Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

The Weaving Bureau, in order to fulfill the Imperial Commerce Bureau's order, had no choice but to make large purchases of raw silk, causing the price of raw silk in Jiangnan to rise continuously.

However, there were many private silk traders in Jiangnan that also needed a large amount of raw silk, and the increase in the price of raw silk naturally impacted their interests.

"So they colluded with pirates and set fire to the weavers' workshops in Yu State?" Emperor Yanping asked with a dark expression on his face.

Chen Zhongshu said, "It's not just because of that. In addition to the reason of raw silk prices, they are also dissatisfied with the Imperial Commerce Bureau's involvement in the silk trade!"

"Recently, the Imperial Commerce Bureau struck a major deal with the Jialuo Dynasty: five hundred thousand bolts of silk for eight million taels of silver. In the past, the Jialuo Dynasty always purchased silk from the Jiangnan Maritime Trade Department, but with intervention of the Imperial Commerce Bureau, the Jiangnan silk merchants lost such a large order."

The Jialuo Dynasty is located south of Da Rong and does not share a border with it. If traveling by land, one needs to cross several dynasties to reach Da Rong, but if by sea, one can sail directly south for thousands of miles to reach the Jialuo Dynasty.

This Jialuo Dynasty is also a dynasty where maritime trade flourishes, and they like to import various specialties from Da Rong the most, transporting them to the far western lands for sale.

Silk products from Da Rong were among their favorite commodities.

Emperor Yanping knew about the Imperial Commerce Bureau's massive order, and at the time, he was even delighted about it because this order could earn at least four million taels of silver. Little did he know that this matter would become the calamity of Yu State.

However, he still couldn't understand why the silk merchants of Jiangnan dared to collude with pirates to attack the city of Yu State.

Didn't they know that the court would be enraged by this and conduct a thorough investigation?

Did they really have no fear of death?

Did a group of silk merchants really think they could challenge the authority of the court?

"Leave this matter to the Secret Martial Guards. Regardless of who is involved, a strict investigation must be carried out to the end!" Emperor Yanping's eyes revealed a chill; he was already eager to raise the executioner's blade.

The involvement of the Imperial Commerce Bureau and the Weaving Bureau was something he felt was intolerable.

It must be known that nowadays the Imperial Commerce Bureau is the moneybag of both him and the court; last year, the Imperial Commerce Bureau earned over twenty million taels of silver, twice the amount of the tax revenue collected by the court.

How could he tolerate anyone sabotaging the business of the Imperial Commerce Bureau?

"This servant obeys the order!" Chen Zhongshu responded.

...

After Zhang Mingzhong conveyed Emperor Yanping's imperial decree to the Secret Martial Guards, they immediately found the dossier of Zhou Ningwei.

An Imperial Censor like Zhou Ningwei, although not high-ranking in office, held the authority to inspect all officials, thus the Secret Martial Guards paid some attention to him.

For every official and noble within the Capital City, the Secret Martial Guards keep a dedicated dossier, including background, career history, and some cautionary information, etc.

Whether there are corrupt officials in the court, the Secret Martial Guards know all too well, and similarly, Emperor Yanping is also very aware.

But it is said that clear waters are devoid of fish; both Emperor Chengping and Emperor Yanping understand that it's impossible to eliminate corrupt officials completely, so they do not have the intention of eradicating them.

Moreover, some people and some matters cannot truly be divided into black and white.

For instance, the exchange of festival gifts. It is common practice for officials to give each other festival gifts, and some people give extremely valuable items. Not only in officialdom but the practice of giving festival gifts is also highly regarded among the public; it's a custom that the court cannot prohibit.

So, some matters are not that the court doesn't want to handle them, but rather that they cannot be handled.

Zhou Ningwei came from humble beginnings, but now he lives a life of luxury, indicating that he has a particular knack for amassing wealth.

Although the Secret Martial Guards did not pay special attention to Zhou Ningwei, the recorded dossier still contained many instances of his bribery and corruption.

Without needing special arrangements from Zhang Mingzhong, the Secret Martial Guards captured Zhou Ningwei on the same day.

When a large number of Secret Martial Guards surrounded Zhou's mansion and took Zhou Ningwei back to the dungeon of the Secret Martial Guards, a small ripple was caused in the Capital City.

Most did not quite understand what had happened, but some knew why.

In Shuntian Prefecture Government's study.

Zhen Shijie, upon hearing this news, couldn't help shaking his head, "This idiot, of all people he could provoke, he had to provoke Marquis Jing'an, as if Marquis Jing'an were made of mud!"

He was very familiar with Yang Zhenshan. Although he had not dealt with Yang Zhenshan in recent years, he had always been keeping an eye on him.

When the Ping Yuan Province investigated and punished numerous members of the Zhen clan years ago, Zhen Shijie had considered lending a helping hand, but in the end, he chose to ignore the matter.

One reason was that the incident had become too big on the court, and the second was that it involved Yang Zhenshan.

"Fetch Zhen Yang for me; I have a favor to ask of her," Zhen Shijie thought for a while before summoning a servant and instructing.

"Zhen Yang? Is the lord referring to the principal of the Imperial Commerce Bureau?" the servant cautiously asked.

Zhen Shijie nodded, "That's right, her. I remember she has a mansion in Capital City! Ask if she's there, and if not, then send her a message to see when she can come to Capital City!"

"Yes!" the servant responded.

Zhen Yang originated from the Zhen family of Yan State, and is part of the Zhen clan. According to seniority, Zhen Yang should address Zhen Shijie as uncle.

But the Zhen clan was too vast, and Zhen Shijie did not like involving himself with clan affairs, so over the years, he had not met Zhen Yang.

However, Zhen Yang always sent him a festival gift each year without forgetting her elder.

In the past, he looked down on Zhen Yang somewhat, but now he felt he should indeed engage more with her.

...

Although Yang Zhenshan was angry with the foolish Zhou Ningwei, in reality, he didn't take Zhou Ningwei to heart at all. Upon learning that Zhou Ningwei had been taken down by the Secret Martial Guards, he put the matter out of his mind.