Chapter 74: Rumors Spread Like Wildfire
“Get out first!” Yang Zhengshan hurried Yang Mingzhi out of the study.
“Your Excellency!” After Yang Mingzhi left, Luo Jin looked at Yang Zhengshan with urgency.
Yang Zhengshan wore a faint smile and said, “Let’s sit and chat, Luo Zhang.”
“Oh, oh!” Luo Jin was a bit flustered and sat down at the desk.
Yang Zhengshan poured him a cup of tea and asked, “Luo Zhang, you don’t have many trustworthy friends in Guang City, do you?”
“I do!” Luo Jin didn’t understand what Yang Zhengshan was getting at, but he still replied honestly, “It’s just that they can’t help much!”
He had been doing business in Guang City for over a decade, although he wasn’t from a powerful family, but he did have some friends.
Compared to those officials he had been trying to curry favor with, his ordinary friends were more trustworthy.
It’s just that normal people couldn’t help much in this matter.
Yang Zhengshan lifted the teacup, took a sip, and said, “I can’t help you with this matter, and you know I’ve just arrived in Guang City, I don’t have much of a footing here!”
“Ah, Your Excellency…” Luo Jin couldn’t help but want to plead.
Yang Zhengshan raised his hand to stop him and said, “Let me finish.”
“I can’t take action to help you, but I can give you an idea.”
“This time, the Heavy Mountain Fortress is going to war, and Zhang Yude embezzled a lot of grain!”
If it were anyone else, Yang Zhengshan might not have been clear about it.
But he did know something about Zhang Yude’s embezzlement because he was the Grain Transport Officer, and when he transported grain back to Guang City, he had frequent contact with the Metropolitan Prefecture Office, the Ministry of Revenue, and Zhang Yude’s subordinates.
He didn’t know how many people were involved, but he knew that every time he received grain, it was always three-tenths short.
Zhao Lan knew about this, and Zhang Shouwang probably knew too, but they didn’t say anything, so Yang Zhengshan didn’t intervene either. As long as they gave him a certain amount, he would transport it, and the rest wasn’t something he, a small Grain Transport Officer, could handle.
Perhaps it was a well-known fact, but nobody dared to bring it up.
“What does this have to do with me?” Luo Jin asked, perplexed.
“If we lose the war, the Imperial Court will definitely investigate, and as the Commander of the Heavy Mountain Fortress, Zhang Yude won’t want to attract the Imperial Court’s attention!”
“If the news of Zhang Yude’s embezzlement spreads throughout Guang City, do you think the Imperial Court will handle Zhang Yude?” Yang Zhengshan asked slowly.
At this time, Zhang Yude would naturally want to behave properly.
“What do you mean, Your Excellency?” Luo Jin seemed to understand.
Yang Zhengshan continued, “If Zhang Yude falls, what will become of the Zhang Family?”
“Even if Zhang Yude doesn’t fall, if we give him some trouble, let him focus on himself, the Zhang Family will probably be too busy to care about you for the time being. You might even be able to rescue your son!”
Luo Jin’s eyes lit up at the suggestion. If he could rescue his son, he would be willing to try.
“Your Excellency means to spread rumors?”
“No, that’s not a rumor, that’s a fact!” Yang Zhengshan smiled.
Luo Jin wasn’t stupid; he had been able to do business in Guang City for so many years, which meant he had his own foundation.
Yang Zhengshan saw that he understood and said seriously, “After leaving this room, I haven’t helped you with anything, and I haven’t said anything extra. You understand?”
Luo Jin hesitated, then stood up and bowed, saying, “I understand, Your Excellency’s kindness, I will remember it forever!”
At this point, he had already calmed down and understood Yang Zhengshan’s difficulties and concerns.
Yang Zhengshan was willing to give him an idea, which was enough to let him be grateful. As long as he had a conscience, he shouldn’t implicate Yang Zhengshan.
He was willing to risk everything to rescue his son, but Yang Zhengshan couldn’t take risks to help him.
“No need to see me off!” Yang Zhengshan sent him off with a cup of tea.
Luo Jin took a deep breath, and his expression became desperate again.
He left the study, looking lost, and Yang Zhengshan’s mouth curved up slightly.
Good, this was a clever person.
…
Yang Zhengshan didn’t pay much attention to what happened to Luo Jin’s family after that. Anyway, he had already refused to help Luo Jin, and whatever Luo Jin did had nothing to do with him.
However, news from Guang City still reached his ears.
On the third day after Luo Jin left the Fortress City, rumors began to spread in Guang City.
Someone said that the reason for the defeat was that the military didn’t have enough grain.
The military didn’t have enough grain because someone had embezzled it.
The rumors spread, and different versions emerged. Some pointed to Zhang Yude, some to Zhang Shouwang, and some to Governor Sun Xin.
Various rumors filled the air, some of which were false, while others were true.
Luo Jin was just a small person; he couldn’t have created so many rumors. He didn’t need to; he just needed to start it, and others would naturally take care of the rest.
Perhaps someone was behind the scenes, but that had nothing to do with Luo Jin anymore.
Under the pressure of the rumors, the Zhang Family did become more low-key. Maybe Zhang Yude had warned them to be careful, or maybe they felt the pressure and crisis themselves.
Anyway, they were now too busy to care about Luo Jin, that small person.
Only Luo Jin’s son was still imprisoned.
Time quietly passed until the end of July, and the weather was still swelteringly hot. The small river at the foot of the Fortress City had completely dried up.
However, Yang Zhengshan’s deep well was finally dug.
The well water was sufficient, and the Fortress City could not only drink water but also use it to irrigate some fields.
The dry spell had also caught the attention of many people.
The Provincial Governor’s Office and the Metropolitan Prefecture Office had issued orders, instructing each military camp and garrison to dig wells and collect water to ensure this year’s harvest.
It was just that doing so would only be a drop in the bucket.
This year’s harvest in Heavy Mountain Fortress would definitely be affected, although not to the point of complete crop failure, but the yield would definitely decrease significantly.
Yang Zhengshan felt slightly relieved. This way, even though Heavy Mountain Fortress would be affected by the dry spell, it shouldn’t fall into chaos.
“Father, the Village Head came with a letter!”
Yang Minghao brought back two letters from the Village Head.
He had just accompanied Old Li to Guang City to purchase supplies and coincidentally met the Lu Family’s merchant group.
After taking the letters, Yang Zhengshan began to read.
One was from Yang Mingcheng, who wrote about his daily life and asked about their situation in the Fortress City.
Yang Mingcheng’s letter didn’t have much to say, just some ordinary family news and what he had been doing lately.
The other letter was from Yang Zhengxiang, who wrote about many things.
First, the Yang Clan’s private school had been established, and Yang Zhengxiang had invited a scholar and two pedants from the county town to teach. Many children from Yang Family Village had already enrolled.
Enrolling in the Yang Clan’s private school wasn’t free; one needed to pay tuition fees. The Yang Family’s children could pay less, while children from other families needed to pay more.
Apart from the private school, the roads in Yang Family Village had been repaired, and the alleys were paved with bluish-gray stones from the mountains. The road leading to the official road was built with compacted soil, although it wasn’t as good as the official road, it was much better than before.
Then Yang Zhengxiang wrote about the use of the surplus silver. The eight hundred taels of silver, plus the various spoils of war, added up to around nine hundred taels. Building the private school and repairing the roads cost four hundred taels, and the remaining five hundred taels were all used to buy land as the Yang Family’s clan property.
These lands would be rented to poor families within the clan, with only three-tenths of the rent due each year. The rent collected would be used to fund the private school and subsidize those who had made contributions to the Yang Family.
Yang Zhengshan was very satisfied with this. In fact, these were all things he had discussed with Yang Zhengxiang.
Yang Zhengxiang had mostly followed his plans.
(End of Chapter)
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