Mythical Three Kingdoms-Chapter 1399 - 1349: Twofold Preparation

"Ah, indeed, it was somewhat impulsive." Li Youu put down the teacup, rare to reveal a solemn expression.

"That’s easy to say, but what’s done is done, and there’s nothing we can do about it." Chen Xi paused for a moment and said, unlike other matters, this one, with Gan Ning’s mindset, has no possibility of being resolved.

Jia Xu remained silent; this was where he felt most helpless. There are only two outcomes for this matter: one is that Gan Ning never returns, the other is that Gan Ning successfully annihilates the Kushan Navy. There is no third possibility, and either possibility renders resolution meaningless.

A triumphant return or a burial in foreign lands, either case lacks processing value. Gan Ning’s sending these people back serves more to inform them that he’s gone to do this.

"Since this is the reality, what we must do is trust Xingba." Chen Xi looked at Jia Xu calmly and said, feeling a bit embarrassed while speaking, as unlike Jia Xu and others, Chen Xi was Gan Ning’s greatest supporter.

"I also hope he can return, but what I want to say is understood by all of you. Gan Xingba is gambling with his life, and if even one of Kushan’s actions falls outside his expectations, his gamble will fail, and his failure will affect our entire situation." Jia Xu said with a calm expression.

Under these established circumstances, Jia Xu and Chen Xi’s thinking aligned; though angry, though they wished to beat Gan Ning, none of that mattered once Gan Ning returned victorious. Winning would solve everything.

Not to mention striking a blow to the Kushan Empire, even if he secretly took down the Kushan Emperor, it would merely be a convoluted case. In that scenario, they could easily dodge blame.

"I’ll deal with Sunx Ce and Zhou Yu; without a navy, we are significantly disadvantaged." Chen Xi paused for a moment because he was the one continuously supporting Gan Ning, and naturally, under this situation, only Chen Xi could resolve it. "We’ll address Xingba’s issue later."

"I’m rather intrigued by the mention of the ’Purple Robe Bandits’ the Kushan captive talked about. Strangely, my first thought was the Taoist Master Zixu." Li Youu took a sip of tea and glanced at Jia Xu; Jia Xu had discussed Zixu with him before, hence this matter could not solely be left for Chen Xi to handle.

"It’s basically confirmed to be Zixu, and that relic is worth a tenth of Kushan’s national fortune." Jia Xu gritted his teeth and said, had he known Zixu could cause such trouble, he would never have recommended Zixu to act rashly.

"We’ll prepare two contingencies; recall Guann Cheng from General Guan’s command to initiate the second batch of naval training. We can’t put all our eggs in one basket, and this reveals a problem we have: too few naval generals under our command." Chen Xi did not feel that Zixu was too impulsive but instead redirected the topic.

"The North inherently lacks naval commanders. Of all the world’s naval commanders deemed excellent, they barely number two hands full; those remaining among civilians now include only Cai Mao and others." Jia Xu said with a gloomy expression.

Thinking back to the battle where Zhou Yu broke Jingzhou, Kuai Yue ultimately dug up the Yangtze River to flood Jiangling, causing mutual destruction among Sunx Ce’s Army and the defeated Liu Biao’s Army.

Naturally, Liu Biao was captured by Zhou Yu, and after killing the chief culprit, Sunx Ce’s anger dissipated. He heeded Zhou Yu’s plan to exile the hostile aristocratic families of Jingzhou against the Sunx Family, including the Cai Family.

Of course, Cai Mao and others were also expelled from Jingzhou by Sunx Ce. In a full set of false dealings, they, along with Liu Biao, were sent to Chang’an; naturally, the fake Liu Biao escaped en route, but Cai Mao’s family successfully arrived in Chang’an.

"Send someone to Yongzhou to retrieve the ones from Cai Mao’s group." Chen Xi contemplated and said, his focus on Cai Mao and Zhang Yun was not high, compounded by being exiled by Sunx Ce. Moreover, at this time, few can handle the naval role adeptly.

"It will yield results in about a month." Jia Xu nodded, having completely calmed down. Following Chen Xi’s advice, they must prepare for both possibilities, lest Gan Ning’s efforts flop, dragging down Liu Bei’s Army’s navy.

Though Cai Mao and Zhang Yun are currently in Chang’an, they are not living well; although Cai Mao has historic ties with Cao Cao, the issue is that Cao Cao has no use for Cai Mao now.

Even though Cai Mao has some relations in Chang’an, it does not change his lack of utility, which leads to Jingzhou’s guests like Cai Mao being virtually invisible in Chang’an, needing to support an entire family—difficult, in summary, as a verse says, Chang’an’s rice is expensive, making residence hard... 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Thus, they should recruit people while they can. Regarding pirates like Guann Cheng transitioning from the Yellow Turbans, the available are quite useful. Establishing a framework first is crucial, as the worst-case scenario, having no soldiers to use shouldn’t materialize.

No matter if Chen Xi admits it or not, naval forces are more technically rich compared to land forces. In the North, land forces often lack combat capability within the first year after embarking on ships.

"Post advertisements for naval recruits, assigning training to Lul Jicai and his team. I’m the first to disbelieve the Lul Family doesn’t understand naval strategies, and I feel we need to cultivate a strategist capable of fighting aboard ships." Li Youu said slowly, indicating intent to tighten control over the navy.

"Mm, I second that." Chen Xi nodded and said.

Prior to this, strategists hadn’t been designated for Gan Ning’s navy. On one hand, the civil officials on Liu Bei’s side are mostly land-bound ducks; Chen Xi isn’t afraid of water, but he can’t leave. As for others, guys like Jia Xu generally don’t board ships, and on the other hand, not restricting the navy was intentional.

Given that Gan Ning’s ability and intellect required trust, though Gan Ning’s displays of folly might be frequent, they often served as a form of disguise.

"Zichuan, you mentioned you’d handle Sunx Ce, right?" Perhaps Li Youu had been absent-minded earlier; he only now truly reacted to it.

"Mm, without Gan Ning’s navy, Zhou Yu and Sunx Ce move freely on the Yangtze River." Chen Xi nodded and said.

"Your going holds no meaning, Guo Fengxiao is no lesser in military strategy than you are. If you head to the front, it’s more to boost morale, but naval battle, which you don’t understand, means you go here." Jia Xu said irritably, realizing after all this time, despite Chen Xi winning many battles, that Chen Xi relied on a straightforward strategy.

Despite winning each time effortlessly, a terrifying ability indeed, but in naval battles, carelessness could lead to entrapment.

"Wancheng of Nanyang?" Chen Xi furrowed his brow and said, "You imply Cao Cao might test us here instead of the previously estimated Yongzhou gateway?"

"If I were Cao Cao, I’d now definitely want to see if my allies can collaborate." Li Youu glanced at Chen Xi and then spoke meaningfully, "If allies cannot cooperate, then it’s better not to have them, don’t you agree?"