Chapter 1056

First Volume, Chapter 1056: Trouble Never Ends

Under conditions where weapons and equipment are roughly equal, a soldier's combat effectiveness depends on three factors.

The most important is numbers; the greater the disparity in numbers, the more lopsided the strength.

Except in siege warfare, where surprise exploits unpreparedness, on most battlefields, numerical disadvantage cannot be overcome.

Second is morale, and finally, experience!

This experience does not refer to the Commander's command experience, but to the soldiers' close-quarters combat experience—those with ample experience are commonly called "veterans."

Under identical conditions, veterans overwhelmingly crush new recruits.

Personal guards and household servants may indeed be brave, but they are not necessarily skilled fighters.

Most household servants never get the chance to fight on a battlefield, and precisely because of this, they severely lack practical combat experience; furthermore, household servants are hard to organize in large numbers, so in small to medium-scale conflicts, they often hold some advantage—but once the battlefield expands, this advantage vanishes instantly and is reversed.

The enemy's fifty men originally had some combat effectiveness, but they lacked practical experience and blindly followed "battle formations."

With so few men, to split forces is plainly asking for death.

The number Qin Feng sent out was not large—combined with Wu Tang and the Anwu Guard, it would not exceed fifty.

But all of them were archers, differing only between cavalry archers and step bowmen.

A pure archer unit confronting a small, well-equipped elite force seems destined to be crushed—but the reality is exactly the opposite.

On the battlefield, there are no universal tactics—only tactics suited to the terrain!

The fifty household servants, standing in formation, saw thirty cavalry charging toward them and instantly went on high alert.

"Heavy Infantry, advance!"

The commander was a Steward; recalling military manuals, he hurriedly ordered the Heavy Infantry to move forward to block Wu Tang's charge.

Thirty-five Heavy Infantry each held a Chang Mao, forming an impenetrable wall of bronze and iron.

When the two sides were less than fifty steps apart, Wu Tang raised his cavalry bow and shot an arrow straight at the front-row Heavy Armor household servants.

The cavalry archers beside him followed suit, firing arrows in unison.

Facing cavalry archers armed with Armor-Piercing Arrowheads, the front-row Heavy Armor household servants collapsed instantly—over half were wounded, and one unlucky man took an arrow to the face and died on the spot.

Under Wu Tang's leadership, the thirty cavalry descended from the Official Road and moved toward the right flank.

The Steward shouted urgently: "Cavalry, pursue!"

Fifteen household servant cavalry immediately spurred their horses to chase Wu Tang.

Wu Tang did not linger—he led his troops forward, covering just over one hundred steps, when the hidden Anwu Guard rose up and unleashed a barrage of arrows at the household servant cavalry.

The Light Armor household servant cavalry, facing the Anwu Guard's Special-Shaped Arrowheads, suffered catastrophic casualties instantly.

One ferocious household servant led three subordinates straight toward the Anwu Guard.

Before he reached halfway, Wu Tang intercepted them and cut them down with a storm of arrows.

Watching his fifteen cavalrymen wiped out in an instant, the Steward turned pale with shock.

"This… this isn't what the military manuals say!"

"The enemy are all archers—why are they so powerful?!"

The Steward felt his entire worldview shattered—and the nightmare was far from over; with the cavalry gone, the remaining Heavy Armor household servants became nothing but stationary targets.

Wu Tang's light cavalry and the Anwu Guard surged in from all directions, circling the Heavy Armor household servants and firing indiscriminately.

Watching one after another of his men fall.

The Steward's face was ashen; throughout the entire battle, the two sides never made contact, yet his side had already collapsed.

"The enemy's bows are deadly—retreat immediately!"

The Steward waved his hand and fled with the dozen or so surviving household servants in panic.

Too bad, two legs cannot outrun four—and weighed down by Heavy Armor, they moved slowly; soon Wu Tang caught up and picked them off one by one at a steady distance.

The battle lasted only a short time; by the time Wu Tang returned with his men to the convoy,

Qin Feng, who had just been about to nap, was woken up.

"My Lord, the roadblock dogs have been massacred—not a single survivor left!"

At these words, the women in the carriage exchanged startled glances.

Though they knew Qin Feng was skilled in warfare, to wipe out fifty elite household servants in the time it takes to doze off—this… was simply unbelievable.

Shen Qingci, witnessing Qin Feng's battle for the first time, stared in stunned disbelief.

"Is this really my irresponsible younger brother?"

"To him, human lives are truly as worthless as grass…"

Qin Feng stretched, ordered the convoy to continue forward, and idly asked Wu Tang through the Window.

"Any casualties on our side?"

Wu Tang lifted his head, radiant with pride: "My Lord, not a single one of ours was injured."

"As you ordered, we drowned them in arrows—gave them no chance for close combat."

Hearing this, Qin Feng nodded in satisfaction.

"That's the way—no matter how tough you are, there's no need to charge head-on."

"If you can get it for free, take it."

"Did you recover all the arrows?"

Wu Tang looked at Qin Feng with pure admiration; though he had been in the Tianji Camp for some time, this was his first time fighting under Qin Feng's command.

His whole body burned with excitement.

If Ning Hu had commanded, he would have ordered a frontal assault with superior numbers to crush the enemy head-on.

That approach might be thrilling and display martial spirit—but it would inevitably bring losses.

In contrast, Qin Feng sought perfection and cared more about a flawless victory.

"My Lord, apart from the broken arrows, everything that could be recovered has been retrieved."

"What about the armor?"

Whether Light Armor or Heavy Armor, both are extremely expensive; to simply discard them is truly a waste.

But Qin Feng's unit must be Lightly Equipped; carrying a load of Heavy Armor would indeed hinder their journey.

Qin Feng could only grit his teeth, sighed, and said: "Throw them away. To let go is to gain; only by giving up can you receive."

"Our journey is long, and along the way there will surely be more stubborn elements coming to attack. Stay alert, and do not make any mistakes."

"As for Ye Xiao, the Brocade Uniform Guard is watching him—no need to worry for now."

"Wu Tang, the safety of my Jia Guan and myself rests entirely on you."

Hearing this, Wu Tang immediately clasped his fists and replied firmly: "My Lord, rest assured—anyone who wishes to harm even a single hair of you or the ladies must first step over my corpse."

Qin Feng waved his hand, signaling Wu Tang to withdraw, then comfortably lay back on Xiao Xiangxiang's lap and stretched out with a deep yawn.

Yet he noticed that the five Jia Guan were now looking at him with a subtle change in their eyes.

"Why are you all looking at me like that?"