Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 820: Chapter 613: Court Turmoil (Part 2)

Therefore, appointing the Minister of War to oversee the military affairs of the three towns is very appropriate.

“Granted!”

“Appoint the Minister of War, Du Hesheng, as the Right Imperial Censor of the Imperial Examination Hall, grant him the King’s banner, and make him the overall leader of military and political affairs in Longyuan, Longxi, and Longnan, as well as the governor of the troops in Beiyuan Town, Longbei Town, and Suzhou Town!”

“I obey the order!” Du Hesheng stepped forward with a joyful expression to receive the order.

Chen Zhaojun pondered for a moment, then said, “Transfer Lu Wenquan, the Governor of Liao Yuan, as the Minister of War, to oversee the Ministry of War, and promote Lin Zhan, the Magistrate of Ningyuan, to Assistant Governor of Liao Yuan!”

He finally decided to utilize the good ministers left by Emperor Yanping for him, but he only transferred Lu Wenquan to the Capital City and did not summon Lin Zhan.

The most speechless thing was letting Lu Wenquan serve as the Minister of War. Lu Wenquan was capable, but he had neither commanded an army nor been on the battlefield; he hadn’t even served as a governor in a border town.

Moreover, it was Lu Wenquan himself entering the Capital City. Given the current situation at the court, Lu Wenquan alone might not be able to hold support.

Perhaps Chen Zhaojun thought too highly of Lu Wenquan, believing that Lu Wenquan could solve the current court situation.

…

The unrest caused by Chen Zhaoxuan’s death went far beyond this; entering mid-June, Zhou Lan in Yijun Prefecture received simultaneous reprimands from the Cabinet, Ministry of War, and Governor’s Mansion for her hesitation and procrastination, expressing severe dissatisfaction.

At the same time, the governor of the three towns and three provinces, Du Hesheng, had not yet reached Longyuan but had already ordered Zhou Lan to lead the army southward to encircle and suppress the bandits.

However, Zhou Lan had just settled 300,000 refugees in Longyang Prefecture and Yijun Prefecture, and her soldiers were helping these refugees dig wells or dredge irrigation channels.

If they left now, aside from whether these 300,000 refugees could grow crops, what would happen if bandits entered Longyang Prefecture and Yijun Prefecture again once the army left?

If bandits re-entered these two prefectures, those refugees definitely would not be able to farm peacefully and might be forced to leave again by the bandits.

In this way, Zhou Lan’s efforts of three and a half months would be in vain, and the grains transferred from Beiyuan Town and Chongshan Town would all be wasted.

If the refugee issue is not fundamentally solved, providing more grains to refugees is just futile.

Only by settling the refugees and having them grow crops will these 300,000 refugees be able to live peacefully.

Moreover, this year, the heavens above Longyang Prefecture and Yijun Prefecture were rather kind, as it rained several times with moderate rainfall within two months, which, although not entirely resolving the drought, greatly alleviated it.

Such a rare opportunity, Zhou Lan naturally did not want to miss it.

Even during this short time, she was not idle; although she hadn’t gone to encircle and suppress the bandits, she was continually gathering refugees.

Currently, the refugees from several counties in the south had been settled in Yijun Prefecture.

But at this time, faced with reprimands and orders from various departments of the court and the governor, Zhou Lan felt at a loss.

Suddenly, she seemed to have become the target of public criticism.

In the study of the government office in Yijun Prefecture.

Zhou Lan sat in front of the desk, looking at the documents and orders in her hands, with an increasingly unsightly expression.

The hair on her temples had already turned white at some point, and deep wrinkles had appeared at the corners of her eyes.

Time is like a knife, leaving deep marks on her face.

“General, should we deploy troops?” Wang Yunqiao stood behind Zhou Lan, looking at the order from the governor, and asked softly.

“How do we deploy troops? Do we even have soldiers to use now?” Zhou Lan asked.

Wang Yunqiao said, “But if we don’t deploy troops, will it not cause dissatisfaction with the governor?”

Zhou Lan took a deep breath; she wanted to deploy troops, but she truly had no soldiers available. Now, the soldiers were busy settling the refugees and couldn’t spare any troops to continue encircling and suppressing the bandits.

Moreover, the grain in her hands was also insufficient.

As always, she not only wanted to eliminate those bandits but also to settle the refugees.

“Send a document to the governor, asking him to allocate money and grain to us; without them, how can we deploy troops!” Zhou Lan said coldly.

It had been over three months, and the court hadn’t given her a penny or grain.

They just demanded her to suppress the bandits without providing funds or grain; wasn’t this nonsense?

“I fear this may anger the governor!” Wang Yunqiao voiced some concern.

“Let it anger him; what more can he do to me?” Zhou Lan was fearless.

Wang Yunqiao nodded, “Alright, I’ll arrange for someone to ask the governor for provisions and forage!”

Zhou Lan, however, suddenly said, “Wait, also send someone to inquire about the Prince Dai’s matter!”

Wang Yunqiao replied blandly, “Understood!”

Speaking of which, Chen Zhaoxuan was also Wang Yunqiao’s junior apprentice, yet she didn’t have much affection for him as she had never met Chen Zhaoxuan.

Rather than worrying about Chen Zhaoxuan’s life or death, Wang Yunqiao was more concerned about whether Yang Zhenshan would be saddened upon hearing this.

However, her worry only lasted for a short while, as she had many tasks at hand and didn’t have time for other matters.

…

In Chongshan Town, Yang Chengye also received the news of Chen Zhaoxuan’s death in battle.

Compared to Wang Yunqiao, Yang Chengye was much more familiar with Chen Zhaoxuan.

When the two were still in the Capital City, they often went together to the Yang family’s Guard Camp for training.

Suddenly hearing about Chen Zhaoxuan’s death in battle, Yang Chengye felt deeply upset.

“Even Junior Master was killed by the bandits!”

In the Camp, Yang Chengye said sadly.

“Marquis, should we send a message to Old Master!” Yang Dafu asked softly.

Yang Chengye paused for a moment and said, “Send a message, but grandfather is probably not on Star Moon Island.”

After all, Chen Zhaoxuan was Yang Zhenshan’s apprentice, and there was a profound bond between master and apprentice.

Yang Chengye didn’t know how Yang Zhenshan would view this matter, but he felt it would be best not to conceal it.

At this moment, a personal follower rushed into the hall and reported: “Marquis, someone has delivered a visiting card outside the camp!”

“A visiting card!”

Yang Chengye took the visiting card and opened it for a glance.

“Junior Master An? Why is he here?”

The visitor was none other than An Chenhui.

Although he didn’t know An Chenhui’s intentions, Yang Chengye immediately went outside the camp to greet An Chenhui.

“Greetings, Junior Master!”

“Greetings, big brother!”

They exchanged greetings and then smiled at each other.

An Chenhui was Yang Zhenshan’s apprentice, so in terms of seniority, he was naturally Yang Chengye’s junior master.

However, An Chenhui was also Jiang Miao’s husband, so calling Yang Chengye big brother wasn’t unjustified.

The two laughed heartily and then entered the camp together.

“What brings Junior Master here?”

“It was my great-grandfather who sent me!”

“Senior An? Does he have any instructions?”

An Chenhui looked somewhat serious and handed a letter to Yang Chengye, saying, “This is a letter from my great-grandfather!”

“For me?” Yang Chengye asked curiously.

“Yes, for you!”

Yang Chengye, filled with confusion, opened the letter. That An Yuxing would write to him was very perplexing.

However, after reading the letter, his confusion turned to shock.

“Has the situation in the Capital City deteriorated to such an extent?”

An Yuxing’s letter did not have much content, but it clearly stated one matter: the Da Rong Dynasty might face the peril of downfall.

Don’t think that because An Yuxing doesn’t bother with state affairs, he’s unaware of the court’s rights and wrongs; these old fogies know very well in their hearts.

“Alas, I don’t know either, but my great-grandfather’s assumptions are certainly not mere speculation!” An Chenhui said.

Yang Chengye nodded, put away the letter, “Has Miao’er cousin come?”

“They have all come; they are inside the pass city. I came after settling them down!” An Chenhui said.

They came to Chongshan Pass to seek refuge.

Chen Zhaoxuan’s death alerted An Yuxing, so An Yuxing sent An Chenhui’s family to Chongshan Town.

An Yuxing himself wasn’t afraid; even if the Capital City was chaotic, with his abilities, he could easily ensure his safety. But it wasn’t the same for An Chenhui’s family.

Now, An Chenhui had one son and two daughters. An Yuxing valued his grandchildren greatly, fearing the chaos would harm them.

Yang Chengye thought for a while, realizing he couldn’t intervene in court matters, so he could only say, “Let’s go back to the city; Miao’er cousin is here. As her elder brother, I naturally should treat her well!”