Chapter 104: then title translation, then ===GLOSSARY=== with JSON list of named entities appearing in these lines

Well, everyone has something they fear; for Yue Yunyang, besides his own wife, the only thing he fears is this old ancestor right before him.

「It's been a long time since I last saw Old Man Yang; how is Old Man Yang's health? Old Man Yang is trapped in Jingcheng, and it's not that I don't want to go rescue him, but there are various reasons; I hope Old Man Yang will forgive me. 」

Yue Yunyang bent over, clasped his hands, appearing respectful, while Yang Tieqiang gave him a harsh stare.

Don't give me that old man act, you old man still don't know what you're like? You're overly cautious in everything, only showing some vigor when fighting.

You can't save the old man, but the old man's grandson-in-law can; you don't need to waste words here—just say whether you came this time to bring a dowry intending to marry off your daughter, and whether you also intend to surrender to Shen Tianxing.

If it is, then hurry up; if not, then hurry up and get lost—old man I'm busy, and your sudden arrival has messed up my plans.

Yang Tieqiang, saying that, sat down in the seat beside Shen Tianxing, casually picked up Shen Tianxing's untouched tea and took a sip, putting on an act of leaning on his age to sell his seniority.

Yue Yunyang has been learning martial arts from Yang Tieqiang since childhood; one could say he was raised by him, and when facing Yang Tieqiang he naturally appears a bit shorter.

Old man, that's true, but at least give me some face—there are still outsiders present.

You know you're an outsider, yet you're still spouting nonsense here—hurry up and bring the dowry in, make things clear; in a few days Shen Tianxing will be marrying my two granddaughters, you just need to bring your precious daughter over, nothing else needs preparation.

As for face, what face could you possibly have in front of the old man? When you were young, wasn't it always the old man wiping your butt? Now you bring up face with the old man—do you even want face? The old man is practically your half-father.

Yue Yunyang really hasn't been this embarrassed before, but he had nothing to refute with; he knew Yang Tieqiang was angry, angry at his timidity and excessive caution, not daring to go to the capital to rescue him.

Of course Yang Tieqiang isn't really asking him to go save people; the main thing is you need to show some attitude—even if you can't be there in person, your words should get across, but you're doing nothing at all, which is a bit over the top!

Yue Yunyang actually did want to go rescue, but he overthought it to the point of forgetting to speak; Yang Tieqiang's attitude can't be blamed on him.

What the old man said is right—there are no outsiders here—so I'll speak plainly: I really came this time to bring the dowry, and I agree to the match the old man arranged.

Governor, with such ability, I'd be at ease letting Qingxue marry him; as for official matters, they still need to be made clear—I don't know, Governor, what there is worth my following?

I need to understand this clearly, and also learn the Governor's view on the world situation—Sun Zhongquan has usurped the state, and now the internal troubles of the Great Zhou far outweigh external threats.

Even if we could stabilize the Great Zhou's realm, it would still consume vast national strength—so how would we face the imminent invasion of the Great Wu? If the Governor truly intends to ascend to the supreme throne, how would he treat the common people?

When discussing serious matters, Yue Yunyang also changed his expression, holding his head high and chest out, looking down on everything; Yang Tieqiang rolled his eyes, but didn't say much more, merely reaching out to pat Shen Tianxing on the shoulder.

"I'll leave it to you; this old man won't interject anymore."

Shen Tianxing smiled, nodded slightly, and gave Yue Yunyang a slight clasped-hand salute.

"Since General Yue asks, I'll answer as a son-in-law to the father-in-law: if you let Father-in-law lead the Yue Family Army, how long would it take to capture the other four cities of Leizhou, with casualties not exceeding 5,000?"

Father-in-law has been in Leizhou for many years; I don't know how much better the people's lives are now in Leizhou City compared to before.

I, the son-in-law, am not talented, but things are only about twice as good as before, and I achieved that in just one month; if Father-in-law could also do that, Xiao Xu would definitely follow Father-in-law.

As for Father-in-law's talk of the world situation, if it's the Great Zhou's realm, we need to act quickly—Sun Zhongquan's usurpation has already made many people restless, eager to rise, while he seeks to suppress them.

What I intend to do is consolidate Leizhou's current forces, then take another prefecture, marching straight through, and the speed must be sufficient—fast enough that even Sun Zhongquan can't stop it.

Even if I don't do this, the Great Zhou's national strength will certainly suffer massive consumption, but if I can swiftly seize the entire Great Zhou, then the consumption of national strength will be reduced to a minimum.

As for the Great Wu, when the Great Zhou's internal turmoil is not yet certain and they are already unable to coordinate top to bottom, they won't lightly invade; if we are fast enough, by the time they attack, there will be no opportunity left.

My next goal is to capture Beizhou; at that time I'll need Father-in-law to garrison Beizhou—I don't know if Father-in-law is willing.

Finally, regarding Father-in-law's mention of the common people, my actions in Leiming City—could they not prove that I have the people at heart, and that in the future I will treat all the world's common folk just as I treat those of Leiming City?

What Shen Tianxing said was merely the truth, not much embellishment, yet every word was reasonable, and Yue Yunyang could not refute it at all.

"Don't know what to say, huh? You think the old man took a liking to this kid for no reason? Without some real ability, how could the old man possibly favor him?"

Now you decide whether this kid is worth following; if you still think he isn't, you can leave anytime—anyway, whether you want this father-in-law relationship or not doesn't matter; once we take Leizhou City we'll just snatch your daughter away.

Yang Tieqiang's words left Yue Yunyang both laughing and crying; in the end he could only choose to kneel on one knee on the ground.

"This subordinate, Yue Yunyang, has met the lord and is willing to lead the Yue Family Army to follow the lord."

Shen Tianxing hurried forward to help up this father-in-law, his face full of smiles, and said:

"Father-in-law, please don't stand on ceremony—if there were no outsiders, we wouldn't need this, after all we'll soon be one family."

When saying this, Shen Tianxing deliberately glanced at him, feeling slightly disappointed; Yue Yunyang's loyalty to him was only about 30%, meaning this was reluctantly done, but as long as the task can be completed it's fine.

However, Yue Yunyang's attributes are not bad—he also has eighth-rank Perfection strength; the key is that Yue Yunyang has the distinguished general attribute, just like Yang Tieqiang, both being of loyal and righteous lineage.

This attribute can greatly enhance their command ability, as well as soldiers' trust in them and boost morale during battle.

"My lord, your words are mistaken; first off, you and Qingxue aren't married yet, and even if you were, there would still be a distinction of rank—it could only be in private, and when Qingxue is present, I am your lord's father-in-law."

Yang Tieqiang went over and pulled Shen Tianxing along, then said in a leisurely manner:

"Don't worry about him—he's just an old stubborn fool, likes to kneel let him kneel; anyway, now you're his subordinates, have people take care of these dowries, old man will send him some betrothal gifts."

"This time you're taking four wives, so let's not bother with distinctions of wife and concubine—just rank them by age, elder and younger, with no hierarchy; that'll save you some trouble."