The next day.

Pingting County Government Office.

Chang Yuan, dressed in casual clothing, sat upright on a huanghuali wooden chair, dealing with the recent pile of city affairs.

With the news of Impatiens' fall spreading in the county, many ruffians and scoundrels suddenly appeared in the city. The governmental officials were overwhelmed and couldn't suppress them. They had no choice but to deploy the Defense Army. However, the deployment of the army left the city residents in a state of panic.

The most critical issue was the emergence of numerous refugees outside the city, forcing Chang Yuan to order a complete lockdown of the city.

This lockdown made the population even more anxious, with no source of information, fearing that northern rebels would invade. They were all contemplating their options, considering whether to flee.

As the saying goes, "Avoid the city in small chaos, avoid the countryside in great chaos."

If the attack came, the city would definitely be less safe than the countryside. They heard about the northern rebels' actions, and after taking a city, they would pillage for at least five days.

Who wouldn't be afraid of that?

This fear led to troubles.

Chang Yuan lifted his tea cup, took a slight sip of the hot tea, and his tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed a bit.

Just as he was about to continue with his affairs, a figure slowly walked in, leaned close to his ear, and whispered.

"What?!"

Chang Yuan's expression changed drastically, and the document in his hand fell to the floor with a slap. He exclaimed in shock, "Celestial Master Traitor? Already attacking?"

The reporting person replied, "Lord Zhao said so. They have over a thousand people, and the 300-plus Defense Army guarding the Salt Warehouse were utterly defeated, with only a few dozen escaping back."

Continuing, the reporting person shared his assumption, "Sir, the head of those Celestial Master Traitors is dealing in private salt, now directly targeting the Salt Warehouse, which seems very much their style. Besides, outside Qingtian County, there's no bandit force of such scale."

Chang Yuan picked up the document, tapping his fingers gently on the table. Unbidden, thoughts of Chen Mo's rebels crossed his mind, but he quickly dismissed them; Chen Mo's group didn't have such numbers.

Regardless of who it was, this was not good news. He asked, "What's Zhao Er's take on this?"

"Reporting, Lord Zhao hopes for mutual assistance between the two counties. If anything happens, they may extend a helping hand to each other."

Chang Yuan nodded, "That is right. You may leave now and have General Sun come to see me."

"Yes, sir."

It wasn't long before the sound of clashing metals rang outside. The armored, sword-bearing Commander of the Garrison entered, stopping a few feet away from Chang Yuan, bowing with a fist in salute, "My lord."

"Please sit." Chang Yuan gestured towards the seat nearby.

Once General Sun sat down, Chang Yuan personally poured him a cup of tea and handed it over.

"Thank you, my lord," said General Sun.

"General Sun, how goes the business I entrusted to you?"

"Rest assured, sir, they have taken the money. It shouldn't be long before documents arrive," said General Sun.

Chang Yuan nodded. After Impatiens' fall, he sensed Qingzhou's downfall was only a matter of time. To ensure an early transfer, he had General Sun pull some strings, expending ten thousand coins, and finally, there was a development.

He slowly began, "When I assume my new post, I will need a few guards around me. General Sun, with your extraordinary martial prowess, would you be willing to humble yourself and serve as my guard?"

"A guard?"

General Sun's heart raced suddenly. Although this position couldn't compare to his current rank, it meant leaving here. Moreover, when Chang Yuan assumed a new position elsewhere, he certainly wouldn't treat him poorly.

General Sun quickly responded, "I am willing, sir, I am willing."

...

Fu Ze Village.

Noon.

After weighing throughout the night and morning, the acquired crude salt exceeded ten thousand catties.

Chen Mo immediately instructed the lime factory to quickly refine the crude salt.

Meanwhile, he realized the importance of strategy. After lunch, he began researching in his room.

His so-called research was frantically recalling everything he had seen and learned, along with what he had seen in some movies and TV shows.

Eventually, he really did think of a tactic.

That was the Three-Three System tactic, which originally came from the Anti-Japanese period, using a squad as the base unit, divided into three combat groups, each with three people for mutual support, generally arranged in three echelons.

A three-man combat group formed a triangular attack formation, with each soldier having a clear role: attack, cover, support. The squad leader, deputy squad leader, and group leader each led a combat group.

In attack, two soldiers were in front, with the group leader at the back, forming a triangular formation. Three combat groups made up a combat squad, and three combat squads composed a combat unit, unfolding as a "skirmish line" formation during attack.

Chen Mo adopted this strategy.

Of course, in the era of cold weapons, three-man groups were not feasible.

As it stands, the Divine Brave Guard's numbers were still limited.

He chose thirty people per group, three groups per team, and three teams per larger unit.

The titles were: head of the unit, team leader, and group leader.

As numbers increased, it could be scaled to 300 or even 3,000 per group.

In the afternoon, Chen Mo found Hu Qiang and Zhang River and began to implement the plan.

Since the mountain fort construction was nearing completion, Hu Qiang and nine other hunters also joined the Divine Brave Guard.

After implementing the Three-Three System tactic, Chen Mo called Hu Qiang and others to select fifty people from the more than a thousand-strong Divine Brave Guard to form an archer squad for archery training.

A week later, the Three-Three System tactic showed some effect.

For an experiment, Chen Mo raided the Salt Warehouse again.

This time, three Pottery Bombs led the way, and more than eight hundred of the Divine Brave Guard set up their positions. The Defense Army at the Salt Warehouse, without much of a fight, was scared away.

Once again, they obtained over ten thousand catties of crude salt.

Meanwhile, the previously seized crude salt was all refined.

Several lime factories worked nonstop around the clock. When manpower was insufficient, village women with nothing else to do were put to work.

It wasn't hard labor, so women could manage it too.

Chen Mo didn't send the over ten thousand catties of refined salt all at once to Quanyang County.

Firstly, with such a large amount, Zhu Yongzhi couldn't distribute it immediately.

Secondly, Chen Mo feared it might be seized by the other party.

Therefore, Chen Mo planned to release it in batches, selling two thousand catties at a time.

The money earned would be used to buy grain, mules, cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens, and other livestock.

By the end of April.

The purchased grain had already filled up the storage room.

With money, Chen Mo planned to establish a village school, teaching children during the day and adults at night, without charging tuition fees.

This village was Chen Mo's foundation, and naturally, this foundation needed to be laid well. Literate people could read and understand commands, then quickly expand as grassroots cadres.

Moreover, it could foster a stronger sense of belonging in the Divine Brave Guard to the village, and children served as new blood for the Guard.

Besides, setting up a village school was an easy matter, costing very little money.

Just when the village was developing increasingly well, a piece of bad news spread throughout the county.

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