Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather
Chapter 103 - 100 Da Ling Country

Chapter 103: Chapter 100 Da Ling Country

Subsequently, the two descended the mountain and returned to Linguan Castle.

At this time, Linguan Castle was very crowded. Temporary tents filled the training field, and the sheep pens and pigsties within the garrison had all been cleared out to accommodate warhorses.

As for the pigs, sheep, and chickens, those that could be slaughtered had been, and the ones that couldn’t were temporarily placed in the homes of military households.

"Sir, here are the reports on the garrison’s food and supplies!" Yang Chengze found Yang Zhenshan and presented a document to him.

Yang Zhenshan walked into the study next to the fireplace, sat down, and glanced over the document.

"We should be able to hold out for a month!"

Linguan Castle originally didn’t have much food or supplies stored, but they had brought quite a bit of food and resources themselves, so holding out for a month was not a problem.

"Yes, and I’ve also selected the strong youths you asked for!" Yang Chengze added.

"How many?"

"One hundred twenty-three people!" replied Yang Chengze.

Linguan Castle has one hundred military households, and each household contributes one able-bodied person to enlist, with the rest either tending the fields or doing other work within the garrison.

All males between fifteen and forty were considered able-bodied. Aside from the one man each from a hundred households, selecting one more able-bodied was not a difficult task.

"Alright, get prepared. If the Hu Clan attacks, they will need to help us defend the city!" Yang Zhenshan instructed.

Since arriving at Linguan Castle, Yang Zhenshan had to prepare for the worst.

If the Hu Clan attacked, the force would not just be three or five hundred soldiers but at least a thousand or even several thousand.

Perhaps even more, but the area of Linguan Castle was limited, so no matter how many came from the Hu Clan, they couldn’t use them all.

Over the next few days, the Hu Clan sent more and more scouts, many of whom reached the vicinity of Linguan Castle.

At the same time, many scouts were dispatched from the city as well, and the scouts from both sides constantly clashed around the city.

Yang Zhenshan also sent out scouts, but his only patrolled three miles around Linguan Castle.

Given his command of these two hundred cavalry, it truly was a force he couldn’t afford to lose.

To prevent casualties, he even ordered that if they encountered Northern barbarians, they must immediately retreat to the castle.

After all, the mission of his scouts differed from those of the city; the city scouts’ mission was to gather intelligence on the enemy, while his scouts were merely to alert the garrison.

Today, Yang Zhenshan was in the government office’s study reviewing the map of the area around Linguan Castle.

Linguan Castle was only about ten miles from the city, but Linguan Castle couldn’t see the city because a mountain peak lay between them.

The Hu Clan would need to bypass this mountain and come from the North to attack Linguan Castle.

It was certain that the Hu Clan was already aware of Linguan Castle’s existence, given the numerous scouts they had sent out, they must have already thoroughly investigated the surroundings of Chongshan Pass.

As for whether they would attack Linguan Castle, Yang Zhenshan couldn’t be sure.

Linguan Castle wasn’t a large city and didn’t have much strategic significance, theoretically speaking, the Hu Clan could entirely disregard it.

But on the other hand, as the saying goes, "how can one sleep soundly when the bed’s corner is occupied by others?"

The main camp of the Hu Clan was also merely a little over ten miles from Linguan Castle. Given such proximity, the Hu Clan’s main army was unlikely to overlook the existence of Linguan Castle.

Just as Yang Zhenshan was contemplating whether the Hu Clan would come, suddenly, a series of loud gong sounds erupted outside.

The urgent clanging sounds made Yang Zhenshan tremble all over.

No need to think further; the Hu Clan had arrived!

Yang Zhenshan hastily stepped out of the study, and right there, he ran into Yang Chengze.

"Sir, the Hu thieves have arrived, with numbers over a thousand!"

Yang Zhenshan’s face darkened slightly, "Ming Wu!"

"Subordinate is here!" Yang Mingwu ran out from the next room while adjusting his armor.

He had personally gone out to patrol last night and had just slept for a little over two hours, only to be awakened by the sound of the gongs.

"Send the order down to prepare for defense!"

Yang Zhenshan instructed briefly, then hastened towards the tower at the back of the garrison.

Upon reaching the tower, he saw a wave of dust stirred up by the Northern forces in the distance, the howling cold wind carrying a suffocating aura of death overwhelming the land.

At the same time, within the fort, the urgent sounds of bamboo clappers and copper drums rang out, and soldiers gathered one after another, arriving at the walls they were tasked to defend as previously arranged.

Their expressions were all stern; after waiting for so many days, the enemy had finally come.

This battle would be a truly grueling fight, whether it would end in life or death, no one could be sure.

However, they felt no fear in their hearts because their defense officer was with them.

Especially the soldiers inside Linguan Castle, they had an extra responsibility to defend.

They had experienced the massacres by Northern barbarians, and after finally finding a place to settle safely and start a peaceful life, they would not allow anyone to destroy their homes or harm their families again.

Yang Zhenshan stood on the tower, observing the approaching massive Hu Clan army, with soldiers and cavalry intermixed, approximately fifteen hundred in number.

Ahead of the large army, several squads of Northern cavalry had already reached the vicinity of Linguan Castle, galloping around the fort, shouting intermittently.

"Inside Da Rong dogs, heed and come out to surrender if you know what’s good for you!"

"Cowardly people of Da Rong, our lord has decreed, those who surrender will not be killed, and their families will remain safe!"

"Those who surrender will not be killed, and their families will remain safe!"

These shouts reached inside the garrison but caused no stir, it was as if all the soldiers inside had not heard a thing and focused tightly on those erratically moving Northern cavalry.

Surrender!

The military households inside the garrison had all suffered at the hands of the Hu Clan, bearing deep-seated grudges against them.

As for the soldiers brought by Yang Zhenshan, their families were not here; if they dared to surrender, their families would be punished and executed.

Besides, the overwhelming majority around had no such thoughts, and even if there were one or two who were afraid of death, they wouldn’t dare to voice it.

Approximately two hours later, the Hu Clan’s main army arrived outside Linguan Castle, slowly gathering about half a mile north of the garrison.

Over fifteen hundred enemy troops, looking densely packed from a distance, appeared quite frightening.

Not to mention others, even Yang Zhenshan was facing such a vast number of enemies for the first time.

He had previously participated in the Black Cloud Mountain battle, facing nearly a hundred thousand Hu Clan troops, but at that time, he was just one of the many soldiers and could only see the comrades and enemies right before him, never actually witnessing such an enormous spread of foes.

"Sir, shall we light the beacon smoke?"

Yang Chengze asked in a quiet voice.

Lighting the beacon smoke is intended to send a message to the pass town; however, Yang Zhenshan estimated that at this time, the pass town surely wouldn’t attend to Linguan Castle.

He was unclear about what plan Marquis Changping Liang Chu had, but he knew that Liang Chu would not change his plan for a garrison.

Even if Liang Chu’s plan was only to stoutly defend Chongshan Pass, he would not come to support Linguan Castle.

"Light it!"

After some thought, Yang Zhenshan decided to light it.

Regardless of whether Chongshan Pass would come to the rescue or not, he at least had to let them know the situation here.

Soon, two beacon smokes rose from the signal tower within the garrison.

Yang Zhenshan turned his head to look in the direction of Chongshan Pass.

Regrettably, the mountains blocked his view, and he could only see a corner of the pass town’s walls.

Turning his gaze back, Yang Zhenshan looked again towards the large army of the Hu Clan with a calm expression.

According to the Hu Clan’s military organization, three hundred men make up a Niu Lu, and five Niu Lu form a Jiala, led by a Jiala Ezheng.

This appeared to be a complete Jiala.

Different from the suspected Jiala Ezheng they encountered at Ying River, there must be a real Jiala Ezheng here.

And the Hu Clan opposite was clearly very familiar with the military setup of Chongshan Town, such as Linguan Castle sized garrison, being only two or three miles around with typically only one or two hundred soldiers.

They brought fifteen hundred troops, which should easily be able to take down this garrison.

But they did not know Yang Zhenshan was also inside Linguan Castle, and he had brought five hundred soldiers.

If they had known beforehand, perhaps they would have sent more troops.

But now even if they knew, they wouldn’t seek reinforcements.

Has the battle not even started and they are asking for reinforcements -- would their Jiala Ezheng not lose face?

The Jiala Ezheng opposite only took one look and had already concluded there were more than one or two hundred soldiers inside Linguan Castle.

Of course, this wouldn’t cause him dissatisfaction or anger; in contrast, he would be pleased.

The more Da Rong dogs inside the garrison, the greater the credit for capturing the garrison and the more war spoils they could gain.

The key thing was that he finally got this opportunity to go to battle.

Thinking back to last year when they came to Chongshan Pass, tens of thousands sat in tents for over a month and didn’t even see bloodshed, while others entered Da Rong and freely slaughtered and plundered; now recalling it, he still felt depressed.

Now that he finally had the chance to strike, he naturally did not want anyone to share his credit and spoils.

He laughed heartily, leading a group of Cavalry towards the fortress of Linguan Castle.

"The people inside listen, I am Borja, a third-class noble of Da Ling Country. Now I command you to come out and surrender immediately, otherwise, when I attack the castle, I’ll make sure you regret it, wishing you were dead rather than alive!"

"Think it over, and don’t regret it too late!"

He shouted towards the direction of the tower.

"Da Ling Country!"

"Third-class noble!"

Yang Zhenshan and those beside him, including Yang Mingwu and Yang Chengze, looked at each other in confusion.

"The Hu Clan has formed a nation!"

This was the only conclusion Yang Zhenshan could arrive at.

Previously, the Hu Clan didn’t have a dynastic title; they lived scattered in tribal forms. About thirty years ago, seven major tribes of the Hu Clan formed an alliance, built Fushan City together, and established a council of elders like a parliament to discuss the affairs of the Hu Clan.

Under the leadership of the council of elders, the Hu Clan developed rapidly. In just over a decade, they became the biggest threat on the border of Da Rong.

As their power grew, so did their ambition, and the Hu Clan ultimately couldn’t resist raising the butcher’s knife towards Da Rong.

Regrettably, they underestimated Da Rong’s power, and needless to say, after a period of war, the Hu Clan went quiet for twenty years,

At that time, the Hu Clan had not formed a nation nor did they have a true leader.

Now that they claim to have formed a nation, it signifies that they definitely have a king.

A united kingdom is undoubtedly more troublesome than a scattered tribal force.

What’s more crucial is that this king not only united the chaotic Hu Clan but also allowed the dormant tribe to rise again, showing he is a greatly capable person.

"What is Da Ling Country?" Yang Chengze couldn’t help asking.

The thought of forming a nation was beyond their imagination.

Whether it’s a dynasty or an empire, it’s not something that can just be established on a whim.

Moreover, just declaring the establishment of a dynasty doesn’t make it so.

Without the recognition of surrounding dynasties and empires, your proclaimed dynasty is just a joke.

It’s just that the Hu Clan, being barbaric, didn’t understand this, so they arrogantly titled themselves as Da Ling.

"Never mind what it is, let’s strike him with a spear first!" Yang Mingwu lifted his short spear.

Yang Zhenshan’s throwing of the short spear was highly coveted; they frequently practiced it, and now Yang Mingwu could hardly restrain the urge to give this arrogant fellow outside a spear shot.

"Hold on, let’s see what they do next!" Yang Zhenshan stopped Yang Mingwu’s rash action.

It was his first time defending a fortress, and he wanted to take the opportunity to gain some experience.

If a single spear scared this guy away, that would be a loss.

Jiala Ezheng!

Heh, he was quite interested.

The previous one was only a suspected Jiala Ezheng; he had not yet verified the man’s identity.

And this one was not only a true Jiala Ezheng but also a third-class noble, recognised by someone unknown.

Noble!

That sounded like some sort of title.