Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Yang Minghao left, and Xie Yuan came again.

“General, all the prisoners have been escorted to the prison, General Niu is arranging for the soldiers to stand guard, and General Tang has already stationed outside the city!” Xie Yuan reported.

Yang Zhenshan rubbed the token in his hands and nodded slightly, “Mhm, let it be so for now. Let the soldiers rest for a bit. We can discuss any matters tomorrow!”

“Yes!”

The soldiers had just fought a major battle and were at their most fatigued. Although there were many things to do in the city, there was no rush for the time being.

A night without words, and the next morning after Yang Zhenshan had his breakfast, he plunged into busyness.

First, he wrote a battle report and sent someone to deliver it to Pang Tang, and then he started dealing with the affairs inside Chongshan Pass.

After this battle, Chongshan Pass was basically ruined.

Aside from the majestic city walls, everything else inside the pass city was virtually wasted.

The General Mansion, Governor’s Office, and Inspector General’s Office were all paralyzed.

The merchants and commoners in the city also suffered along, with countless civilians affected, dead or injured, and many of the buildings in the city were damaged.

The Camp had more than 30,000 soldiers but now less than 10,000 remained, all of whom had turned against their previous side during the battle.

As for the prisoners, there were still more than 10,000.

That is to say, of Ji Feiyu’s army of 60,000, over 40,000 were dead or injured.

And Yang Zhenshan’s soldiers also suffered no small number of casualties. The main force responsible for attacking the city was the infantry. Before, Yang Zhenshan had a total of 37,000 soldiers, including those under Niu Zhuang and Tang Feihu.

Of these 37,000 soldiers, there were 14,000 cavalry and 23,000 infantry.

The 23,000 infantry were responsible for the attack on the city, while the cavalry were partly in charge of keeping watch in the surroundings, and a part joined the battle much later.

Of the 23,000 infantry, 13,000 were killed or seriously wounded. The casualties were undeniably severe.

It seems that the casualties under Yang Zhenshan were much lower than those under Ji Feiyu, but do not forget that there were many soldiers on Yang’s side who turned coats during the battle; those remaining are not merely representative of those who turned.

In fact, the casualties on both sides were almost the same.

A great battle left over 50,000 soldiers dead. Just dealing with these corpses took five days.

All the bodies were buried on the hillside east of the city.

Soldiers with names could settle for a wooden tombstone, those whose names were unknown were directly placed into mass graves and buried together.

No choice, there were too many corpses, and it was impossible to process them carefully. Yang Zhenshan could only ensure that soldiers of the Tenglong Guard had wooden tombstones. For the others, it was simply beyond expectation.

On July 13th.

Pang Tang came to Chongshan Pass with a team of civilian husbands transporting supplies.

Looking at the majestic Chongshan Pass, Pang Tang let out a deep sigh.

Approaching the city gate, Yang Zhenshan, Niu Zhuang, and Tang Feihu had been waiting in front of the gate for a long time.

“My respects to Governor!”

“Zhengshan, you have worked hard!” Pang Tang got down from the carriage and said to Yang Zhenshan.

Yang Zhenshan smiled and replied, “I have not suffered hardships. Chongshan Pass was taken through the lives of the soldiers!”

“How are the casualties?” Although Pang Tang had seen the battle report, Yang Zhenshan had not yet accounted for the casualties when he wrote the report, so what he wrote was only a general situation.

“Heavy casualties!” Yang Zhenshan said somewhat somberly.

This battle could be described as a pyrrhic victory.

It was the most bitter battle he had ever fought.

In the previous battles in the Northern lands, he had killed countless members of the Hu Clan, but his own soldiers suffered few casualties.

The battle in the Northern lands ended, and when he returned to An Yuan City, more than five hundred of the thousand strong garrison battalion still lived, barely five hundred soldiers had died.

And in this battle alone, the Tenglong Guard suffered casualties of more than 3,000 soldiers.

Pang Tang nodded slightly, his face revealing a sorrowful expression.

Although he was not skilled in military affairs, he was aware of the difficulty of conquering Chongshan Pass.

“Mr. Lv has also arrived!”

He did not go on to ask about the casualties, but instead, changed the subject.

“Mr. Lv!” Yang Zhenshan looked puzzledly at him.

Just at that moment, a hundred or so riders galloped from the long line of caravans behind, leading them was Lv Hua in a pale cyan long robe.

This would be Yang Zhenshan’s second encounter with Lv Hua, the first being ten years ago at Zhou Lan’s Assistant General Mansion.

It was but a fleeting glance that deeply impressed Yang Zhenshan.

With hair like ink, eyes like paintings, and a gaze as bright as the sparkling stars, ten years had not changed Lv Hua at all. He still carried the grace and dignity of an elegant noble son.

He did not resemble a eunuch, but more like a noble son.

Time seemed to have left no trace on him; he looked almost the same as he did a decade ago, without a hint of aging.

“Assistant General Yang Zhenshan pays his respects to Mr. Lv!” Yang Zhenshan saluted with a fist in palm bow.

Lv Hua was no ordinary eunuch; he was the commander of the Secret Martial Guards’ North Station. The Secret Martial Guards also had a hierarchy, the highest-ranking official being the governor with a title of Standard First Rank, equivalent to the Right and Left Commanders of the Five Army Commandery. The governor of the Four-directions garrison was of Standard Second Rank.

In other words, Yang Zhenshan, who served in the Central Army Commander’s Mansion, held a rank equivalent to Lv Hua. However, since Lv Hua was of the eunuch class and served the old Emperor, Yang Zhenshan felt that he was still outclassed.

Dismounting his horse, Lv Hua greeted Yang Zhenshan with a fist in palm bow and a faint smile. “General Yang, we have long been acquainted in spirit!”

Indeed.

Looking back, the two had interacted quite often, although they had never officially met face to face.

Yang Zhenshan glanced at Pang Tang, speculating in his heart what the purpose of Mr. Lv’s visit to Chongshan Pass might be.

Although Lv Hua had been the garrison eunuch of Chongshan Pass, apart from his initial appearance at the Pass, he had not visited in these past years.

Otherwise, the Crown Prince would not have arranged for a new garrison eunuch at Chongshan Pass.

Now that Lv Hua had arrived, was he looking to continue his role as the garrison eunuch of Chongshan Pass?

Yang Zhenshan could not fathom Lv Hua’s intentions and could only politely usher Mr. Lv and Pang Tang into the city.

Shortly afterward, the group arrived at the main hall of the General Mansion.

Inside the hall were also Lu Chongde and Ji He.

After several days of recuperation, Lu Chongde had recovered quite a bit, but he was still somewhat frail.

As for Ji He, his arms had been amputated, but he had barely managed to save his life.

However, nourished by the Spiritual Spring Water, his condition was somewhat better than that of Lu Chongde.

After all, Ji He was young and was originally a Martial Artist, with a much stronger physique than Lu Chongde.

There were inevitable courtesies exchanged upon their meeting.

After finishing with the formalities, everyone took their seats.

Although this was the General Mansion, Yang Zhenshan did not presume to take the seat of honor but sat with everyone else.

“Does Mr. Lv have any instructions?” Yang Zhenshan first looked to Lv Hua and inquired.

Lv Hua slightly shook his head, “My official role here is to oversee the military, but in reality, it is to assist General Yang in repelling Wuliang’s forces! As for the matters of Chongshan Town, the three authorities can discuss and decide; there’s no need to consult me!”

He was picking up the role of the garrison eunuch of Chongshan Town again, but only in name; he had no intention of interfering in its affairs.

As for whether the Crown Prince would agree, he had no concern.

The Crown Prince would have to wait until his ascension to the throne before he could influence the Secret Martial Guards.

Yang Zhenshan nodded slightly, shifting his gaze to Pang Tang and Lu Chongde.

Lu Chongde was a governor, and so was Pang Tang.

The court had appointed Pang Tang as a governor, but did not relieve Lu Chongde of his post, creating a predicament—as it seemed the court had not expected Lu Chongde to still be alive.

In fact, Yang Zhenshan did not expect Lu Chongde to be alive before entering the city.

Lu Chongde, discerning Yang Zhenshan’s gaze, spoke up, “Since the court has appointed Mr. Pang to oversee Chongshan Town, naturally, everything should be managed by Mr. Pang!”

Pang Tang thought for a moment, then said, “Given the urgency of the situation, I should not demur from taking charge over Mr. Lu!”

“It’s no trouble. I have already become a prisoner of a traitor; I must plead guilty to His Majesty and the court!” Lu Chongde said with a wave of his hand.

Although he had done nothing wrong, being a captive under Ji Feiyu left an indelible blemish on him.

Not wrong, yet still guilty!

At the very least, a charge of dereliction of duty was unavoidable.

Pang Tang smiled and spoke, “However, I am quite unfamiliar with Chongshan Town, and I will need to seek guidance from Mr. Lu on many matters to come; I hope Mr. Lu will not hesitate to enlighten me!”

His demeanor was very humble, referring to himself as a subordinate and Mr. Lu with respect, not looking down upon Lu Chongde because of his plight.

That was to be expected; in terms of experience and reputation, he was far behind Lu Chongde.

When Lu Chongde was serving as a governor, Pang Tang hadn’t yet been promoted to Liao Yuan Governor.

“Of course, Mr. Pang may seek me out at any time should you need any assistance!” Lu Chongde also showed a smile.

Seeing the two of them getting along amicably, Yang Zhenshan breathed a sigh of relief. He was truly worried that the two might start contending for power, but fortunately, Lu Chongde was sensible enough not to compete with Pang Tang.