This night, Lü Yi urgently summoned his generals to discuss the strategy for the coming days.
"The power of these longbows and divine-arm crossbows has far exceeded our estimations!" Lü Yi exclaimed with a laugh.
The others were equally elated.
Originally, they had only had their longbowmen practice archery during drills for the northern border soldiers. They discovered that these longbows, paired with the finest "Da Gan Feng Yu Arrows," could pierce iron armor at close range and leather armor at long range!
It wasn't until the battle began that they realized the full potential of both types of bows and crossbows when the enemy charged!
Only Liang Xiao smiled and nodded, explaining, "The firing rate of the longbows, combined with the speed of the barbarian iron cavalry's charge, means their actual power is even greater than during daily practice! The truly commendable aspect of our Da Gan soldiers is our large number of long-trained archers."
Everyone nodded in agreement, yet also felt a sense of shame.
Da Gan produced a large number of archers, not because the court was generous enough to equip the soldiers with many bows and crossbows, but because the soldiers lacked the courage for battlefield combat and vied to become archers. This was because they could remain in the rear of the army, suffering fewer casualties.
Frankly speaking, the suppression of military affairs led to the low status of soldiers, and they had no fighting spirit. However, this situation could not be entirely blamed on the soldiers themselves.
After more than a year of propaganda, the treatment and status of Da Gan soldiers had been elevated. Coupled with a well-established compensation system, most of them had gained the courage to fight, and some even eagerly volunteered for battle.
Most fortunately, Liang Xiao was able to leverage the situation and capitalize on Da Gan's advantage in archer numbers by urgently promoting ranged "divine artifacts" like longbows and divine-arm crossbows. This gave these archers an opportunity to display their might, significantly boosting the army's combat effectiveness.
With increased long-range lethality, the threat and deterrence to the enemy grew. Consequently, the threats and risks faced by their own close-combat units, such as cavalry and heavy infantry, were greatly reduced. This naturally boosted their confidence in fighting, creating a virtuous cycle.
Lü Yi couldn't help but sigh, "All of this is still thanks to your Vice Commander, who proposed to His Majesty to promote a new military system and rush the production of these weapons. In just over a year, the soldiers of the northern border have undergone a complete transformation!"
As the person directly involved in transporting the treasure, Lü Yi naturally understood the entire sequence of events, but chose to remain silent.
The ability to equip the northern border soldiers with so much good equipment and provide them with ample food was inseparable from the gold in Xiao Qing's secret stash.
It was also because Liang Xiao, the "Heavenly General" and "Marquis of Anguo," had won the admiration of Christ and the respect of the Kingdom of Guizi. Only then did Christ feel secure enough to offer the treasure map of the ancient Xiongnu King, which Liang Xiao helped to locate, yielding over forty million taels of gold for Xiao Qing.
Without Liang Xiao, Xiao Qing would have had virtually nothing. The four Grand Ministers could only ensure that Xiao Qing's imperial power was not usurped by the noble clans. Beyond that, they could do nothing.
As the General of Mounted Archers, Lü Yi had always refrained from recruiting talented individuals to serve his own purposes. He had meticulously avoided any suspicion, leaving the noble clans with no grounds for impeachment.
As for Ding Wu Yi and Ning Xue Jun, they did not understand politics and were only responsible for protecting the emperor and eliminating traitors. Wang Cang Hai, in court, could only be adept at navigating complex situations and balancing various factions.
Liang Xiao said, "The Marshal's contributions are immense!"
All the generals chimed in with praise.
Discord between the commander and his subordinates was the most fatal of situations. Lü Yi and Liang Xiao's ability to work together in harmony, without asserting seniority or vying for power, was truly the mark of a great strategist.
Lü Yi pouted, "I'm just following you to accumulate merits, and I'm counting on you to lead the soldiers to capture Helan Mountain and water our horses in the Han Sea."
After this phase of mutual praise, everyone returned to a serious demeanor and resumed planning the assault on Helan Mountain with full anticipation.
Long before the war ended, Lü Yi had dispatched numerous scouts to gather information on the barbarian encampments.
Liang Xiao and Lü Yi led by example, with the other generals following suit. They ate the same food as the soldiers, and the entire army praised the two marshals and the generals without reservation.
"When will we attack Helan Mountain?" "Starting tomorrow!"
Similar questions and answers were heard throughout the military camp, with everyone filled with anticipation. 138 Reading Network.
The barbarians fled westward in disarray and finally returned to their encampment at the foot of Helan Mountain, filled with dread, their morale plummeting to rock bottom.
"Why did Da Gan's archers suddenly become so powerful..." The Right Xian King's face was ashen, utterly perplexed.
Losing fifty thousand elite soldiers in a single battle was a devastating blow to their military strength and morale. Not having completely collapsed was already remarkable.
The Left Xian King's expression was equally grim. "No wonder I was defeated so thoroughly that night. It turns out it was because these archers took us by surprise, and the darkness obscured our vision, preventing us from discovering the losses on the front lines in time..."
At this moment, all the barbarian generals were filled with regret.
In this battle, their proud heavy cavalry, renowned as invincible, had their armor pierced by enemy arrows.
However, the main losses for these heavy cavalry were their warhorses. When the horses were shot and killed, they fell to the ground and were eventually captured by the enemy due to their inability to retreat in time!
The Right Xian King had calculated everything, except for the ferocity of the Da Gan army's bows and crossbows!
"I just asked the soldiers who retreated from the front line. I heard that some of the enemy's arrows have a range of possibly two hundred paces, and their crossbow bolts exceed two hundred and twenty paces. It's simply unbelievable!" The Right Xian King gritted his teeth. He then recalled something and flew into a rage, "The Da Gan army, judging by its current scale, might be close to two hundred thousand. It was Ito Masamune and those noble clans and merchants who provided false intelligence, misleading us!!"
"Before, the enemy's crossbow bolts never shot that far. It must have been to lull our army into a false sense of security and induce us to attack with confidence!" the Left Xian King said, then suddenly frowned, and added, "Luring the enemy with feigned weakness and drawing them deep to deliver a crushing blow... This strategy is similar to Liang Xiao's tactics in Yanzhou when he lured us in! Could Liang Xiao have been with Lü Yi's army all along?"
Everyone's expressions changed!
Especially those who had fled from Yanzhou to Helan Mountain with the Left Xian King, their faces showed fear!
"Are we being toyed with and manipulated by Liang Xiao again!"
"If Liang Xiao was with Lü Yi's army, doesn't that mean he isn't the real Heavenly General?" the Right Xian King scoffed.
The Left Xian King nodded slightly, relieved. "I specifically sent people to keep a close watch on the thirty-six generals who came from Da Gan that day. Indeed, none of them wore the Heavenly General's attire, nor did anyone use a silver halberd!"
A ferocious smile appeared on the Right Xian King's face. "The Heavenly General did not lead the White Robe Army in pursuing us today, which means the Heavenly General cannot possibly be protecting the Da Gan soldiers all the time! Even if the Heavenly General truly appears, our army can concentrate fire and kill him!"
However, with the army having suffered defeat and morale low, the Right Xian King also faced a dilemma. "Should we split our forces and build another encampment outside the mountain, supporting each other? Otherwise, if the Da Gan army occupies the pass, it will be difficult for us to attack from the flanks, and we will have to engage them in a head-on battle!"
The Left Xian King nodded and looked around at the generals. "Who is willing to split forces with me and go to the front line to resist the Da Gan army?"
As soon as he finished speaking, all the generals lowered their heads, unwilling to accept.
They had all developed a psychological phobia of the Da Gan army's bows and crossbows!
The Right Xian King was extremely disappointed and sighed, "A bunch of useless fools!"
The Left Xian King's strategist reminded him, "Marshal, our current encampment has been reinforced over the years and is comparable to city walls. The enemy will certainly not dare to attack easily. If we hastily divide our forces to build a new encampment, it will be a minor issue if they conquer it. I fear we will suffer another painful loss!"
The Right Xian King found this reasonable and had to abandon the idea of splitting forces, but he was still anxious. "Our army has also captured thousands of people. What should we do..."
"Report to the Marshal! Ambassador Ha'er Muqi from the Guishuang Dynasty requests an audience!"