Ming Dynasty: pacifying the rebellion and defending the border, dominating the world

Chapter 496 Martial Artists Form an Army; Tens of Thousands Are Invincible

Outside the capital, the Ming army that has set out on this expedition is indeed not very large.

At a glance, most of them were just ordinary martial artists of the upper three ranks with somewhat weak auras, or even just ordinary martial artists who had just entered the upper three ranks. Only a small number of the soldiers of the capital garrison had reached a level comparable to the Vajra Realm.

They were all hastily trained experts created by Zhu Jinzhen using Tiger and Wolf Pills and Dragon and Snake Tonic.

However, if we underestimate them because of this, we will definitely pay a heavy price.

It's true that they were trained quickly, but in the battlefield, as long as you are strong enough, have enough stamina, and have strong enough defense, you can keep fighting until you are exhausted.

Individually, they are not particularly remarkable in the martial arts world or in the general public.

But what if the entire Imperial Guard numbered 20,000, and the 30,000 Ming soldiers dispatched by the Five Military Commands were mostly martial artists of the third rank or higher?
Those who were reminded quickly realized what was happening.

"Hiss, another army of martial artists?"

"An army composed entirely of martial arts masters of the third rank or above, are they really all martial artists?"

"Hiss, an army of fifty thousand, all of whom are at least third-rank martial artists. Could the rumors be true? Is the Ming emperor planning to destroy the country and carry out a massacre, leaving no one alive?"

"An army like this, let alone conquering a mere Japan, could easily wipe out the surrounding powerful nations, right?"

After the chaos of the Three Kingdoms ended and the world was contested for supremacy, there were no more powerful armies.

The Ming Dynasty is currently only attacking Japan, and has already deployed an army composed entirely of martial artists, none of whom are below the third rank. With such a highly skilled army, who in the world can stand against them?
The world of martial arts has seen its share of martial arts armies. From the Shang and Zhou dynasties to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, and the Qin and Han dynasties, there have always been extremely dazzling and invincible martial arts armies.

The Trapped Camp, Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, and White Horse Cavalry during the Three Kingdoms period were all military armies composed of warriors.

But since then, has there ever been a single army in the world composed entirely of warriors?
No!!
Even at the beginning of the reigns of the five great powers of the Ming, Northern Song, Southern Song, Sui, and Mongol Yuan dynasties, it was impossible to find an army of more than 10,000 martial artists composed entirely of martial artists of the third rank or above.

The top three ranks of the ninth grade of martial arts are not considered very powerful in the martial arts world.

However, compared to ordinary people, it is still a dimensional reduction attack.

They are faster and stronger, and ordinary swords and blades cannot easily harm them. Their endurance is also several times, or even more than ten times, that of ordinary soldiers.

An army composed of such highly skilled individuals would be absolutely devastating to an army composed of ordinary people.

At this moment, a young man who was watching the Imperial Guards and the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty suddenly turned pale and shook his head with a bitter smile, saying, "You are wrong, terribly wrong."

"What do you mean by this?"

Everyone looked on curiously.

“You… only saw the shock before your eyes, but you didn’t think carefully. Just a month ago, the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty drawn from the Five Military Commissions of the Capital Garrison were just ordinary people, but now they have transformed into martial artists who are at least of the upper third rank. What does this mean?”

"You should know that these troops, which were transferred from all over the country, have only been in the capital for less than five days!"

In the end, the handsome young man in brocade robes was already swaying precariously.

Upon hearing this, everyone gasped in horror, their eyes wide with shock.

They pondered the young man's words, their faces paling with horror, unable to remain calm. Anyone with a modicum of sense understood what this meant.

Almost instinctively, everyone wanted to look at the figure in a dragon robe standing with his hands behind his back on the city wall.

From the moment they suddenly realized this, they knew clearly that the general trend of the world was indeed like the rolling wheels of history, unstoppable!
……

Zhu Houzhao, atop the city wall, was naturally unaware of the world's top experts and spies from various factions below who were terrified by his actions, their faces turning deathly pale.

At this moment, looking down upon the 50,000 Ming soldiers.

The civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty were suddenly filled with a sense of pride and honor.

An army of 50,000, composed entirely of top-rank martial artists.

It was born in the Ming Dynasty at a speed unimaginable to most people, right before their eyes!
"A scholar should be viewed with new eyes after three days of separation; the performance of the capital guards deserves this praise."

“An army composed entirely of martial artists is not frightening; what is frightening is that even their weakest members are composed of martial artists of the third rank, and His Majesty has specially trained them, making each one incredibly strong in terms of physical strength.”

"In my humble opinion, such an army is worth ten men each. Although it numbers fifty thousand, it is no less than an army of five hundred thousand."

"Heh, that's certainly a foolish opinion, and my imagination is quite limited." A military general raised his chin with disdain and explained, "The Tiger and Wolf Pills bestowed by His Majesty made their physical strength formidable, and the subsequent rewards made them all have copper heads and iron arms. They may seem to be only of the upper three ranks, but in reality, each of them can rival a Vajra Realm martial artist to a certain extent."

"Three thousand Tian Ce soldiers can destroy a country in a day, so fifty thousand troops here can certainly do the same. Let alone being comparable to an army of five hundred thousand, even if..."

In the end, although the general knew that this army could be considered to be worth a hundred men each, or even comparable to a five million-strong army, he still couldn't bring himself to say it.

Even though reason told him that the army in front of him could do it, he still felt that it was an extremely exaggerated number, and in the end he could only choose to remain silent.

"On the battlefield, it is difficult for individual bravery to be fully utilized, but the physical constitution and combat power of martial artists are indeed much stronger than those of ordinary people. An ordinary third-rank martial artist, without armor, would be difficult to kill without being surrounded by hundreds of soldiers. In my humble opinion, Your Majesty's 50,000 troops in this expedition to Japan, even if they cannot be compared to 5 million troops, can still be equivalent to 1 to 2 million troops."

The most excited person at the moment has to be Duke Zhang Mao of England.

He looked at the 20,000 Tian Ce soldiers standing behind the Tian Ce and Cang Yun soldiers, his eyes gleaming.

Once Bai Qi and his group set off, it will be a few days before he leads his army to conquer other worlds. At that time, he will be leading a Jingwei army that is not much weaker than the 50,000 troops we see now, and may even be stronger.

How could Zhang Mao possibly remain calm?
"A warrior with no more than ten thousand is invincible. An army of fifty thousand top-rank three-grade warriors, apart from the Cangyun Army and the Tiance Army, I really can't imagine what country or army in the world could stand against them!"

"Yes, although the Northern Song Dynasty had the Beiwei Army and the Jin Dynasty had the Iron Pagoda, even in infantry versus cavalry, the soldiers of our Great Ming Dynasty could easily fight ten or a hundred men each."

"My Great Ming has an army of 50,000 top-rank martial artists. Do you think they can have a million heavily armored cavalry? Not to mention the tiny Japanese barbarians. If they can even muster 3,000 heavy armored soldiers, I would be giving them a second glance."

These are conclusions drawn by Ming Dynasty military generals and many knowledgeable civil officials based on their own experiences and understanding of military texts; they are by no means mere idle talk.

Of course, things can change in an instant on the battlefield, and it is not uncommon for an ordinary army to wipe out a large army of martial artists.

No matter how powerful the 50,000 troops below the city wall are, they will suffer casualties if they are not careful when facing the crossbow fire from the army. Their foundation is ultimately too shallow. Even if they are all made of bronze and iron, the vast majority of soldiers still cannot withstand the crossbow fire from the army.

As Duke Zhang Mao listened to the chorus of his courtiers, a wild smile crept across his face. He asked only one question: "Our Great Ming has an army of 50,000 top-ranking martial artists. Can Japan produce at least 100,000 powerful crossbows and muskets?"

(End of this chapter)