Chapter 197: The Great Cool Dragon SparrowChapter 1794: Li Chen, You're Still Soft-Hearted

The true power of Tie Futu isn't when he charges into battle on horseback, but when he draws his blade and engages in close combat.

That scene was extremely brutal.

Li Chen, standing beside him, seemed to know what Emperor Ji Tian was thinking. He calmly said: "The selection of the Yan Yun Sixteen Riders involves screening soldiers based on their weight and height, just like any other cavalry unit in the world. However, to join the Tie Futu, there is an additional requirement: arm strength and martial arts prowess."

Every single Tie Fu Tu soldier is at least a master martial artist, and they have undergone specialized training, focusing solely on swordsmanship and formations, and only on external skills like arm strength.

A qualified Tie Futu soldier's most basic requirement is to be able to hold 150 jin (a unit of weight) in each hand and raise it for half an hour without trembling. They must also be able to wield a sword with all their might, chopping down a tree trunk the thickness of a bowl with three strikes, and continue doing so for six hundred strikes without letting up.

Looking at the Emperor's Pole Heaven, Li Chen said: "It is only through such persistence that there are such elite troops among the ten thousand elite soldiers."

Huangji Tian sighed and said, “Such harsh requirements could only be sustained by a populous empire like Qin.”

"It's not just that."

Li Chen said faintly, "The elimination rate of Tie Futou is extremely high. There are monthly assessments, and anyone who fails will be immediately eliminated. Those who pass, although their training is arduous and the selection process is extremely harsh, they also enjoy very high treatment. Their pay is five times that of ordinary soldiers, and every soldier who leaves Tie Futou can go to other units to serve as a junior officer, at least starting as a sergeant."

Li Chen said this, also feeling some emotion. In fact, there were many other methods he didn't say. Under the combined use of kindness and strictness, King Ning had indeed built a force among the elite upon the foundation of the Sixteen Riders of Yan Yun.

To say nothing else, King Ning's military training was indeed top-notch.

What's most impressive is that as long as there were still family members of the soldiers within the Iron Pagoda, King Ning would spare no expense to bring their families to his fiefdom every year so they could reunite. Such a thing, let alone in present-day Qin, even in Li Chen's time after crossing over, couldn't be done, but King Ning accomplished it.

It was precisely because of this that Li Chen hesitated to make a move against King Ning.

For he knew that once the King of Ning was touched, these sixteen cavalrymen of Yan Yun would surely rebel, and all the officials, big and small, within his fiefdom would also inevitably rise up.

King Ning was a man who, in the eyes of his confidants, was stubborn and suspicious. Serving him was a painful experience for his inner circle. However, to the common people, he was a shining beacon, perfect in every way. He was extremely adept at crafting his persona, making his soldiers and subjects blindly worship him...

It was precisely these tactics that made Li Chen feel that King Ning's threat was far more complex than what appeared on the surface.

That is, only after capturing Wu Yong and the resurrected Li Songru would Li Chen feel confident enough to pry away Ning Wang, this thorn in his eye.

At this very moment, on a winding path at the foot of Mount Wolong, King Ning was striding alone with haste.

After exchanging his freedom for the command of the Iron Pagoda, the only thing King Ning wanted to do now was return to the Yan Yun Sixteen Cavalry camp immediately.

Only under the encirclement of 150,000 people did King Ning feel safe.

All the way, King Ning was on edge, fearing that Li Chen would harm him.Chapter 1144: Urgent Military Situation