The troops under his command had to be rotated constantly, or they could easily end up obeying only their generals rather than him, their lord. However high Wang Chong's prestige might be, he had no desire to gamble on the shifting loyalties of his subordinates. Besides, he needed these generals, who knew the business better than he did, to train his new troops. He could not do that sort of grueling work himself.
This time, besides selecting thirteen hundred Wind-Treading Cavalry, Wang Chong expanded the Tailwind Army to over ten thousand men. There was no helping it-there were simply too many prisoners. He also transferred "veterans" wounded in previous battles who could no longer take the field into the Tailwind Army as squad leaders and deputy squad leaders. This gave the veterans somewhere to go while strengthening his control over the Tailwind Army.
More than ten days later, Wang Chong could finally set his anxious heart at ease.
Gan Ci had the shortest journey and returned to Green Mountain Pass first. Wang Chong appointed him commander of Green Mountain Pass and the Two White Ox Passes, with Huang Xiao also under his authority. Wang Chong had not even forgotten to send a letter of greeting to this "trusted subordinate" he had casually promoted, asking how his martial training was progressing. He also told him to seek Gan Ci's guidance when he had time. Gan Ci had now learned the Vajra Prajna Palm as well, and although both were beginners, his own martial prowess was considerable, more than sufficient to instruct Huang Xiao.
Xuangang and Qin Gao also returned to Cloud-Gathering Mountain and Cloud-Peering Ridge respectively. Qin Gao sent a letter reporting no movement from the direction of Ling Prefecture.
In other words, this military gamble was already halfway to success.