Cultivation Begins with Caring for Sister-in-law-Chapter 464: I Have a Solution

"Marquis, the tally has been completed. Aside from the injured horses, we’ve captured a total of two thousand one hundred and thirty-two intact warhorses." At this moment, Chen Ming approached with a booklet, handing it over to Chen Mo with both hands.

Chen Ming served as Chen Mo’s Assistant Military Secretary, specifically overseeing the drafting of the army’s documents and recording commendations.

The seized supplies counted below would all be categorized and summarized by Chen Ming here.

Chen Mo called Sun Meng and Shao Jinneng over and said to them, "The captured warhorses will be entrusted to your Brave Cavalry Guard for training."

Chen Mo handed the booklet to Shao Jinneng.

After reading it, Shao Jinneng’s face lit up with joy. With over two thousand warhorses, if used wisely, they could forge seven hundred armored cavalry units.

"Thank you, Marquis," Shao Jinneng saluted Chen Mo, visibly excited.

Chen Mo did not speak, but a greedy desire rose in his heart. If he could swallow this Eastern Army of Jin Xia, he could build a true cavalry force.

A combination of Light Cavalry, Armored Cavalry, and Half-Armored Cavalry.

Chen Mo’s expression slightly paused, then he said to the generals, "Today was a great victory, defeating the enemy and capturing their camp. Tomorrow, the entire army will advance slowly, first driving these Jin Xia Barbarians out of Gaozhou. The camp is prepared with wine and meat; everyone, please head to the encampment for a feast."

As they spoke, Sun Meng, Shao Jinneng, Chang Fen, and the Jiangdong Army officers returned to their own camp.

Chen Mo returned to his Commander’s Tent and said, "This advance has roughly revealed the strength of Jin Xia’s forces. Now, we have an advantage over their weaknesses, though our assaults often fall short."

Xia Zhining frowned slightly, sighed, and said, "It’s a pity their cavalry is too fast to pursue. If we could catch up, we could decisively crush their main force."

Now that we’ve exposed the power of the Red Coat Cannon and have dealt them a severe blow, do you think they will be scared and flee?"

"No," Chen Mo shook his head and said, "Now that it’s confirmed Jin Xia is attacking Great Song on both eastern and western fronts, these two lines will ultimately converge. If the Eastern Army runs away or delays too long, it will hinder their union with the Western Army."

Xia Zhining understood Chen Mo’s meaning and immediately said, "You mean, even though they retreated today, they’ll come back to confront us."

Chen Mo nodded, "If they want to head south, they have to pass through Qingzhou. We just need to advance slowly."

...

After retreating from the Guan Mountain Plain, Jin Xia’s Eastern Army withdrew all the way to "Yao’er City."

Yao’er City is the closest city to the Guan Mountain Plain, under the jurisdiction of Gaozhou.

Upon retreating to Yao’er City, Tie Muer first went to inspect the soldiers injured by that thunderous explosion.

Inside the Wounded Soldier Camp was a scene of wailing and sorrow.

Jin Xia’s medical care couldn’t compare to that of Great Song. For ordinary soldiers who weren’t Martial Artists, once they suffered extensive injuries or deep cuts, infection often led to death.

"General."

"General."

As Tie Muer entered, the wounded soldiers respectfully greeted him.

Tie Muer waved his hand and asked the doctor who was treating them, "What’s the situation?"

The doctor glanced at the wounded soldiers but didn’t speak directly.

Understanding the doctor’s meaning, Tie Muer stepped out of the camp, with the doctor following closely behind.

Outside the Wounded Soldier Camp, the doctor said, "Most are penetrating wounds; some even injured internal organs. It’s beyond human efforts now. Whether they survive is up to fate."

"Penetrating wounds?"

Tie Muer’s eyes flickered.

"This is what I extracted from some of the wounded soldiers’ injuries." The doctor produced a piece of bloodstained metal, handing it to Tie Muer.

"Metal shard?"

"Correct. I suspect these penetrating wounds were caused by this metal shard," said the doctor.

"But how could this metal shard cause the previous thunderous explosion?" Tie Muer found it perplexing.

The doctor said, "In my opinion, this metal shard is a remnant from some fractured object, likely from whatever caused that thunderous noise."

Tie Muer’s face turned grave.

They had retreated in defeat to Yao’er City but still didn’t know what caused their downfall.

However, this metal shard bore no trace of Innate Spiritual Qi, suggesting it wasn’t some kind of Divine Power but rather a weapon.

And the latter is often the most terrifying.

Tie Muer sniffed the shard and immediately said, "What is this smell?"

"It should be... sulfur." Sulfur is also a medicinal ingredient, and the doctor was quite familiar with its scent.

"Sulfur..." Tie Muer muttered, "Isn’t that a kind of medicine?"

He truly couldn’t find any clues.

...

Inside the Jin Xia Central Army’s tent, the generals and staff officers were all dejected.

The unknown is terrifying. Today’s morning battle was the scariest they had ever experienced—the thunderous explosion was deafening, even for those standing behind it.

Yelv Nuku and Kuimu were successively shot dead in this battle.

Seeing Tie Muer enter, the last Fourth-Grade Military General under him, Tie Mutie, who was also Tie Muer’s nephew, spoke, "General, this Chen Army is formidable, aided by that Strange Thunder. Since city defense and encampment fortification are not our strengths, a prolonged standoff would lead to excessive casualties, making it unsustainable."

Tie Mutie had already referred to the thunderous weapon as Strange Thunder.

Tie Muer didn’t speak until he sat at the head of the table. Then he finally said, "The reason today’s battle was lost is indeed due to this... Strange Thunder. It appears to originate from the Chen Army, causing a thunderous explosion upon contact and shattering. Our soldiers died from the shards of this Strange Thunder..."

Tie Muer tossed the metal shard onto the table and continued, "Although the Strange Thunder is powerful, it can kill at most dozens at a time. The main issue is the deafening explosion, a sound our horses have never been trained to endure. A startled horse disrupts the charge formation..."

Tie Muer summarized the failure, noting they currently had no means of defense.

"General, if we block the horses’ ears and cover their eyes, could it prevent the problem?" a general suggested.

"Not feasible. Many cavalry commands rely on verbal cues to the horses. Blocking their ears would be counterproductive since cavalry is all about ’man and horse as one,’ requiring seamless coordination. Moreover, the Strange Thunder is too loud to effectively block," someone argued.

"Then let’s just deafen the horses by stabbing their ears."

"That’s a terrible idea."

"You keep saying no, so how do we counter Chen Army’s Strange Thunder? It might be better to retreat altogether."

"Think harder; there must be a way."

...

During the discussion among the generals, Tuoba Zhu, who had remained silent, spoke to Tie Muer, "General, this King has a suggestion, though I’m unsure if I should speak."