Chapter 66: There Is No Comparison

After Lu Chuan personally took his leave, the smile on Cao Cao's face finally vanished.

In Lu Chuan's presence, Cao Cao dared not reveal his dissatisfaction, but now that Lu Chuan was gone, there was no longer any need to keep up the act.

Xiahou Dun stepped closer and asked, "Mengde, are we really going to march alongside Lu Chuan to suppress the bandits of Dongjun? Just think of how much grain and fodder this will consume! And our newly trained recruits—if they actually clash with the bandits, heaven only knows how many casualties we will suffer!"

Cao Cao glanced at Xiahou Dun and said in a deep voice, "I am well aware of the losses, but recruits who never see the battlefield will forever remain mere recruits! A thousand veterans can perform with a might that might even surpass ten thousand novices. Do you not understand this simple truth?

"Although Lu Chuan pushed me too far, what he said makes absolute sense. Using the Dongjun bandits to train our troops and allow the recruits to mature rapidly will ultimately work to our advantage."

Hearing Cao Cao's explanation, Xiahou Dun slowly nodded.

Unlike Cao Cao, he did not need to fret over the depletion of grain and baggage; his primary concern was the true combat prowess of the men under his command.

The gulf between a greenhorn and a veteran was not mere idle talk. Veterans who had truly walked through the fires of war knew what to do when disaster struck; even in an unfavorable battle, they would not easily collapse.

Recruits, however, were entirely different. They could only fight when the wind was at their backs. The moment a battle hit a setback or casualties mounted, they would instantly break.

At present, Cao Cao was still a weak force. Aside from Lu Chuan, who would dare firmly believe that Cao Cao was destined to rise?

Thus, Xiahou Dun understood all too well that they could not expect endless victories, nor could they pin all their hopes on untested troops.

Sustaining moderate losses among the recruits to forge them into hardened veterans was the only way to seize even a sliver of initiative in this chaotic era.

Seeing the shift in Xiahou Dun's expression, Cao Cao knew the point had landed. Without further hesitation, he ordered Xiahou Dun to quickly whip the troops into shape, declaring that tomorrow he would personally lead a force of five thousand into battle.

Cao Cao was swift and efficient, but Lu Chuan was no slouch either.

By the time Cao Cao personally led his five thousand men out of Henei, Lu Chuan had already led three thousand soldiers northward.

Dongjun lay to the north of Luxian, while Henei was situated to the northwest. Too lazy to rendezvous beforehand, Lu Chuan simply agreed with Cao Cao on a meeting point within Dongjun and set off immediately.

It was precisely at this moment that the vast disparity in strength between Lu Chuan and Cao Cao became blindingly apparent.

Lu Chuan's three thousand men consisted of one thousand cavalry and two thousand infantry. Every single horseman was fitted with gleaming iron armor, fully geared, immaculately uniformed, and radiating an overwhelming martial spirit.

The two thousand infantry might not have all possessed iron armor, but Lu Chuan ensured that every officer from squad leader upward wore a complete set of iron plate, while the ordinary foot soldiers were all equipped with sturdy leather armor.

Furthermore, Lu Chuan's supply trains were heavily laden with provisions, including abundant meat, refined salt, and even a considerable assortment of fresh vegetables.

In contrast, although Cao Cao's force was larger, numbering a full five thousand, a closer inspection revealed a miserably low armoring rate. Only officers holding the rank of centurion or higher were privileged enough to wear armor, while a mere handful of ordinary soldiers sported leather armor, leaving the vast majority clad in nothing more than common cloth.

As for provisions, while Cao Cao's baggage train was by no means small, it was strictly limited to coarse salt and millet—just enough to stave off starvation. Eating well was entirely out of the question.

Because of this, the morale of Cao Cao's five thousand men was utterly mediocre, and their formations remained slack and undisciplined.

Originally, Cao Cao had been quite pleased with his five thousand soldiers. But the moment his main force entered Dongjun and joined up with Lu Chuan, catching sight of the razor-sharp discipline, high morale, and imposing military array of Lu Chuan's three thousand men, he suddenly felt as though the troops he had painstakingly trained were nothing more than a worthless rabble.

Comparisons are odious; put side by side, goods are meant to be thrown away!

When the time came to set up camp and cook their meals, Cao Cao shamelessly ambled over to Lu Chuan's side.

There was simply no help for it. Who could blame Lu Chuan for having such luxurious rations?

Even ordinary foot soldiers were eating meat, receiving slices of fresh greens to stave off scurvy, and every dish was seasoned with refined salt. The savory aroma was something Cao Cao's side could never hope to match.

It was not that Cao Cao could not afford refined salt or buy meat; rather, he knew that a commander could not afford to isolate himself from his men. Especially before he had established sufficient merit, he had to share the hardships and joys with his soldiers. Only by doing so could he truly win their hearts.

If the soldiers discovered they were chewing on chaff and weeds while Cao Cao dined on fine meats and delicacies in the rear, how could resentment not take root in their hearts?

Yet Cao Cao had no desire to choke down that bitter, unrefined millet either. What was he to do?

The only option was to sponge meals off Lu Chuan.

He had even prepared a ready excuse: he needed to discuss the tactical details of their joint campaign against the Dongjun bandits directly with Lu Chuan, face-to-face.

Thus, the dining was merely a trivial side-issue; nobody should dwell on it.

At first, Cao Cao came alone. Later on, when Xiahou Dun and the others caught wind of it, they tagged along as well. The ultimate result was that whenever it was time to cook, Cao Cao would drag Xiahou Dun and the rest over to freeload, all under the high-sounding pretext of discussing strategy with Lu Chuan.

Lu Chuan was rendered utterly speechless. They were merely going to crush some bandits—what strategy was there to discuss?

Did they have any shred of shame left, coming over to sponge meals every single day?

Didn't they see the looks of deep contempt already creeping into the eyes of Lu Chuan's soldiers whenever Cao Cao and his cohorts appeared?

Of course, the dining really was just a trivial side-issue.

Lu Chuan lacked neither provisions nor the generosity to let Cao Cao share a meal, so long as the primary objective of training the troops was achieved.

Once the encampment was fully established, Lu Chuan instructed Cao Cao to dispatch men to issue a formal declaration of war against the bandits led by Yu Du, Bai Rao, and Sui Gu.

Although Yu Du and his confederates had gathered tens of thousands of men, bandits remained bandits at heart, harboring an intrinsic dread of confronting regular government forces. Since Cao Cao represented the imperial authority, even though Yu Du and the others knew that an allied force of eight thousand was camping right under their noses, they still dared not make the first move.

After all, Cao Cao commanded a formidable reputation and had participated in the coalition against Dong Zhuo; he was already a prominent figure, and the three bandit leaders genuinely wanted no part of a feud with him.

As long as Cao Cao refrained from provoking them, they preferred to turn a blind eye.

Should Cao Cao insist on forcing the issue, they planned to retreat into the mountains. If Cao Cao dared to send his army up the slopes, they would simply use the rugged terrain to wear him down in a protracted game of cat-and-mouse.

In short, barring absolute desperation, they refused to openly break with Cao Cao.

Because of this mindset, several days had passed since Lu Chuan and Cao Cao made camp, yet Yu Du's faction remained utterly unresponsive, forcing Lu Chuan to urge Cao Cao into sending out a formal challenge.

Cao Cao himself was rather exasperated. Why were these bandits such utter cowards?

He had practically marched up to their front door, yet they still cowered like tortoises hiding in their shells!

After mulling it over, Cao Cao ordered Xiahou Dun to lead a detachment of troops to strike while a band of outlaws was descending the mountain to pillage. They slaughtered dozens of bandits and loudly broadcasted their intent: they would lop off the heads of Yu Du and his two cohorts and use them as night-stools!

The outlaws who managed to flee back to the stronghold brought this message with them, and at that point, Yu Du and his companions could swallow their anger no longer.

Damn it all!

We gave Cao Cao face and chose not to fight him, but why must he keep pushing us?

If we let this pass without striking back, how are we supposed to continue walking the path of the bandit?