be cautious in every war. Those who love war will perish, and those who forget war will be in danger. The ancients were honest and did not deceive me…”