Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Wang De'an is the Commander of the Hai State Guard, and after receiving a request for assistance, he led two thousand soldiers into Yu State. However, upon arriving in Yu State, he didn't engage in eliminating pirates, instead opting to station his troops outside Yu State City, claiming to protect the city.

Most of the remaining small-scale pirates within Yu State had been eradicated by personnel from the Hai State Martial Arts Bureau.

"Wang De'an is not here!" Zhang Yu said.

"Where are they causing trouble for the grain supplies?" Lin Zhan asked.

"At the government granary," Zhang Yu replied.

Lin Zhan looked grim; these rascals had been of no help since arriving and now they even had the audacity to demand grain supplies from him.

With a cold expression, he swiftly walked towards the direction of the government granary.

When he arrived at the government granary, he found three to four hundred soldiers surrounding the entrance.

This government granary was the Prefectural Government's last reserve of food, and Lin Zhan was counting on using this stock to stabilize the Prefectural Government's framework.

"Do you want to starve us to death? You call us to eliminate pirates, yet you don't provide us with grain supplies!"

"Exactly, not even giving us grain supplies, where is the Prefect? Let him come out and give us an explanation!"

"We want an explanation!"

"Let him come out!"

The soldiers were causing an uproar and shouting, leaving the government officials from the Prefectural Government no choice but to shut the granary's large door tightly and not dare to open it.

Watching this scene, a cold light flashed in Lin Zhan's eyes.

"Mr. Zhang, go and ask Mr. Yu to come!" he commanded.

The Mr. Yu he referred to was Yu Chengze, a commander of a thousand households in the Hai State Martial Arts Bureau who had made the greatest contribution in eliminating pirates in Yu State.

"Yes, yes, I will go and ask him right away!" Zhang Yu replied somewhat flustered.

Lin Zhan then instructed Ding Lu, "Go find Commander Li, have him bring troops over, and also look for Wang De'an. If you find him, ask him to come over; if he doesn't come, then forget about him!"

Lin Zhan was convinced that without Wang De'an's backing, no such thing as soldiers demanding grain would happen.

Although by regulation, the garrison is to be supplied by the local government office, Yu State's current situation was such that there was no grain available, and both the Jiangnan Governor's Office and the Governor's Office had declared that Yu State need not provide any grain.

As for why Wang De'an would stir up the soldiers to create trouble over grain supplies, it was simple; apart from wanting to profit from the situation, no other reason was necessary.

Seeing the soldiers causing more and more chaos, and seeming like they might even assault the granary door, Lin Zhan's eyes glinted coldly, and he shouted loudly, "Shut up!"

His voice boomed like thunder, instantly suppressing the shouting of the soldiers and silencing the scene, but then the soldiers, seeing it was him, again shouted, "The Prefect is here!"

"Prefect, you have to give us justice!"

"We came here to fight pirates, and yet we can't even get a meal!"

A group of people crowded around Lin Zhan, and his guards hurriedly stepped forward to caution them.

"Shut up!" Lin Zhan shouted again, "Let your leader speak!"

The soldiers looked at each other; although they were causing a commotion over grain, they truly dared not act recklessly.

Causing a small scene was fine, but if things escalated, no one would collect their bodies.

Soon a thin man stepped out from the crowd, smiling obsequiously at Lin Zhan, "This humble one greets the Prefect!"

"Who are you?" Lin Zhan asked.

"This humble one is Zhang Bei, General Flag Officer of the Hai State Guard."

"Did you bring these people?" Lin Zhan asked with a chilling gaze.

Zhang Bei trembled, "No, no, this humble one was just with them; this was not brought about by this humble one!"

"Who told you to come and demand grain supplies?" Lin Zhan continued questioning.

"No one!" Zhang Bei quickly denied, "Prefect, you must also understand us, after arriving in Yu State, we have been distributed grain supplies before, we are left with no choice but to come and ask the Prefect!"

"Ask! Is this how you ask?" Lin Zhan spoke coldly.

Pretending and acting, huh, he really thinks I am so easily fooled.

These guys have been in Yu State for just over ten days, doing nothing and just staying outside the city; how could they possibly be starving?

As for them not bringing grain, that is even more unlikely; the Hai State Guard is not far from Yu State, even if they did not bring it initially, by now they could have transported some.

And he had already shown Wang De'an the documents from the Governor's Office and the Governor's Office before, unless Wang De'an was brain-dead, it was impossible for him not to transport the grain.

At this moment, a tall man with over twenty people swiftly approached.

"Mr. Lin!" Yu Chengze came up close, greeting with a fist clasped in his hand.

"Mr. Yu, I'm troubling you again!" Lin Zhan's expression eased slightly as he returned the greeting.

Yu Chengze laughed heartily, "Mr. Lin, you're being too polite, we're all serving the court, how can there be any trouble!"

The head officer of the garrison's Martial Arts Bureau holds the rank of thousands households, but in reality, Yu Chengze commands only about a hundred men, mostly elite soldiers from the military, and half recruited from civilian martial artists.

Despite Yu Chengze only having around twenty people by his side, these twenty-plus were all martial artists, among whom several were Postnatal Martial Artists.

As soon as their conversation ended, Li Boran also arrived with hundreds of soldiers.

"Greetings, Mr. Lin!"

Lin Zhan nodded, "Thank you for your hard work, Thousand Households Li!"

Although Li Boran was also a Thousand Households of Hai State Guard, he was not in league with Wang De'an.

Wang De'an claimed to be guarding the city, but in reality, it was Li Boran who was genuinely guarding it.

Seeing the arrival of so many people, the soldiers causing the disturbance felt intimidated, and they stood in place quietly, no longer daring to shout loudly.

Lin Zhan didn't pay them any further attention; he just stood there waiting.

The key to this matter was not these soldiers, but Wang De'an.

He wanted to see if Wang De'an dared to show his face.

Wang De'an still had some confidence, and about a quarter-hour later, he hurried over.

Before he arrived, his voice could be heard.

"You damn dogs, what are you doing, didn't I say I would distribute the provisions? You even dare to make trouble!"

"Oh, Mr. Lin, sorry, a bow, this official hasn't disciplined them properly, allowing these dogs to trouble Mr. Lin!"

Wang De'an ran over with a face full of apologetic smiles, continuously bowing to Lin Zhan.

Lin Zhan looked at him, "Lord Wang, do you think I have a good temper?"

Wang De'an was stunned, "What are you saying, Mr. Lin!"

" I know what you are up to, your sister is a concubine of Duke An, isn't she!" Lin Zhan watched him without expression.

Dare to cause trouble?

Certainly not without some confidence.

The Governor's Office of Jiangnan is under the jurisdiction of the Left Army Commander's Mansion, and the Left Governor of the Left Army Commander's Mansion is Anhuai Ren of Duke An, while Yang Zhenshan holds a nominal position of the Right Commander.

Upon hearing this, Wang De'an's face turned unsightly.

Sending one's own sister to be a concubine was not a glorious matter.

Although being a concubine to Duke An might be considered a fortune, this matter should not be openly discussed.

"What do you mean by this, Mr. Lin?" Wang De'an's voice became colder.

Yu Chengze, standing beside, hugged his broadsword and assumed a posture of watching a good show.

"Do you know who my patron is?" Lin Zhan smiled, a splendid smile.

Wang De'an initially startled, then uncertainly said: "Wasn't Mr. Lin previously employed at the Ministry of War?"

He had looked into Lin Zhan; he knew Lin Zhan had previously held a post at the Ministry of War. As for other details, he hadn't inquired thoroughly; after all, this was Yu State, not the Capital City, where details about Lin Zhan would be accessible.

Besides, what difference did Lin Zhan's status make? He had Duke An Mansion behind him; even in the Capital City, few could match the Duke An Mansion.

"Indeed, I was previously employed at the Ministry of War, but I am also a disciple of Marquis Jing'an!" Lin Zhan quietly stated.

He too had backing, and he would never hesitate to leverage Yang Zhenshan's influence.

A disciple emulates his master.

In his days, Yang Zhenshan was most fond of leveraging influence, leveraging Zhou Lan, leveraging Duke Ning Mansion, and eventually leveraging the old Emperor.

Compared to that, a disciple leveraging the influence of his master was even more justified.