Naturally, there was a reason for not bringing the cavalry and the third squad.
The Black Mountain Cavalry were not the Shanyue Cavalry. If these riders were brought up the mountain, ninety percent of their skills would be rendered useless, making their combat effectiveness likely worse than that of new recruits.
As for the third squad, most were survivors from when County Captain Lin last led troops up the mountain. It was inevitable that they harbored lingering fears and psychological hurdles regarding Black Mountain. To prevent any of them from suddenly fleeing in the middle of a battle and thereby shaking the army's morale, it was better to leave the entire squad behind to transport rations.
On this trip up the mountain, Zheng Jun's target was the United Righteous Thieves, a faction within the Black Mountain Thieves. Their leader was a Qi Storage Realm martial artist known in the Jianghu as the "Sick Worm," Zhang Kang.
