Chapter 74 Rumors are flying everywhere

"You go out first!"

Yang Zhengshan first drove Yang Mingzhi out of the study.

"grown ups!"

After Yang Mingzhi left, Luo Shang looked at Yang Zhengshan anxiously.

Yang Zhengshan said with a faint smile: "Shopkeeper Luo, let's sit down and talk!"

"Oh~~" Luo Shang sat in front of the desk, at a loss.

Yang Zhengshan poured him a cup of tea and asked, "Manager Luo, do you have any trustworthy friends in the city?"

"Yes!" Luo Shang didn't understand what Yang Zhengshan wanted to do, but he still said honestly: "It's just that they can't help!"

He has been doing business in Guancheng for more than ten years. Although he does not have any family power, he has some friends.

Compared with the officials he fawned over, his civilian friends were more trustworthy.

It's just that ordinary people can't help at all with this.

Yang Zhengshan picked up the tea and took a sip. "I can't help you with this matter. You know I just came to Guancheng not long ago and I have almost no foundation in Guancheng!"

"This, sir~" Luo Shang couldn't help but want to beg again.

Yang Zhengshan raised his hand to stop him and said, "Listen to what I have to say."

"I can't help you, but I can give you some advice."

"During this expedition to Chongshan Town, Zhang Yude embezzled a lot of food and fodder!"

If it was something else, Yang Zhengshan might not be aware.

However, he still knew something about Zhang Yude's embezzlement of grain and fodder, because he was a grain transport officer. When he returned to Guancheng to transport grain, he had frequent contact with the Dusi Yamen, the Ministry of Revenue and Zhang Yude's subordinates.

He didn't know how many people were involved, but he knew that every time he received food and fodder, he would get 30% less.

Zhou Lan knew about this, and Zhang Shouwang probably knew about it too, but neither of them said anything, so Yang Zhengshan didn't interfere. He would just transport whatever was given to him, and the rest was not something a small grain transport officer like him could take care of.

Perhaps this is something everyone knows, but no one dares to bring it up.

"What does this have to do with me?" Luo Shang asked puzzledly.

"Our army was defeated, and the court will certainly hold us accountable. As the eunuch guarding the city, Zhang Yude certainly doesn't want to attract the attention of the court!"

"If the news of Zhang Yude's corruption spreads throughout the city, do you think the court will punish Zhang Yude?"

Yang Zhengshan said slowly.

At this time, Zhang Yude naturally had to behave himself.

"What does your Excellency mean?" Luo Shang seemed to come to her senses.

Yang Zhengshan continued to remind him: "If Zhang Yude falls, what will the Zhang family be?"

"Even if Zhang Yude can't fall, give him some trouble so that he has no time for other things. The Zhang family probably won't be able to take care of you in the short term. Maybe you can take the opportunity to rescue your son!"

When Luo Shang heard this, her eyes suddenly lit up.

If he could rescue his eldest son, he would naturally be willing to give it a try.

"Your Excellency means to spread rumors?"

"No, that's not a rumor, that's the truth!" Yang Zhengshan said with a smile.

Luo Shang is not stupid either. The fact that he has been able to run his business in Guancheng for so many years shows that he has his own foundation.

Seeing that he understood, Yang Zhengshan's expression became serious and he said, "After leaving this door, I didn't do anything for you, nor did I say anything extra to you. Do you understand?"

Luo Shang was startled, then stood up, bowed, and said, "I understand. Your kindness, I will remember it in my heart!"

At this time he had calmed down and understood Yang Zhengshan's difficulties and concerns.

The fact that Yang Zhengshan could help him with advice was enough to make him grateful. As long as he still had a little conscience, he should not involve Yang Zhengshan in this.

In order to save himself and his son, he is willing to risk his life, but Yang Zhengshan cannot take the risk to help him.

"Goodbye!" Yang Zhengshan served tea to see the guest off.

Luo Shang took a deep breath and her expression became desperate again.

He left the study in a distraught state, and Yang Zhengshan's mouth curled up slightly. Fortunately, this is a smart man.

……

Yang Zhengshan didn't pay too much attention to what happened to the Luo family. Anyway, he had already rejected Luo Shang, and no matter what Luo Shang did, it had nothing to do with him.

Of course, even if he didn't pay attention, a lot of news in Guancheng had reached his ears.

On the third day after Luo Shang left Linguan Fort, some rumors spread in the city.

Some people say that the battle was lost because the army ran out of food and fodder.

The army was short of food and fodder because someone embezzled military rations.

The rumors spread more and more, and various versions emerged one after another. Some pointed to Zhang Yude, some pointed to Zhang Shouwang, and some pointed to Governor Sun Xincheng.

All kinds of rumors are flying around, but some are rumors, while others are facts.

Luo Shang is just a small figure. It is impossible for him to create so many rumors. In fact, there is no need for him to create so many rumors.

He just needs to start it, and naturally there will be countless people spreading all kinds of rumors.

Maybe someone is behind this.

But those have nothing to do with Luo Shang anymore.

Amid all the rumors, the Zhang family indeed became more obedient. Perhaps it was because Zhang Yude had warned the Zhang family to keep a low profile during this period, or perhaps it was because the Zhang family themselves felt the pressure and crisis.

Anyway, they have no time to pay attention to Luo Shang, a small figure.

But Luo Shang's son is still in prison.

Time quietly came to the end of July, the weather was still hot, and the small river under the hillside of Linguanbao had completely dried up.

However, the deep well that Yang Zhengshan wanted was dug.

The well water is quite abundant, and the people in Linguanbao can not only drink the water, but also use it to irrigate some fields.

The drought has also attracted a lot of attention.

The governor's office and the military commissioner's office have issued orders for all military camps and garrisons to dig wells and obtain water in order to ensure the harvest from the military farms this year.

But doing so is just a drop in the bucket.

The harvest of the military farms in Chongshan Town will definitely be affected this year. Although it will not be a complete loss, the harvest will definitely be much lower.

Yang Zhengshan felt a little relieved about this. In this way, although Chongshan Town would be affected by the drought, it should not fall into chaos because of the drought.

"Dad, the clan leader has sent a letter!"

In the study of the government office, Yang Minghao came back with two letters.

He had just gone to Guancheng to do some shopping with Lao Li, and happened to run into the Lu family's caravan.

Yang Zhengshan took the letter and started reading it.

There were two letters, one was written by Yang Mingcheng.

Thanks to the Tuolu family caravan, Yang Mingcheng would write to him every month, telling him about trivial matters at home.

There was nothing interesting in Yang Mingcheng's letter. He just expressed his concern about whether they were doing well in Linguanbao, talked about the situation at home, and explained what he had done during this period.

Yang Zhengxiang's letter said a lot of things.

First of all, the Yang family school has been built. Yang Zhengxiang invited a scholar and two students from the county town to be teachers. Currently, many children in Yangjia Village have enrolled in the school.

Admission to the Yang clan school is not free, and one needs to pay a tuition fee. Children of the Yang clan can pay less, while children of other clans have to pay more if they want to attend.

In addition to the clan school, the roads in Yangjia Village have also been repaired. The alleys in the village are paved with bluestone collected from the mountains, and the road leading to the official road is built with cultivated soil. Although the quality is not as good as the official road, it is much more solid and smooth than before.

Then Yang Zhengxiang talked about the use of the surplus silver. Eight hundred taels of silver plus the miscellaneous spoils of war totaled almost nine hundred taels of silver. Four hundred taels were spent on building the clan school and repairing roads. With the remaining five hundred taels, Yang Zhengxiang used all of it to buy land as the family property of the Yang family.

These fields will be rented to poor families in the clan, who only need to pay 30% rent each year. The rent collected will be used to pay for the clan school and to subsidize those clan members who have made contributions to the Yang clan.

Yang Zhengshan was very satisfied with this. In fact, he had discussed all this with Yang Zhengxiang.

Yang Zhengxiang did almost everything according to his wishes.

(End of this chapter)