Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather.

Chapter 677 Yang Zhengshan accumulates knowledge and connections
"Grandfather, the Yang family also has ambitions to compete for the world!" After reading the two letters, Guo Ziqiao looked up at Guo Ying.

Guo Ying looked solemn, "Yes, the Yang family's intention of sending troops at this time is very obvious!"

"Do you have any idea?"

Guo Ying didn't know much about the Yang family. When Yang Zhengshan was in Kyoto, he was in Yunling Town, so he had never met Yang Zhengshan.

Most of what he knew about the Yang family was hearsay.

Guo Ziqiao paced back and forth in the study for a while with the letter in his hand, and then looked at Qu Shaogong's letter.

"Master Yang is not someone you can easily deal with!"

The Master Yang he mentioned is Yang Zhengshan, who was in charge of the Yanwu Pavilion at that time. Many disciples of the Yanwu Pavilion liked to call him Master Yang.

Although these disciples of the Martial Arts Pavilion were not Yang Zhengshan's disciples, they still had the status of master and disciple with Yang Zhengshan.

Guo Ziqiao had been instructed by Yang Zhengshan many times in the past, so he still respected Yang Zhengshan very much.

But the current situation in the world involves the future of the Guo family. Even if he has some master-disciple relationship with Yang Zhengshan, he will not let this friendship affect his decision.

Therefore, what he was considering at this time was not his friendship with Yang Zhengshan, but the strength of Yang Zhengshan and the Yang family.

"Grandfather should also know that my grandson learned all these skills from Master Yang. To be honest, I don't have any confidence in front of Master Yang!"

Guo Ziqiao shook his head somewhat depressedly.

His abilities are not limited to his cultivation, but also include his ability to train soldiers, as well as his understanding and handling of military and political affairs.

He had learned "Thirty-Six Strategies" and "Military Training Records" written by Yang Zhengshan very thoroughly.

When Yang Zhengshan was in the Martial Arts Pavilion, he not only instructed his disciples on their training, but also on military training and tactics.

And now, Guo Ziqiao's method and approach of training troops in Yunling Town are in line with Yang Zhengshan's method of training troops.

Guo Ying tapped the table lightly and said calmly: "It's too early to say this now. We won't run into the Yang family in the short term!"

"But the Qu family should not be underestimated. We won't run into the Yang family now, but we will run into the Qu family!" Guo Ziqiao said.

The Yang family was still far away in Kyoto, but the Qu family was right in front of them.

They have begun to attack Nanyun Province, and once they occupy the entire Nanyun Province, they will inevitably encounter the Qu family.

When the time comes, a decision must be made whether to fight or make peace.

Guo Ying frowned and fell into deep thought.

Guo Ziqiao added: "Grandfather, we definitely cannot agree to Chen Hengchang's solicitation. Chen Hengchang relies on the Shenyang Sect, and those evil followers are not trustworthy at all."

Guo Ying nodded.

Guo Ziqiao continued, "The King of Daliang is not worthy of our allegiance. Even though the King of Daliang is quite powerful now, bandits are still bandits. They are not worthy of our submission at all!"

"There are only two paths before us now. One is to establish ourselves as kings and fight for the world, and the other is to join the Qu family and join the Yang family!"

"If we declare ourselves king, our shortcomings are obvious. Yunling Town is already located in a remote corner, and it is very difficult for us to dominate the world, not to mention that we have to guard against the many foreign forces in the south!"

"Unless we can occupy Bashu, we have no chance of conquering the world!"

Their goal of sending troops to Nanyun now is not to occupy Nanyun, but to capture Bashu.

Whether in terms of population or resources, Yunling Town and Nanyun Province are not enough to support a force to fight for the world. Only by occupying Bashu will the Guo family be qualified to fight for the world.

However, it is not easy for them to capture Bashu. Not to mention that the Qu family is eyeing them covetously nearby, Bashu is now occupied by three rebel groups. They have to defeat these three rebel groups one by one.

"As for joining the Yang family!" Guo Ziqiao paused, "The Yang family will not be as generous as Chen Hengchang, giving us both the title of Duke and the fiefdom."

"The Yang family will at most give us a marquisate, which is almost the same as before."

The Yang family has its own foundation, many affiliated families, and complex personal connections. If the Yang family gains control of the world, it will naturally be the case that the Yang family's former affiliated families will also rise with them.

As for their Guo family, the best they can do is to keep their original position, and even have to keep a low profile in the future to avoid being squeezed out by the new nobles in the court.

Guo Ying nodded, agreeing with Guo Ziqiao's idea.

“So how do we choose?”

Guo Ziqiao sighed quietly. He actually wanted to fight for the world, but the Guo family's flaws were too obvious.

It is isolated in a remote corner, lacks foundation, is short of resources, and its population and military strength are far inferior to those of other forces.

The Yang family is also located in a remote corner of Chongshan Town, but the Yang family has a very deep foundation.

In addition to Chongshan Town, the Yang family also owns Liaodong, where they have strong troops and sufficient food and fodder.

More importantly, the Yang family’s connections.

Not to mention the relatives of the Yang family, let’s just talk about the disciples of the Martial Arts Pavilion who were once taught by Yang Zhengshan.

"We actually have no choice! The Yang family is the only way to go!" Guo Ziqiao said helplessly.

Guo Ying stared at Guo Ziqiao, "Do you have so little confidence?"

Guo Ziqiao said: "Grandfather, you overlooked one point. Master Yang now has many students all over the world!"

"Let's not talk about other places. Let's just talk about Yunling Town. Many generals and military officers have received guidance from Master Yang!"

"It's better if we don't confront the Yang family. Once we confront the Yang family, there's no guarantee that they won't defect to the Yang family!"

Yang Zhengshan had only been in charge of the Martial Arts Pavilion for a few years, and he rarely went there in the next two years.

However, the most prosperous years for the Martial Arts Pavilion were the years when Yang Zhengshan was in the pavilion.

Twenty years have passed, and those disciples of the Martial Arts Pavilion are now around forty years old, at the prime of their life.

That was not a few or dozens of disciples, but nearly three thousand disciples. So many disciples might not be willing to work for the Yang family, but they could run to the Yang family at any time, or even turn against them at the last minute.

With the friendship between master and disciple in the past, these former disciples of the Martial Arts Pavilion can join the Yang family without any psychological burden.

In addition to the disciples of the Martial Arts Pavilion who were taught by Yang Zhengshan, the later disciples of the Martial Arts Pavilion could also respectfully call Yang Zhengshan "Master Yang".

This is the connection and prestige that Yang Zhengshan once accumulated, and it is also the foundation of the Yang family.

Guo Ying was silent for a while, then said, "Forget it, I'll wait and talk about it later!"

He would be unwilling to join the Yang family now, so he planned to observe how the situation changes. If the Yang family really has the strength to dominate the world, it would not be too late for him to join the Yang family after they take over Kyoto.

"Then should we continue to march towards Nanyun Province?"

Guo Ziqiao and Guo Ying had similar thoughts and also felt that they should wait before making a choice. However, the war in Nanyun Province could not be dragged on, and a decision had to be made as soon as possible.

Guo Ying thought about it and was about to say to continue the march when a report suddenly came from outside the door.

"Grandfather, news came from Bashu that the Taiping Army broke through Yuzhou Prefecture five days ago, and the Black Tiger King was beheaded in front of the battle!"

Guo Ying's expression changed slightly, and he said, "Come in!"

The study door was pushed open, and a middle-aged man who looked very similar to Guo Ziqiao walked in.

This person is Guo Ying’s eldest grandson Guo Ziheng, who is also Guo Ziqiao’s elder brother.

"Brother!" Guo Ziqiao shouted.

Guo Ziheng nodded slightly to him, and then continued to say to Guo Ying: "Grandfather, the Taiping Army has now moved south, and their intentions are very clear. They want to continue to destroy the Nine Heavenly Kings and unify Bashu!"

"Haven't the King of Taiping, the King of Black Tiger, and the King of Nine Heavens already defected to Daliang? Why are they still attacking each other?" Guo Ying frowned and asked.

Guo Ziheng shook his head slightly. "The specific situation is still unclear, but what is certain is that the Taiping Army suddenly launched an attack on the Black Tiger King. When the Black Tiger King was completely unprepared, Yuzhou City was breached!"

Guo Ziqiao hesitated for a moment and said, "That so-called King Taiping obviously didn't really want to join Daliang. Maybe he was just pretending to be friendly with Daliang!"

Guo Ziheng added: "The Nine Heavenly Kings should not be a match for the King of Taiping. If nothing unexpected happens, it won't take long for the King of Taiping to unify Bashu!"

"Grandfather, should we unite with the Nine Heavenly Kings to stop the Taiping Army?"

Their target is Bashu, and now the Taiping Army is showing signs of unifying Bashu, so the Taiping Army is their enemy.

In order to prevent the Taiping Army from unifying Bashu, it was natural for them to win over the Nine Heavenly Kings.

Guo Ying and Guo Ziqiao looked at each other, both of them showing embarrassment in their eyes.

The situation they were facing was already full of difficulties, and now the Taiping Army has emerged with the intention of unifying Sichuan and Shu, making the situation they are facing even more difficult.

This made them all feel extremely difficult.

"No need. Send a message to your father and second uncle and ask them to stop advancing and stay where they are." Guo Ying said.

The question now is not whether the Guo family wants to attack Bashu, but whether they can do it.

The problem of the Taiping Army is not urgent yet, but the threat from the Qu family is right in front of us.

Once they transfer their troops to Bashu, it would be troublesome if the Qu family cut off their retreat.

Therefore, Guo Ying finally chose to wait and see.

As long as the Guo family can stabilize Yunling Town, they will not lose their wealth. As for the rest, it is better not to continue dreaming.

Under Guo Ying's decision, the army of Yunling Town has stopped the attack and began to shrink the defense line to consolidate their territory in Zangyuan and Nanyun.

On the other side in Bashu, Yang Mingzhao led the Taiping Army to attack from all sides, frantically attacking his former allies.

The Black Tiger King and the Nine Heavenly Kings, they are all his targets.

He did this for a reason. First, he wanted to take advantage of the fact that Daliang was blocking the army from Chongshan Town from moving south and had no time to pay attention to him. Second, he had to unify Bashu before the Sun family from Anxi Town took over Wusi Town.

Otherwise, once the Sun family of Anxi Town captured Wusi Town, his Taiping Army would face the threat from Anxi Town.

From a big picture perspective, now is the best time for Yang Mingzhao to unify Bashu. If he misses this opportunity, he may never have another chance. He will probably have to wait until Yang Chengye destroys Daliang and Chen Hengchang before he can get another chance to unify Bashu.

But by that time, it wouldn't matter much whether he unified Bashu or not.

……

The end of May in the sixth year of Jianxing.

The three armies of Chongshan Town crossed the Ru River. The central army crossed the Ru River from Jizhou and headed straight for Shuntian Prefecture. The eastern army occupied Yongding Prefecture and continued to move south. The western army entered Baoan Prefecture in Shanhe Province from Liaoxi.

Three armies were marching towards Shuntian Prefecture from the east, west and north.

At the same time, the North Sea Navy has landed in Jinhaiwei, which is currently under the control of the Xue family. Although Daliang has captured Kyoto, they have not launched an attack on Jinhaiwei.

One reason is that they need to face the army from Chongshan Town in the north and have no extra strength to focus on Jinhaiwei.

The second reason is that they have no navy. Although Jinhaiwei’s navy is far inferior to Tenglongwei’s North Sea navy, compared with other navies of Dayong, Jinhaiwei’s navy is also considered elite.

Without the navy, it would be difficult for them to completely wipe out the navy of Jinhaiwei. The most they could do was to drive Jinhaiwei into the sea. However, even if the navy of Jinhaiwei was driven into the sea, they could still fight back at any time.

Moreover, even if Daliang occupied Jinhaiwei, they would not be able to stop Tenglongwei's North Sea Navy from landing.

From a strategic point of view, there was no point in Daliang attacking Jinhaiwei, so Daliang ignored the existence of Jinhaiwei from beginning to end.

However, Jinhaiwei has no strategic significance to Daliang, but it has great strategic significance to Chongshan Town.

Now that the Chongshan Town army has crossed the Ru River, the Beihai Navy can also land at Jinhaiwei.

After the North Sea Navy lands, the three armies in the north will be able to form a four-sided encirclement of Shuntian Prefecture and Kyoto.

(End of this chapter)