If Choutou led the 200k Northern Army?

[Great General Kanki]

Same scenario as manga, but if we assumed it was coalition-arc Choutou in charge of the Qin army. I.e someone who is vastly experienced, a better leader, stronger and simply an upgrade.

Given the numerical advantage Qin had, and with him at the helm, does it make a difference? Do they get caught out? Can he keep control of the army so they function as one?

 

[Warchief Sanji D Goat]

Assuming if Choutou is still alive after coalition war, he would be very, like very old but he would still be an effective leader overall. If I remember correctly, Choutou's quick and decisive leadership is what brought down the second siege tower of Gohoumei in the coalition war. That is not a small feat btw.

If he replaces the fodder old-timer general that only cares for ranks who got one tapped by Kansaro then that would boost the Northern Army way better but they still wouldn't be able to escape the inevitable ambush from the Seika army. And this is 200K army we're talking about here, mobilizing them quickly is an insane feat and only a few could do that. Choutou is not an exception here unfortunately.

But, Choutou would most likely use 20 - 30K troops instead of losing 40K like in the manga to stop the Seika army while allowing 80K or even 100K troops to pass through instead of 50K. While the rest will have to retreat back to Taigen. Choutou would probably pull a Sasageyo to his men like Duke Hyou did with the HSU so he would probably die against the Seika army. But his sacrifice won't be in vain.

 

[Rumble]

Chou Tou was a bona fide Great General in one of the strongest states. He was seasoned, battle hardened and possessed a wealth of experience.

Given his rank, he also likely had a core army of experienced officers.

The Tai Gen Army collapsed because it was effectively paralysed by fear and decapitated.

I imagine if Chou Tou were in charge, he would have kept his cool and calmly rallied his troops. Considering the size of Qin reinforcements, he probably would've had his officers dispersed among the column anyway.

With Chou Tou there, I don't think Ri Boku commits to an ambush with the same 40,000 or so troops. He would add some firepower to that. The goal would still be to thin out the Tai Gen Army. I imagine the added support of Ba Nan Ji and Fu Tei and/or the other Seika generals would've given the Zhao enough firepower to overwhelm Chou Tou.