The Heaven Dou Army was stationed north of the imperial city, while the Heavenly Martial Army was stationed northwest of it. The two armies were not far apart.
The Heaven Dou Army was closer, so Jiang Mingyang and Jiang Tian planned to visit its camp first.
Along the way, Jiang Mingyang and Jiang Tian discussed how to put the emperor's loyalists out front and weaken his forces.
They spent the journey working through the details.
After all, if they handled it poorly and stirred resentment among the emperor's loyalists, the effect would be greatly diminished.
What they truly needed was for those loyalists to want, of their own accord, to stand at the front.
Jiang Mingyang and Jiang Tian traveled quickly and soon reached the Heaven Dou Army Camp.
The camp stood on a vast plain amid beautiful surroundings well suited to stationing troops.
Roads ran along both its left and right sides. A river in front supplied water, while a forest behind provided a place to rest in summer and grounds for training.
The camp had eight entrances, facing the eight compass directions and forming the shape of the character 米.
Jiang Mingyang and Jiang Tian arrived at one of the entrances.
Jiang Mingyang looked closely. Four soldiers stood in a row at the entrance, holding Long Halberds and Long Spears as they guarded the gate, their faces stern.
All four were Soul Masters, and each gave off the aura of a Soul Grandmaster.
Jiang Mingyang couldn't help but nod. From the Heaven Dou Army's guards alone, he could gauge its overall strength.
The Heaven Dou Army's ability to assign Soul Grandmasters to guard its gates showed just how powerful it was.
Generally, gate guards were relatively ordinary soldiers, there largely for appearances.
After all, if a real