The reason is quite simple.
Under his command are 100,000 soldiers, apart from the initial 10,000 veterans, the remaining 90,000 people were all recruited within the past year.
It is not difficult to feed an additional 90,000 soldiers, but equipping them with armor and weapons is a challenge.
Lu Yuan's six prefectures have basically all been devastated by war, local production destroyed, treasury reserves drained, unable to supply enough weapons and armor.
So among the 90,000 new soldiers, apart from a few tens of thousands who have some captured leather and iron armors, the rest don't even have a single set of armor.
And as is well known.
On the battlefield, whether one has armor protection or not makes a world of difference.
A soldier clad in armor can under the same conditions, take on three to five unarmored opponents.
As for the strong bows and crossbows, it goes without saying.
Creating a good bow or crossbow takes at least one to two years of time.
