Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 834: Chapter 620: Becoming Emperor? That Does Sound Fun!

Becoming Emperor???

Seems rather interesting!

Alright, Yang Mingzhao actually doesn’t have much ambition, but he wouldn’t mind being an Emperor either!

As for Da Rong, it’s the same old story, Yang Mingzhao doesn’t have any loyalty to Da Rong.

As for Yang Mingcheng, Yang Mingzhi, and Yang Minghao, they probably wouldn’t have such thoughts since they have served as officials of Da Rong, and sworn allegiance to Da Rong’s Emperor.

But Yang Mingzhao has never been an official of Da Rong, he doesn’t hold much emotion for Da Rong or the court.

On the contrary, he is extremely disgusted with Da Rong’s court and the corrupt officials in various local governments.

Yang Mingzhao nodded slightly, ”Please Brother Li, lend your full support in the future!”

With that, he bypassed Li Baoshan and walked toward Li Wenchun.

In fact, he had already seen Li Wenchun earlier, and naturally, he had some understanding of this Governor Li.

Moreover, earlier this morning, Li Dagui had mentioned to him about Li Baoshan’s conditions and proposals, and he specifically inquired a bit about Li Wenchun’s situation.

”Yang Zhao greets Governor Li!” Yang Mingzhao saluted Li Wenchun respectfully.

He hated corrupt officials, but he equally admired honest and competent officials.

Note that he admired honest and competent officials, not just honest, but those who are both honest and capable.

And the Li Wenchun before him was undoubtedly such an honest and competent official whom he admired.

Li Wenchun looked at Yang Mingzhao, momentarily stupefied, his eyes seemed somewhat dazed as they stared at Yang Mingzhao’s face.

”Your surname is Yang!”

Yang Mingzhao was taken aback, ”Indeed!”

”Liaodong Yang family?” Li Wenchun asked again.

Yang Mingzhao was stunned, Liaodong Yang family is the appellation for the Yang clan.

Initially, the Yang clan was simply the Anning Yang family, later it became the Jing’an Yang family, and now it has become the Liaodong Yang family.

The change in place names represents an expansion in influence.

Although the Yang family has moved to Star Moon Island, it is still part of the Liaodong Yang family.

Of course, if in the East South Sea Domain, there would be no Liaodong Yang family, only the Star Moon Island Yang family, akin to the Earth Fire Island Zhu family.

Li Wenchun unexpectedly revealed Yang Mingzhao’s identity and origin, which made him a bit nervous.

”Does Governor Li know of me, the younger generation?”

Li Wenchun nodded slightly.

Yang Mingzhao became more nervous, ”Governor Li, may I have a word with you privately?”

Who does he resemble?

Naturally, he looks a lot like his father!

Among the four Yang brothers, Yang Minghao in stature and appearance resembles Yang Zhenshan the most, aside from him it would be Yang Mingzhao.

If father and son stood together, one glance, and it is obvious they are father and son.

However, if one had merely seen Yang Zhenshan, they wouldn’t necessarily guess Yang Mingzhao’s identity, as there are many people in this world who look similar.

But if one had seen Yang Mingzhao, it’s different.

Yang Mingzhao pulled Li Wenchun to a deserted spot, lowered his voice, and said, ”Has Governor Li seen me often?”

”Saw you once in Capital City!” Li Wenchun took a deep breath and regained his composure.

”This~~” Yang Mingzhao felt a headache, unexpectedly he was indeed seen, ”then with my father, how does Governor Li relate?”

Li Wenchun shook his head, ”I don’t know the old Marquis, but I have seen both the old Marquis and the young master in Capital City!”

Yang Mingzhao suddenly realized.

This wasn’t peculiar, Li Wenchun had been an official for many years; he surely had been to Capital City numerous times, seeing him there wasn’t improbable.

”Back in the sixth year of Yanping, I returned to Capital City awaiting a vacancy in the Ministry of Personnel, and I once saw the old Marquis display great prowess in the Ministry of Personnel!”

Li Wenchun said with a complex expression: ”It was at that time, I had the honor of seeing the young master going out to play!”

Yang Mingzhao realized, it was the year Yang Zhenshan caused an uproar in the Ministry of Personnel, and outside the Ministry, many officials lined up waiting, and many of them witnessed Yang Zhenshan’s turmoil in the Ministry of Revenue.

As for Yang Mingzhao going out to play, at that time he was about eleven or twelve years old, the age when he loved to play, often accompanying his nephews playing outside the city.

Understanding these links, Yang Mingzhao smirked awkwardly, ”I hope Governor Li can keep this a secret for the younger generation! My father is unaware of my mischief here!”

Li Wenchun asked: ”What does the young master intend to do?”

At this time, Li Wenchun’s sentiments were extremely complex. The young master of Marquis Jing’an Mansion had become a rebel, which was truly unbelievable to him.

Yet the facts were right before his eyes, and he could not help but believe them.

Fortunately, it was said that Yang Zhengshan was unaware, which gave him some peace of mind.

”I just can’t stand it anymore and want to do something for the common folks!” Yang Mingzhao replied honestly.

Although it was his first time meeting Li Wenchun, he felt as if he was caught doing something bad by a guardian.

Li Wenchun fell into silence.

Yang Mingzhao looked at his expression, seeing it was quite complex. He bit his lip and said, ”Please, senior, lend me your strength!”

”Good!” Li Wenchun said.

Yang Mingzhao was utterly astonished.

Agreed so quickly?

Without any hesitation!

Li Wenchun let out a long breath, the complex look faded, replaced by a faint smile.

He stroked his gray-white beard and chuckled: ”If I were thirty years younger, I might rebel too!”

”Holding office is dull, rebellion would be far more liberating!”

Yang Mingzhao’s eyes lit up, ”The senior is righteous!”

”Let’s go! I will take you to take over the government building!” Li Wenchun said as he turned.

He was not lying; if it weren’t for his age, he truly wanted to cut down all the officials in the government building and confiscate the property of those wicked gentry.

In his youth, he had a fiery personality, but with age and setbacks, his temperament had mellowed.

If he had not met Yang Mingzhao, he would likely have continued this way in depression.

Today, after meeting Yang Mingzhao, he wanted to vent all the anger he had suppressed over the years.

”Senior, my current name is Yang Zhao, and I ask you to keep my identity confidential!” Yang Mingzhao said quietly as he followed behind him.

Li Wenchun nodded subtly.

Then the two returned to the main street before the city gate.

Just like that, Yang Mingzhao smoothly took over the government building, and with Li Wenchun’s cooperation, he fully took control of the city of Baoning Prefecture.

Turning to Yang Mingzhao, Li Wenchun felt no psychological burden.

First, he had long been dissatisfied with the current state of the court.

Second, all his family was in Baoning Prefecture; he had only one son, and his son’s family were with him, so he was not afraid of repercussions from the court.

Third, he had high hopes for Yang Mingzhao, not because of his background, but because of what Yang Mingzhao accomplished in Taiping County.

Li Wenchun’s allegiance provided Yang Mingzhao with great support, far greater than Li Baoshan could offer.

Li Baoshan could only serve as a general leading charges, while Li Wenchun could be a regional official.

Yang Mingzhao now lacked civil officials, not generals.

Ma Yan, Lu Bo, Qi Zhang, and others could serve as officials, but managing even a county was challenging for them; though they had the ability, they seriously lacked experience.

Li Wenchun could fill this gap; he served as a local official for decades, having an abundance of experience managing regions.

Indeed, with Li Wenchun’s assistance, Yang Mingzhao and his people soon sorted out Baoning Prefecture’s affairs.

Li Wenchun knew exactly which officials in the government could be useful and which could not.

He was aware of which gentry in Baoning Prefecture should be punished and which could be treated well.

He also knew which problems in Baoning Prefecture needed immediate resolution, and which could be addressed gradually.

Additionally, Li Wenchun provided numerous supplementary suggestions to Yang Mingzhao’s land distribution policy.

With Li Wenchun’s assistance, Yang Mingzhao and the others became increasingly organized, with all matters being methodically handled.

During Yang Mingzhao’s takeover of Baoning Prefecture, Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi were still studying the Soul-attaching Pill within the Spiritual Spring Space.

At this point, more than a year had passed since they entered the Spiritual Spring Space, they stayed inside and never left.

Of course, they were not only studying the Soul-attaching Pill; they also cultivated various plants and raised various animals inside the Spiritual Spring Space.

From the snowy plains to the Martial God Temple, they collected a lot of plants and animals along the way, but as the plants in the Spiritual Spring Space were not fully grown and animals could not be maintained in a free-range state, they spent over a year making the ecology of the Spiritual Spring Space thrive.