Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 988: Chapter 694: Though the Body Remains Young, the Heart Has Grown Old

Yu Tonghai, Marquis of the Liao Sea, First Class of Da’an, Left Governor of the Navy Commander’s Mansion, Junior Protector of the Crown Prince, bestowed with the title Dragon Tiger General.

Today, Yu Tonghai is indeed at the pinnacle of power in the Da’an New Dynasty.

In the Da’an New Dynasty, there are six Dukes, among them, Qu Shaogong, Liang Jinyan, and Zhou Yuanchen inherit the titles from the previous Da Rong. If Liang Jinyan is Duke Ping, it is actually the title of the previous Marquis Changping.

Similarly, Xue Ping’s Duke Chang is also a title inherited from Da Rong’s Marquis Haichang. On the surface, Xue Ping seems to have surpassed Yu Tonghai, but let’s not forget there is a familial connection here.

As for Xie Linxuan and Han Fei, their positions actually come from Xie Yuan and Han Cheng.

Xie Yuan and Han Cheng began following Yang Zhenshan from An Yuan City, and for so many years, the Xie family and the Han family have always been aligned with the Yang family, representing the early followers of the Yang family’s warriors.

Yu Tonghai joined Yang Zhenshan’s ranks from the Tenglong Guard. In terms of military achievements and abilities, it wouldn’t be a problem to grant him a Duke’s title, but unfortunately, the Duke titles determined by Yang Zhenshan beforehand were only six, so he could only be made a Marquis.

However, Yang Zhenshan has already discussed with Yang Chengye that when the Da’an New Dynasty stabilizes, they will honor more meritorious officials, and by that time, Yu Tonghai will definitely receive a hereditary Duke title.

In the mountains, it was impossible to ride, so Yu Tonghai walked all the way.

There is still a distance from here to Cui Xia Valley, and since Yu Tonghai is really busy now, he arrived a bit late.

"Hahaha~~ Mr. Lu, long time no see!"

Before he arrived, a hearty laugh had already echoed through the forest.

"Greetings to the Grand Governor!"

The new soldiers on the hillside heard the voice and immediately saluted in unison.

The loud voice reverberated through the forest, sounding very imposing.

The Grand Governor refers to the Left Governor of the Six Armies Commander’s Office. The official position has not changed, but the title has, which was deliberately done by Yang Chengye.

This is because the Da’an New Dynasty wanted to strengthen the leadership power of the Six Armies Commander’s Office, so they made some formal changes.

Seeing Yu Tonghai arriving, Lv Hua breathed a sigh of relief.

To be honest, he was quite apprehensive before, fearing that something might have gone wrong with Yang Zhenshan’s side.

If Yang Zhenshan was unwilling to take him in, he would become a homeless wanderer.

Lv Hua showed a faint smile, though it looked a bit unsightly now. He was no longer the dignified Northern Station Commander he once was.

"I’ve met Marquis Yu!"

In a blink, Yu Tonghai had already leaped to Lv Hua’s side, smiling, "Mr. Lu, there’s no need to be so formal. I’ve already received the old Marquis’ reply!"

"Haha, the old Marquis means to first arrange a place for them to live, let them quietly stay for two years, and then talk. If they prove to have no issues after two years, they will become the Secret Martial Guards of Da’an!"

Yu Tonghai got straight to the point, explaining the arrangement for those Divine Sun Sect followers.

These Divine Sun Sect followers were factors of instability. The Da’an New Dynasty could accept them, but they needed to observe them first.

As for the Spirit Continuation Blood Refining Skill, it was strictly prohibited from being practiced in Da’an.

How these Divine Sun Sect followers used to practice in the past may be overlooked by the Da’an New Dynasty, but they absolutely cannot continue the Spirit Continuation Blood Refining Skill.

Two years is considered a probationary period; as long as they can give up the Spirit Continuation Blood Refining Skill during this time, they can become the Secret Martial Guards of Da’an.

"That works too! I’ve already discussed with them, and they will definitely not practice the Spirit Continuation Blood Refining Skill anymore!" Lv Hua had no objections to this.

Yu Tonghai nodded, then glanced at those Divine Sun Sect followers.

Since these Divine Sun Sect followers are willing to follow Lv Hua in betraying the Divine Sun Sect, it indicates they themselves are unwilling to cultivate through evil means.

"Let’s go, let’s talk as we return!"

"I’ve already arranged a place for them to stay, just in the valley west of Cui Xia Valley; they can use it as a place of recuperation!"

"However, that area is still barren land, and they need to build houses themselves."

"You can rest assured about food and other supplies; we’ve already prepared them and won’t let them go hungry."

Saying this, Yu Tonghai led Lv Hua towards the direction of Cui Xia Valley, and naturally, those Divine Sun Sect followers also followed, while the new soldiers remained vigilant.

As they traveled, Yu Tonghai spoke with Lv Hua.

He explained the arrangements there in detail and also conveyed Yang Zhenshan’s intentions to Lv Hua.

Yang Zhenshan’s intentions were simple: to let Lv Hua return to the Capital City to reorganize the Secret Martial Guards for Da’an.

The Secret Martial Guards are still necessary, serving as the Emperor’s ears and eyes.

Besides the Secret Martial Guards, Yang Zhenshan would also establish the Imperial Guard Department for Yang Chengye.

However, according to Yang Zhenshan’s plan, changes will be made to the Secret Martial Guards and the Imperial Guard Department, separating them into two intelligence agencies.

One for external and one for internal matters, with the Secret Martial Guards mainly responsible for collecting intelligence about the various forces around Da’an, while the Imperial Guard Department would handle the security of the Imperial City and monitor internal intelligence of the Dynasty.

The Secret Martial Guards, responsible for external intelligence collection, could therefore be entrusted to Lv Hua without concern.

Whereas the Imperial Guard Department, responsible for monitoring internal intelligence in the Capital City and within the Dynasty, required a more trustworthy person, so Yang Zhenshan planned to have Ding Qiu handle this, with some personnel drawn from the Yang family guards.

However, Ding Qiu would only be a temporary choice, as he would return to the Yang family after a few years.

With Yu Tonghai’s assistance, Lv Hua finally settled those Divine Sun Sect followers before heading to the Capital City.

Cui Xia Valley is not far from the Capital City, and with a fast horse, it would take only two days to reach the Capital City.

Upon arriving in the Capital City, Lv Hua naturally first paid a visit to Yang Zhenshan.

Inside the Marquis Jing’an Mansion, Yang Zhenshan received Lv Hua in the tea room.

Yang Zhenshan poured tea while observing Lv Hua.

Lv Hua now was a completely different person from before.

He still remembered the first time he saw Lv Hua; back then, Lv Hua had a cold and handsome face, with long and narrow eyes, exuding an aura of nobility, giving the impression of a high-brow young master.

But now Lv Hua was entirely different. The scars on his face made him look terrifyingly hideous, and his long, narrow eyes gave off a sense of ferocity. His demeanor had also changed, not exuding nobility but rather a chilling aura.

The whole person was like a ghost crawling out from hell, radiating a cold and eerie aura.

"Alas~~"

Seeing him like this, Yang Zhenshan couldn’t help but sigh.

"I still prefer your former self!"

Lv Hua was taken aback and gave a wry smile, "The old Marquis really hasn’t changed!"

Indeed.

Now, Yang Zhenshan hadn’t changed much from before, whether in appearance or aura; it wasn’t drastically different from over thirty years ago.

Yang Zhenshan waved his hand, "Old now, not just in body but in heart too!"

Previously, Yang Zhenshan enjoyed being active, liked spending his days in government offices and military camps, either handling affairs or training soldiers. But now, Yang Zhenshan has become lazy, no longer as diligent as before.

Apart from making decisions on major issues, he had long handed over other matters to others.

Longevity Village inside the spatial boundary had Yang Mingcheng, and Divine Wood Island had Yang Mingzhi, Yang Minghao, and Jiang He. He hadn’t cared for affairs in the Dajing Dynasty for years. He was just waiting for the Da’an New Dynasty here to stabilize before he could step away; otherwise, he would have taken Yu Qingyi to travel already.

After a while of casual conversation, Yang Zhenshan turned to serious matters.

"Take care in re-establishing the Secret Martial Guards. Once it’s reformed, after a few years when the new Dynasty stabilizes, you can choose to either continue leading the Secret Martial Guards or enjoy a free and leisurely life traveling around."

Lv Hua let out a long breath, "Then five years it is. After five years, I’ll retire, find a courtyard in Sanshan Valley to settle down, and take on an apprentice!"

He’s become old too, experiencing too much over the past thirty years, leaving him feeling fatigued.

Now he wished to live as a pampered wealthy elder enjoying family life, but lacking children or grandchildren, he could only take on an apprentice to pass on his legacy.