Chapter 285 New Year

"Are you the head of Yuhengxing Hall?"

Yang Zhengshan sat in the main seat and asked indifferently.

"That's right!"

Yang Zhengshan didn't let him sit, and he didn't dare to sit.

"Then what are you doing here?"

"I am here to apologize to the general!"

"Apologize!" Yang Zhengshan stroked his beard and looked at Luo Jinsong.

"That's right. Huang Yifu is a swordsman from our Yuheng Xingtang. He shouldn't have offended the general. Although the general has already dealt with him, I am deeply terrified and have come here specially to apologize to the general!"

"This is a small gift from me. I hope it can express my apology to the general!"

Luo Jinsong handed a gift list to Yang Zhengshan.

Yang Zhengshan took the gift list and glanced at it casually.

Apologize!

This was beyond his expectation.

But if you think about it carefully, it is reasonable for Luo Jinsong to do so.

People like them probably hate to have conflicts with officials the most.

Especially the Seven Stars Hall of Xingyue Sect had already been excluded and suppressed by the imperial court in Dayong, which forced them to be very cautious in doing things.

There were quite a few things on the gift list, and they were quite valuable, probably worth several thousand taels of silver, but Yang Zhengshan just glanced at it casually.

"I can feel your apology, but please tell me your real purpose!"

Yang Zhengshan put down the gift list and looked up at Luo Jinsong again.

If Luo Jinsong had no request, there would be no need for him to apologize.

Yang Zhengshan is only the commander of Tenglong Guard. Although Qixingtang is wary of the imperial court, they are not wary of him as the commander of Tenglong Guard. He cannot represent the imperial court.

Seeing Yang Zhengshan's indifferent attitude, Luo Jinsong couldn't help feeling uneasy.

"General, I have a favor to ask of you!"

"What's the matter?"

"About Qingfu Mountain!" Luo Jinsong said after careful consideration.

Yang Zhengshan immediately understood what he meant, and picked up the tea and took a sip.

It seems that Yuhengxingtang is reluctant to give up Qingfushan, the source of wealth.

Naturally, he wouldn't care about Qingfu Mountain. As for whether it was legal and compliant for Yuhengxingtang to collect tolls in Qingfu Mountain, that had nothing to do with him. He was not the prefect of Jing'an Prefecture and had no control over these things.

What he was wondering was whether Yuhengxingtang would be of any use to him.

Although Yuhengxingtang is hidden deep in the Changqing Mountains, their tentacles extend throughout Liaoyuan, from Jing'an Prefecture in the north to Jizhou in the south, where they have swordsmen.

In Liaoyuan, Yuhengxingtang should be the most powerful and the most extensive force in the martial arts world.

If such a powerful underworld force can be used for one's own benefit, it should be of great use!

However, the Qixingtang belongs to the Xingyuemen. It is not easy to dig into the Xingyuemen, not to mention that he wants to dig into a hall.

"You can continue to arrange personnel in Qingfu Mountain, but you owe this general a favor for this matter!"

Yang Zhengshan felt that it was a bit difficult to dig out the Yuheng Star Hall now, so he wanted to earn a favor first.

"This!" Luo Jinsong hesitated.

Yang Zhengshan smiled and said, "Why? You don't want to?"

His smile was kind, but Luo Jinsong felt a tightness in his heart and a chill ran through his mind.

"No, no, it's my honor that the general values ​​me!" Luo Jinsong quickly responded with his head down.

Yang Zhengshan nodded slightly, "That's great! I'll accept this apology. As for Qingfu Mountain, that's your business and has nothing to do with me!"

"Thank you, General!" Luo Jinsong clasped his fists again.

Yang Zhengshan served tea to see the guest off, and Luo Jinsong tactfully said goodbye.

But when he was about to leave the main hall, Yang Zhengshan said quietly: "This general remembers that your Yuhengxing Hall's headquarters is on Daqing Mountain!"

Daqing Mountain is part of the Changqing Mountain Range, located at the junction of Jing'an Prefecture and Ningyuan Prefecture, and the Yuhengxing Hall is located on the top of Daqing Mountain.

Luo Jinsong trembled all over and replied, "Yes!"

"Ok!"

Yang Zhengshan nodded slightly and said nothing more.

"I'm leaving!" Luo Jinsong said goodbye again and then left.

Yang Zhengshan did not mention Daqing Mountain casually, but was telling Luo Jinsong that he knew the location of Yuhengxingtang. If Luo Jinsong was unwilling to repay the favor in the future, he would not mind taking a trip to Daqing Mountain.

……

On the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month, the Yang family received a New Year gift from the Marquis of Changping.

However, what Yang Zhengshan cared about was not the New Year gift from the Marquis of Changping's Mansion, but whether Yang Yunxue was living well in the Marquis of Changping's Mansion.

"Master, this is a letter from the young lady, this is a letter from Wu Zheng!"

In the study, Wu Hai handed two letters to Yang Zhengshan.

Yang Zhengshan opened the letter silently. He first read Yang Yunxue's letter. Yang Yunxue was a strong child. She naturally did not complain or grumble in the letter. She only said that she was living well in the Changping Marquis' Mansion.

After reading her letter, Yang Zhengshan opened Wu Zheng's letter.

When Yang Yunxue returned to Beijing with the Changping Marquis Mansion, Yang Zhengshan asked Wu Zheng to pay more attention to the situation of the Changping Marquis Mansion in Kyoto, and also asked him to get in touch with Nanny Lin.

Wu Zheng's letter was much more detailed and more truthful. Yang Yunxue was not as comfortable in Kyoto as she had imagined.

There were not too many disturbances inside the Marquis' Mansion. Both the Marquis and his wife looked up to Yang Yunxue very much. However, outside the Mansion, in the circle of nobles, Yang Yunxue was still despised and excluded.

The reason is simple. Yang Yunxue was born in a humble family. Although Yang Zhengshan is now a general, it cannot change the fact that the Yang family used to be farmers.

In the eyes of those high-ranking nobles, the Yang family is not even worthy of mention.

After reading Wu Zheng's letter, Yang Zhengshan's face looked a little unhappy!

These nobles in Kyoto are really annoying!
"People fight for a breath, Buddhas fight for a stick of incense, sooner or later, these nobles will be in trouble!"

Yang Zhengshan thought angrily.

Although it was Yang Yunxue who was despised and excluded, the root cause lay in the Yang family.

Yang Yunxue married into the Changping Marquis's Mansion, which was considered a high-ranking marriage no matter how you looked at it. There was nothing she could do about it, since the Yang family had no title.

Now Yang Zhengshan has no way to deal with those nobles. Fortunately, the interior of Changping Marquis' Mansion is relatively peaceful, so Yang Yunxue does not have to suffer from any bullying inside or outside.

After putting away the two letters, Yang Zhengshan asked Wu Hai, "How are the boys at home doing in training?"

"My lord, there are more than a dozen guys ready to go out to work!" Wu Hai said with a smile.

The guys he was referring to were the young guards trained by the Yang family.

Today, Zhu Shanghe is the chief instructor of the Yang family guards, Ding Qiu is the commander of the guards, and Wu Zheng and Wu Zhan are deputy commanders.

In addition to the twenty guards initially trained and the ten disciples of the Tianqing Sword Sect, the Yang family has also trained a number of guards in recent years.

The so-called being able to go out to work means that you have cultivated yourself as a warrior.

Being a warrior is the minimum requirement to serve as a guard.

Yang Zhengshan nodded slightly, "Give them instructions to go to Kyoto to find Wu Zheng after the New Year. Also, give Wu Zheng 10,000 taels of silver so that he can win over some people in Kyoto."

Kyoto is the seat of imperial power and the core of the imperial court. Sooner or later, Yang Zhengshan will have to go there to try his luck.

Although he has sent Wu Zheng for a long time, the previous investment was not much, and it is time to invest more now.

"I obey your command!" Wu Hai replied.

……

The lively New Year's Day has passed quickly, and in the new year, Tenglongwei will usher in a new look.

On the tenth day of the first lunar month, the Weisi Yamen opened and Yang Zhengshan summoned all the officials in the Yamen to the lobby.

"Zhou Ren, pass out the plans you copied!"

Yang Zhengshan sat in the main seat and gave the order.

In the hall, Xie Yuan, Song Dashan and others opened the plans they had received.

"Everyone, we have three tasks this year. The first is to provide the military households with new houses, the second is to ensure that they have enough food, and the third is to train an elite army of 3,000 people!"

"First, let's talk about the new houses. You should all be familiar with them. We renovated all the Qianhu houses when we were in Anyuan City. Now we have to renovate all the Qianhu houses as well."

"Not only the Qianhu Suo, but also the Acropolis needs repairs."

"This is a huge project. I need you to mobilize all the military households and complete all the tasks as much as possible without affecting farming and training."

Yang Zhengshan said slowly.

It is definitely a huge project to accommodate all military households in new houses.

You have to know that there are now 12,000 military households in Tenglongwei, and most of the military households’ houses are dilapidated adobe houses, which means they have to build 12,000 houses.

Even if it is just a simple adobe house, it is still a huge project.

What's more, Yang Zhengshan also wanted to renovate the Acropolis and the Thousand Households Office.

This may sound like a waste of time and money, but Yang Zhengshan has his reasons for doing so.

First of all, we need to improve the living conditions of the military households. Houses that cannot block the cold wind in winter and the rain in summer are really uninhabitable, not to mention that many military households are still living in ice houses or snow houses.

Secondly, he wanted to give money and food to the military households. The military households of Tenglong Guard were too poor. Even the military households of Tenglong Vanguard could barely make ends meet, let alone the military households of the other three guards.

As for the Lan family's former tenants and slaves, they were equally poor.

Using work-for-relief as an excuse, the government would distribute money and grain to military households under the pretext of large-scale construction projects, giving them a way to make money in the shortest possible time.

Only in this way can their living conditions be changed in a short period of time.

Neither Yang Zhengshan nor Xie Yuan were unfamiliar with these things, because that was what Yang Zhengshan did in Anyuan City.

It’s just that Tenglongwei is larger in scale and has more military households.

"The second is to have enough food. Farming is our foundation, and spring ploughing is the top priority. Before spring ploughing, you must divide all the fields clearly and compile the fish scale books in full."

"In addition, we also need a large number of oxen. I have already contacted the merchants in Chongshan Pass before the New Year. It should not be long before they can transport the oxen here. You must distribute them reasonably by then!"

"As for the rest, I have other arrangements. We'll talk about this later!"

Having enough food is not just about not going hungry, but also about ensuring that the military households have a stable and sufficient income.

Military farming is just the foundation. The salt industry that Yang Zhengshan is preparing to get involved in is the way to wealth for the 12,000 military households in Tenglongwei.

However, some preparations still need to be made for the salt trade. At present, Tenglongwei must first ensure the cultivation of military farms.

"The last thing is military training. After the spring ploughing is over, military training will be put on the agenda!"

"But before we train our troops, we still need to build a barracks outside the city!"

There was no large enough training ground in the Acropolis, so they had to build a barracks outside the city for training troops.

The soldiers Yang Zhengshan wanted to train were not the soldiers in the garrison, but the soldiers in the camp who were separated from production.

Although Tenglongwei is a garrison, this does not prevent him from training his soldiers in the same way as the soldiers in the camp.

In fact, he learned this from Liang Chu. The Yunlong Guard is also a guard post, but the Yunlong Guards around Liang Chu are fully full-time soldiers, or to put it simply, they are professional soldiers.

(End of this chapter)