Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 191 - 182: That’s it?_2

Chapter 191: Chapter 182: That’s it?_2

Since the Northern Barbarian Cavalry had already breached the military stronghold ahead, it was evident that the cavalry units were essentially unobstructed and could attack at any time.

Even the possibility existed that the Northern Barbarians had dispatched scouts who had already pinpointed this Sheng Army’s location.

At this juncture, retreating would be even more challenging than the previous encounter with Gao Yi’s formation change during the Cavalry Trial.

The act of changing formation in ancient times was fraught with high risks—a slight misstep could lead to the complete collapse of the entire army.

Once the command to retreat was given, the rank-and-file soldiers, unaware of the specific thoughts of their commanders above, would be rife with wild speculation. They might assume there was a defeat at the front, a major issue within the army, or even that the Emperor had passed away...

And such guesses would severely undermine the soldiers’ morale; the more they retreated, the greater the blow to their morale.

If the Northern Barbarian Cavalry caught up before they could retreat to their stronghold, it would be a one-sided slaughter, with the Sheng Army having almost no capacity to resist.

Therefore, the only choice at this time was to make camp and hold firm, to withstand the onslaught of the Northern Barbarian Cavalry.

Once the other reinforcements arrived from several directions, the issue would naturally be resolved.

Of course, this was a decision Zhao Haiping made under the sway of absolute rationality. For emperors without military common sense or sufficient rationality, it was very likely they would choose to flee.

After all, for emperors, there was no certainty that their soldiers could hold off the Northern Barbarian Cavalry. What if they stayed put and got slaughtered?

As long as they escaped, the emperor would still be emperor, so what if a great army was lost? If they didn’t escape, then everything would be gone.

Fortunately, Zhao Haiping was able to maintain absolute rationality and was not entirely ignorant of military affairs.

As for the choice of the campsite, Zhao Haiping did not take long to consider.

Although Stone Ridge was situated on higher ground, providing some topographical advantages in combat against the Northern Barbarian Cavalry, it was still passive defense at the end of the day.

Moreover, without resolving the issue of water supply, it was equivalent to giving up.

Even if it were possible to dig wells, what if no water was found? Given the high elevation here, the likelihood of finding no water was quite significant.

Camping here meant entrusting the fate of this entire army to the will of heaven.

If such a decision were truly made, there were only two possibilities: one is that one believed oneself to be a divine child to the point of extreme superstition; the other is an overwhelming fear of the Northern Barbarian Cavalry, with no faith in the ability to fight them on flat ground.

Thus, after only brief consideration, Zhao Haiping chose the Sangyuan River.

At the very least, there would be absolutely no problem with water supply.

As for how to deal with the Northern Barbarian Cavalry with the open terrain?

Zhao Haiping certainly did not plan to defend passively; he had suffered enough in the Cavalry Trial, not to come here and play a submissive role.

Upon hearing Zhao Haiping’s arrangement, the old general with the goat beard heaved a sigh of relief and immediately passed the order to make camp.

Meanwhile, Zhao Haiping rode his warhorse to inspect the array.

Some of the military commanders were visibly anxious and hurriedly followed.

The Emperor’s warhorse was of course the best that could be found at that time. Riding it, Zhao Haiping felt that, although it seemed a little inferior to Chi Ji, it was almost as good. Especially with the addition of high-quality saddles and stirrups, achieving a state of unity between horse and rider was easy.

Moreover, what surprised Zhao Haiping was that he now controlled the body of Emperor Taizu of Sheng in his prime years, around fifty years old.

And this body was bursting with strength, not inferior to any top-level general.

This showed that Emperor Taizu of Sheng truly had extraordinary talent; he had survived a great famine as a child and then worked like a role model until he passed away in his seventies. This body was indeed as strong as iron.

Zhao Haiping reached a higher ground and while watching the Sheng Army set up camp by the Sangyuan River, he asked, "How many cavalry do we have in the army now? What is the distribution of our forces compared to the enemy?"

A general hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty, according to the latest military reports, the Northern Barbarian Army is divided into three fronts, with at least a hundred thousand troops, of which about twenty thousand are well-armored steel cavalry, also accompanied by a large number of cattle and sheep;

"Our army has one hundred and forty thousand battle soldiers and eighty thousand auxiliary troops. Among them, fifty thousand are elite cavalry, led respectively by Li Kezhong and Duke Dingyuan Zhang Yong. Besides, two more armies are on their way."

Zhao Haiping’s heart steadied somewhat.

Wasn’t this a clear advantage in terms of military strength?

Although the Northern Barbarian Army’s forces numbered around a hundred thousand, only twenty thousand were well-armored steel cavalry. In the Great Sheng Dynasty, there were fifty thousand elite cavalry, not counting auxiliary troops, with about a hundred thousand infantry as well.

The Great Sheng Dynasty’s elite cavalry could contest those twenty thousand steel cavalry of the Northern Barbarians; the regular cavalry probably would not win.

It appeared the situation was not as dire as Zhao Haiping had imagined.

"Where are these cavalry?" Zhao Haiping asked.

The general paused for a moment before replying, "Following Mr. Liu’s orders, they have just set out to meet the Northern Barbarian Cavalry. One aim is to ascertain the enemy’s reality, and the other is, if we can create a critical situation with the enemy forces, our main force will seize the opportunity to ambush..."

Zhao Haiping’s face showed an expression of utter shock, hardly believing his ears.

What kind of plan was this?

Sending fifty thousand elite cavalry to scout?

What ten years of brain hemorrhage could produce such a strategy?

Although the Great Sheng Dynasty’s military strength held the advantage in this battle, the key to victory lay in these fifty thousand elite cavalry. As for the infantry, while they had some combat capabilities, under the charge of cavalry, once they broke, even a multitude of soldiers would be like grass waiting to be cut down.

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