Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather
Chapter 252 - 343: Cherishing talent is a virtue, recommending talent is an achievement.

Chapter 252: Chapter 343: Cherishing talent is a virtue, recommending talent is an achievement.

At this point, there were no enemies left within the territory of the Kolcha Clan, only a ground covered with corpses. However, the soldiers were severely exhausted, and could only withdraw from the battlefield for rest and medical treatment.

The garrison suffered significant losses, but compared to the Rescue Camp, the casualties of the garrison were almost negligible.

Over half of the three thousand cavalry in the Rescue Camp were casualties, and over a thousand of the three thousand infantry as well.

This battle can truly be described as fierce.

By the time Yang Zhenshan arrived at the temporary stronghold near the flag site, both the soldiers of the garrison and the Rescue Camp cast respectful glances at him.

"Master Yang!" Zhang Chengzhi saw Yang Zhenshan approaching and hurriedly stepped forward to ask.

"How are your injuries, Mr. Zhang?" Yang Zhenshan looked at Zhang Chengzhi’s bandaged chest and asked with concern.

"It’s just a superficial wound, nothing serious!" Zhang Chengzhi replied.

Yang Zhenshan nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings, then said: "I’ll leave this place to you, Mr. Zhang. Our garrison will take care of the surrounding vigilance!"

"Alright, rest assured Master Yang, I will arrange everything well!" Zhang Chengzhi naturally had no objections.

Actually, in terms of official rank, Yang Zhenshan and Zhang Chengzhi were on the same level; Yang Zhenshan was the Deputy Magistrate of the Songzhou Guard, and Zhang Chengzhi was the Deputy Magistrate of the Songzhou Front Guard.

Besides Zhang Chengzhi, there was another camp officer in the Rescue Camp, the Deputy Magistrate of the Songzhou Rear Guard, but this officer had already died in battle.

There was also Zhang Yuanwu, who was the Commander under the Songzhou Guard, a subordinate of Yang Zhenshan.

Since Wang Bin was unable to take charge, it was up to Yang Zhenshan and Zhang Chengzhi to be in charge here. However, since Yang Zhenshan wasn’t part of the Rescue Camp, it was not appropriate for him to meddle in the affairs of the Rescue Camp.

With Zhang Chengzhi present, that was enough; he just needed to assist from the side.

After a brief arrangement, Yang Zhenshan took on the task of vigilance with the unharmed soldiers.

Wang Bin slept for a whole day and night, and only woke up the next morning.

"Cough cough, I’m getting old, and feeling a bit weak!"

In the tent, Wang Bin sat on the bed and spoke somewhat bitterly.

He was already forty-six years old this year. Although not very old, his bodily functions had begun to decline.

If he had been three or four years younger, he could have held on a bit longer against Duobato.

Standing by his side, Yang Zhenshan smiled, handed him the tea, and said, "Regardless, we have achieved a great victory in this battle!"

This was true; despite their heavy losses, they had truly won a great victory.

Defeating the Kolcha Clan, just this alone was enough to make a special note in the record of military achievements for both Wang Bin and Yang Zhenshan.

Hearing this, Wang Bin broke into a grin, "Hahaha, exactly, Wang San, help me up, I want to write the battle report myself!"

He was eager to report their achievements to Chongshan Town.

Seeing him like this, Yang Zhenshan couldn’t help but smile wryly.

Wang San carefully helped Wang Bin up; the pain from his wounds made Wang Bin grimace.

Nevertheless, he insisted on sitting up at the desk and wrote a victory report with a head full of sweat.

After sending out the victory report, Yang Zhenshan and Zhang Chengzhi started cleaning up the battlefield with their soldiers.

Collecting severed heads, gathering spoils of war.

Although nearly half of the Kolcha Clan’s territory was burned, the spoils they collected still astonished Yang Zhenshan.

How much wealth could a large clan possess?

Yang Zhenshan did not have a clear understanding of this before, but now he knew.

Ten thousand taels of gold, one hundred thousand taels of silver, and thousands of various kinds of gold and silver jewelry.

Tens of thousands of cattle and sheep, war horses—well, not many, only less than two thousand, mainly because many had died or been wounded in the battle.

And countless other miscellaneous items.

"What a pity, so much was burned!"

Looking at the piles of gold and silver, Wang Bin couldn’t help but feel regretful.

Gold and silver couldn’t be burned, but furs and medicinal materials could be.

The most valuable possessions of the Kolcha Clan were not the gold and silver, but those cattle, sheep, countless furs, and some precious medicinal materials.

"What do you think we should do with these gold and silver?" Wang Bin looked at Yang Zhenshan.

"Hand over thirty percent, leave forty percent for the families of the deceased soldiers, and distribute the remaining thirty percent among the soldiers!" Yang Zhenshan stated his thoughts straightforwardly.

Wang Bin almost immediately agreed to the proposed plan.

This plan may seem like they, the officers, did not benefit much, but in reality, they kept the lion’s share.

Cattle, sheep, furs, medicinal materials, and some cultivation techniques, etc., these were actually more valuable than gold and silver. The key was that keeping these items wouldn’t easily invite criticism.

As for how the remaining items were to be distributed, Yang Zhenshan did not ask; he trusted that Wang Bin would reserve a portion for him.

...

Chongshan Pass.

"Great victory, great victory!"

Joyful shouts spread throughout the entire General Mansion. The civil servant responsible for receiving the battle reports shouted while running towards the study of the General Mansion.

"General, General, a great victory!"

Lu Chongde, who was dealing with military affairs, heard this and stood up swiftly.

"Great victory!"

He was first overjoyed, then puzzled.

Where did this great victory come from?

Liang Chu should have just arrived at Fushan City not long ago. Could it be that they started fighting with the Hu Clan as soon as they arrived!

The civil servant rushed into the study, his face beaming with joy as he handed over the war report to Lu Chongde, "My lord, Assistant General Wang Bin and Yang Zhenshan, who is the commander of An Yuan City’s garrison, have greatly defeated the Kolcha Clan! A great victory, a great victory!"

A great defeat of the Kolcha Clan!

Lu Chongde was jolted into excitement and quickly started reading the war report.

Wang Bin described the battle with the Kolcha Clan in great detail in the war report, from Yang Zhenshan finding the location of the Kolcha’s flag, to Yang Zhenshan proposing the Fire Bull Formation, and to the specifics of the battle, all described in detail.

However, he omitted one point, that was his failure to defeat Duobato.

This actually was not very important. Although the Kolcha were found by Yang Zhenshan, and the Fire Bull Formation was also proposed by Yang Zhenshan, and Yang Zhenshan and the An Yuan City garrison performed the best in the battle, he was the leading General, and this victory was achieved under his leadership.

Either way, the greatest credit was his.

So, whether he could defeat Duobato was not important, it was just a bit embarrassing to mention.

"Good, good, hahaha~~"

After reading the war report, Lu Chongde called out ’good’ twice and burst into laughter.

Although this grand victory would not be decisive for the entire war, it could significantly weaken the strength of the East Sea Hu Clan.

The Kolcha were one of the seven large clans of the East Sea Hu Clan.

Defeating the Kolcha was equivalent to reducing the East Sea Hu Clan’s strength by ten percent.

What was more critical was that the losses of their forces in Chongshan Town were minimal, with only three thousand soldiers from the East Road Songzhou Guard lost.

The main force remained, first crippling a major clan of the East Sea Hu Clan, which was undoubtedly commendable.

Lu Chongde looked at the war report again, his face brimming with a thick smile.

"The Fire Bull Formation, haha, what a superb Fire Bull Formation!"

"This Yang Zhenshan truly deserves to be the master strategist who wrote the ’Thirty-Six Stratagems’!"

He directly conferred Yang Zhenshan with the title of master strategist.

"My lord, this Master Yang is really impressive. Not long ago, he consecutively defeated eight Hu Clan clans, and now along with General Wang, he defeated the Kolcha Clan. This is truly remarkable!" The civil servant by his side couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

Whether it’s a mule or a horse, pull it out for a stroll and you’ll know.

And this time, most of the mid-to-high level military officers from Chongshan Town were pulled out, and Yang Zhenshan undoubtedly became the most outstanding and prominent.

"Ah, it’s a pity he is only a garrison commander!"

At this moment, Lu Chongde felt somewhat regretful. If Yang Zhenshan had been an Assistant General, then his performance this time would have been even more outstanding, and his victory greater.

He knew that Yang Zhenshan was extraordinarily skilled in training soldiers, and this campaign proved it.

The more than a thousand soldiers in the An Yuan City garrison camp had become an elite force under Yang Zhenshan in just three years, winning every battle.

The civil servant thought for a moment, "My lord, should we report this victory to the court?"

This civil servant was not from the General Mansion but from the Governor’s Office. When Liang Chu deployed, he took most of the civil servants from the General Mansion, and Lu Chongde, who came to preside over the General Mansion, naturally needed his own people, especially those clerks by his side to handle affairs, all had been his own people.

"Report to the court, yes, we should report to the court!" Lu Chongde nodded and said.

"Such a talented commander, my lord, you should recommend him to His Majesty!" the civil servant chuckled.

Lu Chongde was momentarily stunned, then he quickly understood.

Valuing talent is a virtue; recommending talent is a merit.

If he were to recommend Yang Zhenshan to His Majesty, then His Majesty would certainly recognize his virtues and would also keep in mind his service.

Moreover, this would also count as a favor, the favor of recommendation, which could help build a good relationship with Yang Zhenshan.

Thinking of this, Lu Chongde no longer hesitated and immediately wrote a memorial statement, sending it along with the war report to the Capital City. Of course, he did not forget to send a copy of the war report to Liang Chu.

With the defeat of the Kolcha Clan, the pressure on Liang Chu in Fushan City would also lessen.

...

Meanwhile, Yang Zhenshan naturally did not know that Lu Chongde was trying to earn a favor from him. After a few days of cleaning up, the territory of the Kolcha Clan had completely turned into ruins, with all their possessions gathered in piles, awaiting transport by the large transportation team led by Wang Sheng.

That’s right, Wang Sheng had now transformed into the team leader of the large transportation team.

At Wang Bin’s request, Wang Sheng had once again enlisted several thousand civilians from Jia City, transporting the spoils like ants moving their nest toward Jia City.

The habitat of the Kolcha Clan was not limited to just the flag area; approximately fifty percent of the Kolcha’s people, around thirty to forty thousand, lived there.

Even though half of their possessions were burned, the remaining was still a massive quantity.

Even if they mobilized five thousand civilians, several trips would be necessary to transport all the useful items back.

Fortunately, the Kolcha Clan had many cattle and sheep, which the civilians could use to transport materials, significantly easing their burden.

In the following days, soldiers from the Rescue Camp and garrison continued to rest and assist the civilians in transporting the spoils.

By early June, this batch of spoils had been fully transported back to Jia City.

Meanwhile, the soldiers had also roughly completed their rest.

The lightly injured soldiers could now participate in the combat, whereas the more severely injured soldiers returned to Jia City with the civilian team.

Currently, under Wang Bin’s command in the Rescue Camp, there remained only one thousand cavalry and two thousand infantrymen.

Yang Zhenshan still had about seven hundred cavalry under his command.

Zhang Yuanwu only had three hundred infantrymen.

The total force amounted to just four thousand.