Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

The decay of the garrison system is a common ailment throughout Da Rong, and there are many reasons for this problem.

One is the rampant corruption of greedy officials who oppress military households to the point of survival becoming impossible, forcing them to flee the garrisons, becoming vagrants, or going into the mountains to become unregistered dwellers.

Another is because the court had long given up on the garrisons across the land. Apart from a few garrisons with special duties, most of the garrisons receive no support from the court, nor do they have any opportunities for development.

"How many military households does Zhao Wu Guard have? How much is the allocated farmland?" Yang Zhenshan asked.

Zhang Hee replied anxiously, "There are two thousand three hundred military households, and twenty-three thousand acres of allocated farmland."

Yang Zhenshan revealed an amused smile. Generally, a guard should have about five thousand six hundred households, with each household having about twenty to fifty acres of allocated farmland. The amount differs depending on the region, but it definitely wouldn't be less than twenty acres.

Military households might run away, but what about the allocated farmland?

Could it be that the allocated farmland has also grown legs and run away?

The allocated farmland definitely couldn't run; it must have been encroached upon by someone!

Zhang Hee was an honest official; he probably hadn't encroached upon allocated farmland, or perhaps he had hidden it very well and deceived Sun Yunfeng. It's also possible that before he took his post at Zhao Wu Guard, the allocated farmland had already been usurped, which is why he was so impoverished as a Commander.

"Mr. Sun, let's start with an investigation into the allocated farmland. Whomever it involves, I want a thorough investigation!"

Yang Zhenshan was ready to wield the knife.

He understood the extent of the rot within Da Rong's garrisons, but he had neither the jurisdiction nor the interest to interfere in such matters before. However, now that Zhao Wu Guard was under his command, he had to take charge and manage it.

"This…" Sun Yunfeng hesitated, "This might implicate the Governor's Office!"

Yang Zhenshan's lips curled slightly, "Don't mention the Governor's Office. Even if it involves the Central Army Commander's Mansion, carry out the investigation. If I can't handle it, I will petition His Majesty to administer punishment!"

"As long as there's evidence, confiscate their property outright, we are currently in need of funds and grain."

"Uncle Xue, you support Mr. Sun with this task! If anyone dares to resort to violence, execute them on the spot. I will shoulder any consequences!"

Previously, he might have had some concerns, always following protocol. But now, he had no such reservations.

To put it bluntly, as long as he did not rebel, Emperor Yanping couldn't do anything to him, nor could the court.

Dealing with a group of corrupt officials was all it was, could the court really oppose him for the sake of such people?

Emperor Yanping, even less so, would not be dissatisfied with him, the Marquis Jing'an, over a group of corrupt officials.

Sun Yunfeng took a deep breath and said, "Your subordinate obeys the command!"

Now, he truly witnessed the domineering side of Yang Zhenshan.

In fact, as the Sea Patrol Imperial Censor, he could refuse Yang Zhenshan's orders and even had the authority to monitor him, but he had no intention of opposing him.

Did you not see the military supervising eunuch Yang Jinhe taking naps beside him? Why should he, an Imperial Censor, stick his neck out?

Moreover, he also wanted to punish those corrupt officials.

Yang Zhenshan then gave further instructions: "Mr. Yang, please trouble you to invite the Magistrate of Zhaowu Prefecture over. I have some matters that require his cooperation!"

"This servant shall make the arrangements at once!" Upon hearing this, Yang Jinhe was no longer drowsy and promptly agreed.

With time being of the essence, Yang Zhenshan had no intention of wasting it on tedious matters.

He was now a fierce dragon crossing the river, bringing with him tens of thousands of troops, which allowed him to act with less restraint.

Although the government office of Zhao Wu Guard was somewhat dilapidated, it at least provided shelter from the elements, and thus Yang Zhenshan had to make do with living inside the government office.

The next day, Sun Yunfeng and Xue Chang'an began their examination of Zhao Wu Guard's allocated land. Such matters didn't require the personal hand of Yang Zhenshan, nor were they worth his personal effort. His mission was to lead the great army in the attack on Star Moon Island.

However, before the attack, the Four Seas Navy needed to be reorganized, and for reorganization, camps and ports were necessary.

Therefore, Yang Zhenshan's top priority was to construct the encampment and port for the soon-to-arrive grand army.

Since it was only a temporary encampment and port, Yang Zhenshan didn't need to be overly demanding.

"The temporary encampment is easy to discuss, there are lots of open spaces along the coast, just pick any spot to construct."

"The port might be a bit more troublesome since it requires a large amount of wood, Prefect Lin might need to prepare additional wood supply by then!"

In the government office, Yang Zhenshan said to the Zhaowu Prefect Lin Jisheng.

Lin Jisheng, standing before him, was nervously sweating profusely, "Marquis, it is not that I am unwilling to serve, but rather that I am truly powerless. Zhaowu Prefecture is not wealthy to begin with; if we recruit a large number of laborers, the common people... the common people might find it hard to get by!"

Lin Jisheng was not exactly a good official; what he preferred most were poetry and literary compositions, and his favorite pastime was gathering a few friends or discussing poetry with a group of scholars.

The commoners were of less concern in his heart than a good poem, but he wasn't wrong about one thing—he really was powerless.

Recruiting a large number of laborers and preparing a large amount of wood—these were tasks that Zhaowu government office truly struggled to accomplish in a short period of time.

Yang Zhenshan looked at him calmly, "As for Silver Coin, the Four Seas Navy does not lack. The recruitment of laborers is not to make the commoners work as corvée laborers, but to hire them through employment. As for the wood, it will cost whatever it must cost; I shall purchase at market price!"

"All you need to do are two things: first, release the news about the Four Seas Navy recruiting laborers and purchasing wood as far as possible, to every village and town, then have the government office facilitate for the laborers and the businessmen to ensure their unhindered arrival at Zhaowu Guard."

"The second thing is to extract a portion of civil servants from the Magistrate's Office and the county government to come to Zhaowu Guard to take orders. The Four Seas Navy needs a large number of civil servants to handle all sorts of intricate matters, so this batch of civil servants must all be the seasoned and experienced ones!"

"You only have two months' time; I can only give you two months. If these two matters are not completed within two months, then you should brace yourself for dismissal and exile."

"However, if you handle the matters well, I shall personally petition on your behalf for your merits! Although I dare not make guarantees, a rise by three ranks is still something I can strive for you!"

"The choice on how to proceed, I need not say more, do I?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Jisheng understood in his heart that he had to get the job done, as there was truly no room for choice.

"This official obeys the order, I will endeavor with all my strength!"

Yang Zhenshan looked at him, "That's for the best. Handle the tasks well, and all will be good. Should they not be handled well, your doom is certain."

"Yes, yes, yes~~" Lin Jisheng responded repeatedly.

Yang Zhenshan also had no choice; pressed for time, he could only resort to the grand method of using Silver to quickly create a large enough encampment and a suitable port.

Although Zhaowu Guard was quite dilapidated, fortunately, it had sufficient space for constructing the encampment and a suitable coast to build the port. This was a lucky misfortune.

After meeting Lin Jisheng, Yang Zhenshan immediately led people to the coast to pick spots for the construction of the port and encampment.

Once the spots were selected, he arranged for people to dig wells first, ensuring there was water available for the soldiers and also for conveniently introducing Spiritual Spring Water.

Although there were many matters to attend to, Yang Zhenshan soon had them sorted out; on the one hand, constructing the encampment and port, and on the other, welcoming the arriving Navy.

On the morning of the first day of October, Leizhou Guard arrived at Zhaowu Guard.

On the afternoon of the fourth day of October, Hai State Left Guard and Quanhai Guard arrived at Zhaowu Guard almost simultaneously.

With this, only the Five Guards of Jiujiang had yet to arrive at Zhaowu Guard.

The gathering of a large number of soldiers at Zhaowu Guard brought both opportunities and troubles to the military households of Zhaowu Guard.

The opportunities need not be mentioned; so many soldiers arriving at Zhaowu Guard required a countless amount of grain and various living supplies. As long as one had a bit of business sense, making some silver was quite easy.

As for the troubles, be it Leizhou Guard or Quanhai Guard, they were both ordinary garrisons. Although their conditions were a bit better than Zhaowu Guard's, they had quite a number of rascally soldiers. These fellows lacked other skills but were quite adept at bullying the weak and fearing the strong.

However, such an issue was not a problem at all for Yang Zhenshan; a slaughter of a hundred or eighty heads would suffice.

Indeed, Yang Zhenshan taught those unruly ruffians a lesson about military law with nearly a hundred heads.