Take the blacksmiths as an example. Even though Oda Nobunaga asked Akechi Mitsuhide and the others to snatch a group of blacksmiths back, the number that could be snatched back was limited.
It takes a certain amount of time for these blacksmiths to go from teaching enough apprentices to casting finished armor.
However, the batch now seized by Akechi Mitsuhide, Takigawa Kazugoshi, and Yamatatorochi can be used directly. If the equipment used by the two thousand Han regular army were transported back to Japan, it would be enough to give Oda Nobunaga a sufficient advantage in his subsequent unification war.
As for Zhou Yu, when the news of Zhao Yu's defeat and return came back, Zhou Yu was also shocked.
For a small barbarian country like Japan, a few normal Han generals would take it to heart. After all, judging from the limited records, this Japanese is not much stronger than the primitive people, and they are truly barbarians.
For these enemies, any general will naturally look down upon them.
It is precisely because of this that Zhou Yu was so surprised, even shocked, when he heard the news that Zhao Yu had been defeated.
How could Zhou Yu, who had been with Zhao Kuangyin for a while, not know Zhao Yu's abilities? He was Zhao Kuangyin's number one general.
Among the many generals of the Sun family, only Luo Hongxin could compare with him. Although Sun Ce, Zhou Yu's long-time good friend, is conceited and brave, he is still far from the level of Zhao Yu and Luo Hongxin, and is far from comparable to the best in the world.
In fact, even if Sun Ce did not die young, he still had no hope of reaching the level of Zhao Yu and Luo Hongxin in this life.
Historically, Sun Ce was already twenty-six years old when he died. It is even more tragic in today's era of chaos, and he would have died two years earlier.
But at this age, their physical fitness has reached its peak. For these warriors, even if they still have the opportunity to break through the limit, it is far from enough to support Sun Ce to progress to the stage of Zhao Yu or Luo Hongxin. After all, the gap between them is not just the slightest bit.
Although the news of Zhao Yu's defeat shocked the generals of the Xuzhou Army, including Zhou Yu, it also alerted these generals of the Xuzhou Army. A failure can be considered a gain and a loss.
After all, arrogant soldiers will be defeated. This general of the Xuzhou Army may be capable enough, but if he really underestimates the enemy, he may fall into a bigger problem.
A wise man will surely lose something if he thinks a lot, and a fool will gain something if he thinks a lot. No one is absolutely undefeated, and no battle is absolutely 100% victorious.
What's more, their opponents are not fools.
With such a small loss at this time, it is not a blessing to allow these generals of the Xuzhou Army, and even the generals of the Han Dynasty, to truly get to know this enemy.
Well, this battle may have been an incredible victory for the Japanese army, represented by Akechi Mitsuhide, Takigawa Kazugoshi, and Hatamato Roji, but the loss of a mere two thousand people was not enough for the Japanese who were sitting in Xuzhou. For Zhao Kuangyin, it is really not a big loss.
When Zhao Yu's news came back, Zhou Yu, who was already alert to this Japanese army, was not in a hurry to take full action immediately, but was ready to thoroughly test the quality of this Japanese army.
Therefore, Zhou Yu hid his only 1,000 cavalry among the 20,000 people, which should now be only 18,000, and led 17,000 infantry and divided the troops into three routes to fight.
However, facing Zhou Yu's three armies, Akechi Mitsuhide used the large number of people they looted from the surrounding areas as bait to contain the main force of Zhou Yu's central army and the right wing. At the same time, the superior forces were concentrated to attack the left-wing Xuzhou Army.
Akechi Mitsuhide's hand was indeed cruel enough, and it really hit Zhou Yu's weakness. Akechi Mitsuhide could take the lives of the Han people as his own, but Zhou Yu could not.
Among the remaining princes in the world today, although they do not absolutely cherish the feathered ones, there is absolutely no need to waste their reputation on them if it is not necessary.
Judging from Xiang Yu's initial visit to Jiangxia, let alone the fact that all the princes would have a natural sense of righteousness if they wanted to attack Xiang Yu in the future. Let's just say that it will be extremely difficult for Xiang Yu to expand overseas in the future.
After the Jiangxia incident, due to the intentional actions of the princes, Xiang Yu, in addition to ceding his own territory, has been exaggerated into the image of a tyrant who slaughters a city every time he attacks it, and kills people every day for no reason.
In the future, if Xiang Yu wants to expand outward, the princes will naturally need the support of the people.
Of course, Xiang Yu has basically no possibility of expanding outwards in his life. Among the remaining princes in the world today, his abilities are among the worst.
Once Li Xiang takes care of the two brothers Liu Xiu and Liu Yu, at that time, the princes who are in contact with Xiang Yu will become Li Xiang, Zhu Yuanzhang, and Liu Che.
Among the other princes except Li Xiang, the comprehensive strength of Liu Che and Zhu Yuanzhang can enter the top three. Liu Chehu occupied Yizhou, and Zhu Yuanzhang occupied the whole of Yangzhou and half of Jingnan. These three parties, if there is no external intervention, all have the strength to kill Xiang Yu's forces alone.
Moreover, under Xiang Yu's series of operations, it was basically difficult for him to find an ally.
Moving the topic back to Zhou Yu again, it is really unnecessary to damage Zhao Kuangyin's reputation for a mere 20,000 Japanese troops.
Although Zhou Yu was far from convinced by Zhao Kuangyin, the little spark hidden in his heart was still not extinguished. But after all, he was still struggling to make a living under Zhao Kuangyin. If Zhao Kuangyin was unhappy, not only would his life be difficult, but that of Sun Quan and other members of the Sun family would also be difficult.
What's more, the relationship between Zhou Yu and the Sun family is so deep that it is almost difficult to sever it. If he had given some orders that were not easy to give, even if Sun Quan found an opportunity in the future, he would probably find it more difficult to win over the people of Xuzhou.
Zhou Yu has a thorough understanding of the pros and cons of this.
Therefore, Zhou Yu could only stay away from the Japanese army represented by Akechi Mitsuhide, Takigawa Kazugoshi, and Hatamato Rochi.
Moreover, taking this opportunity, Zhou Yu revealed a small flaw in his characteristics, giving Akechi Mitsuhide a small victory.
Although Zhou Yu decided to retreat for the time being, it did not mean that he could not start planning for the next real war.
Even from the very beginning, Zhou Yu had already begun to lay out the plan. Otherwise, he would not have temporarily hidden the thousand cavalry from the beginning.
