Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 101: Chapter 98: Liu Yuanfu Requests an Audience

”Sir, that is the main army of the Hu Clan, currently encamped twenty li to the northeast!”

Song Dashan approached Yang Zhenshan and reported.

Yang Zhenshan’s heart tightened—it was indeed the main army of the Hu Clan!

”How many troops?”

”It’s too dark to see clearly, but their camp is large, at least fifty thousand men!” declared Yang Mingwu.

Yang Zhenshan pondered thoughtfully.

”Are there many scouts?”

”Many!” Song Dashan said gravely, ”On our way here, we encountered four scout teams.”

Yang Zhenshan glanced at the bloodstains on his body and spoke, ”Then let’s take this opportunity to train our scouts!”

Since it was the main force of the Hu Clan, he had nothing to worry about.

The main army of the Hu Clan would not target Yinghe Castle. Yinghe Castle was just a garrison, not a strategic location, and attacking it held no significance for the Hu Clan.

However, Yang Zhenshan was not planning to just lower the flag and stop the drums. Since the enemy had come, they naturally had to take a bite out of them.

Every enemy head was a true military achievement, and Yang Zhenshan naturally did not want to miss such an opportunity.

The winter night was particularly icy cold, and even though the scouts were wrapped in thick leather armor, they still felt their bodies stiffening from the cold.

The desolate and empty wilderness surged with gusts of chilling wind, as if intending to freeze everything between heaven and earth.

Under the intense cold moonlight, the sound of hooves and silhouettes moved slowly forward.

Suddenly, a piercing scream shattered the dead and icy cold night.

Fleeting figures collided and intertwined under the cold moonlight.

Horses neighed, weapons clashed, accompanied by bursts of angry shouts and screams.

The noise lasted for a few breaths and soon ended.

Song Dashan looked down at the corpse under his feet, whose face was dyed red with blood and looked like an evil spirit crawling out of hell under the moonlight.

”Clean up, let’s leave quickly!”

”Yes!”

This was the third scout team they had dealt with. Each Hu Clan scout team consisted of five to ten people, spread around the camp for surveillance.

Song Dashan and his group functioned as small units, taking advantage of the night to hunt down the enemy scouts.

This was a hunt belonging to the night.

Song Dashan and his men were both hunters and prey.

The actual hunter would be determined by who was stronger and who had more patience.

When dawn arrived, each of Song Dashan’s men returned to Yinghe Castle carrying several heads.

”How was the harvest?”

Yang Zhenshan, who had just slept for a short while, was awakened by Yang Minghao and came to the government office study.

”Not bad, we harvested one hundred and thirty-two heads!” Song Dashan grinned.

”What about our casualties?” Yang Zhenshan did not smile, only asking indifferently.

Song Dashan’s smile receded, and he said, ”Thirteen dead, eight seriously injured!”

Yang Zhenshan nodded expressionlessly.

The casualty ratio was already very good, but this was also because the Hu Clan had not anticipated their attack on the scouts, allowing for such a great harvest.

Yang Zhenshan never underestimated the fighting capability of the Hu Clan, especially in a head-on battle.

During yesterday’s daytime battle at Ying River, they had almost every advantage yet still suffered nearly half in casualties, when both sides had roughly equal numbers of cavalry.

However, now, Yang Zhenshan no longer shied away from witnessing life and death.

A single achievement could result in thousands of deaths.

Yang Zhenshan had grown accustomed to the casualties of his soldiers, and perhaps in the future, these casualties would just be numbers in his eyes.

Of course, he would still care where necessary and arrange treatment where he could.

He had already prepared Spiritual Spring Water for the injured soldiers and had also called in Doctor Niu to attend to them.

”You go and rest first!”

Yang Zhenshan told Song Dashan.

Song Dashan and his men hadn’t slept in a day and a night and were utterly exhausted.

”Yes!” Song Dashan responded.

After he left, Yang Zhenshan thought for a moment and called over Yang Mingwu and Yang Mingzhi.

”Ming Wu, go to Jianning Guard and see if General Zhou has any instructions!”

”Ming Zhi, immediately go to each garrison, the Fire Road Piles, and signal towers to mobilize two hundred soldiers!”

He had ten Hundred Household units under him, with three cavalry and two infantry Hundred Households in Yinghe Castle, while Sanshan Castle, Xiangyuan Fortress, and Linguan Castle each had one Hundred Household guarding, and the remaining two Hundred Households’ forces dispersed among over twenty Fire Road Piles and signal towers.

After yesterday’s Battle, about two hundred of three hundred cavalry were left fit to fight, while the infantry suffered less.

He was worried about Linguan Castle, being too close to the Guard City.

The Hu Clan’s vast army would soon reach Guard City, and although Linguan Castle was not a strategic location, who knew if the bored Hu Clan might take the chance to capture Linguan Castle.

In front of the vast army of the Hu Clan, Linguan Castle was at most a stumbling stone.

As Yang Mingwu and Yang Mingzhi left, Yang Minghao came running in to report, ”Dad, Mr. Liu wants to see you!”

”Mr. Liu!” Yang Zhenshan was stunned for a moment, not immediately recalling who Mr. Liu was.

”It’s that stubborn old man from the Liu family!” Yang Minghao said, blinking.

Yang Zhenshan was surprised, wondering why this old man was seeking him out, but since the old man had rare taken the trouble to come, he couldn’t turn him away at the door.

”Please come in!”

Moments later, Yang Minghao ushered Liu Yuanfu into the study.

”The official pays respects to Mr. Liu!”

Although Yang Zhenshan disliked this stinky and stubborn old man in his heart, he still treated him with outward respect.

Helplessly, who could question the significant origins of this old man?

Though now a deported criminal, many of the punished old ministers in Da Rong often had the chance to be reinstated.

The Liu family had risen and fallen thrice, and Liu Yuanfu had also gone through three reinstatements.

Should Liu Yuanfu be reinstated again, he would still be a respected deity in the court.

Liu Yuanfu raised his eyelids, glanced at Yang Zhenshan, then sat down at the tea table of his own accord.

”I came here to ask if there’s anything you need my help with?”

Yang Zhenshan was taken aback, he really hadn’t expected Liu Yuanfu to proactively offer help.

But then he immediately came back to his senses, how could Liu Yuanfu help?

After pondering for a moment, he couldn’t think of what Liu Yuanfu could do.

This was not the court; this place was a frontier town.

Liu Yuanfu was just an ordinary old man, and the Liu family was just a family of scholars.

Let them fight in battle?

It would be better to recruit a farmer.

At least farmers still possessed physical strength.

But with the old man offering help, Yang Zhenshan also felt it was rude to reject his kindness.

”I would like to ask Mr. Liu to help look after the government office!”

”What’s there to look after in the government office?” Liu Yuanfu said discontentedly.

He genuinely wanted to help, it wasn’t that he looked down on Yang Zhenshan before, he just didn’t want to get involved with a frontier military officer like Yang Zhenshan.

As a civil servant, becoming too involved with a military officer is a taboo.

Especially for someone with his high status in the court, he must strictly adhere to his role without overstepping boundaries.

However, during this time, he had come to approve of Yang Zhenshan’s actions.

He recognized that Yang Zhenshan was a capable and conscientious official.

Especially Yang Zhenshan’s effort in rebuilding houses for military households and helping them earn a livelihood had broken his previous stereotype of frontier officers.

No need to elaborate on what the old Chongshan Town was like, but as the Right Imperial Censor from the Imperial Examination Hall, Liu Yuanfu deeply loathed the inaction of frontier officials.

Furthermore, with the Hu Clan invading now, he put aside his reservations, which is why he took the initiative to visit and see if there was any place he could help.

As for what specifically to do, he himself had no clue.

He was a civil servant and had long held a high position; he had little experience and understanding of the affairs inside the garrison.

He thought he could be helpful, but actually, Yang Zhenshan felt he really could not be of much help.

”I am about to head to Linguan Castle, so I ask Mr. Liu to preside over Yinghe Castle!” Yang Zhenshan said earnestly.

Whether Liu Yuanfu was a clay Bodhisattva or a real Bodhisattva, Yang Zhenshan planned to appoint him first and discuss further later.

Liu Yuanfu looked up at Yang Zhenshan, ”Alright, call over your subordinates; I want to meet them!”

Yang Zhenshan had no objections and immediately summoned Lu Wenchun, Lu Wenhua, and Old Li.

The government office currently had more than a dozen civil servants, but Lu Wenchun, Lu Wenhua, and Old Li were the primary ones.

After Lu Wenchun and others arrived, Yang Zhenshan introduced them to Liu Yuanfu. They actually already knew each other; although Liu Yuanfu rarely went out, because of Yang Zhenshan’s special attention to the Liu family, everyone in the government office knew that the Liu family belonged to a family of officials from the Capital City, and Liu Yuanfu was a high-ranking official in the court.

”After I leave, you all must follow Mr. Liu’s arrangements!”

”Mr. Liu, I will leave Ming Zhi in charge of the garrison in your care, and you can find him should you have any commands!”

Yang Zhenshan instructed.

”Hmm,” Liu Yuanfu succinctly responded.

In the afternoon, Yang Mingwu returned from Jianning Guard with orders from Zhou Lan.

Actually, it wasn’t any special task; the main duty of a defense officer was to guard their garrison. Even if Zhou Lan led troops into battle, she wouldn’t call upon soldiers from the garrison, as she still had the military power of the five thousand household units from Jianning Guard both front and back, left, right, and center.

”How is the situation at Jianning Guard?” Yang Zhenshan asked.

”All is well; the Northern barbarian cavalry has not attacked the Guard City, but many Northern barbarian cavalry have already entered through the gaps between the garrisons, and General Zhou is currently deploying troops to block the invading Northern barbarian cavalry!”

Yang Mingwu replied.

Yang Zhenshan slightly nodded, ”You go rest first; tomorrow morning we will head to Linguan Castle.”

”Yes!”

Around dusk, Yang Mingzhi also returned with two hundred infantry from three garrisons and several strategically crucial Fire Road Piles.

The arrival of so many soldiers brought considerable pressure to Yinghe Castle.

With the intense cold, the housing within the garrison was already full, and some cavalry resided inside the camp outside the garrison. Yang Zhenshan had no choice but to temporarily set up some tents to get by.

Although the living conditions were subpar, thankfully, Yinghe Castle was not short of charcoal or food, so the soldiers were not left freezing or starving.

However, he planned to take all these soldiers to Linguan Castle tomorrow. Linguan Castle was not as large as Yinghe Castle, and its resources were also far less than those at Yinghe Castle.

Thus, they needed to be fully prepared for this trip to Linguan Castle.

And the responsibility of preparing the supplies fell on Liu Yuanfu.

This old man was indeed capable and also spirited, perhaps because he had been idle for too long and suddenly found something to do, he burst out with full enthusiasm, keeping Lu Wenchun and Lu Wenhua constantly busy.

After confirming that the old man was not just blindly issuing orders, Yang Zhenshan entrusted him with the task of preparing supplies and went back to the backyard to get a good night’s sleep.