Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather.

Chapter 694 Insufficient Troops
"Whatever you say!" Yang Zhengshan naturally had no objections.

The reason why many innate martial artists eventually retreat to the mountains is because they have experienced too much, seen through the illusions of the world, and ultimately only want peace and tranquility and to further their martial arts.

"Oh, right, there's one more thing!" Lü Hua added, "Chen Hengchang has connections with the Wuliang royal court, and they're planning to launch a simultaneous attack on the Xin Dynasty!"

Yang Zhengshan raised an eyebrow. "When?"

"I don't know the exact time either. Chen Hengchang's connection with Wutuo was facilitated by Ji Feiyu and Cui Liang. As far as I know, the Shenyang Sect was behind the scenes when the Wuliang royal court invaded Beiyuan Town."

"Yan Junfei Mingyue of the Shenyang Sect stayed by Duan Qifeng's side for a long time. Duan Qifeng took the initiative to provoke a war with the Wuliang royal court because of his instigation!"

"The attack on Beiyuan Town by the Wuliang royal court was partly due to Uto's desire to occupy Beiyuan Town, and partly due to Cui Liang's instigation."

"In the end, Beiyuan Town suffered a crushing defeat, and Duan Qifeng became Fei Mingyue's prey!"

"Lu Hua said."

Yang Zhengshan was taken aback. He really didn't know about this. Back then, when Beiyuan Town was defeated, the army of the Wuliang King's court took the opportunity to seize it, causing great harm to the northern part of Longyuan.

For this, Yang Zhengshan was unfairly blamed, as many people in the court impeached him for his ineffective rescue efforts.

The specific battle situation in Beiyuan Town became unclear due to Duan Qifeng's death. Even the Da Rong court was unaware of the details, let alone him.

Unexpectedly, the Shenyang Sect was involved in this, and Duan Qifeng even died at the hands of Fei Mingyue.

"So Chen Hengchang has already allied with Utopia?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

What happened back then is meaningless now; he cares more about what's in front of him.

"They're just in cahoots. I estimate they've reached an agreement to send troops simultaneously, and the specific time should be next year!"

"It will be difficult for Chen Hengchang to send troops this year. He needs more time to consolidate his rule over Jiangnan and also more time to train his army!"

Lü Hua explained.

The current war is different from the past. In the past, Yang Zhengshan had troops and supplies in Chongshan Town, and the war was fought nearby, so he could fight whenever he wanted and could prepare to send troops in just ten days or half a month.

But now, if any party wants to go to war, they need to make even more preparations.

The new dynasty of Da'an had to consider the stability of people's livelihoods, transport grain and fodder, and mobilize troops. With such a large territory, it was not as flexible as before in carrying out its tasks.

Similarly, Chen Hengchang's situation is the same. His foundation is too weak. Although he obtained a lot of resources and wealth by taking advantage of the opportunity to raid the house, it will take some time to turn these resources and wealth into combat power.

Meanwhile, the Uriyang royal court also faces troubles. Although Uto has now reunited the divided royal court, there are still many gaps between the various factions. It may take time to work things out and restore the mutual trust and cooperation that existed before.

However, if Chen Hengchang joins forces with Utopia, it will indeed be a big problem for the new Da'an Dynasty.

Yang Zhengshan seemed to be deep in thought. He couldn't just sit and wait to die, nor could he continue to passively wait to be beaten.

The best approach is to launch an attack first, but the new Da'an dynasty doesn't seem to have the confidence to take the initiative.

It seems we still need to help Yang Chengye. It would be best to resolve one problem first. Once we resolve the other one, whether it's the Wuliang royal court or Chen Hengchang, the situation in the Da'an New Dynasty will be stabilized, and the remaining issues will only be a matter of time.

Thinking of this, Yang Zhengshan sent someone to invite Yang Chengye over.

He wanted to introduce Lü Hua to Yang Chengye, and at the same time, he wanted to help Yang Chengye get rid of this big problem.

Yang Chengye was very busy. Even when Yang Zhengshan summoned him, it took him more than an hour to return to Jing'an Prefecture.

After Yang Chengye sat down, Yang Zhengshan first introduced Lü Hua to him, and then talked about his arrangements and plans for the Secret Martial Guard and the Imperial Guard.

After listening, Yang Chengye nodded. "Grandpa, with Senior Lü's help, I believe we can rebuild the Secret Martial Guard. But could you please arrange more manpower for the Imperial Guard?"

"What? Twenty guards aren't enough?" Yang Zhengshan stroked his beard as he looked at him.

Yang Chengye chuckled and said, "How about giving me another three hundred elite archers?"

"..."

Yang Zhengshan was speechless for a moment. This kid really knew how to ask for an exorbitant amount.

The guards of the Yang family were mostly half-step Xiantian or Xiantian martial artists. Perhaps they weren't good at gathering intelligence, but they were more than capable of protecting the imperial city.

Moreover, there's Ding Qiu, who is Yang Zhengshan's most trusted man. How many years has Ding Qiu followed Yang Zhengshan?

It's been a full thirty-eight years!
Despite Ding Qiu's seemingly insignificant status on Shenmu Island, in Yang Zhengshan's heart, Ding Qiu's position is no less important than that of Wu Zhan and Wu Zheng.

Ding Qiu is also quite capable. He has been staying with the Yang family for many years. He may seem insignificant, but in reality, he is Yang Zhengshan's most important assistant in the Yang family.

Li Chang and Wang Lei, among other close associates, often followed Yang Zhengshan, but none of them were as important as Ding Qiu.

To put it bluntly, Li Chang and Wang Lei, along with their close associates, were just a bunch of errand boys around Yang Zhengshan, while Ding Qiu held a position of authority.

The term "Yang family guards" sounds simple, but each of them is a martial arts master. Ding Qiu not only manages to subdue them completely, but also keeps them obedient and obedient. This is definitely not something that can be achieved with just a few words.

Yang Zhengshan had already brought out Ding Qiu, but Yang Chengye was still not satisfied and wanted the strong archers from Shenmu Island as well.

The archers on Shenmu Island are all martial artists at the fifth level of the Acquired Realm. Although their numbers are small, their combat power is absolutely terrifying.

The Yang family has occupied Shenmu Island for three years, and in those three years, Yang Mingzhi has only trained a thousand qualified archers.

Yang Zhengshan pondered for a moment and said, "We don't have any strong archers, but I can give you five hundred strong bows. If you want strong archers, you can train them yourself!"

"The Great An Dynasty is the Great An Dynasty, and the Yang Family is the Yang Family. They can be discussed together for now, but they must be clearly distinguished in the future, just like the Great Jing Dynasty!"

Yang Chengye paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "I understand!"

The Yang family was the royal family of the Da'an New Dynasty, but the Yang family did not belong to the Da'an New Dynasty.

Yang Zhengshan had carefully considered the future relationship between the Yang family and the Da'an Dynasty. What he wanted was not for the Yang family to belong to the Da'an Dynasty, but for the Yang family to be above the Da'an Dynasty.

Simply put, the Da'an Dynasty belonged to Yang Chengye's lineage, while the Da Jing Dynasty belonged to Yang Chengyou's lineage. Their descendants would inherit the imperial and royal thrones.

The Yang family will not interfere in the internal affairs of the dynasty, but they will monitor the dynasty.

This is similar to a large company. The Yang family is the chairman of the group, the Da'an Dynasty and the Dajing Dynasty are the branches, and the Xie family, Han family, Wu family, Yu family, Luo family, etc., these affiliated families are like directors of the group, and their children are also employees of the group and its branches.

Families like the Zhou and Liang are considered directors of this branch of the Da'an Dynasty. Branches have independent operational rights, while the group company has supervisory rights, but they also have their own business operations.

The branch office's responsibility is to manage its internal affairs effectively while also ensuring the group's business needs are met.

So what are the business needs of the Yang family?

Currently, the Yang family's most important business is maritime trade.

Therefore, the Da'an Dynasty needed to provide more products and goods to the Yang Family Business, and the Da'an Dynasty was also the largest market for the Yang Family Business.

The Yang family will not monopolize the maritime trade business of the Da'an Dynasty, but the Da'an Dynasty cannot prohibit the development of maritime trade either.

The Yang family and the Da'an Dynasty have a subordinate relationship, but also a cooperative relationship. The two sides need to draw a clear line, but they are also closely connected.

The Great An Dynasty is not yet stable, so Yang Zhengshan has not made a clear division. Once the Great An Dynasty is stable, he will gradually withdraw the Yang family's personnel from the Great An Dynasty to maintain its due independence.

As for whether the Da'an Dynasty would break away from the Yang family's control in the future, Yang Zhengshan had no such worries.

As long as the Yang family is powerful enough, the Da'an Dynasty will not fall out of their control.

If the Da'an Dynasty can break free from the control of the Yang family, it would mean that the Yang family has declined.

That would probably be hundreds or even thousands of years from now.

Yang Zhengshan can't manage things that far ahead right now.

Judging from the current situation of the Yang family, it is certain that they will prosper for two hundred years. As for what happens after two hundred years, that is something that cannot be determined.

Of course, if Yang Zhengshan's cultivation level were to advance further and his lifespan were to increase significantly again, he could ensure that the Yang family would prosper for an even longer period.

However, these are all things for the future. The problem facing Yang Zhengshan now is to ensure that Yang Chengye secures his throne in Da'an.

Then, Yang Zhengshan recounted the story of Chen Hengchang and Utopia's alliance.

"Do you have any idea?"

Yang Chengye pondered for a moment and said, "We can't wait for them to launch a joint attack on us. It would be best to eliminate one of them before they launch their attack!"

Yang Zhengshan nodded slightly. "That's right. Although we're not afraid of them joining forces, it would definitely cause us a lot of trouble."

Who do you think should be attacked first?

Yang Chengye pondered for a while longer, "The Uriyang royal court!"

"Oh? Why not Chen Hengchang?" Yang Zhengshan asked in surprise.

“Because it’s easier to attack the Uriyang royal court!” Yang Chengye said.

Yang Zhengshan nodded in satisfaction, "That's right, we should attack the Uriyang Kingdom's court first!"

Despite the Uriyangkhai Kingdom's current strength and formidable strength, it is actually easier to deal with than Chen Hengchang.

Because attacking the Uriyang royal court doesn't require much consideration; you just need to charge in.

However, dealing with Chen Hengchang also requires considering the subsequent governance issues and ensuring the livelihood of the people under Chen Hengchang's rule as much as possible.

The Da'an New Dynasty could exterminate the Hu people, but it could not do the same to the former people of Da Rong, because these people were also citizens of the Da'an New Dynasty.

"How many troops can Chongshan Town mobilize?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

“Thirty thousand, I guess! The reinforcements from Dinghu Guard, Daning Guard, and Heiyun Guard haven’t been mobilized yet, which is over twenty thousand. If we mobilize some more garrison battalions, it won’t be difficult to gather thirty thousand troops,” Yang Chengye replied.

"What about Kitahara Town?"

"We can mobilize about 50,000! General Zhou only took the garrison battalion with him, while there are still 50,000 reinforcements in Beiyuan Garrison that have not been mobilized, and they are on guard against the Wuliang Hu tribe moving south!"

"What about Longbei Town? Does it have any soldiers available?"

Yang Chengye shook his head. "No, General Zhou just captured Longbei Town. The original soldiers of Longbei Town were all disbanded, and the new army in Longbei Town has just begun training!"

"So that means there are only 80,000 usable troops in the north?" Yang Zhengshan felt a headache coming on.

Back in the day, any one of the four major border towns in the north—Chongshan Town, Beiyuan Town, Longbei Town, and Suzhou Town—could mobilize an army of 100,000.

Now, most of the troops in Chongshan Town have gone south, Beiyuan Town has not yet recovered its strength, Longbei Town, although it has been taken over by the new Da'an Dynasty, is still in a mess, and Suzhou Town is still out of control.

"Yes, currently only these 80,000 troops are ready to go to war. Although the imperial court has been training new troops in various places, these new troops will need at least another six months before they can go to the battlefield!" Yang Chengye said.

Insufficient military strength is one of the most important problems facing the Da'an New Dynasty, and also one of the major reasons hindering its unification of the country.

Yang Zhengshan thought for a moment and said, "Let your second uncle come and help. He has several thousand elite soldiers under his command!"

The Da'an New Dynasty was not only short of troops in the northern border towns, but also in the south and west. The southern and western towns could mobilize some troops, but the problem was that transferring troops from the south to the north was a big issue, not to mention the distance. Even if the southern soldiers could adapt to the northern weather, it was a big problem.

There are similar issues with transferring troops from Shenmu Island, but the troops on Shenmu Island are elite soldiers, the best of the best, and their numbers are relatively small, making them easier to mobilize.

Shenmu Island does not have many troops. Currently, the population of the island controlled by the Yang family is only 400,000, while the regular army on Shenmu Island is only 8,000 naval troops.

This 8,000-strong navy is the result of multiple expansions, starting with a few hundred men, then two thousand five hundred, then five thousand, and now it has expanded to eight thousand.

Of course, Shenmu Island doesn't have many regular troops, but it has many private soldiers. The Yang family has several hundred guards, and each of the major affiliated families also has two or three hundred guards. If you put them together, you can make up more than three thousand guards. There are also more than two thousand yamen runners from the government offices.

However, the number of personnel that could actually be mobilized was not large; it was probably only about two thousand soldiers drawn from the navy to land and fight.

Actually, the Yang family had another place where they could draw troops, and that was the Great Jing Dynasty. The Great Jing Dynasty had tens of thousands of naval troops, and it would be easy to draw 20,000 to 30,000. However, it would be better to draw troops from the Southern Frontier Town and Yunling Town than from the Great Jing Dynasty.

It seems difficult to transfer troops from Shenmu Island, but the problem is that the elite troops on Shenmu Island are worth a hundred men each, and even if there are only two thousand soldiers, they have incomparably strong combat power.

After making the decision, Yang Zhengshan immediately wrote a letter and had it sent to Shenmu Island.

At the same time, the new dynasty of Da'an also began preparations to conquer the Wulianghu tribe.

(End of this chapter)