Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather
Chapter 89 - 87: The Wealthy and Imposing Lu Family

Chapter 89: Chapter 87: The Wealthy and Imposing Lu Family

Zhou Lan was still bustling about as usual; Yang Zhenshan and Mr. Lu had waited in the tea room of the Assistant General Mansion for an hour before they finally saw her.

"How come you are here?"

Zhou Lan was quite surprised by Yang Zhenshan’s arrival.

She knew very well what Yang Zhenshan had been busy with recently.

Renovating the garrison, training troops, and burning charcoal, none of these matters could escape her notice.

Zhou Lan did notice Mr. Lu, but she did not pay much attention to him.

As the legitimate daughter of Duke Ning Mansion and the Jianning Guard General, there weren’t many in Chongshan Town who could catch her special attention.

Yang Zhenshan smiled and said, "General, this is Mr. Lu from the Lu family in Anning County!"

"Old man pays his respects to General Zhou!" Mr. Lu hurriedly bowed.

Claiming himself as ’old husband’ in front of Yang Zhenshan and as ’old man’ in front of Zhou Lan, this Mr. Lu really knew how to act according to the person he was dealing with.

"Lu family of Anning County!" Zhou Lan thought for a moment but could not recall any association from her memory.

The Lu family is considered a top family in Anning County, even in Jing’an Prefecture, but in the whole Da Rong, the Lu family still holds no significant ranking.

In front of Duke Ning Mansion, the Lu family was even less significant.

However, Zhou Lan still gave Mr. Lu face, "So it’s Mr. Lu, Mr. Lu please have a seat!"

After Zhou Lan took her seat, then Mr. Lu sat down.

Yang Zhenshan spoke again, "General, the Lu family has grain!"

He understood Zhou Lan’s character; she was not one to beat around the bush.

Speaking to her, it was best to be straightforward.

Upon hearing about grain, Zhou Lan’s eyes immediately lit up, "Mr. Lu wishes to sell grain to this general?"

"Ten thousand piculs, should General Zhou need it, it can be delivered to Jianning Guard within a month!" Mr. Lu did not conceal the Lu family’s wealth and capabilities.

"Price!"

"Four taels and three coins per picul!" Mr. Lu said.

Zhou Lan laughed, very pleased.

"I’ll take it all!"

Four taels and three coins — naturally, this price carried a discount, but the discount wasn’t unreasonable.

The Lu family did have some sense; they did not propose to give it away for free.

Giving it away for free wouldn’t be doing a favor, but rather trapping Zhou Lan.

Four taels and three coins, with some fractional amounts, neither too high nor too low, both benefitted her favorably without making the Lu family appear too demeaning.

Yang Zhenshan could see the situation clearly, and so naturally could Zhou Lan.

"This time I owe the Lu family a favor; in the future, as long as it doesn’t trouble me, you can come find me!" Zhou Lan’s eyes narrowed with her smile.

Listening to their conversation, Yang Zhenshan suddenly felt like a poor guy.

Compared to these two, he was indeed poor.

They were dealing with business worth tens of thousands of Silver, whilst he could not even gather a hundred taels.

Thinking about it, Yang Zhenshan felt stifled.

Make money, make money!

He didn’t feel the lack before, but now he suddenly realized how poor he truly was.

However, he soon wouldn’t be poor anymore!

As the middleman, Mr. Lu naturally did not overlook Yang Zhenshan.

When Mr. Lu was leaving Jianning Guard, he handed Yang Zhenshan a stack of silver notes.

All were hundred-tael notes, a total of twenty!

This made Yang Zhenshan somewhat embarrassed.

He had only made an introduction, but earned two thousand taels of Silver so easily.

However, Yang Zhenshan happily accepted it.

This wasn’t bribery or corruption; Yang Zhenshan accepted it with a clear conscience.

Though the matter looked simple, not just anyone could enter Zhou Lan’s door.

Without someone to introduce him, Mr. Lu would have found it difficult to meet Zhou Lan.

However, the benefit Yang Zhenshan got was not just two thousand taels of Silver.

After seeing off Mr. Lu, Yang Zhenshan met with Zhou Lan again.

"You did well this time!" Zhou Lan praised generously.

The grain from the Lu family had relieved her urgent need, and Yang Zhenshan introducing Mr. Lu to her was indeed a merit.

Although she owed a favor and spent Silver, she was still very satisfied with Yang Zhenshan.

"General flatters me, it was merely a coincidence!" Yang Zhenshan said with a smile.

Indeed, it was a coincidence.

A coincidence that the Lu family wanted to foster good relations with Zhou Lan, wanting to curry favor with her.

He could take the Lu family’s Silver, but he couldn’t take credit in front of Zhou Lan.

"Once the grain arrives, I’ll give you five hundred piculs!" Zhou Lan said.

"Then this officer thanks the General for your care!" Yang Zhenshan smiled even more joyfully.

He had bought quite a bit of grain from Yang Family Village, but at this time, who would complain about having too much grain?

"Additionally, I have a group of people here, you take them back!" Zhou Lan added.

Yang Zhenshan was startled, "Who?"

"Convicts assigned to military service!" Zhou Lan said.

Yang Zhenshan understood immediately, Chongshan Town being located in the northeastern part of Da Rong, a destitute area, was one of the main exile destinations of the court.

"Is there anyone in particular we need to be careful with?" Yang Zhenshan asked softly.

Zhou Lan glanced at him, "The Liu family, no need to pay special attention, just ensure they are not bullied!"

Yang Zhenshan nodded slightly, he knew there was something more to this, otherwise Zhou Lan wouldn’t have mentioned it personally.

However, he couldn’t help but curiously ask, "What’s the background of this Liu family?"

"Mr. Liu was originally the Right Imperial Censor at the Imperial Examination Hall!" Zhou Lan did not elaborate, merely offering a simple reminder.

Yang Zhenshan stroked his beard, his heart thudding wildly.

Right Imperial Censor?

This is a Secondary First rank official!

To think he was exiled!

What crime did he commit?

Or was it because of court struggles?

"That old man is both stubborn and tough, don’t fuss over him too much!" Zhou Lan couldn’t help but give another word of caution.

Yang Zhenshan nodded quickly and replied, "The subordinate will take good care of the Liu family!"

Zhou Lan looked at him approvingly.

...

Zhou Lan said it was a group of people, and it certainly was.

There were more than five hundred people, all of whom were criminals sent to penal labor.

Among them, the Liu family alone had over thirty members; truly, what a flourishing clan befitting a family of officials.

Liu Yuanfu, the former Right Imperial Censor of the Imperial Examination Hall, was around sixty years old. He had six sons, three daughters, eight grandchildren and granddaughters, plus the female family members, indeed a big household.

What’s key is that this shameless old man even had a very young concubine.

The next morning, Yang Zhenshan led this large group mightily towards Yinghe Castle.

Of course, the soldiers in charge of escorting were not his men; after all, he only brought ten people and could not watch over so many.

Accompanying them were Zhao Yuan and a hundred soldiers under Zhao’s command.

Looking at each prisoner locked in chains, Yang Zhenshan’s gaze eventually fell on the Liu family members.

"Is the Liu family a scholarly clan?" Yang Zhenshan asked Zhao Yuan in a low voice.

Zhao Yuan shook his head, "No, Mr. Liu comes from a background of farming and studying; he topped the exams at the age of twenty-two and was the third-place scholar in the fifth year of Tianhe."

"He has been an official for forty years, and the Liu family has risen and declined three times; although they had some heritage, they certainly cannot be considered a scholarly clan!"

Yang Zhenshan looked at the old man sitting in the cage, blinking in surprise.

Three rises and falls?

This old man is capable!

The fifth year of Tianhe?

Wouldn’t that make him a senior official through three reigns?

It’s now the twenty-fourth year of Chengping; before Chengping was Emperor Kant, and before him was Tianhe.

A true senior official of three reigns.

The key being the three rises and falls; if it were just once, it could be attributed to luck, but to rise and fall, fall and climb up again, happening three times, this could not be just chalked up to luck.

The Liu family not having deep roots could not support such ups and downs so it must be because this Mr. Liu is truly capable.

Hmm?

Really very capable, still able to satisfy a charming beauty at over sixty; not something an ordinary person could manage.

"How did Mr. Liu fall to such a state?" Yang Zhenshan asked, lowering his voice further.

Zhao Yuan glanced around and whispered, "Four months ago, Mr. Liu directly remonstrated at court, which angered His Majesty!"

"What did he remonstrate about?" Yang Zhenshan continued to ask curiously.

Zhao Yuan hesitated for a moment, then spoke in a barely audible voice, "He said His Majesty was old and muddle-headed!"

"..."

Awesome!

This is an awesome person!

To say the Emperor is old and senile in court!

The Emperor didn’t execute him, he really is tolerant.

Yang Zhenshan secretly clicked his tongue, he now finally understood what Zhou Lan meant by stubborn and tough.

"Does this matter relate to us in Chongshan Town?"

"It does, but mainly it involves the back palace!" Zhao Yuan said.

Yang Zhenshan didn’t ask further; this involved the back palace, it was better not to inquire too much.

The old Emperor too was impressive, also past sixty, yet the back palace was still blooming like a hundred flowers, indicating his vigor despite age.

Because of the criminal’s long journey, their physical exhaustion was severe, they traveled for a full four hours and only reached Yinghe Castle by evening.

Although Yinghe Castle had just been renovated and many new houses built, it still could not accommodate so many people.

There was no choice, Yang Zhenshan could only let them squeeze through the night.

The next day, Yang Zhenshan had Yang Chengche and Yang Chengxu arrange these people at Sanshan Castle and Xiangyuan Fortress, only leaving the Liu family at Yinghe Castle.

Yang Zhenshan also had his own thoughts regarding these criminals.

"Exile," one of the five penalties, the others being flogging, caning, imprisonment, death. In ancient China, exile was an extremely severe punishment, second only to the death penalty.

Exile as penal labor was more like a form of forced labor reform, but this kind of reform was much more dangerous, easily leading to loss of life due to insufficient clothing and food, and if there was war, they were merely cannon fodder.

Whether the criminals could escape was highly unlikely.

Firstly, they were registered as criminals upon reaching the place of exile, their household registration different from ordinary citizens, lacking any form of identification like travel permits, if they escaped from the exile location, they could only be unregistered residents, unable to enter cities, and could hardly move a step outside.

Secondly, the feudal society was a clannish society, and villages had the Baojia system; if a person suddenly appeared, it was easy to be discovered.

Thus, even if prisoners escaped, they could only hide deep in the mountains, minimizing contact with others.

However, in such a case, it was better to stay honest in the place of exile, as with some luck, a general amnesty might occur, allowing them to legally and rightly return home.

Thus, generally, exiled criminals rarely escaped.

These criminals, in Yang Zhenshan’s hands, were more like free labor; they weren’t military households, no need to allocate farmland to them, nor provide them with rations, just feeding them was enough.

Having such a group of free laborers, Yang Zhenshan was very pleased.

Just as he now needed to repair the ramparts and signal towers, with these criminals, he could save quite a bit of silver.

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