The Three Kingdoms began with island farming

Chapter 624: The Sharp Edge of the Nation
In the art of war, although many things appear different in appearance, their core is the same.

Just like in the eyes of generals like Yan Yan, even from a tactical point of view, a battle has not just two results: win or lose, but four.

From good to bad, under normal circumstances they are: you win and the enemy loses, both win, both lose, you lose and the enemy wins.

If you win and the enemy loses, the meaning is very simple, it means a great victory and your side does not suffer much loss.

A win-win situation means that neither side suffers much damage, or even avoids confrontation, and both sides preserve their strength.

It's a lose-lose situation, both sides suffer heavy losses, some are serious and some are less serious, one of the sides may even be directly destroyed.

If you lose and the enemy wins, it will naturally be a great defeat.

A pyrrhic victory is not a victory at all in many cases.

The first thing a qualified general should do is not to defeat the enemy, but to know whether to fight or retreat, and how to preserve his own strength.

Because in most cases, the battlefield is very complicated and full of surprises.

The prerequisite for winning in the end is not to win all the time, but to maintain sufficient combat power to deal with enemies that may appear at any time.

If we look at it from a strategic perspective, it becomes even more complicated.

Kumar is a qualified general.

Although he did not know the saying in Sun Tzu's Art of War that "a skilled warrior first makes himself invincible, waiting for the enemy to be defeated", he understood the principle behind it.

Now that the Guards Infantry Battalion was stopped, this battle was of little significance to him.

If he continued to fight, even if he could gain an advantage, he might not win. And the huge losses and risks were something he could not bear.

After all, he will face not only the threat from the Han army, but also internal struggles.

If they fight with the Han army and both sides suffer losses, the ones who will benefit in the end will be the southern warlords.

This is inconsistent with his strategic goals.

So after hesitating for a moment, he chose to withdraw.

As the Kushan army's trumpets sounded, the Kushan army retreated like a black tide. The ice crystals crushed by the war elephants sparkled in the twilight, like broken diamonds scattered on the ground.

Yan Yan and Zhang Ren watched the Kushan army retreat with exhaustion, a hint of relief flashed in their eyes, and they finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although Yan Yan's soldiers were tough enough, their strength was indeed lacking.

The same was true of Zhang Ren's crossbow and elephant soldiers. After all, their foundation was too shallow and they were only auxiliary troops. It was too difficult for them to deal with the Guards Infantry Battalion.

It was because Kumar had too many concerns. Otherwise, if he had fought for another half hour, his newly born Military Soul Corps would have died.

The exhausted and disorganized Yan Yan army had no ability to pursue, so they simply retreated as well.

The allied forces of the three countries in the rear did not relax their vigilance at all and were on guard at all times.

Only after Yan Yan's army had completely withdrawn to the rear did they follow an organized retreat.

Both sides set up camp and confronted each other from a distance.

The battle had just ended, and Liu Fan ran impatiently to where Yan Yan and Zhang Ren were.

"Xiber, Zibu, thank you for your hard work!"

He personally put a cloak on Yan Yan and stuffed a bowl of hot wine into Zhang Ren's hand.

The two men were moved and knelt down on the ground together: "My Lord, we have fulfilled your mission!"

They did not lose this battle!
Winning or losing is often not just about victory or defeat on the battlefield, but more about whether one's strategic goals have been achieved.

They couldn't win this battle.

But we can't lose either.

They fulfilled their mission very well.

Zhang Ren did not disappoint Liu Fan's expectations and successfully built the General Soul Legion.

Liu Fan supported the two men with his hands, his eyes swept over their blood-stained armor, his throat rolling but he couldn't speak.

The hem of Yan Yan's cloak was still dripping with ice water, and the wine bowl in Zhang Ren's hand reflected the blood at the corner of his mouth. "Get up." Liu Fan's voice was slightly hoarse.

"My lord, please name the new army!" Zhang Ren said solemnly.

Liu Fan was stunned when he heard this, and his eyes fell on the crossbow and elephant soldiers around him who had suffered heavy losses.

When the war elephants swung their trunks, the sound of armor colliding was like the sound of metal hitting stone. The twilight penetrated the iron parts of the elephant's back crossbow, casting spider-web-like light and shadows on the ground.

"How about calling it 'Far Front Army'?" Liu Fan asked.

"To serve the country, we must be determined and be the sharpest weapon for the country."

"Far Front Army?" Zhang Ren repeated the name of the army, and suddenly felt a surge of blood in his heart.

These three simple words made him feel the heavy responsibility on his shoulders more than any lofty words.

"Thank you, my lord!" Zhang Ren said solemnly.

"Thank you, Lord!"

The Far Front Army shouted in unison.

Yan Yan looked at this scene with a little envy, without any jealousy in his heart. He was more happy for Zhang Ren, Liu Fan and himself.

The Han Dynasty finally has its own military soul corps.

Liu Fan looked at the neatly-lined vanguard troops. The breath of the war elephants condensed into white mist in the twilight. Although the blood stains on the armor had not been washed clean, they could not hide the heat in the soldiers' eyes.

"Ban Dingyuan was able to dominate the Western Regions back then because of his 'Dingyuan' ambition. The Yuanfeng Army has established its power at the Tapti River today, and will surely be able to follow our lord and fight to the Kushan royal court in the future!" Zhang Ren said solemnly.

"I am willing to be the vanguard of the Han army and crush the enemy's formation!"

"I am willing to be the vanguard of the Han army and crush the enemy's formation!"

The Far Front Army followed suit and shouted.

Behind the army, Liu Bei and others watched this scene with a little envy.

"The Han Kingdom also has its own Military Soul Corps. We must also work harder and not be overtaken by others." Liu Bei said with a smile.

Sun Ce was full of confidence: "Don't worry, Lord Xuande, I will not fall behind."

"Oh? It seems that Bo Fu has made some progress."

"Isn't it the same for Lord Xuande?" Sun Ce asked in return.

The two looked at each other and smiled.

Li Yan and others looked at this scene and sighed in their hearts: "It seems that they still have a long way to go!"

Compared with Liu Bei and Sun Ce, there is still a big gap between them.

Now I have only caught up half a step temporarily and am barely catching up.

"It seems that Kumar really only brought a military soul corps this time, otherwise he would never retreat so easily." Zhou said.

Pang Tong nodded: "Our speculation is correct."

"The role of these southern Kushan tyrants is greater than we thought. We are all thankful to them this time."

"Otherwise, if it's just a risk of a little loss or defeat, I'm afraid Kumar will really take a chance."

"After all, the threat posed by the Military Soul Corps is too great. If we can destroy it directly, this risk is worth taking."

Zhou Yu said calmly: "If he really doesn't withdraw his troops, we have to consider burying their Military Soul Corps and the main army here together."

"Since we can't hide our strength, we might as well take over the southern part of Kushan in one go."

Li Yan shook his head: "That's the worst option."

"Just a military soul corps has brought us quite a big 'surprise'. The strength of Kushan should not be underestimated. It is better to be cautious."

"We must strengthen our intelligence work on Kushan. If we had known the situation of this Military Soul Corps in advance, this battle wouldn't have been so troublesome."

(End of this chapter)