Cultivation Begins with Caring for Sister-in-law

From the five thousand navy men obtained from Fengzhou, after Chen Mo swapped some of the mid-to-high-level officers within, he directly integrated them into the Fish Scale Guard. Under the leadership of Nangong Xian, they secretly headed to Linzhou by waterway.

During Chen Mo's previous inspection in Linzhou, he had Cui Shuang lead a thousand men to Qiantang, adding to the troops stationed in Linzhou, the total force reached thirty thousand.

After Chen Mo arranged the affairs of Yu State and left Zuo Lianglun to oversee in Yu State, he led the Personal Guard Battalion to rush towards Jiangdong.

Upon arriving in Linzhou, Chen Mo secretly issued an order for the garrison troops from various military camps in Linzhou to set off to Sanyuan to receive equipment and grain, and to arrive in Qiantang within ten days.

After the military order was issued, messengers sped through various places, and one troop after another began to assemble.

All of Chen Mo's prior arrangements were now taking effect.

Chen Mo had long prepared granaries for military use. With two years of great harvests, the granaries were already filled, and strict military discipline prevented any unauthorized use. Now that the military orders were issued, there was no need to waste time requisitioning grain from various regions; they could directly pull from the granaries instead.

In a certain village near where the Xianzhen Guard was stationed in Linzhou, Wei Qing and his personal soldiers acted together, loading armor, Divine Arm Crossbows, and other equipment onto horses' backs, tightly fastening them.

Since the Divine Arm Crossbow workshop in Jiapin County got on track, to expand production, Chen Mo established weapon workshops in places with stationed troops in multiple counties in Yu State and Linzhou. Regardless of the taxes from the three counties, the income from wine houses, or the silver given by Prince Huai and the Wu Family, Chen Mo invested seventy percent into military preparations and construction.

According to Chen Mo's military order, these five thousand Xianzhen Guards in Linzhou were also allocated more than a hundred Divine Arm Crossbows.

Wei Qing's wife was pregnant with their second child and at this moment was silently shedding tears.

Wei Qing turned back and scolded, "I'm not going off to die, why cry?"

His wife quickly wiped away her tears.

Wei Qing sighed, turned around, silently stuffed a few flatbreads that his wife had specially cooked for him into his backpack, and checked whether the equipment was usable.

After everything was settled, he stood silently for a moment and said, "The Marquis has shown me kindness, taking me in when I was still a deserter, which is why I am where I am today. Now that the Marquis has commanded, I have to serve."

Having said this, he led his horse out the door without looking back.

The surrounding Xianzhen Guard gradually gathered.

In the camp, carts were drawn out one after another.

Everyone silently checked their equipment and food.

Unlike officers like Wei Qing, who rarely saw their families throughout the year, those who had experienced life-and-death battles did not feel much fear, but how many return from wars of old?

According to the rules, everyone queued up to write home letters.

Although Chen Mo had already launched a "literacy campaign" in the army, there were still many who couldn't recognize many characters, so the army clerks were overwhelmed, leaving only a few brief words at the end.

"Father and Mother, I will come back this year, and the money I saved should be enough to build a new house for the family."

"Everything in the army is fine, so don't worry, Father and Mother. If we win, there will surely be rewards, and then we can buy an ox."

"After receiving this letter, be sure to write back to me, telling me if the rewards I earned for the family have been received. If not, mention it in the letter."

"Qiu'Er, I will marry you when I return."

...

The clerks wrote swiftly, tired but without complaint, for many of these could be final words.

Different from the Xianzhen Guard, the Divine Brave Guard's barracks were filled with cheers and excitement.

"It's been over a year without a battle; my hands are itching."

"I'm just waiting to earn merits for rewards to build a big house for my family."

"I need to save money to get my brother a new wife."

"I heard Jiangdong is wealthy. If we capture Jiangdong, there will certainly be a lot of loot, and everyone will definitely get plenty of rewards."

"Let's show those dumbasses in the Divine Martial Guard and Xianzhen Guard who the real men are."

...

In mid-May, Chen Mo led the Personal Guard Battalion to Qiantang, summoned Cui Shuang in Qiantang through Sun Meng, and after giving some instructions, Chen Mo boarded the ship, leading nearly a thousand personal soldiers grandly across the river to marry.

The journey from Qiantang to Jiangdong was not far; it took about two days by waterway.

Therefore, not long after Chen Mo left Qiantang, Wu Changlin in Yongkang learned that Chen Mo was about to cross the river.

Wu Changlin immediately found Wu Yu and Liu Ji to discuss a strategy.

According to Liu Ji's plan, they would set an ambush to attack Chen Mo on his way to Jiangdong for marriage.

But the plan proceeded so smoothly that it made Wu Changlin feel suspicious.

"Did Chen Mo really come so naively? From my first impression of him, he doesn't seem like such a simple person. Could he have sensed something?" Wu Changlin said.

Liu Ji also frowned. Indeed, it was suspiciously smooth, so much so that it was abnormal. He said, "Does the Young Clan Leader know how many people he brought across the river this time?"

"According to our eyes in Qiantang, it is feared to be no less than a thousand," Wu Changlin said.

"Bringing so many people, could he be on guard?" Wu Yu interjected.

Liu Ji raised an eyebrow. In his plan, it wasn't really about successfully killing Chen Mo but about tearing the face between Jiangdong and Chen Mo, provoking Elder Wu to send troops into the battle. Therefore, the number of people Chen Mo brought wasn't that important. As long as they ambushed him en route and provoked conflict, it would suffice.

However, since Chen Mo arrived like this, if they could truly capture him, wouldn't that be better?

"Governor, Young Clan Leader, given the case, to be on the safe side, let Chen Mo cross the river. When he arrives in Yongkang, given his mere Middle-Grade Martial Artist strength, even if he has brought a thousand or even ten thousand men, they will be like sitting ducks." Liu Ji said.

Upon hearing this, Wu Changlin found it appropriate. Once Chen Mo landed and entered his territory, everything would be in his control. Ambushing on the river wouldn't be foolproof.

Wu Changlin found Lv Tong, ordered him to go welcome Chen Mo, and instructed him not to disturb the common folk.

Unexpectedly, just as Chen Mo's ship docked, and Lv Tong went to greet him, he saw a group descend from the ship, beating drums and playing music.

Behind this band was a group carrying loads tied with red silk, clearly prepared.

Once everyone disembarked, Chen Mo mounted his horse, led by Sun Meng, and with the entourage of armored warriors, disembarked last.

As Chen Mo's personal soldiers, they were well-equipped, having had over a year of recuperation and replenishment, now each one sporting a full Bright Armor set, with Horizontal Sabers, Round Shields, Crossbows, and Long Spears at their side.

Hundreds of armored warriors followed closely, surrounded by about a hundred armored warriors guarding Chen Mo, and the rest of the warriors remained vigilant of the surroundings.

Being Chen Mo's personal soldiers, they were soldiers selected from battle-hardened veterans, all with killing intent in their eyes, which was startling to the Jiangdong people ashore.

Seeing this, Lv Tong suddenly panicked.