CHAPTER 522: CHAPTER 469 COMFORTING THE PEOPLE_2

Working under Yang Zhenshan might be tiring, but it’s very worry-free.

This was deeply felt by the four men from Niu Zhuang; after all, they initially served under Ji Feiyu, who at that time almost left all his Assistant Generals with no real power.

To reassure everyone, Yang Zhenshan didn’t beat around the bush and straightforwardly said, "General Zhou Lan will take over the position of General, you must trust in General Zhou Lan’s abilities!"

After finishing speaking, he looked towards Niu Zhuang.

Niu Zhuang, upon hearing this, first showed astonishment, then great joy.

"Don’t worry, even if I leave Chongshan Town, I won’t neglect it."

"When General Zhou arrives, you must cooperate with her as before. I won’t say more about how to do so, as I believe you already understand!"

"I only have two requests for you: first, don’t let Chongshan Town fall into chaos; second, obey General Zhou Lan’s orders. If anyone dares to secretly defy this, you know my temper!"

Yang Zhenshan cracked a smile, his sharp gaze making everyone shudder.

The crowd bowed obediently, each hastily expressing their commitment to following General Zhou Lan’s commands.

Seeing their worries eased, Yang Zhenshan temporarily let them leave.

After they had left, Yang Zhenshan summoned officials from the General Mansion to hold a meeting.

This time Yang Zhenshan returned to the Capital City, even unable to take Lu Wenhua with him, but he wasn’t worried about whether Zhou Lan would use Lu Wenhua.

Zhou Lan would likely use Lu Wenhua, as Lu Wenhua’s abilities were strong. Managing the General Mansion was no easy task, and Lu Wenhua’s skillful handling of its many affairs proved his capability.

Even if Zhou Lan didn’t use Lu Wenhua and arranged her own people to manage the General Mansion, Yang Zhenshan believed Zhou Lan would make proper arrangements for Lu Wenhua.

After finishing the meeting with the officials of the General Mansion, Yang Zhenshan also met with Pang Tang.

Pang Tang was worried, as he had been preparing to achieve great feats in Chongshan Town. If Yang Zhenshan left, his desired achievements might be halted midway.

To settle the sentiment, Yang Zhenshan first consoled Pang Tang, then summoned the main officials from the Governor’s Office, Inspector General’s Office, and others to hold a meeting.

Within one day, Yang Zhenshan held three meetings, just barely managing to stabilize everyone.

In the following days, Yang Zhenshan frequently held meetings. The mood was stabilized, but he needed to finalize the subsequent plans before leaving Chongshan Town.

For instance, Yang Zhenshan’s initial road construction plan was now less than half complete, with the remaining half needing to continue next year.

Furthermore, Yang Zhenshan planned to set up a Northwestern Route Black Cloud Guard Assistant General Mansion in Chongshan Town, adding one additional Assistant General and establishing four to five guard offices to the west of Black Cloud Mountain, relocating over twenty thousand military households.

According to Yang Zhenshan’s plan, within two to three years, Chongshan Town should actively advance into the western regions of Northern territory, which borders the vast grasslands connected to the Wuliang Hu Clan.

He intended to establish a massive horse ranch in the Western Northern territory for this ranch, he even planned to add another Assistant General, relocate four to six guard offices, and then build garrison forts, gradually encroaching on the living space of the Wuliang Hu Clan.

If implemented according to Yang Zhenshan’s plan, ten years later, Chongshan Town would become a border town with eight Assistant Generals and one hundred fifty thousand Camp Soldiers.

By then, Yang Zhenshan could cooperate with Beiyuan Town to drive the Wuliang Hu Clan to the Northern territories or the northwest deserts of Da Rong.

This had been Yang Zhenshan’s ten-year plan all along.

Unfortunately, now he could only leave it to Zhou Lan to complete, unsure if Zhou Lan could manage it well.

It wasn’t that he doubted Zhou Lan’s abilities, but without the aid of Spiritual Spring Water, many things would certainly not be as well handled as by Yang Zhenshan himself.

With things as they were, Yang Zhenshan had no choice but to convey his thoughts as best as possible to the soldiers and officials of Chongshan Town, hoping they would support Zhou Lan in accomplishing his plan.

On the twentieth day of the twelfth lunar month, Yang Zhenshan received a reply from Zhou Lan. In the letter, Zhou Lan expressed her commitment to manage Chongshan Town according to his plan, also stating that she would set off for Chongshan Town after the new year, expecting to arrive by the end of the first lunar month.

Upon receiving Zhou Lan’s reply, Yang Zhenshan felt even more relieved.

As for the imperial court, it still seemed calm and uneventful, showing little concern for transferring Yang Zhenshan back to the Capital City and appointing Zhou Lan as General of Chongshan Town.

Among the nine frontier towns of Da Rong, Chongshan Town was not highly ranked, barely maintaining a mid-tier status, and although Yang Zhenshan had distinguished military achievements, he had never stayed in the Capital City, nor had he ever attended morning court.

Therefore, the civil and military officials in the court did not pay much attention to him.

Regarding this, Yang Zhenshan also felt helpless, as he was not in the Capital City, making many things inconvenient to handle.

For instance, this time Emperor Yanping reassigned him back to the Capital City, by the time he received the news, everything had already been decided. If he had been in the Capital City, perhaps he could have negotiated something.

As time passed day by day, the Yang family welcomed the new year.

Second year of Yan Ping, the first day of the first month.

Yang Zhenshan called Yang Mingzhi and Yang Minghao into his study.

He had been too busy these days and hadn’t had a good chat with his sons.

In the study, Yang Zhenshan sat on one side, while Yang Mingzhi and Yang Minghao sat on the other side of the coffee table.

"I won’t say much about other things, you should already know!"

"Today, I have two things to explain to you!"

Yang Zhenshan looked at the brothers, his gaze calm.

The brothers felt his gaze and immediately became serious and listened attentively.

Seeing them like this, Yang Zhenshan could not help but smile.

"The first thing! You both should already be aware of!"

"Our Yang family is now noble, but there is only one title, and that is your elder brother’s, both of you brothers know this!"

Yang Mingzhi nodded slightly, "Dad, we understand!"

Succession of titles is generally inherited by the eldest legitimate son unless the eldest dies, then it could transfer to the other brothers.

In noble families, countless fratricidal conflicts have arisen over the struggle for the right to inherit titles.

Yang Zhenshan was pleased that there had been no such incidents in the Yang family, not even a hint of it.

Whether it was the brothers Yang Mingzhi and Yang Minghao, or the Liang Family and Li family, none had done anything inappropriate.

Of course, the most important thing was that even Yu Qingyi had never thought about fighting for the title for Ming Zhao.

Yang Zhenshan never considered letting Ming Zhao inherit the title either, firstly because of the order of seniority and secondly, Yang Zhenshan had other plans for Ming Zhao— in this world, power and wealth are just superficial; one’s true root lies in their own cultivation and strength.

Yang Zhenshan, stroking his beard, continued: "Your elder brother will continue to stay in the Capital City, you know his nature, he can manage the household matters, but it is better to keep him out of other things."

The honest child is prone to being taken advantage of, Yang Mingcheng’s candid nature is really not suitable for mingling in the bureaucratic world, even if he is in the Capital City, he would not get involved in court affairs, but focus on cultivating at home, becoming an Innate Martial Artist as soon as possible is the best plan for him.

"As for you, I will look after you in the Capital City, but the path ahead you will have to walk by yourselves!"

Yang Mingzhi is already capable of handling things independently, Yang Minghao still lacks a bit, but he is nearly there.

Previously, everyone was either in Chongshan Town or Liaodong, even if separated, Yang Zhenshan could still take care of them, but later, Yang Zhenshan will stay in the Capital City, and he will probably always stay in Chongshan Town or be assigned to another border town, possibly not seeing each other for years.

So Yang Zhenshan inevitably had to give a few words of advice.

"Dad, don’t worry, my second brother and I will take good care of ourselves!" Yang Minghao grinned.

Yang Zhenshan looked at him, his eyes becoming misty.

He remembered the first time he saw Yang Minghao, who was then a half-sized boy and an apprentice in a blacksmith shop.

Back then, Yang Minghao was dark and thin, and also dirty.

But now, he has transformed into a tall and burly General!