Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 314: Chapter 304: The Old Zhang Maosheng Meets the General

Just as Yang Zhenshan entered the Zheng Mansion, the Zhang family received news from the West City Gate.

The Tenglong Guard entered the city fortress, Luo Fu and Xu Huazhen were captured, and the Tenglong Guard subsequently took over the city defenses and sealed off the Salt Transport Department’s government office.

One piece of news after another was relayed back to the Zhang family, where family head Zhang Maosheng stood under the eaves, looking up at the beautiful sky.

Zhang Maosheng, already of advanced age this year, had a slightly hunched back, white hair and beard, a face full of wrinkles, yet his murky but profound eyes were like deep pools that one could not see through.

Behind Zhang Maosheng, in the hall, Zhang family’s eldest son Zhang Qingsong and his second son Zhang Qingyun both wore expressions of urgency.

“Dad, Lord Luo has been captured, should we do something?” asked Zhang Qingsong.

Zhang Maosheng didn’t speak but instead walked into the hall, picked up the tobacco pipe set on the table, methodically pinched a bit of tobacco into the pipe, and then lit it with a tinder.

He took a fierce puff and then breathed out a long stream of smoke.

“Our Zhang family has been in commerce for generations, and it has been more than three hundred years to this day. Over these three hundred years, we have encountered countless crises, but we have always weathered them safely. Do you know why?”

Zhang Maosheng softly inquired.

Zhang Qingsong and Zhang Qingyun looked at each other, anxiety in their eyes, yet they patiently asked: “Why?”

“Why?” Zhang Maosheng smiled, still holding the pipe as he stepped back under the eaves, “Because we never involve ourselves in the power struggles of officialdom!”

“Go and bring out all the silver from the treasury, also fetch the account books of the various officials, especially Lord Luo’s account book!”

What do merchants fear the most?

Pressure from the officialdom.

Yet, for merchants to grow and expand, they cannot do without the support of officials; without the officials, business cannot be secure, and without business, officials cannot prosper.

Officials and merchants are two intertwined threads, like a vast net that tightly links them together.

The Zhang family’s current wealth could not have been achieved without support from the official circles.