Time passed day by day, and it was now May.
The Imperial merce Bureau was also established, appointing one doctor at the Secondary Fifth Rank as the chief official, two registrars at the Secondary Sixth Rank as deputies, with several clerks at the Standard Seventh Rank and several attendants at the Secondary Ninth Rank beneath them.
Originally a registrar at the Ministry of Revenue, Li Changxiao was promoted to be the doctor of the Imperial merce Bureau; Zhou Shang, Wang Zhenze, Lin Qi, Zhang Qingsong, Qi Ting, and Zhen Yang, six major agents, entered the Imperial merce Bureau as clerks.
The matter of these six major agents serving as clerks caused several days of debate within the Ministry of Personnel.
The main reason revolved around Zhen Yang. There were some women warriors within the Da Rong Army, but there had never been a woman serving as an official in the civil servant system.
Zhen Yang’s appointment as a clerk was unprecedented.
However, this had nothing to do with Yang Zhenshan. Yang Zhenshan did not speak on behalf of Zhen Yang; after all, he was not in charge of the Imperial merce Bureau. Despite proposing the establishment of the Imperial merce Bureau, it actually had nothing to do with him.
The Imperial merce Bureau was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Revenue, and supervised by the Inner Officials within the Imperial City. He could not intervene in matters concerning either the Ministry of Revenue or the supervision by the Inner Officials.
So now he was unable to meddle in the affairs of the Imperial merce Bureau and naturally could not help Zhen Yang.
However, Emperor Yanping greatly valued Yang Zhenshan’s suggestion, since Yang Zhenshan initially remended the six major agents as clerks of the Imperial merce Bureau, so Emperor Yanping ultimately decided the matter according to Yang Zhenshan’s initial suggestion.
Zhen Yang unprecedentedly became the first female official in the external civil servant system of Da Rong.
When the six major agents entered the Imperial City to receive their official titles, Zhen Yang came to Marquis Jing’an Mansion and knocked her head on the floor three times before Yang Zhenshan.
"Your humble woman thanks the Marquis, the gracious support from the Marquis is unforgettable for the Zhen of Yan State!"
Zhen Yang knelt before Yang Zhenshan, her eyes slightly red and voice choked up.
She herself knew best how difficult her journey had been.
From a woman of the inner house to now being bestowed an official title, donning an official robe, it was all thanks to Yang Zhenshan’s support.
Had it not been for Yang Zhenshan attracting investments in Tenglong Guard at the beginning, she wouldn’t have been able to save the Zhen family’s enterprise in Yan State, nor could she have expanded it.
Furthermore, had it not been for Yang Zhenshan selecting her as one of the six major agents and receiving protection from Chongshan Town, she wouldn’t have been able to preserve the Zhen family’s enterprise in Yan State.
And now, without Yang Zhenshan’s remendation, she would not have obtained the bestowed official title, entered the Imperial merce Bureau, and served as the Standard seventh rank clerk.
On the surface, it seemed Yang Zhenshan had never directly helped her, but in reality, her and the Yan State Zhen family’s present state were closely tied to Yang Zhenshan.
Now that she had a bestowed official title, it was something she wouldn’t even dare to dream of before.
Not just her, but Zhou Shang, Wang Zhenze and others, who would have thought they could bee officials one day?
Seeing her so moved, Yang Zhenshan stroked his beard and kindly smiled, "Mrs. Zhen, you should stand up first!"
"Great grace from the Marquis, unforgettable always!" Mrs. Zhen stood up, calmed her emotions, and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.
"Now that you have joined the Imperial merce Bureau, you should understand what His Majesty needs!"
While saying this, Yang Zhenshan looked towards Zhou Shang, Wang Zhenze, and others.
"His Majesty established the Imperial merce Bureau with only one goal, that is to earn silver!"
"As long as you can satisfy His Majesty, it’s not impossible for you to advance further in the future. However, if you fail to satisfy His Majesty, it’s possible that the Imperial merce Bureau might even be disbanded!"
Emperor Yanping had high hopes for the Imperial merce Bureau, and his expectation was silver.
Though the six of them were now clerks in the Imperial merce Bureau, to preserve their official positions, they needed to satisfy Emperor Yanping.
Failing to earn silver, heh, let alone official positions, even their lives and fortunes might be at risk.
Although it seemed that the court officials had recognized the existence of the Imperial merce Bureau, in reality, everyone was watching the Bureau. If the Bureau made mistakes or handled affairs poorly, countless people would stand out to overthrow it.
Thus, in the ing days, Zhou Shang, Wang Zhenze, Mrs. Zhen and the other six would face even more severe challenges.
"We understand and will certainly not fail the trust of His Majesty nor the supportive grace from the Marquis!" Zhou Shang said solemnly.
Yang Zhenshan nodded satisfyingly and continued, "Chongshan Town still needs your care; at the very least, you should help Chongshan Town repay those debts!"
"As long as you can achieve this, then you would not have failed my support!"
"Don’t worry, Marquis, if worse es to worst, we won’t rely on the bank to repay the debts!" Wang Zhenze cheerfully said.
They held the most debt bonds, and their deposits in Chongshan Bank were also the most substantial.
As long as they didn’t force Chongshan Bank into liquidation, the bank would not collapse.
For them, using several hundred thousand taels of silver to exchange for an official status was absolutely worth it.
"That won’t do, the rules I’ve set can’t be broken. You just need to properly manage the sales of the two glass workshops!"
Yang Zhenshan waved his hand and smiled, "As for other matters, I can’t make you do a losing business!"
The rules that could not be broken were established by Yang Zhenshan using the credibility of the General Mansion and himself.
If these rules were broken, although it might reduce several million in debts for the General Mansion, it would cause both him and Chongshan Town’s General Mansion to lose credibility.
Hearing this, everyone couldn’t help but praise, "The Marquis is benevolent!"
Afterward, Yang Zhenshan hosted a banquet for them at the mansion.
From then on, the Imperial merce Bureau was established. With the addition of official positions, the actions of Zhou Shang and the others became much more practicable.
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