Chapter Sixteen: The Attendant's Quarters (Seeking Collections)

  Time slowly passed, until late July. During these days, Wang Yuezhe enjoyed a good fortune. The feelings between him and his three wives also rose sharply. Even the third wife, Zhou Rui, had a great change in her views on Wang Yuezhe after arranging for her to attend Chengdu Girls' High School in September. Although Wang Yuezhe and his three wives did not experience romance before marriage, perhaps due to their long time together, it is possible that they fell in love after marriage.

  However, Wang Yuezhe also had some worries. During this period, he had seen Wang Xiao several times, but Wang Xiao's body seemed to be getting worse and worse. If something happened to Wang Xiao, relying on his title as the Young Marshal alone would make it extremely difficult for him to suppress those big shots in the military and smoothly take over power. He must establish his own prestige first.

  Chuanxi has made great progress in both industrial foundation and financial and military strength over the years. However, the army has not fought a war for more than a decade, which has left many military leaders frustrated. For soldiers, promotion relies on battle achievements, and without battles, there are no opportunities for advancement. Once they get older, they can only be transferred to the reserve forces, thus losing any connection with the battlefield. This is unacceptable for many military leaders.

  In addition, the business prosperity of Kham also requires a broader market and raw material production area. Although the Qing court no longer hinders the commercial development of Kham due to the strength of the Kham army, these areas controlled by the Qing court are still a constraint on the development of Kham. If Kham can expand again and annex more territories, it will definitely achieve greater development.

  These factors made the soldiers, merchants and even ordinary people in Western Sichuan all hope that Western Sichuan could continue to expand. However, Wang Xiao had not taken any action, which made everyone very anxious.

  "No, I must have my own power in hand, otherwise it will be difficult to subdue those old stubborn ones in the future." Wang Yuze thought secretly. The great man had once said that political power comes from the barrel of a gun. This sentence is also very applicable to Wang Yuze. Although with the prestige of Wang Xiao and his father-in-law Xiong Wu, most of the generals in the army will support Wang Yuze out of respect for them. However, this is not something that Wang Yuze has achieved through his own efforts, it's unstable. Wang Xiao and Xiong Wu are both getting old, once they pass away, how can Wang Yuze still maintain a stable hold on power?

  "Awei, come with me to find Father, I have something to say to him!" Wang Weize said to his deputy, Wang Wei.

  "Alright!" Wang Wei nodded. As the deputy officer of Wang Yuze, Wang Wei was completely a follower of Wang Yuze, his shadow. Everything revolved around Wang Yuze. Of course, this was inseparable from the education he had received since childhood. His father, Wang Quan, had also educated him to be loyal to General Wang and his son from a young age. In the future, when Wang Yuze became the general, Wang Wei would also be the best candidate to take over Wang Quan's position.

  Wang Yuze and Wang Wei immediately left Wang Yuze's courtyard and headed towards Wang Xiao's office. Wang Yuze's three wives, except for the third wife Zhou Rui who was too young and planned to continue studying, also started managing affairs in the Grand Marshal's Mansion, including the first wife Xiong Menghuan and the second wife Yang Shilan.

  Wang Yuze's mother passed away when he was very young, and now he only has a vague image of his mother. Since then, all the big and small affairs of the General's Mansion have been handled by Wang Quan. However, after Wang Yuze got married, Wang Quan voluntarily proposed to hand over all the affairs of the General's Mansion to Wang Yuze's wife for handling. He would serve Wang Xiao exclusively.

  Wang Xiao nodded in agreement. After all, Wang Quan was getting older and had a lot on his plate, so it was only fair that his wives took on some of the responsibilities of managing the Commander's estate. As a result, over the past few days, First Lady Xiong Menghan and Second Lady Yang Shilan had already begun to take charge. Specifically, First Lady Xiong Menghan was in charge of all matters related to the Commander's estate, while Second Lady Yang Shilan was in charge of financial affairs. However, when Yang Shilan received the financial data for the Commander's estate, she was stunned for a long time. According to the records, nearly half of the industries in the three provinces of western Sichuan belonged to the Wang family, not to mention the massive assets of the Xihua Group overseas. This was an enormous fortune! It completely exceeded Yang Shilan's imagination, but afterwards, she felt ecstatic and thought that marrying Wang Yuze was a wise decision. Although she was only the second lady, it was still much better than marrying someone else.

  Xiong Menghan and Yang Shilan had just taken office, and there were many places that they didn't understand, but under the guidance of professionals in the General's Mansion, they quickly entered their roles.

  All of them had things to do, and Wang Yuze's three wives were also very fulfilling, which made Wang Yuze breathe a sigh of relief, so that he wouldn't neglect to take care of them after he started his own business, affecting the feelings between husband and wife.

  Wang Yuezhe and Wang Wei arrived outside Wang Xiao's office, and someone immediately went in to report.

  Soon, Wang Quan came out from inside. "Young master, are you here to see the old master?" Wang Quan asked.

  "Yes, Uncle Quan, I have something to discuss with Father!" Wang Yuze nodded.

  "General is discussing something with several directors and deputy directors in the attendants' room. However, General wants you to go in and listen as well!" Wang Quan said. Wang Quan knew that this was also the beginning of Wang Xiao cultivating Wang Yuze.

  "Alright!" Wang Yuze nodded and followed Wang Quan towards the study. Wang Wei stayed outside waiting.

  The Shichen Room is a special institution established by Wang Xiao in the Grand Marshal's Mansion. The director and deputy director of the Shichen Room are at the same level as the provincial governor and vice-governor. It is said that the director of the Shichen Room will also be one of the strong contenders for the position of Premier of the State Council after its establishment.

  The attendants' room is a special institution that serves King Xiao and assists him in handling government affairs and military affairs. However, they do not have the power to make decisions, only the right to advise. Only after King Xiao adopts their suggestions will the suggestions become orders issued by the General's Mansion to the various provinces below.

  Wang Xiao remembered that the Servant Room, as an institution, was originally established by the Chairman. Those who had served as the head of the Servant Room were all strong and capable individuals. Now, with Wang Xiao setting up this institution, it further confirmed to Wang Yuze that Wang Xiao was not a figure from history either, but rather someone who had also crossed over like him.

  Under the leadership of Wang Quan, Wang Yuze entered Wang Xiao's study. At this moment, Wang Xiao was sitting in a chair behind his desk, and on the sofa in front of him were five people. Among them, an old man with hair that had turned somewhat white was Liang Xingrong, the current director of the Servant Room. He, like Wang Quan, was also an old man who had followed Wang Xiao since his early years, and he was not younger than Wang Xiao, so this year he should be sixty as well. Among the other four middle-aged men, one wore a military uniform with two shiny gold stars on his shoulders. He was Jiang Xingguo, the deputy director of the Servant Room who assisted Wang Xiao in handling military affairs, and he was also the president of the Army Academy. However, the daily affairs of the Army Academy had already been handed over to the vice president for processing, and his main task was to assist Wang Xiao in handling military affairs in the three provinces of western Sichuan.

  Another of the three, dressed in a suit and tie, looking very formal, was a middle-aged man named Song Zhengping, who was in charge of commerce in Sichuan and the three provinces of Shaanxi. A man with gold-rimmed glasses on his face, about 40 years old, was named Wang Wenhua, who was in charge of finance in Sichuan and the three provinces of Shaanxi, a high-achieving student from Harvard Business School in the United States. The last one, wearing an old-fashioned long gown, was a tall man, who was a famous figure in history, Zhan Tianyou, responsible for transportation construction in Sichuan and the three provinces of Shaanxi.

  When Wang Yuze entered the study, the five directors and deputy directors of the attendants' room all focused their attention on him, making him a bit nervous. Undoubtedly, with Wang Xiao as the director and deputy director of the attendants' room, they were equivalent to the central figures of the three provinces in western Sichuan.

  At the same time, the director and deputy directors of the attendants' room were also guessing Wang Xiao's intention. In the past, Wang Xiao would not have allowed anyone except the housekeeper, Wang Quan, to sit in on their meetings. Now that there was an additional Wang Yuze, it was clear that Wang Xiao was making preparations for the future. However, was Wang Yuze really an ideal successor? At least, most people still did not acknowledge him!

  P.S: During the new book period, I'd appreciate it if you could collect them! Book friends can first nurture and then kill when they're fat!