Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

What else could Zhang Ruifu say? He could only repeatedly agree and hurriedly went to write a letter to Wang Lu.

After he left, Yang Zhenshan turned to Zheng Yang of the Ministry of Revenue, "We need one million taels of Silver Coin and a hundred thousand stone of grain!"

"Ah!" Zheng Yang was stunned, "Marquis, didn't we bring three hundred thousand taels of Silver Coin and fifty thousand stone of grain with us?"

Yang Zhenshan's face turned somewhat dark, "Then take a look at what Zhao Wu Guard has? Does constructing a camp and harbor not cost Silver? Do all these laborers not need to eat?"

"The fifty thousand stone of grain was originally intended for the soldiers' training, but as you know the current situation, this amount of grain simply won't last long!"

Originally, the Ministry of Revenue's provided Silver Coin and grain store were only enough for the Four Seas Navy's training needs; even if there was a shortfall, the grain could be requisitioned from the nearby official storehouses.

But now, Yang Zhenshan, in order to construct the camp and harbor as quickly as possible, had employed a generous spending strategy, and this amount of financial provision was simply not enough.

"This!" Zheng Yang was on the verge of tears, "Marquis, the Ministry of Revenue doesn't have so much money and grain!"

"This isn't something for this old man to consider, but for your Ministry of Revenue to figure out!" Yang Zhenshan said discontentedly.

How could the Ministry of Revenue be out of money?

Every year, the Imperial Commerce Bureau could provide the Ministry of Revenue with several million taels of Silver Coin, he was only asking for a mere one million taels, it was impossible that the Ministry of Revenue couldn't come up with it.

If the Ministry of Revenue couldn't provide it, then Yang Zhenshan would have reason to suspect that the Ministry's officials had embezzled the national treasury's provision.

Now things were different from before; whether in the past at Tenglong Guard or in Chongshan Town, he was mostly self-sufficient. But in Zhao Wu Guard, he simply couldn't be self-sufficient nor did he have enough time to slowly develop; he could only demand that the Ministry of Revenue supply the money and grain.

Zheng Yang didn't dare to retort Yang Zhenshan and could only nervously agree to the matter.

After delegating the matters of armaments and financial provision to Zhang Ruifu and Zheng Yang, Yang Zhenshan then focused his energy on the soldiers' training.

Just right, he had brought a hundred guards who could act as instructors for the soldiers, and at the same time, youngsters like Chengye and Chengmao of the Yang family were also thrown into the barracks to serve as instructors.

Outside the coastal tents, five thousand soldiers were divided into hundreds of small formations, undergoing training from the guards.

The Yang family's basic training methods go without saying, primarily focusing on formation drills and physical training; the specific methods were something the guards knew by heart, there was no need for Yang Zhenshan to worry about them.

What Yang Zhenshan needed to provide was Spiritual Spring Water.

For several consecutive days, Yang Zhenshan was either rushing to the temporary training ground or between the camp and the harbor.

Time quickly reached the tenth day of October; the East South Sea Domain was still very hot in October, uncomfortably so even at sea.

However, from the month of October, the wind direction in the East South Sea Domain would change, shifting from the southwest monsoon to the northeast monsoon.

Yu Tonghai, leading the Tenglong Navy, took three days to sail against the wind to reach Dongyang Island.

When they approached Dongyang Island, the island immediately became chaotic.

The geographical location of Dongyang Island was very important, and for Earth Fire Island, this Dongyang Island was also an extremely important source of wealth.

There are no special products on Dongyang Island, but it is an important supply station for fleets traveling from east to west, with small towns and markets providing rest stops for passing ships.

Earth Fire Island was not an ordinary group of pirates; although they engaged in piracy at times, they were very well-behaved on Dongyang Island, after all, this island was a consistent and stable source of wealth for them.

At this moment, within an exquisitely decorated courtyard on Dongyang Island, Zhu Ming, the manager of Earth Fire Island's affairs on Dongyang Island, was leisurely sipping tea under the shade of a tree.

Earth Fire Island is different from the Star Moon Sect; the Star Moon Sect is more like a Sect force, while Earth Fire Island is a family force.

Earth Fire Island is the private domain of the Zhu family, and all businesses on the island also belonged to the Zhu family.

However, Zhu Ming was not a member of the Zhu family; he was merely a servant trained by the Zhu family, a child raised within the family.

Zhu Ming, in his forties, was a servant of the Zhu family, but due to his exceptional cultivation and capabilities, he was highly regarded by the masters of the Zhu family. As the manager of Dongyang Island, his life was quite comfortable.

However, this fellow loved to indulge in scholarly pursuits; despite being a martial artist, he was fond of music, chess, calligraphy, painting, and particularly the art of tea.

He was sitting under the shade of a tree, contentedly brewing tea when suddenly, an attendant rushed over in a hurry.

"Master, there's trouble!" the attendant called out urgently.

"Silence!"

Hearing the call of the attendant, Zhu Ming scolded in dissatisfaction.

His tea brewing was disturbed by the attendant.

The attendant immediately fell silent, while Zhu Ming, unconcerned about the urgency, continued to steep his tea leisurely until a bowl of tea was ready. Only after sampling it did he ask, "What's happened?"

The attendant, having been restrained for so long, finally got the chance to speak, and said quickly, "Master, a large number of warships have appeared at sea, and it seems they are headed towards us!"

"What!" Zhu Ming was shocked, suddenly standing up, "How many warships?"

"Hundreds, and there are two Da Fu Ships among them!" the attendant replied.

Zhu Ming shuddered, and with a kick, he knocked over the attendant, "Damn, why didn't you say so sooner!"

"..."

The attendant was sent flying by the kick, but as a martial artist, he wasn't gravely injured, though he was gasping from the pain and irritation.

Damn it, wasn't it this idiot who told me to be quiet?

Zhu Ming couldn't care less about the attendant's inner grumblings; he hurriedly ran towards the direction of the docks.