Chapter 598: Chapter 595-596: Chen Mo’s Fury, Dispatching Troops to Support the King

Duke An’s Mansion, study room.

Chen Mo sat behind the desk, his fingers lightly tapping on the table.

Yue Ruyan, Xia Zhining, Sun Meng, Shao Jinneng, Wei Qing, Zuo Lianglun, Geng Songfu, Chen Ming, and other military leaders and officials gathered, discussing and analyzing the war in the South. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Upon learning the alarming news from Huai State, Chen Mo immediately instructed Sun Meng to call them to the study room for a meeting.

After discussing for a moment, Zuo Lianglun said in a deep voice:

"The fact that King Chong and Lu Sheng’s troops could silently reach He County without a hint beforehand indicates that King Anping assisted from behind the scenes. This suggests that Lu Sheng, King Chong, King Anping, and probably even Prince Huai, have formed an alliance.

This attack on He County is blatantly aggressive. Elder Xiao cannot hold on for long; we should immediately deploy troops to aid them."

"But our main forces are still stationed at the border pass. Linzhou’s troops, along with the Brave Cavalry Guard, amount to only seven thousand people, and the newly recruited soldiers are untrained and unfit for the battlefield," Shao Jinneng explained based on Linzhou’s current military situation.

Before recruiting new soldiers, Chen Mo’s actual troops were less than one hundred thousand.

Thirty thousand of these troops were stationed in Huai State, with ten thousand of them being the Fish Scale Guard, sent to garrison Jiangnan.

Another thirty thousand were stationed in Yu State to guard against Longyou.

When Jin Xia moved south, Chen Mo dispatched forty thousand troops and ten thousand Jiangdong soldiers northward. After driving out the Jin Xia barbarian race, most of the troops remained in Youzhou, with Chen Mo only bringing back the Personal Guard Battalion and the Brave Cavalry Guard.

Upon returning from the North, Chen Mo issued orders to recruit new soldiers. As of today, nearly sixty thousand new recruits have been gathered from the Four States.

However, these sixty thousand new recruits are untrained, and Chen Mo lacks the armor to equip them. Obviously, they’re not yet ready for the battlefield, and forcing them forward would merely be sending them to die in vain.

Therefore, Linzhou can spare fewer than five thousand troops to aid the others.

Linzhou itself also requires troops for defense.

"Excluding new recruits, how many troops are currently stationed in Huai State?" Yue Ruyan glanced at Chen Mo, inquiring.

"About thirty thousand," Chen Mo replied.

Upon hearing this, Xia Zhining was stunned: "Huai State initially had thirty thousand troops stationed, then ten thousand were deployed to Jiangnan. After capturing Fengzhou, another ten thousand were stationed there. How can there still be roughly thirty thousand? This doesn’t even account for the losses sustained in battles against Prince Huai."

Zuo Lianglun and Yue Ruyan were also taken aback upon hearing this.

How did the troops increase after redeployments?

Before Chen Mo could respond, Geng Songfu chuckled and said, "When Duke An captured Huai State, over twenty thousand Huai Army personnel were taken prisoner. At that time, because of their status as defectors, Duke An did not heavily utilize them but instead entrusted them to General Zhao Liang and Mr. Liu Ji for enlightenment. They have since been integrated into the Xianzhen Guard.

Besides, after severely damaging the Huai Army and defeating Chu Ce at Yi County, we absorbed their remnants."

Because Geng Songfu was the Prefect of Huai State, he was somewhat familiar with its military situation.

Xia Zhiqing nodded in sudden realization. With this explanation, the numbers made sense.

"If there are thirty thousand troops, and we call back the Fish Scale Guard from Jiangnan for reinforcement, the number isn’t small. With Linzhou having so few, whether or not they deploy troops makes little difference," Yue Ruyan’s point was clear: with sufficient troops, the true determinant of the battle would be the number of high-tier fighters, that is, Upper-Grade Martial Artists.

On the enemy side, there are conservatively two from the Chong Army, two from the Lu Army, one from the Huai Army, and one under King Anping, totaling six Upper-Grade Martial Artists.

Lu Sheng is even suspected to be Second Grade.

On our side, counting Yue Ruyan, there are only four individuals.

"Isn’t the Shu Residence our ally? We could ask them to send troops. Yang Xian there is likely an Upper-Grade Martial Artist, or as a Captain at the time, he wouldn’t have stabilized the Shu Residence’s power, especially since the Great Song has been in turmoil for nearly a decade without any other powers infiltrating the Shu Residence," suggested Xia Zhining.

The strength of Yang Xian in the Shu Residence has always been shrouded in mystery. Although he has never shown his skills, he was already a Fourth-Grade Martial Artist more than twenty years ago. With the resources of the Shu Residence, advancing further isn’t improbable.

"When the Marquis went north to resist external enemies, the Shu Residence never sent troops; this time with even more formidable foes, they likely won’t act," Sun Meng said.

The alliance back then was out of necessity; in other words, it was a facade to declare to the world that we were friends.

But in reality, they were merely superficial friends.

The alliance was only a verbal agreement, without marriage ties or shared interests. They could issue warnings through proclamations, but in a situation risking severe loss, they would likely stand by.

Just like when Xiliang was annihilated, neither Chen Mo nor Yang Xian intervened.

If Chen Mo could excuse himself with the engagement against the Jin Xia barbarian race, citing an inability to help, the Shu Residence had no excuse.

"Regardless, we should request aid," Chen Mo pondered for a moment, then ordered Sun Meng to send someone to the Shu Residence.

"Yu State still has over twenty thousand troops; perhaps General Li could deploy some to reinforce Huai State, as Jin Xia has already withdrawn from Longyou," suggested Zuo Lianglun at this point.

Yu State’s thirty thousand troops had suffered some losses in resisting Wanyan Xiaji’s Western Army. After absorbing Yue Ruyan’s remaining troops, over twenty thousand remain, and transferring ten thousand to support Huai State is feasible.