Chapter 95: The Arrival of Jiang He and His Wife
“Alright, no need to say anymore!” Yang Zhengshan stopped Song Shi from giving instructions to her daughter and looked around at the four maidservants standing beside him. These maidservants were all young military dependents from Chong Shan Zhen who had been sold to a broker. Their ages ranged from twelve to fifteen. As for their names, they were all humble names like “Da Ya”, “Er Ya”, “San Ya”, and so on. Yang Zhengshan couldn’t help but give them new names.
“Spring has a hundred flowers, autumn has the moon, summer has cool breeze, and winter has snow. If there’s no idle worries on your heart, then it’s the best time in the mortal world.” Yang Zhengshan recited a poem he loved from his previous life. “From now on, you four will be called Chun Hua, Qiu Yue, Xia Feng, and Dong Xue!”
The four young maidservants hurriedly thanked Yang Zhengshan.
Yang Zhengshan nodded, assigning tasks to his underlings. “Wu Hai is the housekeeper, Ding Qiu is the guard. You two will follow me from now on!”
“Yes!” The two of them responded simultaneously, feeling a sense of relief in their hearts.
“Wu Da will follow the elder master, Wu Er will follow the second master, Ding Cheng will follow the third master…”
“Li Shi and Chun Hua will follow the elder lady, Song Shi and Qiu Yue will follow the second lady, Xia Feng will follow the young lady, and Dong Xue will follow Yun Qiao!”
“Ding Lu will follow Lin Zhan!”
Yang Zhengshan had everything planned out, making use of everyone’s strengths. Each person had their own task, and no one would be idle.
“Master, I don’t need one!” Lin Zhan stood out, looking a bit uneasy. Yang’s family had already provided for him, clothed him, fed him, taught him, and trained him in martial arts. He was already very grateful and didn’t dare think about having a servant of his own.
“Master, I don’t need one either!” Wang Yun Qiao also spoke up.
Yang Zhengshan shook his head slightly. “They’re still young, and they can’t do much yet. Later on, they can be bookkeepers or help you with some miscellaneous tasks!”
“Also, all the underlings in the Yang household must learn to read and practice martial arts!”
“Whoever’s subordinate will teach them personally!”
“Alright, that’s settled. Whoever’s subordinate will take care of their own!”
Yang Zhengshan then took Wu Hai and Ding Qiu with him as he returned to the main hall.
He asked about Ding Qiu’s situation and learned that he was practicing knife techniques, so he assigned a long knife to him.
As for Wu Hai, he was already old, and even if he practiced martial arts now, he wouldn’t become a skilled warrior. Yang Zhengshan didn’t force the issue.
After giving them a few simple instructions, Yang Zhengshan let them get familiar with their new environment.
With these new underlings, the Yang household became more lively, and Wang Shi also felt more at ease.
However, the Yang household’s expenses also increased significantly. The underlings’ food, clothing, and living expenses were all the responsibility of the household, and Yang Zhengshan also had to give them a monthly allowance.
Fortunately, the horse ranch was now on a large scale, so Yang Zhengshan wasn’t short on silver.
…
In the following days, Yang Zhengshan focused on military training and also organized his “Practice Record”.
Before he knew it, the twenty-eighth day of the first month had arrived.
The training grounds outside the city walls were bustling with activity.
The four-month training period was coming to an end. A total of 873 people had completed the basic training, and some were still undergoing combat training and formation training.
However, this didn’t affect the martial arts competition, as only warriors could participate. If someone wasn’t a warrior, participating in the competition would be meaningless.
The martial arts competition was very simple, with only twenty-three participants in total.
Yang Zhengshan had promised official positions to the top twenty winners, and as for the remaining three, he would also arrange for them to become flag bearers.
Among over a thousand people, only these twenty-odd warriors were worthy of note.
The martial arts competition lasted for two hours, and the surrounding crowd was extremely excited. But in Yang Zhengshan’s eyes, it was like watching children pecking at rice.
With his current level of cultivation, warriors below the level of “Post-Heaven” were not worth mentioning.
The martial arts competition came to an end, and the winners of the cavalry and infantry divisions were Song Da Shan and Ren Sheng respectively.
Song Da Shan was originally a scout, and although he had been inactive for over a decade, he had been following Yang Zhengshan and drinking the spiritual spring water. His cultivation had now reached the peak of the “Refining Qi” level, not inferior to Yang Ming Wu’s.
As for Ren Sheng, he was a young man in his twenties with a cultivation level of “Easy Bone”. Although his strength wasn’t exceptional, he was already considered a top expert in the three forts.
As promised, Yang Zhengshan granted Song Da Shan and Ren Sheng the position of Battalion Commander, and he also appointed two other trial Battalion Commanders, Qian Yun He and Sun Yuan.
The remaining participants were all appointed as flag bearers.
Song Da Shan would continue to follow Yang Zhengshan, and the hundred cavalrymen under his command would serve as Yang Zhengshan’s personal guards.
Qian Yun He was also a scout, around thirty years old, with a mature and steady personality. Yang Zhengshan arranged for him to serve under Yang Ming Wu’s command.
The three hundred cavalrymen, with the remaining hundred cavalrymen, were given to Yang Ming Zhi to command, with Yang Qing Wu as the Battalion Commander.
Yang Qing Wu was still young, and Yang Ming Zhi could help him manage the troops under his command.
Aside from this, Yang Zhengshan also selected three people from the Yang family’s offspring to become Battalion Commanders, and the rest would follow him.
Although these Yang family offspring were all brought out by Yang Zhengshan from Yang Jia Village, their talents and abilities were different, so Yang Zhengshan arranged for them to hold different positions.
For example, Yang Cheng Ze, Yang Cheng Xu, and Yang Cheng Li were all different in personality, but they all had a certain level of management ability. Therefore, Yang Zhengshan made them Magistrates of the Garrison, also considering them as his most important subordinates.
As for the others, some had management ability, while others were not good at speaking, but their martial arts talent was not bad. These people couldn’t lead troops, but they could be groomed to become skilled warriors in the future.
Yang Zhengshan wouldn’t be biased towards anyone, only making the most of everyone’s strengths and letting them play to their advantages.
The martial arts competition had ended, but the training was far from over.
The three hundred cavalrymen had taken shape, but their horsemanship was still not excellent.
He still remembered Zhou Lan’s promise to him, that if he could train three hundred elite cavalrymen, Zhou Lan would give him three hundred warhorses.
Compared to infantrymen, Yang Zhengshan naturally preferred cavalrymen.
Therefore, he was still urging his troops to train hard.
The thirtieth day of the first month.
Jiang He, Yang Yun Yan, and little Jiang Ning had arrived at the welcoming river fort.
“Father, I pay my respects!”
“Son-in-law, I greet my father-in-law!”
In the rear courtyard, the two of them bowed to Yang Zhengshan, who tried to stop them but couldn’t.
“Get up, get up, what’s with all the bowing?”
Yang Zhengshan helped Jiang He up, and Yang Yun Yan, holding her child, also stood up.
After sizing each other up, Yang Zhengshan nodded in satisfaction, seeing that Yang Yun Yan’s complexion was rosy and her body was well-nourished.
He still missed his adopted daughter and remembered that the new clothes Yang Yun Yan had made for him when he first arrived in this world were the first token of filial piety he had received.
Although he didn’t want that kind of filial piety at the time, it still warmed his heart.
“This is little Ning Er, come let Grandfather hold him!”
Yang Zhengshan took the child from Yang Yun Yan’s arms.
The little guy was already over ten months old, with a soft and delicate skin, looking extremely cute.
“Come, call Grandfather!”
Yang Zhengshan teased the child, but unfortunately, the little guy didn’t want to give him face, crying loudly instead.
Yang Zhengshan was at a loss, feeling that he wasn’t good with children.
In the past, Yang Qing Wan would cry when he held her, and later, Wang Ming Zhe was also the same. Now, little Jiang Ning was crying again.
It seemed that as long as he held a child, they would cry.
But as they grew older, they would become more affectionate.
Now, Yang Qing Wan and Wang Ming Zhe didn’t dislike him and even liked to cling to him.
Yang Yun Yan took the child back, comforting him for a while before he stopped crying.
“Dad, Ning Er is afraid of strangers,” Yang Yun Yan said apologetically.
“It doesn’t matter, my little nephew was also like that, I’d hold him and he’d cry,” Yang Zhengshan said with a hint of resentment.
He felt that he was a kind and benevolent old man, and children should like him, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.
“Grandpa, I want you to hold me!” Yang Cheng Miao ran over, stretching out his hand.
Yang Zhengshan’s resentment immediately disappeared, and he smiled as he picked him up.
“Let’s sit down and talk,” Yang Zhengshan said.
The main hall was very large, and it could easily fit ten or so people.
However, Jiang He sat very stiffly, like a string was tightened around his body, not daring to move.
Although this was his father-in-law’s home, it was different from before.
He used to be afraid of his father-in-law, thinking that he had a bad temper, but now he not only feared him but also felt intimidated.
His father-in-law had become an official, and his aura was different from before. He had many soldiers under his command, and there were many underlings in the household.
He didn’t know if his father-in-law was satisfied with him, this adopted son-in-law.
What if he wasn’t satisfied? What should he do?
Thinking about the words his parents and brothers had told him before he came, Jiang He’s heart began to beat anxiously.
Yang Zhengshan also noticed Jiang He’s tension, but he didn’t mind.
He first asked about the Jiang family’s situation, chatted about family matters, and then got to the main topic.
“Your elder brother has already arranged a set of rooms for you in the adjacent courtyard. You can live there temporarily.”
The rear courtyard was already full, so it wasn’t suitable for Jiang He and his wife to live there.
However, there were still many empty rooms in the fort, so it wasn’t a problem to find a place to live.
“What do you need to discuss with your elder brother? Don’t be polite!”
“Father, I know,” Yang Yun Yan replied obediently.
“Ah, Jiang He,” Yang Zhengshan looked at Jiang He.
“Ah, Father,” Jiang He responded.
“From now on, you’ll follow your elder brother and take care of the family’s business. You’ll get ten taels of silver as your monthly allowance!”
“I don’t need the allowance, Father. We’re just helping out the family, we don’t need it!” Jiang He refused without thinking.
“Don’t refuse, you’ll need to support your family. You might not need it now, but think about your future!”
Yang Zhengshan said sternly.
Jiang He nodded, feeling a sense of pressure.
He knew that Yang Zhengshan was being kind, and he also felt a sense of responsibility.
His siblings would all become warriors, with unlimited potential, and what about him?
He couldn’t just stay as a villager, could he?
With a child, he also had to consider his child’s future.
He had to practice martial arts himself, and he also had to urge his wife to practice.
Just like that, Jiang He and his wife settled down in the welcoming river fort.
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