The Qi army surrounding Yinjing, after the Southwest King led his troops to join, numbered approximately 800,000, roughly equal in strength to the Yan army that had invaded Qi.
However, the Yan army was well-equipped, well-trained, and had half of its troops as cavalry, making it significantly stronger than the scattered Qi armies in various regions.
The Qi army surrounding Yinjing not only varied in combat strength, but also lacked unified command, making it difficult to exert significant influence. This is why everyone has been waiting for the Southwest King, the leader, to arrive.
With the arrival of the King of the Southwest, the more than 600,000 Qi troops inside the capital city, plus the more than 800,000 Qi troops outside the city, were enough to give the Yan army a considerable advantage.
This "Hundred Armies Alliance" was also the first step in the formation of combat power for the Qi army outside the capital city of Yin.
The new Chu army led by He Yunxiao and others, in terms of sheer numbers, can be considered a medium-sized force outside Yinjing City.
Of the 70,000 men, the vast majority were new recruits. To outsiders, their fighting strength was insufficient. Compared to the hundreds of thousands of regional warlords, they were indeed far inferior. However, they were much more formidable than spontaneously organized reinforcements of ten or twenty thousand, or even a few hundred or a few thousand men.
The army's position was neither high nor low, so it obtained the third seat to the right of the Southwest King.
Seated in his seat was still Fan Ziruo, the strategist and spiritual leader of the new Chu army.
Behind Fan Ziruo stood He Yunxiao, Chu Fan, Zhang Xiong, and other ninth-rank martial artists. He Yunxiao and his group, who had once led a hundred men out of the city, were now considered a considerable force on the Qi-Yan battlefield.
With Ruobao in charge, He Yunxiao had nothing to worry about at the conference. He glanced around the venue and quickly noticed something interesting.
Among the Qi army generals present, although there were female experts standing with their hands behind their backs, only Ruobao came forward and sat in the lord's seat to lead the meeting. (M.cascoo.net)
In other words, Ruobao is the only female protagonist among all the male protagonists.
Mr. Fan is invincible!
He Yunxiao stood silently behind Fan Ziruo, watching the arrival of the prince known as the "King of the Southwest".
The King of the Southwest was the late emperor's younger brother, and was now nearly forty years old. However, martial arts practitioners strengthen their bodies and prolong their lives, so he looked quite young. His hair was jet black, and he had a robust physique, showing no signs of being a forty-year-old middle-aged man.
After the King of the Southwest entered, he presided over the Qi army assembly.
The opening routine is to first praise the emperor, starting with the ancestors, then the previous emperor, and finally the eldest princess, before talking about one's own military career.
Anyone with eyes could see that the King of the Southwest was paving the way for himself to become the leader of the 800,000 Qi troops. But no one objected. Now that the Princess was trapped in the city, it would be more appropriate to hand over the 800,000 Qi troops outside the city to this King of the Southwest, who was both a capable general and an imperial uncle.
After introducing himself, the King of the Southwest began to introduce the various Qi army leaders seated below him.
Among the leaders seated before Ruobao, several were at the "governor" level, local officials personally leading troops to rescue the emperor. Others were members of royal branches or princes from various regions; they didn't bring many men, but their status was indeed revered.
Leaving aside these imperial relatives and pillars of the court, it's time for Fan Yu's daughter, Fan Ziruo.
Ruobao, a mere woman, slowly stood up as introduced by the King of the Southwest.
The young, beautiful, and talented Ruobao instantly became the center of attention. Among a group of men, a delicate beauty suddenly appeared – who could resist that!
"This humble girl, Fan Ziruo, greets Your Highness." Ruobao bowed slightly with great politeness.
The King of the Southwest waved his hand and said, "Miss, you don't need to be so polite. If my information is correct, your father is Fan Changshu, isn't he?"
"yes."
"After we finish dealing with the Yan people and return to Yinjing, I will invite him for a drink."
"Zi Ruo thanks Your Highness on behalf of her father."
The King of the Southwest laughed heartily, "I was the one who disturbed you by going to your house, so why are you thanking me instead?"
The intelligent and unassuming Fan Ziruo could easily understand the unspoken meaning behind the Southwest King's words. The Southwest King's invitation to Fan Yu for drinks was a pretense; his true intention was to highlight Fan Yu's extraordinary abilities. Furthermore, Fan Ziruo understood that her father's constant low profile was precisely to avoid trouble.
“Zi Ruo and her father are just ordinary commoners. Your Highness’s willingness to be our guest is truly an honor. The Fan family, which rarely receives guests, will also be honored by Your Highness’s arrival. We should thank Your Highness for your generosity.”
"Rumor has it that the young lady is the most talented woman in Yinjing, and that is indeed true," said the King of the Southwest.
Ruobao bowed and thanked him.
After finishing this round, the King of the Southwest did not continue to argue with Fan Ziruo. He still had many Qi army leaders to discuss, so he invited Ruobao to sit down and continued with the introduction.
The subsequent presentation went quite smoothly.
With his master-level strength, reputation, and 300,000 troops, the King of the Southwest was unchallenged by everyone present.
The conference proceeded smoothly until the Southwest King was elected as the leader of the alliance, and no one said anything about it.
In the afternoon, the Qi army alliance entered the specific part that the generals were truly concerned about: the division of troops.
Just like the Yan army, which split into five routes—east, west, south, north, and center—the Qi army of 800,000 also needed to be divided into smaller units.
In ancient times, information traveled slowly. Without dividing the troops, the overall march of the army would be slowed down. The 800,000 Qi troops would have had to be dispersed to the surrounding counties. One day, the command headquarters received a message: the Eastern Army received the order in the morning and set off that morning, but the Western Army hadn't received the order by evening. How could they coordinate?
Therefore, the general headquarters can only make strategic plans; as for the specifics of how to fight and how to deploy troops, it is up to the generals of each division to make their own decisions.
The afternoon gathering was no longer in the same row-sitting format as in the morning. Instead, the Southwest King would set up a map in the middle, with the various military leaders surrounding him to watch.
The map shows the current deployment of the Yan and Qi armies.
The King of the Southwest pointed to the Qi army's formation and said, "I intend to divide our Qi army into four routes: left, right, center, and rear. The center army will be led by my own troops, responsible for confronting the Yan army head-on."
After the King of the Southwest finished speaking, no one objected.
The 300,000 border troops of the Southwest King were the largest and strongest force here, making them the perfect backbone of the Qi army outside the city.
Looking at the Southwest King's allocation, He Yunxiao thought to himself that this king was quite good. The central army had withstood the pressure from the Yan army head-on, and although they had the greatest merit, their casualties would probably be considerable. This "do what you can" approach surprised He Yunxiao, who was used to seeing "micro-management master Chiang Kai-shek" and "casualties among the ragtag troops while the loyalists reaped the rewards" tactics on television.
After the central army was assigned, the Southwest King pointed to the right flank of the Qi army and said, "Governor of Yangzhou, I intend to use your eighteen armies as the backbone, plus the forces of Fang, Feng, Liu, and others around you, to form a right flank army of 250,000. What do you think?"
The governor of Yangzhou said, "Your humble servant obeys."
"King Li has cultivated deep roots in the Northwest and has extensive connections in counties such as Hexi. How about you lead the Zhu, Peng, Zhang, Miao and other troops to form a left-wing army of 200,000?"
King Li said, "I will follow your orders, Imperial Uncle."
With the three main forces—central, left, and right—already assigned, the Southwest King said to Fan Ziruo, "My dear niece, the Chu family army has just been established and its combat strength is unstable. How about you, along with the forces of King Ling, Chen, and Shen, form a 100,000-strong rear army to be responsible for small-scale operations?"
Even He Yunxiao understood what the King of the Southwest was saying; it was clear he didn't want the new Chu army to fight a major battle.
But Fan Ziruo showed no expression or resistance. She bowed slightly and said directly, "Ziruo obeys."
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