September 13th, Jiapin County.

Inside the horse armor production workshop.

When Chen Mo left Pingting County, he instructed Geng Songfu to build a weapon workshop in Xia Lin for horse armor and horse spears, but it was initially designed for a scale of five hundred people.

But now the Brave Cavalry Guard has reached nearly two thousand, and the capacity of Xia Lin's weapon workshop is somewhat unable to meet the demand, so Chen Mo had to build another workshop for making horse armor.

Yesterday, Zhang River reported that the sample of horse armor had already been made and asked Chen Mo to come for inspection.

Chen Mo set out early in the morning, riding to the site.

Horse armor was initially used to protect the draft horses, mainly made of leather. Later, with the needs of war, especially heavy cavalry, it gradually transformed into iron armor. The entire set of horse armor is divided into parts that protect the horse's head and torso.

The artisan led Chen Mo to a table.

On the table was a complete set of horse armor.

Crafting horse armor is more complex and time-consuming than making Bright Armor.

It consists of six parts: the "face curtain" for the head, the "chicken neck" for the neck, the "in the chest" for the chest, "horse armor" for the torso, the "back cover" for the rump, and the "parasite" mounted on the tail.

This allows the warhorse to be protected by armor all over its body except for its ears, eyes, mouth, nose, limbs, and tail.

Chen Mo had Zhang River bring his Snow Dragon Steed and, in the process, asked the artisan, "How heavy is this set of horse armor?"

The artisan replied, "About fifty kilograms."

Horse armor weighs fifty kilograms, and with the weight of the cavalryman, plus his own armor and various equipment, each heavy cavalry warhorse must carry over two hundred kilograms.

While this weight seems excessive, it is necessary to reach this weight to form heavy cavalry.

After equipping the Snow Dragon Steed with the horse armor, Chen Mo led it to an open field and started galloping. Due to the heavy load, its speed slowed down quickly, and after running for a quarter of an hour, it was utterly exhausted and unable to continue.

Chen Mo tried other warhorses, but the results were similar, as they also didn't last long.

However, Chen Mo understood that heavy cavalry was not intended for long-distance travel.

The purpose of heavy cavalry is their impact, which is capable of dispersing enemy formations on the battlefield, striking enemy morale, and enduring direct combat.

They also create opportunities for breakthroughs, acting decisively at critical moments, functioning as the decisive force in battle.

If Chen Mo made an error by focusing on endurance, it would be purely a mistake.

Furthermore, before a charge, warhorses are not armored. Their armor is carried by pack animals until needed.

Of course, as the first horse armor produced by Jiapin County, Chen Mo certainly wouldn't find fault with every single aspect.

When asking for a drawing, the client might ask the artist to draft it ten times over.

Chen Mo immediately put forward demands.

Firstly, to appropriately reduce some weight while ensuring safety.

Secondly, the initial version of the horse armor can chafe the warhorses, with some parts being too sharp, and the comfort is lacking.

...

After inspecting the horse armor, Chen Mo went to the Divine Arm Crossbow weapons workshop.

The Divine Arm Crossbow has its own manufacturing blueprint, so making it is not difficult, and once the workshop is set up, production can start.

Chen Mo's main considerations were manufacturing costs and time.

The cost of making one Divine Arm Crossbow is two strings of coins and three hundred cents.

Seven people working for eight days could only produce five crossbows.

If one were to craft ten thousand crossbows, including labor, loss, and costs for corresponding arrows, the financial requirement would rise to fifty thousand coins.

Though Chen Mo recently made a fortune, making fifty thousand coins seem insignificant; many expenses are necessary.

A substantial amount was spent on rewards and pensions.

For appeasing the people's hearts and disaster relief, another expenditure was required.

Crafting armor and weapons requires money, doesn't it?

Feeding and supplying warhorses and soldiers also demand funds, right?

With all these expenses here and there, fifty thousand coins become quite considerable.

After returning from Jiapin County, Chen Mo immediately dispatched Hu Qiang back to Ping Court.

The fine salt accumulated in the warehouse could be sold; the population of the Three States is nearly two million, and if sold at a reduced price, it could be marketed internally.

While it may not yield much profit, it's at least some income rather than continuous expenditure...

Besides this, Chen Mo plans to bring Han Anniang and others to Yu State.

He has already parted ways with the Celestial Master Army; the number of people left at Pingting County is few. If the Celestial Master Army suddenly decides to target him, crossing the river leads directly to Qingzhou.

Being in Yu State, Chen Mo would be somewhat caught off guard.

Shortly after Hu Qiang left, Huang Xiu entered, bringing a draft of the Recruitment Order for Chen Mo to review.

"In times past, I, Marquis Chen, built and cultivated virtue and martial skills between Ping Court and Qing Court, secured Qingzhou's populace, using the river as a boundary to head west to attack the rebel forces of Liang Song in Yu State, reclaiming a thousand miles of land for the Court. The Emperor bestowed marquisate, and the nation celebrated, establishing our foundation.

August of the Eighth Year of Xuanhe, pacified Yu State, advanced south to Linzhou, reclaiming former territories... In just two years, my lord has crossed three states: Qing, Yu, and Lin, with great ambition to support the Great Song and suppress the rebels.

If guests and ministers can propose extraordinary plans to strengthen the army, I shall commend them, sharing gold and land."

After reading, Chen Mo praised Huang Xiu briefly and gave his suggestion: "Modify the part about sharing gold and land since it's aimed at the entire nation; sharing land is too ostentatious and draws too much attention."

Huang Xiu nodded, took note of Chen Mo's suggestion, and withdrew.

Back when Chen Mo was in Pingting County, he attracted Geng Songfu to join him.

Now, Chen Mo controls the Three States and has a certain amount of influence. If he doesn't seize this opportunity to recruit and employ talent, even the heavens would scold him.

The banner is hoisted, and the Recruitment Order is issued; Chen Mo refuses to believe that he can't find talents to help manage the counties and states.

Besides recruiting talents, Chen Mo has been continuously conscripting and expanding the Rebel Army, although the populace of Yu State still lacks complete trust in Chen Mo, resulting in fewer enlistees.

Chen Mo plans to open a recruitment point in Linzhou as well.

In the era of cold weapons, besides weaponry and equipment, the number of soldiers and horses is also extremely important.

…

On the other side, Linzhou.

With Chen Mo's support, Zuo Lianglun aggressively carried out purges in Linzhou. Those who previously opposed him or were superficially compliant were all eliminated by Zuo Lianglun, including local noble clans and wealthy merchants, none were spared.

He knew where his power came from, so he didn't insert his own people; he reported everything to Chen Mo for arrangement.

Zuo Lianglun understood that raising an army cost money, so after clearing these obstacles, he confiscated the homes of the families behind them.

The confiscated properties, besides distributing land deeds to the people and burning all promissory notes in front of them, were all sealed and transported to Longmen County.

Linzhou can be considered large or small.

Through such ruthless actions by Zuo Lianglun, many counties that hadn't yet been affected turned towards him.

Zuo Lianglun only targeted noble clans and wealthy elites, and did not act against the common people.

Hence, to the common people, Zuo Lianglun appeared as a good person.

Linzhou's situation stabilized.

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