Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 188 - 181 Cavalry Trial Cleared!_3

Chapter 188: Chapter 181 Cavalry Trial Cleared!_3

Moreover, Zhao Haiping’s ride was a stirrupless warhorse, which made his experience all the more profound.

The greatest advantage of the cavalry lies in maneuverability, and the three characters for "maneuverability" mean that there are too many tactical options to choose from.

First, the cavalry could strike or retreat at will, while the infantry could only form up at any time and wait for the cavalry’s charge.

The infantry could not relax because once they did, the cavalry would attack, but when the infantry formed up, the cavalry could simply observe from afar, eating and drinking on horseback, until the infantry was exhausted before launching an attack.

Second, the cavalry could flank and seek breakthroughs within the infantry formation, penetrating it like a steel awl, causing the entire formation to collapse rapidly.

For the infantry, changing formation is difficult, and a mistake could lead to collapse, but the cavalry hardly needs a fixed formation—simply choosing a direction and charging fiercely is enough.

Furthermore, the cavalry’s warhorses themselves are formidable weapons. Warhorses are better fed than the foot soldiers, and once they charge at full strength, the tremendous impact combined with the weapons in the hands of the cavalry is like a harvester, mercilessly crushing any infantry with weak combat will.

Therefore, even in an era without stirrups, the cavalry was still the most elite combat force.

In the era with stirrups, cavalry became the pinnacle of cold weapon combat power, and almost all of the later famous generals were masters of cavalry tactics.

Conversely, a commander who could not utilize cavalry would definitely not become a famous general.

"As for the exclusive talent, cavalry can summon their warhorses at any time and place? This is interesting.

"In a single-player Trial Illusion, this definitely won’t work, because the single-player Trial Illusion rigorously reproduces history, and it would be too odd to conjure a warhorse out of thin air...

"But in the Return Order Expedition, players can summon their warhorses anytime, anywhere, and that allows for a lot of creative play.

"You could first ride swiftly through the enemy’s defenses, then dismount and ascend the city walls as infantry; conversely, you could also sneak out of the city in the form of infantry, then suddenly transform into a cavalry unit and fiercely attack the weak points of the monster formations...

"However, the warhorse and the player share the same status. The good thing is that damage can be shared, but the downside is that stamina, injuries, and negative statuses are also shared.

"But all in all, this is a huge boost to one’s own strength!

"I can’t wait to see the sight of player-formed cavalry units charging into battle."

Zhao Haiping had originally wanted to summon his warhorse in the Return Order’s fortress to take it for a spin, but upon further thought, he decided that the official instance of "Heroic Spirit of the Wilds" was more important.

He was somewhat sick of riding, as for seven whole days, he had been horseback in the Cavalry Trial, and he was indeed tired.

Moreover, the official instance of "Heroic Spirit of the Wilds" was a team mode, and Zhao Haiping also worried that slacking off might affect the progress of the other three people.

So, after exiting the "Cavalry Trial" instance, he entered the official instance of "Heroic Spirit of the Wilds" without delay, continuing to play the role of a commanding officer.

...

Long spears stood like a forest, banners fluttered in the wind.

Zhao Haiping rode his warhorse, gazing into the distance.

The army of the Great Sheng Dynasty stretched on, forming a lengthy array.

And this was not the entire force for the expedition beyond the borders; in fact, several other armies were approaching from different directions to converge and assemble before heading to the frontiers, where Emperor Taizu of Sheng would lead them all to seek out and decisively battle the main force of the Northern Barbarians.

Most people knew that an emperor’s personal campaign must satisfy at least one of two conditions to be deemed normal.

The first is that it is absolutely necessary.

The second is that victory is assured.

This is the valuable experience summed up by dynasties throughout history.

In ancient society, the emperor held supreme power, and anything that happened to the emperor would maximally affect the entire nation. Even a normal succession could trigger a special state of national doubt, let alone an accident occurring during the emperor’s personal campaign?

Thus, an emperor’s personal campaign was either absolutely necessary because the nation was on the brink of peril, requiring the emperor’s personal leadership to boost morale, letting every soldier know they must fight a desperate battle; or it meant victory was assured, and the emperor personally took to the field for a political show.

But Emperor Taizu of Sheng’s personal campaign clearly did not fit either of these conditions.

At that time, the Great Sheng Dynasty was still in its early stages, temporarily free of serious internal or external strife, so sending a famous general to suppress the Northern Barbarians was also an option, and it could not be said to be absolutely necessary.

As for assured victory, that was even less certain.

Because the battle’s goal was to delve deep beyond the frontier and find the main force of the Northern Barbarians to engage in battle.

This meant that the warfront was far away, requiring a long supply line, and the battle would take place in unfamiliar terrain beyond the borders, with no one having any certainty of victory.

Military affairs are just so, changing in an instant, where a single thought can make the difference between heaven and hell.

Emperor Taizu of Sheng’s personal campaign was the third category.

The emperor, a ruler on horseback, commanding his campaign in person!

The emperor was a ruler who had conquered the world on horseback.

In other words, he was virtually unmatched in battle, and though there were many generals under his command, when it came to fighting, the emperor was the most professional.

Therefore, when faced with a particularly important battle, the most professional and capable emperor would, of course, not entrust this matter to other generals and would certainly go personally.