Chapter 411

In the study, Yang Mingzhi poured tea for Yang Zhengshan, and Yang Zhengshan placed his hands by the brazier to warm them.

Chongshan Town is particularly cold this year, and there is a lot of snow.

Since the beginning of winter, Chongshan Pass has had three heavy snowfalls, each of which was one foot thick.

Today's weather is still gloomy. It will probably snow heavily in an hour, and this heavy snow will last for two days and two nights.

"father!"

Yang Mingzhi placed the tea in front of Yang Zhengshan.

Yang Zhengshan took a sip of the tea and asked, "What's the situation in Fuzhou City?"

"It's terrible!" Yang Mingzhi said.

Yang Zhengshan nodded slightly. This was expected.

When Ji Feiyu rebelled, Hou Yao brought 20,000 soldiers from the northern reinforcement camp to Chongshan Pass. After a great battle, 20,000 soldiers suffered heavy casualties, and even those who survived were charged with crimes.

You should know that these more than 20,000 soldiers came from military households and civilian families in Fuzhou.

Most of the military households and civilians in Fuzhou are refugees who have just migrated there in recent years.

Fuzhou's foundation was originally weak, and now so many soldiers have been lost, making Fuzhou even poorer.

Moreover, many civilians and military households in Fuzhou may harbor hatred towards the current Chongshan Town because of the Battle of Chongshan Pass.

"Let's stabilize the situation first. If someone causes trouble, there's no need to worry." Yang Zhengshan said calmly.

"I understand. I'm not worried about anyone causing trouble. It's just that the people in Fuzhou are living in poverty, and I want to do something for them!" Yang Mingzhi looked at Yang Zhengshan, an expectant look on his face.

Yang Zhengshan couldn't help but smile when he saw this.

This guy is crying poor to himself.

The purpose is simply to hope that he can allocate more money and food to Fuzhou City.

Now Yang Mingzhi is a lieutenant general. Although he is still under Yang Zhengshan's command, he can no longer rely on Yang Zhengshan for everything.

There are six lieutenant generals in Chongshan Town, and the situation of each of them is not very good. They all need the support of the Governor's Office and the General's Office.

Now the governor's office does not have much money and grain, but the general's office has a lot of money and grain.

If Yang Mingzhi wanted money and food, he would naturally have to take it from his father.

Unfortunately, Yang Zhengshan had no intention of giving him money and food. The money and food of the General's Mansion was used to rebuild the five camps of the town flag and build the Black Cloud City. For a long time in the future, the General's Mansion would have no money and food to support the various forces.

"You want money and food, but the general's office doesn't have it!" Yang Zhengshan ruthlessly extinguished Yang Mingzhi's hopes.

"Oh!" Yang Mingzhi lowered his head in disappointment.

Yang Zhengshan smiled and said, "But I can give you an idea!"

"What idea?" Yang Mingzhi raised his head again, with anticipation in his eyes.

"Tenglong Guard!"

Yang Zhengshan picked up the tea and drank it, then said, "Fuzhou City is also close to the sea, so we can build a dock and form a fleet. We definitely can't build a navy, but we can build a fleet!"

The Tenglongwei Navy is already an extra care from Emperor Chengping. If Yang Zhengshan were to establish another navy in Chongshan Town, Emperor Chengping would definitely not agree.

After all, building a navy requires a lot of manpower and material resources. The Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works probably won't put out so much manpower and material resources to build warships for Chongshan Town.

However, this does not prevent Fuzhou City from building a dock and developing its own maritime trade by leveraging Tenglongwei's maritime trade advantages.

Of course, Fuzhou City cannot open its docks to private merchants like Tenglongwei did. The court has just included Tenglongwei’s maritime trade in the scope of taxation, and Yang Zhengshan is asking Fuzhou City to open its docks to private merchants. Isn’t this a slap in the face of Liaodong Shipping Company?
Therefore, the wharf of Fuzhou City can only be used for its own purposes, and it can no longer take advantage of maritime trade to develop the economy.

Yang Mingzhi immediately understood what Yang Zhengshan meant, and his eyes suddenly became bright.

"Dad still has more ideas!"

Yang Zhengshan continued, "In addition to maritime trade, Fuzhou City can also reclaim wasteland. There are still large tracts of fertile wasteland around Fuzhou City that have not been reclaimed. You can put more effort in this regard!"

"In addition, the governor's office should ask the court to relocate the people this year. By then, Fuzhou City will also have to accept some of the people. You must be prepared in advance!"

Afterwards, Yang Zhengshan told Yang Mingzhi about his plans for Fuzhou and Heiyun City one by one, and also put forward his own suggestions and ideas in various aspects of Fuzhou City.

Although Yang Mingzhi now has the ability to stand on his own, his thinking and ideas are far inferior to Yang Zhengshan in many aspects.

After all, Yang Zhengshan had witnessed a truly prosperous era in his previous life and had a deep understanding of a five-thousand-year-old civilization.

After some face-to-face instructions, Yang Mingzhi gained a lot.

When he walked out of the study, he was full of ambition and couldn't wait to make a big move in Fuzhou City.

Yang Zhengshan was very satisfied with his mentality.

Young people should be energetic and have the courage to act and take responsibility.

After chatting with Yang Mingzhi, Yang Zhengshan called Lin Zhan over to chat for a long time.

What he talked about with Lin Zhan was the Spring Examination.

Lin Zhan is Liu Zhe's student, and he has been studying abroad with Liu Zhe for several years. Now he has acquired extraordinary knowledge.

But he is young after all, and is still somewhat inferior to Lu Wenyuan three years ago.

Three years ago, when Lu Wenyuan participated in the Spring Examination, he was already 26 years old, while Lin Zhan is only 20 years old now.

"Did your teacher tell you what your chances are of making the list this time?"

In the study, Yang Zhengshan asked Lin Zhan.

Lin Zhan thought for a while and said, "Teacher said that my chances of passing the exam are very high, but my chances of getting first place are very small!" First place refers to the top three places in the imperial examination.

Three years ago, Lu Wenyuan was the third place in the imperial examination, but now it is probably difficult for Lin Zhan to enter the first place.

"What do you think?"

There is a huge difference between the first class and the third class. Those who come from the first class can directly enter the Hanlin Academy, and after two or three years of training in the Hanlin Academy, they can enter the Six Ministries.

The so-called "Walking around the Six Ministries" actually means being familiar with the situations of the Six Ministries. Now Lu Wenyuan is a Yuanwailang in the Ministry of Revenue, which means he is walking around the Six Ministries.

Next, Lu Wenyuan will serve in the six ministries one after another. If nothing unexpected happens, he will continue to be promoted among the six ministries.

After he has transferred to six ministries, he will have a great chance of entering the cabinet.

This is the promotion process for first-class Jinshi. Of course, not every first-class Jinshi can enter the cabinet. It can only be said that first-class Jinshi have the opportunity to become future cabinet ministers.

It is very difficult for second-class Jinshi to enter the cabinet, because after serving in the six ministries, they will be sent out of the capital. Once they leave the capital, it becomes a hurdle to return to the capital.

As for those who were among the top three Jinshi, they were sent out to be county magistrates from the beginning. Not to mention returning to Beijing to join the cabinet, it was already a blessing for them to be able to sit in the position of prefect.

Therefore, the difference between the first, second and third grades is huge, which has a crucial impact on future career.

Lin Zhan cannot get into the first class now, but if he studies hard for three years, he should be able to compete for the first class.

Liu Zhe had said at the beginning that Lin Zhan had the potential to be the top scholar, and now all Lin Zhan lacked was accumulation of experience.

In fact, in terms of talent and potential, Lin Zhan is even better than Lu Wenyuan.

Lin Zhan pondered for a moment and said, "Disciple still wants to give it a try. Whether it's the third or second place, disciple is willing!"

Yang Zhengshan looked at him seriously and said, "Think carefully about it. This is related to your future. If you are only ranked third, it will be difficult for you to become an official in Beijing in the future."

Lin Zhan shook his head slightly, "Master, it's not that I'm impatient. What I want is just a reputation. Second place and third place are the same to me."

Yang Zhengshan looked at him in surprise, and it took a long time before he smiled.

"You are a child with your own ideas. As long as you can think clearly, your teacher will support you!"

"Thank you, Master!" Lin showed a bright smile.

Apart from urging him to practice, Yang Zhengshan never forced him to do anything, and this was what he was most grateful to Yang Zhengshan for.

Now that he has started a family, he may leave the Yang family in the future, but he will always be grateful to Yang Zhengshan for raising him and teaching him.

Yang Zhengshan stood up, put on a thick fur coat, and said, "After the first month of the year, you can go to the capital with your master's wife!"

"Since our Yang family has become a noble family, we can no longer stay in a remote corner. It is inevitable that we will integrate into the capital!"

"When you get to Kyoto, you can also visit Wen Yuan. He should be able to give you some pointers!"

Yang Zhengshan said as he walked out of the study.

It was snowing heavily outside. Large flakes of snow were falling from the sky, covering the pavilions and towers that were already covered in silver with a layer of white gauze.

Bursts of giggles came from the main room. Yu Qingyi was chatting with Wang, Li, Liang, Zheng and others.

In the yard, a few little kids were making a fuss because of the snow. A group of servants surrounded them, fearing that they would get bumped into something.

Yang Zhengshan looked up and saw Yang Chengxian throwing a snowball and hitting Yang Wanyi's little head.

"Ah, Third Brother, you sneak attacked me!" Yang Wanyi exclaimed, and then angrily threw the snowball in her hand at Yang Chengxian. Unfortunately, Yang Chengxian's hands and feet were nimble and he easily dodged the snowball.

"Third brother is the worst, third sister, let me help you!" Yang Wanting, who was standing next to them, couldn't stand it anymore and stepped forward to help Yang Wanyi. The two sisters chased Yang Chengxian around the yard.

There were two little rascals, Yang Chengyou and Yang Chengzhang, making a fuss around.

The two little ones, Yang Chengzhen and Yang Wanying, in the arms of their nanny, watched their older brother and sister playing and wanted to join in. They twisted their bodies constantly, trying to break free from their nanny's arms.

When Yang Zhengshan saw this scene, he stroked his beard and smiled kindly.

"When you have a child, let your eldest brother be his master!"

"Brother!" Lin Zhan's expression slightly changed, "That is the disciple's blessing!"

The big brother he mentioned was naturally Yang Mingcheng. Although Yang Mingcheng, the eldest brother of the Yang family, had a low presence in the outside world, all members of the Yang family knew that Yang Mingcheng was the strongest one among the second generation of the Yang family.

Others may not be very clear about Yang Mingcheng's strength, but Yang Zhengshan knows it very well.

Today, Yang Mingcheng has reached the eighth level of acquired cultivation, and he has begun to practice Yi Mu Chang Chun Gong. Although he is still a long way from condensing the innate true qi, it must be said that Yang Mingcheng's progress in martial arts is very fast.

Yang Mingzhi and Yang Minghao were both pulled down to a lower level of cultivation by him.

You should know that the gap between the eighth level and the seventh level of the acquired realm is huge, which is far from being comparable to the second level and the first level of the acquired realm.

One level of difference means several years of hard work.

The reason for such a gap is that Yang Mingcheng obtained the most resources. Whether it was Lingquan water, Baicao wine, Donglingchun and other space products, Yang Mingcheng enjoyed the most except for Yang Zhengshan.

This is mainly because Yang Mingcheng has been staying at home, and Yang Zhengshan undoubtedly provides the most resources to the family.

The second reason is that Yang Mingcheng does not have so many things to do and has plenty of time to spend on cultivation. The Yang family has many industries, but Yang Mingcheng does not need to do everything himself. He just helps Yu Qingyi.

In addition, since he was not an official, he did not need to be distracted by official duties, so he naturally focused his time and energy on cultivation.

In comparison, Yu Qingyi has wasted a lot of energy on Xiao Mingzhao in the past few years and has been somewhat slack in cultivation. Otherwise, Yu Qingyi should have condensed the innate true qi and reached the half-step innate realm long ago.

Yang Zhengshan asked Lin Zhan's future children to worship Yang Mingcheng as their master, naturally because he did not want Lin Zhan to become estranged from the Yang family in the future.

With two levels of master-disciple relationship, the Lin family and the Yang family will be closer in the future.

(End of this chapter)