Chapter 917: Who Listens to Whom

Regardless of how it is explained, or what the original intention was, as long as Shaoyin can understand it himself, it can also be explained to outsiders.

Moreover, Baifeng doing this truly stems from these two reasons: firstly, compared to other Soldiers, Shaoyin's ability is certainly stronger, and this can indeed give him more opportunities for advancement; it is a recognition and reward for Xiong's ability, a favor in terms of power and status, and no one will say anything, nor would they dare to say anything.

The addition of Sanxin is exactly the remaining instructions Baifeng has for Xiong: "Xiong, just as Sanxin said, on the battlefield, you are the one in charge. Everything, whether it is promotions or demotions, does not need to go through the Ministry of Personnel; you can handle it as you see fit. I believe you are sufficiently impartial and will not overlook anyone with ability."

"At the same time, I will send a few people from the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Justice to accompany you, responsible for your logistics and also for tallying war merits; only by having people from different departments can there be sufficient impartiality."

"This is not out of distrust for you, but to ensure that others trust you."

Xiong stood up and saluted Baifeng: "That is certain. I have no objections. Everything should be impartial, and I will certainly arrange everything impartially."

"However..." Xiong changed the subject, bringing up a more serious issue: "King, we are fighting in alliance with the Xuanyuan Tribe. Once we reach the battlefield, who should listen to whom? Or should we each fight our own battles? If that were the case, the meaning of our alliance would be lost."

As for this question, Baifeng felt it was easy to handle, but he had to consider Xiong's feelings.

"Xiong, in your opinion, whose ability is greater, yours or Xuanyuan's?"

Once this question was asked, Xiong already knew Baifeng's general meaning, but he was not willing to give up; he also had his own confidence, so he said very firmly: "King, I believe that compared to Xuanyuan, I am far inferior to him in governing the tribe, but when it comes to war, I still have more of an advantage."

Baifeng asked again: "Then what do you think of me compared to Xuanyuan?"

"The King is naturally stronger. The entire Huaxia Ministry of War, all the Soldiers, Weapons, and systems—which one was not built by the King bit by bit? Even the training was taught by the King. So, although I do not know Xuanyuan, I still believe the King is more formidable; among all the tribes under Heaven, no one will be stronger than the King."

Baifeng did not think Xiong's words were flattery, because the facts were just so; the little bit of knowledge he had learned was enough to surpass this era, yet he still had his own considerations.

"Your skills were also taught by me, so I would not think you are inferior to Xuanyuan. But you know very well what kind of person Xuanyuan is; he is too clever, and he understands many things as soon as he thinks about them. Plus, he is now leading troops personally, so in terms of status, he is a bit higher than you."

"In terms of the number of Soldiers led, his are more numerous, and the logistics are also handled by the Xuanyuan Tribe. Therefore, my idea is that the two of you should consult more when fighting, try to reach a consensus, and then cooperate with each other."

"I am not saying who leads whom, but rather to support each other and each lead your own armies. Of course, there will be situations where you lead each other's troops, but consultation must be placed first."

"Another thing is that the advantages of our two sides' Soldiers are different. Our Soldiers have better Weapons and better armor, but the cost is that they are too heavy. They have no advantage in long-distance raids or long-range combat, and they are easily exhausted and fatigued. Therefore, they can only be used for charging and breaking the enemy, including the Ox Cavalry, whose focus is to scatter the enemy's formation."

"The rest, I believe, will be the main work of the Xuanyuan Tribe. But for now, I don't think there will be any large-scale wars for you to fight; one or two thousand people would already be a great battle."

"So, for great battles, consult with each other; for small battles, just notify each other. I will write to Xuanyuan about this. For the final decisive battle, I think I will come to command the battle personally."

As long as he was not made to submit to Xuanyuan, there was no problem. Xiong had no resistance to Baifeng's arrangement and accepted it very readily. As for his saying he would come to command personally, that was not something he needed to consider; conquering such a large tribe could not be done in a day or two, it would last a long time, so they could talk about it when that day came.

However, there was another more important issue that had been troubling Baifeng. Although there were only a few people here, Baifeng still asked for their opinions: "Should the pigeons be brought along this time?"

Xiong did not think too deeply and was puzzled: "This must be brought, right? Although the road is longer, judging by past experience, they should certainly be able to fly back, right?"

Sanxin thought of the key issue: "King, are you worried that the secret of the pigeons cannot be kept and will be discovered by Xuanyuan?"

Baifeng nodded and sighed: "Yes, that is exactly the worry. In the past, there was always some reason to bring them, but this time, when marching out, we are trying our best not to bring anything useless. We can't even bring a crowing rooster, so why bring a pigeon that has no use? How can I explain it?"

"As for dogs, Xuanyuan knows very well what they are used for, and they must be brought as they will definitely be of great use. Pigeons are usually used secretly; if they are not brought to the battlefield, it will take far too long for me to receive your news."

"This matter must be considered carefully."

Shaoyin did not know much about where the pigeons came from, because since he could remember, Huaxia already had pigeons, so he also thought they were like dogs and chickens, needing to be domesticated for many generations, and said without hesitation: "Even if the Xuanyuan Tribe finds out, it doesn't matter. They don't have pigeons; we just won't give them any."

Sanxin shook his head and said: "Shaoyin, you may not know yet, our pigeons are about the same as wild pigeons; in fact, there is no change, it is just that their nests are here. If they are released back into the wild, they will immediately become wild pigeons."

"As long as the Xuanyuan Tribe raises a few pairs of wild pigeons and keeps the nests, once they are familiar with people, they can be used immediately, unlike dogs, which still need to have their wild nature removed."

Now Xiong also felt it was difficult: "Sigh, is that so? I even wanted to apply to bring a few falcons along. In that case, I think it's better not to bring them; we cannot let the Xuanyuan Tribe know this secret."

However, Sanxin now put forward his own different opinion: "King, I think we should bring them."

After hearing this, Baifeng hurriedly asked: "Oh, tell me your thoughts."