"Yes, during the daytime battle, the army first fired with long-range bows and crossbows. In just a few dozen breaths, they fired no less than two hundred thousand crossbow arrows."
"Then the two armies fought, and the generals were all martial arts practitioners. At the same time, their soldiers' armor coverage rate was extremely high. Almost all of them were wearing armor."
"I'm afraid this is no less powerful than the Imperial Court's imperial guards."
"I don't know which army this is that has such financial resources?"
Xu Rong saw beyond the surface to see the underlying essence, which was the power behind this army. Not to mention other things, its financial resources were extremely astonishing.
Their Xiliang army robbed Luoyang's treasury, and they did not equip the hundreds of thousands of Xiliang troops. Everyone wore armor. However, he secretly observed that this group almost all fought in armor.
This is different.
He knows very well that there is a big difference between having armor and not having armor.
During today's battle, he asked some low-level officers who had returned, and the news they answered made his heart sink even more.
The opponent's soldiers are not bad at fighting, and because they have armor and stomach to protect themselves, except for the lack of experience, they are more powerful than their soldiers.
Therefore, the two armies were in close combat. In a short period of time, they lost two thousand soldiers and horses, while the opponent's losses were less than five hundred.
After Xu Rong said all this, Niu Fu's expression also condensed.
"really?"
Niu Fu asked, and Lieutenant General Li nodded crazily and hit the eighty board. With his physical condition, although his life was not in danger, he might not be able to get out of bed for a while.
Then the war has nothing to do with him, which he cannot accept.
"so smart?"
Although Niu Fu was not very good at leading troops, he also knew what Xu Rong meant.
If the opponent is really that strong, they probably won't be able to send troops easily. After all, they never have the advantage in terms of numbers.
"The princes of Guandong occupy the Central Plains after all. Behind this army, there is probably some top family. Those families have profound foundations. After thousands of years of accumulation, their wealth must be terrifying."
"So the equipment I have accumulated is definitely not bad."
"Compared to Zhang Yang, Wang Kuang and his ilk, they are much more difficult to deal with."
Xu Rong said with a solemn expression.
"Then Zhongguang, what do you think we should do next?"
When Niu Fu heard this, he looked at Xu Rong. Although he was the coach appointed by the Prime Minister, he also knew that he could achieve this position not because of his ability, but because of his identity.
Xu Rong's ability is superior to his, especially his ability to command and fight, which is far superior to him.
In the past, he could crush Zhang Yang, Wang Kuang and others without using Xu Rong, but now, he had to change his mind.
"General, first we have to figure out who this army is and how many elites they have."
"If there are many people, then we will stick to the camp. If there are not many, we can use the cavalry to swallow this group up."
Xu Rong heard this, thought for a while, and then said slowly.
"In addition, there are a large number of enemy troops, and it will be very troublesome in terms of food and fodder. The general can first shoot the scouts to find their food team, and then take the opportunity to attack and kill them."
They have the Heyangjin River at their back, and have countless warships transporting grain and grass. There is no problem with grain, and they can slowly consume it with each other.
If it doesn't work, just exit and return to the other side of the river.
Although Xu Rong was afraid of the elites who appeared today, he was not afraid. After all, they had 10,000 Xiliang cavalry here, and these 10,000 Xiliang cavalry were even more powerful than the 100,000 elites.
The cavalry itself is the king of the army, and the Xiliang cavalry is a veteran of hundreds of battles who have been fighting for many years. It has condensed its military spirit. If he is the commander, he can even condense the general's spirit into form and use his magical powers to make his combat power even more terrifying.
On the other side, in Su Fan's military camp, Tao Qian came with Kong Niao to congratulate Su Fan on his military exploits in the first battle.
A few days ago, Zhang Yang and others lost their troops and generals, but today Dong Zhuo's army lost thousands of soldiers and horses.
Although the number is small, it also greatly improves the morale of their army.
"Ning'an, I really saw you right. Today's battle will give Xiliang a strong start and let them know that our Xuzhou troops are not easy to mess with."
Tao Qian was very happy and raised his glass frequently.
"However, Ning'an, you can't favor one over the other. I have left my more than 100,000 Xuzhou soldiers to you. You have to let them make some contributions on the battlefield, so that the old man and I can also take advantage of it."
"Of course, since Mr. Tao has given the order, Ning An will definitely do it."
"It's just a test today. Xiliang's army is indeed not simple."
Su Fan smiled and responded with praise: "In the future, if Xuzhou soldiers suffer losses, Mr. Tao, please don't feel bad, blame me instead."
"Haha! There's no one who won't die in a war."
Tao Qian said nonchalantly, "As long as we can capture Niu Fu, Dong Zhuo's son-in-law, even if I bring in all my 150,000 troops, it will be worth it."
Naturally, Su Fan would not take Tao Qian's words seriously. No matter whether the other party was sincere or not, he could not treat Tao Qian's troops, especially the tens of thousands of Danyang soldiers, as cannon fodder.
However, Tao Qian's Danyang soldiers are indeed good, and they are considered to be rare elites among the coalition forces.
Not all of the alliance army is just a loser, some princes also have some elite soldiers under their command.
After all, most of these princes were of first-class origin and their families were powerful, so there was no problem in raising some soldiers and horses.
For example, the soldiers brought by Cao Cao, Sun Jian and others from the countryside were quite elite, wearing armor and well-equipped weapons.
It's just that there's not much in quantity.
As the governor of Xuzhou, and not a puppet of those aristocratic families in Xuzhou, Tao Qian had considerable wealth and power at his disposal.
Raising an army of soldiers and horses is not too difficult.
Just like the Jizhou governor, he brought hundreds of thousands of troops. In Su Fan's eyes, tens of thousands of troops were considered elite soldiers.
Not to mention the Yuan brothers.
On Su Fan's side, they were celebrating late at night, and on the other side, there was a small group like Zhang Yang, and the atmosphere was quite bad.
After all, they fought for more than half a month, not only losing troops but also retreating continuously. However, Su Fan and others defeated Dong Zhuo's vanguard army on the first day and lost thousands of troops.
There is no harm in this without comparison.
They fought for more than half a month and lost 60,000 to 70,000 soldiers and horses, causing Xiliang to suffer so many losses, while the latter only lost a few hundred soldiers.
Sad or ashamed.
Of course, it's more about jealousy or grudge. You have such strong strength, why don't you come here instead of watching our jokes from behind?
This is roughly to publicize the inner thoughts of their small group.
Su Fan didn't know what these people were thinking. Even if he knew, he probably wouldn't care because these people couldn't threaten them at all.