Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather

At this time, in the Wei Si Yamen, Yang Zhengshan and Xie Yuan were discussing the expansion of the Acropolis.

The expansion of the Acropolis is imminent. If it is not expanded, the city will be overcrowded.

The Engineering Department had already made the planning drawing. Yang Zhengshan read it over and raised no objection.

Nowadays, the engineering department of the Wei Si Yamen is also very professional, and the civil servants in the department have good attainments in building roads, bridges, and urban construction.

There are specialties in the technical field. Although these civil servants were just scholars before, they have learned a lot of professional knowledge about engineering in the past few years.

Especially the planning drawings and architectural drawings are drawn in a decent manner.

Of course, all this is due to Yang Zhengshan. In his previous life, Yang Zhengshan's major was engineering cost, and he was involved in planning and architecture.

"Let's build it according to this plan. What's the budget?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

"It will cost about fifty thousand taels of silver! Mainly because the cost of the stone is a bit high!" Xie Yuan said.

Yang Zhengshan nodded slightly. There were few mountains and forests in Tenglong Wei. If you want to mine stone, you can only mine it from a few hills in the south.

Those hills are located at the southernmost tip of Tenglong Guard, on the border with Liao'an Prefecture, about thirty miles away from the Acropolis.

Stone mining and transportation requires a lot of labor, so the cost will be very high.

"What about the construction period?"

"If it's just the city wall, it will take about six months. It should be completed before the year. If it includes the construction inside the city, it should be completed next year!" Xie Yuan said.

Yang Zhengshan pondered for a moment, "Let's recruit another group of workers. Well, temporary workers. They won't be part of the regular workforce, but the monthly salary is the same as regular workers!"

The current engineering team has 2,000 people. These 2,000 people are not just construction workers. Yang Zhengshan trained them as engineering soldiers.

Two thousand engineers can not only build roads and bridges, but also make large war equipment, such as crossbows, ladders, Linchong, etc.

Two thousand engineering soldiers is already a lot, and there will not be that many construction projects for Tenglong Guard in the future, so there is no need to continue to expand.

"Okay!" Xie Yuan responded.

At this moment, Wu Zhan hurried to the study.

"master!"

Yang Zhengshan glanced at him in surprise and asked, "What's wrong?"

Wu Zhan glanced at Xie Yuan, and Yang Zhengshan shook his head slightly, "Master Xie is not an outsider. If you have anything to say, just say it."

Wu Zhan is the guard of the Yang family. Since Ding Qiu went to Qinghua Mansion, Wu Zheng has been staying in Kyoto. Wu Zhan is the leader of the guard of the Yang family.

People from the Yang family rarely come to the Yamen. Yang Zhengshan has personal followers around him, so there is no need for Yang family guards to follow him at all times.

Now that Wu Zhan is here, something must have happened.

However, Yang Zhengshan didn't think that the Yang family had anything to hide from outsiders. Besides, Xie Yuan was not an outsider. Xie Yuan, Wu Zhongzhe, Zhou Ren and others were his most loyal subordinates, and Yang Zhengshan still trusted them very much.

Wu Zhan said in a deep voice: "Sir, a message has been sent from Kyoto. His Majesty is seriously ill and has fallen into a coma. The prince is currently supervising the country, and Prince Cheng and Prince Gong are here to observe the government."

Hearing this, Yang Zhengshan narrowed his eyes slightly and his expression suddenly became solemn.

Xie Yuan also looked solemn.

"Where is the messenger?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

"I've asked them to rest. They only know this at the moment and there is no more news!" Wu Zhan said.

Yang Zhengshan nodded slightly, and then fell into deep thought.

If the emperor dies, will it have any impact on him?

You don’t need to think about this problem to know that it must be there.

Now everything he does in Tenglongwei comes from the support of the emperor.

If the old emperor dies, can he still stay in Tenglong Guard with peace of mind?

He had no relationship with the prince, but had a small grudge.

At first, the prince intended to marry Qing'an Bo Mansion and Changping Hou Mansion, but in the end, Yang Zhengshan reached a marriage agreement with Changping Hou Mansion.

There is also Marquis Jingyuan. Marquis Jingyuan has always been the prince's servant. Although Marquis Jingyuan lost his official position as the governor of Fenwu Camp, Marquis Jingyuan has been working for the prince these years.

The feud between the Yang family and the Marquis of Jingyuan was deep. Yang Zhengshan killed Su Shanyu, the second son of Su Qian, the Marquis of Jingyuan. Four years ago, Su Qian also sent people to intercept and kill Yang Mingcheng in Xinping Town.

One generation of emperors and one generation of ministers.

If the prince ascends the throne, the Marquis Jingyuan will inevitably rise, and he will inevitably cause trouble for the Yang family.

And after the prince ascends the throne, will he still support Yang Zhengshan like the emperor?

Thinking of this, Yang Zhengshan felt a little headache.

He seems to not want the prince to ascend the throne, but the prince is the prince and will ascend the throne sooner or later. There is no way he can stop the prince.

As for whether he can gain the prince's favor and support?

Yang Zhengshan felt unsure.

He had some understanding of the prince. The prince's temperament was very different from that of the emperor. Perhaps because he had been sitting in the East Palace for too long, the prince's temperament was somewhat impatient and violent.

The court has not been peaceful in the past few years. The fight between the prince, Prince Cheng and Prince Gong has never stopped. Even because the emperor's health is getting worse and worse, their fight has become more intense.

The princelings, Prince Cheng's Party and Prince Gong's Party all appeared in the court, and the struggle was almost obvious.

Thinking of what the court would be like after the emperor's death, Yang Zhengshan felt a little big-headed.

But suddenly he thought of something and suddenly raised his head to look at Wu Zhan, "Did you just say that Prince Cheng and Prince Gong came to watch the government?"

"Yes! Your Majesty has decreed that the prince supervise the country, and the two princes come to the court to observe the government." Wu Zhan said.

Yang Zhengshan showed a look of astonishment.

Just now, he was only concerned about the fact that the old emperor was seriously ill and might die at any time, and he ignored this information.

Why did they let Prince Cheng and Prince Gong observe the government?

If it was just the prince who was the regent, there would be no problem. The emperor was seriously ill, so naturally the prince was in charge of the government. But letting Prince Cheng and Prince Gong observe the government was equivalent to giving Prince Cheng and Prince Gong a chance?

The old emperor was not a foolish man. He had been preparing for the succession of the throne. Logically, he should firmly support the prince at this time to ensure that after his death, the imperial power could be smoothly transferred to the new emperor.

Letting Prince Cheng and Prince Gong go to the vassal state was the right way, so why did they let them observe the government?

Isn't this forcing the prince to kill them? Forcing them to compete with the prince for power?

Yang Zhengshan felt something was wrong. Could it be that the old emperor was confused?

There was also this possibility.

"What do you think?" Yang Zhengshan looked at Xie Yuan.

Xie Yuan shook his head, "I don't have any opinion!"

He really didn't have any opinion. Although he also felt that the death of the old emperor might be detrimental to Tenglongwei, he felt that the affairs of the court were far away from him.

He rarely paid attention to the affairs of the court, let alone arranged people to stay in Kyoto to collect news from the court like Yang Zhengshan did.

Yang Zhengshan also knew that Xie Yuan didn't know about the affairs of the court, so he didn't ask any more questions. He just told Wu Zhan: "You arrange another group of people to go to Kyoto and let Wu Zheng collect more news from the court. If there are other changes, send the news back as soon as possible!"

"By the way, you will take people to find Xue Ping later and ask him to arrange a boat to send people to Jinhai Town. If you send letters again in the future, you can take a boat back through Jinhai Town!"

Xue Ping is the son of Haichang Bo, and Haichang Bo is the commander of Jinhaiwei. In recent years, Haichang Bo's Mansion has also used Xue Ping's relationship to join Tenglongwei's maritime trade.

However, the Haichangbo Mansion did not form a fleet to trade with the Lisheng Dynasty and the Desheng Dynasty, but purchased goods from Tenglongwei and shipped them to Kyoto for sale.

Although the profit from doing so is very thin, it is stable.

…

Just when Yang Zhengshan received the news from Kyoto, in the Qingwang Mansion in Qinghua City, the Qingwang also received the news from Kyoto.

In the study of the palace, he stood in front of the window, looking at the green grass and trees outside the window, with complex emotions in his eyes.

Emperor Chengping was seriously ill, which was definitely good news for him.

He had been waiting for this news for a long time.

He had been waiting since he was seven years old and Emperor Chengping ascended the throne.

Waiting for Emperor Chengping to grow old, waiting for Emperor Chengping to die, waiting for himself to no longer live under the shadow of Emperor Chengping.

Now he seems to have finally waited, but his heart is full of complex emotions, with surprise, excitement, relief, and some fear and uneasiness.

"Thirty-four years!"

"Haha, I've been here for thirty-four years like a prisoner!"

He still remembered the day he came to Qinghua City. The heavy snow covered the sky and buried everything on the ground, as if he was going to be buried halfway.

That was the first time he saw the heavy snow in Liaodong. It was just a heavy snow, but it made him feel scared.

"Prince, what should we do next?"

In addition to King Qing, there were three other people in the study. The one who spoke was Xu Maocai, who was probably in his fifties, with a thin face and a thin body. He was King Qing's most trusted counselor and also King Qing's teacher.

The other one was an old man with gray hair but ruddy face, and there was no stubble on his chubby face. Zhang Yu, the old eunuch beside King Qing, was also King Qing's closest person.

It can be said that King Qing grew up under Zhang Yu's watch.

The last strong man was named Duan Heng, who was King Qing's capable general and the commander of King Qing's guards.

"Teacher, what do you think?" Prince Qing turned around and asked.

Xu Maocai's eyes flashed, staring straight at Prince Qing, and said: "When the time comes, the prince should act decisively!"

Prince Qing closed his eyes slightly and took a deep breath.

His heart was in fear, because he knew that once he made a decision, there would be no turning back!

But he had been waiting for thirty-four years!

His heart was already agitated at this moment.

"Then act according to the plan!"

He suppressed the fear in his heart and released the ambition that had been suppressed for thirty years.

"Your Highness is wise!" Xu Maocai praised in a clear voice.

His emotions were more excited than Prince Qing, because he had been waiting for this day.

Since he came to the Prince Qing's Mansion to serve as Ji Shan, he has been dreaming that one day he will be able to be a high-ranking official.

Xu Maocai is a talented person, but his fate is not very good. He entered the officialdom with the title of Juren, and the first official he was appointed was Ji Shan of the Prince Qing's Mansion.

Ji Shan is an official of the Prince's Mansion, in charge of the job of teaching, and is a regular eighth-rank official.

Officials of the palace are also appointed by the court, but unlike those appointed by the court, they have basically no future.

Once you enter the palace, you can only serve in the palace for your whole life, and the highest position is only the chief historian of the palace.

Xu Maocai is arrogant and naturally unwilling to be an official of the palace. Unfortunately, he only has the title of Juren, and being able to get an official position in the palace is the result of spending all his family wealth.

No matter how unwilling he is, he can't change the status quo at that time, and finally he still accepts reality.

However, accepting reality does not mean that he is willing to be silent. After understanding the identity of King Qing, he has always buried an ambition in his heart.

Helping Prince Qing ascend to the throne, and relying on the merits of following the emperor, he became the most powerful official.

This was the only future he could see, and it was also the opportunity he had spent his entire life waiting for.

And Prince Qing did not disappoint him. In his heart, Prince Qing was a wise ruler, and that was why he was more eager for the opportunity to come.

Now that he had finally waited for the opportunity, how could he not be excited?

"Prince, should we be more cautious?"

At this time, Zhang Yu spoke.

He was ten years older than Xu Maocai, but with a ruddy face and a chubby figure, he looked like he was ten years younger than Xu Maocai.

"What is Eunuch Zhang worried about?" Xu Maocai said dissatisfiedly.

"I just think that I should confirm the authenticity of the news!" Zhang Yu said with a smile.

"Wasn't the news sent back by your people? Could it be fake?" Xu Maocai looked straight at him.

Zhang Yu smiled, but did not speak, and looked at Prince Qing.

Prince Qing was also looking at him, and slowly said, "Has my uncle fallen into a coma?"

"Yes!" Zhang Yu replied.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, many doctors in the Imperial Hospital have already seen him! His body is indeed at the end of its life." Zhang Yu said.

Prince Qing nodded slightly, "Then there is nothing to hesitate about, just act according to the plan!"

The old emperor is seriously ill and the new emperor has not been established. Now is the best time.

If they wait until Emperor Chengping dies and the new emperor ascends the throne, it will be more disadvantageous to them.

Seeing that Prince Qing was determined, Zhang Yu stopped persuading him. He was just more cautious, not afraid.

Perhaps among the people here, he was the least afraid one.