Mythical Three Kingdoms-Chapter 1761 - 1653: Cao Cao Approaches (Part 2)
Liu Bei only nodded with a smile without saying anything, while Chen Xi patted Hua Xiong’s shoulder, and Hua Xiong had to leave with a gloomy expression, completely unaware that everything he had wanted had already been achieved. Zhang Xiu, on the other hand, seemed to have some sense, recognizing certain things.
"Zijian, truly a fool," Liu Bei said with a smile to Chen Xi after the bottom-ranked Hua Xiong had also left.
"If he weren’t a fool, he wouldn’t have directly brought Zhang Boyuan to Lord Xuande’s presence, but let this be a one-time occurrence," Chen Xi shook his head and said. Hua Xiong bringing Zhang Xiu over had indeed surprised Chen Xi, but recalling Hua Xiong’s mind, Chen Xi felt there was nothing amiss.
"Ha, Zilong is quite fortunate," Liu Bei did not follow up on Chen Xi’s comment. To him, what Hua Xiong did was not excessive, especially since Zhang Xiu was valiant and full of prowess, with commendable qualities overall. Whether it was Zhao Yun or Hua Xiong, both had considerable connections with him; there was no way he would deal harshly with him.
"Is Lord Xuande acting as a matchmaker?" Chen Xi curiously asked.
"Just taking this opportunity while everyone is here to settle even the matter of the third brother," Liu Bei smiled and said, "Cao Mengde, thinking back to our farewell at Hulao, we haven’t truly met since. So many things have happened in between, I wonder if he remains as he was back then."
Chen Xi pouted; whether Cao Cao remained as he once was, Chen Xi didn’t know, but people are always changing. He is very satisfied with Liu Bei, who, like himself, remains true and unaffected by external matters.
"Speaking of which, I haven’t seen Cao Mengde for quite some time either," Chen Xi smiled and said, "Let’s hope this time we can set one or two things in place. If the subsequent wars continue with mutual constraints, it would be highly disadvantageous to us."
Liu Bei remained silent. Cao Cao’s disposition wouldn’t easily concede; perhaps willing to share power but definitely not allowing him to command, ultimately it might still require a confrontation.
"But this was what we initially planned; without a fight, how can they understand our sincerity?" Chen Xi helplessly smiled and said, "We’ll take it one step at a time; I probed Zhou Gongjin a bit, and he seems willing to concede, but to subdue him might be difficult. And that fellow truly is a genius."
"A genius?" Liu Bei smiled and said, "The world’s number one is right by my side, why should I fear the third one?"
Chen Xi rolled his eyes in frustration, "Honestly, the opposing commander is very capable. I let them command freely along the way, and based on what I saw, he might be born for war. At this point in time, I really don’t know who could rival him in commanding troops."
[Perhaps Li Youu might battle him based on experience, but truly overcoming Zhou Yu is difficult. Alas, Zhou Yu is just at his peak during this stage, and those who can battle him in this era haven’t matured yet...] Chen Xi felt helpless too.
"Even Yunchang can’t match up?" Liu Bei frowned a bit and said, "Didn’t Fengxiao coordinate with Yunchang for a minor victory before?"
"No way, if it really comes to a fight, he’s definitely not the opponent," Chen Xi shook his head and said, "When troop strength truly rises above one hundred thousand, control difficulty increases greatly. During our battle with Yuan Benchu, the true combatants were the core troops."
Liu Bei looked up at the sky, pondered a bit, and suddenly realized the truth; during the Yuan Liu battle, the truly fighting forces were actually led by the core military officers.
Jia Xu, who had been silently serving as a background behind Liu Bei, suddenly asked, "Zichuan suggests Zhou Gongjin has the ability to orchestrate a comprehensive battle with more than a hundred thousand troops?"
"If everything goes as expected, he likely has that capability," Chen Xi said with a bitter smile, "It’s not like our method relying on officers to maneuver their respective legions, but almost like a foresight approach, preemptively moving troops to activate an entire legion’s combat strategy."
Jia Xu’s pupils almost shrank into a circle at that moment. For those who haven’t experienced such a battlefield, they might not understand such matters, but Jia Xu knew well if Zhou Yu indeed possessed such ability, in this era when troops and officers are evenly matched, he is invincible.
"Such a person is naturally born to be a Commander-in-chief," Jia Xu pondered for a moment before speaking. He had always trusted Chen Xi’s judgments on others, and hence had no doubt about such a fearful judgment regarding Zhou Yu.
"Indeed, a born Commander-in-chief, an outstanding figure within this era. Others merely elevated themselves to the level of Renowned General by now, yet still far from reaching him," Chen Xi shrugged, stuck at this point of time. Just as they still lack maturity, look how you fight.
The gap between a General and a Commander-in-chief may be unnoticeable on a smaller scale battlefield, but upon escalating to a battlefield with over a hundred thousand soldiers, even the weakest Commander-in-chief can easily overcome most Renowned Generals, as the perspective of a Commander is fundamentally different from that of a General.
"Why think so much? Truly at that extent, isn’t Zichuan’s technique still available? Regardless of technique, relying on strength, a chaotic fist can kill the master," Liu Bei laughed and said, "No matter how capable Zhou Gongjin is, he can’t compare to you, Chen Zichuan, with strength and robustness."
Chen Xi looked down at his small arms and legs and realized he probably couldn’t overpower Zhou Yu, and likewise, with Sun Ce’s mere foundation, in the event of a battle, Liu Bei’s hundreds of thousands of troops could teach them a lesson in minutes. Zhou Yu’s direct combat command might be fierce, but cannot withstand tens of thousands of elite troops in succession.
"Though that’s true, my greater intention is to keep an eye on Zhou Gongjin," Chen Xi smiled and said, "That is indeed a remarkable person; Kongming, you and Boyan must strive hard, I’m beyond saving, it’ll rely on you to reclaim it back."
"If only I were born ten years earlier," Lu Xun suddenly said.
"Born ten years earlier, that would remain uncertain," Chen Xi touched his chin and said, "By the way, how come I haven’t seen Ziyang and General Zhang?"
"Ziyang along with Yide, Hansheng, and Shuzhi went to feign attack the Northern Huns’ military camp," Liu Bei smiled and said, "Ziyang has been working hard lately, Zichuan, you should learn too."
Chen Xi glanced sideways at Jia Xu, who just slightly smiled at the corner of his mouth, then said nothing. He himself was too lazy to handle affairs; Liu Ye was willing to take on tasks, Jia Xu happily handed them to him. After all, Liu Ye wasn’t dumb, working hard slightly let Jia Xu rest, fighting the Huns had consumed quite a bit of his brain cells; now he could rest quite well.
"Ha..." Chen Xi laughed awkwardly, "I just got off the battlefield, nearly exhausted. Let’s rest for a while first, by the way, what progress has Cao Mengde made in moving, should we welcome him when he arrives?"
"When that time comes, I’ll lead you and Zhongkang to welcome him, also to gauge the waters," Liu Bei was quite helpless towards Chen Xi’s lazy nature, but didn’t press him too much. Upon hearing Chen Xi mention Cao Cao, Liu Bei’s expression became much more serious.
"I heard Cao Sikong leads eighty thousand troops, with Generals Xiahou Brothers, Cao Brothers, and with foreign names like Xu Huang, Zhang Xiu, Le Jin, Li Dian, and Cai Yang. There are also Ma Chao, Pang De, Yano Xing, and others accompanying the army. One must not underestimate their strength; we should bring sufficient troops to show sincerity," Chen Xi suggested with a smile, leaving Liu Bei momentarily speechless, but agreeing.
[Dian Wei, Xiahou Brothers, Xu Huang, Zhang Xiu, Le Jin, Ma Chao, Pang De, Yano Xing, Cai Yang.] Chen Xi quietly counted the numbers. There are ten first-line Inner Qi Manifestations, with only Dian Wei, Yano Xing, Cai Yang without Legion Talent.
In this aspect, aside from others, Cao Cao indeed has commendable generals, and the legions led by those with Legion Talent wouldn’t reach top elite, yet likely wouldn’t pale compared to first-line elites either; meaning half of those eighty thousand are likely presentable.
