"I have a question for General Liu of the Vanguard."
At several generals' prompting, Champion General Wang Xia, seated directly opposite Liu Cheng, took it upon himself to speak. While Xie Shang and his staff were still carefully reading the tables, he had already lost patience with waiting.
"Please speak, Champion General Wang." Liu Cheng sat upright and first saluted with cupped hands.
Wang Xia froze for a moment, hastily returned the salute, then asked, "The Vanguard General just said he would select a force to support Luoyang in the future... may I ask what you mean by 'select'? How will you select them?"
"This is written very clearly on the last page. Please turn to it with me." Unhurried, Liu Cheng first held up his own collection of documents to demonstrate. Only after seeing that most of them had made a show of turning the pages did he continue. "By selection, I certainly do not mean drawing off the finest soldiers and strongest generals under your command... I am a northern migrant of the Huai River region myself. How could I not know that the greatest mainstay allowing the Western Command, the Northern Command, and even many of the Imperial Guards to contend with the northern barbarians is this: soldiers drawn from their own communities?
"At most several banners, at least one-the troops within are mostly clansmen who fled south together, or at the very least, clansmen form the backbone, with refugees who attached themselves serving as soldiers. Thus, everyone within a banner acts as one body: when fighting, they dare to fight; when retreating, they can retreat. Naturally, my selection will also take whole banners, preferably entire formations commanded by men with general's titles. I have absolutely no intention of breaking apart your fellow villagers, kinsmen, and subordinates."