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Chapter 641: The Strengths of Yuan and Liu's Forces
🕑 Added 2024-09-29 07:47:58 +0000 UTCAfter a victorious battle followed by a grand feast of meat and wine, it was a joyous occasion for all the soldiers. It meant they had survived.
However, for commanders, every great victory came with the need for extreme caution. A victory followed by carelessness and defeat would be a disaster. After all, there had been many cases where early success turned into failure due to lack of vigilance, sometimes even costing lives. Therefore, after a significant victory, extra care was needed to secure that hard-earned triumph.
Once the officers left, only Chen Xi, Guo Jia, and a few high-ranking generals remained in the tent. There were still matters that needed to be discussed. As for Xu Chu, he had already gone ahead to patrol the camp, and in the latter half of the night, it would be Zhao Yun’s turn. It was only after such a major victory that high-ranking generals needed to be this vigilant.
"Bringing up old matters again, Yuan Shao's army doesn’t seem any weaker than ours. Both sides’ will to fight appears to be about the same," Chen Xi sighed. "Our soldiers have been rallied with both kindness and authority, especially the Qingzhou troops. Besides some issues with discipline, they’re among the best."
"We’ve been working on discipline, but after all, they came from the Yellow Turbans. It’s hard to completely change a decade-long habit overnight. Still, it's not a major problem. The biggest strength of the Qingzhou troops is that we’ve given them everything they wanted, and they're willing to repay us with their lives," Guo Jia waved his hand dismissively.
Guo Jia wasn’t too concerned about military discipline. The more egregious behaviors like killing and pillaging had already been purged. What remained were things like turning over seized goods. To Guo Jia, as long as they won battles, whether or not the soldiers turned in their loot was a minor issue. Victory was far more important than those material spoils.
Besides, the Qingzhou troops had developed a habit of grabbing anything useful after a battle simply because they had been so impoverished in the past. Without that desperation, they wouldn’t be doing it.
"Alright, as long as they're not killing or robbing civilians, we can overlook those minor issues. After all, the fighting spirit of the Qingzhou troops is among the strongest," Chen Xi waved his hand, not bothered by it. After being Yellow Turbans for ten years and living in poverty, hoarding anything useful was just a habit. Winning was all that mattered.
"The Xuzhou soldiers don’t have much fighting spirit. They seem hesitant even before battle," Zhao Yun sighed.
"That can’t be helped. The leaders of the Yellow Turbans in both regions swore blood oaths to break away from the bandit label. They all know how precious this chance is, and we've given them good land and homes, so they fight to the death," Chen Xi explained helplessly. This was the biggest advantage of the plan he had devised back then.
"As for the Xuzhou troops, they haven’t seen war for years, and they need a lot more training," Guo Jia added with a shrug. If they hadn’t suffered hardship or experienced battle, no amount of training could make up for that.
"Yuan Shao’s army has too many cavalry," Guan Yu said slowly.
"Indeed. Our forces in the Central Plains lack a source of cavalry. Even though we have Jia Wenhe’s horse policy, that’s primarily for the eventual campaign to subdue the northern tribes. When it comes to cavalry, we’re at a disadvantage," Chen Xi said with a sigh.
"Jia Wenhe’s horse policy is being implemented now mainly to prepare for the future pacification of Jizhou and Bingzhou. When the time comes, it will be unstoppable, and it's also intended to counter the northern nomads. But for now, it offers no immediate value," Guo Jia said with a sigh. "And Yuan Shao has already restricted the movement of horses."
"That’s another problem," Zhao Yun frowned. "What about maritime trade routes to transport horses from Liaodong?"
"That route is also effectively blocked. I don’t know what Yuan Shao offered Gongsun Du, but it’s become very difficult to get good horses from him now," Chen Xi said, waving his hand. Having stayed in Yanzhou, he was well aware of the situation.
"Overall, from my perspective, there’s no real military advantage between our forces and those of Hebei. We do have an edge in troop numbers, but when it comes to cavalry, we're at a disadvantage. How many crossbows and arrows have you stockpiled over the years, Zichuan?" Guo Jia asked, feeling a bit helpless.
After all those endless skirmishes with Jizhou, Guo Jia had gained a deep understanding of Hebei's forces. With the large-scale battle that had just occurred, he had only further solidified his understanding.
"I’ve stocked up on crossbow bolts, powerful crossbows, and arrows. Though we only started preparing a couple of years ago, we now have close to four hundred thousand sets ready," Chen Xi said calmly.
Over the years, Chen Xi hadn’t been idle. Every year, during public works projects, it wasn’t just about building infrastructure. They had also been producing spear shafts, arrow shafts, sword handles, and even inner linings for large shields. With the goal of becoming the strongest in the land and facing off against all the other warlords, Taishan had been steadily accumulating resources.
"Don’t worry about the weapons of war. We have well-maintained armor, shields, and an abundance of swords and spears. For years, we’ve been preparing for this, and we absolutely hold the advantage in terms of armaments," Chen Xi said with a smile. "You just need to focus on the war itself."
"Then there’s nothing more to say. If we don’t play dirty, we’re evenly matched with the north, each with our own strengths. The biggest advantage the north had—its well-integrated civil and military families—has already been countered by us," Guo Jia said confidently.
"Exactly. On the civil side, we’ve produced tens of thousands of our own scholars, making it easy to promote thousands of low-level officials. On the military side, we have millions of Yellow Turban soldiers who owe us a debt of gratitude. Whether in civil or military matters, we hold a definite advantage," Chen Xi nodded in agreement. This was something they had built up gradually.
Previously, Chen Xi and Liu Bei had cast a wide net, directly cultivating tens of thousands of scholars. Though they hadn’t studied for long, some of them had impressive talent. Even if their education was incomplete, they were more than capable of serving as minor officials.
The elite education provided by noble families was formidable, with their extensive traditions producing geniuses. However, Liu Bei and Chen Xi’s broad recruitment strategy had brought in a much larger pool of talent. Over time, a few thousand capable individuals had emerged from the tens of thousands of students.
Given the one-to-seven thousand ratio of officials to civilians in this era, the talents produced over three to five years were enough to govern millions. Those who didn’t enter the civil service contributed to other industries, which was the key to Taishan’s prosperity. Moreover, most of these people were grateful to Liu Bei, making them far more reliable than the offspring of noble families.
"Even so, it’s still going to be a tough fight," Zhao Yun sighed. He had served as a civil official in Taishan for quite some time and had a clear understanding of Yuan Shao’s strength. Yuan Shao ruled over a population of tens of millions, with a thriving economy, and his lands had seen few natural disasters in recent years.
"It was never going to be easy, but don’t worry. As long as there are no major changes, we’ll win," Guo Jia said with a smirk, casting his gaze toward Jizhou. The seeds of discord he had sown there were already starting to take root and grow.
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