The strongest devouring system in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 266 Overfulfilling the Task

"Uncle, rest assured, Mengqi understands. I will definitely not act impulsively. Besides, Han Sui's main force has already vanished, and the remaining cities are nothing but clay and earthen walls, they won't amount to anything," Ma Chao said.

Seeing Ma Chao's state, Pang De didn't say anything more. In fact, he wanted to remind Ma Chao to be careful of Guo Si and Li Jue. Han Sui was dead, and his main force had vanished, so Pang De naturally wasn't worried.

His concern was that Ma Chao might rashly launch an attack without understanding the specific situation in Longxi, and end up losing both territory and troops. In that case, Ma Chao's standing in Chen Er's eyes would be greatly diminished.

"In short, just remember to think things through before you act," Pound concluded.

Ma Chao cupped his hands to Pang De and said, "Uncle, rest assured, Mengqi will definitely remember your teachings."

Ma Chao is indeed a genius, but he is still a young man, and young people are prone to impulsiveness. Pang De could only pray in his heart that Ma Chao could successfully complete the mission or even exceed the target.

However, all of this is based on the premise that the casualties of the large organization are not too great. Otherwise, it would not be considered a mission accomplished. This is Zhao Yun's original statement: "With the strength of my own region, victory is not surprising. What I want is the number of casualties. The fewer the casualties, the better."

Ma Chao only received brief training from Liao Hua; the extent of its effectiveness will depend on this training.

"What are you thinking about?" Liao Hua asked Zhao Yun. Zhao Yun smiled and said, "I'm wondering what Ma Chao will do next."

"I think this kid might be able to take over Longxi directly," Liao Hua said confidently.

Zhao Yun looked at Liao Hua's face, wanting to know why Liao Hua said that, but after looking for a long time, he still couldn't figure it out, so he could only ask, "Why?"

"Intuition! My intuition tells me that Ma Chao is a man of unconventional thinking, just like our former lord," Liao Hua said.

"If he can really take Longxi with minimal casualties, that would be a good thing for our organization. I will definitely praise him in the battle report to the lord then," Zhao Yun said confidently.

Liao Hua asked, "Does the lord still have no new instructions on what to do next?" Several days have passed since Han Sui's main force was annihilated. According to the speed of the carrier pigeon, a reply should have been received from Yuyang by now, but why haven't we received one yet?

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Yun said to Liao Hua, "I think it's possible that our lord is testing us." "Testing us?" Liao Hua asked, puzzled.

Zhao Yun nodded and said, "Yes, this may be a test from our lord. The overall strategy for Liangzhou was formulated by our lord, and we have been implementing the strategies that our lord has already formulated."

"The war is progressing smoothly now. I suppose our lord wants to test our autonomy in the upcoming battles. As you know, our lord has always advocated that generals in the field may not be bound by the emperor's orders. The reason why our lord has not issued any new instructions is that he wants us to make our own decisions."

“That’s good. After all, Liangzhou is too far from Yuyang. Although we now have carrier pigeons and the transmission of orders is much faster than before, timeliness is still a problem. Since our lord intends for us to make our own decisions, Zilong, who should we attack first?” Liao Hua asked.

Zhao Yun said, "This concerns the entire organization's operation. I think we should call Organization Chief Shen and Pang De to come and discuss and decide together." Liao Hua had no objection and nodded in agreement.

During the discussion, everyone agreed that there must be a reason why Ma Chao was chosen as the commander. Although Ma Chao was young, he might still have real talent and ability, right? Thinking about it this way, Yanbo felt a little better.

Not to mention that Liao Hua had told him before he left that Ma Chao would be awarded the rank of Major General after the reorganization of the Ma family. As a brigade commander, it was only natural for him to obey the orders of a Major General.

Mounted on horseback, Yanbo asked Ma Chao, "General, what's our next move?" He was asking for Yanbo's opinion.

Ma Chao was not as arrogant as one might expect. Instead, he humbly said to Yan Bo, "Guardian Yan, although I am now a commander, I know that I am not competent for this position. I will have to rely on your guidance in the battles to come."

"You're too kind to the organization; its capabilities are undeniable."

Yanbo said, somewhat reluctantly, "Since Ma Chao is so humble, it at least shows that he won't give orders to his men to their deaths." In Yanbo's mind, his goodwill towards Ma Chao immediately increased significantly. Appropriate flattery is also helpful in bringing the two sides closer.

Yanbo is a historical figure.

Upon hearing Yanbo's words, Ma Chao was immediately delighted. "See? Someone still understands me." Ma Chao said to Yanbo, "Guardian Yan, I have a suggestion. I suggest that we divide our forces into three groups to sweep through the towns and small cities in the south. Han Sui's main force has been annihilated, and the rest are just scattered soldiers."

“You have an infantry brigade with three regiments, each with two to three thousand men. My cavalry is also divided into three parts, each cooperating with one of the three infantry regiments, with at least three thousand five hundred men in each route. I think such a force is enough even for an ordinary county town. After all, Han Sui has conscripted all the soldiers he can. Moreover, if we encounter a tough opponent, we can still combine our forces in time.”

Upon hearing Ma Chao's suggestion, Yanbo quickly nodded. Ma Chao's suggestion was very pertinent. At this time, Han Sui's remaining forces were already frightened birds, and there were not many left. Dividing the troops would not only help to complete the mission quickly, but also avoid wasting troops. Just thinking about his elite infantry brigade bullying one or two thousand people made Yanbo blush. He decided to let it go; he, Yanbo, still had his pride.

Yanbo immediately said to Ma Chao, "This subordinate will obey the orders of the general."

“Alright! It’s decided then. The entire organization will immediately split into three groups. You and I will each lead one group, and Chief of Staff Li will lead the third group.” Ma Chao said to Li Qing, the infantry brigade chief of staff who had not participated in the discussion.

Li Qing immediately accepted the order unanimously approved by the two commanding officers. This was also an opportunity for him to lead troops and make merits on his own. Li Qing was very grateful to Ma Chao, as staff officers like them always suffered the most during battles.

Because they don't get most of the credit. Even if they offer advice and strategies, the bulk of the credit goes to the combat team. They can only get a small share of the credit unless the entire battle plan is made and approved by the staff officer and achieves remarkable results. In that case, the staff officer's credit would be much greater.

However, such cases are rare. The main task of most staff officers is to provide reference opinions and intelligence support to their superiors.