In the thirteenth year of the Tianbao era: I became Yang Guozhong's eldest son.

"This...this is..." Li Guangbi reached out and touched the refined steel ring, his voice trembling.

"Takahashi saddle, and... double stirrups."

Yang Xuan walked to Li Guangbi's side and explained softly, "With these two things, the rider's feet have a foothold, and the body is firmly fixed to the horse's back. Even a new recruit who has never ridden a horse before can ride on horseback as if walking on flat ground with a little training."

"Not only that."

Yang Xuan took a heavy spear from a cavalryman next to him and handed it to Li Guangbi.

"General Li, you can imagine this. With the help of stirrups, riders no longer need to hold onto their horse's neck tightly with both hands when charging. They can free their hands, tuck their lances under their armpits, and use the terrifying kinetic energy of their charging horses to crash directly into the enemy!"

"boom!"

Yang Xuan's words were like a nuclear bomb exploding in Li Guangbi's mind.

As one of the most outstanding cavalry generals in the Tang Dynasty, he knew all too well what this meant!

Throughout history, although the cavalry of the Tang Dynasty were brave, when using weapons on horseback, their power mainly came from the rider's arms, waist and abdomen.

With the addition of the Takahashi saddle and double stirrups, the rider, weapon, and warhorse were completely integrated into one.

The power during the charge is no longer human strength, but the violent kinetic energy of the entire warhorse weighing thousands of kilograms!

This is a revolutionary change!

A devastating blow that could overturn all existing cavalry tactics!

Although An Lushan's Fanyang cavalry was elite, they still used traditional tactics of using a single stirrup or no stirrups.

If they were to encounter such a heavily armed and incredibly powerful cavalry force on the battlefield, it would be an absolute one-sided massacre!

Li Guangbi slowly took two steps back, staring blankly at the eighty heavily armored cavalrymen, then at the several boxes of repeating crossbows beside him, enough to unleash a deadly rain of arrows.

At this moment, he finally understood that Yang Xuan's words to him in the tavern, "Crush the iron cavalry of Fanyang," were by no means arrogant empty talk.

This is a trap.

A grand scheme had already quietly unfolded on the land of Yaozhou months ago, or even earlier.

This "son of a treacherous minister," who was despised by the world, actually created a new military formation right under everyone's noses, all by his own power, which was enough to change the course of the world!

"Thump!"

Li Guangbi suddenly knelt down, his knees slamming heavily onto the hard yellow earth.

This time, he no longer cared about his pride as a famous general, nor did he hesitate because of Yang Xuan's identity.

He lowered his proud head and pressed his forehead deeply into the soil.

"This humble general, Li Guangbi, is blind and ignorant, utterly unaware that you, sir, possess extraordinary talent and the ability to turn the tide of history!"

Li Guangbi's voice was hoarse, yet it conveyed a fervent devotion.

"This humble general is willing to serve you, my lord, by holding your whip and pulling your stirrups, even through fire and water! If I break this oath, may I be struck down by heaven and earth!"

Seeing Li Guangbi completely subdued, Yang Xuan took a deep breath.

He knew that from this moment on, he had finally completed the most important piece of the puzzle in Jiannan Road, and even in the entire Tang Dynasty's path to hegemony.

Yang Xuan slowly walked up to Li Guangbi, took out a bronze tiger tally representing the supreme command of the salt protection army from his pocket, and solemnly handed it to Li Guangbi.

"General Li, please rise."

Yang Xuan's gaze swept over the three hundred infantrymen on the drill ground, over the eighty heavily armored cavalrymen, and finally settled on Li Guangbi's resolute face.

"From this day forward, these three hundred crossbowmen, these eighty heavy cavalry, and all the future troops of Yaozhou will be under your sole command, Li Guangbi!"

"I want you to use the strictest military discipline and the most brutal training to turn them into a pack of ruthless wolves who only obey military orders and are fearless of death!"

Li Guangbi suddenly raised his head and took the heavy tiger tally with trembling hands.

What he felt was not just the transfer of power, but also a heavy trust and the responsibility of entrusting the entire world to him.

"Your humble servant obeys!"

Li Guangbi suddenly stood up, turned around, and faced the soldiers on the drill ground.

In that instant, his entire aura changed.

He was no longer that down-on-his-luck drunkard, nor that humble subordinate, but had returned to being the cold-blooded commander who struck fear into the hearts of the enemy in the northern border town.

"Everyone, listen up!"

Li Guangbi's roar was like a thunderclap from a clear sky, making all the soldiers tremble.

"From today onwards, forget all those fancy but ineffective techniques you've been practicing! I will train you according to the standards of the Fanyang Army, even ten times more brutal!"

"Under my command, there is no such thing as hard work, only life or death! Those who can't run fast die! Those who can't shoot accurately die! Those whose formation is broken die!"

Li Guangbi drew his sword from his waist and slammed it down on a weapon rack beside him, sending wood chips flying everywhere.

"Anyone who feels they can't endure this can leave now! But if you stay, your lives belong to me! They belong to Young Master Yang!"

The drill ground was completely silent, save for the sound of the wind rustling the flags.

Not a single person backed down.

All the soldiers, whether they were the original salt guards or the newly recruited caravan men, were intimidated by Li Guangbi's terrifying killing intent, yet their eyes ignited with an unprecedented fighting spirit.

Pei Zhao stood aside, watching Li Guangbi's decisive and ruthless actions, and the slight resentment in his heart completely vanished.

He knew that this team had finally found a true soul.

Yang Xuan stood quietly below the reviewing stand, watching Li Guangbi sweeping through military discipline, a faint smile playing on his lips.

......

The next day.

The morning mist had not yet dissipated among the mountains, and the world was still shrouded in darkness when the loud and urgent bugle call, like a sharpened blade, instantly shattered the tranquility above the camp.

"Enemy attack—All troops assemble!"

With a thunderous roar, the soldiers, who had been snoring in their sleep, sprang up as if electrocuted.

The military camp was thrown into chaos. Some people frantically put on their armor, some searched for their boots, and some grabbed their weapons and rushed out without even fastening their belts.

However, when they rushed to the training ground, disheveled and panting, they were not greeted by a vast army of enemy soldiers, but only by Li Guangbi's gloomy face, which was so dark it seemed to drip water.

Li Guangbi, clad in cold, dark iron armor, stood like an iron tower on the command platform.

He held a military baton as thick as a baby's arm in his hand, his sharp gaze sweeping coldly over the chaotic group of soldiers below, like a lone wolf on the grassland.

"Half an incense stick's time! A full half an incense stick's time!"

Li Guangbi slammed his military baton against the wooden railing of the command platform with a deafening thud, sending splinters flying.

"If it were truly the Fanyang Iron Cavalry launching a night attack on the camp, judging from your panicked state just now, as if your parents were all dead, your heads would have been chopped off by now and used as chamber pots! You wouldn't even have left a complete corpse!"

"You bunch of good-for-nothings, do you even deserve to wield the finest steel swords of the Tang Dynasty? Do you even deserve to use the expensive repeating crossbows?"

Li Guangbi stepped down from the command platform, pacing slowly in front of the ranks like a fierce beast surveying its territory.

"From today onward, forget your old tricks of street brawls and playing house in the mountains. In my camp, there is only one rule—obedience! Absolute obedience!"

"Everyone, remove your armor immediately! Each person must carry thirty pounds of sandbags and run twenty laps around the perimeter of the camp! Those who fail to finish will not receive food today! The last ten will each receive twenty strokes of the military rod!"