Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 136: Chapter 132: It’s Up to You to Decide What to Do

Yang Zhenshan escorted Xu Wanfu, Xu Lu, and others back to the garrison office, then ordered Song Dashan to take a dozen or so Yang disciples to the garrison.

This time, he took down a dozen squad leaders in the garrison, which coincidentally allowed the accompanying Yang disciples to fill these vacancies.

With these Yang disciples present, Yang Zhenshan could firmly control the garrison. Even if Han Cheng might harbor ulterior motives in the future, he wouldn’t be able to manipulate the garrison for his own purposes.

There was a cell in the garrison office, but it was only for temporarily detaining prisoners. The garrison office had no authority to deal with prisoners; to do so would require going through the Guardian Department and the approval of the garrison commander.

Yang Zhenshan first detained the suspects. As for the evidence, it could be collected slowly.

Although he could no longer rely on Zhou Lan’s support, let’s not forget that there is still the Secret Martial Guards behind the scenes. He believed that the Secret Martial Guards would arrange everything properly.

And even if the Secret Martial Guards didn’t take action, wasn’t there still Wang Bin?

He believed Wang Bin would support him.

Just as Yang Zhenshan was locking up Xu Wanfu and others in the cell, Wu Hai came to find him.

”Master, a Hundred Households officer requests an audience with you!”

”Hundred Households!” Yang Zhenshan was slightly surprised, ”What’s his name?”

”He said his surname is Wei, and he met with you a few days ago!” Wu Hai reported.

Yang Zhenshan’s eyes brightened, and he immediately thought of Wei Cen, ”Where is he?”

”I’ve already invited him into the antechamber of the front courtyard!” Wu Hai said.

Such a visitor who came to call could not be kept waiting at the door, but neither could he be directly invited into the main hall, so he was first arranged to wait in the small hall of the antechamber.

”Invite him to the main hall!” Yang Zhenshan instructed, then went to a side room in the front courtyard to change into loose-fitting clothes.

By the time Yang Zhenshan arrived at the main hall, Wei Cen was sitting upright next to the tea table.

Wei Cen today was not dressed in black, but had switched to a blue martial outfit, less mysterious and more efficient and aloof.

”Your subordinate pays respects to Master Yang!” Wei Cen’s attitude was very formal as he proactively greeted Yang Zhenshan.

Yang Zhenshan nodded slightly and turned to Wu Hai who was standing by, saying, ”You may leave us.”

”Yes!” Wu Hai bowed and exited the main hall.

Yang Zhenshan sat next to the tea table and gestured, saying, ”Please, sit and let’s talk.”

Wei Cen then took a seat.

”Did Mr. Lv give any instructions?”

”The Supervisor sent me to assist Master Yang in the investigation of the smuggling case in An Yuan State,” said Wei Cen.

Yang Zhenshan stroked his long beard and looked steadily at him, ”Assist, how?”

”I’ll do whatever I can and cooperate fully!” Wei Cen stated.

Yang Zhenshan smiled.

This was indeed a surprise to him; he had thought that Lv Hua would merely use him as a pawn, but it turned out that Lv Hua truly wanted his help.

If Lv Hua just wanted to use him as a pawn, he would have merely given orders and not sent someone to cooperate with him.

Faced with Lv Hua’s commands, Yang Zhenshan truly didn’t have the foundation to refuse.

As the Supervisor of the Secret Martial Guard North Station, even Zhou Lan had to compromise, let alone him, a mere garrison officer.

”Then let’s start by discussing the specifics of this smuggling case,” Yang Zhenshan tentatively said.

Since the other party said they would cooperate, they naturally had to be told the real situation.

Wei Cen nodded slightly and said, ”The matter starts from the first month of the 23rd year of the era of peace ...”

He detailed the events, starting from when the Secret Martial Guards first found anomalies on the Hu Clan during their first invasion of the border, which led to an investigation.

With progressive investigations, they eventually confirmed that the force smuggling materials to the Hu Clan was based in An Yuan State.

However, they encountered obstacles during their investigation in An Yuan State.

It wasn’t that someone was stopping their investigation—as they had been investigating covertly all along and have yet to be exposed—but the leads they found were all dead ends.

”According to our investigation, the former garrison Cao Han, the garrison thousand commander Xu Wanfu, Prefect Lin Xuan, and the military coordinator Hao Zhaoxian are all involved in the smuggling case!”

”Moreover, the Liang family of Jing’an is responsible for transporting goods and selling them. They shipped goods like salt, iron, grain, and textiles outside the border, and brought back furs, medicinal materials, and other goods from outside to sell. The Liang family of Jing’an managed all of this.”

”However, according to our investigation, we found out that Black Cliff Village is behind the Liang family of Jing’an.”

Hearing this, Yang Zhenshan’s eyebrows twitched.

”Black Cliff Village?”

”Yes, Black Cliff Village is a worldly force based to the east of Chongshan Town; they have quite a reputation among the folks and in worldly society,” Wei Cen said.

Yang Zhenshan’s eyes narrowed slightly. It turned out that even worldly society forces were involved?

”What next?”

”That’s all. Our leads only trace back to Black Cliff Village. The individuals confirmed to be involved are those we previously mentioned, but whether there are other parties involved within An Yuan State, we are not yet certain,” Wei Cen said.

Yang Zhenshan fell into deep thought, sensing something amiss with this matter.

”It doesn’t add up. This makes Black Cliff Village seem like the mastermind behind the scenes, but how could a worldly sect command a group of court officials to work for them?”

It wasn’t that he was belittling worldly sects, but officials had their own pride, especially civil servants like Lin Xuan and Hao Zhaoxian. They would absolutely disdain to consort with worldly martial artists.

Not to mention civil servants, even military officers didn’t hold worldly martial artists in high regard.

There is indeed a hierarchy of contempt among martial artists, with those holding official ranks at the highest level, followed by renowned worldly scholars who live in seclusion, then disciples of worldly sects and descendants of Martial Arts Families who mingle in society, and at the bottom are Protection Agents and armed escorts.

The reason why many sect disciples prefer to join the army or become officials is because an official rank brings them higher status and more resources.

Of course, one’s level of cultivation can break through this hierarchy, but among those of the same realm, this hierarchy very much exists.

If a worldly sect had dealings with officials, it would be considered normal. But it was impossible for a worldly sect to have a group of officials working for them.

”That’s correct, the real mastermind behind the scenes is definitely not Black Cliff Village; we suspect that it might be Prince Qing Mansion!” said Wei Cen with a grave tone.

Upon hearing this, Yang Zhenshan couldn’t help but take a sharp intake of cold air.

”Prince Qing Mansion?”

”Um. But we haven’t found any evidence yet!”

Yang Zhenshan felt a tingling sensation on his scalp.

It actually involved Prince Qing Mansion.

This matter had become seriously troublesome.

Although the Princes of Da Rong don’t hold power or deal with affairs, they are still part of the royal family.

Anything involving the royal family is definitely no small matter.

Especially when it concerns something like treason and collusion with the enemy.

At this moment, Yang Zhenshan suddenly felt some regret. Had he known this would happen, he should not have gotten involved—no, he should not have come to An Yuan State City.

But it’s too late for regrets now.

”What are your plans going forward?”

Yang Zhenshan looked at Wei Cen with a solemn expression.

Wei Cen’s demeanor remained as calm as ever, as if what he had mentioned was nothing but a trivial matter.

”Next, we need to find out everyone involved in this matter within the city, and also find evidence related to Prince Qing Mansion.”

”Can’t you just arrest those officials to get the testimony?”

”No, they probably don’t know this has anything to do with Prince Qing Mansion, because there is no direct connection between them and Prince Qing Mansion.”

”Then how did you come to suspect Prince Qing Mansion?”

”It’s not a suspicion, but an inference by the Supervisor!”

”...”

Yang Zhenshan fell silent, ”So you’re actually just guessing without any evidence.”

Damn, these Secret Martial Guards really aren’t afraid of stirring up trouble, clearly having no evidence, yet they insist on implicating Prince Qing Mansion.

Inferences? Without any evidence, on what basis do they make these inferences?

Wei Cen didn’t say anything. He was just a man doing his duty. Whether Lv Hua made inferences or guesses, it had nothing to do with him.

After pondering for a moment, Yang Zhenshan then said, ”You want me to be the bait to lure the snake out of its hole!”

”To kill Xu Wanfu, and then reject the Liang family’s advances. They will inevitably see me as a mortal enemy, wanting to quickly eliminate me after!”

”Once they make their move, they will surely expose something.”

”Not only do I have to be the bait, but I also have to be your blade, fighting them to the death, and in the end, you will reap the benefits and clean up the aftermath.”

”Isn’t that right?”

Wei Cen nodded; their initial plan was indeed like this.

Realizing all of this, Yang Zhenshan felt a toothache coming on. Damn, these despicable bastards were actually scheming against him.

Not only scheming, but also pushing him into a pit of fire.

Would he play along with their plan?

The answer was certain.

Firstly, anyone who took his position would have to take down Xu Wanfu first. As long as Xu Wanfu was still around, whoever was the garrison would not feel secure.

To protect himself and to maintain control of power, the garrison would have to deal with Xu Wanfu first.

Next was to refuse the Liang family’s advances. Some might not refuse since the Liang family’s offer would surely be tempting. But since the chosen one was by Lv Hua, they definitely would not accept the Liang family’s enticement.

The rest doesn’t need to be mentioned. If the advances are rejected, a swift elimination will follow.

Then both sides could only act according to Lv Hua’s plan. Lv Hua would just need to support the new garrison from behind, and the conflict between the two sides would turn into a deadly battle.

Fortunately, Yang Zhenshan had already guessed some clues and even caught Wei Cen; otherwise, he would’ve had to act according to Lv Hua’s plan.

”So, what should we do next?” Yang Zhenshan asked.

Wei Cen shook his head, saying, ”My task is to assist you; what to do next is for you to decide!”

Yang Zhenshan’s eyes lit up; it was up to him to decide, which meant the initiative was now in his hands.

”Then~” he paused before asking, ”How many men do you have under you?”

Wei Cen, being a Hundred Households, should have dozens of men at least!

”Nine people!”

”What? Aren’t you a Hundred Households?” Yang Zhenshan said in astonishment.

Wei Cen fell silent for a moment, ”The Hundred Households of the Secret Martial Guards are not the same as those in other garrisons. The number of men is allocated based on duties.”

”For me, it is about the quality, not the quantity!”

Yang Zhenshan realized, ”So, all of your nine subordinates are Martial Artists?”

”No, to be precise, they are all Postnatal Martial Artists!” Wei Cen spoke with a hint of pride in his calm expression.

But he indeed had the right to be proud.

Postnatal Martial Artists could easily obtain a Hundred Households position in the military. This implied that any one of Wei Cen’s subordinates, placed in Chongshan Town, could secure a Hundred Households official position.

Yang Zhenshan was also surprised, but soon calmed down. The Secret Martial Guards’ strength could not be overstated—it was, after all, the old Emperor’s sharp knife; it would be indeed strange if they were weak.

”Since I’m in charge, then you can stay in the front courtyard for now. Hmm, do your nine subordinates need accommodations?”

”No need, they all have their own accommodations here!” Wei Cen said.

Yang Zhenshan nodded, ”Then let’s leave it at that for now. As for what specific actions to take, let me think about it some more.”