Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1674 Ye Mingsheng's Conscience
After dinner, Ye Mingsheng, Jingxuan and Yiren had a brief chat and asked about the recent situation of his two children. After fulfilling his responsibilities as a father, he and Pei Zhixiu started to live in their own world.

Feeling the familiar fragrance of Pei Zhixiu in his arms, Ye Mingsheng's heart gradually calmed down. At this time, Pei Zhixiu seemed to feel Ye Mingsheng's tiredness, and gently stroked Ye Mingsheng's back with her hand, making Ye Mingsheng more relaxed.

After a cup of tea, Ye Mingsheng gradually recovered. Seeing this, Pei Zhixiu was a little curious about why Ye Mingsheng was like this, but if Ye Mingsheng didn't take the initiative to ask, she wouldn't take the initiative to ask. In order to make the atmosphere more relaxed, she also changed the subject and asked:
"Your Majesty, I remember you ate leeks before?"

Ye Mingsheng laughed self-deprecatingly and said:

"It is really easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality. I have been in a high position and in power for many years, with fine clothes and delicious food, and I have become a lot more pampered!"

"In Luo'an, it was a very happy thing to be able to eat dumplings stuffed with leeks and eggs. I remember it very clearly. When we were going to Yongliang to fight the Kipchaks, the court made dumplings stuffed with leeks and eggs for us, as well as wine and pig's trotters!"

After saying this, Ye Mingsheng looked at Pei Zhixiu and asked with a smile:

“Guess how much I ate that time?”

Pei Zhixiu thought about it seriously and said:
"Your Majesty, since you don't like pig's trotters, you probably only ate dumplings. I guess you ate twenty dumplings!"

Ye Mingsheng smiled and said:

"I was just a sentry at that time. How could I not like eating pig's trotters? At that time, it was very good to be able to have some meat..."

"I ate two pig's trotters, 23 dumplings, and drank half a jar of wine. I was so full that I almost got sick!"

"The dumplings were as big as small gold ingots. I ate 23 of them in one go. I still remember that the dumplings were very delicious, but the pig's trotters were not well made and tasted very salty. Most importantly, the pig hair on them was not cleaned up. It pricked my mouth when I ate them!"

Pei Zhixiu smiled softly, and I asked curiously:
"Your Majesty, why do you eat so much? Can't you eat enough in the Imperial Guards?"

Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly and said:

"The Imperial Guards can eat their fill, and they can have two meals a day, but they only eat sorghum rice and black steamed buns, and the vegetables are just potatoes and radishes. Those are the only things that we cook for you every day!"

"Officials have it better. They have white rice, white steamed buns, and occasionally some meat dishes, but that's limited."

"Only when we are about to go to war will the court be most generous. Not only will they provide money for the expedition, but they will also provide us with plenty of good wine and food!"

Speaking of this, Ye Mingsheng's expression became more and more sad.

"The Cumans were so fierce at that time. These bastards had no humanity at all. Not only did they cut off the heads of fallen soldiers on the battlefield and build memorials for them, they also loved to torture and kill prisoners in all kinds of ways. Your current Coordination Office is even worse than them, so when fighting with them, you always have to be very cautious!"

"So before we set out that time, I ate extra much because I wanted to eat enough to cover my losses, so that if I really failed, it wouldn't be too bad!"

"Wang Xian and Chen Yannian knew about this and laughed at me in private, saying that I relied on eating to give myself courage..."

After saying this, a self-deprecating smile appeared on Ye Mingsheng's face again, and Pei Zhixiu gently stroked Ye Mingsheng's back again, with a look of pity in her beautiful eyes.

As Ye Mingsheng's bedside companion, Pei Zhixiu knew very well that although Ye Mingsheng always presented himself as a tough and iron-fisted person, in fact, Ye Mingsheng was not a cold-blooded and ruthless strongman. He was just playing the role of a strongman and putting on a ruthless mask!

Ye Mingsheng still has a conscience in his heart, but unfortunately, as a ZZ figure, having a conscience is not a good thing. It cannot bring any help to Ye Mingsheng. On the contrary, it sometimes causes Ye Mingsheng to fall into internal friction and makes Ye Mingsheng struggle whether what he did is the right choice.

Seeing Ye Mingsheng sighing, Pei Zhixiu changed the subject and asked:

"Your Majesty, how are Wang Xian and Chen Yannian doing?"

Hearing Pei Zhixiu mention his first two subordinates, Ye Mingsheng said calmly:
"Wang Xian has been dead for several years. As for Chen Yannian, although he is still alive, he was also crippled after his legs were broken by someone!"

"Wang Xian is dead, and Chen Yannian has become disabled?" Pei Zhixiu asked in surprise:

Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly, indicating that Pei Zhixiu had not heard wrong.

Pei Zhixiu was a little sad when she saw this. She had dealt with these two officials of the Great Zhou Dynasty many times in the past. At that time, the two of them were very opposed to her hiding her identity and staying in the army. They even took the initiative to find Ye Mingsheng to drive them away.

But thanks to Ye Mingsheng's repeated insistence, the two men failed to drive her away as they wished, but they never treated her well either. It was not until later in the battle with the Gongdu army that she used her medical skills to treat countless wounded soldiers. Only then did Chen Yannian and Wang Xian's attitude towards her ease, and they tacitly approved of her existence...
Since they parted in Yijing, Pei Zhixiu had never seen Chen Yannian and Wang Xian again. He never expected to hear news about them again. It turned out that one of them had passed away for many years and the other had become a disabled person.

Thinking of this, Pei Zhixiu seemed to realize something while sighing, and immediately looked at Ye Mingsheng.

Feeling Pei Zhixiu's inquiring gaze, Ye Mingsheng also said lightly:

"Jixiu, you're right. These two people are here because of me!"

"Before I broke with the Luoan court, the Supervisory Department had already investigated the two of them. Although they cut ties with me immediately, how could the Supervisory Department let them off so easily?"

"Chen Yannian and Wang Xian were both taken through the procedures by the Supervisory Department. Although they were later released, they were used as propaganda tools by the Supervisory Department to spread the word among the Imperial Guards about how sinister and cunning I am and how many crimes I have committed that are too numerous to list!"

"After the publicity, these two people were no longer of any value to the Supervisory Department, so they were left to fend for themselves. Wang Xian was already a cripple, and he was already half dead after being tortured by the Supervisory Department, so he died not long after!"

"Although Chen Yannian's condition is better, he is still barely alive!"

After hearing Ye Mingsheng's introduction, Pei Zhixiu nodded. After a moment of hesitation, she tentatively said to Ye Mingsheng:

"Your Majesty, how do you plan to deal with Chen Yannian?"

Seeing Pei Zhixiu say this, Ye Mingsheng immediately understood what she meant and asked back:

"Ji Xiu, you don't want me to ask someone to take care of Chen Yannian and Wang Xian's family, do you?"

Seeing that Ye Mingsheng had seen through his little thoughts, Pei Zhixiu also said: "Your Majesty, they are both pitiful people!"

"Humph! Jixiu, you don't know that in order to cooperate with the Supervisory Department's propaganda, the two of them described me as the most evil villain in history. In their mouths, Zhao Gao, Qin Hui, Yang Guozhong and other treacherous ministers are not as vicious as me!"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng say this, Pei Zhixiu couldn't help laughing, but still advised:
"Your Majesty, you treated them well in the beginning. I believe those words were not meant by them. They were also controlled by the Supervisory Department at the time and had no choice but to do so. Your Majesty is magnanimous. Why do you have to argue with them?"

Ye Mingsheng shook his head and said:
"Ji Xiu, you don't know that Chen Yannian and Wang Xian have always been resentful of my promotion to commander. They think that I stole Chen Yannian's position as commander, so they have hated me for a long time!"

"I think those words are the truest reflection of their inner thoughts. They wish I would die sooner!"

"I won't hold them accountable. I'll let them fend for themselves. This is because we're comrades. I've done a lot for them in the past, so I'm generous to them. Let's forget about repaying evil with kindness..."

After hearing what Ye Mingsheng said, Pei Zhixiu didn't say anything else.

As it was getting late, Ye Mingsheng and Pei Zhixiu fell asleep in each other's arms.

Early the next morning, Ye Mingsheng got up as usual and had breakfast with Pei Zhixiu, Jingxuan and Yiren.

Just as Ye Mingsheng was thinking about how to deal with the difficult matter when he returned to the imperial study, Jingxuan's voice suddenly came to his ears:
"Dad, why did the Great Zhou Dynasty in the past close its borders and not allow the development of overseas trade?"

Hearing this question, Ye Mingsheng, who was thinking about something, was stunned for a moment, then looked at Jingxuan and asked:

"Why did you suddenly think of asking this question?"

Jingxuan preached without hesitation:
"Mr. Deng has been telling me about reform recently, talking about how you, Dad, have vigorously developed overseas trade and encouraged the people to go out to sea to explore, and then he compared this with some of the attitudes of the Great Zhou!"

Ye Mingsheng frowned upon hearing this and said:
"You said Deng He was talking to you about reform?"

Faced with this question, Jingxuan nodded and said:

"Mr. Deng has been talking to me about reform recently. Do you have any questions, Dad?"

Ye Mingsheng didn't say anything when he heard this, but his brows furrowed even deeper.

Ye Mingsheng was also happy to see Deng He talk about reform to Jingxuan. After all, Ye Mingsheng hoped that his children could inherit his political line and political legacy and become an enlightened monarch rather than a defender of feudal TZ!
However, this matter cannot be viewed simply from the perspective of the event itself, but must also be considered in light of the background and current environment!

What is the current context and environment?
At An Miaoyi's request, Gu Sansi told Jingren the content of the reform.

As for the bigger background, the reformists in the court supported by Ye Mingsheng were dissatisfied with the fact that Crown Prince Jingren had a deep conservative background. They felt that once Ye Mingsheng passed away one day and Crown Prince Jingren succeeded to the throne, the new emperor who had a huge relationship with the conservatives would reverse history...
Therefore, in order to prevent this possibility from arising, there has always been a voice among the reformists, which is that they hope that Ye Mingsheng, for the sake of the great cause of reform, will abolish Jingren's position as crown prince and appoint Jingxuan, who is more talented and has no connection with the conservatives, as the crown prince!

The reformists believe that if Jingxuan inherits the throne in the future, he will definitely continue Ye Mingsheng's reform line and govern Daqian, which Ye Mingsheng has worked so hard to establish, better so that all the people can live and work in peace!

Ye Mingsheng directly rebuked and criticized this idea, warning some people not to hold such crazy ideas!
After Ye Mingsheng's warning, this idea was temporarily shelved.

But at this time, what Jingxuan teacher Deng He did made Ye Mingsheng feel a sense of tit-for-tat.

Ye Mingsheng didn’t know whether Deng He had the idea of ​​encouraging Jing Xuan to seize the throne, but if Deng He really had such an idea, Ye Mingsheng must nip this trend in the bud!
Ye Mingsheng's plan for Jingxuan's future has always been to wait until the Daqian Navy develops before attacking Dongdao and letting Jingxuan serve as governor.

Ye Mingsheng did not want to see his plan changed by others, and he did not want to see internal friction in the Daqian court due to the struggle for the throne.

Just as Ye Mingsheng frowned and thought, Jingxuan seemed to have noticed something was wrong and took the initiative to ask tentatively:
"Dad, what did I say wrong?"

Ye Mingsheng came back to his senses after hearing this and said:

"No! What did you say?"

"Why did the Great Zhou Dynasty close its borders to the outside world?"

Ye Mingsheng hesitated for a moment and said:
"Jingxuan, how did Deng He answer this question for you?"

Seeing that his father had thrown the question back to him, Jingxuan organized his words and began to speak:
"Mr. Deng said that the Great Zhou was immersed in the great narrative of the Celestial Empire, believing that the Central Plains had everything and did not need anything from foreign countries!"

"Secondly, in the Great Zhou Dynasty, agriculture is valued more than commerce. Most people are engaged in agriculture, and commerce is only auxiliary. Therefore, there is a lack of motivation for foreign trade!"

"The third point is that in the early years of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the country suffered from the chaos caused by Japanese pirates. In order to prevent the coastal people from colluding with the Japanese pirates, Emperor Xingzong of the Great Zhou Dynasty also issued a migration order, requiring the coastal people to move 80 miles inland!"

Hearing Jingxuan's answer, Ye Mingsheng smiled and asked another question.

"Jingxuan, what do you think is the most important thing for a dynasty?"

Jing Xuan was a little hesitant when he heard this, as if he was a little confused, but after a moment he had the answer, and looked at Ye Mingsheng and said confidently:

"He expanded the territory and made great achievements, which will be praised by future generations!"

Ye Mingsheng smiled and said:
"Expanding territory is important for a dynasty, but it is not the most important thing!"

"Jingxuan, think about it carefully. Apart from expanding territory and establishing unprecedented achievements, what else is the most important thing? It is something that every dynasty should pay attention to and cannot afford to lose. It should be put first!"

Jingxuan fell into deep thought after hearing this. After thinking carefully for a cup of tea, he still couldn't come up with an answer. He said with some distress:

"Dad, I really don't know what is more important than expanding territory..."