Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 388: Chapter 373 Releasing the Tiger Back to the Mountain

On the other side, Prince Qing was fleeing towards North City, supporting Ji Feiyu amid a crowd of guards.

Ji Feiyu had been severely injured by a spear thrust from Yang Zhenshan, but Prince Qing still had a sense of loyalty and did not abandon him.

”Your Highness, you should go on your own, I’m just a burden now!”

”No, if we’re going, we go together!” Prince Qing carried his arm on his shoulder, frantic and anxious, but still unwilling to give up on him.

”Your Highness!”

”Mr. Zhang will not be able to come back, I do not wish for you to die here as well!” Prince Qing said breathlessly.

He knew that Zhang Yu was no match for Yang Zhenshan; as soon as Zhang Yu had offered to stay behind, he had understood that he had lost a family member who had been by his side for most of his life.

Indeed, in his heart, Zhang Yu was his family.

It was Zhang Yu who took care of him since he was young, it was Zhang Yu who accompanied him through the most difficult times, it was Zhang Yu who had arranged this great strategy for him.

The number of people he truly trusted was small, with Zhang Yu being the most important one, and Ji Feiyu also being one of them.

He had already lost Zhang Yu, and he didn’t want to lose Ji Feiyu as well.

Soon, they arrived at the city’s middle gate. Previously, Lu Chongde had taken down this gate, but now there was no one guarding it—Lu Chongde had not arranged for it to be guarded, as he was leading defected soldiers in a charge south.

As a result, this facilitated the escape for Prince Qing and Ji Feiyu, who, under the protection of several dozen guards, smoothly passed through the middle gate.

Just as they entered North City, Niu Zhuang finally reached the South City Gate.

”Hou Yao, prepare to die!”

Blood-soaked Niu Zhuang lunged directly at Hou Yao.

In reality, Niu Zhuang’s cultivation was also inferior to Hou Yao’s; he was only at the Postnatal Seventh Layer, but with his help, Yang Mingzhi and Yang Mingzhen immediately gained the upper hand, pressuring Hou Yao so much that he couldn’t lift his head.

It was at this moment, with a thunderous boom, the city gate was smashed open!

”Hahaha~~”

”Brothers, charge!”

Song Dashan let out a mad roar.

Dammit, battering down gates is not human work, it took so long just to break through two gates, and Song Dashan felt extremely frustrated in his heart.

Nobody knew how much he wanted to burst into the city and wreak havoc, but those two gates were just too sturdy.

Now that they had finally smashed open two gates, Song Dashan released the frustration that had been pent up inside him.

After his roar, his eyes immediately found Hou Yao.

”Get out of the way, you!”

He cleaved through an enemy in front of him, charging at Hou Yao like a mad bull.

Hou Yao, already being pressured by the three Yang family members, had no time to react before Song Dashan beheaded him with a slash.

”Song Dashan!”

Yang Mingzhi, Yang Mingzhen, and Niu Zhuang looked at Song Dashan with annoyance.

This guy stole their kill!

However, Song Dashan didn’t care one bit about their annoyance, and with a grin, he said, ”Brothers, charge!”

Then, he continued to wield his long blade, slaying the surrounding enemies.

”What are you waiting for?” Luo Feiyu followed Song Dashan through the city gate, seeing the three Yangs standing still, he quickly shouted.

While shouting, he swung two octagonal hammers, and any enemy near him, if touched by the hammers, would undoubtedly have their skin split open and bones crushed.

”Kill!”

A large number of Tenglong Guard soldiers poured into the city through the gate, tipping the scales of victory completely.

On the other side, after some time of combat, Zhang Yu finally ran out of strength. Yang Zhenshan launched a piercing strike, stabbing through his shoulder.

Looking at Zhang Yu kneeling on the ground, Yang Zhenshan’s eyes flickered.

”What a pity!”

”A pity for what?”

Zhang Yu gripped the spear shaft with both hands, raising his head to look at Yang Zhenshan’s towering figure.

At this moment, his face was pale, no longer the rosiness of before, and even his wrinkles seemed to deepen a few folds.

”If you had not died, perhaps there was a chance for you to become an Innate Martial Artist!” Yang Zhenshan said with some regret.

Half-step Innate experts are truly rare, even the entire Da Rong couldn’t find many.

Each half-step Innate Martial Artist in Da Rong was a formidable force to be reckoned with.

As for Innate Martial Artists, most of them have already detached themselves from the mundane world, and it’s rare for Innate Martial Artists to make public appearances.

The reason is simple, once cultivation reaches the Innate Realm, the mundane world no longer has anything they need. Apart from a few who are fond of money, power, and pleasures, most Innate Martial Artists tend to stay away from the mundane world and find a place to cultivate in peace.

The second reason is due to the imperial power and the court. The imperial power reigns over martial artists, and naturally, it cannot tolerate Innate Martial Artists wielding power and fortune in the mundane world, thus forcing Innate Martial Artists to make a choice.

Either leave Da Rong, serve the court, or live in seclusion among the mountains and wild, carefree as clouds and cranes.

As for whether Innate Martial Artists will challenge the royal authority, there have been many ambitious Innate Martial Artists in history who wanted to challenge it, but the vast majority have failed.

Because whoever wins the hearts of the people wins the world.

This ”hearts of the people” includes all of the common people, as well as nobles, officials, Martial Arts Families, and Jianghu Sects, etc.

It is naturally impossible to challenge the entire world with the power of one person alone.

Although Zhang Yu is already over sixty years old, he still has the opportunity to break through to the Innate Realm in the future, even though his body has begun to decline, he still has a chance.

The breakthrough from Half-step Innate to the Innate Realm requires the accumulation of Innate True Qi and control over it.

The former requires time to accumulate, and Zhang Yu has accumulated enough.

The latter, however, requires insight and an opportunity, and generally speaking, most Innate Martial Artists are stopped right outside the threshold of the Innate Realm by the latter.

What Zhang Yu lacks to reach the Innate Realm is just some insight and one opportunity.

”Yes, our family no longer has a chance!” Zhang Yu’s eyes dropped, and he said with a faint expression.

Yang Zhenshan pulled out his long spear and then placed a hand on his shoulder, ”That’s why I’m just expressing my feelings!”

Crack!

He completely crushed Zhang Yu’s shoulder blade!

Although it was somewhat regrettable, Yang Zhenshan did not have any intention of showing mercy.

This old eunuch was very difficult to deal with, and it was not easy for him to take him down, so naturally, he could not give him another chance.

After crushing Zhang Yu’s shoulder blade, Yang Zhenshan picked him up like one would lift a small chicken, and then headed towards the North City.

When he arrived at the northern city wall of Chongshan Pass, he saw Prince Qing and his entourage riding away.

The distance wasn’t far, only about two or three miles. If he pursued them now, he should be able to catch up with them.

Yang Zhenshan looked at their figures, hesitated for a moment, but then decided to give up the chase.

Letting the tiger back into the mountain!

That’s one way to put it!

However, this ”tiger” was not released by Yang Zhenshan for himself, but for Da Rong.

Emperor Chengping was seriously ill, the Crown Prince was overseeing the nation, and the court was full of endless infighting, with no one able to predict what the situation would evolve into next.

This made Yang Zhenshan feel somewhat uneasy.

If the situation developed in the most unfavorable direction for him, then he would have to make some arrangements in advance.

Letting go of Prince Qing could not be considered his arrangement, but only a leftover situation he left behind, which may be harmful to him, but might also become an aid to him in the future.

Releasing a tiger back to the mountain can also be understood as nurturing a threat for oneself.

...

The battle within Chongshan Pass continued until dusk before it barely came to an end.

Although Prince Qing and Ji Feiyu had already fled, the arrival of the troops from Middle Camp, the troops from the front camp, as well as the rescue troops from the north route of Chongshan Town, was still fierce. Almost all of the soldiers from these three camps were staunch loyalists to Ji Feiyu and Hou Yao, and even surrendering meant a certain death for them, so they had to resist to the end.

Near dusk, the fighting in the city gradually subsided, and the city was filled with blood and bodies, turning the entirety of Chongshan Pass into a hellish scene, unbearable to look at directly.

For one general’s success, a thousand bones turned to dust.

Let alone a thousand, weren’t there far more than that now?

The number of participants in the battle from both sides exceeded one hundred thousand, and I’m afraid that the casualties were more than half; even the soldiers of the Tenglong Guard suffered heavy casualties and injuries.

As the sky turned dim, the exhausted soldiers, after a brief rest, began to clean up the battlefield.

Cartloads of bodies were transported out of the city, both enemy and comrades alike, all were taken outside the city.

The stench of blood attracted a large number of wild beasts and birds, which stood at a distance gazing at the piles of corpses as if eyeing a table full of delicacies.

No matter how the soldiers tried to drive them away, these birds and beasts could not be dispersed.

Under the deep night sky, Yang Zhenshan arrived at the General Mansion, and under the dim candlelight, he sat within the grand hall, rubbing a token in his hands.

”General!” Yang Ming Hao walked in from outside, ”All the dignitaries in the prison have been settled. Most people are unharmed, but it’s feared that generals like Ji He and a few others are ruined.”

Yang Zhenshan nodded slightly, ”What about the Luo family?”

”I’ve been to see them already; others are fine, but Luo Ren’s wife had a miscarriage in the prison and is very weak from being cold for a long time,” Yang Ming Hao said in a somewhat somber voice.

Luo Ren is Luo Shang’s second son, twenty-seven years old this year, with two sons and a daughter already.

”Later, have someone send over two jars of medicinal wine,” Yang Zhenshan said.

The Yang family and the Luo family are very close, and this time the Luo family has been implicated by the Yang family, otherwise, the General Mansion would not have sealed off the Luo family’s property and arrested all of the Luo family.

However, on the other hand, if it weren’t for the support of the Yang family, the Luo family might still be just a small merchant by now.

”As you command,” Yang Ming Hao replied.

The medicinal wine mentioned by Yang Zhenshan was not Hundred Herbs Brew, but just ordinary alcohol mixed with Spiritual Spring Water.

These drinks were specially prepared by Yang Zhenshan for the soldiers to treat their wounds.

In terms of effectiveness, such alcohol was naturally far inferior to Hundred Herbs Brew, but the quantity of Hundred Herbs Brew was limited and could not possibly be provided to every soldier. Yang Zhenshan could only make do and mix Spiritual Spring Water with regular alcohol for the soldiers to use.

And of such medicinal wine, Yang Zhenshan could have as much as he wanted.