The mountain nights in April are slightly cool, and Shiling Pass echoes with deafening shouts of killing.

The wind blows across the land, filling the air with a strong scent of blood.

Blood splatters everywhere, and under the glow of fire, the brown earth is dyed a deep red.

The Yu State Army brought by Qin Lang failed to form a complete formation from the start, and Chen Mo led the Personal Guard Team up to attack.

If Chen Mo's Divine Brave Guard is considered elite, then the Personal Guard Team is elite among elites, each clad in Bright Armor, armed with Long Spears, Horizontal Sabers, Round Shields, and crossbows at their waists.

A volley of crossbow arrows was followed by spears like a forest, directly disrupting the incomplete formation of the Yu State Army, forcing their soldiers to fight individually, often gathering dozens or hundreds together, protecting themselves like porcupines, as if in the storm, small trees ready to topple at any moment.

Just then, the cavalry of the Two Guards entered the pass, charging in to cut and kill, tearing the enemy apart one by one.

"You fiends, dare not act viciously!"

Qin Lang watched as Chen Mo slaughtered his Personal Soldiers madly. Due to the blood splattered all over the opponent's face, Qin Lang did not recognize him at first, but on a chaotic battlefield, everyone knows to slash the enemy commander first.

Qin Lang led his men to attack Chen Mo.

"Follow me to break the enemy!"

Chen Mo, holding a Tang Blade, shouted loudly.

"Break the enemy!"

"Break the enemy..."

Behind him, Sun Meng and Xia Zhining led the Personal Guard Team and slowly followed.

Qin Lang collided with Chen Mo, sweeping his horse spear at the opponent.

"Clang..."

As his horse spear swept out, before even touching the opponent's blade, it was cut into two by an invisible Sword Qi. He felt something, but as he released his Innate Spiritual Qi, his eyes widened as the Spiritual Qi around him was torn apart, his armor and himself split in two by the Sword Qi, his entrails scattered on the ground.

Such a gruesome scene shocked both the enemy and his own side.

"General."

The Personal Soldiers saw this scene, their eyes wide open, then charged at Chen Mo like mad dogs.

In the Song Army's system, there is a clear rule that if the commander is killed, the Personal Soldiers must follow suit and die.

Though during times of war, this has been relaxed, the consequences are still severe.

"Kill." Chen Mo swung his blade again, slaying over ten people. With his Innate Spiritual Qi flourishing, facing such "ants," he could withstand the consumption.

He then beheaded Qin Lang, raised his head high with his blade, and shouted loudly: "I am Chen Mo, a Court-appointed Fifth-Grade General of Xuanwei. Prefect of Yuzhou, Liang Song, deeply favored by the Emperor, enjoys imperial privileges yet does not think of serving the Court, colludes with Prince Huai, raises troops in rebellion. Now, by the decree of Your Majesty, we are commanded to quell Liang Song, and recover Yu State.

Now that his subordinate bandit general is executed, why don't you all surrender quickly!"

Chen Mo now stood on righteous grounds, first painting Liang Song in black before speaking.

"Bandit general is dead, those who surrender shall not be killed!" Sun Meng shouted after him.

"Bandit general is dead, those who surrender shall not be killed!"

The soldiers of the Two Guards, holding shimmering Horizontal Sabers, looked disdainfully at the trembling Yu State Army around them.

Unexpected, you've become rebels.

Identity reversed.

"Clang..."

"Clang..."

The sound of weapons dropping to the ground echoed, and inside the pass, except for Qin Lang's Personal Soldiers, the remaining troops of the Yu State Army were like defeated roosters, heads bowed, weapons discarded everywhere.

The Great Song Dynasty is still there, the Court is still there, so righteousness remains important.

Especially now that their leading General is slain, the morale is at its lowest.

"Quickly destroy the remaining enemies, clear the battlefield."

Seeing the situation settled, Chen Mo mounted his horse and headed towards Shiling County with the Personal Guard Team.

As for the remaining enemies he referred to, they were Qin Lang's Personal Soldiers.

With Qin Lang dead, the Yu State Army's soldiers either die or surrender, and Shiling County falls under Chen Mo's control.

Shiling County is different from Celestial Water Town and Quanyang County; it's not an empty city, but one with tens of thousands of civilians.

Boom boom boom!

Orderly footsteps under the night sky resonated.

The imposing Battle Armor emitted a chilling light as it gleamed in the firelight.

The rebels have entered the city.

This was the sentiment among the local civilians.

The commotion had woken the civilians of Shiling County long ago.

Liang Song still held significant prestige in Yu State.

So they did not recognize Chen Mo's troops as Official Army.

Riding on horseback, Chen Mo, with an austere expression, shouted: "Villagers, do not be afraid. I am Chen Mo, appointed General of Xuanwei by Your Majesty, here in Yu State to quell the bandit leader Liang Song, unrelated to you. Everyone, stay indoors and nothing will happen."

Then, Chen Mo issued orders to Sun Meng.

Sun Meng immediately led the Personal Soldiers and rode through the city streets, yelling while galloping: "General Xuanwei's order of reassurance, anyone caught killing or setting fires will die, anyone harming or plundering will face punishment... Villagers rest assured to live as usual."

Soon enough.

Chen Mo's reassurance order resonated throughout Shiling County.

And Chen Mo, led his troops to occupy the city's granary.

Shiling County has two granaries, storing a large amount of grain, military provisions for Liang Song's army, one granary fully stocked, the other largely depleted.

These provisions are marked, so without needing to count, Chen Mo knows one granary holds five hundred thousand dan.

These two granaries together hold at least seven hundred thousand dan.

Besides the granaries, Shiling County also has a weapons warehouse, filled with weapons.

What excited Chen Mo was that apart from weapons, there were over a thousand sets of iron armor.

This was far richer than Yang Minggui's storehouse.

Chen Mo ordered the soldiers wearing Bamboo Armor to quickly switch to iron armor.

Afterwards, Chen Mo led the army to the County Government Office, where accompanying clerks sorted and registered all documents and archives regarding Shiling County's household registry, geography, and literature in the Document Library.

"Zhi Ning, inventory all assets of the County Government Office's officials, seal all storehouses, and once the inventory is complete, distribute rewards," Chen Mo continued to instruct.

"Yes."

Xia Zhining withdrew.

"Sun Meng."

"I'm here."

"Find and bring forth any surviving leaders among the defectors for questioning."

"Understood."

Sun Meng acknowledged the order and turned to leave.

"Wait."

Chen Mo stopped him, instructing: "Also inform all civilians to gather at the front of the County Government Office at dawn, as our army will distribute money and grain; everyone will get a share."

"Yes."

Though Liang Song had significant prestige in Yu State, he remained a subordinate, still collecting taxes from the civilians of Yu State.

In these disaster-stricken years, amassing such a quantity of grain without imposing additional burdens on the civilians was something Chen Mo did not believe.

...

The battlefield outside the city was cleared. This time, over a thousand enemy soldiers were slain, seven hundred of our soldiers perished, and three thousand surrendered, with captured equipment all stored and counted.

Wen Heng knelt on the ground, dirt covering him, his battle robe torn and bloodstained. He was a surrendered leader brought by Sun Meng, a Captain, Eighth-Grade Martial Artist with some background; his ancestors were once Fourth-Grade Capital Officials but have now declined.

Through connections, he became a Captain in the Yu State Army, responsible for logistics.

Chen Mo could see this; the Yu State Army was an organized force, unlike the Celestial Master Army, where strength and position roughly matched.

Wen Heng was obviously someone who used backdoors, his strength not equal to his rank.

From him, Chen Mo learned what he wanted to know.

Liang Song's main forces are in Zhuima City, with three thousand troops stationed at Longmen County, which serves as Liang Song's rear stronghold.

Not only are Liang Song's family members in Longmen County, but nearly all the Yu State Army soldiers' families as well.

And within Longmen County, there is a major granary storing over one hundred fifty thousand dan of grain, created by the state for civil reserves and disaster relief.

Behind Longmen County, in Jiapin County, is the largest iron mine in Yu State.

Learning these facts, Chen Mo's eyes lit up.

ps: There's another chapter.

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