Chen Mo remained silent. What Yang Minggui did was indeed ignoble; if it were him, he wouldn't feel comfortable either.

But he had no choice in the matter. Presently at a disadvantage, he was forced to be the "scapegoat."

Despite his dissatisfaction, Yang Minggui wasn't present, and Lu Yonggang could also see that Chen Mo was pushed out to take the blame.

Chen Mo was young with great potential; his future achievements were limitless. If anger was directed at him, it would inevitably lead to resentment. They had no previous enmity or conflicts, so there was no need to provoke hatred.

Bearing this in mind, Lu Yonggang took a deep breath and laughed: "Vice General Chen, don't take it to heart. This matter has nothing to do with you."

Chen Mo smiled, not taking it seriously.

"Since that's the case, the situation is urgent. The Celestial Master ordered us to capture Yu State before winter. Vice General Chen, you've been in Yu State for quite some time; share what you've learned with everyone," Lu Yonggang said.

"Marshal Lu, do you have a map?" Chen Mo asked.

Lu Yonggang raised his hand, and a confidant on the side took out a neatly folded cloth from his chest and spread it on the table.

Chen Mo approached and said: "We entered Yu State at the beginning of August. The Defense Army of Quanyang County had long since retreated, and we captured Quanyang County very smoothly, then advanced without encountering any resistance along the way...

Until we arrived at Shiling County. General Yuan was a step ahead of me, but unfortunately, he was ambushed here, pursued by Yu State Army, and perished at Luqing Mountain."

Chen Mo pointed to the location of Celestial Water Town and said: "Later, we received a plea for help from Generals Wang Kai and Liu Fu. They were trapped by Yu State Army at East Wei Bridge. When I arrived with my troops, I clashed with Xu Jie's forces at Celestial Water Town. After a bloody battle, I killed him.

But my troops also suffered heavy casualties, forcing us to retreat. As for what happened next, I don't know. We've lost contact with Wang Kai and Liu Fu; the situation looks grim..."

After concluding, Chen Mo forced out two teardrops and said: "That Liang Song is deceitful, killing many of our colleagues. I implore Marshal Lu to avenge them."

The crowd was slightly stunned upon seeing this, not expecting Chen Mo, so young, to be so loyal and righteous.

Song Niu stepped forward and patted Chen Mo's shoulder, saying: "Leave this matter to Old Niu."

"Thank you, Marshal Song," Chen Mo said with a bow.

Lu Yonggang connected the route from Shiling County to Celestial Water Town, then furrowed his brow and said: "This is a classic bottleneck—such a perfect spot for an ambush. How could Marshal Yang fall for it?"

To him, Yuan Youchun was a general under Yang Minggui. Since they ventured into Shiling County, it must have been Yang Minggui's command.

"That, I don't know. At the time, I was cooperating with General Yuan and didn't have a map, so I wasn't aware of the situation," Chen Mo maintained the stance that it wasn't something he should know, and even if he knew, he wouldn't say.

Lu Yougang drew a cross over the route, indicating that if they advanced along this path, they'd lose as many soldiers as they sent in.

He then stood by the map, discussing the Five Directions Army's advance route and regional defense setups.

Among them, Song Niu's army was placed in the vanguard position. The reason Chen Mo's army wasn't leading was not that the commanders favored his potential; after all, everyone valued their lives.

The main reason was Chen Mo's army was too small, totaling less than five thousand men, including three thousand prisoners—too many variables. Lu Yonggang wouldn't take such a risk.

He assigned Chen Mo's troops as auxiliary soldiers to assist in clearing the battlefield perimeter.

In other words, the odd jobs.

Tiring and thankless, with no credit to gain; once the city is broken, no resources would be divided among them. The only advantage was high safety without risking their lives.

The primary reason was mistrust; while I might not feud with you, I also won't use you.

Nonetheless, Chen Mo was quite satisfied.

Additionally, this time, it wasn't about cooperation; Chen Mo had to follow Lu Yonggang's orders completely, which he couldn't refuse.

Finally followed a detailed discussion on advancing tactics. Chen Mo listened quietly, without comment.

The meeting lasted nearly half an hour before concluding. Lu Yonggang stated sternly: "For this battle to be victorious, I hope everyone cooperates with me. Let me remind you, if the time comes, I won't show mercy."

He then shook the sword at his waist.

"Acknowledged."

The crowd shuddered, responded in unison, and then exited the tent.

Lu Yonggang left Chen Mo alone.

Chen Mo bowed to Lu Yonggang: "Does Marshal Lu have important orders for me?"

Lu Yonggang smiled and shook his head, saying: "Vice General Chen, Yang Minggui is already a thing of the past. His status in the Celestial Master's eyes has greatly diminished. Following him leads nowhere; how about joining my command? I can adopt you as my stepson. Anything Yang Minggui offers, I can too, and what he can't, I can give."

Adopting stepsons was common in the Celestial Master Army and throughout the Great Song Dynasty.

This wasn't considered insulting; rather, to the common folk, it was a mark of importance.

The implication being, in the future, you'd be treated like a son.

But Chen Mo clearly wasn't among the common folk.

Upon hearing this, Chen Mo merely felt a pang of reluctance, even whimsically recalling Lu Bu's words when recognizing Dong Zhuo as a foster father.

Of course, Chen Mo didn't outright refuse but feigned hesitation, then tactfully declined.

Lu Yonggang wasn't displeased, even claiming his offer stood; once Chen Mo made up his mind, he could seek him out.

"Thank you for your kindness, Marshal Lu." With that, Chen Mo also exited the tent.

...

On October 23rd, after two consecutive days of sunshine, seeing the mountain roads no longer muddy, the Five Directions Army began its advance toward the Yu State's heartland.

Outside the heartland, there were simply no Official Army defenses.

At the end of October, the Five Directions Army arrived at Celestial Water Town.

However, the next step was not the same as Yuan Youchun's route to Yangcheng, but rather bypassed the treacherous mountains to head to Zhuima City.

Heavy troops were stationed at Celestial Water Town to prevent the enemy from cutting off the retreat.

...

Scouts are equivalent to ancient reconnaissance soldiers, usually undertaken by agile warriors.

In the Yu State Army, those capable of serving as scouts are all Martial Artists.

With such a large-scale advance by the Five Directions Army, how could Liang Song not receive the news?

Even when Liang Song previously lured the enemy deep, he never abandoned Zhuima City but let Xu Jie be responsible for its defense.

Now, the Yu State Army has already eradicated several rebel forces in the hinterlands and captured and integrated more than twenty thousand rebels, greatly increasing troop strength, so Liang Song has even less reason to abandon Zhuima City.

He directly led the main forces to support Zhuima City.

Beating Celestial Master Army to the city by two days, and on the next day, large quantities of grain and supplies were transported from the rear, along with civilians coming and going, they were assisting laborers.

On the city wall, the Yu State Army routinely abides, with rolling logs, stones, fire oil, and gold ready, implying a decisive battle.

...

Time slowly passed, and the dazzling Golden Crow rose to the sky.

Several dozen miles outside Zhuima City, were countless Celestial Master Army marching towards the city, stretching for dozens of miles, the head out of sight, like a giant black dragon.

On the official road, the Celestial Master Army marched with high spirits and morale.

Before transferring from the Fengzhou main battlefield to Yu State, they had not faced defeat, so their minds were filled with excitement and anticipation to raid Zhuima City.

The scouts saw this scene early and quickly reported back.

Inside Zhuima City, the sprawling Yu State Army camps stretched for miles, the city walls temporarily reinforced and heightened, with squads of Yu State Army archers standing ready on the high walls.

In the city was a large cyan military tent, outside which Profound Leopard Cavalry Armor stood tall and alert, with the Great Song Army Flag erected at the front, here was Liang Song's command tent.

Liang Song stood at the table inside the command tent, looking at the map before him, strategizing troop deployment.

Stone Meng, Captain of the Personal Guard Battalion, and Grand General Qin Lang stood to his sides.

At that moment, the tent's flap was lifted, and a scout hurriedly came in, then kneeled on one knee, shouting loudly:

"Report, thirty miles away, a large number of Celestial Master Thieves are approaching Zhuima City."

Liang Song did not reply, Stone Meng said, "Investigate further."

A quarter of an hour later, another scout hurriedly came into the tent:

"Report, a large number of Celestial Master Thieves appeared twenty miles outside our city, estimated at about fifty thousand troops."

"Investigate further." Seeing Liang Song silent, Stone Meng continued.

This time, without a quarter of an hour passing, the previously sent scout ran in:

"Report, Celestial Master Thieves are less than ten miles from our army."

This time, Liang Song finally spoke, drawing the treasured sword from his waist, and said in a deep voice, "Though our army has suffered setbacks, we've achieved victory repeatedly, capturing tens of thousands of enemies, our morale is strong, and we have the support of tens of thousands of civilians, that's unity.

Zhuima City is surrounded by mountains on both sides, that's geographical advantage, and there's about a month left until winter, that's timing. With timing, geographical advantage, and unity, all favoring us, the enemy is fatigued from their distant journey, while we are spirited, victory is assured."

"Deploy troops!"

"Yes."

...

Liang Song did not defend the city but unexpectedly went directly out, causing a commotion in the Yu State Army camp, then opened the camp gates, placing the captured Celestial Master Army soldiers at the forefront, forcing them forward.

These captives, after being integrated by Liang Song, were not armored. This time out of the city, Liang Song only supplied them with weapons to kill, not even shields.

Behind every five rows of captives stood a row of excellently equipped Yu State Army, clad in iron armor, carrying round shields and Great Sabers.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

On the city wall, Liang Song personally struck the battle drum for them.

"Victory is ours!"

"Victory is ours!"

"Victory is ours!"

As the drumbeat sounded, countless Yu State soldiers beneath the city had already raised their long spears and Great Sabers high, responding fervently to Liang Song.

The crimes committed by Yuan Youchun and his army after entering Yu State caused widespread anger, they knew the consequences of defeat, they could only move forward.

"Charge!"

The first row was also Yu State soldiers, but arranged by Liang Song as suicidal warriors.

"Charge!"

"Rush!!!"

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