Ma Rong’s arrival was merely a minor interlude; Yang Zhenshan could do nothing about how much longer the old Emperor had to live.
After Ma Rong left, Yang Zhenshan returned to the General Mansion and took out the Three Yellow Plums.
Judging by appearance alone, this was a fruit slightly larger than an ordinary plum, seemingly covered in a faint glow, albeit not very pronounced.
Yang Zhenshan held the Three Yellow Plum, hesitating for a moment.
He didn’t know if consuming this Three Yellow Plum would enable him to break through to the Innate Realm; as per his current cultivation, this breakthrough could happen overnight.
It could happen at any given moment, but it might also take months or even years.
He needed a breakthrough opportunity to open the gates to the Innate Realm, or perhaps wait until the Innate True Qi within him became strong enough to naturally open the gate.
The Three Yellow Plum might help him break through, or it might be of little use to him.
Before consuming it, everything was unknown.
Yang Zhenshan thought it over and decided to wait.
Perhaps before too long, he would break through to the Innate Realm on his own, without the need for the Three Yellow Plum; in that case, he could give the plum to Yu Qingyi.
He decided to wait three months; if he did not break through within that time frame, he would consume the plum. If he did break through, it would just so happen that Yu Qingyi would likely be back by then, and he could give the plum to her.
After making his decision, Yang Zhenshan stored the Three Yellow Plum in the Spiritual Spring Space and began to deal with the affairs of the General Mansion.
In his study, Yang Zhenshan looked through numerous documents, each one a headache.
They all required silver!
Each of the Six Assistant Generals was not exempt, even Yang Mingzhi had submitted a request for funds from the General Mansion.
Hmm, Yang Mingzhi had a very valid reason: to buy ships.
It was Yang Zhenshan’s idea to develop maritime trade in Fuzhou City, but how could that be achieved without money to buy ships?
There it was: a pit he had dug himself that he ultimately had to fill.
Yang Zhenshan went through more than a dozen documents, each one asking for silver.
Not only the Six Assistant Generals, but even the Governor’s Office, the Inspector General’s Office, and the Governor’s Office came asking him for silver.
That truly was shameless.
Alright, although Yang Zhenshan had split responsibilities with Pang Tang, in reality, the General Mansion was Chongshan Town’s highest government office, managing all its military and governmental affairs.
The Governor’s Office, just like the General Mansion, overlapped in many of their powers.
But it was also appropriate for the Governor’s Office, the Inspector General’s Office, and the Governor’s Office to come to the General Mansion for money and provisions.
Yang Zhenshan guessed that this must have been influenced by Pang Tang.
At least the General Mansion still had some funds and provisions; the Governor’s Office was really penniless. Pang Tang was also troubled by financial shortages during this period.
Yang Zhenshan put down the documents, secretly rubbing his temples.
The glass workshop would surely make money, but it would take time, and the manufacturing scale needed to improve. At the very least, it would take three months to start making a profit.
But right now, the General Mansion was already out of funds and provisions.
Eight hundred thousand pieces of silver might seem like a lot, but to the whole of Chongshan Town, it was merely a drop in the bucket. It wasn’t even enough to cover the provisions required to select soldiers for the Camp, let alone anything else.
So he had to secure a sum of silver as soon as possible.
Ask the court for silver?
The court would not give silver to Chongshan Town now because, quite simply, there were many places in Da Rong needing silver more urgently than Chongshan Town, places like Liaoxi, Beiyuan Town, and the southwestern provinces.
As for other ways to earn silver, they too wouldn’t yield results in such a short time.
Yang Zhenshan thought it over, reluctantly saying, "Seems like I’ll have to borrow!"
Previously, Yang Zhenshan had held a merchants’ conference in Tenglong Guard, attracting numerous businesses, and now he was set to host a borrowing conference in Chongshan Town.
Indeed, he was planning to borrow money from merchants, one could say, issue bonds.
This sort of maneuver was unprecedented in Da Rong, and Yang Zhenshan did not know whether it would attract trouble, but he could not care less at the moment.
Compared to the immediate issues, other problems could be dealt with later.
With a made-up mind, Yang Zhenshan immediately sent out invitations to the merchants of Chongshan Town and Liaodong, inviting them to attend a banquet at Chongshan Pass.
While Yang Zhenshan was preparing for the borrowing conference, Yu Qingyi, Yang Mingcheng, and Lin Zhan arrived in Capital City.
Sitting inside a carriage, and gazing upon the bustling Capital City, Yu Qingyi couldn’t help but reveal a look of novelty.
Despite having roamed the worldly society before, she had never visited Capital City.
The most prosperous place she had been to was probably Jizhou.
Compared to Capital City, Jizhou was but a small place.
But when Yu Qingyi arrived at Marquis Jing’an Mansion, she was even more thrilled.
"Is this our Marquis Mansion?" Yu Qingyi alighted from the carriage, looking at Marquis Jing’an Mansion’s broad and majestic six-panelled gate.
According to Da Rong’s regulations, the mansions of dukes and marquises had three large entryways; their beams, brackets, and eaves painted in colors, their doors and windows crafted with black lacquer, and the doors adorned with painted metallic beast face knockers.
Three large entryways, meaning six panels, with the main gate being the tallest, nearly ten feet high, and the side gates slightly shorter, creating a majestic and imposing presence.
The mansion in Chongshan Pass also bore the sign of Marquis Mansion, but in reality, it was the back office of government, with the scale of the mansion constructed according to the General’s rank, so it was somewhat smaller than a marquis’ mansion.
"To answer Marchioness, this indeed is our mansion," replied Lu Shou, standing next to Yu Qingyi with a beaming face.