Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 123: Chapter 119: Taking Office in An Yuan State City

Chengping 25th year, October 28th.

Chongshan Town has already entered winter, the cold northern wind howls from beyond the pass, slashing faces like knives.

Outside Yinghe Castle, crowds are bustling, driving away the cold of the north.

Today, Yang Zhenshan is leaving Yinghe Castle, and nearly everyone within the castle has come out to see him off.

A long line of carriages is parked on the road south of the garrison gate, with Yang Zhenshan standing at the end of the line, looking at the surging crowd.

Scanning the crowd, he sees many familiar faces and strokes his beard, smiling contentedly.

In life, one must always do something.

Though he always felt somewhat uneasy here, he has felt the satisfaction that accomplishments bring.

Being able to do something for everyone, improve the lives of these military households, and receive recognition from so many, he feels this journey through the world has not been in vain.

Today, as he departs, thousands have come to see him off.

If he can return, he could boast about today’s scene for the rest of his life.

”Guarantee!”

Yang Zhenshan pats Yang Chengze’s shoulder, the young man’s eyes are red, haha~~

”Uncle!” Yang Chengze calls out.

Yang Zhenshan nods slightly, then looks over at the other descendants of the Yang family.

”Take care, all of you!”

He had said everything he needed to say before, and had individually communicated with every descendant of the Yang family, guiding and instructing them meticulously.

Calling them his descendants makes Yang Zhenshan uncomfortable, but he is quite happy to consider them as his younger brothers.

Their hearts are filled with the sadness of parting.

Yang Zhenshan does not linger in conversation with them, his gaze sweeps over the soldiers and military households behind them.

Finally, his gaze rests on Liu Yuanfu.

Since this year’s invasion by the Hu Clan, this old guy’s attitude towards him is no longer dismissive. Though still stubborn, he at least shows some smiles now.

Seeing Yang Zhenshan looking at him, Liu Yuanfu steps forward and hands him a book.

”This book is for you!”

Yang Zhenshan accepts the book with some surprise.

It is a copy of ”Doctrine of the Mean.”

”Thank you for the guidance, senior. I have learned a lot!”

In just an instant, Yang Zhenshan understands the purpose of Liu Yuanfu giving him ”Doctrine of the Mean.”

There’s no need to elaborate on what ”Doctrine of the Mean” teaches, Liu Yuanfu certainly didn’t give him a plain ”Doctrine of the Mean” without a reason.

Reflecting on the past two years and the things he has done, Yang Zhenshan feels he should restrain himself a bit.

Unconsciously, he has crossed many boundaries. If not for Zhou Lan covering for him, he would face much trouble.

Everyone should stick to their roles and responsibilities.

With Zhou Lan around, crossing some boundaries wasn’t an issue.

But now that he can’t rely on Zhou Lan anymore, he needs to be more disciplined.

”Old man, you did not guide me!” Liu Yuanfu says sternly.

Yang Zhenshan smiles, bows, ”Elder sir, I take my leave!”

”Everyone, please return!”

”There will be long days ahead, may we meet again if destiny allows!”

Mounting his horse, Red Cloud, Yang Zhenshan pulls the reins and heads east without turning back.

Afterward, the long line of carriages follows behind him.

People from the garrison follow in step with the departure until some begin to tire, until Yang Zhenshan shouts: ”Go back, after accompanying a guest a thousand li, we must part.”

Yang Zhenshan does not stop, he only shouts loudly.

Yang Chengze and others then stop.

They watch the procession gradually disappear into the distance until the carriages vanish from sight before returning.

Different from when he first arrived in Chongshan Town, now heading to An Yuan State City, the Yang family’s caravan is considerably large.

Including six carriages for passengers alone—one for the main family, one for the third family, one for Yang Yunyan with the children, one for Yang Yunxue and Wang Yunqiao, and the remaining two for maids and older female servants.

There are also four carriages for belongings; actually, valuable items were placed in the Spiritual Spring Space by Yang Zhenshan, and the items on the carriages were organized by Ms. Wang.

As for the second family, Yang Mingzhi’s family of four, they had moved to Jianning Guard.

The accompanying ranks included the Yang family’s servants, about a dozen young descendants of Yang, as well as Song Dashan and two small flags of cavalry.

Oh, and Old Li and Lu Wenhua.

The journey from Yinghe Castle to Songzhou Guard is nearly four hundred li, and with the freezing cold, travel is difficult, taking them five full days to reach Songzhou Guard.

Yang Zhenshan is to take office in An Yuan State City, but first, he must report at Songzhou Guard as he is initially the Deputy Magistrate of Songzhou Guard, and then the garrison officer of An Yuan State City.

Songzhou Guard is located in Jia City, like Chongshan Pass City, Jia City is also a fortress city built relying on a border pass.

However, Jia City is much smaller in scale compared to Chongshan Pass City, with fewer stationed troops and population.

Holding the official documents from the Governor’s Office, Yang Zhenshan easily enters the Guardian Department of Jia City and meets Commander Sha Pingchuan.

This year, Sha Pingchuan, 48, has a corpulent body resembling a ball, his rounded face always adorned with a Maitreya Buddha-like smile.

After greetings, Sha Pingchuan says cheerfully: ”Master Yang, I have been eagerly anticipating your arrival!”

His enthusiasm seems a bit excessive.

By reason, Yang Zhenshan is his subordinate, and there really is no need for him to be so enthusiastic.

”Commander, do you have any instructions?” Yang Zhenshan asked.

”No, no, I just want you to take up your post at An Yuan State City as soon as possible!”

”Ah~” Sha Pingchuan sighed and continued, ”The previous garrison officer of An Yuan State City was Cao Han. Since Cao Han was punished for embezzlement, the position of garrison officer in An Yuan State City has been vacant, and it has already been three months.”

”An Yuan State City is a border city, which could be attacked by Da Ling Country at any moment. Having no garrison officer, I’ve always felt uneasy.”

”If you don’t come soon, I think I will have to personally go and preside over An Yuan State City!”

Although Sha Pingchuan was sighing, he always had a kind smile on his face.

He looked like an easy-going person, but Yang Zhenshan didn’t think he was an easy-going person.

Being able to hold the position of Commander of Songzhou Guard, Sha Pingchuan naturally wasn’t a man of no capability.

Despite his physique being as plump as a fat pig, this man’s cultivation was even higher than Yang Zhenshan’s, at least a Martial Artist of the Postnatal Fifth Layer.

A Martial Artist of the Postnatal Fifth Layer would hardly be a benevolent Maitreya Buddha.

”Is the situation in An Yuan State City very bad?” Yang Zhenshan asked.

”Not bad, not bad, you will know once you get there!” Sha Pingchuan said with a chuckle.

However, Yang Zhenshan felt a chill inside, he couldn’t believe these words.

Whether it’s bad or not can’t be confirmed yet, but it’s definitely not a good place.

Sha Pingchuan seemed reluctant to talk more about the situation in An Yuan State City, instead, he swiftly changed the topic, ”By the way, you haven’t met General Wang Bin yet, let’s go, I’ll take you to meet General Wang Bin!”

Wang Bin, the Deputy Commander of the Songzhou Guard to the east of Chongshan Town, was Yang Zhenshan’s immediate superior.

Yang Zhenshan was the Deputy Magistrate Commander of Songzhou Guard, so his immediate superior in the Songzhou Guard was Sha Pingchuan, but Yang Zhenshan also served as the garrison officer of An Yuan State City, which directly belonged to the Assistant General Mansion.

So, Yang Zhenshan was under dual leadership, Wang Bin and Sha Pingchuan were both his immediate superiors.

Without waiting for Yang Zhenshan to speak, Sha Pingchuan took Yang Zhenshan directly to the Assistant General Mansion.

Upon seeing Yang Zhenshan, Wang Bin scrutinized him with an inspecting gaze.

Actually, he found it strange why Liang Chu had transferred Yang Zhenshan to An Yuan State City.

He knew Yang Zhenshan was Zhou Lan’s man, transferring Yang Zhenshan from under Zhou Lan to his own command seemed somewhat like snatching people.

Generally speaking, border town generals do not like this kind of maneuver.

I’ve hardly managed to nurture my close followers, and you just speak up and transfer them away, isn’t this making it difficult for me?

After greeting, Yang Zhenshan felt Wang Bin’s scrutinizing gaze, but he didn’t mind and instead took out a letter from his bosom and handed it to Wang Bin.

”General, this is the letter General Zhou entrusted me to bring!”

Wang Bin took the letter and read it.

After reading it, he fell into deep thought.

The content of the letter wasn’t anything special, Zhou Lan just asked him to take extra care of Yang Zhenshan, nothing more was said.

But Wang Bin felt there was something off.

Zhou Lan was obviously reluctant to let go of Yang Zhenshan, but why did he compromise?

Because of Liang Chu?

That’s impossible!

Liang Chu isn’t foolish, it wouldn’t be wise to provoke Zhou Lan just for this.

He thought about it, but couldn’t figure out the reason.

”The garrison officer position in An Yuan State City has been vacant for too long, it would be best for Master Yang to assume office as soon as possible!”

Wang Bin didn’t say much to Yang Zhenshan, just a simple statement before letting Yang Zhenshan depart for An Yuan State City.

He felt there might be some trouble involved, and it was better not to get too involved.

As for Zhou Lan’s request, it was simple, as long as he didn’t make things difficult for Yang Zhenshan, that would be taking care of him.

He wasn’t Zhou Lan after all, and definitely wouldn’t treat Yang Zhenshan like a close confidant.

After staying in Jia City for a day, Yang Zhenshan took his family to An Yuan State City.

The whole process was very smooth, he didn’t encounter any trouble.

An Yuan State City was very close to Jia City, less than fifty miles away; they left Jia City in the morning and arrived at An Yuan State City by noon.

When Yang Zhenshan arrived at the South Gate of An Yuan State City, a group of military officers under the jurisdiction of the garrison office were already at the city gate waiting to greet him.

These officers could be divided into two parts, one part led by the garrison commander responsible for the fort, which included two defense officers and seven garrison commanders. The other part was led by the thousand commander of the camp soldiers, which included two Bazong.

In other words, Yang Zhenshan had both garrison soldiers and camp soldiers.

Camp soldiers were generally selected from various garrisons.

The proportion of garrison to camp soldiers was maintained at about three to seven.

Roughly calculating, the subordinates under Yang Zhenshan, the garrison officer, numbered over three thousand soldiers, and on a regular day, one thousand soldiers were responsible for the defense of An Yuan State City, the rest were in the garrison responsible for tending the fields.

Coming before a group of officials, Yang Zhenshan dismounted and looked at this group of unfamiliar subordinates.

”Greetings to Master Yang!”

The leader was a middle-aged man in his mid-thirties wearing a bear-black embroidered uniform of a Standard Fifth Rank Military Officer, with a rugged appearance. Facing Yang Zhenshan, his face showed no smile and he casually saluted with a fist.

Yang Zhenshan glanced at the middle-aged man, nodded slightly, and said, ”Dispense with the formalities!”

Then, the group of military officers stood up straight, and surprisingly, not one of them opened their mouth to speak.

Yang Zhenshan’s eyes slightly narrowed, what did this mean?

Leaving him hanging without speaking?

Was this an attempt to show dominance?