Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 901: Chapter 651: Interests and Conflicts (Part 2)

Soon, they learned about Yang Mingzhao’s news from the mouths of two personal followers.

After listening, Yang Zhenshan and Yu Qingyi fell into silence.

Yang Zhenshan stroked his beard, squinting his eyes, and remained silent for a long time.

Yu Qingyi, on the other hand, looked down at her delicate palm, but she was secretly looking at Yang Zhenshan.

Now, not to mention Qingxia being worried, even Yu Qingyi was concerned that Yang Zhenshan might be angry.

Having been married for so many years, Yu Qingyi rarely saw Yang Zhenshan angry, because Yang Zhenshan had never been angry with the family. However, today Yu Qingyi felt that Yang Zhenshan might be angry about Yang Mingzhao’s affair.

Was Yang Zhenshan angry?

He was certainly angry, but not as furious as one might imagine.

The bond between the Yang family and Da Rong still existed, but it was not as deep as imagined. To be precise, Yang Zhenshan’s feelings for Da Rong were not as profound as imagined.

He was never really one of Da Rong’s people, although Da Rong gave him wealth and glory, all of that was earned on the battlefield by him.

Be it the title or the position, those were all exchanged with solid war achievements by him.

He didn’t owe Da Rong anything; instead, Da Rong owed him a lot.

Not to mention anything else, Chongshan Town and the Tenglong Guard were the most precious existences he gave to Da Rong.

Those were over a hundred thousand elite soldiers and two to three million prosperous civilians and military households.

You could say Chongshan Town and the Tenglong Guard belonged to the Yang family, but they were more so Da Rong’s.

Unfortunately, the Da Rong Court had always been wary of the Yang family’s existence, never utilizing Chongshan Town and the Tenglong Guard’s power but instead defending against them, which was to guard against the Yang family.

With bandits rampant in the three provinces of Longyuan, Shanhe Province was also ravaged by bandits; the Da Rong Court even mobilized the imperial guard but was unwilling to move Chongshan Town and the Beihai Navy.

This indicated that whether it was Emperor Jianxing or the entire court of civil and military officials, all had reservations about the Yang family and were unwilling to let the elite of Chongshan Town and the Tenglong Guard enter Shanhe Province.

If the court mobilized Chongshan Town and the Tenglong Guard’s forces, it’s not daring to say otherwise, but certainly would block the bandits outside Shanhe Province.

And now, what Yang Zhenshan was considering was whether the conflict between the Yang family and the court could still be resolved.

What conflicts existed between the Yang family and the court?

First, it was the interests of the Yang family in the Tenglong Guard, no, more accurately, the interests of the Yu, Xie, Han, Wu, Xue, and Zhang six families in the Tenglong Guard.

The interests of these six families were also the interests of the Yang family; the court wanted to move the interests of the Tenglong Guard, and these six families would be the first to disagree.

Second, it was Chongshan Town. The Yang family had long been entrenched in Chongshan Town, and it wasn’t as simple as changing the governor and General to alter things. To uproot the Yang family from Chongshan Town, one would have to destroy it and rebuild it.

With the Yang family’s control over Chongshan Town, any emperor with a temper wouldn’t tolerate it and would try every means to eliminate the Yang family.

But from the Yang family’s perspective, Chongshan Town was continuously constructed by the Yang family and the Yang clan, and the initial Chongshan Town was also conquered by Yang Zhenshan leading the Tenglong Guard soldiers. Later, many descendants of the Yang family and the Yang clan invested in Chongshan Town.

It could be said that today’s Chongshan Town was almost built by the Yang family and the Yang clan.

The court couldn’t tolerate the Yang family occupying Chongshan Town and controlling the Tenglong Guard, and the Yang clan and the six families in the Tenglong Guard certainly wouldn’t give up their contributions and interests in Chongshan Town and the Tenglong Guard.

Now these two problems have already become unresolved contradictions.

Thinking of this, Yang Zhenshan looked up at the two personal followers.

"Can this matter be confirmed?"

The personal follower thought for a moment and said: "The information came from the Yangtian Sect; it shouldn’t be false, but to confirm it, we still have to wait for Li Tou to return!"

Yang Zhenshan nodded slightly, "Alright, thank you for your hard work; you guys can go rest first."

"Yes!" Both personal followers replied and then withdrew from the hall.

Yu Qingyi looked at Yang Zhenshan, "What are you planning?"

Yang Zhenshan was silent for a while and said, "Let’s talk when Ming Zhao returns!"

Yu Qingyi, watching his expression, saw that he looked calm, his eyes as still as ancient wells, which made her even more worried.

"My Lord!"

She couldn’t help but want to plead for Yang Mingzhao.

But before she could speak, Yang Zhenshan interrupted, "Everything will be discussed after Ming Zhao returns!"

Seeing him like this, Yu Qingyi had to swallow the words that were at the tip of her tongue.

But Yu Qingyi looked at Yang Zhenshan with displeasure, the resentful gaze made Yang Zhenshan very uncomfortable.

Gosh, this is the first time the wife has shown such a look!

What does this mean?

Anger?

Dissatisfaction?

Wanting to beat someone?

Yang Zhenshan gave a light cough, "Ahem, alright, alright, I surrender, rest assured, my dear, I won’t beat this unruly boy to death."

"You still want to beat him to death?" Yu Qingyi asked.

"Physical suffering is inevitable! Beating him to death, not so much!" Yang Zhenshan said.

Yu Qingyi blinked, "Then go ahead and beat him!"

Yang Zhenshan laughed heartily, stood up and took Yu Qingyi’s hand, "Madam, don’t be angry, we as parents must discipline when the mischievous boy acts up!"

"Have you not beaten him before!"

Yu Qingyi said, "Isn’t it different? He was small then!"

Before, Yang Zhenshan was always the benevolent father, and Yu Qingyi the strict mother. If Yang Mingzhao dared to be naughty, Yu Qingyi’s palm would immediately strike his butt.

But now the strict mother had turned into a benevolent mother, and naturally, Yang Zhenshan as the benevolent father had to become a bit harsher.

"The same, the same!" Yang Zhenshan said with a chuckle.

What made him angriest was not that Yang Mingzhao was rebelling, but that Yang Mingzhao was hiding it from them and hadn’t been home for so long.

The old father and mother at home were worried about him, his wife was feeling uneasy every day, and his children lacked their father’s care.

As a son, as a husband, as a father, Yang Mingzhao hadn’t done his duty, so should he not be beaten?

Thus, Yang Zhenshan made up his mind to give his son an unforgettable lesson.

Yu Qingyi wasn’t worried that Yang Zhenshan would beat Yang Mingzhao to death as she understood Yang Zhenshan’s temperament; no matter how harsh Yang Zhenshan sounded, he was soft-hearted towards their son.

Previously, it was Yang Zhenshan, the father, who spoiled Ming Zhao the most.

He was truly reluctant to hit him, reluctant to scold him, always happily watching his son laugh like Maitreya Buddha.

Yu Qingyi cared about whether Yang Zhenshan would support Yang Mingzhao.

Actually, she was also in a mess herself, unsure about supporting Yang Mingzhao or not.

But she just hoped Yang Zhenshan would support Yang Mingzhao.

"Tell me what you are really thinking?" Yu Qingyi said.

Yang Zhenshan shook his head slightly, "Now is too early to say anything. We need to understand Ming Zhao’s thoughts first. If he really wants to accomplish a great undertaking, if he has the ability to achieve something great, then it won’t be too late to discuss whether to support him!"

"And we also need to consider the attitudes of others, the families within the Tenglong Guard, the Yang clan, whether they are willing to follow our Yang family to change dynasties!"

"This is not like attacking the Divine Wood Sect and the Taro Dynasty, which was just a small skirmish that everyone didn’t take seriously!"

"But Da Rong is different, although it is an old tiger now, it’s still a tiger!"

"And those rebels and bandits within Da Rong, though they seem ineffective and just a rabble now, over time, they will surely form their complete forces!"

"Once we support Yang Mingzhao, what we will face is a chaotic world involving millions of people!"

"Our Yang family now does have strength with dozens of Innate Martial Artists, but we need to consider all aspects!"

"And the most troublesome thing is legitimacy! What we lack most in rebelling is legitimacy!"

Yang Zhenshan shook his head lightly, feeling extremely troubled by this matter.

Legitimacy is not just about saying it.

Having the right cause is crucial, and it’s exactly where the Yang family is lacking.

The Yang family were subjects of Da Rong, noble members of Da Rong, from Yang Zhenshan to Yang Chengye, they were all subjects of Da Rong.

If the Yang family rebels, they would be seen as traitors.

If the name is not correct, words are not warranted; if words are not warranted, deeds are not completed.

So even if the Yang family wanted to rebel, they first had to achieve legitimacy.

As for how to achieve legitimacy, Yang Zhenshan indeed needed to think it over carefully.