Chapter 693: First Volume, Chapter 693: Take One Step, See Ten Steps

First Volume, Chapter 693: Take One Step, See Ten Steps

Qin Feng's reply left the entire Negotiation Hall in complete silence.

Both the Northern Di Envoy and the Peace Negotiation Minister stared at Qin Feng in utter shock.

"Qin… Qin Feng."

The Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices grabbed Qin Feng's arm, so stunned he could barely speak.

"From the time the Northern Di arrived in Beijing until now, less than ten days have passed."

"Even if you had ten days, how could you possibly capture an entire province of the Northern Di in such a short time?"

"The Northern Border Troops may be fierce, but they are not heavenly soldiers or divine generals!"

To the Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, capturing an entire Northern Di province in ten days was pure fantasy.

Remember, this is the Northern Di!

Renowned for its military strength, for centuries it has been an object of admiration among surrounding nations.

Even Shedynasty, after generations of emperors striving tirelessly, achieved a lead in overall national strength only through unprecedented effort.

Yet in military power, it still lags behind the Northern Di.

For Qin Feng to seize a Northern Di province in just ten days is nothing short of divine!

Qin Tianhu, who had fought on battlefields for years, was left speechless at Qin Feng's feat today.

Chen Si, standing across from him, frowned deeply—even with his own military talent, he could never achieve Qin Feng's accomplishment in the same timeframe.

Sensing the stunned gazes around him, Qin Feng merely shrugged and said casually: "What heavenly soldiers or divine generals?"

"No military achievement is won merely on the battlefield—it is the culmination of long-term planning, finally reaped."

"Even as the National War drew to a close and the Northern Di withdrew, I foresaw that state peace talks would inevitably follow."

"And on the negotiation table, to make the Northern Di submit, you must possess undeniable leverage."

"Thus, after the National War ended, I ordered the Northern Border to ready its arms and remain ever prepared."

Hearing Qin Feng's explanation, everyone was even more astonished.

Ordinary men take one step and see one step; experts take one step and see three; but Qin Feng… could he be taking one step and seeing ten?

Had Qin Feng foreseen today's scene even as the National War ended?

Everyone felt it was beyond belief.

Chen Si could no longer contain himself—he turned back into the Grand Hall, fixed his gaze on Qin Feng, and demanded sternly: "Even with your utmost preparation, you could never capture one of my provinces in such a short time."

"Although we have withdrawn the Xiongying Brigade and Snow Wolf Brigade from the Northern Di Border…"

"We still maintain over thirty thousand troops there, at least eight thousand of them cavalry."

"To defeat thirty thousand troops within ten days of launching an attack is nothing but the rambling of a fool."

Chen Si's words echoed the entire Northern Di Envoy Group's doubts.

Facing the skepticism, Qin Feng did not conceal anything—he replied casually: "You, General Chen, know better than I do the true strength of those thirty thousand troops."

"This National War drained most of our strength; Shedynasty urgently needed to repair city defenses, replace armor, and replenish troops."

"And your Northern Di, naturally, used the peace talks as an opportunity to redeploy forces and rotate garrisons."

"The elite troops who fought on the First Line have all been pulled back to the Second Line for rest, while the thirty thousand stationed at the border are mere reserves pulled from the Rear."

"Put bluntly, they are new recruits who have never set foot on a battlefield and lack any combat experience."

"Of those thirty thousand, only ten thousand can be called elite."

"Once those ten thousand elite are shattered, the remaining twenty thousand new recruits will collapse on their own."

Hearing this, Chen Si's face darkened further.

Only defeat ten thousand elite?

That sounded far too easy—as if, in Qin Feng's eyes, ten thousand elite could be crushed with a snap of the fingers. What a ridiculous joke.

"Your Northern Border may be strong, but your chariot cavalry, Piaoqi, and Former General divisions have suffered heavy losses, and must now consolidate the Northern Border DefensiveLine—they cannot be moved."

"Only the troops of Beixi County remain—even if every single one is elite, they total no more than ten thousand."

"Ten thousand against ten thousand, on a distant expedition, facing pressure from twenty thousand reserves—capturing a province in ten days? I refuse to believe it!"

Chen Si was no fool, yet he flatly refused to accept Qin Feng's achievement.

After all, this would not only disrupt the entire peace process—it would shake the very foundation of Bei Di Guo.

If the Northern Di's ten thousand elite, plus twenty thousand reserves, fighting on home ground with the advantage of open-field terrain, still could not hold off Beixi County's ten thousand for ten days…

Then the Northern Di had no right to call itself a military superpower.

Such weakness is no different from a minor state.

Qin Feng knew Chen Si would never believe it—even with the Beixi County War Report already laid before him.

For this, Qin Feng had already prepared.

He immediately ordered the Imperial Eunuch to bring a military map and spread it across the table.

Pointing to the flat, open plains of the Northern Di Border, his every gesture radiated confidence.

"The terrains of our two nations are vastly different; thus, our military strengths naturally adapt accordingly."

"Shedynasty's Northern Border region has complex terrain, full of mountains, while fertile plains are concentrated inland."

"Precisely because of this, numerous cities and fortresses have been built along the Northern Border."

"By holding these fortresses and cities, we form successive DefensiveLines."

"This is why Shedynasty has few cavalry but many infantry—we excel at Siege Warfare, due to our environment."

"If Shedynasty had no will to launch distant campaigns, then training more cavalry would be meaningless."

Chen Si offered no objection to Qin Feng's explanation.

After all, the two nations' circumstances were indeed different.

For these past few hundred years, the wars between the Liang Kingdom and the Northern Di have all been concentrated along the Northern Di Border, precisely because this region has too many cities and fortresses, forming a dense DefensiveLine.

As long as the Liang Kingdom holds these DefensiveLines, it can keep the Enemy Army at bay beyond its core regions.

Qin Feng swept his hand across the map.

"In contrast, your Northern Di, though most of your territory lies on a plateau and your borders are vast, over seventy percent of your Terrain is flat plain."

"Precisely because of this, your Northern Di cavalry is so formidable."

"With so much flat land, skilled in Open Field Battle, it inevitably leads to overly strong cavalry and weak fortresses."

"Since ancient times, the Northern Di have never cared about gaining or losing a single city or piece of land, since many of their cities and fortresses have weak City Defense and low, easily breached City Walls."

"As long as your forces are strong, you can reclaim any city at any time."

Qin Feng pointed to Beixi County on the map, then extended his hand northward all the way to Xiongying Ridge.

Between Beixi County and Xiongying Ridge lies precisely the border region where the two nations meet.

Half is rugged mountainous terrain, half is vast, open plain.

"My Beixi County soldiers need only charge straight in, like a Golden Sword, advancing relentlessly, to split your Northern Di Border region in two."

"Then, our forces can spread to both flanks and carry out Military Siege Luedi."