Chapter 216

According to Su Fan's guess, Lv Bu's current strength probably reached the eighth layer of Gang Refining or above, maybe even the peak of the Divine Treasury. Although his large army was elite, and there were Chen Dao and others condensing military aura, which could limit personal bravery to the maximum extent.

But the Bingzhou army and the Xiliang border army were also elites that were no worse than Su Fan's army.

So Lv Bu could still threaten his army.

Fortunately, Su Fan knew that Lv Bu would not appear here in Henei. After all, as the strongest martial general under Dong Zhuo, facing the main force of Guandong, Dong Zhuo would inevitably place Lv Bu and his Bingzhou army under Hulao Pass.

One was to make Hulao Pass more solid, and the second was why it wasn't weakening Lv Bu's strength.

Although Lv Bu defected to Dong Zhuo, he was not Dong Zhuo's confidant.

Regardless of which monarch, if the strength of the generals under his command was too strong, it would also trigger his wariness, not to mention that Lv Bu had a "criminal record."

Lv Bu didn't come, but Xu Rong arrived.

In Su Fan's view, this person's threat was even greater than Lv Bu's. After all, although Lv Bu was strong, he had flaws and was easily tricked. As long as he planned well, he could still be defeated.

But Xu Rong was different. This person's wisdom might not be as good as Xi Zhicai and other strategists, but in terms of marching and fighting, he was absolutely at the top level.

Military strategy was not bad, and coupled with a cautious personality, such a person was the most difficult to deal with.

Of course, Su Fan was only wary, not afraid.

Because in terms of military strength and strategy, they were not bad, not to mention fierce generals, he had quite a few here.

Even if Xu Rong was powerful, he was not the commander-in-chief.

Unable to fully control the large army of Xiliang, it was not enough to rely on the twenty thousand large armies under his own command.

"My Lord seems to value Xu Rong very much."

Xi Zhicai's observation was so careful. Su Fan's change in expression when hearing Xu Rong was seen clearly by him. "Could it be that this person is extraordinary?"

Regarding Su Fan's ability to recognize people, Xi Zhicai was also quite impressed.

In these few years, the talents recruited by Su Fan were all great talents, especially in the martial general category. Taishi Ci, Zang Ba, Chen Dao, and others were all shocking to him.

Especially Chen Dao and Zang Ba, who had the appearance of famous generals in his eyes.

And Cheng Yu was a deep-thinking person, even he was very impressed.

"Indeed, this person's personal bravery is a bit worse than Xuangao and the others, but in terms of deploying troops and fighting, I'm afraid Xuangao and the others are still a bit immature when facing this person."

Su Fan used "immature" to describe it because he firmly believed that as long as Zang Ba and Chen Dao experienced more wars, their talent in commanding battles would slowly increase, and they might not even lose much to Xu Rong.

"This person has such ability. It seems that Dong Zhongying's subordinates cannot be underestimated."

"Dong Zhuo, after all, fought his way out step by step from the border. How could there be no talents around him? Even people like Li Jue have rich combat experience."

"Of course, we don't need to belittle ourselves. Although Xuangao and Shuzhi are a bit worse in experience, they won't be weaker than these people."

"As long as we are cautious, our army's fine weapons and armor will make it very easy to make a name for ourselves."

Heyang Jin, the two armies confronted each other.

Both sides had already fought several battles.

Dong Zhuo's Xiliang large army was worthy of being killed out from the border. The number of people was less than one-third of Zhang Yang and Wang Kuang's large army, but they fought several times, and every time they won completely.

After several great battles, Zhang Yang and Wang Kuang's troops and horses suffered quite a few losses. Of course, most were those small feudal lords, and the two of them were not stupid.

But as a result, no one in their small group was willing to come forward, and the morale was much lower.

When Su Fan's large army arrived, both sides were still fighting endlessly.

"My Lord..."

Chen Dao and Zang Ba saw Su Fan and immediately saluted.

"Sit! How have you observed them here? Is Dong Zhuo's large army powerful?"

"My Lord, this Dong Zhuo's large army is indeed not simple. Among them, the Xiliang border army is very fierce, but some look like new troops."

"But even so, they still suppressed Zhang Yang's large army. In these days, Zhang Yang and the others have already lost tens of thousands of troops."

"Is that so?"

Su Fan nodded noncommittally.

"I think it probably won't be long before they send someone to ask my Lord and Inspector Tao to send troops."

Xi Zhicai suddenly said.

"Hehe!" Su Fan smiled. Sending troops would naturally send troops, but Su Fan would not fulfill their wishes.

"What do you two think of Dong Zhuo's large army?"

Su Fan looked at the two and asked. This time he arrived, the great generals he brought were Chen Dao and Zang Ba. Of course, Xu Chu had always been his personal guard commander.

Taishi Ci stayed behind in Donghai Commandery.

"My Lord, the Xiliang troops and horses have a strict military posture. Having killed their way out from the border, they carry an evil aura, and coupled with their low-level officers who have combat experience, they are quite powerful when fighting."

"Of course, their soldiers might be worse than ours in terms of personal physical fitness, but their combat will and instinct are probably above ours."

Chen Dao said in a deep voice.

"Combat will and instinct?"

Su Fan nodded. He knew what Chen Dao said was indeed not false.

In terms of personal physical fitness alone, Su Fan felt that the army under his command should be the most powerful. After all, the soldiers of his army were comparable to the training volume of later generations' armies.

Sufficient nutrition allowed the large army to train without any scruples, and the physical fitness and military skills of each soldier were very powerful.

The only flaw was probably that the combat experience and will were a bit worse.

Although his large army had also been suppressing bandits, compared with real large armies, they were still much worse.

His army indeed lacked the experience of great battles, whether it was the generals or the soldiers.

"Then do you have confidence?"

Su Fan suddenly asked with a smile.

"Of course."

The two's answers were quite certain.

"Haha! Since that's the case, this great battle will be handed over to the two generals."

"Xuangao, you lead your own troops. Shuzhi, you will have more trouble when the time comes. Tao Inspector's troops will be temporarily commanded by you."

"Yes, this subordinate accepts the order."

The two, hearing this, showed excitement on their faces. This was their first time commanding so many large armies to fight, so they were naturally very excited.

Night fell, and in the military tent, all the generals and officers in Su Fan's army gathered together to discuss how to fight next.

Su Fan did not bring out the staff department of later generations. After all, the staff department required very strong knowledge, especially military strategy. In this era, those who could learn military strategy were few.

Most martial generals relied on their own exploration to march and fight.

However, Su Fan would gather the officers above the rank of military commander in the army, gather everyone's wisdom, and discuss the best combat plan.

"Report!"

"My Lord, Inspector Tao is visiting!"

Su Fan, hearing this, immediately looked at Xi Zhicai, understanding that the battle was about to come.