Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3355: The Ups and Downs of People's Hearts

If the Cao army camp that besieged Anyi City was compared to an egg, then the large camp built by Cao army near Anyi City was probably an ostrich egg.

The troops led by Fei Qian were like a group of little black bugs.

In history, when Liu Bei marched into Yiling, he claimed that the joint camp was 75 li long, but in fact it was not li long, only about li long, and no more than li long at most. The joint camp of li long, the front had already started fighting, but the rear had not received the news. At that time, Liu Bei's army was only about to people. Mr. Luo said that there were people, but it was just a necessary exaggeration.

Thirty to fifty thousand people, with a combined camp of seventy li. In the dense forest and mountainous terrain of Yiling, the area was stretched out, which is easy to understand.

So now Cao's army has 10,000 main combat troops, 20,000 servants and auxiliary soldiers, and countless civilians who have been plundered and kidnapped. Is it an impossible task to build a large camp with a radius of more than 20 miles relying on the water line?

Cao Cao had now captured a large number of people in Heluo and Hedong. Naturally, he could not keep them for nothing. Some were taken to Shandong, and some were sent to Anyi to repair the earth.

  Facing such a large camp, what is the best way to attack?

Should he scatter all his soldiers and cavalrymen like a group of little black bugs biting ostrich eggs, taking a bite in the east and a bite in the west?

This aimless attack and futile waste of effort is undoubtedly the most stupid option.

The best option is to use a point to lead the whole.

The tactical formation is not only determined according to one's actual situation, but is also affected by many factors.

For example, the political interests of group alliances.

The Eastern Han Dynasty was a regime established by the aristocratic manor landlord economic group represented by the big landlords and families in Jizhou and Yuzhou. However, in legal theory, it inherited the legal system of the Western Han Dynasty formed by the Sichuan-Shu Alliance based on the Guanlong Group and the Old Qin. Therefore, the Eastern Han Dynasty actually had more problems than the Western Han Dynasty.

Liu Xiu racked his brains but couldn't solve the contradiction between the east and the west. He could only establish the capital in Luoyang to balance and regulate the east and the west, hoping for the wisdom of future generations. But it is obvious that the descendants of Liu Xiu in the Eastern Han Dynasty would just lie down most of the time.

Therefore, among the interests of Cao Cao's Shandong political group, the most worthless or lowest-level consumables are ordinary people and civilians.

Fei Qian's current political group is a new type of political system that integrates wandering nobles, poor children, military meritorious nobles, and Hu people in Guanzhong, Jingxiang, Beidi, etc. Because it is a newly established political system, the cake has not been cut yet, and it cannot be said that there are no internal contradictions, but they are not as big as in Shandong.

As Fei Qian expanded rapidly in Guanzhong and Longxi, he opened up trade routes that were originally unconnected to each other, and worked hard to accelerate development, repelling the surrounding Hu regimes and small and medium-sized ethnic forces, curbing the evolution and degeneration of the Western Regions, and naturally became the strongest political force in the Han Dynasty.

From this point of view, Fei Qian cannot follow Cao Cao's route of attrition.

What Cao Cao was consuming were ordinary people and civilians who had no political voice and no political status. If Fei Qian followed Cao Cao's pace, he would be consuming his own foundation and future development potential!

Understanding this, we can understand that the war between Cao and Fei in the ninth year of Taixing was, in a sense, not a conflict between Cao Cao and Fei Qian, but a conflict between the political groups they represented. In this regard, Fei Qian was much happier than Cao Cao, because Cao not only had to fight Fei Qian, but also had to deal with the pig teammates in the rear.

Cao Cao changed into casual clothes, a simple helmet and a battle robe, just like an ordinary military academy, without any flags. If you don't look carefully, he and the stand-in on the podium are completely different people.

He wanted to take one more look at Fei Qian before leaving.

What a deep love...

cough cough.

In fact, Cao Cao had a knot in his heart.

He couldn't figure it out.

He was originally planning to leave, but he was still worried, so he didn't leave.

But I have to leave now. If I don’t leave now, I’m afraid I won’t be able to leave soon…

Anyi Camp, although it is called a camp, it should actually be called a joint camp.

Although it is not as exaggerated as the Hundred Miles Alliance that Liu Daliao had set up in Yiling, it is not small either.

Fei Qian's cavalry could only control an area to the north of the camp, but could not control the periphery of the entire Cao army camp.

As the art of war says, surround the enemy with ten times your strength.

  Xu Chu is in the north of Cao's camp. Assuming that Cao's army does not interfere and allows the cavalry scouts to detect freely, how many hours will it take for the cavalry scouts to set out at 12:00 in the morning and travel 80 miles a day on a fast horse to bypass Cao's camp with a radius of 20 miles. When they reach the south of Cao's camp, they just happen to find valuable information and then immediately return to their own camp to report the news?

Unless these cavalry scouts can all be like the keyboard warriors on the Internet, not eating, drinking, or shitting, and the biggest weight of their bodies is their mouths, it is impossible to surround a Cao army camp. The effectiveness of mobility is also limited.

Think about it, in the future, even with communication tools and GPS positioning, going up the mountain to look for a missing person requires casting a net, and even hundreds or thousands of people may not be able to find the person.

  If Fei Qian really has ten times more troops than Cao Cao, then what is the point of fighting?

But not now, what about in the future?

Cao Cao frowned.

future……

However, it may not be a good thing if Fei Qian really has ten times the number of troops.

It’s just like Cao’s army has a large number of soldiers now, but everyone’s heart is also complicated.

Cao Cao scanned the battlefield in the distance and looked at the battle lines drawn up by the Cavalry Army.

On the miles-long battle line, the cavalry seemed so calm and unhurried, whether it was the drums or the whistles. There was no obvious stagnation or chaos when the queues changed, from columns to rows, and from rows to squares, everything seemed so neat, as if they were originally a whole.

The cavalry and infantry, whether in square formation or in queue, were all in high spirits, arranged in an orderly manner under the flags and drums. It was full of an indescribable beauty. This feeling was roughly like watching a military parade in the future, and it was even more shocking than a military parade. Because no one was killed during a military parade, but here, real swords and guns were used to shed blood.

This neat queue not only conveys a strong visual stimulation, but also reflects an irresistible feeling in terms of momentum...

But Cao Cao saw that after Fei Qian climbed onto the high platform, troops from all parts of the front line began to salute Fei Qian, flags swayed like waves, and the cold light reflected from armor and blades kept flashing. Even when standing in the wild, there was still a murderous aura coming towards them. Even Cao Cao, who had been in battle for a long time, couldn't help feeling a little frightened.

Cao Cao had fought many battles in the south and the north for many years. Just by looking at it, he knew that the army brought by Fei Qian was far superior to his own soldiers in terms of armament, training, physique, and momentum. It can be said that even the most core Zhonglingjun Zhonghujun under Cao Cao may not be able to compete with these elite troops of Fei Qian.

  Cao Cao also found it a little difficult to understand why they were all the same Han people. Cao Cao had even privately borrowed a lot from Fei Qian's training manuals to train his troops, and their equipment was basically the same. But why were the auras they displayed so obviously different?

Cao Cao suppressed the uneasy feeling in his heart, and the firm will tempered by years of fighting once again pressed that little emotion to the ground and beat it violently. He looked up at the shadow on the high platform and suddenly felt a little ridiculous.

He was making fun of himself, and also making fun of the children of the gentry in Shandong.

They could be very powerful, but they were trying their best to hold back the people on their side. Everyone wanted to climb up, to be on top of others and act tyrannically, so once they saw someone climbing ahead, the first thing they thought about was not to catch up, but to pull that guy down so they could climb up.

Of course, Cao Cao did not expect that this tradition of fighting among experts and fighting outsiders would be passed down for thousands of years and still linger...

He was sure that the cavalry general Fei Qian had arrived.

Cao Cao looked again in the direction of Cao Hong who was commanding at the front line.

Most of the soldiers of the Central Army and the cavalry were left by Cao Cao in the back row of the center, led by Cao Hong.

Cao Cao didn't trust anyone except Cao Hong.

Because Cao Hong's son died at the hands of the Hussars, Cao Hong would never compromise with the Hussars...

After watching for a while, when Cao Cao was about to quietly wrap himself in his cloak and leave, he suddenly heard a commotion from the front line.

Cao Cao stopped and climbed up the watchtower again, staring at the hussar formation that was beginning to split in the distance, and couldn't help but be stunned.

"What does this guy want to do?"

The originally neat and tidy cavalry army was now split into three parts. Although it was still the center and the left and right, it was not a single infantry and cavalry, but a mixed formation. At the same time, even the artillery battalion in the center seemed to have started to move, and began to send some artillery, which were dragged by livestock to the two wings! "Are they going to split up? Attack in three directions? !" Cao Cao sneered at first, but soon he sank his face, "This Fei Ziyuan is so brave!"

Cao Cao sneered at first because Fei Qian had relatively few soldiers, and if he had to divide his troops with fewer soldiers, it meant that the strength of each part would be dispersed. So Cao Cao thought Fei Qian was crazy or stupid at first, but soon, Cao Cao thought of the problem on his side...

  Fei Qian divided his troops into three groups, and the ratio of soldiers to each group was basically the same. Although the number of soldiers in each group was not large, with the support of artillery, it meant that they had the ability to break through Cao's camp and invade in three directions!

Cao’s camp was large and had many soldiers, but this also had its drawbacks.

Just like who knows which cloud will bring rain, Cao Cao also has no idea which part will be more likely to rebel. If Fei Qian only used artillery to open a gap in one direction, Cao Hong alone would be enough to deal with it, but now...

Cao Cao stared at the formation that Fei Qian had arranged, and muttered, "The front is wide but the depth is shallow... There is more flexibility in turning but fewer soldiers... The two wings are far away from the center... If one is broken, the other two will be in chaos! Hmm... No, no! This is still a lure for the troops!"

Cao Cao frowned and thought for a moment, then called a guard, "Send a message to General Zi Lian... This new formation of the Hussars is a strategy to lure the troops! The Hussars have strong cavalry but weak infantry, and their artillery is powerful but few in number. If we fight in the field, the enemy will have the advantage. We should stabilize the front and tire the enemy out before we can attack their weak points! Act according to the plan, and don't be greedy for a moment of success!"

The guard took the order and left in a hurry.

Although the Hussars have expanded widely and are divided into three parts, it is actually quite difficult for the infantry to run at this distance. However, the distance for the horses to gallop is not too far, so it is still within the support range of the formation, and its line of troops is still divided into two layers, with the core part also being guarded by heavily armored infantry.

At the same time, there were some scattered cavalry outside the formation. Cao Cao did not think that these cavalry would just be paddling from beginning to end. On the contrary, this was the most terrifying type of cavalry. Because no one knew when these scattered cavalry would gather into a dense charging cavalry group.

  The advantage that Cao's army had was their large numbers, plus the well-equipped fortifications in the camp. If they couldn't help but attack at this time because they saw that Fei Qian's forces were scattered, they would probably fall directly into Fei Qian's calculations!

Cao Cao believed that artillery was just an embellishment and cavalry was Fei Qian's trump card!

If there were no cavalry, Cao Cao would have had dozens of ways to dismantle the artillery into parts, but with the cavalry by his side, Cao Cao's dozens of ways would have been in vain. Only by destroying or consuming the cavalry of the Hussars could the balance of the battle be truly changed.

Cao Cao glanced at several places in the camp again.

Within the camp, there were some people and some things that made Cao Cao very dissatisfied.

There were loyal people like Cao Hong in Cao's army, and there were also those who had ulterior motives and thought that Cao Cao had noticed nothing and knew nothing. Thinking of these guys, Cao Cao was filled with anger.

  And it's not just within the camp, there are also cases in Heluo, Yanzhou, Jizhou, and even in Yuzhou!

They knew clearly that General Fei Qian of the Cavalry was a powerful enemy, and they also knew that once the new land policy of the Cavalry was implemented in the Han Dynasty, they would suffer great losses. However, for the sake of the little bit of immediate benefits, they delayed and procrastinated intentionally or unintentionally, and violated Cao Cao's orders!

If we say that Cao Cao was half responsible for the defeat in this battle, then the other half was due to these people!

Therefore, if these people were to die, Cao Cao would have no mercy at all.

Cao Cao snorted coldly, turned around and just got down from the sentry tower, he heard waves of cheers of "Victory" like a tsunami coming from the formation of the Cavalry Army.

"What's wrong now?" Cao Cao frowned.

I just came down and something went wrong...

The guard quickly climbed up in a few steps, then came down quickly, whispering: "The cavalry is patrolling and reviewing the troops..."

Cao Cao took a breath, then turned to look at the platform.

The voice of the man in brocade robe on the high platform was still quiet, and the soldiers near the high platform were lined up in an orderly manner, but there was silence...

Cao Cao's head began to hurt again. He pulled the guard beside him over and gave him a few instructions. Immediately, the guard ran to the platform.

The cheers from the other side were still as surging as a tsunami, but Cao Cao could only lower his head, hold up his cloak, and pretend that he heard nothing, with an extremely complicated look in his eyes.

He can't show up.

After all, there is still a "him" on the podium.

And now, he should leave. The war is imminent, but Cao Cao is running away with his tail between his legs, oh, his cloak between his legs...

After confirming Fei Qian's arrival, they used the huge camp as a cover. At the same time, they took advantage of the opportunity when Fei Qian attracted the attention of other ordinary soldiers in Cao's camp and quietly "turned in".

The smaller party was showing off their might, while the larger party was fleeing in panic.

Although this was not Cao Cao's first "turnaround", compared to the time when Cao Cao faced the Xiliang cavalry in history, he was a little more panicked and a little less pretentious...

Amidst the cheers, Fei Qian galloped along the battle line.

Since the sixth year of Zhongping, Fei Qian has come step by step from an unknown junior, overcoming all difficulties bit by bit, and now has become everything in front of us. Behind this army, there is a strong livelihood support system and reserve army, a gradually growing trade system, industrial research institutions, government supervision departments, etc. Although we dare not say that it has surpassed the entire era, it is at least ahead of the present.

The victory in this war also means that Fei Qian and the political group under Fei Qian will enter a new era and will lead the Han Dynasty into a new direction.

But it's still not easy.

It is easy to change a thing, but it is difficult to change people's hearts.

After patrolling a circle, Fei Qian returned to the center formation.

As if to compete with Fei Qian, there were huge cheers and applause in the Cao army camp, but the momentum did not seem to be as strong as that of the Hussars...

Fei Qian raised the telescope and looked over. Cao Cao on the high platform was waving to all directions.

"Um……"

Fei Qian pinched the beard on his chin.

He felt that Cao Jun's reaction seemed to be a little slow.

Of course, this is within an acceptable range. After all, Cao's army camp is very large, so it is normal for them to react slowly.

Cao's army has many troops.

When there are many people, there are many things to do.

Among Cao's army, even the armor was not consistent.

The officers were well-armored, while the soldiers were almost running naked.

If people are divided into different classes, distribution will certainly not be fair.

Just like Swiss rolls and instant noodles, they are completely different levels of food.

Unfair? It is indeed unfair, but then what?

Then no.

For some reason, Fei Qian suddenly remembered some of the things Zhang Xiu had reported before, those civilians in Hedong and the people in Heluo...

Fei Qian frowned slightly, thought for a while, and summoned Xu Chu to his front.

Under the gloomy sky, the two armies facing each other seemed to have quieted down at this moment.

The only sounds on the battlefield were the neighing of horses and the fluttering of flags in the wind.

"There are three directions, and one of them is more disadvantageous to us..." Fei Qian said to Xu Chu with a smile, "Zhongkang, which one do you think it is?"

(End of this chapter)