Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

"Marquis, look at this!" Yu Tonghai presented a jade box to Yang Zhenshan as if he were offering a treasure.

Yang Zhenshan opened the jade box, and inside was a peach.

"Jade Dew Spirit Peach?"

"It should be!" Yu Tonghai said excitedly.

Yang Zhenshan nodded slightly, "I'll accept this one, hmm, this is for you."

The Jade Dew Spirit Peach, from Taohua Island in the South Sea Domain, has effects similar to that of the Three Yellow Plums; both can condense Innate True Qi and aid in breaking through to the Innate Realm.

However, Jade Dew Spirit Peaches bear fruit sparsely, with a batch every ten years, and only thirty-six fruits each time.

"What is this?" Yu Tonghai received the jade box handed over by Yang Zhenshan.

"Three Yellow Plums, which should help you condense Innate True Qi!" Yang Zhenshan said.

Yu Tonghai was first stunned, then overjoyed, "Thank you for the marquis' reward!"

Luo Jingsong was somewhat surprised to see the jade box in Yu Tonghai's hands; he had seen Yang Zhenshan give Ms. Deng a Three Yellow Plum a few days ago, and now Yang Zhenshan had given another to Yu Tonghai.

He was curious about how many Three Yellow Plums Yang Zhenshan had.

"Train well, you still have a chance to become an Innate Martial Artist!" Yang Zhenshan encouraged.

Yu Tonghai was approaching his sixtieth year, yet he still had the opportunity to become an Innate Martial Artist.

Ji Zhen reached the Half-step Innate Realm in his seventies and became an Innate Martial Artist in his eighties, which proves that although old age and declining health can weaken strength, it does not eliminate the possibility for a martial artist to break through to the Innate Realm.

"Understood, I will diligently cultivate!" Yu Tonghai happily responded.

He was actually greedy for that Jade Dew Spirit Peach before, but ultimately, he decided to hand it over to Yang Zhenshan because he didn't want to betray Yang Zhenshan's trust.

And Yang Zhenshan did not fail his loyalty.

After visiting the treasure vault, Yang Zhenshan went to the Silver Coin vault. The primary currencies used in the East South Sea Domain were the Chengping Tongbao of Da Rong and the Haoyuan Tongbao of the Lv Sheng Dynasty.

However, both the Chengping Tongbao of Da Rong and the Haoyuan Tongbao of the Lv Sheng Dynasty had many privately minted inferior coins in circulation, so the major forces of the East South Sea Domain preferred to store gold and silver.

The present silver stockpile of the Star Moon Sect was not much, only over two hundred taels, but they had a substantial reserve of gold, totaling more than one hundred thousand taels. This was merely the total vault of the main hall; each of the fifteen branches of the Star Moon Sect had their own private vaults, which likely contained a considerable amount of gold and silver.

To say that the Star Moon Sect was short of money would be inaccurate; their ability to amass wealth was still very formidable. They controlled many pirates and had dealings with many forces within the territory of Da Rong while also supporting the Seven Stars Hall, so an annual revenue of several million taels of silver should not be difficult.

However, the Star Moon Sect was merely a sect force, unable to self-sustain even on Star Moon Island, let alone other islands and the Four Flag Army. Thus, while the Star Moon Sect earned money quickly, they also spent it just as fast.

Yang Zhenshan walked through the silver vault, looking at boxes of gold and silver, feeling completely unaffected.

To him, these gold and silver were less worth a second glance than a single Treasure Medicine.

And currently, the Yang family wasn't lacking silver, with three-tenths of the profits from the Luo family's glass business sufficient to support the Yang family's daily expenses.

Yet, looking at so much gold and silver, Yang Zhenshan felt that it would seem somewhat improper not to take some.

"Take fifty thousand taels of gold back with you and distribute some to the brothers," Yang Zhenshan directly distributed the spoils on the spot, saying to Yu Tonghai.

"The marquis is benevolent and righteous!" Yu Tonghai praised loudly.

Yang Zhenshan then said to Luo Jingsong, "You bring people to take thirty thousand taels of gold and three hundred thousand silver, then find a place on the island to store it."

"Marquis, are you planning to?" Luo Jingsong began to perceive Yang Zhenshan's intentions.

Yang Zhenshan did not hide it, smiling, "The court probably doesn't care about Star Moon Island, but we can claim it for ourselves."

Hearing this, Luo Jingsong immediately understood Yang Zhenshan's meaning and chuckled, "Rest assured, marquis, I will arrange it well!"

"Good! You'll need to stay here for a few years, depending on the circumstances, but prepare to stay on this land for the long term," Yang Zhenshan instructed.

"Understood!" Luo Jingsong complied.

For him, staying on Star Moon Island was not a bad thing. He was already familiar with everything about Star Moon Island and understood the East South Sea Domain well. Leaving him on Star Moon Island would give him more room to exercise control.

And in the Capital City, he was somewhat bored.

After leaving the silver vault, Yang Zhenshan also distributed reward silver and pensions to the soldiers of the other guards. Of course, the reward given to the soldiers of the other guards was far less than that of the Tenglong Advanced Guard.

Aside from the Tenglong Advanced Guard, the other nine guards each received about one hundred thousand taels of silver. Those with more casualties received more, and those with fewer casualties received less. After accounting for the lacking troops, almost every soldier could receive fifteen taels of reward silver.

However, instead of handing it to their officers, Yang Zhenshan distributed the reward silver directly to each soldier.

Several guards arrived at Star Moon Island in succession and then gathered at the dock for the distribution of reward silver. After distributing the reward, they immediately set out to purge the surrounding pirates of Star Moon Island.

Though the Star Moon Sect had been annihilated, they still had many islands, and there were many affiliated pirates to the Star Moon Sect, which likely also possessed some floating wealth. Yang Zhenshan naturally wouldn't let this opportunity pass.

After receiving the reward silver, the soldiers' morale surged several folds, howling with excitement as they set off to eliminate the pirates.

At the same time, family members from the Li family, the Wang family, and the Lv family were also returning to the Zhao Wu Guard in batches. They would be temporarily settled in Zhao Wu Guard, and as for how the court would dispose of them, Yang Zhenshan's suggestion was to directly disperse them among the nine guards of the Navy.