Cultivation Begins with Caring for Sister-in-law

August 1st.

Pingting County.

The trumpet sounded on the drill ground, its sound long and resonant. The busy people in the city stopped their work and looked towards the direction of the drill ground.

As the morning sun rose, Chen Mo stood on the high platform of the drill ground, wearing Bright Armor, a Tang Blade at his waist, and a Strong Bow of Twelve Stones on his back. He was surrounded by a purple aura, resembling a War God descended to the mortal world.

On the sprawling drill ground, flags fluttered, with 1,200 Divine Martial Guards and 800 Divine Brave Guards fully armed and ready to go.

The Divine Brave Guards had the best equipment, each equipped with a long spear, a bow (with fifty arrows), wearing leather armor, carrying a small round shield, and a horizontal saber. Among them, Sun Meng led a unit of over 300 personal soldiers, all carrying crossbows.

The Divine Martial Guards were slightly less equipped, lacking long spears and round shields, but otherwise similar to the Divine Brave Guards.

They looked at Chen Mo on the high platform, his body surrounded by the purple aura, which gave them strong morale.

Months of training had also given them the semblance of a regular army. Their expressions were serious and stern, and standing together, they exerted great pressure on others.

Chen Mo held the handle of his Tang Blade at his waist, feeling heroic and passionate within.

There was one thing he did not say: that war is the quickest way to gain resources.

Currently, Pingting County's development was too slow, and even showing signs of slowing down. Continuing like this, it would be hard to maintain its current operations. Without any taxes collected this year, only war...

This was also why Chen Mo did not reject the idea of attacking Quanyang County.

After a moment of silence, Chen Mo slowly spoke, loudly: "Soon we will head to Yu State, to attack Quanyang County. Are you afraid?"

"Not afraid."

The response came quickly from below.

The entire army, from top to bottom, was enveloped in an "I am invincible" atmosphere.

This atmosphere was brought by Chen Mo, forged by the original dozens of veterans from Fu Ze Village who fought alongside him blade by blade, spear by spear.

It was accumulated by repeatedly winning battles against greater odds.

Their morale was bolstered by the defeats and weakness of the official soldiers they faced.

The many days of training, their equipment, and the promise of substantial compensation after their deaths provided them assurance.

The military honor system motivated them.

Below the high platform, Geng Songfu and Sun Meng were slightly shocked upon witnessing this scene. A military's combat strength and cohesion could often be seen when they set out for battle.

From this army, they saw confidence and courage.

Chen Mo smiled slightly, looked around the drill ground, and encouraged: "The winter of this year is coming in a few months. Do you want to replace your drafty thatched homes with wooden structures or brick houses? Do you want to get warm cotton clothes for your wives and children, or parents..."

Saying this, Chen Mo suddenly raised his voice, loudly: "Do you think we should get a plow ox, or a grind donkey for your homes?"

"Yes!"

Two thousand soldiers responded in unison, their overwhelming momentum even causing slight pain in one's eardrums.

Making the house bigger and warmer, having enough food and warm clothing, has always been the most basic wish in the hearts of the people throughout history, and it's their source of motivation.

"Then take up your guns, take up your swords, and fight for me. Our army rewards merit, and what you need to do is use your guns, use your swords, and kill the enemy, kill the enemy!" Chen Mo shouted loudly.

"Kill the enemy!"

Chen Mo's pre-war mobilization was very successful, igniting the soldiers' fighting spirit, their eyes burning with fighting flames.

Chen Mo drew his Tang Blade, pointing it diagonally towards the morning sun: "Set off!"

Each squad leader and squadron leader led their teams out of the drill ground and headed towards the city outskirts.

Chen Mo walked down from the high platform and said to Geng Songfu: "Pingting County will be entrusted to County Magistrate Geng. If necessary, you may close the county for governance."

Then he looked at Zhang River, Lu Yuan, Su Wen, and others, instructing: "Assist County Magistrate Geng well. In major matters, listen to County Magistrate Geng."

"Understood."

Having said that, Chen Mo mounted the armored Snow Dragon Steed.

Just as he was about to leave, Geng Songfu hesitated several times but still came over and said to Chen Mo: "After much thought, there are still a few words I wish to say to the County Magistrate."

"Please speak."

"The mortal soldier does not attack unwarranted cities or kill the innocent. Killing others' fathers and brothers, taking their wealth, enslaving their children, these acts are those of a bandit. Thus, soldiers are for punishing riots and forbidding injustices. This is the code of the ancestors. Observing the County Magistrate's great ambitions, I hope you remember it." Geng Songfu stated.

Chen Mo was slightly startled, then smiled: "The military regulations must be established first. Once established, discipline enforces the military. Since the rules are set, they must be strictly enforced. Please rest assured, County Magistrate Geng."

"Good." Geng Songfu bowed to Chen Mo.

As he exited the drill ground.

Chen Mo saw Xiaolu and Xiaoling standing in front of a distant tavern, wearing sunshades that also covered their faces, looking at him from afar.

Seeing his gaze, they raised their hands and waved.

Xiaolu was very sensible, there was no life-and-death parting scene from tearjerker dramas, just a deep look at Chen Mo.

Chen Mo smiled and nodded at her, then spurred his horse to catch up with the main army, followed by Sun Meng leading the Personal Guard Team.

When they passed by the Government Office, two fast horses galloped over. On the chestnut steed sat a woman dressed in black attire, carrying a long sword and wearing a veil, followed by a middle-aged man on a black horse.

As they tried to approach Chen Mo, they were stopped by Sun Meng and others: "Who goes there?"

Xia Zhining gritted her teeth and looked at the young man who cast his gaze towards her, suppressing her complex emotions, and said: "You... didn't you ask for my help?"

"You haven't left yet?" Chen Mo's voice was indifferent.

"You... are right, we plan to leave after the autumn." Xia Zhining replied.

"Oh, then stay at the Government Office until autumn, I don't need your help." Chen Mo said, then clamped his horse's sides and said: "Go."

Chen Mo knew that in training Xia Zhining, he was just two or three steps away from completion. This time, he must let her experience the feeling of being away from him.

Listening to the coldness in the young man's words and his heartless departure, Xia Zhining felt her heart sink to the bottom, her fingers gripping the reins tightened unconsciously.

"Second Miss, should we..." Liu Ze asked tentatively.

"Follow." Xia Zhining gently patted her horse's rump and followed.

The army left the city.

Chen Mo rode on horseback, behind him was a tall four-meter banner.

The banner had a yellow background with a red "Chen" character written on it.

This army of two thousand under Chen Mo was lightly armed, without the troops transporting arms and supplies, only the logistics team responsible for transporting provisions, which wouldn't go to the battlefield, so they're not counted in the army's numbers.

The fundamental purpose of war is to redistribute societal resources.

Therefore, what Geng Songfu previously said is quite achievable in this world now, and Chen Mo couldn't guarantee not disturbing anything, so he agreed mainly to leave a good impression on Geng Songfu, though perhaps he very well knew.

Of course, Chen Mo would still try his best to follow Geng Songfu's standards.

Relying on burning, killing, and plundering to resolve financial problems and maintain army morale, ultimately falls to the Lower Grade, and won't accomplish much in the end.

"County Magistrate, Miss Xia is still following our team." Sun Meng said in front of Chen Mo.

"Let them both into the Personal Guard Team but don't make it too obvious." Chen Mo thought for a moment and said.

With Sun Meng's arrangements, Xia Zhining and Liu Ze blended into this army.

The army had not yet gone three miles outside the city when they saw ahead on the main road a black mass of people gathered.

A glance showed it was Yuan Youchun's Tiger Swift Army, with Bai Shu and Yuan Youchun among them.

The entire Tiger Swift Army was mobilized, as few Celestial Master Army units have strongholds, almost taking a city meant changing places, so Yuan Youchun naturally didn't regard Qingtian County as a stronghold.

He intended, after the Celestial Master Army occupied Yu State, to pick another county to pillage and enjoy.

Therefore, this time the mobilization not only deployed the whole army but also brought along all their resources.

Chen Mo raised a hand, which Sun Meng immediately understood, and at the same time, the flag bearer waved a small flag, shouting: "Entire army halt."

The flag commands the army had learned were not in vain, as with this order, the entire army immediately stopped.

After the army halted, it formed a stark contrast with the Tiger Swift Army.

The Tiger Swift Army was scattered, out of a ten-thousand-strong army, only one or two thousand wore armor, and these soldiers' equipment wasn't as good as Chen Mo's troops, likely belonging to Yuan Youchun's Personal Guard Battalion.

Yuan Youchun's pupils slightly contracted when he saw Chen Mo's army.

Though fewer in number, the orderly and synchronized heavy footsteps as they stopped seemed like drumbeats striking their hearts.

But Yuan Youchun didn't overly regard them; his forces were several times larger than theirs.

The Qingzhou Army was strong, but wasn't it defeated by the Celestial Master Army?

It can be said, since the Celestial Master Army's rise, with an undefeated record, many mid-to-high-level commanders within the Celestial Master Army held an air of invincibility.

Riding his steed over to Yuan Youchun, Chen Mo's face remained calm, and he said: "General Yuan, what are you doing here?"

Yuan Youchun snorted coldly: "The Commander wants you to cooperate with this General, so naturally we must travel together. Besides, going from Qingtian County to Quanyang County requires taking this road."

"Alright then." Chen Mo thought for a moment and didn't refuse.

The people of Fu Ze Village moved to the mountain stronghold; the reserve force also went up the mountain, and the factories in the village were temporarily halted, so when the army passed by the road in front of Fu Ze Village, the village was deserted.

The journey to Quanyang County was relatively peaceful, but Chen Mo's troops clashed several times with Yuan Youchun's Tiger Swift Army.

The Tiger Swift Army started trouble each time.

Because of the conflict between Chen Mo and Yuan Youchun, which Yuan Youchun intentionally spread, it developed into a conflict between Chen Mo and the Tiger Swift Army. Without evidence, Yuan Youchun outright claimed that the previous salt warehouse raid was Chen Mo's doing.

Yet this conflict is currently merely verbal sparring, at most involving some shoving, still within controllable limits.

The march continued until five miles west of Quanyang County, now being August fourth.

The provisions Yuan Youchun allocated to Chen Mo had already been exhausted.