In addition to Xizhou and the Western Regions, it didn't take long for Li Xiang to receive news that everyone from Cao Cao's forces had joined the company.
Cao Cao did give Li Xiang a surprise. A group of his closest and most capable generals were all packed up to Li Xiang.
The generals who commanded the army include Cao Ren, Cao Zhen, Cao Wenzhao, Tian Ji, and Wei Wuji.
Fierce generals such as You Liang and Cao Kerang, these are the two most powerful generals under Cao Cao. In addition, there are peerless peak generals Tu Xingsun, Xu Long, Xu Feng with a base strength of 105...
Not only did the counselors not mention Xun You, who never left Luoyang, but also Cheng Yu, Cen Wenwen, Lu Miaozi, Jiang Qian, Su Zhe, Xun Feng, Lu Su...
However, a problem also arises. Except for a few people such as Lu Su, the rest of these people are the core figures of the Cao Group. These people are not loyal to the Cao Group to death. But it is definitely much stronger than others.
Moreover, Cao Cao's sons also arrived, and these people were bound to surround Cao Pi.
The addition of such a small group is not a good thing for Li Xiang.
Li Xiang doesn't care if his subordinates have small groups, such as the Jingzhou Faction, Bingzhou Faction, Sizhou Faction, Liangzhou Faction, and recently a weak Nanman Faction. These small groups are not a problem. , even these small groups are more connected with each other, but at least they are loyal to Li Xiang in the general direction.
But for people like the Cao Group, Li Xiang still couldn't believe their loyalty.
Besides, it’s okay to have such a small group. They also brought three thousand tiger and leopard cavalry.
Cao Mengde, Cao Mengde, this traitor will do this in the end!
The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry is such an elite army. I believe that no prince can say that they are not jealous. No matter which prince the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry joins, they will definitely welcome it with both hands.
However, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry army has left a strong imprint of the Cao Group, and this imprint cannot be removed just as easily.
When they first arrived, they had already formed a large-scale small group, coupled with such an army. The key was that Li Xiang was still unable to confirm the loyalty of the people in the Cao Group. It was normal to have a headache with this kind of thing!
If Cao Pi has no dissatisfaction, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry will be a very good helper. And if Cao Pi has any dissent, this Tiger and Leopard Cavalry will become a minefield buried under his hands.
Therefore, after much thought, Li Xiang finally decided to abolish the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry and split the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry into various armies. Of course, it is not split into ordinary armies, but also split into elite battalions.
The elite battalion under Li Xiang is the largest among the princes in the world. It is impossible for these elite battalions to be without losses in the constant wars, and the soldiers and horses of the elite battalion are also the most difficult to replenish, or it is the most troublesome to replenish them.
It's like the White Robe Army. Even though they have gathered together now, the half of the people who have just joined haven't gone through a long period of training. How can they be compared with the White Robe Army at its peak?
Therefore, Li Xiang planned to split the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry directly and replenish the elite battalions under his control. These 3,000 people were dispersed to various elite battalions and states. Without the leadership of Cao's generals, coupled with the impact of the Jin army's ideology, over time, they naturally had nothing to do with the Cao family.
Besides, Li Xiang doesn't have such a serious collecting habit, so not every elite battalion wants to set up one.
Of course, you have to give a sweet date for every blow. After dismantling the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, Li Xiang had to compensate them from other aspects in order to calm the hearts of the people in the Cao Group.
Furthermore, the expenditure to maintain an elite battalion is even several times that of maintaining an ordinary army. The Jin army already maintains a large military scale and a large number of elite battalions, and their military expenditures have already been reached. An exaggeration to the point of exaggeration.
It's not that he really can't afford another Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, but now Li Xiang just wants to form another army, and the cost of forming this army is even more exaggerated than that of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.
Also inspired by the Kushan Empire's war elephant army, Li Xiang also had the idea of establishing a war elephant army.
But there are not only elephants in South Asia, but also the survival of elephants in the territory of the Southern Barbarians.
Troops like war elephants were rare in ancient China, but there were indeed many in other countries.
In the age of cold weapons, the ancients liked to domesticate some animals to assist in combat or transportation, such as horse cavalry, camel cavalry, war mastiffs, etc. But the most powerful animal special forces must be war elephants.
Taming elephants for combat first originated in India and Southeast Asia. Elephants are huge, with rough skin and thick flesh. It is difficult for ordinary swords and arrows to damage them. However, elephants can use their physical advantages to rush into the enemy's formation. Their long trunks can be rolled up and hit, and their backs can also provide a condescending striking platform. The armored war elephant is more like an armored tank, capable of sweeping across almost anything.
The suppression of the cavalry by the war elephants is astonishing. The war horses will be intimidated by the smell of elephants. If the war elephants roar a few more times, the battle will be impossible to fight, and the light and heavy infantry will be even less able to stop the charge of such a behemoth.
Since Alexander suffered the consequences of Darius of Persia's war with elephants, various countries began to build their own war elephant troops. Until 1700 AD, elephant soldiers were a terrifying existence. Military leaders such as Seleucus I and Hannibal The big names are also masters of using elephant soldiers. When charging into battle, running at a speed of 24 kilometers per hour, even the wooden fortress will be shattered under the body of the war elephant. Without being hit in the vital points, crossbows and ballistae can't make war elephants withdraw from the battle.
Does the elephant pawn have any weaknesses? Of course there is. How can there be a perfect army? But in the context of cold weapons, the elephant soldiers do have a great advantage over the cavalry on the grasslands.
Therefore, Li Xiang wanted to quietly form a branch. In the future, if a war breaks out with the grassland, he can completely catch the grassland off guard.
Although Yuan Meng has now seen the war elephant troops, it may not be impossible to find the weaknesses of the war elephant troops. However, even if there is a weakness, it does not mean that it cannot continue to be used. It also depends on who will use it?
Don't the Vine Armor Soldiers have any weaknesses? But aren't Yue Fei and Qi Jiguang rushing to get that batch of rattan armor?
Besides, as long as this force is well hidden and is not discovered by the grassland forces in advance, suddenly appearing on the battlefield is enough to intervene in the outcome of a great war.
When this troop suddenly appeared, it was very likely that Yuan Meng had not had time to take action. Under the stimulation of the smell of war elephants, the war horses of Yuan Meng's cavalry who were relatively close to the war elephant troops were directly stimulated by the smell of war elephants. Soft!
Rather than maintaining a tiger and leopard cavalry with potential safety hazards, Li Xiang is more willing to use his resources to secretly form such a war elephant force!
