Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 257: Chapter 248 Royal Court

After a brief respite, the army launched another raid that very afternoon.

They traveled over a hundred miles again, launching a night attack.

Thousands of Cavalry swept through the territories of Emu Bu, Chahar, and Dosol, turning them into whirlwinds.

In just four days, they turned the territories of four large tribal settlements into ruins.

But, at the same time, the news of their attacks on these territories spread.

Small and large settlements were plunged into panic, becoming extremely nervous and defensive.

The spreading panic led to strengthened defenses.

For Yang Zhenshan and his men, whether these settlements were guarded made a significant difference.

Without defenses, their attacks were a surprise; with defenses, their attacks became frontal assaults.

Although this would not stop them, it would slow down the efficiency and speed of their clearing operations.

Therefore, after annihilating the Dosol territory, Yang Zhenshan and his men slowed their offensive pace and proceeded more cautiously.

”Next, we need to be wary of Fushan City. Once the news reaches Fushan City, they will surely send troops to pursue us!”

During a break, Zhou Lan, Wang Bin, and Yang Zhenshan gathered to discuss.

”I will arrange for Scouts to watch Fushan City!” Zhou Lan said.

Yang Zhenshan thought for a moment and nodded slightly, ”Let’s first see how many troops they deploy. If it’s a small number, we will confront them; if it’s large, then we’ll have to flee!”

After several attacks, they had also lost quite a few soldiers; they now had just over five thousand soldiers left, which was quite good compared to their victories with less than two thousand casualties.

But facing the nearly one hundred thousand strong army of Fushan City, their force seemed rather insufficient.

If Fushan City dispatched ten thousand troops, they could still confront them; if twenty thousand, they might still find a way, perhaps even with a chance of victory.

But if thirty or forty thousand were deployed, they would only have the option to flee!

Wang Bin nodded and asked, ”Where should we go next?”

Yang Zhenshan looked at the simple map on the ground. The understanding of the area north of Fushan City by the Chongshan Town was not thorough; the map was extremely crude, with only the four banners accurately marked and the other settlements inaccurately placed, let alone the terrain which was greatly misrepresented.

”Let’s head in this direction!”

He pointed to the northwest. The terrain there was slightly more complex, with many hills and forests, facilitating their hiding and escape.

As for Hu Clan settlements, there were also a few in that area.

”Those are all small settlements!” Wang Bin frowned, feeling that they should continue to expand their victories and quickly attack those medium-sized settlements.

”Our focus now is to guard against the pursuit from Fushan City, not to expand our victories!” Yang Zhenshan explained.

Greed is the original sin.

At this moment, Yang Zhenshan thought it better to be more cautious until the intentions of Fushan City were clear. They needed to be very careful.

”Exactly!” Zhou Lan agreed with a nod, and after thinking it over, Wang Bin also agreed with Yang Zhenshan’s approach.

Meanwhile, the news of the annihilation of the four banners’ territories successively reached Fushan City.

The first news to reach Fushan City was the destruction of Gorcin’s territory, which was actually three days after its fall.

The news shook the entire Fushan City.

Inside the Gorcin, emotions ran high with many wanting to lead troops for revenge, but the higher-ups suppressed this.

The reason was simple: for the current Gorcin, the importance of Fushan City far exceeded that of the banners.

They could not jeopardize Fushan City for the sake of avenging a banner’s downfall.

Of course, this didn’t mean they would let those who attacked the banners roam free. The Gorcin’s high-ups wanted to ask Emu Bu, Chahar, and Dosol to send troops for suppression.

However, the high-level leaders of Emu Bu, Chahar, and Dosol refused.

At this point, the internals of Fushan City were no longer as they used to be. The Gorcin could no longer control the other three clans, and incessant overt and covert struggles continued.

This was also one of the reasons they couldn’t come up with a complete plan to deal with the Leang Chu army outside the city.

The high-level officials of the four clans argued fiercely in the Royal Court hall, and then dispersed unhappily.

But by the next day, when the news of the annihilation of the territories of Emu Bu and Chahar arrived, everyone became anxious.

Unlike Gorcin, whose focus had shifted to inside Fushan City, Emu Bu and Chahar did not have such focus; their everything was still in their banners.

Now that their home bases were raided, how could they not be anxious?

Inside the Royal Court hall, Gorcin’s Banner Master Meng Temu, who was also the king of the Daimyo Dynasty, sat high on his throne.

Meng Temu was of advanced age, his hair and beard all white, his face showing age, but he exuded an awe-inspiring authority.

Speaking of Meng Temu, he was definitely a legendary figure.

Twenty-six years ago, during the Battle of Black Cloud Mountain, the entire East Sea Hu Clan suffered heavy losses, drastically weakening their Primordial Qi. Gorcin was no exception, with even their Banner Master perishing under Black Cloud Mountain.

It was during that period that Meng Temu inherited the position of Banner Master.

He took over a broken Gorcin clan, with a drastic decrease in strong labor, and many outside tribes coveting Gorcin’s wealth.

In such a situation, Meng Temu demonstrated strong measures, first annihilating three medium-sized tribes that provoked the Gorcin, thus re-establishing Gorcin as one of the seven major tribes.

Over the next twenty years, Meng Temu revitalized his own tribe while forming alliances with others, and also shifted the focal point of the Gorcin to Fushan City.

It was precisely because of Fushan City that the Gorcin were granted the opportunity for rapid development.

Although Fushan City was not a large city, its relatively safe environment and fixed location made it the economic and trade center for the East Sea Hu Clan.

Various tribes came to Fushan City to trade, and Meng Temu earned substantial wealth for Gorcin through this.

With wealth, living conditions within the tribe improved, young men grew up, and the strength of the Gorcin was restored.

With regained strength, Meng Temu tactfully unified seven large tribes once more.

His earlier invasion of the Da Rong border was a plan to demonstrate his ability and strength to the major tribes.

During the first invasion of the Da Rong border, they achieved a complete victory, plundering substantial wealth from Da Rong, which solidified his status and prestige among the East Sea Hu Clan.

After he led the East Sea Hu Clan to crush Zhang Shouwang’s large army outside Fushan City, his prestige among the East Sea Hu Clan reached its peak, allowing him to establish the Great Ling Dynasty and declare himself as king.

However, he subsequently faced defeat against Liang Chu beneath Chongshan Pass.

This major defeat caused his long-accumulated prestige to crumble, and as he aged, the major tribes no longer showed him the reverence they once had.

Now, he could no longer control the major tribes.

At this moment, Meng Temu sat aloft on his throne, overseeing the ministers below with a profoundly deep gaze.

Among the ministers, standing at the forefront were the three Banner Masters of Emu Bu, Chahar, and Dosol.

Banner Master Bao Alang of Emu Bu, slightly slim and with a handsome appearance, carried a unique elegance, looking less like a member of the Hu Clan and more like a scholar from Da Rong.

Chahar clan’s Banner Master Suo Chang’e was bulky and round-faced, his face covered with layers of flesh, giving him a distinctly fierce appearance.

Dosol clan’s Banner Master, Guer Haqi, an old man small in stature, stooped back, hair and beard all white; he was nearly a decade older than Meng Temu, now nearing the end of his life.

”Meng Temu, will you deploy troops or not? If you dare not send troops, we in Dosol will deploy our own!”

Inside the grand hall, Suo Chang’e’s booming voice echoed, calling out Meng Temu by his full name with not a hint of royal deference.

Yet, he was the loudest in opposing Meng Temu’s call to arms the day before.

Yesterday, Meng Temu had asked them to send troops, but they shunned and resisted, and today they were urging Meng Temu to send troops.

At this moment, one can imagine Meng Temu’s frustration, wishing he could eliminate these unpredictable scoundrels.

But he could not; he could not only not kill them, but he also had to rely on them.

”We, Gorcin, can deploy troops, but not all, only five thousand!”

”You as well, can only deploy five thousand!”

”No way!”

As soon as Meng Temu’s words fell, Guer Haqi calmly stated, ”We in Dosol will deploy ten thousand! We still need to protect our banner lands!”

Up to now, there had been no news of attacks on Dosol’s banner lands, yet Guer Haqi understood that since the enemy had already attacked the other three families’ banner lands, they would inevitably target theirs.

Thus, the most anxious was Guer Haqi, desperate to marshal a large army back to his banner land.

”Guer Haqi elder, do not forget there is also Liang Chu’s large army outside the city. The banner land is important, but so is Fushan City; we cannot abandon Fushan City for the banner land!” Meng Temu said evenly, suppressing his inner agitation.

Although the other tribes’ focal point was no longer Fushan City, they all understood that if they could not hold Fushan City, there would be no chance of victory, only being driven by Da Rong to the cold tundra.

This was also why they still chose to stand here.

Guer Haqi raised his head, with his cloudy eyes staring directly at Meng Temu, ”The elder understands the importance of Fushan City, but you must also understand the elder’s concerns!”

He was older than Meng Temu and his seniority was higher, though Meng Temu was the king, his prestige within the entire East Sea Hu Clan was also not low.

At this moment, him calling himself an elder was already giving considerable face to Meng Temu.

Meanwhile, Meng Temu couldn’t help but inwardly curse, ”I knew this old fox would be the most troublesome!”

The temperamental Suo Chang’e, though loud, was the easiest to appease; just provide money and goods, and he was willing to help.

The reserved Bao Alang was the most cautious, perhaps harboring the most thoughts; his caution made him restrained in his actions, thus impeding success.

Guer Haqi might appear frail and senile, but in reality, he was the most difficult to deal with, taking advantage of his age, often leaving Meng Temu feeling suffocated.

”Bao Alang, what do you think?” Unable to target Guer Haqi, Meng Temu turned to the silent Bao Alang.

Bao Alang glanced at Guer Haqi, then said, ”Dosol can deploy ten thousand, we will deploy five thousand!”

Meng Temu was somewhat disappointed, but nevertheless responded, ”Let it be so; deploy immediately!”

At this point, further argument was meaningless. Instead, it would position him against them, better to just agree directly.

However, this also meant another concession from him.

Afterward, everyone dispersed, rallying their troops and deploying to pursue the Da Rong army that attacked their banner lands.