Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 369: Chapter 354 Madam, your sword!

”Uh~” Yang Zhenshan was a bit confused.

He did not expect the court to assign him as the General of Chongshan Town. He thought the court would select a new General from other places, rather than directly appointing him as the General, especially since he was previously just a Commander. Normally, the General of a border town would be someone holding the rank of Deputy Magistrate.

His current rank as Deputy Magistrate was actually somewhat low for this position!

However, upon further reflection, he realized that his promotion to Deputy Magistrate had already been a two-level promotion. If he were promoted to Magistrate, that would be a three-level jump.

That would be exaggerated!

Yang Zhenshan pondered for a moment and then felt that his own appointment as this General might not be so bad after all.

If someone else were appointed, he would have to consider the new General’s thoughts, but now that he was the General, everything in Chongshan Town would revolve around him!

Wait, there’s also a governor here!

”So, what instructions does Mr. Pang have regarding the current situation in Chongshan Town?” Yang Zhenshan turned to look at Pang Tang.

Old man, you better not mess around now or I won’t care whether you’re the governor or not.

Now is not the time for recklessness. Although he thought Pang Tang was decent, he didn’t believe Pang Tang had any military talent. It would be better for him to command than to let Pang Tang do it haphazardly.

Pang Tang, smiling at Yang Zhenshan, slightly twitched his lips, ”I have no specific orders. I have already commanded the Liao Yuan Prefecture and its jurisdictions to prepare provisions. It will take about three to five days for the first batch of provisions to arrive at Tenglong Guard!”

Yang Zhenshan laughed heartily, ”Governor, you truly are a timely help! I’ve been worried about provisions these past few days!”

Alright, he was blatantly lying.

The provisions that Liao Yuan Prefecture could mobilize were probably not as much as what Tenglong Guard already had in storage.

Moreover, Tenglong Guard had a large number of merchant ships. If Yang Zhenshan needed, Tenglong Guard’s merchant ships could immediately head to Jiangnan, and within ten days, they could bring back a dozen ships of provisions.

So, what Yang Zhenshan was least worried about right now was provisions.

”By the way, Mr. Cui, what about the position of Commander of Tenglong Guard?”

Dr. Cui shook his head slightly, ”The court has not yet appointed anyone. General Yang can continue to act as Commander for now, and we can deal with this matter after the situation in Chongshan Town is settled!”

Yang Zhenshan nodded; this was also understandable. If his position as Commander of Tenglong Guard was removed now, then he wouldn’t have any soldiers under his command!

”However, the new supervising eunuch, Eunuch Li, is already on his way here. General Yang might need to receive him when he arrives!” Dr. Cui added.

”Eunuch Li?” Yang Zhenshan frowned.

Dr. Cui looked at Pang Tang, ”He is one of the Crown Prince’s confidants!”

Yang Zhenshan and Pang Tang exchanged a look. Great, this is troublesome!

Having eunuchs supervise military affairs and political matters was a hallmark of Da Rong, and the old Emperor particularly liked using eunuchs for supervision.

In border towns, there were garrison eunuchs, dividing garrison eunuchs, and garrison security eunuchs.

Some government offices also had supervising eunuchs such as the market supervising eunuch, warehouse supervising eunuch, tax collector, mining supervisor, etc.

Furthermore, this arrangement of eunuchs supervising outside their normal bounds was not controlled by the court. Whether to appoint a supervising eunuch and the extent of their powers were solely decided by the old Emperor.

This created a very unique situation where some supervisory posts, like the previous garrison eunuch of Chongshan Pass, Lv Hua, were virtually nominal. He did not usually reside at Chongshan Pass and naturally didn’t meddle in its affairs.

But the authority of some supervising eunuchs could rival that of the governor and the General, and they could even command some troops.

This posed a big problem. With a governor already above the General, having an additional supervising eunuch meant how much military authority could a General retain?

In case of a battle, whose orders should the soldiers follow?

Hence, border town commanders really disliked supervising eunuchs.

Likewise, Yang Zhenshan was no fan of supervising eunuchs.

Especially since this supervising eunuch was sent by the Crown Prince!

However, he couldn’t prevent the supervising eunuch’s arrival; he could only wait and see once the eunuch arrived.

After discussing official business, Pang Tang and Dr. Cui went to rest. The next morning, they left the camp early and returned to Tenglong Guard.

Pang Tang had to oversee the provisions matter and would also mobilize civilians to ensure the logistics support for Yang Zhenshan, so he couldn’t stay in the camp.

However, he planned to first learn about the situation of Tenglong Guard and see what Tenglong Guard currently needed, so he intended to stay there for two days.

As for Dr. Cui, after traveling exhaustively and overtired, and since the camp was not a suitable place for rest, he also went back to Tenglong Guard for rest.

As soon as Yang Zhenshan received the official seal and flag, he immediately issued over a dozen orders.

He first commanded Tang Feihu and Niu Zhuang to lead the Rescue Camp to join him. Secondly, he ordered various city garrisons and garrisons to firmly hold their positions.

The forces of the garrisons and guard stations were too scattered, making it difficult to integrate them in a short period of time, so Yang Zhenshan had to give up on them.

In contrast, the Rescue Camp under Tang Feihu and Niu Zhuang had a complete establishment. As soon as they arrived, Yang Zhenshan’s military strength would immediately increase more than twice.

Tenglong Guard.

Pang Tang and Dr. Cui returned again, with Han Fei responsible for receiving them. He arranged the best courtyard in the government office for them, appointed the best chef, and arranged over a dozen servants to attend to them.

Pang Tang, needless to say, was going to be Yang Zhenshan’s immediate superior, so he naturally needed to be well taken care of.

Although Dr. Cui’s position wasn’t high, he was the doctor of the Military Selection Department in the Ministry of War. No one in Tenglong Guard dared to treat him with disrespect.

At this time, with Yang Zhenshan leading troops outside, all affairs in the government office were handled by Han Fei, Zhou Ren, and Lu Wenhua.

Shortly after Pang Tang and Dr. Cui returned to the garrison city, a cavalry of over three thousand rode swiftly along the official road from the west. Among them, more than a thousand in the front were Iron Armor Cavalry, and the two thousand following were light cavalry in leather armor.

This troop of three thousand cavalry carried no flags and were merely hastening on their way.

Along the way, many military households showed a look of surprise, but they didn’t suspect anything; they just thought these cavalry were transferred from other areas.

However, just because ordinary military households don’t suspect doesn’t mean others don’t.

After the cavalry passed, several officers from the thousand households office frowned upon hearing the news.

No flag?

That’s obviously not normal!

Even if they were cavalry from other places, they should have a flag!

Moreover, other than the Tenglong Guard, where else in the Liaodong Region could such a large number of cavalry come from?

It can’t possibly be from the Capital City!

The Deputy Thousand Households at the garrison, feeling suspicious, dispatched people to Guard City to investigate.

If there are no issues, then all is well; if there are, they can provide timely support.

However, before their men could catch up with the cavalry, the troops had already reached Guard City.

As the three thousand cavalry approached Guard City, their speed increased, their hoofbeats thundering like muffled thunder, and dust swirling like a huge dark cloud rolling.

At the Western City Gate, the soldiers guarding the gate turned pale at the sight.

”Quick, close the city gate!”

The flag officer guarding the gate, without any hesitation, led the soldiers to close the city gate immediately.

Such aggressive cavalry were obviously not allies!

If they were allies, they wouldn’t gallop towards us, as this could easily lead to misunderstandings.

With the city gate closed, the walls echoed with calls, and in a moment, the sounds spread throughout Guard City, turning the quiet city into a noisy one.

A large number of soldiers went up to the battlements, and the Guardian Department was informed quickly.

Upon receiving the report, Han Fei’s expression turned solemn, and he urgently instructed his soldiers: ”I’ll go to the city wall first, you go and inform the eldest immediately!”

The eldest he referred to was Yang Mingcheng.

Although Yang Mingcheng held no official position, as the eldest son of the Yang family, with Yang Zhenshan, Yang Mingzhi, and Yang Minghao not in the city, Han Fei had no choice but to rely on Yang Mingcheng.

Moreover, the most powerful force in Guard City at the moment wasn’t the thousand resident soldiers, but the Yang family.

Han Fei gave his orders and rushed towards the Western City Gate.

The soldier also hurriedly ran to the Yang Mansion.

However, before he could enter, Yang Mingcheng came out from the main entrance of the Yang Mansion.

”The young one greets the eldest, sir, Mr. Han has requested your presence at the Western City Gate!” the soldier hurriedly reported.

Yang Mingcheng nodded calmly and said, ”Wait a moment for me!”

Saying this, he turned back into the mansion, knowing that if Han Fei had sent someone, it could mean that enemies were approaching; if it were mere official business, Han Fei would not have requested his presence.

Back in the mansion, Yang Mingcheng quickly gathered a number of guards, armed them, and prepared to check the situation on the city walls.

”What has happened, Mingcheng?”

At that moment, Yu Qingyi arrived in the front yard and asked Yang Mingcheng.

Yang Mingcheng replied, ”Mother, it might be an enemy attack. I’ll go and check!”

Yu Qingyi then said, ”That’s good, I’ll come and take a look too!”

”Nanny Song, you stay back and take care of Ming Zhao! Red Cloud and I will go and have a look!”

Nanny Song nodded and handed Yu Qingyi her long sword, ”Madam, your sword!”

”Okay!”

Yu Qingyi took the sword and immediately led Yang Mingcheng and a group of guards out of the mansion.

When they arrived at the Western City Gate, the cavalry outside had already stopped, and many were scouting around Guard City.

”This officer greets the lady and the eldest!” Seeing Yu Qingyi and Yang Mingcheng arrive, Han Fei instantly felt relieved.

Yu Qingyi gazed at the cavalry outside the city and asked, ”Where did these cavalry come from?”

”They came from the west, and they have not come to negotiate with us, so they are likely enemies!” Han Fei replied.

Yu Qingyi calmly watched the cavalry and continued to ask, ”How many cavalry are there?”

”There should be around three thousand!” Han Fei replied.

”Three thousand!” Yu Qingyi turned to Yang Mingcheng and said, ”Mingcheng, go back and distribute weapons to the servants and maids in the mansion, have them prepare for battle!”

The Yang family had a rule that all servants and maids must practice martial arts, even the older ones must participate in training. Even if they couldn’t become martial artists, it would still strengthen their bodies.

Now, more than three hundred servants and maids lived in the Yang Mansion, half of them were martial artists, including Postnatal Martial Artists.

Indeed, many of the Yang family’s servants were Postnatal Martial Artists; such was the luxury of the Yang family.

Being close to water gives you first access to the moon; the servants of the Yang family drank as much Spiritual Spring Water as the Five Army Camps.

Yang Zhenshan had set up the Five Army Camps less than five years ago, but many of the Yang family’s servants had been living there for over a decade.

Living in the Yang family for over a decade, if one’s cultivation had not reached the Postnatal Third Layer, it could only be attributed to ordinary talent.