Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather.

Chapter 666 Zhou Lan's Visit
Chongshan Pass, in the study of the general’s mansion.

Yang Chengye and Niu Zhuang looked at the urgent military intelligence they had just received.

After reading it, Niu Zhuang looked extremely solemn, "The King of Daliang actually proclaimed himself emperor! Isn't he afraid of becoming the target of public criticism?"

Yang Chengye smiled faintly, "It's already this time, what is he afraid of?"

Niu Zhuang looked up at Yang Chengye and asked in a deep voice, "Then what should we do? Should we send out troops?"

Yang Chengye looked at him meaningfully, "Don't worry!"

Niu Zhuang took a deep breath, unable to hold back the doubts in his heart, "What on earth are you planning?"

Although Yang Chengye did not reveal his plan to him, he was still the general of Chongshan Town in name, and he knew a lot about Chongshan Town.

He may not be clear about other things, but there are two things he is very clear about.

First, Yang Chengye deliberately reduced the supply of food and grass to Zhou Lan, causing Zhou Lan to passively defend in the northern part of Longyuan and not dare to take the initiative to attack!

Second, Yang Chengye was training his troops secretly, and the training location was not Chongshan Pass or Zhenbiaying, but in Fuzhou City.

Fuzhou City has always been the place most tightly controlled by the Yang family. Ever since Yang Mingzhi took office as the Lieutenant General of Fuzhou Guards, Fuzhou has been under the control of the Yang family.

This kind of control is different from the Yang family's control over Chongshan Pass. There are many people in Chongshan Pass, and the governor and the general are not from the Yang family or the Yang clan, so the Yang family's control over Chongshan Pass is from the bottom up.

However, the Yang family's control over Fuzhou is from top to bottom and from bottom to top.

Yang Chengye laughed, "You'll know soon!"

Seeing that he didn't say anything, Niu Zhuang looked quite helpless, "Why don't you explain to General Zhou?"

Yang Chengye shook his head. "It's not the right time yet. Let's talk about it later!"

He naturally understood Zhou Lan. This heroic female general did not have a good temper. To be honest, he was still a little afraid of Zhou Lan.

One reason is that Zhou Lan is a true general who has led troops all his life and fought wars for half his life.

Secondly, because of the friendship between Zhou Lan and Yang Zhengshan, Yang Chengye would respectfully call her Grandma Zhou when he saw her!

So until now he still doesn't know how to confess to Zhou Lan.

However, what Yang Chengye did not expect was that Zhou Lan had already arrived in Chongshan Town at this time.

After learning that King Daliang had proclaimed himself emperor, Zhou Lan rushed to Chongshan Town without stopping. On the third day after Yang Chengye received the urgent military intelligence, Zhou Lan arrived at Chongshan Pass.

She came here galloping with only a dozen personal guards.

"Go and inform them that my name is Zhou Lan and I want to see Yang Chengye, Marquis of Jing'an!" Zhou Lan said with a stern face while standing in front of the general's mansion.

The soldiers guarding the gate looked at each other and immediately said respectfully, "General Zhou, please come in and rest for a while. I will pass the message right away!"

Several soldiers, one ran to pass the message, while the others led Zhou Lan into the general's mansion.

Who is Zhou Lan?

She has been the general in Chongshan Town for seven or eight years.

Although that happened twenty years ago, the people and soldiers of Chongshan Town have not forgotten this general.

In the study, Yang Chengye and Niu Zhuang were handling official business at the table opposite each other. Suddenly, they heard that Zhou Lan was coming, and their faces immediately became extremely interesting.

Niu Zhuang looked at Yang Chengye and said with a smile: "That's good, General Zhou has come to visit us!"

Yang Chengye was depressed!

He really didn't expect Zhou Lan to come to him at this time.

You must know that at this time the Daliang army is eyeing the territory occupied by Zhou Lan in Longyuan, and may launch an attack on Zhou Lan at any time!

Although Zhou Lan had many elite soldiers and generals under his command, his military strength was somewhat insufficient.

Beiyuan Town also had to guard against the Hu people in the north and was unable to withdraw more troops. On the Longyuan side, Zhou Lan occupied six prefectures, and except for the north, the other three sides were surrounded by Daliang.

Once Daliang sends troops to the north, the territory occupied by Zhou Lan in Longyuan will inevitably be the first to be hit.

At this time, Zhou Lan should have stayed in Longyuan, but he suddenly ran to Chongshan Town.

Yang Chengye felt that Zhou Lan came here to call him to task.

His guess was correct. As soon as the two of them went out to meet the enemy, Zhou Lan asked with a bad face, "What on earth are you doing? You are not sending troops or providing food and fodder. Do you want to watch Kyoto fall?"

To be honest, Zhou Lan was very annoyed now. She had no idea that the Yang family wanted to rebel.

Of course, she was not only angry with Yang Chengye and Niuzhuang, but also the Darong court.

The uselessness of the Darong court made her feel very powerless, and it was precisely because of this powerlessness that she felt very dissatisfied with the emperor and his ministers in the court.

In fact, Zhou Lan doesn’t have too many thoughts now. She is still loyal to the court, and she still wants to quell the rebellion in the three provinces of Longyuan.

But the problem was that she had insufficient troops and food supplies, and was powerless.

"General Zhou, let's go in and talk!" Yang Chengye said embarrassedly.

Zhou Lan took a deep breath, looked at him hatefully, but still walked into the study.

Just as she entered the study, she couldn't help but ask again: "What exactly do you want to do?"

Yang Chengye did not answer immediately, but poured tea for Zhou Lan and asked her to sit down.

After Zhou Lan sat down, he said in a deep voice: "Grandma Zhou, Darong can't be saved!"

"What do you mean?" Zhou Lan frowned.

Yang Chengye stared at Zhou Lan, trying to keep his voice as low as possible, and said, "To be honest, I plan to fight for the position of the master of the world!"

Zhou Lan's pupils suddenly shrank and she stared at Yang Chengye intently.

Niu Zhuang, who was standing nearby, lowered his eyes and his expression became extremely solemn.

In fact, both of them had speculated about this.

The world is in chaos now, and all forces have come up with many ideas.

Traitors, rebel kings, nobles, border towns, etc., any force with soldiers and strength will not be able to help but fantasize.

It is not surprising that the Yang family would have such thoughts.

But when they suddenly heard Yang Chengye say it himself, Zhou Lan and Niu Zhuang were somewhat shocked.

Niu Zhuang did not react, because he understood that with the strength of the Yang family and Chongshan Town, fighting for the world was not a delusion. In fact, he was still somewhat excited in his heart.

If the Yang family wants to fight for the world, then can he also go with the flow and help the Yang family charge into battle?

In this way, his Niu family will be able to become a noble family in the future.

Zhou Lan stood up suddenly, "Are you telling the truth?"

A strong aura suddenly burst out from her body, and she glared at Yang Chengye like a ferocious beast.

But just as her momentum exploded, two auras suddenly rose behind Yang Chengye, and two figures appeared silently beside Yang Chengye.

"General Zhou, please calm down!" Wang Lei said softly.

Zhou Lan naturally knew Wang Lei. She looked at Wang Lei and asked in a deep voice, "Where is Yang Zhengshan?"

"Ahem, my grandpa isn't here!" Yang Chengye said with a light cough.

Zhou Lan was silent for a moment, then sat down again, "I want to see your grandfather!"

"This~~" Yang Chengye didn't know how to contact Yang Zhengshan. He knew that Yang Zhengshan was not in Shenmu Island, but he didn't know that Yang Zhengshan was in Chongshan Pass.

Wang Lei looked at Yang Chengye, then at Zhou Lan, and then said softly: "The master is at Chongshan Pass, I'll send someone to invite him right away!"

Yang Chengye looked at Wang Lei in a daze. My grandfather was in Chongshan Pass, and I didn’t even know it!
He felt his face hurt so much. This slap in the face came too quickly!

And since you knew that the old man was in Chongshan Pass, why didn’t you tell me earlier?
This is so embarrassing, as if I was stopping Grandma Zhou from seeing Grandpa.

Wang Lei looked at Yang Chengye with an innocent look on his face.

Can you blame me for this?
You responded so quickly that I didn't even have time to say anything before you spoke first.

Of course, Yang Zhengshan's affairs in Chongshan Pass were not hidden from everyone. Wang Lei and Li Chang still knew about it and were able to contact him.

The small courtyard was quiet, and suddenly the bell hanging in the main room rang.

Yang Zhengshan's figure appeared out of nowhere in the main room.

He couldn't know what happened in Chongshan Pass in that space, but he could know what happened in this small courtyard.

There is a rope outside the gate of the courtyard. As long as you pull the rope, the bell in the main room will ring. In this way, Yang Zhengshan will know that someone is looking for him outside.

Before opening the door, Yang Zhengshan knew that it was Li Chang standing outside.

While he was opening the door, he listened carefully to the movements around him.

After not hearing any commotion, he knew that Yang Chengye was not in danger.

"What's the matter?" Yang Zhengshan asked as he opened the door.

"General Zhou is here and is now in the general's mansion. She wants to see you!" Li Chang bowed and replied.

Yang Zhengshan thought for a moment and said, "Go and invite her over!"

"Yes!" Li Chang responded and retreated.

After he left, Yang Zhengshan stroked his beard and thought about it.

He knew Zhou Lan's temper very well. In fact, Zhou Lan had a very upright character and she didn't have any big ambitions. As long as she thought something was right, she would do her best to do it.

Others would gather their own troops and rely on themselves, but she would not.

What she is thinking about now is probably how to quell the rebellion in the three provinces of Longyuan.

After pondering for a moment, Yang Zhengshan brought Yu Qingyi out of the space, and then the couple prepared tea and fruit, waiting for their old friend to come.

About a quarter of an hour later, there was a knock on the gate again.

Yang Zhengshan opened the door, looked at the familiar figure, and grinned, "General, please!"

Zhou Lan snorted coldly, gave Yang Zhengshan a cold look, and walked straight into the main hall in the courtyard without any formalities.

Seeing Yu Qingyi, Zhou Lan's expression softened a little, "Sorry to bother you, Sister Yu!"

"Sister Zhou, please take a seat!" Yu Qingyi greeted with a smile.

Then the two women sat together and started gossiping about family matters, mainly Yu Qingyi talking about the children at home.

This left Yang Zhengshan out in the cold.

Well, our General Zhou gets worse and worse as he gets older.

After chatting for a while, Zhou Lan suddenly asked, "How old is Mingzhao's child this year?"

Yu Qingyi smiled and said, "Thirteen."

Zhou Lan glanced at Yang Zhengshan and said, "I have a niece who is just right. She's twelve this year!"

Yang Zhengshan paused as he held the tea in his hand. "You really are!"

"What? My niece's great-granddaughter is not worthy of your grandson?" Zhou Lan said dissatisfiedly.

"I deserve it, I deserve it!" Yang Zhengshan surrendered.

There are not many people in this world who dare to speak to him like this, but Zhou Lan is definitely qualified.

There's nothing he can do about it, since Zhou Lan had supported him in the past.

Over the years, Yang Zhengshan really hasn't done anything to help Zhou Lan. Although he gave Zhou Lan many specialties produced in the Lingquan Space, it is difficult to explain the debt of favor he owed.

"Then it's settled. I'll write a letter back immediately and ask my family to send my niece's granddaughter to Shenmu Island!" Zhou Land said.

Yang Zhengshan said: "Don't be so anxious!"

Zhou Lan was silent for a moment, "I think we can't defend Kyoto anymore, it's better to leave early!"

After coming from the General's Mansion, she thought a lot.

The arms cannot twist the thighs.

Now that the Yang family is so powerful, she has no way of stopping them.

She also understood the situation in Kyoto. It seemed that the broken ship of Dayong still had some strength, but in fact, the morale of people in Dayong Kyoto was already low.

Once the enemy is at the gates, there is no telling what kind of trouble will occur inside the city.

No matter how noble and dedicated they are to the country, when disaster strikes, they will only think about protecting themselves.

Don't talk about unity and fighting the enemy together.

If the nobles of Darong could unite, the grass on the grave of that damn King Daliang would probably be three feet high.

Isn't it that everyone has already seen that Dayong is at the end of the road, and is thinking about how to protect themselves and how to gain more benefits in this chaotic struggle.

When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter; when the wind rises, ambitions arise.

Zhou Lan had never thought about these things before, but now even the Yang family has given up on Dayong, she has to consider her own family.

Although she never married or had children in her life, she still has relatives such as a father, brother, nephews, and great-nephews.

In order for the Zhou family to survive this chaotic time, she had to make a choice.

She didn't know what her great-grandfather was thinking, but she had to stand on the side of the Yang family.

After all, her friendship with Yang Zhengshan was real and had lasted for decades, so she still trusted Yang Zhengshan.

Yang Zhengshan nodded slightly, "Alright, then we can let Brother Zhou stay on Shenmu Island for a while!"

"Hmm!" Zhou Lan picked up the tea and took a sip with a heavy heart.

"What are you going to do next?"

Yang Zhengshan said with a smile: "Don't worry, just wait. When the capital falls, it will be time for us to march south!"

Zhou Lan nodded slightly, "Okay, this way I can go back and prepare."

Zhou Lan did not stay in Chongshan Pass for too long. The situation in Longyuan Province was still very critical, so she only stayed there for one night and hurried back to Longyuan the next day.

However, Yang Chengye no longer needs to restrict the supply of food and grass to Zhou Lan. The previous restriction on the supply of food and grass was because he was afraid that Zhou Lan would have enough food and grass and launch an attack on King Daliang's territory, slowing down King Daliang's speed of advancing eastward to destroy Rong.

Now that Zhou Lan already knows the plan, she naturally has so many concerns.

In fact, at this time, Emperor Tianwu of Daliang had no time to care about the Beiyuan Army in Longyuan. He was leading his army towards Dayong Kyoto, preparing to capture Dayong Kyoto and establish his power as emperor in one fell swoop.

When the Daliang army was less than 500 miles away from Dayong Kyoto, the city of Kyoto was already in chaos.

(End of this chapter)