Chapter 434

He also felt fearful of Su Xuan, always feeling that in the future, his own lord might not necessarily be able to defeat Su Xuan!

"Perhaps I should seek a way out sooner? Should I find a way to establish a connection with Su Xuan earlier?"

Yang Hong even thought to himself.

After seeing Su Xuan's terror, he did not think other warlords would be Su Xuan's match.

Even Yuan Shao, he feared, could not.

"Really?"

Xu You listened, looking astonished: "It's not like I haven't seen Su Xuan's army attacking cities before. They are indeed much stronger than the troops hastily trained by the current warlords, but surely there's a limit?"

"How could they be as strong as you say?"

Defeating Ji Ling and Sun Jian in one battle, capturing them, and incidentally capturing nearly 50,000 troops.

Why does it feel like listening to a myth?

If you said they annihilated 50,000 troops in one battle, he would believe it.

But that the vast majority were captured directly?

Is it that Ji Ling and Sun Jian are too useless, or is Su Xuan too terrifying?

Shouldn't they have fought with all their might and ended up in a mutual defeat?

Why did they surrender so easily?

I don't understand!

"Hehe!"

Yang Hong sneered: "I indeed did not see the process of that battle with my own eyes, but I have asked General Ji Ling and the others;"

"The combat power displayed by Su Xuan's army in this alliance absolutely cannot be compared to before!"

"As far as I know, Su Xuan's army expanded by over 100,000 troops in the past few months;"

"Either they only brought a small number of elites this time, and the rest are just newly recruited troops;"

"Or, Su Xuan has been hiding his true strength!"

Ji Ling would not lie to him; he is not that kind of person.

"Hiss!"

Xu You gasped, stroking his beard and pondering: "New recruits? They don't look like it! Can new recruits form military formations?"

"Rumor has it that Su Xuan obtained the military formation martial arts inheritance of his ancestor Su Wu. I didn't believe it before, but now it seems it is true!"

"If it's just hiding strength, that's actually better. If these are truly all new recruits, then it's even more terrifying!"

"It means that Su Xuan only spent a few months training a strong army that is far more elite than the armies of the various warlords;"

"This kind of efficiency, this kind of training method, is simply terrifying."

He felt he had to remind his lord to value Su Xuan more and raise his threat level by several notches.

"Indeed!"

Yang Hong nodded with a complex expression: "That is why I say this person is terrifying!"

"Of course, I actually lean more toward the idea that the troops he brought this time are the ones he organized and trained when he was suppressing the Huang Jin rebels. After years of training, they have become the strong army of today;"

"It's just that he was hiding his strength before!"

Yang Hong was reluctant to believe in the rapid training of an army.

Because that would be too terrifying.

If it were true, who among the warlords in the world would be his match?

I fear that if given a few years, Su Xuan could train a million elite troops and sweep across the entire world, right?

"Oh? Why?"

Xu You asked, full of curiosity.

"Hehe!"

Yang Hong smiled slightly: "I wonder if Ziyuan remembers how Su Xuan broke through Hulao Pass?"

"Hmm?"

Xu You was stunned, his brows furrowing slightly: "I heard that Su Xuan followed the retreating army of Hua Xiong and took advantage of the situation to enter the pass, breaking it through trickery;"

"No warlord actually saw it, could there be some secret in this?"

He hadn't thought about it carefully before, but now it seems there are indeed many doubts here!

Everything the warlords know is what Su Xuan told them.

Only Su Xuan's army knows the truth.

"Hehe!"

Yang Hong chuckled and replied: "How can there be so many coincidences in this world?"

"The commander of Hulao Pass was Hu Zhen. I know a little about him; he is not a capable man, but he is not a fool either;"

"How could he not understand the logic of being followed into a city?"

"Unless he was confident that Su Xuan could not reach the pass before Hua Xiong's defeated army, he shouldn't have been stupid enough to open the gates directly."

"But the accident happened, which only proves one thing: he far underestimated the speed of Su Xuan's army and underestimated their combat power."

"Su Xuan's iron cavalry possesses a speed of movement far beyond ordinary imagination, successfully following Hua Xiong's remnants into the pass before Hu Zhen thought they could arrive! ~"

"Only then does everything make sense!"

"Therefore, Su Xuan's army must have been hiding its strength, not just new recruits. What does Ziyuan think?"

For a moment, Yang Hong felt his intelligence had occupied the high ground; the more he analyzed, the more he felt his analysis made sense.

At this moment, he felt he had grasped the truth.

"That makes sense!"

Xu You's eyes lit up, and he nodded solemnly: "Looking at it this way, your deduction, Bi'e, must be true!"

"Su Xuan's army has greatly hidden its combat power. Aside from taking Hulao Pass, they have been doing the bare minimum!"

"Otherwise, with the combat power of his troops and the Heaven-Man Realm strength of Zhao Zilong under his command, wouldn't Hulao Pass have been broken already?"

"This person is too cunning; he is deliberately preserving his strength. Bi'e, this is not good news for your lord!"

"You must know that your lord currently occupies Nanyang Commandery, which belongs to Southern Jingzhou, and directly borders Su Xuan's territory;"

"Even Runan is adjacent to Southern Jingzhou;"

"With such a cunning and powerful enemy at his side, if we cannot weaken Su Xuan's strength as much as possible during the campaign against Dong Zhuo, then once the campaign ends, your lord will definitely not be Su Xuan's match. At that time, there will surely be a crushing defeat!"

"You should know that Su Xuan will absolutely never give up Nanyang!"

"The reason he didn't completely take Nanyang before and drive your lord out was out of consideration for the strength of the anti-Dong alliance, fearing criticism and attacks;"

"But once the campaign against Dong Zhuo ends, the situation will be completely different!"

Xu You felt that Su Xuan's strength was likely even greater than what he and Yuan Shao had estimated.

Therefore, Su Xuan must be weakened.

But they cannot act themselves; they must rely on Yuan Shu.

"Indeed!"

Yang Hong frowned, but the next moment he thought of something, looked at Xu You, couldn't help but size him up, and asked: "Ziyuan! You came to find me today on purpose, and even brought up the threat of Su Xuan—you did it on purpose, right?"

"Speak! What are you trying to plot against me and my lord?"

This Xu You is deliberately plotting against him, deliberately stirring up trouble!

"Oh?"

Xu You looked at Yang Hong with slight surprise: "Bi'e is truly wise! You easily saw through my purpose!"

"Correct! I do hope you can persuade your lord to target Su Xuan and weaken him!"

"Because my lord Yuan Shao also feels the threat of Su Xuan!"

"He hopes to weaken him as much as possible, lest he become a great enemy of my lord in the future..."

"But this matter is also something your lord must do!"

"After all, my lord's foundation is in Jizhou, and Su Xuan cannot threaten my lord for the time being;"

"On the contrary, your lord's foundation, Bi'e, is in Nanyang and Runan, adjacent to Southern Jingzhou. After the campaign against Dong Zhuo, you will have to face Su Xuan's threat directly!"

"With the strength Su Xuan has shown, once the campaign against Dong Zhuo ends, it is impossible for him to honestly guard his current territory without moving;"

"At that time, the first person he attacks will be your lord;"

"So, I am not plotting against you and your lord, but rather seeking mutual benefit and win-win cooperation;"

"Because Su Xuan is a common enemy we must all face."

"What do you think?"