Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather.

Chapter 553 Wang Bin’s Dilemma

"The prefect of Qinghua Prefecture!" Yang Mingcheng said.

Yang Zhengshan frowned even deeper. The prefect of Qinghua Prefecture was a fourth-rank official, which should be considered a promotion for Lu Wenyuan.

But this obviously does not fit the official career path that Lu Wenyuan should take.

It is not impossible to be sent out to another place. It is normal to send the Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate out to supervise the affairs of the governor.

Although being sent to serve as a prefect in a remote area promoted his rank, it was actually a demotion in reality.

It will not be easy for Lu Wenyuan to return to Beijing in the future.

"What about the letter?"

"In the study in the front yard!" Yang Mingcheng said.

Yang Zhengshan said something to Yu Qingyi, and then went to the study in the front yard with Yang Mingcheng.

Yang Mingcheng found the letter left by Lu Wenyuan and gave it to Yang Zhengshan. After reading it, Yang Zhengshan's expression eased a little.

Lu Wenyuan was the one who took the initiative to propose being sent out, and it was an arrangement made for him through his connections.

As for the reason, it was that he didn't want to get involved in the struggles in the court, so he simply sent himself out.

However, there were reasons why he wanted to be sent away. First, he did not want to get involved in the struggles in the court, and second, he was isolated.

The factional struggles in the court became increasingly fierce, and many neutral parties were forced to be involved.

Lu Wenyuan didn't want to get involved in the factional struggles in the court, but there were some things he couldn't avoid. Sitting in that position, there were many things he couldn't control.

Not participating means not fitting in, and not fitting in means being isolated.

In desperation, Lu Wenyuan could only choose to leave the court.

Yang Zhengshan was helpless about this, as he did not have much to do with the factional disputes in the court.

As a nobleman, he can take care of himself, but he cannot influence the situation in the court.

It would be good for Lu Wenyuan to go to Qinghua Prefecture, which is in Liaodong. He can fully display his talents in Qinghua Prefecture, and being in charge of a region is also a kind of training.

Yang Zhengshan always felt that there was something wrong with the promotion path for central officials in the Darong court. They had no experience in serving at the local level, but they were in high positions at the center. Could such a prime minister manage the country well?
"Are there any other letters?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

"Yes!" Yang Mingcheng took out a large stack of letters and handed them to Yang Zhengshan.

"My second and third brothers both wrote to me, and I replied to them. Everything is fine in Chongshan Town. Well, my third brother's wife is pregnant again, and she is expected to give birth by now."

"My second brother also said that there seemed to be another coup in the Li Sheng Dynasty. Jin Shangjun died suddenly and his son inherited the throne. However, the one who is currently in power in the Li Sheng Dynasty is a minister named Chen!"

Yang Mingcheng said slowly.

Yang Zhengshan checked the letters one by one.

He was going to have another grandson or granddaughter. After counting in his mind, he now had six grandsons and six granddaughters.

Yang Mingcheng has four children, Yang Mingzhi also has four children, and Yang Minghao also had four children before. Now Yang Minghao has surpassed him and will soon have five children.

"By the way, there is also a letter from the Duke of Xingguo's Mansion. Wanqing is also pregnant!" Yang Mingcheng grinned.

"So fast?" Yang Zhengshan asked in surprise.

"Well, the letter just arrived last month, so it should be four months now!" Yang Mingcheng said.

Yang Zhengshan calculated that Yang Wanqing became pregnant two months after her marriage, which was really fast.

This is a good thing. The Qu family is small in number. Whether Yang Wanqing's baby is a son or a daughter, it is very rare for the Qu family.

It is estimated that at this time the Qu family will treat Yang Wanqing as their aunt.

"Please prepare some herbal wine and royal honey and send them over!" Yang Zhengshan said.

"There is no royal honey at home!" said Yang Mingcheng.

Yang Zhengshan said: "I have some in the warehouse over there, you can go get some tomorrow."

A powerful minister unexpectedly appeared in the Lee Seong Dynasty, and it seemed that the situation of the Silla Kim family was very bad.

He looked at Yang Mingzhi's letter and fell into deep thought.

The power change in the Li Sheng Dynasty has nothing to do with Dayong. Dayong now doesn’t care about the life and death of the Li Sheng Dynasty, a subsidiary dynasty.

However, the changes in the Li Sheng Dynasty may affect the maritime trade between Fuzhou and Tenglongwei, which is why Yang Mingzhi wrote a special letter to explain this matter.

There must be something wrong with Jin Shangjun's sudden death, because Jin Shangjun was an innate warrior, and he must have died a violent death.

Yang Zhengshan pondered for a while, then wrote a letter back to Yang Mingzhi, asking him to pay more attention to the situation of the Li Sheng Dynasty.

Yang Zhengshan doesn’t care who is in power in the Li Sheng Dynasty, but if it affects the maritime trade between Fuzhou and Tenglongwei, Yang Zhengshan will have to intervene.

Fuzhou is Yang Mingzhi's base, and Tenglongwei is one of his bases. With the increasingly prosperous development of Liaodong's maritime trade, the influence of the Li Sheng Dynasty on Liaodong's maritime trade has also become increasingly greater.

It can be said that the Li Sheng Dynasty was one of the most important markets and sources of goods for Fuzhou and Tenglongwei, and its importance was even greater than that of the De Sheng Dynasty.

After writing his reply, Yang Zhengshan opened the other letters and checked them one by one.

There are a lot of letters with diverse contents, and quite a few people wrote to him.

Lin Zhan wrote to him saying that the situation in Yuzhou had stabilized, and he planned to develop maritime trade in Yuzhou and also planned to develop Yuzhou's silk industry.

I wrote a lot, but it’s nothing important, just normal greetings and inquiries.

Zhou Lan also wrote to him, talking about the development of Chongshan Town. The West Route Dinghu Guard of Chongshan Town has been built, and Luo Feiyu serves as the Lieutenant General of the West Route Dinghu Guard.

The Ula clan of the Wulianghu tribe harassed the Dinghu Guard many times, but was repelled by the Dinghu Guard every time.

Yang Zhengshan read and replied to the letters until he saw the last one.

The last letter was written by Wang Bin from Beiyuan Town.

Wang Bin has served as deputy general in Beiyuan Town for more than ten years, but he has never been able to make any progress and has instead been subject to many constraints.

The main reason is that Duan Qifeng, the general of Beiyuan Town, is becoming increasingly powerful, and the entire Beiyuan Town has almost become Duan Qifeng's one-man show.

In addition, Duan Qifeng broke through to the innate realm a year ago and became an innate warrior, which also made his reputation in Beiyuan Town reach its peak.

Yang Zhengshan frowned slightly. It seemed that Duan Qifeng was acting too recklessly.

In fact, the most powerful nobleman and general in the court of Darong today is not Yang Zhengshan. Although Yang Zhengshan has made great military achievements, the foundation of the Jing'an Marquis Mansion is too shallow, and it is far less powerful than those old nobles.

For example, Duke Shou, although this old duke is a relative by marriage, he is very powerful and has a lot of experience, and has a great influence in the western border town of Dayong.

Another example is the Rongguo Mansion. After the Ningguo Mansion declined, the Rongguo Mansion became the leader of the noble group. Now Duan Qifeng has become a congenital warrior, filling the last shortcoming of the Rongguo Mansion.

Although the Ningguo Duke's Mansion, the Changping Marquis' Mansion, the Jianchang Marquis' Mansion, etc., these nobles do not usually show off their power, but in fact they all have considerable influence.

Take Zhang Luan, Marquis of Jianchang, for example. Zhang Luan is a congenital warrior himself, and now he is in charge of Shangwu Temple. His position in the court is even higher than that of Yang Zhengshan.

In short, there is a powerful force behind these nobles. In comparison, although the Yang family is strong enough, its power is far less than these old nobles.

Yang Zhengshan thought about it and wrote a reply letter to Wang Bin.

He felt that since Wang Bin was not happy in Beiyuan Town, he might as well leave Beiyuan Town and come to Kyoto to take a sinecure.

Wang Bin is not young anymore, he is already over 60 years old, there is no need for him to stay in Beiyuan Town and suffer.

However, Yang Zhengshan didn't know that Wang Bin was in big trouble at this time.

Bukwon Town, in the Ironforge City.

Wang Bin sat in the study with a pale face, staring blankly at the blank folded paper on the desk.

After the destruction of the Donghai Hu tribe, he was promoted from the lieutenant general of Songzhou Guard in Chongshan Town East Road to the deputy general of Beiyuan Town. He thought he could make great achievements in Beiyuan Town, but after arriving in Beiyuan Town, he found that his idea was too simple.

Duan Qifeng had almost turned Beiyuan Town into an iron barrel, with all the generals from top to bottom following Duan Qifeng's lead. As an outsider who had just arrived, he could neither gain Duan Qifeng's trust nor the respect of his subordinates.

At first, he was thinking about taking the initiative to join Duan Qifeng. After all, Duan Qifeng was his superior, and it was not wrong for him to follow Duan Qifeng's wishes.

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But later he found out that he was wrong again. Although Duan Qifeng did not make things difficult for him, he did not value him much either. In order to prevent him from competing for military power, he even restricted his various powers.

Later, he also wanted to fight with Duan Qifeng and take back the power that should have belonged to him. As a deputy general, he should at least have the power to lead the reinforcement battalion and should also be in charge of the military and political affairs of the troops. However, the power was in the hands of Duan Qifeng. He had no ability to fight for power from Duan Qifeng. Instead, he angered Duan Qifeng, causing Duan Qifeng to become more dissatisfied with him.

Just like this, more than ten years passed, and his situation became more and more embarrassing. Up to now, he, the deputy general, only had command of one guard, namely the Iron Won Guard.

Moreover, the Iron Won Guard is extremely poor. The General's Office does not provide food or money, and he himself has no ability to develop the Iron Won Guard, which makes the Iron Won Guard even poorer.

This Tieyuan Guard was more like a prison drawn by Duan Qifeng, making it impossible for him to do anything.

Half a month ago, a small group of cavalry from the Wulianghu tribe invaded the Iron Won Guard and burned, killed and looted. Although they fought hard, the Iron Won Guard still suffered heavy casualties.

Not only did the casualties suffer heavy losses, but a large number of military households in Tieyuanwei were abducted by the Wulianghu tribe. The number of military households, which was already insufficient to begin with, now dropped to less than 30%.

It was a great defeat and he, as the deputy general, must take responsibility.

Wang Bin now feels like he’s at the end of his rope.

Just when Wang Bin was stunned, Wang Sheng walked out of the door with a livid face and a long knife in his hand.

"father!"

"What's wrong?" Wang Bin came back to his senses.

"Look at this!" Wang Sheng put the long knife in his hand on the desk.

Wang Bin looked at the long sword and asked in confusion: "Isn't this the standard long sword used in the army? What's the problem?"

Wang Sheng's face was extremely ugly. He lowered his voice and said solemnly, "Dad, this is the long sword used by the Hu cavalry! We in the Iron Plains don't have many such long swords, but this time we got hundreds of them from the Hu cavalry!"

The standard long sword is very long in the army, and is usually made by local guards themselves. However, the Iron Guard did not have the ability to forge weapons. They had neither iron mines nor enough craftsmen, so the soldiers of the Iron Guard used old weapons.

Wang Bin stood up suddenly, picked up the long knife and observed carefully.

Wang Sheng added: "I checked, the long swords we got this time are all new, and they were forged no more than a year ago. It is impossible that they were seized from the soldiers by the Hu cavalry."

"So what?" Wang Bin asked with deep eyes.

"Someone sold the military equipment to the Wulianghu tribe!" Wang Sheng said.

Wang Bin stroked the blade, and the cold touch made his heart turn cold.

Selling military equipment to the Wulianghu tribe is a crime punishable by genocide.

He couldn't believe that someone would dare to do such a thing, but he had to believe it because the facts were right in front of him.

"Dad, should we report this to the court?" Wang Sheng asked in a low voice.

Wang Bin took a deep breath and said, "Let me think about it!"

His thoughts were in a mess at this moment.

Who sold the weapons to the Wulianghu tribe?
Anyone who dares to do this is definitely not an ordinary soldier or a general military officer.

Because ordinary military officers simply cannot do it. First of all, it is difficult forging weapons and armors in large quantities for ordinary garrison officers. Even for a garrison commander, it is difficult to forge weapons and armors in large quantities.

A military officer who is able to forge weapons and armor in large quantities must be at least a lieutenant general or above.

There are eight lieutenant generals in Beiyuan Town, and these eight lieutenant generals are all Duan Qifeng's confidants. Is Duan Qifeng also involved?

Wang Bin didn't dare to think further.

If Duan Qifeng sold the military equipment to the Wulianghu tribe, what was his purpose?
Keep the enemy at bay!

These four words emerged in Wang Bin’s mind.

At the same time, some things from the past gradually came to his mind.

The battle between Beiyuan Town and the Wulianghu tribe has been going on for more than ten years, with small-scale battles breaking out almost every year. Some of the smaller battles might involve dozens of scouts meeting in the wild, while others might involve the Hu cavalry invading the border and plundering the military households in the garrisons.

Over the past decade, the two sides have fought countless times, but there seems to have never been a large-scale battle.

"Grain, tea, salt and iron!" Wang Bin's heart trembled violently.

Perhaps the weapons are just the tip of the iceberg, and the real horror is still hidden beneath the surface.

No wonder Duan Qifeng was unwilling to use him, and no wonder the eight lieutenant generals in Beiyuan Town were all Duan Qifeng's confidants.

"Dad, Dad~~" Wang Sheng couldn't help but call out when he saw Wang Bin hadn't spoken for a long time.

Wang Bin came back to his senses and let out a long breath.

"How many people know about this?"

Wang Sheng was stunned. “Many people have seen these long swords!”

Wang Bin nodded slightly, and without saying anything more, he picked up the pen and started writing.

"You must immediately take your entourage to Kyoto, and remember to ride as fast as you can. The faster the better!"

"After arriving in Kyoto, go find Marquis Jing'an first and give him this memorial and this letter!"

He wrote a memorial and a letter and handed them to Wang Sheng. Wang Sheng took them and said in a deep voice, "Dad, is there any danger?"

"Don't think too much, just go to Kyoto now!" Wang Bin said.

Wang Sheng hesitated for a moment, quickly put away the memorial and letter, and said, "Dad, take care of yourself!"

"Well! Go ahead!" Wang Bin nodded.

Wang Bin then called a few of his followers and left Tieyuanwei at full speed.

(End of this chapter)