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Though Fei Qian had won this battle, he had only slightly improved the overall situation, providing some relief on the western bank of the Fen River. However, relying solely on his current forces still seemed rather inadequate.
Furthermore, the situation at Xiangling on the eastern bank of the Fen River remained severe. Although there was no news yet of Xiangling's fall, it was certain that if the White Wave army on the western bank could not be dealt with, Xiangling's capture was only a matter of time.
According to Han Dynasty practice, the military strength of commandery and county seats in frontier regions was generally set at five thousand for large commanderies and three thousand for small counties. In other words, Xiangling's normal strength should be around three thousand. Setting aside whether Xiangling's troops were at full strength, within these three thousand, often only one-third were regular standing troops, while the other two thousand were auxiliary soldiers.
Judging from the situation Fei Qian had encountered, the White Wave forces were larger than he had originally estimated.
A single leader could command three to four thousand combat soldiers. If calculated according to past practices, the coerced commoners should number at least ten to fifteen thousand. This meant the overall White Wave army was not the thirty to fifty thousand Fei Qian had initially thought, but sixty to eighty thousand.
Therefore, Fei Qian here still needed to face at least four thousand combat soldiers and around twenty to thirty thousand coerced commoners. At Xiangling, they would face nearly ten thousand combat soldiers and twenty to thirty thousand commoners.
For the Yellow Turban rebels, there was a particularly detestable combat method: using coerced commoners to attack cities. Back during the Zhongping era when the Yellow Turbans erupted, many county towns fell this way.
This was the Han Dynasty, reality, not a game where constructing an archer unit granted endless arrows; where with a sliver of health left, they could still shoot powerful arrows; where having a city wall, regardless of remaining durability as long as it wasn't zero, would forever stand with inexhaustible rocks and logs.
Under intense combat conditions, an archer firing continuously twenty times must withdraw to adjust and rest. Otherwise, even forced shooting would be ineffective. Similarly, a soldier equipped with a spear or saber, after continuous thrusting or slashing for over a quarter of an hour, would see his strength greatly diminish. Without adjustment, the casualty rate would increase sharply.
Back when the first version of the modao was forged, Fei Qian had Huang Cheng test it. Even a trained martial artist like Huang Cheng, who knew breath control and proper use of muscle groups, couldn't endure continuous full-power slashing for two hours. That's why they ultimately switched to the model where the man doesn't turn, but the blade rotates, maximizing stamina conservation to extend combat duration. Otherwise, even the strongest warrior, wearing forty- to fifty-jin armor and wielding a modao weighing around fifteen jin, couldn't perform sweeping, grand slashes like Lord Guan.
In terms of pure chopping power, the strongest wasn't the modao, nor was it Lord Guan's Green Dragon Crescent Blade, but the long-handled iron axe, with its center of gravity entirely in the axe head…
But small axes weren't very effective, and making a large axe…
Besides the long axe being unsuitable for close combat, the sheer amount of iron required to forge a large iron axe head was truly extravagant!
Although Master Craftsman Huang Dou was remelting various iron goods obtained through trade along the Luoyang route, using the pudding process to improve strength, the output was still extremely small, insufficient to supply such large iron consumption.
Regarding large-scale equipment, Fei Qian currently had no technical problems, but he was still very deficient in manpower, workshops, and raw materials.
Although the Northern Bend camp had favorable terrain, it was ultimately too small, lacking space. That's why Fei Qian set his sights on the entire Xin River watershed.
This area leaned against Mount Lüliang to the north, using Yong'an and Puzi County towns as the northern defense line. It bordered the Fen River to the east, had Northern Bend to the northwest, and Pingyang to the southeast, controlling the entire Xin River watershed. With ample water sources, agriculture could be developed on the flatlands within. At the same time, timber and water power from Mount Lüliang could be used to build workshops.
If they could also find one or two small-scale iron ore deposits nearby…
Of course, from Fei Qian's later-life memories, further northwest lay the birthplace of the later much-talked-about Ordos land of tycoons.
This entire area was a treasure trove!
But before that, the commoners coerced by these White Wave forces were a piece of fat Fei Qian absolutely wanted to swallow whole. Combat soldiers could be buried alive, but those commoners had to be preserved.
After all, without a population base, everything else was moot.
"Now that the White Wave have been newly defeated, they likely won't have the courage to attack Pingyang again in the short term. However, with our current troops, defeating them is possible, but swallowing them whole is very difficult. Therefore…" Fei Qian looked towards the north and said leisurely, "Liangdao, I intend to leave you here to guard Pingyang…"
"Is the Commander planning to take Yong'an?" Jia Qu's eyes gleamed brightly.
Communicating with intelligent people was convenient. Even before Fei Qian stated his plan, Jia Qu seemed to have realized it.
Correct. To obtain population, he must first bring Yong'an under his control. Capturing Yong'an County town would, on one hand, cut off the White Wave army's retreat. On the other hand, it would also mean trapping the commoners coerced by the White Wave on both banks of the Fen River.
Fei Qian smiled. "You know me well, Liangdao. So? Are you willing to guard this place?"
Qu was only sixteen now. Although his displayed intelligence was quite good, entrusting such a task to Jia Qu still made Fei Qian somewhat uncertain.
Though Pingyang's old city had walls, they were not complete. Many places remained unrepaired, like this section of wall beneath their feet.
Defending a city was exceptionally difficult.
But venturing out to engage in battle was even more unfeasible.
Apart from support from White Wave Valley, there were no other points providing flank cover. Once surrounded on the Fen River plain, it would be a disaster.
To the south was Linfen, but even Hedong Administrator Wang Yi didn't dare pass through there, so it also carried high risk.
To the west was Northern Bend. Although no news had come from there yet, the forces left behind weren't many, and it was deep within Hu territory. They could only rely on crossbow carts to defend the camp, unable to draw more troops; otherwise, it would also be dangerous.
Therefore, although they had repelled one White Wave attack, the next wave could come at any time, potentially even more ferocious than this one…
All of this—if any single link went wrong, a gap would appear in the entire plan. Fei Qian had to treat it with utmost caution. Discussing this alone with Jia Qu on the Pingyang city wall was also out of this consideration.
This wasn't like some annual work conference from his later life, where leaders of all sizes took the stage to accept tasks, thumping their chests and shouting slogans, only to slap their thighs mid-year or year-end, and finally walk away—a farce. This concerned thousands, tens of thousands of lives, Fei Qian's entire northern territory layout!
If Fei Qian had under him now a few of those strategists and generals belonging to the first tier in his memory, or even quasi-first tier, he wouldn't be in such a dilemma.
Jia Qu, Jia Liangdao, you must know, this burden is heavy…
Are you willing to shoulder it?
Can you defend well?
Can I trust you?
From Fei Qian's gaze, Jia Qu saw gravity and inquiry. He also fell silent, contemplating quietly. After a long while, he asked, "How many troops does the Commander intend to take north?"
"A hundred cavalry." Fei Qian didn't plan to take many troops, as taking more would further weaken Pingyang's defense. "Additionally, the forces in White Wave Valley will be under your command."
Jia Qu nodded, then said, "Can the heavy-armored soldiers remain here?"
"…Yes." Fei Qian thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement. However, he felt some precautions needed to be explained. He called Huang Cheng over and had him bring a modao.
Fei Qian indicated for Huang Cheng to show the modao to Jia Qu, then said, "Originally, this blade requires hundred-fold forged iron. But time was pressing; we only managed fifty folds, so there are many deficiencies…"
Jia Qu examined it carefully, lightly touching it. On the blade of the modao, due to the previous high-intensity battle, some nicks and fine cracks had already appeared.
Huang Cheng said, "This blade can still withstand one or two more rotations before being completely ruined. It needs to be remelted and reforged." The blade's hardness was sufficient, but its toughness was lacking…
Jia Qu suddenly asked, "If used only for chopping, how long would it last?"
Huang Cheng smiled. "It should last longer. But this blade is long and pointed. For regular use, it can also be used for thrusting." The modao wasn't shaped like a large Guan dao; it was flat, slender, with a slight curve, excellent for slicing, but not as effective as a regular broadsword for heavy chopping. However, due to its long blade, it could also be used for spear-like thrusting techniques.
Fei Qian added, "The heavy-armored soldiers' full armor weighs forty-eight jin. Though trained, they are ultimately not very mobile. Their hands and feet are exposed outside the armor; the sides and rear of the torso have thin armor—all weaknesses that must be guarded against. When using them, caution and moderation are required." Heavy-armored soldiers weren't robots; they had weaknesses and could tire. So they could only be used at critical moments for good effect, not from start to finish, or even iron men would collapse from exhaustion.
Jia Qu returned the modao to Huang Cheng, saluted seriously to show he remembered, and said, "When will the Commander return?"
The greatest fear in stubbornly defending a city is having no reinforcements. That Jia Qu could ask this, rather than casually thumping his chest and saying "no problem," showed he already had a certain understanding of the overall situation, not spouting meaningless slogans like "the city and I stand together."
"At least seven days, at most ten."
Jia Qu lowered his head, silently contemplating and calculating. After a long while, he raised his head, straightened his posture, a firm resolve shining in his eyes. He said clearly, "I am willing to make a military pledge! Within ten days, I will definitely safeguard Pingyang!"