Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 149: Chapter 145 Inspecting the Garrison

The next day, Yang Zhenshan brought over a dozen carts of grain and two large boxes of Silver Coin to City Gate Castle again.

Under the expectant gaze of the soldiers, Yang Zhenshan handed out the food and Silver Coin to them, one by one.

In fact, each soldier didn’t receive much in terms of food and Silver Coin, only about three pecks of grain and one ounce of Silver, but this was considered a bonus income, not included in their military salaries.

The soldiers were all very happy about this, and their hearts filled with more recognition and respect for Yang Zhenshan.

The truth was, as training progressed, Yang Zhenshan’s image had already grown towering in their minds.

Training was hard. So hard, in fact, that many had complained.

But whenever they ate a meal dotted with oil spots, their complaints dissipated.

Eating their fill was still their biggest desire.

Don’t look at them as having followed Xu Wanfu, who had plenty of Silver in his hands. In reality, whether Xu Wanfu had Silver had nothing to do with them; Xu Wanfu was not the kind to generously share his Silver with them.

At most, Xu Wanfu didn’t deduct from their military salaries, but the problem was that the rations from above were insufficient, and Xu Wanfu wouldn’t contribute his own Silver to make up the difference.

Therefore, these soldiers were never able to receive full military salaries in the past.

But Yang Zhenshan not only ensured they had enough to eat but also gave them full military salaries, and even distributed a holiday bonus come the New Year’s celebration.

With such a commander, they wouldn’t just train – they’d climb up mountains and descend into seas of flames if required, gritting their teeth and persevering.

Of course, for now, they were only at the stage of gritting their teeth and persevering. To willingly brave fire and water for Yang Zhenshan, he still needed to continue his benevolence.

”Thank you, Mr. Xie, for the reward!”

On the training field, a soldier who had just received his grain wiped tears from his eyes as he knelt and thanked Yang Zhenshan with his head touching the ground.

The sight stunned Yang Zhenshan.

Other soldiers had also thanked him before, but only with a salute and clasped fists. This was the first time someone knelt.

”The ground is cold, get up!” Yang Zhenshan said gently.

The soldier stood up with his head down, wiped the tears from his eyes, and then quickly walked away.

There were many more soldiers waiting behind him; he couldn’t delay for too long.

Yang Zhenshan watched his departing figure, thought for a moment, and then spoke to Song Dashan beside him, ”Go find out what his situation is.”

”Yes, sir!”

After Song Dashan acknowledged the order, Yang Zhenshan continued to distribute the New Year’s gifts.

The garrison had nearly a thousand soldiers, and Yang Zhenshan personally handed out gifts to each of them without missing a single one.

By the time the distribution was complete, dusk was approaching.

However, Yang Zhenshan didn’t forget about that soldier, ”What’s the matter with that man?”

”Actually, it’s nothing much, his mother is sick, and the cost of her medicine has been high lately,” explained Song Dashan.

Birth, old age, sickness, and death were inevitable for everyone.

But for these ordinary soldiers, a serious illness could not only claim lives but could also impoverish a family.

Not just here, even in Yang Zhenshan’s previous life, things like illnesses leading to poverty were very common.

”Let the Doctor in the garrison office take a look at his mother!”

There wasn’t much Yang Zhenshan could do about it.

He had mentioned the idea of training army medics in his military training report, but the garrison did not have any at the moment.

Also, a medic and a doctor were two completely different professions. Medics only required some emergency treatment skills and were relatively easier to train, while training doctors was much more difficult.

There was only one doctor in the garrison office.

Yang Zhenshan thought to himself that he should train more medics and doctors in the future, but for now, it was more urgent that the doctor took a look at that soldier’s mother.

”If she needs medicinal herbs, the office has some. You can take them as needed!” Yang Zhenshan continued to instruct Song Dashan.

”Yes, sir!” responded Song Dashan.

Yang Zhenshan nodded and then returned to the garrison office.

...

After the distribution of the New Year’s gifts at the garrison was completed, the next morning Yang Zhenshan led three hundred soldiers from the garrison, escorting over thirty carts of grain and grass, out of the city.

An Yuan State’s garrison office was over two defense officers and seven garrison commanders, which meant a total of nine garrisons.

Yang Zhenshan obviously couldn’t visit every Fire Road Pile and signal tower, but he had to personally visit these nine garrisons.

Twenty miles north of An Yuan City, they arrived at the first garrison, Shaling Castle.

Shaling Castle had a defense office in charge of the surrounding three garrisons, with a defense officer named Xie Yuan.

Yang Zhenshan did not have much of an impression of Xie Yuan, even though he had met Xie Yuan several times before, Xie Yuan’s presence seemed very low, not leaving any impression on Yang Zhenshan.

”Shaling Castle’s defense officer Xie Yuan pays his respects to the garrison officer!”

In front of Shaling Castle’s gate, Xie Yuan came forward with vigorous strides and clasped his fists in respect.

Yang Zhenshan, seated on his horse, looked at the defense officer with some surprise.

Xie Yuan was neither tall nor short, neither fat nor thin, with a commonplace appearance, there seemed to be nothing special about him.

This was probably why Yang Zhenshan hadn’t noticed him before.

But now, Yang Zhenshan felt that this subordinate seemed quite exceptional.

Xie Yuan’s confident stride did not conceal the aura emanating from him, and his deep-set eyes were filled with a keenness that one could not ignore.

”Dispense with the formalities!” Yang Zhenshan found it surprising inside but kept a composed demeanor as he spoke.

”Thank you, Mr. Xie!” Xie Yuan straightened up, then said, ”Please, sir!”

Following that, the group entered Shaling Castle.

Shaling Castle is a large fortress, harboring two hundred military households.

Yang Zhenshan initially thought Shaling Castle would be dirty and dilapidated, but to his surprise, the castle was very clean and tidy. Even the soldiers and military households appeared spirited and strong, not the scrawny figures he had imagined.

Following Xie Yuan’s lead, Yang Zhenshan walked towards the defense officer’s government office while observing his surroundings.

It is no wonder that he had such thoughts before; after all, the previous garrison of An Yuan City was commanded by Cao Han, the thousand commander was Xu Wanfu, and the garrison commander was Tian Gui.

With these three officials in charge, one could imagine what condition the lower garrison outposts might be in.

”Mr. Xie’s cultivation isn’t low, right?” Yang Zhenshan asked indifferently.

”This subordinate is of dull talent; after thirty years of practice, I’ve only reached the Postnatal Fourth Layer,” replied Xie Yuan.

Yang Zhenshan’s mouth curved slightly; indeed, the Postnatal Fourth Layer was not considered remarkable.

However, among defense officers, such cultivation was already considered quite good.

”Not bad, Mr. Xie’s management of the garrison is quite impressive!”

”This subordinate is incompetent; I can only manage Shaling Castle well,” said Xie Yuan with a face full of shame.

Yang Zhenshan’s mouth curved even higher.

This Mr. Xie was quite an interesting person.

His cultivation was not low, but he had never shown it off.

His capability was good, but it was easy for others to overlook.

An able and strong person had somehow failed to leave any impression on Yang Zhenshan before.

Furthermore, even the Secret Martial Guards hadn’t noticed him; the booklet Wei Cen gave him had no information whatsoever about Xie Yuan.

Was he hiding his talent?

”Gather all the soldiers!” commanded Yang Zhenshan.

”Please wait a moment, sir!”

After saying those words, Xie Yuan ordered someone to summon the soldiers.

The sound of copper gongs rang out, and in less than three minutes, more than a hundred soldiers had assembled in front of the government office.

Looking at the perfectly upright soldiers, Yang Zhenshan’s gaze towards Xie Yuan became even more intrigued.

”Mr. Xie is very good at concealing his abilities!”

Xie Yuan bowed his head and said in a deep voice, ”This subordinate does not wish to conceal his abilities.”

Yang Zhenshan understood his meaning; concealing one’s abilities was an act of helplessness, just like Han Cheng had no choice but to submit. Faced with Cao Han and Xu Wanfu, they had to hold back their edge and were willing to be undistinguished.

Such situations were not uncommon in Chongshan Town.

Over the past twenty years, Chongshan Town had declined from its peak. Many corrupt and incompetent people seized power, leaving no hope for capable individuals to advance.

Some fools would directly resist such injustice, but clever people would hold back their edge and choose to hide their talents.

Why did Zhang Shouwang fail? Because nearly all the high-ranking officials in Chongshan Town were mediocre.

Why did Liang Chu come to take office with the Yunlong Dragon Guard? Because he knew Chongshan Town was rotten to the core, and he had to bring his own soldiers to reorganize Chongshan Town.

Why did Zhou Lan clean up Jianning Guard? Because she saw clearly that those Military Officers were utterly useless.

And Yang Zhenshan?

Wasn’t his inspection of the garrisons also to clean up vermin like Tian Gui?

However, he had not expected that there would be a hidden talent amongst them.

From these soldiers before him, Yang Zhenshan could tell that Xie Yuan had not neglected military affairs and probably often trained these soldiers.

”So, there’s no need to hide your abilities anymore?”

”With a clear and upright superior like you, sir, why would this subordinate need to hide?” said Xie Yuan softly.

He was very clear about what Yang Zhenshan had done recently.

And precisely because he was clear, he chose no longer to hide.

If one could distinguish oneself and accomplish great deeds, who would want to be insignificant?

He wasn’t young anymore, his opportunities were not many, and he had finally waited for Yang Zhenshan to arrive. He did not wish to remain an inactive garrison commander.

Yang Zhenshan nodded slightly, stroking his beard, and said, ”Issue the food rations. Let the soldiers have a good New Year first, we’ll talk about the rest after the holiday.”

Regarding Xie Yuan’s situation, Yang Zhenshan still had to be cautious.

Although Xie Yuan’s performance today was beyond his expectations, he could not so easily trust everything before his eyes.

Concealing abilities might not only mean hiding one’s capabilities; it could also be covering up one’s misdeeds.

He needed to truly understand Xie Yuan before deciding whether or not to make significant use of him.

The distribution of food was quick; in just half an hour, Yang Zhenshan had issued the prepared food and Silver Coin into the hands of the soldiers.

Then, without staying in Shaling Castle, he left with Xie Yuan towards other garrisons.

Xie Yuan, as the garrison officer, had jurisdiction over four garrisons; apart from Shaling Castle, there were three others closer to An Yuan City.

Although all were under Xie Yuan’s supervision, the conditions of the other three garrisons were far worse than Shaling Castle.

Dirty, disorderly, dilapidated, impoverished, and more.

Much like when Yang Zhenshan first arrived at Yinghe Castle.

This was the state of the garrisons even after Yang Zhenshan’s warnings to the garrison officers; what then could it have been like prior to the warnings?

Flattered and seeking favor, the garrison officers of the three garrisons issued food and Silver to each soldier under Yang Zhenshan’s supervision.

He didn’t rush to deal with these garrison officers, only leaving with a gloomy expression.

His somber face indicated his dissatisfaction, which left those three garrison officers full of trepidation.

In fact, Yang Zhenshan had already made a decision in his mind; these three garrison officers would only live until after the New Year.