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In the Cui Family's estate north of the city, Fei Qian was arranging the transportation of personnel with Huang Cheng.
The first batch had already been dispatched. Due to the inefficiency of information transmission in ancient times, the risks of transportation increased the further the distance. Thus, the initial shipment was relatively low-risk.
Since the proposal to move the capital had only been made a couple of days prior, many well-informed individuals were still reeling from the shock. More remote regions might not even have received the news yet, meaning there would be fewer opportunists looking to take advantage of the chaos. However, as time passed, more and more people would likely attempt to fish in troubled waters…
For this reason, the first batch was escorted by only two squad leaders from the Huang Family, leading twenty men alongside the Cui Family's merchant convoy. Subsequent shipments would undoubtedly become increasingly difficult. Even though Fei Qian had taken some preventive measures, it was still hard to prevent hot-headed individuals from doing things that harmed others without benefiting themselves.
If Huang Zhong were still here, he could have escorted the final batch of books and personnel. With Huang Zhong's formidable combat prowess, small-scale bandits or other troublemakers wouldn't have been much of a concern.
But now, Huang Zhong and Zhang Zhongjing had gone to Jingxiang, leaving Huang Cheng as the strongest fighter currently by Fei Qian's side.
According to Huang Cheng himself, his martial skills were inferior to Huang Zhong's. However, in Fei Qian's estimation, there were probably only about ten individuals in the world who could rival Huang Zhong—most others would likely fall short.
Even among these elite warriors, there were differences in strength. The question was, where exactly did Huang Cheng rank?
And more importantly—how exactly was a warrior's combat prowess evaluated?
Was there a way, like in a game, to simply pull up Huang Cheng's character profile and see his stats—oh, his combat rating is 80, or maybe 90—and use that as a basis for judgment?
Moreover, in reality, could someone with a combat rating of 99 always defeat someone with a 98? That was hard to say. What if the 99-rated warrior happened to be hungry that day, or had eaten too much and felt bloated…
Therefore, Fei Qian felt it necessary to have a proper discussion with Huang Cheng—at the very least, to understand how warriors were evaluated in this world.
Unexpectedly, Huang Cheng responded, "I'm not sure what exactly the young master wishes to ask—are you referring to a commander or a frontline warrior?"
"What do you mean?"
"Currently, military officers can be divided into two broad categories. The first is the frontline warrior—those who don heavy armor, wield sharp weapons, charge into battle, and storm enemy fortifications. The other is the commander—those who remain in the central army, deploy troops, devise strategies, and oversee operations," Huang Cheng explained.
Fei Qian began to understand, but while the classification was clear, what about the evaluation?
Huang Cheng smiled and said, "That's difficult to determine. Factors like timing, terrain, the quality of the troops led, and logistical support can all influence outcomes. So, if we had to rank frontline warriors, the only way might be to have them duel in the same arena to determine superiority. As for commanders, it's even harder—victory or defeat might be the only true measure."
"Moreover, some generals excel in land battles, while others are skilled in naval warfare. There are many differences, so ranking them is truly difficult…"
Fei Qian nodded, though inwardly he sighed. His dream of quantifying all the Three Kingdoms' generals with numerical stats had been completely shattered.
Based on what Huang Cheng said, if Lü Bu were given a ragtag group of weak and undisciplined soldiers, he might not necessarily outperform Liu Bei leading an elite force—even though there was undoubtedly a gap in their individual combat abilities.
Fei Qian then asked Huang Cheng, "In that case, why do you say you're no match for Hansheng?"
Huang Cheng looked slightly embarrassed. "I've sparred with Hansheng before. His blade techniques are exceptional, and his strikes are incredibly powerful—I truly couldn't defeat him. On top of that, his archery is superb, so escaping wasn't an option either…"
"Was your duel with him on horseback or on foot? And how many rounds did you fight?"
"Naturally, it was on horseback—about fifty rounds. If it were on foot, we could've gone a hundred or more…" Huang Cheng replied, then added, "Of course, the horses we rode couldn't be too mismatched, or the comparison wouldn't be fair…"
Fei Qian pondered this and found the matter growing increasingly complex—far different from his modern-day impressions. However, this was also more realistic. After all, it wasn't like a video game where warriors could mow down enemies effortlessly, or recover from near-fatal injuries by eating a steamed bun…
Ahem.
Thus, the larger the scale of a battle, the less a single warrior's individual prowess mattered. In smaller skirmishes, however, a warrior's true value became fully apparent.
Right now, transporting the books from Cai Yong's estate to Xihe would inevitably involve small-scale engagements, where a warrior's role would be crucial.
Fei Qian said, "The first batch has already been sent. In a few days, we'll dispatch the second. Shuye, who do you think should lead it?"
Huang Cheng thought for a moment. "Let Huang Xu handle it. He's quite skilled and quick-witted—he should be able to manage it well."
Huang Xu?
Fei Qian searched his memory and vaguely recalled a lean, dark-skinned young man who seemed to be related to Huang Cheng. However, nepotism wasn't necessarily a bad thing—after all, it was always easier to trust one's own people. The important question was whether Huang Xu was truly capable.
Fei Qian remembered that during their previous march, Huang Xu hadn't spoken much, but the soldiers under his command had moved in an orderly fashion and obeyed him well. That suggested he had some ability. Since Huang Cheng vouched for him so confidently, Fei Qian decided to let Huang Xu lead three squads of soldiers for this mission…
By the time the first batch of books reached Pingyang, Luoyang would likely be in complete chaos. Thus, the final shipment would face even greater challenges. Moreover, Fei Qian had some additional plans of his own.
Just then, Cui Hou hurried in with a furrowed brow. Without even greeting Fei Qian properly, he said urgently, "Ziyuan, something's happened!"
It turned out that Cui Hou had just sent the first batch of books twenty li outside Luoyang when, on his way back, he noticed Dong Zhuo's troops setting up checkpoints at every intersection, inspecting all travelers and vehicles. Unlike before, the inspections were now extremely strict—bribes no longer worked…
While waiting, Cui Hou had witnessed two merchants attempt to bribe the checkpoint guards, only to be detained along with their carts and horses. The soldiers had treated them as if they were dangerous criminals, meticulously searching through their belongings…
Fortunately, the first batch of books had already been sent out. However, there were still the second, third, and fourth batches waiting to be transported. With Dong Zhuo's forces enforcing such stringent inspections, Cui Hou worried that if anything went wrong, delays would be the least of their concerns. If the books were damaged or lost, how could the Cui Family ever face Cai Yong again?
Hearing this, Fei Qian couldn't help but feel frustrated. What could they do now?
Damn these bandit-like soldiers!