Mythical Three Kingdoms

"If you’re outmatched, accept the defeat gracefully. Although there were unexpected factors, a loss is still a loss. We don’t have many excuses. Besides, that person is a true soldier; there’s no point in arguing with him. Moreover, we’re quite satisfied with him being one of our own." Guo Si was quite open-minded; these people had indeed seen life and death often.

"That’s good. The Marquis Wenn’s subordinates will also head to the Western Regions later, and Wen Ru’s disciples will go there to oversee things." Chen Xi confirmed that Guo Si and the others truly held no grudges, so he didn’t change his previous plans.

If Li Jue and his group had any issues with Lyu Bu’s subordinates, Chen Xi would have had to station these Bingzhou people elsewhere. After all, Central Asia is vast, and it would be easy to find a place to accommodate thousands without any issue.

However, if Li Jue and Guo Si had no issues, it was better for them to stay together. A united front packs a more powerful punch, whereas scattering makes it difficult to achieve big things.

"Ha, the Think Tank has taken on a disciple, that’s great! We support the idea of letting him lead." Guo Si didn’t pay attention to anything else but the news that Li Youu took on a disciple. They wholeheartedly supported it, having suffered enough from foolish mistakes recently.

Every day using brute force for solutions, the Xiliang group has done it way too often. But they are no longer the same as before; their force is lacking. Having someone to integrate and lead gives them peace of mind during battles.

Honestly, Li Jue, Guo Si, and Fan Chou are reliable in commanding troops. They won’t flinch when confronted on the battlefield.

However, the cleverest of the three, Li Jue, also falls into traps. If they weren’t stationed in an area with no real ambush spots, they might have been doomed already.

"You will meet him later," Chen Xi nodded and said. "By the way, the initial plan was to transfer over four thousand from the Iron Cavalry Headquarters to your side, but now it’s not feasible, as Zijian has integrated them into the Military Spirit Legion..."

Before Chen Xi could finish, Hua Xiong spoke, "I intend to let Aduo take five hundred and ninety-six of them to the Western Regions."

"Zijian, don’t act rashly! Without the ultimate ability, disassembling the Military Spirit Legion would cost us a lot of power." Before Chen Xi could respond, Guo Si rejected decisively. "I still remember when Flying Bear couldn’t use the ultimate ability and got defeated by the Trap Formation!"

"You want to split up these five hundred and ninety-six people?" Chen Xi frowned and said, knowing that unlike other Military Spirit Legions, Hua Xiong’s doesn’t have an ultimate move, or rather, every move is ultimate, so splitting won’t significantly impact strength.

"Yes, splitting my legion won’t matter much, and Iron Cavalry itself has some unique traits," Hua Xiong explained. "Iron Cavalry provides a bonus to weaker cavalry. Back in Liangzhou, one Iron Cavalry soldier could lead four to five Qiang Cavalry at minimum, or dozens maximum."

Guo Si nodded repeatedly, acknowledging Iron Cavalry does indeed boost other cavalry. However, when Li Jue and his group occupied Yongzhou, there wasn’t much food left, so they decisively disbanded the vast Auxiliary Army of tens of thousands of Qiang People.

"Don’t talk nonsense. I know that the reason is because Iron Cavalry’s combat power is high enough. After breaking the formation, Qiang Cavalry rushes in, seemingly enhancing their combat power as well, but in reality, it’s just riding the wave of victory," Chen Xi said dismissively.

Chen Xi initially believed Iron Cavalry provided a boost to Qiang Cavalry, and it wasn’t just him; many others believed it too, confidently claiming that part of Iron Cavalry’s Elite Talent included enhancing other cavalry.

Later, during a casual conversation with Li Youu, Chen Xi learned that the Xiliang Iron Cavalry’s headquarters, the so-called Super Elite with Dual Talents, both talents reinforced defense, one enhancing personal and the other enhancing armed defense.

The notion that they boosted other cavalry was completely blown out of proportion by the Qiang Cavalry. The rumor spread until even the Qiang Cavalry themselves believed it. Other cavalry cooperatively claiming it during battles, like Wolf Cavalry and White Horse, were convinced it was true.

"Even though Iron Cavalry’s Elite Talent doesn’t include it, it really does provide a boost," Guo Si coughed and said.

"Eh?" Chen Xi exclaimed in surprise.

Hua Xiong nodded, "There is indeed a reinforcement, and this is not a joke. Although Iron Cavalry’s talent doesn’t include it, other cavalry do receive a boost in combat, giving Qiang Cavalry a ten percent enhancement, almost matching the Marquis Wenn’s Legion Talent."

"Initially, it was a rumor, but due to our capability, the Qiang Cavalry believed it, and it really became effective, leading everyone to believe it," Guo Si said with a grin.

At this moment, Chen Xi was truly speechless, realizing there’s even a way to achieve this.

"Does the Xiliang Iron Cavalry also get boosted by the Xiliang Iron Cavalry?" Chen Xi inquired.

"Yes, actually the previous ability is an extension of this one. To be precise, all cavalry units have this common trait, but the Iron Cavalry has extended this trait further. Let’s just say other cavalry units believe in our ability to fight." Guo Si nodded and said.

"So that’s the case, I will say no more." Chen Xi expressed understanding, "Other Xiliang Iron Cavalry, that haven’t reached the level of your original unit, can only allow you to take five thousand, anything more would be difficult."

"Ha, eight thousand would be enough. I plan to recruit some people in Liangzhou, then gather a force of thirty to fifty thousand Qiang Cavalry. But the headache now is the food problem; relying solely on plundering is not a good strategy. The neighboring small countries are willing to contribute grain but they can’t support so many people." Guo Si had suffered from food shortages before, which almost led to discord among his brothers, so he raised this issue immediately after gathering his forces.

"Honestly, you’ll have to rely on yourself for farming, be self-sufficient. In Central Asia, there are barren places, suitable agricultural lands, and suitable pastures. Those who go will plan accordingly, surviving a year shouldn’t be a problem." Chen Xi asked.

After all, transporting grain from the Han Dynasty there is impractical without direct roads, and in the future, we’ll need to expand from there, so that region inevitably requires local management. With this in mind, the construction of a direct road westward from Chang’an should be prioritized.

As for the Thirty-Six States of the Western Regions stuck in between, if they don’t work out, we’ll grant each king a marquis title and relocate them to the Central Plains. If they don’t want to accept the marquis and call us father, then they can only perish; doing such things poses no pressure to the Han Dynasty.

"Suddenly calculating the mileage, it seems daunting; building a direct road spanning over fifteen thousand miles, even with multi-line construction, would require two to three years. I suddenly feel pressured, well, let’s put this on the agenda for the Grand Assembly." Chen Xi calculated and felt inexplicably embarrassed.

Fortunately, the essence of Heaven and Earth in this world is recovering. A well-bred horse can easily cover a thousand miles a day if the road is good. Of course, if the road is mediocre, you’d need something like Guo Si, riding three good horses to cover a thousand miles a day.

"Ah, sooner or later I’ll have to build a national highway there," Chen Xi calculated and roared with a hint of frustration, though even as he contemplated building a prefecture road accommodating twelve lanes, the timelines felt daunting.

Guo Si glanced at Chen Xi, then turned to Hua Xiong with a nod, indicating Chen Xi is sometimes like this, leaving Guo Si inexplicably shaking his head repeatedly.

"I don’t really understand the road stuff, but when I return to Liangzhou to recruit Qiang Cavalry, beyond serving as auxiliary troops, there’s another reason—we’ve fenced off many pastures there, planning to catch some Qiang people to raise cattle and sheep for us, which will also avoid some trouble." Guo Si shifted the topic back to their situation.

"Oh, raising cattle and sheep, indeed, there are many uninhabited prairies there, getting some people to raise cattle and sheep is necessary," Chen Xi nodded, remarking on Li Jue and Guo Si’s unexpected understanding of adapting to local conditions, surprisingly showing some level of intelligence.

Actually, Chen Xi had no idea that Li Jue’s current understanding of local adaptation was instilled by Zhong Yao back then, given Zhong Yao taught Li Jue hand-in-hand in Chang’an about farming.

If it hadn’t been for Cao Cao intervening, Li Jue and Guo Si could have sat steadily in Chang’an. The foolish people unwaveringly execute plans from the intelligent, keeping them as the rule of thumb.

"Indeed, the place is excellent, raising hundreds of thousands of cattle and millions of sheep poses no problem, remember to bring more breeding sheep and cattle." Chen Xi thought about the Kazakh Steppe and Tekes Prairie regions, realizing that farming there is less viable than raising cattle and sheep.

"However, solely eating beef and sheep meat isn’t sustainable. We’ve fenced two lands, tried growing millet but it’s unreasonable. We managed to grow wheat, and later occupied a lake suitable for growing paddy." Guo Si thought aloud.

[How did you three thousand people occupy it?] Chen Xi was utterly shocked.

Chen Xi knew geography well, and when Guo Si mentioned growing paddy by occupying a lake, Chen Xi instantly identified the location. In ancient Central Asia, places suitable for rice farming are few, and where rice can be grown, it’s naturally by the Syr Darya in Kazakhstan.

The issue is, you previously mentioned being in the Pamir Plateau, those two places are over four to five hundred miles apart, and you’ve also fenced the Kazakh Steppe. Calculating the distance, you’ve essentially occupied seven to eight hundred miles, you only have three thousand people, how did you accomplish this?

"Sigh, Parthia even offered to grant us a piece of land with a lake, fertile soil, spanning roughly three hundred miles north to south, but we can’t really accept it now." Guo Si sighed.

"I didn’t notice before going out, but after going out, truly, if you want land, you can mark it freely, it’s everywhere." Guo Si recalled the places they occupied, fertile land for wheat farming, only to let it grow wild.