Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 168: Chapter 164 Luo Shang Arrives

”Recommending your sect’s disciple for an official post is not difficult,” Yang Zhenshan stroked his beard and said, ”However, I can only recommend one for the position of Deputy Thousand Households at most. No more than that!”

In reality, he had many places where he could make recommendations, such as Jianning Guard, where Zhou Lan was located, and he believed that Zhou Lan would give him face. Another example was Songzhou Guard, where he was the Deputy Magistrate Commander, if he wanted to arrange for a Deputy Thousand Households in Songzhou Guard, it would be easier than in Jianning Guard.

”Really? Is that possible?” Yu Qingyi’s eyes brightened.

”Oh, you doubt my ability?” Yang Zhenshan said with a smile in his eyes.

Sha Pingchuan was on the brink of destruction, and currently in Songzhou Guard, there were only two Deputy Magistrate Commanders, he being one of them. Even if his seniority in Songzhou Guard was still shallow, it was easy for him to arrange for a Deputy Thousand Households.

”No, no!” Yu Qingyi quickly waved her hands.

Yang Zhenshan chuckled, ”But the candidate must have sufficient cultivation and strong abilities. You must understand, if the person I recommend does a poor job, it will be my face that is lost!”

”My third junior brother, Luo Feiyu!” Yu Qingyi’s eyes sparkled as she spoke.

”Tell me more about him!” Yang Zhenshan also became interested.

Yu Qingyi said, ”Feiyu is twenty-four this year, his cultivation has already reached the Postnatal Fourth Layer. He is proficient in the art of war on the battlefield, his primary cultivation technique is with a pair of hammers, and Feiyu is also well-versed in military strategies. My master originally wanted him to join the army, but unfortunately, the master passed away early.”

”From what you’ve told me, he does seem quite talented!” Yang Zhenshan stroked his beard and thought for a moment, then said, ”If he truly is suitable, I can arrange for him to be under my command!”

Yang Zhenshan has always welcomed talented individuals. If this Luo Feiyu had both ability and strength, he would naturally be willing to make good use of him.

”However, I am more interested in whether your Sky Blue Sword Sect could lend some powerful martial artists to my family.”

Yang Zhenshan had not forgotten his purpose. His goal was to recruit some guards for his family.

”No problem, as long as you marry me, I can let Nanny Liu, Nanny Lin, as well as Qingxia and Red Cloud be part of the dowry!” Yu Qingyi said with a haughty air.

This haughty little appearance made Yang Zhenshan couldn’t help but stretch out a mischievous hand.

Regrettably, Yu Qingyi seemed to have been prepared early on and slapped his hand away.

”Although they are servants, they have been cultivating since childhood. The two nannies have watched me grow up, and Qingxia and Red Cloud were personally taught by me.”

Many servants in worldly society sects possess cultivation; however, compared to sect disciples, servants might receive fewer resources.

Yang Zhenshan sheepishly withdrew his hand and said, ”Alright then, once the matter in An Yuan City is settled, I will come to propose marriage!”

...

The upheaval in An Yuan City lasted only one day and one night; by the next morning, An Yuan City had returned to its usual peace.

Of course, this peace was only relative to the ordinary civilians; for the officialdom of An Yuan City, the turmoil was far from over.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and on the morning of the fourth day, Wei Cen once again arrived at An Yuan City.

But this time, he did not come alone; he brought hundreds of people with him.

Among them were individuals from the Secret Martial Guards, the Governor’s Office, and the General Mansion. Hundreds of people entered An Yuan City in an imposing manner, and Yang Zhenshan had to pay careful attention to receiving them.

However, it seemed that no one was in the mood to appreciate Yang Zhenshan’s hospitality. After arriving in An Yuan City, they immediately immersed themselves in their official duties.

”Is the matter in Jia City taken care of?” Yang Zhenshan stood in front of the prefectural government office and asked Wei Cen, watching the busy crowd.

”Not yet, it’s been handed over to someone else!” said Wei Cen.

Wei Cen was just a Hundred Households within the Secret Martial Guards. Their main roles involved investigation and surveillance, while captures were carried out by others. The Secret Martial Guards were not short of Martial Arts Masters, and Wei Cen was obviously not yet among the masters.

”What about Black Cliff Village?” Yang Zhenshan continued.

”There’s no longer a Black Cliff Village!” Wei Cen said indifferently.

Yang Zhenshan fell silent.

This is the fate of sects in worldly society, in front of the vast court, the sects are hardly worth mentioning.

With the Secret Martial Guards, no, forget the Secret Martial Guards, even the Northern Station could easily destroy a worldly society sect if desired.

After a long silence, Yang Zhenshan said again, ”I suppose there’s nothing left for me to do then?”

Wei Cen thought for a moment and said, ”The rest is taken care of, but this place, the backyard of the Military Equipment Department, and the Liang’s family estate still need your people to guard until an official from the Capital City is arranged to come for the property seizure.”

Property seizure is a troublesome affair, not just anyone can execute it.

Usually, property seizure is conducted by the eunuchs from the Imperial City, the doctors from the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Criminal Justice, and the local government office working together.

Property seizure is naturally profitable; at the very least one could skim off some benefits, but if you think about greedily embezzling, it’s nearly impossible.

The old Emperor is not a fool, and neither are the high officials in the court. They would not give their subordinates the chance to embezzle greedily.

Of course, Yang Zhenshan guarding these estates and mansions also has the opportunity to dabble a bit, but he too cannot overdo it.

The Secret Martial Guards will definitely have someone keeping watch.

And the people from above will not neglect their oversight.

”I understand. I will make arrangements for the personnel!” Yang Zhenshan had already thought it through – he’d let Wang Sheng be responsible for the watch.

Then, he waited a little longer at the prefectural government office, and after seeing no issues, he returned to the garrison office.

The remaining matters were no longer his responsibility, and nor was it appropriate for him to intervene.

It’s better to stay out of such troublesome affairs if possible.

Upon returning to the garrison office, Yang Zhenshan found that Luo Shang had unexpectedly arrived.

”Greetings to Your Excellency!”

Upon seeing Yang Zhenshan, Luo Shang immediately revealed a warm smile.

”Hmm, when did you get here?”

”Han Fei, serve the tea!”

”Sit down for a chat!”

Yang Zhenshan greeted Luo Shang to sit down beside the tea table.

”I arrived yesterday, but since the city gates were closed, I had to wait outside for the whole night!” Luo Shang said as he sat opposite Yang Zhenshan.

Yang Zhenshan was genuinely unaware of this, but even if he had known, he wouldn’t have opened the city gates for Luo Shang. The order to seal the gates was his, and he couldn’t break his own directive just for Luo Shang.

After Han Fei served the tea, Yang Zhenshan took a light sip and inquired, ”How’s your business been going recently?”

”Not bad. As per your advice, Jinxiu Workshop has stopped expanding,” Luo Shang said.

From Luo Family’s cloth shop to Jinxiu Workshop, Luo Shang’s business had expanded dozens of times, and his monthly profits had surged from a dozen or so taels of silver to over a thousand. This rise was partly because Luo Shang truly had a knack for doing business and partly due to Yang Zhenshan’s support.

Without Yang Zhenshan’s backing, Luo Shang’s business would probably have been squeezed out of the market and shut down long ago.

This was no joke.

Why is it that when the officials at Chongshan Pass are replaced, a new set of merchants appears?

Because businesses can only thrive with the support of officials in the background.

Although Yang Zhenshan wasn’t considered high-ranking in Chongshan Town, he had Zhou Lan backing him up, and he was also registered with Liang Chu’s, so he could still afford to protect Luo Shang’s business.

However, Luo Shang’s influence could no longer be allowed to expand. If it grew further, with so much at stake, it might stir up envy from others.

”Have you secured your supply channels?”

This was what Yang Zhenshan cared about most.

Previously, Luo Shang’s fabrics all came from the Luo family in Jizhou, but he could only get a small share from them. Later on, Yang Zhenshan had helped him make contact with Third Master Liang, who had secured a variety of silk fabrics from the Liang family for him.

But now the Liang family was about to collapse, and in the future, Luo Shang would definitely be unable to continue obtaining goods from them.

”Before the new year, I already visited Jizhou and Jiangnan. Now the Luo family has increased their supply to me, and many businesses in Jiangnan have agreed to directly provide me with silk and satins!” Luo Shang said.

”The Luo family is willing to help you?” Yang Zhenshan was slightly taken aback.

Luo Shang wasn’t even a collateral relative of the Luo family but simply a clansman. He used to get fabrics from the Luo family because his cousin was a shopkeeper there.

”Help or not, it’s all for profit!” Luo Shang laughed. ”If not for Your Excellency’s help, why would they care about me?”

”Hehe~~” Yang Zhenshan chuckled lightly.

Indeed, now Luo Shang himself was considered a big merchant. While he was far from the scale of the Luo family in Jizhou, he still had a certain reputation at Chongshan Pass.

As Luo Shang’s business continued to grow, naturally, the Luo family in Jizhou would pay more and more attention to him.

But all these matters were of no concern to Yang Zhenshan. He had no interest in keeping track of the Luo family’s activities in Jizhou. So, he just smiled and refrained from asking further.

”I have called for you because there are three matters at hand!”

”Please instruct me, Your Excellency!” Luo Shang’s expression turned earnest.

”The first matter is about An Yuan City’s situation. Now that the Liang family has fallen, I hope you will take over their previous businesses.”

The Liang family had many businesses in An Yuan City, including fabric, furs, medicinal herbs, etc., and they held a substantial share of the market in An Yuan State.

Now that the Liang family had fallen, Yang Zhenshan naturally wanted to claim this lucrative opportunity.

”Won’t this cause any trouble?” Luo Shang asked with some concern.

He didn’t mistrust Yang Zhenshan, but he was afraid that business affairs could affect him.

After all, they were colluding in official business, though their collusion was different from that of others. At least, Yang Zhenshan wouldn’t engage in utterly unscrupulous deeds for the sake of Luo Shang.

”It won’t be troublesome! Just conduct operations through regular procedures. Spend as much silver as needed and do what must be done!” Yang Zhenshan said.

There must be a baseline, and at the very least, they couldn’t leave any loopholes exposed.

Soon, the Liang family would be raided, and their shops, properties, lands, and so on would certainly be liquidated. While Yang Zhenshan would speak on behalf of Luo Shang, he would not help him drive down the prices.

Luo Shang nodded, ”What about the second matter?”

Yang Zhenshan’s lips slightly curved up as he said, ”Jing’an Prefecture! Still concerning the Liang family’s assets!”

When one giant falls, countless others flourish.

Nobody knows how many interests will emerge with the family’s fall.

Compared to An Yuan City, Jing’an Prefecture was where the Liang family’s stronghold lied and was much more prosperous.

If Luo Shang could establish a foothold in Jing’an Prefecture, he would be vaulted into the ranks of the wealthy elite.

Of course, Jing’an Prefecture was not Yang Zhenshan’s turf, so he couldn’t help Luo Shang too much. How much Luo Shang could profit in Jing’an Prefecture would largely depend on his own ability.