"Alright, you'll take on Tian Feng," Chen Xi said, fixing his gaze on Guo Jia. "But if things don't go as expected, or if you can't figure him out, let me handle it. I'll take the risk of directly confronting Yuan Shao's elite to eliminate Tian Feng!"

"Agreed, but I am confident that my strategy won't be seen through," Guo Jia replied, nodding in agreement to Chen Xi's condition.

Chen Xi knew that this decision was somewhat reckless. The most prudent approach would have been to let him or a more cautious strategist like Zhuge Liang handle Tian Feng. After all, given their strong foundation in Taishan, they had nothing to fear when it came to overpowering an opponent.

However, certain things affected the overall plans of Taishan, leaving them no choice but to let Guo Jia take the risk of probing Tian Feng. After all, everything from Cui Jun was essentially speculative. If there was even a slight flaw, it could lead to major trouble.

"Be careful, then. I'll be stationed in Linyi, so you should head to Jiyin and join forces with Second Brother. Additionally, Uncle Zhi's troops will be incorporated into your side," Chen Xi said after some thought. It wasn't that he doubted Cui Jun's capabilities, but the stakes were too high to allow for any mistakes.

"Alright, I'll thoroughly test Tian Yuanhao from all angles. But be careful yourself as well. Although Xu You is greedy and lacks restraint, his mind and decisiveness are truly terrifying, as I learned while under Yuan Shao," Guo Jia nodded and advised Chen Xi.

Guo Jia had a good habit of never declining help when offered. Incorporating 2,500 more troops would make it easier for him to deal with Tian Feng, especially since Yuan Shao's army marching on Yanzhou this time was a solid 100,000 strong, without any fluff.

"Hmm, I know a bit about Xu You as well. Besides his greed, his abilities are indeed strong. But don't worry too much about me. I'll be stationed in Linyi, and by the time he gets here, the city walls will almost be completed," Chen Xi said, recalling Xu You's image and nodding in understanding.

"That's good. I'll leave Linyi to you, then. I'll go confirm Tian Yuanhao's spiritual gift. By the way, try to figure out Xu You's spiritual gift as well. It's a shame about Zhicai's spiritual gift," Guo Jia couldn't help but bring up Xi Zhicai when talking about probing others' spiritual gifts.

"Yes, it's a pity. As for Xu You, I'll keep an eye out, but don't get your hopes up too high," Chen Xi also remembered Xi Zhicai, who, even on his deathbed, hadn't forgotten to make one last effort for Cao Cao. Truly, he had given his all until the end.

Thinking about Xi Zhicai, Chen Xi couldn't help but think of the small jade disc. He hadn't been dreaming about it as often lately, but he could feel its presence nearby, and the clear radiance emanating from it was growing brighter, although the disc occasionally dimmed.

Recently, a late spring cold snap and large-scale natural disasters struck many parts of the Han Dynasty. Even the few regions protected by Chen Xi's efforts experienced these disasters, but they were mitigated by Chen Xi's spiritual gift.

However, the sheer scale of these once-in-a-century disasters wiped out a layer of the spiritual energy shield that Chen Xi had formed with his extra spiritual energy. As a result, the small jade disc's radiance seemed even more dazzling than the large jade disc that represented Chen Xi.

Chen Xi remembered this clearly because, after losing that layer of spiritual energy, he felt drowsy. As soon as he fell asleep, he dreamed about it.

Seeing the small jade disc glowing so brightly, Chen Xi didn't hesitate to absorb some of its radiance to replenish himself, feeling much better afterward and waking up full of energy.

The next time he dreamed of the small jade disc, he noticed that the disc, from which he had taken about 30% of the radiance, had almost fully recovered. This left Chen Xi curious about how it had recovered so quickly.

Meanwhile, in Yanzhou, Xun Yu was also alarmed when he noticed that a third of the spiritual energy stored from Xi Zhicai's legacy had mysteriously vanished.

When the disaster struck, Yanzhou was also affected, but Xun Yu relied on the spiritual energy he had occasionally extracted from the legacy left by Xi Zhicai. Using it to change the weather on a large scale, he successfully weathered the storm.

When Xun Yu discovered that the stored spiritual energy could indeed be used for large-scale weather manipulation, he was almost moved to tears, realizing that they would no longer have to worry about food shortages. But just a few days later, Xun Yu noticed that a third of the stored spiritual energy had disappeared, frightening him half to death.

Xun Yu spent three sleepless nights confirming that the process of extracting spiritual energy from his colleagues and subordinates still worked and that there was no sign of further loss.

After reflecting on his recent weather manipulation efforts, Xun Yu estimated that the missing spiritual energy had likely been consumed in the process. However, the amount lost was several times greater than what should have been used, causing Xun Yu to feel a pang of heartache.

Although changing the weather on such a large scale consumed a lot of spiritual energy, Xun Yu's territory was small. In contrast, Chen Xi's efforts to adjust the weather, while consuming less energy, covered a much larger area, so the accumulated consumption was enormous.

It's hard to say whether this is because Cao Cao's territory was too small or Liu Bei's territory was too large...

With no way of knowing the true cause, Xun Yu could only accept it. Although the loss was significant, he could still replenish the spiritual energy over time. After all, it could be stored, and by harvesting a little every day, he could accumulate enough for another large-scale weather change in about ten days.

So, Xun Yu got back to work, like a diligent bee, extracting the excess spiritual energy from Cao Cao's civil and military officials and storing it away. As long as the amount extracted wasn't too much, no one would notice, and soon the small jade disc was replenished... 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Not long after, Guo Jia, under Chen Dao's protection, headed to Jiyin. Meanwhile, the construction of the new city walls in Linyi intensified. Chen Xi had never intended to fight a field battle with Xu You; he had slightly fewer troops than Xu You.

In truth, in terms of pure numbers, Liu Bei's forces were at a disadvantage against Yuan Shao. However, this wasn't because Liu Bei lacked manpower or couldn't afford to arm tens of thousands of troops—he simply didn't see the need.

Liu Bei's forces included a large number of well-trained militia, ready to be called up if needed. Of course, Yuan Shao also had a vast number of militia at his disposal, but for both Yuan and Liu, this was a last resort.

For both Yuan Shao and Liu Bei, their current armies represented the optimal number of troops their respective generals could command and effectively utilize in battle.

After Liu Bei chose the optimal military structure, Yuan Shao decisively opted to give his generals the maximum number of troops they could effectively command. This "maximum number" referred to the absolute limit a general could handle before the force became unwieldy, leading to a decline in combat effectiveness due to poor command.

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