Chapter 3642
A reckless man charging into battle?
...
The Kushan army's response and choices were so normal, so correct, that Zhang Fei felt as if a dream reenactment was playing out before him.
Back when I was in Chang'an, I had a similar battle with Han Xin.
With armies of roughly the same size, Zhang Fei's troops were more well-rounded and elite, while Han Xin's troops were of relatively lower quality and less well-organized.
However, after the battle began, Han Xin made Zhang Fei understand why Han Xin was a military genius.
Through unparalleled command and response, they directly created a local numerical advantage in soldiers despite their inferior physical condition, thus gaining a local advantage in the war. Ultimately, this accumulated over time and directly reversed the course of the entire war.
That battle taught Zhang Fei a lot, including what the weak need to defeat the strong in war, and what it takes to avoid being defeated by the weak.
"It may not seem like we've achieved any real advantage, but we're actually building momentum for victory. Even if it's not huge, it's still on the path to victory..." Zhang Fei looked at the almost non-stop Kushan arrows falling from the sky. Although these arrows didn't cause many effective casualties, the scene they created after landing affected the morale of the Han soldiers to some extent and boosted the will and courage of the Kushan army.
For Han soldiers, seeing their friendly forces continuously suffering from this level of arrow attack, without being directly involved and unaware of the exact casualties, their internal speculations would inevitably influence their fighting will and mentality.
There may be trust in the equipment of comrades, which may prevent too much damage to morale, but there will inevitably be some fluctuations in this process.
That is, from initial disbelief to a certain degree of worry, and then a rebound, which further strengthens the morale of the fighters.
What the Kushan army wanted to gain through this attack was to exploit the low morale of the Han army, and within this timeframe, to demonstrate increasing advantages, creating a snowball effect, gradually strengthening their own army, raising the morale of their soldiers, and thus giving them the fighting will to truly challenge the Han soldiers.
Once the target is met, even if the Han army recovers, it will not be able to easily decide the outcome of the war.
"So, the original choice of stalling for time, allowing the soldiers to fall into a slump in morale and thus recover to their peak condition, was actually not the right choice when facing such an enemy?" Following Zhang Fei's words, Yan Yan instantly understood the underlying logic and nodded thoughtfully.
Seeing their own vanguard suffer setbacks, as a soldier, one's mindset will naturally change. Whether worried about friendly forces or oneself, one's fighting will and morale will inevitably waver.
However, despite the continuous resistance of the vanguard, there were no large-scale casualties or destruction. For the Han soldiers who had not yet made contact with the enemy on the front lines, the strength and weakness of the enemy were obvious, and the protection provided by their armor was enough to reassure them.
With real-world examples to follow, and the comfort of wearing armor, the pursuit of military achievements and the desire for victory would make the Han soldiers stronger and their fighting spirit more fervent. This would result in a much stronger fighting force than it is now.
Such a back-and-forth performance naturally appealed to Yan Yan, who excelled at defense and counter-attacks. He hoped to stall for time until a crucial moment arrived, allowing his army to reach its peak and then overwhelm the enemy by leveraging their superior strength. However, the current commander, Zhang Fei, clearly perceived the enemy's command style and actions, recognizing their snowballing tactics and operational intentions—a strategy aimed at outmaneuvering the Han army's peak performance.
First, unleash the strongest fighting spirit and peak condition to gain a local advantage, and then gain the battlefield advantage.
At that time, for your army, whether you continue fighting or choose to retreat calmly, it will be a war that will not result in any losses.
It boosted morale, created an advantage, and even helped the soldiers grow, giving these new recruits a stronger fighting will and morale. If they had successfully retreated and spent some time recovering and absorbing the battlefield experience of this war, the price they would have had to pay in the next war would have been much higher than it is now.
In other words, the opposing commander's choice of this method of combat essentially demonstrates a thorough understanding of both sides' war patterns, and directly selects a combat method that appears acceptable to both sides but is actually highly advantageous to his own side.
If they truly accept this protracted warfare tactic, the subsequent war will be very difficult to fight.
Fighting new recruits and fighting elite troops are two completely different levels of combat difficulty.
Especially when soldiers' fighting will and morale can influence the essence of heaven and earth, and soldiers even have additional talents, the difference is particularly obvious and special.
“If we can win, the enemy will definitely fight with the idea of winning. If we can’t win, the enemy won’t drag it out for too long. They can retreat calmly along the ridge route…” Zhang Fei pointed to the ridge in the distance and directly stated the retreat route that Kusroy had prepared.
It can be said that with preparations to this extent, even Yan Yan began to take this opponent seriously, and at the same time, he genuinely held Zhang Fei, who was in command, in much higher regard.
With such battlefield focus and judgment, is Zhang Fei really just a reckless brute who only leads his troops into battle?
Isn't this just plain funny?
If you approach battle with the mindset that Zhang Fei is just a reckless brute, you might get completely wiped out if you're not careful.
As expected, none of the people chosen by those guys as commanders are good people.
Following Zhang Fei's explanation, Yan Yan instantly understood many things, and her mindset calmed down considerably. "So what should we do next? Go all out and forcefully defeat them?"
Since dragging things out would benefit the enemy and make subsequent battles more complicated, it would be better to choose a full-scale outbreak, so that the enemy would gain less experience in this war, have a greater impact on morale, and have fewer new recruits promoted to elite troops.
"No, an outburst won't be of much use. We should stick to the existing plan..." Zhang Fei directly rejected Yan Yan's suggestion, gesturing towards the road behind him, and spoke quite seriously. (End of Chapter)