Chapter 876 – Northern Overlord (Thirteen)
“Regarding the study society, after a detailed discussion with Mr. Cheng Cheng, I plan to truly open it to the public, allowing students from all over the world to enter.”
Jiang Pengji said this because the previous dynasty also had a similar “library” known as the Golden Scales Pavilion.
The Golden Scales Pavilion was proposed for construction by Prime Minister Huangfu Xiu of the previous dynasty, with the initial aim of benefiting the students from humble backgrounds.
However, ever since Prime Minister Huangfu died a gruesome death and was butchered and cooked, the Golden Scales Pavilion became an exclusive domain for the gentry.
Now, Jiang Pengji proposed to build a study society similar to the Golden Scales Pavilion, and one can imagine that all the students from humble backgrounds would respond eagerly.
“I previously mentioned assisting people in writing books; if I can obtain their consent, the samples they leave behind will also be added to the study society. Alternatively, we could designate a special area for communication and discussion,” Jiang Pengji was convinced that if these three initiatives were successfully implemented, Wanzhou would become a sacred place in the hearts of scholars across the land. By then, she could take her time selecting talented individuals without any worries.
After discussing these matters, Jiang Pengji began assigning tasks.
Qi Guanrang and Feng Zhen would go to Chongzhou, Yang Si to Hujun, and Xu Ke and Feng Jin would remain at Wanzhou to manage the place.
Liu Zhi agreed to step back and hand over all authority to Jiang Pengji, but whether she could completely subdue Chongzhou would depend on her capabilities.
Qi Guanrang was from Chongzhou and was intimately familiar with the situation there, while Feng Zhen, despite looking unreliable, was surprisingly shrewd.
With these two working together, it would be difficult for others to gain an upper hand against them.
The local gentry in Hujun had already been dealt with by Liu Zhi, making the recovery relatively easy, which Yang Si could handle on his own.
Xu Ke and Feng Jin worked harmoniously, so Jiang Pengji felt reassured leaving them to guard the base.
After discussing governance, she moved on to talk about land cultivation.
Since ancient times, before soldiers move, provisions should arrive first.
With sufficient provisions, one can fight with confidence.
Jiang Pengji said, “The land cultivation has already started showing results; Zixiao left me plenty of suggestions before heading to the capital, which I find feasible. I plan to open up good farmland in Chongzhou and engage in large-scale cultivation. This way, we can alleviate the pressure of supplies while also shortening the supply lines.”
As for the land cultivation in Chongzhou, Qi Guanrang and Feng Zhen had heard it from Wei Ci, so they naturally had no objections.
The others quietly did their math and also supported the proposal.
Without land cultivation, they wouldn’t be able to sustain such a large army.
After multiple recruitments, Wanzhou now had 60,000 soldiers, and the female camp had expanded to 7,000.
This was after Jiang Pengji intentionally set a higher bar.
If they accepted anyone who came, the force could exceed 100,000.
Within Dongqing, Jiang Pengji was undeniably the Northern Overlord.
Li Yun asked, “Are there any unclaimed wastelands in Chongzhou available for cultivation?”
Due to excessive land consolidation, many lands were privately owned by the aristocracy.
This land cultivation should be quite large-scale; if there wasn’t enough land, it wouldn’t work.
Jiang Pengji sneered dismissively, “We’ll see when the time comes.”
The sites for cultivation would be determined after a field investigation.
If the local powerful families were smart enough, she wouldn’t mind a win-win collaboration; if they were ignorant, she would have to “skillfully seize” their lands instead.
Originally, Wei Ci was responsible for the land cultivation.
But he had gone to the capital to oversee the construction of the provincial government and was currently stretched too thin.
Jiang Pengji thought for a moment and named Li Yun as the acting Chongzhou Land Officer, specifically to handle this matter.
Li Yun happily agreed.
And that’s all there was about the land cultivation; Jiang Pengji shifted the topic to military training.
Speaking of military training, the previously lackluster generals perked up as if injected with adrenaline, their spirits soaring.
Jiang Pengji asked each of them about the progress of training new recruits, receiving satisfactory replies.
“We must prepare to engage in battle with the Northern Frontier Cavalry within five years,” Jiang Pengji opened up, and the generals couldn’t help but perk up their ears, listening closely, afraid to miss a single word, “You’re all aware of the Northern Frontier Cavalry‘s strength. They’re quick and flexible in troop movements, but they also have noticeable weaknesses. I plan to train specialized units to counter their strengths. I proposed this before, but the scale was too small, and the effects were minimal. Now, we need to truly implement it and formally diversify our military units!”
The Northern Frontier relied heavily on cavalry, and their troop types were very homogeneous.
Their speed was indeed impressive, but they were not invincible; they had fatal weaknesses.
Firstly, their defensive capabilities were poor.
Secondly, their singular troop type meant they would struggle against specialized counter-forces, leaving them with almost no chance of recovery.
Jiang Pengji planned to officially diversify her military units and introduce various troop types, which would also allow for more flexible battlefield coordination and command.
To counter the cavalry, Jiang Pengji devised several targeted strategies.
There were military formations, troop types, defensive equipment, and even more cunning traps.
Everyone flipped through their booklets, shivering as a singular thought crossed their minds—
How deeply did their leader harbor grievances against the Northern Frontier Cavalry?
Looking at the content Jiang Pengji wrote, they couldn’t help but visualize and worry for the Northern Frontier Cavalry.
Starting with military formations, there was a simple fish scale formation illustrated in the booklet, allowing heavily armored infantry to wield shields and spears, forming a fish scale-like arrangement. The military formation Jiang Pengji used to break out of Jiamen Pass with over a hundred soldiers could be considered a small-scale fish scale formation.
However, the Northern Frontier Cavalry primarily consisted of light cavalry, often dressed in simple clothing or woven armor, making them highly mobile.
Without encircling the enemy, this fish scale formation wouldn’t be very effective.
There was also the more familiar pike formation.
The strengths of the pike formation were clear, but so were its weaknesses.
Nonetheless, Jiang Pengji previously suggested diversifying troop types and coordinating different units to complement one another’s shortcomings.
In this way, the pike formation also had its merits.
As for the military formations, there were the ruthless archers using the previously modified crossbows Jiang Pengji had worked on numerous times.
Jiang Pengji’s original troops all employed modified crossbows, and over the years, many effective combat strategies had been developed, making them quite sharp.
In addition to the modified crossbows, the army also had ballistae.
With long ranges, great power, and significant lethality, they could inflict massive damage on the charging Northern Frontier Cavalry.
Besides these, there were other “little toys,” such as caltrops and spiked barriers.
Caltrops could be arranged in front of the army to pierce the charging horses, hindering the cavalry’s advance.
The spiked barriers had four points, and regardless of how they were laid, one spike would always be pointing up. When scattered across the enemy’s path and slightly covered with foliage, should a horse step on one, the spikes would embed in its hoof, nearly rendering it useless.
In the booklet, everyone also saw two uniquely shaped weapons.
One resembled a sickle, designed specifically to chop horse legs, and the other was heavy and powerful, named the Horse Chopper.
Jiang Pengji intended to specifically train a special operations unit of around five thousand, focusing on tactics against the Northern Frontier‘s war horses.
Compared to their mounted combat abilities, the Northern Frontier Cavalry was not strong in foot combat.
Without their horses, they would be like a tiger stripped of its teeth—no longer a threat.
