As for relocating to Divine Wood Island, everyone was mentally prepared, so after Yang Zhenshan finished speaking, no one raised any objections.
The relocation process is slightly troublesome and will probably take quite some time, but as for the rest, itâs not an issue.
Seeing that no one objected, Yang Zhenshan continued, "The second matter concerns the Taro Dynasty. Zhang Juhai intends to ally with us to destroy the Taro Dynasty!"
"If we destroy the Taro Dynasty, we should be able to acquire a significant territory!"
At this point, Yang Zhenshan paused slightly, stroked his beard, contemplated for a moment, and then continued, "I am hesitating over whether to occupy a piece of territory in the Taro Dynasty!"
"If we occupy a piece of territory, should we establish a kingdom?"
What makes him hesitate is whether or not to establish a kingdom.
If the two families jointly destroy the Taro Dynasty, the Yang family should at least get half of the territory.
But the Taro Dynasty is quite far from both Divine Wood Island and Star Moon Island, making governance difficult, and instead of spreading too thin, Yang Zhenshan thinks that establishing an independent small kingdom is more feasible.
Divine Wood Island is quite good; Yang Zhenshan wants to settle there rather than going to the Taro Dynasty.
He himself does not want to be a king, as it holds no meaning for him, but itâs still beneficial for the Yang family, and with so many descendants, surely some want to be king.
Upon hearing this, everyone wore strange expressions.
Luo Shang couldnât help but ask first, "Sir, are you thinking of establishing a kingdom?"
"If you wish to establish a kingdom, you might as well go to Da Rong. Even if Da Rong doesnât work, you can go to those kingdoms in the south of Da Rong," said Mrs. Zhen Yang.
"Thatâs right, can those islands of the Taro Dynasty compare to the vast lands!" said Luo Jingsong.
Everyone chimed in agreement.
Yang Zhenshan felt somewhat speechless; these people actually despised the Taro Dynasty, and some even considered overthrowing Da Rong.
"Ahem, itâs not that I want to be a king, but I feel that if we ally with the Zhang Dynasty, not occupying half of the Taro Dynastyâs territory is a loss."
"If we donât want the territory, thereâs no need to cooperate with the Zhang Dynasty, but if we want the territory, we probably need to establish an independent kingdom!"
"I certainly wonât be the king, but among my many offspring, surely some are willing. By then you can each send a few descendants, establishing a small kingdom shouldnât be difficult!"
Yang Zhenshan explained.
"In that case, it doesnât matter, you can arrange whatever you want!" Luo Shang said.
"Hmm, I have a few useless descendants who can probably help a bit," Han Cheng said.
Upon hearing that Yang Zhenshan wasnât the one wanting to establish a kingdom but just sending his grandsons to be kings, everyone lost interest.
Now, who doesnât know that following Yang Zhenshan holds promise for the future, as for wealth and prosperity, none of them lack that at all.
Wealth, they already have, prosperity, if they want it, they can just return to Da Rong.
As for status and such, if they cared, they wouldnât have followed Yang Zhenshan to Star Moon Island.
Yang Zhenshan, too, was left speechless, "Then itâs settled. In the coming days, each family will send some descendants, weâll first seize Divine Wood Island, and then go to conquer the Taro Dynasty!"
After finishing his speech, Yang Zhenshan didnât bother with dinner and sent everyone away. After they left, he said to the three brothers Yang Mingcheng, "Bring the children to my courtyard tomorrow morning so I can see who is suitable to be king!"
"Yes!" the three replied.
Then, Yang Zhenshan, with his hands behind his back, returned to his own courtyard.
In the courtyard, dinner was already prepared. Yu Qingyi was chatting with Mrs. Zhu, and Yang Chengâan and Yang Wanqi were also there.
Today, Divine Wood Island and the Taro Dynasty jointly attacked, and with Yang Mingzhao not at home, Yu Qingyi brought Mrs. Zhu and all the grandchildren to her side.
The battle outside didnât require her personal involvement, but to be on the safe side, she still needed to protect the daughter-in-law and grandchildren.
"Has everything been settled?" Yu Qingyi asked when she saw Yang Zhenshan return.
"Your daughter-in-law greets you, father!" Mrs. Zhu curtseyed.
"Grandpa!" Yang Wanqi ran over and hugged Yang Zhenshanâs leg.
Yang Zhenshan bent over, picked up the little girl, and said, "No, thereâs still something to discuss tomorrow!"
"Girl, are you hungry?"
He asked, holding little Qiâer.
"Yes, Iâm hungry. Mom said we should wait until Grandpa comes back to eat!" little Qiâer said.
Yang Zhenshan said to Red Cloud, "Then letâs eat!"
Yu Qingyi laughed, "Donât listen to this girl talk nonsense; she just had a lot of snacks just now!"
Mrs. Zhu also covered her mouth and laughed.
Yang Zhenshan looked at little Qiâer in his arms, "Qiâer, you havenât eaten enough, have you?"
Kids are sometimes muddle-headed; if you ask them if they feel pain, they would likely say yes, if you ask them if theyâre hungry, theyâd likely say yes, but if you ask them to eat, they surely wonât eat earnestly.
"Hmm, Qiâer can eat a lot more!"
Indeed, this girl is just a little scatterbrain.
Yang Zhenshan naturally wouldnât haggle with a child, so he carried her into the dining hall next door.
The food was served, and everyone took their seats, talking while eating.
Mostly, it was Yang Zhenshan and Yu Qingyi talking; he always had few rules here, no rule about silence during meals.
But Mrs. Zhu ate with strict formality; the Zhu family had big rules, and even though Mrs. Zhu had been married into the Yang family for ten years, she still retained many habits from the Zhu family.
"What are we discussing tomorrow?" Yu Qingyi asked curiously.
Yang Zhenshan said, "Zhang Juhai wants to join forces with us to destroy the Taro Dynasty, and I think itâs feasible, so itâs decided."
"But after destroying the Taro Dynasty, we must divide a big piece of territory, so Iâm thinking about establishing a dynasty!"
"Tomorrow, weâre discussing who would be best suited to be king of this dynasty!"
Yu Qingyi didnât seem surprised, just nodded slightly.
On the other hand, Mrs. Zhu was a bit surprised and looked up at Yang Zhenshan.
Establish a dynasty?
The Zhu family can also be considered a small dynasty, but the territory of the Zhu family isnât very large, itâs not even as large as that of the Divine Wood Sect.
"Grandpa, I want to be king!" Yang Chengâan suddenly said.
The boy looked excited, as if he had found something fun, looking at Yang Zhenshan with eyes full of anticipation.
"Donât talk nonsense!" Mrs. Zhu scolded.
Yang Zhenshan glanced at the cheeky boy, "You? You better stay at home obediently!"
This boy doesnât want to be king; he just doesnât want to stay at home.
Yang Chengâan, upon hearing this, immediately felt aggrieved.
"Dad goes out to play and doesnât take me!"
"Hmm, just wait till your dad comes back, Iâll beat him up!" Yang Zhenshan said harshly, "Do you want a beating too?"
Yang Chengâan shrank his neck, his face almost buried in the bowl.
"Donât want!"
Yang Zhenshan couldnât be bothered with the cheeky boy and continued talking to Yu Qingyi, "Who do you think is suitable to be king among our grandchildren?"
Yu Qingyi thought for a moment and said, "How about Qinyuan?"
Yang Chengye is the eldest grandson of the Yang family, Yang Qinyuan is the great-grandson of the Yang family, it is naturally sequential in inheriting the family business.
"Then to whom do we pass the title of Da Rong?" Yang Zhenshan said.
The succession of the title of Marquis Jingâan has long been decided, which is the eldest legitimate heir.
Yang Mingcheng, Yang Chengye, Yang Qinyuan, then Yang Jijue.
The name Yang Jijue was given by Yang Zhenshan.
Yu Qingyi said again, "If weâre looking at ability, Chengmao and Chengxian are possible, but I guess neither of them would want to be king, maybe Chengyou and Chengzhang would prefer to be king!"
Chengmaoâs and Chengxianâs characters are relatively stable; one helps Jiang He in the government, the other follows Luo Jingsong in the Navy, and both possess the capability to handle things independently.
But they view power lightly and definitely wouldnât like to be king.
Chengyou and Chengzhang have been rambunctious since childhood, although theyâve mellowed a bit as theyâve grown older, theyâre still two uninhibited figures who prefer to stir things up.
As for Chengzhen and Chengyu, one went off to forge iron, the other follows Wang Mingzhe in Alchemy; expecting them to be king is less reliable than the boy Chengâan.