However, when Li Yao spoke of unifying the world, Li Mu was tempted.
As a seasoned general who had fought countless battles, Li Mu was well aware of the cruelty of war.
He highly approves of Li Yao's philosophy of using war to stop war.
He also believed that only by ending war with war and unifying the world could the people truly live a peaceful life.
However, like Lian Po, he felt that although the Great Zhao was powerful on the surface, it was weak inside and surrounded by wolves, making it impossible for it to complete the great cause of unification.
In response, Li Yao said with great confidence, "You don't need to worry, I have a way to quickly improve the combat effectiveness of the Great Zhao army."
"What method?"
Li Mu and Lian Po exclaimed in unison.
Clearly, they also wanted to improve the combat effectiveness of the Zhao army.
Li Yao only uttered two words: "Cavalry!"
"cavalry?"
Li Mu and Lian Po exchanged a glance, both seeing disappointment in each other's eyes.
They thought Li Yao would come up with a brilliant and effective solution, but to their surprise, Li Yao's solution was 'cavalry'.
In this era, cavalry mainly served the roles of reconnaissance, flanking maneuvers, harassment and interception, raids and pursuits; they could not become the main force in combat, let alone independently undertake an entire campaign.
The main force on the battlefield was still infantry.
Therefore, they did not believe that strengthening the cavalry would greatly enhance the fighting power of the Great Zhao.
Therefore, Li Mu and Lian Po each pointed out the shortcomings of the cavalry.
Li Yao smiled slightly and said, "The cavalry I'm talking about are real cavalry, the kind that can truly gallop across the battlefield, sweep across the entire battlefield, and even the entire country."
Li Mu and Lian Po both laughed off Li Yao's boastful words, dismissing them as unimpressive.
Chapter 60: A Victory with Fewer Troops – An Unexpected Fact
Li Yao knew that Li Mu and Lian Po would not easily believe his words.
Everything depends on the facts.
Therefore, Li Yao said to Li Mu and the other man:
"Prime Minister Li, Prime Minister Lian, I know you don't believe that the cavalry's combat effectiveness can be greatly improved."
"How about this, let's have a competition."
“You shall select one hundred soldiers from your army to form a cavalry unit.”
"And I selected fifty soldiers from the Imperial Guard to form a cavalry unit."
"Let's have a contest to see whose cavalry is stronger."
Upon hearing this, Li Mu and Lian Po immediately laughed and shook their heads repeatedly.
Li Mu and Lian Po's retainers also burst into laughter.
In their eyes, the Imperial Guards were just a bunch of useless cowards who only knew how to fight, and their combat effectiveness was utterly pathetic, incomparable to the battle-hardened border troops.
Aside from being well-equipped, the Imperial Guard was otherwise useless.
Li Yao actually wanted to use the Imperial Guards to compete with their soldiers, and fifty against one hundred, which was simply overestimating his own abilities and could even be described as arrogant and conceited.
Lian Po rolled his eyes and said, "Master, I think we should do this: you select five hundred soldiers from the Imperial Guard, and we will select one hundred soldiers. Then we will have a contest."
Li Mu shook his head and said, "Even five hundred Imperial Guards might not be a match for our soldiers."
Lian Po nodded in agreement.
Li Yao did not argue with Li Mu and the other man, but instead smiled and said:
"It's too early to draw conclusions now; we'll know after the competition."
"Since the two prime ministers are so confident, they must think your soldiers are extremely powerful."
"Very well, I will select thirty soldiers from the Imperial Guard to compete with you."
Li Mu and Lian Po were taken aback, thinking they had misheard.
Lian Po was taken aback and quickly asked, "You mean thirty imperial guards?"
"good!"
Li Yao nodded.
Li Mu, Lian Po, and the others burst into laughter, as if they had heard an absurd joke.
Lian Po was even laughing so hard he cried.
Li Mu's smile faded, and he said seriously:
"Master, you must be joking. How can thirty Imperial Guards possibly defeat our battle-hardened soldiers?"
"Why don't we follow Prime Minister Lian's suggestion and have him select five hundred soldiers from the Imperial Guard to compete with us?"
Li Yao shook his head decisively and said, "No need, thirty Imperial Guards are enough!"
Originally, he said that selecting fifty imperial guards was to give Li Mu and Lian Po face, so that they wouldn't lose too badly.
Since Li Mu and his companion were so confident, he didn't need to give them any face.
Li Mu and Lian Po saw a strong sense of confidence in Li Yao, which made them somewhat suspicious.
Could it be that Li Yao really has some trump card?
impossible!
What kind of trump card could they possibly have?
They're definitely overthinking it.
Li Mu and Lian Po immediately dispelled their suspicions.
×××
An hour later, at the Imperial Guard's training ground.
Li Yao stood on a high platform, with Shan Rou and Zhao Zhi standing to his right.
Li Mu and Lian Po stood to Li Yao's left.
All five of them turned their gazes toward the training ground below.
At this moment, two cavalry units stood facing each other on either side of the training ground.
Li Yao asked Shan Rou and Zhao Zhi beside him, "How is it? Have they adapted to the new warhorses and weapons?"
Shan Rou and Zhao Zhi immediately nodded excitedly.
Zhao Zhi said excitedly, "I've already gotten used to it. I never expected that the new horse tack and weapons you created would be so practical and powerful. You're amazing!"
Shan Rou glanced at Li Mu and Lian Po and laughed, "In a little while, I'm afraid these two prime ministers will lose so badly they won't even be able to find their parents!"
Although Shan Rou's voice wasn't loud, Li Mu and Lian Po had keen hearing and heard her mocking remarks.
They were furious that they would be mocked by a woman like that.
However, they certainly wouldn't hold a grudge against a mere woman.
When Li Yao saw Li Mu and Lian Po being mocked by Shan Rou and their faces turning red with anger, he couldn't help but find it amusing.
He gave Shan Rou a mock glare, then asked Li Mu and Lian Po, "My two prime ministers, shall we begin the contest?"
Li Mu and his companion nodded emphatically. They had just been mocked by a young woman, and now they couldn't wait to have a match and put an end to the arrogance of Li Yao, Shan Rou, and the others.
Li Yao gave Shan Rou a wink, and Shan Rou nodded and waved the flag in her hand.
Upon seeing the signal, the two cavalry units below began to fight.
The rules of the contest were simple: both sides fought on horseback, and anyone who was knocked off their horse was considered "dead" and had to leave the battlefield.
The side whose cavalry are all knocked off their horses at the very end is declared the loser, while the other side is declared the winner.
Of course, to avoid accidental injury, the soldiers on both sides not only wore thick armor, but were also prohibited from attacking each other's vital parts.
Just as the two cavalry forces clashed, Li Mu and Lian Po glanced smugly at Li Yao.
Their smug looks seemed to say: Kid, just you wait, our soldiers will soon wipe out those useless Imperial Guards.
Unfortunately, their smugness lasted no more than a second.
What they saw at the training ground left them completely astonished.
On the training ground, the Imperial Guards moved like tigers descending from the mountains, each strike bringing down one of their soldiers.
The Imperial Guards seemed to have undergone a complete transformation, exuding murderous intent and fierce momentum, constantly charging back and forth on the training ground.
In contrast, their soldiers were able to fight back at first, but later they found themselves in a passive and defensive position.
Both Li Mu and Lian Po were seasoned generals on the battlefield, and they quickly discovered the problem.
They discovered that it wasn't that the Imperial Guard was particularly powerful, but rather that their equipment was novel and formidable.
First, they discovered that although the Imperial Guard's swords were strangely shaped, they were extremely sharp. With a single slash, the weapons in the hands of their soldiers were either broken or chipped.
Secondly, they discovered that the guards were stepping on a strange pair of objects.
It was those strange things that allowed the Imperial Guards to wield their swords with their legs free from gripping the horse's belly, without worrying about falling off.
Furthermore, they discovered that the saddles the guards sat on were very different from the saddles they had seen before, allowing the guards to sit steadily on the horse's back and not easily fall off even with a great impact.
The competition between the two sides ended quickly.
The final result was something neither Li Mu nor Lian Po had anticipated.
All one hundred of their soldiers were knocked off their horses.
On the Imperial Guard side, not a single person fell off their horse.
(PS: The title of this chapter has been censored again. Are censorship freaks really that powerful now? The original title was: Cavalry Clash: A Victory Against the Many. Is there anything wrong with that?)