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Chapter 358: 188. Zhan Taiqing's Commitment
Chapter 358: 188. Zhan Taiqing's Commitment
"How many soldiers does the Wanyang County garrison have?"
"Over ten thousand."
"How many men do you have under your command?"
"With a hundred seventy thousand troops, you only managed to take down one city wall in Wanyang County City, which has just ten thousand guards, in two days. Do you think this is how you can close this matter with me, Peng Yuhu?"
Outside Wanyang City, at the forefront of the Yongzhou army, Hou Yuxiao listened to Zhan Taiqing fiercely admonishing Peng Yuhu while staring at the western city wall that the troops had occupied. He was only accompanied by Hou Yuduan and Hou Yujie, who were also looking at the city wall, pondering over something in their minds.
When Hou Yuxiao first met Peng Yuhu at the Tongling Sacred Heart Residence, he was struck by his dashing and elegant demeanor, characteristic of a sky-level Great Grandmaster. However, under Zhan Taiqing's scolding, he was now silent like a cicada in winter, almost bending his body to ninety degrees, entirely shifting Hou Yuxiao's perception of him and enhancing his understanding of Zhan Taiqing's authority.
Although Hou Yuxiao had expected that Wanyang County would not be easily conquered, the fact that a hundred seventy thousand troops only captured one city wall indeed greatly surprised him. Thus, his gaze also turned to Peng Yuhu, curious to hear what the issue was.
"Master, please see the truth, it is not that my men weren't attacking fiercely. There are genuine difficulties.
The Sword Chief of Xizhao, Gu Tianyun, is still in the city. Once I split my forces to attack, he will defeat them one by one, which is why we're sticking to the western gate."
This section of the wall can only accommodate fifty thousand men attacking at the same time—more would just cause congestion and actually impede our progress, so I have not ordered all the troops to advance together."
Regrettably, the city's defenders are indeed very tenacious, and with that bizarre Brass Sword Formation, we sacrificed many brothers before we barely managed to capture this one wall."
As Peng Yuhu finished speaking, three black-armored generals beside him also spoke up, their tone full of grievance.
"Master, please discern the truth. My brothers and I have fought until we are bathed in blood. Despite losing over ten thousand men, we also killed more than seven thousand enemies. If it were not for our caution against Gu Tianyun, we would have broken through the city by now."
"As soon as the Brass Sword Formation is deployed, it sends tens of thousands of flying swords, each with the power of Ten Layers of Body Openings, and each capable of tracking and targeting. Even if our soldiers are fighting in close quarters with the enemy, they can still be precisely struck. We have no choice but to fill the gaps with lives."
"I can testify that the men in the army are not cowards fearing for their lives. Now that Master is here, even if we have to sacrifice ourselves, we are ready to break through Wanyang County. Please issue your commands, and we will assault the city immediately!"
The three black-armored generals all had robust statures; the leading one held a long spear, and a distinctive blue birthmark was on his left face;
The second who spoke was a bit chubby, armed with a pair of heavy Gilded Gold Octagonal Hammers;
The last one also wielded a long spear, his eyes spirited, his tone the most urgent, and his aura full of the most intense fighting spirit.
The current military system employed in the states across The World broadly still followed that of the former dynasty: a hundred men made a squad, a thousand men a standard, ten thousand men a battalion, and fifty thousand men a group. Squad leaders and standard leaders are still low-ranking officers, only at the battalion level with commanders, and at the group level with commandants, who are considered senior officers, is there a requirement for cultivation.
Generally, a commander has at least a cultivation in the Gang Qi Realm, and more formidable ones like Gui Yutang are at the Gangqi Third Realm Bao Dan Period; commandants have even higher requirements, with at least Grandmaster Realm cultivation.
This time, to participate in the battle, Hou Yuxiao had already gathered information en route, knowing that these three men are the three Great Commandants of the Xingnan Prefecture Army. The one with the blue birthmark is the Chief Commandant, Dong Yuxuan, with a cultivation of the Second Realm Grandmaster; the chubby Commander wielding giant hammers is the Second Commandant, Hong Bo, at the pinnacle of First Realm Grandmaster; the one with the most intense war spirit is the Third Commandant, Peng Yucheng, also with Second Realm Grandmaster cultivation.
Hou Yuxiao's gaze lingered on the Third Commandant, Peng Yucheng, for a while longer. He was not only one of the Three Great Commandants of the Xingnan Mansion Army but also the biological brother of the Prefecture Governor Peng Yuhu, clearly one of Peng Yuhu's loyalists.
The Xingnan Prefecture Army totaled two hundred thousand men, usually dispersed to defend the six counties. For instance, Tongling County previously had thirty thousand mansion soldiers, with each of the other counties having twenty to thirty thousand. Only these three great commandants each led ten thousand men stationed in the prefecture city.
With Peng Yuhu leading a force of one hundred seventy thousand, it was clear that the soldiers guarding the six counties had been fully mobilized, and all three commandants were present, which was equivalent to the Holy Church's entire military force at Xingnan Prefecture being deployed.
Peng Yuhu himself led the army, along with three commandants, seventeen commanders, plus the one hundred seventy thousand troops—this was a clear indication they were serious about combat!
Hou Yuxiao sighed softly, then shifted his gaze to the sinister-looking middle-aged man in a black robe next to Peng Yuhu, and to the eight individuals following him, sensing that none of their presences were inferior to his own, Hou Yuxiao instinctively tensed.
The sinister middle-aged man must be the Ghost Hand Sword Han Feng, touted as one of Zhan Taiqing's right-hand men, a sky-level Great Grandmaster. The other eight were the Eight Great Vajras guarding Jia Lan from the Prefecture City Prison Administration, deemed Zhan Taiqing's loyal subordinates.
This set-up truly revealed the terrifying depth of the Rakshasa Holy Sect's foundation. Just Zhan Taiqing's Prison Administration Office alone, besides her, a top expert in the Qiányáng Realm, included Han Feng, a sky-level Great Grandmaster, along with eight ordinary Grandmasters.
Publicly, all the mansion army is under the control of the Prefecture Governor, so logically Dong Yuxuan, Hong Bo, and Peng Yucheng were his subordinates. Additionally, Hou Yuxiao noticed seven Grandmaster Realm auras among the army, representing the side of the Prefecture Government Office, including Peng Yuhu, totaling eleven Grandmaster Realm masters.