Start with a red name

While handling various matters in an orderly manner according to procedures and truly securing the gains from this battle, Geng Xuan was also taking stock of another matter in his mind.

It has now been confirmed that the number of enemy cavalry deployed this time is exactly 120,000.

The number of enemy cavalry who died for various reasons was as high as 68,500.

Another 38,700 cavalrymen were recruited and transformed into members of the "Black Wind Army".

After eliminating these two groups, the total number of "escaped fish" was less than 13,000 cavalry.

Moreover, according to the news brought back by the returning soldiers, the morale of the more than 10,000 cavalrymen who escaped was basically shattered.

Many had completely scattered during their escape, even abandoning the Xuan You horse.

Even with the most optimistic estimate, no more than half of the enemy cavalry would be able to escape back to their camp.

According to the information provided by these "newcomers," without the 120,000 iron cavalry, the forces directly under Dong Guan in the enemy camp have become weaker than ever before.

The number of cavalry left behind was less than five thousand. Even after reorganizing the enemy cavalry that had fled back, the enemy camp's cavalry force numbered at most around ten thousand.

In addition, there was the largest guard force, with a total strength of 150,000.

Despite its seemingly large size, apart from a very small portion that was used by Dong Guan for a long time, more than 90% of the troops were drawn from various sand tribe settlements.

Although they could be used by Dong Guan, it was not out of loyalty, but out of awe.

Because Dong Guan possessed enough power to crush them into dust, coupled with the accumulated prestige built up over decades of rule, he could control them with relative peace of mind.

Even so, the series of blows Dong Guan has suffered in recent days has begun to gradually shake his control over this force.

Dong Guan, who was in hot pursuit, did not launch an immediate attack. Instead, he spent more than ten days licking his wounds. One of his purposes was to calm the overly agitated emotions of these soldiers and strengthen his control over these forces.

Now that the "Black Wind Army" has destroyed Dong Guan's biggest bargaining chip, it's a question of how much "loyalty" those guards will have left.

However, at this moment, the truly decisive force within the enemy camp was neither the Iron Cavalry nor the Guards, but the Iron Feather Guards responsible for protecting Dong Guan.

If the Xuanyou Iron Cavalry were the spear Dong Guan forged, and the hammer for external attacks, then the Iron Feather Guards were the armor he forged for himself, and the shield for his survival.

Dong Guan has always kept a close eye on this force.

While trying every means to instill loyalty, they also used kindness and kinship to win people over.

Those who were powerful were almost all his "adopted sons".

Thinking about this, Geng Xuan remembered something else.

"But we don't know what Yang Qian's results were."

Although Geng Xuan had a "take it or leave it" attitude in this matter, he didn't have a strong sense of gain or loss.

But since a finger bone of the Overlord was used, there was still some expectation for the result.

Just then, Liu Mu whispered a reminder from the side: "General, I'm about to execute the next step of the plan."

Geng Xuan snapped out of his thoughts, stepped aside, and placed the "Black Wind Army" back into Liu Mu's hands.

Soon, the army, which had only recently returned to camp, set off again in a grand procession.

After rushing out of the military camp like a torrent, it quickly spread across the wasteland and spread everywhere.

It's even bigger than the last time.

The number of troops deployed exceeded 120,000.

Besides leaving 50,000 to guard the camp, another 30,000 were dispersed to the rear "base". This time, the "Black Wind Army" has really thrown out all its resources.

This time, their objective was very clear. First, they wanted to take over the enemy camp, then continue eastward to conquer the entire Canglan Mountain region, and even the rest of Youzhou.

If the energy expenditure is too great, they will take a short rest on the west coast of Xuanqing Sea.

If all goes well, they will immediately cross the Xuanqing Sea and storm into Xuanzhou.

……

Making full use of tactical asymmetry to break the enemy's sharpest "spear" is only the first phase of the entire operation.

Pressing their advantage and cutting off the hand holding the "spear" was the second phase of Liu Mu's plan.

The third stage was to use the power at hand to quickly sweep across Youzhou and conquer Xuanzhou, taking over both prefectures that originally belonged to Dong Guan.

After completing the first phase of the operation, the reason why they did not press on and directly attack the enemy camp was...

First, the gains were too great, with too many prisoners.

The number of prisoners even exceeded the number of their own Xuanyou light cavalry.

If we don't slow down and process and absorb them first, we are very likely to experience "indigestion".

Furthermore, behind such a glorious victory, both the people and the horses were exhausted.

We need to take a break and conserve our energy for the second phase of the operation.

Pulling back the fist temporarily is for a better attack.

In addition, this also had the intention of allowing "bad news" to enter the enemy camp, waiting for internal changes to occur.

Such a violent impact, coupled with Yang Qian's actions and the already volatile public sentiment... Although it is impossible to fully predict, Geng Xuan is quite curious about what kind of outcome this will produce.

However, precisely because he was concerned about the implementation of the second phase of the operation, after completing the induction and conversion of prisoners and making rough arrangements for them according to their strength, Geng Xuan handed over the command of the "Black Wind Army" back to Liu Mu.

Neither the "divine blessing" nor the more refined reorganization truly incorporated this newly absorbed force into the "Black Wind Army" ranks.

It's clear that many veterans who have enjoyed numerous strokes of good fortune in the military feel some regret, or even dissatisfaction, with this practice of recording merits but not immediately paying them off – essentially a form of "IOU."

In terms of the scale of the victory, this was clearly a record-breaking one, surpassing the achievements of all previous battles.

It can be said that this battle directly laid the foundation for a new格局 (geju, a term referring to a new social order or structure) in the Xuanyou and You states.

Logically speaking, the reward for merit should be greater and more timely.

Of course, there are reasons for it.

Can't waste time.

You must seize the moment and not let the ripe fruit fall to the ground and rot; you must quickly swallow it.

This was the reason used to persuade the "Black Wind Army".

Another reason is that Geng Xuan intends to use this opportunity to raise the bar for "blessing".

The "Black Wind Army," which won this battle, has completely transformed.

His net worth is now incomparable to what it used to be.

They've earned the right to put on airs.

The nearly 70,000 enemy cavalry brought a total of over 2.74 million in luck, and the more than 8,000 of our own fallen soldiers brought over 100,000 in luck. The magnitude of the harvest was unprecedented.

On the other hand, Geng Xuan secretly tightened his purse strings. (End of Chapter)