February was the month when the snow melted. The roads from Pendraig Castle to the eastern regions of the Northland were still unpaved dirt tracks — muddy and nearly impassable. This was precisely why
After the Kenmais Family had taken control of the eastern regions of the Northland, they had not built a city of their own. The only two bustling towns in the area were Xinjiexi Town, a border settlement adjacent to the Demon Dragon Mountains where the trading houses that did business with the mountain barbarian tribes were located, and White Stone Town. Many taverns had opened up in Xinjiexi Town, their primary clientele being the mountain barbarians who descended from the mountains to trade in town. It was not uncommon to see drunken barbarians collapsed by the roadside, snoring away — this had long since become a common sight in Xinjiexi Town.
The other relatively lively town was White Stone Town. It had originally been a small village, named for a massive white boulder at its entrance. However, because it sat closest to the iron-chain bridge connecting to the Muyue Plains Province, it had caught the eye of the late Count Mace, who established the town as the Snow Salt Trading Company's base of operations. He invested heavily in building extensive supply warehouses, wagon repair yards, and dormitories for the trading company's laborers, which quickly brought the small village to life. After several years, it had developed into a proper town.
Following the territory exchange, the Kenmais Family relocated to the Sidigle Province, migrating over two hundred thousand of their fief's subjects out of the eastern Northland. Meanwhile, only a small portion of the residents forcibly relocated from Sidigle Province to the Northland had actually arrived here — fewer than fifty thousand. The majority of the original Sidigle Province migrants had been assigned to develop the three plains in the southern Northland, while another portion had been sent to the Taichuan Plains in the western Northland, which still had a significant population deficit even after its development was completed.
Although the Kenmais Family had relocated most of their subjects after the territory exchange, they had not taken the trading house in Xinjiexi Town that specifically handled trade with the mountain barbarian tribes. They had also retained a warehouse depot in White Stone Town. These had been applied for under the Snow Salt Trading Company's name, and since the
The Hunting Cavalry Corps' main encampment had been set up here. Upon receiving word of Lorist's arrival, Knight Walsingma — who had recently arrived to assume his post as acting corps commander — hurried out of camp to greet him. Two years ago, after failing his attempt to break through to the Gold rank, Walsingma had spent half a year recovering from his injuries. He had since fully recovered to the peak of the Silver Three-star rank, and it was estimated that he would be able to enter seclusion again to attempt the Gold-rank breakthrough before long.
Having Knight Walsingma come in as acting corps commander to clean up the Hunting Cavalry Corps' mess had been a decision Lorist made only after much deliberation. Walsingma was a knight devoted to his duty and willing to shoulder heavy responsibilities. Though not eloquent, he was sincere in character, led by example, and possessed a practical spirit. With the Hunting Cavalry Corps having suffered a crushing defeat and morale running low, they needed exactly a knight like Walsingma to rally the troops back to fighting form.
Knight Walsingma did not disappoint Lorist. Though he had been the Hunting Cavalry Corps' acting commander for less than a month, Lorist found that the camp was clean and orderly, all military affairs within it were running in perfect order, and the corps soldiers moved about not with dejected expressions but with surprisingly good spirits and bearing — giving one an uplifting sense of vigor and determination.
However, Lorist noticed that every Hunting Cavalry Corps soldier had a single white feather pinned to the brim of their helmet. Curious, he asked Walsingma what this was about.
Knight Walsingma replied, "Your Highness, this white snow grouse feather represents the Hunting Cavalry Corps' great defeat this time. It is pinned on our helmets to signify that every soldier of the Hunting Cavalry Corps will forever remember this humiliation and long to stain this feather red with the blood of our enemies. It also serves as a reminder for all our soldiers to remember those who sacrificed themselves in the Muyeh Plains Province. Though we were defeated, the bravery of those fallen warriors is worthy of our remembrance."
Lorist nodded. "You speak truly. However, I do not consider the ambush on the Hunting Cavalry Corps a great defeat. After all, it was over a hundred thousand Barbarian horsemen attacking our three corps, and Grand Duke Visabrun personally led the ambush force. Though the sacrifices were great and the casualties severe, I believe that while the Hunting Cavalry Corps was defeated, it was a glorious defeat."
"Your Highness, no matter how one seeks reasons or embellishments, defeat is defeat. That is the fact. The Hunting Cavalry Corps' failure lay in its carelessness. They believed themselves to be invincible, sweeping across the Muyeh Plains Province. They neglected reconnaissance. Even when they spotted the Barbarian scouts lurking nearby, they dismissed them as insignificant raiding parties incapable of putting up a fight, and thus walked into the trap. Moreover, Corps Commander
"I have already questioned every surviving soldier. Based on their accounts, I have written a very detailed report. Your Highness, I do not wish to blame anyone. I only hope we can learn this lesson to prevent the family's forces from suffering such a defeat again in future campaigns. The lesson of the Hunting Cavalry Corps is that initial success and consecutive victories led everyone to lose their vigilance. They underestimated the enemy and became arrogant and complacent, which allowed the enemy to find an opening. If the Hunting Cavalry Corps had maintained vigilance, and sent out light cavalry scouts to thoroughly investigate before any movement, they would never have been surrounded by the Barbarian horsemen."
Lorist appreciated Walsingma's straightforwardness in speaking his mind. After a moment of silence, Lorist spoke up. "My apologies. I spoke out of turn. You are right. Defeat is defeat. The bravery of the fallen soldiers does not whitewash this failure. But why didn't the Third Hunting Cavalry Corps send out light cavalry scouts when it marched out on its mission?"
"The matter is this," Walsingma explained. "I questioned the rescued soldiers of the Third Corps. They said that Corps Commander Piet, seeing a small group of Barbarian horsemen lurking nearby, was concerned that the light cavalry scouts he dispatched would be no match for those Barbarians and would only suffer losses for nothing. So he ordered the scouts to patrol within the range of the accompanying war wagon crossbow batteries and not venture out far to scout."
"Corps Commander Piet has honorably fallen in battle, and it is not my place to comment on whether his command was appropriate. But I believe Piet did not realize at the time that over a hundred thousand Barbarian horsemen were lying in ambush ahead, waiting for their arrival. He was simply trying to protect his soldiers and avoid unnecessary losses. The Third Hunting Cavalry Corps was newly formed, and the mission to sweep the Muyeh Plains Province was also a kind of combat training. Sending these new light cavalry scouts immediately to face those experienced Barbarian raiders is a problem any commander must carefully deliberate."
"Furthermore, considering the Third Corps was deployed with two war wagon crossbow batteries this time, it was clear that Commander Piet believed those few Barbarian raiders were merely posturing, and that no Barbarian tribe on the Muyeh Plains could withstand his forces. Therefore, he only allowed the light cavalry scouts to patrol within a three-hundred-meter radius of the Third Corps' marching column, relying on the war wagon crossbows to provide them with long-range protection. And precisely because of this, the Third Corps ended up surrounded by over a hundred thousand Barbarian horsemen."
Knight Walsingma's deductions were logical and reasonable. But since the Third Hunting Cavalry Corps' commander Piet had already fallen in battle, Lorist could not engage in any posthumous settling of scores. That would only appear petty and ungrateful. He could only silently accept this explanation and continue his inspection of the Hunting Cavalry Corps' encampment under Walsingma's escort.
Dinner was eaten in the camp mess hall. Lorist, just like all the Hunting Cavalry Corps soldiers, collected a tray of food and squeezed in with the soldiers to dine. The soldiers sharing a table with Lorist were both delighted and excited, so much so they nearly forgot to eat. Lorist ate while making small talk with the soldiers, asking about their families, and encouraging everyone. He firmly stated that the family attached great importance to the rebuilding of the Hunting Cavalry Corps and hoped they would rally, sweep across the battlefield, and wash away their past shame...
That evening, Lorist went to visit Josk and Yuri, who were recovering from their injuries. The apothecary in charge of their treatment told Lorist that although Josk's injuries were severe, his recovery was going well. This was mainly due to his strong constitution and the fact that he had been rescued immediately after being wounded, unlike Yuri, who had fought on desperately despite sustaining grave injuries and was already on the verge of collapse by the time he was rescued—unconscious, with over a dozen severe wounds across his body, bones and flesh shattered. The major circulation of battleforce through his meridian nodes had been completely destroyed, leaving him bedridden like a cripple, unable to move, entirely dependent on others for eating, drinking, and even going to the bathroom. The apothecary estimated it would take three to four months for his body to recover, and at least one to two years of battleforce cultivation before he could return to the Gold rank.
Josk could already sit up in bed. With a bitter smile, he told Lorist that he had been ambushed by Grand Duke Fisabulen. As a marksman, Josk could strike enemies from long range on the battlefield—never missing a shot, a truly imposing sight. But Grand Duke Fisabulen had disguised himself as an ordinary Grass Barbarian soldier, blending in with a group of barbarians to close the distance before suddenly charging out. At the time, Josk had been focused on spotting and shooting the Grass Barbarian cavalry leaders and warriors, neglecting the lowly foot soldiers that were left to his personal guards to handle.
As a result, Grand Duke Fisabulen burst out in a sudden charge, cutting down all who stood in his way, and quickly closed in on Josk. The moment Josk realized that this attacking old Barbarian was actually Grand Duke Fisabulen, he knew he was in trouble. In a panic, he loosed over a dozen arrows in rapid succession, but every one was deflected by Fisabulen. Josk wheeled his horse to flee, but Fisabulen was closing too fast and hurled his longsword. One of Josk's guards threw himself in the way, but the blade punched through his body and continued on into Josk's chest. Both were knocked from their horse, and when they hit the ground, the jarring impact drove the embedded sword deeper, ripping open a massive gash in Josk's chest—the pain nearly made him pass out...
Meanwhile, Grand Duke Fisabulen continued his advance. At that moment, over a dozen Family Knights and nearly a hundred Hunting Cavalry Corps soldiers swarmed forward to block Fisabulen and rescue Josk. Unfortunately, in the chaos of battle, no one thought to recover Fisabulen's longsword. Only after Josk was pulled to safety and his wounds bandaged did he learn that every last one of the Family Knights and soldiers who had gone to hold back Grand Duke Fisabulen had perished on the battlefield.
Josk's condition was comparatively better—his lungs and breastbone had taken the worst of it, but recovery was progressing well. In another three or four months, he would be a vigorous, roaring tiger of a man once more. He rubbed his fists eagerly and declared that as soon as his body recovered, he would lead the Hunting Cavalry Corps back to Muyeh Province to reclaim their honor and avenge the brave warriors who had sacrificed their lives. Seeing that Josk still had that fire in him, Lorist felt relieved.
Yuri, on the other hand, lay in bed like a dead man, though his mind was still sharp. When he saw Lorist come to visit him, tears rolled from the corners of his eyes. Lorist took his hand, sat by the bedside, and stayed with him for a long while, telling him not to rush—right now the most important thing was recovery. The family had already pinned the Fisabulen family down to their own territory and cut off all their external connections. Grand Duke Fisabulen, no matter how capable he was, was like a grasshopper past autumn—he could no longer leap...
Light cavalry.
Lorist stayed with the Hunting Cavalry Corps for half a month before setting out for Fort
Two days after returning to Fort Rockcastle, the March rainy season arrived right on schedule.
After thinking things over for several days, Lorist summoned
"I plan to restructure the Imperial Guard Corps, reorganizing it into three Imperial Guard Corps and slightly reducing the size of each corps. There's no need for a single corps to have as many as seventy-five thousand troops. Right now, our family controls not only the entirety of Northland but also has indirect jurisdiction and sphere of influence over Dremek Province and Winston Province. Cities like
Lorist produced the restructuring proposal he had deliberated over for quite some time.
Fatty Shi, considering matters from a strategic perspective, expressed his approval of the reorganization of the Imperial Guard Corps: "Your Highness, as a garrison force, the Imperial Guard Corps is indeed far too thin on manpower. Although it is a grand corps numbering as many as seventy-five thousand troops, with the expansion of our family's territory and sphere of influence, there are simply too many locations that need to be garrisoned. The Imperial Guard Corps has already reached the point where it can barely keep up. Take the Silovas Islands, for instance—we've stationed a single Imperial Guard Regiment there, and it's only because Great Swordmaster Hughes is holding down the fort that we can rest easy…"
Northland is the largest among all the provinces of the former empire, nearly three times the size of Dremek Province. Yet currently we have only ten Imperial Guard Battalions—thirty thousand troops—stationed there. While every town and village has its own militia, when the Mountain Barbarian army struck this time, we still had no choice but to recall the Flying Tiger Corps and the Fierce Bear Knights to deal with them. We simply cannot rely on the Imperial Guard Corps alone to handle a Mountain Barbarian army of a hundred thousand.
If in the future all of our family's armed field army corps are deployed on campaigns abroad, what will we do should the Mountain Barbarian army raid us again? Therefore, I believe Your Highness should indeed expand the Imperial Guard Corps. From a strategic standpoint, we must at the very least ensure the Imperial Guard Corps has the capability to independently repel a Mountain Barbarian invasion of this scale, or at the very least hold the line."
However, Superintendent Spear, who managed the family's finances, firmly voiced his opposition to military expansion: "Your Highness, two-thirds of our family's expenditures go toward military costs. That is already tantamount to recklessly exhausting our resources for war!"
…(To be continued.)