Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 563: Chapter 490 Accepting Disciples, Apprentice Ceremony_2

After much consideration, Yang Chengmao seems to be the most appropriate.

”Senior An, let’s speak inside the hall!” Yang Zhenshan first invited An Yuxing into the hall.

An Yuxing doesn’t care about these mundane rituals. Uh, Yang Zhenshan doesn’t care much either, but some rules and etiquette still have to be observed.

The two seated themselves in the hall, Yang Zhenshan gave Wu Hai a look, and Wu Hai immediately had a servant bring over a bowl of tea, handing it to Yang Chengmao.

Yang Chengmao scratched his head, took the tea, and knelt on the ground to say, ”Please, Master, have some tea!”

”Mm!” An Yuxing took a sip of the tea and then glanced at An Chenhui beside him.

An Chenhui also immediately stepped forward, knelt in front of Yang Zhenshan, and said, ”Please, Master, have some tea!”

Yang Zhenshan couldn’t help but smile at this scene.

It’s like exchanging hostages!

An Yuxing was too lazy to say more, but Yang Zhenshan still spoke a few words.

”A day as a teacher, a lifetime as a father! Now that you have taken me as a teacher, you must respect and honor the teachings!”

”Do you understand?”

”Disciple understands!”

”Grandson understands!”

Yang Zhenshan nodded and then looked towards An Chenhui, saying, ”I have four sons and five disciples, you are my sixth disciple.”

”This is your third senior brother, Wang Mingzhe!”

Yang Zhenshan pointed at the listless Wang Mingzhe. Other than sleeping, this young man always looked listless.

”Junior brother greets Third Senior Brother!” An Chenhui respectfully bowed with a fist.

”Mm! Sixth Junior Brother!” Wang Mingzhe grinned, returning the gesture.

Yang Zhenshan then pointed at Ming Zhao, ”This is your youngest junior brother, Yang Mingzhao!”

”Ming Zhao has seen Senior Brother!” Yang Mingzhao bowed politely.

”Junior Brother Ming Zhao!” An Chenhui returned the greeting.

The order of sons and disciples is different; disciples are ranked by the order they entered, regardless of age. As for the sons and disciples, it depends on age.

Whoever is older is the senior brother.

An Chenhui, unlike Prince An and Prince Dai, had to adhere strictly to the rules in front of Yang Zhenshan, despite the innate realm great-grandfather.

After the apprenticeship ceremony, Yang Zhenshan hosted a banquet for An Yuxing at his residence.

He also arranged the apprenticeship schedule for Yang Chengmao and An Chenhui.

Yang Zhenshan intended to teach the disciples together, so he arranged for An Chenhui to come over along with Prince An and Prince Dai.

An Xingyu had only one disciple, Yang Chengmao, and no other engagements, so he didn’t care when Yang Chengmao came over. Yang Chengmao could even live with him.

However, Yang Zhenshan still set a schedule for Yang Chengmao to visit every three days.

Actually, Yang Chengmao didn’t really need An Xingyu’s personal instruction anymore, but Yang Zhenshan thought it was good to visit Sanshan Valley often to broaden his experiences.

It also helped foster the master-disciple relationship.

While Yang Zhenshan was busy accepting disciples, the court was in an uproar over matters concerning the Imperial Commerce Bureau.

Although there were no morning courts on ordinary days, there were still court meetings, and sometimes Emperor Yanping would gather Cabinet and Six Ministries officials to discuss state affairs.

And this time, the matter of the Imperial Commerce Bureau was a big issue, with many officials having different opinions.

But generally, there were two factions; one led by Minister Sun Wenjian of the Ministry of Revenue, supporting the establishment of the Imperial Commerce Bureau. Minister Sun was trapped by Yang Zhenshan, who supported the transfer of the glass method to merchants in the court, forcing Minister Sun to stand up and support the establishment of the Imperial Commerce Bureau.

The other faction opposed the establishment of the Imperial Commerce Bureau, and this faction had more officials from various government offices.

However, their opinions were not unified; not everyone completely denied the Imperial Commerce Bureau.

Some opposed the establishment but still wanted to control the glass method in court, like the officials from the Ministry of Industry.

Some opposed merchants being officials, like those from the Ministry of Personnel and Ministry of Rites.

On April 20, another morning court convened.

This time, Yang Zhenshan did not attend the morning court; he directly requested leave.

Because he knew if he attended today, those civil servants would definitely engage him in a debate.

There’s no helping it, as the glass method was his idea, and the proposition to establish the Imperial Commerce Bureau was also his suggestion, no matter the argument, he couldn’t avoid responsibility.

He simply stopped attending the morning court.

However, today’s morning court was very lively, with Minister Sun Wenjian of the Ministry of Revenue fully unleashing his firepower, engaging in a fierce debate with the scholars.

The debate lasted for over half a two-hour period, leaving Minister Sun Wenjian with a red neck from arguing.

”Fine, if you don’t want to establish the Imperial Commerce Bureau, then this year’s salaries for the Ministry of Industry will be postponed until next year!” Minister Sun Wenjian blurted out desperately.

”Why?” Minister Jiang Wei of the Ministry of Industry angrily asked.

”Because currently there are less than one hundred thousand taels of silver in the Ministry of Revenue’s Taicang treasury, and ever since the severe drought in Liaodong last year, all expenditures of the Ministry of Revenue have been covered by His Majesty’s personal funds!” Minister Sun Wenjian fiercely awaited Jiang Wei’s response.

His statement was somewhat exaggerated, but it was true.

Since the establishment of the glass workshop, Emperor Yanping’s personal funds had transferred 800 taels of silver to the Ministry of Revenue repeatedly; without these funds, the Ministry of Revenue couldn’t even pay the officials’ salaries.

To extract silver from Emperor Yanping, Minister Sun Wenjian had tried every trick, even almost rolling on the floor and making a scene in the Imperial Study Room.

Thus, Minister Sun Wenjian, or rather the Ministry of Revenue, needed the Imperial Commerce Bureau’s funds more than anyone else.

He had been eyeing the glass workshop for a long time, and now that Emperor Yanping had finally relented, he naturally pushed hard for establishing the Imperial Commerce Bureau.

And his previous opposition at the morning court to establishing the Imperial Commerce Bureau was actually to negotiate his share with Emperor Yanping.

But who knew Yang Zhenshan would be so unassertive, entirely avoiding the debate, forcing him to step forward.

Upon hearing Minister Sun Wenjian’s statement, the entire court was at a loss.

Lack of funds was a problem faced by all departments at court.

And with Minister Sun Wenjian of the Ministry of Revenue pulling such a bold move, who could withstand it.

”The Imperial Commerce Bureau must be established, not just established, but I also propose that the imperial estates, shops, and the Three Major Textile Manufacturing Plants all be managed by the Imperial Commerce Bureau!” Minister Sun Wenjian decisively stated.

The mentioned imperial estates and shops were naturally the royal properties, and the Three Major Textile Manufacturing Plants were institutions specifically supplying textiles for the palace, incorporating all sorts of clothing materials and production of silk decrees and festive banners for the Emperor’s sacrifices and rewards.

In fact, before the glass workshop, the Three Major Textile Manufacturing Plants were the most important source of revenue for the Emperor’s personal funds.

Minister Sun Wenjian wanted to bring even these manufacturing plants under the control of the Imperial Commerce Bureau, clearly wishing to reduce the Ministry of Revenue’s reliance on the personal funds.

Damn, getting silver from the Emperor was too difficult; he had enough!

Emperor Yanping smiled, ”Granted!”

”The revenues of the Imperial Commerce Bureau will be distributed as 60% to the Ministry of Revenue and 40% to the personal funds, staffed by officials appointed by the Ministry of Personnel, and temporarily under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Revenue, with internal supervision by appointed inner officials!”

”For specific arrangements, let the Ministry of Personnel draft a memorandum!”

Saying this, he looked towards Zhou Yunsong, who stood at the forefront of the civil servants.

”Your servant obeys!” Zhou Yunsong stepped forward to receive the order.

In reality, the establishment of the Imperial Commerce Bureau had already been settled, as the Cabinet had agreed upon it earlier.

Of course, this matter also needed Minister Sun Wenjian’s support; if he couldn’t win the argument, the issue could still have been delayed.

Now that Minister Sun Wenjian had won the argument, Emperor Yanping naturally authorized it as a matter of course.

”Dismiss the court!”

Emperor Yanping stood up to leave, the officials looked at each other and also dispersed.

”Cough cough, Minister Sun, the salaries of the Ministry of Industry cannot really be stopped!” Minister Jiang Wei of the Ministry of Industry approached Minister Sun Wenjian and said awkwardly.

”Hmph!” Minister Sun Wenjian walked away with a flick of his sleeve, leaving Jiang Wei looking helpless.

Damn it, at least the Ministry of Revenue is still the money bag of the court; our Ministry of Industry is like a stepchild at court.

Unloved by the grandmother, unloved by the uncle, no good deeds for us, only dirty and tiring tasks!

Jiang Wei felt wronged.

Among the Six Ministries, the Ministry of Industry had the lowest status.

His opposition to establishing the Imperial Commerce Bureau was with the intention of bringing the glass workshop under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Industry; managing the glass workshop would make life a bit easier for them.

But now, alas...

Jiang Wei shook his head, ”Minister Sun, wait for me!”

Thus, the establishment of the Imperial Commerce Bureau became a done deal, and in the following days, the Ministry of Personnel came up with a feasible statute.

The Ministry of Personnel ultimately agreed to allow merchants to hold a chief position in the Imperial Commerce Bureau.

The chief of the Imperial Commerce Bureau, a standard seventh rank, responsible for managing its properties, supplying goods, and selling goods for the bureau.