Chapter 451 You think I’m ugly?
Yang Zhengshan jumped off his horse in front of the general's mansion, and then led Hongyun to the stable.

Yang Zhengshan came back relatively early today, and it was a rare opportunity for him to have some time without having to stay in the study to handle official business.

"Old buddy, let me brush your hair today!" Yang Zhengshan said with a smile while stroking Hongyun's mane.

Hehehe~~
Hongyun opened her big, Caroline-like eyes and looked at Yang Zhengshan with disdain.

It seems to be saying, "Just you? Can you brush your hair?"

"Well, you're still disgusted with it!" Yang Zhengshan said with a smile.

The attendant brought a bucket, and Yang Zhengshan rolled up his sleeves and took a brush to wipe Hongyun.

"Have you forgotten that I was the one who brushed your fur back then? Humph, back then you wouldn't let anyone else touch your fur, only me to brush it!"

"Why, you've been used to being served for so many years, so you dislike my brushing technique?"

Yang Zhengshan was brushing vigorously while muttering to himself.

Whether in the general's mansion or in the marquis's mansion, Hong Yun is a big shot, and his life is more comfortable than Yang Zhengshan's.

It eats the best fodder, lives in the cleanest stable, and has a special groom to serve it. If the groom does not satisfy it, it will lift its hooves.

The most important thing is that this guy now has many wives and concubines and many children and grandchildren!
Yang Zhengshan felt that this guy was even more arrogant than himself.

I don't even have many wives and concubines, but the mares this guy has slept with can be ranked from Chongshan Pass to Tenglong Guard.

"By the way, why did you drive your concubine out of the stable yesterday?" Yang Zhengshan asked curiously.

Hehehe~~
"Too ugly?" Yang Zhengshan paused. "That's a top-quality Wuliang horse, with a well-proportioned body, long limbs, and a reddish ochre body. It's definitely a first-class beautiful horse? How dare you think it's ugly?"

In order to breed Hongyun, both Ma San, who was responsible for raising horses for the Marquis' Mansion, and the clerk in charge of horse affairs in the General's Mansion spent a lot of time and effort.

Of course, they were not trying to please Hong Yun, but only for Hong Yun’s descendants.

To this end, the clerks of the Horse Administration Department have been searching everywhere for high-quality mares.

"Xilulu!" Hongyun shook his head somewhat dissatisfied.

Yang Zhengshan suddenly realized, "Oh, the seeds have been sown! That's good, it's all out of everyone's good intentions, you can't let them down!"

"I'll ask Ma San to pick out a few better mares for you in a few days. We still have a few boys who don't have foals yet, so you have to keep working hard!"

Hongyun was even more dissatisfied. He shook his big head and splashed water on Yang Zhengshan's face.

It's bad enough that you're riding me, but my descendants will also be ridden by your descendants. You old thing are really sinister.

Yang Zhengshan pulled its mane, "Don't shake it, be quiet!"

What you mean is too complicated, I don't understand!
Yang Zhengshan was brushing Hongyun's fur happily.

At this time, a personal attendant came over and said, "My Lord, Commander Ding and Lord Luo are back!"

Yang Zhengshan looked up and saw Ding Qiu and Luo Jinsong standing not far away, "Come here!"

"Greetings to the Marquis!"

The two men came closer and bowed.

"Well, how's things going?" Yang Zhengshan asked as he continued to brush Hongyun's fur.

"It has been done. Lord An's memorial has been sent to Kyoto. Calculating the date, it will be presented to the palace in the next two days!"

"Zhao Yunxing was killed in his own study, and I, the old servant, took it upon myself to release Ning Dongsheng!"

Ding Qiu said.

Yang Zhengshan raised his eyebrows, "Zhao Yunxing was killed? By whom?"

"We haven't found the murderer yet, but we think there are other people behind this. It's just that they are hiding very deeply and are quite powerful. We haven't found any loopholes in their way!"

Ding Qiu told Yang Zhengshan about the existence of Yan Huichun.

Yang Zhengshan seemed to be thinking about something.

interesting?
Is there someone behind this?

And it seems that the mastermind behind this is not simple.

I just don’t know the other party’s identity and origin, nor do I know what the other party’s purpose is.

"Are there any other situations?"

Ding Qiu continued, "Something happened in Jizhou. Before we could make any move, the Hengdao Sect had already dealt with the Jizhou Luo family. Now the Jizhou Luo family has been imprisoned, and the prefectural government is investigating the Jizhou Luo family's crimes!"

The corners of Yang Zhengshan's mouth curled up slightly.

"Hengdao Sect, haha, that old fox Ji Zhen never gets up early without profit. This time he took the initiative to get rid of the Luo family. I guess he wants to get some benefits from me!"

Yang Zhengshan was not surprised by what the Hengdao Sect did.

Although most of the underworld forces are not visible, some of them have immeasurable influence in the local area.

Take the Hengdao Sect for example. The Hengdao Sect is deeply rooted in Jizhou. Its industries cover almost every industry in Jizhou, and its disciples are spread all over Jizhou.

If you only look at the power in official circles, you will feel that the Hengdao Sect does not seem to have much connection with the government.

For example, the chief officials of the prefectural office, the Weisi office, the Maritime Customs Office, the Inspector General, etc., did not have a close relationship with the Hengdao Sect.

But if you investigate in depth, you will find that most of the constables in the prefectural yamen are disciples of the Hengdao Sect, and the middle and low-level military officers in the Weisi yamen have close ties with the Hengdao Sect. Many of the runners and clerks in the Maritime Customs Office, the Xunan yamen, etc., are from the Hengdao Sect, or are relatives of the disciples of the Hengdao Sect.

It can be said that in Jizhou, the tentacles of Hengdaomen have penetrated into every government office.

As long as the Hengdao Sect is willing, it can even sideline the chief officials of many government offices.

This is where Ji Zhen’s brilliance lies.

What’s the point of winning over a few chief officers?
Once the chief officer is transferred, they have to win over the new chief officer, which is not only time-consuming and laborious, but also costs a lot of money.

But if we win over the middle and low-level officials, it will be different.

Middle and low-level officials would stay in Jizhou almost their entire lives. Once the relationship between the two sides became close, it would be a relationship that would last for decades and could even be passed on to the next generation.

The most important thing is that this will not attract attention and the risk is low.

The Hengdao Sect has almost woven a huge network that penetrates every hole in Jizhou. It is no exaggeration to say that the Hengdao Sect is the overlord of Jizhou.

However, Ji Zhen's brilliance lies in another aspect, that is, he seldom uses this big network and seldom interferes in official affairs.

Therefore, the Hengdao Sect never attracted the attention of the imperial court, nor did it make the court feel wary.

But in Yang Zhengshan's mind, Ji Zhen is a cunning old fox.

Since the beginning of Tenglongwei, Hengdaomen has reached a cooperation with him, and Hengdaomen has also made a lot of money in Tenglongwei over the years. In addition, last year, Shanhelou's bounty on Yang Zhengshan attracted so many martial arts masters, but Ji Zhen not only did not participate, but also sold a favor to Yang Zhengshan.

The results of it!
Those martial arts masters were killed by Yang Zhengshan, and Shanhe Tower was destroyed as a result.

Not only did the Hengdao Sect suffer no losses, they also earned a favor from Yang Zhengshan.

Up to now, Yang Zhengshan has not repaid this favor.

"I heard that Ji Hai is on his way to Chongshan Pass!" Ding Qiu said again.

Yang Zhengshan smiled and shook his head, "Well, the debt collectors are here!"

He continued to brush Hongyun's fur and said, "You guys go and have a rest. We don't need to worry about the rest!"

"Here!"

The two men responded and bowed and left.

……

The day after Ding Qiu and Luo Jinsong returned, Ji Hai came to the Marquis's Mansion to pay a visit.

However, Yang Zhengshan did not receive him in person, because he also came to Chongshan Pass today with one million taels of silver allocated to him by Emperor Yanping.

One million taels of silver were escorted by soldiers from the Jinwu Guard.

Wang An naturally would not escort him personally. He only arranged for a young eunuch and five hundred Jinwu Guards to escort him.

After receiving one million taels of silver, Yang Zhengshan warmly entertained the young eunuchs and soldiers of the Jinwu Guard.

Ji Hai was received by Yang Mingcheng when he visited the Yang family.

"Hero Ji, welcome, welcome!"

In the front yard of the Marquis's Mansion, Yang Mingcheng greeted Ji Hai with a warm look on his face.

"I dare not. I am Ji Hai, paying my respects to the young marquis!" said Ji Hai.

Yang Mingcheng was stunned. It was the first time he heard the title of Young Marquis.

He is not young anymore, and he is not actually a young marquis.

Because Yang Zhengshan was a hereditary third-class marquis, when the title was passed on to Yang Mingcheng, Yang Mingcheng was only a first-class earl, and naturally could not be called a junior marquis.

"Master Ji, you are joking. I dare not call myself the young marquis. If you don't mind, Master Ji, you can just call me by my name!"

Although Yang Mingcheng is honest and simple, he is not a fool who knows nothing.

Some things may seem insignificant, but at some point these insignificant things may become a handle for others to attack the Yang family.

"Then, I'll be generous and call you brother Chengcheng!" Ji Hai said after a moment's hesitation.

Yang Mingcheng laughed, "Brother Ji, please!"

The two smiled at each other and then walked into the main hall.

Looking at the magnificent hall and then at the noble Yang Mingcheng, Ji Hai couldn't help but sigh in his heart that nothing in the world is easy.

When he first came into contact with the Yang family, the Yang family was just a small military officer family.

It was when Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi got married. At that time, Yang Zhengshan was just the garrison commander of Anyuan City.

Now, the Yang family has become a marquisate, Yang Zhengshan is the Marquis of Jing'an, and the former heroine has become the marquis's wife.

Thinking of Yu Qingyi, Ji Hai couldn't help but feel a little envious.

You have to believe in fate!

The Tianqing Sword Sect is just an ordinary martial arts sect in Liaodong, and Yu Qingyi was only a minor figure in the Liaodong martial arts world before.

He was far inferior to him, but now he had to look up to Yu Qingyi.

The two sat down and the servants served them tea.

"How is Madam Hou these days?"

"Mother is fine." Yang Mingcheng said with a smile.

Ji Hai looked at Yang Mingcheng, and seeing that his expression was calm and sincere, he secretly admired him in his heart.

From Yang Mingcheng's attitude, we can see Yu Qingyi's status in the Marquis' Mansion.

Thinking about his junior sister Ning Qingqing, he couldn't help but feel regretful.

In fact, Ji Hai is not a sentimental person. As a martial artist, he is accustomed to the fighting in the world. It is not an exaggeration to say that he is cold-blooded.

It was just because of Yu Qingyi's identity change that he felt more emotional.

Afterwards, the two chatted about some family matters and mentioned that the friendship between the Yang family and the Hengdao Sect was quite close, and the two sides had always maintained a good relationship.

Especially since Ji Hai had saved Yang Mingcheng, the Yang family would always owe a favor to the Hengdao Sect because of this favor.

After chatting for a while, Ji Hai stated the purpose of his visit.

"I am here to ask for a favor!"

"Brother Ji, just speak frankly. I will never refuse if I can help!" Yang Mingcheng said.

Ji Hai said: "It's not a big deal, I just want to ask for some herbal wine for my master!"

"This is a simple matter. In fact, my father has already prepared it. Thirty jars of herbal wine and some good liquor. Brother Ji can take them away anytime!" Yang Mingcheng said nonchalantly.

"Uh! It's been prepared for a long time!" Ji Hai was stunned.

"Well, I prepared it yesterday!" Yang Mingcheng was still too honest.

Ji Hai understood that Yang Zhengshan had expected him to come and had guessed that he would come to ask for Baicao Niang.

"By the way, my father has something he wants Brother Ji to tell Senior Ji!"

Yang Mingcheng suddenly remembered what Yang Zhengshan had said yesterday.

"What?"

"If Senior Ji is free, he can come to Chongshan Pass!" Yang Mingcheng said.

"This~~" Ji Hai thought about it and didn't understand why Yang Zhengshan wanted to see his master.

However, he did not think too much about it and just said, "I will inform my master, but I cannot decide for him whether he is free or not!"

(End of this chapter)