Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Inside the Taiji Palace, the ministers silently exited the palace, but once they were far from it, they started chattering among themselves.

Some felt that Yang Zhenshan was being reckless, some thought he went too far in his rashness, while others viewed Yang Zhenshan as upright and forthright.

Yang Zhenshan intentionally lagged a few steps behind, falling in behind Zhou Yunsong and Song Yuange.

Zhao Gongqing briskly walked behind Zhou Yunsong, occasionally glancing back at Yang Zhenshan.

Meanwhile, surrounding Song Yuange were a few officials, whispering among themselves, their topic of discussion unknown.

Seeing this, Yang Zhenshan stroked his beard, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised in a smirk.

"You've really stirred up a hornet's nest this time!" Liang Chu said quietly.

Yang Zhenshan smiled: "What do you think, will there be more complaints against me tomorrow, or against Zhou Yunsong?"

"You can still laugh?" Liang Chu shook his head, somewhat amused.

"Why can't I laugh? At worst, they'll just dock my pay. Could they really demote me?" said Yang Zhenshan, chuckling.

The two men then left the Taiji Palace together, but after the morning court, the official circles in the Capital City were set ablaze by a storm.

Yang Zhenshan's impeachment seemed to only graze Zhou Yunsong, but Yang Zhenshan's target was the deputy of the Cabinet, the Chief of Staff from the Ministry of Personnel, and the leader of the New Party in the court. Previously, disputes between the New and Old Parties revolved mainly around the power of various government offices, attacking senior officials within each department. Never before had anyone impeached an elder of the Cabinet.

Yang Zhenshan's impeachment seemed to be the starting point, opening Pandora's box.

Instantly, numerous officials in the Capital City started colluding, with many of them even brazenly gathering together to discuss matters.

As for what they were discussing, it was nothing more than whether to take the opportunity to fiercely attack Zhou Yunsong or to counterattack against Yang Zhenshan.

Naturally, those wanting to deal with Zhou Yunsong were from the Old Party, and those aiming for a counterattack against Yang Zhenshan were from the New Party.

The so-called New Party and Old Party initially referred to the veteran officials from Emperor Chengping's peaceful years and officials promoted by Emperor Yanping. However, over the years, the New and Old Parties had evolved into something different.

The New Party had become the Long Party, mainly consisting of officials hailing from Longyuan and Longnan.

The Old Party had transformed into the Jiangnan faction, representing scholarly officials from Jiangnan.

Longyuan and Jiangnan were the regions with the strongest literary traditions in Da Rong and the sources of the most officials.

In the court, the two factions were at odds, with certain officials belonging to a neutral group. However, this neutral faction lacked leadership and was mostly assigned to idle positions within minor government offices. The reason Lu Wenquan chose to be posted elsewhere was his isolation by both parties in the Capital City, which rendered him frustrated and restrained in carrying out any real work.

Lu Wenquan was a talented individual. Despite his humble origins and having Yang Zhenshan as his backer, he had always aspired to rack up his own achievements.

Yet, throughout his years in the Capital City, although he rose through the ranks, he hadn't accomplished anything substantial, which was why he chose to be entrusted with governance elsewhere.

Officials like Lu Wenquan were not uncommon in Da Rong's officialdom, as the increasingly fierce struggles between the two parties at court often left many talented officials underutilized and hindered in their promotions.

A case in point was Zheng Xiao. In Yang Zhenshan's view, Zheng Xiao was supremely talented. During his tenure as Imperial Censor overseeing the salt in Liaodong, he managed the Salt Transport Department in an orderly manner, not only collecting substantial salt taxes for the court but also reducing the salt price in Liaodong, making it affordable for the common people.

After Zheng Xiao supervised the Liaodong salt industry and the Market Shipping Department, he leveraged the might of the Tenglong Guard to further expand the maritime trade scale of both the Liao'an Maritime Trade Bureau and the Jizhou bureau.

Whereas the Tenglong Guard used to be unrivaled in Liaodong, now numerous sea merchants big and small were emerging there, spurring significant economic growth in the region.

This development brought considerable benefits to the people of Liaodong, who had endured droughts, and was one of the key reasons they were able to recover from the toughest times post-drought.

Although the living conditions in Liaodong weren't as good as during Emperor Chengping's reign, a burgeoning development had begun.

Behind all these achievements was the contribution of Zheng Xiao.

Thus, Zheng Xiao was seen by Yang Zhenshan as a capable and effective official.

Yet, Zheng Xiao kept on being stationed in Liaodong. Over the years, despite his promotion, he had not been truly valued by the court.

In the factional disputes, each party would only promote their own into key positions in the Capital City. Officials like Zheng Xiao and Lu Wenquan had practically no room to maneuver in the political arena at the Capital City.

Such was the current state of affairs on the Da Rong court.

Regarding this, Yang Zhenshan had always been of the attitude that as long as they didn't go too far, he would turn a blind eye.

Thus, he didn't extend a helping hand to Lu Wenquan and Zheng Xiao, but the recent matters involving Bao Lang and Sun Anyang forced him to stop pretending not to see.

That's why he finally decided to stir up the muddy waters of the court.

However, he was a noble and couldn't intervene too deeply in the conflicts between civil servants.

Meddling a bit was fine for him, but he couldn't really enter the fray against civil officials.

After leaving the Imperial City, Yang Zhenshan went straight home to hide.

His part was done; no matter how much turmoil ensued at court, it was no longer of big concern to him.

Yang Zhenshan was just like an old fox – only responsible for starting the fire, utterly indifferent to how big it would burn.

Inside the Marquis Jing'an Mansion, life went on as usual, completely unaffected by the undercurrents at court.

As soon as Yang Zhenshan returned to the mansion, Lu Shou hurried to report: "Marquis, Manager Luo is back!"

"Where is he?" Yang Zhenshan headed to the study, inquiring.

Lu Shou replied: "This servant arranged a guest room for him to rest in!"