To grow and thrive, to win people's loyalty, the first thing needed is a stable home base. Those with property have determination.

When soldiers have land, houses, wives, and children, they settle down.

So, if you want to win over these people of Wutai County to help take care of the horses, it's simple.

First, provide them with houses, then give them wages for horse care, especially those without wives or children.

With a house and stable income, wives will naturally follow.

In these troubled times, women are the least in short supply.

With a wife, children won't be far behind.

Once they have a warm home with their wives and kids, they will naturally think well of Chen Mo.

On the contrary, those who wander aimlessly in these chaotic times, eating from hand to mouth, will have unstable hearts. Live for today, drink for today, making military discipline hard to enforce.

In the resettlement camp, the people of Wutai County have already been gradually given jobs.

Yu Da was originally a stableman at Landlord Huang's home in Wutai County, feeding, living, and eating with the horses, brushing them, and feeding them.

The status of a stableman was tied to that of the master.

And Landlord Huang was a famous miser locally, especially in these troubled times with rising prices, he arbitrarily deducted his servants' wages. Though there was dissatisfaction, they dared not quit because at least it was a meal ticket.

Thus Yu Da's status was lowly, with little money to his name, which naturally led to a sense of inferiority over time.

But he never expected that, upon coming to Pingting County, his status would reverse.

He was even received by the County Magistrate, who asked if he knew how to raise horses.

Raising horses was his skill, of course, he could handle it effortlessly.

So he was tested, and then he became an official, a Stable Master.

Although he didn't know what kind of official a Stable Master was, the monthly salary of one thousand coins, with potential increases for good performance, and free meals and housing, left him with no thought of refusal.

Afterward, he had thirteen subordinates.

These subordinates were also from Wutai County, all with experience in horse raising and training.

Their work included horse feeding, training, breeding, and selection, as well as teaching the locals how to raise horses.

The news shocked the residents of the resettlement camp in Wutai County.

This treatment was even better than what Hu Qiang had promised.

Meanwhile, the Government Office issued an announcement.

The Stable Master had a batch of foals for sale, available for just one thousand coins, and, when mature, the Government Office would buy them back starting at fifteen thousand coins each. The better they are raised, the higher the purchase price.

Citizens who purchase foals may not slaughter them, and if a foal dies due to human causes, they must compensate the Government Office five thousand coins. Priority is given to those with horse-raising experience, as the numbers are limited, first come first served.

If citizens wish to learn horse-raising experience, they could go to the Stable Master, and the registration fee is only...

The residents of Wutai County in the resettlement camp eagerly signed up, because although their horse-raising experience wasn't as extensive as Yu Da's, raising a foal to maturity posed no issue.

July 22nd.

Lin Shengcai had been observing in Pingting County for a few days and had already made up his mind.

Upon returning to the resettlement camp, planning to discuss with his Qingzhou Army brothers who came with him, he found they had all secretly joined the reserve squad.

Lin Shengcai was left in the dark, the last to find out.

If he hadn't voluntarily said that Pingting County was a good place worth staying in, his Qingzhou Army brothers might still keep it from him.

In the end, everyone has their own thoughts.

Although they were subordinates of Li Yunzhang, they had not received any tangible benefits from him. With no future prospects following Li Yunzhang, and struggling to get enough to eat, joining Chen Mo's army was undoubtedly a great choice.

"Lin Bai Fu, in our opinion, you should join the reserve squad too. The County Magistrate said that joining the reserve squad gets you a monthly salary of six hundred cents, with three regular meals a day, including one meat meal, and after passing the assessments to become part of the Divine Brave Guard, the monthly salary can increase to one thousand coins, and there's a future opportunity to divide land.

We asked around, and the assessments aren't hard. The Qingzhou Army brothers who joined before are now all part of the Divine Brave Guard, living comfortably. Lin Bai Fu, you are a Martial Artist, becoming a small team leader, or even a squadron leader is not a problem. The salary for small team leaders and squadron leaders is higher than regular soldiers."

Seeing that not only did they "defect," but they also persuaded him to "defect," Lin Shengcai couldn't help but show a wry smile.

After pondering for a moment, Lin Shengcai also chose to join.

There was no way around it, the conditions offered by Pingting County were too attractive.

The most crucial point was that, unlike the Celestial Master Thieves, they had not tainted their comrades' blood.

Furthermore, Li Yunzhang had sent him to spy, and if it was true, Li Yunzhang would bring over the remaining Qingzhou Army members as well.

Since that's the case, they would still be comrades in the future, not betrayal.

Indeed, once Lin Shengcai chose to join, he immediately became a small team leader without going through the reserve squad's assessments, already one of the Divine Brave Guard.

This greatly increased Lin Shengcai's goodwill towards Chen Mo, he even pounded his chest and promised Chen Mo to bring over his cousins.

Saying that the County Magistrate is a good person, that there's absolutely no mistake following him...

...

In a side room at the back of the County Government Office, it began to drizzle lightly at some unknown time, and the rain blurred the surroundings...

Zhi Ning clenched her delicate fists, her elegant light smoke brows furrowed slightly as she looked at the two on the soft couch, her jade face showing a touch of embarrassed anger.

This bastard last time kept saying that he fancied her, was infatuated with her.

The words he said to her sister were just to anger her.

But now he was being intimate with her sister.

Those heartfelt words from Zhiqing made Xia Zhining feel that they were all lies, all part of that bastard's ploy.

At this moment, Chen Mo's entire heart was with Xia Zhiqing. He gently embraced her, leaned close to her glistening earring, and whispered softly, "Zhiqing, just play along, after all we've come this far, why hold back."

Xia Zhiqing: "..."

A ripple stirred in her heart, and beneath her gentle and composed brows, there was a hint of coyness as she said, "You... you stop talking."

Having said this, Xia Zhiqing turned her back and buried her head into the bedding.

"Pa."

A crisp sound echoed in the room.

Xia Zhining's eyes widened, for she saw that bastard slap her sister's grindstone.

How could that bastard, who cared so much for and cherished her sister, bear to treat her like this?

Xia Zhining's heart was slightly moved; perhaps he wasn't...

Xia Zhiqing's delicate body shivered, feeling a tingling sensation spread from her hip, and she couldn't help but open her eyes wide and turned her head, looking at the young man in shock.

He... he actually hit her.

Before Xia Zhiqing could react.

Another crisp sound echoed again.

This time, it was symmetrical.

Chen Mo didn't use much force, but Xia Zhiqing's skin was just too tender combined with her fair complexion, which made even a slight blush appear very striking.

Xia Zhiqing's eyes turned misty, with her eyebrows curved, and a faint hum came from her nose. The reddish blush on her cheeks extended to her earlobes, even making her earrings sway slightly, while her teeth bit into her cherry lips to stifle any strange sounds.

Chen Mo held the beauty and whispered in her ear, just loud enough for the two of them to hear:

"Why did you give the jade hairpin to your sister? Even if you didn't like it, you could completely throw it away, but you gave the token of my affection to someone else. You've really disappointed me."

Xia Zhiqing: "..."

So he hit... her, for this?

Listening to the boy's heartfelt whispers tinged with a bit of sadness.

Xia Zhiqing unwittingly felt a pang of guilt. She was afraid her sister would hear, so she said softly, "I'm sorry, it's my fault."

Though the jade hairpin was snatched by Xia Zhining, as her older sister, there's no way she could betray her sister.

"Then how are you going to compensate me?" Chen Mo said in her ear.

Compensate?

What could she possibly compensate with?

She had already given him the most precious thing.

She murmured in a muffled voice, "What do you want?"

"I want you to write me a poem, to commemorate the time when we part in the future," Chen Mo said. "That shouldn't be too difficult for you, right?"

"Mm."

Xia Zhiqing said nothing more and obediently endured the boy's punishment.

...

Unlike her sister, Xia Zhiqing had not yet grown accustomed. She had just repeated the same mistake and couldn't bear the affection. As a single tear fell from the corner of her eye, she fell asleep.

Chen Mo adjusted his clothing, pushed open the nearest window, and took incense from a drawer under the dressing table, placing it in a censer. As the charcoal gently glowed, tendrils of smoke rose, instilling a sense of tranquility.

However, he soon felt a gaze as sharp as a knife coming from behind. He turned around to find the latter glaring at him with a face as cold as ice.

Chen Mo gestured for silence, then pointed outside, indicating for her to follow him.

He then stepped out of the room.

Xia Zhining was curious to hear what he had to say, so she followed him.

They followed each other to a long corridor, surrounded by vines that blocked the sunlight.

Xia Zhining was about to speak when Chen Mo turned around, walked up to her, took out a square brocade box from his bosom, opened it, and revealed a pearl necklace. The pearls were white and round, full of luster, with a heart-shaped pendant.

"I had this specially crafted for you, see if you like it." Chen Mo handed over the pearl necklace.

Xia Zhining looked at the pearl necklace, recalling what had just happened, and felt disgusted, saying angrily, "I don't want your filthy necklace."

Xia Zhining wore a long skirt with blue base patterns, and a white silk blouse on top, looking fresh and elegant while also exuding a heroic grace, giving off an air of decisiveness.

Chen Mo was not bothered at all and pulled her into his arms, hugging tightly, and said: "Still angry? The pearls on this necklace are personally collected by me from the lake. Didn't you see the heart-shaped pendant? Don't you understand my intentions?

Oh, and it's about to be a battle soon, didn't you want to go to the front lines and kill the enemy? I arranged a squad leader military post for you, letting you lead a hundred soldiers, how about it?

Dear Zhining, don't be angry anymore!"

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