Chapter 1120

First Volume, Chapter 1120: Deeds Along the Way

The Chariot and Cavalry General had spent half his life in battle, yet now he felt his entire worldview had been overturned.

If five hundred faced five thousand, the chance of a Sudden Victory would actually be greater.

Because these five hundred had sufficient manpower to rotate and rest, and if they also possessed slight troop-type advantages, terrain superiority, morale, or equipment advantages, their odds of victory would be even higher.

As for Siege Warfare and Night Raid, they were not even within consideration, due to too many variables.

Yet Qin Feng defeated ten times his number of Enemy Army with merely fifty men, and crucially, not a single one of his own was killed, not even wounded.

This seemed utterly implausible.

After much thought, the Chariot and Cavalry General concluded the only possible explanation was that weapons, equipment, and tactical skill were vastly superior.

Qin Tianhu's response confirmed the Chariot and Cavalry General's suspicion.

"Those few hundred bandits were nothing but wandering robbers; they had no Armor, not even Breakthrough Weapons."

"Aside from a few inferior Chang Mao, their best weapons were Sword and Shield."

Upon hearing this, the Three Great Generals finally understood.

You should know that the Black Knights are famous heavy cavalry, with armor even sturdier than that of heavy infantry.

Even if they stood still and let the enemy slash at them for half a day, they might not even be scratched.

Even powerful crossbows and Hard Bows might not work against Black Cavalry, since Armor-Piercing Arrowheads' effectiveness depended entirely on external factors.

Though theoretically capable of piercing Heavy Armor, in practice they often only made a tiny dent, barely harming the soldier inside.

To pierce Heavy Armor with powerful crossbows, one must focus on the arrowheads themselves.

The Armor-Piercing Arrows forged by Tianji Camp were strictly controlled; even the Regular Army of Shedynasty could hardly obtain them.

After all, the craftsmanship of Tianji Camp's Armor-Piercing Arrows was far too complex—each single arrow cost as much as three ordinary Cone Arrows.

Even Qin Feng's own troops used them with extreme caution, unable to afford any waste.

As for Hard Bows, beyond the arrows themselves, they required advanced craftsmanship and expert archery to truly wound Heavy Armor targets.

In short, killing Heavy Armor targets with bows and crossbows came down to one thing: money. Unless it was an Elite Troop, few units could sustain the consumption of quality arrows.

Aside from these two weapons, the only effective means to defeat Black Cavalry were Long Weapons and Blunt Weapons.

But Long Weapons required a prerequisite: momentum from horses.

Whether charging on horseback against Black Cavalry or forming a line to wait for Black Cavalry to charge them, to pierce their Armor with Long Weapons, the force must be immense.

Thus, the only true counter to Black Cavalry remained Blunt Weapons.

Such as Two-Handed Greataxes or various Hammers.

You didn't need to break the Armor—just swing hard enough to achieve the "strike the mountain, shake the ox" effect, transmitting force through the Helmet to injure the soldier inside.

Though Blunt Weapons were relatively simple to forge, that single massive Iron Lump still cost a fortune, so only Regular Armies could afford to equip them in large numbers.

A group of bandits without Breakthrough Weapons or Armor, ambushing Black Cavalry, was like Beidi War Tactics—pure one-sided slaughter.

The Piaoqi General couldn't help sneering: "These fools don't even know who they're facing."

"Knowing Qin Marquis is surrounded by Heavy Cavalry, they still dared to charge? They're asking for death!"

The Former General also snorted in utter contempt: "Though Heavy Cavalry have great limitations, as the backbone of the Battlefield, they must charge alongside Heavy Infantry to break the Enemy Army's Central Formation."

"Their Armor's resilience and weapons' sharpness are truly invincible."

"Many troop types can destroy Black Cavalry, but none dare engage them in close combat. These reckless upstarts are truly tired of living."

Qin Tianhu emphasized Qin Feng's achievements to tell everyone not to worry about him.

This was within Shedynasty's borders; even if the Powerful Clans of Nan Jing harbored ill intent, they could only hire a few mercenaries to launch Stealth attacks.

Without Regular Army, trying to encircle Qin Feng was like chasing a dream.

Qin Tianhu spoke calmly: "After leaving Yuping County, Feng'er went to Ming County and eliminated the Rising Aristocratic Clan entrenched there."

"This clan's surname was Wang; their patron was none other than the Prefect of Ben Zhou."

"I've already sent word to the Minister of Revenue—when Wang Prefect comes to Beijing for his Imperial report, he will be immediately dismissed and replaced."

"Though the Prefect holds high rank and governs three prefectures, the real work is done by the subordinate Prefects."

"So as long as the Prefect remains in place, even temporarily removing this Prefect won't cause chaos."

At this, Qin Tianhu took a deep breath, his tone turning grave.

"Feng'er arrived in Jingji yesterday, but hasn't entered the city yet because something happened in Ci County."

"The Powerful Clans of Nan Jing hired Yuezhao Kingdom Death Warriors to plunder over a hundred civilians and use them as leverage."

"Feng'er had no choice but to lead the Black Cavalry to rescue them."

With prior precedent, the women were no longer tense.

Especially Shen Qingci—who had already seen hundreds of bandits fail to harm Qin Feng—she now believed seventy Death Warriors would be easily dealt with.

But at that moment, the Chariot and Cavalry General suddenly gasped.

"What?! Seventy Yuezhao Kingdom Death Warriors?!"

"Marquis Qin, he charged forward with only fifty Black Cavalry?! This… this is far too dangerous!"

Hearing this, the women exchanged glances, their hard-won calm twisting back into dread.

Liu Hongyan frowned and immediately asked: "Are these seventy really more formidable than the few hundred we faced in Yuping County?"

The Chariot and Cavalry General's gaze turned grim: "More formidable?!"

"Yuezhao Kingdom produces Death Warriors in abundance—elite mercenaries paid to eliminate targets. With seventy of them, if they're well-equipped, Black Cavalry could suffer a crushing defeat."

"Only Regular Army or Tianji Camp Guards can counter Yuezhao Kingdom Death Warriors."

"And even Tianji Camp Guards would inevitably suffer casualties."

At these words, Liu Hongyan's heart shot up to her throat.

The other women present turned pale as well.

The Chariot and Cavalry General quickly turned to Qin Tianhu: "Grand Commandant, these Yuezhao Kingdom Death Warriors don't have Breakthrough Weapons, do they?"

Qin Tianhu sighed lightly: "From Armor down to Breakthrough Arrows, they have it all."

The Chariot and Cavalry General's face fell, and he hurriedly asked: "Then what of Lord Qin…"

Before the Chariot and Cavalry General could finish, Qin Tianhu threw back his head and laughed loudly: "That boy Feng used the Stratagem of Sowing Discord to slaughter all seventy of them."