Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 164: Chapter 160 Yang Zhenshan, are you trying to rebel? In front of the government office.

Yang Zhenshan only waited for a short while before Wu Hai hurried over.

He had already clarified the details of the matter and wanted to report them to Yang Zhenshan.

However, Wei Cen came along with him.

”Back so soon?” Yang Zhenshan asked in surprise upon seeing Wei Cen.

”Yes, this is something the Admiral asked me to give you!” Without further ado, Wei Cen handed a wooden box to Yang Zhenshan.

Yang Zhenshan was even more surprised; Lv Hua was actually sending him something.

Although he did not know what was inside, the box was made of sandalwood.

Could it be that the box contained something valuable?

Yang Zhenshan opened the box, only to find not the anticipated valuable item but an imperial pardon.

An imperial pardon for Mr. Liang!

Holy shit!

Incredible!

Yang Zhenshan was truly shocked.

The Liang family had colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country; if prosecuted, the crime would warrant the execution of the entire clan.

Although Mr. Liang had left the Liang family, he was still one of them, so he couldn’t escape the clan’s fate if it was to be annihilated.

Initially, Yang Zhenshan had thought to seek Lv Hua’s mercy or ask Zhou Lan for help when the Secret Martial Guards were done investigating the case and it came time to assign the blame.

But he never expected Lv Hua to have prepared a pardon already.

Such a pardon needed the old Emperor’s approval; how could Lv Hua have managed to obtain it?

Yang Zhenshan was truly astonished.

However, he soon realized, alright, this pardon was indeed rare, not something just anyone could obtain, not even the entire imperial civil and military service.

But the Secret Martial Guards could.

Originally, the Secret Martial Guards were a highly trusted institution of the old Emperor, and when handling cases, they inevitably flipped some people; for those who were vacillating, a pardon was like a lifesaver, similar to leniency for confessing and harshness for resisting, cooperation resulted in a lighter punishment.

The Secret Martial Guards also had the authority to act first and report later, so preparing several pardons for emergencies wasn’t unusual.

Besides, this thing is only considered a pardon if the Secret Martial Guards acknowledge it; without their recognition, it’s merely a piece of scrap paper.

”Is Mr. Lv planning to close the case?” Yang Zhenshan suddenly thought of the critical issue.

”Yes!” Wei Cen nodded.

Yang Zhenshan’s lips slightly curled up, ”Does the Secret Martial Guards need our garrison office to assist in arresting the criminals?”

Wei Cen knew what he was thinking; on the way here, Wu Hai had already explained the situation to him.

But he didn’t play coy with Yang Zhenshan, he directly took out a booklet and said, ”This is the list, my men will coordinate with the Master to arrest them.”

”The matter here in An Yuan City will be left to the Master; I must rush to Jia City now!”

”Once I leave, impose a city lockdown for three days!”

Yang Zhanshan took the booklet, scanned it briefly, and his smile deepened.

”Don’t worry, I like this!”

Wei Cen nodded and then he gestured with a wave of his hand, two men dressed like ordinary civilians approached.

”Ding San, Ding Si!”

”They are my subordinates and will assist the Master in the arrests!”

”Greetings to Master Yang!” Ding San and Ding Si bowed in salutation.

Yang Zhanshan nodded; he was familiar with these two men, having seen them before though they had not interacted.

After the introductions, Wei Cen left, coming and going in a hurry, speaking just a few words before running off.

However, Yang Zhanshan was already accustomed to Wei Cen’s ways, and after all, how the Secret Martial Guards conducted their operations was beyond his control.

”Let’s discuss other matters later; first, I have to arrest this Prefect, Lin Xuan!”

A glint flashed in Yang Zhenshan’s eyes.

Just now, he had some reservations, but now with the backing of the Secret Martial Guards, he had no more concerns.

Ding San and Ding Si exchanged glances, nodding before stepping aside.

At that moment, Lin Xuan and Hao Zhaoxian walked out of the government office together.

”Ha-ha, I’ve long admired Master Yang’s great name, and seeing you today, Master Yang really is extraordinary in person!”

Lin Xuan hadn’t even crossed the threshold, when his voice arrived ahead of him, wearing a smile.

However, his words had barely ended,

when a series of clattering noises erupted from the street.

Han Cheng and Song Dashan, accompanied by hundreds of garrison soldiers marching in neat steps, came running toward them.

Seeing this, the smile on Lin Xuan’s face instantly stiffened.

”What does Master Yang mean by this?”

However, Yang Zhenshan didn’t bother with him, and once Han Cheng and Song Dashan reached near, he directly ordered, ”By my command, immediately lock down all city gates, no one is allowed entry or exit, and anyone daring to trespass will be executed on the spot!”

The purpose of Wei Cen locking down the city gates was to prevent the leak of information.

After all, An Yuan City was not far from Jia City, and should anyone go and tip off Sha Pingchuan, allowing him to escape, that would be troublesome.

Additionally, closing the city gates would facilitate the capture within the city and prevent the targets from escaping.

Han Cheng, upon hearing the order, was first stunned, and then saluted with a fist, saying: ”Your subordinate obeys the order!”

He did not know what Yang Zhenshan was up to, but he had to execute Yang Zhenshan’s orders.

Even though his heart was filled with suspicion and worry, he still unthinkingly took the order.

Han Cheng sped away on his horse, Yang Zhenshan looked up at Lin Xuan, waved his hand, and said, ”Arrest them all, kill those who dare to resist, kill those who dare to flee!”

After saying this, Yang Zhenshan stepped forward and also drew the long sword from the waist of his personal follower by his side.

Before Lin Xuan and Hao Zhaoxian could react, the sword was already at Lin Xuan’s neck.

”Master Yang, what is the meaning of this?”

Lin Xuan, both shocked and furious, roared at Yang Zhenshan.

However, Yang Zhenshan directly kicked his waist, and with a bang, Lin Xuan flew several meters away, crashing into the stone lion in front of the government office.

Clattering, several soldiers immediately came forward and captured him, followed by Song Dashan directly leading people to take down Hao Zhaoxian.

”Yang Zhenshan, are you trying to rebel? Do you know who I am?” Hao Zhaoxian was both angry and furious at the situation.

Yang Zhenshan stopped in his tracks, turned his head towards him and asked, ”Who are you?”

He truly did not recognize Hao Zhaoxian, if it weren’t for Lin Xuan voluntarily announcing his name earlier, he wouldn’t even recognize Lin Xuan.

Although he felt that the person standing with Lin Xuan probably wasn’t a good person, it was still better to ask, just in case he was apprehending the wrong person.

”I am the co-acting officer of the Military Equipment Department, Hao Zhaoxian!” Hao Zhaoxian said coldly, stating his official position.

Yang Zhenshan chuckled, it turned out to be this guy.

”Take him down!”

”You!” Hao Zhaoxian panicked, pointing at Yang Zhenshan about to curse, but before he could speak, Song Dashan pressed his hand on his neck, directly pinning him to the ground.

Though Hao Zhaoxian had a rough appearance and a robust physique, he was ultimately a civil servant, no match for Song Dashan.

Yang Zhenshan disregarded them and led the soldiers directly into the Prefectural Government.

The constables and clerks in the government office saw him charging in with a group of soldiers, all displaying confused expressions.

But soon their confusion turned to alarm.

Just now, Yang Zhenshan had said to take them all down.

The garrison soldiers seriously executed Yang Zhenshan’s orders, directly pinning anyone they saw to the ground, and continuously shouted, ”Lie down, everyone lie down, kill those who dare to resist, kill those who dare to flee!”

At this moment, the training exhibited its effectiveness; although the entire prefectural office was in chaos, the soldiers were not the least bit disordered, methodically searching every room, sealing every courtyard!

”Wang Sheng!”

Yang Zhenshan suddenly called out.

”Your subordinate is here!” Wang Sheng hurried over!

To be honest, at this moment Wang Sheng was the most nervous of all the garrison soldiers.

Although he respected Yang Zhenshan, he was, after all, Wang Bin’s son.

What Yang Zhenshan was doing now was no small matter; leading troops to storm the prefectural office was akin to staging a military coup, and if the court held him accountable, beheading Yang Zhenshan would not be excessive.

However, he felt that Yang Zhenshan was not the kind of person to act recklessly, hence he had not tried to stop him, only quietly following behind Yang Zhenshan.

”Hand over the backyard to you, irrespective of gender, all are to be detained!” Yang Zhenshan said.

”Sir, this—” Wang Sheng still couldn’t help but want to ask what was going on.

Yang Zhenshan glanced at him, obviously aware of his concerns.

Before he could finish speaking, Yang Zhenshan gestured towards Ding San and Ding Si with a nod of his chin, saying, ”The people from the Secret Martial Guards!”

Wang Sheng looked towards Ding San and Ding Si, his heart tightening.

”Your subordinate will go now!”

What a joke, with the Secret Martial Guards here, what was there to ask!

”Follow up, all of you follow me!”

Wang Sheng immediately called his subordinate soldiers to rush towards the backyard.

”Wu Hai, you take people to find the lady!” Yang Zhenshan then instructed Wu Hai.

The garrison soldiers did not recognize Yang Yunxue, and in this world, it was not possible to explain to each one, so Yang Zhenshan could only ask Wu Hai to go look.

Yang Zhenshan’s personal followers had always lived in the front courtyard of the Yang family and also acted as protectors there.

Moreover, Wu Hai had brought along the youngsters from his family, twenty fifteen or sixteen-year-olds dressed in gray cloth, though not as elite as the garrison soldiers, they also looked somewhat valiant.

They had all seen Yang Yunxue, and having them search for Yang Yunxue was most appropriate.

”Yes, I will go immediately!” Wu Hai responded and did not immediately lead people to search everywhere but first found two constables and civil servants to inquire.

The Prefectural Government, including both the front and back courtyards, was vast; if they searched like headless flies, there was no telling when they would find her.

Wu Hai was quite experienced in handling matters; he did not go to find Yang Yunxue but first sought the young master.

Soon, he got a lead and directly led people to the backyard.

Yang Zhenshan looked around, seeing that the soldiers had already secured the Front Office, he also followed to the backyard.

The backyard of the Prefectural Government was even bigger than the backyard of the garrison office, these officials really spared no expense on their living quarters, even though the backyard was not their property and they could only live there for a few years, they were still willing to spend a lot of money to expand and decorate.

However, at this moment, Yang Zhenshan had no mood to appreciate the architecture here, as he was quite worried about Yang Yunxue.

The little girl had always been well-behaved and sensible; he, as her foster father, actually hadn’t done a good job, after all, he wasn’t her real father, sometimes, some things, he often overlooked the little girl.

Fortunately, Wu Hai was very efficient in handling tasks; in no more than a quarter of an hour, he appeared in front of Yang Zhenshan with Yang Yunxue.