Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Commanding an army of over a hundred thousand men was by no means something an ordinary person could do.

Now, it was true that Liu Bei had gathered many brilliant generals under his banner, but the only one truly capable of commanding an army of over a hundred thousand was Li Ji. Even Guan Yu did not yet possess this ability.

Of course, this wasn't to say that Yuan Shu's talent was exceptionally high, but rather that it involved the issue of resources.

Given time, generals like Guan Yu would also have the potential to become commanders of large army groups, but not yet.

Under Yuan Shu's command, the Yu Province army, while not exactly an extension of his own limbs, was still remarkable, a textbook example of Han Dynasty army group tactics.

At this moment, a thought that was sure to enrage Yuan Shu involuntarily surfaced in Li Ji's mind.

‘If Yuan Shu is already at this level, what would Yuan Benchu be like when he gets completely serious?’

Of course, while Li Ji had some impolite thoughts, the orders he issued were without the slightest hesitation.

Facing the even larger Yu Province army, which seemed to spread its wings wide, as if to encircle the Yang Province army on three sides,

Li Ji didn't do as Yuan Shu expected, sending cavalry to protect the flanks, but instead abandoned defending and chose to have the entire army retreat slowly.

"Good, good, good! So, commanding on the battlefield is the weakness of that little brat Li Ji!"

Yuan Shu, seeing this, was overjoyed and shouted loudly.

"In battles between armies, momentum is paramount. Once you retreat, your momentum dissipates. How can you compete with me? That little brat Li Ji is already on the path to defeat!"

Immediately, Yuan Shu frequently ordered the vanguard to bite down on the Yang Province army, and the entire army followed, pressing forward.

At this moment, from a distance, the vanguard of the Yu Province army was like snowflakes constantly falling from a snow mountain, continuously accumulating on the Yang Province army, which was like a solid rock, finally pushing this rock to move.

Once the momentum of moving was established, in Yuan Shu's view, stopping would not be a simple matter.

And near this battlefield where the two armies were engaged, there were actually quite a few "spectators."

Whether it was Yuan Shu or Li Ji, both were determined to win this battle.

Therefore, with the idea of establishing dominance, Yuan Shu and Li Ji tacitly chose to allow some "spectators" to come, so that after the war, they could quickly control Jing Province with the momentum of a great victory.

Especially since Li Ji and Yuan Shu had been facing each other for nearly half a month before the real battle began, this had caused a portion of the Jingnan aristocratic families to rush to this place, not to mention the people in Xiangyang.

Sun Qian, Cai Zhong, Cai He, Liu Pan, and others, who were originally in Xiangyang, also appeared on the periphery of the battlefield, witnessing from afar that the battle situation seemed to be heading in a direction greatly unfavorable to Li Ji.

This made Cai Zhong and Cai He's hearts thump, and they vaguely began to regret it, feeling that perhaps they had bet on the wrong side.

Li Ji, the nationally renowned Marquis of the State, didn't seem to be that great after all!

In a head-on battle between two armies, how could one rashly retreat?

This retreat might turn into a rout.

"Hiss…"

Cai Zhong, seeing the Yang Province army begin to retreat slowly, couldn't help but gasp and said.

"The Marquis of the State is good at using schemes, but his level of commanding troops on the battlefield is so… so…"

Originally, Cai Zhong wanted to comment "unfit for great responsibilities," feeling that even if he himself went up to command the Yang Province army, the time he could hold out might be longer than Li Ji's.

However, considering that half an hour ago, he was still kneeling and licking Sun Qian in front of everyone, praising Li Ji, Cai Zhong couldn't change his face on the spot and had to mumble four words.

"Mediocre and unremarkable."

Compared to Cai Zhong, Cai He's expression was even more obvious. He slammed his sword hard and said.

"The Yang Province army is probably finished. Everything is over. How can this situation be remedied?"

As Cai He said this, his eyes couldn't help but glance at Sun Qian, revealing a hint of danger.

Remedy what?

Naturally, it wasn't thinking about how to help the Yang Province army turn the tide, but rather, if he defected to Yuan Shu, what should he use as a gift to express his sincerity?

In Cai He's eyes, Sun Qian, as Liu Bei's envoy, was a good choice.

However, facing the crowd with different thoughts under the sudden change in the situation, Sun Qian still maintained the appearance of a calm and indifferent famous scholar on the surface.

This time, Sun Qian wasn't really pretending to be calm and composed, but was truly confident.

Mediocre and unremarkable ability to command troops on the battlefield?

The world might think that in the past Battle of You Province, Li Ji led his troops to break through the Wuhuan camp, relying entirely on a surprise attack during heavy rain.

But Sun Qian still knew some inside information.

The key to how the Marquis was able to break through the Wuhuan camp with weak infantry was not only the favorable weather and terrain, but also the crucial on-the-spot command.

If it were another commander, not to mention whether they would have the ability to take advantage of the brief opportunity to break through the Wuhuan camp, even the courage to lead weak infantry to take the initiative to attack would be unknown.

Therefore, seeing that the Yang Province army was far from being unable to fight back, Li Ji commanded the entire army to retreat.

In Sun Qian's view, who had inexplicable confidence in Li Ji, the Marquis must have a backup plan.

Sun Qian snorted coldly and said proudly. "Everyone, I will still repeat my words. The mediocre cannot be compared with the Marquis's art of war."

And similar controversial discussions also appeared among the other "spectators" around the battlefield.

Seeing that the battle situation seemed to be tilting towards Yuan Shu's side, many aristocratic families had already begun to consider how to welcome the new master of Jing Province.

It was just that, when many "spectators" thought that the Yang Province army would quickly collapse in this retreat, or would have to abandon part of their forces to survive, the evolution of the battle situation was beyond many people's expectations.

In war, "retreating" has always been extremely dangerous, and a slight carelessness can turn into a rout.

However, under the frequent orders issued by Li Ji, while the various units of the Yang Province army's vanguard alternately resisted the Yu Province army, the overall situation actually maintained an orderly state, constantly moving backward.

This level of command even made Yuan Shu feel a bit unbelievable.

This could not be explained simply by the fact that the military households and soldiers had the quality of obeying orders and prohibitions, but it tested the commander's ability to command on the battlefield even more.

It required the commander to know the actions of all the units under his command like the back of his hand, and to make various arrangements in advance at the right time, so that it was possible to command the various units of the Yang Province army's vanguard to retreat in such a flawless manner.

Even the pace of the Yu Province army's attack needed to be taken into account.

The more Yuan Shu understood, the clearer he was about the difficulty…

For some mediocre generals, they might command even a thousand or eight hundred people in a chaotic manner like bandits, only knowing to go up together shoulder to shoulder, let alone commanding a legion of ten thousand people like Li Ji, as if it were an extension of his own limbs.

"Could this be the Marquis of Huaiyin reborn?"

Yuan Shu murmured, and while shocked, he unconsciously felt a strong sense of urgency.

Not only did the desire to obtain Li Ji deepen, but he also realized the command ability that Li Ji had displayed.

Under the same number of troops, he was afraid that he was completely no match for Li Ji.

Yuan Shu had to consider that this might be the only opportunity in his life to defeat Li Ji.

(End of this chapter)