Chapter 956: First Volume, Chapter 956: Lightning March

First Volume, Chapter 956: Lightning March

Qin Feng's large-scale purchase of superior horse breeds was never a secret; Beixi County's firm alliance with Gaoshan Country was forged precisely through the "Highland Horse."

One could say Qin Feng had become nearly insatiable in his pursuit of horse sources.

Whether Highland Horse or Beidi Horse, any good horse Qin Feng refused to let slip away—even Liang Kingdom's native horses were not spared.

No one could estimate how much silver Qin Feng had spent on warhorses, but one thing was certain: expenditures on livestock had always been among the largest items in Beixi County's total budget.

Relying on adult warhorses purchased from all over, plus those bred locally in Beixi County, Qin Feng himself likely could not say exactly how many horses he now commanded.

A terrifying thought gradually surfaced in Chen Si's mind.

"Could it be… Qin Feng has equipped his Main Force with vast numbers of warhorses?"

As one of the most costly military resources, training even a single light cavalry unit exceeding a thousand men could consume a staggering amount of silver—far beyond the limits of most "small states."

Only Liang Kingdom and Di Kingdom possessed the capacity to train large cavalry forces; even Di Kingdom relied on vast plains and superior horse breeds to reduce training costs and produce such large numbers.

Qin Feng, however, employed an irreproducible method: simply pouring in silver to produce vast cavalry forces—even Chen Si, with his decades of battlefield experience, felt his understanding was being overturned.

At that moment, the messenger burst into the Ying Zhang again.

"Grand General, urgent report from Zhuozhou: the Enemy Army's Main Force has passed through Changyun Ancient Pass. Due to their astonishing speed, all surrounding units sent to intercept have missed them."

Hearing this, Chen Si was now virtually certain: Jing Peng's earlier analysis had hit the mark exactly.

Changyun Ancient Pass was now only four days' march from Daqi County—and that was by cavalry!

For a large infantry force, it would take at least ten or more days.

Yet Changyun Ancient Pass was also nine days' march from Nanhua County; cavalry moving swiftly could compress that to two days—precisely matching the Enemy Army's Main Force's speed.

The Enemy Army's Main Force was moving as fast as cavalry?!

Qin Feng had pushed the principle of "Speed is paramount in warfare" to its absolute extreme.

"Disaster! Disaster! Disaster!"

Chen Si cried out "Disaster!" three times, his brow furrowed, pacing back and forth before the map. Though he had nine-tenths confidence in capturing Changshui County, the Beidi War Intelligence from Zhuozhou had exceeded all his expectations.

With just Daqi County suddenly under heavy assault by the Enemy Army's Main Force, even if it did not fall, it would become an isolated city—surrounding counties and strongholds could not possibly reinforce it in time.

Once the Enemy Army passed through Zhuozhou and pressed northward, Zhuozhou would be entirely lost; at that point, no meaningful resistance could form, only to be picked off one by one, slowly attrited, until fully swallowed by the enemy.

And this same scenario would replay exactly in the next Battlefront!

Chen Si frowned and growled: "The Enemy Army's speed is too great; sending reinforcements to Zhuozhou now is like mending the fold after the sheep are lost—it's too late. Quickly transmit my order: construct a DefensiveLine north of Daqi County, no matter what…"

The words died on his lips.

Given the Enemy Army's terrifying pace, by the time his forces could be assembled, the enemy would already have passed through Daqi County and plunged deep into Di Kingdom's Rear Area. At that point, his entire army would still be led by the nose, repeating Zhuozhou's predicament.

Chen Si had never faced such a situation before; for a moment, he was utterly at a loss.

If he ignored the southern enemy, even if he captured Changshui County, more than half of Di Kingdom would already be in enemy hands—the capital was on the verge of collapse. What good would capturing Qin Feng be then?

But sending reinforcements meant snow-blocked roads and an enemy moving with supernatural speed—there was simply no time to deploy.

The only option now was to abandon Zhuozhou entirely and cede most of Ezhou's territory, constructing a DefensiveLine in northern Ezhou—but… given the enemy's speed, they would never risk a direct assault; bypassing the line and continuing to exploit their mobility was inevitable…

Before even launching a formal Military Siege, Chen Si had already foreseen national collapse; from the moment this war began, victory had tilted irrevocably toward Qin Feng.

Now Chen Si could only grasp at straws—he immediately altered his Military Command, ordering Ezhou's forces to fortify the north.

Simultaneously, he issued an immediate order to attack Changshui County.

No sooner had the command been sent than the messenger who had been patrolling the County City rushed over.

"Grand General! The Enemy has mounted numerous giant Bed Crossbows on the City Wall—the situation has changed!"

What?!

Giant Bed Crossbows?

Chen Si's heart lurched. He ordered all units to prepare for battle and immediately set out, while personally leading a large contingent of his elite guards to the Front Line to inspect enemy positions.

From afar, Chen Si saw that the Enemy's City Wall was indeed lined with massive crossbows—he had never seen such enormous weapons in his life; they were nothing short of City Crossbows!

Chen Si slapped his forehead in anguish and roared: "Damn it! During this time in Changshui County, Qin Feng has been secretly moving in vast quantities of Military Supplies—he's been preparing for a desperate City Defense all along. Otherwise, how could he possibly have produced these giant crossbows? Just the bowstrings and limbs alone would be impossible to source!"

"Quick! Launch the attack immediately!"

At Chen Si's command, the entire army—regardless of rank or unit—began maneuvering around Changshui County, preparing to overwhelm the city with numerical superiority from all sides.

Qin Feng had already detected the enemy's movements and immediately ordered: "The Enemy will launch a full-scale assault. Execute the prearranged deployment—take your positions!"

At this moment, four Bed Crossbows had been mounted on each of the eastern and western City Walls, each defended by five hundred soldiers; below the walls stood eight Catapults!

The integration between the Siege Engineers and the conscripts over this period had already borne fruit.

The construction speed of Bed Crossbows and Catapults had grown ever faster.

Of course, all this owed to the smooth progress of the southern offensive; though all news had been completely sealed, Qin Feng could deduce from Chen Si's prolonged delay in attacking that the enemy commander was now in utter chaos.

And this had precisely granted Qin Feng the time to strengthen his City Defense.

The eastern and western City Walls were now impregnable; the Cheng Nan Fang Xian and Cheng Bei Fang Xian, as primary and secondary battlefields, carried fewer Bed Crossbows—only two each—along with two Catapults each, coordinating their defense.

The Cheng Bei Fang Xian was defended by one hundred soldiers; the Cheng Nan Fang Xian by two hundred.