Chapter 1303

First Volume, Chapter 1303: All Personnel Armored

This organization is the Brocade Uniform Guard!

While the cavalry waged war across the land, countless messengers moved among them, continuously gathering battlefield reports to the rear and delivering orders to each unit.

Thus, even if the You Ji Cavalry scattered like stars across the sky, they could always receive orders or report battlefield conditions at once.

The messengers then consolidated vast amounts of battlefield intelligence and delivered it to their superiors in the Brocade Uniform Guard.

Every hundred messengers were overseen by one senior messenger; every hundred senior messengers were overseen by one Brocade Uniform Guard officer.

This information continuously flowed upward, ultimately consolidated by the Brocade Uniform Guard, sifted with care, stripped of useless data, and then forwarded only the valuable intelligence until it reached Qin Feng.

Due to prolonged coordination and relentless streamlining, this intermediary command structure had become extremely efficient.

Excluding time spent on transit routes, the communication delay between Qin Feng and the frontline You Ji Cavalry could be compressed to just two days!

Liu Ming continually reported the Brocade Uniform Guard's consolidated intelligence to Qin Feng.

"Over ten days, the You Ji Cavalry have eliminated sixty-seven enemy strongholds and fortresses."

"They have killed or wounded over eight thousand six hundred enemy soldiers."

"They have destroyed over twenty granaries and Wu Zi Chu Bei Dian."

"Aside from materials requisitioned locally by the cavalry, all surplus supplies have been burned—no single grain of grain will fall into the hands of the imperial army."

"Our forces have suffered losses of over twelve hundred men in ten days: eight hundred dead, four hundred wounded."

The casualty ratio approached one to eight; Qin Feng was extremely satisfied with this outcome.

Yet he added a warning: "All wounded soldiers who withdraw must be transported back to the Northern Border for treatment—minimize non-combat losses as much as possible."

Liu Ming nodded vigorously: "Rest assured, Your Majesty. Since the main battlefield has yet to engage, except for thirty percent of the Logistics units stationed in place as reserves, the remaining seventy percent have already entered the battlefront in batches."

"Their mission is to provide additional supplies to the You Ji Cavalry and retrieve the wounded."

As he spoke, Liu Ming could not hide the pride in his eyes: "The imperial court knows the Northern Border can fight—but they have no idea how extraordinarily advanced its Logistics system is."

"Wounded soldiers three hundred Li away can be transported to the rear for treatment in just five days."

"Even small units of You Ji Cavalry can rely on messengers to receive supply drops at designated locations."

"Troops accustomed to siege warfare cannot even defeat the Beidi Cavalry—now, facing the North Border Cavalry, they will learn what true warfare truly is."

Liu Ming gazed at Qin Feng with burning admiration: "Your Majesty's understanding of warfare surpasses that of any military commander of this era."

"Zhao Yuxiong has followed you for so long—he's learned only the barest surface of it."

Qin Feng lowered his hand, signaling Liu Ming to stop mentioning Zhao Yuxiong.

From the moment Zhao Yuxiong began targeting civilians, Qin Feng had ceased to regard him as a brother.

At that moment, the messenger returned running.

"Your Majesty, Dingtao County has launched troops!"

Qin Feng raised an eyebrow and snorted: "Brother Yuxiong, you've finally broken?"

Zhao Yuxiong's sudden strike was entirely within Qin Feng's expectations.

After all, Zhao Yuxiong could not possibly counter the You Ji Cavalry, scattered like stars—he could only force them to retreat by launching a fierce assault on Anyuan County.

What he did not realize…

Qin Feng had already laid a net of traps around Anyuan County!

"Brother Yuxiong! You've been away from the Northern Border too long!"

"Liang Emperor, you know the Northern Border is wealthy—but you have no idea just how wealthy it truly is."

"Today, I shall show you all what true wealth looks like!"

At Qin Feng's command, a vast army departed Anyuan County and advanced deliberately toward Dingtao County.

Within a single day, both armies reached the battlefront.

Zhao Yuxiong personally led thirty thousand men, forming a dense formation that stretched across the horizon, overwhelming in scale.

Qin Feng, by contrast, deployed only twenty thousand men, commanded jointly by Zhao Zhenhai and Ning Hu.

Though outnumbered by ten thousand, when the two sides met, it was the imperial army that felt despair.

The reason was simple: the Northern Border Army's equipment superiority was overwhelming.

The first five thousand troops were clad entirely in Heavy Armor!

Zhao Yuxiong's side had Heavy Armor troops too—but only two thousand at most…

Under pressure from the rear, Zhao Yuxiong was forced to order an attack; their Heavy Armor troops clashed head-on.

Since the combat effectiveness of Heavy Armor troops was roughly equal, victory depended solely on numbers—the side with numerical superiority would seize full battlefield initiative.

Five thousand against two thousand—the disparity was immense; the outcome was inevitable.

Ning Hu ignored all other combat; he focused entirely on commanding the Heavy Armor troops, firmly holding the core of the battlefield to shield the Light Infantry behind them.

Since the enemy could not easily breach the Shield Wall formed by the Heavy Armor troops—and lacked cavalry—Zhao Zhenhai's Light Infantry could attack without restraint.

Voluminous arrows fell like torrential rain upon the enemy ranks.

Imperial soldiers fell like cut grass.

When Zhao Yuxiong deployed his last three thousand cavalry to flank and strike Zhao Zhenhai's rear, he discovered in despair that the rear was guarded by Black Cavalry!

The Black Cavalry, once commanded by Zhao Yuxiong himself, had become his greatest obstacle.

With the Black Cavalry in place, Zhao Yuxiong's cavalry could not launch any rear assault.

As the battle progressed, casualties mounted; by nightfall, Zhao Yuxiong's thirty thousand troops had lost nearly five thousand.

Of these, over half of the two thousand Heavy Armor troops were lost, and more than ten platoons of Light Infantry had been crippled.

Deputy Generals had repeatedly urged Zhao Yuxiong to retreat.

"General, withdraw!"

"The enemy's armor rate far exceeds ours—their Heavy Armor troops outnumber ours by more than double, and even their Light Infantry are fully equipped with half-armor!"

"Although the enemy's light cavalry has been fully deployed, they still have heavy cavalry coordinating with infantry."

"Continuing to fight will only add meaningless casualties."

Zhao Yuxiong had thought he could achieve One-Strike Victory and crush Qin Feng's Main Force, but he never imagined the gap was so vast—he couldn't even accomplish the Strategic Goal of relieving pressure on the Rear."

Now, apart from the forces invading the Northern Border, both the Battlefield and the Rear have suffered devastating blows from Qin Feng."

What filled him with utter despair was that, as the You Ji Cavalry continued their Ambushes, the already strained Supply Line suffered a catastrophic blow."

Fighting means certain defeat; not fighting means defeat too…"

This is the helplessness of fighting Qin Feng."