Mythic version of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 7216 An eye for an eye

"How did you come up with the idea of ​​conquering Prayaga?" Chen Xi asked with some curiosity, as the Kushan Empire's north-south separatism was quite famous.

“Split your forces to encircle them, then jump from here to Varanasi, and then turn around and attack Prayaga, who is trying to wait in ambush.” Langarajand gave the answer directly, exactly the same tactic as Huangfusong.

“This tactic…” Chen Xi looked at Huangfu Song.

“It seems someone has given the same answer, but that’s normal. This is the most standard way to fight. There are other methods, like using floods as a substitute for troops, but the core idea remains the same. The generals and officers defending Prayaga all have to deal with the problem of an isolated city.” Langarajan said simply, “It’s okay if the city is on the other side of the enemy’s forces, but it’s very difficult if it’s on this side.”

At this moment, Chen Xi became increasingly aware of the unpleasant aspects of the geographical situation.

"I remember your spiritual talent is something like fleeting inspiration, right?" Huangfu Song turned to Langarajan and asked, "Could you use it on me?"

"Want to see what tactics you would use if you were in this position?" Langarajan smiled, without saying much, and activated his mental talent, directly giving Huangfu Song a momentary burst of inspiration. Huangfu Song then fell silent for a moment.

"What? How is this mental talent?" Chen Xi asked with some curiosity. He had actually tried Rangarajan's mental talent before. The fleeting flashes of inspiration were indeed very effective, but they were not very effective for Chen Xi. Of course, it was also possible that the price paid for this mental talent was transferred to Chen Xi, so it was useless to Chen Xi himself.

That's right. Because Rangalajan is old, it's fine for him to use this mental talent on himself, but it would cause a considerable impact on others. So it was agreed that Liu Tong would use the Thread Play to hook Rangalajan and pay the price for Rangalajan using his mental talent. The problem is that a lot of Liu Tong's mental talent comes from Chen Xi, after all, Chen Xi's pool is big enough.

"I'm sorting things out." Huangfu Song's expression was somewhat complicated. "How should I put it? Although the problem hasn't been solved, Brother Lan's mental talent has allowed me to pull myself out of this predicament. I might not win, but I could lose both sides, and lose big."

Zhu Jun looked at Huangfu Song with great curiosity upon hearing this, asking what he meant by not solving the problem but emerging from defeat.

“There is another way to solve this battle situation,” Huangfu Song said with a hint of complexity. “Oswin will not launch a full-scale attack on Baloyaga at the beginning. Instead, he will definitely divide his forces to have Kusroy block Baloyaga, while he carries out the tactics we previously estimated. This will create a loophole, a huge loophole.”

“Yu Wenze will not go north, nor south, nor return east, but will choose to advance westward. He will abandon Baloyajia altogether and lead his army to flank us from the west.” Han Xin raised an eyebrow upon hearing this and answered on behalf of Huangfu Song. Huangfu Song nodded in agreement.

“250,000 troops, while not a large number, have drawn away all the main forces that Kushan could mobilize in a short time. If Wenze charges in directly, regardless of the future, he will definitely achieve remarkable results at the beginning.” Huangfu Song nodded and said, “Moreover, the advantage of this tactic is that as long as we don’t care about Balayaga, the initiative is in Wenze’s hands.”

"That is, the strategy of switching bases." Chen Xi's lips twitched. They had never considered the possibility of switching bases from the beginning, but now that Huangfu Song had spoken, Chen Xi had to admit a fact: if there was really no way out, taking advantage of the fact that Oswin had transferred the main force to attack the Han Dynasty, Yu Jin switching bases was also a viable option.

If they can seize the opportunity, Yu Jin could achieve an incredible victory, because Oswin has gone all out this time. At least in the short term, the country is definitely vulnerable. Even if there are local security forces, they are no match for Yu Jin, who has taken the initiative and is even starting to go crazy.

Considering that the Han dynasty at least had a main force to resist, and that Oswin was frequently maneuvering in preparation for the major battle, Yu Jin's side simply charged headlong into the heart of the Kushan territory. In terms of efficiency, Yu Jin had the advantage.

The only downside is that if they fight like this, Yu Jin will definitely not be able to return. But if Yu Jin is fierce and decisive enough, he might be able to defeat Mo Tu Luo directly. At the very least, the White Horse Cavalry will actually be able to reach Mo Tu Luo. When Oswin returns later, Yu Jin will definitely be finished. But even if he is finished, it will definitely be a lose-lose situation. And it's not necessarily true which side will lose more badly!
“Actually, in our time, choosing this strategy would have been more realistic,” Huangfu Song said slowly. “A desperate strike, a fight to the death, this kind of fighting might not necessarily mean certain death. If we come back alive, then it’s basically the last battle. In our time, we would definitely gamble. Winning or losing doesn’t matter, life or death doesn’t matter. We just want to see if the Kushan Empire can withstand this punch!”

Huangfu Song wasn't joking. For former officers, when given this opportunity, they might as well go all out. Since they couldn't win anyway, they might as well go for something big. If they lost, the worst that could happen was death. If they came back alive, they would be world-renowned generals!
“It is capable of execution,” Bai Qi said. “Oswin wants to execute the kill tactic, so mobility is very important. The main force of the siege will definitely be the infantry, and the Han army has a clear advantage in infantry. Moreover, they can release the White Horse Cavalry. The only problem is that the probability of death is extremely high when executing this plan, but it will be enough to make them famous in history.”

Chen Xi also fell silent at this moment. The tactic was very simple and highly effective. To put it bluntly, it was about taking advantage of the fact that the besieging Kusroy could not command the support of the people, and that Oswin would not deploy his main cavalry near Baloyaga for the sake of mobility.

If Yu Jin does not break out from the north or south, nor does he consider returning east, but instead seizes the opportunity to attack the Kushan stronghold, then all of Oswin's previous strategic and tactical advantages will turn into disadvantages. The main force can completely suppress the large-scale forces of the Han army group. What does this mean? It means that for a short period of time, the middle and upper reaches of the Ganges River are a vacuum for a group army commander like Yu Jin.

Oswin's eastward advance, and what Chen Xi is doing now, could easily become a piecemeal tactic. But what about the reverse? Given the current state of the Kushan Empire, isn't Yu Jin's westward advance also a piecemeal tactic?
If Chen Xi's move could be considered a gamble on Oswin's mobility and command ability, and might not be just adding fuel to the fire, then whether the Kushan Empire could assemble a large army in a short time was a question, given Yu Jin's westward advance.

Yu Jin's choice to advance westward could even undermine Kusroy's command, which is a huge problem. Kusroy is a very capable commander, but his background makes him unpopular. Yu Jin's westward advance directly targets the core of the Kushan Empire, and those under Kusroy's command will definitely have different thoughts.

These factors combined were enough for Yu Jin to wreak havoc in the heart of the Kushan Empire until Oswin led his troops in pursuit. This long period of time was enough for Yu Jin to achieve a truly terrifying record.

After all, this is truly the slaughter of children!
The basic logic is simple: the 250,000 troops that Oswin brought were definitely elite, and they were definitely key personnel drawn from various places. Conversely, the others were neither key personnel nor elite!
“In this way, the issues that need to be considered become extremely simple.” Huangfu Song looked at Chen Xi calmly and said, “Even the tactics on the Brahma side can be completely simplified to Oswin leading his troops to retreat, and us organizing all our main forces to push forward.”

"Then the only problem is that Wenze is doomed, right?" Chen Xi sighed and said, "I don't think Wenze can survive doing this. Gongjin almost got beaten to death last time he did this. If the rescue had been a little later, Gongjin would have been trapped there."

“Just say it, don’t involve me.” Zhou Yu said with great dissatisfaction, “But from a strategic and tactical perspective, this approach is indeed more correct, because if we fight this way, we will have the initiative on the battlefield and will not be as passive as before.”

"There is still hope of survival." Huangfu Song took a very indifferent view of life and death.

"I think you've written everything you need to, let him choose for himself." Zhou Yu was relatively neutral, feeling a little embarrassed to say that Chen Xi had used some profanities.

“That’s pretty much what I think too. The plan is good, but it’s not suitable for the present.” Chen Xi said after a moment of silence. If it were Yu Jin ten or twenty years ago, he would probably have been able to carry it out, but if it were Yu Jin now, or the current group of people like Boluoyejia, they definitely wouldn’t be able to carry it out.

"Unable to execute?" Huangfu Song suddenly realized.

"Hmm." Chen Xi didn't try to hide it too much; it was indeed impossible to carry out.

"Then I won't say anything." Huangfu Song first clicked his tongue lightly, then felt that Chen Xi was, after all, a big spender, so it was better not to say anything. But sometimes, saying nothing is more poignant than saying everything, especially for someone like Chen Xi who actually knows everything.

Although theoretically speaking, if the frontline troops cannot even execute certain military plans, it would be a major problem, Huangfu Song could only nod silently in the face of Chen Xi's easy answer, indicating that he had been enlightened.

"Apart from military decoy missions, other missions with high mortality rates all require notification at this stage," Chen Xi explained. To be honest, Chen Xi was partly responsible for how things had turned out this way, but his intentions were good.

"Tsk." Huangfu Song didn't answer, but just clicked his tongue lightly. But everyone present understood what he meant. To be honest, this was already because of Chen Xi. If it were Huangfu Song back then, or Duan Jiong back then, how did the Eighteen Warriors die? Don't you know?

Faced with Huangfu Song's sarcasm, Chen Xi didn't say anything, but looked at Ma Xinde and said, "Speaking of which, I've always wanted to ask about something, which is the number of people with spiritual talents over the Yuezhi. It seems like very few people over there have developed spiritual talents. You should be able to expect that after so many years, even if the older generation is gone, a new generation should have been born by now."

“The Yuezhi themselves never produced a single person with spiritual talent. Of course, we are talking about the Yuezhi, not the other tribes that were conquered by the Yuezhi,” Mahinda said very seriously. “From a certain perspective, the entire Yuezhi was actually trapped in a cultural dilemma. They either became Brahmins or Kshatriyas and gained the glory of the incarnation, or they simply couldn’t open up.”

"Is it the same as the situation in the pre-Qin period?" Chen Xi asked with some curiosity.

The ancient system of military merit and conscription could guarantee combat effectiveness, but it would create path dependence. For example, in the Qin Dynasty, none of the top civil officials came from the local area; they were all from elsewhere. This is path dependence. Although the Qin Dynasty also had things like private schools, from the time of the Western Qin Dynasty to the unification of the country, basically no civil officials who could be considered prominent came from the local area.

"Pretty much. It's probably due to a lack of culture and problems with the system. Anyway, the Yuezhi themselves don't have any people with spiritual talent, but the probability of producing generals and officers is still quite high." Mahinda looked up and thought for a moment before saying, "It's hard to say about the top ones, but at least there has never been a break in their lineage. There are even more at the level of legion commanders. This is also why the Brahmins have always been unable to deal with the Northern Nobles."

You may doubt the quantity and quality of civil officials that the Qin Dynasty's military system could produce, but you have no doubt about its combat effectiveness. Although it could not produce individuals with spiritual talents, the quality and quantity of its generals and officers were beyond question!
Now you know why they were able to win, right? They won by using their brains!
Hearing this, Lord Wu'an fell silent. He thought about the Qin Dynasty and realized that it was indeed the case. The Qin Dynasty also lacked civil officials, but its fighting strength was beyond doubt. It was almost certainly a fighting strength obtained by using brains. But tell me, was it strong or not?

“The Yuezhi’s system has certain problems and its structure is incomplete. If you want to receive a complete education, you can only rely on the Brahmins. So all the intelligent people go there. Knowledge is a kind of cognition. If you learn the Brahmins, you can’t develop spiritual talent,” Mahinda said matter-of-factly.

"So what's going on with you two?" Huangfu Song asked Langarajan and Mahind with some curiosity, as these two were genuine spiritual talents.

“Neither of us are Yuezhi people. I am a descendant of a tribe, a nobleman with a family tradition. I actually studied the Aegean lineage and then integrated it myself.” Langarajan didn’t hide anything. “Masind is amazing. He said that when he was a child, he went out and encountered a historian from the Great Xia or something who was carrying several carts of books. He was killed, but he picked up those books and became self-taught.”

That's right, Mahinda was a complete monster. He picked up the books and became self-taught without anyone teaching him. You have to understand that he didn't even know how to read at first, but the writing system was very old back then. Even if you don't know any words, you can still decipher and learn them with your brain. That's how Mahinda finished reading those several cartloads of books.

This is why Mahinda even served in the army and went to the front lines, because he was just an ordinary civilian who fought his way up purely through his extraordinary talent.

"You taught yourself like this?" Chen Xi was a little dumbfounded. This was no longer a matter of chance; the talent required was simply too terrifying.

“Yeah, I squandered all my luck in that one time,” Mahind said calmly.

In Kushan, many people knew about Mahinda's background, but later, no one mentioned it anymore, because Mahinda had lived beyond the limits of his birth, to the point that people had to take him seriously when they saw him.

Despite Zhu Helai's exaggerated strength, he was still very wary of Mahinda. The plan to eliminate Mahinda was the result of almost everyone with a brain in the Kushan regime working together, but even so, they were unable to execute Mahinda due to internal political differences.

"It's really not easy." Huangfu Song opened his mouth, but could only say this in the end. This is a civil official. Civil officials must study, and need to study a lot. Ordinary people never had this opportunity from the beginning because the medium of knowledge was too precious in these days. Before Liu Yan invented paper, a book was worth ten thousand gold pieces, which was no joke.

"As for the new generation of spiritual talent holders, of course they were all killed by Mahind," Langarajan said with a sigh.

“All the young people who have the potential to develop spiritual talents have been named by Mahinda. Given the huge conflict between the North and the South, if those people develop spiritual talents, they can protect themselves. If they don’t, it’s just a possibility. Even if they die, they won’t cause any major upheaval.” Rangarajan explained with a hint of reminiscence, “After all, developing spiritual talents really requires a lot of learning, so it’s basically impossible for them to appear in the general public. Those who can develop them have already shown their talent very early on.”

"Huh?" Chen Xi looked at Ma Xinde, who was standing calmly to the side. He was also a ruthless person.

“It’s just tit for tat,” Mahinda said calmly. “Actually, I also named many young officers who could achieve the Mind Image and Legion Talent, but that requires hard work. Besides, these are the backbone of the army, and it seems that neither the Southern nor the Northern Nobles have killed many of them.”

The Saka people, led by Urdu, were somewhat related to Mahinda, so Mahinda didn't mention them openly. On the contrary, he mentioned the Yuezhi and Brahmanical young people in front of everyone.

Before things turn sour, this is a recommendation; but after things turn sour, this is definitely a killer move!

In addition, the officers and generals were stationed in the northern Guizhou mountain area and had their own headquarters, making assassination difficult. Assassination within the military is far more difficult than breaking into a house and bombing it, so not all the officers and generals died!

"I see. Now I understand why the Kushan Empire is in this state." Chen Xi nodded slowly, finally understanding why there were so few people with spiritual talents in the Kushan Empire, but each one was incredibly powerful. Given the environment and the level of competition, if you weren't strong enough, you would probably die. Or rather, everyone who survived was definitely strong enough.

I'm outta here! Going to work every day, it's never going to end!