Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 270: Chapter 261: Should hitting the son also be done sooner rather than later?

The next morning, officials from the Central Army Commander’s Mansion came to visit.

Although Yang Zhenshan was appointed by the old Emperor, the specific promotion documents still had to be provided by the Central Army Commander’s Mansion, which was also responsible for supplying the official attire, Identity Token, etc.

There were also specifics such as when to take office, and who to bring along for the position, which required the consent of the Central Army Commander’s Mansion.

The official from the Central Army Commander’s Mansion was a Deputy Magistrate of Secondary Fifth rank, and of course, this Deputy Magistrate was just running errands; the most important thing was the letter in his hand.

The letter was written by Duke Ning Zhou Mao, and it was about the arrangements for Yang Zhenshan’s relocation to Tenglong Guard.

According to Zhou Mao, Yang Zhenshan could bring along soldiers from the An Yuan City garrison to Tenglong Guard and choose suitable personnel to accompany him as well.

This clearly provided Yang Zhenshan with support after his arrival at Tenglong Guard.

If Yang Zhenshan went to Tenglong Guard alone, it would probably take some time to establish a foothold, but with a sufficient number of people, having troops and personnel would allow him to settle in Tenglong Guard in a short time.

It was just unclear whether this arrangement was the will of the old Emperor or Zhou Mao’s own initiative.

After sending off the Deputy Magistrate who delivered the letter, Yang Zhenshan sat in his office study deep in thought.

Among the garrison soldiers, there were over five hundred who had followed him into battle, which would suffice.

These five hundred were the elite of the elite, and all Martial Artists, whose strength had already been proven on the battlefield.

As for who should be in charge of the An Yuan City garrison after his departure, Yang Zhenshan felt that Han Cheng was the most suitable choice.

With Han Cheng there, everything he had done in An Yuan City could be preserved, and would not revert to how it was before just because of a change in garrison officer.

Would Han Cheng follow his instructions?

Heh, they say out of sight, out of mind, but sometimes even with absence, the affection does not cool.

Firstly, Han Cheng’s son, Han Fei, would continue to stay by Yang Zhenshan’s side, which alone would prevent Han Cheng from being insubordinate.

Secondly, even though Yang Zhenshan had moved on, his promotion and the receipt of the Imperial decree meant that as long as Han Cheng was not foolish, he would understand not to offend Yang Zhenshan.

Lastly, Yang Zhenshan had done Han Cheng the favor of promotion, as it was Yang Zhenshan who had elevated him to the position of thousand commander, and it was also because of Yang Zhenshan that Han Cheng had the opportunity to achieve military exploits and promotion.

Publicly or privately, emotionally or reasonably, Han Cheng should follow Yang Zhenshan’s wishes, continue the policies previously implemented by the An Yuan City garrison office, and also take care of the Yang family’s interests and the Luo family’s business in An Yuan City.

With Han Cheng’s rise to garrison officer, Yang Mingzhen and Song Dashan were definitely to be taken with him, as well as Xie Yuan and Wu Chongzhe.

There was no need to speak about Song Dashan and Yang Mingzhen; given Song Dashan’s simple nature, Yang Zhenshan would not feel at ease leaving him in others’ hands.

As for Xie Yuan and Wu Chongzhe, who had not yet had the chance to prove their merit, taking them to Tenglong Guard would also allow them to rise up a rank.

Moreover, both of them were now at the level of Postnatal Sixth Layer in their cultivation, neither weak in strength and capable of becoming Yang Zhenshan’s aides.

But this would mean that the main officers of the An Yuan City garrison office had been poached by Yang Zhenshan, and even five hundred soldiers from the garrison would be taken away; it was unknown if Han Cheng would curse his mother in the future.

Yang Zhenshan didn’t care if Han Cheng would curse his mother; after all, he wouldn’t dare to curse me!

Besides these, Yang Mingzhi from Jianning Guard would also be taken along; Yang Mingzhi had fallen behind too much in his cultivation, and Yang Zhenshan wanted to help improve it.

Oh yes, Luo Feiyu, his brother-in-law, must not be forgotten.

Yang Zhenshan calculated a bit and realized that there were indeed quite a few people to take with him.

After sorting out his plans, Yang Zhenshan immediately reported the people he needed to take with him to the Central Army Commander’s Mansion, that is, to Duke Ning Zhou Mao.

This required Zhou Mao’s intervention, as Yang Zhenshan himself could not mobilize so many people alone.

After sending the letter out, Yang Zhenshan called for Ding Qiu.

”Master!” Ding Qiu remained his usual self, silent and terse.

Yang Zhenshan nodded slightly and instructed, ”In the next two days, take some people to Qinghua Prefecture to suss out the situation—Tenglong Guard’s circumstances, the various levels of government offices in Qinghua Prefecture, and the situation of Prince Qing Mansion!”

The start date set by the Central Army Commander’s Mansion was not urgent; he could take office within two months.

Thus, he would have to wait till after Yang Yunxue’s wedding, at least more than a month’s time, before heading to Tenglong Guard.

Before leaving, he would have to carefully probe the situation at Tenglong Guard.

Tenglong Guard was in Qinghua Prefecture, which was located to the east of Jing’an Prefecture, about five hundred li from An Yuan City but only over three hundred li from Anning County.

Qinghua Prefecture did not belong to Chongshan Town, but to the Liao Yuan Prefecture in the Liaodong Region. However, Tenglong Guard was not under the jurisdiction of Liao Yuan Prefecture; like the Yunlong Dragon Guard, it was directly subordinate to the Central Army Commander’s Mansion.

”Understood!” Ding Qiu did not say anything and simply agreed.

Gathering information and intelligence had become second nature for the guards of the Yang family, but of course, they could only probe the surface information; high-level or secretive information was difficult for them to access.

Take Wu Zheng, for example, he had stayed in the Capital City all this time to collect information for Yang Zhenshan, yet when the Imperial decree arrived this time, Wu Zheng had no clue at all.

However, that was to be expected, as how could someone like Wu Zheng gain access to the inner workings of the Imperial City?

Therefore, Yang Zhenshan did not blame Wu Zheng.

”Hmm, after you arrive, be careful not to draw attention to yourselves,” Yang Zhenshan instructed.

”I will probably head over in about a month, and by then, you should also stay hidden and avoid revealing yourselves,” Yang Zhenshan ordered.

This was similar to when he first came to An Yuan City, where he also had Yang Mingcheng and Ding Qiu assess the situation beforehand.

However, the situation at Tenglong Guard was even more complex than An Yuan City.

After instructing some more matters, Yang Zhenshan let Ding Qiu go to prepare for the trip.

In the following days, Yang Zhenshan called Han Cheng, Xie Yuan, and Wu Chongzhe for a private talk to share his thoughts.

The three of them naturally had no objections and were in fact extremely happy, filled with gratitude towards Yang Zhenshan.

Han Cheng needs no further mention. Yang Zhenshan recommended him to be the Deputy Commander of the Songzhou Guard, leaping from the rank of Thousand Households to become a Commander. It was equivalent to a three-level promotion when he could at most have expected a two-level promotion.

As for Xie Yuan, he was only a Thousand Households at present, and Wu Chongzhe was even worse off, being merely a Hundred Households.

The key issue was that these two did not have any military exploits. Without Yang Zhenshan’s recommendation, they did not know when the chance for promotion would come.

Yang Zhenshan had already promised them that upon going to the Tenglong Guard, Xie Yuan would at least be a Deputy Commander and Wu Chongzhe a Thousand Households at minimum. Could the two men not be pleased?

After handling the three men’s matters, Yang Zhenshan focused his attention on Yang Yunxue’s marriage.

On September 18, Zhou Lan left Chongshan Town to assume her position in the Capital City. Alongside her to the Capital City were Yang Mingwu, Yang Chengze, Zhao Yuan, and Yang Chengxu.

Before leaving, Zhou Lan dispersed most of the Yang family’s offspring from the Jianning Guard.

During this campaign against the East Sea Hu Clan, the Yang family offspring under Zhou Lan’s command had all made contributions and had the chance for promotion. Zhou Lan seized the opportunity to spread the Yang family offspring across the various garrisons in Chongshan Town, most of which were promoted to Deputy Thousand Households and Hundred Households.

However, the Jianning Guard and Ningzhou City still had several Yang family offspring in place. Although these individuals did not hold high-ranking positions, they still had considerable influence and taking care of Mr. Liang was not a problem.

To look after Mr. Liang, Yang Zhenshan also specifically wrote a letter to the Yang family offspring in the Jianning Guard and Ningzhou City.

After Zhou Lan left Chongshan Town, Yang Mingzhi arrived in An Yuan City.

His transfer orders had come through, and he would follow Yang Zhenshan to the Tenglong Guard as a Thousand Households. His specific position would be arranged after Yang Zhenshan got to the Tenglong Guard.

His return was also just in time to attend Yang Yunxue’s wedding ceremony.

”Your cultivation has fallen behind too much. From now on, follow your elder brother thoroughly in practice. If you slack off again, watch how your father will deal with you!”

As soon as Yang Mingzhi returned, Yang Zhenshan sternly rebuked him.

In fact, it wasn’t really Yang Mingzhi’s fault that his cultivation lagged behind Yang Mingcheng.

Yang Mingcheng had access to Spiritual Spring Water every day, but Yang Mingzhi had been without the nourishment of Spiritual Spring Water for quite some time.

Naturally, this gap had slowly widened.

However, to maintain the dignity of an elderly father and to pressure Yang Mingzhi, Yang Zhenshan still severely scolded him.

Pressure creates motivation, and motivation leads to greater effort.

Hearing Yang Zhenshan’s rebuke, Yang Mingzhi kneeling on the ground also showed a look of shame.

He didn’t know the ins and outs of this, he just knew that his cultivation was far behind his elder brother’s.

Although he was also very diligent in the Jianning Guard, falling behind was falling behind, and that was a fact.

”Dad, your son will strive hard in cultivation!”

Yang Zhenshan kept a stern face and nodded, then added, ”Alright, now that you’re back, go see the kids first. They have been missing you!”

”Yes, son takes his leave!” Yang Mingzhi kowtowed before leaving.

When Yang Mingzhi stepped out of the main house, Yang Zhenshan’s stern face suddenly spread into a fatherly smile. He reached out to embrace Little Ming Zhao, who was in Yu Qingyi’s arms, and said with a laugh, ”Look at your second brother, he can’t take a scolding at all.”

He brought his beard close to the little one, longing for a kiss, but the baby didn’t appreciate it, and started crying at the sight of the approaching beard.

How could the big beard be as comfortable as his mother’s soft embrace?

How could he not cry?

”Alright, stop tormenting your son!” Yu Qingyi, dissatisfied, took Little Ming Zhao back into her arms.

Once back to the soft warmth, Little Ming Zhao immediately stopped crying, blinking his eyes at Yang Zhenshan.

It seemed like he was saying, ’You win, please admit defeat!’

Yang Zhenshan’s mouth twitched slightly; this little guy was not close to him at all!

He cried every time he was picked up!

And this little guy was also occupying his territory.

That soft embrace used to belong only to him!

”Little rascal, wait till you grow up, I’ll sort you out!”

The heart of a father was hurt, so he decided that when this little guy grew up, he definitely had to let him know what it meant to be loved by a father.

”Yah, yah, yah~~”

The little one even waved his fists at Yang Zhenshan a couple of times.

Yang Zhenshan’s face instantly darkened. What did this little one mean by that? Was he challenging his father to a fight?

Should he discipline his son early on?

So that he wouldn’t lose to him later?

Impossible?

Would I lose to this little one!

Yang Zhenshan poked the little guy!

See, just a poke and he cries!