We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

The cold wind of December swept up snow foam, scraping across the exposed black ridges of the northern wilderness like a knife.

It is already December, and Heilongjiang Province, the northernmost province of Feng State, has already entered winter.

Yang Zhongsi stood on a snow-covered slope, the collar of his fur coat standing up, and the white breath he exhaled condensed into fine frost on his stubble.

Behind him, the guest general Yue Yun was wearing plain white iron armor and had a frown on his face.

Deputy General Wang Sanchun crossed his arms, his eyes filled with undisguised contempt.

At the foot of the hill, at the edge of a huge icy lake, a chaotic campsite stood like a dirty scar on the silvery white snow.

Wild shouts, drunken singing, and the screams of women who had been abducted from nowhere mixed together and floated up in a disorderly manner.

The camps were pitched crookedly, the bonfires were lit randomly, and one could even see a few drunk guys lying shirtless in the snow, not knowing whether they were dead or alive.

Although they didn't get close, the three of them seemed to smell a strange odor in the air that was a mixture of cheap wine, sweat and the smell of animals.

"General Yang," Yue Yun said slowly, "This group of white cavalrymen...has their military discipline always been so corrupt?"

They looked like a mob, which made Yue Yun, who had a little obsessive-compulsive disorder, extremely uncomfortable.

Although Yue Yun is not very old, he is a regular military officer and is very strict in military discipline.

The chaotic scene before him was a blasphemy to the word "army".

In this case, the army will not only fail to enforce discipline, but I'm afraid they won't even understand the most basic military orders?

Yang Zhongsi nodded slightly, his eyes scanning the area below him sharply. "They've been like this since I discovered them. These white people are all inconsistent in their orders and are addicted to alcohol."

"A few days ago, our scouts caught a few drunkards, and their language was like the language of birds and beasts. We only knew they called themselves 'Cossacks', and we didn't understand anything else."

Language barrier is a big problem. When the Fengtian Army fought against Goryeo, Khitan and Mohe before, they could still find a few people who could speak both languages.

But they had never come into contact with this group of white ghosts from the West, and their language systems were completely different.

However, according to His Highness, a considerable number of these cavalrymen came from the grassland, and perhaps many of them are proficient in the Northern Hu language.

He paused, remembering Li Che's reminder, and said in a deep voice: "However, His Highness once said that these barbarian cavalry should not be underestimated. Their fierceness is not what we are used to seeing."

"That's it?" Wang Sanchun sneered, pointing down the slope. "Your Highness is being a little too cautious."

"This rabble doesn't look like they can fight. Give me two thousand elite cavalrymen, and I'll definitely kill them all with a surprise attack, leaving them crying for their parents!"

"Shut up!" Yang Zhongsi growled, his eyes sweeping across Wang Sanchun sternly. "Haven't you heard that a proud army will be defeated? Your Highness's instructions are still ringing in my ears. How can we underestimate the enemy?"

"Without knowing the enemy's situation, how can we know if this chaos is just a facade or a ploy to lure the enemy?"

Wang Sanchun was most afraid of Li Che, and the second person he was afraid of was Yang Zhongsi. After all, he had learned military tactics from Marshal Yang over the years, and had suffered a lot of hardships and beatings.

He immediately shrank his neck and dared not speak anymore.

However, this was a misunderstanding on the part of Yang Zhongsi. The military discipline of this group of Cossack cavalry had always been so lax, and it was not an illusion.

Many of them were fugitives or serfs who could not survive in their original places of origin, and some were even bandits and robbers.

This group of Cossacks are strong-willed and good at survival, and one of their livelihoods is robbery.

To put it bluntly, they are a group of former bandits who have turned into mercenaries, so their military discipline is naturally terrible.

Yang Zhongsi turned to Yue Yun and changed his tone to a negotiating one: "Zilong, the 5,000 armored cavalry you brought are all elite warriors who have experienced many battles. Why don't you lead your troops to test the waters first?"

"If the enemy's formation is in disarray, you can take advantage of the situation and strike back. If the enemy is scheming, or their combat strength exceeds your estimates, you must immediately lead your troops to retreat and not linger in the fight."

"Once your troops have withdrawn from the battlefield, I will bombard their camp with mortars and encircle them with infantry on both flanks, cutting off their retreat!"

Yue Yun clasped his fists calmly, and Jia Ye said in a resounding voice: "I obey your orders!"

There was no fear in his eyes; the best character of a top cavalry commander is sharpness.

No matter where the white cavalry on the opposite side came from, the armored cavalry had never been afraid of any battle, especially a confrontation with cavalry.

Yue Yun turned around and strode towards the back of the slope.

There, five thousand silent armored cavalrymen stood in awe like a steel jungle.

The auxiliary soldiers were orderly putting heavy horse armor on the war horses and fastening the final visors on the knights.

The heavy armor glowed with a cold light in the thin winter sunlight.

A group of armored cavalrymen and horses were all wearing heavy armor, revealing only a pair of cold and determined eyes. The war horses snorted, spewing out clouds of white mist, and their heavy hooves pawed the frozen soil restlessly.

Yue Yun jumped on his horse and took the spear handed to him by his personal guard.

Dressed in white robe and white armor, he was like a dazzling flash of lightning in the gray sky and earth.

He raised his arms high without any extra words.

"Armor! Sharp arrows! Follow me—destroy the enemy!"

Five thousand heavily armored cavalry began to move, like a sleeping giant steel beast suddenly waking up.

The heavy hooves of the horses began to beat the ground, at first a dull drumbeat, then a roar like thunder.

The snow on the top of the slope fell off, and a torrent of steel poured down, accelerating along the gentle slope.

The snow foam was kicked up by the huge horseshoes, forming a dense snow mist, which carried this sharp cavalry and launched a charge towards the chaotic Cossack camp!

How astonishing is the momentum of 5,000 heavy cavalry charging?

Like the precursor to an earthquake, the earth was groaning. Even though the Cossack cavalry's brains had been dulled by alcohol, they realized something was wrong.

The rangers standing guard at the edge of the camp were the first to notice the movement. They reined in their restless horses and looked in horror in the direction of the sound.

I saw a steel torrent like a mobile fortress breaking through the snow and fog and appearing on the horizon.

The scout was immediately sober, and a series of sharp whistles tore through the noise in the camp.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!!!"

"Get on the horses, get on the horses quickly, they are a bunch of tin cans!"

"Damn it, it's the Orientals. Orientals actually have heavy cavalry?!"

"Gather! Gather!"

However, Yang Zhongsi, who was watching the battle on the high slope, frowned even more when he saw this scene.

As expected, the enemy's collapse did not happen. Although the cavalry was in chaos after the surprise attack, there was still order in the chaos.

Those Cossacks who were drinking, fighting, and hugging women just a second ago, reacted at an astonishing speed like a pack of wolves whose tails were stepped on.

They pushed the woman in their arms away, uttering the most vicious curses in an incomprehensible language, but their movements were astonishingly fast.

The action of jumping onto the horse was done in one go, as smooth as if it were instinct.

There were even people who galloped on their horses while guzzling the last gulp of liquor!

Chaotic, but efficient!

Disorderly, but fierce!

Even Wang Sanchun put down his binoculars and couldn't help but ask, "Where did these thugs come from? Could they have been raised on a diet of wine?"

Little do people know that the military logic of the East and the West is completely different.

In Dongfeng, the best source of soldiers are those from good families, because they are honest and simple, can listen to military orders, and obey them in battle.

And what about the West?

The recruited bandits and pirates are the most powerful soldiers, and they care more about their own bravery.

Just like the Cossack camp in front of them, there were no strict orders, no unified drum beats, only shouts and war cries one after another.

This group of cavalrymen were like enraged hornets, swarming out from all corners of the chaotic camp, yet able to gather together surprisingly quickly.

"Hurrah—"

A deafening roar rose into the sky, and ten thousand sharp sabers were unsheathed in the cold wind, and the sword lights formed a dazzling forest of snow.

The Cossack cavalry took off the muskets slung across their backs and held them in their hands.

Under the helmets of various strange styles were faces distorted and excited by alcohol, with beast-like ferocity flashing in their deep eye sockets.

Behind the various light armors, there was a rough black cloak fluttering in the strong wind.

Ten thousand Cossack cavalrymen! Ten thousand fierce steppe horses!

Like a black torrent bursting through a dam, it rushed forward violently towards the steel arrows led by Yue Yun.

The snow dust kicked up by the horses' hooves covered the sky and the sun, and the momentum was no less than the charge of armored cavalry!

Two cavalry forces with completely different styles collided in the wildest and most direct way.

The distance is closing rapidly!

Yue Yun calmly estimated through the gap in his visor.

Five hundred steps...three hundred steps...

The enemy's front row of guns, as dense as hedgehogs, were clearly visible.

Yue Yun was well aware of the power of muskets, but only a small number of armored cavalry were equipped with pepper pot pistols, which did not have an advantage in range.

Therefore, when he estimated that his own side was about to enter the firing range, he issued an order:

"Charge at full speed!"

Rumbling--

The five thousand armored cavalry no longer controlled their riding speed, but let their horses advance at full speed, aiming to rush into the enemy formation as quickly as possible.

At the same time, a sharp roar came from somewhere in the Cossack formation:

"Raise the gun!"

Hundreds of Cossack cavalrymen in the front row galloped at high speed, skillfully raised their muskets, aimed at the steel wall that was getting closer and closer, and pulled the trigger with their right fingers!

Bang! Bang, bang, bang—

Suddenly, dense gunfire like popping beans rang out.

Thick white smoke instantly rose up at the forefront of the Cossack charge line!

Countless hot lead bullets tore through the cold air, making sharp whistles, and slammed heavily into the charging Fengtian Army armored cavalry.

Puff puff puff——

The teeth-grinding sound of lead bullets hitting flesh rang out instantly. Even though the Fengtian Army's cavalry were all wearing heavy armor, they were not completely immune to the dense storm of lead bullets that were fired at close range.

Dozens of horses in the front row were like being hit by an invisible giant hammer, and their horses fell down with mournful cries!

The heavy armored knight was thrown out by the huge inertia and hit the frozen ground with a dull thud. The blood instantly dyed the white snow red.

Some lead bullets penetrated into the gaps between the armor plates, or hit the relatively weakly protected neck, chest and abdomen of the warhorse, causing a cloud of blood mist.

For the first time, there were obvious delays and gaps in the armored cavalry's charge.