Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1643: As long as the mountains remain, there will be no shortage of firewood!

Sitting in the imperial study, Ye Mingsheng looked at the memorial from the Minister of Justice Liu Ning and fell into deep thought.

Although Zhao Wanxian's move can be said to be a temporary measure taken to combat the disaster, his actions were indeed against the rules.

What Liu Ning said was right. Zhao Wanxian must be punished. Otherwise, if he makes a mistake, others will follow suit. Financial power and personnel power have always been the powers that Ye Mingsheng valued and he has always held them firmly in his hands!
So this gap must not be opened!

But how to punish Zhao Wanxian?
According to Liu Ning's suggestion, Zhao Wanxian should be immediately dismissed from office and taken back to Yijing for trial!
Zhu Xiaowen, the Minister of the Dali Temple, suggested that Zhao Wanxian continue to serve as the governor of Hebei and Henan, and then dismiss him as a warning to others after the disaster.

However, Ye Mingsheng felt that Zhu Xiaowen and Liu Ning's ideas were a bit too harsh. Although Zhao Wanxian's approach to dealing with the issue of Tan Guangqing was indeed inappropriate, it was normal to have different opinions at work. You can't just dismiss Tan Guangqing just because he has different views on work methods when there is nothing wrong with him, and you even lock him up!

This approach is really too overbearing! It is a violation of public order!
However, when it came to killing the two county magistrates, Ye Mingsheng felt that Zhao Wanxian might have some problems with the specific operations, but the idea was fine!
After all, the disaster situation is urgent. At this time, you are still embezzling disaster relief funds and going out to drink and have fun with other people. This is really courting death...
Although Zhao Wanxian had some problems, the overall development of Hebei and Henan has been positive since he took office as the governor of Hebei and Henan.

In this disaster, Hebei, Henan, Qi, Lu, and Youyan were the most affected areas, among which Hebei and Henan were the most severely affected. However, under the governance of Zhao Wanxian, the prefectures and counties in Hebei and Henan also actively saved themselves to minimize the impact of the disaster. These measures also protected some grain and ensured that Hebei and Henan would not have no harvest this year.

In the subsequent floods, Zhao Wanxian also organized 100,000 laborers to carry out emergency repairs on some embankments and water conservancy projects on the Deshui River in Hebei and Henan. With these measures, and the gradual decrease in rain intensity, it is comprehensively judged that the possibility of a major Deshui outbreak is very small!
Therefore, in Ye Mingsheng's opinion, Zhao Wanxian still has contributions and hard work, and his achievements cannot be completely denied because of these things.

Moreover, although the peak of the disaster in Hebei and Henan has passed, some small disasters still occur from time to time.

Now that Zhao Wanxian, the governor who is familiar with the local conditions, has been removed, who will take over the work in Hebei and Henan?

Taking all these factors into consideration, Ye Mingsheng felt that Zhao Wanxian should be given a light punishment and a severe warning, and be given a chance to redeem himself with merit!

Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng came up with an idea in his mind. He demoted Zhao Wanxian two levels, from the second rank to the third rank, and at the same time fined him half a year's salary, and ordered him to make a deep self-examination.

As for Tan Guangqing, Ye Mingsheng had known about him for a long time, otherwise he would not have appointed him as the prefect of Yecheng. Although Yecheng was not as important as Yijing, Yujing, and Jinyang, it was also a famous city in the north of Daqian. The prefect of Yecheng was definitely a powerful person.

Tan Guangqing is another disciple of Cui Shao, and also a rising star of Cui's faction. He is honest and capable. He had been training in the central government before. Before the establishment of Daqian, Ye Mingsheng arranged him to be the prefect of Yecheng to let him accumulate some local experience...

Although Tan Guangqing's performance in Yecheng in recent years was not particularly outstanding, it was above the passing line. However, what Ye Mingsheng admired most about him was that in the political spectrum of Daqian, the Cui faction with Cui Shao as the core was the conservative force in the Daqian court.

Therefore, it can be said that Tan Guangqing was born in the conservative faction of Daqian, but in terms of personal ideas, Tan Guangqing was not conservative. During his tenure as the prefect of Yecheng, he was relatively open-minded and was relatively good in implementing various reform measures. Yecheng alone laid off hundreds of officials!
So even though Tan Guangqing’s abilities may not be too great, Ye Mingsheng still admires him!

Originally, Ye Mingsheng hoped that Zhao Wanxian and Tan Guangqing could cooperate well as colleagues in Hebei and Henan, and make better contributions to the construction of Daqian!
But now it seems that Ye Mingsheng's idea is a bit too idealistic. Both Zhao Wanxian and Tan Guangqing have rather stubborn personalities, and the two really don't get along. So if that's the case, Tan Guangqing can't stay in Jiyu to work!

Tan Guangqing was wronged this time, and for Cui Shao's sake, Ye Mingsheng decided to transfer Tan Guangqing back to the center!

It happened that after Gongsun Hao retired, the position of assistant minister in the Ministry of Justice became vacant, so Tan Guangqing was appointed as the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice...
After making these decisions, it was noon. Just when Ye Mingsheng was about to have lunch, Ye Cheng walked into the room and reported to Ye Mingsheng:

"Your Majesty, Concubine Pei requests an audience!"

When Ye Mingsheng heard that Pei Zhixiu was coming, he was a little surprised but still nodded slightly. A moment later, Pei Zhixiu walked into the room carrying a lunch box.

Looking at the lunch box in Pei Zhixiu's hand, Ye Mingsheng said with some surprise:

"Jixiu, are you here to bring me food today?"

Pei Zhixiu nodded slightly, then opened the lunch box and placed a plate of tomato and eggs, a plate of shredded potatoes, a portion of cabbage and black fungus, and a bowl of white rice in front of Ye Mingsheng.

Looking at the three dishes and one meal in front of him, Ye Mingsheng smiled and said:

"Jisu, you're feeding me like a rabbit!"

"Your Majesty! If you want to be healthy, you'd better be a rabbit for a while!"

After saying that, Pei Zhixiu's jade hand clasped Ye Mingsheng's wrist and began to feel Ye Mingsheng's pulse. Feeling Ye Mingsheng's pulse, Pei Zhixiu couldn't help but frown slightly. After a long time, she said with some complaints:

"Your Majesty, you don't like to drink, so I didn't remind you before. You shouldn't have drunk so much yesterday!"

Ye Mingsheng smiled and said:

"It's just a jar of wine, nothing serious!"

"Your Majesty, did you have a cough again last night?"

When Ye Mingsheng heard Pei Zhixiu ask this, although he wanted to deny it, he still nodded under Pei Zhixiu's gaze.

Seeing Ye Mingsheng nod, Pei Zhixiu then instructed:
"Last time, I didn't tell Your Majesty that in addition to your liver fire, you also have lung yin deficiency, hot flashes, night sweats, dry coughs and little phlegm, so you must take care of your health!"

"Although it is not life-threatening now, if it does not receive effective treatment... the consequences will be very serious!"

Although Pei Zhixiu was cautious in her wording and did not directly say that you will die, Ye Mingsheng still understood her thoughts and nodded with a smile.

Seeing Ye Mingsheng nod, Pei Zhixiu continued:

"Your Majesty, your usual diet is too greasy, and mostly consists of meat and fish. Eating too much of these is not good for your health. You should eat more light meals, and occasionally eat some fish to satisfy your cravings!"

"Okay, okay! Jisoo, I'll listen to you!"

As Ye Mingsheng spoke, he picked up his chopsticks and started eating.

To be honest, although these dishes were carefully prepared by Pei Zhixiu, they were still inferior to the skills of the imperial chefs in the palace. However, Ye Mingsheng ate them very happily and ate up all three dishes and a bowl of rice. Seeing that Ye Mingsheng had finished his meal, Pei Zhixiu also cleaned up the dishes and continued to instruct Ye Mingsheng:
"Your Majesty, your previous jogging habit is very good, you must stick to it, and drink the tea I prescribed for you, don't drink it today and then not drink it tomorrow!"

"I know it all!"

After hearing Ye Mingsheng's answer, Pei Zhixiu was ready to leave.

Just as Pei Zhixiu was about to leave the imperial study, Ye Mingsheng suddenly said:

“Jisu!”

"Huh? Is there anything else?"

Facing Pei Zhixiu who turned around, Ye Mingsheng turned around and was silent for a while before slowly saying:

“If anything unexpected happens, someone will find you and send you and Jingxuan to a safe place…”

Pei Zhixiu was stunned at first, then walked up to Ye Mingsheng and said very seriously:
"Your Majesty, I told you that your life is not in danger now. As long as you take your medicine well, keep a calm mind, and don't get angry easily, there will be no problem. Your Majesty, you are a blessed person, and you will live a long life!"

"Ok!"

"Your Majesty, don't think too much!"

"give me a hug!"

"Your Majesty, it's daytime!"

"Just a hug!"

Pei Zhixiu hesitated for a moment after hearing this, but fell into Ye Mingsheng's arms the next second.

The two hugged each other tightly, and after a while Ye Mingsheng let go of his arms and watched Pei Zhixiu leave the imperial study room...
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August 1, Turte Grassland

Luo Bei, Daqian Allied Forces Camp

There was a drizzle in the sky, but the central army camp was surprisingly quiet. Dari Achi, Xun Ke, Jirigel and others were sitting in the tent, all with very gloomy expressions.

This silence lasted for about half a cup of tea. Finally, Jirigel took the lead in breaking the silence and said to Daryachi who was sitting in the main seat:
"Great Khan, my people have suffered nearly 2,000 casualties. We can no longer fight this battle. My people don't want to fight anymore. They want to go home now!"

As soon as Jirigel said this, everyone's eyes were focused on Dari Achi.

After hearing what Jirigel said, Dariachi's already gloomy face became even uglier.

Seeing that Dariyachi didn't speak, Xun Ke also spoke:
"After the fierce fighting in the past few days, our gunpowder, bullets, and shells have been almost completely consumed, but our supplies have not yet arrived..."

"So if you insist on continuing, Great Prince, I'm afraid we won't be able to provide effective fire support!"

Seeing that Xun Ke also attacked him, Dari Achi became even more furious.

Ever since he encountered the main force of the Golden Horde led by Makhachev, Dariochi had been determined to defeat them. He first adopted the tactic of frontal attack, and later wanted to launch a night raid on the artillery positions of the Golden Horde. However, the Golden Horde army led by Makhachev responded to all changes with the same strategy, and thwarted all of Dariochi's offensives, preventing him from taking a single step beyond the line!
The failure of the attacks in recent days made Dariyachi more and more impatient. He anticipated that Jirigel and Xunke wanted to withdraw their troops. But at this moment, Dariyachi didn't know whether Xunke and Jirigel's attack was a collaboration or just accidental news.

Seeing Dariyachi's expression constantly changing but he just didn't say anything, Jirigel couldn't hold back anymore and said:

"Dari Achi! My men don't want to fight anymore! They want to go home now. If you agree, we can go home together. If you don't agree, then you can lead your men to stay here and continue fighting, and I will take my people away!"

After saying this, Jirigel no longer paid attention to Dari Achi and left the tent with his men.

Looking at Jirigel's leaving back, Dariyachi still didn't say a word, but his eyes revealed a hint of murderous intent...

After Jirigel walked away, Dariachi withdrew his gaze and turned to look at Xun Ke and said:

"I'm going to take your advice, General Xun! Draw out Makhachev and the others!"
Hearing Dariyachi's words, Xun Ke shook his head and said:
"Prince, times have changed. There is no chance now!"

"How come there is no chance?"

"Before, our army still had morale, and our gunpowder reserves were enough for a battle, but now our army is unable to attack, and the morale of the army has been frustrated. In addition, the gunpowder, bullets, and artillery shells have all been consumed. Now even if Makhachev leads his troops to follow, our army has no chance of winning!"

Hearing what Xun Ke said, Dariyachi instinctively wanted to refute, but he didn't know how to refute.

After a sigh, Dariyachi finally spoke:
"So what should we do?"

"Withdraw! Withdraw now tonight! At the same time, send troops to the royal court and ask them to send troops to support us. I don't think the Cumans will let us go just like that!"

"If the Cumans come out, we will fight them! Don't you people in the Central Plains have an old saying that when two meet in a narrow road, the brave will win? General Xun, please show some courage. We are not defeated yet!"

Xun Ke looked at Dariyachi who was fighting like a trapped beast and shook his head and said:
"Grand Prince, at this point, we should face reality. Our army must have been defeated in this expedition to the Golden Horde. Now we should not be thinking about how to continue fighting or fantasizing about how to turn the tables!"

"It's about how to preserve the manpower as much as possible. We in the Central Plains have an old saying that goes, 'As long as the green mountains remain, there will be no shortage of firewood...'"

(End of this chapter)