Chapter 57: Yuan Shikai Wants to Play a Reversal Move

  After humming a little tune and returning to the mansion, Ye Zhui thought that Xia Linglong might be alone in the Tu Fu and decided to visit her. Ye Zhui had both sisterly affection and romantic love for Xia Linglong. Before going, he brought some pastries and bought a jade hairpin as a gift.

  The butcher's house is not far from Ye Fu, this is the butcher who deliberately chose a house for convenience, and soon arrived. Ye Zhongkui didn't even need to report, and walked in directly with a stride. As he reached the gate of the courtyard, he heard a group of women's screams and shouts coming from inside. Ye Zhongkui couldn't help but feel strange, what was this little Ling doing? Turning a corner and going in for a look, it turned out that Little Ling was training twenty or so girls to dance with knives and guns.

  Xiao Ling stood at the front with a stern expression, her face set in determination. "Since ancient times," she declared, "we women have never been inferior to men. Today, sisters gather together to learn from the example of Hua Mulan, who left the boudoir and seriously studied military skills. Let those self-important men see the prowess of us sisters!"

  Those women had obviously been trained for some time, and they replied in unison with a sweet voice: "Sisters unite, their power can break through gold."

  Ye Zhiwei, who was standing behind them, couldn't help but laugh at the sight. He coughed to get everyone's attention and said, "Women can hold up half the sky, but when it comes to fighting and such rough work, let's leave that to us big men."

  That group of women was led by Ye Zhi, each and every one of them had a red face standing there, where was the heroic spirit from just now.

  Xiao Ling also turned her head, saw Ye Zhi Kui holding a food box, and happily shouted. The serious look from just now was gone, and she immediately dispersed the crowd. Then, she went forward, pulled at Ye Zhi Kui's sleeve, and said with a blush: "Brother Ye, don't tease us girls. My marksmanship is already very good now. Why not lend me your gun to try it out? Let you see my skills."

  Ye Zhi's face turned gloomy, and he could only reply, "My gun is not to be trifled with, it's easy to misfire. Come, look what I've brought for you to eat."

  Xiao Lingtong opened the food box, picked up the pastry and stuffed it into her mouth, while eating she said: "Ye Dage, you haven't come to see Xiao Lingtong recently, Xiao Lingtong is so heartbroken."

  Ye Zhi Kui smiled wryly and replied, "Isn't Ye Dage here to see you?" Then he took out a jade hairpin from his bosom and inserted it into Xiaoling's hair, looking left and right, saying: "How is it? Very pretty, a gift for our family's Xiaoling, do you like it?"

  Xiao Ling couldn't see it, so she took it down and put it in her hand, happily saying: "As long as it's from Brother Ye, it's beautiful."

  Ye Zhi pinched her round face and smiled, saying: "Little Ling will still say yes to things, by the way, what were you training those women for just now?"

  Xiao Lingtong said seriously: "I want to be like Ye Dage, a female general. Those sisters are not qualified to join the Thirteen Hawks, they are mostly lonely and helpless, and have no special skills, so father handed them over to me. I thought that instead of letting them idle, it's better to train with me."

  Then Little Ling'er adorably clenched her small fist and said, "Little Ling'er will definitely cultivate a new army that's even more powerful than Big Brother Ye."

  Ye Zhi Kui looked amusing, grabbed her fist, put it in his mouth and took a bite, saying: "Want to defeat me? Look at me not eating you first."

  Nowadays, due to the dumping of foreign goods and the exploitation by officials, many people have gone bankrupt and are unable to make a living, selling their sons and daughters has also become a normal phenomenon.

  Ye Zhi thought to himself that a considerable number of soldiers in the Wu Wei army had joined because of difficulties at home, and some didn't even have any family. These people should be feeling lonelier now, so he wondered if he should do something for them to make them feel the warmth of the Wu Wei army. Then he thought about how later generations would hold parties and invite stars to perform in the military, which seemed like a good idea, and now he could also invite some actors and acrobats to perform.

  Xiao Ling saw Ye's stunned expression and shook his arm, saying: "Big Brother Ye, what are you thinking about?"

  Ye Zhi Kui smiled and shook his head, stroking her hair as he said: "Let's calculate how much longer it'll take before we can bring Little Ling back home."

  Xiao Lingtong opened her bright and shiny eyes and looked at Ye Zhiwei, saying: "I really want to marry you quickly, Brother Ye."

  Ye Zhi Kui smiled and nodded her nose, saying: "You don't even know how to be shy!"

  Xiao Linglong buried her face in Ye Zhiwei's chest and said: "I just think so!"

  On a sunny day, Ye Zhi's chief ordered his personal troops to search for some actors and acrobats in the city of Tianjin and have them perform for the Wuwei Army.

  Tianjin Xiao Zhan, Yuan Shikai had just finished revising official documents and was about to take a short rest when his trusted aide came to report on an urgent matter.

  Yuan Shikai had to summon him, and his trusted aide, with a joyful expression, said as soon as he entered the door: "Sir, I heard that the Zhili Governor Ye Zhiqi is openly seeking pleasure in the military camp."

  Yuan Shikai's eyes flashed with interest and he hastily confirmed: "Is this true?"

  The trusted thief smiled and replied, "This matter has already spread slowly. Yesterday, Ye Zhikui ordered people to search for actors and acrobats all over Tianjin, saying that they were invited to perform for the soldiers in the Wuwei Army. Today, I'm afraid the soldiers of the Wuwei Army are watching them now."

  Yuan Shikai sneered, "You're quite bold, Ye Zhiwei! You dare to indulge in revelry with the soldiers, corrupting military discipline and treating the Qing army's laws as nothing. Even if you hold a high position, I, Yuan, will make sure you suffer a great defeat." In fact, it was not uncommon for commanders to seek pleasure in the military camp, what was rare was openly gathering soldiers together to sing and laugh.

  After finishing, Yuan Shikai's eyes rolled over and he quickly wrote several letters, handing them to his trusted aide: "Send these letters quickly to the various Censors in Beijing, let those old guys go and impeach Ye Zhikui, at that time, see if Ye Zhikui won't be worried sick. After the matter is settled, I, Yuan, will remember your first merit." The trusted aide hastily took his orders and left.

  The undercurrents in Tianjin were surging, but Ye Zhiyuan didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. It wasn't that he was stupid, it's just that his mindset from the future was somewhat different from that era. To him, this seemed like a very normal thing, but what he didn't know was that something considered normal in modern times might be extremely abnormal in ancient times.

  When Ye Zikui led the troupe of actors to arrive at the entrance of Wu Yi's military camp, the staff and generals under Ye Zikui only knew about it then. Previously, Ye Zikui had not consulted them at all, thinking it was a trivial matter. After listening to Ye Zikui's "wonderful ideas", the generals started to get headaches one by one and came forward to stop him.

  The head of the law enforcement camp stepped out and said, "Ye Shao, this matter does not follow military rules. Please send those people back."

  Ye Zhi Kui was somewhat annoyed, thinking that he had been considering the soldiers' well-being, not his own selfish desires. It was just a small matter, what's the big deal? Did it deserve such a fuss?

  He raised his hand and said: "Ba Lao doesn't need to say anything more, I've already made up my mind. Today, let's just let the brothers have a good time."

  Feng Guozhang and Wang Shizhen also stepped forward, just about to persuade him, when Ye Zhiwei furrowed his brow and said: "Huafu, Pingqin, you two don't need to persuade me anymore. My mind is made up, no need to say more. Isn't the New Year's festival approaching? We should also let our soldiers have a good time, enjoy themselves and spend a happy New Year's festival. Come on, lead these 'artists' in, brothers, set up the stage and watch the show."

  Many generals saw that Ye's most trusted two people couldn't persuade him, and they could only reluctantly follow his orders. What do those little soldiers of the Wu Yi army know? Seeing Ye being so concerned about himself, and having a good show to watch, they all cheered loudly.

  Wang Shizhen saw that he could not be persuaded, so he had to secretly instruct his soldiers to seal off the matter and prevent it from spreading. Unfortunately, due to Ye Zhiwei's previous actions, which had caused a great stir, those who were supposed to know still found out.