Life is not a fairy tale, friend, but one day, everything will pass.

- Robert Schettäler (Austrian super-popular)

The 56th, 57th, and 58th Legions were all newly formed standing legions, and although their overall performance did not surprise Bai Feng, it did not disappoint Bai Feng;

General Louis's 14th Army and General Di Maria's 16th Army were nominally the old Standing Army of the Empire, but in fact they were new legions that had been rebuilt after suffering heavy losses, or in other words, they were just new legions under the banner of old legions.

Bai Feng, who had this mentality, naturally did not have any expectations for the Sixteenth Legion in front of him; in his opinion, if the Sixteenth Legion could have the state of the Fifty-eighth Legion, it would be good, and at least it could play a role on the battlefield.

The 56th and 57th Legions, which were almost entirely composed of new recruits and were not well trained, were not qualified to face the Jurchen cavalry in a short period of time, and for this reason, Bai Feng had to spend two to three months to improve their combat effectiveness.

It wasn't until he walked into the barracks of the 16th Legion that Bai Feng, who was shocked by the hot training scene in front of him, really understood why Di Maria was still able to sit firmly as the commander of the 16th Legion after being maliciously attacked, all for a reason!

The 16th Army Corps, which was no longer longer than the newly built corps and whose composition was no better than the new legions, actually had the combat effectiveness that was not inferior to the elite standing corps; this was evident from the training of the officers and men of the 16th Corps.

A unit with strong combat effectiveness may not have sophisticated weapons and equipment, brand-new uniforms and banners, or even strict military discipline and discipline; however, what this unit must possess is the high morale and diligent training of its officers and men.

At this time, the northern part of the empire is in the coldest winter of the year, and the heavy snow falling in the sky from time to time is a natural weapon for the imperial army to block the cavalry of the steppe tribes from continuing south;

It's not that they are not afraid of the cold weather, but the high-intensity training makes all the soldiers of the 16th Legion sweat like rain; looking at those ordinary soldiers who are training their combat skills by fighting each other, Bai Feng has to admit that their training is stricter than that of the Yulin Legion!

Of course, this is not to say that the 16th Legion has the combat effectiveness comparable to that of the Yulin Legion, but their hard training is enough to prove that their own combat effectiveness should not be underestimated, and the strength and glory of the old legion cannot be destroyed by a single heavy blow!

Bai Feng was not the only one who was incredulous about this, the three legion commanders who followed him into the barracks, such as Cavani, Tevez, and Renard, also had incredulous faces, as if they were not entering the barracks of the 16th Legion.

"General Di Maria, the rebuilt Sixteenth Legion, it's amazing how the soldiers can train so diligently, and I want to know how you manage these soldiers, and why is their training morale so high?"

"General Bai Feng, when it comes to training recruits, my eldest brother and I still have a hand, no matter what kind of soldiers are in our hands, at most three months, we will be able to train them on a par with the Sixteenth Army at this stage!"

As soon as he talked about training soldiers, Di Maria, whose tone was slightly excited, couldn't help but extend: "But the real elite is by no means trained, but honed on the battlefield;

"Di Maria, I'll answer General Bai Feng's question. Seeing that his overexcited brother did not get to the point, Louis on the side added: "The high morale of the soldiers does not come from us, but from hatred. ”

"Hatred?" Bai Feng, who was stunned for a moment when he heard this, suddenly realized: "General Louis, do you mean that the soldiers of the 16th Legion are all from the occupied provinces, and the purpose of their diligent training is to recapture their homeland one day?"

Bai Feng's tone of voice was rhetorical, but the expression on his face was very determined, because the way Louis and Di Maria used the power of hatred to rebuild their respective legions was the same as Bai Feng's own way of forming the Eastern Legion.

Among the 40,000 soldiers of the 14th and 16th Legions, nearly 30,000 soldiers died at the hands of the steppe cavalry, and they were burdened with national hatred and family hatred. ”

Louis, who once again spoke to answer Bai Feng's questions, revealed a murderous aura in his flat tone, which made Bai Feng, who had never been to the north of the empire, seem to see that the people of the fallen provinces were struggling to make a living;

With the mention of this heavy topic, the atmosphere of everyone's originally relaxed conversation suddenly became solemn, and since the words had already been said to this point, Bai Feng stopped his steps, and Louis and Di Maria, who were sinking like water, said bluntly:

"General Louis, General Di Maria, I believe that with your ability, the 14th and 16th legions must be strong in combat in their heyday, why are your legions almost completely wiped out on the battlefield, is the cavalry of the steppe tribes really so strong?"

"General Bai Feng, no matter how powerful the 14th Army Corps and the 16th Army Corps were in their heyday, there were only 10,000 soldiers after all, and how could the 20,000 soldiers of the two legions combined be able to stop the grassland cavalry all over the mountains and fields, besieging and killing like a tide?"

"Alas......" Louis, who smiled wryly, sighed before continuing: "Countless steppe cavalry in front and behind have been in pursuit, and there is no rescue from friendly troops, and it is a great luck that the 14th and 16th Army Corps, which are fighting alone, are not completely annihilated. ”

"If it weren't for the blind command of the old horseman of Kulun, how could our legion have suffered heavy losses from almost all the annihilation?!" Di Maria, who was blushing with anger, said angrily: "In my opinion, he old horseman of Kulun is the culprit of the fall of the northern provinces!"

It seems that the Fourteenth Legion and the Sixteenth Legion have suffered heavy losses, and there is another hidden reason! Bai Feng, who smelled the smell of conspiracy, looked at Louis with his inquiring eyes, compared to Di Maria, who was a little irritable and irritable, the calm Louis was undoubtedly more worthy of Bai Feng's trust.

"General Bai Feng, although Di Maria's temper is a little short-tempered, what he said is true, if it weren't for Duke Kulun's repeated intervention in the military affairs of the north, why wouldn't our thirteen standing legions even be able to defend the fortress?"

"Putting aside the debate about whether a head-on battle is right or wrong, his act of ordering my Fourteenth Legion and Di Maria's Sixteenth Legion to retreat for the other legions, without arranging reinforcements for us, is enough for us to fight him to the death!"

"If Duke Cullen had arranged for us to have reinforcements from even one legion at that time, both of our legions would have been able to withdraw at least five thousand soldiers, and it is because of his ignorance that our two legions would have been able to withdraw less than five hundred men alive!"

Speaking of this, Louis, whose eyes were red, even trembled slightly under the excitement of his heart, and beside him, Di Maria, who was clenching his two fists, looked at the direction of the imperial capital panting, and his eyes revealed endless hatred and murderous aura!