Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1727 Whoever has the most money becomes the emperor!
On November 3, Ye Mingsheng concluded his inspection of Changshan Prefecture. The prefect of Changshan Prefecture was named Liu Debao. Unlike the previous magistrates Wang Chong of Zhuoxian County and Zhang Dafu of Raoan County, Liu Debao was 57 years old this year. He was a former member of the Communist Party of China and had served as a county magistrate under Changshan for nearly ten years.

After Ye Mingsheng led the Fengwu Army into the pass, he promoted Liu Debao to the position of prefect of Changshan and kept him in this position for a long time. The reasons for this were very complicated and multifaceted.

The first reason is that although Liu Debao was a traditional civil servant who came from the imperial examination system and had the title of Jinshi of the Great Zhou Dynasty, his ability to develop the economy was somewhat average. However, he was an honest and upright civil servant who enjoyed good public support in Changshan and was loved and respected by the people.

When Ye Mingsheng led his troops into the pass and defeated Zhao Fuqu to control the entire Youyan region, he also made the reorganization of the Youyan G field his top priority!
In order to change the corrupt and decadent atmosphere in Youyan and to solve the problem of redundant staff, Ye Mingsheng launched a major purge. From the Provincial Administration Commission and the Provincial Surveillance Commission to the prefectural governments and county governments, many officials were dismissed one after another. The gentry associated with them were also implicated and investigated.

Although Ye Mingsheng was armed with a knife, these gentry, accustomed to their oppressive ways, were unwilling to be easily subdued and relinquish their power. They knew they were no match for Ye Mingsheng in a direct confrontation, so some of them attempted to use public opinion to pressure him…

The main public opinion at the time was that these people were playing the local card, spreading rumors that Ye Mingsheng was from Liaoyang and that he didn't trust the people of Youyan, so he arrested all the Communist Party members in Youyan with the aim of letting the people of Liaoyang govern Youyan. In the future, the people of Liaoyang would be the first class in Youyan, and the people of Youyan would be the second class. Some even went so far as to say that Ye Mingsheng would perform virginity rape in Youyan, meaning that when a man in Youyan marries, he should let a man from Liaoyang sleep with him first.

When Ye Mingsheng heard this news, he was stunned. He felt that the news was too anti-intellectual. He was not a Luobei person, so why would he do such a thing?
What left Ye Mingsheng speechless was that, although he felt that these messages were obviously fake and not worth refuting, the people of Youyan actually believed them. For a time, public sentiment in Youyan was turbulent, and many residents of Youyan were cursing Ye Mingsheng behind his back.

After learning about these circumstances, Ye Mingsheng took them very seriously and wanted to take measures to dispel these rumors, gain public support for his sweeping cleanup campaign, and get the people to support his actions.

At the suggestion of Cui Shao and Gu Sansi, Ye Mingsheng also made public many cases of corrupt officials from Youyan who had fallen from power, held public trials for the criminals, and displayed the stolen money and goods so that the people could see how corrupt and tyrannical these people were.

At the same time, in order to completely dispel these rumors, Ye Mingsheng vigorously promoted the idea that the claims of "first-class," "second-class," and "first-night Q" were all complete fabrications. Under Ye Mingsheng's rule, whether people were from Liaoyang or Youyan, they were all his subjects and had to abide by the laws he had established. Anyone who violated the law would be punished, and every citizen was protected by the law…

Ye Mingsheng also wanted to promote some local G members in Youyan to show his trust in Youyan G members. Unfortunately, the atmosphere in Youyan G field was very decadent at the time, and the kind of loyal, capable, and virtuous G members that Ye Mingsheng wanted were very rare.

So this was a major problem that troubled Ye Mingsheng at the time. Later, after discussing with Cui Shao, Gu Sansi and others, Ye Mingsheng decided to relax some standards, especially in terms of loyalty. After all, the Fengwu Army was new and had a shallow foundation, so it was unrealistic to win everyone's loyalty right away.

Therefore, Ye Mingsheng lowered the standard from loyalty to the Fengwu Army to not opposing the Fengwu Army and being willing to cooperate with the Fengwu Army in various tasks.

Therefore, under such standards, Liu Debao, who was then a county magistrate under Changshan, immediately stood out.

Because of his incorruptibility, Liu Debao didn't have much wealth. In the corrupt and chaotic Youyan county, he was a breath of fresh air. However, this also meant he didn't have the money to bribe the provincial governor. In the Youyan county, where it was said that those who didn't bribe were demoted, those who only bribed remained stagnant, and those who bribed were promoted, there was little room for advancement. He worked diligently and conscientiously as a county magistrate for over a decade without being promoted. In fact, if it weren't for the local people's love and respect for him, he would have been replaced as county magistrate.

Therefore, Liu Debao harbored some resentment towards Youyan under Zhao Fuqu's rule. So, when Zhao Fuqu was defeated and Ye Mingsheng led the Fengwu Army to arrive, Liu Debao was quite proactive, being the first county in Changshan to open its city gates to welcome the Fengwu Army. For this, Liu Debao faced some criticism in Youyan at the time, with some saying behind his back that he was betraying his master for personal gain…
Liu Debao also had his own explanation for this. He believed that he was acting under the banner of the Great Zhou, not under Zhao Fuqu. Although Ye Mingsheng fought against Zhao Fuqu, Ye Mingsheng was also fighting under the banner of the Great Zhou. He was a general officially appointed by the Great Zhou court, not a foreigner such as the Luobei or Khitan.

To protect the people from the ravages of war, Liu Debao's decision to open the city gates to welcome the Fengwu Army was not an act of betrayal or seeking personal gain!

Some gentry in Youyan scoffed at Liu Debao's explanation, feeling that he was just making excuses for betraying his master. Ye Mingsheng, however, greatly admired Liu Debao's attitude. After learning that Liu Debao was honest and had a good reputation in the area, and that the prefect of Changshan had been arrested during the purge, Ye Mingsheng decisively appointed Liu Debao as the prefect of Changshan!
After appointing Liu Debao as the prefect of Changshan, Ye Mingsheng vigorously promoted the appointment, regarding it as a significant symbol of his trust in the people of Youyan…

Thus, Liu Debao continued to serve as the prefect of Changshan. In recent years, Ye Mingsheng gradually shifted his focus from conquering the country to development, and some of Liu Debao's shortcomings as the prefect of Changshan were exposed. Liu Debao, who came from a family with a background in the imperial examinations, was rather rigid and pedantic in his thinking. He had a very cold attitude towards commerce and believed that merchants who pursued profit were not good people. Liu Debao's attitude also led to Changshan's development being at the bottom of the entire Youyan region.

Not only that, Liu Debao also had some criticisms of some of the court's major policies. He even said in private that the current court did not respect Confucius, was only interested in profit, and was full of the stench of money! He also said that since His Majesty values ​​money so much, what is the point of the imperial examination? Wouldn't it be better to just let whoever has the most money become the emperor?
If any other emperor had heard Liu Debao's disrespectful words, he would probably have been furious and executed the old man and his entire family!
However, when Ji Xian from the Joint Operations Department presented these words to Ye Mingsheng as if they were priceless treasures, Ye Mingsheng seemed somewhat indifferent.

Ye Mingsheng had heard far too many of these sarcastic remarks, and he was well aware that there were quite a few people in the court who shared Liu Debao's views. Therefore, punishing Liu Debao would not necessarily change anything. As a result, Ye Mingsheng simply laughed it off and did not take it seriously.

However, this trip to Changshan left Ye Mingsheng with many impressions. In other parts of Youyan, such as Yuyang, Zhuoxian, and Rao'an, factories were being built at a rapid pace, and efforts were being made to create a favorable business environment to attract wealthy investors from other regions. But the environment in Changshan as a whole was very conservative; the people were still accustomed to traditional agricultural life, and there were virtually no factories, only a few small handicraft workshops…
Ye Mingsheng had discussed this with Zhao Debao. Zhao Debao was very straightforward. Instead of being two-faced or deceitful, he directly told Ye Mingsheng that he felt the court was pursuing profits and the economy excessively like merchants, which was putting the cart before the horse. He believed that the Great Qian should take agriculture as its foundation and that prioritizing agriculture over commerce was the way to prosperity!
Seeing Zhao Debao's serious expression, Ye Mingsheng knew it would be difficult to persuade him. However, Zhao Debao did remind him of one point: he said that the large-scale establishment of factories was taking away a large amount of labor. This labor force should have been invested in agriculture, but now it had entered the factories, which had a strong impact on agriculture. Although this situation was not very obvious at present, if this trend continued, the situation would become very dangerous in the next three to five years.

Zhao Debao's words served as a wake-up call for Ye Mingsheng, making him aware of this issue. Therefore, during his subsequent inspection of the two important agricultural regions of Hebei and Henan, and Shandong, Ye Mingsheng wanted to thoroughly investigate these two problems.

Meanwhile, Ye Mingsheng was also considering how to settle Zhao Debao's affairs. Since Zhao Debao's mindset was difficult to change, Ye Mingsheng felt he was somewhat unfit for the position of prefect. According to the report submitted by the Provincial Administration Commission, Changshan's annual tax revenue was consistently the lowest in Youyan, although it ranked third in grain revenue…

However, because the imperial court wanted to stabilize grain prices, the grain prices in the entire Youyan region were not very high. As a result, although the farmers in Changshan worked very hard all year, they did not actually earn much silver, and their living standards were among the lowest in the Youyan region.

Therefore, Ye Mingsheng was also considering whether to transfer Zhao Debao. This Prefect Zhao was getting old, already fifty-seven years old this year. Although he was not yet sixty, judging from the average life expectancy of this era, he was definitely in the elderly category.

Many party members of his age have now chosen to retire, end their political lives, and go home to enjoy their grandchildren. During the conversation, Ye Mingsheng also tested Zhao Debao.

At the time, Zhao Debao did not understand Ye Mingsheng's intentions. He thought Ye Mingsheng was worried that he was too old to handle the job of prefect. So he told Ye Mingsheng that although he was old, he was very healthy, ate three meals a day without fail, and could eat a bowl of rice at each meal, which was better than when he was young. He promised to continue to serve the court and that he would serve for another ten years!

Looking at the ambitious Zhao Debao, Ye Mingsheng felt quite helpless. If it were anyone else, Ye Mingsheng wouldn't have thought too much and would have simply issued a transfer order. However, Zhao Debao was an incorruptible man, and Ye Mingsheng always respected such rare individuals in the gambling world. This wasn't the main reason why Ye Mingsheng didn't bother with Zhao Debao's behind-the-scenes gossip…
Furthermore, Zhao Debao is deeply loved and respected in the Changshan area, so forcibly transferring him away would definitely cause some negative impacts, which is something Ye Mingsheng does not want to see.

Therefore, Ye Mingsheng planned to give Zhao Debao a promotion in name only, as Zhao Debao had made great contributions to Daqian. His emphasis on agriculture was evident in the fact that he provided a large amount of grain to the Fengwu Army when Ye Mingsheng was fighting against the Luo'an court. And now there was a vacancy for the position of deputy provincial inspector in Youyan.

Ye Mingsheng planned to transfer Zhao Debao there, which would solve Zhao Debao's status as a third-rank official and serve as a reward for the old man's lifelong integrity!

The position of Deputy Provincial Surveillance Commissioner is also suitable for Zhao Debao. He can continue to shine in this position and fight against some of the unhealthy practices and black forces in Youyan.

This left the position of prefect of Changshan vacant. Ye Mingsheng wanted to find a prefect who was young and energetic, quick-witted, not stubborn or conservative, and willing to embrace new things!
Just as Ye Mingsheng had finalized his plan and was preparing to send orders to Gu Sansi to carry out this series of transfers, a messenger from the cabinet appeared before Ye Mingsheng.

Looking at the letter in his hand, Ye Mingsheng was momentarily stunned, but he quickly recovered and asked the messenger with a serious expression:

How credible is this news about Wanfu Bank?

"Your Majesty, the Cabinet is still investigating the authenticity of this case, but it has been confirmed that the deceased who attempted to deliver the letter to Lord Xuan Yifeng was Zhao Dahai, the second manager of Wanfu Bank..."