In November, the Three Flowers Winery made a profit of 4,000 gold coins. Adding the revenue from the North Twilight Saltworks, the Wolf Mountain Mine, and the tax revenue, Shanhai County's revenue reached more than 28000 gold coins.
Ouyang Shuo intercepted 7000 gold coins and restored the funds in his storage pouch to 110,000 gold coins. The remaining 21000 gold coins were allocated by the finance bureau, with the military spending taking up the majority of the financial expenditure.
As the end of the year approached, several major projects in Shanhai County had been completed. The three bridges connecting Shanhai County, Qiushui County, and Youyi County were all completed, connecting the three cities into one.
The construction of Shanhai County's official residence, administrative district, and residential area was nearing completion. The population of the city had exceeded the 60,000 mark, but it only occupied a quarter of the residential area. It could still accommodate a large number of urban residents.
The construction of the two official roads was also nearing completion. The official road connecting Pool Water County and Youyi County on the east side would be completed within a week. The Heavenly Sea Road in the west could also be completed before the new year.
The most difficult part was the construction of the city wall in Tianfeng County. With the current progress, it would be delayed until next year.
In December, the Merit Examination Department under the Administrative Office would start the annual assessment. The results of the assessment would directly affect the promotion and transfer of officials. It was a major event in the government system.
Due to the importance of the matter, the chief of the administration, Fan Zhongyan, would personally oversee the assessment.
As the largest chamber of commerce in Quanzhou, Hequan Ji Chamber of Commerce, officially established a branch in Shanhai County, the wave caused by the belief in Mazu gradually stabilized and came to an end.
Ever since the [Hundred Schools of Thought Contend] mission had been activated, there had been no news of any activity. Most likely, it was still in the midst of preparation. Not a single person from the Hundred Schools of Thought had visited Shanhai County.
Similarly, the search for historical figures in the various Royal City offices was not going smoothly. Ten days had passed, and not even a shadow of a historical figure had been seen, let alone inviting them to Shanhai County to become officials.
On the first day of the twelfth month of the first year of Gaia, Shanhai County's Second Division was the first to be established, officially forming an army.
The second division could be said to be a gathering of talented generals. Other than the division commander Luo Shixin, the other five commanders were Lin Yi, Sun Tengjiao, Shao Bu, the Black Knights, and Sun Chuanlin.
Another characteristic of the generals was that they were all young. They were all young generals.
Of the five cavalry brigades that made up the Second Division, except for the newly formed Heavy Cavalry Brigade that was reorganized from the City Defense Cavalry Battalion, the rest were all veterans of hundreds of battles. They were the cream of the crop in the Shanhai County Army.
Therefore, as soon as the Second Division was formed, it possessed extremely strong combat power and was ranked at the top of the three Divisions.
The next day, Ouyang Shuo arranged for the 2nd Division to participate in the Corps Trials. Only the soldiers of a division could participate in the Legion Trial. Even Lord Ouyang Shuo and General Bai Qi were unable to participate personally.
North City Barracks, drill ground.
After the 13500 soldiers of the 2nd Division had gathered, Ouyang Shuo activated the Army Trial on the control panel of the territory. Immediately, the sound of a system notification rang in his ears.
"System Notice: Congratulations to player Not Have Clothes for activating the Army Trial. The Army Trial is divided into Division Trial and Army Trial. Please choose the type of trial!"
"I'll choose the division trial!"
"System Notification: Selection complete. 5000 gold coins will be deducted from the trial fee. Do you wish to activate the trial now?"
"Activate!"
Suddenly, a temporary portal appeared in the drill ground, emitting a mysterious light.
The Trial Space was equivalent to a scenario mission space. The time was set to be the same as the War Campaign Space. During the trial, soldiers who died in battle could be resurrected for free. After resurrection, the soldiers would be reduced to Rank 1 Ordinary Soldiers.
In theory, there was no limit to the number of times the Army Trial could be activated. As long as you had the money, you could activate it at any time.
Division Commander Luo Shixin led the five Brigade Marshals to Ouyang Shuo to bid farewell. "Marquis!"
"Go!" Ouyang Shuo didn't say anything emotional. He trusted these soldiers.
"Yes!" Luo Shixin bowed, turned around, and walked into the portal confidently.
Following Luo Shixin, the officers of the 2nd Division led them into the portal one after another.
Luo Shixin passed through the portal, and what appeared in front of him was a vast grassland.
As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but grass. He couldn't help but feel puzzled.
Even so, Luo Shixin didn't let down his guard. He ordered the soldiers to get into formation near the portal and get ready for battle.
Sure enough, when the last soldier stepped out of the portal, the portal disappeared without a trace. At the same time, a voice came from the sky. "The Division Test officially begins. Last till the end, and you pass!"
As the voice spoke, the grassland that was empty a moment ago was suddenly filled with countless wolves. They were so dense that it was hard to count. There were at least a hundred thousand hungry wolves.
Luo Shixin's scalp went numb. He'd never seen so many hungry wolves before. Could it be that all the wolves in the grassland came to teach them a lesson?!
There was no time to think. The wolves surrounded the army from all sides and pounced at them.
"Attack!" Luo Shixin was a fierce general. He was full of courage. He ordered the other four brigades to attack in four directions. As for Sun Chuanlin's crossbow brigade, he was in the center under the protection of his personal guards, relying on the crossbows to kill the wolves.
"Kill!" Lin Yi took the lead and led the first brigade to attack the north.
Sun Tengjiao didn't want to fall behind. He led the second brigade to attack the east. The Shadow Knights and Schaub's troops attacked the south and west respectively. The four cavalry brigades were like four tornadoes, killing the wolves.
As soon as they came into contact, the generals realized that the wolves were not ordinary. These wolves were not only unafraid of death, but also knew when to advance and retreat. There was even the shadow of a battle tactic. How could they not be shocked?
The ferocious wolves were extremely cunning. They specifically challenged the horses and paid no attention to the riders on the horses. If it wasn't for the fact that the second division's horses were very spiritual, they would've suffered heavy losses.
Facing a pack of wolves ten times their size, the men of the Second Division were completely stirred up. How could they tolerate such a pack of beasts stepping on their heads and shitting on them?
The first and second brigades were heavy cavalry brigades. They were less mobile, but the horses were protected, so the wolves didn't cause as much trouble to the horses.
The heavy cavalry's main weapon was the lance, but it was too heavy. It wasn't suitable for fighting the nimble wolves. The soldiers put the lance into their pouches and pulled out the Tang sword from their waists.
The sword flashed, and the wolf's head fell to the ground.
Lin Yi and Sun Tengjiao, the two generals, gave up on the usual tactics of heavy cavalry, no longer charging as a whole. Instead, they split up into platoons, forming a formation, breaking up into smaller groups and slaughtering the wolves.
On the other hand, the third and fourth brigades were light cavalry. Their main weapon was the Tang sword, and their formation was flexible. They could move around the battlefield as they pleased.
As a result, the Black Cavalry and Shao Bu's tactic was to charge as a group, going back and forth. The number of wolves that died under the horses' feet was countless.
The fifth brigade, on the other hand, was in the middle, carrying out long-range attacks and covering fire.
Luo Shixin led his personal guard, sitting in the middle of the battlefield. He didn't choose to fight. His personal guard was his reserve force. He wouldn't use it unless it was a critical moment.
The five hundred soldiers of his personal guard were elites Luo Shixin had picked from the fourth brigade of the first division. They knew each other well and worked well together.
As a division commander, Luo Shixin knew that his most important duty wasn't to lead his troops into battle, but to observe the battlefield closely.
The current situation made Luo Shixin frown. The situation wasn't looking good.
Although the wolves suffered heavy casualties, they couldn't kill them all. After killing a group, another group would charge in, as if there was no end to them. As a result, the cavalry fell into a bitter battle, losing their spirit.
Add to that the fact that the four brigades were fighting on their own, and some were even secretly competing with each other. They lacked teamwork and coordination, and the situation was far from good.
Luo Shixin knew that the five brigade commanders of the second division were all from different backgrounds. They were all young and full of vigor. It was inevitable that they didn't respect each other.
Among the five, Lin Yi had the most legitimate background, and was the most experienced. He had always been valued by Marquis, and from a squad leader, he was promoted to brigade commander, serving as the commander of the North Barracks. During this period, he made many contributions, killing bandit leaders, offering strategies to the grasslands, and following Marquis to battle everywhere.
Luo Shixin's transfer to the North Barracks had pushed Lin Yi's position away. He didn't know what Lin Yi was thinking. Although he was confident that whether it was martial arts or leadership skills, he was far superior to Lin Yi, but no one could stop Lin Yi from having other thoughts. This was human nature.
After all, he, Luo Shixin, hadn't shown any extraordinary abilities since he followed Marquis.
Sun Tengjiao came from a refugee camp, and he joined Shanhai County with the annexation of the refugee camp. He formed an iron triangle with the military chief Ge Hongliang and the business chief Xu Zhenchang.
From the beginning, Sun Tengjiao had been competing with Lin Yi in secret, but unfortunately, he had always been below Lin Yi. This time, he was finally on the same level as Lin Yi. How could he not want to compete with him?
The Black Knights were surrendered bandits. After passing the inspection, they were finally put in an important position, and they were eager to prove themselves in front of their peers. After all, before they surrendered, there were no less than a thousand cavalry under the Black Knights.
Shao Bu was a surrendered nomadic tribe, and the grassland people liked to compete, so there was nothing much to say. Even though Shao Bu was one of the calmer ones, it was inevitable that he would be competitive in front of his outstanding peers.
The calmest one was Sun Chuanlin. This general, who didn't succeed in Dali, didn't want to submit to the rich and powerful. With the help of the Cui Merchant Group, he left Dali and joined Shanhai County, and was put in an important position by Marquis.
The difficult experience made Sun Chuanlin more stable and low-key, and he didn't compete with others. He only fought on the battlefield to repay Marquis's kindness.
Thinking of this, Luo Shixin couldn't help but feel a headache. (To be continued.)
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