Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather.

Chapter 613 Self-preservation and development

On Xingyue Island.

Yang Mingcheng was pacing back and forth in the main room of his house.

"Oh, what are you doing walking back and forth? You're making me dizzy!" Wang, who was sitting next to them, said with some dissatisfaction.

Yang Mingcheng looked outside the door and said, "Why haven't my second and third brothers come back yet?"

"What happened?" Wang was a little confused.

Yang Mingcheng looked at her helplessly, "You wouldn't understand even if I told you!"

"You're not me, so I don't know!" Wang glared.

Yang Mingcheng was speechless and could only say: "Chen Zhaoxuan is dead!"

Wang was slightly surprised, "Who is Chen Zhaoxuan?"

"It's the King of Dai!" Yang Mingcheng said.

Wang couldn't help but feel a little annoyed, "How could I not know the King of Dai? Isn't he Dad's apprentice?"

Wang and Chen Zhaoxuan were naturally not familiar with each other. Although Chen Zhaoxuan often went to the Yang family before, he had never entered the Yang family's backyard, and had only met Wang a few times. Wang didn't even know his name.

"How did he die?"

"Killed by bandits!"

"Where did the bandits come from?"

"There are many bandits in Longnan!"

"Why are there so many bandits in Longnan?"

Wang has more questions than a hundred thousand whys.

She hasn't been back to Darong for more than ten years. She doesn't pay attention to Darong's affairs on weekdays and has no idea about Darong's current situation.

Yang Mingcheng would often receive letters from Darong and had some understanding of Darong's situation, but he did not expect Darong to be in this state now.

"Oh, don't ask anymore!" Yang Mingcheng felt extremely annoyed.

"You fool, you actually find me annoying!"

"I don't!"

"You're still saying no, you just think I'm annoying!" Wang said.

Faced with the unreasonable Wang, Yang Mingcheng could only patiently explain Darong's current situation.

The more Wang listened, the more surprised she became. At the end, she couldn't help but ask, "Is Darong so chaotic now?"

"Yeah, it's very messy!" Yang Mingcheng also calmed down.

He was indeed a little flustered just now, as Chen Zhaoxuan's death had a great impact on him.

One reason is that Chen Zhaoxuan is Yang Zhengshan’s disciple, and the other reason is that Chen Zhaoxuan is the King of Dai of Darong.

The death of Chen Zhaoxuan meant that the turmoil in Dayong had reached an unprecedented level, and that Dayong’s turmoil was already related to the Yang family.

The one who died today was Chen Zhaoxuan, and the one who died tomorrow might be a descendant of the Yang family, or even a member of the Yang family.

Not to mention how many descendants of the Yang family are scattered all over Dayong, the Yang family members are also scattered all over Dayong.

Yang Chengye is in Chongshan Town, Yang Wanqing is in Nanjiang Town, Yang Wanting is in Kyoto, Yang Wanning and Yang Wanyu are in Tenglongwei. Many of the Yang family’s in-laws are in Dayong, and many old friends are also in Dayong. If something happens, naturally someone in the Yang family will be upset.

Just as the two were talking, the two brothers Yang Mingzhi and Yang Minghao finally arrived.

"Brother, what happened? Call us back quickly!" Yang Minghao walked into the main room with a big horse and a golden knife and shouted.

"You are finally here!" Yang Mingcheng breathed a sigh of relief.

"What happened?" Yang Mingzhi also asked.

The two sat down, and Wang immediately asked someone to serve tea and water.

Yang Mingcheng took out a large stack of letters, handed them to them, and said, "These are the letters I received in the past two days!"

"The King of Dai was besieged by bandits in Daizhou City, Longnan, and died in battle. It is said that only the King of Dai's daughter escaped!"

Yang Mingzhi and Yang Minghao looked at each other, both looking solemn.

They naturally knew that the three provinces of Longyuan had been plagued by bandits in the past two years, but they did not expect that the bandits would be so powerful that even Chen Zhaoxuan was surrounded and killed by them.

The two of them opened the letters one by one and read them.

The letters came from many sources, some were sent by the Yang family business itself, and some were sent by many of the Yang family’s relatives or old friends through the Yang family’s shops.

These letters all reveal one thing, that is, Darong is in chaos now.

"Huh! What is this?" Yang Mingzhi looked at the letter and asked in surprise.

"What's wrong?" Yang Minghao asked.

"The Imperial Merchants Bureau was investigated, and the eight imperial merchants were arrested and imprisoned!" Yang Mingzhi said.

After Luo Shang and Zhen Yang withdrew from the Imperial Merchants Bureau, there was some turmoil within the Bureau and four more Imperial Merchants were added, all of whom were wealthy businessmen from Jiangnan.

And now the eight imperial merchants have all been arrested and imprisoned.

"It seems that the imperial court is really short of money and has even started to target the imperial merchants!" Yang Minghao said.

Yang Mingzhi put down the letter in his hand and sneered disdainfully: "Those greedy guys should have been chopped off long ago!"

"You are only taking action against them now. I don't know what your majesty is thinking!"

If the Royal Commercial Bureau is well controlled, it will be a hen that lays golden eggs. But if it cannot be controlled, it will be a beast that brings disaster to the country and the people.

More than ten years ago, when Luo Shang and Zhen Yang followed Yang Zhengshan to Xingyue Island, the Royal Merchants Bureau had already shown signs of being out of control.

However, Emperor Yanping was reluctant to touch the hen that laid golden eggs, so he could only let them do whatever they wanted.

Now, after all their troubles, the court is becoming poorer and poorer.

The chaos in the three provinces of Bashu and Longyuan was also due to the efforts of the Imperial Merchants Bureau. During the severe drought, a group of merchants, led by the Imperial Merchants, raised the price of grain together, which gave further impetus to the people who already had no way to make a living.

"What do you think we should do next? Dad is not at home, so we should make a decision!" Yang Mingcheng brought the topic back to the right track.

Yang Mingzhi shook his head. "What can we do? With the current situation at the imperial court, there is nothing we can do!"

"Not only can we not do anything, but once we want to do something, we may become a thorn in the eyes and flesh of His Majesty and the court officials!" Yang Minghao said.

Both of them saw it very clearly, and they also knew why Yang Zhengshan moved the Yang family to this Xingyue Island.

Maybe they didn't understand it at first, but so many years have passed and they have long come to their senses.

Simply put, the Yang family’s influence in Darong is too great. If they do not stay away from Darong, the Yang family will inevitably become the envy of the emperor and the court.

Even though the Yang family has left Darong now, their power in Darong cannot be underestimated.

There is no need to say much about Chongshan Town and Tenglong Guard. Let's just talk about Beiyuan Town. Song Dashan is the deputy general, and Yang Mingzhen, Yang Chengze, and Yang Chengxu are lieutenant generals. At the same time, they also have many Yang family members under their command.

To say that the Yang family controls half of Beiyuan Town is a bit modest.

Of the nine border towns in Darong, Yang Zhengshan occupied almost one and a half. It would be strange if the emperor and the court were not worried. "What should we do? We can't just ignore everything!" Yang Mingcheng said.

Yang Mingzhi pondered for a moment and said, "Send a message to them. If they encounter danger, let them go to Tenglongwei and Chongshan Town, and then come to Xingyue Island from Tenglongwei and Chongshan Town!"

"Let Ding Qiu watch over Kyoto, let Wu Zhan go over to Tenglongwei, and let Wu Zheng go over to Chongshan Town!"

There are three innate warriors in charge. Although they cannot ensure the safety of everyone, they can at least guarantee them a way to retreat.

"Wu Zheng went out with my fourth brother and hasn't come back for several months!" Yang Mingcheng said.

"What has fourth brother been doing in the past two years? Why is he always not at home?" Yang Minghao asked.

Yang Mingcheng shook his head, "He said he was traveling outside, but he was gone for more than half a year!"

Yang Mingzhao naturally had to go to Xingyue Island, but he would only come back twice a year and stay for only about a month each time.

"Then let Chengche go to Chongshan Town. Mingwu is still in Chongshan Town. It should be enough to have the two of them in charge of Chongshan Town!" Yang Mingzhi said.

Yang Mingwu is also a congenital warrior, and he is currently the deputy general of Chongshan Town.

"Or I should go there myself! I'm worried about Chengye being over there!" Yang Mingcheng said with some concern.

Yang Mingzhi said: "Brother, don't go. Not only you can't go, but none of us three brothers can go!"

"Why?"

"The significance of our going there is different. Once we show up in Chongshan Town, it is likely to cause more trouble!" Yang Mingzhi said.

Yang Minghao agreed, "That's right. If we go, it will represent Dad's attitude."

The three brothers now have different identities and must not show up easily.

Especially Yang Mingcheng, as the eldest son of the Yang family, his significance is even more extraordinary.

Once they go to Chongshan Town, does it mean that the Yang family regards Chongshan Town as its private territory? Although this is the fact, this matter certainly cannot be made public.

Yang Mingcheng hesitated and said, "Then I'll ask Chengye to send Sheng'er and Han'er over!"

Yang Chengye has three sons and two daughters. The eldest son, Yang Qinyuan, is 20 years old this year. He got married a long time ago and now lives on Xingyue Island.

The eldest daughter, Yang Ruochen, is eighteen years old this year. She just married Wu Zhan’s youngest son a year ago and now also lives on the island.

The second son, Yang Qinming, is fifteen years old this year and is currently practicing on the island. Wang is also helping him find a marriage partner.

Yang Qinsheng is twelve years old this year, and Yang Ruohan is nine years old. Logically, when Yang Qinsheng turns thirteen, he will be sent to Xingyue Island, because thirteen is the right age to practice on the island. If he practices seriously for more than a year, he can become a warrior when he is a little over fifteen years old.

This has basically become a routine in the Yang family.

Yang Mingcheng was worried that his grandchildren would suffer in Chongshan Town, so he thought about bringing them over first.

Yang Mingzhi and Yang Minghao naturally had no objection to this.

The three brothers' intention was very clear, which was to protect themselves.

The death of Chen Zhaoxuan will not only affect the court, but will also have a great impact on the martial arts world and the people.

Even the royal princes were killed by the bandits, which shows that Darong’s foundation is now unstable.

If the imperial court cannot quickly wipe out the many bandits in Longyuan and cannot re-establish its power in a short period of time, more bandits will emerge in the future to challenge the power of the royal family and the imperial court.

……

Daizhou City.

When the news of Chen Zhaoxuan's death spread, the bandit leader, King Daliang, immediately gained great prestige. Within just one month, several gangs of bandits came to join him.

The bandit army under the command of King Daliang immediately expanded from 200,000 to 300,000. Not to mention the combat effectiveness of this bandit army, its number alone was enough to give the imperial court a headache.

At this time in the city of Shizhou, King Daliang was discussing the next plan with his military advisors and brothers.

The King of Daliang is named Zhang Bei. He has two old brothers, Wang Ershan and Li Gao. Both of them used to be bandits in Daliang Mountain. They have followed him for more than ten years and can be said to be his most trusted people.

In addition, he has three adopted sons, Zhang Zijing, Zhang Zihao, and Zhang Zishan, and these three are also the people he trusts the most.

As for the military advisors, the two poor scholars, Song Chenxing and Niu Sude, have made great contributions to the development of Daliang King Zhangbei to its current scale.

It was precisely because of their suggestion that Zhang Bei kept training the bandits under his command, turning what was originally just a group of rabble-rousers into tens of thousands of elite soldiers who dared to fight.

However, they have now encountered a bottleneck in their development. As the number of bandit soldiers under their command increases, the food supply in their hands becomes increasingly tight.

They had no choice but to besiege Daizhou because Daizhou had abundant food and fodder.

Originally, after they captured Daizhou, they would be able to obtain at least three months of food and grass. Combined with the food and grass they had before, they would not be short of food for at least half a year.

But the problem is that now a large number of bandits have joined them, making the originally abundant food and grass become stretched again.

"Everyone, tell me, what should we do next?" Zhang Bei said to his military advisor and old brothers.

Wang Ershan was reckless and said directly: "What else can we do? Let's continue to rob. If there is nothing in Longnan, we will go to Shanhe. Shanhe must have enough food and grass!"

Song Chenxing quickly denied it, "No, although Shanhe Province is rich, it is close to Kyoto, and Kyoto is surrounded by 100,000 imperial guards and tens of thousands of the emperor's personal troops!"

"Are we afraid of them?" Wang Ershan looked at Song Chenxing with some dissatisfaction.

Military advisors are the most annoying things. Wang Ershan, Song Chenxing and Niu Sude don't get along with each other the most.

Niu Sude also said: "Mr. Song is right, we can't go to Shanhe Province, if we want to go, we have to go to Hanzhong Prefecture!"

"Hanzhong Prefecture?" Zhang Bei gave him an inquiring look.

Niu Sude nodded. "Among the areas in Longnan, Hanzhong Prefecture is the least affected by drought. Especially this year, before the beginning of summer, Hanzhong Prefecture had three consecutive heavy rains, which completely alleviated the drought in Hanzhong Prefecture."

"Moreover, Hanzhong Prefecture has many rivers and abundant water resources, which also means that the people of Hanzhong Prefecture are less affected by the drought!"

"As long as we can occupy Hanzhong Prefecture, we can let the army settle down there. After two or three years, we won't be short of food anymore!"

Niu Sude and Song Chenxing have reached a consensus. They both feel that they can no longer continue to be bandits. Being bandits will only make them exhausted. They need a base, a territory where 300,000 bandit troops can recuperate.

Zhang Bei seemed to be thinking about something. He also felt that continuing to wander around was not a solution. The more people he had under his command, the greater the burden would be. If they continued to wander around, they would fall apart sooner or later.

"Can Hanzhong Prefecture support 300,000 soldiers?" Zhang Bei asked.

Song Chenxing said: "If it was in the past, of course it was impossible, but it is different now. Due to the severe drought, countless people in Hanzhong Prefecture have starved to death. The 300,000 soldiers we brought with us will just be able to replenish the population of Hanzhong Prefecture!"

"Moreover, Hanzhong Prefecture has many mountains, forests, and valleys. If we occupy Hanzhong Prefecture, we only need to build forts at those important passes and valleys to stop the imperial army."

"With the advantage of terrain, we only need tens of thousands of soldiers to stop hundreds of thousands of imperial troops. Only in this way can we develop with peace of mind!"

Niu Sude nodded slightly, and continued Song Chenxing's words, saying: "Hanzhong Prefecture has another advantage. To its south is Bashu, and Bashu is also in turmoil right now. It is impossible to mobilize a large army to attack us. This can reduce our pressure!"

"And if we can't stop the imperial army in Hanzhong Prefecture, we can retreat to Bashu."

The two people's analysis was very logical and Zhang Bei nodded repeatedly as he listened.

At this point, Hanzhong Prefecture is indeed their best choice.

"Yes, what the two military advisors said makes sense. Let's withdraw to Hanzhong Prefecture, and then defend Hanzhong Prefecture and develop for three years before we talk about it!" Zhang Bei made the final decision and set their next development plan.

I have something to do tomorrow and need to take a day off. I will update as usual the day after tomorrow. Please forgive me, my fellow book friends.

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(End of this chapter)