Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 278: Chapter 269: You’re not young anymore, you should enjoy your peaceful life at home.

The Lan family estate was truly vast, with pavilions, towers, gardens, ponds, and the like in no short supply, but its layout was quite different from that of ordinary residences.

Normally, a residence would be divided into a front and a back courtyard. The front courtyard was where the men lived, containing the halls for receiving guests, study rooms, guest rooms, and the family school, among other things.

The back courtyard was where the family members lived. Larger estates would be divided into a residential compound and a separate compound, while smaller houses would be divided into the main house, and east and west wing rooms, and so on.

The Lan family estate was also divided into a front and a back courtyard, only its front and back courtyards were much larger.

The front courtyard alone had over a hundred various rooms, divided into six smaller courtyards, and there was also a very large practice field for martial arts.

The back courtyard was even more extravagant, with a very large garden at the center. The garden had connected corridors, pavilions, artificial hills with flowing water, and countless precious plants and trees. Even though it was winter now, the scenery was still exceedingly beautiful.

In fact, this was no longer just a garden; it was more akin to a park in a previous lifetime, covering a good six to seven acres of land.

And around the garden, there were eight courtyards, each one no smaller than the Yang family’s residence in An Yuan City.

Yang Zhenshan took a stroll around the entire Lan family estate, spending about two hours, which shows just how vast the Lan family’s residence was.

Originally, Yang Zhenshan had no intention of taking over the Lan family’s estate, but after visiting the Guardian Department government office, he had to take possession of the Lan estate.

After the stroll, Yang Zhenshan briefly sketched a layout of the Lan family estate and called over Yang Mingcheng, Xie Yuan, Song Dashan, and others.

“Ming Cheng, take our family to this courtyard later, this courtyard will be ours from now on. Over the next couple of days, see if there’s anything unsuitable and arrange for someone to modify it!”

Yang Zhenshan pointed to the largest courtyard, which originally belonged to Lan Buqi, but now it was under the Yang family’s possession.

Of course, Yang Zhenshan wouldn’t claim this courtyard for his private use but would attribute it to the assets of the Guardian Department.

“Dad, I understand. I’ll make arrangements right away!” said Yang Mingcheng.

Yang Zhenshan nodded, “Go and make the arrangements. We won’t be staying in tents outside the city tonight!”

After Yang Zhenshan left, Yang Zhenshan then pointed to the neighboring courtyard and said to Song Dashan, “This courtyard is for you, let your family go over there and tidy it up!”

“Sure!” Song Dashan grinned.

Apart from the Yang family’s courtyard, his was the best and closest to the Yang family.

Next, Yang Zhenshan allotted a courtyard each to Xie Yuan and Wu Chongzhe. As for the others, those with fewer family members received a small courtyard, while those with more family members were allotted two adjacent small courtyards.

The remaining soldiers were all arranged to stay in the front courtyard by Yang Zhenshan.

After the distribution, Yang Zhenshan added, “Let’s live here for now. Once we sort things out, we’ll remodel this place. We’ll use the front courtyard as the Guardian Department, tear down the surrounding walls, and then renovate any inappropriate places.”

The Lan estate occupied nearly half of Guard City, which was clearly inappropriate.

Yang Zhenshan already planned to divide the Lan estate, keeping the main courtyards, but demolishing all unnecessary connected corridors and the like, then breaking through the roads and clearing some space to build houses for civilians and shops.

For Yang Zhenshan, a grand residence was far less important than a prospering Guard City.

A residence that was sufficient to live in was enough; there was no need to be overly luxurious. If Guard City could develop, it could bring in a continuous stream of revenue for the Guardian Department.

Although he had just arrived in Guard City, Yang Zhenshan already had many plans in mind.

Everyone settled in this way, and the next day, Yang Zhenshan officially moved the Guardian Department to the front courtyard of the Lan residence.

In reality, the front courtyard of the Lan family was really suitable to serve as the Guardian Department.

It was large enough, with sufficient rooms, and even had stables, storage rooms, and a martial arts field, almost meeting all the building facility needs of the Guardian Department.

Only a few places were unsuitable, and these would only require minor modifications.

In the morning, all the officials of the Tenglong Guard arrived.

Two Deputy Magistrates and four Commanders gathered in the hall of the Lan family — no, it should now be called the hall of the Guardian Department.

All six of them stood in front of Yang Zhenshan, so respectful that they hardly dared to breathe.

Yang Zhenshan sat in the main seat, his gaze sweeping over each of them.

“Your ages are not young anymore; it’s time for you to enjoy the bliss of retirement at home!”

He spoke indifferently.

The six men showed faint signs of movement, but still kept their heads bowed, not daring to speak.

“The past will not be pursued by this General, but from now on, there is no place for you in Tenglong Guard! Do you understand?” Yang Zhenshan said directly.

Some of the six managed to sneak a glance at Yang Zhenshan but still didn’t dare to speak.

“Currently, this General only has one requirement for you—to help my men take over the Tenglong Guard. If you do well, you can go home and enjoy your retirement in peace. If not, this General will send you to keep company with the three Lan brothers!”

Finally, someone spoke up, with Deputy Magistrate of Tenglong Guard, Wang Yingcheng stepping forward and saying with clasped hands: “This official obeys, I will fully cooperate. I hope the General can be magnanimous and forgive us for the mistakes we made before!”

Do they have guilt?

The responsibility of neglect of duty is inevitable.

Moreover, they did not take any less from the Lan family’s possessions. If one really looked into their guilt, even being sent to the army or exiled would be considered light.

Yang Zhenshan had no plans to hold all these people accountable because they still had some use. He still needed them to help control the Tenglong Guard.

After all, he was new here and only had a superficial understanding of the Tenglong Guard. He needed familiar people to assist in taking over the Tenglong Guard.

“Very well!”

Yang Zhenshan nodded in approval, then called out: “Xie Yuan! Song Dashan!”

“Here!” Xie Yuan and Song Dashan stepped forward and walked in from outside.

“Starting now, you two will temporarily take on the post of Deputy Magistrate of Tenglong Guard,” said Yang Zhenshan.

“Thank you, Mr. Xie!” Both of them joyfully gave their thanks.

Both of them were previously households, but now they have suddenly become Deputy Magistrates of the Guardian Department, equivalent to a promotion by three ranks.

Although Yang Zhenshan said it was only temporary, they both understood that this temporary position would soon become permanent.

Ignoring the elated pair, Yang Zhenshan continued with his arrangements as per his calculations: “Wu Chongzhe will temporarily take on the role of Commander, in charge of the Tenglong Advanced Guard.”

“Yang Mingzhi will temporarily take on the role of Commander, in charge of the Tenglong Rear Guard.”

“Luo Feiyu will temporarily take on the role of Commander, in charge of the Tenglong Left Guard.”

“Yang Mingzhen will temporarily take on the role of Commander, in charge of the Tenglong Right Guard.”

“Yang Minghao will temporarily take on the garrison commander position to set up the garrison commander’s office!”

“Han Fei will temporarily take on the role of the Experience Bureau to set up the Experience Bureau!”

“Zhou Ren, Lu Wenhua will act as Deputy Magistrates, you first recruit the necessary clerks and constables for our Guardian Department!”

Upon receiving Yang Zhenshan’s appointments, everyone stepped forward to express their gratitude.

One by one, they were overcome with joy.

Others aside, Han Fei, Zhou Ren, and Lu Wenhua were the happiest.

Previously without ranks, they had now been appointed to positions of governance and supervision.

The position of governance is a Secondary Seventh Rank, while supervision is a proper Eighth Rank.

Although these are minor official roles, they are nonetheless positions with official ranks.

Actually, for Han Fei and Lu Wenhua, these positions truly meant little, as with their status as Martial Artists, they could easily be appointed as Hundred Households in the military.

However, for Yang Zhenshan, the current priority was to establish the framework of the Guardian Department to ensure its normal operation, hence the assignments of these positions to them.

The four Deputy Commanders each took charge of one of the Four Guards of Tenglong, but apart from the Tenglong Advanced Guard, the other three were essentially in disuse.

“Who was in charge of the Tenglong Advanced Guard previously?” Yang Zhenshan asked.

The Tenglong Advanced Guard still maintained its complete organization, and the soldiers responsible for guarding Guard City were from the Tenglong Advanced Guard. The Tenglong Advanced Guard had always been under the Lan family’s control.

Regrettably, a single bear of a soldier finds a den of inept generals, and with Yang Zhenshan’s decisive and swift action, the Lan family did not have the chance to muster the soldiers of the Tenglong Advanced Guard before being taken down by Yang Zhenshan.

The soldiers of the Tenglong Advanced Guard were also directly suppressed.

There are now nearly eight hundred soldiers from the Tenglong Advanced Guard within Guard City, but they are all controlled within the camp.

“It’s me!” A man with graying hair stood out and said.

The Lan family managed to control the Tenglong Advanced Guard mainly because they occupied several positions of the households, and the nominal Deputy Commander in charge of the Tenglong Advanced Guard was actually a puppet who didn’t manage affairs.

However, he was still an old-timer of Tenglong Guard, and those soldiers would definitely recognize him.

“You know what to do without me having to say it, right?”

“The subordinate understands. I will pacify the soldiers and let them see the situation clearly!” The man is not foolish.

“Alright, that will do for now, you can all get busy!”

Yang Zhenshan waved his hand, and everyone bowed and withdrew.

The Tenglong Guard was sure to experience some disturbances next, but Yang Zhenshan was not worried about a violent uprising.

After toppling the Lan family with a thunderous approach, Yang Zhenshan had deterred everyone in Tenglong Guard, and with five hundred soldiers under his command, he was not afraid of troublemakers at this juncture.

Having arranged matters of the Guardian Department, Yang Zhenshan then went to the room where the three Lan brothers were imprisoned.

The arm bones of all three brothers were pierced, and they were all bound tightly.

When Yang Zhenshan entered the room, the expressions of the three brothers varied.

Upon seeing Yang Zhenshan enter, Lan Buqi showed a pleading look.

Lan Buqun had a face full of hatred, and if his mouth hadn’t been gagged, he would probably have cursed vociferously.

As for Lan Buzheng, his face was calm, and his eyes did not show the slightest ripple when looking at Yang Zhenshan.

Looking at Lan Buzheng’s eyes, Yang Zhenshan’s own eyes narrowed slightly.

In such circumstances, the calmer one appears, the deeper their thoughts.

“Do you want to curse me?” Yang Zhenshan walked up to Lan Buqun and asked.

“Wuu wuu wuu~~” Lan Buqun glared at Yang Zhenshan with a face full of indignation.

“Your wives and children are in the next room!”

Yang Zhenshan stated indifferently.

Upon hearing this, Lan Buqun stiffened.

Yang Zhenshan didn’t care to linger on him any longer; his personal followers brought over a chair for him to sit on and signaled for them to remove the gag from their mouths.

“General, General!”

As soon as the gag was removed, Lan Buqi started to call out.

“Shut up!” Yang Zhenshan glared coldly at him.

Lan Buqi’s body stiffened, halting the plea that was about to spill from his lips.

Meanwhile, Lan Buqun still wore a face of hatred but did not curse aloud, only staring intently at Yang Zhenshan.

As for Lan Buzheng, his gaze remained completely undisturbed.