Distributing the Soldiers

After finishing Cai Quan's treatment and collecting a pile of gold and silver, Qi Fei set off with Ma Chao and Cai Yang to take up their new posts.

"These are for you, Senior Cai: two thousand Regular Soldiers with the Elite Talent Strength Enhancement, equipped with Liangdang Armor, wooden shields, and war hammers."

Qi Fei explained the arrangement to Cai Yang.

Liangdang Armor was a popular style of armor at the time, resembling a modern bulletproof vest.

It consisted of one piece for the front and another for the back.

The main reason was that steel production hadn't developed enough yet. Otherwise, these Strength Enhancement soldiers would have been equipped with full-body armor.

Though they would still need to consider which style of full-body armor to use.

Lamellar Armor and the Brigandine that was later derived from it had pros and cons that differed from what most people imagined when compared with plate armor.

Armor made of linked, overlapping plates, such as Lamellar Armor and Brigandine, didn't allow the wearer to move freely.

More precisely, their flexibility meant that they allowed the body to bend and move, not that they were easier to move around in than plate armor.

That was because the way Lamellar Armor was assembled caused its plates to overlap, adding extra weight.

Each plate wasn't particularly heavy, but the total weight across the whole suit was considerable.

Plate armor had no such overlapping sections.

As a result, plate armor actually made it a little easier for the wearer to move around.

The real advantages of Lamellar Armor lay in its manufacture and its repair in wartime.

Once the plates had been forged, anyone could follow the design and link them together into usable armor.

It could also be repaired after a battle without the need for a specialized craftsman.

Plate armor, however, was different.

For someone to move normally while wearing plate armor, the fit had to be extremely precise.

Even if modern industry could mass-produce plate armor, each suit would still need to be adjusted by an armorer to fit its wearer.

People didn't grow to standard measurements.

For the same reason, armor that had been bent out of shape in battle also needed a specialist to adjust it around the wearer.

Besides, ancient societies didn't have things like blowtorches.

To adjust armor, a craftsman either had to hammer it into shape bit by bit or put the whole thing in a furnace to soften it. Either way, it was a huge hassle.

That was why plate armor never caught on across the Central Plains.

In fact, even where it was invented, plate armor in the modern sense never truly became widespread.

High-quality plate armor required extremely advanced metalworking, and by then, firearms had already been around for some time.

Firearms were so absurdly cost-effective that even Brigandine, famous for its value for money, couldn't stand up to them.

Naturally, the more expensive plate armor had no chance of making a comeback.

But in this world, there was a reason for plate armor to exist.

For one thing, firearms could hardly be developed at all.

Besides, putting the adaptable Huangfu Personal Guards in Lamellar Armor or scale armor would waste their ability to carry heavy loads.

The overlapping sections of those armors were stronger than plate armor of equal weight, but the rest of the armor was weaker.

To people from Qi Fei's previous life, that difference wouldn't have counted as a drawback.

But in this world, it meant an enemy could just run a spear through them.

So Qi Fei explained the pros and cons of every type of armor to Chen Xi, leaving him to figure out what to do.

"Impressive indeed."

Cai Yang praised them.

"These other three thousand are separate. They have weapons and shields, but for now, they're only wearing Leather Armor."

Qi Fei pointed to another formation as he explained to Cai Yang.

That was also due to limited steel production.

"We'll gradually upgrade their equipment later."

Once Chen Xi started producing steel, the Regular Soldiers would probably get full-body armor, the auxiliary troops Liangdang Armor, and the Tuntian Soldiers Leather Armor.

"Leather Armor is good equipment, too. Back in my day, plenty of commandery governors wouldn't even provide that."

Cai Yang was quite satisfied with the Leather Armor.

"I've heard about that. In the past, they'd apparently give you a spearhead and tell you to come back with a cavalry unit."

Qi Fei recalled something he'd read in a novel.

Some commandery governors could only provide a few hundred spearheads, and you even had to find your own shafts. Then they'd send you off and expect you to return with a cavalry unit.

Somehow, people still managed to pull it off.

The process went like this: first, train a unit of spearmen, then go steal some horses, and turn them into cavalry.

The whole idea was: start with one spearhead, get the rest of your gear from loot.

"Indeed. Compared with that, you've got it much better here."

Cai Yang hadn't expected Qi Fei to know about those old practices.

"By the way, Senior, do you have any preferences for these soldiers' talents? I can help adjust them."

Qi Fei asked again.

"I'd originally planned to make these two thousand heavy infantry. For their second talent, I was leaning toward Defense Buff. But now that they're under your command, it's up to you to decide what you need."

"That's not a problem. But if I had to ask for something, would you happen to have any spare weapons?"

Cai Yang hesitated before asking.

"My Legion Talent can imbue the soldiers' weapons with a layer of blade aura, making them sharper. That doesn't go well with war hammers."

Since this concerned his legion's combat abilities, he had thought it best to ask.

"There are still some spearheads and swords in the storeroom. I'll mention it to Lord Xuande, and you can go exchange for them directly."

Qi Fei thought for a moment before answering.

"Then I'm much obliged, Zihong."

Cai Yang bowed.

After handing over these five thousand men to Cai Yang, Qi Fei left with Ma Chao.

Once they'd moved to another location,

"Since you're joining me, you can take charge of my personal guards: two hundred cavalry and three thousand infantry."

Qi Fei pointed to the men before them as he spoke to Ma Chao.

"These soldiers all have the Elite Talent Swiftness, which increases their movement and attack speed."

The two hundred cavalry were actually the original two hundred soldiers Qi Fei had trained, converted into cavalry.

Since Qi Fei needed a cavalry unit that could withstand Zhang Fei's Legion Talent, Liu Bei had assigned him some horses.

Qi Fei's first idea had been to give the soldiers Self-Adaptation, have them smelt that talent, and then train them in a cavalry talent. That should have done the trick.

But he'd underestimated how difficult smelting was.

The Smelting System was one of the paths taken by the Imperial Guard.

Once soldiers smelted a talent, it became something like an instinct.

They could use the talent on their own, outside the legion, and could continue to add other talents to it. They also gained a certain improvement to their physical abilities.

But smelting required them to completely master the Elite Talent first.

Qi Fei himself hadn't mastered Self-Adaptation yet. Expecting the soldiers to master it in a short time was even more impossible.

So Qi Fei had to change his plan and try turning Self-Adaptation into a cavalry talent instead.

Cavalry and infantry talents were different.

Infantry talents only affected the soldiers themselves, at most extending to their armor and weapons.

Cavalry talents, however, had to affect the mounts.

The method was to inject the talent into the mount, then establish a resonance, and finally manifest the talent's power in both rider and horse.

As a result, changing mounts caused a temporary drop in talent strength and similar problems.

Tacitus's Roman legion had once fallen from Three Talents because it changed mounts.

They'd also fallen from Three Talents for other reasons, making them the Brother Tiao of legions.

As for the Xiliang Iron Cavalry, their approach was even more beastly.

They forcibly wrapped their mounts in the talent, just as infantry used their talents to cover their weapons and armor.

So to the Xiliang Iron Cavalry, horses weren't mounts. They were equipment.

That was also why the Xiliang Iron Cavalry were the slowest cavalry around.

Still, no one could say their method was wrong.

They'd had two Army Souls, followed by two Miracles. Just that alone was enough to stop any member of the Military School from dismissing their approach.

You think I'm wrong?

Fine. Once I've buried you in the ground, the world will know who was right.

The same applied to becoming a Miracle.

The Four Sages of the Military School, also known as the Gods of War, and commanders of great legions who had reached a certain level all believed that becoming a Miracle probably wasn't the right path.

But those legions could fight. They could beat almost every other legion into the ground.

So not one person from the Military School would stand up and say that becoming a Miracle was wrong.

That was the Military School.

A profession where results mattered far more than the process.

"These infantrymen have had their talents adjusted by me. As long as you have horses, you can quickly turn them into cavalry."

Qi Fei explained it to Ma Chao.

"Thank you for thinking so highly of me, Zihong. I swear I won't let you down."

Ma Chao respectfully accepted the responsibility of leading the personal guards.

He had nothing to his name at the moment and couldn't repay Qi Fei for all his help, whether it was reaching Internal Qi Separation or comprehending the power of Boundary Breaker.

That was why he had willingly agreed to follow Qi Fei.

Of course, learning from Qi Fei so he could challenge him in the future was another reason. The two goals didn't conflict.

"It's nothing. I gave them to you because you're the right fit."

Actually, if Ma Chao had arrived a little later, Qi Fei would already have changed these soldiers' talents.

Qi Fei hadn't planned to take the charge-at-the-front route. His goal was to command a great legion.

A great legion commander's personal guards would be more useful as archers than as cavalry with Swiftness. At least archers could stay in formation and take out the enemy's command nodes.

Ma Chao's Legion Talent was Super-Speed Reaction. Once his Internal Qi transformed into lightning, his speed would increase even further.

He was just the right person to lead this cavalry unit.

Actually, if Ma Chao, like Zhao Yun, hadn't liked charging into enemy ranks to cut down generals, he would have been even better suited to leading the White Horse Volunteers.

The White Horse Volunteers usually moved faster than their own reflexes could keep up with.

When Gongsun Zan led the White Horse Volunteers into battle, they usually charged through and left a field of minced flesh behind.

They weren't deliberately slaughtering their enemies. At that speed, they could only vaguely sense that something was there, then instinctively swing their blades.

As a result, most of the White Horse Volunteers' attacks actually struck corpses, and their damage was completely wasted.

Ma Chao's talent was just what they needed to solve that problem.

But there was no help for it. Ma Chao came from Xiliang, after all, and naturally preferred fighting head-on.

"Having you lead my personal guards is only temporary. You have the potential to command troops on your own, so work hard."

Qi Fei patted Ma Chao's shoulder and encouraged him.

It wasn't entirely empty praise, either.

As a hard-fighting commander, Ma Chao was excellent at leading cavalry.

In God Three, he led Rome's Seventh Eagle Flag to fight Parthia. In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, he led the Xiliang Iron Cavalry against Boss Cao. In both cases, he achieved astonishing results.

"Yes."

Ma Chao was deeply moved.

He repeatedly assured Qi Fei that he wouldn't disappoint him.

Little did he know that Qi Fei just wanted the kid to become tougher and harder to beat.

Then Ma Chao picked out a horse he liked, mounted it, and began getting acquainted with the soldiers assigned to him.

Well, he used the Liang Province way of doing things.

But in a fantasy-style army, strength was what mattered. This approach would help Ma Chao fit into his new surroundings more quickly, too.

So Qi Fei let him be.

But watching Ma Chao ride brought something to Qi Fei's attention.

Among the generals in their camp, it seemed that only Zhao Yun's Night-Shining Jade Lion had reached Internal Qi Separation.

When Ma Chao had first appeared in the novel, his mount, Li Feisha, had been at the Internal Qi Separation level.

But even Ma Chao himself had only been at Qi Solidification yesterday. Li Feisha was probably still grazing somewhere on the grasslands in Xiliang.

"Looks like I'll have to strengthen the warhorses later."

Qi Fei stroked his chin as he spoke.

At the very least, he couldn't let his own generals be at a disadvantage when it came to their mounts.

And mounts weren't the only problem he needed to solve.

Ma Chao's Internal Qi had transformed into lightning through the combined effects of the Divine Stone Fragment and the thunderclouds.

The Divine Stone Fragment had been found by Li Feisha, so Ma Chao naturally couldn't use it now.

Qi Fei would have to find a way to help Ma Chao.