Start with a red name

The two of them put on a show of "a wise ruler and virtuous ministers" and "the advantage lies with us".

The question remains: "How exactly should we do it?"

Following the newly established central idea, filled with hatred, relentlessly pursuing the enemy is tantamount to abandoning one's own rhythm and once again stepping into the trap set by the enemy.

The most urgent task is to concentrate all the troops along the Xuanqinghai coast and gather them together.

Secondly, there are the real threats—the alien tribes scattered throughout the Xuanyou and You provinces. Only after resolving this issue and confirming that there are no future problems can we openly confront the enemy.

Although the enemy forces, by winning over foreign tribes, inflicted a severe blow on Dong Guan at the foundational level.

But as the situation has come to this point, the picture is becoming clearer and clearer, and the disadvantage of the enemy being in the dark while we are in the light is disappearing.

The enemy-or-friend situation is returning to the one most familiar to Dong Guan and his ministers.

It was at this time that news of the urgent orders issued by Dong Guan last night began to arrive.

"We first went to the nearest tribe, but we didn't find a single living person."

However, some messages from other sources confirm that people in the tribe were still active a few days ago.

The tribal chief even led a dozen or so riders to visit a sand-dwelling settlement dozens of miles away to exchange for some salt—quite normal.

With these doubts in mind, we conducted a thorough inspection within the tribe.

They then discovered that over 90% of the tribe's population had left a month earlier.

In the end, only a hundred or two people remained in the tribe to maintain appearances and preserve the illusion that everything was normal.

And all of these people left two or three days ago.

"We then hurried to another tribe dozens of miles away to investigate, and the situation was basically the same."

All traces of life vanished two days ago.

"...After a brief discussion, I was instructed to return and report the findings to His Majesty as soon as possible."

The others split into two groups, one searching around the tribe to see if they could find any trace of the missing people.

The other group went to other tribes to conduct further investigations.

Upon hearing this report, Dong Guan and his close confidants remained calm, showing no sign of anything amiss.

Even Dong Guan, upon hearing of this "drastic change," felt a sense of relief.

About half an hour later, another message came back.

"...Although those 'filthy bastards' have tried their best to cover up the traces."

However, after careful investigation, we finally found some clues.

We immediately followed the trail and found sixty-seven people in a hidden stone cave less than forty miles from the tribe.

"...The youngest of these people is over fifty years old, and most of them are frail and ill."

When we followed the trail, the people there were all in terrible condition, most of them not far from death.

"After interrogation, it was learned that these people had been left behind and placed in that stone cave not long after they left the village."

The others left them only some food, and for the days they survived on that food and the meager seepage from their burrow.

"Originally, seventy-five people were left behind."

...Before we arrived, eight people had already died and were hastily buried.

"If we had arrived any later, even more people would have died."

"They have no idea where the others went."

Some parted ways with others when they left the tribe.

Some continued on their way after settling them in.

I don't know where they went.

...However, based on the information gathered during the interrogation and some clues found along the way, we have a hypothesis.

"Those 'filthy blood bastards' immediately broke up into smaller groups and scattered throughout the wasteland after leaving the tribe."

If you follow those remaining traces, it won't be difficult to find them.

But each harvest is never very large.

Finding them all would be an impossible task.

After that, more news kept coming back.

The situation was very similar to what Dong Guanjun and his minister had just heard.

The current situation is becoming increasingly clear to them.

The village is deserted.

Everything that could be moved was taken away; it was as clean as if a dog had licked it clean.

If you look carefully, you can find some traces.

If we keep tracking it, we might find something.

But those so-called "gains" were of no value other than venting hatred.

The manpower and the Xuanyou horse invested in this project were no different from being thrown into the water.

Therefore, after a brief discussion, Dong Guan and his ministers decided to recall the Xuan You riders who had been dispatched.

The plan to find traces and take revenge on those tribes was handed over to another group—the sand people of those settlements.

Thanks to the efforts of Dong Guanjun and his ministers, the two groups had already accumulated deep resentment.

One side views the other as a lackey, following Dong Guan around, acting like a fox borrowing the tiger's power and a dog relying on its master's influence.

One side sees the other as easy prey, and wants to take a bite whenever there's a bargain to be had.

"...Hand over this task and let them fight like dogs."

"And incidentally, this will also give those sand people something to do, so they won't have to think about things aimlessly."

"We just need to keep all our elite troops in our hands and keep an eye on the movements of this 'Black Wind Army'."

Hearing this suggestion, Dong Guan nodded slightly.

Finally, he asked softly:
“The situation in Xuanzhou is relatively easy to handle.”

In Youzhou, the 'Black Wind Army' is causing trouble, and below them are those 'filthy blood bastards' who form the foundation.

"Aren't we going to lose a large portion of our resources and fall into their control?"

Upon hearing this, the others fell silent.

Before this, the "Black Wind Army" was just a group of bandits.

They were a group of "thieves".

But now, after merging with the "filthy blood bastards" within Youzhou, the "Black Wind Army" has a stable base.

Originally, the Xuan and You states were entirely in Dong Guan's hands.

Now, a piece of Youzhou has been cut off and fallen into the hands of the enemy.

At this point, calling someone a "thief" would be rather illogical.

This already resembles a true military campaign.

This is also the true mainstream in Kyushu today.

Apart from Yuanzhou, the other eight prefectures are all in the same state.

Dong Guan's gaze was deep and thoughtful.

Before the "Black Wind Army" appeared, only six of the nine provinces in the world looked like this.

Because of his existence, the two states of Xuanyou escaped the quagmire in another form, observing from a more detached perspective.

It lasted for decades.

Now, this "exception" has ended.

The two states of Xuanyou, along with him, once again fell into a "quagmire".

After a moment, Dong Guan suddenly spoke, asking, "How many usable troops do I still have?"

While Dong Guan was taking stock of his assets, Liu Mu was also doing accounts for Geng Xuan.

"The most threatening force in Dong Guan's hands is undoubtedly the massive Xuanyou Iron Cavalry."

"The biggest factor affecting its size is not the riders, but the Xuanyou horse."

"For example, when we split up, we certainly caused a lot of damage to the enemy cavalry."

However, we did not kill all of those Xuanyou horses.

We also have many casualties on our side. Due to the time constraints, we didn't have time to collect them, and the Xuanyou Horse was also left on the battlefield.

So, by this calculation, our two cavalry forces suffered over 10,000 casualties.

However, the enemy cavalry did not suffer significant losses in that battle.

Soon, they will be able to make up for the shortfall through other channels.

Those thousands of Xuanyou horses will also be rearmed.

"You might lack some proficiency, but you'll recover in all aspects after a little time to get used to it."

"Based on this calculation, these were the two times when Dong Guan's troops suffered the most severe losses."

First, Huangwei Island, where 25,000 Xuanyou horses were lost in one battle.

And this time, another 20,000 horses were lost.

"The other operations, all added together, cost about 15,000 more."

"In other words, our 'Black Wind Army' has taken a total of 60,000 cavalry from Dongguan in all its operations."

"Dong Guan commanded 210,000 Xuanyou horses, regardless of their quality or skill level."

Now that 60,000 have been cut, only 150,000 remain.

"According to past practice, there is also a special horse farm in 'Canglan Mountain' and 'Blood Mane Beach' where there are 50,000 to 80,000 Xuanyou horses."

"However, there are no more than 10,000 truly mature and fine horses."

The vast majority were still foals, or young horses that hadn't fully grown.

"It's like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs; at most, they can extract 20,000 to 30,000 Xuanyou horses from the horse farm."

"However, I suspect that even if Dong Guan did manage to extract these Xuan You horses, he wouldn't be able to bring them to the battlefield."

"If troops are not stationed at 'Canglan Mountain' and 'Blood Mane Beach', Dong Guan will not be able to sleep soundly."

'Red Arrow Plain' and 'Sea Salt Lake' are equally important places, and it is impossible not to send any troops there.

"And the 'throat waterway,' which we just reclaimed from our hands, is a crucial location connecting the Xuan and You states; we'll also allocate some troops there."

"Then there is the Hanghe River line. During this period, Dong Guan has been completely unscrupulous, behaving like a bandit. He has been conscripting soldiers on the south bank of the Hanghe River and plundering ships."

Now, the tables have turned. If he doesn't station some troops to guard the area, leaving the Hanghe River line undefended, the people of Yuan and Hao prefectures to the south will inevitably turn around and plunder it.

In the past, Dong Guan was domineering, and everyone was afraid of him, not even daring to look him in the eye.

Now that Dong Guan is starting to have a major misfortune, it would be a disservice to the excellent traditions that Kyushu has cultivated for over five hundred years if we don't kick him while he's down.

It can be said that the weaker Dong Guan is, the more eyes will be on him.

The "Black Wind Army" is undoubtedly the strongest and most conspicuous threat.

However, other threats should not be underestimated either.

No matter how big or small the threat, if it erupts at the right time, the result can be fatal.

Therefore, as Dong Guan weakens, the defensive pressure he needs to bear has actually increased compared to the past, rather than decreased.

"...After a while, I estimate that the number of cavalry that Dong Guan can actually deploy to the front line to fight against us should be between 120,000 and 140,000."

The other forces, including the Iron Feather Guards and the large Imperial Guard, should total between 150,000 and 170,000.

Geng Xuan nodded slightly.

After Liu Mu's analysis, he finally gained a personal understanding of the weight of the enemy he faced.

After a brief pause, once Geng Xuan had digested the information, Liu Mu continued:

"Furthermore, we originally had about 30,000 cavalry when we landed."

The first battle after landing was fought with excessive ferocity, resulting in severe losses of the Xuanyou horse.

However, given the significant investment on both sides, a post-battle inventory revealed that we still gained approximately six thousand additional horses.

"My idea is to take advantage of this integration opportunity and use all 36,000 Xuanyou horses to form the Iron Cavalry."

The other four hundred or so riders were used as messengers and scouts.

Make the best use of the horses.

As Liu Mu explained, Geng Xuan pondered the words and nodded occasionally.

Seeing this, Liu Mu assumed that he had agreed and was about to continue speaking.

Geng Xuan realized what was happening and quickly interrupted:

"Wait... I have something else to say."

"Huh?!" Liu Mu was taken aback for a moment before quickly saying, "Please go ahead!"

"I have no objection to deploying all the Xuan You horses to the front lines of battle."

However, I disagree with the idea of ​​organizing them all into the Iron Cavalry.

"Huh?!" Liu Mu couldn't help but exclaim again.

Unlike last time when he was confused and didn't quite understand, this time he was genuinely surprised.

Geng Xuan explained:
"Although the Xuanyou horse has amazing strength and endurance, the full set of armor required for both horse and rider is still very heavy."

In addition, he also had to carry a person and a few handy weapons.

All in all, it's still a huge burden on Xuanyou Horse.

The most obvious consequence is that the speed will decrease, making it impossible to truly unleash peak speed.

Furthermore, the time and distance of a single action will also be affected.

The time allotted for operations has become shorter, and the scope of operations has become smaller.

Finally, there's one point that might not be immediately apparent, but whose impact is equally significant.

That is, maintaining the life state of the Xuan You Horse…

For the same duration and intensity of activity, the greater the load a Xuanyou horse carries, the greater the stress it experiences, leading to a shorter health and even a shorter lifespan.

"...And as far as I know, the heaviest extra burden on the Xuanyou Horse is the full armor that both the horse and the rider are covered in."

According to Dong Guan's regulations, in order to avoid mistakes made in the rush during night raids and surprise attacks, and to prevent the enemy from taking advantage of the situation, a large number of people and horses would always be fully armed and ready to attack at any time, regardless of day or night, or even during rest periods.

In this state, not only do people not get proper rest, but the Xuanyou horse does as well.

Although it may seem insignificant, the combined negative effects from all aspects have a tremendous impact on the Xuan You Horse.

As is well known, horses are far more delicate than people.

Not to mention the Xuanyou Horse, the finest of horses.

If this continues for too long, it's no wonder problems arise.

"...Therefore, of these 36,000 Xuanyou horses, I only plan to organize 6,000 into iron cavalry."

The remaining 30,000 were all deployed lightly.

Not only were all the armor removed from the men and horses, but they also carried as few weapons as possible, especially heavy weapons that were too heavy; they avoided carrying them if possible.

"Try to bring out the strongest advantages of the Xuanyou Horse as much as possible."

What is the strongest advantage of the Xuanyou Horse?
Speed ​​is the key, of course!
Liu Mu was dumbfounded after hearing Geng Xuan's words.

At this moment, only one thought crossed his mind: "Nonsense!" (End of Chapter)