Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 398: Chapter 383 Have a Good Sleep

Outside Guanshan Pass.

Yang Zhenshan stroked his beard, appreciating his own masterpiece.

This truly was a masterpiece, capturing the perfect moment, location, and harmony.

The so-called perfect moment was naturally the northwest wind during the transition from autumn to winter.

The so-called advantageous location was none other than Guanshan Pass and Nameless Valley. Normally, it would be hard to find any locational advantages here at Guanshan Pass or Nameless Valley.

But the northwest wind combined with this narrow valley perfectly merged the right moment and location.

In such a situation, all it took was a massive fire to turn the entire valley into a sea of flames.

As for harmony, the willing obedience of Chongshan Town’s soldiers to his orders represented the best kind of harmony.

Even when they did not understand his commands, individuals like Niu Zhuang and Tang Feihu did not question his orders and actively carried them out.

It was precisely these three essential conditions that made tonight’s great fire possible.

The roaring, surging flames brightly illuminated the entire area.

On the hillside, at the mouth of the pass, the soldiers looking at the blazing fire all showed expressions of shock and agitation.

The wind howled, the fire burned, and faintly, there were bursts of pitiful screams.

This hellish scene terrified many.

However, after the initial shock, more gazes turned towards Yang Zhenshan, filled with intense admiration and awe.

Even Niu Zhuang and Tang Feihu were no exceptions.

They too looked at Yang Zhenshan with eyes full of reverence.

Back when Yang Zhenshan first arrived at Chongshan Town, Tang Feihu was already the Guerrilla General of the Camp. Over a decade had passed, Tang Feihu had only risen from Guerrilla General to Assistant General, whereas Yang Zhenshan had gone from being a minor Trial Hundred Households to the General.

Tang Feihu acknowledged Yang Zhenshan’s abilities, as Yang Zhenshan had won consecutive battles at Chongshan Town previously. However, his respect for Yang Zhenshan was evidently not that profound.

But now, he felt a deeper sense of awe towards Yang Zhenshan.

As the fire grew more intense, Yang Zhenshan spoke, “It’s about time, let the soldiers return to camp to rest.”

“Do we not need to watch over this?” asked Tang Feihu.

Yang Zhenshan smiled and said, “There are soldiers on guard, that’s enough!”

There were soldiers on duty both inside and outside the camp, and scouts were looking around everywhere, so there was no need to specially arrange for someone to keep watch here.

As for the great fire in the valley, it might take a whole day and night.

It must be noted that Wuliang’s huge camp held not only tens of thousands of Northern barbarians but also supplies looted from Liaoxi.

These supplies amounted to thousands of carts, many of which were grains. With so much grain burning, it was uncertain when the fire would go out.

Yang Zhenshan gave a few instructions and then went back to camp to sleep.

These past few days he had hardly slept at all. To ensure that the plan went smoothly and to prevent Wuliang’s massive army from breaking through Guanshan Pass, he had almost constantly stayed at the pass.

Now that his plan was successful, it was time for a good rest.

As for Wuliang’s massive army, with the imperial guard blocking to the south and the great fire to the north, they were unable to pursue.

So tonight they did not have anything to worry about, they just needed to sleep peacefully.

Yang Zhenshan slept very soundly, not waking until daybreak.

When he walked out of his tent, much of the fire in the valley had already died down, and the soldiers had already started to enter the valley to search.

“General!” Seeing Yang Zhenshan come out, Xie Yuan hurriedly ran up and bowed with a fist.

“Hmm, how are things?” Yang Zhenshan asked.

Xie Yuan chuckled, “Wuliang’s army has been utterly defeated, and we have achieved a complete victory!”

As Yang Zhenshan walked towards the mountain pass, he asked, “Has anyone been sent to contact the imperial guard?”

“They have been sent, but the journey to the north of Xiling City now requires a detour of a hundred miles. We definitely won’t receive a reply anytime soon!” Xie Yuan replied.

Yang Zhenshan gave a slight nod.

“General, should we enter the forest to search for Wuliang’s remnants?” Xie Yuan asked.

Although it was still unclear how many Northern barbarians had been killed by the fire, and how many had been intercepted by the southern imperial guard, certainly quite a number of Wuliang’s Northern barbarians had fled into the forests on both sides of the valley.

Yang Zhenshan arrived at Guanshan Pass and looked at the forests on both sides of the valley, then shook his head, “It’s not necessary!”

“The terrain in the forest is complex, and we don’t hold any advantages if we go inside. It’s not worth risking the lives of our soldiers for a few hundred or thousand Northern barbarians!”

“But I think Prince Wu Tuo might have already fled into the forest!” Xie Yuan said.

Yang Zhenshan smiled, “Finding Wu Tuo now would be like looking for a needle in a haystack; let’s not bother!”

It didn’t matter if Wu Tuo had escaped. He wasn’t interested in Wu Tuo.

Leaving tens of thousands of Wuliang’s army behind, this battle already considered a complete success; there’s no need to relentlessly pursue Wu Tuo.

“Yes, I understand!” Xie Yuan responded.

Yang Zhenshan thought for a moment, then said, “Prepare a group, select five thousand soldiers from the Tenglong Guard, and after the fire in the valley dies down, immediately take these soldiers to Daning City.”

“Daning City!” Xie Yuan was startled.

“Yes, the situation on the West Road is rather complex, and it won’t be easy to stabilize it. Once you’ve taken Daning City, don’t rush things; stabilize the situation first!”

“When the other routes in Chongshan Town settle down, I will help you reorganize the West Road of Chongshan Town”, Yang Zhenshan said.

Xie Yuan’s eyes lit up, and he quickly bowed respectfully: “I thank the General for your support.”

It was clear from Yang Zhenshan’s words; he intended to appoint him as the Assistant General of the West Road at Chongshan Town.

“Hehe, go ahead and prepare!” Yang Zhenshan said with a smile.

With Wuliang’s army defeated, it was time to enter the final stage.

As the General of Chongshan Town, he naturally had to plan for the future of Chongshan Town.

The situation on the other routes was not a major concern, only the West Road of Chongshan Town was problematic.

Ji Feiyu and Cui Liang had been managing the West Road of Chongshan Town for many years, and their influence there was significant.

Moreover, this time the West Road of Chongshan Town suffered heavy casualties, with tens of thousands of civilians and military households in Gui Ning City, as well as the twenty thousand soldiers under Cui Liang; such enormous loss had a significant impact on the West Road of Chongshan Town.

Reorganizing it would undoubtedly require a lot of time and effort.

But these were matters for later; currently, letting Xie Yuan stabilize the situation in Daning City was the priority. As long as Daning City was stable, the rest could gradually be adjusted.

Approaching noon, Yang Zhenshan received a reply from the imperial guard.

After a night of fierce battle, Liang Chu led the imperial guard to kill over thirty-eight thousand enemies and captured over eighteen thousand.

Most of those captured were soldiers from the Rescue Camp of the West Road of Chongshan Town, under Cui Liang.

The imperial guard achieved a resounding victory in this battle.

Facing a group of panicked Northern barbarians, the well-equipped imperial guard demonstrated overwhelming combat prowess, effectively blocking all the fleeing enemies.

Although the imperial guard held an absolute advantage in this battle, it also proved the strength of the imperial guard.