Chapter 349: 338 Return, a New Year's Training Plan

Chapter 349: Chapter 338 Return, a New Year’s Training Plan

Ships sailed out of Crescent Bay, unfurling their sails and heading towards the North.

On their voyage here they had encountered no other vessels, but on their return journey, they met quite a few.

Most were merchant ships from Jiangnan, their routes almost identical to theirs.

Generally speaking, merchant ships have fixed routes; if those from Jiangnan sail north, they roughly divide their destinations into three: Liaodong, the Li Sheng Dynasty, and the De Sheng Dynasty.

There are fewer ships heading to Liaodong, because the profits from selling goods there are far less than those made in the Li Sheng and De Sheng Dynasties.

However, a significant overlap exists in the shipping routes to these three destinations.

Thus, coming across other merchant ships was not an unusual occurrence.

At this moment, it was mid-March, and the southeast monsoon of the East Sea in Da Rong could provide greater power to the vessels. Consequently, mid-March each year marked the start of the northbound voyages of Jiangnan’s merchant fleets.

Of course, it was also the beginning of pirate activity.

But Yang Zhenshan wasn’t worried about pirates.

With nearly twenty warships escorting them, pirates wouldn’t foolishly seek their own demise.

Never mind pirates, even other fleets would keep their distance from Yang Zhenshan’s, fearing trouble.

After two days of sailing, the fleet returned to Tenglong Guard Pier.

When carts of goods were transported from the pier to Guard City, the city suddenly erupted in excitement.

Goods from Jiangnan were highly popular in Liaodong: exquisite porcelain, luxurious silk, rare medicinal herbs, tea leaves, etc., every commodity signified substantial profits.

The merchants in Guard City had long been eagerly anticipating the fleet’s return, and now, seeing carts loaded with goods, they were thrilled beyond measure.

Previously, they also purchased goods from Jiangnan, but land transport was not only time-consuming and strenuous, but also involved passing through numerous checkpoints, and even paying tolls to bandits along the way – the cost was extraordinarily high. Now, with the goods delivered by the fleet, the prices were much cheaper.

Without needing Yang Zhenshan’s instructions, the moment the goods were brought back to Guard City, a group of merchants gathered at the government office doorstep, requesting the goods list and inquiring about prices.

Seeing this, Yang Zhenshan instructed Zhou Ren, “As planned, sell all these goods, then prepare the next batch as soon as possible. From now on, we must ensure two trips to Jiangnan every month!”

“Rest assured, my lord, everything is arranged. The next batch is already stored in the warehouse, and the fleet can load up and set sail at any time!” Zhou Ren replied cheerfully.

Yang Zhenshan nodded slightly, “Hmm, go discuss with Mr. Yu and Sun Cheng about when to sail next!”

“Yes!” Zhou Ren was also very pleased, for the government office was to receive a substantial amount of silver.

Although the Guardian Department had previously developed salt fields, the office’s finances were still barely breaking even. If it weren’t for the Lan family’s substantial resources, the office would likely have run out of silver by now.

Now things were looking up. Opening the route to Jiangnan meant an additional financial avenue for the office. While it didn’t guarantee a balanced budget, it at least assured that they wouldn’t run short of silver for a while.

With Zhou Ren busy selling the goods, Yang Zhenshan walked into the government office and entered the study.

“My lord, these are our financial expenditures from this period!” Lu Wenhua placed a stack of account books in front of Yang Zhenshan.

After reviewing the books briefly, Yang Zhenshan asked, “How many warhorses do we have now?”

“We have over two thousand!” Lu Wenhua answered.

The Tenglong Guard’s horse farm was complete, but inside were many mares and foals, which naturally were not counted among the warhorses.

“Does that mean we’re still short by two thousand?”

“Uh, yes, mainly because we lack sufficient feed. We currently cannot sustain more horses!” Lu Wenhua explained.

“Alright, then we’ll procure more horses in April.” Yang Zhenshan nodded, then signed his name on each of the account books.

Yang Zhenshan insisted on clear accounts for the office; every entry had to be accurate and well-documented, with no room for ambiguity.

These accounts were not only for Yang Zhenshan but also to be presented to the court in the future. They could not be taken lightly.

After getting a brief update on the recent situation at the government office and finding no significant issues, Yang Zhenshan finally returned to the Yang family.

The Yang family, Yu Qingyi, Yang Mingcheng, and others had already been waiting for him. Upon seeing him return, they all came forward to greet him.

“Dad!”

“Master!”

Yang Zhenshan glanced at Yu Qingyi, then looked at the Little Ming Zhao she was holding.

“Daddy, hold me!” Little Ming Zhao seemed to miss him a lot, reaching out to be held.

Yang Zhenshan laughed heartily and hoisted him into his arms, “Have you been naughty at home, little guy?”

“Ming Zhao is the best-behaved!” Little Ming Zhao announced.

Seeing his convincingly angelic expression, Yang Zhenshan couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

“Has everything been alright at home?” Yang Zhenshan asked Qingyi.

Qingyi smiled softly, “There’s good news that the lord doesn’t yet know of!”

“What good news?” Yang Zhenshan inquired doubtfully.

“The wife of your third son is pregnant again; it was just confirmed a few days ago!” Qingyi said, her smile blossoming.

Yang Zhenshan was slightly surprised, then looked towards Liang Family, who was standing behind the crowd, her cheeks flushed with modesty, and called out, “Dad!”

“Ha ha, that’s very good~~” Yang Zhenshan laughed.

Actually, he had grown quite accustomed to pregnancy and childbirth at home; he had enough grandchildren and great-grandchildren to almost form a soccer team. A few more wouldn’t make much difference.

It was hardly a surprise, yet he still had to appear delighted, or else it might unsettle his daughter-in-law.