"Yunchang, tell Yide to stay silent no matter what he sees later," Chen Xi said, turning his head towards Guan Yu while standing on the chariot.
"Understood!" Guan Yu was as sparing with words as ever.
"Yunchang, you should go to the front as well. Xiaoo Zhi and I are enough here. With your grand army at the vanguard, if safety is still an issue, then there’s no safe place left on the entire battlefield," Chen Xi indicated that Guan Yu could lead the charge at the front and didn’t need to stay with the Central Army to protect them any longer.
"Zhongtai, order someone to look after the Command Banner. Although we don’t rely on the Command Banner to direct us, it’s still a matter of morale," Chen Xi commanded Sunx Guan, who was standing nearby.
"Yes!" Sunx Guan said loudly, then personally led people to protect the Command Banner because, according to Chen Xi’s plan, the Command Banner had to advance into battle as well.
"I always feel like something is not quite right," Fa Zheng said, furrowing his brow as he pondered Chen Xi’s arrangements. He felt there was something off about them.
"Never mind if it’s right or wrong for now, just use spiritual power to coordinate the formation. If we can save even one life, it’s worth it. There are far too few medics, and we also lack enough clean cloth for bandaging. Medical alcohol can’t be produced, the strongest we can make is around sixty percent, and it often gets stolen by people for drinking!" Chen Xi looked angrily in Zhang Fei’s direction. It was difficult enough to procure a little grain, and he had managed to make some strong alcohol for disinfection, only for Zhang Fei to steal and drink a good amount of it in transit.
"Cough cough, Zichuan, mind your manners. Your strong alcohol is indeed good, but it consumes too much grain and shouldn’t be produced," Fa Zheng glanced at Chen Xi and then said self-righteously.
"Grain isn’t as valuable as veterans. Kids don’t understand. When we get back, I’ll give you a copy of my price list, and you’ll know how to calculate it," Chen Xi brushed off Fa Zheng’s comment, knowing very well that Lub Su wasn’t blind to these matters and without a reasonable explanation, the arrangements would never be approved by Lub Su.
"Price list?" Fa Zheng was somewhat perplexed.
"Idiot, it’s the losses in war and strategic gains spread out over the actual individuals and items involved, like for instance if fighting the Yellow Turbans meant my death, then it would be a terrible loss, making the battle not worth inciting!" Chen Xi looked down on Fa Zheng condescendingly and then thought for a moment before giving an example. Fa Zheng still had potential worth cultivating.
At this, Fa Zheng’s eyes lit up, so Chen Xi gave another example, "Another instance, if fighting the Yellow Turbans meant your death, we’d weigh the value of Qingzhou and your life and find, even though the gain is greater than the loss, it would be a pyrrhic victory in the long run. Therefore, it’s not worth sacrificing you just for a victory in a battle over Qingzhou."
"You bastard!" Fa Zheng said indignantly, but he was quite satisfied with the assessment of Qingzhou’s value versus his own being a loss that didn’t pay off.
"That’s the price comparison. Of course, just having a rough idea as I mentioned is fine. I have prepared a price list for some common items, like ensuring a low death rate in every battle but having to use up a thousand bushels of grain. At such a time, compared with the value of veterans, the value of morale, and the positive effects, those thousand bushels of grain are worth investing," Chen Xi explained as he helped Zhao Yun and others enhance the Qi of Heaven and Earth and the coordination of the formation—he continued explaining these concepts to Fa Zheng who now couldn’t say anything, just listen and envy Chen Xi’s effortless display of spiritual power.
"It’s about ready," Chen Xi clapped his hands as the movement of Cloud Qi in the Military Formation became stabilized by spiritual power, which wouldn’t pose a significant issue for a short time. Once the battle started and Blood Qi and Killing Intent surged from both sides, the overflowing Cloud Qi would gradually be solidified by them, so there was no longer any concern about their own Cloud Qi enhancement being dispersed.
Of course, this solidifying effect of Blood Qi and Killing Intent would only apply on the battlefield. Once off the battlefield and the malevolent Qi dissipated, the originally solidified Cloud Qi enhancement would disappear as well.
Chen Xi looked at Fa Zheng, who sat on the frame with a pale face, and clicked his tongue in wonder, "Your spiritual capacity is really too low, just by adjusting the Qi flow of ten thousand men and you’re already? So weak~"
"..." Fa Zheng didn’t even have the energy to retort with words, only managing to muster a withering look in Chen Xi’s direction.
"Young man, you should practice more!" Chen Xi squatted down, patted Fa Zheng on the shoulder, then released his spiritual power to connect two slightly dissimilar streams of Cloud Qi, and again arranged the Cloud Qi that Fa Zheng had been managing. You see, his spiritual capacity was certainly not small.
"Are you really human?" After resting for a while, Fa Zheng stared at Chen Xi for a long time before spitting out such a sentence.
Chen Xi shook his head, with an expression of lonely gazing at the sky, and after a good while, he spoke indifferently, "You wouldn’t understand my loneliness!"
"..." Fa Zheng was choked to the point of being half-dead.
Just then, the Yellow Turbans finally arrived in a twisted formation, topped with a mass of earthy yellow Qi, carrying their ragged weapons, moving forward. Seeing this, Chen Xi almost wanted to charge and attack, but thinking of his strategy, confronting them head-on would have a much better effect than a sneaky assault.
Before Chen Xi could speak, a group of cavalry burst forth from the opposing side, seemingly to issue a challenge. However, upon closer inspection, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei immediately quenched their desire to toss the opponent over. It was practically a joke. The enemy’s commander turned out to be a scout they had planted. They were here to claim the merit! Immediately, both Guan Yu and Zhang Fei understood why Chen Xi wanted them to keep quiet no matter what they saw.
"Zhongtai, you go and give it a try, I’ll give you a chance. Xuangao will go easy on you, go ahead!" Chen Xi turned his head and waved toward Sunx Guan, who was protecting the Command Banner behind him.
"Ah, okay, as you command!" Sunx Guan, immediately intimidated by his boss’s opponent’s look, enthusiastically mounted his horse upon being summoned by Chen Xi, holding his spear as he charged forward.
"Isn’t that Zang Xuangao?" Fa Zheng’s face twitched as he recognized the figure. He had seen this guy leading over three thousand cavalry outside Fenggao City several times before, and now he had transformed into a Yellow Turban leader. This was too brazen.
"How’s my scout?" Chen Xi asked with a smile.
"If the Yellow Turbans can still win with things being , I’ll give you my head," Fa Zheng said excitedly. With Zang Ba infiltrating the enemy ranks as a high-ranking leader, what was there to worry about their strategy not being employed? What a joke!
"What use would I have for your head?" Chen Xi turned away contemptuously, leaving Fa Zheng fuming with rage.
"I am Mount Tai’s Sunx Zhongtai, enemy general, prepare to die!" Sunx Guan’s voice boomed before his arrival. A troop of horses charged out, with Sunx Guan thrusting his spear directly at Zang Ba!
"Good timing!" Zang Ba let out a huge roar. Initially, he had planned to run after stabbing Guan and Zhang a few times if they came up, but to his surprise, it turned out to be someone he knew. Now, he didn’t need to tarnish his mighty and stellar reputation among the Yellow Turbans. He was counting on this persona to gather the routed troops and lead them to safety, cementing his benevolent and grand image.
With a clattering clash of mounts and arms, the two fought evenly matched, skilled against skilled, neither able to claim victory just yet. This spectacle made the soldiers’ blood boil and morale soar. As for Guan, Zhang, Zhao, and Taishici, they silently counted horsehair, readying themselves for when Sunx Guan retreated. They would then unleash all their might onto the Yellow Turbans!
[bookid=3280030,bookname="Immortal Three Kingdoms"]