Chapter 1 The Life of the Ye Family

The Ye family's life was drastically different from the luxurious life others imagined. In terms of food, every aspect, from the raw materials and workmanship to the utensils and even the display, was meticulously chosen, but waste was rare. Living together for many years, the family members were all aware of each other's appetite and tastes. Depending on the number of people eating, there were always suitable and varied recipes, from breakfast, lunch, and dinner to afternoon tea and late-night snacks. The principle of small, frequent meals ran throughout the Ye family's life, guided by advanced concepts of healthy balance, with an entire medical and dietary team using various methods to regulate everyone's physical and mental health.

The same went for clothing. The Ye family didn't like to dress gaudily. The most gorgeous clothes for everyone in the family were definitely the sets of armor that Ye Tao personally designed and supervised. Even Tan Weixin, Tan Weishi, who never went to the battlefield, and the children all had them. It was simply a tradition. But usually, whether going out or staying at home, the Ye family's clothes were always simple and plain. Materials like thick-woven twill cotton became increasingly cheaper due to the large-scale cotton planting on Benlang Plain, but the Ye family almost universally liked cotton clothes. Silk materials were mostly used for underwear, after all, they were smooth and translucent. In the summer, cotton-linen blends with excellent breathability were the mainstream in the Ye family.

There was no need to talk about housing. Ye Family Fort could be considered a model of comfort worldwide, with the application of various new technologies completely transforming life. As for architecture and gardens, probably no one would think too much about it now. Ye Tao put more effort into Ye Family Fort than he did into designing and building any other building combined, so Ye Family Fort was naturally a magnificent architectural complex.

Transportation… In this regard, perhaps no one in the world was qualified to be compared with the Ye family. Think about it, they were the inventors and manufacturers of airships, and the actual operators of the national airship passenger and freight transport system. Even the Ye family's boys had accumulated tens of thousands of miles of flight, and Ye Wenxuan and Ye Wenji even had airships specially designed and customized for them by Ye Tao to learn airship piloting skills.

Although it seemed that there were almost no families that could compare with the Ye family, in reality, apart from housing and transportation, the Ye family's life was not as luxurious as ordinary people imagined. They completely lacked the pomp and extravagance that a family standing at the peak of the entire continent and even the world usually had. They lived quietly, enjoyed all kinds of seemingly insignificant surprises and joys, and to them, the more important enjoyment was spiritual. Their family's investment in culture, art and book publishing, theater construction and troupe training, calligraphy and painting, photography, and so on, far exceeded what they spent on superficial things like clothing and food.

And this became a question that puzzled the entire nation of Dongping. What exactly was this strange family pursuing?

Not everyone would be puzzled by such a question. At least, Tan Xiaopei wouldn't. When Ye Tao quietly shuttled between Danyang, Ye Family Fort, and Gondor, making various arrangements, he had been looking for an opportunity to lay his cards on the table with Ye Tao. Ye Tao couldn't leave yet. He had to play a more important role in Dongping's future imperial construction. But letting Ye Tao retire after unifying the world was what he had promised. Don't mention any imperial tactics or anything like that. If Ye Tao really wanted to retire, Tan Xiaopei really had no way to stop him. If he didn't want to work, no matter how high the official title was, it would be useless. Now, he was already the Northern Frontier Pacification Commissioner (Beijiang Jinglue Shi), with absolute authority over the entire northern territory of the empire. There would be no such official position as Northern Frontier Pacification Commissioner after him. Instead, the entire north would be divided into six provinces, each with a governor, and the governance system would continue to follow the current framework of the Northern Frontier Pacification Commissioner's Office. In fact, the entire empire would gradually shift to that healthier and more complete system. No matter who was appointed as the governor of the area currently under the jurisdiction of the Northern Frontier Pacification Commissioner's Office in the future, they would probably find it difficult to move an inch without Ye Tao's approval. Tan Xiaopei was now having a bit of a headache. He had promoted Ye Tao to his current position too early, and now there was nothing more to reward him with. Perhaps he could be granted a title of nobility in the future, but Ye Tao might not care about that…

But the commotion caused by the Ye family next shocked the whole world. They published a series of books one after another. This batch of things was not about technology or management, but some purely political and social things.

By the time summer arrived, what was first put on the shelves in all the bookstores in Danyang at the same time was *The Social Contract*. Three days later, *The Spirit of the Laws* was put on the shelves. Subsequently, *The Wealth of Nations* and *Leviathan* were put on the shelves one after another. Except for *The Wealth of Nations*, the others were all works from the Enlightenment period. Now that the people of Dongping lived happy and prosperous lives, things like *Alarm to the World* and *Turn Back the Head* from the past would not be taken out. They were too inflammatory, had little effect, and could easily lead people to misunderstand that they were going to rebel. These classic works from the Enlightenment period were completely rewritten in complete accordance with the reality of the time and space that Ye Tao and Tan Weixin had come to. The time and energy they put into them was unimaginable, and naturally, they were by no means things that could be rushed out in a short period of time. As for things like *Critique of Pure Reason*, although they were also very meaningful, Ye Tao and Tan Weixin had never figured out what they were talking about in their two lifetimes, so it would be wrong to just take them out to fool people.

At the beginning, everyone thought that they were the same as the previous books, all technical books. But when some courtiers and scholars who had always been interested in Ye Tao and Tan Weixin, these two geniuses, finally finished reading these books and slowly pondered the taste, they gradually came to their senses. Ye Tao and Tan Weixin had already run back to Ye Family Fort to find peace and quiet. They had somewhat expected how much attention these things could attract and what reactions they would cause. And at the time when Dongping was about to be unified, suddenly throwing out views such as the divine right of kings was not granted by God, the country was not created according to God's will but by people through social contracts, and the monarchy was not granted by God but by the people, was really shocking to the world... Some conservative ministers and scholars trembled with fear when they saw these things, and some bad guesses began to circulate in some people's minds: What exactly was the Ye family planning to do?

Dai Yun returned to Ye Family Fort. Old General Yu Fuzhong, who was temporarily in charge of the First War Zone, directly stopped all contact with the Chunnan army and began to gather his troops... Yu Fuzhong was originally a family general of the Dai family. Although he was now a general who could stand alone, with a very high status, he didn't think so complicatedly, and was only loyal to the Dai family. Although he didn't know what Ye Tao, Tan Weixin, and Dai Yun were up to, it didn't prevent him from preparing for everything.

And those reception officials who were now controlling the Xiling border were also in a state of confusion. Although rumors were not very reliable, they couldn't go to Ye Tao and ask him if he was planning to rebel. Lei Huang stayed leisurely in the main altar to sit in command, while Sun Boping smiled wryly as he handled complicated government affairs and wrote letters to Ye Tao...

Books and news would not arrive in Yazhou or cross the entire battlefield to reach southern Chunnan so quickly, but whether it was Qi Zhentao or anyone in Yazhou, if something really happened, even if they hesitated, they might stand on Ye Tao's side. Yazhou, which had been constantly dealing with the Gulf region and more western countries, had much more active and radical thinking than the mainland.

This was the case in these areas, and even more so in the lands under the jurisdiction of the Northern Frontier Pacification Commissioner's Office. The Pacification Commissioner's Office did not issue any orders at all, but the atmosphere in the veteran farms and ranches in Yunzhou, Benlang Plain, and Zhenzhou and other regions was quietly changing. Even in Tianmeng City, which was far away in the northeast, some people began to discuss what Ye Tao was planning to do, and when some people rashly guessed, some tribal leaders had already made a decision.

Rebellion? Ye Tao had no such intention at all. Not only was this clear to everyone in Ye Family Fort, but also to the top ministers. Some of these mobilizations and preparations, both open and secret, were due to people blindly following others without understanding the situation, and some were preparing for the eventuality that an uncontrollable situation might arise, so that they could be dealt with easily. This was what Lei Huang thought, and this was also what Tan Weiran thought. Other departments had only quietly increased their vigilance, but the Frost Wolf and Silver Wing armies directly under his command had directly entered a state of alert...

"When has Ye Tao ever given a heads-up before doing anything?" Tan Xiaopei was in great pain. After rubbing his head, he said to Tan Weiming and Tan Weiran with some helplessness.

Because the imperial palace was being rebuilt, and they needed to stay in Danyang to coordinate various complicated matters, they now had to temporarily reside in the newly completed and not yet opened luxurious garden-style hotel, Banyan Tree. This was also Ye Tao's property. Strictly speaking, it was a property that he, the Chi family, and the Fan family were jointly developing. Banyan Tree undoubtedly reached the pinnacle of comfort in this time and space, and some details were even more exquisite than in Ye Tao's own home. After Tan Xiaopei and his party moved into Banyan Tree, they felt like country bumpkins entering the city, let alone those merchants and noble families. Their families, together with the Jiuzhou Chamber of Commerce, the Qihai Chamber of Commerce, and a series of other industry cooperation groups, established a standard rating system for hotels and inns. Currently, in the entire Dongping, only a few, such as Banyan Tree, were able to enter the ranks of five-star hotels. And Banyan Tree was still not open for business. In fact, only three hotels were officially open to the public...

Living in a refined and quiet garden hotel, Tan Xiaopei felt refreshed and extremely comfortable. In fact, Tan Xiaopei had been quite happy recently. The unification was already in its final stages, and while the last living space of Chunnan was being steadily compressed, the governance work in various places was being carried out in an orderly manner. The people of Chunnan did not have much resistance to Dongping's takeover. On the contrary, those scholars and literati had great resistance. Dongping, which had established the country through military force, was now culturally prosperous, but it did not provide anyone with the opportunity to rise to the top in the imperial examinations.

Regardless of the results of the civil and military subjects in Dongping's imperial examinations, they were not directly awarded official positions. Instead, they were given extremely generous material rewards, as well as some opportunities for further study. Some entered the Imperial Academy and military academies, while others went to local areas or various government offices for "internships." Only if they had real practical work talents, rather than just skills with the pen or hand, could they be appointed as officials and enter the imperial court's establishment. Speaking of the establishment, it was also one of the more strict governance programs that Dongping had been gradually implementing in recent years. The number of people in a government office, the amount of budget, and the scope of authority were all clearly stipulated. One position for one person. If there was a real need to add departments or temporarily transfer personnel from various departments to handle something, there were separate reporting and filing systems. The number of imperial court officials was firmly limited, avoiding the problem of the unlimited expansion of the number of officials.

In fact, the various matters that the imperial court had to deal with now were becoming more and more complex and specialized. While reviewing the staffing, the imperial court was also repeatedly reviewing the setup and number of personnel in various departments. This serious and practical government structure was obviously very uncomfortable and difficult to accept for the people of Chunnan, who were accustomed to being romantic officials and easily skimming the land for profit. But these were not a problem for Tan Xiaopei. After various places reported similar problems, he resolutely ordered each province to organize public and transparent civil servant examination systems based on actual affairs. If the governing institutions could not supplement the personnel in the local area, they would never change the standards and would transfer personnel from other places. In addition, if an official had spare capacity after handling his duties well, he could apply to concurrently hold a position that was not related to his duties, with a term of no more than three months. During these three months, in addition to the original salary of the two positions, an additional half of the average value of the salaries of the two positions would be issued to commend his hard work and diligence. The official performance appraisal standards remained unchanged, but those who concurrently held two positions and could also get excellent performance appraisals would receive four times the year-end bonus salary. Dongping had been implementing a high-salary system to prevent corruption since very early on. Strictly speaking, it started when Tan Weixin greatly improved Dongping's financial income, but the strictness of the official performance appraisal was also rare in the world. With the implementation of this temporary concurrent position system, those capable guys who could get excellent performance appraisals in both fixed and temporary positions could easily get three to five times their original salary... For a county magistrate or an official of a similar level, it was almost more than one thousand two hundred taels of silver a year... Honestly, would you need to be greedy if you could get so much money? Of course, people's desires were endless, but Dongping's officialdom was always cracking down severely. Embezzling one hundred taels would result in dismissal and permanent ineligibility for employment, five hundred taels would result in ten years of imprisonment, and one thousand taels would result in losing your head... The opportunity cost of corruption and bribery was really shockingly high. And working hard and getting excellent performance appraisals was not just about performance appraisals and bonuses, but also meant a golden stroke in your resume, which meant that you would have a smoother career in the future.

Tan Xiaopei's series of methods, although not directly aimed at anyone in Chunnan, but a temporary administrative and personnel order that was universally applicable to all areas under Dongping's jurisdiction, caused a huge reaction in Chunnan. Dongping had never rejected talented people, but you shouldn't expect to be able to act arbitrarily and abuse your power like in the old Chunnan. And Tan Xiaopei's measures also heavily hit the conservative forces in various parts of Chunnan: Since you don't cooperate, don't think that we can't operate without you. Subsequently, a series of management strategies that had been implemented in Dongping's original territory for many years and had been proven effective began to be forcibly implemented. Previously, considering the feelings of the Chunnan region, there was a three-year buffer period to adapt, but now, since you don't want to cooperate, then we won't be so considerate. As for local forces wanting to violate these regulations? Sorry, it's still wartime, and all matters are handled according to military law. When a group of people clamored and jumped out to cause trouble, Qiu Haohui's Tianxuan Army took the lead in strictly enforcing local control orders. Ten thousand heavy infantry advanced in parallel and directly crushed six local powerful families who claimed to be building villages for self-protection, and all their property was confiscated.

When the news reached Danyang, some ministers who were worried about the adverse effects on local governance advocated punishing Qiu Haohui. Of course, some of them were also jealous because Qiu Haohui came from a merchant family but rose to the ranks of senior military officers. They couldn't see that others had risked their lives and tempered themselves for more than ten years, but only stared at the position that made people unable to help but be envious. But Tan Xiaopei and Ye Tao were very tacit in this matter. Tan Xiaopei raised Qiu Haohui's title by another level and directly suggested that Zhuo Mang carefully consider Qiu Haohui's war merit performance appraisal matters this year. Qiu Haohui would probably have to leave the Tianxuan Army after the war ended, but that was because his military rank was too high and he was not suitable to command only a single-arm army. Instead, he would be transferred to the central government to participate in military affairs and become a trusted minister of the future Dongping Dynasty. Becoming a famous general was a foregone conclusion. Compared to Tan Xiaopei, Ye Tao's support and threat were more direct. The Yishi Workshop's Yicheng branch specially customized a batch of guillotines, gallows, torture instruments, and other supplies and directly sent them to the Tianxuan Army.

This was the most troublesome thing for Tan Xiaopei recently. Apart from that, he lived very comfortably. Partly because of the atmosphere of Banyan Tree, which was peaceful and quiet, and completely different from the seriousness that the imperial palace made people feel everywhere. However, Ye Tao's recent actions were really giving him a headache. Ye Tao did not remain completely silent. He sent letters to every governor and commander of each army, saying that the publication of those books was only an academic discussion and had no other intentions. He did not defend himself and continued to live in peace in Ye Family Fort. How could Ye Tao possibly rebel? Over the years, he had not even made an effort to cultivate confidants. The only one who could be called a confidant was probably Feng Zi. That guy only listened to Ye Tao's orders, and what anyone else said was useless. But Feng Zi was Qu Yan's son and Feng Xingnan's grandson... One was the former head of the Censorate, and the other was an old imperial physician who was deeply trusted by the Tan family. Ye Tao did not have much direct military force. The Zongmo group of the Leiyin Demon Sect could probably be considered one, and the Guards could barely be considered one, but he did not deliberately win over those generals in the army, at most he was just approachable. Apart from Guan Huan, an old friend he had known since he was a teenager, he did not have any directly subordinate experts. Most of the people responsible for the safety of the Ye family had served as imperial guards in Danyang. Liu Yong was the former chief of the guards, and Jin Ze had always followed Tan Weixin and was responsible for the safety of the princess's mansion... The Dai family was worried about Ye Tao's safety back then and had sent over a few offerings, but these people had now become one with the guards... Was there such a rebel? Wasn't that a joke?

"Father, do you think it's possible... that Ye Tao knows our plans?" Tan Weiming carefully considered Ye Tao's recent actions and reminded him in a low voice.

"You mean?" Tan Xiaopei's heart trembled: "About Wenxuan's matter?"

"Yes... Ye Tao definitely doesn't like being schemed against like this..." Tan Weiming frowned and said: "It's very likely that he wants to create some trouble and make people have all kinds of doubts, and then... we will naturally have to reconsider this matter. He and my sister don't care about power at all, although they don't lack it now. When the dust settles, if they are still needed, and they have had enough fun, they will naturally be willing to come out and work seriously again. Otherwise, there is no way to explain this matter, and the news spread too quickly. If it was just a few ministers and scholars who saw the problem and were colluding privately, it would definitely not be possible for the whole country to know in such a short time. Ye Tao definitely played tricks in it."

"Alas... Probably the only one who has ever tried to 'rebel' to prevent his son from becoming emperor is him." Tan Xiaopei thought about it and agreed with this statement: "Is that position so hot?"

"This... hehe." The atmosphere of the Tan family was also very different from the imperial families in other people's impressions. The affection between brothers and father and son far outweighed the boundary between monarch and subjects. Tan Weiming said self-deprecatingly: "I'm scared to death now. That position is really not easy to sit on. However, Father, in fact, those few books that Ye Tao and my sister came up with are really reasonable... They made it so realistic when they slandered themselves."

"Slandered themselves?" Tan Xiaopei sneered: "That's not it at all... They really want to take the opportunity, and what they mentioned in their books is also true. That's what they think, and they don't need to consider whether we agree or support it, or even whether the whole world supports or agrees with it. The reason why geniuses are geniuses is that they have this kind of persistence and this kind of madness. But what they said is right! The divine right of kings is a fart! Didn't those Confucian scholars come up with it? Mandate of Heaven, go to hell, this world was conquered by me, what does it have to do with those gods and Buddhas in the sky?"

Speaking of excitement, there was no one else in this imperial study, and Tan Xiaopei's vulgar language came out. Having been soaking in the army recently, the rough and heroic nature of the general had gradually returned to him. However, the three of them were now like this, and such a situation would inevitably be criticized if others saw it, but they themselves felt very happy.

"That's right, our Dongping was founded on war. Although unification is imminent, we can't always play that military-political integration game. It is imperative to pay attention to civil rule, but we can't let those stale theories be noisily spread." Tan Weiran said calmly but firmly.

"Hey, younger brother, you have a lot of people in Yunzhou, right?" Tan Weiming suddenly asked.

"What's wrong?" Tan Weiran replied cautiously.

"Are there any in Ye Family Fort?"

"Hey, what do you want to do?" Tan Weiran felt that he was definitely going to have a headache.

"See what they are doing. Ye Tao and my sister are not coming to Danyang, and we can't spare the time to go over now, but we have to figure out what they are doing now, right?" Tan Weiming instigated: "You are the world's scout, is there anything wrong with asking you to find out information?"

"This is the business of the Intelligence Bureau, not the business of the scouts, ah?" Tan Weiran immediately cried injustice.

"Just tell me, can you do it or not?" Tan Weiming chuckled, obviously having a plan in mind.

"Okay, okay, I'll take care of this." Tan Weiran finally let go and shook his head.

"Do you really have people lurking in Ye Family Fort?" Tan Xiaopei's face was not very good.

Tan Weiran quickly explained: "Of course not... There are many soldiers from the Frost Wolf Army and the Silver Wing Army in the Guards. In addition, because all military operations are always organized by me for reconnaissance and reconnaissance, there are my liaison officers in Ye Tao's staff team. It shouldn't be a big deal to inquire about information, just give them a command to pay more attention."

And far away in Ye Family Fort, a small family meeting was also in progress.

"Father, is it useful for me to run to the north to play for ten or eight years? Or... should I follow the fleet to the Gulf region? Go to the Frankish kingdom to play for a few years?" Ye Wenxuan was a little horrified. Just now, he had just finished listening to a conversation that Ye Tao had treasured for some time, a conversation that Tan Xiaopei had in the imperial study with Tan Weiming, Tan Weiran, and several core ministers about the future inheritance of the throne. In such a conversation, he was the central topic. This could not help but make Ye Wenxuan nervous.

The Ye family's education was very strange in any case. They valued ability and character, valued long-term learning ability, and all-round development of the mind and body, but they were extremely permissive in terms of each person's interests and wishes. Not to mention Ye Wenji, who would probably be the best candidate to lead the Yishi Workshop in research and production in the future. At a young age, he already had quite strong skills. And what did Ye Wenxuan, as the eldest son of the Ye family and the guy who was generally recognized as having a lot of leadership among the younger generation, want to do? Ye Wenxuan's dream had always been to travel the world like Dai Yun did back then, and see what others had not seen. Now he had already run through many places, and almost all the famous mountains and rivers within the borders of Dongping had been visited. And his next plan was Yazhou... Although in any case, becoming an emperor was at least one or two decades away, the thought of not being able to travel the world freely from now on made him feel a little scared.

The Ye family's children were not forbidden from entering the study, conference room, or other places from a young age. Ye Wenxuan was very clear about how much pressure was behind the position of Northern Frontier Pacification Commissioner, which others thought was high and powerful. Ye Tao was not diligent in government, let alone seizing power, but even so, a large amount of paperwork still kept Ye Tao in an extremely tense state in recent years. The telegraph was invented by Ye Tao, but it definitely greatly increased his workload. Many things that originally required officials in various places to judge and decide for themselves were now often poked to him, requesting instructions... Ye Tao rarely took anything to Tan Xiaopei for instructions, which was also evidence that many ministers thought Ye Tao was seizing power. Only those who were in it could truly understand the great pressure of managing all aspects of a region and a country.

"The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility." The Ye family had always believed in this, and that was why Ye Tao, Tan Weixin, Dai Yun, Sophie, and Dai Qiuyan were all busy in various industries, and even Tan Weishi was very hard to manage the household. But what kind of path should the Ye family's children take?

"I have a memorial here about restricting the power of the emperor. You can take a look at it. In fact, I will submit this thing no matter what, but it is conceivable that this thing will cause a great uproar. I don't think you need to worry too much about what will happen decades later. Maybe your thoughts will be different by then. If you think that in the future, you may still be able to try to be an emperor and see if it's fun, then I will suppress this thing first and wait for your... how should I put it... the identity of the crown prince to be confirmed before handing it in. If you don't want to and firmly believe that you will never be an emperor, then I will hand this thing in now. Feng Zi is now in Danyang, holding the original of this thing in his hand." Ye Tao said to Ye Wenxuan. "Think about it carefully. Once this thing reaches the imperial court, what kind of storm it will cause is something that everyone can't imagine. Actually, I'm really looking forward to it."

Ye Tao did not think that it was a big deal to leave such a big problem to Ye Wenxuan to handle himself. He turned around and went to Tan Weixin's room.

Since Tan Weixin became pregnant, she naturally received close attention from all parties. The imperial physician had to conduct routine examinations every morning, noon, and evening, and almost every link and every detail of her diet and tonic was put under a magnifying glass and repeatedly scrutinized. Tan Weixin's body was still very good now, but she had been plagued by illness for many years, and God knew what would happen when she gave birth. No one wanted anything to happen, and everyone wanted to be fully prepared beforehand. Ye Tao was also. And his most important job was to keep Tan Weixin in a good mood.

"You just left the matter to Wenxuan to handle himself like this?" Tan Weixin was a little dumbfounded at Ye Tao's trust, or even permissiveness.

"What else can I do? This is his business, after all." Ye Tao said with a smile.

"He's so young... and he has to bear such pressure. I don't know how you can bear it." Tan Weixin said reproachfully.

"Without our systematic knowledge, I really don't know what will happen to the children in the future. Wenji is proficient in basic crafts, but how can you tell him about those incredible things? Do you have a way? Wenxuan has a talent for leadership. Those children, and even the adults around him, are willing to trust him. It is indeed the best choice rationally for Weiming, Weiran, and His Majesty to make such a choice. Since the children still have to be based on this era, I hope they can have such awareness and such responsibility." Ye Tao said with a smile.

"Well, that's all we can do. Our story is too incredible. Anyway, those goals from back then, at least for now, are really doing well. There are airships, airplanes, and trains when you go out... And cars... Those big iron lumps in the workshop should be able to hit the road soon, right?" Tan Weixin said yearningly: "There's coffee, cola... It seems like there's no Mirinda yet, but Burger King seems to be learning it very well."

"Yes... Think about it, we had nothing back then, and it's only been a few decades." Ye Tao was very proud.

"What about our child?" Tan Weixin smiled and pointed to her stomach.

"Let's try our best in education... We are destined to be lonely when we come here. The children will finally not be able to see our era, those bizarre things ah."

Hugging Tan Weixin, Ye Tao carefully put his face on her stomach, listening to the deepest traces left in this world by two people who did not belong to this time and space: that gentle but powerful heartbeat.

And everything else seemed so unimportant.