Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3369 Life...Death...

From a distance, Cao's camp looked like a huge beast lying on the loess plateau in the dark. It lay there quietly, as if waiting for something, giving people a feeling of depression and tension.

This inevitably caused Fei Qian to have wild thoughts in order to relieve his own stress.

He found that since he reached a certain position, the time for quiet thinking like the present time became less and less, and more and more fragmented, while more time was spent on new things and new choices that kept emerging.

This is not good.

Of course, it doesn't mean that he didn't think about it when he made the choice, but at that time he often had a strong sense of purpose, and he had to complete something within a certain time. This reminded him of some cattle and horses in later generations...

In the future, people have to face countdowns almost every day. Not to mention the countdowns at work, even in life, there are countdowns almost everywhere. In a few days, the mortgage will be paid, in a few days, the car loan will be paid, and on which day is the payment date for that card...

As a result, people gradually became impatient and lost their patience and ability to think.

This was especially true in feudal dynasties.

It’s not that Fei Qian looks down on cattle and horses, but that cattle and horses cannot just willingly become cattle and horses.

During the Battle of Hedong, those indifferent civilians sounded a warning bell for Fei Qian...

These are the Han people. These are the cattle and horses that have been bred and selected over a period of three or four hundred years.

Farmers and women in the countryside have no extra time to sit down and think, they just have to do endless farm work. In spring they need to sow, in summer they need to weed, in autumn they need to harvest, in winter they need to store, and another year has passed, year after year.

Therefore, in the feudal dynasty, the gap between the sons of the gentry and the peasants was constantly widening, and this gap was not only reflected in the living standards, but also in the thinking patterns. The ability to think and create beyond the basic survival needs is the real difference between humans and cattle and horses.

Therefore, those who do not want to think, nor consider how to innovate and create, but want to control class, position, and means of production and living to exploit others will inevitably become obstacles to the entire society. No matter how powerful they are now, they will be defeated and drowned in the torrent of history...

Like now.

Cao's army camp looks large, but it is actually very fragile.

It's not the shell that's fragile, it's what's inside.

Fei Qian had a feeling that perhaps the life or death of Cao’s army camp would be decided tonight.

So he came in person.

With Fei Qian's low combat power, he was not able to rush to the front and mow down enemies like other travelers, but this gave Fei Qian another perspective, a perspective that allowed him to see the whole situation instead of just immersing himself in the pleasure of killing.

Of course, it is also possible that Fei Qian was simply dazzled and misjudged the situation. In that case, this night attack might be more dangerous, and Fei Qian would also need to be on the scene to command and make adjustments.

It is normal for people to be dazzled when faced with temptation.

In such a beautiful night, it seems that it should not be associated with fighting and bloodshed, but unfortunately, just as humans can mate regardless of the season, killing between humans can also take place regardless of day and night.

  Sometimes Fei Qian would imagine, if one day all human beings put down their butcher knives against their own kind, would those guys outside the star begin to tremble? Then, is there some hidden force controlling the human gene of strangling and fighting each other?

Fei Qian looked up at the sky.

The sky is boundless, and so are the stars.

When humans think, God laughs.

God, that is, the God in heaven.

To ants, humans are gods.

  So what are gods to humans?

Is this insatiable greed of human beings inherited from genes or evolved from civilization?

Those who are content are always a minority, and the noisy voices are always shouting "Give me more"...

Xun Chen came over from the side and said, "My lord, everything is ready. The soldiers and horses have already had their night food."

Fei Qian nodded, took out the telescope, looked forward, adjusted it, but still couldn't see the figures of Xu Chu and others in the dark earth plateau...

"Waiting for Zhongkang's signal."

Fei Qian ordered, "Send more scouts to monitor the surrounding situation."

Xun Chen responded and then went back to work.

During the day, Xu Chu touched Cao Hong's lower body, confirmed the feel, and saw blood...

I don’t know if this was Cao Hong’s first time, but it was at least Xu Chu’s first time.

So for Brother Chu, this was his first time and he didn't have much experience, nor was he sure how badly Cao Hong was injured.

However, attacking someone while he is ill has always been a fine tradition in China, and kicking him when he is down has become a teaching model, so Fei Qian and others discussed it and decided to launch a night attack.

A night attack might be dangerous, but it would be a pity to let the opportunity pass by.

Fei Qian prepared two echelons. One was Xu Chu leading the infantry to try again, and the other was him leading Xun Chen, Li Li and others, and the cavalry to hold the fort. This would make it faster whether it was to expand the results of the battle or to provide rescue.

In addition, Fei Qian also prepared a garrison of artillery and rockets in case of emergency.

Especially the Rockets.

The rocket cars are not big, with twenty rockets in one car, which is quite simple.

After all, the current technology is still not very good. Maybe in the future there will be a carload of forty pieces, or a carload of one hundred pieces...

In this way, if the results of the battle can be expanded, it would be great, but if the night attack fails, there will be some protection. The only bad thing is that the soldiers will be tired and their sustained combat capability will be greatly reduced. It will take at least one or two days to recover.

Smoothbore guns are still...

If there were mortars...

Well, Fei Qian suddenly remembered something and frowned, but soon became discouraged again.

People are like this, they always want more.

But soon, Fei Qian realized that he was still greedy.

These days, there are still too many uncertainties regarding gunpowder.

The quality of this batch of gunpowder is good, but the next batch cannot be guaranteed. Moreover, since the quality of each batch of gunpowder varies, when using different batches of gunpowder, experienced craftsmen are needed to re-determine the amount of gunpowder in the artillery.

Otherwise, it is possible that the previous batch of gunpowder was fired well, but the next batch of gunpowder either had a reduced range or had various problems such as frequent explosions...

Therefore, every time a new gunpowder bag arrived, the craftsmen in the artillery camp needed to re-verify the measurement, test and calculate, and finally determine the increase or decrease in the fixed amount of gunpowder.

This is a very troublesome thing and it is difficult to improve it in a short period of time.

In comparison, rockets may be more suitable for use in rough chemical technology conditions than mortars. With less or more gunpowder, they are more suitable for covering attacks that do not require much accuracy.

During the daytime battle, Fei Qian thought Cao Hong would attack him by surprise, so he dragged the rockets and prepared them early. But who would have thought that Cao Hong would be defeated by Xu Chu's sword...

Now, if the night attack failed, it would mean that Cao’s army might have been well prepared and would most likely take the opportunity to counterattack, so Fei Qian pulled out the rockets again.

I don’t expect to use it every time, but I must have a trump card in my hand.

Anyway, Fei Qian only has so many chips now, so he doesn't have much money to spend.

It may be fun to spend money, but if you make a mistake just once, you will get killed.

"Maybe it won't be useful this time either?"

Fei Qian thought about it, then looked up at the Big Dipper and calculated the time.

There are so many stars in the sky, which is indeed beautiful, but it also adds some trouble to finding the Big Dipper.

"With such a beautiful scenery, why not invite Xiahou Yuanrang to come and enjoy it together..."

……

……

Also looking up under the starry night sky was Cao Xiu.

The sky was chaotic, just like the future Cao Xiu faced, which was also chaotic and unclear.

The mountain road was difficult to walk on, and coupled with the interspersed fighting, it was simply a combination of men on top of men...

Uh, that’s difficult!

Cao Xiu led his troops all the way around Wenxi and headed straight into the Luliang Mountains, with the goal of getting in touch with Xiahou Dun. Cao Xiu was not God, nor was he a keyboard warrior who knew everything about the past five thousand years and the present five hundred million years, so he couldn't know everything...

Perhaps Cao Cao already knew some of the news, but the middle and low-level generals of Cao’s army were cut off from the news.

The Wenxi offensive can be said to have failed.

Zhang Xiu withdrew the remaining troops from Wenxi, and what was left was only a ruin.

Worthless, burnt-out ruins.

When Lu Zhao saw this, he was delighted, his face full of joy that he couldn't hide.

Cao Xiu knew what Lu Zhao was happy about.

No need to fight, and I got Wenxi.

No matter what value Wenxi has now, Cao's army has "occupied" Wenxi! Lu Zhao's previous defeat can also offset part of it, and even a stroke of the Spring and Autumn pen can be made to indicate that it is a strategic shift, a global transition, and finally a "great" victory!

But what’s the use of such a ruined Wenxi?

  Like putting some greasy pig skin on your lips before going out?

The reason why Cao's army wanted to attack Wenxi was that by taking Wenxi, on the one hand, they could use it as support for the flank attack, and on the other hand, they could turn around and force the Pei family in Anyi. As a result, although they did succeed in taking Wenxi, it has no value anymore.

As a result, a conflict broke out between Cao Xiu and Lu Zhao.

Lu Zhao of course meant that his mission had been "accomplished" and Wenxi had been "captured", so he could return to the army.

But Cao Xiu felt that going back like this would not only result in the loss of troops and generals, but would also be meaningless.

Cao Xiu insisted on going north and completing the second phase of the task, which inevitably led to a fundamental conflict with Lu Zhao.

So Cao Xiu directly seized Lu Zhao's military power and placed it under his own command.

Lu Zhao was helpless. It was unrealistic for him to return to Cao's camp alone. He could only follow Cao Xiu northward with a heart full of complaints and resentment.

In the middle of the night, the Cao army soldiers behind Cao Xiu were all exhausted.

The healthy horse shook its head uncomfortably. Although it could not neigh because of the piece of wood in its mouth, it still snorted loudly and pawed the ground with its hooves.

Half of the troops following Cao Xiu northward were Cao Xiu's own troops, and the other half were Lu Zhao's miscellaneous troops. These soldiers from Cao Xiu's own troops had followed Cao Xiu up the Chen Pass Road before, and were more or less accustomed to walking on the mountain road. They followed Cao Xiu forward without saying a word, but the miscellaneous Cao soldiers who joined in halfway naturally had a lot of low complaints.

If it was Cao Cao, or Cao Hong, who led them, these guys wouldn't dare to complain too much.

After all, it was not easy for Cao's army back then. Cao Cao, Cao Hong and others also accompanied them through all the hardships. They ate whatever was available. Even the meat from wild boar's nipples was cooked in a pot. The generals only ate the first bowl. Everyone stirred with the same ladle. There was absolutely no reason for them to hide in the corner and eat some Swiss rolls to satisfy their hunger.

Therefore, even if there was any dissatisfaction, there was nothing to say, but Cao Xiu was different, he came later. In the eyes of Cao's soldiers, he had never suffered the hardships at the front, but came later to take advantage of the situation. Those soldiers of Cao Xiu's own army were fed by Cao Xiu's family, and he had never eaten a grain of rice from Cao Xiu's family, so why couldn't he say a few words and complain a few times?

What's more, Cao Xiu came from a certain background, and some of the old soldiers who had followed the Cao family in the earliest days knew a general idea of ​​it.

There are different levels among the Cao family!

In addition, Cao Xiu did not have any physical appearance bonus. After all, he was born into a poor family and had to carry his parents' coffins to seek refuge with his relatives. He had gone through many hardships along the way. Naturally, he could not have fair skin, a delicate face, a creamy temperament, a willow waist, and he did not have the charm that could make millions of people scream with just a wicked smile...

As for Lu Zhao, he didn't say much on the surface, but in fact, even if he was three meters away, he could smell his dissatisfaction with Cao Xiu. So naturally, those Cao army soldiers grumbled and pointed fingers behind his back. In the eyes of these Cao army soldiers, Lu Zhao was the one who was in the same group with them!

  Why did you join the army? It's just for the food and salary!

Defend the country?

  what!

At that time, the Central Plains was in chaos, refugees were suffering everywhere, there were fighting everywhere, and the Jingguans were filled with seas of blood and mountains of bones. Where was home?

Loyalty, filial piety and righteousness?

  Hey!

Those in government are so shameless that they only know how to suck the blood of the common people, yet they ask the people to talk about loyalty, filial piety, and righteousness?

Therefore, among the miscellaneous soldiers of Cao's army, don't mention anything else, just have food to eat.

You get what you pay for.

The baggage and dry food Cao Xiu brought with him gradually ran out...

Originally, Cao Xiu thought that once he reached the northern road, he would be able to quickly contact the Xiahou Army, or find some villages near Luliang as reinforcements. However, Cao Xiu did not take into account that Luliang had scattered villages and many people in the mountains. It was not that these people liked Luliang and Taihang so much, but they were forced to move to the Luliang Mountains due to various external environments. Now Fei Qian's business in the Linfen Basin is booming, and he has been attracting people to move there voluntarily with various preferential policies for a long time, so naturally the population in the Luliang Mountains has become sparse.

  And this is not the biggest trouble Cao Xiu faces, because his troubles will become more and more numerous and bigger!

In the darkness of the night, there was a movement of human figures. The soldier who was exploring the way ahead came back with a strange look on his face.

Cao Xiu asked, and at first thought that something unusual had been discovered ahead, but he did not expect that the soldier who was exploring the way ahead would answer: "General... it's not that we encountered it... well, it can be considered as an encounter... Hey, this is a letter from your son..."

"Ah huh?"

Cao Xiu opened his mouth wide and didn't close it for a long time.

……

……

The walls of Cao's army camp were built by digging trenches and cutting trees to form fences.

Each small camp in the big camp can probably accommodate around a thousand people.

The camp of the Zhongling Army and the Zhonghu Army is larger than the small camp, accommodating between 2,000 and 5,000 people.

Cao Hong returned to his central military tent.

The camp was quiet.

It wasn't because these Central Commanders and Guards were so disciplined, but because many of these large camps were empty, with only a tent supporting them and a few soldiers living in the outermost circle.

With fewer people, there will naturally be fewer noises.

After entering his own tent, Cao Hong did not force himself to stand. He landed on one foot, put his arm on the guard's shoulder, jumped and sat on the bed, then let the guard check his wound and apply medicine again.

Previously, the elite Cao army here were mainly old soldiers from Qingzhou who had fought with Cao Cao all the way. They were brave and fearless, but also extremely difficult to command.

After all, life and death don’t matter, so why bother about military laws?

Especially when Cao Cao was hunting down Yuan Shu...

  Even Cao Hong was frightened by the scene back then!

They are said to be Qingzhou soldiers, but in fact most of them are Qingzhou Yellow Turban bandits.

These Yellow Turban bandits may not have much martial arts skills, but they are indeed not afraid of death...

In other words, one has lost the desire to live.

  Until now, Cao Hong still couldn't understand why those Yellow Turban bandits, when they heard that they were going to fight Yuan Shu, would give up even their wages and food, and would even tear a piece of flesh from Yuan Shu's soldiers with their bare hands on the battlefield!

It was as if Yuan Shu’s soldiers were their irreconcilable enemies who had killed their fathers!

why?

You know, Yuan Shu is not a weakling. Yuan Gonglu of the Han Dynasty has a group of elite soldiers left by the Yuan family, elite soldiers that even Yuan Shao did not have, and he is conquering Zhang Jue...

  Oh!

Cao Hong suddenly understood something. So that's it...

It is true that every wrong has its perpetrator and every debt has its creditor.

"hiss……"

Cao Hong suddenly took a breath of cold air.

The guard thought that Cao Hong's wound was painful because of his unskilled technique in changing the medicine, so he apologized repeatedly.

Cao Hong waved his hand and said, "It's not about that... I just suddenly remembered that when Bao Shuyi asked about the lord just now, did he call him "lord" or "prime minister"? "

"this……"

The guard was stunned, he didn't even notice.

But since Cao Hong asked, they naturally asked each other and recalled for Cao Hong.

"Is it called 'Prime Minister'?" said a guard.

"Yes! It is indeed the Prime Minister!" Another guard also confirmed.

"Prime Minister..." Cao Hong narrowed his eyes.

Normally, "Lord" is "Prime Minister", and "Prime Minister" is "Lord", and there is no big problem. Just like calling your husband "that guy" or "Liangzi" is no problem, but one day, it suddenly became just a name without mentioning the relationship...

"Master... do you mean... do you want to...?"

The guard suddenly became worried.

"Let me think about it..." Cao Hong's expression was hidden in the firelight inside the big tent, sometimes brighter and sometimes darker. "We need to make some extra preparations... maybe it's time to use that... After all, this is a matter of life and death..."