Chapter 743: News from Hulayeg (1/2)
Translated b: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
The army could have its soldiers make a rapid advance, and for special missions, it wasn't unusual for an army to march a hundred li in a single day. But not even an army at its most rapid advance would be able to reach even half the speed of this approaching force, much less maintain such tidy ranks.
The shock and impact that came from thousands of soldiers marching in unison was truly difficult to describe!
”Impossible!”
”These soldiers are so powerful! And they're so disciplined as well. There's no sign of disorder in their ranks. Where did Lord Marquis get such impressive troops!”
”What an impressive aura. They're even more formidable than the White Braves who attacked last night!”
”Are these the helpers that Lord Marquis found?”
The many workmen and guards inside and outside the walls were gasping in amazement.
”Are these the Wushang soldiers Lord Marquis found?”
On the southwestern wall, Zhang Shouzhi was supervising the construction, but when he saw the Wushang soldiers approaching from the east, he couldn't help but mentally sigh. He was one of the few people to know of the existence of Wushang Village, but this was also his first time seeing the Wushang soldiers.
Truly formidable! This aura… No wonder Lord Marquis sent General Li! Zhang Shouzhi quietly said to himself.
He had experienced the gruesome battlefield before. Any soldier who had been able to survive the assault of the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army in the war of the southwest was an elite amongst elites.
But Zhang Shouzhi felt that even the Annan Protectorate army at its finest could not compare to the Wushang troops being led by Li Siye.
The Wushang troops approached quickly, and in only a few moments, they were several hundred zhang from the City of Steel. At this time, the gate rumbled open and Wang Chong rode out, accompanied by Cheng Sanyuan and the others.
”Lord Marquis!”
Upon seeing Wang Chong, Li Siye dismounted and strode forward to bow in front of him.
”This general completed his mission. The first phase of training for the Wushang soldiers has been completed. Lord Marquis, please inspect the troops.”
”Mm.”
Wang Chong nodded, his gaze moving from Li Siye to the five thousand Wushang soldiers. These Wushang were completely different from the ones Wang Chong had first met. They were fully equipped in armor and were already taking shape into the 'Wushang Cavalry' of his last life.
”Not bad. I've troubled you,” Wang Chong said, patting Li Siye on the shoulder.
Li Siye was truly very capable. Very few people in the army would be capable of training the five thousand Wushang into a force like this, so disciplined and well-trained that they could be as immovable as a mountain at one moment and then as aggressive as fire in the next. He was truly worthy of his future status as the Invincible Great General.
”Go and rest first. Leave the soldiers to me!” Wang Chong said.
Making these isolated villagers into the renowned Wushang Cavalry wasn't something that could be done in a single night. They had still not cultivated that martial art that had been created just for them, nor had they cultivated the Wushang Halo that was their village's namesake. Most importantly…
They had not obtained the most important thing for cavalry: their warhorses.
Everything else is ready. The only thing missing is Hulayeg's warhorses, Wang Chong quietly said to himself.
Five thousand Wushang Cavalry needed five thousand warhorses, and if he wanted the superb Turkic warhorses, he would need to get them from Hulayeg.
It should be about time. I wonder how his preparations are going?
Qixi shared a long border with the Turkic steppe, a border which was garrisoned by the forces of the Qixi Protectorate army, the Beiting Protectorate army, and the Western Turkic Khaganate. Normally, these forces mutually constrained each other, maintaining peace and quiet on both sides.
But at a time like this, this situation became the biggest obstacle to Wang Chong's ability to obtain warhorses. Five thousand warhorses was not a small number, and it was not possible to hide such a large herd from the eyes and ears of the three armies.
Given Wang Chong's current relationship with the two Protector-Generals, if this transaction were discovered, there was an eighty to ninety percent chance that all his effort would go to help someone else. Moreover, such a large warhorse transaction would never have the permission of the Western Turkic Khaganate. After all, the Turkic Khaganate was currently enemies with the Great Tang.
I'll just have to see what sort of tricks he has, Wang Chong quietly said to himself.
The rumors said that Hulayeg, as the number one horse merchant of the Turkic steppe, had many secret channels which could allow him to evade the eyes of the border armies.
It was now time to determine the veracity of those rumors.
”Everyone, follow me!”
Wang Chong quickly turned back to the matter at hand. Waving the soldiers over, he led them into the City of Steel.
……
On the boundless Turkic steppe, vast fields of grass stretched to the horizon. Here, time seemed to be at a standstill, trapped in a cycle of wilting and thriving that would repeat until the end of time.
”Hyah!”