CHAPTER 306: CHAPTER 12 CHARGE! _2

The news of the Wolf Land Soldiers from the southwest of Qian State marching northwards had been relayed to Green Willow Fortress through the intelligence network of the Sixth Prince.

The Wolf Land Soldiers were troops under the local chieftains of the Qian State’s southwest. They were renowned for their extreme bravery and, decades ago, had wreaked havoc across the southwestern region of Qian State.

However, they had one major issue, an issue not necessarily tied to them personally. It had nothing to do with their courage or equipment; rather, it concerned their awareness of warfare and their patterns of thought.

It was like the Senggelinqin Cavalry of a later age charging the gun positions of the Anglo-French allies; like Polish cavalry, sabers drawn, assaulting Nazi Germany’s armored tanks; or like Charles de Gaulle climbing from a tank, only to watch German Stuka bombers incapacitate his French tanks one by one. This was a cognitive gap in warfare, and such gaps could often lead to terrifying consequences. Its impact could even surpass the disparity in armaments and equipment itself.

The southwestern region of Qian is mountainous. They did have horses, but these were small and used more for transporting goods than for riding.

When the chieftains of the southwest region collectively rebelled, the Qian army was thwarted several times in its attempts to quell the uprising. Their heavy losses led to the situation deteriorating further. This was because, in the mountains and forests, the local soldiers used their familiarity with the terrain to employ various guerrilla tactics, such as harassment, division, and surprise attacks, reducing the Qian army to a pitiful state.

In a forest or mountain setting, warhorses could not be effectively utilized. At the same time, Qian State’s cavalry was not particularly skilled.

As a result, Lady Daxi and her Wolf Land Soldiers lacked real experience or understanding of fighting against cavalry. Thus, they made the choice to pursue cavalry on foot.

Cavalry would not be alien to them, since they too possessed cavalry. Perhaps in their view, cavalry was just that—nothing special.

However, the horses of the Yan people differed from those in the southwestern region. Moreover, the Yan people’s understanding and application of cavalry tactics were far beyond the reach of the Qian people and the chieftains.

For hundreds of years, the Yan people had a good teacher who continually instructed them in the application of cavalry tactics. In the past century, the Yan people finally surpassed this teacher, even defeating their former master.

Here, the ’teacher’ naturally refers to the Barbarians.

The Desert Barbarians are undeniably the most skilled at using cavalry in this world. Yet, the most powerful cavalry in the current age belonged to Yan State!

A flash of murderous intent glinted in the depths of Liang Cheng’s eyes before vanishing.

He understood how heartbroken his lord must be right now. So, he would give his lord the best consolation possible.

Liang Cheng raised his hand.

These past few days, the soldiers in Green Willow Fortress had been drilled in one thing: obeying orders.

Under Liang Cheng’s command, the retreating troops intentionally slowed their pace.

Since you’re foolish enough to pursue us, we’ll let you run a bit longer. Can you really hope to outlast a four-legged warhorse with your stamina?

On the north gate tower of Mianzhou city, Meng Geng clenched the battlements tightly. He was extremely anxious because he saw that the Yan cavalry was not fleeing in disorder, but retreating!

Retreating and fleeing in disarray were two entirely different things and would very likely lead to two different outcomes.

Meng Geng shouted for the guards beside him to sound the gongs, calling for the pursuing Wolf Land Soldiers to return.

But it was no use. The Wolf Land Soldiers had gone berserk. Furthermore, they never heeded specific commands on the battlefield.

Inside the city, over a thousand Wolf Land Soldiers were busy treating their wounded kinsmen, gleefully severing the heads of Yan soldiers, stripping off their armor, and seizing their weapons.

They heard the shouts and gong sounds from the Qian people on the city tower but only laughed, paying no heed. Their gazes towards these Qian people were filled with evident contempt.

You Qian people are useless, terrified by the Yan people! But before us, the descendants of the great mountains, the Yan people are nothing special!

Meng Geng’s shouts failed to make Lady Daxi, who was pursuing outside the city, turn back. Meng Geng knew that, in the past, there was actually one person who could make the chieftains under him obey orders dutifully.

That was the Tattoo-faced Master. During his time, the fighting power of Qian’s West Army Division had significantly increased for a period. The local chieftains he subjugated dared not overstep their bounds before his command flag.

At that time, there was even talk within the imperial court that if full support were given to the Tattoo-faced Master, Qian might have been able to wipe away the disgrace inflicted upon them by the first Earl of North Border! But soon, nothing came of it.

Under Qian’s years of pacification policies, the chieftains had been outwardly compliant. However, Meng Geng knew that without the suppression from the Tattoo-faced Master, this compliance was merely superficial.

Did they really think the Yan people were the same as the Qian army, which was deficient in cavalry? Did they honestly believe the Yan people were no more than the peasant rebels they faced in the few uprisings they helped quell? If the Yan people were truly like that, wouldn’t Qian have launched a northern expedition long ago? Wouldn’t the Barbarians have marched south by now?

Meng Geng felt somewhat helpless and lost.

All he could hope for now was that the Yan army’s commander had also been scared out of his wits.

What had begun as a ’victorious’ skirmish brought him no joy at all.

His overwhelming anxiety and unease transformed into a furious roar.

Meng Geng slammed his fist hard against the battlements.