Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 113: Chapter 109 Zhou Lan’s Ralei Tactics

The next morning, Yang Mingzhi took a dozen Cavalry to Jianning Guard, but by that afternoon, he had already returned.

Zhou Lan only let him bring back a message to Yang Zhenshan, which was to not worry about those messy affairs and to focus on expanding Yinghe Castle.

Getting Zhou Lan’s reply, Yang Zhenshan also set his mind at ease. Since Zhou Lan had said so, it meant she had plans, and he didn’t need to worry.

The expansion of Yinghe Castle was fast. In just a month, the work to widen and heighten the castle walls was completed, leaving only the construction of houses and streets inside the castle.

However, Yang Zhenshan still wanted to speed things up, so he transferred a group of young and strong workers from Sanshan Castle and Xiangyuan Fortress to help.

Time slowly passed by, and the entire Yinghe Castle was like a large construction site with everyone busy at work.

Inside the garrison, bare-chested young men were constructing houses.

Outside the garrison, by the riverbank, three hundred Cavalry were in training, in the tuntian farmland, a large number of women were managing the estates, and on the hillside, Li Erhu was leading a group of people planting trees.

The weather was getting hotter, and the charcoal business had already stopped, but Yang Zhenshan didn’t disband Li Erhu and others.

They would still make charcoal, burning it two or three times a month. Even though it couldn’t be sold now, it could be stored for sale in the winter.

During their spare time, they would go up the mountain to cut down trees and plant trees, following Yang Zhenshan’s order — for every tree felled, two more would be planted.

When the hillside ran out of space, they would plant in the unused lands at the base of the mountain.

They mainly planted pine trees, but also chestnut trees, hazelnut trees, persimmon trees, and jujube trees among others.

Planting pine trees was for making charcoal, while the other trees were to provide the military households with more edible items.

If only more seedlings were available, Yang Zhenshan would have liked to set aside a piece of wasteland specifically for planting chestnut and hazelnut trees.

In the future, he intended to set up a few stalls selling sugar-roasted chestnuts by the city gates, which would be a nice little business.

Under Yang Zhenshan’s management, Yinghe Castle changed day by day.

Unconsciously, the time came to the eighth day of the eighth month in the twenty-fifth year of Chengping.

In nearly four months, the expansion of Yinghe Castle was completed. Quite a few military households had moved into new houses, and the commercial street planned by Yang Zhenshan had welcomed its first batch of merchants.

These merchants were all from the garrison’s military households, and they were not of the merchant class.

As for whether anyone would pursue this matter, there really wasn’t much to pursue.

The social status of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants ranked low, but military households were not much better, perhaps even worse, as at least merchants had money.

For scholars, engaging in commerce was considered taboo. For example, the court had explicit regulations that the families and relatives of officials were not allowed to engage in trade, and merchants were ineligible for civil examinations.

However, in reality, which of the official families weren’t involved in commerce? They just didn’t participate personally.

Many people looked down upon merchants, yet they were engaging in activities that only merchants could do.

For military households, if someone were to pursue the matter and change their status to merchants, they would probably treat that person as a saint.

Military households were subject to conscription, but merchants were not.

The children of military households had to defend the borders and face life and death on the battlefield, while merchants, despite their low social status, did not have to face life and death.

So when Yang Zhenshan put out rental listings for shops in Yinghe Castle, many from within the garrison were tempted. Without any need for his further effort, the twenty-some shops were quickly snapped up.

And still, there were many people who felt regretful for not having secured a shop.

Of course, even though they felt regret, no one dared to make any trouble.

By now, Yang Zhenshan’s prestige in Yinghe Castle had reached an unprecedented level. At his command, everyone in Yinghe Castle, regardless of age or gender, was willing to go through fire and water for him, to face life and death.

Today was the grand opening day for all shops in Yinghe Castle, and everyone flocked to the commercial street near the east gate to join in the bustle, including quite a few people from nearby Fire Road Piles and signal towers.

For a time, Yinghe Castle was bustling with great excitement.

Yang Zhenshan returned after inspecting the commercial street, where everyone felt a bit uneasy in his presence, so he chose not to be a nuisance there any longer.

When he returned to the government offices, he brought someone back with him.

Luo Shang, the major entrepreneur of Yinghe Castle’s commercial street.

Although the shops of Yinghe Castle were rented to military households within the garrison, most of the goods they sold were supplied by Luo Shang.

And with the support of Yang Zhenshan, Luo Shang’s business grew larger and larger.

Yang Zhenshan set up a needlework workshop in Linguan Castle, and he helped sell cloth shoes and pulled in orders.

Yang Zhenshan made charcoal in Yinghe Castle, and he helped sell the charcoal, even opening a general goods store specifically for this purpose.

Yang Zhenshan bought up shops at rock-bottom prices in the city gates, and he followed suit, purchasing even more than Yang Zhenshan.

And Luo Shang didn’t forget his original trade; he opened fabric stores and embroidery workshops in the west and south districts of the city gates, respectively.

Doing business with Yang Zhenshan, he was the one who earned the most.

In just over a year, his business had grown tenfold, and in the city gates, he was considered a fairly famous businessman.

Nevertheless, to Yang Zhenshan, he was still extremely respectful, because he understood that all he had was given to him by Yang Zhenshan.

The more assets Luo Shang accumulated, the more fame he gained, the more people set their sights on him.

Without a backer, he would quickly be devoured.

Yang Zhenshan was his patron; though just a defense officer of a thousand households, Yang Zhenshan had Zhou Lan behind him and was also acknowledged by Liang Chu.

”Sir, I’ve heard that Jianning Guard is not very peaceful!”

Upon entering the study, Luo Shang immediately served tea and poured water for Yang Zhenshan.

”The situation is indeed a bit unsettled, but you don’t need to worry. No matter how unsettled it becomes, it won’t affect you!” Yang Zhenshan said nonchalantly.

The unrest of Jianning Guard was all stirred up by Zhou Lan.

This woman was truly ruthless.

In just a few months, she had practically plowed through Jianning Guard.

Commander Liu Qiong and Deputy Magistrate Ye Zhaoquan of Jianning Guard, Garrison Commander Qiu Zhen of Chishan Castle, and Garrison Commander Guan Shanhe of Ruizhou City, were all driven away by her.

Even Xie Shanhe, who went to her to intercede for Guan Shanhe, was rebuffed.

It was said that Prince Qing even wrote a letter to her, which ultimately led nowhere.

There were even impeachments against her in the court, but all to no avail.

In light of this, the only thing Yang Zhenshan could say was awesome.

As for Duan Heshun, who targeted him, he was imprisoned on the third day after Yang Mingzhi sent the letter. The charges included embezzling provisions, taking credit for others’ achievements, and corruption involving military supplies; enough crimes to warrant beheading.

Originally, Yang Zhenshan worried Zhou Lan might not handle it well, but this incident refreshed his understanding of Zhou Lan and the Duke Ning Mansion once again.

Zhou Lan indeed had the confidence to cause a stir in Chongshan Town.

Hearing Yang Zhenshan speak so, Luo Shang also felt reassured.

He wasn’t afraid that the troubles of Jianning Guard would affect him; he was afraid they would affect Yang Zhenshan.

Because he believed that even if he were to be wiped out entirely, as long as Yang Zhenshan was still around, his whole family wouldn’t die of hunger. But if Yang Zhenshan fell, then he would quickly be devoured and wiped clean.

This was his trust in Yang Zhenshan’s character after knowing him for more than a year.

”Do you have any difficulties lately?” Yang Zhenshan asked casually.

Nowadays, Yang Zhenshan didn’t need to worry about the needlework workshops of Linguan Castle or the charcoal business of Yinghe Castle, so he didn’t discuss business matters with Luo Shang anymore.

Luo Shang thought for a moment, then said: ”My lord, I actually do have a difficulty!”

”What difficulty?” Yang Zhenshan asked.

”It’s about the fabrics. My lord might not know, but the fabrics for my drapery are supplied by the Luo family of Qi State City. In the past, I only had one drapery, and the fabrics provided by the Luo family were enough for sale. But now that I have three draperies and two embroidery workshops, the fabrics they supply are no longer sufficient!”

Luo Shang briefly explained his problem.

Actually, it was a shortage of supplies.

”Qi State City’s Luo family is?” Yang Zhenshan asked with some curiosity.

Qi State City was located south of Jing’an Prefecture, situated at the tail of Changqing Mountain, which is the same mountain range behind Yang Family Village, and the Qi River also flowed through its territory.

Due to its special location, Qi State City became a hub for terrestrial and aquatic transportation in the Liaodong Region.

Merchants traveling from the south to the north wanting to enter or exit the Liaodong Region nearly all had to pass through Qi State City.

Hence, Qi State City had also become the busiest city in the Liaodong Region.

Yang Zhenshan knew about the prosperity of Qi State City, but he had never heard of the Luo family from Qi State City.

”The Luo family from Qi State City are my clan relatives, but the Luo family is too prominent for a distant relative like me to reach their status. I have a cousin who manages business for the Luo family, and over the years, he has been the one arranging the delivery of fabrics to me!” Luo Shang explained.

Well-off and prominent!

That meant they were merchants.

If they were an official family, they would be known as a family of scholars, and if they were a Martial Arts Family, it would be said that they enjoy great martial fortune.

As for clan relatives, such a relationship is actually quite unreliable.

Like all the Yang surnamed individuals in Yang Family Village being his clan relatives, but some of them he couldn’t even name.

Similarly, Lu Zhou is also a clan relative of the Lu family of Anning County, but Lu Zhou could only work as a blacksmith in the forge.

”Fabrics!” Yang Zhenshan pondered and said: ”I can try to make some contacts for you, but I’m not sure if I can find a source.”

When it comes to fabrics, the first person he thought of was Mr. Liang.

Mr. Liang was his future father-in-law, since he got engaged to the Liang family, during this year and more, Yang Zhenshan had not neglected his future father-in-law and always sent gifts on festivals and holidays.

Similarly, Mr. Liang had not forgotten him either and often wrote letters to him.

Although Mr. Liang was a concubine’s son of the Jing’an Liang family, arranging some supplies from the Liang family should not be a problem.

This would also be beneficial for the Liang family.

If the Liang family’s channel was not feasible, he could ask the Lu family.

Although the Lu family did not deal in fabrics, they were the local snakes of Anning County, and they had innumerable connections with many powerful families and clans.

Perhaps Mr. Lu might have a way to find a source of fabrics.

”Then I’ll have to trouble you, my lord!” Luo Shang did not refuse or decline the offer but naturally accepted Yang Zhenshan’s help.

Now, he and Yang Zhenshan had established a tacit understanding; Yang Zhenshan was his backbone, and he did things for Yang Zhenshan.

This kind of relationship needed no explicit statement, it was already clear in the hearts of both Yang Zhenshan and Luo Shang.

Just like with this recent affair of the commercial street of Yinghe Castle, Yang Zhenshan assigned Yang Minghao to make a trip to the castle, and Luo Shang understood what he should do.

Subsequently, Yang Zhenshan wrote a letter and handed it to Luo Shang to take with him.

After returning to the castle, Luo Shang would pass this letter to Manager Lu, and then Manager Lu would deliver the letter to the Lu family’s caravan to be brought back to Anning County and handed over to Yang Zhengxiang, who would then send someone to deliver it to Mr. Liang.

Although the castle was only over three hundred miles from Anning County, it would still take at least four to five days to deliver a letter.