Chapter 81: Just a Soldier

Changshan Commandery, Zhen Ding County.

"Fourth Brother."

Murong Chui, who had made a name for himself at a young age, strode into the tent. "I'm back."

"A Nu." Murong Ke, seated at the head, raised his head and looked over. "Did you catch Ran Min?"

"No." Murong Chui stepped forward, picked up the goat milk on the table, and drank it in one gulp. "The Qi Huo Army is tough; they all fought to the death."

"They retreated into the mountains and forests, and I couldn't very well chase them in there, so I came back first."

The Xianbei Murong Clan is renowned in the world for its cavalry.

Their cavalry's combat prowess is so strong that only the Liangzhou Great Horses can compare with them.

Cavalry has many advantages, but its disadvantages are also obvious.

In the complex terrain of the mountains and forests zone, it is unsuitable for cavalry combat, especially for armored cavalry, which finds movement difficult.

Once cavalry loses its mobility, facing swarming foot soldiers, they become living targets.

"This Qi Huo Army."

Murong Ke, who had been on the battlefield since age fifteen, wore a heavy expression. "It is very unusual."

"Their equipment is excellent, nearly every man wears armor."

"When fighting they are extremely tenacious; even when ambushed, they can fight to the death without retreating."

"The Stone Zhao Army from the previous two years was not like this!"

"Fourth Brother is right." Murong Chui, who had also been on the battlefield since age thirteen and was equally rich in battle experience, nodded. "They really are tough; sometimes you simply cannot break through."

Both brothers felt some worry in their hearts.

Although they won the first battle of the southward campaign, the Qi Huo Army's tenacity left an extremely deep impression on them.

"When the Qi Huo Army destroyed Stone Zhao, Fu Hong was there the whole time."

Murong Ke decided, "Summon the generals for a military council, call Fu Hong to come and question him thoroughly!"

A crowd of Murongs, along with various military generals, all gathered in the main tent.

Having won a victorious battle, everyone's mood was quite good.

Fu Hong, who had recently defected to the Murong Clan, after paying his respects to everyone, spoke frankly: "My unit still has a Qi Huo Army corpse that hasn't been stripped; may I invite everyone to take a look."

In the previous battle at Zhen Ding, the Qi Huo Army led by Ran Min suffered heavy losses, and after their defeat they left many corpses on the battlefield.

Because their equipment was exquisite and they carried abundant supplies.

When the Xianbei cleaned up the battlefield afterwards, they had already stripped everything clean, plundering it all.

Only Fu Hong was a thoughtful person who deliberately kept some back.

A Qi Huo Army corpse was brought over and placed on the ground.

Recently the weather had gradually warmed up, and it already carried a bit of a smell.

"Everyone, please look."

Fu Hong stepped forward without caring, first reaching out to take off the helmet.

He tapped it with his finger, producing a dull sound. "Cast from hundred-times refined fine steel!"

Then he unfastened the chest armor on the corpse.

Front and rear two stamped steel plates, edges punched with holes, connected by cowhide ropes.

"Also hundred-times refined fine steel." Fu Hong struck the chest armor hard with his fist. "Neither bow nor crossbow can pierce it."

The generals' complexions gradually turned somewhat ugly.

Bows and crossbows are important weapons for breaking the enemy.

If the Qi Huo Army's every man is equipped like this, then their offensive power is nearly halved.

This is not good news.

"The Qi Huo Army's inner lining is silk."

Fu Hong reached out and took off the corpse's shoes. "Generals, please look."

He held up the liberation shoes and signaled to everyone. "These shoes are quite miraculous; they can be hard or soft, extremely comfortable to wear on the feet."

"Indeed useful." A general laughed. "Just tying the shoelaces is troublesome."

Everyone laughed.

Looking closely, quite a few people's feet were wearing the same style of liberation shoes.

When the Xianbei cleaned the battlefield, they naturally got quite a lot of these things.

Whether shoes are good or not, you know once you put them on.

Fu Hong signaled to everyone, pointing to the liberation shoes on his own feet. "These shoes were obtained during the Ye City Battle."

"Traveling over a thousand li, very comfortable, absolutely no ordinary item."

He bent down and unfastened the leg wraps on the corpse's calves. "This item is called leg wraps."

"According to the captives, this item can relieve fatigue and increase marching speed and distance."

"If injured, it can also be used to bandage wounds."

Murong Chui interjected, "I was wondering how those Qi Huo Army ran so fast; so that's how it is."

"This is a kettle." Fu Hong shook the kettle in his hand. "Seems like iron but not iron, don't know what it's cast from, extremely exquisite."

"This is a mess kit, same material as the kettle, every man in the Qi Huo Army is issued one."

He opened the mess kit and took out two pieces of sugar.

All around, people immediately shouted, "It's sugar, this stuff tastes good."

Everyone immediately burst into laughter.

The captured war spoils were naturally given to them to enjoy first.

After cleaning the battlefield, the captured sugar had already been enjoyed by those Xianbei officers.

"According to the prisoners' explanation," Fu Hong held the sugar in his hand and gestured to everyone, "when exhausted from battle on the battlefield, eating a few pieces can quickly restore one's spirit and energy, allowing the slaughter to continue."

Murong Chui was stunned. "Really?!"

"Yes," Fu Hong nodded. "I had someone try it."

"After strenuous training, eat two pieces, and in no time you'll have the spirit and strength to continue training."

"I imagine it's the same on the battlefield."

Murong Ke frowned, staring at everyone around him. "You've all eaten them? Wasteful!"

His expression was unpleasant, full of the sentiment of hating iron for not becoming steel.

Such a good thing should be centrally supplied to the Longcheng cavalry to eat when charging into battle.

The strength of the armored cavalry is the guarantee of combat power.

Fu Hong began introducing weapons.

He picked up a long spear and simply handed it to the vigilant Murong Chui.

"Hollow, forged from iron smelted steel."

Murong Chui reached out and skillfully twisted off the spearhead. "With a blood groove; someone tried it before, and one thrust causes blood to gush, impossible to stop."

As for whom he tried it on, no one cared.

After picking up a hammer and swinging it, Murong Chui held it in his hand to weigh it. "For breaking armor."

Next was the ring-pommel saber; everyone was familiar with it, so there was nothing to introduce.

But Fu Hong said, "This saber is mainly used to cut off heads."

"The Qi Huo Army counts our heads for merit."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions turned ugly.

They still remembered that during the previous raid on the Qi Huo Army, even in extremely unfavorable circumstances, those Qi Huo soldiers still fought over heads, skillfully cutting them off and tying them to their waists.

"Those Hans always say we are cruel, but I think they are the truly cruel ones."

"Kill them, and then take their heads—truly cruel!"

Fu Hong took two cloth bags from the waists of the corpses.

Opening one, he took out compressed biscuits, a can of luncheon meat, a roll of cloth strips, and a bottle of powder.

"Dry rations, canned meat."

The Xianbei generals had all eaten them after cleaning the battlefield; the taste was truly delicious, and they praised it endlessly.

As for that bottle of powder, Fu Hong explained, "This is medicinal powder; pour it on the wound and bind it with cloth strips, and the effect is excellent."

Then he opened the other cloth bag.

Inside were a flea comb for grooming fleas, tooth powder for brushing teeth, needle and thread for mending, soap for bathing and washing clothes, and other daily necessities.

After the introduction was finished, Murong Ke looked at Fu Hong. "Great Chieftain, what do you mean?"

"This is just an ordinary soldier in the Qi Huo Army."

Fu Hong said seriously, "Just a soldier."

"The Qi Huo Army is extremely affluent, with formidable combat power and firm resolve."

He took a deep breath, his gaze sweeping over everyone around him. "The ones we defeated before were merely one of their flanking divisions."

"Their true main force and elites are still concentrated at Ye City."

"Even more terrifying is the Qi Huo Commander."

Fu Hong recalled the iron beast driven by Lin Dao during the Battle of Ye City.

A hint of gloom flickered in his eyes.

"The Qi Huo Commander possesses immortal arts and secret techniques."

"He can drive the iron beast, rampaging across the battlefield and looking down on all."

"That iron beast runs faster than armored cavalry, its form like a mountain, impregnable."

"The armored cavalry under Shi Hu's command, colliding with it, is like striking a stone with an egg."

"Generals, if the Qi Huo Commander arrives in person, you must outwit him and not engage him directly!"

Outside Lin City, by the Ruoshui riverbank, the Qi Huo Army's main camp.

Ran Min came to the entrance of the Central Army Tent and took a deep breath.

His mood at this moment carried a hint of tragic heroism and resolve.

He had done dirty work, and then returned in defeat from a great battle.

Normally, someone like him would be thrown out as a scapegoat.

All the crimes would be pinned on him, and everyone would be happy.

He had thought about running away before.

But the world was so vast that there was no place for him to stay.

Now he was about to accept the judgment of fate; needless to say, his mood was grim.

Under the gaze of many guard soldiers outside the tent, Ran Min raised his head and puffed out his chest, his gaze becoming even more resolute, and he strode into the Central Army Tent.

He, Ran Min, even if he died, would die with his head held high!

"Distribute the iron wire nets to the teams; ensure every team has them."

Lin Dao, who was instructing the logistics, looked up and saw Ran Min enter.

Ran Min pursed his lips, took a deep breath, stepped forward and saluted. "Sinful General Ran Min, I pay my respects to the Grand Commander."

"Get up and speak."

Light flickered in Lin Dao's eyes. "Tell me in detail how the Xianbei Murong Clan fights."

"Yes."

After Ran Min finished speaking, Lin Dao thought for a moment. "Mainly it's the Armored Cavalry charging the formation, Light Cavalry harassing."

"Put that way, terrain becomes very important."

"Best if we can drive the Xianbei Murong Clan into a desperate situation and kill them all in one battle."

Lin Dao instructed, "This time I brought a batch of replacement soldiers over. You go handle the handover procedures and replenish the previous losses."

"I'll give you two days to rest and reorganize."

"In two days, the whole army marches northward!"

Ran Min stared blankly at Lin Dao. Just that?

"Hm?" Lin Dao's brows furrowed slightly. "Something else?"

Ran Min hurriedly shook his head.

Just as he was about to withdraw, Lin Dao spoke. "Victory and defeat are common in warfare; just focus on thinking how to win it back."

"Roger~~~"

To make nomadic peoples skilled in cavalry sing and dance, the most useful thing is machine guns.

Hundreds and thousands of machine guns arrayed in rows — even Genghis Khan would have to jump up and dance a tune.

It's not that this stuff can't be gotten at all; it's more that Lin Dao worries when he himself might catch a burst.

The human heart, that thing, is the hardest to fathom.

He also doesn't want to widely distribute equipment on a large scale.

No matter how you put it, his own safety is forever the most important.

Besides that, the utility of the iron wire net shows itself.

Armored Cavalry charge?

Pull a few dozen layers of iron wire net and you can charge all you want.

Armored Cavalry trapped in the iron wire net, facing foot soldiers advancing to stab and hammer, are likewise a dead end.

As for Light Cavalry, their most important means is bow-and-arrow harassment.

But their arrows can't penetrate armor.

Lin Dao's Hundred-Ton King Mining Truck has already finished repairs.

Choosing the right moment, he will inevitably leave the Xianbei Murong Clan a profound memory.

"Murong Chui, Murong Ke."

"Famous generals, are they? This time I'll make Murong Fu unable to find his ancestral tablets to worship!"

(End of Chapter)