“So… what about the map situation?” Zeng Zining asked cautiously.

“Just now, I was explaining our troop types to those two from the Yunzhou Dai family. Speaking of which, our current maps and sand tables are largely thanks to Governor Dai’s great efforts. A lot of the detailed map content was supplemented by Governor Dai. If it’s truly necessary, we might as well have the Dai family continue to help,” Zou Shuangwen interjected.

Tan Weiming frowned and asked, “What’s the background of those two from the Dai family?”

“One is a young punk, but his equestrian archery skills are quite remarkable, though that can be ignored. The other is Dai Ye, the former commander of the Tieyun Riders,” Zou Shuangwen reported.

“Dai Ye…” This name truly piqued everyone’s interest. Dai Ye was one of the rare individuals from a collateral branch of the Dai family who managed to become a commander of the Tieyun Riders. Moreover, Dai Yun had mentioned Dai Ye several times when explaining the various northern forces, military strengths, and important battle cases that had occurred in Yunzhou to everyone.

Tan Weiming immediately made a decision and said, “I’ll have someone ask my father for instructions right away. Governor Dai has commanded the Xueqi Army (Blood Kirin Army) for many years and has made great contributions to Dongping. Since the Dai family is now loyal to Dongping, Dongping must treat them with sincerity. Zou Shuangwen, this afternoon, accompany Dai Ye to look around the camp and ask for his guidance. We’ll have a banquet in the camp tonight, and then, as soon as the message arrives, we’ll start the tactical preparation meeting tonight, and Dai Ye will participate.”

Zou Shuangwen nodded and said, “Understood. I’ll go take care of it. General Dai is very interested in the Xueqi Army, so it’s simple.”

“What about the other one?” Tan Weiming asked.

“He’s Governor Dai’s younger brother, the youngest one, only fifteen years old. Hehe, I made a bet with him that if he passes seventy items on the hundred-item assessment, I’ll let him into the cavalry camp. If he doesn’t pass, he’ll obediently train in the recruit camp for me.” Zou Shuangwen’s face was full of mischief.

“Hahaha—” Everyone burst into cheerful laughter. They all knew that passing seventy items was impossible for anyone newly arrived in the Xueqi Army. This was not only because the training standards of the Xueqi Army were very high, but also because a considerable number of the hundred items were team projects. Moreover, many of these projects were not just individual skills or combat tactics, but also basic theory and logistical coordination. These training courses, which the Xueqi Army had gradually stabilized over several years, almost represented the highest training level of this era.

“How about this,” Tan Weiming pondered for a moment and said, “Regardless of whether he passes seventy items on the exam, let him into the cavalry camp. Anyway, once the Xueqi Army is ready to move out, your recruit camp will still have to return to its original organization. Although you can’t let them charge into battle, securing the supply line will probably depend on you. At that time, you… don’t very willingly let that guy into the cavalry camp. Then, Zeng Zining, you properly train this kid. Hehe. Since he’s a Dai family member, he should have some skills. Let’s see how far we can push him.”

Everyone looked at each other and nodded. For a little guy who was only fifteen years old and had already served in the army for three years, using the discipline and training of the recruit camp to grind away his impetuous temperament was certainly a good method, but using motivational tactics to constantly stimulate him might have a better effect. For this kind of young descendant who had been in great expectations since childhood and always thought he performed well, the subtext of being taken care of and being involved in a relationship was more lethal than simply saying he was not good enough. Tan Weiming, who was already able to skillfully use this simple psychological technique to manage personnel affairs, was even more impressive.

At this time, Tan Weiming turned to Ye Tao, suddenly lowered his voice and said with some pleading, “Brother-in-law, can you do me a favor and let Lu Dan come back? Or, can you designate someone else to help coordinate things at the workshop? If we need to move out, the Xueqi Army’s current stock of arrows, as well as the Shenbi Bows (God's Arm Bows), crossbow artillery, pontoon components, and the like, are all big problems. I know the Imperial Guards are pressing the workshop to re-equip them. It's really impossible to accumulate these stocks without someone helping to negotiate.”

Ye Tao chuckled and said, “Your Highness doesn’t need to be like this. I will naturally send someone to coordinate these matters. You also know that none of us brothers are good at this kind of thing. Only Lu Dan dared to argue with the Ministry of War and the Imperial Guards before. Now that Lu Dan is already a Dujun (military governor), it’s not appropriate to have him come back to do this. Since Suo Zheng is back, I will have him share some of this responsibility. Suo Yong is currently managing the workshops here in Danyang. They are brothers and can easily discuss things. In two days, the clock workshop here in Danyang will completely stop production, reassemble equipment, and the craftsmanship of the people freed up should definitely be trustworthy, right? All of this output will be used to supply the Xueqi Army… The few of you don’t need to stand on ceremony with me. I’ve also put a lot of effort into the Xueqi Army.”

Although that was the case, Ye Tao’s offer to have the clock workshop stop production and prepare to supply the Xueqi Army was still a significant favor. Everyone knew that the most popular products of the Ye family workshops now were grandfather clocks and marine chronometers. In particular, the new self-winding marine chronometer had become standard equipment for all merchant ships of the Seven Seas Trading Company. Ye Tao also had orders for the Samir family’s merchant fleet and escort fleet, as well as the military departments of Dongping and Chunnan. The suspension of work that Ye Tao mentioned was indeed true and was mainly to allow Danyang's clock workshop to catch up with the technical level of Yicheng's Ye family workshop headquarters so that it could produce the second generation of marine chronometers, but the length of this suspension was still under Ye Tao's control. Since Ye Tao said these words about prioritizing the supply to the Xueqi Army, the clock workshop would probably be closed for a long time.

Compared to Dai Ye and Dai Ji, Tao Ze, the envoy of the Chunnan Kingdom, did not have the honor of staying in the Xueqi Army camp to observe the training and competition of the Xueqi Army and participate in further discussions. Two small officials from the Ministry of Rites accompanied him back to Danyang shortly after the parade ended. Dai Ye and Dai Ji, on the other hand, had their eyes opened and saw some of the key details of the Xueqi Army that others didn’t pay much attention to.

Young people like Dai Ji were easily attracted to the various equipment and auxiliary supplies of the Xueqi Army.

In particular, the cavalry sword newly finalized by the Xueqi Army combined the advantages of the original cavalry sword and absorbed the characteristics of the curved sabers, arc blades, and even serpentine swords of the various northern grassland barbarian cavalry. After the prototype was created, it was tested by hundreds of people throughout the army, and after the blade shape, handle length, and curvature were determined, Ye Tao incorporated a considerable number of ergonomic design concepts into the gradual improvement process, making this new type of cavalry sword the most efficient and tactile melee weapon of this era. On the most critical material issue, this cavalry sword used steel specially supplied by several professional smelting workshops directly under the Dongping royal family in Liyang. If the people in charge of these workshops were not Tan Weixing and the workshops of the Ministry of War and the Gao family had not paid enough attention and reacted quickly enough to this new formula of steel, this batch of steel would probably have been used to re-equip the Imperial Guards with the new version of the chop-mountain sword.

This cavalry sword had even put effort into details that were never valued in mass-produced weapons of this era, such as the grip comfort of the handle. Although the cavalrymen received the same training and the tactical movements they displayed in training and combat were becoming more and more consistent, each person still had some subtle differences in how they held their weapons. Some people would hold it tightly, preferring that feeling of a stable grip. Some people would slightly loosen their grip because they enjoyed the lightness and pleasure of playing with the cavalry sword in their hands. Some people’s palms sweat easily and they would always be constantly adjusting the details of their grip posture… It was unrealistic to customize different handles for everyone on mass-produced cold weapons.

Ye Tao used a solution that he was actually very familiar with. This version of the handle was not wrapped in leather or anything else, but rather came with ropes of moderate thickness that were distributed with the cavalry sword. Those with different needs for the feel could adjust it with different winding methods. The instruction manual issued with the cavalry sword detailed the characteristics of several winding methods and encouraged the soldiers to continue to study the winding method that suited them. Details like these would not be noticed by most people without someone explaining them.

When Dai Ji fell in love with this cavalry sword and asked Zou Shuangwen if he could get one, Zou Shuangwen teased him a bit. Zou Shuangwen just looked at Dai Ji condescendingly and said blandly, “This is a cavalry sword, you…?” He deliberately emphasized the word "cavalry," which really left Dai Ji speechless. Who told him he had already agreed to participate in the assessment?

Old generals like Dai Ye, however, noticed completely different things. At noon, Tan Weiming had clearly indicated that the Xueqi Army was preparing, and in the afternoon, the atmosphere of the entire military camp had subtly changed. Originally, there was a wooden box in front of each barrack, containing the daily evaluation forms of the unit to which the barrack belonged, and the white porcelain nameplates of the direct officers were inserted outside. In the afternoon, the white porcelain nameplates were taken down one by one and replaced with the brass-carved nameplates of the duty officers. The officers on duty began to strengthen the inspection of weapon maintenance, the duty officers and the trainee officers began to explain their work, and the camp area began to have double posts and double sentries throughout… The soldiers who were still competing were of course overjoyed and did not suppress their emotions, but the soldiers who remained in the barracks and were responsible for camp service showed completely different emotions.

They suppressed their excitement, suppressed their strong fighting spirit, and Dai Ye, who had risen step by step in the army to become a commander, understood this emotion very well. As a member of the Yunzhou Dai family who knew the situation, he did not tentatively ask why these soldiers had such emotions, but instead asked Zou Shuangwen why the soldiers could do this without any encouragement.

Zou Shuangwen said with some emotion, “During the large-scale exercise in the middle of last year, a total of nine people in the Xueqi Army died in the exercise. No one asked them to do that, but for the sake of victory, for the sake of individual and collective victory, they did not hesitate. This is not surprising. The Xueqi Army does not need encouragement or mobilization. From the day the Xueqi Army was formed, it has been an army with victory as its sole purpose. Even infantry, which everyone sees everywhere and seems to not require much training, is different in the Xueqi Army. You will definitely know this in the future. The best equipment, the most rigorous training, and the best pay for the soldiers. Besides victory, besides defeating the enemy, the Xueqi Army has no other pursuits now. And the officers are the same. Many officers of the Xueqi Army have entered the various armies of Dongping, but more people have stayed because the temperament of the Xueqi Army is different. After getting used to leading the Xueqi Army, it always feels a little strange in other armies. Even if you move the whole set of Xueqi Army over, you can’t cultivate the unique temperament of the Xueqi Army. For example, Commander Qiu is doing well in the Imperial Guards, but when he returns to the Xueqi Army, he immediately goes crazy to lead the parade, and forcibly steals the opportunity for his subordinates to show off.”

The monarch sent back the opinion of agreeing to the Dai family's entry into the Xueqi Army for the preparation of the expedition to Yunzhou to the Xueqi Army camp via flying eagle. After a soldier passed the message to Zou Shuangwen, he invited Dai Ye and Dai Ji to enter the most heavily guarded building of the Xueqi Army: the sand table room. The stepped hall gradually rising around the empty space in the middle was indeed refreshing for Dai Ye and Dai Ji, but even more shocking was the Yunzhou terrain sand table placed in the middle of the hall. The terrains that had already been charted in more detail were colored according to the actual landforms, while the places without real maps were black-gray sandstone particles… Even so, judging from the current scale of the Yunzhou sand table, the Xueqi Army’s understanding of Yunzhou could be said to be amazing.

“General Dai, although there is still no decision on whether Dongping will send troops to Yunzhou, and which army to send, the Xueqi Army has been ordered to enter a state of preparation. The reason for inviting you here is to understand the situation further. Much of our understanding of Yunzhou comes from Governor Dai. This sand table was also supervised by Governor Dai," Tan Weiming said cautiously. “Our Xueqi Army was only established recently, and most of us are young people. We may not consider many issues carefully, so please give us more advice on the Xueqi Army and Yunzhou.”

Tan Weiming was the Crown Prince of Dongping and the future monarch of Dongping, so Dai Ye did not dare to neglect him and repeatedly said that he would not dare.

After chatting with Dai Ye for a few words, Tan Weiming ordered a military meeting to be convened for officers above the battalion level of the Xueqi Army. After everyone arrived, they began to report on the current training situation of each battalion and what preparations still needed to be made if they were to switch to a state of combat readiness.

If the parade and the visit to the Xueqi Army camp allowed Dai Ye and Dai Ji to see the equipment and soldiers of the Xueqi Army, then the military meeting demonstrated the management level of the Xueqi Army officer corps. After summarizing a large amount of data and charts, everyone concluded that the Xueqi Army could move out at any time if there were no requirements for material reserves. After fifteen days of active preparation, the Xueqi Army could stockpile various materials to meet two months of medium-intensity operations. If there was one month to one and a half months, the Xueqi Army could initially complete full preparation within Dongping, including transporting large quantities of war materials and weapons to the border between Dongping and Yunzhou. The officers also proposed to establish professional weapon repair workshops at the front lines, conscript and hire some doctors and begin to stockpile battlefield wound treatment drugs and other supplies, send scout troops to Yunzhou in advance, establish intelligence transfer stations and eagle stations, and send some officers to be specifically responsible for coordinating with the various tribes belonging to Yunzhou after entering Yunzhou… The only issue that caused a slight controversy was which of the relatively powerful flaming oil bombs and the safe and reliable spark bombs should be stockpiled first, and whether a batch of the new flamethrower sticks from the Ye family workshops should be prepared.

Then, Tan Weiming had senior officers such as Qiu Haohui, Chi Lei, and Zeng Zining divide all the necessary preparations into priorities and implement them from both military and political perspectives. As for the suggestions of sending scouts and establishing intelligence stations and eagle stations, Dai Ye did not dare to make a decision without authorization, but he also said that there should be no problem.

What surprised Dai Ye the most was not this, but that from Tan Weiming to any officer who could enter this meeting, they all approved an order that could not be resolved by the Ye family workshops with extremely calm tones: coffins, shrouds, preservatives… On the contrary, the issues of combat injuries and death benefits were not on the agenda because there were already established precedents. Approaching this issue with a calm attitude did not mean that the officers disregarded life and only sought military merit. On the contrary, it was these preparations that meant that everyone was fully prepared for the cruelty of war. The first order of the Xueqi Army included three thousand coffins, and the possibility of adding another seven thousand coffins at any time was reserved.

“Perfect victory is built up by countless perfect details.” Zou Shuangwen used Ye Tao’s words to answer Dai Ye’s doubts. He said solemnly, “Master Ye once said that a good general must not only constantly achieve victory, but also be able to boast of ‘no strange victories, no wise reputation, no brave feats’ while achieving these victories in his life. Originally, everyone didn’t understand military affairs and thought that leading troops to fight like this would be boring, but now, we people understand how difficult it is to achieve these nine words.”

Dai Ye nodded and said, “Master Ye is indeed a person who knows the army. People easily remember those strange victories and reversals, but they forget that the reason why these are easily remembered is because they are too difficult to happen. Taking risks, taking risks, first of all, there are dangers.”

Zou Shuangwen nodded and said, “Yes. The Master once warned everyone to remember that they are the sons, husbands, and fathers of others, just like us, before we let the soldiers risk their lives for us… Of course, in the Xueqi Army, this statement must also include ‘daughters.’ Governor Dai has made us men feel ashamed these past few years.”

Dai Ye nodded secretly. He smiled heartily and said, “Master Ye’s ability to say these words is truly admirable. He is only a twenty-year-old young man, but it is unbelievable that he has this insight. I only caught a glimpse of him on the reviewing stand just now. When can I ask Master Ye for advice?”

Zou Shuangwen smiled and said, “Now it is the logistical preparation meeting, and Master Ye is probably not interested in participating. This work is the most basic of the Xueqi Army, and it is not worth bothering Master Ye to worry about it. Master Ye should be attending the tactical strategy discussion later, right?”