no longer a child of three years old. How could I not know the importance of this matter It is precisely because I know this that for many years I have kept silent and never dared to mention it to an...Chapter 1444: Li Songru, Ye Wang

The Yan Yun Sixteen Riders, while called sixteen riders, were actually a full army composed entirely of cavalry within the military system of the Qin Empire.

The military system of the Qin Empire still follows the organization established at its founding. Ten men form a small banner, five small banners constitute a large banner, two large banners make up a hundred-household unit, ten hundred-household units comprise a thousand-household unit, and five thousand-household units form a guard.

The Eighteen Flying Riders of Yan and Cloud boasted an army of 150,000, but this was largely due to King Ning's various justifications for expanding the roster. The true fighting force, the most elite core, consisted of sixteen guards, with each guard numbering around five thousand six hundred men. Therefore, the actual combat strength of the Eighteen Flying Riders was only over 90,000.

"The formation of the Sixteen Riders from Yan and Cloud was essentially exploiting a loophole in the imperial court."

On the road out of the city, Wu Banshan introduced Li Chen to the situation of the Eighteen Riders of Yan Yun.

"What do you think" Li Chen asked.

Wu Ban Shan replied, "The Sixteen Riders of Yan Yun are essentially sixteen guards. The imperial court stipulates that a single guard must have no less than four thousand and no more than six thousand people. This redundancy is already very large. Once it falls below the standard, consider abolishing the establishment, and if it exceeds, either disband or report to the Ministry of War for promotion."

But for the Sixteen Cavalry of Yan Yun, it was obviously something that neither disestablishment nor promotion would be acceptable to King Ning. Therefore, he devised a way to exploit a loophole.

“Under normal circumstances, a garrison of 5,000 soldiers would encompass all aspects like outposts, logistics, reconnaissance, and ordnance management. Similar to Yueya Pass, a garrison with 5,000 soldiers exists. However, at least 1,000 soldiers are non-combat units. This is due to the special status of Yueya Pass, resulting in a combat unit composition far exceeding that of other conventional forces.”

"If it were a common field army from the interior, the combat unit would be at most 3,500 people. If it were in a local defense post, having half that number would be considered good."

"King Kenning, however, used various methods to fill the entire First Army with combat units. All non-combat units were uniformly classified outside the roster. In this way, by simply manipulating the nominal list, he had magically created half as many elite soldiers."

Li Chen exclaimed in surprise, "Why have I never heard of such a method before"

Wu Ban Shan said in a deep voice: "Your Highness, the current domestic situation is that most officials are corrupt and cowardly. Other places' garrison troops are unwilling to find ways to eliminate some combat units for drawing salaries without working. How could they possibly increase them You need to know that training a combat unit costs much more than a non-combat unit. Therefore, throughout the country, only a small number of ambitious vassal kings have the strength and motivation to do this."

Li Chen fell silent upon hearing this.

Just by listening to Wu Ban Shan's words, Li Chen knew that everything Wu Ban Shan said was true and there were no falsehoods; he didn't even need to verify it.

Having silently made a note of this, Li Chen asked again, "How are the Yan Yun Sixteen Riders in terms of fighting prowess"

Wu Ban Shan pondered for a while, and said: "The 16 riders of Yan Yun have a surface combat strength of over 90,000. According to the last general's knowledge, there are 20,000 cavalry, 10,000 elite infantry, 5,000 sharpshooters, and the rest are light cavalry."

"Of the Sixteen Riders of Yan Yun, excluding King Ning, they were led by two lieutenants. One was named Li Songru, who excelled in strategy and possessed remarkable military acumen. The battle plans and formations of the Sixteen Riders were all devised by Li Songru."

"Another man named Ye Wang, whose martial prowess was second to none among the generals, led thirty thousand light cavalry known as the Iron Buddha Cavalry. This fearsome force of horsemen were the elite of the Sixteen Riders of Yan and Yun."Chapter 1732: Deep Cooperation