mtl008 Chapter 383 Liu Ye's Choice
Chapter 383 Liu Ye's Choice
Lin Tianming is currently only a seventh-rank imperial inspector. Although he is extremely noble, his rank is not high. It is a promotion of three ranks from the seventh to the fourth. However, Lin Shiyue was not surprised at all. She just asked indifferently, "Hmm, is it the position of governor of Dengzhou and Laizhou?"
Liu Ye, who had already sat down, jumped up upon hearing this, staring at Lin Shiyue in disbelief. He couldn't help but wonder: Could there be an inside traitor in the Nanyuan Council Hall who leaked the news?
Although this matter is not exactly a secret, no matter how you look at it, Lin Shiyue, who is far away in Guangzhou, could not possibly know about it, so how could she have revealed it in a single sentence?
Liu Ye couldn't discuss this matter with Lin Shiyue for the moment. He paced back and forth, pondering how to conduct an internal investigation. If there really was an insider, he had to find him to prevent more important information from leaking later.
Seeing his restless appearance, Lin Shiyue smiled faintly: "Do you think someone leaked the information?"
Liu Ye almost blurted out that it was true, but he managed to hold back. It was a terrible feeling to be completely manipulated by the other party.
“Actually, you don’t need to be nervous. No one has passed on any messages to me. Your Qiongzhou camp is a united front, and no one will betray you.” Lin Shiyue gazed at him and said softly, “This is just my guess. But your reaction tells me that I guessed right.”
Liu Ye asked suspiciously, "Guess? Please enlighten me, Miss Lin. How did you guess without any source of information?" He wouldn't give up until he got to the bottom of this.
"The Qiongzhou Camp is far away in Guangdong, yet they went to great lengths to volunteer to wade into the muddy waters of Shandong. Given your nature of not acting without self-interest, General Liu, you must have something in mind. And Shandong has been ravaged by mutinies and wars for the past two years. What could possibly be of interest to you? After much thought, the only target you can think of is the tens of thousands of starving people." Lin Shiyue continued, following her train of thought, "The Qiongzhou Camp has been rising in strength for quite some time, but after two or three years, it still only has two or three thousand infantrymen. This is probably not because they are afraid of exceeding the troop limit of a deputy general after expansion, but because they genuinely have no one else available. I asked the clerks at the governor's office, and the combined number of Han Chinese and registered Li people in Qiongzhou Prefecture is only tens of thousands, including the elderly, women, and children. It's not much more than a single county in Guangzhou. In addition, most of the ships in this fleet are empty cargo ships, which are very likely used to transport starving people. Comparing the two, it's certain that the Qiongzhou Camp came to Shandong to fight for these people!"
Liu Ye gradually relaxed. This analysis was meticulous and logically sound, indicating that it was very likely not a leak, but rather the result of this female strategist's own deduction. He continued the conversation by asking, "Even if they came for the sake of the population, what does that have to do with the governor of Dengzhou and Laizhou?"
"There are tens of thousands of starving people in Shandong. Without the support of the local government, it would be impossible for an out-of-town military officer to transport them out smoothly. Although I don't know if you have persuaded Governor Zhu, the most convenient way to transport the people is by sea from Dengzhou. A local official is more powerful than a county official. Even if the Shandong governor supports you, you can't do anything if the Dengzhou and Laizhou governors want to block your way. Therefore, gaining Governor Zhu's support is the first step, and taking over the vacant Dengzhou and Laizhou governorship is the crucial second step. Instead of spending time trying to please the future Dengzhou and Laizhou governor, it's better to take control of the position directly."
Liu Ye was utterly impressed; such reasoning ability was truly unmatched.
Lin Shiyue concluded: "Given your close relationship with your uncle, it wouldn't be difficult to get my father on board. Moreover, if things are handled properly, it wouldn't be difficult for the Imperial Inspector to take the position of Governor of Dengzhou and Laizhou based on his merit in suppressing the rebellion. In this way, Dengzhou, this important military town, will be in your hands, General Liu."
Liu Ye gave a thumbs up and praised, "Miss Lin, regardless of any misunderstandings I may have had about you in the past, I am completely convinced by what you said today. If you were a man, you would be more than qualified to be a Grand Secretary." This analysis and conclusion were more comprehensive and insightful than I had imagined.
Lin Shiyue smiled, a hint of resentment in her smile: "You also know to add a condition, 'if he is a man,' but unfortunately, that condition can never be met."
Liu Ye seemed thoughtful. It seemed this Miss Lin was unwilling to be an ordinary woman devoted to her husband and children. No wonder she was already of marriageable age but hadn't made a move. With her knowledge and erudition, plus her good family background, marrying into an ordinary official's family to be a wife and mother was certainly not what she wanted. Powerful families believed that "a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent," so they might not like her type. Thus, things had been delayed.
But should she pretend not to know or accept the matchmaking secretly arranged by her uncle, Mu Tianyan?
Liu Ye had considered this issue before coming to Shandong. At the time, he thought that marrying Lin Shiyue would be fine in order to win over Mu Tianyan and Lin Tianming. But now that he knew how shrewd Lin Shiyue was, and that she had a spirit and ambition no less than that of a man, he hesitated for a moment. No man would want to marry a shrewd and capable career woman and keep her at home.
However, after a few seconds of this thought, Liu Ye understood. This was ancient feudal society, not modern times with gender equality. No matter how smart and capable a woman was, she couldn't stand out in public or be independent; at most, she could be a virtuous wife behind a man's back. In thousands of years, China had only produced one Wu Zetian. As a time-traveler with extraordinary abilities, why would he be afraid of a weak woman from ancient times?
Having figured it out, Liu Ye felt free to speak his mind and smiled, "Miss Lin, there's no need to worry. The world is vast; there's always a place for you to showcase your talents. For example, in my Qiongzhou camp, we have a female manager like Duan Mengrou..."
Lin Shiyue's eyes flickered as she pressed on, "Could it be that General Liu also wants to recruit me to be a female manager?"
Liu Ye chuckled: "Miss Lin is too kind. A woman of your intelligence and virtue is too good for being a manager. Besides, I wouldn't want to..."
Lin Shiyue blushed; her words carried a somewhat ambiguous meaning.
Seeing her shy reaction, Liu Ye couldn't help but recall those stories about beasts or worse than beasts. She had already made her feelings clear; he needed to give her and those behind her, like Mu Tianyan, an explanation. This vague delay wasn't going to work. He weighed the weight of the Guangdong and Dengzhou governors again, as well as the importance of Dengzhou to the Qiongzhou camp, and sighed inwardly. It seemed he didn't have many options.
“Miss Lin, after the war in Shandong is over, I will try my best to help your father take up the position of governor of Dengzhou and Laizhou, and then choose an auspicious day to visit your father, so that the Lin family can have double happiness.”
Lin Shiyue naturally knew that the so-called visit was actually a marriage proposal, and the double happiness was her father's promotion and her daughter's marriage. No matter how shrewd she was, she was still just a young girl in the prime of her life. Her face turned bright red, and she covered her face, saying, "Go find my father yourself, why are you telling me all this?" Then she ran out of the tent.