Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 954: Chapter 675: Four Armies March South (Part 2)

The counties north of the Capital City are not in their hands. If they wish to advance northward, they might need to fight through one by one.

Chongshan Town’s army moving south is not something that can happen quickly, so they need not hurry.

Aside from this, they also need to guard against Chen Hengchang from Jiangnan.

At this time, Yang Chengye, leading thirty thousand troops from the Camp, had already arrived at Pingyuan East Sun Prefecture and met up with Lin Zhan.

The first mover for Chongshan Town’s army’s southern advance wasn’t the various Assistant Generals of Chongshan Town, but Yu Tonghai’s Beihai Navy.

Upon receiving Yang Chengye’s order, Yu Tonghai immediately led the Beihai Navy southward. In just three days, they stationed ten thousand officers and soldiers in Jizhou, blockading the Ru River’s waterway.

Once the Ru River’s waterway was blocked, it effectively cut off the communication between Liaodong and the Capital City.

Yang Chengye’s southern descent and Ru River’s blockade signify not a great war pending, but a change of dynasty.

The moment Yang Chengye arrived at Dongyang Prefecture, it marked a complete regime change for the Liaodong region.

The rulers of Liaodong are no longer the Da Rong Emperor or the Da Rong Court, but the Yang family.

The soldiers and officials of Liaodong quickly accepted this change.

Henceforth, Liao Yuan and Ping Yuan provinces are no longer under the court’s jurisdiction but directly managed by the Great General Mansion of Chongshan Town.

Yang Chengye did not declare himself king nor emperor; he merely established the Great General Mansion in the name of the Marquis Jing’an Mansion to oversee all military and political affairs of Chongshan Town and Liaodong.

In name, he was not rebelling but punishing traitors and supporting the state.

Apart from Liaodong, Liaoxi also comes under the jurisdiction of the Great General Mansion of Chongshan Town.

The mid-route Jianning Guard General Yang Qinteng and Jinzhou Guard Yang Jishan have led the Rescue Camp south to Liaoxi East Bright Prefecture. The former town governor of Chongshan Town, Jiang Nanguo, was appointed by Yang Chengye as the governor of Liaoxi, overseeing all matters.

Lu Wenquan has reached Chongshan Pass, serving as the Prime Minister of the Great General Mansion. Although this is a temporary position, everyone understands that Lu Wenquan is the top civil official under the Great General Mansion.

The former Chongshan Town governor, Zheng Yulin, was appointed as the governor of Liao Yuan, and Lin Zhan was appointed as the governor of Ping Yuan, thus completing the basic framework of the civil system under the Great General Mansion.

Though the deployment of civil officials across Chongshan Town and Liaodong seems somewhat playful, it actually showcases the profound heritage of the Yang family to the fullest.

Lu Wenquan and Lin Zhan need no further mention, but high officials like Zheng Yulin are plenty under the Yang family’s command, and the Yang family still has many young and capable officials.

With the Yang family’s backing, establishing a complete mini-court in Liaodong is done effortlessly.

Thus, when Yang Chengye arrived at Dongyang Prefecture, the mini-court of Chongshan Town was already efficiently operating.

Massive crowds of laborers transported countless supplies to Jizhou, large troops mobilized, numerous recruits were enlisted, and many civil officials were reassigned; all at once, Chongshan Town and Liaodong bustled with activity.

A vast war machine requires not only a strong military force but also an even mightier logistics support system.

At this moment, the seamless advancement of land and water routes in Chongshan Town and Liaodong perfectly demonstrates the robust logistics support system of the Great General Mansion of Chongshan Town.

Within the government office of Dongyang Prefecture City, Yang Chengye and Lin Zhan were discussing the battle matters.

“Currently, Jizhou has stored three hundred thousand stones of grain and fodder, enough to sustain an army of one hundred thousand for three months, but horse feed is somewhat insufficient. We have many cavalry in the army, with over sixty thousand horses, and they consume more than humans!”

“At present, Jizhou can only ensure a two-month supply of horse feed!”

Lin Zhan said while refilling Yang Chengye’s tea.

Currently, Chongshan Town’s army is divided into four routes. The central route is personally led by Yang Chengye, currently consisting of thirty thousand troops from the Camp, with an additional thirty thousand Yang family soldiers to follow, totaling sixty thousand, nearly half of whom are cavalry.

The west route includes reinforcements from the central route’s Jianning Guard and Jinzhou Guard led by Yang Jishan, with fifteen thousand troops who will temporarily station at East Bright Prefecture. They can either support the central forces or assist Zhou Lan in the north of Longyuan.

The east route comprises the southern route’s Dingliao Guard and East Road Songzhou Guard’s Rescue Camp, also with fifteen thousand troops currently on the northern bank of the Ru River, ready to cross into Yongping Prefecture.

On water, the Beihai Navy of Tenglong Guard includes three thousand warships of all sizes and thirty thousand naval troops, who can coordinate with the eastern forces on the East Sea and handle military supply transportation.

The grains and supplies moving south from Chongshan Town are all shipped by Tenglong Guard to Jizhou.

The combined total of the four forces is one hundred and twenty thousand, in addition to more than forty thousand craftsmen and laborers accompanying the army, and a hundred thousand soldiers and laborers responsible for grain transport, totaling over two hundred and sixty thousand. They can be regarded as an army of three hundred thousand.

It might sound like the forces are few, not comparable to the three hundred thousand troops of Da Liang.

But in reality, Da Liang’s three hundred thousand troops are not as mighty as Chongshan Town’s three hundred thousand. Although Da Liang’s army is considered a military force, their true elite troops are less than a hundred thousand; the rest aren’t as competent as Chongshan Town’s soldiers.

Currently speaking, the strength of both sides is not vastly different.

However, the forces on Chongshan Town’s side are more dispersed, while Da Liang’s three hundred thousand are mostly gathered around the Capital City.

“Don’t worry about the grains; Chongshan Town’s grains are ample enough to support an army of three hundred thousand for a year!” Yang Chengye laughed.

Lin Zhan’s eyes lit up, “Does Chongshan Town have that much grain?”

These days, he had been busy preparing the grain for the army, and although Ping Yuan Province had experienced favorable weather, they hadn’t stored much grain.

Lin Zhan had estimated that if given enough time, he could prepare a million stones of grain this year from summer and autumn taxes.

At the moment, he could mobilize at most five hundred thousand stones of grain.

Five hundred thousand stones might sound like a lot, but given the army’s needs, it isn’t sufficient for a few months.

To put it simply, under Chongshan Town’s military system, an army of ten thousand requires about twenty thousand stones of grain and fodder each month, including food for the soldiers and fodder for the horses.

On average, a soldier and a horse consume two stones of grain a month.

And that’s just the grains, not accounting for meat, vegetables, etc.

Chongshan Town’s military provisions are quite ample.

Yang Chengye laughed, “Grandfather gave me ten million taels of silver. For over a year, this silver has been converted into grain and military supplies and gradually transported to Fuzhou and Tenglong Guard.”

“Currently, both Fuzhou and Tenglong Guard are well-stocked with grain and military supplies!”

Lin Zhan looked enlightened, “So that’s how it is!”

“But where is Master?”

Lin Zhan missed Yang Zhenshan a bit. It had been over ten years since he last saw him.

Yang Chengye thought for a moment, “I don’t know, maybe he’s in East Sun City!”

He truly didn’t know where Yang Zhenshan was. He knew he was at Chongshan Pass earlier, but his current whereabouts were unknown.

He guessed Yang Zhenshan might have followed them.

“I see!” Lin Zhan said, “I wonder if he would want to see me! It’s been over ten years since I last saw Master and Master’s wife!”

As the two spoke, someone suddenly announced outside the door, “Marquis, someone seeks an audience!”

“Who is it?” Yang Chengye asked.

“The visitors claim to be An Yuxing, Zhou Tianci, and Liang Shengze!”

Yang Chengye and Lin Zhan exchanged a glance, immediately realizing that reinforcements had arrived.

“Quickly invite them in, never mind, I’ll go greet them myself!”