Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 272: Chapter 263 Departure

On the other side, in the front yard study, Yang Zhenshan was also speaking with Liang Jinyan.

“When will the Marquis return to the capital?”

Liang Jinyan poured tea for Yang Zhenshan and said, “He should be back in the next couple of days. The Marquis Mansion is already prepared; we will return to the capital once we go back!”

Liang Chu indeed should return to the capital. If it were not for waiting for the marriage of Liang Jinyan and Yang Yunxue, they would have already been on their way back to the capital.

“Um!”

Yang Zhenshan picked up the tea and took a sip.

“Your cultivation is still too low!” Yang Zhenshan said.

“Ah!” Liang Jinyan didn’t expect Yang Zhenshan to suddenly bring up his cultivation and said somewhat awkwardly, “Your son-in-law is slow-witted!”

Yang Zhenshan shook his head slightly and then stood up to retrieve a wooden box from the cabinet behind him.

“Take these, cultivate diligently, and don’t disgrace me!”

The wooden box was large, about two feet long, filled with ginseng from the Spiritual Spring Space.

The oldest ginseng in the Spiritual Spring Space was around five to six years old. Although this age might not seem significant, they were irrigated with Spiritual Spring Water, which made them far more effective than ordinary ginseng. More importantly, these ginsengs contained some effects of the Spiritual Spring Water.

Yang Zhenshan could not gift away the Spiritual Spring Water itself, so he chose to give medicinal wine and herbal materials from the Spiritual Spring Space.

“I have prepared thirty jars of medicinal wine for you; ten for the Marquis, ten for your father, and keep the rest for yourself to use with Yunxue!”

“The path of Martial Arts relies on perseverance, but medicinal assistance is also very important!”

“These ginseng and medicinal wines are valuable; do not waste them!”

Yang Zhenshan spoke slowly.

Liang Jinyan took the wooden box, both moved and curious, “Is my wife’s high cultivation because of these?”

Yang Zhenshan smiled and said, “Her talent is indeed good, but without sufficient resources, she too couldn’t have grown!”

Yang Yunxue’s talent is high because she has always been drinking Spiritual Spring Water, but Spiritual Spring Water is also a cultivation resource.

“Your son-in-law thanks father-in-law greatly!”

Liang Jinyan happily accepted the gifts.

Despite being the third son of the Marquis Mansion, he didn’t have access to many resources.

The Marquis Mansion had a heritage of three hundred years, boasting significant wealth and industry. Besides the main family line, there were many side branches, all of which required substantial resources.

And Liang Chu, good at leading soldiers in battle but not at earning money to support a household, he was less capable than even a small merchant.

So, over the years, the Marquis Mansion has been relying on its foundational wealth.

Among Liang Jinyan’s generation, aside from the eldest son of the main family, others didn’t have many resources.

Considering this, the fact that Liang Jinyan became a Martial Artist at sixteen was a sign of great talent.

“Don’t be frugal. Every three months, I will send someone to deliver a batch of medicinal wines to you; just focus on your cultivation!” Yang Zhenshan said generously.

He mainly feared that the lack of resources from the Marquis Mansion would impede Yang Yunxue’s cultivation.

As for the medicinal wine, he truly didn’t lack it now.

If he wished, he could brew over ten large jars a day, ready in a year and a half.

Currently, there were over ten large jars of medicinal wine in the Spiritual Spring Space.

“Your son-in-law will diligently cultivate!”

Liang Jinyan and Yang Yunxue stayed at the Yang family for one night, and they returned to Chongshan Pass the next day.

After their departure, Yang Zhenshan was also set to take up his post at Tenglong Guard.

However, before leaving, Yang Zhenshan still had to arrange some affairs.

Nowadays, the Yang family’s business was not small; horse farms, farms, and shops, most of the Yang family’s business was in An Yuan City. If the Yang family were to move, these estates naturally needed to be managed by someone.

Yang Zhenshan was not concerned about the other businesses, but the horse farm was a problem.

After leaving An Yuan City, he certainly could not frequently add Spiritual Spring Water to the horses, and without the Spiritual Spring Water, the Yang family horse farm would become an ordinary one.

The horse farm at Yinghe Castle was just like that, and now the horse farm in An Yuan City would be the same.

The horse farm at Yinghe Castle still existed, but it could only earn the Yang family a few hundred taels of silver each year. The farm was quite small, capable of holding at most fifty horses, and a small horse required four to five years to grow into an adult.

Thus, the horse farm at Yinghe Castle only sold seven or eight warhorses each year, generating a profit of only two to three hundred taels.

The horse farm in An Yuan City was much larger, capable of housing over five hundred warhorses. If it became an ordinary horse farm, it should be able to earn about three to four thousand taels a year!

Yang Zhenshan thought it over and decided to gift the horse farm at Yinghe Castle to its current defense officer, Yang Chengzhang.

From his name, it could be inferred that Yang Chengzhang was also a descendant of the Yang family.

That horse farm was too small, and it wasn’t worth the effort for the Yang family to manage, better to directly gift it than sell. As for the horses, some mares and foals would be left for Yang Chengzhang, and the rest would be moved to An Yuan City.

This was also a form of support and consideration from an elder to the younger generation.

After arranging the industries in An Yuan City properly, on October 20th, Yang Zhenshan left An Yuan City and headed to Tenglong Guard.

On the day of departure, the Prefect Lin Shoude, and Xu Jin from the Military Equipment Department, along with many officers from the garrison office came to see him off.

Yang Zhenshan regarded Lin Shoude and Xu Jin as friends. The three of them had worked together in An Yuan City for over three years. Although initially, the temperaments of these two gave Yang Zhenshan a headache, after getting to know each other, they seemed to have similar inclinations.

Actually, a couple of days ago, Yang Zhenshan even invited them to his home for a drink, since the Yang family still had so many businesses in An Yuan City that would need their care in the future.

As for the officers from the garrison office, led by Han Cheng, at a glance, one could see there were only a few people.

There was no helping it; Yang Zhenshan had almost emptied the garrison office.

Song Dashan, Yang Mingzhen, Xie Yuan, Wu Chongzhe, Yang Minghao, it can be said that the garrison office’s high-level only had Han Cheng left.

In addition to them, there were Zhou Ren and Lu Wenhua, who were both scribes at the garrison office, and Yang Zhenshan was also taken away by them.

Thus, aside from Han Cheng, the garrison officer of An Yuan City, only a group of garrison commanders and team leaders remained.

Hmm, and also five hundred soldiers!

However, the foundation of An Yuan City’s garrison office remained, and the soldiers from the garrisons outside the city were all trained and nourished by Spiritual Spring Water. Although they were not comparable to the five hundred elite soldiers by Yang Zhenshan’s side, they could still be considered elite troops.

Given some time to Han Cheng, it was believed that he would soon be able to rebuild the elite force of the garrison.

“Gentlemen, please return!”

Yang Zhenshan mounted his horse and saluted everyone.

“Take care, sir!” Han Cheng shouted.

Yang Zhenshan pulled the reins and rode to the front of the procession.

The long convoy stretched for two to three miles, and those who went with Yang Zhenshan to take up the new post totaled over a thousand.

Besides the five hundred soldiers, the Yang family also had a large number of servants and guards.

Moreover, people like Song Dashan, Yang Mingzhen, Xie Yuan, Wu Chongzhe also brought along part of their family members and some servants.

The lengthy procession marched mightily in the southeast direction, and fortunately, they were not in a rush. They traveled enough distance during the day and stopped early to rest at night.

Tenglong Guard was located in the southeast of Qinghua Prefecture, and from An Yuan City to Tenglong Guard, they did not need to pass through Qinghua Prefecture City, but they had to go through Jing’an Prefecture City.

However, it was difficult for so many people to enter the city, especially since Yang Zhenshan brought along five hundred soldiers. Even though he had the orders from the Central Army Commander’s Mansion and Ministry of War, entering the city was still a challenge.

Thus, each time they reached a city, they would find a vacant spot outside the city to spend the night, sending only about a dozen people into the city to buy necessary supplies.

While Yang Zhenshan and his group were heading to Tenglong Guard, inside the Prince Qing’s Mansion in Qinghua Prefecture City, Prince Qing had already received news of Yang Zhenshan’s journey.

Prince Qing was thirty-six this year. He was only seven when Emperor Chengping ascended to the throne.

In the study of King City, Prince Qing wore a purple chengzi garment, his tall and slim figure making him appear exceptionally upright, his bright eyes and arched eyebrows giving him a spirited aura.

At this moment, he stood by the window, looking at the dry leaves drifting in the garden outside.

Behind him stood a muscular man, “Your Highness, it is estimated that in three more days, Yang Zhenshan will arrive at Tenglong Guard!”

“Tenglong Guard!” Prince Qing murmured softly, his eyes still fixated on the leaves fluttering in the autumn breeze.

It was a maple leaf, with its fiery red edges drifting through the air.

“This Imperial Uncle of mine is really quite hypocritical!”

As the maple leaf touched the ground, Prince Qing withdrew his gaze and strode over to sit at the desk beside.

“Yang Zhenshan, with over a thousand elite cavalry, defeated tens of thousands of enemies!”

“Such a capable person being arranged by his side, should I feel honored?”

The fame of Yang Zhenshan was well known to Prince Qing.

Not just Prince Qing, nowadays Yang Zhenshan was notoriously renowned, anyone who paid attention to the Northern wars knew his name well.

And the matter of Yang Zhenshan’s upcoming appointment as Commander of Tenglong Guard was no secret; the imperial decree from the old Emperor was openly sent to An Yuan City.

“So, Your Highness, should we?” The muscular man made a throat-slitting gesture.

Prince Qing looked at him as if watching a fool, “Do you not know Yang Zhenshan has five hundred elite cavalry by his side?”

He understood the muscular man’s intention, which was merely assassination.

To assassinate Yang Zhenshan?

That would indeed be a suicide mission!

Not to mention Yang Zhenshan being a battle-hardened general, just considering the five hundred elite cavalry by his side, how many could approach Yang Zhenshan without making a sound?

“We could use poison!” the muscular man suggested in a low voice.

Prince Qing shook his head slightly, “No need, such underhanded tactics are not beneficial if overused.”

He was no saint and was not averse to assassination or poisoning, but he knew he could not kill Yang Zhenshan.

Emperor Chengping had just arranged Yang Zhenshan to Tenglong Guard, and if he were to die before reaching there, wouldn’t it be tantamount to declaring his intention to rebel to everyone?

“Should we just let him take up the post at Tenglong Guard then?” The muscular man still seemed somewhat reluctant.

He felt it would be better to solve the Yang Zhenshan problem quickly; after all, with his notorious reputation, once Yang Zhenshan took the post, he would inevitably become an obstacle to Prince Qing.

Prince Qing, however, was unconcerned, “The current Tenglong Guard is not what it used to be a hundred years ago!”

“Hehe, besides, Yang Zhenshan wants to take control of Tenglong Guard, he still has to ask if the Lan family is willing!”

He did not doubt Yang Zhenshan’s capabilities, but what he cared about was not Yang Zhenshan but rather Emperor Chengping’s intentions.

In his view, Yang Zhenshan was merely a tool, a blade manipulated by Emperor Chengping.

This blade was a threat to him, but the biggest threat was still the person wielding the blade.

Thus, he had no plans targeting Yang Zhenshan.

Even if there was no Yang Zhenshan, there would be Li Zhengshan, Lin Zhenshan.

Furthermore, it wouldn’t be an easy feat for Yang Zhenshan to take control of Tenglong Guard.

Tenglong Guard had been in Qinghua Prefecture for a hundred years, and a century was enough to turn a once elite military force into a decayed one, meanwhile breeding a bunch of maggots.

The maggots of Tenglong Guard were not ordinary maggots.

“Send someone to keep an eye on Tenglong Guard, for now, all we need to do is watch the drama unfold!”

Prince Qing’s lips slightly curled up, showing a mischievously interested smile.

He was eagerly anticipating the upcoming drama.