Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 363: Chapter 349: Letters Sent Everywhere

Just when Yang Zhenshan was gathering troops, the Qinghua Prefecture at Prince Qing Mansion was also preparing for the imminent battle.

Prince Qing did have troops at his disposal; the Prince Qing’s guards alone formed a complete unit of 5,600 soldiers. In addition to the Prince Qing’s guards, he also held command over Qinghua Guard, meaning he controlled the military strength of two guards.

However, this was only the official stance, or rather, it shouldn’t even be considered as the official stance, as he was not entitled to mobilize any forces openly.

Qinghua Guard was under the jurisdiction of Liao Yuan Prefecture, and Prince Qing’s guards were led jointly by Liao Yuan Prefecture and Prince Qing. Strictly speaking, Prince Qing was not supposed to mobilize troops, and the Guard Department’s duty was merely to ensure the safety of King City.

But having operated under Qinghua Prefecture for thirty years, both the Guard Department and Qinghua Guard had come under his control. However, his involvement in Qinghua Guard was an open secret that could not be kept from others.

Besides the military strength of these two guards, Prince Qing had also cultivated quite some power in secrecy.

For example, a fleet.

The existence of Prince Qing’s fleet was no secret; it was just that everyone assumed it to be merely a merchant fleet.

At that moment, within the mansion, Prince Qing sat in his study, looking at a letter.

Duan Heng came into the study, clasped his fists and said, “Prince, Tenglong Guard is gathering troops, should we also start preparing?”

Prince Qing looked up, put down the letter in his hand, and asked, “How many troops have they gathered?”

“It’s not clear yet, but at least they must have ten thousand troops!” Duan Heng replied.

Over the years, Yang Zhenshan had been watching them, and they had been keeping an eye on Tenglong Guard.

“Ten thousand troops!” Prince Qing’s expression grew solemn.

He had never underestimated Yang Zhenshan.

Yang Zhenshan’s fierce reputation in Chongshan Town and his solid military achievements were well acknowledged, and he had also witnessed the growth of Tenglong Guard over the years.

He had more than once wanted to eliminate Yang Zhenshan, but the timing had never been right, preventing him from acting rashly.

Now, Yang Zhenshan and Tenglong Guard had turned into significant obstacles he had foreseen and least wished to confront.

“How many troops do we have available now?” asked Prince Qing.

“Our guards and Qinghua Guard total eleven thousand soldiers, plus another three thousand from the Brave Cavalry Camp.”

Duan Heng pondered for a moment, then added, “If the Navy could return in time, we would have an additional eight thousand!”

“The Navy won’t make it; Tenglong Guard also has a Navy!” Prince Qing shook his head slightly.

“Then we only have fourteen thousand troops!” Duan Heng said.

“If we take the initiative to attack, can we defeat Yang Zhenshan?” Prince Qing looked at Duan Heng with some anticipation.

Duan Heng remained silent. He wanted to say they could, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it. Eventually, he only managed to say, “It’s tough, Yang Zhenshan is adept at training troops, and he has been building Tenglong Guard into an elite force over five years. It’s hard to predict the outcome of a direct confrontation!”

He didn’t say they were doomed because he believed they still had a chance to win.

Prince Qing nodded, looked at the letter in his hand, and seemed lost in thought.

“Ji Feiyu will join us within a month; we need to hold out for a month!”

“A month? Is it going to take that long?” Duan Heng asked.

“Yes, it’s not easy for him to take complete control of Chongshan Town!” Prince Qing said.

Seeing Prince Qing’s somber mood, Duan Heng tried to comfort him, “Your Highness, if it’s about a direct battle, I’m not confident in a victory, but if it’s just about defending the city, I can definitely hold it for a month!”

Prince Qing’s expression indeed relaxed a bit.

“Then let’s hold out for a month first, and after Ji Feiyu arrives, we will certainly eliminate Yang Zhenshan!”

His lips slightly curved into a confident smile.

No matter how strong Yang Zhenshan is, could he really match a hundred thousand troops?

…

Chongshan Town, An Yuan City.

Han Cheng received the letter sent by Yang Zhenshan’s envoy.

“Damn, Liu Zeqing is not to be trusted!”

Inside the garrison office, Han Cheng’s complexion turned alternately pale and flushed after reading Yang Zhenshan’s letter.

Yang Zhenshan had not explicitly mentioned in the letter that Liu Zeqing was Ji Feiyu’s man, as he could not be sure, but Han Cheng could be, for he knew Liu Zeqing better than Yang Zhenshan.

Over the years, Liu Zeqing had also done quite a lot — eliminating adversaries, suppressing colleagues, and placing his people everywhere. As an assistant general, these actions were understandable, but Liu Zeqing had gone too far.

Had it not been for the foundations left behind by Yang Zhenshan in An Yuan City, Han Cheng surely wouldn’t have been able to withstand Liu Zeqing’s oppression.

Before, Han Cheng had just thought that Liu Zeqing was overdoing it. Now, it seemed evident that Liu Zeqing had been preparing for today.

“Sir, should we go to Songzhou Guard now?”

At that moment, a follower outside reminded Han Cheng.

Han Cheng suddenly jolted.

Go to hell!

If he went there, wouldn’t that be walking into a trap?

“We’re not going!”

“Come on, let’s head to the garrison!”

Han Cheng quickly left the room, rushing towards the garrison.

An hour later, Han Cheng led five hundred cavalry out of the city from the garrison.

He had always considered the garrison as his last line of defense, not allowing anyone to interfere. Liu Zeqing had tried many times to install his people into the garrison, but Han Cheng had always rebuffed him.

Fortunately, he still had full control over the garrison.

But the situation was different for the garrison outside the city. A higher position crushes the lower ones, and though Han Cheng was not afraid of Liu Zeqing, he didn’t dare openly confront him, so he had made compromises in many areas.

Now, the garrison officer under the Garrison Office in An Yuan City was Liu Zeqing’s man.

Thus, it was essential to take this person down first!

Also, a defense officer and three garrison commanders were also Liu Zeqing’s men, and they all needed to be taken down.

Without any hesitation, Han Cheng decisively captured all of Liu Zeqing’s men, then gathered the troops and prepared to defend An Yuan City steadfastly.

…

Yinghe Castle.

Yang Qinyong also received the letter from Yang Zhenshan.

After reading the letter, he was completely dumbfounded.

Yang Qinyong was a member of the diligent generation of the Yang Family; by seniority, he was Yang Zhenshan’s great-grandson, ranking a generation below Yang Chengze and others.

Yang Qinwu, who had originally followed Yang Zhenshan closely, was his contemporary.

Now 23-year-old Yang Qinyong, though he had been on the battlefield and served as a defense officer for a year, was still somewhat immature.

However, after being momentarily dumbfounded, he quickly came to his senses.

“Has the General colluded with the Wuliang Hu Clan? Is the Wuliang Hu Clan’s entry into Liaoxi intentionally orchestrated by the General?”

“Could the General have aligned with Prince Qing, plotting treason?”

“This~~”

He murmured softly as he looked at the letter in his hand.

Suddenly, he shivered and muttered, “Not good!”

Then he ran straight to the stables, mounted a horse, and rode out of Yinghe Castle, galloping eastward for an hour.

It was only when he saw a troop of cavalry ahead that he shouted, “General, General!”

The cavalry ahead, hearing his shout, stopped vigilantly.

Niu Zhuang, seeing Yang Qinyong approaching swiftly, asked with a puzzled expression, “What’s the matter?”

“General, we must not go to Chongshan Pass!” said Yang Qinyong.

He was so urgent because Niu Zhuang had just left Yinghe Castle, heading for Chongshan Pass.

“What happened?”

“This is a letter from General Yang!” Unable to explain clearly, Yang Qinyong simply handed over Yang Zhenshan’s letter to Niu Zhuang.

“General Yang!”

Niu Zhuang’s expression slightly changed after reading the letter, but his expression quickly returned to normal.

He glanced towards Chongshan Pass; they were near Linguan Castle, with the majestic pass fortress within his sight.

“It seems I’m not the only one who suspected this!”

He took a deep breath, his eyes carrying a hint of despair.

Niu Zhuang was not foolish; if Yang Zhenshan could suspect that Ji Feiyu intentionally let the Wuliang army in, how could he be totally unaware?

It was just that he refused to believe it.

“General, is General Yang’s speculation correct?” Yang Qinyong asked softly.

“Not yet confirmed!”

Niu Zhuang mounted his horse and changed direction, “But it is very likely!”

“Qinwu, go back and prepare the troops for battle! Be cautious of any movements from Chongshan Pass direction, and immediately send me a message if there are any!”

With that, Niu Zhuang spurred his horse and returned to Jianning Guard.

…

Jinzhou Guard.

“General, someone has delivered a letter, claiming to be General Yang’s trusted aide from Tenglong Guard.”

In the main hall of the Assistant General Mansion, Tang Feihu and several officials were discussing matters when they suddenly heard someone outside shouting.

“Bring the letter here!”

Without any hesitation, Tang Feihu gave the command.

The soldiers outside immediately handed over the letter to him, and his pupils sharply contracted when he saw the words “Prince Qing” in the letter.

He also suspected Ji Feiyu’s involvement in the Wuliang army’s intrusion, so instead of immediately heading to Chongshan Pass following Ji Feiyu’s order, he planned to secure Jinzhou Guard first and then see if he needed to go to Chongshan Pass.

He had been puzzled as to why Ji Feiyu would do such a thing, but now, seeing Yang Zhenshan’s letter, he probably understood.

“That’s enough, no need to discuss further, immediately send out orders to the commanders of all cities and garrison officers to gather their troops and come to Jinzhou Guard!”

…

Inside Chongshan Pass.

Ji He, Assistant General of the Southern Route Dingliao Guard, was forcefully dragged into a prison cell, bound hand and foot.

At this moment Ji He was in a sorry state, with iron nails pierced through his shoulders, binding his arms and legs with chains.

Several soldiers roughly threw him into the prison cell and left.

Ji He, covered in dust, struggled to his feet, his lips still dripping blood, indicating his injuries were not only from the iron nails on his shoulders.

“Ji He!”

Suddenly, a hoarse voice came from the adjacent cell.

Ji He looked up, seeing an elderly man in a white robe sitting in the cell next to him.

“Governor!”

Indeed, the elderly man in the adjacent cell was Lu Chongde, the governor of Chongshan Town.

“Yes, just you alone?” Lu Chongde asked.

Ji He paused, “Is there anyone else besides me?”

He looked around at the nearby cells, well, all familiar faces, all officials from various government offices of Chongshan Pass.

“What about the other Assistant Generals?” Lu Chongde hinted.

Ji He paused again, then exclaimed, “Have they all defected?”

Lu Chongde’s mouth twitched slightly, “Did you not see them?”

“No!” Ji He shook his head, “If they hadn’t defected, perhaps we could have fought our way out just now!”

“They did not defect!” said Lu Chongde.

“Then why didn’t they come?” Ji He said.

“They are probably smarter!” Lu Chongde said, closing his eyes.

Thankfully, it wasn’t the worst situation yet.

Ji He pondered in silence, the events had unfolded too abruptly, and he hadn’t sorted out the details yet.

He glanced again at the surrounding cells and indeed, discovered that of the six Assistant Generals of Chongshan Town, only he was here.

The other five couldn’t all have defected!

That means they simply did not follow Ji Feiyu’s orders to come to Chongshan Pass.

They were smarter, so I—

“Is the Governor implying that I am foolish?” Ji He looked despondently at Lu Chongde.

“Why else!” Lu Chongde, without opening his eyes, spoke in a calm tone.

Ji He fell silent.