Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 300: Chapter 291: Shameless Old Thief!

In the study of the Tenglong Guard government office.

Yang Zhenshan looked at the letter sent from the Capital City, his face bursting with a splendid smile.

“Not bad!”

What is the imperial examination?

The imperial examination is the fastest and simplest way to climb the social ladder.

Scholars, peasants, artisans, and merchants, plus a warrior.

Merchants have always been at the bottom, no matter how rich they are, they cannot stand in the court. Perhaps they can collude with officials, bully and dominate the market, and become incredibly wealthy, but in public, they must always stay humble.

Peasant and artisan households, they are the most toilsome and overworked, as well as the most common and fundamental. It is said, ’The ruler is like a boat; the common people are like water. The water can carry the boat, but it can also capsize it.’ Yet, how many of those scholars actually care about the common people? The old Emperor and all the court ministers, who would truly concern themselves with the lives and deaths of dozens or hundreds of commoners?

As for the warriors, their strength can indeed bring many things: wealth, status, position, official titles, and so on. But Martial Artists stake their lives for it.

Be it in the worldly society or the officialdom, every Martial Artist must fight with their own strength.

Compared to that, scholars have it much easier. Ten years of hard study may sound tough, but is it really? Is it tougher than the plight of farmers facing the soil and the sky? Is it tougher than artisans sweating day and night without rest? Is it tougher than the bloody seas of corpses on the battlefield?

Ten years of hard study and one might become an official in a single attempt, bringing glory and wealth.

Yang Zhenshan will not judge Da Rong’s social system, nor does he have the power to change the dregs of feudal society. He is only happy for Lu Wenquan, for the Lu family, and also for the Yang family.

From this point on, the Lu family will be a family of officials, and the Yang family will also gain relatives by marriage into officialdom.

Although it seems that the Yang family does not need such in-laws at the moment, the rise and expansion of a family depend not only on the growth of its children but also on various connections.

Yang Zhenshan has always had high expectations for Lu Wenquan, otherwise, he would not have taken the initiative to send Yang Mingcheng to take him to the Capital City.

Now that Lu Wenquan has passed the examination, his efforts have not been in vain.

“This good news must be delivered to the Lu family as soon as possible!”

After his moment of joy, Yang Zhenshan immediately arranged for someone to send the message to the Lu family.

After sending the message, Yang Zhenshan thought for a moment and went to see Lin Zhan.

Now that Lu Wenquan had passed the exam, becoming a Scholar was a sure thing, and the next attention of the Yang family would be on Lin Zhan.

Compared to Lu Wenquan, Lin Zhan had a closer relationship with the Yang family. To have a teacher for a day is to have a father for life is not just a saying.

Furthermore, Lin Zhan was raised by the Yang family, and apart from the surname, saying that Lin Zhan is a member of the Yang family is not an overstatement.

“How is Lin Zhan’s studies? Can he pass the examination for Scholar this year?” Yang Zhenshan stood in the courtyard, asking Liu Zhe.

Liu Zhe stroked his beard, his gaze through the window resting on Lin Zhan who was studying hard at his desk, and with a face full of gratification, he smiled, “This kid is very clever, much smarter than I was at his age.”

“Next year, I’m planning to let him try for the provincial examination!”

“To take the provincial examination! That means there’s no problem with him becoming a Scholar this year!” Yang Zhenshan’s eyes shone brightly.

“Of course. Who do you think his teacher is?” Liu Zhe said with a face full of pride.

Yang Zhenshan was very accommodating, nodding in agreement, “Brother Liu is well-learned and knowledgeable. Being your student is his good fortune!”

“By the way, there’s something I want to discuss with you!” Liu Zhe changed the subject.

“What is it?”

“Can we shorten the morning practice time? Morning is the prime time for studying, how can we waste it on martial arts practice?” Liu Zhe said, dissatisfied.

Yang Zhenshan’s brows furrowed slightly, “Don’t even think about it!”

“He’s taking the examination for Scholar this year, and the examination for graduate scholar next year!” Liu Zhe also furrowed his brows.

“The path of cultivation is such that if you don’t advance, you recede. Now you want him to cut short his martial arts practice, isn’t that making his efforts of the past few years all in vain!” Yang Zhenshan said adamantly.

“Which is more important, studying or practicing martial arts? Lin Zhan has the talent to be a top scholar!” Liu Zhe argued.

“Hmph, he has the potential to reach the Innate level in the future!”

“No, studying is more important.”

“I said, studying can’t interfere with martial arts practice!”

“I am his teacher!”

“And I am his master!”

The two of them started to argue back and forth.

Yang Zhenshan felt like he had let the wolf into the house; previously, he thought it was a good idea for Liu Zhe to be Lin Zhan’s teacher, but now he felt like Liu Zhe was intent on stealing his disciple.

“Hmph, I don’t care what you say, but Lin Zhan must not neglect his cultivation, and if he does, I’ll expel him from the sect!” Yang Zhenshan left with a harsh word and a flick of his sleeves.

Liu Zhe’s face turned shades of red and white, and finally, he complained helplessly, “Shameless old thief!”

For Yang Zhenshan, this was not a threat to Lin Zhan but to Liu Zhe.

If Liu Zhe forced Lin Zhan to give up Martial Arts, that would be harming Lin Zhan.

Being expelled from the sect is no small matter, especially for scholars who value respect for the teacher and his teaching. If Lin Zhan was indeed expelled, that would be considered a lack of virtue and his future would be ruined; forget being a top scholar, he wouldn’t even be able to take part in the provincial or metropolitan examinations.

On the other side, after Yang Zhenshan left the courtyard, a victorious smile appeared on his face.

Nice try, fighting against me!

As Lin Zhan’s master, he naturally wouldn’t let Lin Zhan give up cultivation for his studies, but Liu Zhe had Lin Zhan’s best interests at heart too.

Studying and practicing martial arts, either is worth a lifetime of dedication.

Now if Lin Zhan wants to excel in both, he has to work harder than others.

Lin Zhan is smart and diligent, and it is precisely because of his efforts that Yang Zhenshan insists he should not give up Martial Arts.

If Lin Zhan focused solely on studying, Yang Zhenshan would not have forced him.

But since Lin Zhan was intent on achieving both, he would support him.

He had long noticed that Liu Zhe had such inclinations, so he had already decided that he absolutely must not yield.

You are just his teacher, but I am the master who raised him, hmph.

…

As April arrived, the spring plowing smoothly entered its final stage.

Following the end of spring farming, the grand construction plan resumed, with each households and garrison began preparations for building houses.

At the same time, military training was also scheduled.

“Sir, these are the first batch of soldiers undergoing training!”

In the study, Song Dashan handed a list over to Yang Zhenshan.

Yang Zhenshan glanced at the roster and asked, “Does anyone have an objection to the upcoming training?”

“None at all! Both the officials and soldiers are very willing to be trained!” Song Dashan reported truthfully.

“Good, how is the training camp outside the city coming along?” Yang Zhenshan continued.

“It’s almost finished being built, and we expect it to be complete in five or six more days!” responded Song Dashan.

“And the armaments?”

Song Dashan scratched his head, “You’ll need to ask Mr. Zhou about that!”

He was diligent and committed to his duties, but rarely concerned himself with matters not assigned to him.

Yang Zhenshan understood Song Dashan’s personality, thus he did not blame him and instead summoned Zhou Ren.

“Sir, we have currently forged one thousand spears, one thousand sabers, three hundred sets of cotton armor, one hundred sets of leather armor, and, uh, only ten sets of Iron Armor!”

Zhou Ren’s voice grew much softer as he spoke the last sentence.

Although Yang Zhenshan had brought many blacksmiths from An Yuan City, Tenglong Guard was still short of blacksmiths.

It must be noted that the garrison office in An Yuan City only oversees one garrison, three households, whereas Tenglong Guard now comprised twelve thousand men, which is equivalent to twelve households.

Even if all craftsmen from the garrison office of An Yuan were called upon, it would be insufficient to meet the needs of Tenglong Guard.

“Only ten sets of Iron Armor?” Yang Zhenshan frowned, “Didn’t we begin forging iron armor half a month ago?”

“Sir, it was too rushed; we could only forge swords and spears first!” Zhou Ren said helplessly.

Without armor, training could still proceed; but without weapons, what was there to train for?

Just letting the soldiers exercise their physical strength?

Yang Zhenshan frowned, understanding Zhou Ren’s difficulties, but this could delay training.

Infantry, light cavalry, heavy cavalry, he wanted all three types of forces.

Yang Zhenshan intended to equip three thousand soldiers within a year, which would require at least five hundred sets of Iron Armor. At the current rate, the goal was definitely unattainable.

Craftsmen are skilled personnel; it was too late to train new ones now, so they must be reassigned from other places.

“For now, have the craftsmen continue forging swords and spears!”

“Yes!”

Seeing that Yang Zhenshan had no intention of punishing him, Zhou Ren breathed a sigh of relief.

Then Yang Zhenshan said to Song Dashan, “Since everything is almost ready, let’s pick a date to start the training.”

“Yes, sir!” Taking the roster, Song Dashan acknowledged.

Once they had left, Yang Zhenshan thought for a moment and then drafted an official document to send to the Central Army Commander’s Mansion.

This time, he needed people, not just craftsmen – he needed everyone from military households, craftsmen, to civil servants. What Tenglong Guard lacked, except for officials.

A few days later, Yang Zhenshan received a reply from Emperor Chengping. Tenglong Guard could now build its own salt fields.

Salt fields were vital to Tenglong Guard’s finances. Naturally, Yang Zhenshan would not delay and, upon receiving the decree, he and Jiang He went to the seaside again.

Although the salt fields belonged to Tenglong Guard, Yang Zhenshan intended for Jiang He to be in charge.

Not because he wanted Jiang He to be an official in the government office; there simply weren’t enough hands to spare there.

In fact, Jiang He was not unfit for an official role; not only could he read and write, but he was also a Martial Artist, and over the years, he had been managing the Yang family’s businesses and had honed his skills.

But Yang Zhenshan still wanted him to stay at home and help Yang Mingcheng. It wasn’t necessary for everyone in the Yang family to be an official; having Yang Mingzhi and Yang Minghao was sufficient.

Moreover, Jiang He’s temperament wasn’t suited to officialdom. Although not as simple as Yang Mingcheng, he too was of an honest nature.

He did not strive for contention, preferred stability – such a person was truly ill-suited for the bureaucratic world.

Letting him join the bureaucratic fray might even harm him.

Reaching the seaside, they chose an empty space next to the previously selected dock.

“Let’s build the salt fields here. Go to Liao’an Prefecture in the next few days to invite a few Stove House workers, then hire a group of people from the garrison to begin the construction of the salt fields!” said Yang Zhenshan, standing by the sea.

Producing salt was a skill; while Yang Zhenshan knew the basics, he was not adept at it. But since Da Rong had many salt-producing fields and lacked skilled Stove House workers, inviting a few over was easy.

As for manpower, Tenglong Guard was not lacking; although every households were currently constructing houses, the buildings would soon be completed.

Yang Zhenshan also planned to build roads, city walls, and a Guard City; at that time, it would not be necessary to have all the able-bodied men from Tenglong Guard working on construction. He preferred to form a professional building team, and a thousand workers would be enough. The rest definitely needed to be utilized for other tasks.

Building or working in the salt fields would also help to increase employment within Tenglong Guard.

“Dad, I understand!” Jiang He was not daunted by the task, as he had been preparing the grounds for the construction of the salt fields since their last visit to the seaside. Hence, he had been studying the process of salt making.

After confirming the location of the salt fields, Yang Zhenshan left the matter to Jiang He, while he dedicated his attention to the training of the soldiers.

As time passed, Tenglong Guard buzzed with increasing activity, and everyone was busy as if the entire Tenglong Guard was in full swing.

And with all the bustling, the changes to Tenglong Guard became more and more evident.

One after another, houses were built; the garrison households and military households became tidy and clean; numerous military families received their monthly pay; and once somber faces became lively and beaming with smiles.