Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 959: Chapter 678: Yang Zhenshan Accumulating Influence and Connections

“Grandfather, the Yang family also harbors ambitions to vie for the world!” After reading the two letters, Guo Ziqiao looked up at Guo Ying.

Guo Ying’s face was grave, “Indeed, the Yang family’s intention is quite apparent with their deployment of troops at this moment!”

“What are your thoughts?”

Guo Ying didn’t know much about the Yang family; when Yang Zhenshan was in the Capital City, he was in Yunling Town, so he had never met Yang Zhenshan.

What he knew about the Yang family was mostly hearsay.

Guo Ziqiao clutched the letters, pacing back and forth in the study for a moment, then glanced at Qu Shaogong’s letter.

“Master Yang is not an easy person to deal with!”

He referred to Yang Zhenshan as Master Yang, as many disciples of the Martial Arts Pavilion liked to call him back then.

These disciples of the Martial Arts Pavilion weren’t truly disciples of Yang Zhenshan, but they had a mentor-disciple relationship with him.

Guo Ziqiao himself had been guided by Yang Zhenshan many times back then, so he held great respect for him.

However, the current situation concerned the future of the Guo family, and despite his mentor-disciple bond with Yang Zhenshan, he would not let it influence his decision.

Thus, at this moment, he was considering not the bond with Yang Zhenshan, but the strength of Yang Zhenshan and the Yang family.

“Grandfather, you should also know that all my skills were learned from Master Yang. To be honest, when facing Master Yang, I don’t have any confidence at all!”

Guo Ziqiao shook his head somberly.

His skills not only included his cultivation but also his ability to train soldiers, as well as his understanding and handling of military and political affairs.

The “Thirty-Six Stratagems” and “Training Soldiers Chronicles” written by Yang Zhenshan were thoroughly comprehended by him.

Back then, at the Martial Arts Pavilion, Yang Zhenshan didn’t just guide disciples in their cultivation but also in training soldiers and military strategy.

The methods and approaches Guo Ziqiao used in training soldiers at Yunling Town were inherited from Yang Zhenshan’s methods.

Guo Ying tapped the table lightly, saying calmly, “It’s still too early to talk about these; we won’t encounter the Yang family in the short term!”

“But we shouldn’t underestimate the Qu family. While we won’t run into the Yang family now, we will encounter the Qu family!” Guo Ziqiao said.

The Yang family was still far off in the Capital City, but the Qu family was right before their eyes.

They had already commenced their conquest of Nanyun Province, and once they occupied the entire Nanyun Province, they would inevitably clash with the Qu family.

By then, whether it would be war or peace, a decision must be made.

Guo Ying furrowed his brow, falling into contemplation.

Guo Ziqiao continued, “Grandfather, we definitely cannot agree to Chen Hengchang’s solicitation. Chen Hengchang relies on the Divine Sun Sect, and those cultists are not trustworthy at all.”

Guo Ying nodded.

Guo Ziqiao went on, “The King Da Liang also isn’t worthy of our allegiance. Despite King Da Liang’s current prominence, bandits remain bandits; they are not worthy of our subjugation!”

“Before us only lie two paths: either establish ourselves as sovereigns to vie for the world or join the Qu family in allying with the Yang family!”

“Establishing ourselves as sovereigns highlights our clear flaws; Yunling Town is already on the periphery, making it incredibly difficult to compete for the world, not to mention the various southern foreign forces we need to guard against!”

“Unless we can occupy Bashu, we don’t stand a chance at competing for the world!”

Their current military campaign in Nanyun wasn’t aimed at capturing Nanyun but rather at conquering Bashu.

Judging from population and resources, neither Yunling Town nor Nanyun Province could sustain a power competing for the world; only by occupying Bashu would the Guo family gain the qualification to contend for the world.

However, occupying Bashu would not be easy, aside from the looming Qu family, not to mention Bashu being currently occupied by three factions of rebels, all of which they would need to subdue.

“As for allying with the Yang family!” Guo Ziqiao paused, “The Yang family won’t be as generous as Chen Hengchang, offering us the Duke title and a fief.”

“At most, the Yang family would grant us a Marquis title, similar to before.”

The Yang family has its own foundations, with numerous affiliated families and complex social ties. If the Yang family achieves dominion, naturally their former affiliated families will rise with them.

As for the Guo family, they may only manage to retain their original position and must keep a low profile to avoid being ousted by new powerhouses in court.

Guo Ying nodded in agreement with Guo Ziqiao’s thoughts.

“So how do we choose?”

Guo Ziqiao let out a faint sigh; he also craved striving for dominion, but the Guo family’s flaws were too glaring.

Situated on the periphery, lacking foundation, short on resources, with insufficient population and military force compared to other powers.

The Yang family at Chongshan Town was also on the periphery, but they had deep foundations.

Besides Chongshan Town, the Yang family also had Liaodong, with strong troops and abundant provisions.

More importantly, the Yang family had extensive connections.

Not to mention the Yang family’s in-laws, just those disciples of the Martial Arts Pavilion whom Yang Zhenshan had once guided.

“We essentially have no choice! Only the path of the Yang family!” Guo Ziqiao said, somewhat resigned.

Guo Ying gazed intently at Guo Ziqiao, “Do you lack confidence so much?”

Guo Ziqiao said, “Grandfather, you’re overlooking one point: Master Yang now has disciples all over the world!”

“Not to mention elsewhere, just within our Yunling Town, there are quite a few Military Officers who once benefited from Master Yang’s guidance!”

“It’s fine if we don’t clash with the Yang family, but once we do, it’s hard to ensure they won’t pledge allegiance to the Yang family!”

Yang Zhenshan only headed the Martial Arts Pavilion for a few years, and during the final two years, he seldom visited the pavilion.

Yet the pinnacle years of the Martial Arts Pavilion’s prosperity coincided with those years under Yang Zhenshan’s leadership.

Twenty years have passed, and those former disciples of the Martial Arts Pavilion are now in their forties, the prime of their lives.

That wasn’t just a few, or dozens of disciples, but nearly three thousand disciples.

Perhaps these disciples wouldn’t willingly risk their lives for the Yang family, but they could always defect to the Yang family, or even switch sides in battle.

With the former bonds of master and disciple, those disciples of the Martial Arts Pavilion could defect to the Yang family without any mental burden.

And besides the disciples of the Martial Arts Pavilion who received guidance from Yang Zhenshan, later disciples of the Martial Arts Pavilion could also respectfully call Yang Zhenshan “Master Yang.”

This network and prestige Yang Zhenshan accumulated was the foundation of the Yang family.

Guo Ying was silent for a moment, then said, “Forget it, I’ll wait and see.”

He wasn’t willing to immediately turn to the Yang family, so he planned to observe the changes in the situation. If the Yang family truly had the strength to rule the world, he could defect to the Yang family after they captured the Capital City without delay.

“Are we still advancing to Nanyun Province?”

Guo Ziqiao’s thoughts were similar to Guo Ying’s; he also felt it necessary to wait before deciding. However, the military situation over in Nanyun Province couldn’t be delayed indefinitely; a decision had to be made soon.

Guo Ying pondered, just about to say to continue advancing, when suddenly a report came from outside the door.

“Grandfather, news from Bashu, the Taiping Army broke through Yuzhou Prefecture five days ago, and the Black Tiger King was killed in front of the battle!”

Guo Ying’s expression slightly changed, saying, “Come in!”

The study door was pushed open, and a middle-aged man with a striking resemblance to Guo Ziqiao walked in.

This person was Guo Ying’s eldest grandson, Guo Ziheng, also Guo Ziqiao’s older brother.

“Elder brother!” Guo Ziqiao called out.

Guo Ziheng nodded slightly at him, then continued to speak to Guo Ying, “Grandfather, the Taiping Army has now moved southward, their intention is clear, they wish to continue to eliminate the Nine Heavens King and unify Bashu!”

“Haven’t the Taiping Prince, Black Tiger King, and Nine Heavens King all already defected to Da Liang? Why are they still attacking each other?” Guo Ying asked with a furrowed brow.

Guo Ziheng shook his head slightly, “The specifics are still unclear, but what is certain is that the Taiping Army suddenly attacked the Black Tiger King, and with the Black Tiger King completely unprepared, Yuzhou City was captured!”

Guo Ziqiao pondered for a moment, then said, “It seems that whatever Taiping Prince truly hasn’t sincerely defected to Da Liang, perhaps he’s merely feigning cooperation.”

Guo Ziheng added, “The Nine Heavens King likely isn’t a match for the Taiping Prince; if nothing unexpected occurs, it won’t be long before the Taiping Prince can unify Bashu!”

“Grandfather, should we ally with the Nine Heavens King to resist the Taiping Army?”

Their aim was Bashu, and now the Taiping Army showed signs of unifying Bashu, meaning the Taiping Army was their enemy.

To prevent the Taiping Army from unifying Bashu, allying with the Nine Heavens King became a logical move.

Guo Ying and Guo Ziqiao exchanged a look, both revealing a difficult expression.

Originally the situation they faced was already challenging, now with the Taiping Army showing an inclination to unify Bashu, the situation they faced would be even more difficult.

This made them feel incredibly troubled.

“No need for that, send a message to your father and second uncle, telling them to halt the advances and instead to station themselves locally,” Guo Ying said.

The issue wasn’t whether the Guo family wanted to attack Bashu, but rather whether they could.

The problem with the Taiping Army wasn’t urgent, but the threat from the Qu family was immediate.

If they moved their troops into Bashu, the Qu family could cut off their retreat, and that would be troublesome.

Therefore, Guo Ying ultimately chose to observe and wait.

As long as the Guo family could stabilize Yunling Town, they wouldn’t lose their prosperity, and as for anything else, it was best not to harbor any ambitions.

Under Guo Ying’s decision, Yunling Town’s army had ceased advancing, beginning to retract their defenses and secure their holdings in Tibet and Nanyun.

Meanwhile, in Bashu, Yang Mingzhao led the Taiping Army advancing on all fronts, fiercely attacking his former allies.

The likes of the Black Tiger King and Nine Heavens King were all his targets.

The reason for this was twofold: firstly, while Da Liang was occupied with blocking Chongshan Town’s army from advancing south, they had no time to deal with him; secondly, he needed to unify Bashu before the Sun family of Anxi Town captured Wusi Town.

Otherwise, once the Sun family of Anxi Town captured Wusi Town, his Taiping Army would face the threat from Anxi Town.

Overall, now was the best opportunity for Yang Mingzhao to unify Bashu; if he missed this chance, he might never have another, likely having to wait until Yang Chengye destroyed Da Liang and Chen Hengchang to once more have an opportunity to unify Bashu.

But by then, whether he unified Bashu would no longer hold much significance.

…

At the end of May, Jianxing year six.

The three armies of Chongshan Town crossed the Ru River, the central army crossing the Ru River from Jizhou, heading straight for Shuntian Prefecture, the eastern army advancing south after taking Yongding Prefecture, and the western army entering Shanhe Province’s Bao’an Prefecture from Liaoxi.

The three armies were progressing towards Shuntian Prefecture from the east, west, and north.

Simultaneously, the Beihai Navy had already landed at Jin Hai Guard, which was currently controlled by the Xue family, even though Da Liang had captured the Capital City, they hadn’t initiated an attack on Jin Hai Guard.

Firstly, because they had to contend with Chongshan Town’s forces coming from the north, they didn’t have surplus forces to devote to Jin Hai Guard.

Secondly, because they lacked a navy, Jin Hai Guard’s navy, though not as formidable as the Beihai Navy from Tenglong Guard, was still considered elite compared to Da Rong’s other navies.

Without a navy, they would struggle to annihilate Jin Hai Guard’s navy; at most, they could drive Jin Hai Guard into the ocean, but even if Jin Hai Guard’s navy was driven into the sea, they could always come back to attack.

Moreover, even if Da Liang captured Jin Hai Guard, they wouldn’t be able to prevent the Beihai Navy from Tenglong Guard from landing.

Strategically, attacking Jin Hai Guard held no significance for Da Liang, so from start to finish, Da Liang ignored Jin Hai Guard’s existence.

However, Jin Hai Guard held great strategic significance for Chongshan Town.

Now with Chongshan Town’s army having crossed the Ru River, the Beihai Navy could land at Jin Hai Guard.

Once the Beihai Navy landed, the three armies from the north could form a siege layout against Shuntian Prefecture and the Capital City.