Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 557: Chapter 487: My Dear Official, You Should Work Hard for a Few More Years!_2

The Martial Restriction Edict indeed imposed constraints on the forces of Jianghu, but also limited the growth of the Jianghu Martial Artists.

There are pros and cons, but overall the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.

And at the time of pushing the Martial Restriction Edict, the court also made great efforts. Dozens of sects from the worldly society were dismantled, and a large number of Martial Artists were hunted down.

At that time, Emperor Chengping stabilized the court politics, resolving the trouble caused by the nobility group, and managed to deter the Jianghu by mobilizing elite border army troops.

Could it be time to mobilize the elite border army again?

Emperor Yanping shook his head, there was no need for that, after all, the forces of Jianghu within Da Rong nowadays were far from what they were thirty years ago.

Moreover, the frontiers are not peaceful, with the Wuliang Hu Clan to the north coveting our lands, the Jinlong Dynasty and An Nan Dynasty to the south being ambitious, and the west is somewhat better, but the three border towns there have the weakest strength.

If the border army were to be mobilized, it seems only Chongshan Town could be drawn from!

Thinking of Chongshan Town, Emperor Yanping glanced at Yang Zhenshan, then said: ”Let’s do this, when you all return, consider it carefully, and if you have any ideas, draft a proposal and submit it!”

”Yes!”

The officials responded and then took their leave.

Yang Zhenshan was about to leave when Emperor Yanping stopped him, ”Marquis Jing’an, wait a moment, I have something I wish to discuss with you!”

Yang Zhenshan could only halt his steps. After Duan Rui, Zhou Mao, and others left, Emperor Yanping stood up and said, ”Come, join me for a walk to get some fresh air!”

Exiting from the side door of the Taiji Palace, they arrived beside the lotus pond behind the palace, where Emperor Yanping, hands clasped, gazed at the lotuses in the pond.

”Previously, I had you transferred back from Chongshan Town to lull Nansheng into complacency. Now that the issue with Nansheng has been resolved, do you have any thoughts?” Emperor Yanping asked.

Yang Zhenshan was taken aback and thought for a moment, ”Your Majesty means?”

”You’re just over fifty years old; surely you don’t plan to retreat from worldly affairs and cultivate in seclusion now!” Emperor Yanping said with a smiling look at him.

Yang Zhenshan chuckled, ”Your Majesty jests. If Your Majesty wishes for me to retire and cultivate in seclusion, then I shall enjoy my days within my residence and cherish time with my grandchildren.”

Retiring and cultivating in seclusion would be fine; as an Innate Martial Artist, he did not need to remain at court all the time.

Moreover, he had many revelations about cultivation recently and was planning to seriously focus on his practice.

”The court is currently in need of capable people, please continue to serve diligently for a few more years!”

Seeing Yang Zhenshan indeed had the idea to retreat for cultivation, Emperor Yanping quickly steered the conversation away from the topic.

”What do you think about the Divine Sun Sect?”

”I don’t know much about the Divine Sun Sect, I currently have no significant thoughts!” Yang Zhenshan shook his head.

It wasn’t that he was deliberately declining, but he genuinely had no ideas.

Emperor Yanping nodded, then said, ”Xuan’er wishes to become your disciple, please take him on!”

”Prince Dai is exceptionally talented, I fear I might let him down!” Yang Zhenshan demurred.

”Heh, if even you can’t teach him well, I fear there’s no one in this world who can!” Emperor Yanping said with a light laugh.

Yang Zhenshan’s ability to teach his disciples was well-known; although he only had three disciples, let’s not forget the three brothers of the Yang family and his soldiers were all trained by him.

Putting aside everything else, just the three brothers of the Yang family were enough to make countless officials and nobles green with envy.

Furthermore, Lin Zhan has also started to make a name for himself, although he is merely a Standard Sixth Rank official in the Ministry of War, he is talented both in literary and martial skills.

With so many examples, Yang Zhenshan naturally acquired the reputation of being a good mentor.

”It’s not just Xuan’er, there’s also Jun’er!” Emperor Yanping suddenly said.

Yang Zhenshan’s expression became serious, ”Your Majesty!”

The Jun’er referred to by Emperor Yanping is the eldest royal son Chen Zhaojun, who is now conferred the title of Prince An.

Taking one prince as a disciple was already troublesome enough, let alone taking another crown prince, who knows what troubles might arise in the future.

Emperor Yanping waved his hand to cut him off, saying, ”Don’t worry, I won’t do as my father did. After you teach Jun’er for two years, I will establish him as the Crown Prince and let him preside over the court to observe state affairs.”

Upon hearing this, Yang Zhenshan felt a shock in his spirit.

Emperor Yanping’s willingness to share such words with him is evidence enough of the trust he places in Yang Zhenshan.

This immediately dispelled much of the dissatisfaction he had previously held towards Emperor Yanping.

In fact, Emperor Yanping had also been annoyed with Yang Zhenshan before. Last year, a severe drought struck Liaodong, and rumors abounded about the new emperor lacking virtue, while Yang Zhenshan’s reputation for benevolence flourished in Chongshan Town. Naturally, the Emperor would have found this upsetting.

But Emperor Yanping’s annoyance was fleeting. Once the rumors subsided, he would remember Yang Zhenshan’s merits every time he used Silver.

For in the past six months, nearly all the Silver he used was earned from the glass workshops.

He who drinks the water should think of the source; without the Silver Coin earned from the glass workshops, he and the court would have had no means to provide relief to the drought victims of Liaodong.

Thus, every time he allocated Silver from his private funds, he could not help but commend Marquis Jing’an for his contributions to the nation.

”Entrusting Jun’er and Xuan’er to your tutelage puts my mind at ease. Do not decline this responsibility!”

As Emperor Yanping spoke to Yang Zhenshan, Yang actually saw a hint of sincerity in his eyes.

”Your servant obeys the edict!”

What else could Yang Zhenshan say? He could only accept the task.

Leaving the Imperial City, Yang Zhenshan fell into deep contemplation. His thoughts were not on taking Prince An and Prince Dai as disciples, but rather on issues concerning the Divine Sun Sect.

Since Emperor Yanping had decided to appoint Prince An as the Crown Prince and had no intentions of stirring chaos like Emperor Chengping, taking the two Princes as disciples would be of no trouble.

The reason why court officials are reluctant to get close to Princes is precisely the fear of being dragged into royal succession conflicts.

But even appointing a Crown Prince is no guarantee.

Let’s not forget there was a Crown Prince deposed before.

Regardless, with the conversation reaching this point, if Yang Zhenshan were to refuse, it would appear ungrateful.

Therefore, Yang Zhenshan decided to let things take their natural course. Matters of the future would be dealt with in the future; currently, the Divine Sun Sect was of greater importance.

However, his knowledge of the Divine Sun Sect was too scant, and he could not quickly think of effective measures against them.

Despite this, he was very intrigued by Zhou Mao’s idea of establishing a specialized government office to control the worldly society.

He had not forgotten the numerous experts at the Ru River docks who sought his life.

Although it was he who deliberately lured those experts to take action, it was undeniable that the Jianghu Martial Artists posed a certain threat to the court’s rule.

As the saying goes, ”Where you sit determines where you stand.” As the Marquis Jing’an of Da Rong, it was natural for Yang Zhenshan to consider the interests of the Da Rong court.

A group of Martial Artists free to wield their power is not good for the government nor for the common people.

Thus, establishing a government office to regulate Martial Artists is certainly necessary.

But regulation alone is not enough. Blocking is not as good as sparse, and sparse is not as good as leading. Leading Martial Artists to serve the court is the best method to regulate them.

The ”Limitation of Martial Arts” edict issued by Emperor Chengping was nothing but shackles, and now it could be possible to work around these shackles.

Upon returning home, Yang Zhenshan immediately wrote a memorial based on his thoughts.

In the memorial, he proposed three suggestions.

First, a ranking system for Sects, based on the strength and contributions of the Sect to the court, dividing them into first, second, and third-rate categories, with the first-rate being the best and third-rate the lowest.

The Sect Master of the Sect could be granted a nominal official rank and receive a stipend, of course as an honorary position.

The court would impose different restrictions on Sects of different rankings regarding disciple recruitment numbers, taxes, and industries, among other aspects.

Second, establishing a Martial Arts Academy, which could also be understood as an official Sect, admitting Sect disciples into the state-run Martial Arts Academy for training, and also recruiting exceptionally talented Martial Artists from the public to enter the academy for training.

The Martial Arts Academy would instill loyalty and patriotism and also train more Martial Artists for the court.

Third, to establish a Martial Artist Supervision Agency, the very government office for controlling worldly societies proposed by Zhou Mao, tasked with overseeing Sect forces, combating Martial Artist crimes, and monitoring worldly societies.

According to Yang Zhenshan’s vision, the Martial Artist Supervision Agency should not be like the Military Suppression Department of the Ministry of Criminal Justice or the Martial Arts Department of the Ministry of Justice, merely sitting in the Capital City.

He envisioned a Martial Artist Supervision Agency that would be dispatched to each province and prefecture, setting up an office in at least every prefecture to oversee the Martial Artists and Sect forces within its jurisdiction.