Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather.

Chapter 492: Shangwu Temple Martial Arts Pavilion

Time passed day by day, and it was May.

The Imperial Merchants Bureau was also established, with one chief official, Langzhong, of the fifth rank, two deputy officials, Wailang, of the sixth rank, and several chief officials, of the seventh rank, and several secretary officials, of the ninth rank.

Li Changxiao, formerly the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Revenue, was promoted to Director of the Imperial Merchants Department. The six major agents, Luo Shang, Wang Zhenze, Lin Qi, Zhang Qingsong, Qi Ting and Zhen Yang, were appointed as directors of the Imperial Merchants Department.

There was a dispute within the Ministry of Personnel for several days regarding the issue of the six major agencies taking charge.

The main reason lies with Zhen Yang. There are some female generals in Dayong’s army, but there has never been a woman serving as an official in the civil service system.

It was unprecedented that Zhen Yang could be in charge.

But this has nothing to do with Yang Zhengshan. Yang Zhengshan did not speak for Zhen Yang. After all, he has no control over the Imperial Merchants Bureau now. Even though it was he who proposed to establish the Imperial Merchants Bureau, in fact, the Imperial Merchants Bureau has nothing to do with him.

The Imperial Merchants Bureau was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Revenue and supervised by the Imperial Palace Internal Affairs Bureau. He had no say in either the Ministry of Revenue or the Internal Affairs Bureau.

So now he can no longer interfere in the affairs of the Imperial Commercial Bureau, and naturally cannot help Zhen Yangshi.

However, Emperor Yanping attached great importance to Yang Zhengshan's proposal. Yang Zhengshan had recommended six major agents to be the heads of the Imperial Commercial Bureau, so in the end Emperor Yanping finalized the matter according to Yang Zhengshan's original suggestion.

Zhen Yang unprecedentedly became the first female official in the civil service system of Darong's outer court.

After the six major agents entered the imperial city to receive their official titles, Zhen Yang came to the Marquis of Jing'an's Mansion and kowtowed three times to Yang Zhengshan.

"I would like to thank you, my Lord. Your kindness in supporting me will be forever unforgettable to the Zhen family of Yanzhou!"

Zhen Yang knelt in front of Yang Zhengshan, her eyes slightly red, and spoke in a choked voice.

Only she herself knows how difficult her journey has been.

From a woman in the backyard to an official granted by the emperor and wearing an official robe, all this can be said to be the support of Yang Zhengshan.

If Yang Zhengshan had not attracted investment in Tenglongwei, she would not have been able to preserve the Yanzhou Zhen family's business, let alone make the Yanzhou Zhen family's business even bigger.

If Yang Zhengshan had not chosen her to be one of the six major agents and allowed her to be protected by Chongshan Town, she would not have been able to keep the Yanzhou Zhen family business.

And now, if it weren't for Yang Zhengshan's recommendation, she would not be able to obtain the official status granted by the emperor, join the Imperial Commercial Bureau, and serve as the seventh-rank official.

On the surface, it seemed that Yang Zhengshan had never taken the initiative to help her, but in fact, everything that happened to her and Yanzhou Zhen today was inseparable from Yang Zhengshan.

Now she has an official position granted by the emperor, which was something she had never dared to dream of before.

Not to mention her, how could Luo Shang, Wang Zhenze and others ever think that they would become officials one day?

Seeing her so excited, Yang Zhengshan stroked his beard and said with a warm smile: "Madam Zhen, you should get up first!"

"I will never forget the great kindness of the Marquis!" Zhen Yang stood up, calmed down her excitement, and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

"Since you have joined the Imperial Merchants Department, you should understand His Majesty's needs!"

Yang Zhengshan said as he looked at Luo Shang, Wang Zhenze and others.

"Your Majesty established the Imperial Merchants Bureau for only one purpose, and that is to make money!"

"As long as you can satisfy His Majesty, it is possible for you to make further progress in the future. But if you cannot satisfy His Majesty, the Royal Merchants Bureau may be closed down in the future!"

Emperor Yanping had high expectations for the Imperial Merchants Bureau, and his expectations were silver.

Although the six people in front of them are already the heads of the Imperial Commercial Bureau, if they want to keep their official positions, they must also satisfy Emperor Yanping.

If you can’t make any money, haha, let alone an official position, I’m afraid you’ll lose even your life and property.

Even though all the officials in the court seem to have acknowledged the existence of the Imperial Commercial Bureau, in fact, everyone is now keeping an eye on it. Once the Imperial Commercial Bureau makes a mistake or fails to do its job well, countless people will stand up and overthrow it.

Therefore, Luo Shang, Wang Zhenze, Zhen Yang and other six people will face even more severe tests.

"We understand. We will live up to His Majesty's trust and the Marquis's support!" Luo Shang said in a deep voice.

Yang Zhengshan nodded in satisfaction, and said, "Chongshan Town still needs your care. You should at least help Chongshan Town pay off its debts!"

"As long as you can do this, you will not let this old man down!"

"Don't worry, Lord Marquis. At worst, we won't have to use the money house to pay off our debts!" ​​Wang Zhenze said with a smile.

They have the most bonds in their hands, and they also have the most silver deposits in Chongshan Money House.

As long as they don't go to Chongshan Money House to withdraw money, there will be no problems with Chongshan Money House.

For them, exchanging hundreds of thousands of taels of silver for an official position is definitely worth it.

"That won't do. The rules set by this old man cannot be broken. You just need to balance the sales of the two glass workshops!"

Yang Zhengshan waved his hand and said with a smile: "As for the rest, I can't let you do business at a loss!"

The rules cannot be broken. Those are the rules that Yang Zhengshan established using the General's Mansion and his own reputation.

If this rule is broken, although it can reduce the debt of millions for the General's Office, it will also make him and the General's Office of Chongshan Town lose credibility.

After hearing this, several people couldn't help but praise: "My Lord, you are so kind!"

Afterwards, Yang Zhengshan hosted a banquet for several people in his mansion.

From then on, the Imperial Merchants Bureau was established. With the bonus of official status, it became much easier for Luo Shang and the other six to do things.

The prices of glass objects will then drop, but the two glass workshops will soon launch glassware.

Glass tea sets, wine sets, tableware, etc. will all enter the market.

Although this will lower the price of glass products, as glass products enter thousands of households, it will lead to a situation of small profits but quick turnover, and the profits of the six major agents and the Imperial Commercial Company will increase instead of decrease.

As for other things, Yang Zhengshan couldn't care less. He only wanted 30% of the Luo family's glass business to subsidize his family expenses. He didn't want to care about other things at all.

With the establishment of the Imperial Merchants Bureau, the issue of controlling the martial arts world was also put on the agenda.

For several days in a row, Yang Zhengshan was summoned by Emperor Yanping to the imperial city to discuss matters.

Not only him, but also Zhou Mao, Duan Rui, Liang Chu and others were summoned. From time to time, several cabinet elders, as well as major officials from the Ministry of War, Ministry of Justice and Dali Temple were called in for discussions.

As for how to control the underworld, a direction has been determined, which is to establish a new government office to be responsible for this matter.

Compared with the Imperial Commercial Bureau, this new government office has greater power and wider influence.

Therefore, Emperor Yanping attached more importance to this matter.

Time flies and it is already mid-May. The policies for controlling the underworld have basically been finalized.

It is generally in line with the proposal submitted by Yang Zhengshan. Of course, this does not mean that these were all formulated based on Yang Zhengshan's proposal. In fact, the proposals of Yang Zhengshan, Zhou Mao and Duan Rui are almost the same.

They all tend to establish a new government office and have the idea of ​​winning over the martial arts sects.

The only special thing about Yang Zhengshan is actually the martial arts academy.

But compared to the other two proposals, the martial arts academy is the least important proposal, at least for the current court.

May 15th, after the morning court session.

Emperor Yanping summoned everyone to the imperial study again.

Also coming were several cabinet elders, as well as the Minister of War Wang Lu, the Minister of Justice Wei Rong, and the Supreme Court Minister Yan Ruishu.

This was considered a small court meeting. Emperor Yanping looked at Song Yuange and said, "Old Song, please tell us what the cabinet thinks!"

Song Yuange cleared his throat and said, "According to the discussions over the past few days, the cabinet has drawn up a charter."

"First, change the martial arts restriction order to the martial arts promotion order, and divide the civilian martial arts forces into three levels. The third level will be granted the sect master order, and the seventh-rank official status will be granted. The number of sect disciples cannot exceed 300!"

"The second class, granted the Order of the Sect Master, granted the fifth-rank official status, and limited the number of disciples in the sect to no more than 500!"

"First class, granted the sect master's order, granted the third-rank official status, granted the flying fish uniform, and limited the number of sect disciples to no more than a thousand!"

"The specific rules for the sect's level assessment..."

"Secondly, we will establish the Shangwu Temple. The Ministry of Justice's Zhenwu Division and the Dali Temple's Wuzhi Division will be merged into the Shangwu Temple. The Shangwu Temple will have a Temple Minister, who is of the third rank, and the left and right junior ministers, who are of the fourth rank, and the left and right temple secretaries, who are of the fifth rank..."

"It has thirteen provincial military divisions under its jurisdiction, each with a commander, two deputy commanders, and four assistant commanders..."

"Third, we will set up a martial arts hall. The martial arts hall is of the same rank as the Imperial College. We will have a martial arts master, who is of the fourth rank, and two martial arts officers, who are of the fifth rank. They will be in charge of military training, which will be divided into five departments: martial arts, military tactics, military training, equipment, and medicine!"

The first two points are almost the same as Yang Zhengshan’s proposal, but the third point is very different from Yang Zhengshan’s proposal.

Yang Zhengshan wanted to establish a complete system for training warriors from bottom to top, but after the final agreement, only one martial arts pavilion was set up.

As for the reason, no money!
The Yanwu Pavilion is not just a martial arts academy, but more like a military academy. The subjects taught include martial arts, military tactics, military training, equipment and medicine.

The purpose of training is to make military equipment, such as crossbows, siege equipment, etc., and the purpose is to train craftsmen.

Medicine is for training military doctors.

These two items were added at Yang Zhengshan's strong request.

A warrior's training is inseparable from medicine, and a warrior's battle is even more inseparable from weapons and armor.

Whether in the military or elsewhere, anything related to martial arts cannot be separated from these two items.

Since it is a martial arts and military academy, these two things are naturally indispensable.

Therefore, Yang Zhengshan strongly requested that these two items be included in the teaching subjects of Yanwu Pavilion.

Although others had some objections to this, they did not say much.

These are all trivial matters, there is no need to argue with Yang Zhengshan about them.

After Song Yuange finished speaking, Emperor Yanping said, "My dear ministers, do you have any objections?"

Everyone shook their heads.

They have discussed and argued about these things for a long time.

Take the merger of Zhenwu Division and Wuzhichu into Shangwu Temple, for example. The Minister of Justice Wei Rong and the Chief Justice of Dali Temple Yan Ruishu strongly opposed it, but in the end they were powerless. Faced with the support of the cabinet and Zhou Mao and others, they could only suppress their dissatisfaction.

There are many special things about the Shangwu Temple. It is a military office. Although it looks the same as the Dali Temple and the Honglu Temple, it is actually a military office. That is, the appointment and dismissal of officials in the Shangwu Temple is under the responsibility of the Wuxuan Division of the Ministry of War, not the Ministry of Personnel.

Similarly, the appointment and dismissal of officials in the Yanwu Pavilion was also the responsibility of the Military Selection Department of the Ministry of War.

Seeing that everyone was meaningless, Emperor Yanping said again: "Then let's discuss the official arrangements!"

"Marquis Jing'an, are you willing to serve as the Minister of Shangwu Temple?"

Emperor Yanping asked Yang Zhengshan directly without waiting for others to speak.

Yang Zhengshan was stunned for a moment, then stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, I want to be the chief martial artist of the Martial Arts Pavilion!"

When he said this, everyone else was stunned.

The Wu Zheng of Yanwu Pavilion is only of the fourth rank, while the Si Qing of Shangwu Temple is of the third rank.

Moreover, in terms of power, Yanwu Pavilion is far inferior to Shangwu Temple.

There is no comparison between the two, but Yang Zhengshan chose Wu Zheng of Yanwu Pavilion.

"Why?" Emperor Yanping was also puzzled.

When he decided to build Shangwu Temple, the first thing he thought of was to let Yang Zhengshan take charge of Shangwu Temple.

He thought Yang Zhengshan would gladly accept it, but he didn't expect Yang Zhengshan to refuse.

"Your Majesty, I don't know much about the forces in the underworld. How can I be in charge of Shangwu Temple?" Yang Zhengshan's reason was very reasonable.

If he were asked to take charge of Shangwu Temple, he really wouldn't know what to do.

How many sects and forces are there in the martial arts world?

How powerful is each sect?
What is the attitude of these underworld forces towards the imperial court?

How should we manage these underworld forces and how should we bring them together?

Besides, this Shangwu Temple looks like a big trouble at first glance.

There are so many forces involved, and the people and things involved behind the scenes are countless.

It takes a lot of energy and time to sort out these relationships and integrate all the forces together.

Now Yang Zhengshan's energy has shifted towards cultivation. His cultivation has improved a lot during this period. He still wants to go further, but he doesn't want to waste his energy and time on Shangwu Temple.

"Your Majesty also knows that I am good at training soldiers and teaching disciples. The position of Wu Zheng of the Martial Arts Pavilion is perfect for me!" Yang Zhengshan said again.

A sheep is driven, and a group of sheep is also driven.

Anyway, he already has three apprentices, so he doesn't care about having a few hundred or thousands more students.

Besides, this Martial Arts Pavilion looks like a leisurely government office.

At that time, Yang Zhengshan only needs to find two reliable assistants, and he can be a hands-off boss.

So from the very beginning, Yang Zhengshan had his eyes on the position of Wu Zheng.

As for his official rank, he was a super-rank marquis, and his official rank had no meaning to him at all.

After hearing this, Emperor Yanping thought for a moment and asked, "Who should be the Minister of Shangwu Temple? Do you have any suitable candidates?"

Everyone fell into deep thought.

This position of temple minister is not something that ordinary people can do.

This person must not only understand the many forces in the martial arts world, but also have strong strength, and his cultivation must be at least half a step to the innate level.

Apart from Yang Zhengshan, there is really no other good candidate in the current court.

Zhou Mao thought for a moment and said, "I think Marquis Wuding can take on this important task!"

"Marquis Wuding? That's not appropriate. Marquis Wuding is now guarding Yunling Town and cannot be easily transferred!" Duan Rui denied.

There are two border towns in the south of Dayong, namely Yunling Town and Nanjiang Town. Nanjiang Town has been guarded by the Xingguo Mansion for generations, while Yunling Town is headed by Wuding Hou.

Compared to the northern border of Dayong, the southern border of Dayong involves more forces and is more powerful. Although Yunling Town and Nanjiang Town are far inferior to the four border towns in the north in terms of military strength, the two major border towns in the south are far superior to the four major border towns in the north in terms of martial arts masters.

Marquis Wuding Guo Ying has innate cultivation, and the current Duke Xingguo is also an innate master. The two innate masters are guarding the southern border of Dayong, so naturally they cannot be easily transferred.

(End of this chapter)