Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 104: Chapter 101 Growth, Mindset Change

The Jiala Ezheng outside shouted loudly for a while, and seeing that no one in the garrison responded to him, he scolded the soldiers by his side in irritation. Then, a clear and loud sound of war horns rose.

A large number of infantry soldiers holding Wooden Shields and carrying ladders approached the garrison in lockstep.

The walls of Yinghe Castle were only four meters high; with a foothold, even a strong ordinary person could climb up, and for Martial Artists, they could easily climb up with a little effort. As for Postnatal Martial Artists, they could jump up directly.

Therefore, the enemy simply prepared a few ladders for the attack on the castle.

As to why they didn’t attack from the main gate.

The front of Yinghe Castle had a drawbridge and a moat. At this moment, the drawbridge was pulled up, the main gate was locked, and there were many rocks and logs on the gate tower above the door.

Generally speaking, the main gate is the key defense point of the garrison, and it’s easier to attack the surrounding walls than the main gate.

The shield soldiers slowly moved forward, while the soldiers on the wall were holding their breath, waiting for Yang Zhenshan’s command.

Seeing that the shield soldiers were within fifty paces, Yang Zhenshan spoke indifferently: “Fire arrows!”

The next moment, torrents of arrows flew, thudding on the ground, on Wooden Shields, and of course, a few hit the enemies.

There weren’t many archers inside the garrison. Yang Zhenshan did not train the Cavalry in archery separately; among the infantry, each small flag had only two archers.

Now, there were five hundred infantry soldiers in the garrison, with only a hundred archers.

A hundred archers firing three rounds in unison inflicted dozens of casualties, but it could not stop the approaching enemy.

“Time for you to show your prowess!” Yang Zhenshan turned his head toward Yang Mingwu beside him.

Yang Mingwu grinned and said, “Alright!”

After speaking, he gestured, and a dozen tall and broad-bodied soldiers behind him lifted their Short Spears.

Short Spear throwers!

This was Yang Mingwu’s training; he not only learned Yang Zhenshan’s Short Spear throwing technique himself but also selected twelve soldiers with the best arm strength to practice it within his command.

“Come on, let’s show them what we’re made of!”

Yang Mingwu was excited. These twelve were the fruits of his considerable efforts.

Following his order, the twelve immediately threw their Short Spears.

Bang bang bang~~

Short Spears crashed into Wooden Shields, instantly shattering many. Even if they didn’t break the Wooden Shields, they caused the enemy to lose their grip on them, and once a shield was dropped, they were completely exposed to the archers’ arrows.

Yang Zhenshan saw this and the corners of his mouth tilted slightly.

Short Spear throwing was indeed useful, but it was a bit difficult to train such throwers.

In fact, Yang Zhenshan wanted more bows and crossbows, especially large-scale Crossbows, but such armaments were not something a small defense officer like him could acquire, nor could he afford to use them.

As Yang Mingwu and others made their move, the enemy’s casualties significantly increased. However, they still advanced steadily holding their shields, clearly well-trained soldiers.

Very quickly, they reached the bottom of the city walls. The ladders were placed against the wall, and the real battle had just begun.

“Kill!”

“Charge over, the first to climb gets a hundred taels of reward silver!”

Battle cries rang out, and fierce Arrows crisscrossed in the air, with the clash of swords and spears, and blood spattered, the walls were stained red in a short time.

The walls were too low, and soon many people had climbed up, fighting desperately on the walls.

However, only a minority of the enemy managed to climb up the walls, and they were firmly suppressed by the soldiers.

…

While the two sides were fighting fiercely, within the tower of Chongshan Pass.

“Report, my lord Marquis, there are over a thousand Northern barbarians attacking Linguan Castle! Linguan Castle has lit the signal fire!”

A soldier ran up to Liang Chu and reported with a salute.

Liang Chu who was reviewing military intelligence was taken aback when he heard the news.

“Linguan Castle!”

He turned his head to look at the map next to him.

He remembered the name Linguan Castle; it was the garrison nearest to the pass which was abandoned over a decade ago but was rebuilt last year.

He thought there was no need to rebuild Linguan Castle at that time; instead, he preferred to build a signal tower on a mountain to the west.

“Linguan Castle falls under the Jianning Guard! The younger miss from the Zhou family!”

Liang Chu looked at the position of Linguan Castle on the map and pondered.

It was his decision to assign Zhou Lan as the Jianning Guard Assistant General.

He wasn’t particularly close to the Duke Ning Mansion, nor did he have any enmity with them. As for Zhou Lan, he did not want to keep her at the Camp, nor did he want to offend the Duke Ning Mansion because of her, so after discussing with Zhou Lan, he assigned her to Jianning Guard.

Linguan Castle was under the jurisdiction of Zhou Lan; it was she who had requested to rebuild the garrison.

This he knew.

Now Linguan Castle was besieged, and he hesitated inside whether or not to send troops to reinforce.

After thinking for a moment, he ordered, “Keep an eye on Linguan Castle, and report back to me immediately if there’s any change!”

He had his plans and could not afford to suffer big losses over small ones.

However, he still wanted to see if Linguan Castle could hold against the Hu Clan’s assault.

…

Inside Linguan Castle, the sounds of fighting had become one.

Facing such a garrison, the Jiala Ezheng had no intention of probing at all and directly pressed all of his forces into the attack.

The battle had just begun and quickly escalated into a fierce clash.

The soldiers of Linguan Castle held the high ground of the city walls, and there was no problem in holding off the enemy’s attack for a short time.

However, the fear was that the battle might drag on too long, as there were only four hundred infantry soldiers actually engaged in combat.

Yang Zhenshan did not join in the fighting; he stood on the tower, quietly watching the surrounding skirmish.

“Sir, shouldn’t we also make a move?” Song Dashan stood beside Yang Zhenshan and asked softly.

Yang Zhenshan shook his head slightly, “Wait a bit longer!”

Wait for what?

Song Dashan wanted to ask, but as the words reached his lips, he swallowed them back down.

Wait for what?

Of course, it was to wait for the enemy to commit their Cavalry as well.

The enemy had a force of one thousand five hundred; now, they had already deployed one thousand infantry to attack, leaving five hundred Cavalry watching from afar.

If the attack does not progress, would the enemy let the Cavalry join the assault?

Yang Zhenshan couldn’t guarantee it, but this didn’t prevent him from taking a gamble.

As long as the enemy dared to commit their Cavalry, he was ready to lead his Cavalry in a charge out.

Time slowly passed, the battle becoming increasingly fierce, the casualties increasingly appalling.

Yet within the garrison, soldiers steadfastly defended the walls, managing to repel all enemies who climbed atop them.

Suddenly, Yang Zhenshan’s eyes narrowed sharply.

He saw that Jiala Ezheng on the opposite side was getting angry, scolding loudly.

At this moment, Borja truly felt furious, seething with anger.

A mere garrison and they hadn’t managed to take it after such a long assault; it was utterly shameful.

What’s worse, their losses were substantial.

Failing to take this garrison, he would lose face; but even if he took it amidst heavy casualties, he would still lose face.

Losing face was a minor concern; he feared that upon his return, he would face…

“A bunch of useless trash, Barto, you go up!”

Borja roared angrily.

“My lord, should we wait a bit more?” A Niu Lu named Barto by his side couldn’t help but advise.

“Wait for what? Wait until all our men are dead!” Borja snapped irritably.

This was not a hasty decision made in a fit of rage; he genuinely believed that his cavalry could take the garrison.

Compared to the infantry, their cavalry were the true elite.

If the infantry couldn’t take it, it didn’t mean that dismounted cavalry couldn’t.

In the East Sea Hu Clan, the real warriors were all among the cavalry.

“Go quickly! I want to enter this garrison before night falls!” Borja bellowed.

Barto had no choice but to join his cavalry in the siege.

Yang Zhenshan watched those dismounted cavalrymen and a cold smirk appeared at the corner of his mouth.

“Let’s go, it’s our turn to make a move!”

He turned and walked down toward the tower.

Ding Qiu and Song Dashan closely followed behind, their eyes glowing. At this moment, they understood Yang Zhenshan’s intentions.

They were to charge out with the cavalry and fight!

This would be far more satisfying than fighting atop the walls.

In no time at all, two hundred mounted soldiers gathered in front of the garrison’s gate.

“Open the gate!” Yang Zhenshan commanded in a deep voice.

With a bang, the drawbridge fell, and the heavy wooden gates slowly opened.

“Stick with me, this battle will be to the death!”

“To the death! To the death!”

The neat rallying cries rose, followed by the rapid and continuous sound of galloping hooves.

Yang Zhenshan, at the head, charged out of the garrison.

The gate of Linguan Castle faced south, and the Hu Clan’s army was attacking from the north. Since they lacked ladders, there were no Hu Clan troops south of the garrison, only a few cavalrymen observing the gate.

The moment the gate opened, these cavalrymen realized something was wrong and immediately ran towards the north side of the garrison, but by then, Yang Zhenshan and his men had already charged out.

Yang Zhenshan, exceedingly familiar with Linguan Castle, led the two hundred cavalry along the city wall towards the north.

In the blink of an eye during their swift charge, they had already arrived behind the garrison, at the locus of the siege.

“To the death!”

Spears thrust like dragons, thunderous reverberations filling the air.

Red Cloud neighed loudly, charging into the crowd like an ancient beast, suddenly plunging headlong into the fray.

Red Cloud had long since ceased to be ordinary, now donning a helmet and scale armor, carrying a weight of three hundred pounds. Yet even so, its speed was astonishingly fast. In just the time it took to breathe, it had pulled more than ten yards ahead of the cavalry behind it with Yang Zhenshan on its back.

At this moment, Yang Zhenshan was not just any cavalryman; he was a heavily armored cavalryman, both man and horse solid as iron.

Yang Zhenshan, seated high on horseback, wielded his spear deftly, flipping all nearby enemies aside, while those in front had to first withstand Red Cloud’s charge.

The battleground, already in chaos and carnage, suddenly seemed as if swept by a bulldozer – a mass of enemies toppled over in succession.

Ding Qiu and Song Dashan, following behind Yang Zhenshan, could only chase his silhouette relentlessly.

Compared to Song Dashan, Ding Qiu’s eyes were filled with astonishment and amazement.

Song Dashan was always by Yang Zhenshan’s side and had already witnessed his bravery and ferocity, but this was Ding Qiu’s first time following Yang Zhenshan onto the battlefield.

Moreover, Ding Qiu was a Postnatal Third Layer Martial Artist, his eyesight far sharper than Song Dashan’s.

Song Dashan merely felt Yang Zhenshan was formidable, but Ding Qiu knew that Yang Zhenshan’s cultivation must be above the Postnatal Fifth Layer.

Was Yang Zhenshan actually of the Postnatal Fifth Layer?

Certainly not.

At this moment, Yang Zhenshan’s cultivation was only at the Postnatal Third Layer, a level he had only just broken through half a month ago.

In terms of cultivation alone, he was not as advanced as Ding Qiu, but in terms of strength, three Ding Qius combined were no match for him.

The enhancement to physique from drinking Spiritual Spring Water was gradual and accumulated over time.

Counting the time, Yang Zhenshan had been in this world for a year and a half, and he had consumed Spiritual Spring Water for the same duration.

Ding Qiu could not discern Yang Zhenshan’s exact cultivation level, but he felt that Yang Zhenshan’s strength was comparable to other Postnatal Fifth Layer Martial Artists.

At this moment, Yang Zhenshan was unaware of the surprise in Ding Qiu’s heart, for he was already seeing red with the frenzy of slaughter.

The first time he faced life and death, he needed to steel himself mentally.

The first time he confronted the Northern barbarian cavalry, his heart was filled with apprehension, charging forward blindly on brute strength, only to be chopped down and sent back.

At the Battle of Songyuan River, he experienced for the first time the thrill of a charge, the unrestrained, diehard ardor of battle.

During the Battle at Ying River, he led a cavalry charge for the first time, and in that battle, his only thought was to surge forward, to steamroll across.

Now he had grown accustomed to killing, to the stench of blood, and had even come to relish the thrill of fighting on the battlefield.

Such a sentiment might seem perverse, but that was the reality.

Similar to Yang Zhenshan, Red Cloud had changed as well.

From being just an ordinary warhorse, it had become a fierce beast.

The boost in physical constitution, the increase in strength, transformed its once-docile nature into defiance.

One man, one horse, they pierced through the enemy lines like a razor-sharp sword.

By the time Yang Zhenshan realized there were no more enemies in front of him, he was already drenched in blood.