Yue Fei remained silent, indicating his acceptance of the current pace.

No further tactics will be added for the time being.

Managing an army of 320,000 is a daunting task in itself.

War is definitely not as simple as those armchair strategists talking about tactics.

Historical records describe a certain undefeated general who fought as if divinely aided, sweeping all before him with unstoppable momentum, truly a master strategist.

However, there are very few records of the methodologies these victorious generals used in managing their troops during peacetime.

So much so that when keyboard warriors of later generations started debating, they would start with big maps, formations, and individual strength.

Of course, this also explains why keyboard warriors think Yue Fei had low emotional intelligence.

Because in their minds, high emotional intelligence means speaking according to appearances, and they equate being slick, shameless, greedy, and without principles with high emotional intelligence.

But if someone's emotional intelligence is truly low, how could they possibly train an army of hundreds of thousands into an iron army with the reputation of "It's easier to shake a mountain than to shake Yue Fei's army"?

Many mediocre generals are not uneducated; some can even recite military strategy by heart. Yet, once they enter the battlefield, their armies crumble like a house of cards.

A major reason for this is the chaotic internal management of the military.

Yue Fei was a commander who placed great emphasis on internal discipline and management within the army.

The Song army is now making two preparations: repairing ships and building bridges.

If a third method is introduced, it could easily create multiple voices and conflicting goals within the military, causing confusion, reducing the consistency of soldiers' behavior, and thus lowering combat effectiveness.

Yue Fei asked, "Niu Gao, have you detected any movements of the Liao army on the eastern front?"

"General, no Liao army movements have been detected on the eastern front."

"Hold the eastern front firmly, patrol day and night, and conduct reconnaissance even a hundred miles away. Our army will soon be crossing the river in full force, and we must not allow our rear to be attacked!"

"yes!"

Just as the Song army was making every effort to cross the river, a Liao army had already crossed the Chu River upstream.

The commander of this cavalry force of 10,000 Khitan warriors was Xiao Duolubu, the son of Xiao Hanli, a marshal of the Liao Dynasty.

This man is only twenty-three years old this year, but he and his father followed Yelü Dashi from Liaodong, enduring countless hardships to reach the Western Regions.

We traversed the vast desert and crossed the boundless grasslands.

Other children at ten years old were either studying, working in the fields, or playing.

At the age of ten, he was already on horseback, drawing his bow and shooting arrows to shoot enemies off their horses, and drawing his sword to kill people, having heard the sound of a knife cutting into bone.

Hunger and cold did not kill him, nor did scorching sun and exhaustion defeat him.

Like Yue Yun, they grew up amidst swords, blood, and fire.

His eyes, gazing at the vast, distant land, were like those of an eagle soaring in the blue sky, surveying its territory.

From here down to the Chu River, it would normally take eight days to march.

But eight days later, the Song army may have already crossed the river.

Based on his extensive battlefield experience, he only had three days.

This means there is almost no time to rest.

This was a forced march, a test of the army's endurance.

Fortunately, the 10,000 cavalrymen he led were all Khitans, his comrades-in-arms who had fought alongside him for years.

If soldiers from other races were also involved, this raid would have been virtually impossible to complete.

Yelü Dashi had obviously taken this into account, which is why he carefully selected 10,000 Khitan warriors to give to Xiao Duolubu.

The sky was overcast, with low-hanging clouds.

The distant mountains stretch to the horizon, like ancient giants lying prostrate on the vast land.

From the air, Xiao Duolu's iron cavalry moved across the vast grasslands, advancing southward along the Chu River.

The Liao emperor Yelü Dashi placed high hopes on these 10,000 cavalrymen.

The sun sinks below the horizon and then rises again from the east.

The cavalrymen rode without stopping, and the riders practically slept on their backs.

The horses are only allowed two hours of rest per day.

Three days later, Xiao Duolu's army stopped, and each person ate two large flatbreads. At dawn, they began to assemble.

"My comrades! The Jin traitors have usurped the throne of our Great Liao Dynasty. His Majesty and I have been on a westward expedition for over fourteen years. When we were hungry, we killed wolves to eat; when we were thirsty, we drank snow water. We traveled all the way west to this place, enduring countless hardships, and finally rebuilt our homeland. Now, the Song dogs want to murder His Majesty and destroy our homeland!"

Xiao Duolu didn't ride a horse; he ran back, and his voice was very loud.

“We all have wives and children! We’ve finally found a place to settle down. This is our home! The place where our little rascals will grow up! They can ride horses and run freely on the grasslands!”

"But! Song dogs won't give us a chance! They want to wipe us out!"

"The one on the other side is Yue Fei, the most capable commander among the Song soldiers! Countless of our comrades died by his blade back then!"

"Among those people, there must be your brothers and fathers!"

"Later, I heard that some people were so afraid that they couldn't sleep when they mentioned Yue Fei's name!"

"Yue Fei is coming to kill our women! To kill our sons! To kill us all! We're not even afraid of death! Why should we be afraid of Yue Fei!"

"Since I, Xiao Duolu, have come here today, I have no intention of leaving alive!"

"Avenge our people! Make Song Gou pay for his blood debt!"

Many scouts were stationed a hundred miles away from the main force of the Song army, constantly monitoring the military situation behind them.

He would report several times a day, and report directly to Niu Gao.

It was Yue Fei's arrangement to ensure that Niu Gao had the first information about the area.

Back then, he took a long detour and defeated Yelü Dashi.

The terrain here is open and spacious, making it entirely possible for the Liao army to employ large-scale flanking maneuvers.

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