Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3476 Plan and Strategy
Although there were more fires on Zhongtiao Mountain, they still could not stop the arrival of darkness.

Fei Qian tried his best to observe the situation of Cao's army's camp in Zhongtiao Mountain, but the distance was far and the light was insufficient, so even with a telescope, it was difficult for Fei Qian to see the specific movements of Cao's army. He could only see the flickering firelight.

A dozen messengers came and went like a revolving lantern, reporting the military situation one after another:
"Report! New troops have appeared in the enemy's east camp! About 800!"

"Report! The enemy's central camp is sending out soldiers, about a thousand of them! Heading east!"

"Report! The enemy general's flag has not moved!"

"Report! We captured the head of an enemy military officer!"

"Report..."

A series of military reports gradually pieced together the changes in the entire battle situation in the Zhongtiao Mountain camp in Fei Qian's mind.

Fei Qian closed his eyes and thought.

Fei Qian was a little surprised about the current situation.

The changes in Cao's army in the Zhongtiao Mountain camp seemed to be different from what Fei Qian had expected.

The Cao army's soldiers were indeed a little discouraged, but not too seriously.

Fei Qian felt that this phenomenon might be related to Cao Cao's attempts to reform the military system.

Fei Qian believed that those who collapsed were the lower-level Cao army soldiers, while the Zhongling Army and Zhonghu Army might be relatively better off.

Morale is not a fixed value, but a range, or a state.

Just like some people have a higher limit, while some people have no limit at all...

Coincidentally, people with no bottom line will destroy the bottom line of the entire society and the country.

Like a big man.

The Han people have a lot of problems, and many things are caused by people with no bottom line...

Fei Qian is reforming the military system, and Lao Cao has also taken some actions.

Lao Cao’s Zhonglingjun and Zhonghujun were actually modeled after the military system of Emperor Wu of Han. The names may be different, but they are basically the same.

At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, the lieutenant was in charge of the Northern Army, and the emperor did not directly control the military power. When Emperor Wu came to power, the lieutenant was gone, and it became the Praetorian Guards, and eight lieutenants were set up: Zhonglei, Tunqi, Bubing, Yueqi, Changshui, Huqi, Shesheng, and Huben. Moreover, these eight lieutenants were out of the control of the Praetorian Guards and directly obeyed the emperor. The Zhonglei Commander was originally a subordinate of the lieutenant. After Emperor Wu of Han, the Zhonglei Commander was changed to the Zhonglei Lieutenant. The Zhonglei Lieutenant was in charge of the affairs of the Northern Army camp, and his power was greater than that of the other seven lieutenants, but the seven lieutenants and the Zhonglei Lieutenant did not constitute a subordinate relationship.

At this time, the imperial power was greatly strengthened, and the strength of the central northern army, that is, the imperial army, was enough to suppress the powerful people in other counties and prefectures across the country and make them dare not act rashly...

Therefore, in the late period of Emperor Wu of Han, all the great scholars in the local area said in unison that "warmongering" harms people and the country...

Emperor Wu of Han was old, so he compromised and issued an edict of repentance.

In the confrontation between the imperial power and local tyrants, local forces gradually rose. By the Eastern Han Dynasty, the only officials under the Prefectural Guards were the Armory Commander, 200 Tiqi, and 500 halberd bearers. All the rest were dismissed.

Later, Emperor Ling of Han also wanted to establish eight lieutenants, apparently wanting to compete with the local authorities...

The accelerated decline of the Eastern Han imperial power was, to a certain extent, related to the abolition of light chariots, cavalry, material officers, and tower ships after Emperor Guangwu came to power.

Emperor Guangwu of Han had good intentions.

Then a group of great Confucian scholars in Shandong also frantically advocated Emperor Guangwu's benevolent rule.

Is it a benevolent government?

of course.

These troops are actually not professional soldiers, but militia.

Charioteers and knights were soldiers who drove chariots and rode horses, i.e. charioteers and cavalrymen; officers were infantrymen who were good at mountain warfare; and ships were naval forces. The men of the Han Dynasty served in the army according to the system. At first, they were called regular soldiers. After serving for one year, they were called guards. After serving for two years, they were divided into charioteers, knights, officers, ships and other types of soldiers according to their respective specialties.

Therefore, in the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty dismissed light chariots, knights, material officials, and tower ships in order to restore the people's livelihood and engage in local agricultural and commercial activities. This behavior was right and correct. The purpose of Emperor Guangwu and the policy he formulated were naturally based on the social environment at that time and were determined after comprehensive consideration. The subsequent Mingzhang Administration also proved that recuperation was effective.

However, being right at one time does not mean being right forever!
The lack of military power, or the unbalanced handling of soldiers' retirement after disarmament, and the failure of the Eastern Han emperors to make timely adjustments after the subsequent changes in the social environment and the situation in the world, are the fundamental reasons for the loss of imperial power and the collapse of the Northern Army from the Eastern Han Dynasty to the present.

Cao Cao obviously hoped to distinguish his elite troops from the local scum by reforming the military system...

Lao Cao's starting point is obviously good.

But will the Shandong tyrants and local clans, who are already accustomed to "freedom", be happy about this?
Fei Qian suddenly figured out some things.

He got some answers to some of his recent doubts.

However, as night falls, Fei Qian must make a decision.

Should we continue the attack overnight or withdraw to rest first?

If we attack overnight, we must send out troops again to put more pressure on Cao's army, and try to crush Cao's army and end the battle tonight or before tomorrow morning...

It would be best if everything goes smoothly, but if it doesn't go smoothly and we fail to defeat Cao's army and capture the Zhongtiao Mountain camp by tomorrow noon or even tomorrow afternoon, we will have to withdraw our troops. Moreover, it will be impossible to organize a large-scale attack in the short term, at least before the siege equipment is delivered.

The principle is simple, just like using a big move when pushing a tower. If you fail to push it down successfully, you can only wait until the CD cools down before fighting again.

If we choose to retreat and rest now after gaining a certain advantage, we can continue the attack after dawn tomorrow.

But if they retreated like this, it might also cause Cao's soldiers to regain their foothold. Now they would have to repair the defenses of the damaged camps, and they would have to fight again tomorrow, wasting their troops again...

Both options have their pros and cons.

This is like the changes in the military system between the Western Han Dynasty and the Eastern Han Dynasty. They all seem to make sense and are in response to social changes. But if you don't know how to adapt...

Fei Qian opened his eyes and slowly raised his hand.

At this moment, it seemed that all the noisy sounds around disappeared.

Everyone shut up and focused their eyes on Fei Qian, watching him slowly raise his hand...

Fei Qian opened his palms, felt the wind in the night sky, and then quickly clenched them into fists again, "Send the order! Attack overnight! Destroy the Zhongtiao camp before dawn!"

All the noise seemed to have returned to the world again.

The sounds of war drums and trumpets suddenly rang out, spreading in the night wind!

"The cavalry has given orders!"

"Forward! Advance according to the troop organization!"

"Wan Sheng!" Won victory! 』

As the sound of horse hooves roared away, Fei Qian suddenly felt a chill on his forehead, temples, and back.

I guess it was because I was wasting too much brainpower weighing the pros and cons and calculating the gains and losses just now...

Now that the chess piece has been played, it depends on how Cao’s army in the Zhongtiao Mountain camp responds!
……

……

Dong Zhao had previously planned a rhythmic retreat. On the one hand, he let the soldiers gradually withdraw from the periphery to the important mountain roads. On the other hand, he took advantage of the retreat of Cao's soldiers to gradually lure the Hussars to the vicinity of the trap for an ambush.

This would maximize the effectiveness of the originally set trap and inflict heavy damage on the Hussar horses.

There are no major omissions in the plan itself.

However, plans always fail to keep up with changes.

Not long after the problems appeared in the east of the camp, new problems appeared in the west...

The western side was broken through by the Hussars, and even the front-line military school command post of Cao’s army in the west was taken over by the Hussars!

After all, Sima is familiar with the place...

When Dong Zhao received the news, he hurriedly asked the messenger, "Where is Duan Junxiao? Where is he?" Duan Junxiao was the commander of Cao's front line guarding the west.

The messenger was in a miserable state, with his face covered in blood and sweat and a look of fear. Because he was running so fast, white smoke was coming out of his body and head, curling up from his messy bun. The triangular messenger flag on his back was nowhere to be seen. No one knew whether it had been knocked off or for some other reason. Anyway, now there was only a bare, thin wooden pole hanging crookedly.

The messenger recognized Dong Zhao, and when he saw Dong Zhao asking questions, he struggled to stand up and saluted, "Reporting to the military advisor... the two armies were fighting, and when I came, I didn't see Military School Duan..."

Dong Zhao frowned and said, "You were not sent by Duan Junxiao?"

The messenger replied, "No, it was Commander Chang Qu. It was Commander Chang Qu who asked me to come and ask for help from the central army!"

Dong Zhao was not familiar with the songs of Changchang and below.

After all, there is a layer between them.

Shandong people are used to wearing condoms, layer after layer...

All contact between each other is carried out through gloves. Although this avoids some problems, it also brings more problems.

Dong Zhao didn't know which Changquchang he was talking about, or what position he held in the West Camp. Besides, now was not the time to ask about these things, so he didn't even pause to ask, "How many cavalry soldiers have arrived?"

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"At least three thousand!" the messenger said with certainty, "maybe five thousand!"

As if to strengthen the credibility of his words, the messenger quickly added, "There are a group of people who came out to report the news... Now I am the only one left..."

Dong Zhao's eyes suddenly fixed.

Is this cavalry army planning to make its main breakthrough in the west?

This is of course understandable. After all, the last time Sima Yi and Hao Zhao broke through from the west, they are relatively familiar with the terrain in that area, and it would naturally become a suitable direction for another breakthrough.

Dong Zhao did not think there was anything wrong with this, but the question was whether this was the main force of the Cavalry Army?
The Dongying Gate was also howling that it was the main force of the Hussars. Which side was the real one?
Should we lure the Hussars into the trap now, or wait for another wave?
In an instant, this series of questions flooded into Dong Zhao's mind, making his head feel hot and swollen even in the cold winter night.

Dong Zhao took a deep breath, trying to calm his pounding heart, and asked calmly: "Tell me clearly! How many enemy troops are there? Three thousand or five thousand?"

The messenger hesitated for a moment, but quickly said, "I don't know, but there are at least three thousand! They are everywhere, a huge mass of them are all cavalry!"

"Did you see the banner raised by the Hussars?" Dong Zhao asked again.

"Sima! It's the same Sima from last time!" the messenger replied.

"Sima..."

Dong Zhao felt that he understood.

No need to keep asking...

Dong Zhao waved his hand and asked someone to take the messenger away to rest. Then he took a pen and ink and hurriedly wrote a hastily written summary of a letter, which he handed to his guard and asked him to deliver to Cao Cao immediately.

The guard beside Dong Zhao whispered: "Military Advisor, the cavalry is coming with great force. Should we retreat to the back of the mountain first? The soldier just said that the cavalry has a large number of troops. If the center circle is lost and the roads are congested, it will be difficult to move forward!"

The guard was interrupted by Dong Zhao before he finished speaking, "No. If we move now, other military academies will definitely move as well. Then the whole camp..."

Dong Zhao didn't finish his words, but everyone understood his meaning.

Although the Cao army's Zhongtiaoshan camp is divided into three layers, with sentry towers and arrow towers between the camps, both the camps and sentry towers need people to guard and protect them, otherwise they will be no different from inanimate objects such as mountain rocks. So even if you can't defend it, you can't lose your composure, disrupt the organization and interfere with the deployment. If that happens, the whole army will collapse, just like the collapse of an idol. No matter what military advisor you have, let's run together, brother!

The guard grinned, but there were some things he had to say no matter what, "Military Advisor, the outer circle will be lost sooner or later, and the people in the middle circle may not be reliable. Even if the people in the outer circle retreat, they may not still have the energy to fight the cavalry. If you want to defend, you can only retreat to a high place... Otherwise, when the time comes, when you really want to retreat, it will be over..."

Dong Zhao also knew that the guards had good intentions. He looked up at the mountain and was silent for a while, but still did not order a move. It was not that he did not want to retreat, nor was he willing to take risks, but he had no choice but to stay here!

Dong Zhao did not have a very good reputation in Shandong.

This is related to Dong Zhao's behavior...

To put it simply, it means "do whatever it takes".

The sun has already dropped below the horizon.

The last red light disappeared, and the earth fell into darkness.

The firelight made the night seem even lonelier and darker.

The day has passed and the night is coming.

Just like the future of Zhongtiao Mountain.

"Go and call Captain Cheng!"

Dong Zhao ordered.

Captain Cheng is here.

Captain Cheng was already injured, and one of his arms was not covered with arm armor, but was bandaged and covered with black blood. Under the flickering light and fire, some parts of the armor and battle robe were dark in color, while others were light in color. When you got close, you could smell the blood.

"No need to be polite." Dong Zhao waved his hand to tell Captain Cheng not to bow, and then went straight to the point, "How many people do you have under your command?"

Captain Cheng was stunned for a moment.

He's in such a miserable state, why doesn't Dong Zhao let him go?

But he had to answer, so he said: "I only have about 500 men left..."

"That's enough!" Dong Zhao said, then he took out a map from his pocket, asked the guard to bring the fire closer, pointed to a place on the map, and said to Captain Cheng, "Do you know where this is?"

Captain Cheng used the firelight to identify the map. When he saw a few points marked on the map, his heart skipped a beat. "This... is this Huangshan Valley?"

Dong Zhao nodded, "You wait for someone to go to the West Camp Gate. If you can find Military Officer Duan, you can lead the troops to retreat here with him... If you can't find Military Officer Duan, you will be authorized to act for the West Camp and temporarily take charge of the soldiers of the West Camp, and you will also retreat to this place... Do you understand?"

Captain Cheng swallowed his saliva and said, "Military Advisor, are you asking me to lure the enemy into a desolate valley?"

For some reason, Captain Cheng felt nervous.

In the era of cold weapons, wars relied on the momentum and bravery of the soldiers.

Let alone bravery, the East and West camps are now in a state of panic. Even if the Cao army soldiers below have not yet reached the level of frightened birds, they are already exhausted!

Even if you stay in the camp, you can't withstand the attack of the cavalry, and you still want to lure out the main force of the enemy?
How can we fight this battle and how can we attract the enemy?
They were afraid that the cavalry troops would not arrive, so they fled first.

Dong Zhao ignored the captain's distress and continued, "I will lead my men from here to the deserted valley, and when the hussars arrive, we will launch an ambush! This place will become the enemy's burial place!"

Captain Cheng grunted, "Military Advisor, even if I lead the troops to lure them, the enemy may not fall for it! Didn't the enemy not enter the mountain last time?"

"It's a different time now. The last time the enemy came was during the day..." Dong Zhao said, "What's more, this time the enemy is not here to harass us, but they have the momentum to break through our camp in one fell swoop. As long as you lure the enemy here, they will definitely fall into your trap!"

Captain Cheng's face was covered in blood and dirt, which obscured some of his expression. However, he stared with his eyes wide open, and after a moment he said, "Military Advisor, this plan is of course very good, but... but I am worried that I have very few soldiers under my command, and the West Camp is in chaos. Even if I lead the troops down, I am afraid that I will not be able to hold on and lead them..."

As for why he couldn't bear it and couldn't lead the army, he didn't say. Captain Cheng knew that Dong Zhao must understand what he was talking about. He hoped that Dong Zhao could at least give him a better solution, or equip him with more soldiers and horses, so that he would have some sense of security.

But Dong Zhao just looked at him coldly, "Captain Cheng, are you afraid of fighting? Or do you want to disobey orders?"

"How dare I?" Captain Cheng had no choice but to speak out what he was thinking, "How about letting the soldiers of the West Camp lure the Hussars in, and I will ambush them in the deserted valley?"

"No!" Dong Zhao rejected Captain Cheng's suggestion without hesitation, "The soldiers in the West Camp were beaten by the enemy generals before, and they are exhausted both physically and mentally. In addition, Captain Duan is not sure whether he will live or die, so it is difficult to lead them! Now you have to lure the enemy army to succeed!"

Captain Cheng reluctantly made one last attempt, "Military Advisor, can we fight a little later? The soldiers have been fighting for a long time and have not had any rest..."

Before he could finish his words, Dong Zhao interrupted him coldly: "Is it that the soldiers can't fight, or that you don't dare to fight?!"

Dong Zhao stared at Captain Cheng, "I'm being a bit harsh, Captain Cheng, please don't mind... But Captain Cheng's family is in Yingchuan, right? When the Lord conferred honors and titles on him in Yingchuan, I remember Captain Cheng said something? Could it be that he has forgotten what he said back then?"

Captain Cheng was so ashamed by Dong Zhao's words that he felt he had no place to hide. He kept nodding his head for a long time before standing at attention again. He clenched his fist and slammed it hard on his chest armor: "Military Advisor, rest assured! I...I will not let you down!! "

Dong Zhao nodded, "Okay! You and I will not let our lord down!"