In addition to the establishment of the Brave Cavalry Guard, according to Chen Mo's request, the former Yu State Army defectors, after undergoing comprehensive training, the qualified ones were all incorporated into the Divine Brave Guard, and the unqualified ones into the Divine Martial Guard.

Hmm, after all, they are veterans; even if they are unqualified, they cannot be compared with the Xianzhen Guard soldiers.

Currently, the number of troops in the Divine Brave Guard has reached nine thousand, with four thousand five hundred in the Divine Martial Guard and thirteen thousand in the Xianzhen Guard.

With control over the territories of Qing and Yu States, Chen Mo's standards for his army have become more rigorous.

For instance, Chen Mo initially expected the Divine Brave Guard to reach the level of regular troops.

But now, regular troops no longer satisfy him; instead, they must surpass regular troops and reach the level of elite Qingzhou Army.

For the Divine Martial Guard, the requirement is slightly lower; they only need to reach the standard of ordinary Qingzhou Army soldiers.

For the Xianzhen Guard, the requirement is at the level of regular troops.

As for the Brave Cavalry Guard, it is modeled after the Profound Leopard Cavalry, even hoping to surpass them.

Thus, Chen Mo's forces have undergone a dramatic transformation compared to when they were initially established, with combat effectiveness increasing day by day.

...

In Jiapin County, the Divine Arm Crossbow workshop personally handled by Chen Mo, along with several weapon workshops, were recently completed, with craftsmen already hired and operations starting immediately.

Chen Mo also established a mining site around the iron mine in Jiapin County, recruiting local workers with wages above the market rate.

Where there are people, there are conflicts; with the establishment of multiple workshops in Jiapin County, the population of the county town increased significantly, and a commercial street began to take shape around the factory outskirts.

Longmen County, aside from Sanyuan, has the highest stationed troops among Yu State cities; its security and orderfar exceed other cities, attracting large households from surrounding cities, all moving to Longmen County, resulting in a prosperous and lively county town.

The whole Yu State is gradually developing.

...

Time has entered August.

Zhang River led five hundred Divine Brave Guards, along with newly recruited soldiers (currently under the Xianzhen Guard organization), to Shuofei County.

Moreover, according to Chen Mo's request, they made a significant commotion by building a camp outside the city, cutting down a large swath of forest.

When cooking, the aroma of the food wafted into the city.

As the nearest county to Longyou within Yu State, the city not only contained Yu State people but also those from Longyou, making Shuofei County's situation quite complicated.

The County Magistrate of Shuofei County remained the same as initially, unchanged.

Previously, upon following Geng Songfu's advice during county investigations throughout Yu State, Chen Mo discovered that the County Magistrate and County Minister of Shuofei County had a similar reputation locally, albeit not having committed any misdeeds. Plus, the County Magistrate of Shuofei County had a background in the local Noble Clan, so to maintain stability, Chen Mo continued letting them govern Shuofei County.

Yet, Chen Mo was unaware that the small Shuofei County Government Office was teeming with spies from various factions.

Fortunately, Chen Mo prefers to go all out in his performances.

Zhang River arrived at the County Government Office and met the County Magistrate of Shuofei County separately, saying, "The Marquis will soon advance into Longyou and orders me to station troops here for training. I hope Lord He cooperates fully; here is the Marquis's document."

County Magistrate He, although mightier than Zhang River, had to bow and scrape before him, saying, "Understood. I will cooperate fully with General Zhang and congratulate the Marquis in advance on his first victory."

As he spoke, County Magistrate He had a broad smile, saying meaningfully, "General Zhang, I've prepared a banquet at Spring Breeze Building tonight. I hope General He graces us with his presence."

Zhang River, understandingly, smiled and replied, "Since Lord He has invited me warmly, how could I refuse? However, I have a quirk; when drinking, I only enjoy when beauties pour the wine. When others pour, I find the drink tasteless."

Seeing Zhang River being like-minded, even referring to himself as 'I', County Magistrate He's smile grew wider, laughing, "Rest assured, General Zhang, you'll be satisfied tonight."

As Zhang River attended the banquet that evening, the news about Chen Mo planning to send troops to Longyou reached Longyou a few days later.

Longyou is not a single state but refers to the area west of Long Mountain and east of the Huai River, encompassing multiple counties.

South of Longyou are the Seven Western Rong Countries, complicating the power dynamics in the region.

The most significant force here is not any County Magistrate or Prefect but the Yuezhi Clan.

The Yuezhi Clan is led by a woman, unique in the Great Song Dynasty.

Originally, south of Longyou were eight Western Rong countries; when the Great Song Dynasty was founded, one of the eight, the Nanyue Kingdom, surrendered to the Great Song. Then, the territory of Nanyue Kingdom was incorporated into the Great Song, and the royal family of Nanyue Kingdom became the Yuezhi Clan today.

Half of the Longyou region was originally part of the Nanyue Kingdom.

Although this does not mean that the Yuezhi Clan is very powerful, compared to the Seven Western Rong Countries, they are rather weak.

The main reason for Nanyue Kingdom's surrender to the Great Song was frequent bullying by other Western Rong countries, so they sought shelter with a larger power. At that time, the Nanyue Kingdom's queen personally went to the Great Song's capital Luonan and offered herself to the Grand Ancestor Emperor, bearing him a princess.

Now that the Great Song is frail, with internal wounds evident, the Seven Western Rong Countries have become restless, often attacking Longyou, making the Yuezhi Clan very uncomfortable.

At this moment, Yu State is being attacked by rebels.

Indeed, the Yuezhi Clan likewise does not recognize the court's pardon of the Celestial Master Army and the legitimization of it; hence, in the Yuezhi Clan's eyes, Chen Mo is seen as a rebel.

Under these circumstances, upon hearing that the Yu State rebels were advancing towards Longyou, the Yuezhi Clan became somewhat panicked.

If it weren't for the Seven Western Rong Countries' invasions, the Yuezhi Clan felt confident they wouldn't fear Yu State's rebel. But facing the direct attack by the Seven Countries, there aren't enough troops left to resist the rebels.

The Yuezhi Clan was forced to hastily recruit soldiers, intending to fight desperately.

On the other side, in Linzhou.

Unlike Qingzhou and Yu State.

The Prefect of Linzhou does not command troops; local troops in Linzhou are under the jurisdiction of counties and generally led by County Ministers, assisting the Prefect and County Magistrates in governance, maintaining local security in peacetime, and obeying court orders during war.

Mobilizing local troops requires the Emperor's Tiger Talisman as proof.

Because Linzhou is situated in the heartland of the Song Dynasty, not bordering the frontiers, the local troops in multiple counties add up to less than twenty thousand.

During peace times, maintaining order is sufficient, with many checks and balances, eliminating concerns of Linzhou officials harboring rebellious intentions.

But during war times, lacking the Emperor's Tiger Talisman can be very troublesome.

Thus, upon learning that Yu State was occupied by Chen Mo, the Prefect of Linzhou became very anxious, as without the Emperor's Tiger Talisman, he could only mobilize three thousand troops.

If Chen Mo sends troops over, the Prefect of Linzhou won't be able to resist.

Fortunately, at this time, news came from the front that Chen Mo was preparing to send troops to Longyou.

This relieved the Prefect of Linzhou; now Linzhou wouldn't be attacked.

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