Chapter 2314 2054: Long-Term Planning

"The situation is as described. Now, everyone, please share your judgments." Cao Cao had basically assessed the situation by this point, but he needed the understanding of his followers, so he wanted to see the attitudes of those who shared his ideals.

"We should consider ourselves defeated. If Chen Zichuan's initial goal wasn't us, then many things can be explained." Xun Youi slowly began to speak, "However, in this case, the gap between us and the opponent might become as vast as a chasm."

"How can that be? Given the strength the opponent has demonstrated, although it's quite strong, it doesn't warrant calling it a chasm. Our strength is somewhat lacking when facing them alone, but if both sides joined forces, Grand Commandant Liu's strength is formidable but not excessively so." Pang De spoke in disbelief.

"No, you may find it difficult to grasp this, but from our perspective, if the opponent's initial goal is to conquer the Central Plains, the gap between the three sides would be enormous, because we are not on the same level from the start. Our endpoint is merely their starting point." Cheng Yu said with an extremely unpleasant expression, as even he understands what this implies.

Though it is hard to believe that one's endpoint is another's starting point, once this fact is confirmed, it essentially indicates a huge difference in ultimate levels. Simply put, as with the difference between Chen Deng and Xun Yu, if the disparity were only intellectual, it wouldn't be significant, but in a real match, Xun Yu would easily overpower Chen Deng.

Chen Deng, who bears only the burden of a single family, cannot understand all that Xun Yu is carrying. Moreover, by the same comparison, Xun Yu probably struggles to comprehend what Chen Xi is shouldering. This is the very essence of what creates the gap.

One begins with the goal of unifying the world, seeks to conquer the Central Plains, and surpass his ancestors, while another begins with the aim of dominating a region and ultimately unifying the world. Even if the abilities of both sides do not differ greatly, the forces unleashed by the former far exceed those of the latter.

"Conquer the Central Plains? We're not late now!" Cao Cao coldly stated as he looked at the crowd below who had already understood the situation. "We're just a step behind. This path cannot be traversed by one or two people; essentially, it is the dream of our entire nation, our entire race. So a momentary setback means nothing; if Liu Xuande can walk it, I, Cao Mengde, can walk it too!"

Upon hearing these words, the hearts of the people, which had been disturbed by Cheng Yu's earlier remarks, suddenly calmed down, and they all looked at Cao Cao with utmost determination.

After the meeting was adjourned and everyone had left, the Cao brothers, Xun Yu, Xun Youi, Cheng Yu, and Chen Qun returned to the meeting hall once again.

"Everyone's here," Cao Cao said with a sigh in his heart as he looked at those present. These people are outstanding figures of the era.

"Everyone's here; we should also consider how to respond to Liu Xuande." Cao Cao said with a bitter smile. How important it is to have one's sights set high; you can see just now, the sparrows versus the swan!

"This battle is unavoidable. Even if we agree, our forces below would not, moreover if things proceed as expected, we might all be on our way to the border without any adjustments." Xun Yu quietly spoke, having faintly glimpsed what Chen Xi is burdened with, knowing that this time he lost quite miserably.

"It's a pity that our Tiger and Leopard Cavalry is not yet fully trained, and worse off, has not been validated on the battlefield. We tried sparring with the Xiliang Iron Cavalry once, and the gap was quite large." Cao Xiu said in disappointment, despite Cao Chun's death in battle, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry has still been trained.

However, compared to Cao Cao's original plan of forming a formidable elite legion composed of team leaders and centurions as its backbone, there was a huge difference. Simply put, it couldn't defeat Zhang Xiu's painstakingly trained Dual Talent Xiliang Iron Cavalry.

In fact, it's not just unable to defeat, but essentially being overpowered by the Xiliang Iron Cavalry. No matter how Cao Xiu trained these folks from various army teams and centurions, once they donned new armor and organized into a powerful legion, they simply couldn't achieve Dual Talent.

A Single Talent Legion, so long as its individual soldier quality remains at normal human levels, will never be a match for a Dual Talent Legion. And this is reality. Moreover, the scoundrel Zhang Xiu even mixed in over two hundred Military Spirit Soldiers from Hua Xiong pretending to be a Hundred-Man Squad, so under these circumstances, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry not being severely beaten already shows extraordinary capability.

However, the worst part about the Xiliang Iron Cavalry is right here: you can't distinguish the Military Spirit Legion from the Dual Talent legion; they look exactly alike, and their momentum can blend together. Thus, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry had no idea what kind of opponents they were facing after getting beaten.

Cao Xiu, on the other hand, was extremely embarrassed. Despite his utmost efforts to fulfill Cao Cao's commission, he ended up with such results, dealing a heavy blow to his enthusiasm and making him deeply suspect that maybe he lacked talent in drilling soldiers.

"Unable to beat Xiliang Iron Cavalry?" Cao Cao furrowed his brow and stated, "If even the Xiliang Iron Cavalry can't be beaten, what's the point of selecting them? These individuals are of team leader and centurion level, and against general soldiers, they're probably five times as capable."

"Completely outmatched." Cao Xiu, seeing Cao Cao's expression, gritting his teeth, directly said the truth. Keeping things hidden now would eventually lead to problems.

"Is the gap really that large?" Cao Cao asked, hearing this, his brow furrowed tightly. "Have you observed how Zhang Boyuan trains the Xiliang Iron Cavalry?"

"Yes, and the training method used by the Xiliang Iron Cavalry is also employed by us, even more so in intensity." Cao Xiu said with some disappointment; he really did replicate all the training methods of the Xiliang Iron Cavalry and increased the intensity.

In this situation, initially, even the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry soldiers found it hard to endure such intense training and constantly had people unable to cope and were forced to leave. But now each soldier remaining in the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry exceeds the training intensity of the Xiliang Iron Cavalry.

However, this has no significance. Recently in the sparring, under conditions using wooden spears, the Xiliang Iron Cavalry led by Zhang Xiu wiped out the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry led by Cao Xiu, even though their numbers were less.

Cao Xiu still remembers Zhang Xiu's words after winning, "If real weapons were used, my troops would probably do it even faster, and the losses would be much smaller. Sparring requires caution, so it's not to be fought to the death, whereas our previous training involved real weapons."

Then Zhang Xiu switched his tone and said, "Actually, the soldiers you've trained are already quite good, but without a fierce battle, one that ends in defeat where the entire army is wiped out, they remain as they are. Drilling soldiers doesn't produce good soldiers; this current level is their limit."

Cao Xiu understands this principle well, but deploying them in battle in this way would lead to too many large armies that could completely obliterate this elite for which the Cao Family holds high hopes. In large-scale battles, without reaching the level of the Xiliang Iron Cavalry, nobody can guarantee they won't be wiped out.

Zhang Xiu is right; Cao Xiu's training of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry has reached its limit. Relying solely on training won't result in any noticeable improvement. Their quality is three points stronger than the newly recruited Xiliang Iron Cavalry, but they lack the will and cooperation to bring this strength into full play.

For an elite army, soldiers' fighting will and their cooperation with each other are much more important than their physical quality. The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry's current situation is such that while their quality has exceeded the standard, they lack matching will and cooperation.

"Is the gap really so vast?" After Cao Xiu finished speaking, all the military generals of the Cao Family looked solemnly. Establishing the Cao Family's core elite is something they have always aimed to achieve, but now they have given this future elite their utmost support, and the results were completely different from what they expected.

"It's not a matter of physical quality anymore; they need is a difficult battle." Cao Cao, being a master of military strategy, understood these principles. Compared to Zhang Xiu's seemingly provocative tone in Cao Xiu's eyes, Cao Cao's words seemed much more reasonable.

"Continue to maintain the current situation for the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry." Cao Cao thought slightly and then spoke, "Don't stop training, incorporate Dian Wei's Tiger Guard Army into the group for joint intense training, and while there's presently no suitable opponent for a great battle, if our plans against Liu Xuande are correct, there will be plenty of opportunities for major battles in the future."

Upon hearing this, Xun Yu nodded in agreement; unexpectedly, there will be many more opportunities to fight in the future, many more.

"Changwen, continue to monitor information related to the Western Regions. If the situation is verified, commence attempts to dispatch resources there, and hasten Zixuo's construction of Western Regions passageways. Utilize all the ten thousand Miscellaneous Hun captives in this aspect, and complete it as soon as possible." Cao Cao had begun contemplating the path he should take in the future.

"Understood!" Chen Qun nodded; he knew that time was urgent now.

"Our future path choices will undoubtedly be limited. Despite Liu Xuande's previously joint scheming, which indicates his path requires assistance from those like us, being subject to others is never good. It's best to prepare ahead ourselves." Xun Youi gradually spoke.

"I will take responsibility for this. I will quickly collect and compile relations, geographical geology, and cultural environments west of the Western Regions, aiming to establish a bridgehead belonging to us west of the Western Regions before launching operations next year." Cheng Yu said coldly, now having some guesses about what Li Jue, Guo Si, and those people have done.

"We are currently lacking in military strength, and if we indeed need to fight outwardly in the future, population will become our core foundation." Xun Yu slowly spoke, "If it reaches such a level, no other resources will be as vital as population."