Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3495 Ice and Fire

Everyone wants to be smart and wants their subordinates to be smart, but most of the time, things don't go as planned.

Even among smart people, there is a difference between great wisdom and cleverness.

Is Lao Cao smart?

The answer is yes, but he makes mistakes too.

The only way is to reflect on yourself from time to time.

Lao Cao is also reflecting on himself.

In order to gain as much time and space as possible for retreat, Cao Cao has been planning almost day and night for the past two days.

Cao Hong insisted on staying, and together with Liu Fu, one on the left and one on the right, waiting for Cao Cao's final decision.

Cao Cao looks calm on the outside, but he can actually get nervous too.

The reason why he stayed here was that he knew very well that the current situation was extremely dangerous.

There are enemies outside and thieves inside.

Intelligence reports on the changes in the situation in Shandong had already reached Cao Cao.

This was not what he wanted to see, but it was also not beyond Cao Cao's expectations.

These people from Shandong originally did not have a good impression of Cao Cao, but instead felt that the two Yuans were their real representatives.

In a way, this is true.

The two Yuans were the top figures among the gentry, and were the templates for the development of rural tyrants and local big families to the highest stage. That is why they were called role models for the world by the children of the gentry.

Under such circumstances, the second Yuan's ambition to go further was exposed.

One was in the south and the other in the north, and the Shandong gentry was immediately divided, and Cao Cao ended up "taking advantage" of the situation.

This is the view of many Shandong gentry children. Even after Cao Cao unified the Shandong Central Plains, this problem has not been improved. The gentry children still believe that the gentry is the most powerful, the most powerful, and the most complete political structure system, and the most powerful collection of self-cultivation, family management, and state governance. They do not agree with Cao Cao's family, which came from an unorthodox family.

Especially after Fei Qian's rise, many Shandong nobles began to say that Cao Cao was a nobody and that he had the guts to compete with Fei Qian. What's the point of targeting us every day? They were dismissive of Cao Cao's suggestion that we should be wary of Fei Qian, boost Shandong's manufacturing industry, and re-produce and research new equipment.

If you want good stuff from China, just buy it. We in Shandong are rich!

Cao Cao was unable to resolve the internal conflicts in Shandong, so he could only shift the conflicts outward, attacking Guanzhong and seeking to seize Hedong, trying to force Fei Qian to fight on multiple fronts and travel thousands of miles in order to weaken his strength, and then gradually erode Guanzhong and finally take over the world.

When Cao Cao's advance into Guanzhong was not going well, the Shandong people were divided again!

Some people think Fei Qian is a threat, while others think Fei Qian is an opportunity!

Some people shouted that Fei Qian would be the next Dong Zhuo, while others sneered, saying that even if it was Dong Zhuo, wouldn't he be killed without a complete body?

Cao Cao moved his battle to Hedong and even lost his own brothers. He originally thought that this would serve as a wake-up call to the gentry children in Shandong, making them aware of Fei Qian's degree of danger. However, the opposite happened.

Some Shandong young men even began to feel that Cao Cao was useless and started planning to welcome new "relatives from outside the country"!

That’s right, in the hearts of Shandong people, Cao Cao is actually just a "relative by marriage", and even though he is now the "Prime Minister", nothing has changed.

The Han Dynasty lasts for thousands of years, but its relatives by marriage change every year.

Eunuchs, relatives of the emperor, and clean officials.

This model was used from Guanzhong to Luoyang.

Cao Cao sighed slightly.

He actually understood the real intention behind some of Fei Qian's actions.

The "separation of powers" model of the Han Dynasty was actually designed for the emperor to seize more ruling power from the local governments. The so-called "eunuchs, relatives of the emperor's wife, and the clean officials" seemed to be three, but in fact there were only two, namely the central government and the local governments.

The contradiction between the central government and local governments is a problem that has been brought over since the Zhou Dynasty. Nowadays, many children of the Han Dynasty's aristocratic families often advocate the laws of Zhou Gong and the ancestral system. They don't really think that the Zhou Dynasty is so good, but they hope that the central government can enfeoff more princes like the Zhou Dynasty, so that they can also be local emperors.

This is a disease that needs to be cured.

Fei Qian said, I have medicine.

When Cao Cao saw it, he knew the medicine was poisonous.

Fei Qian said that medicine is three parts poison.

Cao Cao said that he would not take any medicine but would just recuperate first.

Fei Qian said that if he didn't take medicine, he would have surgery...

So the fight started.

The situation Cao Cao is facing now is like a difficult birth in ancient times, with the midwife rushing out and shouting, "Save the adult or the child?!"

The outcome of having everything is that both the big and the small will most likely die.

The result of only protecting one is that the other one will be left with resentment after the event. Why not protect both?

Cao Cao’s choice was to take another gamble.

Two heavens of ice and fire!

Either fall into the ice cave or return to glory!

……

……

Compared with Cao Cao's worries, Ma Yue was very decisive.

Is he wrong?

wrong.

His problem was that he had ideas, but was unwilling to express them all and communicate and negotiate with Pang Tong.

But the question is, how many people in this world can be honest with each other about everything?

The more serious problem is what did those who were honest get in the end? !

It's like insulting those who don't help and despising the judge who made the judgment, but the core point of the problem is whether it is the failure to help, the presumption of innocence, or the inappropriate judgment?

Those who can’t figure this out probably also can’t figure out why Ma Yue made the mistake.

But most of the time, people who make mistakes don’t think they have done anything wrong.

This is the case with Ma Yue.

After dark, Ma Yue gave the order to attack.

Compared with the numerous conflicts and mutual doubts within Cao's army, there was no opposition from the cavalry soldiers and military academies.

Everything has its pros and cons.

More than a thousand cavalrymen mounted their horses and headed along the river towards the exposed river beach.

Even though the horse's hooves were wrapped to reduce the noise, the vibration could not be completely avoided.

Moreover, when the distance is close, the sound of the collision of armor and weapons cannot be covered by the sound of the river.

But Ma Yue was not afraid!

He believed that as long as they crossed the river beach, what would happen even if they were discovered by Cao's army?

So, when Ma Yue felt that he had entered the effective attack range, he gave the order to speed up.

The Hussars began to gradually increase their speed, and their horses pedaled the ground hard.

The earth shook slightly, with a sound like muffled thunder.

The tremors became more and more obvious, and the muffled thunder became more and more frequent.

……

……

"The Cavalry is coming!"

As Cao's army had fought repeatedly with the Hussars over this period of time, they were already very familiar with this kind of tremor.

Cao's army dug a hole in the ground and buried an urn, which could collect some tiny sounds from farther away, even those that were temporarily inaudible to human ears. Therefore, Ma Yue and others were exposed when they were still at a relatively long distance, or at least at a distance that Ma Yue thought was relatively safe.

The roar of war horses' hooves demonstrated a force as powerful as an overwhelming force.

Everyone in Cao's army was in awe of that kind of power and also longed to possess it.

Cao Cao is not an experience pack, nor is he a programmed NPC who can only say repetitive words and do repetitive things.

He saw the fear on the faces of the soldiers around him, and immediately raised his hand, "Pass the order! All units get ready!"

To help someone get rid of his nervousness, you don’t have to tell him not to be nervous, don’t be nervous, because being nervous is the end of you…

Then that person will definitely become more and more nervous.

The best way is to let him do something else. When his attention is diverted, the tension will naturally decrease.

The messenger ran and passed the order. Under the order, the Cao army soldiers began to check the weapons and other equipment around them. This simple action effectively suppressed the fear in the hearts of the soldiers while they were waiting.

The sound, like muffled thunder, gradually became louder and mixed with the sound of the river, as if the river was roaring!

……

……

If Ma Yue could not be blinded by the desire for victory, he might be more alert, or perhaps nothing would change.

If desires were so easy to control, then reason wouldn't be so embarrassing.

When sprinting, the sound is out of control.

At a distance, the sound of the river will help cover up some sounds, but when you get close, these sounds will definitely not be able to be covered up!

So normally speaking, if Cao's army was not prepared at all and did not expect the arrival of the Cavalry Army, they would definitely be alarmed by these noises!

Maybe there would be screams, maybe warning drums, or perhaps some other reactions, but not like it is now, silent and quiet, as if all of Cao's troops had fallen into a deep sleep!

Unfortunately, this thought only lingered in Ma Yue's mind for a moment before he kicked it out of the window.

It's like those who have been defrauded, or the keyboard warriors who are always watching from the sidelines, they will think that the scam is so stupid and so ridiculous. However, what is even more ridiculous is that such a simple scam that is not even logically self-consistent has deceived one person after another, and even when someone has tried to dissuade them, they still step into it without hesitation!

Ma Yue did just that, he stepped in without hesitation!

He thinks he can win!

If he didn't think so, why would he say that he was willing to issue a military order?

A military order does not necessarily mean death, like Guan Yu's military order, but it also represents the courage to bet everything you have ALL IN.

If he wins, Ma Yue’s original assets will double!

Can’t open…

How could it not be?

Before the lottery is drawn, who among the gamblers would think that he or she will definitely not win?

I wouldn’t buy it if I didn’t win, right?

The Cavalry Army rushed forward along the river with unstoppable force!

Opportunities actually exist every time, but not everyone can choose the most correct one, or the one with less loss. Sometimes a choice that seems good may actually bring more harm.

……

……

The place chosen by Cao's army for the ambush was actually the place where Zhu Ling planned to ambush Cao's army last time.

Maybe it's a coincidence, or maybe not, but there is some special reason.

This stretch of mudflat is about a hundred steps wide, but the part near the river is relatively soft, while the ground near the plateau is relatively hard. From the plateau, archers can easily cover any corner of this section of mudflat.

When the Cavalry Army attacked, their flanks would be directly exposed to the bows and crossbows of Cao's army.

Cao's archers didn't even need to aim specifically, they just had to shoot the arrows as quickly as possible.

If the Cavalry wanted to attack Cao's army on the loess plateau, they could only take a detour, because the area near the river had an erosion structure that was close to or even greater than 90 degrees. Unless the war horses learned the skills of the mountain goats, they would not be able to cause much effective impact and damage to Cao's archers.

Even if the cavalry wanted to attack Cao's army on the plateau, they still had to pass through another gully, where there were already four rows of sword and shield soldiers, four rows of spearmen, chevaux de frise, and some archers. The gully was not wide, so Cao Cao only needed to deploy a small number of Cao's soldiers to build a defensive position with a certain depth.

Although time was short and Cao Cao didn't have time to create more obstacles, he believed that with such a good terrain and such a position, it should be no problem to defeat the attack of the Hussar Army...

Moreover, Cao Cao also found the "traces" that Zhu Ling had originally left behind!

Those are the real "killing weapons"!

Unfortunately, Cao Cao now had little gunpowder on hand, so he could only choose one or two places, and could only sigh at the other locations.

The sound of war drums finally rang out, and Cao's army on the plateau began to throw torches down below.

When these torches were thrown down, Ma Yue realized that something was wrong...

But just like those who are trapped in a scam, perhaps when the first sum of money is transferred out, their hearts begin to panic, and reason reminds them again, telling them that there is something wrong, but in many cases, they still don’t think about it, or even don’t want to accept this fact, because it means that their previous investment is completely sunk!

To resist the mentality of sunk costs, you need strong willpower and accurate execution.

Choice is always the most important thing in life.

Especially after becoming a leader, the choice is not only for yourself, but also for those who follow you...

……

……

Arrows whizzed down!

"Raise your shield——"

Ma Yue shouted.

He already had a bad feeling.

These arrows from Cao’s army came too fast and too orderly!

If Cao's army had fired in panic, the shots would have been scattered and not so neat...

This means that Cao’s army was most likely well prepared!

But once a warhorse is galloping, it cannot be stopped just like that, and Ma Yue's rationality is still being pinned to the ground and rubbed by a thing called "luck".

At the same time, Ma Yue also discovered that although Cao Jun’s arrows were neatly arranged, their number was not large!

Long before Ma Yue gave the order, the Hussars, after hearing the sound of arrows and bowstrings, all raised their shields in their hands, covering the heads of their horses, as well as their own heads, faces, necks and other vital parts.

The arrows pierced the shields or armor with a crackling sound...

Some muffled groans were heard.

Some people were injured, but it didn't seem like many!

This phenomenon made Ma Yue's luck even more arrogant, and he trampled his rational face to the ground again.

"Cao's army doesn't have many arrows! Charge! Charge forward!"

The Hussars did not stop, they accelerated again.

The sounds of bows and arrows, horse hooves, war drums, and shouts mixed with the sound of the flowing river, like a sudden symphony of flesh and blood, with the smell of blood in the air from the very beginning.

"Leaning on the plateau!"

Ma Yue shouted.

Ma Yue believed that Cao's archers shooting from above had to have a shooting angle, and when they got close to the plateau, they would lose this shooting angle. Moreover, for the cavalry in the queue, they were only shot at on one side, so they only needed to concentrate on defending against Cao's army on one side. The direction on the river side was safe, which meant they still had a chance to rush over!

"Split into a team! Split into a team!"

Ma Yue shouted, "Send a team to the plateau and tie up Cao's army!"

A military school student in the queue, after receiving the order, whistled without saying a word, left the team with his men and went around to the flank of the plateau.

……

……

Cao Cao smiled as he saw Ma Yue and the others speed up.

The morale of Cao's army was already very low. This ambush was an almost perfect arrangement by Cao Cao. If Ma Yue had immediately turned around and left on the mudflats at the risk of his horse getting stuck in the river when he was attacked, although Cao's army would have gained some gains, it would obviously not be enough to boost the morale of Cao's army.

Cao's army urgently needs a victory.

Only then can we retreat calmly.

Victory and retreat, two words that were originally unrelated, are now linked together.

"The enemy general was reckless."

Cao Cao waved his hand and ordered all the archers to attack.

Liu Fu also let out a long breath, "My lord, you are able to plan and win a battle thousands of miles away..."

"Hey!" Cao Cao stopped Liu Fu's flattery, "Yuan Ying, go to the rear camp and arrange the withdrawal... Let the baggage go first... Tell the boys, with me here, we can definitely stop the enemy army, don't be surprised!"

Liu Fu bowed deeply and said, "I obey your order."

Fight here and retreat there.

Cao Cao behaved very calmly. He did not think that he was ready to fight Fei Qian again just because Ma Yue jumped into the trap. Instead, he took advantage of the momentum and immediately prepared to evacuate without any hesitation.

As the order was given, the Cao army archers who were originally standing on the inner side of the earth plateau stepped forward and shot wildly at Ma Yue and others!

The powerful crossbows were also raised at the same time, firing madly at the cavalry of the Hussars below!

The casualties of the Hussar cavalry soared in an instant!

Moreover, because the cavalry formed a long line, it was almost equivalent to that all the cavalrymen passing through the plateau would be forced to accept the bloodbath of powerful bows and crossbows!

The key point is that this unfavorable situation was chosen by Ma Yue himself!

If the sword's unconventional move is successful, it will naturally bring huge results. However, once it is discovered and targeted, the unconventional sword will become extremely weak and fragile!

I don't know how many times Ma Yue went from secretly grumbling about Pang Tong's steady and cautious strategy to disdain for it. I also don't know how many times Ma Yue felt that Pang Tong's behavior was so slow that it was maddening, and it was simply a waste of military opportunities!

Cao’s army is already in this state, why are you still hesitating?

What else to consider?

Just fire it up, fire it up for a while, and then it's done, right?

What is Pang Tong doing?

Why do we need to rest after so many days?

Cao's army was obviously retreating, so why didn't they immediately launch a campaign to pursue them?

This is a great opportunity. Should we just let Cao's army escape?

Why don't you send troops immediately and take over Shandong and Central Plains in one fell swoop?

Cao's army is already so dilapidated, how can they resist?

Is Pang Tong stupid? Is he scared?

This is what Ma Yue thought, and once this thought arose, it obscured his rationality and controlled his thinking, making him more and more impatient and more and more contemptuous of Pang Tong!

He felt that Pang Tong could not seize this opportunity, so there was no need to stop him from seizing it!

So he issued a military order and he would not listen to other people's dissuasion at all!

Until that moment, until the blood flowed and the soldiers died, Ma Yue realized why Pang Tong was so slow, why he was so steady, why he didn't choose this beach to attack, why he repeatedly stopped and persuaded him...

But Ma Yue didn't listen!

Before Ma Yue, he only felt what he wanted to feel and heard what he wanted to hear!

Now, everything in front of Ma Yue was drowned and covered in blood!

Everything he felt and wanted was revealed hideously in the blood, and then people laughed wildly, mocked, and insulted him!

You are an idiot!

You killed the brothers!

At this point in the situation, even the dumbest person would understand that he had fallen into a trap, been ambushed!

"Retreat!" Ma Yue screamed heartbreakingly, blood and tears mixed together and rolled down, "Retreat! Retreat!"

(End of this chapter)