Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather-Chapter 326 - 316 Lin Zhan Leaves Home

With the old Emperor’s imperial edict, the Ministry of Industry and the Central Army Commander’s Mansion are making every effort to cooperate, with the former manufacturing warships and the latter responsible for replenishing the shortfall in military households for the Tenglong Guard.

To welcome the incoming warships and military households, Yang Zhenshan also has a lot to prepare.

When the warships arrive, there must be a place for them to dock, so the construction of the dockyard must be accelerated.

Not just the dockyard, but the Navy camp must also be built more quickly, and training for the Navy soldiers must be advanced as well.

And for the ten thousand incoming military households, accommodations must be found, and food must be prepared for them to survive the winter, especially since the spring planting season has long passed. The government office must sustain these new military households at least until the autumn harvest next year.

The Tenglong Guard is developing well, but Yang Zhenshan finds himself faced with an ever-increasing number of tasks, keeping him busy day and night. He even neglected the fact that Lin Zhan was to take the College Examination, thankfully Lin Zhan had a reliable teacher who had already taken him to Jing’an Prefecture to participate.

Under Liu Zhe’s tutoring, Lin Zhan made swift and significant progress in his studies and, not unexpectedly, he passed as a Scholar.

Scholar is the colloquial term for a student who has been granted the qualification to enroll in school, and Lin Zhan’s results placed him at the top of the first class. He was accepted as a stipendiary student of Jing’an Prefecture, eligible to study at the Prefecture School.

However, Lin Zhan definitely would not attend the Prefecture School since he had Liu Zhe as his teacher, and there was no need for him to go there to learn.

Moreover, Liu Zhe would take him on a journey to visit learned Confucian scholars all over the country, so there was even less reason to attend Prefecture School.

So, after the College Examination ended, Liu Zhe and Lin Zhan returned to the Tenglong Guard, ready to bid farewell to Yang Zhenshan and set out on their travels.

In the front hall of the Yang family residence, Yang Zhenshan looked at the tall and polite Lin Zhan, with a touch of reminiscence in his eyes.

He remembered when he first met Lin Zhan, who was only eight years old at the time, dressed in tattered clothes.

But even then, Lin Zhan had a sense of steadiness and intelligence.

"How time flies, seven or eight years have passed, and you’ve grown up!" Yang Zhenshan couldn’t help but exclaim with a sense of wonder.

"Master!" Lin Zhan knelt in front of Yang Zhenshan, his eyes reddening slightly.

Yang Zhenshan smiled, patting his head, "Don’t forget to offer incense to your dad when you go back!"

"Disciple hasn’t forgotten!" Lin Zhan’s eyes reddened even more.

Being a Scholar meant a great deal to him, as his father was also a Scholar.

Now he had become a Scholar as well!

In fact, after receiving his results, he wanted to go back to Anning County right away, but thinking of the kindness and teachings of his master, he returned to the Tenglong Guard first.

Seeing Lin Zhan’s expression, Yang Zhenshan’s eyes too, couldn’t help but warm, "Stand up!"

He helped Lin Zhan to his feet and signaled to Wu Hai, who promptly brought out a long sword.

"This sword was prepared for you by your master’s wife; you can use it for self-defense when you’re out and about!"

Lin Zhan was naturally most skilled at spear techniques, but as a scholar, he had a fondness for swords, and so his swordsmanship was also quite good.

When traveling, carrying a long spear was inconvenient, so having a sword was more practical.

"Thank you, Master, thank you, Mistress!"

Lin Zhan bowed to Yang Zhenshan and Yu Qingyi.

"Alright, enough thanks for a sword! Take good care of yourself when you’re out, and remember to come back early. When your little disciple grows up, the mistress wants you to start his enlightenment too!" Yu Qingyi stepped forward to straighten his clothes.

"Yes, later I will enlighten my little disciple, and I will also teach him martial arts!" Lin Zhan said.

Yang Zhenshan, stroking his beard and watching this scene with a chuckle, then turned to Liu Zhe and offered, "Would you like me to arrange a few more attendants for you?"

"No need, haven’t you already arranged three attendants for us?" Liu Zhe shook his head.

"Three seems too few!" Yang Zhenshan frowned.

When traveling outside, one never knows what dangers might be encountered.

And in this world, there are Martial Artists—a hero may breach laws with martial prowess, and often Martial Artists are the root of danger.

"Three is enough; we’ll be traveling on official roads, not venturing into worldly society, so it won’t be as dangerous," Liu Zhe said with a smile.

The travels of scholars are different from those of worldly society; scholars visit renowned academies and Confucians, whereas those in worldly society would visit various Sects and could easily become embroiled in their conflicts.

Moreover, Martial Artists are very wary of scholars because scholars generally have influential backgrounds, and causing trouble with scholars could be more troublesome than offending martial sects.

"And if we are to travel, we can’t have too many people trailing us!" Liu Zhe added.

"Alright then, safe travels!" Yang Zhenshan said.

Afterward, Yang Zhenshan saw Liu Zhe and Lin Zhan out. Their party of seven consisted of Liu Zhe with one attendant, while Lin Zhan brought his Attendant Student Ding Lu, and three Yang Family Guards.

The five of them rode horses, with Liu Zhe in a carriage, they left the Yang family residence lightly equipped and proceeded slowly.

Yang Zhenshan watched their departing figures, a glint flickering in his eyes.

This separation would be at least two or three years, and Yang Zhenshan truly felt reluctant to part with the lad Lin Zhan.

"Ah, I’m getting old; I’ve become so sentimental!" Yang Zhenshan said with a sigh.

Hearing this, Yu Qingyi laughed, "The master finally admits he’s old!"

"..."

Yang Zhenshan felt somewhat gloomy.

Was he old?

It seemed he really was getting old.

Counting the time, it had been nearly eight years since he came to this world.

The body he occupied was already forty-six years old, and the age of his soul was thirty-six!

Thirty-six, forty-six!

Yang Zhenshan glared fiercely at Yu Qingyi, "Whether or not I am old, aren’t you the clearest on that matter!"

"Ah!" Yu Qingyi looked clueless, not understanding what he meant.

"Humph, the day you stop moaning in the night will be the day I know I’ve gotten old!" Yang Zhenshan said chuckling as he leaned close to her ear.

Yu Qingyi was both angry and annoyed, "You shameless old fart!"

"Hahaha~~"

Yang Zhenshan burst into laughter, "I have matters to attend to at the government office, you all go home first!"

...

Just as Liu Zhe and Lin Zhan left, a convoy of over twenty people arrived at Tenglong Guard.

Lin Zhan was on his way back to Anning County to pay respects to his parents, so they traveled westward along the official road, while the convoy came from Jing’an Prefecture and headed eastward on the official road.

The two parties met about ten miles away from Guard City.

Lin Zhan, riding horseback, looked at the passing convoy, no, it was the robust man leading it that caught his attention.

The man wore a set of black athletic gear and carried a long saber at his waist. Although not tall, he appeared extremely sturdy and his dark face exuded an aura of subdued yet commanding power.

"My lord, what’s wrong?" Ding Lu looked back at the man in puzzlement and asked.

Lin Zhan shook his head slightly, "It’s nothing, I just think that man seems quite formidable!"

"Quite formidable? More so than the old master?" Ding Lu was somewhat incredulous.

Lin Zhan couldn’t help but laugh, "Certainly not as formidable as Master, but probably a bit more so than your father!"

Ding Lu was the second son of Ding Qiu, the same age as Lin Zhan, both sixteen years old this year.

"Oh!" Ding Lu was not surprised.

In his mind, his father wasn’t the most formidable; the most formidable was the old master.

As long as one wasn’t as formidable as the old master, they weren’t considered formidable at all!

Lin Zhan merely felt that the man’s cultivation wasn’t low, but did not delve deeper into his thoughts. After they passed each other, Lin Zhan and his company continued on their journey.

The man on the other hand kept surveying the surrounding fields attentively.

"My lord, how much longer until we arrive?"

At that moment, a plainly dressed woman leaned out from the carriage behind the man and asked.

The man looked up and ahead, smiling, "We can see Tenglong Guard already!"

Glancing up, the defenses of Tenglong Guard were already emerging on the landscape ahead.

The woman looked up and forward as well, seeing the silhouette of the city walls appearing, a relaxed expression spread across her face.

"We’ve finally arrived. I wonder what Tenglong Guard is like?"

The man did not reply, simply riding his horse at a slow pace, though a hint of worry was visible in his eyes.

Yu Tonghai, previously Deputy Magistrate of Hai State Left Guard, had suddenly received a court order for a posting, promoted to Deputy Magistrate of Tenglong Advanced Guard.

Promotion was supposed to be good news, but the move from Hai State Left Guard to Tenglong Advanced Guard left Yu Tonghai feeling very uncertain.

Hai State was located southeast of Da Rong while Tenglong Guard was in the northeast, almost eight thousand miles apart.

Had he not traveled by ship, the journey from Hai State to Tenglong Guard would have taken three to four months.

Considering the vast distance to a completely unfamiliar place, and the puzzling nature of his sudden promotion, he had his concerns.

The convoy moved slowly forward and soon arrived outside the city of the guard.

The guard city now looked quite decent; the walls had been repaired and, while not majestic, stood tall and strong.

The barracks were located south of the city, and the construction team entered and exited through the North City Gate, making the West City Gate somewhat deserted. With hardly anyone entering the city there, only a team of soldiers was there to guard the gate.

"Halt, who goes there?"

The soldiers guarding the gate stopped Yu Tonghai and his party.

Yu Tonghai, still mounted, looked over the soldiers in front of him. They looked indistinct, but what set them apart was their evident vigor.

These soldiers were actually the first batch of Camp Soldiers from Tenglong Guard. After reorganization, they were divided into five armies: the previously mentioned five Bazongs.

Although Yang Zhenshan has yet to appoint a Bazong, the five armies were already formed, with over two hundred soldiers in each, who were both undergoing combat training and rotating through missions.

Today’s duty of guarding the gate was assigned to the soldiers from the rear army.

"I am the newly appointed Deputy Magistrate of Tenglong Advanced Guard, here to pay a visit to the Commander-in-chief," Yu Tonghai presented his official documents and token, instructing his subordinates to hand them over to the gate guard.

To be honest, Yu Tonghai found it odd. Despite being appointed to the Tenglong Advanced Guard, he was directed by the Central Army Commander’s Mansion to meet the Commander at Tenglong Guard.

Until now, he was unclear about the actual situation at Tenglong Guard.

The gate guard was momentarily taken aback, looked at the documents and token, then back at Yu Tonghai, "One moment, sir, I will report this at once!"

There was only a junior ranked small flag here. They had no way to verify Yu Tonghai’s identity, so they ran to report to their superior.

Soon, a suitor clad in iron armor emerged from within the city gates.

"Tenglong Guard rear army’s Sentry Commander Han Zhao pays respects to Mr. Yu!"

Han Zhao was also a veteran soldier from An Yuan City’s garrison, currently holding the position of Sentry Commander in the rear army.

However, these Sentry Commanders were expected to get promoted in due time. Now, the Five Army Camps only had over a thousand soldiers, but when the camps were at full capacity of four thousand, these Sentry Commanders would at least hold the title of Sentry Commander-in-chief.

Sentry Commander!

Yu Tonghai nodded slightly, without any surprise.

The organization of the Five Army Camps established by Yang Zhenshan wasn’t made up on the spot, but adjusted from the systematic structure of some of Da Rong’s Camp Soldiers.

Twelve men made one team, four teams made one squad, four squads made one unit, all led by a squad commander, and four units made one battalion, commanded by a battalion commander.

This was a very common structure in the Camp Soldiers of Da Rong.