Chapter 557 – Drought, Refugees (III)
The common people were unaware of the news about Princess An Yina’s death; even if they knew, to them, it was just another royal member who had passed away.
However, this news, when it reached the ears of the sensitive individuals, was enough to shake the entire northern situation.
Jiang Pengji wore a serious expression as she inquired about the recruitment of soldiers and the training status of the new recruits.
Due to the drought in the north, many members of the Green Garment Army and the Red Lotus Sect found life unbearable, leading them to abandon their organizations and become refugees. To these wanderers, Shangyu County was like an oasis in the desert, and they were eager to join.
Jiang Pengji ordered a careful assessment of them, selecting only those with higher qualities to enter the new recruits’ camp.
Thanks to the female camp’s household registration policy, the recruitment went quite smoothly, and many women forced by life wanted to join. However, Jiang Pengji raised the standards for the female camp, selecting only strong, agile, and determined women to ensure the fighting capability of the camp.
In this era, population growth relied solely on women giving birth, but the female camp had a rule that service must end at twenty-four before marriage and childbirth. If too many women joined the camp, the population of her territory would inevitably be affected, which Jiang Pengji was unwilling to see.
Moreover, winning battles was not just about numbers; overall quality was essential.
She would rather have the female camp’s numbers be half that of the male camp, but the combat proficiency must not decline.
Quality over quantity!
Jiang Pengji’s expression grew grave as she asked, “How’s the iron mining going?”
Feng Jin replied, “The captured soldiers from the Green Garment Army have already been sent to mine, and the iron deposits are relatively rich. However, for the smelting part… it’s a bit beyond our capabilities, and we’ll need to carefully select skilled craftsmen. That’s not too difficult; I can think of a solution.”
Having iron mines in the territory meant they didn’t need to spend a fortune buying iron from outside, saving a significant amount of money.
Last year, they had bought several thousand sets of simple infantry gear, which made Jiang Pengji wince; spending money felt like flowing water.
Even if that money came from the spendthrifts of the northern border, once it entered her treasury, it was her money!
Feng Jin continued, “But… even this might be hard to deal with the cavalry of the northern border…”
To confront the northern border, they inevitably had to face their cavalry.
From previous knowledge, the armies of the three tribes of the northern border generally consisted of infantry and cavalry in roughly a 1:2 ratio.
More than a decade ago, the northern border tribes launched a surprise attack on Chongzhou’s Shangyu County, deploying a force of one hundred thousand soldiers, of which sixty to seventy thousand were cavalry!
In one battle, they swept through six cities.
Had it not been for the quick response of the North Defense Marquis’ residence, perhaps the entire Chongzhou would have fallen to them after just a few more days.
The three tribes of the northern border were nomadic people, dealing with horses year-round. To put it bluntly, their seven or eight-year-old children could gallop across the fields, while the Dongqing nobles would struggle to even mount a horse without stirrups.
Stirrups had just emerged in this era, but they were not widespread; only a few nobles equipped their horses with crude stirrups. Riding was not easy these days, but many skilled riders, like Li Yun, preferred to ride without them, leading the audience to tease him about his incredible waist strength, joking that his future wife would be particularly fortunate.
Stirrups could indeed be further improved to aid cavalry in mounted combat, allowing even those who weren’t skilled at riding to learn quickly.
Yet even if Jiang Pengji began preparations for cavalry now, it would be challenging to surpass the northern border’s quality, let alone their numbers.
Unless—
While training cavalry, she also trained special units that could counter cavalry.
Jiang Pengji’s gaze darkened as her brain began to churn. Seeing her lost in thought, Feng Jin instinctively brought his hands together, knowing that his lord was brainstorming, and remained silent, waiting for her to finish contemplating.
“Dealing with cavalry isn’t impossible—”
For Jiang Pengji, no troop type was invincible.
Even the genetically engineered special forces created by the Human Federation were not invulnerable; they too could encounter their “natural enemies.”
Similarly, the simple light cavalry of the northern border tribes couldn’t be unbeatable.
Feng Jin asked, “Does the Lord have any methods in mind?”
Jiang Pengji replied, “I want to train a special army to slay horses. The horse farms of Dongqing are over by Cangzhou, and that’s the Meng Clan’s territory. They aren’t aligned with us. Trying to buy enough warhorses through that channel would likely bankrupt us. If warfare breaks out with the northern border, they’ll closely monitor the movements of horses. It’s unrealistic to suddenly expand our cavalry now.”
Zhang Ping chimed in, “Is the Lord aiming to leverage strengths and avoid direct conflict with cavalry, instead exploring methods to counter them?”
When it came to cavalry, across the nine realms of kingdoms, even the mightiest of Zhong Zhao wouldn’t dare claim superiority over the northern border.
Rather than competing in cavalry head-to-head, it would be far better to carve out a new path, researching special troops designed to counter cavalry.
That was indeed a thought-provoking approach.
Jiang Pengji nodded and said, “War horses are the lifeblood of cavalry. Once they lose their horses, cavalry become as weak as snails stripped of their shells. We can now produce our own iron, craft long swords, and create heavy shields. If we coordinate different troop types, for example, soldiers wielding heavy shields to withstand the initial cavalry charge while others use long swords or spears to wound or slay the warhorses…”
This was just a concept; practical execution would require experimentation.
For instance, how strong would a cavalry charge be, and what kind of heavy shields and force would be needed to withstand it while keeping the rear formation intact?
Jiang Pengji added, “Huai Yu must have seen the penetrating power of ballistae before, right?”
Ballistae?
Using ballistae against cavalry?
Feng Jin nodded, puzzled, “But ballistae are bulky and hard to move. When it comes to dealing with cavalry, it might be too much to handle.”
Zhang Ping shook his head and replied, “Huai Yu may be mistaken; I think the Lord means if ballistae could be made mobile, how much damage could they inflict on the cavalry? Ballistae can be placed on chariots; naturally, that would make them more convenient to maneuver. Of course, wheels could also be added to ballistae, but the enormous tension might unintentionally move the entire chariot when the arrows are fired…”
A tech-savvy mindset works quicker than an average person’s, and Zhang Ping’s line of thought was naturally different from Feng Jin’s.
“That sounds like it could be worth trying.”
Recalling the penetrating power and range of the ballista, Feng Jin felt more confident.
Jiang Pengji poured cold water on the idea, saying, “Adding wheels to ballistae or mounting them on chariots would indeed give them flexibility, but compared to cavalry, they’d still be too slow. Relying on this to counter cavalry is daydreaming—at best, it would catch them off guard and pose a threat during the first wave of charges. By the time the enemy reacts, this tactic would become ineffective.”
Jiang Pengji also added, “While improving the killing power of crossbows might not match that of ballistae, their mobility and agility far surpass the latter. If we establish a specialized unit to counter cavalry, we should have soldiers using improved crossbows, and such troops could be called archer infantry.”
Feng Jin understood, likening it to the previous units but scaled up tenfold in numbers.
Jiang Pengji’s words opened up a new train of thought for him.
