Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 256: Chapter 247: Raid on Gorcin Banner Territory

The day was nearing dusk.

Yang Zhenshan and Zhou Lan were riding leisurely on the verdant green grassland.

“Looking at you, it seems you have had some good years!” Zhou Lan said, eyeing the golden sunset in the west, her voice carrying a rare touch of softness.

Yang Zhenshan smiled, “Indeed, it’s been good. But without General’s support, there wouldn’t be the me of today!”

“Ha ha~~” Zhou Lan suddenly laughed, turning to look at him with bright eyes, “To be honest, I really didn’t expect you to achieve so much!”

“At first, I just thought the farmers you trained were quite good, but I didn’t expect you to have such great ability!”

She really felt surprised. Previously, she hadn’t felt this way, but seeing Yang Zhenshan today filled her heart with astonishment and emotion.

During the time at Linguan Castle and Yinghe Castle, she knew very well everything Yang Zhenshan had done. Although she was surprised then, it wasn’t very intense because, at that time, the abilities Yang Zhenshan demonstrated were good but hadn’t reached the level that impressed her deeply.

Separated for three years, perhaps it was because of the length of time or perhaps it was due to the great changes in Yang Zhenshan that she felt such strong surprise now.

“General, you flatter me too much; the same words still apply—if not for your help, I would still be nothing more than a farmer!”

Yang Zhenshan spoke humbly.

Indeed, that was humility.

Zhou Lan did have the grace of extending her support, but even without Zhou Lan, he wouldn’t still be just a farmer by now.

Perhaps without Zhou Lan, his journey wouldn’t have been so smooth, nor would he have reached such a high official position or had such good opportunities to go to battle and make commendable achievements.

From an ordinary citizen to a Secondary Third-Rank Commander, it took only three years under Zhou Lan’s care.

He definitely couldn’t have accomplished this on his own, so he was truly grateful to Zhou Lan.

“Ha ha, in that case, remember the favor of support I gave you; you’ll have to pay me back later!” Zhou Lan laughed.

“Of course, General’s great kindness, I will never forget in all my lifetime.” Yang Zhenshan also laughed along.

Zhou Lan pursed her lips, taking his words as a joke.

Although the favor of support was real, Yang Zhenshan had also helped her a lot. Not to mention other things, just the method of training soldiers alone benefited her greatly.

Without Yang Zhenshan, she wouldn’t have been able to train so many Cavalry or perform so outstandingly on the battlefield.

Both of them could be said to have helped each other succeed.

“I might return to the Capital City after this battle is over!” Suddenly, Zhou Lan changed the subject.

Yang Zhenshan was taken aback, “Why?”

“Getting married!” Zhou Lan said.

Yang Zhenshan’s eyebrows lifted slightly; this was indeed a problem.

Zhou Lan was already thirty-three years old and considered an old maid in this world.

“Is the marital arrangement already decided?” Yang Zhenshan asked.

“Mm, it’s Huaijiang Marquis, Sui Yian!” Zhou Lan’s gaze drifted far into the remaining twilight of the sunset.

Huaijiang Marquis, Sui Yian!

Yang Zhenshan searched his memory for the nobles of the Capital City but could not recall such a Lord.

This meant that he was not a noble holding an important office but an idle one.

His brows furrowed slightly; this was a demotion in marriage!

With Zhou Lan’s abilities and achievements, to marry an idle Lord was indeed too unfair.

Unfortunately, this world worked like this; no matter how high a woman’s achievements or how strong her capacity, her status depended on her husband.

Yang Zhenshan naturally would not think about gender equality; all he wondered was if Zhou Lan was willing.

She probably wasn’t willing!

But it was a pity that this was something he, as an outsider, could not interfere in.

“Don’t worry, even if I get married, I will still serve in the military, probably in the imperial guard,” Zhou Lan noticed Yang Zhenshan’s frown.

Yang Zhenshan shook his head slightly, “I’m only afraid of you being wronged.”

“Wronged? Ha ha~~” Zhou Lan looked very calm, “I’m used to it!”

Yang Zhenshan fell silent.

He had actually forgotten about Zhou Lan’s reputation back in the Capital City.

This was probably the reason why Duke Ning had her marry an idle Marquis.

The two did not speak further, slowly heading towards the camp.

Before reaching the camp, Yang Zhenshan saw several figures standing outside.

As he approached, the familiar faces came into view, sweeping away the gloom and bringing a kind smile to his face.

“Uncle Zhengshan!”

“Grandpa Zhengshan!”

Seven or eight figures clad in armor saw Yang Zhenshan and called out enthusiastically.

“Mm!”

Yang Zhenshan looked at them, his smile growing even warmer.

Yang Chengxu, Yang Qinwu…

They were all people he had initially brought out from Yang Family Village.

Looking at them now and remembering their past selves, Yang Zhenshan suddenly felt as if he was in a different world.

Here were only some descendants of the Yang family, as Yang Mingwu and Yang Chengze were leading their troops independently and not with Zhou Lan.

“Let’s go inside and talk!” Zhou Lan said with a smile.

“Sure!”

Then, with a group of the Yang family descendants escorting him, Yang Zhenshan entered the camp.

Dinner took more than two hours; no outsiders were present—not even Zhou Lan and Zhao Yuan—only Yang Zhenshan and the descendants of the Yang family.

As the elder and leader of the Yang Family, Yang Zhenshan showed each of the Yang family descendants his kindest side.

He earnestly inquired about their families, careers, cultivation, and other aspects, giving each one of them heartfelt advice and guidance, tirelessly nurturing them.

Not until the deep of the night did Yang Zhenshan return to his own tent.

…

The two armies combined and, after three days of regrouping, set off once again.

They first pushed north five hundred miles from Kolcha’s banner territory, and then turned east, heading straight for the former banner lands of the Gorcin.

Yes, their first target was indeed the banner lands of the Gorcin.

As a member of the Royal Family, the Gorcin held a special significance among the East Sea Hu Clan.

To speak of the Gorcin’s history, it was incredibly ancient. Legend had it that the ancestors of the Gorcin came from a distant Holy Land, established the Gorcin in accordance with the will of the gods. Nowadays, all the clans within the East Sea Hu Clan are branches of the Gorcin.

Well, this is an unsubstantiated legend, not even recognized within some tribes of the East Sea Hu Clan.

Of course, there are also those who believe in this legend and consider the banner lands of the Gorcin their ancestral lands.

The banner lands of the Gorcin are also the only settlement within the East Sea Hu Clan that never relocates.

Other major tribes’ banner lands would move every three to five years, but the Gorcin’s banner lands have never relocated, at least not for the past hundred years.

Therefore, the Gorcin’s banner lands are more like a city without walls.

The reason Yang Zhenshan and his men chose the Gorcin’s banner lands as their first target was because among the many settlements north of Fushan City, the Gorcin had the strongest defense.

Although the main force of the Gorcin is now deployed at Fushan City, they still retained three thousand Northern barbarian cavalry at their banner lands.

These three thousand Northern barbarian cavalry were unlike other cavalry — they were true elite forces.

If they did not seize this place first, by the time the news of their attacks on other tribes spread, attacking here would become a matter of double the effort for half the result.

Not only the Gorcin’s banner lands, but also the banner territories of the Emu Bu, Chahar, and Dosol — these three major tribes were also primary targets for Yang Zhenshan and his men.

Seven thousand cavalry rode for two days, reaching a relatively hidden valley a hundred miles from the Gorcin’s banner lands, where they rested for a day and set out again at dusk the following day.

They marched on throughout the night, heading straight for the Gorcin’s banner lands.

As Midnight approached, it was the most tranquil time for the banner lands, and the sound of thundering hooves rolled in like muffled thunder.

Boom, boom, boom~~

Many of the Gorcin tribespeople were startled awake by the sudden noise, and many of the night watchers found it very strange.

Who would be leading cavalry here in the middle of the night?

At this time, they would not think that the enemy had come, but rather that their own tribespeople or people from other tribes had arrived.

Although Liang Chu led a large army to the gates of Fushan City, all of the Gorcin never expected that someone would bypass Fushan City to attack their banner lands.

As the Gorcin tribespeople wondered, the rolling of the horse hooves was accompanied by waves of battle cries.

Yang Zhenshan led the charge into the tents, inaugurating the slaughter of the night.

Soon, cries of battle, screams of agony, and calls for help spread throughout the entire banner lands.

The massacre lasted from deep in the night until dawn, nearly every inch of the banner lands was soaked in blood.

During the day, this was the most prosperous settlement of the East Sea Hu Clan, but in just one night, it had turned into a hell on earth.

For Yang Zhenshan, he had long grown accustomed to the killings, Zhou Lan felt no discomfort either, and even Wang Bin had become used to it.

No one speaks of mercy on the battlefield, nor does anyone harbor pity in a fight to the death.

Everything proceeded smoothly and logically.

With the arrival of dawn’s light, the Gorcin’s banner lands had completely fallen into desolation blanketed with corpses.

As the battle ended, the soldiers began to clear the aftermath.

They had no time to collect spoils of war but managed to quickly replenish their food and water, while gathering the bodies of their comrades and treating the wounded.

Yang Zhenshan, by a well, helped soldiers draw water. Yang Mingzhen approached and said, “Sir, we’ve found a fairly hidden place, about thirty miles to the north. There’s a hollow in the mountains, hiding a few hundred people would be no problem.”

“Mm, go report to General Wang, ask him to take the wounded and the bodies of the soldiers and settle in first!” While pulling up a bucket of water from the well, Yang Zhenshan replied.

Next, they would have to continue their rapid assaults and simply had no time to tend to the wounded and the dead soldiers. They could only find a hidden place nearby to settle.

Though this might expose the wounded to danger, under the circumstances, it was the only arrangement that could be made.

Yang Mingzhen acknowledged and departed, then Zhou Lan came over, holding two steaming bowls of meat soup and two pieces of hard bread.

“Let’s eat first!”

Yang Zhenshan handed the water bucket he was holding to a Personal Follower and started to eat the meat soup and hard bread without reservation.

Zhou Lan ate while observing the surrounding soldiers.

“Your Personal Followers, their cultivation levels aren’t low, are they?”

“Mm, the higher-ups have entered the Postnatal Realm, and the others are at Refining Power Level!” Yang Zhenshan didn’t hide it and responded frankly.

“These men, did you bring them from Yinghe Castle?”

“Mm!” Yang Zhenshan nodded.

Zhou Lan looked thoughtful, “How did you train them?”

She was curious about how Yang Zhenshan could train so many Martial Artists.

Not just Yang Zhenshan’s personal attendants, but also the soldiers of the garrison, were almost all Martial Artists.

Yang Zhenshan’s mind stirred, indeed it was hard to hide such matters.

He could conceal the existence of Spiritual Spring Water, but could not hide those who had used it.

Like the Yang family’s descendants, the emergence of so many Martial Artists in just a few years was a very astonishing event.

Likewise, the proportion of Martial Artists among his Personal Followers and the soldiers of the garrison was far higher than other armies.

Anyone paying a bit of attention would notice the anomaly.

However, Yang Zhenshan had a response ready, “How else to train them, by practicing, of course!”

Such matters couldn’t be hidden, but as long as the existence of Spiritual Spring Water wasn’t exposed, there wouldn’t be a significant problem.

But it was a signal that more caution was needed in the future. Spiritual Spring Water could be given to ordinary soldiers, but not in excess.

The proportion of Martial Artists in his troops could be higher than in other armies, but not excessively so. It was important to get that balance right.

Zhou Lan nodded slightly, “It seems I haven’t trained enough!”

She didn’t pursue the matter further, merely asking casually.