CHAPTER 1110: CHAPTER 1066 PERSONAL QUALITIES

As for Zhao Yun, he is known for his steadiness and meticulous attention to detail. It’s safe to say that although Zhao Yun, as a commander, has no major achievements, it’s equally difficult for others to gain an advantage over him.

Furthermore, Zhao Yun joined very early in this life, and Liu Bei’s army was extremely strong. What reassures everyone the most is that Zhao Yun never made any mistakes.

In terms of simply accumulating merits, even if Zhao Yun were pushed to the position of Grand Commander, although other generals might find it somewhat unexpected, Chen Xi is confident that all the generals, including Guan Yu, would recognize this decision.

This is Zhao Yun, whose presence might not be overwhelming, but every general who pairs with him feels completely at ease. When there are accomplishments, they don’t worry about being overshadowed; when surrounded, they don’t worry about reinforcements not arriving. As long as Zhao Yun is your partner, you can go all out, as he will handle any dangerous tasks himself.

Therefore, Zhao Yun is well-liked, and coupled with the fact that the military values experience and ability, Zhao Yun has been a core elder this life in terms of experience, and his ability allows him to single-handedly retreat unscathed from a battle with Lyu Bu. His legion talent grants immunity to all negative mental effects, and his combat capability is exceptionally powerful.

With both capability and experience, Zhao Yun’s position has always been stable.

As for Hua Xiong, Liu Bei already positioned him as the Central Army’s dagger; it’s Hua Xiong who will be relied upon in decisive moments. Liu Bei understands that Hua Xiong is the only one among the four generals who cannot command a large army.

Hua Xiong’s talent is very poor; he relies on his body to remember all military strategies and dispatches rather than using his brain. His way of engaging in warfare is purely instinctual. Although these instincts have been honed through countless battles, this approach is not suitable for large army battles, which rely on dispatches.

In fact, Liu Bei is already quite surprised that Hua Xiong has achieved this level. There are likely fewer than a handful worldwide who can outdo Hua Xiong in direct cavalry combat.

There is a Military Spirit that breaks and rebuilds, a resolute determination honed through a hundred battles, and instincts refined through countless experiences. Everything the brain cannot remember is transformed into instinct, requiring no thought; the body reacts to situations as soon as they are seen, without the need for brain involvement!

This approach, it is said, could be learned by those like Xuu Chu, Wuu Anguo, or Dian Wei, who are not skilled in troop command. Unfortunately, it seems only this one has reached such a level, while the others can only chuckle.

Hua Xiong never intended to become the supreme commander of certain legions. He’s very realistic, and after the indoctrination by Li Youu and Jia Xu, his mind is crystal clear. Excelling at what he’s supposed to do is enough to ensure a lifetime of glory.

Among the four core generals, Zhang Fei is the most troublesome. Zhang Fei, when having a flash of brilliance, is capable of pitting even the top figures to fail, but most of the time, he’s quite reckless, and his temperament is somewhat too aggressive. He can do things without much thought.

In short, Zhang Fei is quite troublesome, but one must acknowledge that Zhang Fei, like Hua Xiong, is also a typical example of body memory. After suffering numerous losses, Zhang Fei knows intuitively what to do without much brainwork. Well, by now, it’s not quite intuition, more like bodily experience.

In essence, Zhang Fei has grown by learning from suffering. In the early stages, he was crushed thoroughly but later turned the tables to crush others. Hence, historically, Zhang Fei’s renowned general achievements were accumulated only in the later stages, as earlier he had been a giver of easy victories for others.

The rough path Zhang Fei takes is to suffer initially and then, when encountering similar scenarios a second time, avoids them instinctively. When having a flash of inspiration, he can overturn the opponent.

Historically, Zhang Fei seemed to have encountered every setback in The Art of War by Sun Tzu, Thirty-Six Stratagems, and the like early on, so that no matter how pits were dug later, they rarely ensnared him. Zhang Fei managed to trap experts he couldn’t previously provoke through successive strokes of brilliance.

The issue is that in this life, Zhang Fei hasn’t had the chance to suffer, meaning his body hasn’t memorized many tragic scenarios. If he were to be dispatched as a grand commander now, it would sometimes be impossible to stop him from self-destructing.

Although Zhang Fei appears to highly respect people like Chen Xi and Lub Su, when Zhang Fei’s temper flares up, persuasion wouldn’t even remotely work.

Therefore, Chen Xi believes that it is necessary first to send Zhang Fei to the north to practice against the Hu People, who are, on average, below tactical standards. Without help from civil officials, let Zhang Fei practice and make some minor mistakes. Then, he can return to the Central Plains to hone further. After all, Zhang Fei has the potential to become a renowned general, which shouldn’t be wasted!

Liu Bei also hopes Zhang Fei can present greater excellence. He wishes Zhang Fei could reach another height alongside him, rather than just being a charging general, a valiant general.

However, such words Liu Bei cannot speak openly. Creating opportunities is possible, but he cannot guarantee Zhang Fei will seize them.

It should be noted that Liu Bei has previously given Zhang Fei several chances to command troops alone. Unfortunately, Zhang Fei’s performance didn’t align with expectations, at least not demonstrating the potential to become an excellent commander.

Over time, Liu Bei has started to doubt whether he is pushing Zhang Fei too hard, since he’s well aware of Zhang Fei’s capabilities and temperament. While Zhang Fei is more than qualified as an unparalleled fighter, from Liu Bei’s long-term delegation experiments, it seems he might have been a bit wishful in expecting Zhang Fei to shine as an excellent commander.

However, Liu Bei noticed Chen Xi’s gaze, and with Liu Ye speaking up on the matter, Liu Bei finally decided to set aside his hesitation. After all, it’s his third brother; it’s indeed a bit of a waste just to make him a charging general.

Liu Bei’s mind turned over countless times, and in the end, he decided to appoint Zhang Fei as the commander, Xu Shu as the Central Army Strategist, with Huang Zhong and Wei Yan as auxiliaries, to attack the northern Hu People.

What can be said about this order? Many military generals were dissatisfied with this appointment; after all, appointing Zhang Fei, who lacked substantial achievements, as the commander-in-chief seemed somewhat like favoritism.

However, Liu Bei has always been fair and just, rarely showing partiality, so no one pursued the matter too deeply. Most accepted the decision silently, as everyone understands that having emotions is a human trait, and a person entirely devoid of emotional constraints doesn’t exist.

And so the discussion passed, and Zhang Fei accepted the responsibility in bewilderment. Of course, there were some prudent civil officials who expressed concern, though they didn’t mention it on the spot. Instead, many people cautioned Xu Shu.

Chen Xi, smiling from the sidelines, watched Zhang Fei across from him with his eyes widened, finding it very interesting. Presumably, Zhang Fei never imagined that he would be the commander to pacify Liaodong this time, nor would he guess that Chen Xi intends to let him go into battle alone, without having Xu Shu as an advisor!

Chen Xi has always believed that Zhang Fei’s growth in this life has been slow, partly due to a lack of setbacks, and perhaps also because he hasn’t had any burdens or pressure!