Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Upon hearing this, everyone had varying expressions on their faces.

Pang Tang, who had been silent all along, stepped forward, cupped his hands toward Yang Zhenshan, and said, “Since General Yang has already submitted a petition, let us wait for His Majesty’s judgment. I only hope that General Yang does not wield his blade at will within the city!”

Yang Zhenshan nodded slightly, “Mr. Pang, rest assured, I will not kill the innocent recklessly. As for the soldiers behind me, please be assured, my colleagues, they are all well-trained soldiers!”

Pang Tang’s worry was that Yang Zhenshan’s mass killing in the city would incite turmoil. In such a case, it didn’t matter whether it involved the Salt Transport Department or not; he couldn’t escape responsibility.

Now, hearing Yang Zhenshan’s assurance, Pang Tang nodded and cupped his hands again, “I am busy with official duties, I must take my leave now!”

With that, he turned and left.

Yang Zhenshan also returned the gesture.

Clearly, this matter should have nothing to do with Pang Tang; otherwise, he wouldn’t have left so promptly.

Together with Pang Tang, a group of officials from the Governor’s Office and the Magistrate’s government office also left.

Of course, whether these people were involved remained to be seen; anyway, they wouldn’t show themselves now.

After Pang Tang left, Dong Yanhe stepped forward, “Order, all soldiers of Liao’an Advanced Guard, return to camp!”

The soldiers looked at each other, many of them looking towards Xu Huazhen in the front.

Dong Yanhe, with a stern face, said, “Those who dare to defy the military order will be dealt with by military law!”

Xu Huazhen was sweating profusely, being the Commander of the Liao’an Advanced Guard, but Dong Yanhe was the Liaodong Capital Commander, and the soldiers in front of him were indeed supposed to follow Dong Yanhe’s orders.

On the streets, many of the tactical and lower-ranking flag officers and soldiers of the Liao’an Advanced Guards had already quietly retreated.

What a joke, this was clearly not something they should be involved in.

Whatever Xu Huazhen did, they were not clear, Xu Huazhen had been greedy for money; they had not gotten a share of it, and now the Capital Commander had issued an order, they need not hesitate anymore, just obey the orders.

Of course, Xu Huazhen also had many trusted aides, these confidants were nervous at this time, simply looking towards Xu Huazhen ahead, with no intention of attending to the soldiers leaving behind.

And as many soldiers left, other government office officials also quietly departed.

Now it’s not the time to join the excitement, mind your own business and leave quickly, to avoid getting involved.

Seeing that most of the soldiers had walked away, Dong Yanhe cupped his fists towards Yang Zhenshan, “General Yang, when there is time another day, please have a drink with me!”

“Sure thing!” Yang Zhenshan showed a smile.

Then, Dong Yanhe left without further concern for the struggling Xu Huazhen.

Hmm, Inspector General Tang Bo also left.

He was probably somewhat implicated, but staying here at this time was of no use, so it was wise to slip away first.

Luo Fu took a deep breath, gave Yang Zhenshan a deep look, and turned to leave.

Continuing to stay here was already useless, he had to go back and think of ways to see if there was still a chance to salvage.

However, he wanted to leave, but Yang Zhenshan did not want to let him go.

“Lord Luo, don’t be in such a rush to leave!”

Yang Zhenshan called out.

Outside the city gate, there was another commotion; the infantry had finally caught up.

Over a thousand soldiers, a forced march was a significant test for them.

However, they managed to arrive on time, which was quite satisfactory to Yang Zhenshan.

“General Yang, what else is there?” Luo Fu looked at Yang Zhenshan with a chilly gaze.

Yang Zhenshan patted Red Cloud’s mane; Red Cloud took small steps forward, its pair of large eyes seemingly examining Luo Fu.

“You are the principal offender, you cannot leave!”

“And you, heh, should be considered an accessory!”

Yang Zhenshan first glanced at Luo Fu, then turned to look at the sweaty Xu Huazhen.

“Arrest them!”

“You have no right to arrest me!” Luo Fu’s face changed dramatically, and he said harshly.

“Please, it’s all come to this, what rights do you speak of! Even I, a General, shouldn’t be leading soldiers into Liao’an Prefecture!” Yang Zhenshan said disdainfully.

Several personal followers immediately stepped forward, Xu Huazhen showed a struggling expression, intending to resist.

“Hmm!”

Yang Zhenshan presented his spear in front of him, “What, you want to fight with me?”

It wasn’t that Yang Zhenshan looked down on Xu Huazhen, a garrison Commander was simply nothing to him.

If it were a border command post Commander, they might have significant strength, but the command post of Da Rong’s residence was severely neglected; many officials there were just filling roles meaninglessly.

Xu Huazhen probably wasn’t a mere placeholder; Luo Fu wouldn’t have valued him otherwise.

But even if he had some strength, how did it matter in front of Yang Zhenshan, he was practically nothing.

Xu Huazhen looked at the spear tip close in front of him, his breath deflated all at once, his demeanor sagged, his complexion ashen, as two personal followers arrested him, two short knives fiercely piercing his shoulder blades.

“Ah~~”

A shrill scream echoed, Luo Fu’s face also turned white.

Xu Huazhen dared not resist, and he dared not either.

Although he knew that being captured by Yang Zhenshan might lead to a trial from the Emperor and court waiting for him, he still did not have the courage to resist.

In ability, he was stronger than Xu Huazhen, but in terms of guts, he probably wasn’t as good as Xu Huazhen.

As Xu Huazhen and Luo Fu were arrested, the remaining soldiers of Liao’an’s Advanced Guard were also disarmed and captured; the smart soldiers had already run off, those left were somewhat foolish, or perhaps they had a closer relationship with Xu Huazhen.

Regardless, Yang Zhenshan couldn’t let them go; it was better to capture them first.

After all the people were arrested, Yang Zhenshan rode into the city.

“Song Dashan!”

“Master!”

“Take over the Liao’an Advanced Guard, take charge of city defense, station at the four city gates, strictly inspect personnel entering and exiting, and execute on the spot any who resist!”

“Also, send a team to the Salt Transport Department’s government office, seal the accounts and warehouses, and detain all officials of the Salt Transport Department!”

Yang Zhenshan issued the order.

The personnel of Liao’an Advanced Guard obviously couldn’t be relied upon, Yang Zhenshan had to take over the city defense.

And the Salt Transport Department’s office, that too must be sealed, as its internal account books and stored silver would be evidence of Luo Fu’s corruption and bribery, and involved the pre-sale of salt, including Luo Fu’s residence.

“Also, seal Datong Pawnshop and all properties owned by the Zhang family!”

Speaking of the Zhang family, Yang Zhenshan’s expression grew even graver.

The Zhang family, the top merchants in the Liaodong Region, their business includes banking, pawnshops, salt industry, tea industry, grain, textiles, and more.

It’s certain that the salt business of the Zhang family is connected to Luo Fu, and the Zhang family’s pawnshop is where Luo Fu made loans.

However, in Yang Zhenshan’s view, the most troublesome aspect of the Zhang family was not the pawnshop or the salt business, but the bank.

Datong Bank, the largest bank in the Liaodong Region, also the one issuing the most silver notes in the Liaodong Region.

The Yang family now holds a large number of silver notes from Datong Bank.

After Yang Zhenshan came to this world, the first silver note he encountered was also from Datong Bank, back when he was in Anning County.

That is to say, Datong Bank’s operations cover almost all counties and prefectures in the Liaodong Region, with an unknown amount of issued silver notes.

If there were problems with Datong Bank, the consequences would be unimaginable.

In Yang Zhenshan’s opinion, sealing the Zhang family was even more troublesome than sealing the Salt Transport Department’s office.

But he had no choice but to seal the Zhang family, because the dirty money from Luo Fu’s corruption was in the hands of the Zhang family.

Song Dashan didn’t care about other matters, upon hearing Yang Zhenshan’s order, he immediately began directing the soldiers behind him.

Taking over the city defense was easy; the Governor’s Office had already retreated, and Xu Huazhen had been captured, the remaining soldiers of Liao’an Advanced Guard certainly would not cling to the city defense.

Song Dashan with fifty cavalry took four hundred soldiers to take over the city defense, then another fifty cavalry with three hundred soldiers to seal the Salt Transport Department, and finally, he personally led the remaining soldiers to seal the wealthy Zhang family.

Meanwhile, Yang Zhenshan, along with his personal followers, arrived at the Zheng family’s residence.

By this time, the officials and soldiers at the Zheng residence had already vanished without a trace, and Zheng Xiao was standing at the door looking out.

Seeing Yang Zhenshan arrive, Zheng Xiao let out a long breath.

“Master Yang, Master Yang, you’ve finally arrived!”

These past two days, Zheng Xiao truly felt suffocated, as a group of leading soldiers confined him and his family within the residence, and that Xu Huazhen was even more detestable for daring to kill his household servants.

Being so suffocated, this was the first time Zheng Xiao had experienced such.

But as suffocated as he was before, now seeing Yang Zhenshan, he felt equally grateful.

Yang Zhenshan stepped forward with a salute, saying, “Mr. Zheng, seeing you unharmed puts me at ease!”

“Master Yang, thank you so much!” Zheng Xiao, with sincere emotion, grabbed Yang Zhenshan’s arm.

Yang Zhenshan smiled and said, “Let’s talk inside the residence, this matter isn’t over yet!”

Hearing this, Zheng Xiao immediately snapped back to reality, ” Yes, this matter isn’t over yet!”

“Please, Master Yang!”

Afterwards, the two entered the Zheng family’s residence.

Zheng Xiao called for tea and snacks, and after bustling about, they sat down.

“Master Yang, how is the situation?”

His mind now steadied, he began considering the current situation.

Yang Zhenshan sipped his tea and then asked, “Mr. Zheng, do you know which Prince is behind Luo Fu?”

“Prince?”

Zheng Xiao paused, then his eyebrows furrowed.

“Are you saying that everything Luo Fu has done was instructed by a certain Prince?”

He didn’t know at all that there was someone else behind Luo Fu; he had only been in Liao’an Prefecture for three months and hadn’t even sorted out the internal affairs of the Salt Transport Department, let alone the people and forces behind Luo Fu.

However, he was a clever man, and upon Yang Zhenshan’s mention, he immediately thought that there must be someone else supporting Luo Fu.

“I don’t know, this is just my speculation!” Yang Zhenshan shook his head slightly.

Zheng Xiao, holding his tea, fell into deep thought, and after a long time, he said, “Based on the current situation, the Crown Prince, the Third Prince, the Fifth Prince, and the Sixth Prince are all possibilities!”

Yang Zhenshan frowned slightly but didn’t dwell on this matter, as issues involving the Princes weren’t something he could intervene in currently.

“How much do you know about the Zhang family?”

Zheng Xiao thought for a moment and said, “The Zhang family owns many businesses, involving various industries throughout the entire Liaodong Region, and the officials and nobles in good terms with the Zhang family are countless.”

“Luo Fu achieving what he has today must have been significantly supported by the Zhang family!”

“As for the rest, I don’t know much! After all, I’ve only been in Liaodong for three months!”

Yang Zhenshan sipped his tea lightly, “It seems then, the biggest trouble isn’t Luo Fu, but this Zhang family!”

“Mmm!” Zheng Xiao nodded in agreement.

Merchants hold the lowest status among scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, but when a merchant’s wealth reaches a terrifying scale, the energy they can unleash is absolutely horrifying.

Money talks; whether ghosts grind mills, Yang Zhenshan didn’t know, but he did know money could make officials grind mills, make nobles grind mills, and make Jianghu Martial Artists grind mills.

Thinking of Jianghu Martial Artists, a cold light flashed in Yang Zhenshan’s eyes.

“I’ll go to the Zhang family first!”

With that, he stood up and quickly walked towards the door.

“Master Yang!” Zheng Xiao was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly stood up and followed.