Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3382: No Barren Weeds

That night, the Han Dynasty's Prime Minister Cao Cao and his civil and military officials, who had exhausted their mental and physical strength to build a huge camp, traps, earth walls, chevaux de frise, etc. in Anyi, Hedong, which had been built for a long time. The approximately 20,000 soldiers and more than 10,000 civilians in the camp were all destroyed and defeated overnight.

It was like a huge sand tower, vulnerable to the surging steel torrent.

Cao Hong abandoned his army and fled, burning the supplies to cut off the pursuing troops.

Che Zhou fought bravely and bravely, but he eventually died in front of the cavalry army.

The rest of Cao's soldiers fled in all directions, some of them disappeared, and some had nowhere to go. Their cries and shouts shook the sky, and countless people were killed and wounded.

Cao Hong finally took less than 3,000 soldiers with him, and the rest of Cao's soldiers, whether ordinary county soldiers or elite soldiers with the character "zhong" in their names, were powerless to stop the huge force of the cavalry. The countless supplies and equipment that Cao's army had accumulated over the years and transported from Shandong with great effort, as well as various treasures looted from Heluo and Hedong, were mostly burned in the raging fire.

It cannot be said that Cao Hong's strategy was completely ineffective. At least when he was fleeing, not only did the chariots attract the attention of most of the cavalry, but the fire also stopped the cavalry.

And those scattered cavalry scouts that were cruising in the distance in small groups could not stop Cao Hong's desperate run...

A desperate dog will jump over the wall, and a desperate person will go crazy.

By the time Fei Qian received the news, Cao Hong and others had already run far away.

Fei Qian thought about it and gave up the idea of ​​chasing the enemy at night.

After all, the Cao army camp in Anyi is already such a big piece of barbecued meat, and it always needs to be digested after eating.

Since Cao's main camp was defeated, Anyi City was naturally captured without a fight.

At this moment, the village elders in Anyi City hurriedly prepared some small gifts and came to meet the cavalry, but were refused entry into the camp...

Fei Qian has no time to meet these guys.

Cao's army was defeated, but that didn't mean Fei Qian could immediately lead his troops south without any consequences.

A part of the cavalry could be sent out to bypass the remains of Cao's camp and move forward to detect and pursue, but the rest of the army could not immediately set out to the south. Although letting Xiahou Dun come forward to deal with the remnants of Cao's army was quite effective, it was obvious that Fei Qian could not let Xiahou Dun lead those remnants of Cao's army. The task of gathering, dispersing and reorganizing them was also quite cumbersome.

unless……

All the surrendered soldiers of Cao's army were killed, just like what Cao Cao did to Yuan's soldiers.

It was declared to be a plague. The surrendered soldiers of Yuan's army maliciously spread the plague, so they should be killed.

If you can't solve the problem, solve the problem.

It's not like Fei Qian had never done this, but that doesn't mean it's right. But now Fei Qian has elite soldiers, strong generals, academies, and a political system. Why would he still do something like "100 days of no harm"? Doesn't that mean he's incompetent, and his subordinates are also incompetent?

Most of Cao's army's supplies were burned. Fortunately, Fei Qian had previously mobilized some food and grass from Linfen, so there was no problem in taking over. But now the more serious problem was dealing with the aftermath in Hedong. Therefore, Fei Qian was very busy. All matters, big and small, were gathered in his hands, so naturally he had no time to meet the elders of Anyi.

However, these village elders gathered outside the camp gate and had to be dealt with, so Fei Qian called Pei Ji and asked him to deal with these people's problems...

Pei Ji was also very busy after he came under Fei Qian's command. He said that he wanted to emulate Ban Dingyuan, so naturally he needed to be both civil and military, so he not only had to practice martial arts, but also had to do some literary work, and he hardly had a moment's rest. If it were an ordinary person, he might complain of being tired to some extent, or start to think of ways to be lazy and lie down, but Pei Ji didn't. He was like a sword, the more he sharpened it, the sharper it would be!

After leaving the camp, Pei Ji glanced over and hummed softly.

Basically, he knew all these people.

In fact, the village elders in Anyi City were also paying close attention to the changes on the battlefield. Even if the Cavalry Army had no intention of continuing to come to Anyi for rescue, these people were still paying attention to the movements of the Cavalry Army. But who could have thought that the world would change overnight? !

In the middle of the night, there were flames and screams. They hid in their homes, shivering and praying to the gods and Buddhas. When the sun rose, they thanked the heavens, saying that the heavens had heard their prayers and followed their wishes...

  Don’t these people know that praying to the gods, the emperor, and God is useless?

No, in fact, they also knew it, and they were very clear about it, but when they spoke to others, especially to their subordinates, they would show that they were grateful to God, because this was the only way to prove that it was their prayers that allowed Anyi City to remain safe and sound amidst the horrific changes last night.

As for the sudden force of the cavalry that defeated Cao's camp overnight, they kept silent about it.

When the smoke of the battlefield finally cleared, they climbed up the city wall and looked at each other in bewilderment. After a while, someone said that something happened at home, and someone else said that he needed to pee. When they arrived at the city gate, they saw that everyone had bumped into each other with their vehicles, so they pretended to be in the same boat again. What a coincidence, let's go together...

These people originally thought that Cao's army was showing weakness on purpose and had gone too far. In fact, Cao's army still had enough strength to fight. The Hussars were few in number. Even if they gathered all their troops and pushed forward, even if they could not win, they would have consumed the Hussars' men and horses, and the Hussars would have to retreat. So these people were not willing to surrender to the Hussars at the beginning, and they had to wait until the final result. This idea also supported them.

  Some even thought that only after the battle between the cavalry and the prime minister ended in defeat would their importance be highlighted. Whoever they supported would win the final victory. So they secretly hoped that Fei Qian and Cao Cao would love and kill each other for a longer time. As for the ordinary people in Hedong during this process, they were just weeds, cattle and horses at most. What was the value of that?

Only Pei Ji firmly believed that Cao Cao would definitely fail, and would even be defeated and repelled by Fei Qian in a very short time! Cao's army would also suffer considerable losses, for no other reason than that Cao Cao was no longer the Cao Cao who fought against Dong Zhuo, and the Hussars were still Hussars!

It was precisely because of this judgment that Pei Ji decided to leave Anyi and join the cavalry first.

However, Pei Ji did not expect that Cao's army was in such a desperate situation now!

While secretly sighing, Pei Ji also felt quite disdainful of these fellow countrymen who had come here only now.

Before, Cao Cao was powerful, so they hurriedly bought things. But Cao Cao didn't want fence-sitters, so these guys were reluctant to give up their own property and retreated to Anyi City, shouting for Pei to protect them.

  The Pei family defended the city, contributing manpower, money and materials, and even sacrificed their lives on the city walls. However, these people huddled in the city and knew how to pray to the gods of heaven and earth. When the Pei family asked them for help, they pretended not to hear or see!

just now……

"In the spring of the tenth year, the war between Qi and the state of Qi was pacified. The Duke met with the Duke of Qi in Zhuqi." Pei Ji looked at the crowd and said slowly, "Li Mi proposed a plan to use troops to rob the Duke. Confucius said, "The descendants do not plot against the Xia, the barbarians do not disturb the Hua, the captives do not interfere with the alliance, and the soldiers do not force good will. This is a bad omen for the gods, a violation of morality, and a disrespect for people. The Duke of Qi was dismissed. Now, nine years later, the war in Hedong has been pacified. Sacrificial animals are not taken out of the house, and music is not performed outdoors. If the feast is complete, it is a violation of etiquette. If it is not complete, it is a waste of food. Therefore, using waste to humiliate the king is a bad reputation for abandoning etiquette. Why don't you think about it?"

Those who could understand looked puzzled, while those who couldn't understand just smiled.

Pei Ji said no more, looking at everyone with a cold gaze, "Outside the camp gate is a military stronghold. Anyone who trespasses will be killed without mercy!"

The soldiers on duty at the camp gate didn't know how the cavalry would deal with these people, so they didn't say much. Now, after hearing Pei Ji's words, they understood what he meant, and immediately led the soldiers forward and shouted at these people, "Back off! Back off! Back off a hundred steps! Anyone who dares to stay within a hundred steps and interfere will be killed without mercy!"

"Huh! Ha!"

As soon as the spears and shields were raised, these guys were immediately terrified. Especially since the spears and shields seemed to still have the smell of blood from last night, these guys dared not even say a word, and hurriedly ran a hundred steps away before stopping to point and gesture.

The soldiers guarding the camp gate saw that these people had retreated far away and no longer paid any attention to them.

As for those who are chattering a hundred steps outside the camp gate, just let them chatter.

"What does this guy mean?" someone asked.

Some people shook their heads, not knowing whether they didn't understand or were sighing, and went back with the things they brought with them.

Others were a little embarrassed. They didn't know what Pei Ji had said, and they couldn't see the cavalry. They waited outside the camp for a long time, and finally went back mumbling...

Regardless of the fact that Pei Ji received Xun Chen's praise after returning to the camp, when he turned around and looked at Cao Hong fleeing on the road, he looked extremely miserable.

Although the madness of that night has passed, it still seems to remain in Cao Hong's mind forever.

The wind has started to blow, and the yellow earth and dust in the east of the river are flying, and the mountains and rivers are bleak.

Thanks to Cao's army, the area south of Anyi in Hedong became desolate.

Only on the side of the road could one see some deserted ruins and some abandoned fields. The war had only lasted for a short time, but this once prosperous land had already turned into ruins. Either it was involved in the war and burned down, or it was plundered by Cao's army. Not even a hair was left.

Ordinary people in Hedong were either killed, captured, or fled and wandered among the ravines, living and dying in this loess land. This made this area no longer look like the human world, but more like a ghostland.

Less than a hundred cavalrymen gathered into a somewhat large scout formation and slowly moved south. Every time they passed a place, they looked around carefully like a frightened bird, and only continued to move forward after making sure there was no ambush.

This was the last cavalry unit directly under Cao Hong.

Thinking back to the past, I regret it and hate that I am not as good as I used to be. The more I live, the worse I am than I used to be.

This is probably the best summary of Cao Hong’s inner thoughts at the moment.

After a night of fleeing, the entire army was wiped out.

  Less than three thousand people got out, but when they counted again in the morning, half of them were missing!

There were less than 1,500 troops, and 250 had to be sent to cover the rear. After all, no one knew whether the cavalry would come to chase them. The remaining 1,000 fled south in panic. This scale was not even one-tenth of the troops Cao Hong led to attack Yangchi!

It’s not that Cao’s army has never suffered a devastating defeat. In the early years, Cao’s army also stumbled along the way, experiencing ups and downs. But at that time, Cao Hong was always able to pat his chest with optimism, thinking that at worst he could just recruit new troops and build a new army!

But now...

For some reason, he suddenly lost the courage to say such words.

They fought to the death, suffered countless casualties, and made painstaking plans, but still ended up with a miserable defeat.

Damn it, damn it!

If only the food and grass could be delivered on time...

Or maybe those Cao Junjun soldiers could be a little stronger...

  Every key point of the entire battle kept flashing through Cao Hong’s mind, and then he found that it seemed to be just a little bit short!

Just a little bit closer!

Thinking of the end, Cao Hong couldn't help but feel a little angry. It wasn't towards the cavalry general Fei Qian. After all, the two sides were enemies and they were just fighting each other on the battlefield. There was nothing to hate about who won or lost.

First he hated Bao Zhong's rebellion, and later Cao Hong began to hate those guys in Shandong who were dragging his feet!

Those guys in Shandong actually just sat back and watched the success or failure of Cao's army!

Judging from their expressions, they actually hope that Cao Cao will fail!

They enjoyed all kinds of favors and official positions granted by the Han Dynasty, but they were thinking about the internal strife and oppression!

The wind blew up the yellow sand, making the sky and the earth dark yellow.

"General! We can't see the road clearly, we need to find a place to hide!" The Cao army scouts who returned from the front reported, "There is sandstorm everywhere, we need to wait until the sandstorm stops!"

Cao Hong raised his head and looked ahead. It was all chaos and visibility was less than a hundred steps, so he nodded.

The group quickly found a sheltered valley to stay.

"This wind is coming at the right time! Our tracks will be covered by the sand. Even if the cavalry scouts follow us, it will be difficult for them to find us!"

  After stopping, these once arrogant and domineering commanders were now happy that the Hussars found it difficult to chase and kill them!

The corners of Cao Hong's mouth twitched a few times, but he didn't say anything.

In Cao Hong's sight, there was the commander of the Central Army, whose armor and weapons had been discarded, clothes were torn, and he looked embarrassed. Cao Hong also knew that he probably looked the same.

  During the rout, the organization was almost completely disrupted. No one knew who was following them, and no one knew where their superiors were. Some soldiers who could still remember holding swords and guns and wearing armor were already considered good elites, while others did not even have a meat-cutting knife!

Many people had bloodstains on their bodies, and no one knew whether it was their own bloodstains or someone else's. No one knew how they got the bloodstains...

"General..." Guard Cao Hong looked at Cao Hong's injured leg and whispered, "General, your wound has started to bleed again... Logically speaking, you should change the medicine now, but..."

But Cao Hong knew clearly what the purpose was.

  There isn't even much food to eat now, and you're still thinking about medicine?

Cao Hong waved his hand, then took off his helmet and handed it to the guard, "My injury...is not a problem. Go find some dry firewood and wild food, even some hot soup would be good."

The helmets worn by ordinary Cao army soldiers cannot be used as pots and cauldrons.

Because most helmets were made of the same patch as armor for manufacturing cost, the helmets of ordinary Cao soldiers were leaky, and only the helmets of high-ranking generals like Cao Hong were made of a whole piece of copper, which could be used to hold water and heat it.

  The guards obeyed the order, but in this place that had been searched and plundered by Cao's army countless times, what else could be found except some dead bones and rotten wood?

In the end, they just picked some weeds from the deserted fields, dismantled some dilapidated wooden pillars from the ruins, started a fire in a sheltered place, fetched water with Cao Hong's helmet, threw some grass roots and wild vegetables into the fire, and mixed it all together, and it became a rare "delicacy" at the moment.

After all, there are some oily lice and other things in the helmet, which is considered as some oil and meat.

After cooking for a while, I don't know whether it was boiled or not, but it was hot anyway, so I put it on the broken battle robe and presented it to Cao Hong.

When Cao Hong took it, an indescribable smell rushed straight to his nose.

It had been a long, long time since he had eaten such coarse food.

Cao Hong was hungry and injured, so he thought that he would be able to eat or drink even the most disgusting food. But when the hot soup was brought to him, he couldn't drink it at all. Just the smell made him want to vomit.

But my stomach was empty and the pain was unbearable.

Perhaps seeing Cao Hong's difficulty, the guard whispered: "General, if it doesn't work... some of the horses are injured..."

Cao Hong's Adam's apple slid, and after hesitating for a long time, he shook his head with great difficulty, "No! These war horses... are the last... If... then it will really be..."

Maybe it's about war horses, or maybe it's not about war horses.

Cao Hong did not say anything else. He just gritted his teeth, raised his helmet, gulped down a few gulps, then suppressed his nausea, handed the helmet to the guard, and waved his hand.

The guard didn't mind it. After taking it, he shared it with the other guards. He also picked up some grass roots to chew and even ate the grease in his helmet.

After drinking some water, Cao Hong's stomach cramps seemed to ease a little, but his hunger became more intense.

Tired, both physically and mentally.

The double pressure of physical and mental stress made Cao Hong suffer terribly.

But it seemed as if the heavens were playing a trick on Cao Hong. Not long after Cao Hong stopped, one of the Cao scouts who had gone out to the front suddenly ran back in a hurry. His face turned extremely pale, and he fell to the ground with a puff. He didn't even bother to cry out in pain, but just shouted like a frightened bird: "Oh no! There is a large group of people ahead! I don't know who is friend or foe!"

(End of this chapter)