Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 993: Chapter 697: Kid, Broaden Your Horizons

Han Zhenchuan is still too young, or perhaps Han Che is too optimistic.

He wants to negotiate terms with Zhou Lan now, but will Zhou Lan negotiate terms with them?

The issue in front of Zhou Lan is not how to reclaim the four western frontier towns, but how to fend off the Da Yue Dynasty’s attack while also campaigning against the Wuliang Royal Court.

Han Zhenchuan lowered his head, not daring to look at Zhou Lan, and instead said softly, “If Aunt needs it, the Han family is willing to follow Aunt’s lead!”

Zhou Lan laughed, and Wang Yunqiao next to her also laughed.

“Haha, to follow my lead, is it?”

“Is this your idea or your father’s idea?”

Han Zhenchuan replied awkwardly, “It’s my father’s idea!”

“Haha, your father is still so brainless!” Zhou Lan sneered.

Han Zhenchuan felt even more embarrassed, wanting to retort against Zhou Lan but didn’t know how to speak.

Seeing him like this, Zhou Lan’s tone became slightly gentler and asked, “First, tell me how you plan to help us reclaim Anxi Town and Wusi Town!”

Han Zhenchuan’s expression changed, and he quickly said, “The Sun family wants to establish their own army, but many generals in Anxi Town and Wusi Town are unwilling to follow the Sun family in their foolish actions!”

“My father has already contacted six Assistant Generals, as long as Aunt is willing, they will immediately pledge allegiance to the new dynasty, ready to expel the Sun family from Anxi Town at any time!”

Zhou Lan’s expression remained unchanged, “What are the conditions?”

“A Duke, five Marquises, and all hereditary and unchangeable!” Han Zhenchuan said.

Zhou Lan laughed, “Such wishful thinking!”

“Do you think the Da’an New Dynasty is named Han?”

“Is that what you also think?”

Han Zhenchuan was not bothered by Zhou Lan’s sarcasm and said, “No, nephew knows this request is too delusional; nephew believes one Marquis, five Earls are enough!”

Zhou Lan looked at him, seemingly pondering.

“How old is your father?”

“He is fifty-eight this year!”

“He is old!” Zhou Lan said.

She is ten years older than Han Che, but she could calmly say Han Che is old.

Because she is an Innate Martial Artist, and Han Che is not.

Zhou Lan further said, “Perhaps you all have stayed in this remote place too long and don’t know the great trends of the world anymore!”

What she said was not an exaggeration but a real truth.

The western frontier towns are far from the Capital City, and information transfer is extremely inconvenient. Previously, there were official courier routes from the court, so many messages could be sent over. But since the chaos, the courier routes have long been abandoned, and relay stations along the way have closed one after another; to get any news, one can only send people to inquire.

It can be said the western frontier towns receive news at least three months later, and even then, the news they receive is incomplete.

Zhou Lan no longer paid any attention to Han Zhenchuan and turned to look at Wang Yunqiao, saying, “Spread the word for me, the soldiers from Suzhou Town and Tingzhou Town have made meritorious contributions in resisting Da Yue Dynasty’s attack; once Da Yue Dynasty is defeated, I will personally request rewards from the court, granting four Second-rank Earls, hereditary and unchangeable!”

“Also, send someone to Anxi Town to deliver a letter to the Sun family, telling Sun Yunbo that he must dispatch troops to campaign against the Da Yue Dynasty within a month. If he can defeat the Da Yue Dynasty, the Sun family can keep their Marquis title; if he refuses, it will be deemed treason, leading to family extermination!”

“Damn it, do they really think I’m vegetarian? Everyone dares to negotiate terms with me!”

Originally, she wanted to wait and see how many usable people were left in the four frontier towns, but now she could no longer afford it.

The Wuliang Royal Court’s army is just north of Longbei Town, and she must prioritize resolving the Wuliang Royal Court.

But the four towns in the west cannot be neglected either; the issue on the Bashu side should not be significant, as there are the Taiping Army in Bashu, and there are the Yunling Town forces in Tibet, Guo Ying should be able to stabilize the situation over there.

But on the Longxi side, she has to rely on herself; currently, due to insufficient military strength, she’s constrained, but it doesn’t mean she is without any means.

Four Second-rank Earls are enough to make the generals of Suzhou Town and Tingzhou Town scramble and fight.

As for the Sun family, Zhou Lan wants to see if Sun Yunbo’s head is filled with mush!

Hearing Zhou Lan’s words, Han Zhenchuan’s face changed dramatically, “Aunt!”

Zhou Lan gave him a cold glance, “You’re clever, but you’re too young. Didn’t your father tell you that the world already bears the surname Yang?”

“Oh right, your father probably doesn’t understand what the Yang family represents, huh, go back and tell your father not to dream about unrealistic things, and let him stay put obediently!”

Do others not understand the Yang family, but does Zhou Lan not understand?

Perhaps she doesn’t know how powerful the Yang family is now, but she knows the Yang family definitely has the confidence to claim supremacy in the world.

She was previously the General of Beiyuan Town, and under her command were Song Dashan, Yang Chengze, Yang Chengxu, and Yang Mingzhen, and beside her were Wang Yunqiao and Song Hao, as well as many Yang family disciples.

Not to mention others, just talking about Wang Yunqiao and Song Hao, Wang Yunqiao is now nearly fifty years old, and her cultivation has already reached the Innate Realm.

Song Hao has also stepped into the Innate Realm.

Judging by Wang Yunqiao and Song Hao alone, one can speculate that the Yang family now possesses numerous Innate Martial Artists.

The most terrifying aspect of the Yang family now is not how much territory they occupy or how many soldiers they have, but how many Innate Martial Artists they possess.

One Innate Martial Artist cannot change the great trends of the world, but what about ten?

Twenty?

Thirty?

Dozens of Innate Martial Artists united together are enough to dominate the world.

The key is not how many Innate Martial Artists there are, but how many can be gathered together.

Why did Da Rong previously fall into an utterly passive situation? Because the reckless actions of Emperor Yanping led to the court and all levels of society losing cohesion. From nobles to civil officials, from Innate Martial Artists to worldly forces, all fell out of the emperor’s control.

This led to Emperor Jianxing being unable to win over those Innate Martial Artists when he ascended the throne.

People like An Yuxing and Zhang Luan, did they truly have no attachment to Da Rong?

No, they had deep feelings for Da Rong, but they were unable to serve it.

At that time, Da Rong was like a quagmire; anyone entering it would be covered in mud and unable to accomplish anything.

So An Yuxing, Zhang Luan, and others had no choice but to leave Da Rong.

If they hadn’t left Da Rong, if Emperor Jianxing had been willing to trust them, they could have still supported Da Rong’s territory.

Back then, it was with the help of a group of Innate Martial Artists that Emperor Chengping managed to control the court. Unfortunately, Emperor Jianxing, Chen Zhaojun, lacked Emperor Chengping’s skill and eventually failed to win over those Innate Martial Artists.

Now the Yang family can, Yang Zhenshan can.

Yang Zhenshan has extensive connections, substantial prestige, and uses Chongshan Town and Liaodong as a foundation. This is why the Yang family can dominate the world.

Whether it is Sun Yunbo or Han Che, they haven’t understood this and are still using old methods used to deal with Da Rong to face the Da’an New Dynasty.

This makes them look quite foolish.

Compared to them, Guo Ying is much shrewder. Upon learning that the Qu family had allied with the Yang family, Guo Ying understood the massive gap between the Guo family and the Yang family, realizing they had no right to compete for power.

Thus, Guo Ying decisively chose to ally with the Yang family, gave up control over Yunling Town, went to Bashu to take over the Taiping Army, and even moved his family to the Capital City.

Han Zhenchuan looked at Zhou Lan in a daze; this was entirely contrary to his plans before coming. He assumed Zhou Lan would gladly accept their Han family’s submission, but in reality, Zhou Lan did not care about their allegiance.

He could even sense Zhou Lan’s disdain for the Han family.

This made him very anxious.

“Aunt!”

With a thud, he knelt directly in front of Zhou Lan.

“Shut up! You’re in the military now; there’s no aunt here, only the Left Governor of the Central Army Commander’s Mansion, the Great General of the Northern Campaign, Zhou Lan!” Zhou Lan reprimanded coldly.

“See him out!”

Wang Yunqiao stepped forward, “Please!”

“General, wait, I still have something to say!” Han Zhenchuan hurriedly said.

At that moment, he had lost all composure, left with only urgency and panic.

Wang Yunqiao glanced at Zhou Lan, and seeing Zhou Lan’s cold expression, she no longer hesitated, grabbing Han Zhenchuan by the collar and dragging him out of the tent.

“I can walk myself, General, General, I can walk myself!” Han Zhenchuan, dragged out of the tent, came to his senses, no longer calling out to Zhou Lan, instead pleading with Wang Yunqiao.

Wang Yunqiao released him, allowing him to stand up.

“We’ve long seen through your little thoughts; after all, you’re not the only ones coming to pledge allegiance!”

“Oh, you’re still too young!”

“Young man, think bigger; don’t keep your eyes solely on this tiny plot of land in the west!”

Perhaps it was because Han Zhenchuan was handsome, or maybe because Wang Yunqiao thought he wasn’t too bad, she kindly offered him some advice.

Han Zhenchuan stood up, awkwardly smiled.

“Thank you, General, for the advice. May I know the General’s esteemed name?”

Wang Yunqiao looked at him, with a gentle smile, “You don’t even know who I am?”

“Uh!” Han Zhenchuan was stunned again.

“Then truly you are ignorant!” Wang Yunqiao laughed.

At that moment, clad in Iron Armor, Wang Yunqiao’s presence was rather remarkable.

She said this not because she thought herself that famous, but because if Han Zhenchuan had come, shouldn’t he at least inquire about the people around Zhou Lan?

With such inadequate intelligence work, naturally, his actions lacked order.

“I have followed General Zhou for thirty years, and my master is Yang Zhenshan.”

“Yang Zhenshan!” Han Zhenchuan, after all, wasn’t completely ignorant.

His mouth dropped open in shock as he looked at Wang Yunqiao.

He genuinely hadn’t expected that the woman before him was a disciple of Yang Zhenshan.

“You’re smart enough; I’ll give you a couple more tips! When you return, talk to your father, you now only have one chance, and that’s to persuade the Sun family to surrender to the New Dynasty. Only then can your Han family survive. Otherwise, your Han family will perish along with the Sun family!”

With that, Wang Yunqiao left a faint smile and walked away.

A moment later, Wang Yunqiao dispatched squads of scouts to relay Zhou Lan’s words to all sides.

The four Second-rank Earls were like carrots, dangled by Zhou Lan in front of one donkey after another, enticing the generals of Suzhou Town and Tingzhou Town to more vigorously resist the Da Yue Dynasty’s attack.

Previously, Zhou Lan merely spoke of rewarding merit, painting an uncertain image of a pie, but now she added a few strokes to depict meat on the pie, dramatically increasing its temptation.

As long as those generals thought of defecting to Da’an, they had to strive hard in their performance.

As for whether they wanted to dominate a region, of course they did, but they lacked the power, so they could only submit to the Da’an New Dynasty.