I Can See Your Combat Power

With the Sixth Elder’s question, the attention of everyone at the table was once again focused on Tang Luo. They were curious to hear the future plans of this prodigy of the Tang Clan.

Facing the concerned gazes of everyone, Tang Luo responded with a smile. Even though he wasn’t sure why the topic had suddenly shifted back to him, he wanted to take this opportunity to share his understanding of the world’s powers with those present.

After all, as a man who had set his sights on leading a noble family to rise and become holy since the age of four, many of his ideas required the understanding and support of his family. And the sooner this understanding and support appeared, the more beneficial it would be for his future arrangements.

Of course, even if no one in his family supported him, he was determined to pursue this path because he was sure it was the right one.

After adjusting his breathing slightly, Tang Luo turned to Clan Chief Tang Zhi and the others at the table, saying, “Before answering the Sixth Elder’s question, I would like to discuss with you what I think constitutes the war potential of a noble family, what do the Clan Chief and the Sixth Elder think?” What originally was a question from Tang Gaomin to Tang Luo about how the common people of Xiling felt, became an exploration of the family’s war potential. The few elders who didn’t understand kept silent, keeping their eyes on the Sixth Elder and the Clan Chief, leaving the decision to them.

As the core power of the Tang Clan, it was rather strange to hear a fifteen-year-old child talk about the family’s war potential. If any other teenager suggested discussing this, they would almost certainly be rebuked, but Tang Luo’s proposal sparked curiosity in those present.

The Sixth Elder Tang Gaomin and Clan Chief Tang exchanged glances then turned to Tang Luo casually and said, “Minister Luo, please proceed.”

Upon hearing their agreement, everyone at the table watched the young man, his hair tied up and wearing a crown, in relaxed anticipation.

“The so-called family’s war power, the apparent elements such as Martial Ancestor, lineage warriors, spirit beasts, puppets, contraptions, treasures, battle armors, spiritual weapons, vassal families, these are self-evident, the elders present here are far more aware of these than I am,” Tang Luo waved his hand lightly, throwing aside what everyone at the table thought he would elaborate on, and said earnestly, “What I want to talk about with you is a family’s war potential.”

‘War potential?” This new term left everyone at the table somewhat puzzled, looking to each other in hope of certainty from others.

Based on literal understanding, it was probably something related to war reserves, but no one had actually studied this area seriously. They had a vague sense that it should be important, but didn’t know why.

While the Great Elder Tang Siyuan, the Sixth Elder Tang Gaomin, and Elder Tang Hongtao were just interested in these four words, Clan Chief Tang Zhi and Sect Head Tang Sen became incredibly serious on hearing them. The four words seemed to enlighten them, causing them to grasp many things and open up many lines of thought. This made both of them eager to listen to Tang Luo’s analysis.

Looking at their expressions, Tang Luo knew that this was a topic the Tang Clan had never tackled. He had been wondering why someone as wise as Tang Zhi would so readily give up the tens of millions of people on both sides of the Lingjiang River, and even ignore the commoners in Xiling. Now he finally had his answer.

It was because these people in power only cared about the population and warriors that the family actually controlled and didn’t take into account the power of the lower-class civilians. In essence, it was because, while the Tang Clan already had the foundation and even the strength to establish a country, they still did not see themselves in the position of real rulers.

These people in power clearly distinguished between family, vassals, foreigners, and commoners, so they only considered family and vassals in their strategic plans. Everyone else was subconsciously viewed as enemies by them. This was certainly not wrong, but if this mindset didn’t change after defeating the Mi Clan and dominating Xiling, the Tang Clan would never move beyond their corner of Longzhou for the rest of their lives.

Thinking about this, Tang Luo decided to share his thoughts on war potential with everyone in a more comprehensive manner: “War potential refers to the potential forces that can be mobilized in the event of a war. It includes manpower, financial resources, material resources, and even spiritual power. In a war that lasts for many years or even over a decade, the real key to victory is not just the amount of existing war power, but also leadership, soldier replenishment, resource supply, and morale.”

The Tang Clan’s history as a family of pirates influenced their combat style, making it more inclined towards decapitation and slaughter. Leading numerous clan warriors with the warriors of Fierce Realm as the spearhead, comprising small squads. This was the Tang Clan’s approach to war. Having the children of the family who had transcended the mortal realm as war reserves. In the case of enough accumulation, this spearhead-cum-army tactical style ensured the maximum survival rate of the clan members and the maximum combat effectiveness. But, when facing a war that might last for more than a decade like the one that led to the extinction of the Han Family, the Tang Clan’s fighting style was not very effective.

The key reason for this was that the Tang Clan’s war potential was really too bad. Even with nine training grounds, the family members who were planning to establish their mansions were still facing the problem of not having enough clan warriors. The Tang Clan should have made changes long ago, yet they didn’t for some reason. Tang Luo wanted to point this out: “Our clan has a powerful war force, but a mediocre level of war potential. Because the most straightforward manifestation of war potential is more resources, larger territory, and more population. Among these, the most important is the population.”

The points Tang Luo made were easy to understand, allowing everyone present to immediately grasp the concept of war potential. But just like this, it seemed that the Tang Clan should be doing very well, but Tang Luo said they were doing very poorly, which was a little difficult to comprehend.

The Great Elder Tang Siyuan frowned and said, “The Dark Thunder Hall and the Martial Hall have a large number of tasks to expand their reach every year, which is to compete for external resources. We claim all the natural resources within a thousand miles north of Xiling, and although we only occupy half of Xiling, the northern villages and towns all belong to the Tang Clan, with a territory of three hundred miles and the northern mountains stretching for hundreds of miles, all belong to our clan. As for accumulation of population, there are Tang martial arts halls and charity halls everywhere in Xiling, where we gather orphans and train them into clan warriors from a young age, and if we find promising talents in the martial arts halls, we also send them to the Martial Hall’s training grounds. In recent years, we have secretly supported many small clans to become hidden vassals of the Tang Clan. Doesn’t this prove that the Tang Clan is the one with the greatest war potential in Xiling?” The words of Tang Siyuan undoubtedly resonated with everyone at the table. Although no one had ever talked about war potential before, it was clear that the Tang Clan’s ancestors had done everything right without anyone mentioning it, making people feel a sense of pride.

“Does the Great Elder think that’s enough?” Tang Luo asked with a look of deep regret, “Let’s not talk about resources and territory for a moment. Looking at the scrolls we got from the treasury in the Minor Spiritual Realm, you would find that a thousand years ago, Han’s Slaughter Immortal Army was the best in the world. Do you think it was achieved by adopting orphans and controlling villagers? You should know that there are still many noble children in the Tang Clan who can’t even get servants..”