Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 1747: Chapter 555: Cai Qiuhu’s Fury, Every Bush and Tree an Enemy

The Bone-Eroding Path extends from south to north, measuring just over one hundred kilometers in length.

If we were within the borders of Cai Qiu, following the official road the whole way, even with an army of 150,000 men, it would probably only take two hours.

But this isn’t the case here!

The Bone-Eroding Path not only lacks a single meter of official road but has also been eroded by demonic winds for years, making the temperature extremely low and the terrain unusually complex. Fewer people might still manage, but with a large number, the situation complicates.

Not to mention, the returning army from Cai Qiu this time numbers a full 150,000.

“It took more than four hours to march from north to south, and now, retracing our steps, despite urging all along the way, it still took us almost three hours. After a long period without battles, the preparedness of the feudal towns’ military has deteriorated to this extent!”

On the north side of the Bone-Eroding Path, about five kilometers from the exit, Cai Qiuhu sped northward with the wind, turning his head to look at the massive army behind him, his eyes filled with unyielding anger.

Dozens of Cai Qiu officers followed behind him, immediately lowering their heads upon hearing his words.

Cai Qiu has stretched for nearly three hundred years, and for over a hundred years since its military founding, it has emphasized march speed from early on.

The speed of a march is influenced by many factors, including the amount of supplies carried, the size of the march, and the quality of roads and weather, among others…

In normal combat scenarios, the size of armies is generally fixed, and if you have more people and supplies, so do others. The Four Vassals have fought each other countless times over the centuries, so there’s a general consensus on march speeds.

The quality of the Four Vassals’ armies, in the minds of everyone in the Moao River area, doesn’t differ much; generally speaking, an army of less than ten thousand can travel around 120 kilometers in one hour.

The more people, the slower the speed. For an army of over fifty thousand, the speed decreases by about two and a half layers to about 90 kilometers; for an army of over one hundred thousand, it drops to about 70 kilometers. As for a force of over two hundred thousand, the Four Vassals have never engaged in such large-scale battles, so no one knows.

Of course, this all refers to marching on the feudal towns’ official roads.

In non-official road scenarios, march speed decreases by at least 1.5 times, with a force under ten thousand covering less than 50 kilometers in one hour.

The conditions on the Bone-Eroding Path are even more complex, so the speed continues to decline, but no way should it take over four hours.

Marching southward for over four hours, the Landgrave Cai Qianshan’s expression was already unpleasant, and everyone already witnessed it then, clearly.

Now, it’s the return trip. In other words, the road of the Bone-Eroding Path has been traversed once by the army; it’s not as unfamiliar. With urging all the way, it still took almost three hours.

Indeed, from the defeat at the southern exit to now, it’s taken nearly three hours, with five kilometers to go to the exit.

This march speed, describing the army’s current status with ‘military preparedness deterioration,’ is certainly not excessive as Cai Qiuhu does now.

“Just suffered a defeat; morale is too low, which likely has an impact. Little Landgrave, don’t worry too much. There’s about to be a great victory at the north exit awaiting us, and after slaughtering that rebel group and restoring morale, we’ll surely block the Xia Army inside the valley!”

Nearby, an armored general hastily comforted.

He couldn’t stay silent; as Little Landgrave, Cai Qiuhu’s words often served as a weather vane. If ‘military preparedness deterioration’ label sticks, the entire army might immediately begin to reform.

“Indeed, the army is newly defeated, and the soldier’s spirits are low; it’s quite normal.”

“The strength of the feudal town’s army is still undeniable. In the last six times of attacking the pass, we nearly broke through. In this battle, our feudal forces suffered minimal overall loss. After reorganizing and re-energizing, we can march south to attack again.”

“We can afford to lose many times, but the Great Xia cannot lose even once. The Great Xia is nothing more than a mere scabies; Little Landgrave, don’t fret. The immediate priority is Chen Cang!”

……

Other generals realized, immediately echoing these sentiments.

“Idiots, idiots, idiots, this group of fools…”

Little did they know, Cai Qiuhu ahead cursed ‘fools’ in his heart, hearing what the generals said, his face faintly reddened, evidently furious to the extreme.

Could he not be angry?

Previously, in the middle section of the Bone-Eroding Path, he had made himself quite clear.

With the Evergreen Valley rebellion and Chen Cang troops encircling Lin Chu, there is a high probability they can be linked to the Great Xia. Connecting these three, anyone with a bit of brain can see that the Great Xia is not simple.

Yet even now, these people still don’t take the Great Xia seriously, considering it no more than a skin ailment!

“The feudal towns have been peaceful for so long, and military preparedness deterioration is a secondary issue. The top and bottom are indulging in extravagance and hedonism, with no spirit or fighting will; this is the most deadly problem!”

Last night, after defeat, the army received a plea for help from Lin Chu County, and before leaving, Father Landgrave Cai Qianshan said these words to him.

At that time, Cai Qiuhu didn’t think much of it, only feeling his father, struck by the defeat and upon hearing Chen Cang’s troops advancing on Lin Chu, said these words in extreme panic.

But remembering the unimpressive performance of the fifteen thousand troops on their return march, then seeing the manner of these leading generals, each with their overbearing attitudes, he finally realized that Father’s words were likely true.

Cai Qiu, situated in the middle of the Moao River, is tightly surrounded by the Three Vassals and the southern Moao Mountain Body, naturally a four-sided battleground. Even when the other fiefs focus on expansion, Cai Qiu cannot enjoy peace. Now, all these years gone by, the Three Vassals have expanded to all possible territories. Who’s next as a target is increasingly clear as day with Chen Cang’s latest move.