Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 424: Chapter 409: Officials Assuming Office in Various Government Offices

As the year draws to a close, various officials appointed by the court have taken up their new positions.

Firstly, Lu Chongde, the former governor of Chongshan Town, was transferred to become the governor of Liao Yuan Province, which was considered a demotion. Although both the governor of Chongshan Town and the governor of Liao Yuan Province hold the Secondary Second Rank, in terms of authority, the former undoubtedly carries more weight.

Lu Chongde had served as the governor of Chongshan Town for ten years; if not for the Ji Feiyu rebellion, he probably would have soon been promoted to the Capital City to ascend as Chief of Staff among the Six Ministries, and might have even had the opportunity to enter the imperial cabinet.

Unfortunately, the rebellion in Chongshan Town greatly affected him, almost costing him the chance to join the cabinet.

After Lu Chongde went to Liaodong, Pang Tang’s position as the governor of Chongshan Town was secured.

Following that was the arrival of the new Capital Commander, governor, Inspector General, and garrison eunuch of Chongshan Town.

The newly appointed Capital Commander, Ning Qinghe, was previously the Deputy Commander of Beiyuan Town and had served as an Assistant General at Beiyuan Town’s northern route Shima Garrison.

Although being promoted from Assistant General to Capital Commander might seem like a step up, it was actually a veiled demotion.

Despite the higher rank of Capital Commander, they actually have no military power and the Commander’s Governor’s Office in the border towns is more like an administrative office, similar to that of the governor.

However, Ning Qinghe’s veiled demotion was not due to any wrongdoing but because of his age.

Ning Qinghe was already over sixty, and both his strength and vitality had declined, which prevented him from charging into battle. His promotion to Capital Commander of Chongshan Town was essentially a sign of being moved to a secondary line of work.

This kind of situation is common in Da Rong’s border towns, where aged veterans no longer able to be on the battlefield would be moved to a second line of work, either being promoted to Capital Commander or assigned a nominal position to retire.

The newly appointed governor, Song Ying, and the new Inspector General, Zhang Cong, were both promoted from Liao Yuan Province and were recommended by Pang Tang.

As for this, Yang Zhenshan didn’t pay much attention. Since Pang Tang has come to Chongshan Town, it was only natural for him to bring a few handy subordinates with him, which was a normal operation and not largely related to Yang Zhenshan.

What truly had a significant impact on Yang Zhenshan was the new garrison eunuch.

Lv Hua, the garrison eunuch, disappeared when Yang Zhenshan went to the Capital City, and the new garrison eunuch was Zhang Mingzhong.

When Yang Zhenshan learned that the newly appointed garrison eunuch was Zhang Mingzhong, he breathed a long sigh of relief inside.

Because he knew Mr. Zhang.

Zhang Mingzhong, originally an Inner Official of the Standard Fifth Rank who supervised the Imperial City, once had dealings with Yang Zhenshan. When Yang Zhenshan was promoted to the Commander of the Tenglong Guard, it was Mr. Zhang who went over to An Yuan City to deliver the decree.

Over the years, Yang Zhenshan also kept in touch with Mr. Zhang, arranging for someone to send a seasonal gift during festivals, not much, but a gesture nonetheless.

On the eighteenth day of the twelfth lunar month.

Zhang Mingzhong arrived at Chongshan Town, and both Yang Zhenshan and Pang Tang personally went out of the city to welcome him.

Although the garrison eunuch was a castrated official, it couldn’t be helped; he represented the Emperor here.

If the garrison eunuch were to cause trouble in Chongshan Town, Yang Zhenshan and Pang Tang would undoubtedly have a difficult time in the future.

Zhang Mingzhong was not like Chen Zuchang. Chen Zuchang was arranged by the deposed Crown Prince, and Pang Tang could afford to risk offending him to drive Chen Zuchang away.

But Zhang Mingzhong was arranged by the old Emperor. Could Pang Tang afford to offend the old Emperor?

Therefore, both Yang Zhenshan and Pang Tang were extra cautious in dealing with Zhang Mingzhong.

The long procession of horses arrived at the gate of Chongshan Pass City, and Zhang Mingzhong, wrapped in a Fur Coat, alighted from the carriage.

“Ah, having Marquis Yang and Mr. Pang come out to welcome me, truly gives me too much honor!”

As soon as he got off the carriage, Zhang Mingzhong said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Yang Zhenshan also showed a friendly smile, “Haha, Mr. Zhang, I have been waiting for a long time. The General Mansion’s wine has been warmed up. It’s so cold and freezing, Mr. Zhang must share a few more drinks with me!”

“You trouble yourself, Marquis!” Zhang Mingzhong was very cooperative, humbly without any arrogance.

Afterwards, the three of them chatted and laughed as they entered the city and proceeded to the General Mansion.

Yang Zhenshan wasn’t lying; he really had wine and a delicious feast prepared.

Sitting together, clinking cups of drink, after three rounds of wine, Yang Zhenshan also got a clear sense of Zhang Mingzhong’s attitude.

Zhang Mingzhong was obviously specially arranged by Emperor Chengping, perhaps Emperor Chengping had given explicit instructions, or maybe someone else had, but in any case, Zhang Mingzhong was very humble towards Yang Zhenshan and Pang Tang.

The power of a garrison eunuch could be significant or trivial. At its least, it could be just for show, but at its most, it could involve meddling in the Camp affairs, even commanding over them.

“Marquis, rest assured, now that I have come to Chongshan Town, I will certainly contribute to the military affairs of Chongshan Town. If the Marquis should need anything in the future, I am willing to follow your orders!”

Hearing this made Yang Zhenshan somewhat embarrassed.

However, from these words, it was obvious that Zhang Mingzhong wasn’t the type to cause trouble.

Thinking about the previous garrison eunuchs of Chongshan Town, when Yang Zhenshan first arrived, the garrison eunuch was Zhang Yude, who was avaricious and insatiable. Not only was he greedy, but he also brought a bunch of younger relatives to Chongshan Pass, making it a place tainted with corruption.

After the fall of Zhang Yude came Lv Hua, who was like a figurehead, not dealing with the military or political affairs of Chongshan Town at all and focusing his attention on the Secret Martial Guards.

Then there was Chen Zuchang, who started reaching out for Silver before he even arrived at Chongshan Town. If not for Pang Tang’s firm stand, forcing him out at the first instance, it’s hard to tell what troubles he would have caused.

As for the current Zhang Mingzhong, he seemed quite acceptable. Yang Zhenshan’s requirements for him weren’t high; as long as he didn’t cause trouble, and if he was just greedy for some Silver, Yang Zhenshan wouldn’t mind turning a blind eye.

However, it was clear that Yang Zhenshan’s worries were unnecessary.

Zhang Mingzhong was more diligent and responsible than expected, and showed no intention of asking for Silver.

Indeed, this was within reason.

Zhang Mingzhong was not an ordinary eunuch; he was a garrison eunuch serving directly under Emperor Chengping, and naturally, he was not as short-sighted as other eunuchs.

Over the following days, Zhang Mingzhong frequently visited the various government offices at Chongshan Pass, familiarizing himself with the military and political affairs of Chongshan Town, and inspecting all aspects of the situation.

Although his actions put some pressure on the government offices, he did nothing excessive and, in fact, sternly refused any Silver offered to him.

Seeing that Zhang Mingzhong seemed genuinely eager to work, Yang Zhenshan finally felt completely at ease.

With the holiday season approaching and a multitude of private and official affairs to deal with, Yang Zhenshan no longer had the inclination to keep watch over Zhang Mingzhong.

For domestic matters, he had Yu Qingyi and Yang Mingcheng managing the home, relieving Yang Zhenshan of much worry. However, public affairs truly required his attention and thoughtfulness.

Chongshan Town was different from Tenglong Guard; although Tenglong Guard had over twenty thousand military households, its internal affairs were relatively straightforward—once control over the Guardian Department was secured, order could be swiftly restored.

Chongshan Town, on the other hand, had over eight hundred li of border walls, more than one thousand three hundred signal towers, nearly two hundred fortresses, and over twenty large and small cities.

With one hundred and fifty thousand military households and eighty thousand civilian households, the population exceeded one million, not much less than that of an entire province.

Moreover, Chongshan Town’s jurisdiction was now exceedingly vast, bordering Beiyuan Town to the west, the Liao Sea to the east, adjacent to Liaodong and Liaoxi to the south, and extending to the snowy northern lands as part of Chongshan Town’s boundaries.

It spanned over eight hundred li from east to west and nearly one thousand five hundred li from north to south.

In terms of area, modern-day Chongshan Town was larger than Liaodong and Liaoxi combined.

However, the actual territory currently controlled by Chongshan Town was only three hundred li around the original Chongshan Town and Fuzhou City, with close to half of the territory in a state of loss of control.

Ever since returning from the Capital City, Yang Zhenshan had been planning for the future development of Chongshan Town.

Though he had considered many things before, careful deliberation of many details was still necessary.

Governing a large country is like cooking a small fish!

A small boat is easy to turn around.

When Yang Zhenshan managed fewer military households, implementing policies was naturally much easier, and even if there were problems with the policies, they could be corrected.

But now things were different; any policy enacted by the General Mansion could affect tens of thousands, even millions of people.

Therefore, in managing Chongshan Town, Yang Zhenshan had to be exceedingly cautious to avoid irreversible consequences.

However, in terms of policies, they were still those Yang Zhenshan had implemented before.

Training soldiers, poverty alleviation, economic development, and opening up the Northern lands as an extra item for Chongshan Town.

Training soldiers was the easiest task to handle, starting with the Five Camps and then having the various Rescue Camps come to Chongshan Town for training in batches. As for the ordinary soldiers, the local garrisons would be responsible for their training.

Now, Yang Zhenshan definitely couldn’t provide Spiritual Spring Water to every soldier and military household in Chongshan Town; he had decided that the upcoming training would focus on the Five Camps, with the various Rescue Camps needing only two to three months of training.

There was no choice, according to his plan, the Five Camps alone would need to train thirty thousand soldiers, and just for the Five Camps, it would take two to three years. Although the various Rescue Camps could train at the same time, they obviously couldn’t stay long at Chongshan Pass.

Compared to training soldiers, poverty alleviation and economic development would be much more difficult.

Tenglong Guard took five years to achieve prosperity, and it might take five years for Chongshan Town to solve the food and clothing problem for a million people.

However, Chongshan Town did have its advantages now, first being in terms of Silver Coin. Chongshan Town was not lacking in Silver, as Yang Zhenshan had intercepted gold and silver treasures looted by Wuliang’s army.

After distributing share to the imperial guard and rewarding the soldiers, there were still one hundred and thirty million taels left.

These one hundred and thirty million taels were now lying in the General Mansion’s treasury.

Of course, these had been entered into the public account; Yang Zhenshan had already reported them to the Central Army Commander’s Mansion and the Ministry of War, and had also discussed them with Emperor Chengping.

While in the Capital City, the ownership of this Silver had already been determined.

Eighty million taels were to be kept at Chongshan Town to rebuild the Camp and fund the Rescue Camps, with the remaining fifty-plus million taels returned to Liaoxi.

After all, this Silver Coin was looted from Liaoxi by Wuliang’s army, and now Liaoxi was in dire straits, with great losses to the population and both higher and lower levels of the government lacking money and provisions.

It was estimated that Liaoxi would hardly recover in five to six years.

Liaoxi’s affairs were of no concern to Yang Zhenshan, but managing to reserve eighty million taels of Silver for Chongshan Town was quite a feat.

With these eighty million taels, he could do a lot.

Beyond Silver Coin, Chongshan Town also had the great treasure of the Northern lands; if the Northern lands could be developed, supporting a population of three million would be very easy.

So Yang Zhenshan set Chongshan Town’s development plans with the opening up of the Northern lands in mind.

For several consecutive days, Yang Zhenshan consulted with officials from the General Mansion and other government offices on the future development plans for Chongshan Town.

Particularly with Pang Tang, it was crucial to come to an agreement, otherwise his work could be twice as hard for half the results.

Fortunately, Pang Tang was not a bureaucratic freeloader; he recognized and approved of Yang Zhenshan’s suggestions.