Chapter 77: I Believe You’ll Do Well
“Remember, the defensive official of Ying River Fortress is Zhang Zhongxiang, right?”
“I removed him from office!” Zhou Lan said nonchalantly.
Yang Zhengshan secretly gave Zhou Lan a thumbs up.
“I’ll head to Jin Ning Guard tomorrow and take office. In two or three days, I’ll send over the official robes and seal, and you can go to Ying River Fortress to take office!”
“By the way, can I borrow some of the young men under you?”
Zhou Lan asked.
Yang Zhengshan blinked, surprised that Zhou Lan wanted to borrow his subordinates!
“What do you want them to do, General?”
“I want them to train troops!” Zhou Lan snapped back, noticing the odd expression in Yang Zhengshan’s eyes.
It was because of Yang Zhengshan’s ability to train troops that Zhou Lan valued him.
In just over two months, Yang Zhengshan had turned a group of refugees into a brave and daring elite force.
Zhou Lan had initially wanted Yang Zhengshan to train the soldiers of Jin Ning Guard, but that was impractical.
Jin Ning Guard was not like the Left Vanguard of the Prefectural Banner; its soldiers were scattered across various garrisons, responsible for guarding and patrolling. They couldn’t gather in one place for training.
Since Yang Zhengshan was about to take office as the defensive official of Ying River Fortress, he would naturally need to train the soldiers of Ying River Fortress, San Shan Fortress, and Xiang Yuan Fortress.
That’s why Zhou Lan could only borrow some men from Yang Zhengshan to train soldiers in other garrisons.
“What about their official positions?” Yang Zhengshan asked, wanting to negotiate for Yang Mingwu and Yang Mingzhi.
“You arrange the official positions of Ying River Fortress yourself; I’m just borrowing some men, not taking them away from you!” Zhou Lan replied.
She had already decided to give Yang Zhengshan full control over Ying River Fortress, San Shan Fortress, and Xiang Yuan Fortress, as well as the surrounding military dependents.
As for other positions, she had her own people to arrange, so she couldn’t let Yang Zhengshan take too many official positions.
“Okay, I’ll arrange for a few men to follow the General!”
Yang Zhengshan was naturally satisfied with Zhou Lan’s arrangement.
There were many official positions available in Ying River Fortress, including two vice-commanders, two pacification commissioners, and ten battalion commanders, enough to assign to Yang Mingwu and the others.
As for the original officials of Ying River Fortress, it depended on their attitude. If they were obedient, they could stay; if not, Zhou Lan would take care of them.
Yang Zhengshan trusted that Zhou Lan would handle them properly.
Next, Yang Zhengshan thought about who to send with Zhou Lan to help her.
He could choose between Yang Mingzhi and Yang Mingwu.
After some thought, he decided to send Yang Mingzhi, not because he was biased towards his own son, but because Yang Mingwu’s straightforward nature made him unsuitable to follow Zhou Lan.
In contrast, Yang Mingzhi was clever and resourceful; even if he encountered difficulties, he wouldn’t suffer too much.
As for the others, he would choose the five older ones.
It was said that the older ones were more trustworthy, so they would make good instructors.
After sending off Zhou Lan, the officials in the yamen erupted in cheers and congratulations.
“Father, you’ve been promoted!”
“Haha, Master is mighty!”
“Congratulations, Master, congratulations!”
Yang Minghao, Yang Mingwu, Yang Chengze, Yang Chengxuan, Old Li, and the others were all beaming with joy, their spirits lifted.
Yang Zhengshan’s promotion meant they would also rise with him.
Especially for the Yang family’s young men, who had followed Yang Zhengshan to Heavy Mountain Fortress to make a name for themselves.
Yang Zhengshan’s heart couldn’t help but swell with pride.
He had been promoted to a mid-ranking official position, equivalent to a department head.
Although it wasn’t a quantum leap, he had at least stepped onto the stage.
Previously, he was just a trial hundred-man commander in the Left Vanguard of the Prefectural Banner, barely a small fry. Now, he was a big shot or a minor leader.
After savoring the joy, Yang Zhengshan quickly collected himself and spoke to Yang Chengze, “Chengze, after I take office in Ying River Fortress, you’ll take charge of the garrison affairs in Lin Guan Fortress. These few days, get familiar with the matters of Lin Guan Fortress, so you won’t be flustered when the time comes!”
Yang Chengze was taken aback, unsure if he was capable.
“I believe you’ll do well!” Yang Zhengshan encouraged him with a smile.
Yang Chengze was only sixteen, a young lad, but Yang Zhengshan thought he could handle the job.
This was because Yang Chengze was mature beyond his age, perhaps due to Yang Zhengxiang’s high expectations of him.
Yang Chengze’s character was more stable than his peers, having grown up with pressure and expectations.
“I’ll definitely do well, sir!” Yang Chengze promised, moved by Yang Zhengshan’s encouragement.
Yang Zhengshan patted his shoulder and told Old Li, “You stay in Lin Guan Fortress for now and help Chengze. After a while, you can go to Ying River Fortress!”
Old Li wasn’t a soldier of Lin Guan Fortress, but Yang Zhengshan wanted to keep him by his side because he thought Old Li was suitable as a steward.
With Old Li around, he could feel at ease.
“Yes, sir!” Old Li grinned, showing his teeth.
Yang Zhengshan looked at Yang Mingwu, “Mingwu will be the vice-commander of Ying River Fortress, and Mingzhi will be the pacification commissioner. The others will be arranged after we arrive at Ying River Fortress.”
One vice-commander and one pacification commissioner – these two positions he had to hold onto.
As for why he let Yang Mingwu be the vice-commander, it was because Yang Mingwu’s abilities were stronger than Yang Mingzhi’s.
He didn’t want to overly promote Yang Mingzhi, letting Yang Mingwu keep him in check, and also giving Yang Mingzhi some pressure, so he wouldn’t think he could slack off just because of his father’s presence.
After settling the matters of Lin Guan Fortress, Yang Zhengshan’s thoughts turned to Ying River Fortress.
Ying River Fortress was different from Lin Guan Fortress; Lin Guan Fortress was a rebuilt garrison, not a perfect one.
The border defense line of Heavy Mountain Fortress was five-li one beacon, ten-li one watchtower, thirty-li one fortress, and a hundred-li one city. Each garrison had multiple beacons and watchtowers.
Strictly speaking, Yang Zhengshan, as a thousand-man commander, should have ten battalion commanders under him. But in reality, the garrisons in Heavy Mountain Fortress were largely abandoned, and Ying River Fortress only had three battalion commanders, with a total of around five hundred soldiers.
Moreover, the thirty-li one fortress didn’t mean there was a fortress every thirty-li; the garrisons were built according to the terrain’s dangers.
For example, San Shan Fortress was located twenty-li southwest of Ying River Fortress, while Xiang Yuan Fortress was farther east.
There were beacons and watchtowers between the garrisons, each with five to ten guards responsible for farming and sentry duties.
These guards’ families also lived in the garrisons.
As the defensive official of Ying River Fortress, Yang Zhengshan would actually be in charge of the garrisons and watchtowers within a thirty-li radius.
He would have around four hundred soldiers and military dependents, with a total population of around two to three thousand.
If he could fill all the garrison positions, the soldiers would reach over a thousand, and the population would exceed five thousand.
This meant he had to provide for these people, let them live good lives, and make them loyal to him.
Yang Zhengshan had some ideas about the military dependents’ living conditions in the garrisons.
They were far from being as good as those of the farmers.
So, his priority after taking office would be to alleviate poverty.
Luckily, he had some grain in hand, so he didn’t need to worry about provisions for the time being.
The most pressing issue was the drought.
He had no idea if the garrisons had irrigation systems; if not, that would be troublesome.
Thinking about this, Yang Zhengshan couldn’t wait to take office in Ying River Fortress.
Unfortunately, his official seal and robes hadn’t arrived yet, so he couldn’t take office.
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