Chapter 91: Vanguard (Seeking First Subscription)

"Let's return to Xiaopao Town for a while; there is still a courtyard of ours there. You can make do living in it for a period."

Chen Mo urged the carriage forward and instructed Zhao Yu inside the cabin.

The courtyard in Xiaopao Town was a thatched cottage; in terms of environment, it was slightly worse than the bluestone courtyard in Zhu Niu Ji.

However, Zhao Yu was only staying there for a short time this time, at most a month or two, so there was no need to buy another courtyard.

Even if a new residence were bought, it would still require renovations and moving, which would be more troublesome.

It was better to just make do in the old residence for a while.

"Is something going to happen?" She poked her head out from the cabin, her tone slightly worried.

She could guess that since Chen Mo, as a Salt Transport Commissioner, was suddenly leaving his post to return to Xiaopao Town, it was highly likely that something major was about to occur.

"Nothing major, just wait safely at home for my return." Chen Mo smiled at her and pulled the reins to make the inferior horse pulling the carriage change direction.

As for the warhorse he was to ride, it was carrying some things this time, but it was only a set of heavy armor.

Chen Mo would likely not use this horse when suppressing bandits; at most, it would serve as transport to save energy. In real battle, it would not be of much use.

It was indeed a fine steed, but it was not enough to carry Chen Mo in full armor.

Even if it could carry the weight, it wouldn't be able to charge.

After traveling for several days, Chen Mo did not go to the military camp first, but instead sent Zhao Yu back to Xiaopao Town.

The thatched cottage had been unoccupied for several months, but since they had tightly closed the doors and windows before leaving that day, the interior only had some stale air and was overall still clean.

Chen Mo first moved the heavy items off the carriage one by one, then helped Zhao Yu fetch two vats of fresh water, and prepared to leave immediately.

"I won't help you tidy up the house; I must hurry to the military camp."

He said softly, and as he spoke, he had already boarded the carriage.

The war was now like an arrow on the string, and he didn't know when they would set out, so he had to rush back to the camp.

"You must be careful; I will wait for you to return at home." Zhao Yu was worried inside, not knowing what else to say, but still gave her usual instructions.

"Rest assured." Chen Mo gave her a reassuring smile and drove the carriage away in a hurry.

The military camp had already begun martial law. Chen Mo had once arranged the camp's defenses, and at a glance, he could see that the camp was vastly different from usual.

The Personal Soldiers responsible for guarding the camp gate, even though they recognized Chen Mo, did not dare to let him into the camp without authorization.

They hurried to report, and only after receiving orders did they open the gate to welcome Chen Mo inside.

The training of the many Personal Soldiers in the camp had already stopped, and all of them were preparing for battle.

Packing armor, organizing bows and arrows, and maintaining weapons—many of these tasks were usually done by Auxiliary Soldiers, but now they had to re-check everything themselves.

Only by taking things they had personally inspected onto the battlefield could they feel at ease.

Even if there was occasional training, it was only to ensure their bodies didn't become sluggish; they would absolutely not be exhausted.

After ordering someone to send his armor and weapons to his quarters and having the carriage and warhorse taken to the stable for care, Chen Mo headed straight for the study.

There was already someone in the study, none other than Xu Dabao, who revealed a simple and honest smile upon seeing Chen Mo arrive.

"Alright, you may go down first." Seeing Chen Mo walk into the study, Sun Shouren ordered Xu Dabao.

He understood in his heart that some things were not suitable to be entrusted to himself and had to be handed to Chen Mo to do.

Xu Dabao had no intention of prying further; he nodded lightly to Chen Mo and turned to leave.

In the military camp, one should just do their own job; prying into what others were doing was not a good habit.

"The main army will set out in three days for Yangyang Prefecture to suppress the Dutian Dao. Prepare yourself."

Following Xu Dabao's departure, Sun Shouren spoke slowly.

"Are the other Garrison Army units in our prefecture not coming along?" Chen Mo had actually already guessed the answer.

Since his foster father only let him return and did not let him take sole command of a Garrison Army unit, there was no doubt that this suppression campaign would likely not mobilize the prefecture's Garrison Army.

"Correct. This suppression will not use those Garrison Army units; it will only use the four hundred Personal Soldiers and eight hundred Battle Soldiers under my command."

Sun Shouren explained that so-called Battle Soldiers were those who had failed the selection for Personal Soldiers but still had some potential for cultivation.

In subsequent training, those with excellent results could be promoted into the Personal Soldier camp.

Those who were not excellent, after long-term training, were still soldiers with some combat capability; once on the battlefield, they could provide cover and support for his Personal Soldiers.

"It's fine not to mobilize the Garrison Army; it would actually be troublesome if we really had to use them."

Chen Mo made his judgment. He knew a lot about the Xingyuan Prefecture Garrison Army; they had basically no training, and they might not even be able to handle garrisoning their own posts, let alone going on an expedition.

If they were really taken to fight, just from the journey from Xingyuan Prefecture to Yangyang Prefecture, he didn't know how many would die or run away; they might even collapse before reaching the destination.

Furthermore, a significant portion of the Garrison Army actually only existed on the ledgers.

The Ministry of War took a cut of the empty rations, his foster father took a cut, and the Colonels under him took a cut.

High-ranking officials took a large share, and low-ranking officials took a small share.

Of the thirty-five thousand Garrison Soldiers registered, it would be considered good if twelve or thirteen thousand could actually be mustered, and even then, many would be old, weak, sick, or disabled.

Garrison Soldiers like these, who had never undergone training and were no different from ordinary farmers, let alone three thousand, even five thousand would not be a match for four hundred Personal Soldiers.

"Right, this actually saves some effort." Sun Shouren nodded in agreement.

The Garrison Army was a muddled account.

It wasn't just him taking empty rations; the previous garrison commander and the one before that also took them, and which of the Attendants or Ministers of War hadn't?

If they were really mobilized, it might be troublesome for everyone, so it was better not to move them.

"This time, besides us, the garrison commanders of Baoning and Leye Prefectures will also lead their Personal Soldiers to suppress the Dutian Dao."

"As for the local garrison commander of Yangyang Prefecture, he will also mobilize his Personal Soldiers and the prefecture's Garrison Army to assist, though whether he can be trusted is hard to say."

Sun Shouren lowered his voice as he said this; the Dutian Dao Sect had grown in Yangyang Prefecture, and most of its strength was also within Yangyang Prefecture.

The Yangyang Prefecture garrison commander, no matter what, could not escape the crime of negligence.

The Imperial Court even suspected whether he had dealings with the Dutian Dao Sect members, but they hadn't found evidence yet, so it was difficult to investigate and punish him directly.

Letting him participate in the suppression of the Dutian Dao this time was also a chance for him to make amends for his faults.

If this garrison commander were to show even a hint of hesitation during the encirclement, the powerful experts of the Patrol Heaven Guard would execute them on the spot.

"Given your strength, it is inconvenient for you to lead troops; how about you don heavy armor and serve as a vanguard to charge the formation?" Sun Shouren did not intend to let Chen Mo lead troops, because his strength was too great.

Letting him lead a squad of men to fight would not be a help to him, but rather a burden.

Unless the men under his command all possessed at least the strength of Mo Hu, no one would be able to keep up once he charged the formation.

"I will follow my foster father's arrangements entirely," Chen Mo said, cupping his hands in a salute.

Being a vanguard was certainly dangerous, but the rewards were also great; looking across the entire Personal Soldier camp, his own strength and status made him the most suitable for the role.

"However, when you charge, you must not lose your head. I am asking you to be a vanguard, not to go and throw your life away."

Sun Shouren's expression was very solemn; this sentence was not a piece of advice or a request, but a pure order.

"Understood," Chen Mo said with a serious expression.

With his strength, even as a vanguard, as long as he did not face that Dao Lord head-on, there would be no danger to his life.

Furthermore, being a vanguard did not mean charging in immediately; there would be two or three volleys of arrows to provide cover before the charge.

"Alright, you go down and prepare as well. Do not leave the military camp without authorization these next few days unless there is an important matter," Sun Shouren waved his hand.

Encirclement of the Dutian Dao was not a major war, but as the commander of an army, he still had too much to do before the fighting began.

Two days passed in a flash, and the main force officially set out, a mighty host of over a thousand men marching together toward Yangyang Prefecture.

One could tell the combat effectiveness of an army from the simplest act of marching.

Whether they could obey orders and prohibitions, and whether everyone kept up without falling behind.

Over a thousand men walked for more than ten days, crossing over seven hundred miles of land to reach Yangyang Prefecture; while there were those who suffered accidental injuries, not a single person fell behind, which was enough to show their elite nature.

"Everyone, rest in place. We will set up pots and cook in one hour."

Sun Shouren looked at the Soldiers who had been marching hard all the way, his expression quite satisfied.

There were some veteran soldiers in the camp, but most were new recruits who had only been receiving training for a year at most; to have such a performance could already be called quite good.

Once the upcoming battle was finished, those who were still alive would be considered veteran soldiers.

"Mo Hu, go and set up a perimeter and defenses to guard against enemy raids," Sun Shouren ordered Mo Hu, who was at his side.

The movement of a large army could not be hidden at all; the Dutian Dao Sect surely knew they were coming by now.

Now they had only two choices: launch a sneak attack while the army was exhausted, or hole up inside their Blessed Land to hold their ground.

Sending out scouts to maintain vigilance in advance was absolutely the right move.

"Come, these are the Talismans issued by the Heaven Supervision Bureau. Affix them to your weapons to break the evil arts of those Dutian Dao Sect members. Each of you take two."

Sun Shouren took out another hundred or so Talismans and distributed them to the Martial Artists in the camp who possessed a certain level of strength, including Chen Mo.

The Dutian Dao had Qi Refiners, and the Imperial Court naturally had them too, so they could naturally produce Talismans to counter evil arts, without needing Martial Artists like Chen Mo to use their Qi and Blood to break the sorcery.

Chen Mo received the Talismans and immediately attached them carefully to his weapon.

The group had rested for little more than an hour when a scout returned with a report.

A large group of rebel troops had appeared to the northwest, numbering at least three thousand.

In truth, the entire Yangyang Prefecture was already quite chaotic; the rebel troops of the Dutian Dao Sect were like a wildfire, burning everywhere.

Although the Imperial Court had made preparations in advance, they could only manage to keep most of the county seats from falling.

The remaining townships, wilderness, and two county seats were now filled with a large number of Dutian Dao rebel soldiers.

The numerous Soldiers in the camp quickly prepared; Chen Mo also donned his full heavy armor, took up his Bright Silver Long Spear, and stood at the front of the formation as the vanguard.

The rebel troops were now only a mile away from them.

The rebel troops were truly chaotic; most did not even have a proper weapon, and as for iron armor, that was even more impossible—they did not even have leather or cloth armor.

When advancing, there was no command structure whatsoever; they were completely just charging forward blindly.

Only the three or four hundred young, able-bodied men charging at the front could be considered to still have some fighting strength.

Chen Mo swept his gaze over them and discovered seventeen or eighteen Dutian Dao warriors; as for whether any Daoists were present, it was impossible to tell for the moment.

"Fire!" Sun Shouren ordered in a loud voice.

Over a thousand Soldiers nocked their bows and fired; a single volley cost over a hundred taels of silver.

The arrows fired could certainly be recovered in part, but they could only be used for indirect fire.

After three volleys of arrows, Chen Mo had not yet moved, but the rebel troops were already on the verge of collapse.

Only those warriors who were impervious to blades and spears dared to continue the charge.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The war drums sounded three times, signifying for the vanguard to charge the formation, with the rest to follow.

Chen Mo, wearing heavy armor, suddenly charged forward to kill; his target was very clear: those Dutian Dao warriors.

Seeing Chen Mo's speed, Sun Shouren could not help but be secretly surprised; with his discernment, he could naturally tell that Chen Mo's current strength was definitely more than the two thousand jin he had before.

Of course, he could not judge exactly how much it was; that could not be determined by sight alone.

It seemed that in this month or so of effort, his foster son had not been idle; his strength had actually improved again.

But this was normal; after all, he had obtained several bottles of medicinal pills last time, and he still had quite a bit of Mirage Spirit left in his hands.

It was normal for his strength to have increased after using all these things up.

As for the other Soldiers, whether they were familiar with Chen Mo or not, all wore expressions of astonishment.

Only Mo Hu's expression was indifferent and calm; he had known Chen Mo's true strength long before.

Watching his companions beside him, who were completely unaware and wore expressions of surprise, Mo Hu could not help but reveal a faint smile; it seemed that besides his foster father, only he knew Thirteen's true strength in advance.

Chen Mo's speed of slaughter was very fast; he stabbed two warriors to death with one thrust of his spear, then swept the spear in a follow-up motion, snapping several more rebel soldiers in half at the waist.

The able-bodied men who had been at the very front were now fleeing for their lives, yet they were still too slow compared to him.

Of the more than three thousand rebel troops, six hundred and seventy-two were eventually beheaded, and the rest surrendered.

Chen Mo alone had killed nearly a hundred people.

This was still with him holding back, and in a situation where most of the rebel army surrendered quite quickly; otherwise, the number of people he killed would only have been higher.

After cleaning up the battlefield and confiscating the rebel army's weapons, they were divided into small groups and handed over to the local garrison or the county government for temporary custody.

Killing those who have surrendered is inauspicious; these surrendered soldiers must be dealt with uniformly by the Imperial Court later.

After finishing this battle, the many soldiers rested briefly, collected the bodies of the few comrades who had unfortunately sacrificed their lives, and then rushed to the next battlefield.

Over the next ten or so days, there was a slaughter every one or two days.

Sun Shouren also led the army to recapture a city, and Chen Mo was the first to climb the city wall, earning the credit for the first to ascend.

Finally, the Imperial Court's grand army gathered before the Dongtian Fudi of the Dutian Dao Sect, intending to launch a total assault.

(End of this chapter)