Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather

Then Zhang Cong, the Minister of the Honglu Temple, came out and said, "Your Majesty, Lee Yuan-tseh, a prince of the Lee royal family, wants to see Your Majesty. Do you want to meet him?"

"Forget it, let him stay here." Emperor Yeon-pyeong waved his hand and said lazily.

The Lee royal family is also the royal family of the Lee Seong Dynasty. Since the 29th year of Chengping, the Silla Kim family seized the throne of the Lee Seong Dynasty. Lee Yuan-tseh, a prince of the Lee royal family, fled to Dayong and wanted to ask Dayong to send troops to help him regain the country.

Emperor Chengping was old at the time and was busy selecting a suitable crown prince. He had no intention of taking care of the affairs of the Lee Seong Dynasty.

And now Emperor Yeon-pyeong has just ascended the throne for less than two years, and he has no energy to take care of the affairs of the Lee Seong Dynasty.

However, Dayong has not recognized the throne of the Silla Kim family yet, and this matter is expected to be tossed in the future.

Uh, not in the future.

"Your Majesty, the Silla Jin family has sent an envoy again to request Your Majesty to confer the title. The envoy said that as long as Your Majesty is willing to confer the title, they are willing to pay tribute of 100,000 taels of silver and 8,000 taels of gold to Your Majesty every year." Zhang Cong, the Minister of the Honglu Temple, spoke again.

Emperor Yanping's eyes lit up, "Oh! Are they really willing to pay tribute every year?"

8,000 taels of gold is equivalent to 80,000 taels of silver. Paying 180,000 taels of silver a year may not seem like much, but it is not a small amount either. The key is to pay tribute every year.

"That's what the Jin family's envoy said!" Zhang Cong said.

Emperor Yanping looked at Song Yuange and said, "Let's discuss this matter in the cabinet after the court is dismissed!"

Obviously, Emperor Yanping was a little tempted.

It would be strange if he didn't feel tempted by the silver given for free.

"I accept your order!" Song Yuange responded.

Then, all the officials began to report their affairs one by one. Yang Zhengshan was really bored standing in the military officer queue. He, the right commander of the Left Military Commandery, had nothing to do with these court affairs. Even if it involved the Left Military Commandery, An Huairen, the left commander, was in charge. He didn't need to take care of it at all.

In fact, the things discussed in the morning court were not big things. Many things had been discussed long ago, but they were just confirmed again in the morning court. For example, the allocation of relief grain to Liaodong, the Ministry of Revenue must have reported to Emperor Yanping and the cabinet long ago.

For example, the matter of the Silla Jin family, although this matter had not been discussed in advance, it was obviously not discussed in the court. It had to wait until the court was adjourned and the cabinet would discuss it first.

Yang Zhengshan felt bored, so he simply closed his eyes and practiced.

That's right, he practiced in the morning court. Anyway, practice does not require specific conditions, as long as you calm down, you can practice.

From the outside, he looked like he fell asleep while standing.

Time passed by, and the sky outside began to brighten.

"Marquis Jing'an, Marquis Jing'an!"

Suddenly Yang Zhengshan heard someone calling him, and he opened his eyes and looked up, only to see Emperor Yanping looking at him strangely.

An Huairen next to him winked at him.

"Ahem, I'm here!" Yang Zhengshan hurriedly stepped out of the line and said.

I was a little absorbed in the practice just now, and I don't know why, but I feel that practicing in this court seems to be particularly effective.

Emperor Yanping leaned on the dragon chair and said, "It was your proposal to set up the Imperial Merchants Bureau. Lord Sun of the Ministry of Revenue thinks it is inappropriate. What do you think?"

Yang Zhengshan looked up at Sun Wenjian in astonishment.

Why did it come to the Imperial Merchants Bureau?

Are we going to discuss the establishment of the Imperial Merchants Bureau today?

He thought Emperor Yanping had forgotten about it, after all, he had reported it several months ago.

"I wonder what Lord Sun thinks is inappropriate?" Yang Zhengshan asked Sun Wenjian.

Sun Wenjian frowned and said, "Merchants are lowly people, how can they be officials?"

"Well, then don't set up an official, just give a chief without rank or grade!" Yang Zhengshan said nonchalantly.

There are two main contradictions in setting up the Imperial Merchants Bureau. The first is the distribution of benefits, which is the matter between the emperor and the Ministry of Revenue, and the second is whether merchants can be officials.

Yang Zhengshan expected someone to oppose this from the beginning.

Emperor Yanping frowned when he heard this, but did not speak. It was not without reason that he proposed to set up the Imperial Merchants Bureau today.

He was short of silver, and the court was also short of silver. The Imperial Merchants Bureau was undoubtedly an existence that could bring silver and money to him and the court.

If it were not for the Nansheng incident, he would have mentioned the establishment of the Imperial Merchants Bureau in the court long ago.

As for the Nansheng incident, a huge dynasty has many things to do. Although the Nansheng incident is quite relevant, it is impossible for Emperor Yanping to focus all his energy on one thing. Other things should still be done.

Sun Wenjian didn't expect Yang Zhengshan to say that, and was speechless for a moment.

"I think this is inappropriate. Merchants are lowly businesses, how can they be named after the emperor?" Zheng Shizeng, the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, stood up and said.

Yang Zhengshan replied: "Then it's not called the Imperial Merchants Department, but the Imperial Merchants Department! Uh, the Commercial Department is also OK!"

Zheng Shizeng was slightly stunned, is this OK?

Yang Zhengshan looked at him, as if asking him if he had any other questions?

Isn't it just that the name is not good?

Can't you just change the name!

"I also think it's inappropriate. The fact that merchants are doing business in the name of the court is competing with the people for profit. I think the glass law should be handed over to private merchants, and the merchants can operate it, and the court can collect taxes from it!" Luo Ren, the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, stood up and said.

Yang Zhengshan looked at him, this person is either stupid or bad.

What does it mean to compete with the people for profit?

The establishment of the Imperial Merchants Department is mainly to operate glass.

But what does glass have to do with the people?

Nowadays, the production of glass is not high, but the price is very high, which is simply not affordable for ordinary people.

No matter how big the profit of glass is, it has nothing to do with ordinary people.

If the method of making glass is spread, it will not make money for ordinary people, but only for officials and wealthy businessmen.

However, Yang Zhengshan did not argue with him. Isn't it a torture to argue with civil officials?

Others can quote classics, but Yang Zhengshan can't!

So he said: "I think what Lord Luo said is right. It is not good to compete with the people for profit. I think the glass method can be handed over to merchants to operate!"

"..."

All the civil and military officials in the court looked at Yang Zhengshan in surprise.

No, wasn't it you who proposed to set up the Imperial Merchants Bureau?

Why are you against it now?

If the glass method is passed on to merchants, what is the point of setting up the Imperial Merchants Bureau?

Sun Wenjian frowned and looked at Yang Zhengshan, then immediately said: "I think it's not possible. The glass method involves tens of millions of taels of silver. Setting up the Imperial Merchants Bureau is beneficial to the country. How can it be handed over to merchants to operate?"

Yang Zhengshan lowered his head, but the corners of his mouth were slightly raised.

Why did Sun Wenjian agree to set up the Imperial Merchants Bureau?

The reason is very simple. The establishment of the Imperial Merchants Bureau can bring money to the Ministry of Revenue. What he opposed was not the establishment of the Imperial Merchants Bureau, but the fact that the Imperial Merchants Bureau would not be under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Revenue after its establishment.

Luo Ren, the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, was embarrassed for a while when he saw his boss jump out to oppose.

Li Zhijie, the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, thought about it and stood up and said, "I second the proposal. The glass method cannot be handed over to merchants to operate!"

After saying that, he also glanced at Yang Zhengshan.

Humph, Jing'an Hou is very bad. He actually wants to hand over the glass method to merchants to operate.

The other officials thought about it for a while, and they understood why Yang Zhengshan agreed to hand over the glass method to merchants to operate. Of course, their understanding was what they thought.

No one in the court knew the glass method better than Yang Zhengshan.

This glass method was originally from Yang Zhengshan's hand.

If the glass method was handed over to merchants to operate, Yang Zhengshan could easily make a lot of money from it.

When they thought about it, they understood why Yang Zhengshan agreed.

But did Yang Zhengshan really want to make money from glass?

If he really had such an idea, he would not have registered the glass workshop under the name of the General's Mansion.

He agreed to change his position.

Before, he was in favor of the establishment of the Imperial Merchants Bureau, and these civil servants opposed him.

Now he is in a position of not agreeing with the establishment of the Imperial Merchants Bureau, and these civil servants still oppose him.

Although not all civil servants oppose him now, as long as some civil servants oppose him, it is enough.

This will make the civil servants split into two factions, one in favor and the other against.

Then does the rest of the matter have anything to do with Yang Zhengshan?

No!

The rest is the debate among the civil servants themselves, who is in favor and who is against, you can argue slowly, Yang Zhengshan quietly retreated to the queue.

"I think it's inappropriate!"

"What's wrong with it?"

"How can the court handle the business of merchants?"

"Salt and iron are all business of merchants, why can the court handle salt and iron, but not glass?"

...

For a while, the arguments in the hall were endless, noisy, like a vegetable market.

Emperor Yanping sat on the top, looking at Yang Zhengshan standing motionless in the queue of nobles, with a playful smile on his face.

At first he didn't understand Yang Zhengshan's intention, but how could he not understand now!

Looking at the civil servants who were arguing, Emperor Yanping said: "Let the cabinet discuss this matter first! Let's adjourn the court!"

The current argument is not very meaningful. First, let the cabinet settle it, and then let the six ministries agree. Today he just mentioned it to see the reaction of the ministers.

Now it seems that the situation is not bad.

Emperor Yanping got up and left, and the ministers also dispersed. Yang Zhengshan was originally going to return home, but he was stopped by a little eunuch as soon as he walked out of the Taiji Hall.

"Marquis Jing'an, His Majesty invites Marquis Jing'an to the Imperial Study to discuss matters!" The little eunuch said with a smile.

Well, I can't leave!

Yang Zhengshan had to turn around and walk towards the Imperial Study, but when he arrived at the Imperial Study, he found that Duan Rui, Zhou Mao, Liang Chu, and Lu Baishu were all there.

In addition to them, there were also Wang Zhongzhi, Lu Hua, Ning Qi and other supervisors and four admirals of the Secret Guard.

Of course, Chen Zhongshu was also there.

Now Chen Zhongshu once again served as the seal of the Silijian and once again took charge of the Imperial Guard.

Yang Zhengshan looked at Wang Zhongzhi, who nodded at him and said nothing.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

"Well, Wang Zhongzhi, you tell me!" Emperor Yanping leaned back in his chair and said calmly.

"Yes!" Wang Zhongzhi responded, and said to Duan Rui and others: "The Secret Guard has conducted some investigations on the Nansheng case, and the general context has been clarified!"

"The mastermind behind the rebellion in Nansheng is the Shenyang Sect!"

After this, Duan Rui, Zhou Mao and Liang Chu's faces suddenly became solemn, while Yang Zhengshan and Lu Baishu were confused.

What the hell is the Shenyang Sect?

Is it a Jianghu force?

Wang Zhongzhi saw the confusion of Yang Zhengshan and Lu Baishu, and said: "The Shenyang Sect originated in the Huaide period of the Sheng Dynasty five hundred years ago. It was founded by a Jianghu warrior Mao Shiyuan. At first, the Shenyang Sect was the Shenyang Sect. The Shenyang Sect was passed down to the third generation. Mao Shiyuan's grandson Mao Ziyang was listed as a traitor by the Sheng Dynasty because he defected to the vassal king."

"At the end of the prosperous dynasty, the world was in chaos. Mao Yucheng, the fifth-generation leader of the Shenyang Sect, changed the name of the Shenyang Sect to Shenyang Sect, with Shenyang Shengjun as the god. If he followed the rules of the prosperous dynasty, there would be no virtue, and the people would not live in peace. The Shenyang Shengjun would shine on the world. , Since then, Shenyang Sect has attracted many followers, and followers have spread all over Longyuan, Longnan, Bashu, Yungui, Nanyun and other places."

"The imperial court of the Sheng Dynasty encircled and suppressed the Shenyang Sect many times, but each time it failed without success."

"Until I raised an army against Taizu to rebuild the world, the Shenyang Sect was still widely spread among the people."

"For more than three hundred years since Taizu founded the country, the Shenyang Sect has conspired and rebelled many times. The last time the Shenyang Sect conspired and rebelled was the Yongwang Rebellion 130 years ago!"

When Yang Zhengshan heard this, a strange color flashed in his eyes.

The Yongwang Rebellion was the largest rebellion since the founding of the Great Rong Dynasty.

In the eighth year of Dezong's reign, King Yong raised troops from Yonghe Mansion in Longnan. In just three months, he occupied the three provinces of Longnan, Longyuan and Longxi, with as many as 800,000 troops.

In the early ninth year of Dezong's reign, King Yong led his troops to attack Shanhe Province. The imperial army mobilized millions of troops to stop the attack, but they were defeated in consecutive battles. In the tenth year of Dezong's reign, King Yong's army came to Kyoto.

The 12th Battalion of the Forbidden Army and the 12th Guards of the Imperial Army defended Kyoto for two months. It was not until King Qin's army from all walks of life came to support that they repelled King Yong's army.

At the end of Dezong's tenth year, the Chaotang army launched a counterattack, and it took three years to completely annihilate King Yong's army.

For example, many nobles such as Ningguo Gongfu, Rongguo Gongfu, Nanyang Marquis Mansion, etc. were originally awarded titles due to King Qin's meritorious service.

If it hadn't been for King Qin's promptness, there would probably be no Emperor Taiping or Emperor Yanping now.

However, it was precisely because there were too many knights at the beginning that the honorary group in the court was too large. After Emperor Taiping ascended the throne, the first problem he faced was the honorary group. This was why Emperor Taiping was unwilling to grant titles during his reign. The reason for the prince.

Yang Zhengshan knew about this history, but he didn't expect that there was a Shenyang Sect in it.

Wang Zhongzhi continued: "According to the captured Shenyang cultists, the Shenyang cult has been operating in Kyoto ten years ago. In the past ten years, they have used various coercion and inducement methods to win over the imperial army, the pro-army, and the eunuchs in the imperial city. , Nansheng was caught by them five years ago and had to succumb to them! "

"In addition to Kyoto, they are also active in Bashu, Jiangnan, Yungui and other places!"

"However, because of their secretive actions, the Secret Armed Guards have not found many traces of them so far!"

"As for the strength of the Shenyang Sect, we don't know yet. The innate warrior that Marquis Jing'an killed was a leader of the Shenyang Sect, named Chijun, and he practiced the spirit-retaining blood refining technique."

When it comes to the spirit-continuing blood-refining technique, everyone's expressions became more solemn.

The spirit-continuing blood refining skill is an evil skill that uses the method of absorbing the warrior's blood to condense the innate true energy.

If it's just one person practicing such an evil skill, that's fine, but if a huge force practices such an evil skill, it's an extremely terrifying thing.

This means that the other party can cultivate half-step Xiantian and Xiantian realm warriors in large quantities.

Of course, this large batch cannot be hundreds or thousands, but even dozens of half-step Xiantian and Xiantian realm warriors are extremely terrifying.