"We still don't have enough war horses!" Kong Youde immediately frowned and said, "There are only four regiments in southern Liaoning now. If we only equip half of them, it will take at least a year or two, right?"

Zhang Pan nodded slightly and said, "It may take a year or two to get that many war horses. It might be better to equip one or two brigades first. For example, the troops responsible for defending the city will not need so many war horses for the time being."

Kong Youde deeply agreed. Of the five armies in southern Liaoning, his and Zhang Pan's troops had experienced the most battles and were the most experienced. In the future, they would be the main force in the pacification of Liao, and their need for war horses would be even more urgent.

As for Xiangdeng Town and Jin Town, due to their lack of combat experience, most of their tasks were to guard the castle.

However, Kong Youde did not agree immediately. According to the battle plan, Zhang Pan's troops had completed supplementary training and were preparing to march to the front line.

In other words, Zhang Pan's proposal was equivalent to transferring the war horses originally assigned to his troops.

His troops also had a mission, which was to advance eastward and meet with the troops sent by the Dongjiang headquarters in Xiuyan City (Xiuyan), thus connecting the recovered areas.

From a strategic perspective, this meeting is also extremely important.

The two scattered Ming army groups opened up land communication and became united as one, which made it easier for unified command and mutual support, and was much more convenient than previous communication by sea.

Zhang Pan seemed to have guessed what Kong Youde was thinking, but he didn't say it out loud. He smiled and said, "I have two thousand dragoons, plus the thousand-plus horses from the artillery battalion, which is almost enough. How about I lend the extra war horses to Brother Kong to help him advance eastward to join the army?"

"This..." Kong Youde didn't expect Zhang Pan to be so generous. He was stunned and didn't know what to say.

Zhang Pan smiled and patted Kong Youde, saying, "Don't refuse. I'll send someone to pick up the war horses tomorrow. My troops are heading north, so we can't bring that much food and supplies."

After a pause, Zhang Pan continued, "Although the Rock Mixed Corps has been formed, it still needs some time to get used to each other. It won't be fully trained until at least autumn. Your corps and mine are the backbone of the initial operations, so it's only natural that we look after each other."

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