NOVEL NEXT Ch. 7
Chapter 7: Black-Armored Iron Cavalry
Half an incense stick’s time passed.
Jiang Zhaoming set down the document in his hand and looked at the two men before him. “Speak—why has such turmoil occurred within the Prefecture City?”
Finally hearing Jiang Zhaoming open his mouth, Yan Chen, who had been sitting on pins and needles, immediately answered.
“Reporting to Your Highness, half a month ago an urgent message came from Duwen County, saying that a force of nearly ten thousand wandering soldiers had been raiding and burning villages around Duwen County.”
Jiang Zhaoming frowned.
Duwen County was located in the northeastern part of Yili County, bordering the Beiting County on the northeastern side of Anxi Prefecture.
And Beiting County was, among the ten eastern counties, the most embattled area.
“Could it be that the rebel army from Beiting County has come to attack?”
Hearing this, Yan Chen shook his head and said in a deep voice, “It is not so. The enemy are cavalry. I suspect they are not from the rebels.”
Jiang Zhaoming fell into thought. In his view, since Beiting County’s terrain consisted of grasslands and snowy mountains, seeing cavalry there was nothing strange.
So he asked, “Then, according to the General, if the enemy did not come from the rebels, where are they from?”
Yan Chen clasped his hands and said, “This subject suspects the enemy army hails from Great Jin.”
Jiang Zhaoming’s brows knitted tightly.
How had Anxi Prefecture once again provoked Great Jin?
He immediately asked, “And how did the General learn of this?”
“The enemy’s assault was not aimed at capturing cities, only plundering—and their methods are extremely cruel. Wherever they pass, ten households out of nine are emptied, and for a thousand li the land lies barren. Even though the rebels turned against our Great Zhou, they are still merciful toward the people—they would never act with such depravity.”
Listening to Yan Chen’s report, Jiang Zhaoming’s expression darkened greatly.
The internal turmoil within Anxi Prefecture had already made the people’s lives miserable; now, if Great Jin’s cavalry came looting again, survival would be even harder.
Rubbing his temples, Jiang Zhaoming waved his hand.
“This matter shall be discussed later. But I wish to ask—you went to suppress bandits, so why did the city’s garrison rebel?”
Thinking of this, Jiang Zhaoming’s anger surged once again.
After the battle yesterday, he learned that the reason so many rebels had appeared in the Prefecture City was because the deputy commander of the city’s garrison had led six thousand defenders in rebellion.
These six thousand soldiers collaborated with the rebel forces outside the city, quickly breaching the western and southern gates of the inner city.
This led to the loyal soldiers—those unwilling to betray—being slaughtered until barely a hundred survived.
Jiang Zhaoming had been puzzled yesterday as to how these rebels could command battle formations.
It turned out they had learned them from the city’s own army!
Such internal collapse was far more infuriating than an external invasion.
Yan Chen was speechless, unsure how to respond.
Having listened in silence for some time, Fan Kang stood up and bowed. “Your Highness, this matter cannot be blamed entirely on General Yan. The situation within the prefecture is chaotic; unrest among men’s hearts is inevitable.”
As he spoke, Fan Kang thought of Anxi Prefecture’s current state and sighed deeply.
“Your Highness, if the Imperial Court still refuses to send reinforcements, Anxi Prefecture may face complete ruin!”
Hearing this, Jiang Zhaoming could only sigh softly.
The Ancestral Decree of Great Zhou was absolute: once a Prince entered his fiefdom, apart from his personal guards, he was not permitted to receive any aid from his mother’s clan.
Even if Jiang Zhaoming sought help, his father, the Emperor, would never consent.
“I shall handle military matters myself. For now, Prefecture Lord, please report to me in detail the current affairs within the prefecture.”
Afterward, Fan Kang remained in the Prince’s Mansion, while Yan Chen returned to the Prefecture City army to reorganize the troops.
By noon, in the main hall of the Prince’s Mansion—
Jiang Zhaoming picked at the food before him, appearing quite uninterested.
That morning, he had a long and thorough discussion with Fan Kang.
Not only did he gain a deeper understanding of Anxi Prefecture’s situation, but he also obtained a clear grasp of the current problems.
Taking a deep breath, Jiang Zhaoming looked toward the lower seat.
Fan Kang was wolfing down his meal while sorting through the documents laid before him.
After some time together, Jiang Zhaoming had come to know him somewhat.
Fan Kang was from Jiangnan of Great Zhou.
At twenty-three, he had placed on the Golden Roll and entered officialdom.
But because he refused to join any factions, he was ostracized by major political groups and, at thirty-seven, was assigned to Anxi Prefecture as its Prefecture Lord.
He had remained there for nineteen long years.
Though he had not achieved any great merit, he had at least managed to keep Great Zhou’s distant outpost from falling.
“Prefecture Lord Fan.”
Hearing Jiang Zhaoming’s call, Fan Kang immediately set down his chopsticks and bowed. “This subject is here!”
“According to what General Yan reported, there are still more than eight thousand of those Great Jin horse bandits harassing our Duwen County?”
Fan Kang bowed deeply. “Yes, Your Highness. Those horse bandits have no military formations, but their mobility is extremely high. Our Prefecture City troops are mostly infantry—it is difficult to catch up with them.”
Jiang Zhaoming nodded.
In the oasis-valley terrain of Yili County, cavalry could easily conduct raids, while infantry were powerless to pursue.
Even though cultivation existed in this world, before reaching the Divine Ability Realm, one could neither fly nor traverse the skies.
Even a Blood Refining Realm martial artist would find it difficult to match the speed of this world’s extraordinary steeds.
When Duwen County was mentioned, Fan Kang’s expression turned anxious again.
“Your Highness, I implore you to send troops to exterminate those bandits. If they continue looting, even more civilians will suffer!”
Jiang Zhaoming nodded. “I already have a solution. Have Yan Chen take my personal letter and head immediately to the Black-Armored Army’s station.”
Receiving the letter, Fan Kang’s voice trembled with excitement. “Yes, Your Highness!”
Without even caring for decorum, he rose at once and jogged out of the hall.
After he left, Jiang Zhaoming leaned half-reclined in his chair, closed his eyes, and let his consciousness slowly sink.
He once again arrived within the River of Fortune, grasped his fishing rod, quickly hung a blue Fortune Bait, and cast it into the waters.
Though called a river, the River of Fortune had no real current—his position never changed.
After observing it the previous night, he had discovered that the blessings of fortune seemed tied to one’s fishing location.
For instance, at his current spot, while Life Fates and Talents appeared irregularly, Divine Artifacts followed a distinct pattern.
Just yesterday, he had seen several Divine Artifacts originating from the Saint Tang Plane.
“There you are. You were right here yesterday… found you! Come on, bite already!”
With a sharp flick of the fishing rod, a large blue fish leapt from the river, transforming into a streak of light that merged into Jiang Zhaoming’s body.
【Item · Black-Armored Army Main Camp Fragment】: A camp-summoning relic from the Saint Tang Plane. When placed, it summons 3,000 Tempering Bones Realm Sixth Layer Black-Armored Iron Cavalry, 2 Blood Refining Realm Third Layer Vice-Generals, and **1 Blood Refining Realm Seventh Layer Cavalry Captain.
“I spent one portion of blue fortune on this—let’s hope it brings a pleasant surprise.”
Jiang Zhaoming quickly used the summoning card, placing the Black-Armored Army Cavalry Camp beside the Infantry Camp.
He had already arranged this yesterday, setting aside a large section of the outer city as the Black-Armored Army’s grounds.
Since he forbade anyone from approaching their camp, placing the cavalry barracks now would not cause much commotion.
Meanwhile, in the barracks, Zhang Yan, who was drilling the soldiers, suddenly felt a twitch in his brow.
“What’s going on? Why do I sense a familiar aura?”
As if echoing his thoughts, he abruptly turned and reached behind his ear—his hand grasped an arrow still trembling with vibration.
The Mo Blade soldiers immediately became alert, eyes locked firmly behind Zhang Yan.
Zhang Yan slowly turned around—only to see, emerging from the distant grove, a familiar figure.