Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 380: Chapter 365 Battle Report Enters Capital City

“Report! General, the defense officer of Yinghe Castle, Yang Qinyong, requests an audience!” A scout came to report.

“Qinyong? Let him come over!”

Yang Zhenshan said with a faint smile.

Soon, the scout brought Yang Qinyong over.

“This subordinate pays his respects to the General!” Yang Qinyong said with some excitement.

He was a member of the Yang family, and he had met Yang Zhenshan a few times, but that was about it.

Yang Zhenshan looked him over and smiled, “Not bad, you’ve become much more robust than before!”

In fact, Yang Qinyong was a representative figure among the Yang family’s younger generation; he represented those who had never served under Yang Zhenshan.

From the initial formation of a team of young men by Yang Zhenshan in Yang Family Village to the now Tenglong Guard, there should be over two hundred members of the Yang family who had been nourished by Spiritual Spring Water under Yang Zhenshan’s command, but there were also some who had never stayed under Yang Zhenshan’s command.

Yang Qinyong was one such representative.

Of course, it’s not to say that Yang Qinyong had never drunk Spiritual Spring Water, but these members of the Yang family had consumed much less of it.

Like Yang Chengze, Yang Mingwu, Yang Mingzhen, and others, the least among them had stayed under Yang Zhenshan’s command for two to three months, and the most for seven to eight years.

Those who had spent seven to eight years were the batch like Yang Mingzhen.

Compared to them, Yang Qinyong had undoubtedly consumed much less Spiritual Spring Water.

It can be said that Yang Qinyong’s achievements are due to his own talent and effort.

“Heh heh, you flatter me, General!” Yang Qinyong said, scratching his head with a smile.

Yang Zhenshan patted his shoulder and said with a gentle smile, “Come, tell me about the affairs of Yinghe Castle! I’ve heard that you’ve managed Yinghe Castle rather well!”

“Not at all, that’s all the merit of Uncle Chengze and my seventh uncle, I’m just basking in their glory!” Yang Qinyong modestly said.

After Yang Zhenshan left Yinghe Castle, Yang Chengze took over, and after Yang Chengze left Yinghe Castle, Yang Chengzhang took over.

Saying that Yinghe Castle is the Yang Family’s territory is an understatement.

It is precisely because Yinghe Castle has always been served by the Yang family members as defense officers that the policies left by Yang Zhenshan could be continued.

Today’s Yinghe Castle is still the wealthiest garrison within the jurisdiction of Jianning Guard.

“Hehe, I know your capabilities. Both the Clan Leader and Chengzhang have praised your steadiness and thoroughness in handling affairs to me,” Yang Zhenshan said in praise.

Yang Qinyong felt somewhat embarrassed to be praised, but he was still very happy in his heart.

In his view, earning the recognition of Yang Zhenshan was the greatest fortune.

“However, some things can be changed, adapting measures to local conditions, and adapting measures to change in circumstances. Many policies I left in Yinghe Castle were based on the conditions of Yinghe Castle at the time, and today’s Yinghe Castle is vastly different from back then!”

“Back then, Yinghe Castle was very poor, and even feeding the military households was an issue, but now not only can the military households eat their fill, but they’ve also each become more prosperous! So some things can be changed!”

“Don’t always stick to the policies I left behind out of conservatism; sometimes you can also change Yinghe Castle according to your own thoughts!”

“As long as you are genuinely good to the military households, they will support you!”

Yang Zhenshan preached with patient guidance.

In fact, today’s Yinghe Castle is not without its issues, such as the sewing workshop established by Yang Zhenshan back then. At that time, the military households were making cloth shoes to earn money to support their families, but now that the military households have become prosperous, there is no need for them to continue making cloth shoes.

However, both Yang Chengzhang and Yang Qinyong still had the military households make cloth shoes.

This was obviously a bit out of touch with the times.

Their reluctance to change was very simple—it was because all these were left by Yang Zhenshan.

Yang Zhenshan represented authority, and deep down, they dared not question Yang Zhenshan.

“I’ve heard that you’ve expanded the scale of the horse farm, which is very good. The income from the horse farm is still very high, if possible, you can raise horses on a large scale!”

“Not just horses, cattle, and sheep are also possibilities!”

Yang Zhenshan continued.

That horse farm was also built by Yang Zhenshan, but later he gave it to Yinghe Castle, which is considered an asset of Yinghe Castle’s defense officer’s estate.

The two of them walked along a nameless small river, one after the other, and from here, they could see Linguan Castle on the hill.

Yang Qinyong asked Yang Zhenshan many questions, and Yang Zhenshan was generous with his teachings.

Martial Arts cultivation, garrison governance, conducting military operations—Yang Zhenshan was qualified to guide Yang Qinyong in all these areas.

Yang Qinyong was twenty-three years old this year, with a cultivation level of the Postnatal Second Layer—a level which, in the eyes of Yang Zhenshan, was a bit low.

Song Dashan’s son, Song Hao, was only twenty-one this year, but his cultivation had already reached the Postnatal Third Layer.

And Lin Zhan and Wang Yunqiao were only twenty this year, their cultivation levels had even broken through to the Postnatal Fourth Layer.

Compared with them, Yang Qinyong was lacking by more than a little bit.

After chatting for more than two hours, Yang Zhenshan said again, “You go back first and make arrangements for Yinghe Castle, and for the time being, you’ll follow me and work as a scribe!”

Upon hearing this, Yang Qinyong was overjoyed, “Yes, this subordinate will go and make arrangements immediately!”

“Mmm! Make sure nothing goes wrong!” Yang Zhenshan said with a smile.

Yang Qinyong nodded repeatedly and responded, “General, rest assured, I will make all the arrangements for Yinghe Castle!”

Such a rare opportunity, he naturally wanted to seize it.

As for Yinghe Castle, although the situation in Chongshan Town is currently very chaotic, Yinghe Castle remains very stable.

He had already moved all the military households from Linguan Castle to Yinghe Castle before, so even if a major battle broke out in Chongshan Pass, Yinghe Castle would not be affected.

Yang Zhenshan also felt that this young man was good, with a steady disposition and thorough in his work. Although his cultivation was slightly lacking, he was still a rare talent.

If he dares to gain experience by his side for a period and be nourished by the Spiritual Spring Water, he can definitely become a great talent who can stand on his own.

While Yang Zhenshan and Yang Qinyong were making small talk, on the city walls of Chongshan Pass City, Prince Qing and Ji Feiyu were watching the large army encamping and fortifying the Left Camp.

Observing the well-organized soldiers, Ji Feiyu’s expression was grave.

“The formidable aspect of Yang Zhenshan lies not in his ferocity, nor in his finesse and strategies, but in his ability to train soldiers!”

“It seems any army in his hands can be turned into an exceptionally strong and formidable force!”

“Back in his days at Linguan Castle, he trained over a hundred households of refugees into elite soldiers, capable of defeating hundreds of Northern barbarian cavalry!”

“Later at Yinghe Castle, under his command were merely three hundred cavalrymen, yet they annihilated nearly a thousand Northern barbarian cavalry!”

“And at An Yuan City, the garrison that was just an ordinary garrison, but in his hands for three years, over a thousand soldiers slew more than a hundred thousand of the Hu Clan!”

“Now at Tenglong Guard, under his command are six thousand elite cavalrymen and nearly ten thousand foot soldiers!”

Ji Feiyu took a deep breath, “Facing such an enemy, I have not the slightest bit of confidence in my heart!”

Prince Qing had known that Yang Zhenshan was formidable, but he had no accurate idea of how formidable Yang Zhenshan was.

Now, hearing Ji Feiyu’s words, he realized the terrifying extent of Yang Zhenshan’s capabilities.

With just over a thousand garrison soldiers, he could slaughter more than a hundred thousand of the Hu Clan, so who now could stand against him with his six thousand elite cavalry?

“Is there really no chance for us?” Prince Qing asked.

Ji Feiyu slightly shook his head, “There is, and that opportunity lies in Chongshan Pass, which has high walls for defense. Yang Zhenshan is most skilled in cavalry warfare; if he opts for a frontal assault, perhaps we can defeat them!”

Although his forces immensely outnumbered Yang Zhenshan’s, he still dared not leave the city to engage Yang Zhenshan in open field battle.

The East Sea Hu Clan had already proven with blood that field battle with Yang Zhenshan was courting death.

His only reliance were the high and towering walls of Chongshan Pass.

But whether Yang Zhenshan would mount a frontal assault on Chongshan Pass, he had no assurance!

Would Yang Zhenshan assault Chongshan Pass?

Of course, he would!

With Ji Feiyu resolved not to meet him in open field battle, but to steadfastly defend Chongshan Pass, his only choice was to mount an assault!

However, the patience of Yang Zhenshan far exceeded Ji Feiyu’s expectations.

After the army arrived at Chongshan Pass, for several days in a row, Yang Zhenshan did not launch an attack on the city, instead, he was urging the engineering team to construct siege engines.

On the eighteenth of June, the first group of civilians organized by Pang Tang arrived at Chongshan Pass, bringing a thousand stones of grain and components for the siege engines previously forged in Qinghua Prefecture.

There were over eight thousand civilians in the first group, and Yang Zhenshan directly conscripted these civilians to help the engineers harvest timber and stone materials to build siege engines.

On the twentieth of June, Yang Zhenshan’s battle report and Pang Tang’s memorial reached the Capital City.

Inside the Taiji Palace of the Imperial City, a crowd of ministers passed around Yang Zhenshan’s battle report.

After reading the battle report, Li Siyuan nodded slightly, “General Yang has already taken Songzhou City. It shouldn’t take long for him to capture Chongshan Pass!”

“That is not necessarily so. Chongshan Pass has high walls and deep defenses; if Ji Feiyu insists on holding out and doesn’t leave, capturing Chongshan Pass will be extremely difficult!” Duke Ning Zhou Mao felt that Li Siyuan was too optimistic and spoke up.

The Crown Prince looked at the two of them and spoke, “Chief of Staff, Duke Ning, the situation in Liaoxi is becoming increasingly difficult, we need General Yang to provide swift support to Liaoxi!”

“No! Until Chongshan Pass is taken, we absolutely cannot redeploy General Yang to Liaoxi!” Zhou Mao blurted out without hesitation.

He knew what the Crown Prince meant; the Crown Prince simply wished to have Yang Zhenshan obstruct the Wuliang main force in Liaoxi.

By now, the Wuliang main force had already taken over the majority of Liaoxi. Although the court had deployed many troops to Liaoxi, it was still hard to stop the onslaught of the Wuliang forces.

The biggest problem was that the Wuliang Hu Clan had also stationed over two hundred thousand troops along the border of Beiyuan Town, which made it impossible for Beiyuan Town to dispatch troops to support Liaoxi.

The Crown Prince furrowed his brow, “The Wuliang main force has reached East Bright Prefecture, if East Bright Prefecture falls, then the Wuliang forces will enter Jizhou territory!”

“There is no need for concern, Your Highness; the Ministry of War has already dispatched three hundred thousand troops, arriving at East Bright Prefecture shortly!” Minister of War Wang Lu took a step forward and said.

In this period, the Ministry of War had been continually deploying and dispatching troops, although the garrisons of Da Rong were in terrible shape, they were not entirely useless.

By calling on some more garrisons, assembling three hundred thousand troops was still doable.

As for their combat effectiveness, that was another matter.

In any case, the Ministry of War was now doing its utmost to mobilize the troops nearby Jizhou.

Seeing that Wang Lu had spoken, the Crown Prince did not say more. If he were to continue, it would be tantamount to doubting the work of the Ministry of War.