Cultivation Begins with Caring for Sister-in-law

Quanyang County is not large but quite sturdy. Furthermore, forty li east of the city, there's a Huangtu Town, also very solid. However, Huangtu Town is to be attacked by another General under Yang Minggui's command.

No need to think, Chen Mo was definitely refused when he went to negotiate for grain again.

Yuan Youchun stubbornly claimed to have allocated three hundred stone of grain and refused to admit it was only one hundred stone, and three hundred stone is enough for Chen Mo's army for half a month, hence they firmly would not give Chen Mo any grain.

Chen Mo also expected this; the reason for asking again was just to have grounds to argue at every step later.

The Tiger Swift Army fights without any order, arriving on August 4, and announcing they'd attack Quanyang County the next day.

Before this, nobody had scouted Quanyang County at all.

For example, how many enemies are there?

Where are they located?

Are there any cavalry, and how is the morale?

Are there any allied enemy troops active around? Where can provisions be gathered? Yuan Youchun almost couldn't answer any of these, yet by relying on his title as Commander-in-Chief, he ordered Chen Mo's army to be the vanguard for the first wave of attack on Quanyang County the next day.

Chen Mo refused without hesitation.

There's no way he'd allow his men to be cannon fodder.

Even if Yuan Youchun threatened with military orders, Chen Mo wouldn't be afraid.

If you want me to cooperate, that's fine, but don't even think about sending us to death.

The ultimate decision was to send a thousand men each to initiate a feigned attack to probe.

Chen Mo agreed to this.

After splitting, Chen Mo consulted Sun Meng's advice, paused the camp, and reconnoitered enemy intelligence.

This approach seemed somewhat like a hard siege and stiff battles, but it was a very prudent response strategy.

Moreover, prominence for Chen Mo was secondary this time. There could be no gains, but every effort must be made to reduce losses; recklessly charging forward without regard for consequences was out of the question.

...

Night gradually darkened, just past 7 p.m., and the army rested.

Soldiers divided into two waves: one for resting and eating, the other responsible for vigilance and patrol.

The logistics team was diligently caring for the livestock and the few dozen war horses, mixing saltwater as feed.

Chen Mo sat on a slab of bluestone, using the nearby bonfire, writing a letter to Geng Songfu as per their previous agreement, to report safety.

After writing the letter, Sun Meng brought over a carrier pigeon.

The carrier pigeon, originally from the Defense Army, was trained long ago.

After encrypting the written letter simply, it was tied to the pigeon's leg and released.

Then Chen Mo asked Sun Meng, "How are the soldiers' letters to their families?"

These so-called family letters are actually farewell letters. In the ever-changing battlefield, who knows if one will still be alive the next moment; hence, writing family letters in advance is necessary.

If deceased, the family letter would be sent to the soldiers' families post-battle.

If survived, the letter would not be burned but kept for the next occasion.

"All written." Sun Meng replied.

"Ah..."

Suddenly, a woman's scream came from afar.

Chen Mo paused, instructing Sun Meng to send someone to check it out.

Soon, Chen Mo learned that the woman's scream originated from the Tiger Swift Army camp, where soldiers were indulging in pleasures, and the scream was from a military courtesan in the camp.

Chen Mo was slightly taken aback, and soon realized.

Camp courtesans, also called camp prostitutes or military prostitutes, have existed since ancient times. Initially established to solve the sexual needs of single, non-married soldiers.

Later, it was found that camp prostitutes could relieve soldiers' stress, and boost morale before battles, hence they were preserved and never discontinued.

Previously, he heard from Wei Qing that there were military courtesans in the Qingzhou Army, some conscripted from local brothels, and some were the wives and daughters of convicted officials.

However, military courtesans carried a semi-coercive nature since military treatment was poor. Once conscripted as camp courtesans, most would likely die in the military, and to ensure military logistics, they also had to do heavy miscellaneous tasks.

Gradually, without coercion, nobody would volunteer.

Moreover, this system's benefits outweighed its drawbacks, thus greatly reducing the pillaging of civilians when armies captured county cities.

"How are the Divine Brave Guard and Divine Martial Guard's conditions?" Chen Mo frowned and asked.

"Some soldiers have already shown signs of restlessness. Those bastards from the Tiger Swift Army brought camp courtesans out to play. All our patrolling soldiers saw it," Sun Meng replied.

"Such energy, let's start with a ten-li drill." Chen Mo said.

"Yes."

...

On the other side, Yuan Youchun was indulgent of such behaviors. Not only indulgent; describing it as encouragement wouldn't be an exaggeration.

He even declared that after conquering the city tomorrow, whoever grabs the women and riches would belong to them.

With these words, the entire army's morale soared.

...

In the tents, Xia Zhining removed the mask from her head.

Life in the army was not as pleasant as she imagined.

Firstly, conditions in the army were rudimentary, making daily bathing impossible.

Secondly, there were no servants.

Lastly, the military camp was ultimately a men's encampment, with thousands gathered together during the hot summer. When the evening breeze blew, the smell was intensely pungent.

For Xia Zhining, who had barely endured hardship and was "enlisting" for the first time, there was a faint sense of regret in her heart, wishing she hadn't come along.

What made her most uncomfortable was that during these days of marching, Chen Mo hadn't said a word to her, nor had he assigned her any soldiers to command.

At that moment, familiar footsteps sounded outside the tent, and Xia Zhining was taken aback because she recognized them as Chen Mo's.

So late now, why is he coming over...

Xia Zhining's face blushed as she guessed his reason, but her first reaction wasn't to contemplate a response. Instead, she began to tidy her attire and fix her hair.

Liu Ze was already aware of the relationship between the two young women and Chen Mo, so he didn't stop Chen Mo from entering. In fact, he couldn't stop him.

Watching Chen Mo lift the tent flap and walk inside, Xia Zhining immediately grabbed a long sword beside her, placed her hand on the hilt, prepared to draw it, and glared at the young man, "You... why are you here?"

Chen Mo tossed her a set of leather armor, saying, "Tomorrow there's a battle. Wear this. It's new, never worn before. Remember to stay behind me tomorrow, so you don't get killed by stray arrows."

Having said that, Chen Mo left.

Xia Zhining caught the leather armor Chen Mo threw and was momentarily stunned. Is this jerk... caring about me?

Though Chen Mo's tone was cold, his words were thick with concern.

"Seems he still cares about me. The reason he's cold to me is probably because I hurt him..."

This thought subsequently emerged in Xia Zhining's mind.

Realizing this, she was startled by her own thoughts.

But whether she admitted it or not, her mood at this moment was much better than before, and even the corners of her mouth unconsciously lifted into a smile.

August 5th.

Both armies first sent envoys to challenge under Quanyang County, but after the battle letter was shot, there was no response.

When the two armies organized two thousand soldiers for a feigned attack, Quanyang County also chose to shut its doors and not engage, acting like a turtle until the siege ladders were set up, whereupon they began to resist.

Since Chen Mo and Yuan Youchun didn't get along, although Chen Mo had to cooperate with him, he definitely didn't want his army to be sent to die.

Thus, after discussions on August 6th, both armies began a full-scale attack, and by the afternoon of the same day, breached Quanyang County.

At this point, they found out the county's defense army numbered less than five hundred, half of whom were local folks who had organized themselves. The County Magistrate and local prominent families had already fled.

Those remaining in the city were some who were left clueless or refused to leave.

As the army entered the city, the fate of the inside population was predictable.

The Divine Courage and Divine Martial armies were restrained by Chen Mo, and the soldiers dared not harm the people, but Chen Mo couldn't control the Tiger Swift Army.

Upon entering the city, Tiger Swift Army soldiers stormed into residences, raping women and plundering riches.

Chen Mo's men were itching to participate but were constrained by military discipline and the thought of their families, children, maintaining control.

They differed from the Tiger Swift Army, as they had a base, homes, wives, and children and weren't without anything.

Moreover, they were educated in Chen Mo's village school, carrying moral restraint.

But Tiger Swift Army differed as their treatment wasn't as good as the Divine Courage and Divine Martial Two Guards, sustained only by this slight support.

Today's uncertain tomorrow, possibly dead in a moment, you're asking me to be a saint, to hell with you!

Believe it or not, soldiers below might rally around to cut you down.

This was why the Celestial Master Army was formed.

Its starting point was good; at the initial stage, it definitely considered the people, but as it developed and grew, it became somewhat uncontrollable...

Releasing the evil within human nature is extraordinarily tempting, especially when there are no consequences.

By evening, it was nearly a purgatory right on earth.

Only the western part of the city remained peaceful.

Because this area was "looted" by Chen Mo, the Tiger Swift Army couldn't cross the boundary.

After all, once a county was breached, its contents had to be divided.

Yuan Youchun saw this and said nothing as his Tiger Swift Army had already taken advantage.

Chen Mo didn't loot the western part of the city, only collecting "protection fees," which were some grains from them.

Even if Chen Mo didn't want to collect, he had to.

If protection was offered freely, those below would have dissent.

In the movie "Let the Bullets Fly," why did Zhang Mazi's group disband?

It wasn't because Zhang Mazi returned all the silver to the people without leaving anything for his brothers.

You were selfless, but what about your brothers who risked their lives following you?

Can you guarantee they're selfless too?

Especially in such a damned era.

Quanyang County was too poor, and prominent families all ran off.

That's why after a day's looting, the Tiger Swift Army couldn't get much.

On August 9th, the two armies set off again, penetrating southwest of Yu State, aiming to annex all of Yu State. Huangtu City was smoothly conquered by another Grand General under Yang Minggui's command, Dai Wangmin.

On August 12th, Chen Mo and Yuan Youchun's army successfully captured another city, dividing spoils according to prior agreement made in Quanyang County.

Similarly, Chen Mo's army still only collected limited protection fees.