Chapter 1299

First Volume_Chapter 1299: Mobilize the Troops

If Li Zhang could return to the Northern Border, then all of Qin Feng's old comrades would be reunited.

Even so, Qin Feng's confidence had soared—he was certain he could win this war, even against an imperial army that poured out all of Liang's national strength.

Liu Ming, as head of the intelligence agency, was fulfilling his duty by reporting the current battlefield situation.

"Your Majesty, according to current intelligence, the garrison in Dingtao County has increased to thirty thousand."

"Additionally, another fifty thousand are advancing toward Dingtao County."

"With the pressure on Nan Jing lifted, Liang can now focus entirely on the Northern Border, so garrisons across the realm have been redeployed."

"Conservatively estimated, the imperial court's total forces committed to this battlefield should exceed one hundred twenty thousand."

One hundred twenty thousand…

Hearing this number, even veteran generals like Ning Hu and Zhao Zhenhai were greatly startled.

"That many?!"

"Is the imperial court really going to pour all its national strength into crushing the Northern Border?"

"When we fought the Di, the total combined forces on both sides were roughly this number—but now the imperial court alone has sent this many."

"This war will surely be prolonged and brutal."

Seeing Ning Hu and Zhao Zhenhai begin discussing, Qin Feng raised a hand, signaling them not to dwell on it.

Under everyone's gaze, Qin Feng appeared utterly relaxed, as if the words "one hundred twenty thousand" meant nothing to him.

"Are you already panicked? Based on my understanding of Liang's strength, even assembling one hundred eighty thousand troops wouldn't be surprising."

"After all, I've cleared every obstacle for the imperial court—they can now break the cauldrons and sink the boats, betting everything."

"The imperial court does hold a numerical advantage, but after so many battles, facts have repeatedly proven that army size matters—but not as much as people think."

"In truth, the imperial army has three critical weaknesses."

"First, their legs are short; second, their force is too large and bloated; third, they lack combat experience."

Hearing Qin Feng list these three points, everyone fell into thought.

When Liang first faced the Di, its greatest disadvantage was lack of cavalry.

Due to lacking cavalry, it lacked initiative and dared not send troops deep into Di territory, leaving it forced to defend passively.

It can be said that the biggest turning point after Qin Feng took over the war was the construction of the cavalry.

And now, Liang's disadvantage in cavalry remains unchanged.

Liang does possess many warhorses, but the vast majority were bred and raised in the Northern Border—now that they've broken ties, Liang has gone from "rich in horses" to "poor in horses."

As for the issue of massive, bloated organization, Qin Feng struck right at Liang's sore point.

If all one hundred twenty thousand troops reach the battlefield, the logistics burden will be terrifying.

According to Northern Border ratios, in a ten-thousand-man army, only one to two thousand are elite troops; five thousand are servant soldiers; the remaining three to four thousand are pure logistics units.

Under the same scale, Liang's combat troops make up over thirty percent, servant soldiers fifty percent, leaving only one or two thousand for logistics.

They can fight, but their logistics are extremely weak.

And these logistics units must march with the army—once on the battlefield, all supply support must rely entirely on the Rear.

The longer the battle line, the longer the military supply line, the harder logistics become to sustain—especially with such massive scale.

They'll likely suffer internal injuries before even opening battle.

The final point—and most important—is the imperial army's true combat effectiveness.

Across all of Liang, only four units can truly fight.

They are: the Northern Border, Nan Jing, the Imperial Guard, and the Central Plains Imperial Party's forces.

Nan Jing has already been crushed; though the Central Plains Imperial Party participated in the Southern Campaign, it suffered heavy casualties and cannot recover its budding spirit in the short term.

The Imperial Guard is best-equipped, yet possesses the least combat experience.

Even if the Imperial Guard rotates with border garrisons to gain experience, Nan Jing refuses to accept them, and Qin Feng forbids them from training in the Northern Border.

This has turned the Imperial Guard into a true embroidered pillow—impressive to look at, but mediocre in combat.

In short, the most formidable force in all of Liang is Qin Feng's Northern Border Army.

Once these factors were clear, Ning Hu and the others' fear of "one hundred twenty thousand" vanished instantly.

Ning Hu crossed his arms and laughed triumphantly: "Hah! I must have overestimated the imperial army."

"Once the fighting starts, they'll learn that the Northern Border Army's victories—first against the Di, then against Nan Jing—were earned with real blades and blood."

"The imperial court will learn how terrifying it is to oppose the Northern Border!"

Zhao Zhenhai also brimmed with fighting spirit, boasting: "Earlier, I led my cavalry and wiped out the Eastern Front Garrison in Dingtao County in a single night—clear proof the imperial army's combat effectiveness is nothing special, even inferior to the Di's forces."

"One hundred twenty thousand? One hundred eighty thousand? Let them come—I'll make sure they never leave."

Seeing his two top generals fired up, Qin Feng nodded in satisfaction.

Though this bordered on underestimating the enemy, it didn't matter—Qin Feng would consider every detail meticulously.

With Qin Feng holding the rear, Ning Hu and Zhao Zhenhai only needed to charge forward.

Qin Feng, determined to hold the Northern Border and protect his family, felt no more hesitation or doubt—his eyes once again shone with their former resolve.

"Everyone thinks this war will be prolonged—but I intend to end it swiftly."

"The core of this war has been revealed: it's about logistics."

"Once we crush the imperial army's logistics, their frontline troops become paper—pierce them once and they collapse."

"Leverage our strengths, exploit their weaknesses—transmit my order: summon every cavalry unit in the Northern Border. I will show His Majesty just how vast the gap is between the imperial court and the Northern Border."

Hearing this, everyone froze.

Ning Hu's eyes widened in disbelief: "Brother Qin, what did you say? Summon all cavalry?"

"Isn't that too massive an undertaking?"

"Our Northern Border cavalry right now is an absolutely staggering number."

Qin Feng knew well that all the cavalry combined in the Northern Border totaled over twenty thousand.

These were twenty thousand pure cavalry!

Many medium and small nations didn't even have twenty thousand troops in total.

Qin Feng didn't care about any of that—didn't the Liang Emperor intend to crush the Northern Border with national strength? Then Qin Feng would crush him back with absolute military superiority and see whether the east wind prevailed over the west wind, or the west wind over the east wind!