Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 370: Chapter 355: If the Mother Goes to Battle, Can the Daughter-in-law Just Hide at Home?

”Alright, I’ll arrange it now!”

Yang Mingcheng did not hesitate, agreed, and hurried down the city wall.

On his way back to Yang Mansion, Pang Tang and Dr. Cui also received the news and rushed over.

”Subordinate pays respects to Mr. Pang, Mr. Cui!” Han Fei greeted them with a salute when he saw them.

Pang Tang saw Yu Qingyi, slightly startled, and asked, ”Who is this?”

”This is Mrs. Yang!” said Han Fei.

Calling her ’lady’ was no trivial matter; it indicated that Yu Qingyi was a lady of the Second-rank Imperial Decree.

”This humble wife pays her respects to Mr. Pang!” Yu Qingyi bowed in a salute.

She knew of Pang Tang but had never met him before.

Pang Tang frowned and asked, ”Are the enemies outside the city?”

”It appears so! The opposition is of unknown origins and has not communicated with us; they must be the enemy!” said Han Fei.

”Since they are enemies, preparations for battle should be made. Mrs. Yang should return to the Mansion first!” Pang Tang said.

Why would a lady from a household bother herself at this time?

Well, Pang Tang didn’t know that Yu Qingyi possessed cultivation skills; after all, his understanding of Yang Zhenshan wasn’t very deep.

”Mr. Pang need not worry about me; I possess martial skills and may be able to help out here!” Yu Qingyi, undeterred by Pang Tang’s underestimation, merely stated blandly.

Pang Tang was taken aback and looked at Han Fei with surprise.

Han Fei smiled sheepishly and said, ”The lady’s cultivation exceeds that of Mr. Song!”

”Mr. Song? Which Mr. Song?” Pang Tang asked.

”Our Tenglong Guard’s Deputy Commander Song Dashan, Mr. Song!” explained Han Fei.

Pang Tang fell silent.

He also didn’t know much about Song Dashan, but being a Deputy Commander under Yang Zhenshan must mean he wasn’t weak.

And Yu Qingyi’s cultivation was even higher; what strength!

Okay!

Compared to Mrs. Yang, I am the least useful here!

”What are your plans next?” Pang Tang felt a bit awkward and changed the topic.

However, Han Fei once again looked toward Yu Qingyi, and she spoke, ”We should take the initiative, seek out, and annihilate these cavalry!”

”Aren’t there only a thousand soldiers in the city?” Pang Tang had inquired about this at the government office when he arrived.

”Yes, there are only a thousand soldiers in the city,” said Yu Qingyi.

”How can you possibly annihilate these cavalry then! It seems wiser to wait for General Yang to send reinforcements! Have you sent someone to inform General Yang?” Pang Tang said.

”The adversary came too suddenly; we haven’t managed that yet. But rest assured, Mr. Pang, we have people arranged at the garrisons around Guard City; they will send a message to Master Yang!” Han Fei explained.

Pang Tang nodded slightly, but Yu Qingyi spoke again, ”Mr. Pang, it’s only three thousand cavalrymen; my husband will not send reinforcements!”

”Why?” Pang Tang asked with a grave expression.

”Because my husband mentioned before the campaign that unless the enemy exceeds ten thousand, he won’t send reinforcements!” Yu Qingyi explained.

Currently, Liaodong, Liaoxi, and Chongshan Town are all in the midst of war; would Yang Zhenshan leave without any preparations with all his soldiers?

On the surface, it may seem that Tenglong Guard is depleted internally, but in actual fact, Tenglong Guard still possesses significant strength.

Tenglong Guard, including the Tenglong Advanced Guard, has over 22,000 enlisted soldiers from the Five Army Camps, Navy, and ordinary soldiers.

Besides those enlisted, over 13,000 have undergone basic training.

Simply put, Tenglong Guard could still assemble an army of ten thousand, and the quality of these men far surpasses that of the garrison soldiers, and even, not much less than those of the Camp Soldiers of Chongshan Town.

Moreover, don’t forget that Tenglong Advanced Guard’s Navy is still stationed at the docks; they haven’t set sail and are all prepared for battle at the camp and docks.

Thus, before leaving, Yang Zhenshan told Yu Qingyi, Yang Mingcheng, and Han Fei that unless the invading enemies surpass ten thousand, he would not lead troops to reinforce.

Actually, Yang Zhenshan’s main concern was to guard against the Northern barbarians. Although the Northern barbarians are currently in Liaoxi, Liaodong and Liaoxi are merely separated by Changqing Mountain. If the Northern barbarians intended to advance eastward, they could reach Tenglong Guard in a few days.

”This~~” Pang Tang was somewhat worried.

Yu Qingyi smiled faintly, ”Rest assured, Mr. Pang, a mere three thousand cavalrymen are no match for us!”

Pang Tang was somewhat skeptical of her assertion, but he soon realized that he was pretty much unable to intervene in the affairs of Tenglong Guard here.

Even though he is the governor of Liao Yuan and the governor of Chongshan Town, those posts don’t give him authority over Tenglong Guard.

Pang Tang looked towards Dr. Cui, who spread his hands and said, ”Mr. Pang, I’ve always only handled document affairs and know very little about military matters!”

Seeing him say this, Pang Tang decided not to interfere further and said, ”Then, let’s leave the upcoming battle to Mrs. Yang and Mr. Han!”

”Rest assured, Mr. Pang, I will give it my all!” Yu Qingyi said with a faint smile, though she also sighed in relief inwardly.

Her thoughts were very much like Yang Zhenshan’s; she feared Pang Tang might give some pointless commands here.

Although Pang Tang had no authority to take over Tenglong Guard, his rank still mattered, and Yu Qingyi did not wish to offend him.

”Then let’s return and await the good news from Mrs. Yang!” Pang Tang, feeling helpless, could only leave the city wall with Dr. Cui.

On the way, Dr. Cui chuckled and said, ”Mr. Pang need not worry, Mrs. Yang is no ordinary woman!”

”Ah, Dr. Cui knows Mrs. Yang?” Pang Tang curiously asked.

Dr. Cui nodded slightly, ”Mrs. Yang has an Imperial Decree, and the Ministry of War keeps records of it!”

”So, this Mrs. Yang is?”

”Mrs. Yang was originally a worldly lady and used to be the Sect Leader of the Sky Blue Sword Sect. Her cultivation should not be less than the Postnatal Seventh Layer!” Dr. Cui explained.

The Ministry of War records for Qingyi have not been updated for five years since Zhengshan came to Tenglong Guard; by that time, Qingyi already possessed the cultivation level of the Postnatal Seventh Layer.

Mr. Pang suddenly realized, ”No wonder General Yang trusts so implicitly, it turns out Mrs. Yang is a heroine among women!”

As the two walked and talked, they were approaching the Guardian Department office when Mingcheng, along with the Yang family’s servants and maids, headed towards the western city gate.

Over a hundred servants and maids, all dressed in black uniforms, marched in neat formation, presenting a rather impressive sight.

”What’s that?” Pang Tang showed a surprised expression.

”It doesn’t look like soldiers!” Dr. Cui said.

”Gentlemen, that is Master Yang and the Yang family’s servants!” a civil servant explained after glimpsing that group of figures.

”The Yang family’s servants!”

Pang Tang thought for a moment and then nodded slightly.

It is not unusual for gentry families to train their servants to become martial artists.

His family had also trained many martial artists, only far less in number and strength compared to the Yang family.

”I hope they can hold off the enemies outside the city!”

Pang Tang still commented with some concern.

...

On the city walls, Qingyi and others had already reached the southern part of Guard City’s walls, since the cavalry had gone to the camp.

At this moment, there were not many soldiers in the army camp outside the city, only less than two hundred, while next to the camp, the women’s training camp held more than a thousand people.

Qingyi held binoculars, looking in the direction of the camp.

These cavalry seemed intent on occupying the camp.

”They don’t seem in a rush to attack the city!” Qingyi said with slightly knitted brows.

Unlike Qinghua Prefecture City, Guard City was a small town, the walls only a little over ten feet high and the gates not very robust – hardly any siege equipment would be needed to attack.

The enemy had swooped down but had not rushed to attack, which was clearly somewhat illogical.

Mingcheng was also observing the camp outside the city. He saw the soldiers guarding the camp ran towards the women’s training camp, and the women’s training camp allowed the soldiers to enter, then shut the large gates, readying a defensive stance.

Both the camp and the women’s training camp were surrounded by walls, but the walls were relatively low, only about two meters high.

”They are heading towards the women’s training camp!”

Mingcheng commented with some concern.

Qingyi’s expression became serious, ”Prepare to leave the city and engage in battle!”

”Madam, the reinforcements from various households have not yet arrived!” Han Fei said.

”We can’t wait any longer, the children at the women’s training camp are barely trained and cannot hold them off!” Qingyi firmly stated.

There were about three hundred warriors in the current women’s training camp, and aside from them, the rest were all young girls around fourteen or fifteen years old.

Three hundred warriors still had some combat capability, but those young girls had none at all.

Han Fei looked at Mingcheng, who shook his head slightly, grasped his spear, and followed Qingyi down the city wall.

On the streets, both the Yang family’s servants and hundreds of soldiers were ready for battle.

Qingyi got on her horse, and Mingcheng approached, saying, ”Mother, let me go alone!”

Qingyi looked at him tenderly, ”Hehe, don’t worry about me, my cultivation is not much less than your Dad’s!”

Mingcheng hesitated, but finally nodded and mounted his horse as well.

Just then, the sound of horse hooves, ’da da da,’ arose from behind.

Qingyi turned around to see Ms. Wang, the Li family, and Liang family leading their maids towards them.

”Why have you come?”

Qingyi asked.

”Mother is going to battle, how can your daughters-in-law hide at home?” Plump Ms. Wang rode a reddish-brown steed, looking rather, um, somewhat comical.

Even with daily martial arts practice, Ms. Wang’s figure still appeared very plump!

Round and robust!

”Mother, rest assured, we’ve arranged everything for the children!” Mrs. Li said in a steady voice.

”Mother, we are ready!” Mrs. Liang’s voice was the gentlest.

Qingyi looked at them, nodded slightly, ”Be cautious, stay behind me, don’t charge too fast!”

”Yes!”

The three ladies revealed bright smiles.

Mingcheng stood beside them, scratching his head anxiously. It’s one thing for Mother to go to battle, but why are all you women crowding in!

He wanted to persuade, but seeing that Qingyi had already consented, he had to swallow his words of persuasion.

The ringing of the copper gong sounded, and soldiers began gathering on the streets.

”Madam, a thousand soldiers have assembled!” Han Fei rode up to Qingyi’s side, reporting.

”Open the gate, leave the city, and meet the battle!”

Qingyi said in a cold voice.

”Yes!”

”Open the gate!”

Following Han Fei’s command, the city gate slowly opened.

Qingyi took the lead, charging out of the city gate.