Chapter 961: First Volume, Chapter 961: Ten Thousand Horses Galloping

First Volume, Chapter 961: Ten Thousand Horses Galloping

Prince Ming frowned deeply, baffled: "Lu Ming, are your engineers all grown wings? How else could they advance so swiftly?"

"And…"

"Your task is to reinforce and upgrade strongholds for logistical transit—not to spearhead assaults or storm cities. Why rush so fast? Are the defenses at your rear strongholds all shoddily built?"

Hearing this, Lu Ming immediately grew agitated, slapping his chest with loud thuds.

"If I've so much as slacked off, even five thunderbolts striking me down wouldn't repay Lord Qin's grace!"

"Your Highness may not know, but our engineers don't advance as a single mass, step by step. We split into two forces: the vanguard, five hundred strong, each man issued two warhorses—one for riding, the other solely for carrying tools and equipment. Thus, our engineering vanguard's speed matches that of cavalry."

"Upon reaching each stronghold, we leave twenty men to immediately reinforce and repair it, while the rest press forward at speed."

"Meanwhile, the main force, after assembling, drives carts steadily forward, leaving fifty men at each stronghold to unload supplies before continuing."

"By now, I stand before Your Highness, while the first stronghold at the scene of action is nearly finished being repaired."

Hearing Lu Ming's words, Prince Ming stood stunned, unable to recover for a long while.

Though everyone in Beixi County knew the importance of logistics—after all, Qin Feng constantly harped on logistics, and Prince Ming had long grown tired of hearing it—

based on Prince Ming's decades of battlefield experience, even the most refined logistics had limits; typically, after a hundred days of warfare, supplying the Front Line was considered adequate.

If cost were no object, delivering supplies to the Front Line within two months was considered lightning-fast.

Yet Qin Feng had compressed his logistics units' advance speed to a pace measured in days.

And… the term "engineering vanguard"—Prince Ming, in his seventy years, had never heard such a phrase. When had laborers been divided into vanguard and main force?

Worse still!

Prince Ming scrutinized Lu Ming. As a craftsman, this man's gear was finer than most soldiers'.

Though he wore only a breastplate to guard against cold arrows, his waist hung with several pouches filled with various supplies, and his warhorse was exceptional—once armored, it could charge into battle.

Qin Feng must have spent more silver on these logistics strongmen than on a proper cavalryman!

Prince Ming's scalp prickled. Had he not fought to come to the Front Line for training, and instead stayed in Beixi County to retire, he'd never have known Qin Feng had trained every branch of his forces to this level.

Prince Ming stared at the horses behind Lu Ming and swallowed hard, tentatively asking:

"Lu Ming, tell me honestly—how many horses does Qin Feng have?"

Lu Ming gave an embarrassed smile: "Your Highness, how could I know such things?"

"You should ask Lin County Magistrate—he handles all civil and logistical affairs. I'm just a runner."

"But according to my information, Beixi County alone has over thirteen thousand horses."

"If we count all horses Qin Feng can mobilize, it's likely over fifty thousand…"

Hearing this number, Prince Ming was stunned again.

Fifty thousand horses… what did that even mean?

The entire Shedynasty possessed no more than two hundred thousand horses total—yet Qin Feng alone could command a quarter of the entire nation's stock.

Of these fifty thousand, at least fifteen thousand were pure warhorses; the remaining thirty thousand-plus were draft horses.

Previously, Prince Ming knew Qin Feng adored horses and constantly sought to gather them—but this number far exceeded his expectations.

Most armies, after all, didn't actually have nearly as many warhorses as claimed.

For example, a force of a thousand troops—this number included both men and horses—yet a thousand-man unit might possess only a hundred horses, or even fewer.

Qin Feng's troop numbers, by contrast, were drastically smaller than official records suggested.

Even a mere engineering vanguard could field two horses per man—so Lu Ming's estimate of horse numbers was likely lower than the true reserve.

"This Qin Feng is truly drowning in silver!"

Prince Ming couldn't help exclaiming aloud: "Just feeding fifty thousand horses costs a fortune each year—no single man could bear such a burden."

Both the Front Line's offensive and the logistics' advance relied entirely on these vast numbers of horses.

Prince Ming was certain: for every one liang of silver Qin Feng earned, at least three hundred wen went to horses, three hundred wen to soldiers, and the remaining four hundred wen were spread across people's livelihood and civil administration—leaving barely any profit.

In that case, one of Shedynasty's most renowned tycoons was, in a sense, a pauper?

Prince Ming shook his head with a bitter smile: "With a lord like this, how could Beixi not flourish?"

Lu Ming couldn't help sighing: "Your Highness, do you know how the Marquis spends his money?"

"Ordinary people spend as they go—only on the present. But the Marquis earns today's silver to spend on the future."

"Take these horses: he squanders silver daily, as if burning it—but when war comes, you see every copper was spent on the blade's edge."

Prince Ming sighed and fell silent, for Qin Feng's understanding of military and people's livelihood had surpassed his own comprehension.

Prince Ming even felt that before Qin Feng, he deserved the phrase "simple-minded, strong-limbed."

As Zhuozhou's offensive surged northward, Changshui County presented a different scene.

Tens of thousands of troops had surrounded Changshui County like an iron barrel, yet no attacks had been launched for days.

On the City Wall, over twenty bed crossbows had been mounted.

Eight each on the East-West Defense Line, four on City South, three on North of the City, and over a dozen catapults below the wall, coordinating the defense.

With all city defense equipment fully deployed, the county's able-bodied common people had nearly all joined the logistics corps—after all, common people were pragmatic; once they realized the city was impregnable, joining Qin Feng's side to secure their own survival was clearly the best choice.

Qin Feng could finally breathe easier, withdraw from the First Line, and drag his exhausted body back to the County Yamen.