Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather
Chapter 243 - 224: A man’s conduct should be resolute and vigorous; gentleness and kindness do not go hand in hand with such affairs.

Chapter 243: Chapter 224: A man’s conduct should be resolute and vigorous; gentleness and kindness do not go hand in hand with such affairs.

April 25th.

The camp of the An Yuan City garrison once again welcomed a group of people, and this group was here to transport the spoils of war, led by none other than Wang Sheng.

Wang Sheng arrived with three hundred soldiers and over a thousand civilians.

When Wang Sheng saw those spoils of war, the mounds of severed heads, a look of envy appeared in his eyes.

Yes, he was envious.

He too wanted to go to the battlefield, to kill enemies and achieve meritorious deeds.

But Wang Bin wouldn’t allow it; he could only help Wang Bin with some logistical affairs.

Being able to come to transport the spoils of war was already quite rare for him.

"Uncle, ah, it’s a pity that your nephew cannot join you on the battlefield!"

Standing in front of Yang Zhenshan, Wang Sheng spoke with a look of dejection.

Yang Zhenshan laughed heartily, "There will be opportunities in the future!"

That was the only consolation he could offer Wang Sheng.

Besides, he was currently neither in the mood nor had the energy to placate Wang Sheng.

Without waiting for Wang Sheng to reply, Yang Zhenshan spoke up, "Since you’re here, I’ll leave this place to you guys. We need to continue our campaign!"

The Tumoge Clan had already migrated for more than ten days, but they hadn’t moved far, just to a location about two hundred miles to the North.

They found a major Tribe and for now settled next to it.

A major Tribe, containing tens of thousands of individuals.

Yang Zhenshan had been eager to have a look.

Now that Wang Sheng had arrived, he could finally let go of these spoils of war!

Wang Sheng wanted to talk more with Yang Zhenshan, but Yang Zhenshan hardly spoke more. On the very day of their arrival, Yang Zhenshan led the garrison’s soldiers and left.

Unlike before, all the garrison’s soldiers now had two horses each.

After several days of familiarization, the soldiers were basically accustomed to their own war horses. Although the bond wasn’t profound yet, they were able to handle them quite well.

All soldiers had turned into Cavalry, and by abandoning most of their supplies, the garrison’s mobility was greatly enhanced.

With a thousand soldiers on a thousand horses, Yang Zhenshan led the garrison northward.

However, they didn’t immediately go after the Tumoge Tribe, instead, they cleared out the Hu Clan Tribes they passed along the way.

This large area is upstream of the Songyuan River. Apart from the main flow of the Songyuan River, there are several tributaries; there are quite a few Northern barbarian Tribes living in this area.

While the Tumoge were relocating, they had interactions with quite a few Northern barbarian Tribes, and these interactions provided many clues for the garrison’s Scouts.

"My Lord, up ahead is the Baluke Tribe. There are nearly three thousand people in Baluke, with no more than a thousand able-bodied men, a rather small medium-sized Tribe!"

As dusk approached, Yang Zhenshan led the garrison fifty miles north of the Songyuan River. Yang Mingzhen pointed at the continuous yurts in the distance and said.

Past the Songyuan River lies vast flat grasslands. If not for the war, this region should be the Northern barbarian Tribes’ favorite place to reside.

Because of the imminent war, many Northern barbarian Tribes relocated to relatively complex hilly terrains.

However, some Tribes considered themselves strong and did not fear Da Rong’s military might, thus did not relocate.

Of course, this does not refer to the Baluke right in front of them but the Kolcha Tribe that the Tumoge relies on.

"Do they have any defenses?" Yang Zhenshan asked.

"No, it seems the Tumoge didn’t reveal anything to them! They just traded some supplies with them!" Yang Mingzhen replied.

Yang Zhenshan nodded slightly, not surprised at all.

It was apparent that the Tumoge were panicked by their presence, thus the hasty nocturnal relocation.

During their migration, they certainly wouldn’t want to admit they were scared off. This wasn’t for pride but for a safer departure.

With each Tribe they crossed, their safety increased, because anyone pursuing them would first have to deal with the Tribes they left behind.

Yang Zhenshan even suspected that the Baluke in front was deliberately exposed to them by the Tumoge.

The Tumoge couldn’t have failed to notice the Scouts trailing behind, and yet they interacted with the Baluke; thus, it must have been intentional.

In other words, the Tumoge just sold out the Baluke.

Naturally, Yang Zhenshan was pleased with this development.

He looked up at the slightly gloomy sky and said, "Rest and eat on the spot, and prepare to attack precisely at Midnight!"

"Zhou Ren!"

"My Lord!" Zhou Ren answered.

Yang Zhenshan continued to instruct, "Prepare torches; we will need plenty for a night raid tonight!"

"Yes!"

Subsequently, the soldiers began to rest on the spot.

After quickly munching on their dry rations, the soldiers lay down with the fur they carried and camped on the spot.

In late April in the North, the temperature was still slightly low, but fortunately, they acquired plenty of fur in Zhaerzi, which ensured they stayed warm during the overnight bivouac.

Time ticked away. Apart from necessary vigilance, most soldiers and officers took rest inside their furs, and Yang Zhenshan was no exception; he laid on a sheepskin, covered by half an ox hide, with only his head exposed.

Sleeping like this was certainly not comfortable, especially since he was still wearing his armor, making lying down somewhat uncomfortable.

But that was the condition in the wild; no one would complain about this.

Soon, it was Midnight, and the soldiers got up one by one, rolling up their furs onto their horse’s back.

The Baluke Tribe in the distance was silent, without a single sound.

Under the gloomy night sky, all was pitch black, with only the faint lights of the Baluke’s settlement.

The soldiers quietly mounted their horses, soothing their somewhat restless steeds.

Yang Zhenshan rode on Red Cloud, observing the distant Baluke.

"Let’s go!"

Without any unnecessary words, Yang Zhenshan called out casually and rode towards the direction of Baluke.

Under the dim night, to avoid being discovered, they did not light torches immediately, simply moving towards Baluke at a slow pace.

It was only when they approached within a hundred yards of Baluke that Yang Zhenshan ordered his soldiers to light their torches.

"Kill!"

The night was shrouded, and the roar of killing shook the heavens, awakening the sleeping Northern barbarians.

Then came the rising flames, a brutal massacre unfolding within the Baluke settlement.

Demons from hell were whimsically and wildly displaying their cruelty.

The sounds of wailing, crying for mercy, desperate shouts, and furious roars interweaved in the night sky.

However, all struggles were doomed to be futile.

When the first light of dawn appeared in the Eastern sky, the Baluke Tribe had been completely reduced to ruins.

Like a statue, Yang Zhenshan stood outside the Baluke settlement, gazing towards the Eastern horizon.

Soldiers behind him were efficiently clearing the battlefield.

They gathered cattle and sheep, transported supplies, collected heads, and dug pits for burying the corpses.

They distributed gold and silver, prepared dry rations, replenished drinking water, and rested on the spot.

"Sir, we have informed Mr. Yuan and Lord Wang about the situation here; they will be arriving soon!"

Yang Mingzhen arrived, covered with dust from travel.

Yang Zhenshan turned around with a calm expression and nodded slightly.

"Prepare to depart, next one!"

...

A man’s journey should be ferocious. Righteousness cannot coexist with such affairs.

A man should kill, kill without mercy.

Endless glory lies within the act of killing.

When Yang Zhenshan raised his butcher’s knife in Zhaerzi, it was as if he had opened Pandora’s box.

One tribe per day, seven days, a slaughter of a hundred thousand.

Of course, the number of a hundred thousand was somewhat exaggerated. Over the span of seven days, Yang Zhenshan led the garrison to attack seven tribes, slaughtering approximately thirty thousand Northern barbarians.

Within two hundred li on the north bank of the Songyuan River, not a single Northern barbarian Tribe was left, nor could any Northern barbarian cavalry be seen.

Panic spread, and rumors about the devil proliferated.

At the settlement of Kolcha.

Leader Duobato, with a grave complexion, sat in the chief seat, surrounded by over a dozen high-ranking Kolcha officials, among them a familiar figure—Zha Yan.

At the moment, Zha Yan looked dazed, his face pale, with dark circles under his eyes, giving him the appearance of someone gravely ill.

Fleeing for over ten days, arriving at Kolcha, he had thought they were safe.

But the terrorizing news that followed kept him from sleeping easy, with no appetite, restlessly troubled day and night.

"Zha Yan!" Duobato broke the silent atmosphere, his gaze falling on Zha Yan.

"Do they really have only a thousand men?"

Honestly, Duobato found it hard to believe the news he had received these days, as well as Zha Yan’s words.

How could it be? Including Zhaerzi, a total of eight tribes, a population of over forty thousand, strong men exceeding ten thousand, all slaughtered clean just like that?

The news he received came from those who had escaped the slaughter. They were like people who had seen the devil, each of them horrified and mentally disoriented.

Except for Zhaerzi, the subsequent seven tribes had all been night-raided by Yang Zhenshan leading the garrison.

The first few were caught completely unprepared, and while the later ones were somewhat vigilant, their defenses proved to be extremely weak. As the lucky escapees spread the news, the later tribes fell into panic.

The panic made them even more vulnerable.

In such circumstances, all kinds of news became bizarre with only the initial information brought by Zha Yan being the most accurate.

But now, Duobato was somewhat unwilling to believe the news brought by Zha Yan.

A mere thousand men, how could they have done this?

Zha Yan, with a dazed expression, lifted his head unconsciously, replying subconsciously, "Banner Master Kolcha, there truly are only a thousand men!"

In the East Sea Hu Clan, the Banner Master is the title for the leader of a large tribe. Even though the East Sea Hu Clan has now established a Dynasty, and the Banner Masters have been enfeoffed by the Royal Court, aside from the Royal Family, other large tribes still prefer the title of Banner Master.

Duobato still couldn’t bring himself to believe it, but he did not continue to dwell on it.

Now they faced a strong, unknown, and terrifying military force. Kolcha must prepare in advance.

As for those rumors about devils, Duobato absolutely refused to believe them. He would rather believe that Da Rong had sent tens of thousands of troops than believe any rumors of devils.

"Send out orders, call for all divisions to gather towards the flag territory!"

The so-called flag territory refers to the current settlement of Kolcha.

Kolcha Tribe is not only one settlement; with tens of thousands of people, they definitely cannot live together.

If they were to live together, how many animals would be needed to support so many people, and how much grazing land?

Thus, the large Northern barbarian Tribes each have several settlements, their settlements also shift, but only within a fixed area.

Simply put, large tribes have fixed territories, which are divided into many small and medium-sized settlements.

They have a unified surname and honor the Banner Master.

Now, facing a powerful and unknown enemy, Duobato decided to summon all of Kolcha’s strength to confront them.