The Blood Kirin Army had almost completely assembled at the Dong Family Village camp, poised and ready to strike. And their preparations didn't stop there. The Dong Family Village camp didn't look like a pure military encampment for stationing troops, but more like a comprehensive, semi-permanent military base. At its current scale, it could certainly handle material supply and transfer operations.
Even more important was the central command tent in the middle of the camp and the Yun Province terrain sand table placed inside. When building this camp, they hadn't considered creating a permanent military base. However, the exact timing of the Blood Kirin Army's entry into Yun Province was uncertain. Furthermore, the construction skills of the Blood Kirin Army's heavy machinery and logistics battalions were quite impressive, and they had favorable terrain to work with. Amidst the vast camp construction, they flattened the top of a hill, using thick logs as support and giant sewn-together cowhide sheets as walls to erect an enormous tent. Under the cowhide dome, the Yun Province terrain sand table was placed in the center, surrounded by a spacious command area. The command area was separated from the outer perimeter by numerous filing cabinets and person-high cowhide screens, creating individual workspaces for handling camp affairs, logistics, military intelligence, and sorting letters for the soldiers.
The hilltop where the tent was built was connected to the tops of two adjacent hills by suspension bridges. On those hills, they built impressive watchtowers and established an eagle station at the top of one.
At the foot of the hill, rows of simple barracks and tents were neatly arranged. The tents and barracks were generally divided according to different military establishments, with a slightly larger tent in the center of each area, very similar in style to the central command tent on the hilltop. It seemed the heavy machinery and logistics battalions had mastered the construction of these nomadic-style tents made of wood and cowhide.
Behind the hill were simple warehouses storing large quantities of supplies. Although somewhat hastily constructed, the storage area had relatively large-scale drainage ditches to prevent problems during the rainy season. To prevent fires, several deep wells had been dug, and large vats of clean water were half-buried in a corner of the storage area.
Seeing such a camp, Ye Tao wore a strange expression. The enormous central command tent on the hilltop always reminded him of something... probably the design of a certain race's central building in some expansion pack of the *Heroes of Might and Magic* series. And the technique of connecting several hills with suspension bridges made him wonder if the Blood Kirin Army would build his memory of "Thunder Bluff" if the hills were a bit higher and the space at the top was more sufficient. Ye Tao had to secretly explain to heaven that this piracy had nothing to do with him.
Having arrived here and about to enter Yun Province with the Blood Kirin Army, Ye Tao didn't plan to hide and avoid military meetings. If there was anything he could do to help, he would do his best. This was not only to be responsible to his trusted companions but also to convey a message to the representatives of the Dai family from Yun Province, who would also be attending the military meeting: the Blood Kirin Army was of one mind.
Currently, Dai Ji was a member of the cavalry battalion. Due to his excellent equestrian skills, deep understanding of Yun Province, and mastery of several languages spoken in Yun Province and by tribes north of Yun Province, he had even been specially approved to enter the Blood Kirin Army's most unique and valued scout cavalry battalion, becoming a soldier under Chi Lei. He was now carrying out missions within Yun Province and no longer qualified to participate in military discussions. On the other hand, Dai Ye, the former commander of the Iron Cloud Riders, was unwilling to be deemed too old and useless and sent to Danyang. This time, he followed the Blood Kirin Army to the Dong Family Village camp in a very comfortable four-wheeled carriage. Dai Ye's body was not strong enough to support large-scale, high-intensity military activities in Yun Province, but serving as a senior staff officer in the Dong Family Village forward camp was definitely no problem.
There were also several people from the Dai family headquarters in Yun Province, most importantly Dai Shihuan's younger brother, Dai Shikui, Dai Yun's father, and Dai Rong, who was in charge of military intelligence for the Dai family. The others were practical executives in charge of various administrative affairs in the Dai family, who came to fully coordinate the supply issues for the Blood Kirin Army and other troops that Dongping might mobilize into Yun Province.
Naturally, Dongping would not completely let the young people of the Blood Kirin Army take charge. Former General Xu Jingtan, Vice Minister of War Hu Yi, and Vice Minister of Rites Jiao Ze Ning attended the meeting as representatives of the Dongping court. In fact, apart from Xu Jingtan, who had a relatively large say, the other two vice ministers were there to listen and to implement matters that needed to be coordinated with other parties. In Tan Xiaopei's view, sending the Blood Kirin Army, appointing Ye Tao to restrain the Blood Kirin Army's overly aggressive mentality, and adding a veteran general known for his stability and practicality to advise on military affairs was absolutely sufficient in terms of sincerity and administrative level. Moreover, if the war in Yun Province proceeded smoothly, Crown Prince Tan Weiming would enter Yun Province as Dongping's plenipotentiary representative.
Ye Tao arrived at the military camp two hours before the formal military conference was convened in the central command tent. This very important meeting was only waiting for him.
After exchanging a few pleasantries with the Dai family members, Dai Rong began to introduce the military situation in Yun Province.
With a sand table that, although not perfect, was sufficient, Dai Rong's military briefing was much more intuitive. He placed many differently shaped chess pieces on the sand table... In the past few days, he had become accustomed to using these chess pieces to represent different types of troops, even different types of the same troop. One chess piece representing ten thousand people was a good way to show local troop strength comparisons.
Dai Rong said solemnly, "Before coming here, I just returned from the northern border. In the north, our scouts used to be able to penetrate deep into the grasslands and coexist peacefully with the tribes, sometimes even obtaining supplies from them before returning. Now, our scouts can hardly penetrate more than three hundred *li* into the grasslands. In most cases, they encounter tribal patrols about two hundred *li* in. Although there haven't been too many conflicts yet, it's not like before, where everyone would greet each other and go their own way. Once they meet, they monitor each other, and some provocations are normal. According to people from a small tribe that has a good relationship with our Dai family and some connections with the northern tribes, the Korka tribe, the strongest on the northern grasslands, is the initiator of this attack on Yun Province. So far, a total of twenty-seven tribes have been confirmed to have joined the grassland coalition, with a total of about 140,000 troops, all cavalry."
"To the west of Yun Province is the Xiling army, Yun Province's perennial enemy. And the commander can be considered an old opponent of my Dai family, Jiang Xujing, the number one cavalry general of Xiling. The Xiling forces are mainly concentrated in two places, one at Zijing Valley, where the Xiling Northern Great Camp is located. The other is at Mengnan Banner, further north. Mengnan Banner is just an advance camp. Without the protection of Zijing Valley, it wouldn't be difficult to take down. But these two camps support each other, which makes it a bit troublesome. The Xiling army has about 100,000 troops, of which more than 20,000 are Jiang Xujing's own cavalry, which are very powerful. The rest of the troops include the Zhenbei Army under Ni Sigui and the Jia Qingyun unit, both from northern Xiling. These two units each have 10,000 men, and they have been defending northern Xiling for a long time, making them formidable enemies as well. In addition, there are infantry units transferred from within Xiling. Yun Province doesn't know much about these troops, but the commander of the 30,000 infantry is named Zhao Li, and he seems to be the son of Zhao Pengyuan, the General Who Pacifies the North of Xiling. The rest of the army has strange uniforms, and if I'm not mistaken, they should be the Protectorate Army established by the Daoming Sect. The strength of this Protectorate Army is not very clear."
"To the northeast of Yun Province is an army from Northern Liao. This army has never appeared on the border between Yun Province and Northern Liao before. It should be newly transferred. Because they are stationed even behind the original Northern Liao border army and have never entered the buffer zone, it is impossible for Yun Province to probe this army with its current strength."
After explaining the situation of the three enemies Yun Province had to face, Dai Rong concluded, "In summary, we actually have to face about 300,000 troops from all three sides combined. If the three sides hadn't advanced at the same time, and hadn't colluded with each other, as in the past, Yun Province could naturally defeat them one by one. But the current situation is different. I will now introduce our targeted deployments in Yun Province."
"The main combat force of my Yun Province consists of 50,000 Iron Cloud Riders, 10,000 elite clan cavalry from the Dai family, and about 70,000 infantry, of which 40,000 are relatively reliable in combat. The other 30,000 are stationed in Yun Province's major cities and strongholds. It is difficult to say how effective these troops are, as it depends on the abilities of the commanding officers and their usual management. In addition, in previous battles, Yun Province was able to obtain a varying number of supplementary cavalry from tribes within Yun Province and some tribes further north that had close ties with Yun Province. In general, Yun Province can mobilize about 100,000 cavalry and 70,000 infantry. Of course, it is very difficult for Yun Province to maintain an army of this size. Apart from the Iron Cloud Riders and the elite clan cavalry, the equipment and training of the other troops may not be so refined. Compared to the Blood Kirin Army..." Dai Rong shook his head in shame and said, "The difference is too great."
Dai Rong continued, "Because we are facing enemies on three sides, Yun Province has limited troops and has to deploy them separately. On the Northern Liao side, we have deployed 10,000 Iron Cloud Riders and 10,000 infantry in Jiujing Town. No matter where Northern Liao chooses to attack from, Jiujing Town can respond in a timely manner. On the side facing Xiling, we have concentrated 30,000 Iron Cloud Riders and 20,000 infantry. Another 10,000 Iron Cloud Riders and 10,000 elite clan cavalry are stationed in Ningyuan Town. In the north, only a small number of cavalry squads and scouts are active. Yun Province really can't spare any more troops. In the north, it's basically all tribal armies fighting against tribal armies, and their opinions are not very unified."
It was already remarkable that Yun Province was supporting an army of more than 100,000 troops with the strength of a single province, and that they were all relatively effective in combat. Adding the tribal cavalry controlled by the Dai family, for a total of 100,000 cavalry troops, made an old general like Xu Jingtan, who used to carefully calculate the cavalry in his hands, extremely envious. Naturally, Yun Province itself had vast grasslands, and the cost of raising cavalry was mainly in the equipment of the cavalry rather than the horses. The total cost was much cheaper than Dongping's cost of raising the same cavalry, and even more frugal than the Blood Kirin Army, which didn't seem to value money. But after all, 100,000 cavalry was an astonishing number. However, Yun Province could only set up defenses on two sides, leaving the northern forces empty, maintaining only limited contact and harassment.
However, after this explanation, everyone generally understood that the key to the battle of Yun Province would be a large-scale cavalry-based battle. Whether it was the northern tribes, Northern Liao, or Xiling, they were all deploying large armies mainly composed of cavalry. The occupation, control, and clearing of infantry were still important, but in Yun Province, they could only be subordinate.
"What about logistical preparations?" Ye Tao asked. "Not just the issue of food. What about the soldiers' dietary structure, medical supplies, and other preparations, the preparation of weapons and equipment, and the reserves of consumables such as arrows? ... Also, I see that the Dai family's current deployment is preparing for a defensive war using space to buy time. So, in the areas involved, what is the situation regarding the evacuation of the people of Yun Province? How are these people being resettled?"
A light flashed in Dai Rong's eyes, but he didn't continue speaking. Instead, he looked at Dai Shikui. Dai Shikui nodded secretly and said, "Lord Ye, these questions are right on the mark..."
Ye Tao quickly said modestly, "Uncle Dai, please don't call me 'Lord.' I can't bear that title. You are Dai Yun's father, just call me by my name."
Dai Shikui chuckled, avoided the issue of address, and said, "It's now the transition between spring and summer. The vast majority of herders and tribes that rely mainly on grazing are concentrated in the central area of Yun Province, south of Ningyuan Town and north of Anju City, around Snow Wolf Lake. It has the most abundant pastures and is also the site of the most prosperous horse market every year. Whether there is war or not, the herders will gather here in the summer, and many farmers who make a living by planting will also come here in the summer to trade, and then rush back before the autumn harvest. From now until September, we don't need to specifically evacuate in northern Yun Province. In the southern planting areas, the notifications that need to be made have been made. On the one hand, people near the cities can retreat into the cities at any time. On the other hand, large landowners and manor lords build fortresses to protect themselves. Because the southern part of Yun Province may not be the main area affected by the war, we have not forcibly carried out scorched-earth tactics. ... In terms of Yun Province's preparations, military rations can guarantee a sufficient supply for four to six months. If we include the needs of refugees caused by the war, we should be able to guarantee three months. If we slightly reduce the amount, we can maintain it for longer. However, once the war starts, the consumption of salt and other items will be much greater than usual, and the supply of these items is not keeping up. As for medicine... Yun Province does not lack various medicinal materials. In recent years, the business of medicinal materials has been exceeding the horse business. The major medicinal material firms in Yun Province guarantee to open their inventories to the Yun Province military. However, the number of physicians is much smaller. Also... what is that 'dietary structure' thing?"