Dual Transmigration: Starting from being captured and brought to the Hehuan Sect!

The next day, Lin Mo was inspecting the progress of the city wall construction site.

The cement-poured city wall is already 80% complete. The laborers are pushing wheelbarrows back and forth, while Liu Si is checking the design openings on the crenellations with blueprints in hand.

Yue Peng came running quickly from the direction of the county government office, a layer of fine sweat on his round face. He reached Lin Mo, clasped his hands in a salute, and said in a low voice:

"My lord, someone from Hezhou Guard has arrived."

"Hezhou Guard?"

Lin Mo turned around, gesturing for him to come aside and talk.

"What is it?"

"The messenger came with a military order, commanding our Lianhai Thousand-Household Garrison and several other Thousand-Household Garrisons to go to Cangwu County to quell the rebellion."

It was said that the Hezhou Guard was to coordinate a unified deployment, and all commanderies were required to assemble outside Cangwu City within five days.

Lin Mo frowned slightly.

Taking the initiative to leave Lianhai and go to Cangwu to fight in the open is completely contrary to his plan of quietly developing his strength in Lianhai.

The Flying Tigers had only been conducting live-fire training for a few days, and the city walls were not yet finished. Sending troops out on a distant expedition at this time would be tantamount to using their hard-earned resources as cannon fodder for others.

He remained silent for a moment, then asked:

"How many people came to deliver the order?"

Just one.

Where are they?

"He rested at the garrison, and his subordinates had tea prepared for him to calm him down."

"Just kill them."

Lin Mo narrowed his eyes slightly.

The Yue Peng bird was slightly taken aback, but quickly realized what was happening.

Lin Mo meant that the messenger never even reached Lianhai, so the order was never received.

Lianhai is located in a remote area, so it's perfectly normal for messengers to go missing if something unexpected happens on the way.

By the time Hezhou Guard reacts and sends someone to urge them, it will be too late, and the situation in Cangwu may have already changed.

"Understood, sir. The messenger encountered bandits on the way and unfortunately died, so the order could not be delivered."

Yue Pengniao clasped his hands in response and turned to walk towards the Thousand Household Office with a crisp and decisive air.

The Yue Peng bird requested to see him again a week later in the early morning.

He hurried through the county government corridor, sweat streaming down his round cheeks, but he didn't bother to wipe it away.

Lin Mo was looking through the production reports sent by the mine in the back room when he looked up and saw him like this. He put down the booklet and gestured for him to sit down and talk.

Yue Pengniao didn't sit down; instead, she stood in front of the table, took a deep breath, and spoke in a strained voice:

"My lord, something terrible has happened."

The Hezhou Guard dispatched 5,000 troops to Cangwu to quell the rebellion, but...

He paused, swallowed,

"completely annihilated.

The five thousand men were routed by the rebels, with more than half killed in action; the rest either fled or surrendered.

Lin Mo frowned sharply and put down the booklet in his hand:

"Isn't Cangwu just a place with four thousand rebels?"

Moreover, the scouts had previously reported that they were poorly equipped, loosely organized, and a motley crew.

Five thousand regular troops against four thousand ragtag soldiers should have been a crushing defeat no matter what, so how did it turn out like this?

Yue Peng Bird shook its head with a wry smile, its chubby white face full of helplessness:

"You may not know this, sir."

Among these four thousand people were martial arts practitioners.

The spies sent out by my subordinates saw with their own eyes that there were several martial arts masters dressed in tight-fitting clothes in the rebel camp. One of them was a spearman with a cultivation level of mid-to-late stage of second-rate master. He could knock down a row of shield soldiers with one spear. Arrows shot at him could not even touch the hem of their clothes.

These few men fought their way in and out of the 5,000-strong army seven times, completely shattering the vanguard battalion's formation.

With the vanguard routed, the central army also fell into chaos, and the rebels seized the opportunity to launch a counterattack. The government troops didn't even have time to organize a retreat.

More than a thousand people surrendered on the spot and joined the rebels.

"Joined?"

Lin Mo's eyes darkened.

"yes.

Those surrendered soldiers were originally conscripted and had no loyalty to the court. The rebels provided them with food, so they worked for them.

The rebel forces in Cangwu have now swelled from four thousand to six thousand, their morale is high, and they could expand outwards at any time.

Lin Mo leaned back in his chair and remained silent for several breaths.

With 6,000 soldiers, plus a few martial arts masters who can fight their way through thousands of troops, this is no longer a rabble; it is a rebel army with core combat capabilities.

When he first heard about the Cangwu rebellion, his immediate reaction was that it was an opportunity to train his troops.

Now it seems that it may not be an opportunity, but rather a crisis!

Five thousand regular troops were wiped out. If Yue Pengniao had really led the Flying Tigers and the Thousand Households to the front lines, some of the hundred-man squad he had painstakingly built up would probably have become cannon fodder under the rebels' blades.

"There's one more thing."

The call of the Cantonese bird lowered even further.

"The scout went west along the official road and brought back news."

Not only Cangwu, but also several counties west of Hezhou were in rebellion after hearing the news from Cangwu County due to continuous natural disasters and famine.

A group can have anywhere from a few hundred to over a thousand people.

The imperial court can barely maintain control for now, but in a few months, once the disaster worsens, the entire Hezhou region will likely descend into chaos.

Lin Mo tapped his fingers lightly on the table a few times, then looked up after a moment:

"Keep sending out spies."

At least two reports were sent from the Cangwu direction every day, and people were also sent to keep an eye on the counties to the west that were in the midst of uprisings, reporting any disturbances immediately.

The communications squad selected eight men from its existing ten, each assigned two Flying Tigers as bodyguards, and dispatched them to Cangwu, Hezhou City, and several important passes in the west.

They remained in hiding, reporting their movements twice a day via radio, morning and evening.

Yue Peng Bird nodded in agreement:

"Yes. I will select the best marksmen from the Flying Tigers and assign two officers to each of them to ensure the safety of the communications officer."

"Also, select ten clever and reliable young men from the guard team, the thousand-household garrison, and the Navy SEALs to learn radio operation techniques from the two veteran communications squad members who stayed behind in Lianhai."

This group serves as a reserve communications force. I also have some radios with me. Once they've completed their training, our communications network can be expanded further.

"Yes, I will go back and work with Zhang Tie and Chen Laohai to select people. I will submit the list to you today."

Yue Pengniao clasped his hands in agreement, then turned and strode out of the county government office.