Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3291: Nothingness

Sometimes things are so weird. Hu Zhi really wanted to escape, but before he could really escape, the Cao army soldiers in the camp fled first...

  So does this mean that Hu Zhi escaped, or that an ordinary Cao army soldier ran away?

But after the collapse of the camp at the bottom of the slope, this issue didn't seem to be that important.

The army is a war machine, but when every screw on this machine is escaping, no matter how huge the machine is, it will become scrap metal.

The Cao army soldiers ran away in panic and left everything behind.

Flags, armor, baggage, and even the dignity and glory they once possessed.

They tried to survive by escaping, but ended up pushing themselves and their comrades around them into the arms of death.

Cao's soldiers ran away, like a collapsing sand tower. Liu Zhu was unable to stop them and eventually committed suicide in anger in the camp at the foot of the slope.

After Liu Zhu committed suicide, only two of his most loyal guards died with him, while the other guards fled without looking back.

Fei Qian stood in front of Liu Zhu's body and sighed, "Give him a proper burial."

If it were a few years ago, Fei Qian might have lamented or felt sad about Liu Zhu's death, but now Fei Qian seemed even more indifferent.

As the war develops and deepens, more and more people will die.

When death comes, there will be no deviation because of whether a person is famous or unknown.

This may be the greatest fairness, but it may also be the greatest unfairness.

Hearing Fei Qian's order, Xun Chen bowed in response, then waved to the side, signaling the soldiers to move Liu Zhu's body away and bury it.

Several soldiers stepped forward, grabbed Liu Zhu's hands and legs, and half-dragged and half-carried him away.

When a person is alive, he is a person; when he dies, he is just a pile of bones and flesh.

Fei Qian continued to move forward.

Looking at the layout of Cao’s army camp, you can understand that Liu Zhu is actually a good general.

The camp was well planned and the defensive fortifications were clearly structured.

If Liu Zhu is given a bigger stage or more support, then Liu Zhu might indeed cause more trouble to Fei Qian.

It's just a pity...

This is the custom in Shandong. Whether you can get a bigger stage and more resources does not depend on your personal ability, but on whether you are born well and have enough connections.

Fei Qian bent down, picked up a flag with the word "Han" written on it, and shook off the dust on the flag.

The once bright and colorful flag is now in tatters.

Fei Qian was silent for a while, then found another spear for the flag, tied it to the spear handle, and then stuck it into the ground inside the camp. He stood with his hands behind his back and looked at it for a while, then said, "Cao's wounded soldiers, treat them first, and then send them back."

Xun Chen nodded in agreement.

This isn't anything particularly weird.

The effects of reduced numbers and reduced morale caused by wounded soldiers have a great impact on both sides.

But this "treatment of injuries" is quite unique.

……

……

The wind was strong and the clouds were like galloping horses, moving from the north to the south in the blink of an eye.

On the Solitary Peak Mountain, Cao Xiu was looking at the distant sky, looking thoughtful.

"General!" 』

A messenger came forward and bowed in front.

"The Protector-General invites you to come for a moment!"

Cao Xiu was a little surprised when he suddenly heard the messenger coming to report this.

He turned his head and glanced far to the north. It seemed that he could see the flag of the cavalry faintly fluttering at the junction of heaven and earth. He couldn't help but say: "The war is imminent, what is the General looking for me for?"

"The Protector General said he has something important to discuss." The messenger didn't know what Cao Hong wanted to do with Cao Xiu, so he could only give this answer.

Cao Xiu frowned slightly and said, "I understand."

He didn't know why, but he suddenly had a bad feeling.

Cao Xiu temporarily handed over the command of the soldiers to his deputy general, and he himself, with a small number of guards, hurriedly rode his horse to Cao Hong's camp in Anyi.

This section of the road was not short. In order to form a pincer attack on the cavalry, Cao Hong and Cao Xiu deliberately gave a certain distance. When Cao Xiu arrived at Cao Hong's camp, the horse was already sweating and panting. After Cao Xiu got off the horse, he touched the horse's neck and looked at the horse's sweat on his hand. He was a little dazed, but he had no time to think about it. He immediately went into the tent to meet Cao Hong.

Cao Hong was deep in thought in front of the map. When he looked up and saw Cao Xiu coming, he waved calmly and said, "Come here, no need to be polite."

In the Cao Cao family system, although everyone has the surname Cao, it seems that there is only a difference in seniority, but in fact it is not entirely true. No matter how good the three brothers of the Cao family are, Cao Cao, Cao Ren, and Cao Hong are not from the same series.

Cao Cao's father was Cao Song, Cao Song's father was Cao Teng, and Cao Cao, Cao Ren, and Cao Hong all had a common ancestor, Cao Jie. Cao Ren's great-grandfather was Cao Bao, and Cao Ren and Cao Chun were closer in blood. Cao Xiu's great-grandfather was Cao Ding, and Cao Ding and Cao Hong's father were from the same line, so Cao Xiu and Cao Hong were closer in blood.

"Hello, uncle," Cao Xiu said, bowing.

"I received news that the cavalry rushed to attack the camp at the foot of the slope," Cao Hong said in a deep voice, "Liu Hu was unable to hold out, and the camp at the foot of the slope was destroyed... Liu was killed in the battle, and Hu was defeated..."

"What?!" Cao Xiu was a little surprised, "It's only been a few days?"

Cao Hong frowned deeply, obviously quite dissatisfied with this matter, and the scar on his face looked a little hideous.

Cao Xiu sat on one side, digesting the news. The more he thought about it, the more he felt a chill on his back. "How could they be defeated so quickly? Could it be that Liu Hu and the others were deliberately slacking off? Did they defend poorly? Or were there cavalry spies hiding in the camp, colluding with the enemy from both inside and outside?"

Cao Hong shook his head, "It's the artillery..."

"Cannon?!" Cao Xiu's eyes widened. "Didn't they say that the Hussars didn't have many cannons, and most of them were abandoned after repeated use? What's more, the place at Tongguan... Could it be that the Hussars originally..."

Cao Hong remained silent.

Cao Xiu said this, and fell silent after a moment.

Neither of them spoke.

Because this incident was more terrifying than the cavalry defeating Liu Zhu and Hu Zhi.

If there were artillery pieces on top of Tongguan, Cao and others could still understand it. After all, Tongguan was an important pass, and it was not surprising to place heavy military weapons there. If Cao and others had any important passes, they would have made similar arrangements.

However, there happened to be artillery in Pingyang, Linfen, and it was successfully used by the cavalry to capture the camp at the foot of the slope. This shows that artillery can not only be placed at the pass as a defensive weapon, but can also be transported and used as a siege weapon!

More importantly, the fact that the Hussars were stockpiling artillery in Pingyang showed that Fei Qian had probably planned and prepared everything long before Cao Cao's attack...

Obviously, no one wants to meet such an opponent.

The two of them sat for a while, Cao Hong let out a long breath, and stood in front of the map first, "Come, if the cavalry attacks..."

Cao Xiu also calmed down and walked to the map.

They have the same surname, the same mood, and the same interests. If the literati in Shandong still have a way to retreat, then Cao Hong, Cao Xiu and others are all advancing without retreat. Before Cao Cao rose to power, the Cao family was not a strong family in Shandong, as can be seen from the fact that the Xu brothers in Yuedanping did not care about Cao Cao's face.

Families like the Cao family were described by a new term in the Qing Dynasty: "nouveau riche."

Suddenly, a lot of wealth was obtained... Well, are you sure that this word that appeared in the Qing Dynasty was not used to refer to Kang Mazi and dried dog skin?

However, the attitude towards nouveau riche was not much different, whether in the Han Dynasty or in the Qing Dynasty.

In Shandong, most of the sons of the noble families were somewhat concerned about the Cao family's sudden rise to high positions and monopolizing the power over military, finance, and personnel. Once the Cao family lost power, the people and things that were suppressed before would rebound...

Therefore, neither Cao Hong nor Cao Xiu wanted to see the Cao family fail, even though they knew it would be difficult this time.

In addition, Cao Hong and Cao Xiu were more or less conceited, believing that no matter how dangerous the situation was, they had the ability to turn the tide.

Looking at the arrow symbol on the map representing the strength of the cavalry army, Cao Hong could not help but curse in a low voice. However, at this point, the situation was getting worse and worse, and the two of them inevitably felt a little discouraged.

"That's a motherfucker!" Cao Hong spat, irritably saying, "Now that the camp at the foot of the slope is destroyed, it has not weakened the spirit of the cavalry... Now it's up to you and me to hold on! You are such a useless idiot!"

Cao Hong placed his hand on the map. "I've had the soldiers urgently repair fortifications these past two days and build earth walls inside the camp... But this way, we'll lose the ability to counterattack..."

Cao Xiu nodded silently.

In view of the fact that the camp at the foot of the slope was quickly conquered by Fei Qian, they had to urgently adjust their deployment, but it was obvious that the higher the defense was, the weaker the ability to counterattack would be, which meant that Cao Xiu was forced to bear more burdens. "My lord, do you have any instructions?" Cao Xiu did not object to Cao Hong's tactical change, nor was he qualified to object, so he asked Cao Cao if he had any instructions.

"It's too late. I have sent someone to report the news, but do we have to wait for a reply before taking any action..." Cao Hong shook his head. After a moment of silence, Cao Hong said, "Now in Shandong, the gentry and the country gentry are showing signs of not being submissive to us. This battle... must be fought, and must be won."

Cao Xiu nodded.

Cao and others initially had high hopes for this battle. They wanted to take advantage of Fei Qian's westward advance to at least destroy the economy of Guanzhong and Hedong, plunder resources, steal manpower and craftsmen, and weaken Fei Qian's strength. However, this hope is now becoming increasingly slim.

"Don't lose heart." Cao Hong patted Cao Xiu on the shoulder and said, "You and I are both people who become more courageous after setbacks. Just regroup and fight again."

"So, what's the plan?" Cao Xiu asked.

"Besiege Wei to save Zhao!" Cao Hong uttered these four words, "We need to change our original plan..."

……

……

Hu Zhi escaped back.

He had no idea how he had managed to escape, nor did he know why the Hussars did not pursue him.

The cavalry of the Hussars clearly had the opportunity to strangle them to death...

why?

However, this problem soon ceased to be his most difficult one.

After he finally escaped back to the camp, he found that escaping with his life was not necessarily a good thing.

Cao Hong met him for the first time, and after sternly asking him about the battle situation, he quickly put him under house arrest and placed him in a corner of the camp together with the wounded soldiers who were sent back.

Although there was no explicit order restricting Hu Zhi's freedom, the unfriendly looks from the soldiers guarding the gate of the wounded camp made Hu Zhi realize that his current situation might not be very good.

When Hu Zhi mentioned Liu Zhu's death, Cao Hong seemed very surprised. But later, Hu Zhi thought that Cao Hong's surprise was not because he felt that Liu Zhu's death was a pity, but because he was wondering why Hu Zhi didn't die in the battle...

"hehe……"

Hu Zhi laughed twice, somewhat neurotically.

At that moment, Hu Zhi no longer had the majesty he had as a leader. Not only was his armor crooked, his silk belt was loose, his face was covered with dust and dirt, his hair was disheveled, and even his expression was dull, as if he had been humiliated by a dozen big men for a whole day and night.

"Victory and defeat are common in war."

Hu Zhi murmured.

There was no one around him, and no one listened to what he said. He seemed more like he was comforting himself.

"We have suffered losses in these battles, but good times will come, and we may soon be able to turn defeat into victory..."

"The Hussars are not invincible..."

"That Thunderbolt Cannon is just that..."

"..."

Hu Zhi muttered, and then his face twisted, "Yes, we can win... we can win..."

By the end of his monologue, Hu Zhi's voice had become almost choking.

He had been saying these words to Cao's soldiers before the battle, and now it was his turn to say them to himself.

But the effect is the same.

He had told those ordinary Cao army soldiers before, but they didn't believe him. Now he told himself, and he didn't believe it either.

His guards were sent to work.

Because the camp at the foot of the slope was "easily" breached by Fei Qian, Cao Hong focused on strengthening the defense against artillery and preparing to repair the earth in order to prevent the tragedy from happening again in Anyi. Because digging earthworks requires a lot of manpower, even some lightly wounded soldiers in the wounded camp were pulled and sent to work.

Hu Zhi still had some status as a general, so he didn't go.

He sat alone, not knowing how long, before he finally closed his eyes tiredly and fell asleep soon after.

In his dream, he seemed to be back in his hometown, back in his home, sitting in a house with solid walls on all sides. He was so happy that he almost cried. He was really tired of living in a tent. Not only was it drafty, but there were also bugs and sand. The slightest noise made it difficult for him to sleep. His own house was more comfortable.

The brick and stone house is solid and warm. No matter it is windy or rainy outside, you can feel safe inside...

"Master! Master!"

  Suddenly, there were some panicked shouts, which broke the surrounding houses. The house that he thought was made of bricks and stones was actually made of paper. It collapsed and burned in the blink of an eye!

Hu Zhi sat up suddenly.

He found himself still in the leaky tent, and in front of him was his trusted guard, who had a terrified look on his face, blood on it and a new wound.

"What's wrong?" Hu asked.

This calm tone surprised Hu Zhi's guards, but soon the guards said: "General, they... they don't treat us as human beings... Those who came back together... were slightly... killed on the spot... I went up to argue with them, and I was beaten like this..."

Among the soldiers who escaped back, many were Hu Zhi's followers, and some of them were familiar with each other.

They were all the same Cao army soldiers, all comrades in arms, but after losing a battle, they became the object of contempt and belittlement, and had to endure oppression...

Hu Zhi seemed to be thinking about what to do. He rubbed his face with both hands, as if to rub away the fatigue on his face, but in fact it had no effect at all.

"Now I understand why the cavalry soldiers didn't chase us..."

Hu Zhi said slowly.

"Why?"

The guard asked subconsciously, but after a moment he understood and fell silent.

After a long silence, Hu Zhi sighed and said, "Is there anything to eat?"

"General? You..." The guard was angry, "They even killed you... No, I'll go find them..."

"Forget it." Hu Zhi pulled the guard back, then shook his head and smiled, "I heard from the Shandong people that the Cao family is growing like bamboo shoots after the spring. I didn't understand what they meant at first, but now I finally understand..."

"Spring bamboo shoots?" the guard asked.

Hu Zhi nodded, "Spring bamboo shoots break through the soil, they grow quickly, and grow fast, but... their bellies are empty..."

"Master..." the guard asked in a low voice, "What are you doing..."

"Are you going to get wood from there?" Hu Zhi suddenly changed the subject, "The trees around here seem to be a little sparse."

The guard nodded and said, "That's right. There is no decent wood within ten miles. The only forest is to the southwest... We all go there to cut wood..."

"Okay." Hu Zhi nodded and said, "Tomorrow, I will go with you to cut wood tomorrow."

"General?" The guard was stunned for a moment, "General, what do you mean?"

Hu Zhi gestured.

The guard moved closer.

Hu Zhi whispered: "Tomorrow, we will see what happens."

『Σ(⊙▽⊙“a!” The guard’s eyes widened.

"Can't you see?" Hu Zhi whispered, "They don't trust us... they think we are already... so they don't give us any food, and they force us to use it... I think when the hussars come, we will be the first batch... Remember the people in Hedong who were driven away by us? Now it's our turn."

"We, we didn't..." The guard was about to argue when Hu Zhi covered his mouth.

Hu Zhi sighed, "Whether it exists or not is not up to us to decide."

The guard was silent for a long time, "Where can we go, sir?"

"Haha... No matter where you go... Let's run away, let's escape first," Hu Zhi said in a low voice, "In this chaotic world... People are worse than dogs... People are worse than dogs... Let's survive first..."

At the beginning, Hu Zhi and his men did not listen to what the people of Hedong were shouting, so no matter what they are shouting now, Cao Hong and his men would not listen either.

"It's all in vain!" Hu Zhi recalled the dream he had just had and couldn't help shedding tears. "I worked so hard to build up my fortune, but now, in the blink of an eye, it's all gone. It's all in vain!"