Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3375 A Little Plan

Cao Sheng shivered a little.

I don’t know if it’s because of the pain in the wound or for some other reason.

Cao Sheng was missing three fingers on his right hand, leaving only his thumb and little finger, which were wrapped like a blood-soaked bun.

When he was fleeing in defeat, three of his fingers were chopped off at some point.

As the saying goes, a tortoise doesn't laugh at a turtle, and Cao Hong doesn't laugh at Cao Sheng. Both of them were hurt, and when they got together, neither of them could laugh.

"We can lose, but these supplies and fodder..."

Cao Hong turned to Cao Sheng and said, "But it cannot be left to the cavalry!"

Cao's army focused on forming a formation before fighting, and their mobility was inferior to that of the enemy, so naturally they fought with consumption.

The consumption of people and the consumption of things.

Cao's army was large in number, and there was not much food and grass left, but there were still a lot of armor and weapons left, so naturally there was no time to transport them away. There were hundreds of thousands of arrows here alone, and now they were all doused with kerosene...

There are also some pots, pans, and other items that are impossible to carry.

As for gold and silver, there were also a lot of them. On the one hand, they were plundered by Cao's army, and on the other hand, the more brutal the war, the more they wanted to see these things.

In addition, there are a lot of leftover wood from the original camp, woodworking tools, iron door-blocking knife carts, night lighting equipment, iron chains for locking the stakes, bamboo nails, iron nails, caltrops, etc. placed at the bottom of the trench...

  There are so many things, both imaginable and unimaginable, we can’t just leave them all to Fei Qian in vain!

That’s right, at this moment, Cao Hong is no longer thinking about how to win, but how to lose…

  Start a fire and burn as much as you can. It would be best if you can burn some cavalrymen and horses at the same time!

"But the Lord..." Cao Sheng was a little bit unbelievable, "We...really..."

"The cavalry is too cautious..." Cao Hong couldn't help but sigh, and then said angrily, "Why doesn't he come? !"

Plans are good, but they often cannot keep up with changes.

Cao Hong's plans were all good, but when he encountered an unconventional guy like Xu Chu, and Bao Zhong rebelled, he was suddenly at a loss, and his original plan to lure the enemy deep into his territory was completely scrapped!

"This cavalryman is not Xiliang at all!" Cao Hong gritted his teeth, "If I had known earlier... Humph! Now, I can only use this as a last resort!"

Some of Fei Qian's early battles were indeed full of Xiliang style. This was not Fei Qian's personal creation. In the Three Kingdoms, Liu, Guan, and Zhang were good at this kind of tactics, and even many of Yuan Shao's men were accustomed to this simple and rough fighting mode.

Or you could call it the Northern Tactics.

The last time in Yuzhou, Cao Cao suffered a loss, and then secretly summarized it and found that the cavalry liked to use this set of tactics. When the cavalry fought against Shanshan in the Western Regions, they also led the army to attack the Shanshan capital. The same was true for the camp at the foot of the slope. Like a thunderous gale, with the force of thunder and lightning, they directly broke through the camp, and then went straight to the center of the army, beheaded the enemy's main general in one fell swoop, and won a great victory.

Therefore, Cao Cao and Cao Hong made preparations for both situations.

  If Fei Qian were to use this tactic of directly breaking into the center of the formation again, then being under the high platform would be a dead end!

For this reason, Cao Cao deliberately left a substitute...

He also prepared a letter of war, on the one hand to provoke Fei Qian, and on the other hand to prove that when Fei Qian came, Cao Cao was still on the high platform, waiting for Fei Qian to come and meet him!

Then if Fei Qian went against his usual behavior and took a steady approach to break through Cao's camp, Cao Cao and Cao Hong would also be able to accept it.

  It's a war of attrition. Any extra strength that can be consumed from the cavalry will be a gain for Cao's army!

As for the result, who could have imagined that Fei Qian ignored Cao Cao's declaration of war and did not follow Cao Cao and Cao Hong's expectations. He did not choose to break through the center or to fight a war of attrition. Instead, he used formation tactics to hang Cao Hong out...

It's like Cao Cao and Cao Hong said to Fei Qian, "Trap or ambush, choose one?"

Fei Qian gave the answer and he chose "still".

Cao Cao was relatively good at defensive counterattacks. When the opponent lost his edge, he would launch a fierce attack and pursue them relentlessly, which often achieved good results.

But now he happens to meet Fei Qian, a guy who is more stable than Cao Cao when he is stable, and more wild than Cao Cao when he is wild.

Fei Qian could use elite soldiers, sophisticated weapons and equipment, and powerful siege equipment to achieve an extremely sharp central breakthrough, or he could use the current maddeningly steady tactics.

This gradually made Cao Hong lose his original confidence.

Does he really have the ability to compete with Fei Qian in tactics?

Especially after he was injured.

It seemed that all the confidence I had before flowed away with the blood from the wound.

"Huqi is indeed a great man!" Cao Hong waved his hand and said, "It's not unfair that we lost to him! But...this great man will be envied by the gods. Ha, I'm afraid he will be punished by the gods soon!"

After the Battle of Anyi, Cao Hong truly realized that the achievements of the General of Cavalry in his campaigns across the country were not accidental. Not to mention other things, the changes in the battlefield, the choices of tactics, and the changes in formations were all mysterious and unpredictable, making it difficult to cope with them.

At this moment, Cao Hong seemed to finally understand the grief that Cao Cao felt when he patted his shoulder before leaving.

  Even if Cao Hong was given more time and allowed to think more, would there be a better choice?

Not necessarily.

This cavalryman is an opponent who, even if he tries his best and makes all the right choices, will still end up with the wrong result...

So at the end, Cao Hong blurted out the words "Heaven's punishment".

Perhaps, only "Heavenly Punishment" is left to defeat such an enemy, such an opponent.

At this time and place, this general who had fought many times in the Central Plains and had never been discouraged no matter what opponents he encountered or what difficult situations he faced, finally revealed a look of helplessness and bitterness between his brows.

He held the sword at his waist, watching the changes in his own camp, and remained silent for a long time.

Whether there is heaven's punishment or not, it's just talk. After all, God or the gods really don't have time to care about these trivial matters in the world. So more often than not, it's because one's personal ability is unable to take revenge, so he hopes that God will help him.

  If Cao Hong had this ability now, wouldn't it be great if he could just go up and kill the rebel with his own hands?

Especially Bao Zhong’s rebellion made Cao Hong feel that he had completely lost control of the overall situation!

He took precautions and made arrangements, but when Bao Zhong rebelled, these arrangements were almost completely ineffective!

The soldiers sent to monitor Bao Zhong were easily killed, and they didn't even have the ability to delay the enemy for a moment. If it weren't for the fact that the Central Guard who was blocking the suspension bridge was still reliable, Bao Zhong might have broken through the camp gate and attracted the cavalry army!

He dared to gamble before because he felt he could control the situation.

But Bao Zhong made him realize that he had lost control.

And in this Cao army camp, how many people are there who are hidden traitors like Bao Zhong? !

Cao Hong didn't know.

  Cao Hong suddenly realized that all his arrangements and plans seemed like a joke!

It’s not that he didn’t have a plan or arrangements, but every time he started he thought there was no problem, but something went wrong!

This march into Guanzhong is actually a gamble.

  Whether it was Cao Cao or Cao Hong, they were all gamblers sitting at the gambling table. Seeing their chips getting smaller and smaller, how many of them could still insist on playing the game again and again and folding their cards? Then they watched the cavalry take away the pot again and again. Even if the pot was not big each time, every time the cavalry won, it meant that Cao's army had one less chip!

When Cao Hong finally caught two A's, he thought everything was safe and he could make a big move, but Fei Qian hit him back with three 2's...

This made the already bad situation of Cao's army even worse.

But it also made Cao Hong even more angry!

  I started with two aces, how come I lost?

So, gamble again!

Even a no-name brand like Bao Zhong is considered pretty good and worth a try...

As a result, we lost again.

  Now Cao Hong finally felt that something was wrong. He felt that his control over the entire situation had been completely unbalanced. Even if he could hold on until dawn, how many chips would he have for the next gamble?

When the blinds at the bottom are greater than the chips in hand, even if Cao Hong originally did not want to go all in, he had no choice but to go all in.

  The last bit of chips, put it on!

If you can't catch a big fish, at least you can catch a few shrimps!

  In short, if you can consume as many cavalrymen as possible, try to consume as many as possible!

Cao Cao's stand-in arrived, his face was pale, and he could barely stand steadily. If it weren't for the soldiers behind him supporting him, he would have collapsed to the ground in the next moment!

"Carry him up!" Cao Hong frowned, "If he can't stand steadily, tie him up with ropes!"

Cao Cao's double screamed in panic, "No, no, I don't want it..." "Shut his mouth!" Cao Hong waved his hand.

  Do you really take pretending to be the prime minister seriously?

Do you think you can just say no?

The Cao army soldier responded, then directly stuffed a piece of cloth into the mouth of Cao Cao's stand-in, and then tied another piece of cloth on the outside to prevent the cloth from being spit out by the stand-in.

But in this way, a groove was created on the stand-in's face, which was quite obvious even in low light.

"etc! 』

Cao Hong suddenly stopped the soldier who was about to take Cao Cao's substitute to the platform, and then walked forward.

Cao Cao's stand-in thought Cao Hong had changed his mind, so he stared at Cao Hong with hopeful eyes and tears in his eyes, mumbling something...

Cao Hong stood in front of Cao Cao's stand-in, frowned and thought for a while, then touched the wound on his leg, but didn't feel any blood. After all, he was the commander, the guards bandaged him well, and the wound medicine had just been changed not long ago, so naturally not much blood seeped out.

Cao Hong turned around and saw Cao Sheng. He took Cao Sheng's hand and smeared the blood from Cao Sheng's injury on the face of Cao Cao's stand-in.

The bloodstains destroyed the original light and dark structure of the stand-in's face, making the grooves left by the cloth strips on his face less obvious.

Cao Hong looked around and felt that even if there was still some difference, it was not a problem under the flickering light, so he nodded and waved his hand.

The soldiers dragged the Cao Cao substitute, who was whimpering and seemed to be saying no, to the high platform of the central army...

  We've been provided with delicious food and drinks for so many days, isn't it time to put it on the chopping block?

What is there to be wronged about and what is there to be unwilling about?

I really don’t know what to say.

Cao Hong snorted, then turned to look at Cao Sheng, and suddenly smiled.

Perhaps Cao Hong himself thought that his smile was amiable, but in fact, in this dim environment with the flickering light of the fire, his smile was somewhat hideous.

The bait has also been put out to see if it can lure any prey to take the bait.

In addition to the bait, there must also be someone to hold the rope or someone to pull the trigger.

Otherwise, if the prey runs away with the bait, wouldn’t it be a waste of time?

Cao Sheng was the person Cao Hong planned to leave behind to pull the trigger.

"I won't mention the things that happened before now." Cao Hong said to Cao Sheng, "The lord entrusted this place to you and me, but you and I failed to fulfill our duties. You and I are both guilty! Just remember that in this world, the cavalry is not the only hero! Before leaving, you must also take back some of the spirit that you and I have lost! This spirit must not be lost!"

Sheng was silent for a moment, "Thank you for your magnanimity..."

  What can Cao Sheng say?

It is said that Cao Hong always has an idea, but you, the King of Ideas from Shandong, are not reliable at all?

Cao Sheng returned in defeat, but Cao Hong did not punish him on the spot, which was considered a pardon outside the law!

  what?

You mean Cao Hong? Cao Hong was also defeated?

  what happened?

Victory and defeat are common in military affairs. What could Cao Hong have done wrong?

Even if Cao Hong was really wrong, what did it matter? At most he would be given a warning, fined one year's salary, and then removed from a certain position as an explanation, and then he could be quietly transferred to a new position.

Isn't this what the sons of the noble families are shouting? Officials are also human beings, and they can make mistakes. Moreover, the appointment of officials is all imperial decrees, which reflects the emperor's face. If an official is really laid off by some unruly people and loses his official hat, where will the face of the court be placed? Can the feudal state still be ruled by imperial power?

  Even if Cao Sheng knew in his heart that Cao Hong was also guilty of the defeat, could he say it?

Buddha said, it cannot be said.

So Cao Sheng could only agree.

Cao Hong nodded, then looked at the lights of the torches outside the camp. "Now General Dai is going to suppress the rebellion. If it succeeds, he will use the pretext of rebellion to lure the cavalry army here. If it fails... once the camp gate is opened... hehe, hum... "

Cao Sheng lowered his head, looking as if he was listening attentively.

Indeed, logically speaking, there was nothing wrong with Cao Hong's plan.

But the problem is that these plans that seem to be fine always run into all kinds of problems later on.

Cao Sheng's hands were throbbing and his heart was sinking.

He knew why Cao Hong said this to him...

"I remember that you followed me in the second year of Taixing..." Cao Hong said with some emotion, "So many years have passed in a flash..."

Cao Sheng's heart sank further and further.

Saying someone has a lot of experience usually has only two meanings. One is to block newcomers from getting promoted, saying that their experience is nothing and you, a newcomer, should forget about climbing up; the other is to imply to the old people that you are a waste and have not been able to get promoted in all these years...

This is a question that Cao Sheng cannot answer.

He can't say it's right, nor can he say it's wrong.

You can't say that he actually came here in the first year of Taixing, right?

Wouldn't that make it seem that the leader has a bad memory, and that you are petty?

So Cao Sheng could only remain silent.

Cao Hong obviously did not want Cao Sheng to answer, but continued: "I have always felt that you are a talented person, but you just haven't had a good opportunity... One failure is nothing, but if you are devastated by it, even if you can get by, what about your family? Wouldn't they be disappointed? Life in the world is not always as you wish, but as a man, if you can't control the power of life and death and enjoy wealth and glory, wouldn't it be a waste of life?"

Upon hearing this, Cao Sheng shuddered slightly.

He is different from Bao Zhong.

His surname is Cao, and his whole family makes a living in Cao Hong's territory.

Cao Sheng lowered his head, "Don't worry, my lord! I am willing to share your worries!"

"Good!" Cao Hong nodded heavily, "I was right about you!"

The night wind blew, blowing the yellow sand on the ground into flying shapes.

"Now, this heavy responsibility is entrusted to you!" Cao Hong said in a deep voice. As if to comfort Cao Sheng, he hastily added, "In fact, this matter is not difficult at all. We don't need to face the enemy head-on, nor do we need to engage in a protracted battle. We just need to lead the Hussars here... The main thing is to seize the opportunity..."

Cao Hong gestured, "This central camp... you know, we have already arranged it, and now is the best time to use it! The key is not to fight, but to attract the cavalry army!"

Cao Hong looked at the stand-in on the platform, "With him here... the cavalry will definitely come!"

Cao Sheng nodded, "General, that's right."

Cao Hong said again: "If you can lure the cavalry into the trap, that would be great. If not, try to burn the general and his troops... Don't pour the kerosene too early to prevent the thieves from being alerted... Don't pour it too late to prevent the thieves from seeing through... If you can really kill the cavalry, you will be the first great achievement in this battle!"

Cao Sheng took a breath and gritted his teeth to reiterate, "Master, rest assured! I will definitely live up to your trust!"

"Okay! If this succeeds, you will be the first to achieve the credit! I mean what I say!" Cao Hong nodded and emphasized again, then took off his cloak, tied it on Cao Sheng himself, patted Cao Sheng on the shoulder, and turned around to walk into the central army tent.

The other guards followed Cao Hong and entered the central military tent one after another.

The secret escape passage is right under the central military tent.

After a moment, Cao Sheng took a breath and then shouted, "Beat the drum! Raise the flag!"

The Cao army's central camp, which had been silent for a long time, suddenly began to roar with the sound of war drums and gleam with flames, illuminating the figure of Cao Cao's stand-in on the high platform!

Immediately, Cao's soldiers shouted: "The Prime Minister has given an order! Counterattack on the spot! The enemy army will be defeated! Our army will win!"

This cry was like the waves caused by the bait in the water, spreading out in circles...

(End of this chapter)