A single proclamation from Ming-or rather, a call to arms-sent tremors through the entire Divine Land.
War erupted on every front.
Meanwhile, Red Dragon City was far from peaceful either.
After the Yuan army fled in defeat, Yu Huatian did not order a pursuit. Instead, he had the troops rest and regroup where they were, while issuing orders to muster forces for a northern counteroffensive against Great Yuan.
During this time, troops arrived in Red Dragon City from all across Ming, one contingent after another.
Ming originally had roughly a million soldiers, responsible for guarding its borders in every direction.
But after the conquest of Great Qing, its total military strength had reached an astonishing 1.8 million. Including local government troops throughout the country, the number exceeded two million.
However, these forces were scattered across the country. They had to defend against foreign enemies and maintain internal stability, so naturally, they could not all be transferred to the northern border.
Originally, roughly five hundred thousand troops had been stationed at the various northern passes to defend against the northern tribes.
Jiayu Pass, directly to the north, alone had a permanent garrison of two hundred thousand.
But when Jiayu Pass fell last time, those two hundred thousand troops suffered devastating casualties and scattered to flee for their lives. They were already effectively half crippled.
With Yu Huatian's latest recruitment order, however, these scattered border troops gradually reported to Red Dragon City and rejoined the army.
Together with the forces transferred from elsewhere, Red Dragon City's total military strength exceeded five hundred thousand in just a few days.
Yu Huatian did not personally intervene in military manpower matters, leaving them entirely to Sun Chuanting, Sun Chengzong, and the other generals.
Although he held authority over Ming's military forces, he generally did not