When Li Siye had greeted the envoys earlier, he had only given them a cursory look and had no way of judging their true quality. Still, he knew what his Khan wanted to hear, so he said:
"Compared to the Gongfen Army guarding Your Majesty, they are as far apart as heaven and earth. Compared to the warriors of the Six Yuan Department led by General Kutlug, they are also vastly inferior. Still, their equipment is fairly good and their marching formations are orderly enough. They are probably about on par with the Uyghur troops the Khan recruited back then."
The generals of the Six Yuan Department were generally served by the Great King of the Southern Yuan, known in the Liao dynasty as the Southern Great King Yuan.
By Yelü Zhilugu's time, Western Liao no longer maintained the office of Great King of the Southern Yuan. The warriors of the Six Yuan Department were all commanded by Yelü Zhilugu's adopted son, Kutlug.
Due to its sparse population, Western Liao could only implement a suzerainty system in its local regions. Many ethnic groups, including the Han people, possessed considerable autonomy. As long as they paid taxes and fulfilled military service, the Western Liao court would not interfere in local affairs.
In wartime, Western Liao would summon troops from all the tribes under its rule. Thus, when comparing combat strength, they could only use soldiers from the other tribes as a benchmark.
The interpreter did not relay those words, leaving the two generals of the reinforcements utterly bewildered.
Ivan could not help muttering to Baron Fulk beside him, "What are they babbling about?"
Baron Fulk shook his head with a bitter smile. How could he understand Khitan? From his hometown of Languedoc to this place was nearly as far as the