Chapter 323 Guangchang Garrison

Chapter 323 Guangchang Garrison

From Yang Guangtong's great-grandfather to his grandfather, his uncle, his father, and then to his cousin and himself, the Yang family produced a total of six commanders of the Guangchang Guard.

Correspondingly, in order to protect this garrison, the Yang family lost more than two hundred male members, resulting in the current state of the Yang clan, especially the direct line, being extremely sparsely populated.

Given the current situation of the Yang family, even if the imperial court takes into account the past military achievements of the Yang family and wants to select the best among the worst, it is completely impossible.

It's not that the Yang family had no adult males left, but rather that the few remaining adult males in the Yang family were simply incapable of shouldering the responsibility.

Although the number of people in the collateral branches that are too distant from the main branch is relatively large, none of them have become outstanding enough to overpower the remaining members of the main branch through their abilities and prestige.

The same applies to the main branch. Although not all adult males have died on the battlefield, those who survived are all good-for-nothings with big eyes but empty hearts, far inferior to those of the collateral branches.

This kind of person is fine as long as he stays under the protection of his father and brothers and does some superficial work, but asking him to step forward and take on major responsibilities on his own...

They themselves wished, but unfortunately, the imperial court, the Marquis of Dingbei, and their own clansmen all knew perfectly well what they were really capable of.

No one felt comfortable entrusting the garrison to them, because given their abilities, temperament, and character, they would definitely make Guangchang Garrison the easiest target on the northern border of the Great Wei, and a fatal gap for the Tatars to destroy the Great Wei's border defenses.

Whether they are people with a broad perspective or people driven by self-interest, as long as they are not so confused as to not see that their own life, death, and interests are all tied to the safety of the garrison, they will not agree to let those guys who only see power but not responsibility become the new garrison commander.

However, as the saying goes, others may think they are incapable, but they themselves believe they are very capable.

As the half-brothers and cousins ​​of the previous commander of the guard, they naturally felt that it was their turn to take over the position after the previous commander died.

However, their dream didn't last long, as the imperial court suddenly sent Jiang Yuan over.

The group of people, who had already turned against each other, decided to get rid of Jiang Yuan first for their common interests.

Jiang Yuan was not so easily squeezed out. Before coming to Guangchangwei as the commander of the garrison, he had already fully understood the special situation of this garrison from Chang Yao.

The previous commanders of the Yang family, seemingly able to control Guangchang Guard because of their surname, were actually able to turn the position of Guard Commander into something akin to a hereditary title because they genuinely possessed the ability to do so.

Otherwise, the Chang family would never have allowed the position of Commander of the Guards to be passed down within the family for so long.

All previous commanders of the Yang family were fully aware of this, which is why they worked diligently and conscientiously.

However, some members of the Yang clan clearly do not have a correct understanding of this point.

They were foolish and unaware of their own ignorance, their eyes fixed solely on the small territory of Guangchangwei, completely forgetting that Guangchangwei did not belong to the Yang family, but to the Great Wei and the previous dynasty, or rather, to all the Han people.

The group of good-for-nothings, who were convinced that Yang Guangtong was dead and that the next position would be theirs for the taking, were furious at Jiang Yuan's sudden snatching of the position.

After Jiang Yuan took office, this group of people made trouble for him both openly and secretly.

Those who considered themselves clever chose to remain out of the picture for the time being, instead inciting certain fools. Those who believed they were in the right and had no reason to hide chose to confront Jiang Yuan head-on.

As a result, Jiang Yuan had many troubles outside of his regular military duties. His trusted guards and attendants were very dissatisfied with the Yang family because of these extra troubles.

On the contrary, Jiang Yuan, who had already prepared himself mentally, was not affected by these clowns.

While familiarizing himself with military affairs, observing his subordinates, and winning over the troops, he showed no mercy to those who voluntarily offered him incriminating evidence.

He made an example of them, disciplining these clowns according to military regulations. But just when everyone thought he was going to make things difficult for the Yang family, he went to the main branch of the Yang family to see the mother and eldest son of the former commander of the guard, Yang Guangtong.

Yang Guangtong died from injuries sustained in battle against the Tatars. As a meritorious military officer who died defending the border, the court not only bestowed posthumous honors upon him, but also granted titles and rewards to his mother, wife, and eldest son. Furthermore, it granted his second son a hereditary position as a centurion.

Although the official position his eldest son received in this reward was only a nominal title with a salary but no real power, as Yang Guangtong's eldest son, he originally had a hereditary position as a centurion. However, the child is too young now, so he will only be able to obtain the position of centurion after he comes of age.

With two slots for each family of military officers, the children could be directly appointed once they grew up. For families of military officers, this meant that their children's future was already guaranteed.

Before their children came of age, their family had two ladies with imperial titles and one official with a minor rank. The salaries of these three people were enough to allow their entire family to live a good life, not to mention the material rewards they received from the imperial court.

As a monarch, the emperor had indeed treated fallen generals, especially those like Yang Guangtong whose entire family had died in battle with utmost loyalty, with great respect. However, in reality, Yang Guangtong's elderly mother, wife, and children did not live as well as the emperor had hoped.

The reason is simple: with the pillar of the family gone, those scoundrels who only care about profit naturally all jump out.

After Yang Guangtong's death, his half-brothers and cousins ​​made things difficult for his elderly mother, wife, and children, both openly and secretly.

Yang Guangtong's mother and wife were both gentle people, and their two sons, who had received imperial favor, were only ten and seven years old respectively, and were simply unable to support their family.

Even with Yang Guangtong's loyal subordinates offering help and protection both openly and covertly, his family still suffered a lot of humiliation from these so-called relatives during this period, because they were ultimately outsiders.

Those men were truly shameless. Just because the two children were still young and couldn't enter the military camp or go to the battlefield yet, their uncles actually had the idea of ​​taking over the loyal guards left behind by their father.

These men are all seasoned veterans of countless battles. Most importantly, they are the last hope for this family of orphans and widows. If they are all handed over, Yang Guangtong's elderly mother, wife, and children will truly have to live at the mercy of others.