It must be understood that Qian State’s issues with its bloated bureaucracy and finances were already severe, with military expenses being the most critical component. Every year, the Qian governnt allocated the full quota of funds for military expenses. How these funds were distributed, and how much actually reached the military, had been a tacit understanding established over decades.
In the past, even if the emperor knew about this issue, he wouldn’t dare to take any action. Qian State had no equivalent of Li Liangting and Tian Wujing.
But now, with the national war as a pretext, they can finally take action. Given ti, if Qian State could train its full quota of troops, they wouldn’t even need to worry about Yan’s invasion from the south...
"A counterattack is unlikely," Zheng Fan said.
"You never know," Blind Bei shook his head. "It depends on the National Destiny, on luck. Who knows if there will be any future generals among Qian’s troops."
When Yan State initially suffered major losses and was almost annihilated, the first Earl of North Border erged dramatically, decisively crushing half a million soldiers of the Qian army.
This was fate, also known as National Destiny.
Of course, such fates are uncommon and are contingent upon various special conditions. Even if you asked the first Earl of North Border himself to do it all over again, he might not be able to replicate such a glorious victory.
"Possibly, our level of understanding isn’t high enough. I don’t believe those three on top can’t see the problem that even we can see," Zheng Fan said.
"My lord, you speak as though common folk always believe that the emperor is good, and that it’s the ministers by his side who are evil."
"That saying isn’t entirely false," Zheng Fan said, smiling at Blind Bei. "Throughout history, no matter how inept an emperor might be, how many have deliberately sought to topple their own kingdom?"
"We’ll see. For now, all we can do is watch." Blind Bei stretched and rubbed his temples, then continued, "I had the Sixth Prince’s trading group investigate so matters earlier. We discovered that our Yan State isn’t manufacturing many siege weapons on a large scale, nor are we gathering large quantities of materials for them. Perhaps, as you said, my lord, those three on top already have a plan. Otherwise, Lord Jingnan wouldn’t have ordered these military commanders to conduct raids in the south while the North Border Army was still busy suppressing the powerful clans. Wasn’t that just needlessly alerting the enemy?"
Then, Blind Bei turned to Liang Cheng and said, "A Cheng, share your thoughts."
Since coming back from the gathering, Liang Cheng hadn’t said much.
Now that Blind Bei had explicitly asked for his input, Liang Cheng had no choice but to say, "Using cavalry to attack a city is simply a waste."
A Ming shook his head. "Don’t talk nonsense."
Liang Cheng nodded and said, "Not necessarily."
「...」
Mianzhou city had already been visited twice by Chief Zheng, but in the short term, a third visit would not occur.
Extending out in four directions from Mianzhou’s city walls, large camps had sprung up one after another. Every day, soldiers of the West Army Division were seen training within them.
Even if Green Willow Fortress wasn’t successfully bled this ti, and even if Chief Zheng brought all his assets, faced with such overwhelming fortifications, he might exhaust everything and still not even get near Mianzhou City’s walls.
The winter wind cut like a blade.
Zhong Wenhao stood on the city wall, his son, Zhong Tianlang, by his side.
The great feat of the young general of the West Army Division, Zhong Tianlang—his swift, long-distance raid, breaching enemy camps and claiming the head of Zheng Fan—had already been widely publicized. This was a significant morale-boosting victory.
Throughout history, truly excellent generals understood that even in a defensive war, there was never any reason for complete passivity and simply absorbing blows.
The overall strategy might be defensive, but to boost morale, one always had to achieve so local advantages.
This was the fundantal reason Zhong Wenhao was willing to let his young son "indulge" with the West Army Division’s precious cavalry.
At this mont, father and son stood in the cold wind. Zhong Tianlang was sowhat concerned for his father’s health, but he knew that if he were to advise his father to go back and rest because of the wind, it would only displease him.
"I am gratified that you have this insight."
"I admit, I was indeed rather arrogant and overconfident in the past."
"This battle won’t be easy. The Yan people are not the North Qiang, nor are they like those tribal lords in the southwest mountains."
"I know, Father."
"Curb your arrogance, but retain your sharpness."
"Thank you for your guidance, Father."
"Eventually, the West Army Division will be in your hands. In truth, when I received the Imperial Edict to deploy troops, I hesitated."
With that, Zhong Wenhao’s gaze swept across their surroundings, and he said, "In the north, the most frightening thing has never been the weather, but these vast, open plains and roads."
"Father, no matter how powerful the Yan cavalry is, they can’t break through our West Army Division’s camps."
Zhong Wenhao glanced at his son without saying anything, but a hint of sorrow flickered in his expression.
Zhong Tianlang then spoke again, "Father, to succeed in a northern expedition, our Qian must cultivate its own cavalry."
"A northern expedition?"
"Yes, a northern expedition! I believe that one day, our Qian will embark on a northern expedition against the Yan and Barbarians!"
Hearing this, a smile flickered at the corner of Zhong Wenhao’s mouth.
He didn’t want to discuss the difficulties of a northern expedition with his son, nor did he want to explain just how taboo the words "Northern Expedition" were within the Imperial Court. But it was normal for young n to aspire to such things; he had been the sa in his youth.
Zhong Wenhao couldn’t help but rember the scene from his past, when he and ng Geng’s father, among others, had stood beside the Tattoo-faced Master. At that ti, they were already planning a Northern Expedition.
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