Chapter 1010 – Battling the Northern Frontier (Forty-Six)
Feng Zhen couldn’t help but let his imagination run wild; if there were thirty thousand trained cavalry, defeating the Northern Frontier wouldn’t just be a dream.
“Just three thousand heavy cavalry is already so powerful. If there were thirty thousand—wouldn’t that make us unstoppable across the world?”
No matter how clever the strategist was, they couldn’t withstand the weight of enough horses.
A forceful beating, a crushing might.
Sun Wen didn’t know the inside story behind forming this heavy cavalry, but just calculating the costs left him dumbfounded.
Don’t be fooled by the Lord’s constantly plain and poor demeanor; the true wealth behind him was shockingly vast.
Recalling the three estates that Jiang Pengji had awarded him, Sun Wen suddenly understood how wealthy she really was.
Without money, who could set up three thousand heavy cavalry and still gift him three estates?
One in Xiangyang of Wanzhou, one in Shangyang County, and one right here in Chongzhou; the deeds were still warm.
Though he had only seen the place in Chongzhou, from the looks of the houses, the other two estates couldn’t be any worse.
With these three estates plus the gold and jewels Sun Wen had secured from the Northern Frontier, it was enough for his grandson Lanlan to live comfortably for the rest of his life.
“Thirty thousand?” Qi Guanrang laughed lightly, “Just the three thousand has already made the Lord wince—”
Want to form thirty thousand heavy cavalry?
Well, that would depend on whether the Northern Frontier’s noble treasury was generous enough.
Wei Ci chuckled, “It’s not out of the question; if we can find a few more naive, wealthy fools from the Northern Frontier—”
Sun Wen had joined late and didn’t know where Jiang Pengji’s “startup funds” had come from. He thought it was from Liu Zhi.
However, based on what Sun Wen knew about Jiang Pengji, that possibility seemed slim.
Now, surprised by Wei Ci’s remark, he subtly sensed something was off—
“How does the Lord expanding the heavy cavalry regiment relate to the Northern Frontier?”
Qi Guanrang waved his fan to dispel the heat around him.
“Don’t you know? Ninety-nine percent of the Lord’s private treasury is funded by the Northern Frontier. The armor, horses, and weapons used by the heavy cavalry soldiers… all bought with silver sent from the Northern Frontier. It’s more like ‘the crow repaying its mother, the lamb kneeling to nurse’!”
Taken from the “people,” used for the “people.”
This reasoning made sense.
Sun Wen listened, utterly astonished—
Having lived over forty years, almost rounding up to fifty, this was the first time he heard “the crow repaying its mother, the lamb kneeling to nurse” used like this.
Sun Wen: “…”
He felt he should say something to not appear out of place among them.
“What’s the significance of this?”
His curiosity was piqued.
Wei Ci briefly recounted the tale of “Heavenly Palace Crystal,” and as Sun Wen listened, his expression grew graver.
Sun Wen knew of “Heavenly Palace Crystal,” after all, it had caused quite the calamity for Zhong Zhao.
However, he didn’t suspect Jiang Pengji had it out for Zhong Zhao; rather, he felt Zhong Zhao was the one stealing technology.
First, Jiang Pengji didn’t have much leverage back then; the Red Lotus Sect was still a problem, so how could she extend her reach to Zhong Zhao?
Second, if Jiang Pengji used “Heavenly Palace Crystal” to plot against Northern Frontier wealth, the sudden explosion of “Heavenly Palace Crystal” from Zhong Zhao would ruin the supply-demand market. This forced Jiang Pengji to hurriedly extort the Northern Frontier for a lump sum and suffer huge losses—
As the group spoke in low voices, the battlefield situation rapidly changed; the cries of battle drowned out their words. Li Yun led the left flank, strong as a rock, while Fu Wang commanded the center with calm confidence. Jiang Pengji led the right flank, turning defense into offense, while Jiang Nongqin assessed the situation for support.
The Northern Frontier cavalry tried to use lightning-fast speed to make the enemy exhausted, underestimating the battlefield capability of their foes; even in a frenzied state of battle, once the army flag was raised, they would opt to abandon the attack and follow commands. The Northern Frontier cavalry attempted to bypass and launch a surprise attack, but the enemy formation immediately shifted to defense, leaving no gaps while still maintaining a powerful offensive.
As the two sides clashed endlessly, even the ever-composed Jiang Pengji wasn’t idle.
“Young Master—”
Jiang Nongqin brought her troops forward, hesitant to call out the Lord’s name, fearing it might expose Jiang Pengji’s identity and provoke a fierce counterattack from the Northern Frontier cavalry.
If they were determined to drag the Lord down, that would spell disaster.
“Nongqin!”
Jiang Pengji called out, noticing that her long knife had somehow become completely dull, teetering on the brink of obsolescence.
A blade like that would negatively affect her killing efficiency.
Understanding the hint, Jiang Nongqin unsheathed a spare weapon from her horse and charged towards Jiang Pengji.
“You take command here—”
With new equipment in hand, Jiang Pengji turned even more ruthless.
Jiang Nongqin held back her words, swallowing her unspoken thoughts.
Though she was cold towards others, she could never bring herself to refuse her own Lord.
Jiang Pengji handing over command of the right flank to Jiang Nongqin seemed playful, but in reality, it was to give her more opportunities to train.
Jiang Nongqin managed the female camp well, but precisely because she excelled, she often found herself training and managing the female troops, and her battlefield tasks mostly revolved around logistics—escort supplies, clean the battlefield, treat the wounded… all of which didn’t benefit her development.
The military camp was a place of strict discipline and hierarchy; while both were school officers, having power or not was a different concept.
Jiang Nongqin was a female camp school officer, her actual military authority only second to Fu Wang, but her experience in direct combat command was still lacking compared to Dian Yin and Luo Yue.
She worked tirelessly without complaint, but as the Lord, Jiang Pengji couldn’t let such a promising talent go to waste.
The female camp was also a weapon in Jiang Pengji’s hands.
Such a weapon shouldn’t only be used for menial tasks.
“Hey, look what I found—two different big fish—”
Jiang Pengji’s keen eyes caught sight of two distinct figures, her pupils instantly brightening.
Most of the Northern Frontier cavalry wore shabby cloth and simple armor.
To Jiang Pengji, they just looked like a bunch of defenseless “soft girls.”
One blow each, and a quick thrust would take them both down.
Among this ragtag group of tattered “sisters,” two elegantly dressed “beautiful women” in palace robes stood out.
How could she miss them?
Licking her lips, the rich scent of blood stimulated her taste buds, energizing her.
Watching as the right flank struggled in a stalemate, the Northern Frontier troops were relentlessly charged by the three thousand heavy cavalry, causing the composed Eighth Prince to crack.
“Eighth Brother—Liu Thief is indeed cunning; those we just crushed were likely all the ones that surrendered earlier.”
The Seventh Prince, clad in orange-yellow armor, had a few impressive looks going on.
The Eighth Prince’s expression darkened, a touch of gloom crossing his fair cheeks.
“Seventh Brother, I suspect Liu Thief has already seen through their pretense of surrender—” the Eighth Prince clenched his teeth, “otherwise, what a coincidence! Liu Thief’s right flank was a mess from the start; once we broke through this defense, they suddenly became impenetrable? It’s clear Liu Thief saw through their trickery, deliberately pushing them into battle to let them fight amongst themselves!”
