Chapter 29: Li Ru Asks Lord Cao to Play the Thief

  Sun Ce nodded involuntarily and said, "This matter really can't stand analysis! It looks like a difficult thing to explain, but after the military advisor explained it, it seems to have become very simple."

  Just like the magicians of later generations, when you don't understand it, you think their actions are as magical as miracles. But once it's explained, you'll say it's nothing special! The magician just used various devices and simple visual deception techniques with hand movements.

  Li Xiaoru continued: "Although your strength is stronger than many of the current martial generals, but I have never seen in you that kind of arrogance and overbearing aura that ordinary martial generals often have."

  Those people, always eager to show off their own martial prowess, can't wait for the whole world to know about their strength, as if they are the strongest in the world. They are like proud roosters, always wanting to bully those weaker than them in the flock.

  But the martial generals are not roosters after all, their main enemies are external rather than internal. In fact, people like that are usually the easiest to die on the battlefield. Because of their dazzling existence, the enemy will naturally take them as the primary target of attack. So unless they are truly invincible, their death is just a matter of time.”

  "I don't know if you've ever seen a tiger baring its teeth and claws at people, but I've only seen cats doing that. Truly powerful figures are like tigers, silent and unassuming, hiding in places where they won't be noticed, quietly waiting for an opportunity to launch a fatal attack on their enemies."

  "They don't give their prey a chance to realize how terrifying they are and react in time. They always attack when the prey is most off guard, not like cats that meow loudly all day to draw attention to themselves. With tiny paws that can't hurt anyone, they make threatening gestures towards enemies approaching them and let out weak, ineffective cries."

  Sun Ce nodded and replied, "Military strategist, now I somewhat understand what you mean! Actually, these situations are just a manifestation of one's own strength and confidence. The examples you raised are meant to make me understand that having strong internal strength is the real deciding factor in victory or defeat, isn't it?"

  "Take tigers, for example. When they encounter what they consider a formidable enemy in the eyes of cats - that is, us humans - because our bodies are usually weaker than theirs, they simply regard us as prey and look down on us with disdain."

  It's only when it's hungry that it will pay attention to us. However, when it encounters a bigger and stronger tiger that comes to take its territory, I'm afraid it can only let out two roars and flee in defeat."

  Li Xianyu saw Sun Ce understand so quickly and was very satisfied, nodding his head: "Your Excellency, you are naturally intelligent and can hear one and know three. Wen You is extremely pleased, you have given me no chance to lament about having talent but not being recognized! Haha"

  Sun Ce could only awkwardly laugh along with him.

  "After laughing, he continued: "And morale is like a tiger's roar, it only works on prey that is weaker than ourselves. If we encounter an even bigger tiger, I'm afraid the ones who will be scared are us."

  The current lord's army has only over a thousand men, and they are all old soldiers who have survived countless battles. Even the group of Liangzhou soldiers following me now are also brave warriors who have experienced life and death on the battlefield.

  They only need to be slightly trained with the existing soldiers of the lord, and they can achieve seamless coordination. Now they are a group of invincible tigers. Under the same conditions, with the leadership of the lord, they are almost invincible.

  But the enemy cannot have only as many men as we, or even fewer. So, my lord will eventually have to recruit a large number of new soldiers. At that time, this old tiger will be like a tigress who has just given birth to cubs, with all the ferocity but none of the strength."

  Sun Ce couldn't help but nod his head in distress: "This is indeed a big problem, to develop, at the initial stage, it will inevitably reduce the team's combat effectiveness. But we don't even have our own territory for development yet."

  Yuan Shu had promised to let me become the governor of Jiujiang before he went on campaign, but I don't know if he was just making an excuse for his expedition and deliberately forgot. Until now, there is no definite news. Military advisor, what do you think is a good way to solve this problem?

  Li Xianyu thought for a moment, then looked at Sun Ce and said: "From the situation of these two days, it can be seen that this army is loyal to the lord without any doubt. Now the lord has joined Yuan Shu's camp, his words and deeds show that he must also be an ambitious person."

  So he can't let us have too many troops, enough to give the lord here more than a thousand soldiers, I estimate that's the maximum."

  "Otherwise, it would likely invite his suspicion. At that time, for us, it would probably be a disaster, after all, our current strength is still too weak. And we cannot take the initiative to rebel and leave Yuan Shu. Otherwise, we would become a traitorous army, and I'm afraid we would find it difficult to move forward in this world. Not to mention developing and growing stronger, attracting talented people."

  Li Xiaoru said this and paused for a moment, looking at me deeply and saying: "Master, have you ever thought of going to be a mountain bandit?"

  Sun Ce couldn't help but be stunned, thinking to himself: "What kind of military advisor have I gotten myself into! My old man had a hard time, truly risking his life to establish this foundation and reputation. And now I've taken in an advisor who wants me to give all this up and become a mountain bandit! If my old man found out, he'd probably stretch out his hand from heaven and slap me twice!"

  Sun Ce couldn't help but look at Li Xiu with suspicion: "What do you mean by this, Military Advisor? Are we supposed to give up our current reputation and start from scratch as bandits?"

  But the millions of Yellow Turbans were not completely eliminated by the government army. Now even Gongsun Zan has pacified the remaining Yellow Turban rebels under his rule.

  Moreover, the most important thing is the issue of reputation and righteousness. Once we become bandits, it will be impossible to extricate ourselves from this situation. In this world, although it is chaotic, no heroes or scholars would accept a leader who originated as a bandit. Military strategist, your plan this time cannot be considered a good idea!

  Li Xiaoru burst out laughing: "Master misunderstood Wen You's words! In my opinion, Yuan Shu is a man with a heavy heart of suspicion. He has a very tight grip on the military power of his generals. Unless they are extremely trusted generals, he would not let them lead troops. A situation like yours, where you are given an elite army and allowed to train freely, is a rare exception."

  Wen Yan thought that he was thinking of the old general's favor in helping him conquer the world, and considering the face of the son of an old friend, not taking care of you would be unaccountable.

  Secondly, he did not know that this was an elite army. It is very likely that these thousands of soldiers would only be a mob in his impression.

  Three wants to win over the master's heart, he has taken a liking to the master's bravery and wants him to take over from the old general to continue helping him conquer the world. However, seeing that you are still young and not yet capable of taking on responsibility alone, he wants to temporarily lock you up for a while. Firstly, to teach you to obey him, secondly, to further understand your character and see if you are worthy of his trust.

  Sun Ce nodded repeatedly after listening. This Li Xiu, really has skills. He didn't miss a single point on this matter, and from the conversations of these two days, he could clearly analyze Yuan Shu's thoughts. It was almost identical to the situation analyzed by Zhou Yu that day in Shouchun.

  He continued: "As for the position of Jiujiang Governor, I think Master should not consider it for the time being. I think he promised you to be the governor of Jiujiang at that time, and it is likely that he was temporarily confused, and he may regret it as soon as he spoke."

  Because he didn't want to face you, he personally went to attack Yuan Shao and Cao Cao.

  On the other hand, he himself led the army and could rest assured that no general would seize power and rebel against him.

  "Two can also avoid your pursuit of the Taishou position. At that time, giving Jiucheng to you would make him uneasy. Not giving it to you would again give rise to resentment in your heart. In order to avoid both parties feeling embarrassed when they meet, he might as well just leave! Yuan Shu's tactics are still somewhat effective."

  Sun Ce suddenly realized: "So that's it! No wonder I said it was strange!"

  He could have issued my appointment before sending troops, but he didn't take any action. At first, Bo Yu thought he was too busy with military affairs and forgot about it. In fact, if he really had the heart to do so, he could have simply sent someone to issue the order now.

  Every day, there are countless military reports coming from the front line, and the officers who are deploying troops and transporting grain are also coming and going constantly. It seems that he has no intention of doing so at all.

  "You still don't trust me enough, do you? What can be done about it then? Won't all our subsequent steps be impossible to take? At this rate, when will we ever have our own territory? Won't we fall far behind others? Falling behind means getting beaten!"

  Li Xiaoru smiled mysteriously: "Your Excellency, don't be impatient for now. You should have heard that 'armies have no fixed tactics and water has no fixed shape'. This is the way of military strategy!"

  Sun Ce nodded and said, "I also thought of this only after hearing Master say it yesterday. You mentioned that you arranged for Zhou Yu to do some preparatory work and establish a preliminary intelligence network. I must admire Master's foresight again, this step is simply too good."

  It is said that an army without discipline cannot be effective, but without comprehensive intelligence from all sides, orders cannot be carried out. For any army that wants to win a battle, ensuring the clarity and accuracy of intelligence is always the top priority, proving that the young master already knows the essence of military strategy.

  It is said that before the troops and horses move, the grain and grass go first. Wen You thought it was the same as what his lord thought, but shouldn't it be intelligence goes first instead?

  Sun Ce really admired Li Xiu, the premise of modern warfare is to collect a large amount of accurate intelligence, you see how major powers in the world are desperately spending money, sparing no expense to research various satellites, high-tech reconnaissance planes and espionage equipment.

  It can almost be said that today's most advanced technology is used for espionage purposes, with military action taking a back seat.

  We are fully aware of the enemy's situation, and we can defeat you right at the negotiating table. What is the need to send troops?

  Of course, the necessary advancement of weapons must be maintained, otherwise there will be no deterrent force. Others simply won't listen to what you have to say, they won't sit down, and nothing can be discussed.

  It can be seen from here that intelligence is absolutely crucial in war. Because no matter what decision is made, it cannot leave accurate collection and analysis of detailed intelligence.

  Some arrows are shot, in order to use the least loss, more effectively and accurately hit the enemy's weaknesses, so as to achieve the fastest speed to disintegrate the enemy's purpose.

  Li Xiaoru continued: "Wen You thinks that setting up the intelligence network is the most important first step, which is a prerequisite for all actions. At the same time, we can also send another general to lead some loyal soldiers to pretend to be mountain bandits."