Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 176: Chapter 172 Change of Impression

The next morning.

Xie Yuan went into the city to accompany Xu Jin on the inspection of farmland cultivation.

In fact, Xie Yuan did not want to accompany Lord Xu, as he still had a lot of work to handle. The spring planting season was entering its final stages, and he needed to prepare for the soldiers’ training, the repair of garrisons, and the construction of pigsties, sheep pens, horse stables, and so forth.

Additionally, he needed to liaise with the Shopkeeper of Jinxiu Workshop, selecting suitable girls to enter the Embroidery Workshop for training.

The plans made by Yang Zhenshan were all to be implemented by him, so he was indeed very busy.

However, accompanying Xu Jin on the inspection was also an order from Yang Zhenshan, and he could not refuse.

After dozens of people left the city, Xie Yuan rode up to the side of the carriage and asked, “Lord Xu, where shall we go first?”

Since he was accompanying Xu Jin, today’s itinerary naturally had to be decided by Xu Jin.

From inside the carriage, Xu Jin maintained a solemn face and said in a deep voice, “Dongyan Pile!”

“Dongyan Pile!” Xie Yuan was startled, “Lord Xu, isn’t Dongyan Pile too far? Perhaps we should choose somewhere closer to look into!”

Dongyan Pile is a Fire Road Pile on the eastern side under the jurisdiction of An Yuan City, over a hundred miles away. If one were to ride a fast horse, they could manage a round trip in one day, but if traveling by carriage, they should barely manage a round trip as well.

Xie Yuan felt that Xu Jin did not need to endure this hardship, traveling over a hundred miles non-stop by carriage, which could scatter one’s bones.

But Xu Jin did not think so; he believed that if he was to inspect, then he should check the places most likely to be overlooked. Dongyan Pile, being the farthest from An Yuan City and just a small Fire Road Pile, was easy to overlook.

“No need, let’s go to the Fire Road Pile!” Xu Jin unceremoniously rejected Xie Yuan’s kindness.

Xie Yuan’s expression shifted slightly, he glanced at the closed curtains of the carriage and said, “Since Lord Xu insists on going, then let us proceed!”

After saying that, he stopped paying further attention to Xu Jin and led his horse to the front of the group.

This old man was clearly here to find faults, why should he make it difficult for himself.

Want to see? Just see. Want to inspect? Just inspect.

Is it just Dongyan Pile?

That place really isn’t afraid of inspection!

Other than the official roads in Chongshan Town, the other roads were mostly rugged and bumpy; one can imagine the sensation of riding in a carriage on such roads.

Never mind a carriage, even a car placed here couldn’t exceed a speed of twenty miles per hour.

Because Xu Jin was traveling by carriage, it took them over two hours to finally reach Dongyan Pile.

When Xu Jin disembarked from the carriage, he almost didn’t stand firmly and almost fell to the ground; fortunately, his attendant supported him, otherwise he would have definitely sat squarely on the ground.

However, he did not feel embarrassed; after steadying himself, he began to survey his surroundings.

The small Fire Road Pile looked very dilapidated, with the grey clay-built external wall partially collapsed, and through the front gate, one could see the decaying mud-brick houses inside.

Dilapidated, was his first impression.

He slightly furrowed his brows then took a look at the surrounding cultivated fields.

The fields were clearly cultivated.

He took faltering steps to the edge of a field and started digging with his hands.

He wanted to see if grains had indeed been planted, or if the field had merely been plowed randomly.

Seeing this, Xie Yuan’s lips twitched slightly; this Lord Xu was really meticulous.

Truth be told, this was the first time he had encountered, or rather heard, of such a meticulous Military Equipment Department Deputy Magistrate.

Previous Deputy Magistrates also inspected the cultivated fields, but those inspections seemed more perfunctory; usually, they would eat a big meal at Shaling Castle and then declare the inspection complete.

Like Xu Jin, who traveled so far and personally dug up the soil to confirm, Xie Yuan had never heard of such a thing.

Indeed, Xu Jin was a very meticulous person, but this meticulousness was driven by necessity.

When he first came to Chongshan Town to inspect farmland, he also saw well-cultivated fields, and was very satisfied with that inspection, thinking that the garrison commander had done very well.

Yet, a few months later, passing by the same fields he had inspected, he was shocked to find that the fields had been abandoned; there wasn’t a single wheat sprout, only lush weeds.

At first, he thought he had remembered incorrectly, but after investigating, he confirmed that those abandoned fields were indeed the ones he had previously inspected.

That garrison had turned over the soil overnight just to cope with his inspection, giving the appearance that wheat had been planted.

To make matters worse, they still didn’t sow any seeds afterward, leading to the abandonment of dozens of acres of cultivated land.

Burned once, wise forever.

Since then, every time he conducted an inspection, he had to personally see the seeds in the soil to be reassured.

As Xu Jin was squatting by the edge of the field digging up soil, three soldiers wearing tattered battle coats ran out from Dongyan Pile.

They approached Xie Yuan and the others, looking very nervous. One of the older soldiers tremblingly bowed and said, “This humble one greets the lords!”

“Uh, no need for formalities, don’t be nervous. I am Xie Yuan, An Yuan State’s garrison officer!”

“Greetings, Mr. Xie!” The three soldiers bowed again.

At this moment, Xu Jin had also dug up some grains, and only then did he slowly stand up.

“Are you the small flag officer?” Xu Jin asked the older soldier.

“This… I am not?”

“Where is your small flag officer?” Xu Jin’s brow furrowed slightly.

The man stumbled over his words, “Lord, two days ago Master Yang came and executed our small flag officer!”

“Master Yang!”

Xu Jin was startled.

Xie Yuan explained from the side: “A few days ago, Master Yang inspected all the Fire Road Piles and signal towers. The flag officer of Dongyan Pile was executed by Master Yang in a rage for selling off the grain seeds!”

This incident was known to him, not through Yang Zhenshan, but reported by the garrison commander below him.

Not just the flag officer here, even the garrison commander above him was reprimanded by Yang Zhenshan and received ten military canings.

Because of this, the garrison commander had arranged for a new batch of grain seeds to be sent to Dongyan Pile overnight.

Xu Jin fell silent, truly not expecting that Yang Zhenshan had previously conducted an inspection or rather, he did not expect Yang Zhenshan to inspect the Fire Road Piles and signal towers.

He had previously harbored some dislike for Yang Zhenshan, feeling that Yang Zhenshan was arrogant and inactive.

Now he realized he was wrong.

“Hasn’t a new flag officer been appointed?” Xu Jin inquired again.

“There probably hasn’t been,” Xie Yuan frowned, “Although I manage all the garrisons, Fire Road Piles, and signal towers, I can’t possibly oversee each and every Fire Road Pile myself.

Naturally, such matters are handled by the garrison commanders below; there’s no need for me to manage personally.”

Xu Jin didn’t pay much attention to this matter; he was just asking casually.

“I’m going to take a look around!”

After saying this, he went towards the military households who were working in the fields, checked the grain seeds, and nodded in satisfaction upon finding none were moldy or rotten.

Over the next two days, Xu Jin conducted inspections of the Fire Road Piles with Xie Yuan daily. Unlike Yang Zhenshan, who had inspected every Fire Road Pile and signal tower, Xu Jin only checked those that were more likely to be overlooked.

His findings were similar to those of Yang Zhenshan—the Fire Road Piles and signal towers had many issues, but these were long-standing problems that couldn’t be blamed on Yang Zhenshan.

Moreover, he learned about the plans Yang Zhenshan had made from Xie Yuan and realized that Yang Zhenshan wasn’t the type of official who held a position without fulfilling his responsibilities.

Thus, his impression of Yang Zhenshan improved considerably.

After the inspection, Xu Jin visited the garrison office again to find Yang Zhenshan.

However, this time, his attitude towards Yang Zhenshan was different.

“Master Yang, do you have any issues here that need my coordination?”

After they were seated, Xu Jin initiated the question.

Yang Zhenshan’s eyes brightened, this Lord Xu doesn’t seem so disagreeable after all.

“Hehe, there are no other issues, but there is indeed a great shortage of provisions here!”

“Lord Xu might not know, but I am preparing to train the troops and refurbish the garrison, which will require a lot of money!”

He wasn’t just crying poor; he genuinely was short of funds.

The provisions he had demanded from Songzhou Guard last year had already been completely used up, and although Wang Sheng’s recent shipment still had quite a bit left, those provisions were meant for the garrison to distribute as military rations and could not be easily used.

Initially, he thought about demanding more provisions from Songzhou Guard, but now there was no commander there, and he didn’t know whom to approach for provisions.

Despite being a Deputy Magistrate at Songzhou Guard, he really couldn’t decide on this matter.

Now that Xu Jin had brought it up himself, he naturally could not let this opportunity slip by.

The Military Equipment Department was also in charge of money and provisions, and even though the Inspection Department had no provisions, the Military Equipment Department could directly demand provisions from the Governor’s Office.

If Xu Jin was willing, he could possibly arrange some provisions from Chongshan Pass for Yang Zhenshan.

Yang Zhenshan didn’t know if Xu Jin had the capability, but there was no harm in trying.

Xu Jin thought for a bit and said, “I can try, but there probably won’t be much.”

He himself wasn’t sure and could only give it a try.

“Then, I really must trouble Lord Xu!” Yang Zhenshan instantly brightened, “Just in time, Lord Xu, my residence has just bought a fat sheep today. Don’t leave at noon; let me accompany you for a good drink!”

One mustn’t neglect to offer a meal when someone is willing to help!

“Let’s skip it! I still have official duties to attend to,” Xu Jin refused without a second thought.

“It’s just a meal; it won’t take too long!”

Yang Zhenshan enthusiastically led Xu Jin to a restaurant next door.

How could someone as elderly as Xu Jin resist being pulled by Yang Zhenshan? With just one hand, Yang Zhenshan pulled him into the restaurant next door.

Calling it a restaurant was an exaggeration; it was actually a small hall with an eight-person table and a tea table, used by Yang Zhenshan to entertain guests.

Since he didn’t have many visitors, this small hall was rarely used.

Xu Jin had no choice but to stay since he couldn’t decline effectively, and awaited Yang Zhenshan’s arrangements.

Soon, drinks and dishes were served, and under Yang Zhenshan’s enthusiastic hospitality, they began toasting and drinking, creating a very harmonious atmosphere.

It’s true that a dining table can close distances between people. After a few drinks, the two began referring to each other as brothers.

Of course, this was conditional.

By now, Xu Jin had a much better impression of Yang Zhenshan and was willing to forge a good relationship with him.

And Yang Zhenshan also thought this elderly man wasn’t bad. Although Xu Jin seemed difficult to deal with on the surface, he was actually a serious and responsible person.

Officials like Xu Jin were rather rare in Chongshan Town.

Compared to those corrupt officials, Yang Zhenshan preferred contact with officials like Xu Jin.

Birds of a feather flock together.

Yang Zhenshan wanted to be a good official, so he also sought to associate with good officials.

Under such premises, their interaction was very harmonious.

If Yang Zhenshan had invited Xu Jin for a meal at the very beginning, Xu Jin certainly wouldn’t have agreed, and even being forcefully dragged wouldn’t have changed his mind.