Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 266: Chapter 257 It’s Not Easy Being an Emperor

Yang Zhenshan saw her happiness, smiled, and then picked up the Martial Arts Cultivation Technique beside him to read.

These Martial Arts Cultivation Techniques all came from the Hu Clan, possessing many of the Hu Clan’s characteristics, such as their preference for curved sabers, hence many techniques were related to the use of curved sabers.

Another example is the bitter cold of the Northern lands; the Hu Clan favored cultivating Postnatal Skills that could maintain body heat.

With Yang Zhenshan’s current level of cultivation, he naturally wouldn’t care for ordinary techniques.

After some selection, he found a Postnatal Jin Qi technique named ”Fiery Sun Skill.”

The Fiery Sun Skill emphasizes utter firmness and positivity with rapid and seemingly endless Jin Qi.

Duobato practiced this technique, and paired with his Innate Divine Strength, it made him far surpass his peers. If not for encountering Yang Zhenshan and being killed by a surprise attack with a hidden weapon, ordinary ninth-level Martial Artists couldn’t handle him.

However, it was a pity that this technique was of no use to Yang Zhenshan. He already possessed the Kui Niu Skill; there was no need to cultivate another Postnatal level Jin Qi Cultivation Technique, especially since he was already cultivating the Yimu Chang Chun Skill. Postnatal level Jin Qi techniques weren’t very beneficial to him anymore.

Thinking of the Yimu Chang Chun Skill, Yang Zhenshan felt a bit stifled.

This technique was very good, except it was too steady.

Indeed, steady.

The characteristic of the Yimu Chang Chun Skill was to be upright and gentle, progressing step by step, emphasizing gradual accumulation and a sudden spurt of progress.

Cultivating this technique was safe, but it also meant there was no chance for rash advancement; one could only cultivate step by step.

Yang Zhenshan had been cultivating the Yimu Chang Chun Skill for half a year and had barely reached the initial stage; as for condensing True Qi, it was still a distant goal.

Yu Qingyi was even worse off, not even finding the entry to the technique, still fumbling around like a blind person touching an elephant.

Of course, part of it was due to her focusing most of her energy on her belly.

”These techniques are all very good. When you have time, have someone transcribe a copy to send back to the clan!” said Yang Zhenshan after finishing reading about the Fiery Sun Skill.

For a Martial Arts Family, Cultivation Techniques are the basis of strength; the more techniques there are, the stronger the foundation—especially Postnatal techniques. Different people have different characteristics, and the techniques that suit them vary.

Perhaps one could be stuck without progress for years cultivating the Kui Niu Skill, but swift advancement could follow upon switching to the Fiery Sun Skill.

Consequently, having a wide array of techniques meant more choices and a higher probability of becoming a powerful warrior.

The Yang Family’s foundation was thin, and over the years, Yang Zhenshan had sent back many techniques, all in hopes of enhancing the Yang Family’s foundation.

”Mhm, I understand!” replied Yu Qingyi.

...

By the end of August, the troops from Chongshan Town that went on the campaign were returning, and the court’s policy for the Northern lands was also gradually reaching Chongshan Town.

As Yang Zhenshan expected, a thousand miles of Northern territory were directly incorporated into Chongshan Town’s jurisdiction, Fushan City was renamed Fuzhou City, a Prefectural Government was set up there, as well as a garrison office, with the Northern Road Deputy General Mansion of Chongshan Town being moved to Fuzhou City.

With Fuzhou City as the center, three garrisons were established, and military households and civilians were relocated there to cultivate the wasteland.

In fact, the location of Fuzhou City was very good, surrounded by abundant rivers and fertile land; that’s why the East Sea Hu Clan chose to build a city there initially.

If the lands around Fuzhou City could be cultivated, the area could be expected to surpass most areas of Chongshan Town in the future.

Now, the court’s intention to relocate military households and civilians to Fuzhou City was probably due to this reason.

Perhaps in a decade or so, Fuzhou City could be fully integrated into Da Rong’s territory.

However, incorporating Fuzhou City into Da Rong’s territory was easy; bringing a thousand miles of Northern territory under control would be much more difficult.

East of Black Cloud Mountain, the region was rich in water sources and fertile land; it was relatively easy to cultivate and farm there.

But to the west of Black Cloud Mountain, it was impossible; either an endless stretch of hills or vast grasslands, and to the west, it bordered the territory of the Wuliang Hu Clan, always facing the threat of the Wuliang Hu Clan.

Unless Da Rong could establish a line of defense similar to that of Chongshan Town on the border of the Wuliang Hu Clan, but that would require too much investment.

With Da Rong’s current national strength, the court would definitely not waste a large amount of manpower and resources on that.

Thus, although Da Rong acquired a thousand miles of Northern land, the area it truly had control over was only around Fushan City, which might extend to Black Cloud Mountain in the future, but the region west of Black Cloud Mountain was likely to remain beyond control.

And the court might not even care about that barren and bitterly cold land.

Of course, none of this was relevant to Yang Zhenshan. As the situation in the Northern lands stabilized, rewards and titles for the battle were gradually being confirmed.

On August 28th of the 29th year of Emperor Chengping’s reign.

The imperial edict reached Chongshan Town, promoting Lu Chongde to the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War and the Right Deputy Imperial Censor of the Imperial Examination Hall, supervising military affairs in places like Liaodong and Chongshan.

Promoting Marquis Changping Liang Chu to the Right Commander of the Central Army, specially awarded the title of high-ranking official, and in charge of the imperial guard’s Twelve Camps.

When Yang Zhenshan received this news, he was utterly dumbfounded.

Lu Chongde’s promotion to Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War and Right Deputy Imperial Censor was a predictable rise. The court probably assigned him to supervise Liaodong and Chongshan in order to develop Fuzhou City.

But Liang Chu actually took charge of the Twelve Camps of the imperial guard!

Before, the Twelve Camps of the imperial guard were under the control of Duke Ning, but now the old Emperor has actually handed them over to Liang Chu.

Is this a sign of trust in Liang Chu or distrust of Duke Ning?

After receiving the news, Yang Zhenshan had the intention to ask Zhou Lan about the situation.

However, the next day he received another piece of news: Zhou Lan was promoted to serve in the Governor’s Mansion of the Central Army, taking charge of the Fenwu Camp.

Yang Zhenshan immediately understood. This was the old Emperor’s balancing act, using Liang Chu to check Duke Ning, taking away Duke Ning’s control of the imperial guard while giving Zhou Lan control of the Fenwu Camp as a sweetener.

Although it seemed like Duke Ning suffered a great loss, in reality, from another perspective, it proved that the old Emperor had no intention of targeting Duke Ning Mansion.

Stripping power was not about confronting Duke Ning, but rather a warning to Duke Ning to stay in his lane and not cause trouble.

The promotion of Zhou Lan into the imperial guard represented the impending generational transition within Duke Ning Mansion.

That is to say, Duke Ning Zhou Mao would gradually withdraw from the core of power, and the second generation of the Duke Ning Mansion would gradually be put to greater use.

Thinking further, this should be Emperor Chengping’s preparation for stabilizing the court after the succession of the new Emperor.

When he passes away, when the new Emperor ascends the throne, they just have to request Duke Ning’s presence again, and the court situation can be stabilized by at least half.

After realizing all this, Yang Zhenshan couldn’t help but marvel.

This Emperor Chengping really was far-sighted; he was already preparing for the new Emperor.

However, Emperor Chengping is also a complex person. On one hand, he felt old, guarding against anyone coveting his throne, extremely cautious even towards his own son, but on the other hand, he was making arrangements for the succession, considering the court situation after his death.

”Alas, being an Emperor is not easy!”

Yang Zhenshan felt that Emperor Chengping was profoundly thoughtful, and also felt that the old Emperor’s life was too strenuous.

Of course, it was just a brief sigh for him; he was still a minor official at this point, and it was not yet time for him to worry about the old Emperor.

Rewards are given from the top down, starting with the governor and General, then down to the Vice General and various Assistant Generals, followed by mid-level Military Officers like Yang Zhenshan, and finally reaching the lower-ranked soldiers.

Although Liang Chu had received a promotion, in the short term he still wouldn’t leave Chongshan Town; the court gave him three months to handle the affairs of Chongshan Town before returning to the capital to assume his post.

And Yang Zhenshan didn’t place his mind on promotion either. There’s a saying that goes well: a monk strikes the bell for only a day at the temple. He is currently the garrison officer of An Yuan City and must handle the affairs of the garrison office well.

This expedition caused heavy losses to the garrison, and once the soldiers had recovered, Yang Zhenshan began to rebuild the garrison.

Rebuilding the garrison was easy; pulling soldiers from various garrisons into the garrison would suffice.

Once in the garrison, they became Camp Soldiers, entitled to full rations. Inside the garrison, they were garrison soldiers, only receiving half the rations and also responsible for garrison farming.

For most garrison soldiers, they preferred to become Camp Soldiers, just to get full rations.

The reason is simple: each military household’s garrison farm is limited. If the whole family has to scrounge for food from the land, they can’t even solve the problem of staying fed and warm. Becoming a Camp Soldier means receiving full rations, ensuring at least three people won’t starve.

But that was the past. Now, garrison soldiers also want to join the garrison, though the reasons have changed somewhat. One is because they are willing to serve under Yang Zhenshan, and the other is that they want to earn big money.

There’s no need to elaborate on the gains made by the garrison soldiers on this expedition; it made those who farmed in the garrisons envious.

Not to mention them, even Xie Yuan and Wu Chongzhe were extremely envious and jealous of Han Cheng.

In terms of strength, they were not the slightest bit weaker than Han Cheng; in terms of capability, they didn’t think they were inferior to Han Cheng.

This time Han Cheng followed Yang Zhenshan on the expedition and achieved a lot, and he will certainly be promoted next.

But what about them?

They hadn’t reaped any credits, barely counted as having performed hard labor, and if they wanted a promotion, they’d have to wait for the next opportunity, with no idea if it would come any time soon.

At the end of August, soldiers were pulled from the garrisons to join the garrison.

New recruits in the camp naturally required proper training. Although these soldiers had received training from the garrison before, they were far inferior compared to the old soldiers of the garrison.

Therefore, after the new recruits joined, practical training was promptly arranged.

That day, after inspecting the training of the new recruits, Yang Zhenshan set out of the city with Yang Mingcheng.

The Yang family horse ranch, a large-scale horse ranch covering a thousand acres.

Inside the ranch were not only stables, storage, and houses, but also more than ten tenant servants and hundreds of acres of fertile land.

There were about two hundred people in the whole ranch, half of them were servants of the Yang family, and the other half were the Yang family’s laborers.

Ma San was in charge of the ranch. When Yang Zhenshan arrived at the ranch, Ma San was leading people to exercise horses. After receiving reports from his men, he quickly rode over to greet him.

”Milord, your servant greets you!”

Upon seeing Yang Zhenshan, Ma San’s face beamed with joy.

Raising horses was what he loved to do. Becoming a laborer for the Yang family was a reluctant decision at the time, as he was driven out of the Governor’s Office and needed an urgent job to support his family.

The Yang family gave him a job, and to be honest, at first, he was quite resentful, although he was just a groom, he was a capable man.

But later, as he interacted more with Yang Zhenshan and Yang Mingcheng, he came to accept reality. Indeed, serving as a laborer for the Yang family was not bad, especially since the head of the household was kind and treated him well.

Later on, he brought his family to An Yuan City, and Yang Zhenshan sent his son to school. He became even more grateful to Yang Zhenshan.