Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 108: Chapter 105: I feel like you’re like an elder to me.

By the time they returned to Yinghe Castle, Yang Zhenshan hadn’t expected Zhou Lan to actually come.

This was Zhou Lan’s first visit to Yinghe Castle since she took office as the Jianning Guard Assistant General.

Entering the study, Zhou Lan was already leisurely sipping tea.

“Your subordinate pays his respects to the General!”

Yang Zhenshan gave a fist-and-palm salute.

“Sit down!” Zhou Lan casually pointed to the seat opposite the tea table, signaling Yang Zhenshan to take a seat.

Yang Zhenshan, not being overly formal, sat down and poured her tea.

“What brings the General here?”

With a faint smile, Zhou Lan said, “I came to see how things are here and to bring the reward silver and the consolation silver!”

She was extremely pleased with Yang Zhenshan.

Having such a subordinate meant she had much less to worry about.

Without going into details, just take the recent incursion by the Northern barbarians; among the many garrisons under her, only Yang Zhenshan’s not only resisted the barbarians’ invasion but also achieved a resounding victory.

People are afraid of comparison.

By comparison, Zhou Lan looked at Yang Zhenshan with eyes as if viewing a rare treasure, which made Yang Zhenshan’s face turn red.

General, with you looking at me like this, I might get the wrong idea.

Although you are beautiful, I have no such ulterior motives toward you.

I am considering looking for a stepmother for my children, but General, you’re truly not suitable!

To say Yang Zhenshan had no thoughts about Zhou Lan at the beginning would be a lie; although Zhou Lan wasn’t a peerless beauty, she was pretty, and also a very decent person.

But after getting to know her more, Yang Zhenshan felt Zhou Lan was not suitable for him—it wasn’t that Zhou Lan wasn’t good, but she was too ambitious.

He wanted to find a stepmother for his children, one who could take care of the household.

A woman who could be like the lady of the house.

He would lead charges in front; he needed someone who could handle household affairs and relieve his worries from behind.

That’s what he wanted.

Obviously, Zhou Lan was not that kind of person.

Asking Zhou Lan to be the domestic lady would be like bringing a tiger back home to raise as a cat.

Thinking of a tiger made Yang Zhenshan shiver unconsciously.

This woman was much scarier than a tiger!

“You’ve done very well!”

Zhou Lan praised.

“It’s all thanks to the General’s support!” said Yang Zhenshan.

Zhou Lan smiled and reached next to her to hand over a wooden box to Yang Zhenshan.

Yang Zhenshan thought it would contain silver notes, but to his surprise, it held “Thirty-Six Stratagems,” which were printed from engraved plates.

“What is this?”

“I had it printed. Every official at Jianning Guard has received one, and I also sent some to Chongshan Pass,” said Zhou Lan.

“Uh!” Yang Zhenshan felt strange, as if he’d published a book?

“A few days ago, Marquis Changping wrote me a letter; would you like to see it?” Zhou Lan said, though she had already handed the letter to Yang Zhenshan.

Yang Zhenshan hesitated before he took it and began to read.

After reading it, he was stunned.

Liang Chu greatly admired “Thirty-Six Stratagems” and mentioned that he had used the strategies from it when dealing with the Hu Clan army.

Indeed, the stratagems Liang Chu used at Chongshan Pass, such as the Empty Fort Strategy and the Deceiving the Heavens to Cross the Sea Strategy, were decisions made after reading “Thirty-Six Stratagems.”

He had previously thought Liang Chu quite capable, but never did he imagine that Liang Chu was actually using strategies from “Thirty-Six Stratagems.”

He himself hadn’t even used the strategies, yet Liang Chu had beaten him to it.

However, Zhou Lan didn’t seem to tell Liang Chu that “Thirty-Six Stratagems” was written by him.

“Marquis Changping wishes to meet you, and if you’re willing, you can see him,” Zhou Lan said.

“Will it cause any trouble?” Yang Zhenshan asked.

“No, it mainly depends on whether you’re willing,” Zhou Lan took a sip of tea and said: “Although Liang Chu is somewhat domineering, he is very competent and values capable people highly. If you can catch his eye, it will benefit you greatly!”

Yang Zhenshan pondered, “But it seems the General is not very happy about it!”

Zhou Lan paused, then looked up at him, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

She did not explain, but simply said, “You can meet him; I don’t mind!”

The way she said it sounded a bit odd.

In fact, Zhou Lan didn’t care whether Liang Chu valued Yang Zhenshan or if Yang Zhenshan sought the support of someone else.

To her, Yang Zhenshan wasn’t just a subordinate, but more like a friend, so she was very relaxed and casual around him.

The reason for her unhappiness was due to herself.

Women, whether on the official field or battlefield, must endure more pressure and criticism than men.

She envied Liang Chu; this had nothing to do with Yang Zhenshan.

Liang Chu had made quite an impression in this battle, but what about her?

Leading her troops for over ten days, fighting at the forefront, yet no one paid attention.

It seemed the only label that got attention was that of the Duke Ning Mansion; regarding everything else, no matter how well she did, no one cared.

She longed for a victorious battle to prove her abilities and surprise those who looked down on her.

Yang Zhenshan, seeing her expression and stroking his beard, couldn’t help but comfort her: “General, just do your best, why worry about what others think?”

Zhou Lan, however, responded in a carefree manner, “I know, haha, if there’s another campaign against the East Sea Hu Clan, Jianning Guard will surely take the lead.”

She was never one to beat around the bush. Although she felt somewhat uncomfortable, she was far from complaining or blaming others.

Yang Zhenshan saw the bright smile on her face and smiled along with her.

“General, with your outstanding talents, you will surely shine brilliantly in the future!”

His praise was not empty; Zhou Lan’s Martial Arts aptitude was far from mediocre. At present, her cultivation had reached the Postnatal Fourth Layer, and in a few years, advancing to the Postnatal Sixth or Seventh Layer would be nothing out of the ordinary.

By then, with another step forward, Zhou Lan could become the Vice General of Chongshan Town or even a General in command of a hundred thousand soldiers—a significant figure throughout Da Rong.

As a woman achieving such feats, Zhou Lan was bound to shine brilliantly.

Zhou Lan looked at him, her smile brightening even further.

“I really enjoy talking with you!”

Yang Zhenshan was taken aback, feeling that something about her comment didn’t quite seem right.

But Zhou Lan’s next words were more to the point, though they nearly caused Yang Zhenshan’s composure to crumble.

“I feel like you’re like an elder to me, haha~~”

“…”

Yang Zhenshan felt utterly numb!

Elder!

Elder!

Oh, how he wanted to cry! What should he do?

In his previous life, he was also twenty-eight, while Zhou Lan was now exactly thirty.

Meaning they were actually of the same age.

Yet, she felt as if he were an elder to her.

Yang Zhenshan managed a forced smile and quickly changed the subject: “Didn’t you say you brought reward silver?”

He was genuinely afraid Zhou Lan might bring up the matter of being an elder again. What would happen if Zhou Lan wanted to establish a sworn kinship with him?

If it were a sworn younger sister, that might be manageable, but if it were a sworn daughter, then, then, then…

Yang Zhenshan shuddered at the thought and realized it would be wise to keep a little distance from Zhou Lan in the future. Heartfelt talks like this should be kept to a minimum.

“Yes! The reward silver is here!” Zhou Lan placed two wooden chests on the tea table.

“The one on top contains the reward silver; the one below is the consolation money!”

Yang Zhenshan opened the chest and saw a thick stack of silver notes.

All in denominations of a hundred taels, there were exactly seventy-two notes.

“So much?”

“Not much at all. In this battle, you reported a total of one thousand one hundred eighty-three enemies killed and captured over a hundred more. You get reward silver amounting to seven hundred and eighteen taels—I’ve rounded up the amount for you.”

“However,” Zhou Lan’s tone shifted as she continued, “I’m afraid it wouldn’t be appropriate to promote you again this time!”

Yang Zhenshan was not surprised at the prospect of not getting a promotion.

He had only been promoted to the rank of households a year ago, not even a full year’s time had passed.

In fact, his promotion to households last year was already a favor from Zhou Lan.

Another exceptional promotion would probably provoke complaints from others, and could even become an issue taken up in court.

“The reward silver is enough!”

Yang Zhenshan then opened the chest containing the consolation money, which was considerably less.

According to Da Rong’s rules, the family of a common soldier who died in battle was entitled to three years of salary and exempted from three years of taxes.

How much was the salary for soldiers in the garrison?

One tael and two coins a month.

Fourteen taels and four coins a year.

And that was the salary while on duty; if only responsible for cultivating land, there was no salary at all.

Actually, the amount of the salary wasn’t the important part—the key was whether it could be paid in full.

Yang Zhenshan counted the silver notes in the chest; Zhou Lan hadn’t skimmed any off the top. It was all properly accounted for.

Yet he still felt that the consolation money was too little.

Soldiers dying on the battlefield and their families receiving less than fifty taels in consolation money seemed unjust.

Each soldier was the pillar of his family; with his death, their wives and children would lose their most crucial support.

Of course, he would never say this to Zhou Lan.

This was a systemic issue within the entirety of Da Rong, not something Zhou Lan could resolve alone.

After handing over the reward and consolation money to Yang Zhenshan, Zhou Lan took her leave, but before she left, she noticed three little colts Yang Zhenshan had brought back from the stables.

“Where did these colts come from?” Zhou Lan eyed the young horses with curiosity.

She could tell that the three colts were of good stock and wouldn’t take long to become excellent warhorses.

“I’ve built a horse farm, and these are some that I’ve brought from there, to give to the children in my family,” Yang Zhenshan said naturally, revealing the existence of his horse farm without concealment.

He had no need to hide it, as the horse farm was a business he had set up on his own and was officially registered, so there was no fear of scrutiny.

In Da Rong, it was common for officials to set up their own businesses within their jurisdictions. Some of them would purchase land, shops, and residences as their first order of business upon taking office.

For example, hadn’t Zhou Lan bought several properties in the fortified city?

“Do you have more of these colts? Could you sell me a couple? I’d like to send them back to the Capital City as gifts for my nephews!” Zhou Lan wasn’t trying to check on Yang Zhenshan’s finances; she simply thought highly of the colts.

“In a couple of days, I’ll send the General two colts!” Yang Zhenshan generously offered.

A pair of colts was within his means to give away.

He had indeed overlooked this aspect and would have prepared a few horses for Zhou Lan as New Year gifts had he remembered earlier.

Zhou Lan accepted without pretense, receiving Yang Zhenshan’s gift effortlessly.

The presents she had given Yang Zhenshan were not something a few horses could match.