Chapter 434: 416 The Luo Family's Fortune

Chapter 434: Chapter 416 The Luo Family’s Fortune

Far away in Chongshan Town, Yang Zhenshan was unaware of these matters, and of course, he did not care about them.

The telescope was merely a means of testing the waters, and whether it gained attention from the court was not important.

Although good, the telescope had a limited market, mainly used on battlefields and in navigation, far less versatile than glassware like tea sets, drinking vessels, and dinnerware.

He sent the telescope to the Capital City partly as a way to test the waters and partly to build an early endorsement.

The day after sending away Qingyi, Yang Zhenshan invited Luo Shang to the Marquis Mansion.

Since Yang Zhenshan moved into the General Mansion, Luo Shang had remained in Chongshan Town to reorganize the Luo family’s businesses.

Months had passed, and the losses caused by Ji Feiyu’s rebellion had mostly been recovered by the Luo family.

Now, the Luo family’s enterprises had spread across Chongshan Town, Liaodong, Jiangnan, and even established outposts in both the Li Sheng Dynasty and Desheng Dynasty.

The businesses included fabrics, salt, food, medicinal materials, gold and silver ores, furs, and other industries.

Now, the Luo family was among the richest merchants in the northeastern region of Da Rong. Likely, only the Zhang family of Liao’an could surpass the Luo family in wealth there.

Inside the tea room in the rear hall of the Marquis Mansion, Yang Zhenshan sat opposite Luo Shang, having a relaxed tea conversation.

Luo Shang’s temples had already graced with frost, and the wrinkles on his face had also increased significantly.

Counting his age, Luo Shang was nearly fifty years old.

“You seem quite aged!” Yang Zhenshan remarked as he sipped his tea and examined Luo Shang.

Luo Shang sighed lightly, “Ah, I’m getting old, no longer as vigorous as before.”

“Compared to the Marquis, I indeed look much older.”

He looked at Yang Zhenshan with some envy.

Yang Zhenshan, now fifty-two, still had a rosy complexion, without a single wrinkle, his hair black and devoid of any white hairs.

Judging by appearance alone, one might believe him to be in his thirties.

Now, standing next to Qingyi, absolutely no one would accuse him of being an old man pursuing a younger woman.

Luo Shang’s apparent aged look was actually connected to Ji Feiyu’s rebellion since he was in Jiangnan when he suddenly learned of Ji Feiyu’s rebellion, Chongshan Pass being seized by Ji Feiyu, and his family might be in danger, which nearly made him faint from shock.

Later, he hurried back from Jiangnan to Tenglong Guard, going through numerous hardships. Exhausted in body and soul, and haunted by fear and anxiety, he had not slept well for many months.

Only when Yang Zhenshan captured Chongshan Pass and released the Luo family from prison did he finally feel relieved.

But, he fell severely ill afterward, and since then, his health was never the same.

“It’s alright, excess is as bad as deficiency. Now that the Luo family is sufficiently wealthy, further expansion might invite trouble!” Yang Zhenshan held his tea, took a sip, and said smilingly.

Being a rich merchant was not all that easy, especially a very wealthy one.

Although the Zhang family of Liao’an was long-established, it had faced countless life and death crises.

The Luo family was already rich enough, further expansion would surely place them as the richest in the northeast of Da Rong. However, such a position could be too conspicuous.

Even with the protection of the Yang family, it would be difficult for the Luo family to safeguard such wealth.

Thus, it was time for the Luo family to focus on preservation.

“What does the Marquis suggest?” Luo Shang cautiously asked.

Yang Zhenshan smiled and said, “I plan to support the Shang, Wang, Lin, and Zhang families of Jing’an Prefecture, allowing them to enter Chongshan Town to compete with your Luo family!”

Luo Shang thought for a moment and said, “The Wang and Lin families are acceptable, but not the Zhang family!”

He was not unsettled by Yang Zhenshan’s decision to support others.

Having known Yang Zhenshan for over a decade, Luo Shang was thoroughly familiar with his temperament.

Yang Zhenshan was a man of loyalty, hence Luo Shang understood that as long as the Luo family closely followed Yang Zhenshan’s steps, he would not abandon them.

Therefore, he was not worried about someone replacing the Luo family in Yang Zhenshan’s favor.

“Why?” asked Yang Zhenshan.

“The Zhang family has been getting very close to the Liaodong Ship Department recently,” Luo Shang said.

Yang Zhenshan showed a surprised expression, “Oh, really?”

“Yes, I also heard that the Zhang family has expanded their fleet, especially the ships heading to the Li Sheng Dynasty! They now have more than twenty large ships,” Luo Shang said.

Yang Zhenshan looked thoughtful.

In recent years, the Shang, Wang, Lin, and Zhang families of Jing’an Prefecture grew significantly under the auspices of Tenglong Guard.

Although not comparable to the Luo family, they were among the most prominent merchants in Jing’an Prefecture.

Among them, the Shang family was a Martial Arts Family. While they also owned many businesses, their foundation was in Martial Arts heritage, so their commercial development was relatively lagging.

Meanwhile, the Wang, Lin, and Zhang families had been desperately expanding their commercial territories.

Now that Tenglong Guard’s maritime trade was under the jurisdiction of the Liaodong Ship Department, it was natural for these three families to be close to the Ship Department.

However, expanding commerce with the Li Sheng Dynasty at this time was not a wise decision.

Because the current Li Sheng Dynasty was not the true Li Sheng Dynasty. The Li Royal Family was still in the Capital City, and the new Silla Kim clan had yet to be officially endorsed by Emperor Chengping.

This meant the new Silla Kim clan was not yet the legitimate new king of the Li Sheng Dynasty.

Yang Zhenshan didn’t quite understand why Emperor Chengping kept the Li royal family around, nor did he understand why Emperor Chengping didn’t confer a title on the new Luo Jin clan, but he knew Emperor Chengping must have other ideas.

The Zhang family was close to the Liaodong Ship Department, which somewhat betrayed the Tenglong Guard.

Although the Tenglong Guard and the Liaodong Ship Department were not directly opposing each other, the establishment of the Liaodong Ship Department did indeed affect the interests of the Tenglong Guard, and many in the Tenglong Guard held grievances against the Liaodong Ship Department.

If the Zhang family just wanted to utilize the connections of the Liaodong Ship Department, that wouldn’t be much of an issue, but it would be problematic if the Zhang family fully sided with the Liaodong Ship Department.

Yu Tonghai and Wu Chongzhe probably wouldn’t like such a Zhang family.

However, this matter concerned Yu Tonghai and Wu Chongzhe; currently, Yang Zhenshan wouldn’t deliberately intervene in the affairs of the Tenglong Guard, as long as it didn’t erupt into major chaos.

As for whether Yang Zhenshan could intervene in the matters of the Tenglong Guard, the answer was yes.

Because Yang Zhenshan was still serving as a Deputy Governor at the Central Army Commander’s Mansion, and the Tenglong Guard was under the jurisdiction of the Central Army Commander’s Mansion, he could legitimately get involved in matters related to the Tenglong Guard.

However, Yang Zhenshan now lacked the energy to deal with the matters of the Tenglong Guard, leaving everything to Yu Tonghai, Wu Chongzhe, Han Cheng, and Zhang Yuanwu.

Since the Zhang family of Jing’an were so ungracious, Yang Zhenshan naturally would not support them.

“Then forget the Zhang family, the Shang family, the Wang family, and the Lin family, these three are enough!”

Whether it was an addition or a subtraction from these families didn’t much impact Yang Zhenshan.

“What does the Marquis need our Luo family to do?” Luo Shang didn’t care about these three families; he only cared if Yang Zhenshan had use for the Luo family.

Yang Zhenshan took a wooden box from the side and handed it to Luo Shang, “A telescope! The glass workshop has stored quite a number of telescopes; your Luo family will be responsible for selling them!”

Although the telescope was a novel item, its market was not large, and the profit would not be too much, thus assigning this task to the Luo family wouldn’t greatly affect them.

Luo Shang took out the telescope, glanced at it casually, and then set it down.

He was familiar with telescopes; the ships of the Luo family were all equipped with them, and Yang Zhenshan assigning him to sell them didn’t surprise him.

“What pricing does the Marquis require for the telescopes?”

“The cost of a telescope is roughly around three taels of silver, I’ll give them to you for ten taels, as for how much you sell them for, I don’t mind!” Yang Zhenshan said nonchalantly.

As the body of the telescope was made of brass, and the lens was more difficult to manufacture compared to other glass items, the cost was not low.

However, the telescopes weren’t sold to ordinary people; those who could use them were either sea merchants or military generals. Not to mention ten taels of silver, even a hundred taels would see many willing buyers.

“Then let’s sell them for fifteen taels of silver!” Luo Shang thought for a moment and said.

“You!” Yang Zhenshan chuckled, “you’re still too cautious!”

Luo Shang shook his head and said, “Since the Marquis has set the price at ten taels, it must be his intention to sell them on a large scale. If the selling price is too high, it probably wouldn’t meet the Marquis’s expectations!”

Luo Shang’s concern was not how much the Luo family could earn, but Yang Zhenshan’s considerations and needs.

“Fine, let’s do it your way!” Yang Zhenshan, knowing his thoughts, chuckled freely.

The market for telescopes was quite small; Yang Zhenshan estimated that selling a few thousand units a year would be good, and a few thousand units amounted to just a few tens of thousands of taels of silver—really not something to fuss over too much.

After the formalities were done, Yang Zhenshan then started talking about family matters.

“Your eldest grandson is fourteen this year, right?”

Luo Zhen was now in his thirties, and Luo Zhen’s oldest son was Luo Shang’s eldest grandson.

“Bo’er turns exactly fourteen this year!” Luo Shang said.

Yang Zhenshan tapped the table and said, “When Chengye returns from the Capital City, have him train in the Personal Guard Camp for two years!”

“Fourteen is just the right age, and if his Martial Arts aptitude is not bad, he should be able to become a Martial Artist by the next year or the year after!”

“Once he becomes a Martial Artist, let him serve as a Personal Follower by Chengye’s side!”

Luo Shang was initially stunned at hearing this, but then joyfully stood up to bow deeply and said, “This old man would thank the Marquis for this opportunity for Bo’er!”

Yang Zhenshan waved his hand casually, saying, “Come on, no need for such formalities between you and me!”

Luo Shang grinned widely, “If Bo’er can achieve something, this old man’s life would be without regrets!”

Merchants are of low status, even lower than military households.

Even though the Luo family is wealthy, in the eyes of officials, the Luo family is still seen as low-class.

Yang Zhenshan’s move to have Luo Bo join the military undoubtedly offered the Luo family a chance to rid themselves of the low status of merchants.

And Yang Zhenshan arranging Luo Bo by Yang Chengye’s side conveyed an unspoken intention.

This not only helped Yang Chengye build a foundation but also showed closeness to the Luo family.

“Sit down, let’s talk sitting!” Yang Zhenshan gestured for Luo Shang to sit.

He was getting older and began to consider the legacy of the Yang family.

Arranging Lin Zhan’s child to be apprenticed to Yang Mingcheng and having Luo Bo follow Yang Chengye were all part of his long-term plans for the future of the Yang family.

He considered these mainly because Yang Chengye had grown up.

When Yang Chengye was young, he hadn’t thought about these issues, as he didn’t feel old back then, but watching Yang Chengye grow up day by day made him, as a grandfather, unable not to arrange for Chengye.

After chatting idly with Luo Shang for a while, Luo Shang left, brimming with joy.

He was eager to go home and share this joy with his family.

Having Luo Bo follow Yang Chengye was undoubtedly a blessing for the Luo family.