Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3352 Feeling of Reality

Jizhou was in chaos, Yecheng was still in shock, and local counties were not functioning well. They reported various difficulties one after another, causing the entire Jizhou system to be like a pile of shitty codes. As soon as it was run, all kinds of errors would appear, and there were bright yellow or bright red warnings everywhere. Even if it was managed to run, it might not get any correct results.

Jizhou was no longer reliable, so the pressure shifted to Yuzhou, which naturally made Yuzhou more difficult.

When one core is in trouble, the other eight cores watch.

The 3.3 volt power supply on the CPU is about to explode...

For the upper-level rulers, just as Xiahou Dun could imagine, their instinct is to take care of themselves and the class under them first. As for the people at the bottom, most of the time they only express sympathy in words.

Therefore, when faced with Cao Cao's order to urge for food and grass again, when it came to the gentry level, the Shandong gentry's children all remained silent.

The reason for the silence was simple: Xun Yu had also turned hostile.

Before Cheng Yu was dispatched, the first people to be captured and beheaded were from the Xun family, and they were also related to Xun Yu...

So the sons of the noble families in Yuzhou quickly sat down to discuss and reached a unified opinion at the fastest speed: "Let the people suffer a little more!"

The sons of the Yuzhou noble families left the venue with sorrow on their faces. As they sat on the canopy carriages, they all looked up to the sky and sighed, "When the country prospers, the people suffer. When the country perishes, the people suffer..."

"The people are suffering..."

"How pitiful..."

"Oh my God..."

As the sons of the gentry lamented about the common people, truly tragic events soon began to unfold.

From emotion to reality, it is so direct and simple.

The chaotic sounds of people, mules and horses stopped in front of the village, and soon the sound of hurried footsteps was heard.

"Bang!" 』

The low courtyard gate was kicked open violently, and the old door hit the low earthen wall of the courtyard, making a groaning sound as it could not bear the weight.

The farmer in the yard rushed to the door, only to see an official in brocade clothes walking in with his head held high with several soldiers and yamen runners.

  what?

Breaking into a private house?

This is for official business!

  How can there be any such thing as trespassing?

"Master, Master, what are you doing?"

The farmer asked anxiously, trying to stand in front of these uninvited guests, but they were quickly pushed aside.

For the farmers at the bottom of society, all of these people are masters, and none of them can be offended, even if these people claim to seek welfare for the people and care about people's livelihood. Now these "masters" come to "care" about the "people's livelihood" of these farmers.

The leading clerk in brocade clothes didn't even bother to look at the farmer, he just waved his hand indifferently, and then the soldiers and the yamen runners rushed into the earth house. One of the yamen runners knew the farmer, and when he passed by the farmer, he gave him a hidden look, as if to warn the farmer something...

Several people opened the grain cabinet in the house and saw that it was empty. However, they did not hesitate at all and searched other places in the house.

  Who would put food in the granary these days?

In the village, every household would shake their heads if there were rats in their granaries.

The farmer's food was hidden under his bed.

Because there has been a shortage of food everywhere during this period of time, even the simple and honest people will inevitably be driven by hunger and do some not-so-glorious things.

Of course, in the eyes of some children of the gentry, such behavior is the best interpretation of being an inferior person and a born low-born species.

  Anyway, the children of the gentry just don’t understand why people can ignore their integrity for a bite to eat.

It is obvious that the harvest this year is not very good. Even the most optimistic farmers do not believe the propaganda of government officials that there will be an improvement next year.

  The government said that everything is stable and food prices have not increased. Everyone should have confidence and eat and use it with confidence!

But only a few people could buy the affordable food in the official shop, and the price at the free market was far higher than the so-called official price...

As the number of people starving to death began to increase, and various problems such as theft, robbery and murder also gradually increased, most farmers would hide their grain in places where they could easily check and confirm it.

Just like this farmer, he would hold food in his hands when he slept, and keep a stick beside his bed. He had beaten thieves who sneaked in over the wall several times, but he often didn't realize that he could prevent theft but not robbery.

The farmer knelt down in front of the official and kowtowed, "Master, please be kind! I don't have much food left at home. If you take it away, my family will have no way to survive!"

The clerk in brocade clothes stood there coldly, with his head raised and his nose turned up, as if saying one more word to this lowly peasant would be an insult to his family.

A woman's crying and screaming were heard from inside the house, followed by the soldiers' angry shouts.

The farmer quickly ran into the house and saw that the food hidden under the bed had been easily found and was being held in the hands of a yamen runner.

The farmer's wife was holding on to the grain bag tightly, crying and shouting, refusing to let go.

"Mother of the child! Let go! Let go now!!"

When the farmer saw that the soldier's hand was already on the hilt of the knife, he hurried forward, blocking the direction in which the soldier was moving, and tried to pull away his wife's hand that was grabbing the grain bag.

The farmer's wife held her hands tightly, tears streaming down her face, "My child, my child will die if he has no food to eat! He will die!"

"Let go, let go," the farmer said softly.

The farmer's wife was still shaking her head, with a hint of despair in her eyes.

One of their children has already died.

There was a food shortage in the early years and people starved to death.

Now there is a shortage of food again...

  Last year's grain harvest was not much, and this year's harvest is not likely to be much either. After paying the rent and taxes, there will be little left. Originally, I thought I could barely survive by eating various miscellaneous foods such as wheat bran, and wait until this year's autumn harvest to take a breath, and then borrow some high-interest loans, but who could have thought that the government would collect grain again and again!

"Let go, I...these people are really going to fight! If we die, what will happen to the baby?" the farmer whispered.

The farmer's wife was startled and looked back into the house. On the dirt bed was a skinny little boy, sucking his thumb and drooling as he stared at the adults blankly.

While his wife was turning her head back to relax, the farmer pried open her fingers.

The bailiff immediately put the grain bag on his shoulders, turned around and left the house.

The farmer's wife finally reacted and wanted to rush out, but the farmer held her back, "It's useless, it's useless..."

When they were collecting grain before, wasn't there Wang Laosan who refused to pay and was beaten to death? No one spoke up for Wang Laosan and everyone in the village said nothing. So this time, if they don't pay and are beaten to death, will anyone speak up?

But this is not the end.

The grain was taken to the yard and weighed.

"That's not enough." The clerk in brocade clothes glanced at the scale, "30 catties per person, your family of three, you have to pay a total of 90 catties! You only have more than 50 catties, sir, I will show mercy and count it as 60 catties, you still need 30 catties!"

The farmer stepped forward and kowtowed, "Master, please have mercy on me, please have mercy on me, can I...can I pay you back first? The autumn harvest is coming soon, and when the harvest comes, I will pay you back double!"

"The autumn grain is required by the emperor! This time the grain collection is required by the prime minister! Everyone has to pay. If you don't pay in full, you will be punished. If we don't collect in full, we will be punished! If I am beheaded, can you die for me?" The brocade-clad clerk snorted coldly. He had seen many such unruly people who refused to pay. "I'll give you three days. We'll come back after three days. We still need 30 kilograms! If you can't make up for it by then, don't blame us for being rude!"

The clerk in brocade uniforms was obviously too lazy to argue with the farmer, so he took his men directly to the next house.

The farmer knelt on the ground, feeling painful and confused.

Muramasa was the last to leave, and he seemed to nod to the farmer as he left. This gave the farmer a little more hope. Maybe Muramasa could help him? There were only two months left before the harvest, and as long as he could hold on, there might still be hope!

Soon, sounds of crying and shouting were heard from the yard next door.

For some reason, the farmer felt that the heaviness in his chest seemed to be relieved a little when he heard the miserable crying in the next yard. He came to his senses and went into the house. His wife was crying while holding her child.

The farmer wanted to say something but didn't know how to start, so he just sat down on the ground dejectedly.

After an unknown amount of time, Muramasa's voice was heard again in the courtyard. The farmer quickly got up and ran out.

"Muramasa..."

The farmer looked at Muramasa expectantly.

Muramasa coughed and whispered, "This is the grain that the higher-ups want to collect. We can't do anything about it..."

"Yes, yes..." The farmer nodded, "But now we have no food at home, and there are still two months left. What should we do?"

"Come to my house later..." Muramasa whispered, "I have some hidden there, I'll give you three to five pounds to hold on for now..."

"Three or five pounds?" The farmer's heart sank. He still needed thirty pounds.

"I really don't have much... Look at the one next door..." Muramasa sighed, "If you get some wild vegetables or something, it will be enough for a while. When the autumn harvest comes, it will be fine..."

"But I still need 30 kilograms..." the farmer said blankly. Muramasa said nonchalantly: "You have already paid 60 kilograms, which is enough for the two big ones. As for the small one... I can't take care of it, so forget it... These days, it's good enough to keep the big one... Only when the big one is alive can there be the small one... Let's do it this way for now, wait a minute, come back at night when it's dark and no one is around..."

Muramasa left.

The farmer turned around and saw his wife leaning against the door with a dull look in her eyes.

The farmer moved his lips a few times but said nothing, just sighed.

His wife leaned against the door and slowly slid down. It was unclear what emotion was in her eyes, perhaps just despair.

The child in the house seemed to have noticed something and started crying loudly.

It's getting dark.

Maybe it has never been bright, and even if it really is bright, it is only short-lived.

The farmer stood up and looked back at his wife who was sitting at the door in darkness, and the outline of his child who had fallen asleep after crying himself tired. He swallowed and went out to Muramasa's house.

After about a quarter of an hour or two, the farmer came back.

As soon as he arrived at the courtyard, he quickly closed the shabby gate and propped it up with a wooden stick. Then he carefully carried a small bag of food, as if he was carrying a life-saving treasure, and walked into the house, "Mother, we have food..."

On the earthen bed in the room, only his child was staring weakly, but there was no sound of his wife.

The farmer raised his eyes slightly, and a pair of dangling feet appeared before his eyes.

Slowly, gently, swaying.

The smile on the farmer's face froze instantly, and then a heart-wrenching wail rang out in the quiet yard.

Just like he had not paid attention to the wailing in the next yard during the day, the farmer's wailing was even more miserable at night, but the surrounding yards were still dead and no one came...

……

……

You won’t get anything truly precious by begging and pleading.

War is not just a matter of two people, a few generals, or one or two regions.

Once war breaks out, destruction is inevitable.

The sun is high in the sky and the sky is clear.

For humans, the sun may always rise again, but for some people, they may not be able to see the sun the next day.

Fei Qian was wearing a well-made armor with shining patterns and standing on the slope on horseback.

Below the slope, his troops were surging and flowing forward.

There were no slogans, Fei Qian just stood there on his horse, and every soldier who passed by would look up at Fei Qian when passing the earth slope, and sincerely feel the majestic demeanor and proud momentum of the cavalry general...

Little did he know that Fei Qian was already sweating profusely under his shining armor helmet, with his hair sticking to his scalp, making him feel itchy and stuffy.

The helmets are not breathable.

The exquisite armor, with carved patterns and decorations of gold and silver threads, paired with a bright red cloak, is simply a great weapon for showing off. It's a pity that this set of armor was made two years ago, and it's a bit tight now.

In real combat, Fei Qian would never wear such a set of shining armor. Generally speaking, this thing is like a formal dress. Before the battle, he wears a formal dress for his soldiers to see.

Cao’s army’s Anyi camp is right in front of us, and it is also Cao Cao’s most important support point in the Yuncheng Basin in Hedong.

The two sides had fought, tested, and gambled before, and both had losses and gains.

If Fei Qian fails to capture the Anyi Camp, Cao's army can deploy troops at ease, or attack the west of the river, or turn back, or just fight with Fei Qian in Anyi. Simply put, the Anyi Camp is like a nail. If Fei Qian is unable to remove this nail, he will have to touch it again, and see if he gets a bloody head or injured legs and feet.

Fei Qian watched the troops slowly passing by with their flags fluttering, but his mind was elsewhere. He received the latest news from Xu Chu yesterday, saying that there was indeed someone inside Cao's camp acting as an insider, and that he provided some information that Fei Qian and Xu Chu were not aware of.

There are indeed mysteries hidden within the Anyi camp.

Cao Cao demonstrated almost to the fullest his experience in wars over the years and the advantages of Shandong's cheap labor force.

One thing that made Fei Qian very alert was that in the latest intelligence, the man said that he saw a lot of kerosene and smelled some saltpeter...

Water and fire are two forces that humans have always wanted to conquer but are never able to completely control.

The upper reaches of the river were controlled by Fei Qian, so Cao Cao had no way to do anything about the "water", but it was obvious that this time Cao Cao wanted to do something about the "fire".

Fei Qian thought about it and couldn't help but feel an indescribable sense of historical coincidence...

  Could it be that now I have become the side of Cao Cao in history, and the Cao army has become the coalition army that was ready to set fire to the Red Cliffs in history?

This is really...

Kerosene will impose relatively large restrictions on both humans and horses, while saltpeter is definitely gunpowder.

Things like war equipment depend on who uses them, and also on luck.

When kerosene fell into Zhou Yu's hands, it could have set Cao Cao's beard on fire, but when it fell into Zhuge Liang's hands, it was extinguished by a heavy rain...

Fei Qian’s troops were strong, but their numbers were small, probably only one-third of Cao’s, or even slightly less.

Cao's army has a large number of troops, but their overall combat effectiveness is relatively poor.

Because Cao's army was composed of many different elements. According to the intelligence collected by Xu Chu and the accounts of those who surrendered, Cao's army was roughly divided into three parts: the core Zhongling Army and Zhonghu Army, the auxiliary generals of various surnames and local county soldiers, as well as a certain number of civilians and craftsmen.

There were more civilians in Cao’s camp before, but now...

Having a large population has its advantages, but it also brings troubles.

It is obviously unrealistic to kill all of them.

But receiving these prisoners is also a very troublesome task.

What's more, Cao Cao has built Anyi into a fortress. If we cannot use it as a point to lead the whole, roll up Cao's camp, and eat it up bit by bit, turning it into a tug-of-war, it is also not a good plan.

Cao Cao's strength has indeed weakened a lot.

Xiahou Yuan died and Xiahou Dun was captured, with almost one arm broken and his health seriously damaged.

But even so, Cao Cao still did not retreat!

Of course, it can also be understood that Cao Cao had nowhere to retreat, but if Cao Cao turned back now, he could still survive for a while and might not die immediately. After all, in history, Cao Cao was still able to become the overlord of the north after his failure in the Battle of Red Cliffs, but he had to make more compromises in some aspects.

Fei Qian believed that Cao Cao also understood this, so Cao Cao's attitude at this stage was very subtle.

Fei Qian felt that, in addition to kerosene and gunpowder, Cao Cao must have some other cards he hadn't played yet...

Because Cao Cao still holds this card in his hand, he feels that he still has a chance of making a complete comeback.

Things like kerosene and gunpowder are actually not difficult to guard against.

  So the key is to see how to use it and who is using it!

Why did Fei Qian come so slowly, instead of eagerly engaging in a battle with Cao's army at the turn of spring and summer?

Of course, it’s because Fei Qian also has to prepare his own trump card.

Artillery can only be considered an open card now. If you really want to use it in battle, you will definitely suffer a loss.

Fei Qian suddenly remembered that Pang Tong had reported that Zhu Ling had developed a rocket on his own...

  Maybe this is also some kind of coincidence?

Gunpowder and its derivatives should have dominated the battlefield since the day they were born, rather than just being used as a pastime for dignitaries.

In order for gunpowder to exert sufficient power, a dry climate is very important.

If we really fought against Cao's army at the turn of spring and summer, wouldn't Cao Cao have laughed so hard that his eyes would disappear?

At the turn of spring and summer, who knew that the cloud would bring rain?

Now is the end of summer and the beginning of autumn, when the climate is dry, the ground is hardened, and there is little rain and clouds. It is the best time for transportation and the use of gunpowder and its derivatives.

As Fei Qian was posing and thinking, he suddenly saw a small team of messenger cavalrymen running towards him in the distance, with flags on their backs.

"My lord! Cao's army sent an envoy with a letter of war, wanting to see you!"

(End of this chapter)