August 21st.

In Shiling County.

Inside the government office, a middle-aged man wearing a brightly colored official robe, sporting a big belly and looking quite affluent, stood in front of the huge map, staring at the position of Shiling Pass.

If anyone recognized him, they would surely discover that this person was Liang Song, the Prefect of Yuzhou.

Liang Song came from the Liang Family, one of the Seven Great Noble Families. His ancestors were founding heroes of the Great Song Dynasty, and the current head of the Liang Family was the father-in-law of the present Emperor, Liang Mu.

As a direct lineage member of the Liang Family, Liang Song, like Xia Liangqing, held the military and political power of a whole state in his hands.

The supposed uprising of the Prefect of Yuzhou in response to the Loyalist Army was merely false information spread by Liang Song. No, it wasn't entirely false — Yuzhou did indeed mobilize forces to support the Loyalist Army, but only three thousand troops were sent, and they weren't led by Liang Song. The true elite forces of Yuzhou, the Yu State Army, were still stationed in Yuzhou.

Liang Song had long foreseen that the Celestial Master Thieves would attack Yuzhou, so he played a trick to lure them in.

Yuzhou was mountainous, and once the prey entered the trap, all that was needed was to close the entrance for a true entrapment.

Not long after, a clashing sound of metal arose, and Liang Song put away his various thoughts, looking outward with an imposing demeanor.

Soon, a general clad in shining golden armor, holding the hilt of his sword, walked in. Seeing Liang Song, he bowed and cupped his fists, saying, "Lord Liang, your strategic insights are unparalleled. According to reports from scouts at the front, a force of Celestial Master Thieves is heading straight towards Shiling County from the west, expected to arrive by tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Liang Song turned back to the map, picked up a red piece from the adjacent chessboard, and placed it at the position of Shiling Pass.

This large map already contained several red pieces, each representing the position of the Celestial Master Army.

Surrounding these red pieces were several yellow ones, closing in a surrounding pattern.

After a moment of contemplation, Liang Song took out a vermillion pen, circled a few of the red pieces, and said seriously, "Tell General Xu and the others to begin closing the net. As for the Celestial Master Thieves coming towards us, please trouble General Guan to handle them."

"Rest assured, Lord Liang, I will certainly annihilate them at Shiling Pass," the armored General Guan declared firmly.

...

August 22nd.

The Tiger Swift Army led by Yuan Youchun had traveled a long way and were in a state of fatigue. Coupled with their consecutive victories before, they had long let down their guard.

With Yuan Youchun's shout of "Set up the Obstacle Array quickly," the response was sparse. Most of the Tiger Swift Army was merely a rabble, and upon encountering an ambush, they panicked as the cavalry charged in, with only Yuan Youchun's three thousand Personal Soldiers remaining relatively calm, constantly drawing their bows and shooting deadly arrows at the approaching enemy cavalry.

However, they could only shoot two arrows at most, and as they nocked the third arrow, the cavalry had already reached them with their speed, initiating a bloody massacre.

The Tiger Swift Army had hardly fought any hard battles; they weren't the main force against the Qingzhou Army. Therefore, facing the cavalry's slaughter, they fell into chaos and scattered in a single wave of charge.

They were effective against unarmed civilians, but when faced with the elite forces of the Yu State Army, it was like cutting through watermelon; the ten thousand strong Tiger Swift Army was utterly defeated.

In fact, as long as infantry doesn't fear and doesn't retreat, they often have the advantage against organized cavalry charges. There's a saying in military books, "Formed ranks don't fight."

But clearly, the Tiger Swift Army lacked this discipline.

Seeing the situation was lost, Yuan Youchun abandoned the women, cattle, sheep, and money taken as prisoners, and led his Personal Guard Battalion to break through the encirclement.

The complex terrain of Yuzhou left the local garrison at less than forty thousand and it was further divided by Liang Song into several ambush groups hidden throughout the interior of Yuzhou. Therefore, there weren't many Yu State Army at Shiling Pass. Even though the Tiger Swift Army was a rabble, they still had more than ten thousand troops, allowing Yuan Youchun to lead them in breaking out.

Once out, Yuan Youchun proved ruthless, immediately deciding to ignore whether those in front were allies or foes, and began hacking away forcefully with his weapon, spurring his horse into the lead and charging outward.

"Whish!"

A heavy arrow flew down from a small slope, accurately hitting Yuan Youchun in the back of his chest. Though it was blocked by his Innate Spiritual Qi and Iron Armor, the strong impact was relentless, directly knocking him off his horse.

"Kill!"

The Yu State Army, upon seeing the enemy general fall from his horse, immediately thrust seven or eight long spears toward him.

To slay a general was a great merit that could lead to promotion, regardless of the era or army.

Yuan Youchun's Personal Soldiers were like mad tigers, blocking with swords and their own bodies, using their bodies to shield the commander.

Although the Tiger Swift Army was generally poorly treated, Yuan Youchun treated his Personal Soldiers very well. Every time they conquered a city, the women and wealth plundered were first distributed to the Personal Soldiers.

"General, quickly mount the horse." Bai Shu rode over, hoisting Yuan Youchun onto a horse, and under the cover of the Personal Soldiers, left Shiling Pass.

...

The dusk illuminated the entire sky, the fierce wind roared, and the military flags fluttered. General Guan rode his warhorse up a small hill, followed by a hundred or so riders, gazing fixedly at the escaping leader from Shiling Pass. He immediately swung his whip and said, "Follow me to pursue!"

Though there is the saying not to pursue a desperate enemy, to avoid the possibility of a hidden ambush, or a frantic counterattack when there's nowhere to go.

But this depends on the situation. The tracks of these Celestial Master Thieves' chariots were chaotic, the military flags had fallen, and they were discarding their helmets and armor.

The morale of the rebel army had already vanished, whereas the morale of the Yu State Army was strong.

At this time, one should not merely refrain from chasing the desperate, but rather seize the victory and crush them completely.

...

On the other side, Chen Mo was leisurely making his way.

The soldiers were not moving quickly, and with Chen Mo deliberately slowing the march, they covered about a dozen miles. By then, it was completely dark. At this pace, they would reach Shiling County by noon the next day.

The mountain road was difficult to travel, and it was not suitable for marching at night, so the army set up camp among the mountains to continue marching once daylight broke.

The Divine Brave Guard and Divine Martial Guard followed orders strictly, moving as directed, resting earnestly after setting up camp, showing no complaints.

Inside the temporarily built military tent, Chen Mo was writing a letter to Sun Meng by the lamp light.

The nearer to Shiling County, the more Chen Mo felt his right eyelid twitching, so he instructed Sun Meng to lead a team to stay behind and guard against any unexpected situations.

For now, the remaining Personal Guard Team was under the command of Xia Zhining.

Xia Zhining placed her removed leather armor aside, wearing a lightweight black outfit, kneeling on the ground covered with bedding. By the firelight, the hem and skirt of her black outfit split to thigh position, revealing large areas of flesh, tightly wrapped piglets wobbling in front of Chen Mo.

Ever since she expressed her feelings, Xia Zhining had been attending to Chen Mo's daily living and grooming.

After several days of army life, she gradually adapted.

After finishing the letter, Chen Mo turned to see the scene and reached out to pinch Xia Zhining's piglet: "Zhi Ning is becoming more and more virtuous..."

Xia Zhining shrank forward, turning her head back, half lying on the ground, covering behind with her hand, casting a glance at Chen Mo: "Don't... touch randomly."

Though she had shown her feelings to the young man, her feelings were still very complicated, as they were not in a normal loving relationship, so Xia Zhining couldn't fully cooperate bodily with her needs.

For instance, without Chen Mo being provocative, Xia Zhining wouldn't initiate kissing him.

If Chen Mo actively attempted to kiss Xia Zhining, she would first say don't, symbolically push him away, and then let him take the initiative.

Chen Mo took off his helmet, began to remove his armor, and asked, "What do you think about the current situation?"

"The reason the people fight is the commander. The reason the people fight is morale. When morale is real, they fight; when taken away, they flee. If the morale is strong, warriors will bravely fight; if it sags, they will collapse. You had the Tiger Swift Army attack Shiling County first, but our troops follow without a battle, their morale might decrease." Xia Zhining's meaning was to encourage Chen Mo to actively find a battle to fight.

Chen Mo removed his breastplate and said, "Is this your idea from military books or your own thoughts?"

"This is both what the military books say and my own thoughts." Xia Zhining brought together her legs, revealing no alluring scenery.

"First off, it wasn't me who ordered the Tiger Swift Army to attack Shiling County first, but Yuan Youchun afraid I'd snatch his benefits, he hurried on through the night to seize first. Secondly, things have been going too smoothly lately, and it's unsettling. I worry there's an ambush ahead, letting them face forward reduces some risk for us.

Lastly, you've seen the manners of the Tiger Swift Army; Shiling County is a major county, and I fear the Divine Brave, Divine Martial Two Guards might ignite the darker sides of humanity."

After speaking, Chen Mo had removed all armor and sat on the bedding, patting Xia Zhining: "Blindly trusting books is worse than having none. It is good to thoroughly read military books, but they must be applied according to reality and the current circumstances, something you still need to learn. Come, turn over and lie down."

"You rogue, exploiting me again." Xia Zhining pushed Chen Mo forcefully, unwillingly.

"How does this count as exploiting, don't you... enjoy it too."

"Stop... speaking nonsense." Xia Zhining lightly pursed her lips, casting another annoyed glance at Chen Mo, unwillingly turning over only after Chen Mo took action, hugging the bedding.

"I'm just fond of you like this..." Chen Mo embraced from behind.

Xia Zhining blushed, her breathing unsteady.

Chen Mo felt Xia Zhining's tenderness, said nothing, silently embraced his lover, back to familiar grounds.

They say affection grows over time, feelings between people develop through interaction; even with pets over time, some affection is cultivated.

Just when Chen Mo contemplated having his beloved bow down once more, footsteps were heard outside the tent.

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