Chapter 725: Chapter 568 Menghe Mountain Pass
"Are they all Martial Artists?" Yang Zhenshan asked.
"Of course, two thousand Heavy Armor Foot Soldiers, all the strongest warriors in my camp, each with a cultivation at the Refining Power Level, and each Centurion is a Postnatal Martial Artist!" Yang Chengxu said proudly.
This kid is a bit arrogant, but he has the right to be.
Da Rong doesn’t lack Heavy Armor Foot Soldiers, but their number is very limited. The Imperial Guard’s Twelve Camps and the Personal Army’s sixteen garrisons all have Iron Armor Cavalry and Heavy Armor Foot Soldiers, but all together, it barely amounts to ten thousand.
As for the nine border towns, I estimate that only Chongshan Town has the financial resources to establish Iron Armor Cavalry and Heavy Armor Foot Soldiers.
In other border towns, most soldiers mostly used cloth armor and leather armor for battle, with those wearing iron armor already considered elite.
Cloth armor is made with iron sheets on the inner layer, while leather armor has iron pieces embedded on the outer layer. Both types provide certain defensive capabilities, along with wind and cold protection, making them most suitable for use in Da Rong’s northern border towns.
Therefore, soldiers from Chongshan Town mostly used cloth armor and leather armor before.
But now, the Five Camps primarily use iron armor, not just for Iron Armor Cavalry and Heavy Armor Foot Soldiers, but all their armor is made of iron.
The Five Camps also have light armor cavalry, clad in blue cloth armor, however, they are just the scouts and messengers in the army.
Yang Zhenshan looked around and noticed that the Middle Camp and the Front Camp actually had more than six thousand soldiers each, with eight thousand soldiers per camp, two thousand of whom were auxiliary troops.
"Is it the same for the Rear Camp?"
"Yes, the Rear Camp is equipped just like the Front Camp!"
"And what about the Left and Right Camps?"
"The Left and Right Camps are primarily Iron Armor Cavalry, supplemented by Cloth Armor Light Cavalry, each camp has four thousand Iron Armor Cavalry and two thousand Cloth Armor Light Cavalry," said Yang Chengxu.
"What about the various Rescue Camps?" Yang Zhenshan continued to ask.
Yang Chengxu replied, "The situations in the various Rescue Camps are different, but all are cavalry, the difference lies in the ratio of heavy and light cavalry."
Yang Zhenshan nodded slightly, it seems Chongshan Town is truly wealthy now, even turning all the Rescue Camps into cavalry units.
Maintaining so many cavalry isn’t easy; the consumption of food and fodder is enormous.
Chongshan Town’s ability to sustain such a large military force is only partly due to large-scale cultivation of unused land, mainly because the glass workshop provides a significant amount of Silver Coin to the General Mansion, as well as profits from sea trade.
Subsequently, Yang Zhenshan had the soldiers practice, giving him a clear understanding of the overall combat capability of the Five Camps.
After understanding the strength of Chongshan Town, Yang Zhenshan began sending people to gather information about the Wuliang Hu Clan.
As it is said, knowing oneself and the enemy ensures victory in every battle; Yang Zhenshan suddenly arrived in Chongshan Town and would not rashly deploy troops without a clear understanding of the situation.
At the same time, the battle in Beiyuan Town is raging like wildfire. One hundred thousand Northern barbarian cavalry moved southward, with the borders of Beiyuan Town covered in the smoke of war. In mid-April, Wu Tuo led King Wuliang’s elite army of one hundred and twenty thousand, imposingly outside of Linyuan City.
Linyuan City is Beiyuan Town’s largest fortified city, six zhang high and more than thirty li around, bordered to the west by the steep Tianhu Mountain and to the north by Hu Shan River, one of the sources of the Ru River.
The moat of the city is the Hu Shan River, which is more than ten zhang wide. Although its deepest part is only two zhang, it serves as the best barrier for Linyuan City. If King Wuliang’s army wants to attack Linyuan City, they must first cross the Hu Shan River.
Hu Shan River originates from Tianhu Mountain. If King Wuliang’s army wants to bypass Tianhu Mountain, they would need to detour more than a hundred li to the west. However, Shangyuan Pass, another important fortified city of Beiyuan Town, is also located to the west of Tianhu Mountain.
However, Wu Tuo does not plan to bypass Tianhu Mountain; he is currently ordering his army to fill in the Hu Shan River.
Though Hu Shan River is wide, the flow of water is not very strong. With enough manpower, it is entirely possible to fill it.
Wu Tuo stood in front of his camp, looking towards Linyuan City to the south, showing no signs of urgency.
Even though he is currently blocked by Linyuan City from advancing deeper into Beiyuan Town, he is also tying down Duan Qifeng’s command of one hundred thousand soldiers of Camp. Comparatively, they do not suffer losses by dragging out the battle here.
Moreover, beneath the command of King Wuliang’s Royal Court, there are eight divisions of cavalry, and currently, only three divisions have moved south. The remaining five are also mobilizing and dispatching troops, and will soon head south.
He believes that as long as he can hold off Duan Qifeng’s Camp, his eight divisions of cavalry can easily sweep through the garrisons of Beiyuan Town.
"Report, an urgent message from the Royal Court!" A Hu cavalry rode swiftly, delivering a letter to Wu Tuo.
Reading the contents of the urgent letter, Wu Tuo’s eyebrows furrowed, "So soon?"
The content of the letter was regarding Yang Zhenshan’s arrival at Chongshan Pass.
This was quicker than he had anticipated. He originally thought that the Da Rong Court would need at least a month and a half to send someone to take charge in Chongshan Town, yet Yang Zhenshan had already arrived at Chongshan Pass in just half a month.
However, he was not too worried, as he had long thought of a way to resist Chongshan Pass.
"Order to the Wula Tribe, let them delay the advance of Chongshan Town’s army!"
"Order to the Chi Ci Tribe, let them staunchly defend Menghe Mountain Pass, they must not allow Chongshan Town’s army to cross Menghe Mountain Pass!"
Wu Tuo said in an unhurried tone.
Menghe Mountain Pass is a defense line that Wu Tuo had specially constructed in recent years to resist Chongshan Town.
Menghe Mountain stretches about a thousand li from north to south and about three hundred li from east to west, acting like a massive natural barrier dividing King Wuliang’s territory into northern and southern parts.
If Chongshan Town wants to invade the heartland of King Wuliang’s Royal Court, they must first cross Menghe Mountain. However, Wu Tuo has built numerous fortresses and passes on Menghe Mountain, and with over three hundred thousand tribesmen of the Ci Clan stationed there, they are guarding various passes and fortresses along Menghe Mountain.