CHAPTER 682: CHAPTER 546: ESCORTING THE BRIDE, SOUTHERN BORDER TOWN_2

After saying that, he whipped the questioning official directly with his riding crop.

With a smack, the official’s chest was torn open, his skin splitting and flesh bursting.

The Yang family had always refrained from being arrogant and domineering, and Li Chang among other personal followers also understood Yang Zhenshan’s temperament—he never liked to bully the weak.

The reason he whipped this official was because the official had just beaten some commoners passing by.

Despite having received the toll, he still hit someone, so this whip was well-deserved.

After being whipped, the official cried out in agony but didn’t dare to retaliate, and he even hurriedly removed the barricade to let the Yang family’s caravan pass.

Yang Zhenshan rode past without asking any further questions.

North of Jianxia Pass is difficult to ascend, and the same is true for the other side—although the slope is slightly gentler, it is quite long, stretching three to four miles.

However, going downhill was definitely easier than climbing up, so the caravan hastened their pace.

What Yang Zhenshan did not know was that just after they left Jianxia Pass, the laborers carrying goods had been ambushed and taken away on the outskirts of the pass.

Suddenly, over a hundred men dressed in hemp, with covered faces, emerged from the hillside, slaughtering the escorting government officers and sending them fleeing in all directions. In mere moments, the remaining laborers along with their cargo were abducted into the lush woods.

This sudden catastrophe shocked the soldiers garrisoned at Jianxia Pass, but all they did was close the gates of the pass, not bothering to deal with the bandits who had suddenly appeared.

While the bandits drove back the officers escorting the laborers, the bandit chief stood at the foot of the mountain and spat in the direction of Jianxia Pass, cursing, "A bunch of gutless mongrels!"

The bandit chief’s face was masked, but from the exposed forehead and eyes, it was evident that he was quite young, likely in his twenties.

An hour after the bandits retreated, the soldiers inside Jianxia Pass finally opened the gates and sent someone to investigate.

Of course, Yang Zhenshan was oblivious to all this; his ears were sharp, but not sharp enough to hear sounds from several miles away.

The caravan continued on its journey, and as evening approached, they arrived at Jianxia Prefecture City.

Jianxia Prefecture City was not a bustling place; its walls were barely over ten feet tall, and not many civilians lived inside. The entire city had only one inn and it was a small one at that.

Yang Zhenshan and his party of over a hundred people filled up all the rooms in the inn.

That night, Yang Mingzhao asked Yang Zhenshan, "Dad, why didn’t you help those laborers during the day?"

Yang Mingzhao was already twelve years old, no longer the child who always acted like a little adult. He had grown up and started to think about things adults should consider.

Yang Zhenshan did not answer but turned to Yang Chengye, saying, "You answer."

After a moment of silence, Yang Chengye said, "We may save them temporarily, but we can’t save them for a lifetime."

"Why can’t we save them for a lifetime? We can give them land to farm so they can live peacefully!" Yang Mingzhao said.

Although he had mature thoughts, he was, after all, just twelve and had not truly experienced the world.

"Uncle, such commoners aren’t just in the dozens or hundreds, but in the millions, even tens of millions. Our family doesn’t have enough land for all of them!"

"And even if we did give them land, they still wouldn’t be able to live peacefully," Yang Chengye said in a low voice.

He was ten years older than Yang Mingzhao and had already witnessed the suffering of the common people.

Previously in the Zhao Wu Guard, he saw the poverty of the military households. Although Yang Zhenshan had reformed the land allotment for the Zhao Wu Guard, giving the military households their own fields, how long could they hold on to these lands? Three years? Five years? Or ten years?

Yang Mingzhao had many questions, and Yang Chengye answered many of them.

Yang Zhenshan sat on the side, casually flipping through a travel journal. Some things he already knew, and not only did he know them, but the whole imperial court and Emperor Yanping knew them too. Yet, why did nothing change?

Because it’s too difficult to change.

It’s so difficult that Emperor Yanping and the court would rather deceive themselves.

As for Yang Zhenshan, he has never considered himself a savior, nor has he ever wanted to become one.

Back then, his willingness to help the people of Liaodong was because Chongshan Town lacked population, and by helping to settle refugees, he could also augment the town’s population.

One doesn’t concern oneself with the affairs of a position one does not hold, and now that Yang Zhenshan is but a leisurely Marquis, he has no wish to deal with those matters.

Call him cold-blooded or lacking in ambition, he has made up his mind to turn a blind ear to it.

After resting for a night, the next morning, the Yang family members continued their journey.

Their pace was not fast, but by the tenth day of April, they had entered the territory of the Southern Border Town.

As there was only one official road from Jianxia Prefecture to the Southern Border Town, they immediately encountered soldiers who had come to meet them upon entering the territory.

"Assistant General Ai Benhou from Southern Border Town’s Middle Road cordially welcomes Marquis Jing’an!"

Ai Benhou is a trusted follower of Duke Xing Qu Changkong, not only is he the Assistant General of the Middle Road Zheng Wu Guard of the Southern Border Town, but he is also the Commander of the Governor’s Office of Southern Border Town.

Since Yang Zhenshan personally came for the marriage procession, Qu Changkong was unable to meet him in person, so Ai Benhou was arranged to welcome him.

After exchanging pleasantries, Ai Benhou led Yang Zhenshan to the Guard City of Southern Border Central Defense.

Southern Border Town was much smaller than Chongshan Town used to be, hence it only had four Assistant Generals; however, there were eight Camps in Southern Border Town. Duke Xing’s forces had four Camps, the Town Governor had two, and the garrison eunuch had two.

The division of power between the governor and the garrison eunuch was also a deliberate choice by the court.

For generations, Duke Xing Mansion had been garrisoning the Southern Border Town. To prevent the Duke Xing Mansion from amassing excessive military power, the court used both the governor and the garrison eunuch to check and balance Duke Xing Mansion’s power.

This situation had become a norm in the Southern Border Town for over a hundred years.

The Guard City of Southern Border Central Defense was quite agreeable, with numerous shops and residents inside, making it seem quite bustling.

"The Guard City is narrow, and there aren’t many houses available for living. Please forgive us for only being able to provide temporary residence for Marquis Yang tonight!"

Ai Benhou said with a smile as he brought Yang Zhenshan to the front gate of a residence.

Although he mentioned inconveniences, it was far from being inconvenient.

The residence before them, albeit not large, was also a three-section compound, even bigger than the one Zhou Lan gave to Yang Zhenshan back in Chongshan Town.

Yang Zhenshan chuckled and said, "General Ai need not be so courteous. I have also served in a boundary town, and when I first entered Chongshan Town, I couldn’t even afford a proper courtyard!"

Upon entering the residence, Ms. Wang began to arrange for the servants to tidy up the rooms, but there wasn’t much to clean up, as the furniture in the house was complete and very clean.

Moreover, there were many servants in the residence, and even hot water had been prepared, clearly showing that Ai Benhou had prepared in advance.

Yang Zhenshan and Ai Benhou shared a pot of tea in the tea room and chatted for a while before Ai Benhou excused himself.

They would rest here for a day before continuing their journey to Nanhua City the day after.

The journey by boat and carriage was exhausting, and even though the servants and guards of the Yang family were Martial Artists, the journey had not been easy; it was indeed time for a good rest.

Ai Benhou also understood that the members of the Yang family would be tired, so he did not host any banquet for Yang Zhenshan and made a point not to disturb them.

Of course, not disturbing them didn’t mean he wouldn’t show the hospitality of a host.

Ai Benhou specifically left a squad of soldiers to stand guard outside the door, ready to serve the Yang family’s needs at any moment.