Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather.

Chapter 580 Are you dissatisfied with His Majesty’s arrangements?

In this battle, Darong was defeated, and defeated miserably!
Even if Yang Zhengshan broke through Yemi City, even if Yang Mingzhen and Yang Chengze slaughtered dozens of tribes and killed countless people in the heart of Wuliang King's court, it could not cover up the fact that Dayong was defeated.

Because Dayong suffered greater casualties, more civilians were killed and injured, and Dayong lost more gold, silver, and various materials.

Why did Darong fail?

Yang Zhengshan closed his eyes, leaned back in his chair, and fell into silence.

Tang Feihu, Niu Zhuang, Yang Mingzhi and other generals standing in the tent also fell into silence.

Why did Darong fail?

Yang Zhengshan had a lot of thoughts in his mind.

Beiyuan Town is not worthy of its name. It has always been regarded as the most powerful of the nine border towns. The court has always given the most support to Beiyuan Town, but what is the result?

Beiyuan Town actually lasted less than three months under the attack of the Wulianghu army.

This was probably a result that no one expected.

The corruption of the military garrisons in various places is a problem of Dayong, a problem that has never been solved.

If the garrisons in Longyuan had not been corrupted, and if the soldiers in the garrisons in Longyuan still had some combat effectiveness, the Wulianghu cavalry would not have been able to plunder in Longyuan at will.

Even if the garrison soldiers cannot stop the Wulianghu cavalry, they should be able to delay time with the help of the strong city.

But the result?

The Wulianghu cavalry entered the Longyuan area as if they were in an empty land. In less than a month, they actually captured four provincial capitals and twelve county towns.

Yang Zhengshan found it ridiculous just thinking about it!

Are the Wulianghu cavalry very strong?

Most of the Wulianghu cavalry were just a group of herdsmen, not much different from the ordinary young and strong men of Darong.

But the soldiers of Longyuan garrison had no power to resist at all!
There are also local government offices and courts.

Their response was too slow and their scheduling capabilities were too poor.

The local government offices in Longyuan were like a formality. They did not organize soldiers and young and strong men to defend the city at the first time. Many officials even abandoned the city and fled.

The court did not mobilize military support immediately, and dragged its feet for a month, allowing the Wulianghu cavalry to withdraw calmly.

Before, Yang Zhengshan was still mocking the scattered tribes of the Wuliang tribe, but now look at the Darong court and local government offices.

"Hey, they're all the same stuff! It's just a matter of who's worse!"

Yang Zhengshan opened his eyes dully, his face full of helplessness.

Maybe he was wrong. He shouldn't have thought about attacking Wei to save Zhao, but should have gone directly to support Beiyuan Town.

But if that were really done, the war might last longer and Chongshan Town would suffer greater casualties.

No matter how strong Chongshan Town was, it was impossible to wipe out two or three hundred thousand Hu cavalry in three months.

Once a head-on battle with the Hu cavalry occurs, the soldiers of Chongshan Town will definitely suffer heavy casualties.

By then, there will not be seven or eight thousand heroic souls, but tens of thousands of heroic souls.

It is even possible that the foundation accumulated by Chongshan Town over the past ten years will be destroyed.

This is not to say that Chongshan Town is not strong enough. On the contrary, if Chongshan Town can defeat two or three hundred thousand Hu cavalry head-on, it will be enough to prove the strength of Chongshan Town.

Indeed, Chongshan Town has developed rapidly in recent years, and the strength of the soldiers in Chongshan Town is also very strong, but don’t forget that Chongshan Town was originally just a relatively low-ranked border town among the nine border towns in Dayong.

Moreover, the court has not allocated a single ounce of silver or a single grain of rice to Chongshan Town over the years.

What about Beiyuan Town?

Every year, the imperial court had to pay in millions of taels of silver and more than 100,000 shi of grain and fodder.

But even so, Chongshan Town is still stronger than Beiyuan Town, which is enough to prove the strength of Chongshan Town.

At this time, Yang Zhengshan's mood was very complicated. He felt sad about the plight of the people in Beiyuan Town and Longyuan, indignant for the officials in Beiyuan Town, and dissatisfied with the inaction of the court and government at all levels.

He hasn't had such mixed emotions in a long time.

"Let's withdraw too!"

Yang Zhengshan stated his decision.

"My lord, aren't we going to occupy Sari Lake?" Tang Feihu asked somewhat unwillingly.

He was not idle during this period. After arranging the tasks in the camp, he kept wandering around Sari Lake.

The winding Sari Lake is thirty miles long from north to south and seven miles wide at its widest point from east to west. Every spring and summer, after the snow on the Menghe Mountain melts, more than a dozen small rivers and streams flow into the Sari Lake.

The tens of thousands of acres of grassland on the west side of Lake Sari can be irrigated by building a few larger reservoirs and some canals, while the water from Lake Sari can also be used for irrigation on the east side of Lake Sari.

In three years, only three years, with the strength of Chongshan Town, 300,000 acres of fertile land can be reclaimed around Sari Lake.

A few days ago, Tang Feihu even made some plans in his mind. He thought that if he was responsible for reclaiming the land around Sari Lake, he should start from there.

He also calculated that if they cultivated land here, they could station 20,000 troops.

How could Yang Zhengshan be willing to give up such a precious land?

Yang Zhengshan smiled helplessly, "How to occupy it?"

"The strength of the Chici tribe is intact, and the strength of the Tatar tribe has hardly been damaged. If we continue to stay here, not only will we be unable to occupy Lake Sari, but we may be attacked from both sides!"

"And don't forget, there is a Ula tribe nearby. If we set up camp here, the Ula tribe won't dare to show up. But if we reclaim wasteland, cultivate fields and station troops here, the Ula tribe will definitely fight us to the death!"

"Withdraw your troops!"

Yang Zhengshan shook his head slightly, stood up, and walked out of the tent with a somewhat desolate look.

He could roughly guess where the Ula tribe was hiding, which was probably in the snowy plains in the north.

The resources in the snowfields are definitely not enough to support the survival of the Ula tribe. They can hide in the snowfields today, but they will have to come out next year.

As for occupying Lake Sari, if Beiyuan Town could block the Wuliang army, if Beiyuan Town could inflict heavy losses on the Tatar tribe, he might still be thinking about occupying Lake Sari.

Unfortunately, Beiyuan Town was not blocked and the Tatar tribe did not suffer too serious losses.

If Chongshan Town occupies Sari Lake, there will never be a peaceful life again.

In addition, there is a more important reason.

That is, there is no need for Chongshan Town to expand its territory now.

The vast and fertile land between Heiyunwei and Fuzhou City has not been fully developed yet. And the area west of Heiyunwei has been developed less than 20%. Why should Chongshan Town go to such great lengths to compete for Sari Lake?
The military households, civilians, and refugees who migrated to the north in Chongshan Town have only enjoyed a few years of good life. There is no need to drag them into the quagmire of war at this time.

……

The army of Chongshan Town retreated.

Slowly retreating from the exit of Menghe Mountain Que, Tang Wuxi stood on the city wall of Dongque Pass, looking at the burning camp with a calm expression.

"Captain of the Banner, are you just going to let them go like this?" The burly Batuer stood beside Tang Wuxi and asked softly.

"What else?" Tang Wuxi looked at him in a daze. "Wutuo has already sent an imperial decree. Do we still have to continue the war with Chongshan Town at this time?"

Batuer's eyes flashed dangerously, "Master Zhixuan is dead, and Wutuo's greatest support is gone. We don't need to pay attention to their edicts!"

Tang Wuximo rubbed his rough beard and said, "No, we still have to go to the royal city. Don't forget that Wutuo still has 100,000 elite cavalry!"

"But what if he does something bad to the flag owner?" Batuer asked.

"So I can't go, you go!" Tang Wuxi said.

Batu was stunned. "Is it appropriate for me to go?"

Tang Wuxi said: "What's inappropriate? I still have to deal with the Chongshan Town army on the opposite side, so I naturally can't leave Dongque Pass!"

Batuer was even more confused. He looked at the burning camp opposite and then at Tang Wuxi in front of him. His mind was a little confused.

"You, you, when will you grow some brains?"

Tang Wuxi complained.

Batuer suddenly had an idea and laughed, "The Banner Master is right. There are still 100,000 troops from Chongshan Town outside Dongque Pass. The Banner Master naturally cannot leave Dongque Pass! So he can only send his subordinates to the Royal City to respond to the imperial edict!"

Tang Wuxi smiled, "Go and see what other tricks Wu Tuo has. If his attitude is relatively mild, then you should be more polite. If his attitude is very strong, then you should be more aggressive!"

"What if he kills me?" Batuer said worriedly.

Tang Wuxi looked at him seriously, "Don't worry, I will avenge you!"

"..."

Batuer cried, "Master, I don't want to die yet!"

"Haha~~"

Tang Wuxi laughed.

……

Before Yang Zhengshan returned to Chongshan Pass, internal turmoil among the Wulianghu tribe began.

Wutuo summoned the princes of various tribes to the royal city to discuss matters, but only one prince, Cui Liang, showed up among the eight princes.

The Ula clan was still hiding in the snowy land. Although the remaining six princes had sent people there, it was obvious that they only wanted to deal with Wutuo.

Uto was very angry about this, but he did not show it.

Uto was a man who was very good at forbearance. His forbearance allowed him to sit on the throne, his forbearance allowed him to control the Wuliang royal court, and now he decided to forbear again.

He needed time to subdue the various tribes, and these had little impact on Yang Zhengshan. At least in the short term, Wutuo was no longer able to continue to invade Dayong in the south, nor could he send troops to attack Chongshan Town.

On the first day of July, Yang Zhengshan returned to Chongshan Pass.

Zhou Lan has recovered, and the newly appointed governor of the court has also arrived at Chongshan Pass.

The new governor, Zhang Zhecheng, is also the Minister of War, the Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, and the Governor of Chongshan Town.

In the general's mansion, Zhou Lan and Yang Zhengshan were sitting in the study.

"What is the origin of this Zhang Zhecheng?" Zhou Lan asked.

Yang Zhengshan leaned back in his chair and said lazily, "He is Zhou Yunsong's student. He was the runner-up in the imperial examination in the 26th year of Chengping. He served successively as a doctor in the Ministry of Works, a junior official in the Imperial Household Department, and a minister in the Imperial Household Department."

The Minister of the Imperial Household was a third-rank official. Even if Yang Zhengshan did not care about state affairs, he would know the ministers in the court.

Of course, this is all he knew about Zhang Zhecheng.

Zhou Lan frowned, "Then he is a member of the Long Party?"

"I don't know." Yang Zhengshan shook his head. "After Zhou Yunsong resigned, the Long Party became more complicated. It seems that Lu Ming replaced Zhou Yunsong, but in fact Lu Ming does not have Zhou Yunsong's prestige. He represents the interests of two kinds of people. One is the interests of a small number of people in Longyuan, and the other is the officials of the Yuancheng Palace!"

When Zhou Yunsong was in office, Long Party officials were not limited to those from Longyuan, but also included many of Zhou Yunsong's students and old friends.

After Zhou Yunsong resigned, the original Long Party became officials from Longyuan represented by Lu Ming. As for Zhou Yunsong's disciples and old friends, it is unclear whether they still belong to the Long Party.

Lu Ming was also an official in the Prince Cheng's Palace. He was originally the Left Chief Clerk of Emperor Yanping. At that time, Emperor Yanping had few people he could use, and Lu Ming was considered the most worthy one among them.

After Emperor Yanping ascended the throne, the officials in the palace also rose to high positions. It took Lu Ming less than seven years to be promoted from a chief secretary of a royal palace to the second assistant of the cabinet.

So now Lu Ming can represent both the Long Party and those officials who came out of the City Prince’s Palace.

Zhang Zhecheng was neither an official from Longyuan nor an official in the Emperor Yanping's palace.

"Is there something wrong with him?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

Zhou Lan shook her head. "That's not the case, but it's precisely because it's not the case that it's strange!"

"It's not surprising. Chongshan Town has been peaceful for too long, and there are always people who want to interfere with Chongshan Town." Yang Zhengshan said.

No one had ever interfered with Chongshan Town before, because Yang Zhengshan was so powerful.

But now, after the battle with the Wulianghu tribe, Yang Zhengshan was impeached a lot, which made some people covet Chongshan Town.

This person could be Lu Ming or someone else.

Zhou Lan frowned. She didn't want anyone to destroy the prosperous Chongshan Town.

Seeing her like this, Yang Zhengshan couldn't help but laugh and asked, "Did His Majesty remove you from your position as the general?"

"Not yet!" Zhou Lan said.

"That's it. You will still be the general of Chongshan Town from now on!" Yang Zhengshan said.

"But why did Your Majesty agree to let Zhang Zhecheng come to Chongshan Town?" Zhou Lan asked.

Yang Zhengshan said: "Balance, my reputation in Chongshan Town is too high, so His Majesty will not let me stay in Chongshan Town. You are in charge of Chongshan Town, but you have a close relationship with me. His Majesty is worried, so he arranged for someone who has nothing to do with us to be the governor!"

"Your Majesty did not move Chongshan Town before because it needed to be developed. But now that Lord Pang Da was assassinated, Your Majesty can no longer allow Chongshan Town to remain a rock!"

"Our Majesty loves to practice these balancing arts the most!"

Zhou Lan nodded, indicating that she understood. "Then what should we do next? Should we drive Zhang Zhecheng away?"

Yang Zhengshan looked at her in surprise, "Are you dissatisfied with His Majesty's arrangement?"

Zhou Lan looked at him and said helplessly: "Chongshan Town is not only the foundation of your Jing'an Marquis, but also the foundation of my Ningguo Mansion. Now I can only rely on you!"

"Haha~~" Yang Zhengshan laughed, "We are in the same boat!"

"You and I have been in the same boat for a long time! But I don't think I can stay in Chongshan Town for long!" Zhou Lan's thoughts were very clear.

The Ningguo Mansion has fallen into decline, and as Zhou Mao grows older, the glory of the Ningguo Mansion is long gone.

However, Prince Zhou Xu has neither powerful cultivation nor has he led troops. He is now just an idle person.

Although there are a few talented youngsters in the Ningguo Mansion, it is a pity that they cannot make a name for themselves in a short period of time.

Therefore, this huge Ningguo Mansion can only be supported by Zhou Lan.

And now Zhou Lan also has to rely on Yang Zhengshan. Only with Yang Zhengshan's support can she control Chongshan Town.

(End of this chapter)