Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1614: Incognito Visit 2
After hearing Jingren's answer, Ye Mingsheng felt relieved, and then instructed the archive manager:

"Bring me two sets of paper and pen!"

"Yes!"

Ye Mingsheng got the paper and pen and distributed them to his two sons, then said:

"Jingren, Jingxuan, follow the same line of thought as before and take a closer look at their files. Then write down any ideas you have on paper!"

After hearing Ye Mingsheng's instructions, Jingxuan started looking at the files again, while Jingren on the side seemed a little confused, as if Ye Mingsheng's words had completely confused him.

Seeing Jingren sitting there, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but feel anxious:

"Jingren, don't just sit there like an idiot. I told you to look at the file. Read every word in the file carefully to see if there are any details worth noting. Then compare the two types of people and see if you can find anything!"

Upon hearing this, Jingren picked up the file and started reading it. Ye Mingsheng felt a little emotional when he saw this. He had always felt that An Miaoyi was a little impatient in the process of educating Jingren, but when it really came to him, Ye Mingsheng felt that he might have really misunderstood his wife.

Another cup of tea passed, Jingren was still reading the file, Jingxuan had put it down and started writing on paper. Soon Jingxuan finished writing his thoughts and handed the paper to Ye Mingsheng, saying:
"Dad! I have written down my thoughts!"

Ye Mingsheng took the paper and looked at the eleven words on it. His expression did not change at all and he immediately asked Jingxuan:
"Jingxuan, do you have any other ideas?"

Facing his father's question, Jingxuan's eyes flashed with hesitation, but in the end he shook his head and said:

“That’s all I can think of…”

Ye Mingsheng didn't say anything after hearing this, but sat back in his seat. Jingren, who was still answering questions at this time, saw that his brother had handed in the paper, and asked curiously:

"Fourth brother! What did you write?"

Jingxuan looked hesitant when he heard this, as if he didn't know whether he should tell Jingren or not. But at this moment, Ye Mingsheng said:

"Jingren, stop whispering. Use your brain and think for yourself. Write whatever comes to your mind. You can write whatever you want. Even if you make a mistake, Dad won't blame you!"

Hearing what Ye Mingsheng said, Jingren turned his eyes back to the file in a bit of disappointment. Ye Mingsheng originally wanted to give Jingren enough time to think and let him figure things out as much as possible, but seeing that half an incense stick of time had passed and Jingren hadn't started writing, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but asked:

"Jingren, you have read all fifteen files. Do you have any ideas?"

Jingren scratched his head and said embarrassedly:

"Dad, I just feel that no matter whether it is the Ye clan or other people, they have made great contributions to the establishment of our Daqian. They are all our Daqian's meritorious officials and heroes!"

Although Jingren was right, Ye Mingsheng felt a surge of anger in his heart, but he still controlled his emotions.

Seeing that Jingren still couldn't get to the point, Ye Mingsheng didn't waste any time and gave a hint directly:
“Jingren, compare the contributions and promotions of the Ye clan members with those of other people, and see if you have any ideas…”

After hearing the hint from his father, Jingren looked at the files again. Jingxuan, who was sitting next to him, looked at his elder brother's dull look and couldn't help but lowered his head with a strange look in his eyes.

After another half cup of tea, Jingren raised his head and said to Ye Mingsheng:
"Dad, it seems that the contributions made by these five Ye clan members are smaller than those made by the other ten people, but their promotions are similar to those of the other ten people, and their rewards are even slightly higher!"

Although Jingren finally said what he wanted, Ye Mingsheng did not feel the slightest bit happy when he heard the answer. In his mind, he recalled the eleven words he had just seen.

"Dad, you have shown favoritism to the Ye clan members!"

Although Ye Mingsheng realized that the child had realized this through observing Jingxuan's micro-expressions, he couldn't help but feel even more moved when he actually saw the answer on the paper.

After silently adjusting his emotions in his heart, Ye Mingsheng asked Jingren:
"Jingren, I went to Liangzhen Camp a few days ago to teach you what is the most important thing in managing the army?"

Perhaps because going to Liangzhen Camp happened not long ago, Jingren did not hesitate this time and spoke:
"Rewards and punishments are fair, and orders are enforced!"

"Then Jingren, do you know who approves the promotions and appointments in the military?"

"Dad, you're the one approving it!"

Hearing Jingren's straightforward words this time, Ye Mingsheng felt comforted and immediately asked a question:

"If that's the case, Jingren, why do you think Dad gave these Ye clan members preferential treatment?"

Faced with this question, Jingren was stunned again, and at this time Jingxuan finally couldn't help but said:

“Because they are members of the Ye clan…”

Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly and said:

"Jingxuan! You are absolutely right!"

"Because they are the ancestors of the Ye clan, they are our people, our relatives. In this world, blood ties cannot be severed. When I went back to Fengshan to recruit soldiers, seven or eight out of ten of the first batch of recruits were from the Ye clan. This is the trust of the clan members in me, Ye Mingsheng, and also their kindness to me, Ye Mingsheng!"

"I, Ye Mingsheng, have never forgotten this kindness from beginning to end, and I will always keep it in my heart!"

"I also want to repay this kindness, but whether it is the Fengwu Army of the past or the Daqian court today, if we want to develop better, we must not be nepotistic. If I had been nepotistic and given all the important positions to my own people, the Fengwu Army would not have been able to develop at all!"

"There would be no Daqian today. Even the Fengwu Army might not even be able to survive in a corner. It would have been swallowed up by some unknown group of princes long ago!"

"If you want to develop, you must select people based on their merits and employ them on their ability. Only in this way can you achieve something!"

"How to strike a balance between repaying the trust and kindness of the tribe members and appointing people based on merit is a test of the political skills of a ruler!"

“And what I did was, as you saw in the files, take Ye Yu in the files as an example, this person joined the Fengwu Army when Fengshan was recruiting soldiers. Although he was old enough, he had never made much military exploits in Liaoyang. But relying on his seniority, I still promoted him to be the captain... "Later, during the battle between Hebei and Henan, he took the lead and killed three enemy soldiers and captured one. I promoted him to the sergeant leader. As for Li Shuai, who was in the same period, he was also from Liaoyang, but he surrendered from the Liaoyang Army. Because he was the captain of the Liaoyang Army at that time, his performance after surrendering was also very good. Afterwards, I also appointed him as the captain!"

"In the Battle of Entering the Pass, he killed two soldiers from Youyan Army. Later, he entered Jiyu to fight and captured Jiyu. He also made great contributions in the battle. He led the troops in the field and tore through the enemy's defense line. Therefore, I also promoted him to sentry leader!"

"Compared with Ye Yu and Li Shuai, there is no doubt that Li Shuai's contribution is greater, but the two of them were still promoted to sentry leaders together!"

"This is how I weigh the pros and cons. It's like two clerks working in a shop. One clerk is more capable and earns five taels of silver a year, while the other clerk is less capable and can only earn four taels of silver a year according to the market price. However, this clerk is a relative of the shopkeeper, so the shopkeeper will give you one tael more because of this relationship, and still give you five taels of silver!"

“Although this is not too fair, there is no absolute fairness in this world, so this method can barely work. However, the shopkeeper must not say that your ability as a clerk is only worth three taels of silver, but I will give you five taels of silver. This breaks the rules! If you do this, people will gossip behind your back, and the shop will be difficult to manage...”

Hearing their father's words, the two children were somewhat thoughtful. Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng continued to ask:
"Do you two want to see how these Ye clan members live?"

When asked, the two children nodded one after another. Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng also took action and left the staff department with the two children.

After Ye Mingsheng left, Zhao Han and Ma Zhongjun immediately called the person in charge of the archives over and asked what Ye Mingsheng had just done in the archives.

After listening to what the archive manager said, Ma Zhongjun said to Zhao Han with some doubts:

"My Lord, what do you think His Majesty means by this?"

Zhao Han pondered for a moment and spoke uncertainly:
"Your Majesty, it seems like you are educating the prince?"

After Ma Zhongjun finished speaking, Zhao Han and the other person seemed to realize something and looked at each other. After exchanging glances, Ma Zhongjun seemed to want to say something, but seeing that Zhao Han seemed to be keeping silent, Ma Zhongjun swallowed back what he wanted to say.

After Zhao Han and Ma Zhongjun were silent for a while, Zhao Han looked at the trembling archive manager and said:

"What did you hear His Majesty say in the archives just now?"

Seeing the chief repeat the question, the chief was a little stunned, but still spoke honestly:
"My Lord, I have told you everything I heard!"

As soon as the boss finished speaking, Zhao Han slapped him hard without any warning.

This slap was not only unexpected to the archive manager, but even Ma Zhongjun beside him was a little surprised. The manager who was slapped covered his cheek and said a little aggrievedly:

"My lord! I have told you everything I heard..."

"Shut up! You idiot! You didn't hear anything in the archives, and Deputy Director Ma and I didn't ask anything. Do you understand?"

Hearing what Zhao Han said, Ma Zhongjun reacted immediately, but the person in charge was still a little confused about the situation and wanted to say:

"My Lord! Me!"

However, as soon as he opened his mouth, Ma Zhongjun slapped him again and said:
"Master Zhao is right. You didn't hear anything in the archives. Chief Zhao and I didn't ask. You would have said the same thing if anyone asked. If you dare to talk nonsense, watch out for your head!"

Looking at the two fierce-looking superiors, the archive manager who was slapped twice was about to cry, but he also reacted at this time and said quickly:

"I understand, my lord! I heard nothing in the archives!"

Zhao Han nodded slightly and said:
"Great! I'll give you an extra bonus this month!"

"Remember this! You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say anything you want. If you eat anything you want, at most you'll get a stomachache, which is no big deal. But if you say the wrong thing, you'll lose your head!"

"Sir! Don't worry, I didn't hear anything!"

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While Zhao Han and Ma Zhongjun were educating the archive manager, Ye Mingsheng, with his two sons and a group of guards, came to a courtyard in the southern part of the city. Ye Mingsheng looked around the courtyard and then instructed a guard beside him:

"Ye Chen! Is this Ye Yu's home?"

Ye Chen nodded without hesitation:

"Your Majesty! That's right! This is Ye Yu's home!"

After getting a positive answer, Ye Mingsheng looked at the courtyard from the outside again, and then asked Ye Chen:

"Do you know whether his family bought or rented this yard?"

Faced with this question, Ye Chen pondered for a moment and said:
"When Ye Yu was attacking Yujing, he was hit by a rock and broke two ribs. Although he recovered later, his health was not as good as before, so he retired from the army and received a lot of rewards. Later, I heard that he got a job as a coach in the reserve and bought a house in Yijing, so this yard should be bought by him?"

"He got a job as a coach in the reserve? Who did Ye Yu ask to get it for him?"

Facing Ye Mingsheng's question, Ye Chen's eyes flickered a little. Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but look at him coldly.

Feeling Ye Mingsheng's gaze, although Ye Chen wanted to hide it, he had to speak honestly:

"Ye Yu asked Brother Tie to do it for him! After Ye Yu broke two ribs, his health is indeed not as good as before, and he can't do any heavy work. Brother Tie is kind enough to take care of his brother!"

Hearing Ye Chen calling him "brother", Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but shook his head, then looked at Ye Chen and asked:

"Who are the people in his family?"

"Ye Yu's mother passed away early. After Ye Yu joined our Fengwu Army, he bought a house in Dongning. Ye Yu brought his father to Dongning to enjoy a good life, but his father was not lucky. He only stayed in Dongning for half a year before passing away!"

"After our Fengwu Army entered the pass, Ye Yu had a lover in Yijing. After Ye Yu was injured and retired from the battle of Yujing, they got married. They should have two daughters now. There should be four people in the family now, Ye Yu, his wife, and his two daughters..."