Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3281 True Volunteering

Lu Zhao’s main purpose was not simply to conquer Wenxi.

If the purpose was just to attack Wenxi, then he would have just launched a fierce attack.

  His mission was to be careful to guard against sneak attacks by the Cavalry Army and to investigate whether it was possible to bypass Emei Mountain from the northern intersection of Wenxi, cross the Fen River, and attack Linfen directly!

He came along the way and destroyed many forts, so the number of troops he led was not small, but not many of them were of high quality.

Most of them are old and weak. If we only count the young and strong, there are about four to five thousand people.

This kind of force is already an extremely terrifying existence for the docks along the way. Even if it is filled with people, most of the docks can be filled. However, it is a bit difficult to deal with Wenxi, which is also normal.

It's just that Lu Zhao didn't care about losing the lives of those he "picked up" along the way, and he could even be said to use them quite casually. However, he was extremely cautious when it came to the elite soldiers of the real Cao army.

Lu Zhao was an old member of Cao's army. He felt that Cao's army's movements had obviously accelerated at this stage.

Maybe it's the military situation, maybe it's...

There are some things that even if he is a veteran in Cao's army, he may not know, but he has his own guesses. So if they can take Wenxi, it would be best, but if they can't take it, they can't fill it with Cao's elite soldiers.

Anyway, this is how the Shandong military system works. Whoever has the ability to get as many soldiers as possible is theirs. If they want to return them, it depends on what compensation the superiors give them. Basically, the army is made up of small and large factions, each doing their own thing. If the general cannot bring more money and property to his subordinates, then he can keep them.

If we can preserve our own strength, we will just take it one step at a time.

Because of this, although Lu Zhao's troops arrived in Wenxi and seemed to be powerful and invincible, those who actually lined up to fight were those who could be abandoned at any time...

That’s right, in Lu Zhao’s eyes, Pei Jun was just someone who could be thrown away at any time.

Wenxi is like the forts along the way, except that it is larger.

It was a relief to see that Wenxi was on the verge of collapse under Pei Jun's crazy attack.

But it is still shaky and has not fallen yet...

Night slowly fell, and in the wilderness, the campfire flickered.

At this time, it was easy to distinguish the elite troops from the miscellaneous soldiers. The campfires that were dense and regular were definitely where the elite troops were, while those that were messy and scattered here and there were definitely the shabby camps of the miscellaneous soldiers.

Pei Jun sent someone to ask Lu Zhao for food and fodder, but Lu Zhao just threw a few bags of stale grains and sent him away with a sneer.

  Want to eat meat?

Go to the city and cut as much as you want to eat!

Pei Jun wanted to get angry, but he couldn't. He could only care about his men cooking something and eating it hastily. If Pei Jun had looked at these moldy and spoiled grains before, he would have felt insulted, his eyes were wronged, and even his soul was tainted. But now...

Donuts, uh, ugh, multi-grain porridge, so delicious!

As for the civilians who were taken aboard, they had nothing to eat. Many of them were carrying the elderly and the weak, wrapped in everything they could wear, sitting around the campfire half asleep and half awake, starving and enduring the cold night.

Of course, there are also some people who would sneak into the city to cut meat.

It's everyone's choice.

Some people would rather be a human being when they die, while others would rather be a ghost in order to live.

In the camp where Pei Jun and others were, there were some women who were gathered in groups, wearing cloth blankets, trying their best to clean themselves up, and standing or squatting outside the camp.

Men came out in groups of three or four, holding torches and looking at these women like picking goods. Some even touched and pinched them, and then dragged them away. After a while, these women with disheveled hair ran out of the camp with some food in their arms, and then gave it all to their families, the elderly, the weak, and the children.

In troubled times, both men and women are risking their lives.

Your own worthless life.

Only in prosperous times can dignity be considered to have some value.

Cao's soldiers also wanted to pull some women, but were stopped by Lu Zhao. Lu Zhao did not have any sympathy for those miscellaneous soldiers and civilians, but he felt that tonight might not be peaceful!

Under the strict protection of his personal guards, Lu Zhao sat fully armed in the tent inside the camp, leaning on his sword with an expressionless face, as if waiting for something.

Almost all the soldiers in Lu Zhao's camp were elite soldiers, wearing armor and holding swords and spears. A small number of war horses were also led directly into the camp and mixed with the soldiers.

The war horses ate concentrated feed and some ordinary hay.

Some of the war horses pooped while eating, but the surrounding Cao soldiers just cursed a few times and didn't care at all.

In Cao's army, war horses are more valuable than men.

  Lu Zhao's request was strict, and Cao's soldiers were naturally dissatisfied, but after all, Lu Zhao was a senior figure, so the matter under his crotch was certainly not as important as the head on his neck. After all, even if the lower part was cut off, the person could still live, but if the upper part was missing, it would be meaningless even if the lower part was intact, right?

Most importantly, Lu Zhao himself was fully armed and pretending to sleep with his sword in his hand. This left many Cao's soldiers speechless.

This is the custom in Shandong. As long as the leader can really get things done, the people below will naturally follow.

If the upper beam can be straight, then it will be straight. If it is not straight, then it will be crooked to the extreme.

After all, Lu Zhao treated Pei Jun and others harshly, but he treated his Cao army soldiers well, taking good care of their food and drink expenses. If they didn't obey the orders of their superiors, who else would they obey? And everyone understood what Lu Zhao meant. It was unknown where the cavalrymen were plotting bad things, especially at night, so they had to be more careful. As for eating, drinking and having fun, these were meaningful only as long as they were alive, so these Cao army soldiers followed Lu Zhao closely, as if they were facing a great enemy.

However, the situation in Pei Jun's temporary camp was completely different from that of Lu Zhao.

Perhaps they realized that the end was coming, and almost all of the soldiers assigned to Pei Jun were venting their anger crazily. Some were laughing miserably, some were cursing, and some were desperately thrusting in and out of the woman until they fell down with foam at the mouth.

After getting through today, no one dares to think too much about what will happen tomorrow.

No one likes to see their family broken up, but everyone has the instinct to struggle to survive.

  Pei Jun sat on a stone with a pale face, and he felt cold from the valgus to the cardia and then to the fontanelle!

Just because you’re not dead today doesn’t mean you won’t die tomorrow!

Many holes were dug in the Wenxi city wall, but it still did not collapse!

You can’t get in if it doesn’t fall!

And no one knows whether the people from Wenxi will take it back after one night...

"My dear..." Pei Jun's confidant whispered, "If this continues, it might not be good!"

Pei Jun didn't answer.

Now even a fool could tell that things were not going well.

Pain, regret, annoyance, and a mixture of emotions filled Pei Jun's heart.

Maybe at the beginning...

"How about..." Pei Jun's confidant whispered, "How about we run away?"

Cao's army obviously wanted Pei Jun and others to die in the front, or to survive and capture Wenxi. However, after days of fighting, the hope of capturing Wenxi became increasingly slim.

It is already a remarkable thing that the miscellaneous soldiers can fight with one blow. Now they are lacking in food and fodder supply, so they can only become weaker and weaker as the battle goes on.

If we fail to capture Wenxi, we might be hacked to death in front of the battle line by Cao's army supervising the battle!

  If that's the case, it would be better to just run away while we still have some strength!

"Where are you going?" Pei Jun laughed miserably, "Where can you go?!"

"Go north! Run into the desert!" the confidant replied, "It's better than dying here, right?"

"The Great Desert?" Pei Jun shook his head. "Don't forget that the Hussars also have a Protector General of the Northern Territory!"

At this point, Pei Jun's words were filled with sadness, as if there was a miserable feeling that the world was so big, but there was not even a roof over one's head to shelter from the elements.

"The desert is so big, who can tell who is who?" The confidant lowered his voice, "If it really doesn't work, we can go to Taihang first, and then hide in the mountains for a while, and wait until the situation settles down... It's not too late to make a decision slowly, it's better than waiting to die here!"

"..." Pei Jun was stunned.

Going to the desert is indeed a long journey, but escaping to the mountains...

But if he really wanted to escape, what was the point of his previous surrender to Cao Cao?

  What's the point of him abandoning even his mother and family?

Then all the suffering and blood he shed before were in vain, right? !

and many more.

Pei Jun suddenly realized that he himself had not thought of fleeing to Taihang Mountains and escaping into the desert, so why would his confidant think of this?

Thinking of this, Pei Jun couldn't help but shed tears, holding his confidant's hand and said, "I... I can't get away... I can't get away! This world is really cannibalistic! It's cannibalistic! If you want to leave, I won't stop you. While it's dark, whoever wants to leave, just leave secretly! I am very grateful for our mutual master and servant! Today, today is goodbye, and we will meet again if we are destined to meet again!" The confidant stared at Pei Jun holding his hand tightly, and was silent for a long time, then sighed softly, "Don't worry, my dear, I won't leave."

Pei Jun seemed to have just realized it and quickly let go of her hand, "I, I don't mean to force you to stay... You, you can really leave..."

The confidant laughed, and it was also a somewhat miserable laugh, "It's okay, I... I stayed here voluntarily..."

"Really, is this voluntary?" Pei Jun asked.

"Really!" The confidant nodded.

"Then... swear an oath..."

"Uh... okay, I swear..."

……

……

Time keeps moving. In the large and small camps outside Wenxi City, some have already quieted down, while others can be heard from time to time: laughter, howling, and screaming. But no matter how miserable the day is, it is ultimately difficult for humans to sustain twelve hours of non-stop labor. Even in such a simple and embarrassing environment, many people still wrap themselves tightly in rags, snuggle up to each other, and fall asleep.

In the camps everywhere, even the sentries who were originally on duty were now tired and gradually found a shelter to laze around. No one knew how long they could live, and no one knew what would happen in the future, so there was no way to talk about responsibilities, morality, or the future.

At this moment, some dull sounds suddenly came from the direction of Emei Ridge!

Then there were shouting and whistling sounds, which suddenly soared into the sky!

  For a moment, no one knew what was being shouted, but some emotions do not necessarily have to be conveyed through words. As long as one has ears, one can hear the fear contained in the howling sound!

It's like a person's scream in despair, even a stranger can feel the pain.

Immediately after the shouting, flames rose up, as if half the sky was on fire.

In the camp under Wenxi, those who were half asleep and half awake were awakened, huddled together in panic, hugged each other, and looked at everything in front of them in horror.

  I saw groups of soldiers appearing in the direction of Emei Mountain, rushing towards us waving swords and guns!

Some people wanted to avoid these people, but because of panic, they rushed in front of them and were hacked to death in the firelight, with blood splattering everywhere!

Some people, due to nervousness or fear, were so weak in their hands and feet that they could not even crawl or run, and were trampled under the horses' hooves!

In the face of war, there is no absolute safe zone.

In just a short moment, countless people lost their lives!

  The frenzy spread rapidly!

Pei Jun's miscellaneous soldiers were originally out of order, and now they were attacked by the horses, like a pot of porridge that had been overturned, scattered all over the mountains and plains. The people who were held hostage were crying and shouting, or supporting the elderly, or grabbing their own children, running around aimlessly!

Death was driving these soldiers and civilians, making them rush and crash into other camps instinctively like a wave. The panicked crowd lost their minds, and people huddled together, pushing, pulling, trampling, and even hacking at each other, all wanting to escape death, but spreading death everywhere.

The camps of the soldiers were not all connected, but it seemed that the human instinct to move toward light was inherited from ancient times, which made people gather towards the light without thinking, like moths to a flame. Some camps were originally farther back and were not attacked at the first time, but they were also pushed down by the frenzied crowd and squeezed in desperately.

  At every gap, I don’t know how many people were tripped and fell, and I don’t know who was trampling them, whether they were the relatives and friends who supported and encouraged each other during the day!

Fires rose up everywhere, and the flames danced wantonly in the night sky, as if making crazy mockery at these tiny humans.

In troubled times, human life is the least valuable thing.

Anyone who can survive chaos after chaos can be said to have great luck...

It was obvious that Pei Jun didn't have any great luck.

It's not even clever.

He was in the camp of miscellaneous soldiers, and because of his injured arm, he could not sleep well. After the riot, he was the first to hear the noise outside.

Pei Jun quickly turned over and stood up, but because of the injury, he couldn't help but grimace, "What happened? !"

At this time, the whistling sound from afar also filled their ears, making Pei Jun and his trusted guards around him pale. "Enemy attack!"

Not only that, the enemy attack also caused a camp roar!

The people around Pei Jun knew what would happen in such a situation. Suddenly, everyone broke out in a cold sweat and looked at Pei Jun, hoping that he could come up with an idea.

Pei Jun staggered, opened the curtain of the tent, and took a breath of cold air.

In the distance, flames shot up into the sky, the shadows of people and horses swayed, the smell of blood mixed with shrill screams, and it directly hit Pei Jun and others. The shocking force swept over, causing Pei Jun to hold on to the doorpost of the tent, as if to prevent himself from collapsing due to weak legs.

"The Hussars are coming! It's over! We are finished!"

"It's bad! The cavalry is heading towards us!"

"Ahhhh..."

Before Pei Jun could say anything, the people around him were already in a panic.

"My dear, what should we do?" Pei Jun's confidant asked anxiously.

"What should I do?!" Pei Jun's forehead was covered with cold sweat.

Everyone around was staring at Pei Jun, hoping that he could come up with a good solution.

"Hurry, hurry up!" Pei Jun said.

The confidant's face lit up with joy, and he heard Pei Jun's second half of the sentence, "Let's go find General Lu!"

The confidant couldn't help but freeze his hands and feet. The next moment, he saw Pei Jun half-turned his face and said, "You swore..."

"Yes," the confidant nodded, "I swear!"

Pei Jun suddenly felt relieved, "Okay, let's go, let's go!"

Therefore, Pei Jun and his party did not even dare to raise the flags. They just raised a few torches and hurried towards Lu Zhao's camp.

Oath...

  What is a vow?

It is "You still help me, and bring punishment from heaven. I will give you a great reward!"

It is also "If you don't believe me, I won't break my promise!"

It is even more like "If you don't keep your oath, I will kill you and your whole family, without mercy!"

  It’s voluntary, it’s voluntary!

After stumbling along the way, they gradually approached Lu Zhao's camp.

Lu Zhao's camp was built by Pei Jun and other miscellaneous soldiers before the attack on Wenxi. Therefore, it was different from those miscellaneous soldiers' camps in the wild. It had solid walls and complete fortifications, several trenches were dug, and chevaux de frise and wooden stakes were set up.

Pei Jun and his companions ran to the outside of Lu Zhao's camp. Seeing that the surging crowd behind them had not yet overwhelmed them, they were somewhat happy and shouted hurriedly towards Lu Zhao's camp, stating their identities and hoping to enter the camp to avoid disaster. However, they were coldly rebuked by the Cao army soldiers in the camp, who ordered Pei Jun to go back immediately to gather the remaining soldiers to resist the enemy, and warned him that if he crossed the trench, he would be killed without mercy!

  These words were like a basin of ice water, pouring directly over Pei Jun's head and body!

Pei Jun's confidant saw this and lowered his head, shrank his neck, and slipped away.

Pei Jun was still unable to recover from this "terrifying news" for a while. After a while, he realized that his "confidant" had turned around and ran out. He was immediately furious, "What are you going to do? ! You swore an oath!"

The 'confidant' threw the torch in his hand to the ground without even turning his head, and shouted, 'Everyone! If you don't flee now, when will you flee!'

  The people surrounding Pei Jun looked at each other, as if time and space had frozen for a moment. Then, there was a loud shout, and they left Pei Jun behind and ran away!

Pei Jun is like a tree that has completely rotted away. If he doesn't run away, the only outcome will be death!

Seeing that Pei Jun's "confidants" had all run away, there was no need to say anything else. They all fled like monkeys, squeaking and screaming.

"Don't run! Don't escape!" Pei Jun shouted, "You all swore an oath! You all swore an oath!"

But no one paid attention to him.

Pei Jun subconsciously wanted to chase after these fleeing men and gather them together again, but he ran and chased them, stumbling and stumbling. Pei Jun's vision was unclear and he accidentally stepped on empty air and fell headfirst. His arm was injured, and just as he tried to support himself on the ground, he screamed and had no strength at all. His head hit the ground with a bang...

Perhaps only a moment had passed, or perhaps a long time had passed, when Pei Jun woke up from his dizziness, he saw a huge crowd of people running towards him, with the black soles of their feet right in front of him!

Those ordinary people who were usually ordered around, despised, ridiculed, and even beaten and kicked by him, now became like a surging tide, drowning Pei Jun with a puff.

Snap, snap.

Perhaps the sound of being trampled into blood plasma was Pei Jun's last wail in this world.