After some experimentation, Chen Mo discovered that within a hundred steps, the Cloud-Chasing Arrow he shot had locking and tracking effects, but beyond a hundred steps, it did not, and he could only aim manually.

Nevertheless, this was still quite delightful.

Back in the city, just as he entered the government office, Zhang River and Sun Meng came to find him.

Chen Mo had observed Sun Meng for over ten days and found that he was fairly obedient, so he loosened his restrictions somewhat, allowing him to oversee the government office, also to keep an eye on the Xia Sisters.

"What's happened?" Seeing the anxiety on Zhang River's face, Chen Mo took the initiative to ask him.

During this time, the three thousand Defense Army was also established. Chen Mo had Zhang River and Su Wen, Su Wu, and Su Qi come out and be responsible for training this group of Defense Army, with Zhang River leading the four.

According to Zhang River, the three thousand Defense Army were not all from the same place; there were all sorts of people, and among them were some who had defected from Yuan Yochun's Celestial Master Army.

This group of people had not been trained, just a bunch of ruffians, a group of ruffians who had engaged in robbery and looting, causing a poor atmosphere in the army, gradually affecting the originally honest soldiers, especially after they vividly described the "pleasurable events" of plundering, causing others to become a bit restless.

If it weren't for the fact that the current leaders and captains of the Defense Army were all old veterans of the Divine Brave Guard, Zhang River would be worried about losing control of this Defense Army.

Upon hearing this, Chen Mo understood.

In short, a reformation was necessary; he did not need unruly dangerous elements.

The reason these people defected to him was purely because the Celestial Master Army was currently inactive, and the "pleasurable events" of previous plundering couldn't be done, without these pleasurable events, the treatment in the Celestial Master Army was actually quite poor. So after hearing about the good treatment in Pingting County, they immediately "switched jobs."

"Find these unruly ones, and kill them all. To avoid causing a stir, I will have Han Wu deploy several squads of Divine Brave Guard to suppress them," Chen Mo appeared murderous.

Wild dogs that have eaten human flesh must be killed, otherwise they'll always crave human flesh, and these rotten apples must also be quickly cleared out, or they'll ruin a whole pot of porridge.

"Understood." Zhang River shuddered; twenty days of peace in the county town had made Zhang River temporarily forget Chen Mo's decisive ruthlessness, and now, hearing this, he realized that this young man hadn't changed at all.

Subsequently, Chen Mo sent for Han Wu to cooperate with Zhang River in carrying out the task.

After the two left, Sun Meng said, "County Magistrate, Liu Ze can get out of bed now; he has recovered well. Should we control him?"

Liu Ze, the Seventh-Grade Guard by the Xia Sisters' side, was injured by Chen Mo and had been bedridden, now almost fully recovered.

"No need, this person is the Xia Family's Household General, loyal to the Xia Family. As long as the Xia Sisters are in the government office, he won't act recklessly. Besides, the two ladies are already my women, and they can fully persuade him. First explain the reason to him, then take him to see the two young ladies," Chen Mo said.

Chen Mo had a series of plans waiting for Liu Ze, otherwise, he wouldn't have kept him until now.

Sun Meng nodded, then said, "County Magistrate, a letter has arrived for you from Xia Lin. I've placed it on your usual work desk."

Upon arriving at the main hall, Chen Mo read the letter, his brow furrowed.

The letter was written by Yang Minggui, stamped with his Great Seal. Although the letter was written in a subtle manner, it essentially conveyed one message: asking for money, as much as possible.

From the letter, it was clear that Yang Minggui was expanding the Xia Lin Government Office, utilizing a large amount of manpower and resources.

Chen Mo deduced that the letter was asking for money because it mentioned Yang Minggui wanting to build a palace and had specifically reserved him a room, but the construction required a substantial financial outlay, hence requesting Chen Mo to contribute some funds.

Though the amount wasn't specified, constructing a palace clearly demanded a significant sum.

Drawing from his limited historical experience, Chen Mo knew that most peasant uprisings failed largely due to a tendency to seek pleasure and become increasingly corrupt, subsequently alienating the masses during the latter stages.

It seemed the Celestial Master Army was also heading down this road.

Fingers tapping lightly on the desk, Chen Mo pondered whether to give the money or not, if so, how much?

Chen Mo found Zhao Daoxian, showed him the letter, and asked if he had any ideas.

Although Zhao Daoxian was a fallen scholar, he had lived for over half a lifetime, and understood some human relations and worldly affairs. He said:

"Since the County Magistrate needs the banner of the Celestial Master Army, this money should be given. If not, it might anger the other party, and possibly disrupt the current peace in the county town."

"Then, in Zhao Chief Clerk's opinion, how much should be given?" Chen Mo pondered while fiddling with the gavel on the table.

"Not too much, otherwise the other party will surely realize the wealth of our county, and later keep asking us for money every so often."

After assuming the role of Chief Clerk, Zhao Daoxian immediately delved into government affairs files previously handled by Chang Yuan, and over these days, he learned some governing skills.

He continued, "Does the County Magistrate have anything he needs their help with?"

"I need Xia Lin County's Red Copper," Chen Mo said.

"Then the County Magistrate can start by writing a letter feigning poverty, explaining the difficulties of our army, and hoping for his help. If he refuses, we propose purchasing a batch of Red Copper, whether he raises the price or not. He gets the money, we get the Red Copper, and we also resolve the issue of this letter."

After considering it, Zhao Daoxian said.

Chen Mo slapped the desk, praised, "This plan is excellent."

If Yang Minggui agreed to help them, all the better; he could obtain a batch of Red Copper for free, then send the money over as funds supporting Yang Minggui's palace construction, which could still resolve the issue.

"Then I'll trouble Zhao Chief Clerk to personally pen a letter for me." Chen Mo said.

"It's only right to serve the County Magistrate,"

Zhao Daoxian spoke without a hint of complaint.

When he was young, the reason he studied and wanted to pass the exams for fame was nothing less than to become an official, serve the country, and act for the people.

However, things didn't go as planned. After passing as a Scholar, he repeatedly failed the provincial exams. Later, as he grew older and lost hope, he gave up on this idea.

But now, Chen Mo gave him this opportunity.

He eagerly wanted to prove himself in the last moments of his life. So what if he was a Scholar? He might not be inferior to those classmates who passed.

When Zhao Daoxian was writing a letter, Chen Mo called Hu Qiang over. At this moment, Zhao Daoxian had just finished writing, and Chen Mo instructed Hu Qiang to pack up and immediately set off for Xia Lin.

...

Qingtian County.

The city gates were open, and a few skinny Celestial Master Army soldiers, carrying broken guns, slumped in the shade, dozing off.

Through their open collars, a few ribs could be clearly seen.

Hearing the sound of hoofbeats, the soldiers slightly opened their eyes. When they saw who it was, they drowsily stood up and said, "Commander He."

Just then, a woman's muffled cries came from a sack tied on the horse, causing the soldiers' expressions to turn peculiar.

He Jinwu, on horseback, didn't even glance their way and rode into the city.

When He Jinwu had gone far, the soldiers dared to whisper among themselves: "It must be another young lady abducted from outside."

"Tsk tsk, which one is it now?"

"It's already the seventh. The six young ladies previously abducted to his mansion were all reportedly brutally tortured to death."

"My cousin is a personal soldier beside Commander He. He told me that among those six young ladies, there was even a pregnant woman, and Commander He forced her husband to watch."

"..."

He Jinwu returned to the mansion, which was actually a noble clan's house looted after the Celestial Master Army occupied Qingtian County. After ordering his men to carry the sack inside, a soldier hurriedly approached, saying, "Commander He, the General wants to see you."

At this moment, in the backyard of the Qingtian County Government Office, Yuan Youchun was drinking and entertaining himself. A once-concubine of the Qingtian County Magistrate, a beautiful woman in a light chiffon dress, was dancing gracefully.

Another woman lay in Yuan Youchun's arms. She was the daughter of the concubine, nervously picking up a piece of candied fruit and feeding it to Yuan Youchun's mouth.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door; upon Yuan Youchun's response, a figure stepped inside.

"Godfather, did you call for me?" He Jinwu's gaze swept over the dancing woman, and a trace of heat involuntarily appeared in his eyes. Fearing Yuan Youchun would notice, he quickly lowered his head.

In the Celestial Master Army, it was common to take foster sons.

He Jinwu was the foster son of Yuan Youchun, and Yuan Youchun was the foster son of Yang Minggui. Among Yang Minggui's five grand generals, three were his foster sons.

Yuan Youchun's strength was the greatest of Yang Minggui's three foster sons; otherwise, Qingtian County, with its Salt Lake, wouldn't have been under Yuan Youchun's control.

"Jinwu, you're here."

Yuan Youchun waved his hand, and the two women immediately trotted out.

He Jinwu walked over and sat down nearby.

Yuan Youchun poured a cup of wine for He Jinwu, then took a small pouch from his bosom and tossed it to him.

"Godfather, what is this?"

"You'll know after you open it and taste a little."

He Jinwu opened the pouch and did as told, frowning immediately afterward: "Salt?"

"Yes, to be precise, fine salt, brought back by our spies from Quanyang County," replied Yuan Youchun.

Upon hearing this, He Jinwu was surprised: "Such fine salt exists, how much does it cost?"

Yuan Youchun extended two fingers: "One string and a half per jin."

"Hiss." He Jinwu drew in a breath of cold air. Currently, coarse salt on the market cost barely over one hundred cents per jin, never exceeding two hundred cents, yet fine salt was ten times pricier than coarse salt.

"The spy said this fine salt comes from Pingting County, and recently, Pingting County has purchased vast amounts of coarse salt from us. I suspect this fine salt is related to the coarse salt they bought from us," Yuan Youchun said.

Upon hearing this, He Jinwu was again shocked. If there truly was a connection, just how much profit was Pingting County making?

In fact, He Jinwu harbored a grudge against the current Pingting County Magistrate, Chen Mo.

If that brat hadn't suddenly sided with the Commander, Pingting County would've been his by now.

"Godfather, you asked for me because?"

"I want you to go to Pingting County to investigate whether this fine salt really originates there," Yuan Youchun said.

"Rest assured, Godfather, leave it to me."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.