Chapter 1048: Chapter 29: The Qilin Approaches Xiyi City, Another Gathers Amid Rising Storms Li Guanyi had a sense of the bigger picture and had no choice but to tighten his belt. He gathered twenty thousand cavalry archers and the brave men of various tribes, posting notices for a grand military competition, which Wang Shunchen personally attended, testing archery, riding skills, spear skills, swordsmanship, mounted archery, and foundational Inner Qi. Participants included twenty thousand cavalry archers and more than thirty thousand young and strong warriors from various tribes. Ultimately, only three thousand were carefully selected. They received the best treatment, with no worries about food, armor, or military pay. Although Li Guanyi was poor, the soldiers under his command received full pay. In those days, the young man tightened his belt, following Nangong Wumeng in sweeping the desert to fight sand pirates, ensuring the military pay was distributed. Wang Shunchen rebuilt the once top-notch cavalry archer corps, [Entrapment Camp]. They were elite forces for assaults, capturing camps, and surprise attacks. The remaining twenty thousand cavalry archers served as a standing corps. These standing forces were hunters from various tribes, capable of fighting in small-scale conflicts or under circumstances where the disparity between commanders was too great, but they would be crushed if they faced an assault to storm fortifications or contend with similarly strong or even stronger opponents. Their various skills and military formation proficiency lagged behind by a large margin. Li Guanyi was well aware of this. Under his and Wang Shunchen’s leadership, twenty thousand men could annihilate Cheriji’s five thousand Qie Xue troops. Latest content published on Nove1Fire.net But if Yuwen Lie himself led five thousand Tiger Barbarian Cavalry. The outcome would be reversed. These twenty thousand would be annihilated. A famous general needs a strong army as well. Elite soldiers are the choice for the land under heaven. The Chen Country’s Night Rider Cavalry, the Wolf King’s Gray Wolf Cavalry, the Iron Futu of the grasslands, the Ying Country’s Tiger Barbarian Cavalry, Military God Jiang Su’s Northern Prefecture Army, Yue Qianfeng and Gong Zhenyong’s Great Halberd Soldiers—all are such examples. This is also the development style of the military school when the commanding abilities have limits. Within the limits of leadership, they train corps with exceptionally high skills and specialized talents. Li Guanyi decisively waved his hand and made a decision. [Anxi City] used all Tian Ge’er’s resources to form the [Entrapment Camp] and [Golden Scimitar Cavalry]—all wearing top-level armor, equipped with superbly forged weapons, fine bows and crossbows, wolf tooth barbed arrows, and hundred-forged snowflake spears. Each person at least had foundational skills at the Inner Qi level, displaying extraordinary bravery, with experiences of single-handedly killing several enemies, reaching the level of elite border troops of the Central Plains on the battlefield—that is, the top-tier second-line troops. The Commander of the [Entrapment Camp] was the twenty-seventh on the Divine General List, Wang Shunchen. The Commander of the [Golden Scimitar Cavalry] was the Great Khan of the Nine Tribes of Tiele, Qibi Li. Each had a backup corps of over ten thousand. And they established an annual tradition of grand military competitions. Under the leadership of these two, even if placed on the Central Plains battlefield, these men could be deemed fierce soldiers; only these two corps had the qualifications to contend with the trusted battalions under the Wolf King’s command. It had been several months since coming here. After experiencing more than a dozen battles, [Anxi Protectorate] finally had core corps comparable to Jiangnan’s Heavenly Strategy Mansion’s [Qilin Army Elite] and [Yue Family Heavy Cavalry]. Even the originals of these two troops were strong enough to match Ling Pingyang’s heavy cavalry and even stronger. Only then did they truly have the confidence to stand firm amid the chaos of the Western Regions. And the cost was that Li Guanyi, Marquis Qin Wu, was once again impoverished. Not a single coin left in his pocket! A mouse would leave his purse with two handfuls of tears. Top-tier corps are funded with money. Ironically, money is precisely what Mr. Li lacked most. “Mr. Po Jun, tell me, what is the meaning of life?” “We need to go to Xiyi City.” The young Lord had a tired smile on his face, his eyes somewhat vacant: “Ah, Mr. Po Jun, do you think if we go there and show some misery, we might deceive the Duke into, I mean, earn a batch of military expenses?” “I can pretend to cry.” “Because of Aunt, I think my crying skills are slightly better than my spear skills.” Mr. Po Jun comforted: “Lord, do not be troubled; there are other worries this time.” Li Guanyi said: “Hm?” Mr. Po Jun deliberated: “The turmoil in the Western Regions is such, but it cannot remain chaotic continuously. In my view, change will occur soon, shifting from chaos to stability, and that will be the moment of opportunity.” “The Qiang forces are extensive; if we engage them in battle right now, the best outcome would be mutual exhaustion. Besides, there are three other such tribes in the Western Regions as formidable as the Qiang, not to mention the countless tribes less than them but still driving all their men to battle.” “At this moment, we do not lack generals, but we lack men!” “We lack military supplies, iron ore, weapons.” “And, we lack timing!” Mr. Po Jun took some items and placed them on the table, saying: “In my estimation, even if Master Li Jianwen is dissatisfied with the second young master, the Duke of the Duke Mansion is old but firm, allowing him to use [marriage alliances] would not be for the matter of sons and daughters.” “There are changes in Xiyi City.” “Or, say, the extent to which the Western Regions can be observed from the heights of Xiyi City has begun to change.” “Lord, Generals Wang Shunchen and Qibi Li need to stay here, train the troops, and guard the city so that the Qiang do not find something amiss and come to attack; you must be extremely careful when you go to Xiyi City. If an opportunity arises, you must also set foot in that grand situation.” “Here are three silk bags.” “If the Lord can handle things easily, that would be best; if not, open the silk bags, and perhaps they will be useful.” Li Guanyi put away the silk bags and said: “Then, I leave this place in your capable hands, sir.”