Chapter 542 Return to Beijing

"Master Hou, look at this!" Yu Tonghai handed a jade box to Yang Zhengshan like a treasure.

Yang Zhengshan opened the jade box and found a peach inside.

"Jade Dew Spirit Peach?"

"It should be!" Yu Tonghai said excitedly.

Yang Zhengshan nodded slightly, "I'll accept this. Well, this is for you."

Jade Dew Spirit Peach comes from Peach Blossom Island in the South China Sea. Its efficacy is similar to that of Sanhuang Plum. It can condense the innate true energy and help break through to the innate state.

However, Yulu Lingtao bears relatively few fruits. It bears fruit once every ten years, with only thirty-six fruits each time.

"What is this?" Yu Tonghai took the jade box handed over by Yang Zhengshan.

"Three yellow plums should be able to help you condense your innate true energy!" Yang Zhengshan said.

Yu Tonghai was stunned at first, and then he was overjoyed, "Thank you, Lord Marquis, for the reward!"

Luo Jinsong looked at the jade box in Yu Tonghai's hand with some surprise. He had just seen Yang Zhengshan give Madam Deng a three-yellow plum a few days ago, and now Yang Zhengshan gave Yu Tonghai a three-yellow plum.

He was a little curious about how many three-yellow plums Yang Zhengshan had in his hands!

"Practice hard, and you still have a chance to become an innate warrior!" Yang Zhengshan encouraged.

Yu Tonghai is now nearly sixty years old, but he still has a chance to become an innate warrior.

Ji Zhen only reached the half-step of the innate realm when he was over seventy years old, and he was still able to become an innate warrior when he was over eighty years old. This is enough to show that although old age and physical weakness will weaken the strength, it will not cut off the opportunity for warriors to break through the innate realm.

"Well, I will definitely practice hard in my humble position!" Yu Tonghai responded happily.

He was actually greedy for the Jade Dew Peach before, but in the end he decided to give it to Yang Zhengshan because he didn't want to betray Yang Zhengshan's trust.

And Yang Zhengshan did not live up to his loyalty.

After seeing the treasure house, Yang Zhengshan went to the silver coin warehouse. The copper coins used in the southeast sea were mainly Da Rong's Taiping Tongbao and Lu Sheng Dynasty's Haiyuan Tongbao.

However, whether it is Da Rong's Taiping Tongbao or Lu Sheng Dynasty's Haiyuan Tongbao, there are many privately minted bad coins on the market, so the big forces in the southeastern sea area like to store gold and silver.

The Xingyue Sect does not have much silver in cash, only more than two hundred taels, but the Xingyue Sect has a lot of gold reserves, more than 100,000 taels. This is only the main hall's silver treasury, and the Xingyue Sect has fifteen surnames. It belongs to his own private treasury, and he should have a lot of gold and silver.

It is not accurate to say that the Xingyue Sect has money. The Xingyue Sect is still very capable of making money. They control many pirates and collude with many forces in Da Rong. At the same time, they support Qixingtang in Da Rong. It shouldn't be difficult to earn millions of taels of silver every year.

But Xingyue Sect is just a sect force, and even Xingyue Island cannot be self-sufficient, let alone other islands and the Four Banners Army. Therefore, Xingyue Sect can make money quickly and spend money quickly.

Yang Zhengshan walked in the silver warehouse and looked at the boxes of gold and silver, without any fluctuation in his heart.

In his eyes, these gold and silver are not worth a second glance as a precious medicine.

And now the Yang family is not short of money. With 30% of the profit from the Luo family's glass business, it is enough to support the Yang family's daily expenses.

But looking at so much gold and silver, Yang Zhengshan felt that it would be a bit embarrassing if he didn't take some.

"Take 50,000 taels of gold back and give one share to your brothers."

Yang Zhengshan directly divided the spoils on the spot and said to Yu Tonghai.

"Master Hou is benevolent and righteous!" Yu Tonghai praised highly.

Yang Zhengshan said to Luo Jinsong again: "Bring someone here to get 30,000 taels of gold and 300,000 silver, and then find a place to store them on the island."

"What do you think, Lord Marquis?" Luo Jinsong was somewhat aware of Yang Zhengshan's thoughts.

Yang Zhengshan didn't hide it and said with a smile: "The court probably doesn't like Xingyue Island, but we can take it as our own."

When Luo Jinsong heard this, he immediately understood what Yang Zhengshan meant and said with a smile: "Don't worry, Lord Marquis, I will make arrangements!"

"Well! You need to live here for a few years. It depends on the situation. Anyway, you should be prepared to stay here for a long time!" Yang Zhengshan said.

"Here!" Luo Jinsong responded.

For him, staying on Xingyue Island is not a bad thing. He is already familiar with everything about Xingyue Island and the southeastern sea. If he stays on Xingyue Island, he will have more room to display.

In Kyoto, he was a bit idle.

After leaving the bank, Yang Zhengshan distributed silver rewards and pensions to other guards. Of course, the silver rewards given to other guards were far less than those of Tenglong Vanguard.

Except for the Tenglong vanguard, the other nine guards are each given almost 100,000 taels of silver. Those with heavy casualties will be given more, and those with small casualties will be given less. Excluding the missing soldiers, almost every soldier can receive a reward of 15 taels. silver.

However, when giving silver rewards to other guards, Yang Zhengshan did not give them to their officials, but distributed them directly to each soldier.

Several guards arrived at Xingyue Island one after another, and then gathered on the dock to distribute the reward money. After the reward money was distributed, they immediately set out to eliminate the pirates around Xingyue Island.

Although the Xingyue Sect has been destroyed, there are still many islands in the Xingyue Sect, and there are many pirates affiliated with the Xingyue Sect. These pirates should also have a lot of money, and Yang Zhengshan will naturally not let them go.

After the soldiers received the silver reward, their morale increased several times, and they went to clear out the pirates.

At the same time, the members of the Li family, the Wang family, and the Lu family also returned to Zhaowuwei by boat in batches. They would be temporarily placed in Zhaowuwei. As for how the court would deal with them, Yang Zhengshan's proposal was to break them up and organize them directly. Enter the Nine Guards Navy.

Except for Tenglong Vanguard, all other guards have vacancies, and this group of people can be used to fill the vacancies this time.

In the following days, Xingyue Island and Zhaowuwei were extremely busy.

The soldiers of the various guards wiped out the pirates, and warships loaded with loot arrived at Xingyue Island one after another, and were later transferred to merchant ships and cargo ships to transport them back to Zhaowuwei.

Yang Zhengshan left the gold and silver temporarily and transported grain, medicinal materials and other supplies back to Zhaowuwei first.

At the port of Zhaowuwei, Zhang Ruifu, Zheng Yang and others fell into troubles of happiness.

They were forced to jump by Yang Zhengshan before, but now they are so happy that they want to jump.

"Report, my lords, the rear camp of Tenglong Vanguard is back. They escorted thirty ships of grain and grass."

A soldier ran to Zhang Ruifu and Zheng Yang and reported.

"Thirty ships of grain and grass? Where are they?" Zheng Yang stood on tiptoes and looked around, saying with excitement.

At this time, the port was busy with ships of all sizes, and thousands of civilians were busy unloading cargo from the ships.

"Over there!" the soldier said, pointing to the south.

Zheng Yang looked around and saw dozens of medium-sized merchant ships docking.

"Thirty medium-sized cargo ships, each carrying a thousand shi of grain, that's 30,000 shi! Adding in the 50,000 shi brought back before, this is already 80,000 shi!" Zheng Yang counted on his fingers, his chubby face beaming with laughter. Children are average.

"Our household department should not lose money this time!"

"Hahaha, Mr. Zheng, where are you now! The valuable ones are still behind!" Xue Ping came over and smiled.

Zheng Yang's eyes lit up when he saw Xue Ping, "Master Xue, are there any valuables behind you?"

"Hehe, let's not talk about the money. I estimate that the Marquis will have people transport it directly back to Kyoto, but other things should be shipped here first. Hehe, I heard that Leizhou Guard has seized a large ship of precious spices! And Jiujiang Zhongwei seized a lot of wood," Xue Ping said with a smile.

"Wood!" Zheng Yang was slightly surprised.

Spices are very valuable in Da Rong, especially the spices from the southern kingdoms, which are priceless in Da Rong.

But wood is different. There is not much valuable wood.

"It's all made of rosewood. It will probably take more than a dozen ships to pull it all!" Xue Ping said.

Zheng Yang and Zhang Ruifu both widened their eyes, "More than a dozen big ships!"

"Yeah!" Xue Ping said affirmatively.

The pirates in the southeastern sea have hidden a lot of good things, mainly because of special geographical reasons.

The southeastern sea area is the only place for trade between Da Rong and the southern kingdoms. Countless merchant ships pass by every year, and most of the goods carried by these merchant ships are valuable.

Those pirates could get goods worth hundreds of thousands of taels in one robbery.

The pirates had no shortage of wood, spices, silk, porcelain, tea, etc.

"By the way, the Marquis has told me that these things must be accounted for. When he comes back, he will arrange for someone to check the accounts. If the accounts are not correct, hehe~~"

Xue Ping grinned. He didn't say the next words, but Zheng Yang and Zhang Ruifu both understood.

If the accounts don't match up, it will definitely be the two of them who are unlucky.

"Please rest assured, Lord Marquis, we will definitely keep all the goods. If there is any missing item, I will go to see Lord Marquis!" Zheng Yang expressed his position quickly.

He really didn't dare to do anything under Yang Zhengshan's hands, because Yang Zhengshan would really chop off his head.

…

On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, in the imperial city of Kyoto.

In two days' time it will be the New Year's Day. At this time, the imperial city is decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, looking extremely festive.

Yang Zhengshan will definitely not be able to rush back to Kyoto to celebrate the New Year this year. Although the war is almost over, the finishing work will continue for a long time.

Yang Zhengshan also plans to clean up the pirates in the southeastern sea area, at least to eliminate all the pirates affiliated with Xingyue Gate.

Then we will make proper arrangements for things on Xingyue Island, and then transport the captured property back.

It is estimated that the finishing touches will not be completed within a month or two.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I am so happy, so happy!"

In the Tai Chi Hall, Zhang Mingzhong ran into the imperial study room with a look of joy on his face and shouted.

Emperor Yanping looked at him in surprise, "Where does joy come from?"

"The Marquis of Jing'an sent someone to deliver the good news!" Zhang Mingzhong quickly handed the three memorials to Emperor Yanping.

Emperor Yanping looked happy and quickly took the memorial and read it.

There are three memorials, one is to report the victory, one is to ask for credit, and the other is a proposal for the arrangement of the Wang family, Li family and Lu family.

After Emperor Yanping read it, he laughed heartily and said, "The Marquis of Jing'an really did not disappoint me!"

Although he trusted Yang Zhengshan and felt that he should be very sure of victory in the battle with Xingyue Gate, naval battles were not as good as land battles, and he was still unsure.

Now that he saw Yang Zhengshan's good news, his hanging heart was finally relieved.

"This battle is a great victory. Our southeastern sea area will be at peace for at least thirty years. This is a blessing for the people and a blessing for your majesty!" Zhang Mingzhong praised.

Emperor Yanping nodded slightly and said: "Send this merit request document to the cabinet and order the cabinet and the Ministry of War to come up with a set of merit reward regulations as soon as possible!"

"Here!" Zhang Mingzhong responded, took the memorial and slowly exited the study.

Emperor Yanping thought for a while and then told the eunuch Li Shangxi beside him: "Go and tell the queen that I will entertain all the ministers during the Lantern Festival. Please take care of the arrangements!"

In fact, Emperor Yanping would entertain officials every year during the Lantern Festival. However, in the past few years, the Lantern Festival banquet was relatively simple, and most of the guests were important officials and relatives of the emperor.

This year, Emperor Yanping specifically mentioned it, obviously wanting to make a big celebration.

Yang Zhengshan led his troops to conquer Xingyuemen. This was the first military victory after Emperor Yanping ascended the throne, so Emperor Yanping wanted to celebrate it in a big way to show off his civil and military achievements.

…

How Emperor Yanping celebrated, Yang Zhengshan didn't know, he was busy transporting the spoils left by Xingyuemen.

As the pirates were wiped out one after another, a large amount of spoils were transported to Xingyue Island, and then transported back to Zhaowuwei. Thousands of ships were moving back and forth like ants moving.

The fifth year of Yanping passed in such a busy time, and time came to the sixth year of Yanping.

Yang Zhengshan stayed on Xingyue Island until February, until the last group of pirates was wiped out, and then he took a boat back to Dayong.

When he left, he asked Yu Tonghai to leave a thousand Tenglong vanguard soldiers, and Luo Jinsong also stayed on Xingyue Island with more than a hundred guards.

Luo Jinsong stayed on Xingyue Island not only to garrison Xingyue Island, but also to deal with various forces in the southeastern sea area.

In fact, during this period, various forces in the southeastern sea area have sent people to ask for an audience with Yang Zhengshan. Dihuo Island, Shenmu Island, Tianming Island and other forces have sent envoys. The purpose is nothing more than to find out how Dayong plans to deal with Xingyue Island.

They are mainly afraid that Dayong will occupy Xingyue Island and not leave.

And Yang Zhengshan's answer to them is that Dayong will not expand in the southeastern sea area, but will occupy Xingyue Island as a base for Dayong to communicate with various forces in the southeastern sea area.

In fact, he wants to occupy Xingyue Island, but he is just using Dayong as a cover.

He also asked Emperor Yanping before whether to occupy Xingyue Island or set up a guard post on Xingyue Island, but Emperor Yanping obviously looked down on Xingyue Island and directly rejected his proposal, so he can now take Xingyue Island for himself.

Yang Zhengshan planned to build Xingyue Island into the overseas base of the Yang family as a retreat for the Yang family in the future. However, the power of the Yang family is still too weak. Whether it is high-end military force or warships and soldiers, it is far inferior to many forces in the southeastern sea area, so he used Darong as a cover.

After leaving Xingyue Island and returning to Zhaowuwei, Yang Zhengshan was busy in Zhaowuwei for more than ten days, mainly to count the seized materials.

At the end of February, Yang Zhengshan returned to Kyoto with the account books of the seized gold and silver and other materials.

On the third day of March, Yang Zhengshan landed at the dock of Jinhaiwei.

Deng Yuehe, Wang Mingjian and Li Chengzhang also returned to Beijing with him.

They will be surrendered generals and go to the palace with Yang Zhengshan to meet the emperor.