Riding the coattails of rectifying the atmosphere of officialdom, when Tan Xiaopei appointed Chi Xianping as the Pacification Commissioner of Liao, the dissenting voices weren't quite so loud. Anyone with discerning eyes knew that this appointment was a preliminary arrangement, positioning Chi Xianping to familiarize himself with local conditions before becoming the future governor of the Northern Liao territories. Chi Xianping had long anticipated such an outcome, but having served as Grand Commandant for many years, he was still very excited to receive this appointment and become a regional administrator. The Chi family now had three members, father and sons, in crucial positions. Although this prominent family in the capital was scattered across the country, possibly unable to meet for a long time, it was all for the sake of the nation. A slightly lonely family gathering was a negligible loss.
Chi Xianping departed with several aides a few days later. Before his departure, Tan Xiaopei had a deep conversation with his old friend, emphasizing that a new offensive against Northern Liao was about to begin, and that Chi Xianping needed to quickly adapt, securing stability wherever they conquered. For a country like Northern Liao, this wasn't purely administrative work. Chi Xianping, with his blend of literary and martial skills and familiarity with military affairs, was perfectly suited for the role. With Chi Xianping overseeing the rear, Ye Tao, Dai Yun, and others could focus on the offensive without worrying about troubles at home. Tan Xiaopei greatly admired the elite troops under the Northern Frontier Pacification Bureau and their pursuit of high mobility and large-scale operations, but in the tasks of occupation and governance, manpower was often an unavoidable issue. The combination of both soft and hard tactics, along with extensive goodwill negotiations, was essential. Ye Tao, Tan Weixin, Dai Yun, and the like were not particularly skilled in these areas. Chi Xianping's arrival would undoubtedly alleviate many of their burdens.
Chi Xianping stayed in Danyang for another two days before heading to Central Garrison Town. There was now a fixed airship route from Danyang to Central Garrison Town. Although the journey required stops at three mooring stations, it was generally a fairly easy trip. Upon arriving in Central Garrison Town, Chi Xianping immediately sensed something strange about the town, which seemed to have undergone many renovations and constructions.
Central Garrison Town was now undoubtedly a regional political and military center, and had also become a commercial hub. With the summer harvest in the occupied territories recently concluded, merchants were vigorously purchasing grain while also unearthing many strange and wonderful things from the populace, many of which were now displayed on the shelves along the streets. From the airship mooring station to the center of Central Garrison Town, a street roughly eight or nine hundred paces long was lined with various shops, as well as numerous restaurants and teahouses. In these shops, the most common sight was Northern Frontier soldiers wearing various badges and simple, everyday robes.
"Outrageous... a war is about to start, and the soldiers are still so undisciplined? Is no one in charge?" Jiang Xin muttered. Jiang Xin was the son of Jiang Tongjiang, an important aide that Chi Xianping had brought with him. He was only seventeen or eighteen years old, but quick-witted, ambitious, and full of youthful exuberance. Jiang Tongjiang was going to Northern Liao with Chi Xianping, and he insisted on coming along. Since Jiang Tongjiang and his son were each other's only family, there was no one to take care of him if he left home. Although it was a wartime appointment to come here, there was nothing wrong with bringing Jiang Xin along. In any case, neither Chi Xianping nor anyone else was unreasonable.
"Don't talk nonsense!" Jiang Tongjiang scolded.
"Isn't it true? You all praise that Pacification Commissioner Ye so highly, but now that I see it, he's nothing special." Jiang Xin retorted.
"It's one thing to talk about this and that from military textbooks. However, it's common practice in the Northern Frontier to give soldiers leave before a battle," Chi Xianping said calmly, not taking offense.
"Ah?" Jiang Xin opened his mouth in disbelief. "How can they fight a war if the soldiers are indulging in pleasure?"
"If you only use strict punishments to control the troops, of course there will be such problems. However, Pacification Commissioner Ye has never done that. Soldiers are also common people, and they should live better lives for protecting others and fighting on the battlefield. That's what Pacification Commissioner Ye says. The soldiers of the Northern Frontier train very rigorously, and they constantly compete with each other in various training exercises, without any懈怠 (xie dai, negligence). Look at that small shop, the guy has a golden sword embroidered on the right arm of his clothes... that guy has won excellent results in the stabbing event in the camp martial arts competition for at least three consecutive months to have such an honor. Look at that big guy over there, with three stars embroidered above his arm badge, indicating that his battalion was first in this year's all-army drill. That should be... the Heavy Ordnance Battalion Two, right?" Chi Xianping explained with a smile. As the former Grand Commandant, he was extremely familiar with the various training exercises, regulations, and combat preparations of the Northern Frontier armies. "Giving soldiers leave is partly to let them relax, to rest and adjust one last time, and also to give them time to take care of family matters. Many soldiers will write wills and send the money they have to their families... Moreover, even though they are on leave, they are not really relaxed. Look at those soldiers, almost everyone carries a weapon with them, even those soldiers from the Longbow Battalion and the Heavy Ordnance Battalion, they at least carry a short knife when they leave the camp. Do you see any soldiers in the tavern drinking to the point of talking nonsense? No, right? Whether it's carrying weapons or not being able to get drunk, as long as Ye Tao hasn't announced that Central Garrison Town is no longer a war zone, all soldiers will strictly abide by the rules. And look at how chaotic it is now, but as soon as it's time to return to camp, this place will be completely empty."
After Chi Xianping's explanation and guidance, looking at the soldiers with this perspective, one would immediately see something completely different. Jiang Xin was somewhat ashamed, but became increasingly interested in the Northern Frontier, a place that had been evaluated in various ways by different people in Danyang.
In the command post, Dai Yun was holding a cup of hot tea and reading a book. Although a major battle was imminent, she had long been prepared. Various logistical preparations and mobilization efforts were now operating and preparing through a vast and meticulous system, allowing her to focus all her attention on the tactical implementation level. For everything else, she only needed to know the results.
Hearing the report that Chi Xianping was requesting an audience, Dai Yun welcomed him with a surprised expression. "Lord Chi, I didn't expect you to arrive today. Please come in."
Chi Xianping said with a smile, "I heard that you are about to launch an attack. If I didn't come quickly, I would have missed it."
Dai Yun nodded, leading Chi Xianping into the hall where a huge map and a massive sand table model were hung, before saying, "Yes, our plan is to complete the final assembly and preparations tomorrow, and launch a full-scale attack tomorrow night."
Chi Xianping frowned and asked, "A full-scale attack?"
Dai Yun sighed, "There's no other way. The Northern Liao royal court is still clinging to hope, but they can't get on the negotiating table what they can't get on the battlefield. Ye Tao is still stalling with them, but I guess there won't be any results. The Northern Liao royal court claims to be willing to become a vassal and pay tribute, which is obviously impossible. The current situation... it's not a question of whether we can win or not, but that fighting a war inevitably means people will die..."
Hearing Dai Yun say this, Jiang Tongjiang and Jiang Xin were quite moved, but they were also aware that they had no room to speak here. Chi Xianping, for his part, did not ask them to express any opinions, and did not even introduce them.
Chi Xianping said with a smile, "It seems you are very confident."
Dai Yun smiled and retorted, "Isn't that so? His Majesty has already sent you to oversee Liao. If we weren't confident, wouldn't it be a huge joke if something went wrong? Rest assured, we would never joke about military matters."
Chi Xianping was naturally very confident. Ye Tao was still haggling with the Northern Liao special envoy at a mountain villa outside the city. After chatting with Dai Yun about the current situation, he took a large pile of documents and settled down in the courtyard that had been arranged for him. Jiang Tongjiang, with his son, ran out to take a closer look at Central Garrison Town, a place that was now crucial to the overall situation of the world.
As Chi Xianping had said earlier, in the afternoon, as the bugle sounded, indicating that there was one hour left before the return to camp, the streets gradually became deserted. Although there were many merchants traveling to and from Central Garrison Town, it was still mainly for the service of the army. Until the moment before the return to camp, except for a few soldiers who were still racking their brains over the last few words at the stalls that provided writing services, all the soldiers had returned to camp. Afterwards, from the restaurant where they were, one could even hear the neat shouts from the nearest military camp... they were doing evening exercises.
Although the plan was to quietly break camp and attack tomorrow night, the advance troops had already set off. This time, the Special Operations Battalion was again at the forefront of all the troops. The Special Operations Battalion was divided into four groups and had left two days ago. The Special Operations Battalion was now famous, and it was not so easy to slip away unnoticed. Dai Rong had specifically summoned the soldiers who were undergoing preliminary selection and training in Yunzhou and gathered them in their camp for intensive training, creating a lively training scene. The new recruits of the Special Operations Battalion knew that making a show to cover the main force's departure was also a clever task and a kind of test. This unit, which obviously would not be sent to the battlefield, used their collective wisdom and actually performed this task brilliantly. They didn't know from which direction the enemy's scouts would approach, so they had to prepare everywhere, from the amount of food consumed, the flow of people in and out of the camp, the intensity of various training exercises, the drying of clothes, and so on... And they weren't just passively performing all the time, they also conducted several tests on those who often moved around near the camp, distinguishing between those who lived or did business nearby and those who had other intentions... It was their concealing the truth and revealing the false that ensured that the main force of the Special Operations Battalion silently crossed the Western Route Army's defense front and sneaked behind them. The current Special Operations Battalion was still different from the special forces that Ye Tao had envisioned, but their threat was only greater. After repeatedly carrying out dangerous missions and achieving great success, the morale of the Special Operations Battalion had also increased a lot. Ye Tao didn't assign them any special tasks, but simply told them to create chaos behind enemy lines. However, after much deliberation, Dai Rong set his sights on assassinating the enemy's officers... Northern Liao had fewer officers than the Northern Frontier, and their organization from top to bottom was less complete. Therefore, the loss of each officer had a greater impact. Dai Rong was not naive enough to assassinate the enemy's commander or deputy commander, but instead focused on the middle and lower-level officers...