Are you crazy? Trying to trick him into military service? He's the number one dragon on the fro

"This humble general, Deng Yunluo, pays his respects to Your Excellency!"

"This humble general, Xiao Ke, greets Your Excellency!"

The two commanders from Yanhe County and Yinyuan County clasped their hands in unison and bowed to Lu Xiao with reverence, their excitement barely concealed.

They had received a message from Lu Xiao as early as when he arrived in Yuyang County, instructing them to prepare to lead their troops into battle. Now they were itching to immediately draw their swords and slaughter the Hu people without leaving a single one alive.

Following that, the garrison commanders of the Zhenbei and Pingxi camps also briefly introduced themselves, their names being Zhao Xun and Qin Sheng respectively.

Lu Xiao introduced Luo Yang, Zhou Daxing, and others with a smile, then said seriously:

"After several battles last year, my White Wolf Camp has successfully angered the Hu people. They might lead their troops south this year to avenge the Gule tribe and others."

"Instead of passively taking a beating, we should go straight to their doorstep and kill them until they are terrified and never dare to send a single soldier south again. Only in this way can we resolve future troubles."

"Now let me tell you about the approximate troop strength of each side."

As soon as he finished speaking, he began to introduce himself:

"My White Wolf Camp currently has 3,000 cavalry and 4,000 infantry, a total of 7,000 men that can be mobilized."

"The garrison of Changyang County still consists of three thousand infantrymen."

Luo Yang, somewhat embarrassed, revealed his own troop deployment. Zhao Xun and Qin Sheng, the two garrison commanders, also stated that their two border camps each had 3,000 infantrymen, but each had 1,000 cavalrymen.

Seeing that Deng Yunluo and Xiao Ke were looking at him, Long Gui thought for a moment and then said:

"The entire Yuyang Commandery has 3,000 cavalry and 12,000 infantry. Apart from the troops stationed in various places, we can currently deploy a total of 2,000 cavalry and 8,000 infantry."

Upon hearing this, Deng Yunluo exclaimed in surprise:

"Brother Long, your Yuyang County has a lot of troops. My Yanhe County only has eight thousand troops in total."

Upon hearing this, Long Gui smiled and explained:

"The total number of soldiers is 15,000. This is not all under my command, but includes the troops from all the border outposts in the county. Otherwise, the troops in the county city alone would probably be less than 8,000."

"However, by drawing some from various outposts along the line, there are still quite a few usable infantrymen."

Hearing this, Deng Yunluo and Xiao Ke breathed a slight sigh of relief, but they still had doubts in their hearts.

Xiao Ke looked over, puzzled:

"That's not right either. The cavalry under the command of the Commandant of a Prefecture shall not exceed two thousand, and the infantry shall not exceed six thousand. This is a rule set by the Imperial Court."

"Forget about the cavalry, the number of infantry in your Yuyang Commandery has doubled. This can't be..."

"And feeding them is also a huge problem!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the two county commandants looked at Lu Xiao and Long Gui with suspicion and wariness in their eyes.

Lu Xiao is one thing, they know that this young Marquis of the Land of Champions is currently enjoying the Emperor's favor and has the right to expand his army on his own, so why is Long Gui also joining in the fun?

The two exchanged a glance, and Long Gui explained with a smile:

"Because I am the Commandant of Yuyang County, I can also expand my army when Lord Lu expands it. Otherwise, wouldn't expanding the army on my own be a capital offense?"

"As for feeding them, I have good relations with several wealthy merchants, and they will help solve the problem of food supplies, so it shouldn't be a big issue."

"I also have the support of the Fan family in the county town."

Lu Xiao nodded and casually offered an explanation.

In peacetime, the most difficult problem to solve in terms of raising an army is the issue of money and food, since there are so many mouths to feed and the daily consumption of food is enormous.

Hearing them say this, Deng Yunluo and Xiao Ke suddenly realized, and then said with no small amount of envy:

"If only our two prefectures could have the same power to act expediently as Lord Lu and Brother Long."

"Let me tell you about the situation in my Yanhe County."

At this point, Deng Yunluo's smile faded, and she said quite seriously:

"Only a small part of Yanhe County is close to the Northern Hu, so the cavalry and infantry have reached the limit that the Commander of this County can command, which is two thousand and six thousand respectively. The remaining soldiers are distributed throughout the county, and are distributed among the border defense camp, the garrison army and various outposts."

"Therefore, the total number of troops I can muster is eight thousand."

"It seems that your conditions are much better than those of our Yinyuan County."

Hearing about the troops they could directly mobilize, Xiao Ke sighed enviously and then said:

"Although Yinyuan County can directly enter the Northern Hu by crossing a mountain, it is precisely because of this mountain that the Hu people's iron cavalry is blocked. Apart from a few outposts, there are basically no defensive points."

"Therefore, this Commandant can directly lead only one thousand cavalry and six thousand infantry, totaling seven thousand men."

The atmosphere inside the watchtower gradually subsided.

They silently calculated the difference in their respective troop strength, as well as the total number of troops they could currently mobilize.

A moment later, Lu Xiao's gaze fell on Luo Yang:

"Brother Luo, this time I do not intend to retreat to the White Wolf camp, but will launch a direct attack. Therefore, there is only a very small chance that a major battle will break out at the camp gate."

"I'll leave the main camp to your garrison brothers in the county to guard."

Upon hearing this, Luo Yang smiled and agreed:

"I will obey your orders, Lord Marquis."

He actually really wanted to participate in this great battle, because the Great Zhou had already deployed tens of thousands of troops, and a great victory would be a significant achievement.

But his current position is a bit awkward.

If he participates and earns merit, he will likely be transferred to another border defense battalion as a garrison commander, with little chance of promotion. However, if he is transferred directly to the county town, it will threaten Long Gui's position.

After all, if a commander wants to be promoted based on his military achievements, the next step is to become a prefect.

However, given Long Gui's merits, he is not yet qualified to serve as a prefect.

Therefore, even though he felt utterly helpless, he could still accept Lu Xiao's suggestion.

Perhaps sensing his resentment, Lu Xiao comforted him from the side:

"Brother Luo, don't be discouraged."

"Although the major battle won't break out at the camp gate, there's still a high chance that you can lead the county's garrison troops into battle. Once you've accumulated merit, you won't have to worry about getting promoted."

After he finished speaking, he looked at everyone:

"Currently, not counting Captain Luo's three thousand garrison brothers, the total force we can lead on this expedition is forty-one thousand men, including eleven thousand cavalry and thirty thousand infantry."

"This is a considerable force; if mobilized properly, it could severely weaken the Northern Barbarians!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's spirits lifted, and they clenched their fists in agreement.

This was the first time they had organized such a large force, so after thinking for a moment, Long Gui said:

"Then let Lord Lu be the commander-in-chief of this army. After all, it was you who suggested taking the initiative to attack the Northern Hu."

"At that time, we will simply follow orders."