Chapter 1080

First Volume, Chapter 1080: The Military Might of Heaven

"Simply breaking through half of the Northern Di isn't enough—the key is, when this army retreated back to Liang, its organizational integrity remained astonishingly at ninety percent."

"In other words, after enduring the entire Winter War, the Beixi Expeditionary Brigade suffered only ten percent military death—how mighty and valiant is that?"

"No other unit can defeat the Beixi Expeditionary Brigade on its own; the only way to defeat this elite force is to overwhelm it with numerical superiority, encircle it, consume its strength, and slowly erode it. Facing the Beixi Expeditionary Brigade head-on is suicide."

"This is merely the general strength of the Beixi Expeditionary Brigade—if you add in its massive number of war horses and its near-terrifyingly complete logistics supply, no other unit in Heaven and Earth is as adept at hard combat as the Beixi Expeditionary Brigade."

Lei Meng and Chen Yanzong certainly knew the Beixi Expeditionary Brigade's valor, but they never expected Chang Cheng to rate it so highly.

Chang Cheng ignored their puzzled glances and continued his analysis.

"The Beixi Expeditionary Brigade is first-tier in combat effectiveness; the forces under the Three Great Generals of the North Border have also been forged in National War."

"The strength of the Three Great Generals of the North Border is slightly inferior to the Beixi Expeditionary Brigade, but their actual combat experience still far outpaces all other units."

"You must understand: every Northern Border troop is extremely valiant and battle-hardened, and the reason is simple—their enemies are different."

Lei Meng frowned deeply, his eyes filled with doubt.

In his understanding, Northern Border troops were relatively poor, while the Beijing Capital Garrison were all extravagantly wealthy; due to the gap in weapons and equipment, Northern Border troops should be vastly inferior to the Jingji Garrison.

How, then, could Chang Cheng claim Northern Border troops were second only to the Beixi Expeditionary Brigade as elite forces?

"Could even the Longhu Army be weaker than Northern Border troops? How is that possible!"

Chang Cheng's gaze grew grave, his tone even deeper: "Nothing is impossible."

"As I said before, the enemy differs, and so does combat effectiveness."

"Think about it—who are the Longhu Army's enemies? For most of the time, they have no enemies at all; when they do engage, it's mostly bandit suppression and local governance."

"But the enemies of Northern Border troops are the Northern Di!"

"You must understand the difference between valor and bravery."

"The Longhu Army is brave—they can handle large-scale battles—but when they face the Northern Di, they are instantly shattered."

"The Northern Di grow up on horseback, skilled in mounted archery; every herder is a qualified You Ji Cavalry soldier."

"The mission of Northern Border soldiers is to hold the border against the Northern Di; they have fought them for years, thoroughly tempered by countless battles."

"Put simply, soldiers who fight cavalry year-round in the frontier wastelands are far tougher than those stationed in the Central Plains' rear areas."

"The second and third echelons among Northern Border troops are the forces of the Powerful Clans of the Nan Jing."

"The Nan Jing borders the Southern Barbarians and must also wage prolonged wars against them; their strength is naturally not to be underestimated."

"The fourth echelon is the Longhu Army."

Hearing Chang Cheng's words, Lei Meng's heart sank halfway.

Although Chen Yanzong had always boasted that he and his brother defeated the Longhu Army, it was merely to boost morale—an intentional exaggeration of their achievements.

The reality was that Chen Yanzong and Wu Heli had fled like rabbits, chased everywhere by the Longhu Army.

If they truly faced them in open battle, the Longhu Army could crush them in a single clash.

And this… was merely the fourth-tier force of Liang.

According to Chang Cheng's logic, if they faced the Beixi Expeditionary Brigade, any military deployment would be like trying to break a stone with an egg.

Lei Meng exhaled deeply, relieved: "No one questions the Beixi Expeditionary Brigade's strength—they were the main force in this Winter War, and even the Northern Di were crushed by them. What chance do we have?"

"But the Beixi Expeditionary Brigade isn't here—Qin Feng only has the Black Cavalry with him."

At this, Chang Cheng sighed heavily, his face filled with resignation: "If we were facing the Beixi Expeditionary Brigade, our chances would actually be higher."

Lei Meng froze: "What do you mean? Didn't you just say the Beixi Expeditionary Brigade is first-tier? Are the Black Cavalry stronger than the Beixi Expeditionary Brigade?"

Chang Cheng shook his head, hands behind his back, gazing solemnly at Yuping County.

"What I just described were regular armies and large-scale warfare."

"But Qin Feng's Black Cavalry, the Tianji Camp Guards, and even the Anwu Guard are not regular troops…"

"In Qin Feng's own words, they are… Special Forces."

"Though useless in large-scale battles, in small-scale skirmishes, these three Special Forces are far more troublesome than regular armies."

"Of all the heavy cavalry in Heaven, the Black Cavalry is first-tier; to defeat them, you can only use light cavalry to harass and gradually erode them."

"Of all the Valiant Guardsmen in Heaven, the Imperial Palace Guards are first-tier, the Tianji Camp Guards second."

"Of all the Military Secret Missions, with the fall of the Night Owl and the decline of the Black Guards, only the Brocade Robe Guards remain."

Chang Cheng drew a deep breath and spoke gravely: "Qin Feng possesses the strongest regional economy, the most valiant and elite regular army, the strongest heavy cavalry, the second-ranked Valiant Guardsmen, and the largest, most tightly run, and sole surviving Intelligence Organization."

"Now do you understand exactly who we are facing?"

Lei Meng fell silent. Though his temperament was fierce, he was not arrogant; after hearing Chang Cheng's analysis, he realized the difficulty of assassinating Qin Feng was no less than assassinating the Emperor of Liang.

Chen Yanzong also inwardly gasped—he knew Qin Feng was strong, but never imagined he was this powerful.

According to Chang Cheng's words, besides the fifty Black Cavalry, who knew how many Brocade Robe Guards and Anwu Guard were lurking around Qin Feng?

Worse still, if Qin Feng ever found himself in danger, garrison troops from all directions would rush to his aid immediately.

After all, if Qin Feng died near his ZhuZhen, it would shake Liang to its core—no one could bear that responsibility.

To eliminate Qin Feng, you must strike with one-Strike Victory—no room for error.

Chen Yanzong forced a laugh: "Hahaha, Qin Feng is strong, but we're not weak either."

"Especially my brother—he possesses unmatched martial prowess."

"Put plainly, Qin Feng just got lucky—he never faced my brother before, or he'd have been dead long ago. How could he now have the chance to show off?"

Seeing Chen Yanzong still so confident, Chang Cheng stopped arguing.

As his brother said, this might not be a bad thing—if everyone feared Qin Feng and lost heart before battle, there'd be no point fighting at all.

Chang Cheng silently sighed within—he must win this battle!

If they lost, the Powerful Clans of the Nan Jing would abandon these four brothers, and the brothers themselves would become wanted fugitives of Liang.