Chapter 423 The pros and cons of marrying a relative
After walking out of the pavilion, Yu Qingyi let out a breath.

Although she appeared calm just now, in fact, there was a tension in her heart.

After all, she is the Crown Princess and the future Queen of Darong.

She had to be careful.

As for the Crown Princess's niece, Yu Qingyi thought thoughtfully as she left the pavilion.

That Miss Zijin should be a pretty good girl!
Although the Crown Princess's family is only a thousand households now, they will be foreign relatives when the Crown Prince ascends the throne.

Generally speaking, relatives by marriage are granted the title of marquis during their lifetime and the title of duke after their death.

The Crown Princess already has two sons and two daughters, so the Yu family must have a marquis.

The titles granted to relatives by marriage were all hereditary titles, just like Yang Zhengshan’s Marquis of Jing’an.

The Yang family and the Yu family are considered to be a good match, and that Miss Zijin looks pretty good too.

Yu Qingyi's only concern was that the Yu family was an in-law.

Unlike nobles, maternal relatives are too deeply involved with the royal family. Once anything happens to the royal family, maternal relatives cannot escape the blame.

For example, when the crown prince was deposed before, almost all of his maternal relatives were driven out of the capital.

If the Yu family encounters such a disaster in the future, it is inevitable that the Yang family will be implicated.

Moreover, relatives by marriage can easily be involved in the fight for the princes.

The Yu family’s position is very stable now, but who can predict what will happen in the future?

The Empress of Emperor Chengping was very stable at the time, but she had passed away more than 20 years ago. Although Emperor Chengping always thought about the Empress, he never appointed another one.

However, the empress's family had never been taken seriously, and even the deposed crown prince was at the mercy of Emperor Chengping because he had no support from the empress.

If the queen were still alive, could the crown prince still be deposed?

But then again, once the deposed prince ascends the throne, the status of the mother's family will naturally rise.

There is a good example in Kyoto now, the Shouguo Mansion.

Duke Shouguo made the Wang family rich for decades because he had a good daughter and a grandson who was an emperor.

Even though the Duke of Shou is old today, the Duke of Shou's Mansion is still as stable as a rock.

If the Yu family also had a grandson who was an emperor, the result would be different.

There are pros and cons to marrying an in-law, which makes Yu Qingyi a little hesitant.

After returning home from the Mahayana Temple, Yu Qingyi thought about it and arranged for Wu Zheng to check on the situation of Miss Zijin. Then she wrote a letter to Yang Zhengshan, wanting to ask for his opinion.

……

When Yang Zhengshan received Yu Qingyi's letter, it was already the end of March.

The cold wave has faded from Chongshan Town at the end of March, and everything is about to revive. Spring ploughing will also be on the agenda, so this period is exactly the busiest time for Yang Zhengshan.

The Zhenbiao Camp has recruited thousands of soldiers and is currently training them intensively.

The glass workshop has also recruited 500 craftsmen apprentices, who are building furnaces for firing glass and teaching the glass-firing technique.

The clerks from the Engineering Department led the soldiers to run along the banks of the Ying River.

All departments of the General's Office are busy preparing for the upcoming spring plowing and river dredging tasks.

As the general, Yang Zhengshan had to take charge of the overall situation and was almost never free for a moment.

He had just returned from the training ground of Zhenbiao Camp outside the city when he was stopped by Ning Qinghe, the commander of Chongshan Town.

"Your humble servant Ning Qinghe greets the Marquis!" Ning Qinghe clasped his fists and bowed.

Yang Zhengshan took off his cloak and said with a smile: "Master Ning, please take a seat. Haha, I just came back from the Zhenbiao Camp. Let me wash my face first!"

Ning Qinghe has dark skin and his face is covered with wrinkles. Although he is tall, he looks a little hunched due to his age.

However, Yang Zhengshan still had great respect for this old man.

Ning Qinghe is a veteran from Beiyuan Town and is definitely a veteran who has experienced many battles.

Although Yang Zhengshan's official position is higher than Ning Qinghe, Ning Qinghe's qualifications are far more profound than Yang Zhengshan's.

"Please, My Lord. I'm not in a hurry!" Ning Qinghe said coldly.

He has always been like this, always acting very cold and aloof to everyone.

Yang Zhengshan went to the inner room, washed his face, changed into loose clothes, and then came to the hall again.

"Master Ning, do you have something to ask me?"

Ning Qinghe said: "There is nothing else to do, I just want to ask the Marquis to allocate some silver and iron ore to the Dusi Yamen!"

Yang Zhengshan was not surprised. The Dusi Yamen was responsible for managing military households, and spring ploughing and autumn harvest were the most important tasks of the Dusi Yamen.

Farming is inseparable from farm tools and livestock. Every spring plowing season is the poorest time for the Dusi Yamen, and it needs to prepare various farm tools and purchase as many oxen as possible.

Yang Zhengshan had already expected Ning Qinghe to come to him.

"Money is easy to talk about. The General's Office has already prepared 300,000 taels of silver for the Dusi Yamen. Lord Ning can send someone to take it away at any time!"

Yang Zhengshan sat down, picked up the tea, took a sip, and said.

Spring ploughing is of utmost priority. Neither road construction nor city building can affect spring ploughing.

So Yang Zhengshan had already prepared money for the Dusi Yamen.

Ning Qinghe's expression eased a little when he heard this.

"My Lord is so kind, this is a blessing for the 100,000 military households in Chongshan Town!"

Yang Zhengshan waved his hand and said with a smile: "Money is easy to talk about. Lord Ning should also know that the General's Mansion issued bonds before."

"But I don't have any extra iron ore."

"This!!" Ning Qinghe frowned.

Iron ore was controlled by the imperial court, so it was not difficult to purchase in small quantities. Local government offices would receive certain quotas every year, which would be sold to blacksmiths, who would then make farm tools and sell them to farmers.

But what Chongshan Town needs is definitely not a small amount.

For 150,000 military households, even if only a small number of them need to replace their farm tools, more than a little bit will be enough.

What's more, Chongshan Town also needs to build weapons and armor.

Yang Zhengshan refused to give the Dusi Yamen the iron mine because Chongshan Town needed iron mines everywhere to make weapons and armor.

"Lord Ning, don't worry. We don't have iron ore, but there are a lot of old weapons in the general's mansion. The previous rebellion of Prince Qing and the invasion of the Wuliang army left us with a lot of damaged weapons and armor. A portion of these weapons and armor can be allocated to the Dusi Yamen." Yang Zhengshan said with a smile.

"My Lord, are you teasing me?" Ning Qinghe looked at Yang Zhengshan with some dissatisfaction.

Broken armor is better than iron ore. It only needs simple hammering to be made into weapons and farm tools, and the quality is excellent.

Yang Zhengshan chuckled, "How could that be? I also have something I would like to ask for your help, Lord Ning!"

Ning Qinghe didn't argue with him and asked, "What's the matter?"

"I would like to ask Lord Ning to mobilize a group of blacksmiths for the General's Mansion! Lord Ning should also know that the General's Mansion is currently forging a large number of weapons and armor, but the number of blacksmiths in the General's Mansion is far from enough, and a group of blacksmiths is urgently needed."

There are some blacksmiths in the General's Mansion, and most of the weapons and armor of the Town Flag Camp are made by the General's Mansion itself. However, the demand for weapons and armor in Chongshan Town is really too great now.

The Zhenbiao Camp was short of soldiers and armor, and so were the various reinforcement camps.

It is unknown when the ironworkers in the General's Office and the various generals' offices will be able to forge so many weapons and armors. In addition to the General's Office, the various generals' offices and the garrison offices of each city, Chongshan Town also has many ironworkers in the garrisons of various places.

There were blacksmiths, carpenters, and stonemasons in every local garrison.

A garrison may not have many craftsmen, but if dozens of garrisons get together, hundreds of blacksmiths can be gathered.

Ning Qinghe was a little hesitant.

Because the garrisons also needed blacksmiths to forge farm tools and repair weapons and armor, all of which were inseparable from blacksmiths.

Yang Zhengshan saw his hesitation and said, "Don't worry, Lord Ning. The General's Mansion is just borrowing it. It will be used during the period between spring plowing and autumn harvest. In addition, the General's Mansion will pay the craftsmen a monthly salary. All food, clothing and other expenses will be covered by the General's Mansion!"

Now that things have come to this, Ning Qinghe has no reason to refuse.

"Okay, I will transfer the blacksmith to Chongshan Pass after the spring plowing!"

"Then I'll trouble you, Master Ning!"

Yang Zhengshan smiled and sent Ning Qinghe out of the general's mansion.

"My Lord, there's a letter from my Lady!"

Just after seeing Ning Qinghe off, his close attendant handed him a letter.

Yang Zhengshan opened the letter, glanced at it, and then frowned.

Yu family!

Relatives!

It is indeed a hassle to marry one.

Once the two families get married, they become political allies.

If there is a fight among princes for the throne in the future, the Yu family will definitely stand firmly on the side of the prince born by the queen.

And the Yang family may also have to follow suit.

Yang Zhengshan sat in the study and thought for a while, and finally picked up his pen to write a reply letter to Yu Qingyi.

This matter has its pros and cons, but Yang Zhengshan has figured it out. The Yang family does not need to rely on the Yu family to make a profit, nor does it need to worry about whether it will be implicated by the Yu family in the future.

There is no need to explain the benefits of marrying into the Yu family. At the very least, the future queen will have a better impression of the Yang family, and the Yang family will also be able to be taken care of in the palace in the future.

However, such benefits are not necessary for the Yang family. Everything the Yang family has now was obtained by Yang Zhengshan through military exploits, so there is no need to get close to the Crown Princess.

As for whether he will be implicated by the Yu family in the future, that is something that will happen in ten or twenty years. By then, will Yang Zhengshan still need to be afraid of these things?

Once Yang Zhengshan becomes a congenital warrior, the Yang family in Darong will be as solid as a rock.

As long as the Yang family does not rebel, the emperor will never target the Yang family.

At that time, the Yang family will not have to make a choice or take sides.

No matter who becomes the emperor, he will not target a family with a congenital warrior.

The reason is simple, innate warriors have the ability to make blood splatter within five steps.

Therefore, it didn’t matter to Yang Zhengshan whether he married into the Yu family or not. What Yang Zhengshan cared about was the character of Miss Zijin.

If she has the potential to be a good wife and mother, Yang Zhengshan would naturally be willing to help Yang Chengye marry her home. If not, it doesn't matter even if it offends the Crown Princess.

Yang Zhengshan wrote his thoughts in a letter and asked someone to send it to Kyoto.

In the evening, Yang Zhengshan returned to the Marquis' Mansion. In the main courtyard, Ming Zhao stood in front of the door of the main hall and looked at Yang Zhengshan eagerly.

"Daddy!" Ming Zhao called.

Yang Zhengshan picked him up and said with a smile: "What's wrong with you? You seem a little unhappy."

"Daddy, I miss mommy!" Mingzhao said with a pout.

This is the first time in Ming Zhao's life that he has been separated from Yu Qingyi for such a long time, so it is understandable that he would miss Yu Qingyi.

Yang Zhengshan thought for a moment and said, "Your mother should be back in a month!"

It is now the end of March, and when the Spring Examination is over in late April, Yu Qingyi will also have to return.

Regardless of whether Yang Chengye’s marriage is settled or not, Yu Qingyi will come back.

"One month!" Ming Zhao tilted his head and thought, "Then I have to wait another thirty days!"

"Yeah!" Yang Zhengshan smiled and pinched his nose, saying, "A man should not cry!"

"I didn't cry!" Ming Zhao shook his head and looked at him dissatisfiedly.

“Hahaha~~” Yang Zhengshan laughed, “Okay, it’s only 30 days, it will be over soon, and in a few days you should go to school to start your education, maybe by then you won’t miss mom so much!”

Ming Zhao thought about it and could only nod helplessly.

Although Lin Zhan had given Ming Zhao enlightenment before, now that Lin Zhan had come to Beijing, Ming Zhao naturally had to go to school.

In the evening, Yang Yunyan and Jiang He brought the three little ones, Jiang Ning, Jiang Miao and Jiang Feng, to the main courtyard to have dinner with Yang Zhengshan.

Yang Mingcheng went to Kyoto, Yang Mingzhi was in Fuzhou City, and Yang Minghao was busy in the town camp all day and often did not return home at night. Yang Zhengshan could not ask Li and Liang to come and have dinner with him, so he asked Yang Yunyan and Jiang He's family to come to the main courtyard to have dinner together.

"Grandfather, Miao'er also wants to have a horse of her own like her brother!"

After dinner, Jiang Miao came to Yang Zhengshan with a pouting mouth, and Yang Zhengshan looked eager.

Yang Zhengshan looked at Jiang He in surprise, "Miao'er wants a horse, just get her a pony!"

Now the Anyuan City Horse Farm still belongs to the Yang family, and the management of the farm and the use of horses in the mansion are all handled by Jiang He.

"Dad, she wants that Snow Horse!" Jiang He said helplessly.

If it were an ordinary foal, he would naturally be able to make the decision.

But that horse, Snow-Treading Horse, was raised by Yang Zhengshan.

Taxue refers to a horse with black hair all over its body except for its four hooves which have snow-white hair. Such a horse is called Taxue.

Taxue is also Hongyun's offspring, a foal that was born last year.

There are many foals in Yang Zhengshan's stable, all of which were selected by him and he planned to train them carefully.

For example, the horses used by Yang Mingcheng, Yang Mingzhi, and Yang Minghao were all carefully trained by Yang Zhengshan.

And weapons like Yang Chengye's Wanjun, Chengmao's Lei Ting, and Jiang Ning's Chiqi were all given to them by Yang Zhengshan.

As for girls like Qingwan, Yang Zhengshan did not specially train horses for them. It was not because Yang Zhengshan favored boys over girls, but because girls had fewer opportunities to ride horses and they always traveled in carriages. It was not easy for Yang Zhengshan to train a good horse, so there was no need to waste it on them.

And if they want horses, they can choose from other places.

"You want the Snow-Treading Horse!" Yang Zhengshan asked Jiang Miao.

Jiang Miao nodded her head repeatedly, her pretty face full of "I want it".

Yang Zhengshan was amused by her appearance.

"Okay, then grandpa will give Taxue to you. But Taxue is still young. You can go to grandpa's stable to see her later. You can ride her when she is three years old!" Yang Zhengshan said.

"Miao'er thanks grandpa! Miao'er knew that grandpa would definitely give Taxue to Miao'er." Jiang Miao cheered.

Seeing that the little girl was happy, Yang Zhengshan stroked his beard and laughed.

Afterwards, Jiang He and Yang Yunyan took the children back to their own courtyard, and Ming Zhao also went to bed with Nanny Song.

(End of this chapter)