Don't be fooled by Chongxuan Sheng's usual cheerfulness—he could strike up a few words with anyone, but in truth, there were very few people he genuinely held in high regard. With his outstanding intellect, once he passed the stage of accumulating strength, he would sooner or later stir the winds and clouds of the world.
Yet in this campaign, he had praised Cao Jie's skill in command again and again, admiring him immensely.
With his explanations, Lord Jiang, who knew nothing of military affairs, was also able to glimpse mountains' heights and seas' vastness.
Perhaps the wind on the eastern bank of the Lian River was too gentle.
Thinking of the world and tracing the past and present, Jiang Wang could not help asking an idle question. "In your view, if Marshal Cao faced your uncle on the battlefield, who would win and who would lose?"
It truly was an idle question, one no one but a military ignoramus could ask. Among the foremost famed generals of the age, there was never any settling of victory or defeat through speculation beyond the battlefield.
Yet Chongxuan Sheng actually thought about it quite seriously before saying, "For us to discuss who would win between them is rather like sparrows debating a honghu. But I'll speak carelessly, and you may listen carelessly."
"Just chatting." Jiang Wang still watched the Jiangyin Plain across the Lian River. As though infected by the atmosphere of that sort of war, his voice softened.
"The qualities of a famed general are not displayed only on the battlefield. From the court above to the camps below, from recruitment and training onward, every aspect forms their complete military capability. Of course, in the end, it must still be proven through victory and defeat."
Chongxuan Sheng said, "Since you specified a