Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 360: Chapter 346: 800 Li Urgent Report

Yang Zhenshan felt that there was something amiss at the court, but he couldn’t pinpoint what it was exactly, so he could only ask Wu Zheng to keep an eye on the changes in the court.

In the following half month, Emperor Chengping remained in a state of semi-coma, occasionally waking up, although he had been bedridden, there seemed to be no signs of his passing away.

Meanwhile, at the court, the Crown Prince took charge of state affairs, and everything appeared calm, whether it was the Crown Prince, Prince Cheng, or Prince Gong, all kept to their duties and did not overstep in any way.

It seemed as if everything was normal, yet everything also seemed so abnormal, leaving Yang Zhenshan rather confused.

Shouldn’t the Crown Prince, Prince Cheng, and Prince Gong be fighting each other to death at this point?

Why is everyone so calm?

Could this be the calm before the storm?

Yang Zhenshan couldn’t understand and eventually had no choice but to set aside these troubling matters and refocus on the development of the Tenglong Guard.

No matter what changes might occur in the Capital City, there was very little he could currently do.

Rather than troubling himself, it was better to stay calm and observe the changes.

However, Yang Zhenshan never expected that the first storm would not erupt in the Capital City but in Chongshan Town.

In the thirty-fourth year of Chengping’s reign, on the tenth day of May.

On the West Road of Chongshan Town, plumes of wolf smoke rose straight up from the garrison, a shocking sight.

Faintly, from within the garrison, the sounds of gongs and wooden clappers could also be heard.

The wolf smoke spread from the northernmost end of the West Road toward the south and east, continuously rising and by a blink of an eye, it had reached Daning City, the residence of the Assistant General Mansion of Chongshan Town’s West Road.

When the wolf smoke arrived, Daning City had already closed its gates, and the soldiers on the city walls were prepared for battle.

However, the expected enemy did not arrive at the foot of Daning City; instead, they bypassed Daning City and penetrated deep into Da Rong territory.

On the thirteenth of May.

A formidable force of thirty thousand Northern barbarian cavalry appeared outside Shunyang County, and in less than a day, Shunyang County fell, and tens of thousands of civilians became captives of the Hu Clan.

These were not from the East Sea Hu Clan, or rather, they previously belonged to the East Sea Hu Clan.

Yes, they were the Wulas of the Wuliang Hu Clan who had chosen to join them.

During the battle in the Northern years ago, all of the eight tribes of the East Sea Hu Clan were annihilated except for the Wulas, who seeing the situation dire, moved west and resettled in the lands of the Wuliang Hu Clan.

Counting the time, this had already happened over five years ago.

However, the current Northern barbarian cavalry not only had Wula riders but also included a regiment of about a thousand Iron Armor Cavalry from the King Wuliang Tribe.

Unlike the East Sea Hu Clan that also established a dynasty but was internally disorganized with each of the eight tribes conducting their governance, the Wuliang Hu Clan had been a cohesive dynasty for nearly two hundred years, and Da Rong had long acknowledged the existence of the Wuliang Dynasty.

In contrast, the Wuliang Hu Clan was undeniably stronger and had more potential, which is why they had long been the biggest threat to the Northern Border of Da Rong.

Beiyuan Town, which stood against the Wuliang Hu Clan, was also one of the most potent garrison towns of Da Rong.

The clashes between Beiyuan Town and the Wuliang Hu Clan had never ceased, but the skirmishes between them remained on a small scale and did not escalate into a full-fledged war between nations.

Now, with the Wulas invading Chongshan Town, it was clear that this was not an action solely taken by the Wulas but an invasion prepared by the entire Wuliang Hu Clan.

Shunyang County is a county under the administration of Huade Prefecture in Liaoxi Province, and Liaoxi and Liaodong are divided by Changqing Mountain, with Liaodong consisting of Liao Yuan, Ping Yuan, and Shanhe Provinces, while Liaoxi is a standalone province, bordered by the West Road of Chongshan Town to the north and the East Road of Beiyuan Town to the west.

After occupying Shunyang County, the Wula Army did not stop; they headed directly towards the City of Huade Prefecture.

At the same time, another thirty thousand Wuliang troops broke through the defenses and entered the territory of Liaoxi.

...

On the fifteenth of May, on the official road outside the north gate of the Capital City.

”Make way, urgent report over eight hundred miles!”

”Urgent report over eight hundred miles!”

A courier, while spurring his horse to a gallop, roared at the top of his voice.

His voice was hoarse and urgent, and passersby on the official road quickly stepped aside.

Soon, the courier reached the city gate, ”Make way, urgent report over eight hundred miles!”

Hearing this, the guards at the gate turned pale, hurriedly moved the roadblocks, opened the gates, and it was not until the courier had charged into the city that they breathed a sigh of relief.

The urgent shouts continued until they reached the front of Chengtian Gate of the Imperial City.

”Urgent report from Huade Prefecture of Liaoxi Province over eight hundred miles!”

The courier arrived at the gate and before even coming to a halt, he fell from the horse.

The imperial guards, seeing this, hurried forward to help him up.

”Urgent report over eight hundred miles!”

The courier clutched the bamboo tube on his back, his voice weak.

Though every relay station was supposed to switch horses and riders, it didn’t mean the job was easy; they truly had to race against time, both horses and men.

To traverse eight hundred miles a day meant no delay was acceptable.

Any delay in delivering an urgent report could cost a head, how could the couriers not give their all?

Of course, an urgent report of eight hundred miles was not a frequent task, and most couriers might not encounter it even once in their lifetime.

”Urgent report!” the courier’s voice became increasingly hoarse, but he still urged on.

The imperial guard hurriedly pulled down the bamboo tube and trotted into the Taiji Palace.

Soon, the urgent dispatch over eight hundred miles was delivered into the Imperial Study Room, presented in front of the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince looked at the content of the urgent dispatch, and was completely stunned.

The Wuliang Hu Clan has invaded, tens of thousands of Northern barbarians have already entered Liaoxi!

The content of the urgent dispatch hit the Crown Prince’s head like a heavy hammer, causing him to be dazed for a long time before he regained his senses.

”Quick, quick, summon all the cabinet ministers!”

”Hurry up!”

The Crown Prince yelled in panic and haste, kicking a eunuch who reacted a little slowly by his side.

However, before the eunuch could leave, the Grand Secretary Li Siyuan arrived with the other four cabinet ministers.

”Your Highness, is there an urgent dispatch over eight hundred miles?” Li Siyuan asked, seeing the urgent dispatch in the hands of the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince, seeing Li Siyuan as if seeing a pillar of strength, handed over the urgent dispatch to him like a hot potato.

”Senior minister, the Wuliang Hu Clan has invaded, and tens of thousands of Northern barbarians have already entered Liaoxi!”

Li Siyuan’s expression paused, and the faces of the other four cabinet ministers changed dramatically.

Li Siyuan opened the urgent dispatch and his expression grew increasingly solemn.

The urgent dispatch came from the Magistrate of Huade Prefecture, with very scattered content, vague wording, and unclearly expressed information, but it was certain that a large number of Northern barbarians had entered the territory of Huade Prefecture.

It was understandable that the Magistrate of Huade Prefecture could not provide accurate information, as the event came too suddenly, catching them completely unprepared and unforeseeable.

”How could the Wuliang Northern barbarian appear in Huade Prefecture?” Deputy Secretary Zhou Ruoyun expressed his puzzlement.

It was not surprising that the Wuliang Hu Clan attacked the West Road of Chongshan Town, as the area north of Chongshan Town’s West Road was not controlled by Da Rong.

After annihilating the East Sea Hu Clan, Chongshan Town established Fuzhou in Fushan City and guarded it from Chongshan Town’s Northern Road, basically controlling the area east of Black Cloud Mountain. However, they did not have actual control over the area west of Black Cloud Mountain.

Over the years, the area west of Black Cloud Mountain, especially those close to the Wuliang Hu Clan, was mostly the active range of the Wula Clan.

That they would raid the West Road of Chongshan Town was not surprising to anyone, but how did the large army of the Wuliang Hu Clan enter Liaoxi?

”From the West Road of Chongshan Town!” Li Siyuan said.

”That’s impossible, even if the Wuliang Hu Clan launched a major invasion on the West Road of Chongshan Town, they couldn’t possibly enter Liaoxi this quickly!” Zhou Ruoyun was somewhat reluctant to believe.

Li Siyuan inhaled deeply, ”Nothing is impossible!”

”Your Highness, it would be imperative to summon the Six Ministries and the Five Army Commandery here to discuss a countermeasure!”

Li Siyuan was very calm, he did not doubt the authenticity of the Huade Prefecture Magistrate’s urgent dispatch. Of course, he was also not sure what exactly was happening, but now was not the time for such concerns. The most important thing now was to assemble the troops to prepare for battle against the large army of the Wuliang Hu Clan.

South of Liaoxi Province lies Shanhe Province, and south of Shanhe Province is Shuntian Prefecture. Da Rong must stop the large army of Wuliang in Liaoxi Province and absolutely can’t allow them to proceed south into Shanhe Province, otherwise the Capital City would be in danger.

Liaoxi Province had undulating mountains and several strategic towns and passes, while Shanhe Province consisted of flat plains. Once the Wuliang large army entered Shanhe Province, it could possibly reach the outskirts of the Capital City within just two to three days.

”Yes, yes, you all go quickly and summon ministers from the various departments and commanderies now,” the Crown Prince, still in a state of panic, hurriedly told the eunuchs by his side.

A group of young eunuchs dared not delay and frantically ran out of the Imperial Study Room.

Seeing this, Li Siyuan sighed inwardly.

”His Majesty was right, the Crown Prince is not up to the task.”

Li Siyuan was seventy-three years old this year. He absolutely counted as one of the veteran officials in the court. Before Emperor Chengping ascended the throne, he was already a reader at the Hanlin Academy, serving in government for forty years and in the cabinet for over twenty years, holding the position of Grand Secretary for over a decade.

Being Grand Secretary under Emperor Chengping for over a decade showed how much Emperor Chengping trusted him, proving that he was indeed a capable minister.

Soon, the Chiefs of Staff from the Six Ministries and the Commanders from the Five Army Commands gathered in the Taiji Palace to discuss the major invasion by the Wuliang Hu Clan.

...

While the urgent dispatch reached the Capital City, the news of the Wuliang army entering the territory spread throughout Chongshan Town and from there reached Liaodong.

On May 16th, Yang Zhenshan received the message in the Tenglong Guard.

His information came from Yang Family Village, and the message from Yang Family Village came from Chongshan Town.

Currently, many descendants of the Yang family still held positions in Chongshan Town, and although Yang Zhenshan didn’t have much contact with these relatives, the Clan Leader Yang Zhengxiang would definitely correspond with them.

With the invasion by the Wuliang Hu Clan, the descendants of the Yang family in Chongshan Town naturally communicated this to their clan, as Huade Prefecture and Jing’an Prefecture were separated by only one mountain, although that mountain was Changqing Mountain, the distance was merely a hundred or so miles.

In the front courtyard study of Yang Family, Yang Zhenshan looked at the letter sent from Yang Family Village, his eyebrows deeply furrowed.

”Did your grandfather have any other instructions?”

After reading the letter, he looked up at the person who delivered the message.

The messenger was Yang Chenghe, the third grandson of Yang Zhengxiang and the younger brother of Yang Chengze.

”There’s nothing else, grandfather just asked me to deliver the letter to the General!” Yang Chenghe spoke somewhat cautiously.

Yang Zhenshan nodded slightly, ”Well, you go rest first!”

”Yes! Your servant takes his leave!” Yang Chenghe exited the study.

Yang Zhenshan took out the letter again for another read.

The information in the letter was much more detailed than the urgent dispatch sent to the Capital City, as it was also sent from Chongshan Town today.

The letter explained that two large forces from the Wuliang Hu Clan had successively crossed the defense line of Chongshan Town’s West Road and entered Liaoxi Province, with troop strength estimated between forty to fifty thousand.