Mythical Three Kingdoms

”Lack of practical opportunity?” Chen Xi raised an eyebrow and said, ”Zhou Yu isn’t that kind of person, right? Logically speaking, he is very broad-minded. Except when it involves Sun Bofu, he might have some issues, but he can view everything else calmly.”

”It’s not that, just a matter of timing,” Pang Tong said with a bland shake of his head.

”Never had a chance to independently lead an army? That is indeed a problem. How about I provide you with an opportunity?” Chen Xi said with a smile, ”For normal people, it’s impossible to master dispatch and command without a lot of practical experience.”

”I don’t mean to refuse, just wondering what kind of venue the Marquis Chen is preparing for me to hone my skills?” A smile appeared on Pang Tong’s ugly face, but no matter how you looked at it, this smile seemed a bit eerie.

”Let’s put it this way, you and Lyu Ziming both have the potential to develop in the direction of large army warfare. However, you are suitable to cooperate with others as auxiliary command and dispatch, while Lyu Ziming is more suited to commanding small corps in battles. He can also engage in large army combat, but it’s hard to maximize his abilities when the focus isn’t there,” Chen Xi said, looking at Pang Tong and Lyu Meng.

Lyu Meng gave Chen Xi a strange look, curious as to how Chen Xi could confidently point out the most suitable direction for him, something he hadn’t even known about himself before. It seemed somewhat unscientific.

”Auxiliary command, dispatch, acting as a staff officer, rather than a simple military strategist?” Pang Tong thought for a moment, nodded silently, and felt that what Chen Xi said indeed made sense.

”Commanding dispatch and military formations are almost indispensable for large-scale wars. When the scale of the war rises to a hundred thousand, and the soldiers are still considered elite, the individual strength of a military officer doesn’t hold much significance,” Chen Xi admonished, also speaking to those generals who had come to ask why their Legion Talent had disappeared.

Guan Yu and others darkened their expressions when they heard this. The recent major battle at the Northern Frontier, where even someone as skilled as Guan Yu felt the immense pressure, made everyone precisely aware of how much their formidable martial force could achieve within the intricate formations.

Just Yu Jin leading troops to capture Mii Lohe alive was enough to make all the Inner Qi Manifestation Generals realize that compared to the strength of the large army, personal martial force was insignificant. Mii Lohe was truly a top general at Inner Qi Manifestation Perfection, but was easily defeated by Yu Jin.

That’s why those intelligent general commanders came to realize despite their unparalleled strength, they’re truly fragile when facing the suppression of a large army. A commander proficient in dispatch and command is far more meaningful than their martial force.

Simply put, in the decisive battle at the Northern Frontier, the two most memorable people to them were Yu Jin and Zhou Yu. The individual strength of both was really not worth mentioning, but they truly made Inner Qi Manifestation understand the limited significance of individual strength on the battlefield.

Even someone as proud as Guan Yu would bow his proud head in front of Zhou Yu, who commanded with ease and adapted quickly, because the latter truly established his prestige on the battlefield— a genius commander-in-chief.

Thus, when Chen Xi began explaining to Pang Tong and others, a group rushing over to capture the Inner Qi Manifestation General who sealed their Legion Talent pricked up their ears to eavesdrop.

As for capturing the person, that could wait a bit, since they had more than twenty capable brothers surrounding them. There was no need to worry about their enemy escaping. A little sooner or later didn’t matter, while Chen Xi’s explanation of large army command was not a frequent occurrence.

As for whether Chen Xi could command a large army, Guan Yu believed that Chen Xi could, and in fact, everyone else believed so too. However, in reality, Chen Xi couldn’t command a large army; he professed he could only command a dozen people...

Yet, even commanding a dozen people, Chen Xi said he could make it flourish!

”Let me tell you a relatively simple dispatch method. It’s kind of silly, but it’s generally easy for normal generals to handle,” Chen Xi looked up at the sky. He was a theoretical type, but he had to admit his theory was quite good.

”Come to think of it, Zichuan, you seldom command large armies or talk about this aspect,” Guo Jia said, half-turning his body.

”Well, to start with, there’s the military formation. Xuanxiang aside, although this approach can command Xuanxiang, it’s somewhat complicated. Divide the General’s Formation into offensive and defensive categories, then refine the offensive into initiating from this side, then that side, charge forward, and retreat defensively!” Chen Xi explained, gesturing with both hands.

”Hmm, hmm, it shouldn’t be like that. Actually, it should be divided into front, back, left, right, light punches and kicks, heavy punches and kicks. View the army as a person, command in modules, and then just like fighting, those punching should punch, those kicking should kick,” Chen Xi said with a mischievous smile.

”This command method of yours...” Guo Jia frowned, ”is quite problematic. If you fight using this method, for generals, it indeed quickly shows which part is important, which part can be abandoned, and which part should act, but how do you command?”

”Heh, the module means that the commander-in-chief fundamentally commands only his own unit and the leaders of various modules. Likewise, these module leaders use this method to command,” Chen Xi said with a cheeky smile, ”Which is easier, commanding the whole army or commanding a dozen people?”

”Actually, the biggest issue of commanding large armies in this era is time lag. If you’re not careful, a time lag occurs, and once it does, scheduling and coordination issues arise. With multiple hierarchical transmissions, this is bound to happen, and the core of this silly command method is actually simplicity,” Chen Xi sighed.

”Hmm?” Guo Jia was startled, showing a contemplative expression.

”Overly complex orders actually only create coordination problems in a large army. The more complex the scheduling orders, the more likely issues arise. So, in my view, the best method for army command is the commander-in-chief only issuing simple commands,” Chen Xi said calmly.

”Take Gongjin for instance. His commands are very straightforward - just tell someone where to go and what to do, and that’s it. As for how to do it, don’t issue orders,” Chen Xi said with a sly smile.

Xun Yu and others showed contemplative expressions upon hearing this, but most military officers still didn’t fully understand Chen Xi’s point.

”Of course, most people can’t achieve Gongjin’s level of timing and foreplanning, so it’s best to command piece by piece, not collectively,” Chen Xi sighed, seeing a group of generals still not catching on, and explained.