The coming of summer brings with it increasingly hot weather, the bright moon hangs high, a few stars twinkle in the sky.

Night falls like water, moonlight cloaked the backyard of the County Government Office in a thin misty veil.

In the side room, a woman in a black low-cut long dress stood gracefully, her jade-like visage was cold, her neck and chest were snowy white like jade, yet the copper mirror on the dressing table reflected sharp brows and phoenix eyes, behind her stood another woman in white, her delicate hands holding a comb.

"Zhi Ning, it seems he won't come tonight. I just tried to subtly inquire, and found out he is not in the city now. Perhaps we can take advantage of this opportunity, wait for the guards outside to fall asleep, and quietly escape."

Xia Zhiqing was helping her sister tidy her hair. Deep down, she did not agree with her sister's idea of seeking revenge at this moment, because the disparity in strength between both sides was too great, making revenge less hopeful. Therefore, finding a way to escape and coming back for revenge when stronger was the best choice.

Unfortunately, her sister didn't listen; she could only constantly pretend to speak casually, hoping to subtly change her sisters's mind.

"Who knows how many rebels are outside; since that scoundrel dared to leave the city, obviously he doesn't worry about us escaping. And I told you, this revenge must be sought, didn't you promise me today?"

In Xia Zhining's narrow and cold beautiful eyes was a hint of anger. Several hours have passed, yet the abnormal sensation in her eyes hadn't faded. Every time the humiliation surged in her mind, somehow she couldn't forget.

Seeing her sister determined, Xia Zhiqing sighed and stopped talking.

"Ladies, the hot water is ready, if it's convenient now, I'll bring the bath bucket in." At this time, the maid Chunhong spoke from outside.

Chen Mo had arranged everything, it was already late.

So the two women had not yet bathed, Xia Zhining had only changed her clothes.

"Didn't I tell you not to call me 'lady,' are your ears deaf?" Xia Zhining shouted outside; her temper was quite bad now.

Xia Zhiqing frowned and said, "Zhi Ning, the maid didn't provoke you, why are you getting angry with them."

Saying this, Xia Zhiqing put down the peach wood comb, opened the side room, and softly said, "My sister is not feeling well, she is actually quite kind inside, please bear with her."

Chunhong bowed slightly to Xia Zhiqing and said, "Honored lady, it's the maid's fault, I forgot the young lady's instructions."

"Ai." Xia Zhiqing sighed and then said, "Bring the items in."

Several maidservants including Chunhong carried the bath bucket in, then fetched hot water and poured it into the bath bucket. Immediately, Chunhong looked at Xia Zhiqing and said, "Honored lady, we don't have fresh rose petals, are dried ones okay?"

"No need for them, you can leave now." Xia Zhiqing said.

"Understood." Chunhong and the others left.

"Zhi Ning, you bathe first, I'll massage your shoulders." Xia Zhiqing felt she hadn't helped her sister before, planning to make up for it with small things.

Xia Zhining nodded, removed her clothes, stepped on the bamboo platform, and entered the bath bucket water.

She hugged her shoulders, gently scrubbing every place touched by Chen Mo.

She bit her lip, delicately caressed in the warm water. The fiery pain had lessened a few degrees after several hours, but still...

And intermittently, an inexplicable image of a wild bull clash appeared in her mind.

She whispered a curse, "Damn scoundrel."

"Does it hurt when I apply pressure?" Hearing her sister's whisper, Xia Zhiqing who was massaging the fragrant shoulders asked.

Xia Zhining shook her head, continuing to scrub. And for some reason, amidst the subtle pain, an indescribable feeling arose deep within, as if being conquered and tortured...

She furrowed her brow, quickly scooped a ladle of warm water, poured it on her face, suppressing the strange sensation in her heart, and cursed that person with the most venomous words.

After the bath, Xia Zhining dried the water off her hair, perhaps too tired, she fell asleep directly without her hair being completely dry.

After bathing, rubbing her hair with a towel, Xia Zhiqing came to see. At first, she called twice, seeing no response, then reached out to push her sister's shoulder. Realizing her sister was really asleep, Xia Zhiqing first covered her with a quilt gently, then quietly came to a desk.

Taking out the brushes, ink, paper, and ink stone transported by Chen Mo.

Opening the fine white paper, dipping water to prepare the ink.

Yes, she intended to paint for that young man.

The young man had said, a painting could save ten whips.

She didn't believe her sister's revenge method would work, so she planned to lessen her sister's punishment in this way.

Now that she was going to paint that young man, Xia Zhiqing first emptied her mind, recalling the young man's face, expression, most importantly the features.

She feared not painting well, rendering the young man unwilling to honor the agreement.

Yet inexplicably, recalling the young man's face, Xia Zhiqing first envisioned the scene of the young man standing and lifting her sister...

The scene resembled an adult holding a child to urinate.

Thus her hand trembled, and the pig bristle brush shook with it.

Start over.

When he painted for the second time, it was hard to forget the previous image, and a new scene appeared, with the young man embracing his sister from behind.

As a result, her mind couldn't settle, and she kept changing sheets of paper.

One night passed.

...

The next day, the weather was clear.

Fu Ze Village.

Exactly one thousand four hundred prisoners of war were all gathered here; the more than three hundred injured ones had already been removed by Chen Mo.

Adding these one thousand four hundred people to the Divine Brave Guard and the reserve team, Chen Mo's forces numbered close to four thousand. Over two thousand of them were equipped with armor, and the confiscated armor could still arm more than a thousand more.

Indeed, war is the fastest way to acquire resources.

Considering the current size of the county, maintaining four thousand people is almost enough. The army's expansion can pause for now. The most important task at the moment is to train these four thousand people to the level of the Qingzhou Army.

Eventually, they can develop to the level of the Tang Army that Chen Mo remembers.

If he remembers correctly, each Tang Army soldier is standardly equipped with a bow, thirty arrows, a quiver, a horizontal saber, a sharpening stone, and also a deburring awl, felt hat, felt cloak, and other gear, while every ten men have six pack animals.

Moreover, many soldiers wore armor, with an armor rate exceeding sixty percent, and it was well-crafted. Most were Bright Armors, incomparable to the current Defense Army's armor, and were equipped with highly lethal crossbows, nearly full sets of long spears, with around five pieces of weaponry each.

It can be called the pinnacle of the cold weapon era.

If the Divine Brave Guard in Chen Mo's hand could reach this level and be paired with black gunpowder, he couldn't even imagine what kind of level it would be.

This world also has Cultivation Techniques and Martial Arts, which means the soldiers he commands can even surpass the Tang Army.

Looking at the dense crowd of prisoners, Chen Mo gazed around and slowly said, "I know many of you are uneasy, worried that, since I'm a rebel, whether I will kill you and if your families will be implicated.

Today, let me make this clear: as long as you join my Divine Brave Guard, not only will you not die, but your families won't be harmed, and your treatment will be better than when you were with the Defense Army. The government's extortionate taxes won't affect you; I will bear them all.

At this point, many might not believe me, so I swear to heaven that if I break this promise, may I be struck by five thunders from the sky."

The common people are quite superstitious, and the Defense Army is also made up of common people. Coupled with Chen Mo being enveloped in a halo of purple light, like an Immortal God in the sky, it gave him high credibility.

A plant among the prisoners immediately shouted loudly, "The County Magistrate is righteous, I am willing to join the Divine Brave Guard."

"The County Magistrate is righteous, I am willing too."

Fourteen hundred prisoners of war shouted in unison.

A faint smile flashed in Chen Mo's eyes. Now he was extremely skilled at brainwashing. He turned and pointed to Gao Yuming and others, saying loudly, "These few individuals, I believe you have all met them. From now on, these five will be your instructors. They were once members of the Qingzhou Army, with extremely rich combat experience. I hope you learn well from them."

After they got acquainted, Chen Mo waved his big hand, and well-cooked food was brought up.

It was solid dry food indeed.

Chen Mo had learned that the Defense Army only provided two meals a day, with a meat meal every three days, and a monthly salary of five hundred cents. Comparing it with ordinary people, it was certainly good, but compared to other armies, it was pitifully little.

Chen Mo could definitely offer better conditions.

When they learned that they would get three meals of dry food daily, with one meal containing meat, and a monthly salary of eight hundred cents, the reluctance caused by half threats instantly melted away.

Damn it, serving someone is still serving, no matter who it is.

They've heard that the death compensation for the Divine Brave Guard is very high as well.

Do it.

"Keep an eye on them, and if there are any troublemakers, call the reserve team for assistance. Don't hesitate. Also, during training, pick out a few who are not liked by them, preferably those who have been bullied, register their names, and give them to me," Chen Mo said.

Chen Mo didn't believe that the Defense Army didn't have any bullying issues within the ranks.

He wanted to find the points of conflict, appoint the bullied as group and team leaders to manage the rest on his behalf, playing the good cop, while he and the Divine Brave Guard acted as the bad cop. This would better win them over and prevent them from forming cliques.

"Understood," Gao Yuming guaranteed.

After giving instructions, Chen Mo rode back into the city on the Snow Dragon Steed.

He ordered his subordinates to pack up all the city's craftsmen, especially the masters from the blacksmith shop, and take them up to the mountain stronghold.

Chen Mo specifically reminded Shopkeeper Zhang from the blacksmith shop, who had crafted two Tang Blades for him. He was a talent that couldn't be lost.

Additionally, Chen Mo planned to recruit three hundred disciples from the Qinghe Gang to serve as constables in the Government Office, with Wu Mountain acting as Chief Constable.

While he was planning, Han Wu reported that Hu Qiang had returned.

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