Mythical Three Kingdoms

”I was too careless,” Chen Xi said after a long silence.

”It’s nothing. At least we avenged them, and last night was a thorough victory for our troops,” Gan Ning shook his head, reassuringly.

”Yes, at least we won,” Chen Xi murmured, before his expression firmed up again; he looked up at the defenders on the Chiping walls, where Xuu You and Wen Chou had already appeared.

”Chen Zichuan...” Xuu You was clearly grinding his teeth in resentment, combined with his pale complexion, Chen Xi really had to restrain himself from mocking Xuu You.

”Xiaoo Zhi, do you think we should attack the city?” Chen Xi asked, frowning as he stared at Wen Chou and Xuu You above Chiping.

”Hasn’t Zhuge Liang already led troops to attack the Jig River Crossing? As for Chiping...” Fa Zheng also hesitated. It was true that their morale was high at the moment, but it would not be easy to capture a defensive stronghold like Chiping. On the other hand, after last night’s battle, Yuan Shao’s Army was severely weakened, and letting them go was also somewhat unsatisfying for him.

”Then let’s first make a show of attacking the city and surround Chiping,” Chen Xi considered before speaking. Taking Chiping City, which was at the same level as Leling City, wouldn’t be easy, especially with Wen Chou and Xuu You stationed there.

”Alas, last night would have been the best opportunity to completely annihilate the enemy; it’s a pity we were all doing this for the first time, lacking experience,” Fa Zheng sighed.

”Speaking of which, why were our soldiers able to see at night? If I remember correctly, peddlers and the lower class should not be able to see as far as five steps at night, and this is one of the differences between common folk and noble families,” Fa Zheng’s interest piqued again in night blindness, a disease that almost all poor people couldn’t avoid and was becoming a distinction between the nobility and the lower class.

”Xuu You adapts very quickly, and we indeed lacked experience. If it weren’t for Kongming asking, I would have forgotten that the soldiers under my command could see at night,” Chen Xi sighed. Even though some orders were given by him, they can sometimes become so routine that they overlook these things.

”As for that disease of the poor you’re talking about, I can only say that Zijing and I have done well, no more poor people, no more disease,” Chen Xi was clearly somewhat proud.

”That makes sense,” Fa Zheng looked up at the sky, then a hint of pride appeared on his face, ”At least one day I can tell my descendants, ’The revival of the Han, I played a part in its glory!’”

”I suddenly feel you have a very thick face,” Chen Xi pulled a face, ”But today we’re not doing anything else, dig trenches, encircle Chiping, and get Huang Yueying to hurry up with the latest stone throwers, I want to start bombarding them.”

”No problem, leaving three thousand soldiers as reserves, all other soldiers will go timber felling and digging,” Fa Zheng ordered Gan Ning. After last night’s battle, Xuu Chu had already been dispatched by Chen Xi to compete with Zhuge Liang for the Jig River Crossing.

Speaking of which, Xuu You had good foresight, having cut off one of Chen Xi’s supply lines, two reserve supply lines, and was just short of arranging the last supply line. However, Chen Xi would not resort to using the last supply line unless absolutely necessary.

”Our cavalry is at too much of a disadvantage,” Chen Xi sighed as he looked at Wen Chou and Xuu You arranging the defenses of Chiping, ”Our soldiers are clearly superior to Yuan Shao’s Army, but the cavalry has leveled the playing field.”

”Yuan Shao’s cavalry is extremely brave and skilled,” Gan Ning said, pointing to the bandages on his body, ”They must carry the will of some kind of elite troop within them.”

”It’s the kind of attribute associated with valor,” Fa Zheng thought for a moment and then said, ”Their combat power is tremendous when they charge forward bravely, but it’s obviously not as strong as when General Guan activates the Legion Talent.”

”The three northern elite cavalries all possess the characteristics of elite troops, meaning intrinsic attributes. The will of the White Horse is speed; whether it’s the rate of fire, the speed of attacks, or movement speed, the attribute will manifest once the number of Righteous Followers reaches a certain threshold,” Chen Xi paused thoughtfully before continuing.

”The Xiliang Iron Cavalry embodies toughness, like an iron defense, which is why they can fight without armor—I think you all have seen this aspect,” Chen Xi sighed and went on, ”As for the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry, their will is versatility, an all-around enhancement.”

”I see, so the catch is that they’re not entirely proficient at everything,” Fa Zheng frowned at first after hearing this, but then quickly understood the implication.

”It’s not that they’re completely inept, just slightly weaker. They can’t match the White Horse in speed and flexibility, and can’t beat the Iron Cavalry in a head-on clash. But against other troops, it’s not much different from beating a child. Of course, facing the other two, at most, it would be a draw,” Chen Xi shook his head, Chen Gong once told him the advantage of the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry was their adaptability to any battlefield and their resistance to being countered.

”The world’s three great cavalries are indeed formidable,” Gan Ning stroked his bandages, having toughed out a clash with the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry amongst the three, his wounds bore testament to their combat power.

”Then I find it curious why Zijian’s Xiliang Iron Cavalry doesn’t seem very ferocious,” Fa Zheng asked, puzzled, as he had never seen their Iron Cavalry display great ferocity in many battles.

”Because elite troops and Legion Talent differ, Legion Talent is generally uncontrollable. The effect on a thousand men is the same as on three thousand men, but with elite armies, the more you have, the more significant the reinforcement effect. A thousand Xiliang Iron Cavalry compared to three thousand can have a completely different increase in strength,” Chen Xi said with a grave expression.

”That’s also why I’ve always had the two who excel at drilling soldiers train the Qingzhou Soldiers and Danyang Troops. We must have sufficiently elite forces, or we’ll face great difficulties in large-scale battles,” Chen Xi stated earnestly.

”So a troop with Military Spirit only needs one, to serve as the core, while more importantly we need large numbers of robust elite troops?” Fa Zheng’s expression grew solemn after hearing this.

”Exactly, that’s the situation. Troops with Military Spirit serve mostly to boost morale; their value lies in being like Valiant Generals, lifting morale and stepping up in the most challenging moments to turn the tides. In real large-scale conflicts involving more than two hundred thousand troops, you can’t expect all to be Valiant Generals or all to be elite,” Chen Xi said with a composed expression.

”At that time, it will be a battle of ordinary soldiers and officers,” Fa Zheng sighed, ”No wonder you’ve been amassing middle and lower tier military generals and civil officers. Are you preparing for a battle against Hebei?”

(To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to vote for it at Qidian ). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)

(To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to vote for it at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)