Mythical Version of Three Kingdom

”Please point out the mistakes I made earlier, strategist,” Hua Xiong requested respectfully, noticing that Li Ru no longer harbored suicidal thoughts. Like most Western Liang generals, he had risen from common folk and banditry, and had little chance to learn military strategy, relying mostly on battlefield experience and Li Ru’s guidance.

Jia Xu felt a twinge of envy. Both he and Li Ru were strategists, and he believed himself to be Li Ru’s equal in talent, but the difference in their treatment was stark.

Even after Dong Zhuo’s downfall, Li Ru remained revered by the Western Liang generals (this respect is evident from historical records showing that when Li Jue and Guo Si took Chang’an, their first action was to seek an official position for Li Ru. Later, the Emperor rejected their request, leading them to nearly dethrone the Emperor in anger. This shows the strong influence Li Ru held over them).

Hua Xiong still treated Li Ru as his strategist with utmost respect, showing not a hint of disrespect—an admirable trait for a rough Western Liang warrior.

”Let’s not discuss how you trained your soldiers, but I can see they truly support you. However, your command methods have issues,” Li Ru praised Hua Xiong’s soldiers before addressing Hua Xiong’s own faults.

”The techniques you use place too much strain on you. Though I’m not entirely familiar with the physical conditions of experts with inner energy projection, using moves that require you to exert the full strength of four thousand men in a single strike is too taxing on your body! Your value shouldn’t be demonstrated through such attacks,” Li Ru said each word carefully, teaching Hua Xiong as he once did with Li Jue, Guo Si, and Fan Chou, transforming them from bandits into generals.

”Exerting your energy for a single wave of attacks is not worth it. You should distribute the power across the entire formation. Though the direct strike might be less potent, the broader coverage makes each soldier equivalent to an early-stage Refining Qi into Gang martial artist,” Li Ru continued his teaching, clearly recognizing that these soldiers were modeled after the Invincible Camp.

”A whole row of soldiers equivalent to early-stage Refining Qi into Gang martial artists...” Hua Xiong’s jaw dropped.

”Indeed. Gao Shun, though not eloquent, is known for his integrity. Unfortunately, he’s under Lu Bu,” Li Ru lamented. ”And with your current attack method, even if you faced Fan Chou’s Western Liang cavalry, you’d be torn apart!””Loose but organized, chaotic but formed...” Hua Xiong recalled what Li Ru had taught him about Western Liang cavalry. Their formations were loose and scattered, with three to five soldiers forming attack groups. Even if struck by Hua Xiong’s earlier moves, they’d lose only a few hundred men due to their dispersed formation.

”Your attack serves more as intimidation, similar to when we used ballistae against Beigong Boyu. It cannot determine victory, and over-relying on it diminishes your combat effectiveness,” Li Ru explained, nodding at Hua Xiong’s recollection of past teachings.

”Some commanders are formidable with troops, while others, like you and Lu Bu, are strong individually. Your full-strength attacks can ignore the protection from ordinary soldiers’ gathered energy. Thus, avoid dense formations like the early Western Liang cavalry; the energy protection is insufficient,” Li Ru gave examples to illustrate his point.

”So the Western Liang cavalry relied on attrition?” Hua Xiong asked, shocked. He had never known this.

”Initially, yes. Later, it wasn’t necessary, but our cavalry was used to that formation, so I didn’t change it. Armies naturally adopt the tactics they frequently use, as veterans train new recruits to be like them,” Li Ru explained.

”What a relief. I always thought the Western Liang cavalry was invincible,” Hua Xiong felt reassured.

”They are elite, but not without weaknesses,” Li Ru shook his head, not agreeing entirely with Hua Xiong.

Jia Xu turned to look out the window. Other warlords’ elites were counted in hundreds, maybe thousands. The Western Liang cavalry’s scale was tens of thousands. Numbers inherently bring quality—consider how the Flying Bear Army was formed.

”Now you command infantry, and many of them. They’re elite, so forget dispersal tactics. You need your own specialized strategies,” Li Ru said firmly. ”The Flying Bear Army’s strategy is ruthlessness, the Invincible Camp’s is stability, the White Horse Volunteers’ is speed. After addressing internal issues, choose a development path.”

”Strategist, I also have three thousand Western Liang cavalry from my old troops in Taishan, and a deputy who commands a thousand infantry. The lord has said these are my personal troops,” Hua Xiong admitted, embarrassed.

Jia Xu glanced at Li Ru, and both shared a knowing look.

”An eight-thousand mixed force. Liu Xuande must value you greatly. Managing such a force requires complex strategies, but the benefit is versatility and resistance to being countered. For instance, the Invincible Camp can annihilate the White Horse Volunteers in suitable terrain. Speed is their strength, but also their weakness,” Li Ru disdainfully remarked. He looked down on the White Horse Volunteers—high attack, high speed, but glaring weaknesses.

”Please teach me how to command them,” Hua Xiong asked sincerely.

”You won’t learn that easily. I’ll teach you a military formation that uses multiple troop types. I’ll guide you step by step. Just knowing how to use it will suffice, as long as you don’t face overly strong opponents,” Li Ru shook his head, implying Hua Xiong’s intellect was too low to understand. He decided to teach a formation that integrated all troop types, focusing on a few common variations.

Jia Xu was surprised. He knew Li Ru’s expertise in formations, but if Hua Xiong’s troops struggled with complexity, it could only be one formation—the ultimate variation of Xuanxiang Formation, Li Ru’s enhanced Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation.