Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 263: Your Majesty has always been wary of the nobles since 254.

Yang Zhenshan had just finished writing a letter when Zhou Lan and Wang Bin arrived at his tent together.

Wang Bin, with a casual air, sat next to Yang Zhenshan, picked up a tea bowl, flicked his sleeve, and from nowhere produced a wine pot, pouring Yang Zhenshan a cup of wine.

”Try it!”

He winked and made faces at Yang Zhenshan.

Yang Zhenshan was stunned for a moment and looked at him and Zhou Lan somewhat bemusedly.

Drinking was forbidden in the military camp - where on earth had these two scoundrels found alcohol!

Wang Bin ignored the stupor of Yang Zhenshan, and poured himself and Zhou Lan a cup each, while Zhou Lan took out a pack of dried beef and laid it on the table.

”Where did you guys get this from?” Yang Zhenshan sniffed the fragrance of the wine, recognizing it as good-quality liquor.

”It’s a reward from the Marquis!” Wang Bin chuckled.

Suddenly it dawned on Yang Zhenshan; he knew getting alcohol in the camp wouldn’t be easy, but there would certainly be some in Fushan City.

”Come on, bottoms up!” Zhou Lan heartily lifted his tea bowl and drained it.

Yang Zhenshan decided not to mind the military laws for now, and threw back his drink in one gulp.

The wine was refreshing, rich, and even had a hint of sweetness in the aftertaste.

”A worthy Pear Blossom Brew indeed, what a fine drink!”

Wang Bin laughed heartily.

”Pear Blossom Brew!” Yang Zhenshan raised his eyebrows, also finding the drink impressive.

Zhou Lan explained with a smile, ”Pear Blossom Brew is a fine wine of the Hu Clan. This ’pear blossom’ isn’t the flower of a pear tree, but the snow that falls during the coldest time in winter. Every year after a heavy snow, the Hu Clan collects the snow to brew their wine. Each snowfall brings more than a foot of snow, so this wine is also known as ’One Foot of Snow!’”

After speaking, Zhou Lan lifted his head and downed another cup.

Yang Zhenshan smacked his lips, savoring the richness of the Pear Blossom Brew.

It was different from the wine he brewed himself, which was mixed with Spiritual Spring Water and many herbs. While his wine had many special effects, in terms of flavor, it indeed fell short.

However, he was also refining his brewing technique. Brewing was a skillful craft, and Yang Zhenshan wanted to make a fine wine that not only had special effects but also a great taste, which required more effort.

The three men chatted leisurely while drinking, creating a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere.

Suddenly, Wang Bin said, ”What kind of rewards do you think we’ll get this time?”

Although he asked ”you,” his gaze lingered on Zhou Lan.

Rewards!

Naturally, Zhou Lan, who was more accustomed to the ways of the court, would know better.

First Zhou Lan glanced at him, then after a moment’s thought, he said, ”Don’t get your hopes too high,”

Yang Zhenshan’s expression shifted slightly, and he understood the riddle these two were discussing.

Wang Bin wasn’t asking about ordinary rewards, but rather military ennoblement.

After a long campaign and expanding the territory for Da Rong, it seemed reasonable to think about ennoblement.

”Why?” Wang Bin asked, somewhat disappointed.

Zhou Lan shook his head slightly, saying, ”Although our dynasty has a tradition of bestowing nobility for military achievements, since His Majesty ascended to the throne, titles have never been granted to anyone outside of the royal family.”

”His Majesty has always been wary of the nobility. Although he has entrusted many nobles with responsibilities in court, he has never granted or elevated their titles. Instead, there have been several occasions of demotion and title revocation!”

”His Majesty’s intentions are not difficult to guess. There are over a hundred noble families in Da Rong, and aside from Changping Marquis Mansion, basically all were ennobled in the last two hundred years.”

”The most titles were granted after the great turmoil a hundred years ago!”

At this point, Zhou Lan’s voice became quieter, ”After the turmoil, Emperor Dezong granted a general amnesty, bestowing titles to two dukes, seven marquises, and eighty-three earls.”

”The previous emperor was very dissatisfied with this, and thus after his accession, only granted titles to the royal family, a practice continued by the current Emperor, honoring only the royal relatives.”

”Though we have expanded the territory for the court and resolved the northeastern border issue, both you and I understand that the East Sea Hu Clan is merely a minor irritation, and the Northern regions are bitterly cold.”

”Such matters are not enough to change His Majesty’s heart, and the court ministers would also oppose the ennoblement!”

Zhou Lan laid out his thoughts slowly, leaving Yang Zhenshan half-understanding. His knowledge of the court had deepened, but as he was not part of it, his understanding of many matters was still superficial.

As for Emperor Chengping and the previous emperor’s affairs, he knew even less.

Zhou Lan mentioned the previous emperor’s dissatisfaction with Emperor Dezong’s widespread grant of nobility. Such matters, not even known to commoners, were likely unknown to many high-ranking officials in the court as well. Only a lineage like Duke Ning Mansion, steeped in tradition and deeply entwined with court politics, could understand.

”What a pity!” Wang Bin felt even more disappointed.

He had initially only wanted to rise in rank, but as their victories grew, and their contributions increased, he began to entertain the idea of being ennobled.

For Yang Zhenshan, the notion of ennoblement had never crossed his mind; he was still just a garrison officer, far from the point of ennoblement.

Rather than thinking about ennoblement, he felt that he should be more pragmatic and consider where he might be promoted to next.

A promotion was certain, that much was beyond doubt.

With his military achievements, if the court didn’t promote him, it would be incredibly unjust.

However, the extent of the promotion was another question.

Currently, he is serving as the Deputy Magistrate at the Songzhou Guard. If he gets promoted again, he might become the Commander of a Guard or take a position at the Governor’s Office as a Deputy Commander or Commander.

That would be a Standard Third Rank or Secondary Second Rank position, any higher would be almost impossible.

However, the most important thing isn’t the rank but whether one can serve in other official positions.

In Da Rong, Military Officers who do not serve as garrison commanders at a Guard have little chance for promotion and are mostly confined to internal promotions within their own Guard.

Only those serving as garrison commanders have the chance to earn military merits and, consequently, more opportunities for promotion.

Take Yang Zhenshan, for example; he started as the Deputy Magistrate of Songzhou Guard and later became the garrison of An Yuan City. But in terms of authority and status, the position of An Yuan City garrison holds more weight than that of the Deputy Magistrate of Songzhou Guard.

It is precisely because he is the garrison of An Yuan City that he had the opportunity to campaign. Whereas someone like Tan Jingtai had no chance to go on campaigns, he could only manage the military farms within the Guard and assist with logistical tasks for the Assistant General Mansion.

Yang Zhenshan wanted to ask Zhou Lan what she thought about his next official position, but as the words reached his lips, he swallowed them back down.

By now, Zhou Lan was no longer able to help him arrange official positions.

To make any moves on his behalf would require actions in the Capital City, where it’s not just the Central Army Commander’s Mansion that needs to be dealt with, but also the Ministry of War.

Perhaps Zhou Lan wouldn’t refuse to help, but it would surely be a troublesome affair.

For now, it is better to wait and see; if the award comes down and is not to his liking, it will still be possible to ask Zhou Lan or someone else to make a move then.

However, Yang Zhenshan hadn’t anticipated that Zhou Lan would bring it up first.

”I’ll definitely return to the Capital City when we go back. I want you to take over as the Jianning Guard General!” Zhou Lan said, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Yang Zhenshan.

Her thoughts were thus: firstly, she trusted Yang Zhenshan, trusting that he wouldn’t waste the efforts she’d put in over the years and not allow the Jianning Guard to fall back into a muddy mess.

Secondly, she wanted to give Yang Zhenshan another push, to take him further step by step. This is probably the last time she could assist Yang Zhenshan in the official arena.

If she wanted to help Yang Zhenshan in the future within the official realm, it would have to rely on the Duke Ning Mansion, and even then, relying solely on Duke Ning Mansion might not suffice.

Yang Zhenshan put down his cup and looked at her thoughtfully, ”If I return to the Jianning Guard, then there might need to be significant changes!”

”What kind of significant changes?”

”As many Yang family members as possible should be transferred away!” Yang Zhenshan said.

Zhou Lan quickly understood his intention.

The Jianning Guard, or rather, not just the Jianning Guard but all the camps, Guards, and city garrisons under Zhou Lan’s command have too many Yang family members.

These Yang family members are currently low- and mid-level officials. If Yang Zhenshan goes there, then the question arises: should Chongshan Town essentially take the Yang family’s name?

While Zhou Lan was there, Yang Zhenshan could freely place Yang family members, but if he became the Jianning Guard General, he would no longer be able to do so at will.

The reason is simple; he cannot allow the army under his command to become his private force.

The court would not permit any general to do so.

A general can cultivate trusted aides and use his own people to build a Personal Guard, but if one aggressively excludes others and positions one’s own people, that is a serious taboo.

What are you trying to do?

Raise a private army?

Or seek to control an army for personal power?

Although Yang Zhenshan had no such intentions, the old Emperor and the courtiers may not necessarily trust him.

So if he were to take the position of Jianning Guard General, he must try his best to have the Yang family members leave. It’s not that not a single one can stay, but rather that there should preferably be no more than ten.

In reality, under Zhou Lan’s command, the number of Yang family members has exceeded forty, more than those under Yang Zhenshan’s command.

This situation arose because over the past two years, many of the Yang family members chose to join Yang Mingzhi, Yang Mingwu, and Yang Chengze, among others.

Of course, there were also those who joined Yang Zhenshan, but those who did were all recommended by Yang Zhengxiang.

Those recommended by Yang Zhengxiang were relatively more talented.

”I will try my best to transfer them away!” Zhou Lan agreed with Yang Zhenshan’s approach and spoke.

Yang Zhenshan smiled and said, ”You could also take them to the Capital City with you. Although they may not be much help to you, they are still worth your trust!”

As the number of Yang family members joining the military grew, Yang Zhenshan had long wanted to disperse the Yang family members.

Having so many people clustered together was not a good thing; it was easy to provide leverage for others. Spreading out and each forging their own path, their prospects might face some obstacles, but in a survival of the fittest scenario, the truly talented and capable would still come to the forefront.

Zhou Lan smiled, ”Then I’ll take Yang Mingzhi with me!”

”Uh!” Yang Zhenshan was a bit taken aback, ”Let’s keep Mingzhi here. He’s become slightly lax in his cultivation these past few years; I’d like to keep him by my side to push him along for a while!”

This was not untrue. Currently, Yang Mingzhi had reached the Postnatal Fourth Layer, but he was already falling behind compared to Yang Mingcheng.

Recently, Yang Mingcheng had broken through to the Postnatal Sixth Layer. Although the two brothers started with similar potential, there is now a two-layer difference between them.

Even Yang Minghao had caught up to Yang Mingzhi, also reaching the Postnatal Fourth Layer.

There were two reasons for this: first, since leaving Yang Zhenshan, Yang Mingzhi had had difficulty accessing the nourishment from Spiritual Spring Water, and second, because with Zhou Lan constantly busy with official duties, Yang Mingzhi’s cultivation inevitably slackened.

”Then let Ming Wu and Chengze follow me to the Capital City! Yes, Zhao Yuan is also returning, and when the time comes, he can bring Chengxu with him! Having these three with me is enough!”

Zhou Lan readily agreed. Although she valued Yang Mingzhi the most, Yang Mingwu and Yang Chengze were not far behind, and having these two to assist her was enough.

Besides, the Capital City is home turf for Duke Ning Mansion, so she will not lack for people to employ there.