Just as Chen Mo was contemplating how to handle the affairs in Fengzhou, something happened again in Longyou.

In mid-June, one of the Seven Western Rong Countries, the Bolu Kingdom, launched an eastern invasion on Longyou. This invasion was not a minor skirmish like before but a full-scale plunder.

The Bolu Kingdom's Grand General Nuoduoer personally led an army of twenty thousand, dividing his forces into two.

Previously, Nuoduoer had ordered a large number of his subordinates to disguise as merchants and enter the border city of Longyou to facilitate coordination from within. After surrounding the border city of Longyou, they attacked the city while trying to persuade its surrender.

The city fell, and the defending commander Yue Yong led a thousand defenders to surrender. Nuoduoer returned triumphantly.

On the return journey, Nuoduoer's army clashed with the Yuezhi Clan's reinforcements outside the border city of Longyou. The Yuezhi reinforcements were ambushed, and two of their generals died in succession, leading to the collapse of the reinforcements.

After his victorious battle, Nuoduoer's confidence soared. He did not return to Bolu but continued to capture five more cities in Longyou, capturing over three hundred thousand people and livestock.

The Yuezhi Clan was greatly alarmed and hastily gathered forces from seven surrounding counties, totaling thirty thousand, to assist. Meanwhile, the other six Western Rong Countries, having learned of Bolu Kingdom's significant gains in Longyou, successively invaded Longyou.

The Yuezhi Clan was overwhelmed and again turned to King Chong for assistance.

...

By the time Chen Mo received the news from Longyou, it was already July 12th.

Chen Mo furrowed his brow; truly, it had been a season of tumult. Qingzhou and Longyou were close by. Now that such events were unfolding in Longyou, with the Seven Western Rong Countries advancing into Longyou, the forces were likely to surpass one hundred thousand. If the Yuezhi Clan could not hold them back, they might invade Yu State. Chen Mo had no choice but to prepare defensively.

He immediately ordered Cui Shuang to be recalled from Linzhou, appointing Cui Shuang as General and Shao Jinneng as Deputy General. They were to lead a force of five thousand new recruits from the Xianzhen Guard, two thousand from the Divine Courage Guard, one thousand from the Divine Martial Guard, and the entire Brave Cavalry Guard, totaling ten thousand troops, to defend Shuofei County.

Having encountered such an event, even if Chen Mo wished to aid the Celestial Master Army, it would likely be beyond reach.

Because aiding the Celestial Master Army would mean offending Prince Huai and breaking the non-aggression pact they had previously signed, which would be unjustifiable.

Once involved, there might emerge three battlefronts.

The battlefield between Linzhou and Prince Huai.

The war between Qingzhou and the Huai King's Navy.

Yu State and the Seven Western Rong Countries...

This would be unbearable for Chen Mo, who lacked much foundation.

...

Pingting County.

At this moment, Geng Songfu was in a horse ranch on the outskirts of Qingtian County.

This horse ranch was located by Dadong Lake, originally a wetland with rich vegetation, which Geng Songfu transformed into a horse ranch.

At the end of the ranch, a stable was built, occupying a considerable area, capable of housing nearly a thousand horses.

As dusk fell, all the horses that were grazing in the pasture were driven back to the stable, looked after by dedicated personnel.

All these horses were originally brought back from Gaozhou Wutai County—Gao Pu Wild Horses and Wutai Horses.

When the Wutai Horses were brought back, they were still foals, only about two years old. Now nearly two years have passed, and under meticulous care by dedicated people, they have all grown into large horses with short necks, round rumps, wide chests, and broad backs.

Because they were raised to be military horses, the Wutai Horses received better food than even humans, all of which were premium feeds like soybeans, eggs, grains, and forage.

Geng Songfu walked with his hands behind his back, inspecting each horse.

He received news that lately, someone at the horse ranch had secretly switched the military horses' feed with the cheapest forage, taking the soybeans and eggs home, which led to dozens of Wutai Horses losing weight.

Su Wen and Lu Yuan followed behind Geng Songfu, making their reports.

"Sir, three hundred Wutai Horses and two hundred well-trained Gao Pu Wild Horses are ready for release. Over at Xia Lin County, one hundred sets of horse armor have been manufactured and are being shipped to Qingtian County; they will arrive soon," Su Wen reported.

Geng Songfu nodded, "Once the horse armors arrive, personally send them with the horses to Yu State. The Marquis has established the Brave Cavalry Guard and is in dire need of warhorses."

"Yes, sir."

As soon as Su Wen finished, Lu Yuan promptly added, "Sir, it's all been investigated. It was the stable's head Jia Gui who colluded with the ranch's logistics procurements officer Han Tie, along with stable hands Wang Mingliang and Liu Min, embezzling five hundred pounds of soybeans and seven hundred eggs meant for the military horses... Han Tie, the procurement officer, is from the same village as the Marquis's sister-in-law and has some kinship. Their ancestors were brothers."

At these words, Su Wen raised an eyebrow.

Geng Songfu, who was stroking a horse's belly, paused momentarily but soon resumed normalcy. Taking a brush from a nearby stable hand, he began grooming a military horse, then stated:

"These horses haven't yet been handed over to the military, and Han Tie is not someone from the army, so military law doesn't apply to him. But since the ranch is owned by the Government Office, and he is an official of the Government Office, handle it according to the law."

"What about the Marquis, though?" Lu Yuan inquired in a low voice.

"I know the Marquis. If he knew, he would do the same," said Geng Songfu as he turned his head, glancing at Lu Yuan, Su Wen, and others, and continued, "A thousand-mile dyke can be destroyed by an ant hole; the Marquis cannot tolerate sand in his eyes, and neither can I, as Shui is a lesson from the past."

Geng Songfu initially intended to mention Captain Zhang.

But now Zhang River is no longer a Captain.

Su Wen and Lu Yuan shuddered; the reason why Zhang River returned to Pingting was not a secret to them.

After inspecting the stables, Geng Songfu went to the back of the ranch to look at the newly born foals and breeding horses.

At that moment, Han Wu hurried over and said, "Sir, a letter from the Marquis."

Geng Songfu took the letter from Han Wu, while Su Wen, Lu Yuan, and Han Wu, perceptively retreated.

The letter contained updates from Chen Mo about the current situation, then inquired how to handle the correspondence from Prince Huai and the Celestial Master Army.

What happened in Fengzhou, Geng Songfu was aware of, and to prevent the Huai Army Navy from landing in Qingzhou, he sent two thousand troops to guard the Qingzhou riverbank.

Geng Songfu did have some understanding of Chen Mo.

He knew Chen Mo was a wise and decisive person, and the wording between the lines of the letter already revealed that the other party had a plan in mind about this matter.

The reason he still sought his opinion was merely to gain his support and to assess the feasibility of the plan.

Upon returning to the Government Office, without washing up, he asked the servant to prepare the ink, and then he started writing back to Chen Mo.

He advised Chen Mo to abandon support for the Celestial Master Army and explained the reasons.

First, the Celestial Master Army had already lost public support, as it is said that those who are virtuous are supported by many, while those who are not virtuous have little support.

If the Celestial Master Army had been progressing smoothly, it would have been fine.

But now they are trapped in Fengzhou, severely damaged, with diminished forces, and without public support, their forces cannot be replenished, leaving them little chance of resurgence.

Although it is possible to forcibly replenish the forces, soldiers recruited under such dire circumstances will only become a sharp blade against themselves.

Therefore, supporting an army destined to perish, which might even pose a threat to oneself, is unnecessary.

However, it doesn't mean completely abandoning the Celestial Master Army either.

But rather, after the Celestial Master Army is completely defeated and their leaders and commanders are eliminated, then extend a helping hand to them.

At that time, not only will it not pose a threat, but it will also increase Qingzhou's population, allowing for the selection of suitable young and strong individuals to be incorporated into one's own army.

Moreover, extending a helping hand here means opening Qingzhou's ports, accepting defeated soldiers from Fengzhou, and not engaging in battle with the Huai Army.

Meanwhile, before the complete defeat of the Celestial Master Army, reply to Prince Huai, expressing no support for the Celestial Master Army, and use this to first demand some benefits from Prince Huai.

...

River Sea, Nangong Family.

What happened in Fengzhou naturally reached Nangong Jin's ears as well.

Although Nangong Jin had long realized the Celestial Master Army was already a withered flower of yesterday, he still harbored some hope, so he continued to leave the family's main navy in the Celestial Master Army.

The main reason was that the Nangong family's investment in the Celestial Master Army was too significant, and the Celestial Master Army had collapsed before any returns were seen, making Nangong Jin unwilling to accept this outcome.

It's like someone spending a fortune to buy a stock, initially thinking it would rise, but not long after purchase, it kept declining and declining.

Since the entire family fortune is tied to this stock, even as it declines, they are unwilling to sell it.

Yet the unexpected happened, and the stock was about to hit the lower limit.

If not sold, there would be nothing left.

Nangong Jin found himself in such a predicament.

Madam Zhang was anxiously at his side.

Her younger brother was still in the Celestial Master Army, now besieged in Fengzhou, what can be done?

"Master, you must save Brother Feng, I only have this one brother, and the Zhang family needs him to take charge." Madam Zhang tearfully pleaded.

Nangong Jin found himself in a real bind.

He wanted to rescue Zhang Feng, after all, Zhang Feng still led nearly five thousand troops of the Nangong family's navy, and if such a navy were abandoned, the foundation of the Nangong family would be severely affected, and maritime trade would lose its protection.

This was not a mere loss of a limb but practically half the life of the Nangong family.

"Write to Zhang Feng immediately, see if the letter can reach him, and I will send a letter to Chen Mo too. Zhang Feng will lead the navy to break away from the Celestial Master Army and have Chen Mo's troops in Qingzhou provide support." This was Nangong Jin's plan.

Madam Zhang quickly took action.

...

Longmen County.

In the study room.

Chen Mo glanced at the map, feeling an inexplicable urgency.

Beside the Qing, Yu, and Lin Three States, warfare was ongoing, and it seemed that at any moment, the flames of war could spread to him.

With only sixty thousand troops at hand, Chen Mo was somewhat uneasy, considering whether to recruit four more thousand soldiers to meet the declared one hundred thousand troops.

But he worried about the fiscal sustainability of the Three States.

Such worries.

Amid his anxiety, Sun Meng reported that Ning Wan had arrived.

"Let her in," Chen Mo said.

Soon, a graceful figure entered the study, and Sun Meng exited.

Ning Wan, clad in a light purple gown adorned with bird and animal patterns, her lush hair styled into a dignified and elegant cloud bun, her face rich and smooth without the torment of time, her refined nose slightly raised, with cherry lips brushed with rouge, resembled the lush petals of a rose, dewy and about to drip.

A mature, graceful aura silently exuded from her every move.

Ning Wan carried a porcelain bowl in her hand, "Marquis, this is sour plum soup just made by Qing Dance, I brought a bowl for you."

Saying this, she placed the sour plum soup on the desk in front of Chen Mo.

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.