Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3350: Victory and Defeat That Year

The habits of an army are often gradually developed from the day it is founded.

Those who watch people in danger but do not help and who retreat as fast as the wind are one kind of army; those who remain loyal and face challenges head-on are also another kind of army.

The army commanded by General Fei Qian in Hedong was completely different from the army commanded by Zhao Yun in the Northern Territory. The soldiers under Fei Qian were still farmers, while the soldiers in the Northern Territory were nomadic. After Zhao Yun gave the order, they rode out on their horses, and their movements were so smooth that they didn't seem to be going to a war, but hunting on the grassland.

Moreover, unlike the battle mode in Hedong, the soldiers of the Northern Territory were more casual even when they were stationed in the camp during the march. Sometimes they would just use long spears to set up a circle of gun walls on the periphery, which was the scope of the camp. The warning significance was greater than the actual defense.

This is mainly because there is a lot of grass but not many trees in the Northern Desert. It is obviously not realistic to cut down trees on a large scale and then build a formal camp with watchtowers and walls.

At the same time, most areas in the Northern Territory are relatively vast, and it is difficult to find a steep place in the wilderness that can provide shelter for garrisoning. Therefore, over time, such a combat mode has naturally formed.

Zhao Yun led his troops to inspect the camps where various troops were stationed.

Zhang He followed beside him.

Starting from tomorrow, Zhang He will lead the front army and fight as the vanguard.

Zhao Yun took Zhang He for such a walk. Firstly, patrolling the camp was something that a commander had to do, and secondly, it was also a way to calm Zhang He down before he set off.

Although Zhang He himself said that he was willing to be the vanguard, as a qualified boss, he couldn't just ask his subordinates to sign a "voluntary letter" for everything and think that everything would be fine and there would be no problems, right?

After walking around, Zhao Yun didn't have much of an opinion about the simple gun walls in the camp, but he was very strict about the sanitary facilities such as water collection and storage, drainage ditches, etc. in the camp.

During the inspection, Zhao Yun ordered several captains to jump into the ditch and dig to the standard depth themselves because their subordinates did not dig the drainage ditch in accordance with the regulations.

The captain of the team, Qu Chang, jumped down and started digging without saying a word.

However, most of the time they were digging with grim faces. I guess after this long team finished digging the ditch, those lazy soldiers must have a more profound night to deepen their memory...

Zhang He, who had been following Zhao Yun all the way, couldn't help but feel touched.

If it were in Shandong, this situation would be impossible. It's not that the soldiers in Shandong would not be lazy, but Shandong would obviously prefer to work on the surface and turn a blind eye to the equipment under the ground.

Even if it is not a short-term wartime camp but a long-term residential city, most of the ruling officials will not care about the underground facilities such as sanitary drainage in the city.

The simplest problem is that when heavy rain comes, the city is flooded.

  There is obviously a problem with the drainage. We can't blame God for the heavy rain, right?

However, Shandong officials have a way to shift the conflict to God, saying that this is a once-in-a-few-decade or even hundreds of years event, and if God wants it this way, who can do anything about it?

But if you quietly open the county annals and take a look, you will probably find that this is not the only time that the city has been flooded, and the damage and casualties caused are not just a little more water on the ground.

It only took a few days for the rain to pass and the water to recede, and the county officials continued to sing, dance and drink as usual. As for the sewers...

Didn’t the accumulated water recede?

You can see the equipment used to decorate the facades being replaced year after year, painted with gold, blue and red. The areas in the city that were flooded were flooded during this heavy rain, and they will still be flooded the next time. They were flooded ten years ago, and they will still be flooded ten, twenty, and thirty years later.

  In fact, to put it bluntly, the officials in Shandong are more concerned about things that can give themselves a good appearance and show off to their superiors. As for those sewers that are related to the actual problems in people's lives, who cares?

Anyway, the area where those officials live will definitely not be in a waterlogged area.

In Shandong, it cannot be said that there are no managers like Zhao Yun, but they are extremely scarce and rare.

As Zhang He thought about it, a hint of emotion appeared on his face.

Zhao Yun turned around and saw him, and asked, "Does Jun Yi have anything to say?"

"Protector General..." Zhang He pondered for a moment, "If we take Youzhou, I wonder if the Protector General has a plan for governing the place?"

Zhao Yun smiled and said, "Why, do you have a famous scholar to recommend?"

Zhang He shook his head, "I come from a humble background, how can I know any famous scholars? Moreover, the famous scholars in Shandong are not all bad, but most of them are good at drinking and talking, and they are the last in practical work. What I mean is that if the original officials are used to govern Youzhou... I am afraid there will be big problems... But if these officials are replaced, it will be a troublesome matter..."

"Oh?" Zhao Yun looked at Zhang He with some surprise, "Why did you think of this?"

Zhang He said: "Recently, the Military Academy's bulletin mentioned that one needs to be able to "fight on horseback and govern the people on foot", so I have been thinking about it a lot..."

"Junyi is too modest," Zhao Yun said, "but it's interesting that you mentioned this question... Junyi thinks these military academies are not good at handling people's livelihood and government affairs?"

"These military academies?" Zhang He couldn't help but look back at the camp just now. His lips moved twice, and it was obvious that he wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't say it.

"Youzhou is different from Jiyu." Zhao Yun said as he walked. "Jiyu has many cities and villages, a complex population, and many affairs. Youzhou has been a cold frontier since the reign of Emperors Huan and Ling, with a sparse population... Of course, this is not a reason to treat its people lightly, but it means that there won't be too many people's livelihood and government affairs..."

"That's not wrong, but..." Zhang He nodded, and then felt that something seemed to be wrong.

Zhao Yun laughed, "Junyi, you are wrong... The people actually need order more than officials... As long as we can ensure order, officials..."

Zhao Yun smiled, "Of course, this is only possible in Youzhou, where the population is relatively small. If it is Jizhou or Yuzhou, it is different... This is mentioned in the Lord's comment on the Qinglong Temple's theory of civil governance... Oh, next time you come back, I will lend it to you and you will understand... Now I am more worried about how to defend Youzhou if I take it. Junyi is the vanguard, if you find anything, please advise me in time."

"I dare not give you any advice, but if I gain anything, I will report it to the Protector General," Zhang He said hastily.

Zhao Yun nodded.

In fact, to put it bluntly, most of these soldiers in the Northern Territory are composed of nomadic Hu people and similar nomadic Han people in the border areas. They do not have any profound cultural background. They rely entirely on harsh training, a fair reward and punishment system, and continuous victories to sharpen their swords.

Of course, in the entire Han Dynasty, only the rank below the cavalry had the highest cultural quality requirements for the army. When entering the cavalry, the leisure time was not spent on catching lice, basking in the sun, chatting and gossiping, but was semi-forced to read and learn to read. Especially those who wanted to hold some middle and high military positions not only had to learn to read, but also had to memorize military regulations. Otherwise, no matter how brave they were, they would be blocked from the position of quzhang.

This is different from the ancient Chinese professors in South Korea in later generations, who were evaluated based on their level of sewer washing. As middle-level non-commissioned officers, Qu Changjunhou and other non-commissioned officers had to be proficient in military affairs, military law and other military regulations, and be able to understand military documents and communications. This was a requirement of their job.

Some of the regulations in the army are actually a kind of "order" to a certain extent. They stipulate how to deal with different situations and disputes. Although there are not many learned people in the army, it also ensures that the illiteracy rate in the cavalry army has dropped a lot, and the orders issued by officers and generals can be better understood.

Such an army is generally well-nourished, has an effective reward and punishment system, and is highly organized and well-trained, so it is naturally more advantageous and easier to train elite troops. However, Shandong generally adopts the model of recruiting peasant soldiers, conscripting, and even conscripting prisoners to form an army. Not to mention a sense of honor, even military discipline is lacking. When encountering supplies, whoever grabs it gets it, and the organizational structure is non-existent.

Therefore, Zhao Yun is not too worried about the governance of Youzhou now, because it can be temporarily replaced by part of the military control. Rather, due to the need for defense and the need for governance, the soldiers will be forced to disperse, which may lead to weak links in some aspects. This is Zhao Yun's more headache.

Problems aside, the war had to be fought. At dawn the next day, Zhang He bid farewell to Zhao Yun and led his troops to set off, heading straight for Youzhou.

However, it is impossible for Zhao Yun to reach Youzhou on the same day with his large army, so let us return our attention to Hedong.

In the eyes of many people who don’t understand the truth, war is all about rushing forward with loud shouting, then fighting loudly, and finally laughing.

But in fact there are a lot of problems that need to be solved little by little.

For example, Fei Qian and Xun Chen have just confirmed the issue of the transport team from Linfen, learned about the logistics support, and confirmed that the transport team will arrive this month, and the amount of food and grass for next month and the month after next has also been confirmed. In addition, they have to prepare to stockpile some supplies and food for the army in the winter in the north.

Although Fei Qian expected the war to end in the autumn, no one could guarantee that the war would not drag on into the winter. Although Fei Qian did not think Cao Cao would dare to do so, as the commander-in-chief of the entire army, he could not completely ignore the risks, even if such advance preparations would require a lot of financial and human resources.

After Fei Qian read the briefing submitted by Xun Chen, he approved it and stamped his seal.

"When this war starts, money and food will become like water..." Fei Qian sighed, "That's it... Although I think I have a greater chance of winning, no one can easily say who will win before the last moment of the battle."

What Fei Qian is more worried about now is that some people think victory is in sight, and start to become careless and numb, and then be overturned by Lao Cao.

This kind of thing happened once to Yuan Da, and Fei Qian didn't want it to happen to him again. Be cautious and avoid every risk.

F2A is fun, but if it fails, it’s all over.

  Of course, before F2A, most people thought that given the situation and the dragon at their face, how could they lose?

As a result, I flew in and found a circle of reinforced anti-aircraft turrets and a doctor sister giving injections to soldiers...

  Speaking of which, Fei Qian is now mainly composed of cavalry, isn’t he like a fast-moving flying dragon?

bah bah bah!

Fei Qian secretly threw this bad idea out of his mind.

That’s right, in fact, Cao Cao had already used a similar strategy when he was fighting against Yuan Shikai.

At that time, Zang Ba was the one who was fighting on the side line. He entered Qingzhou from Langya and invaded Qi, Beihai, Dong'an and other places on Yuan Shao's flank. This not only contained Yuan Shao and consolidated the right wing, but also prevented Yuan's army from attacking Xu County from the east.

The one now in charge of the flank invasion is Xiahou Dun.

Then, during the war between Yuan and Shang, Xiahou Dun was stationed in Mengjin and Ao Cang to defend against Yuan's troops crossing the river to attack the weak points of Yuzhou. Now Cao Ren is in charge of this aspect.

When Cao Cao was fighting Yuan Shao, he also led Cao Hong and other central army troops to block Yuan's army from advancing southward in the area from Bai Ma to Guandu and built fortifications to defend the area.

Now Cao Cao is building a fortification in Anyi to defend...

At the same time, at that time, Cao Cao also sent Yuan Shao a lot of talents and information, which made Yuan Shao believe that victory was in sight and Cao Cao was about to be overthrown...

In the end, Cao Cao had the last laugh.

Now, many people, including people from the Cao family like Cao Zhao, have surrendered to Fei Qian one after another.

correct!

Yuan Da was said to be...

Infected with the plague?!

  Fei Qian suddenly realized something, grabbed the document that had already been approved, glanced up and down, and found that there was no project on disease prevention and epidemic treatment, nor was there any mention of stockpiling medicinal materials in this regard!

"One more thing." Fei Qian picked up his pen and wrote on the text, "Order the doctors in the north, Yinshan, and Guanzhong to collect herbs and medicines to prevent the plague, and send them to Linfen in Hedong, Tongguan, and Wuguan immediately!"

"Plague?" Xun Chen was stunned, and then said, "My lord, it's summer and autumn now, this plague..."

Normally, plagues are more prevalent in spring and summer, but in summer and autumn, perhaps because the weather is dry, bacteria and viruses find it more difficult to survive, so there are fewer plagues.

"It is better to be cautious." Fei Qian nodded and said, "In the past, Yuan's army attacked Bai Ma and won, but they got an epidemic at Guandu..."

There is a large lake, Wuchao Lake, between Baima and Guandu.

There is no large lake like Wuchao in the Yuncheng Basin in Hedong, but there is an Anyi City...

"Food, medicine, cloth, ..." Fei Qian said with emotion, "I hope we can hold on."

If only war were as simple as some people think, where people just kill each other foolishly, or just a few words in history books...

Xun Chen said: "My lord is wise. He has saved Guanzhong from being affected by the war. After the harvest in Guanzhong, we will naturally have more money."

"Then we must first repel Cao's army in Hedong." Fei Qian nodded.

In Fei Qian's entire territory, the war affected most of the northern part of Bingzhou, and even the Linfen area was more or less affected. As for places like Shangdang and Taiyuan, especially Taiyuan, although Xiahou Dun was defeated, the impact on the local economy, especially crops, was still great.

Many farmlands were trampled and burned. Not only was there no harvest this year, but Fei Qian also needed to provide another year's worth of food and seeds...

Fei Qian said with some emotion: "If Cao Jun's strategy of consumption really succeeds... hehe..."

Xun Chen nodded and said, "Cao Cao really wants us to attack Anyi Camp. If we can use this camp to hold back the lord, Cao Cao will definitely turn around and cross the river to the west."

Fei Qian nodded and said, "For me, a decisive battle here is not the best strategy. Cao's army came too early... a few years later... Forget it, let's not talk about this. Have you found anything in the Wenxi area?"

After Cao Zhao surrendered, Fei Qian asked Cao Zhao to write a letter according to the countermeasures they had discussed.

However, after Zhang Xiu led the remnants of Wenxi to move, he could not find any trace of Cao Xiu and others for a while.

This made Fei Qian somewhat uneasy. In the northern part of Bingzhou, in the Luliang area, the mountains and hills were undulating. Although Cao Xiu and other troops were not numerous, it would be very troublesome if they really started guerrilla warfare.

Xun Chen pondered aside.

"What did Youruo think of?" Fei Qian asked.

Xun Chen cupped his hands and said, "This Cao Zilie... wouldn't he want to go find Xiahou Yuanrang?"

Fei Qian couldn't help but be stunned.

Fei Qian naturally knew that Xiahou Dun had been captured.

Thanks to Cui Hou, some people in Shandong also knew that Xiahou Dun had a bad end...

But this kind of thing will definitely not be publicized to let the whole world know.

  The reason is simple, information is money and it also means benefits!

The fewer people know the information, the higher its value will naturally be. Therefore, in Shandong, news about Xiahou Dun was only known by a small group of people, especially among the Jizhou gentry and some of the Yuzhou gentry's children. As for Cao Xiu, who was always fighting on the front line, of course no one would go out of their way to say hello to him.

So after Xun Chen said this, Fei Qian really felt that Cao Xiu would make this trip.

Before, Cao Xiu climbed the mountain road from the Chenguan Road to Hedong. Now he was climbing over mountains and ridges to Taiyuan to find Xiahou, who seemed to be the most suitable candidate in Cao's army.

Fei Qian thought about it, then stood up and walked to the map hanging on the side.

"Taiyuan..."

Fei Qian murmured.

The current defender of Taiyuan is Huang Cheng.

"General Huang is in Taiyuan," Xun Chen said on the side, "General Huang has always been cautious and has been commanding troops for many years, so there should be no problem."

Fei Qian nodded, "But it is still a variable... Send a fast horse to report this matter."

Xun Chen agreed, "My Lord, why not bring Xiahou Yuanrang here..."

Fei Qian's eyes moved slightly, "What do you think, Youruo?"

Xun Chen smiled and said, "My Lord, I will write this letter as well. I will also write two letters..."

Fei Qian was stunned, but soon understood and couldn't help laughing, "Well, well! Now that things have come to this, I can only trouble Xiahou Yuanrang to make this trip!"

(End of this chapter)