Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1721 Military Merit Rewards!

Changshan Prefecture of Youyan

The most luxurious seven-star inn in the area, in its Grade A suites

Ye Mingsheng was writing furiously at his desk. Although he had left Yijing, the center of power, he still made decisions on every major court matter.

Fifteen minutes ago, Ye Mingsheng received another letter from the General Staff. In the letter, Chief of Staff Zhao Han told Ye Mingsheng that after careful reconnaissance, it was completely confirmed that the main force of the Golden Horde had withdrawn to Laisa City. Now, only small-scale troops remained on the border. Therefore, although there were still sporadic battles on the border, there was no longer any large-scale conflict.

The Second Army under Guo Zhiping, after successfully launching a feint attack on Laisa and forcing Habib to lead his troops back to defend it, also successfully retreated. This time, Guo Zhiping, as the commander, personally led the team. Although they did not annihilate too many enemy troops, they fully achieved their strategic objectives.

In his letter, Zhao Han believed that Guo Zhiping's troops had performed exceptionally well. Therefore, as the Chief of the General Staff, he requested that Guo Zhiping's troops be commended and that Ye Mingsheng reward Guo Zhiping and the meritorious soldiers of the Second Army.

Besides mentioning Xun Ke and Guo Zhiping's troops in the letter, Zhao Han also mentioned Zhang Meng.

After recuperating in Jingchu, Zhang Meng, commander of the First Army, has returned to Yijing on Ye Mingsheng's orders. Deeply ashamed of the First Army's defeat in the Yunnan-Guizhou region, Zhang Meng attempted suicide to atone for his sins after the army retreated to Jingchu, but was rescued in time. Upon returning to Yijing, he again attempted suicide to atone, but was again saved by those around him. Currently, Zhang Meng is being held captive at his home in Yijing, awaiting Ye Mingsheng's judgment…
Through Zhao Han's description in the letter, Ye Mingsheng also gained some understanding of the current situation in the army. Therefore, Ye Mingsheng also planned to have Gu Sansi, Minister of Rites Su Yi, and the Kipchak envoy who came to Yijing meet with them.

Akkin, the Kipchak envoy Ye Mingsheng had met before, has once again arrived in Yijing on Habib's orders. Moreover, according to the information from the Joint Operations Office, this time Akkin is accompanied by Chen Zhongshu, a former Daqian Party member who has defected. It is said that Habib sent Chen Zhongshu here to better negotiate with Daqian.

Although Chen Zhongshu was listed on the wanted list of the Ministry of Justice and the Joint Investigation Department for treason, he should have been arrested and brought to justice as soon as he entered the Great Qian Dynasty.

However, the Kipchak Khanate had Chen Zhongshu come to Yijing under a different name. According to the Kipchak Khanate, Chen Zhongshu is now called Galas, a native of the Kipchak Khanate, and is an attendant accompanying Akkin on his mission to the Great Qian Dynasty.

Therefore, this matter involves foreign affairs and is related to the Golden Horde, so the Joint Coordination Office dared not act rashly and could only wait for Ye Mingsheng to make the final decision.

Ye Mingsheng originally intended to give the other side a break, since according to the Kipchak people's custom, if they arrived immediately and his side was ready to negotiate, the Kipchak people might misjudge him, thinking that his side was too eager to negotiate and thus demand higher prices at the negotiating table.

Therefore, he wasn't in a hurry to make a decision. He first instructed the Ministry of Rites to arrange for Akkin and his entourage to stay in Yijing. He also stipulated that Akkin and his entourage's activities should not be restricted; as long as it wasn't a particularly confidential place, they should be allowed to explore Yijing as they wished…
Now that Zhao Han's letter has arrived, Ye Mingsheng feels that the time is almost right. He has been keeping these Kipchak people waiting for almost a month, and now it is time to talk. After all, although the war on the grasslands has stopped, Xun Ke's troops still spend a lot of money on food, drink and other necessities every day. So if they can withdraw sooner, it will alleviate the financial situation of the court.

However, before withdrawing, it would be best to reach a peace agreement with the Golden Horde, which would provide a greater guarantee for peace.
Ye Mingsheng planned to leave the specific negotiations to Gu Sansi and Su Yi. Ye Mingsheng had no conditions in principle, but he would never accept any of the unreasonable demands of the Golden Horde.

Of course, Ye Mingsheng felt that given the current situation of the Golden Horde, Habib would not make any unreasonable demands, otherwise he would not have been so eager to send envoys to Yijing again to discuss peace talks.

Trade between the two countries should be discussed if possible, and it doesn't matter if an agreement cannot be reached; there's no need to dwell on it too much.

As for the marriage alliance, it can be discussed. Ye Mingsheng can arrange for a princess to marry into the Kipchak Khanate, but it's impossible for his own daughter to do so. Ye Mingsheng won't sacrifice his daughter's life for peace, and given the current strength of the Kipchak Khanate, it's not worth it. At most, he'll arrange for a member of the royal family to be made a princess, become his adopted daughter, and then marry her. Habib can do it if he's willing, otherwise, it's off...

Of course, while it has always been the Central Plains dynasties that married off their daughters for political alliances, Ye Mingsheng could do the opposite and accept a daughter from the Golden Horde to marry Jingren as a concubine.

In short, this is Ye Mingsheng's attitude towards peace talks with the Golden Horde.

As for how to reward Guo Zhiping and the Second Army, Ye Mingsheng felt that the rewards should mainly be monetary.

Although the Second Army fought brilliantly this time, successfully achieving its strategic objective of forcing Habib to withdraw his main force and relieving the siege of Lobi, it was still a formidable force.

However, the number of enemy soldiers killed has always been an important criterion for determining military merit. But this time, the Second Army's operation did not kill too many enemy soldiers, so Ye Mingsheng could not reward them too much.

Furthermore, from a balance perspective, Guo Zhiping is already a Marquis, and if he were to be richly rewarded, he would have to be promoted to Duke. Currently, He Jingyun is still alive, and there is only one Duke in the army, Yuan Song. However, Yuan Song has been sidelined by Ye Mingsheng and has no real power. But Guo Zhiping has real power; he is the commander of the Second Army. Therefore, if Guo Zhiping is promoted to Duke, he will effectively become the most powerful person in the army, and no one will be able to check him.

To be honest, this wasn't what Ye Mingsheng wanted to see. In his mind, Guo Zhiping had always been a potential candidate for Duke, but now wasn't the right time to promote him...

Therefore, this time the reward is mainly in the form of money and goods. In addition, if Ye Mingsheng remembers correctly, Guo Zhiping's eldest son, Guo Xiao, is already twenty years old this year. According to the standards of this era, he is almost considered an old bachelor. Nowadays, many men get married at sixteen or seventeen and become fathers at eighteen or nineteen. It is a bit late for Guo Xiao not to get married yet.

Guo Xiao did not get married not because he wanted to, but because his father, Guo Zhiping, did not find him a suitable marriage partner.

Like Gu Sansi, Guo Zhiping initially looked down on the powerful and influential people of the Great Zhou Dynasty, deeming them parasites, good-for-nothings, and incompetent, the root cause of the Great Zhou's decline. Ye Mingsheng still remembers how Guo Zhiping gritted his teeth and looked heartbroken when he talked about these powerful and influential people.

However, now that he's in a position of power and wealth, Guo Zhiping seems like a completely different person. He no longer grieves or laments; instead, he's enthusiastic about forming marriage alliances with wealthy families to solidify his relationship with JJ, and he's begun to thoroughly enjoy the life of the powerful…
Although Guo Zhiping wanted to marry into a wealthy family, he was troubled by one problem: his background as a bandit. This problem meant that the women he liked didn't like him, and the women who wanted to be his in-laws didn't like him either.

For example, he wanted his son Guo Xiao to marry the eldest daughter of the Cui family. Although he was willing to offer a high dowry, the Cui family still refused him. Guo Zhiping then wanted to marry the granddaughters of some elders of the Ye family. However, many of these people were from peasant backgrounds and had a natural aversion, disgust, or even hatred towards bandits. Therefore, they were unwilling to marry their granddaughters to the Guo family and become the daughters-in-law of bandits.

This problem troubled Guo Zhiping greatly. He didn't want to settle, which resulted in his son Guo Xiao being still single at the age of twenty.

People like Gu Sansi and Guo Zhiping were not uncommon in the court. Whenever Ye Mingsheng thought of these people, he would feel very emotional. Indeed, this proved the saying that they opposed the powerful and wealthy more than themselves!
However, this is precisely why change is needed, a change in thought and mindset. Otherwise, no matter how good the words are or how fancy the embellishments, the final result will only be the same, one cycle after another.

Returning to Guo Zhiping, Ye Mingsheng planned to write a letter to An Miaoyi after finishing the order, asking the Empress of the Great Qian Dynasty to find Guo Zhiping a daughter-in-law who suited her taste. This would also be considered a reward for Guo Zhiping's military achievements.

Besides instructing Guo Zhiping on this matter, Ye Mingsheng also planned to tell An Miaoyi about another thing: the recent pregnancy of the palace maid Li Chunxiu.

When An Miaoyi wrote to Ye Mingsheng about this matter, Ye Mingsheng was somewhat bewildered.

Li Chunxiu claimed that she got pregnant herself, but Ye Mingsheng didn't even know who she was. So Ye Mingsheng carefully recalled his sexual activity over the past two or three months, and he was basically certain that he had not slept with this palace maid. This palace maid named Li Chunxiu was "framing" him!

Although somewhat annoyed that Li Chunxiu had framed him for this, upon reflection, Ye Mingsheng could probably understand her situation...

Li Chunxiu most likely got together with that palace guard. Both the guard and the palace maid were young people around twenty years old, at the age when hormones were raging and they were full of curiosity about the opposite sex. Dry wood meeting a raging fire, it was easy for something to happen. In fact, such things were not uncommon in the palace. It was common for several cases to occur every year. Li Chunxiu's case was caused by not taking proper precautions, which resulted in a death and led to the exposure of the affair!
In the past, An Miaoyi never wasted any words when dealing with such matters; even being beaten to death was considered lenient!

Therefore, Ye Mingsheng guessed that this palace maid named Li Chunxiu knew very well what would happen to her if she told the truth. So rather than being beaten to death, she might as well try to survive by putting the blame on herself, so that An Miaoyi would have a hard time getting her to do something!

After all, although An Miaoyi disliked those illegitimate children, whether they were illegitimate or born from her own drunken promiscuity, they were still her children and imperial heirs. If she killed them, she would be accused of murdering an imperial heir, which was a serious crime, one of the seven grounds for divorce, jealousy. If the matter got out, the upright officials would definitely not let it go, and impeachment memorials would fly into the palace like snowflakes.

Therefore, even An Miaoyi had to be cautious, which is why she reported this matter to me to see what my attitude should be...
To be honest, Ye Mingsheng was disgusted by this behavior of treating him like a fool. He instinctively wanted to tell An Miaoyi the truth, to tell her that this matter had nothing to do with him, and that Li Chunxiu was blatantly framing and slandering him.

However, Ye Mingsheng hesitated. He knew that with An Miaoyi's personality, if she found out that Li Chunxiu had tricked her, Li Chunxiu's fate would probably not be as simple as being beaten to death!

Ye Mingsheng had no doubt that if he hadn't been there to keep An Miaoyi in check, her methods would have been as cruel and terrifying as Empress Lü in history, or even surpassed her!
Therefore, Ye Mingsheng was also somewhat hesitant. Although he was disgusted and angry that Li Chunxiu had framed him and wanted him to be the scapegoat.

But Ye Mingsheng felt that the girl who was about to become a mother did not deserve to die, and that she should not have lost both her child and her body!
Historically, many monarchs treated palace maids as their own women, so when they saw a palace maid having sex with a guard, they felt it was like being cuckolded and were furious, wishing they could kill the whole family.

But Ye Mingsheng didn't think that way. In his mind, his only women were Empress An Miaoyi and his concubines. As for the palace maids, they were just employees working for him. If a concubine had an affair, Ye Mingsheng would be furious and would kill the whole family of the woman who cheated on him, but he wouldn't do that to a palace maid.

He couldn't even handle these few dozen women by himself, let alone hundreds or even thousands of palace maids. Ye Mingsheng didn't have that kind of ability, especially now that he was almost forty and wasn't as enthusiastic about those things as he was when he was younger.
Furthermore, Ye Mingsheng had been young once himself and understood what young people were thinking, so he wasn't particularly angry about this situation...