Chapter 296: 287: The Dock and the Salt Fields

Chapter 296: Chapter 287: The Dock and the Salt Fields

In the evening, Yang Zhenshan returned to Guard City.

At this time, many servants in the Yang family’s courtyard were busy packing up. Yang Zhenshan happened to see them when he was returning to the main courtyard.

“Ming Cheng, how are the preparations going?”

Upon hearing his voice, Yang Mingcheng quickly set down what he was holding and ran over, saying, “Dad, everything is almost ready. We can set off tomorrow!”

Yang Zhenshan nodded slightly, “Come, follow me to the study for a chat!”

With that, the two went to the study in the main courtyard.

Just as the two entered the study, Qingxia brought in a pot of freshly brewed tea.

Yang Zhenshan took a sip and said, “This time when you go to the Capital City, there are two things I want you to do!”

“Dad, tell me!” Yang Mingcheng, holding a tea bowl, spoke very seriously.

Yang Zhenshan continued, “The first is to go check on your little sister! I always worry about her!”

Before Yang Yunxue was at home, he didn’t think of her all the time. But ever since she married and especially after she moved to the Capital City, he often worried about her wellbeing, fearing that she might not have a good life there.

He wasn’t her biological father, but his paternal heart simply couldn’t find peace.

It’s no wonder Yang Zhenshan was so sentimental. After all, Yang Yunxue was the girl he had raised.

From the age of ten to sixteen, he raised her from a scrappy little girl into a graceful young woman. She may not be his own daughter, but she felt like more than that.

Compared to her, it was different with others. Yang Mingzhi had also been away from home, but Yang Zhenshan rarely thought about this adopted son.

It wasn’t that Yang Zhenshan favored girls over boys, but when he joined the Yang family, Yang Mingzhi was already an adult, which didn’t allow him to develop the feelings of raising a child.

“Dad, I understand. I will visit little sister!” Yang Mingcheng also had his little sister on his mind, and even if Yang Zhenshan didn’t mention it, he would definitely visit Yang Yunxue.

“The second task,” Yang Zhenshan pondered for a moment, “General Zhou is getting married in May. There’s no need to rush back. Come back after General Zhou’s wedding. I will send someone to deliver the wedding gift to the Capital City later. When the time comes, you can give my congratulations to General Zhou on my behalf.”

General Zhou’s wedding was set for the eighth day of May, while the spring examinations were in March and the palace examinations in April. If Lu Wenquan succeeds with everything, he wouldn’t be able to return until at least May. If not successful, he’d have to wait until April.

“Oh, I understand. I will offer congratulations to General Zhou when the time comes!” Yang Mingcheng said obediently.

“Good. Also, make sure to visit Mr. Liu and pay a visit on my behalf to heir Zhou as well,” said Yang Zhenshan.

Heir Zhou was Zhou Xu, Zhou Lan’s elder brother.

These were all connections of the Yang family, and it’s good to maintain those relationships.

Before the New Year, Yang Minghao went to the Capital City, but due to the short notice, he returned shortly after delivering the New Year’s gifts. This time, besides escorting Lu Wenquan, Yang Mingcheng had no other pressing matters, so he was told to make more visits while in the Capital City.

“Yes, Dad, I understand,” replied Yang Mingcheng to each instruction.

The next morning, Yang Mingcheng, accompanied by eight guards, rode off in a horse-drawn carriage from Guard City.

They needed to first visit the Lu family in Anning County and then travel to the Capital City with Lu Wenquan.

Lu Wenquan was not traveling alone; he had many classmates also heading to the Capital City for the examinations.

After seeing off Yang Mingcheng, Yang Zhenshan put all his focus back into official duties.

Days passed and Tenglong Guard became increasingly busy.

As the weather warmed, the list of things to do grew.

Before realizing it, mid-March had arrived.

The cold snap receded, and warm southeast winds brought a new spring to Liaodong, heralding the start of the spring plowing season.

Strolling along the village paths, one could see many military households busily farming the flat fields on either side.

Yang Zhenshan, accompanied by Jiang He and personal followers, rode eastward from Guard City. Seeing the busy military households in the fields put him in a very good mood.

The weather seemed promising, indicating a potential year of good harvests.

This was important for Yang Zhenshan and for everyone in Tenglong Guard.

This year marked a new beginning. If natural disasters were to strike, this start could be delayed to the next year or even years later.

But luckily, fortune was smiling upon them, and Yang Zhenshan was confident that he could make everything different for Tenglong Guard this year.

After riding horses for more than half a two-hour period, the group arrived at the coast.

To the east of Tenglong Guard lay the vast Liao Sea, bound to the west by Liaodong, bordering the Li Sheng Dynasty to the north, adjacent to the Desheng Dynasty to the east, and connected to the Da Rong East Sea in the south.

However, the coastline of Tenglong Guard was not very long, measuring less than sixty miles, as Tenglong Guard was only a guard post, smaller even than a county.

Yang Zhenshan stood on the shore, gazing out at the vast sea, feeling the sea breeze, and couldn’t help but feel a surge of lofty ambition, yearning to compose a poem.

However, despite wracking his brains, he couldn’t come up with any good verses. The only phrase that came to mind was, “Oh great sea, you are made of water!”

Cough cough~

Yang Zhenshan coughed lightly, deciding that poetry was not his forte and not suited for him.

Since arriving in this world, he had never studied the poetry and literature of this place, and as for his past life’s knowledge, he had returned what he should and forgotten what he should, with only fragments remaining that he was too embarrassed to recite.

Experiencing the greatness of the sea was enough; Yang Zhenshan hadn’t forgotten the purpose of his trip.

He looked toward the north and south, the terrain of Tenglong Guard being relatively flat; save for a few small hills to the south, the rest was a vast plain.

“Is there a suitable place for building a port around here?” Yang Zhenshan asked Jiang He, who stood beside him.

Jiang He pointed south and said, “About ten miles to the south, the coastline there is better suited for port construction.”

“Let’s go take a look!” Yang Zhenshan mounted his horse and galloped towards the southern direction.

Soon, they arrived at the location mentioned by Jiang He—a piece of land that extended into the sea. It wasn’t large, just about three hundred zhang, and could be considered a hill; only this hill wasn’t tall, merely more than two zhang higher than the coast elsewhere.

Yang Zhenshan took a look and tested the water depth near the shore, finding that the place could be used as a port without needing any construction.

“Not bad!”

“My lord, this place used to be a port. During the previous dynasty, there was a small fishing village here, but it disappeared due to wars later on!” said Jiang He.

The previous dynasty he referred to was the Dasheng Dynasty that preceded Da Rong. The peak of Dasheng Dynasty’s power had far exceeded the current Da Rong, which could be seen by looking at the several island dynasties overseas.

The Li Sheng Dynasty, Desheng Dynasty, and Lv Sheng Dynasty were once subsidiary dynasties of Dasheng. Their imperial titles were also bestowed by Dasheng.

Yet, even the mightiest dynasty inevitably faces decline, and now, after more than three hundred years, the once gloriously powerful Dasheng Dynasty had been completely submerged in the long river of history.

Yang Zhenshan naturally wouldn’t care about the Dasheng Imperial City; what mattered to him was finding a suitable place to build the port.

Moreover, his purpose for coming to the seaside was not only to look for a port construction site but also to find a suitable location to build salt fields.

One should utilize local resources.

Tenglong Guard, being by the sea, ought to take advantage of that.

But how to do so?

Fishing?

No, fishing wouldn’t bring in much money.

Compared to fishing, salt making was a real gold mine.

Building salt fields, becoming a salt merchant, producing and selling salt—this was a true path to wealth.

As long as this path to wealth was established, neither Tenglong Guard nor the Yang family would lack silver in the future.

However, creating this wealth pathway was not an easy task, requiring thorough planning from Yang Zhenshan.

After returning to Guard City from the seaside, Yang Zhenshan pondered in his study.

After much contemplation, he was still unsure, so he invited Liu Zhe over.

Despite having no official position or academic title, Liu Zhe’s insights were often clearer than Yang Zhenshan’s, especially on matters of court politics. Being constantly in the influence of Liu Yuanfu had given Liu Zhe some profundity.

In the study, Yang Zhenshan and Liu Zhe sat opposite each other.

On the tea table was a set of blue-and-white porcelain tea ware with floral design. Yang Zhenshan personally poured a cup of tea for Liu Zhe, smiling. “Tell me what you think of this tea?”

Liu Zhe took a sip of the tea and savored it carefully, his eyes suddenly lighting up.

“What kind of tea is this?”

“The fragrance is rich, the aftertaste lingers, and the refreshing essence is enduring. It’s a bit like the Biluochun from Wuzhong, but the aftertaste lasts longer and the refreshing essence is more delicate!”

Liu Zhe enjoyed drinking tea and was well-acquainted with every type of tea leaf in Da Rong. Yet, this particular tea was one he had never tasted before, he hadn’t even heard of it.

Yang Zhenshan smiled and said, “This tea is called Dongling Spring.”

“Dongling Spring!” Liu Zhe looked confused.

Yang Zhenshan chuckled secretly.

The so-called Dongling Spring tea came from the Spiritual Spring Space, its name stemming from the concept of ‘inner introspection revealing spiritual abodes’.

To say that the Spiritual Spring Space was a spiritual abode wasn’t wrong, and thus naming tea from this abode Dongling Spring was quite fitting.

“Hahaha~~” Yang Zhenshan suddenly burst into laughter, “Brother Liu, don’t rack your brain. It’s just wild mountain tea from Changqing Mountain!”

“Wild mountain tea!”

Liu Zhe was somewhat incredulous.

Naturally, Yang Zhenshan could not disclose that the tea was from the Spiritual Spring Space, so he had to obscure the truth with wild mountain tea.

In fact, there was indeed wild mountain tea on Changqing Mountain, but Liaodong’s harsh and lengthy winters were not conducive to the growth of tea trees, making such tea from Changqing Mountain rather scarce.

However, the wild mountain tea from Changqing Mountain had its own unique flavor, due to the briefness of spring and summer, it had small buds and thick leaves, a longer growth cycle, and it absorbed more nutrients, resulting in a high fragrance and rich taste when brewed.

Although it lacked the clarity of southern tea, it was a very nice change of pace to enjoy occasionally.

Of course, compared to tea from the Spiritual Spring Space, that wild mountain tea ought to be discarded.

“I didn’t realize Changqing Mountain had such treasures!” Although Liu Zhe was skeptical, he didn’t doubt Yang Zhenshan’s honesty.

He just thought that such tea leaves should not be obscure and unknown.

“If Brother Liu likes it, I’ll send you some in a while,” Yang Zhenshan said with a smile.

The tea trees in the Spiritual Spring Space were yielding tea for the first time this year. Although the output wasn’t high, he could still afford to give away a few dozen pounds as gifts.

“Wouldn’t that be too much trouble?”

“Not at all, just a little specialty from my hometown,” said Yang Zhenshan nonchalantly.