From a son-in-law to a favorite of the empress

An ambitious person will definitely make preparations in all aspects and wait for the opportunity to come.

Zhou Yuan was right about Gao Biao. Although he was just a small flag officer, he actually knew everything.

Formulate training plans, start assessment mechanisms, how to select talents, how to motivate members, and determine the scope of rewards and punishments... Including commanding subordinates and controlling people's hearts, everything is just right.

Zhou Yuan thought he had to help him and help him win over his subordinates, but he didn't expect that Gao Biao had already become one with everyone the next day and had many more confidants.

"Enforce orders!"

Zhou Yuan said in a deep voice: "These four words are what I want, and everything else can be put aside."

"I don't care whether their martial arts have improved, whether their brains have become smarter, and whether their eloquence has improved. I just want them to listen!"

"They will do whatever I say, especially in difficult and critical times."

Gao Biao said in a deep voice: "Don't worry, sir. I don't have any great skills, but I will definitely have no problem training my subordinates. I guarantee that orders will be enforced."

Zhou Yuan nodded slowly and said: "Tell me anytime if the funds are gone. If there are disobedient people, you can kill one to warn the rest and punish them according to the regulations."

"Yes!"

As soon as Gao Biao's voice fell, a calm voice suddenly came from outside: "Captain Zhou, the captain wants to see you."

Gao Biao changed color and said: "It should be the matter of the previous general flag."

"Don't worry."

Zhou Yuan waved his hand, walked out the door, and soon arrived at the captain's house.

It was still cool in the morning. Ye Mian did not read the files in the study, but walked in the garden with the bird cage, humming opera tunes, looking very enjoyable.

Seeing Zhou Yuan, he did not speak, but waved his hand and continued to hum.

After singing a song, Ye Mian exhaled a breath of turbid air and said with a smile: "Zhou Yuan, you haven't had breakfast yet? Come and sit down, let's eat something together."

Zhou Yuan shook his head and said: "No, Lord Ye, how can I be embarrassed."

Ye Mian smiled and said: "Yangzhou snacks, Jinling women's porridge, and the chef from Nanyue made the best cold noodles."

In fact, I still prefer to eat Sichuan noodles.

Zhou Yuan hurriedly smiled and said: "Eat, eat, eat, I'm just hungry."

After a moment, Zhou Yuan was stunned.

A side room, the dining table is small and exquisite, and the chairs are simple hollow carvings, which look like Huanghuali.

The bowls and plates are all top-quality blue-and-white porcelain, with an imperial signature on the bottom, from the Jingdezhen official kiln.

The point is, it's just breakfast, but there are more than a dozen small plates, which is extremely rich.

The two maids are about the same age as Ziyuan, and they are small and delicate. One rubs Ye Mian's shoulders, and the other feeds him.

"Zhou Yuan, the other two maids have asked for leave, saying that their families have arranged marriages for them, otherwise you can enjoy yourself."

Zhou Yuan was stunned for a long time, then smiled bitterly and said, "Master Ye really enjoys his life."

Ye Mian was not proud, but said slowly: "It is rare for a person to live to seventy. I am almost sixty, and I don't know how many years I can live. What's the point of not enjoying my life?"

"When you reach my age, you will be more extravagant than me."

At this point, he pointed to the table and said, "Don't just listen to me, keep eating!"

Zhou Yuan picked up a piece of plum cake and ate it while saying, "Lord Ye doesn't look like he's sixty, he's about fifty, he should still have some ambition."

"Ambition?"

Ye Mian waved his hand and smiled, "Those are just tricks to fool children. Most people become officials for fame and fortune, and a small number of people become officials because they have nowhere else to go. If they don't become officials, they can't go to work in the fields."

"There is still a little bit left, maybe there is still ambition, wanting to do something practical, but the general trend is, he They are hard to resist. "

Speaking of this, Ye Mian smiled and said, "So, almost all officials have the same fate as me, retirement."

Zhou Yuan was puzzled and said, "But Lord Ye is a captain of Lin'an Prefecture, one of the most important captains of Jinyiwei."

Ye Mian said, "In terms of merit, with my merit, it is enough to be a commander of Jinyiwei. Now, the captain is nothing but a lack of background."

"But in order to gain merit and position, I offended a lot of people. Now I am in a dilemma and dare not retreat!"

"If I quit, all my enemies will come looking for me."

Zhou Yuan couldn't help laughing and said, "So you can only take care of yourself after work."

"Life is always like this."

Ye Mian sighed and said, "There are many things that go well and many things that don't go well, but life must go on. For example, the trial centurion was dismissed inexplicably and expressed dissatisfaction, saying that he would go to Jinling to file a complaint and go to the Southern Pacification Office."

"But the cruel fact is that the Southern Pacification Office is the real murderer who killed him.If Xiong Kuohai hadn't found you, he would have been a centurion now."

Zhou Yuan said, "My position is really not that good. For example, I want to investigate a case recently, but I can't even find the basic clues. Lord Ye, then..."

"Ah!"

Ye Mian suddenly yawned and said, "It's easy to get sleepy in summer. When the sun shines, my body is warm and I want to sleep."

Here, he looked at Zhou Yuan and smiled, "I come here to live a moral life. You young people are energetic, but don't bother me, my old bones!"

Zhou Yuan hurriedly said, "Lord Ye, I am fighting alone and I am not strong enough. I really..."

Before he finished speaking, Ye Mian interrupted, "Eating the emperor's salary and sharing the emperor's worries is the way of a minister."

"Da Jin gives me thousands of taels of silver every year and gives me such a high position. I am patriotic. "

He finally wiped his mouth, lay down on a chair in the garden, basked in the sun, and fell asleep happily.

Zhou Yuan returned to the Audit Department, closed the door, frowned, and began to think about the meaning of Ye Mian's words.

First, he talked about eating, then about merit and background, then about enjoying life, and then about state affairs and patriotism.

After listening to it, it seems difficult to grasp the key points.

But based on Zhou Yuan's many years of experience, the other party just expressed one meaning: "I don't take the risk, I want a big share of the credit. If you ask me which side I stand on, I only say that I am patriotic. "

This old fox doesn't want to contribute at all, doesn't want to take the blame, and the key is that he still wants to eat meat.

When Zhou Yuan learned this, he was actually very happy, which meant that Ye Mian was not corrupted by the gambling house in the south of the city, compared to the fact that he had just taken office.

It means that Zhou Yuan only needs to deal with Lu Hanxing, and the Jinyiwei will be stable.

As long as the internal situation is stable, there will be hope to slowly conquer the gambling house in the south of the city.

It has been six days since Wang Ang left. Logically, he should have returned long ago. How could he wait until now and still not see any shadow.

Zhou Yuan felt a little uneasy. The next morning, he asked Gao Biao to send two people to the north to look for him.

At this moment, Qu Ling's letter also arrived.

She said that there was an extra resident in the house, who was the person Zhou Yuan needed.

Zhou Yuan was overjoyed immediately. It seemed that Qu Ling had found Lu Hanxing's flaw.

So he didn't hesitate anymore and turned around and ran towards the house.