Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3513 Not Everyone Has the Last Name Liu

Fangling.

Although a small team of cavalrymen had appeared outside the city, life still had to go on.

Eating, drinking, defecating and urinating, we can't just say that when the enemy comes, these inevitable problems of human beings can be eliminated immediately, right?

This is why siege tactics were often used in ancient siege warfare. Even if the walls were high and thick and difficult to break through, if the siege lasted for a long time, not only would the food in the city be in short supply, but the feces and urine in the city would also be unable to be discharged, polluting the water source. In addition, the attackers would throw rotten cattle and sheep corpses into the city...

Especially the small castles in the west. Those military fortresses built on cliffs would definitely suffer great damage if attacked by force. During the Yuan Dynasty, many of them were dragged down and killed by this tactic.

Fangling is a small town.

Sewers and the like can rely on the Nan River, but wood for heating cannot grow in water.

After being on guard behind closed doors for a few days, they could no longer bear it.

This winter's cold wind makes people shiver. Without firewood for heating, the whole city may be in danger of falling...

So what else can we do?

Make an appointment and go out of town to collect firewood.

Today is the day set aside for firewood collection.

There is no fixed time for this day, it may be two days apart, or two days in a row, and then three days apart.

The opening hours are not fixed. Sometimes it opens in the morning, and sometimes it opens at noon. But no matter what time the city gate opens, it will be closed at night.

Today, the time for firewood collection is only two hours, from noon to noon, and the shop will be closed after noon.

Zeng Shun had already left his house before the morning and was heading for the city gate. He wore a bamboo hat, carried a coil of rope, a shoulder pole, and held an axe in his hand.

He was a minor official in Fangling, but in such a small place, minor officials did not have much money. They just worked to make a living, with some daily allowances and some conveniences due to their status.

For example, now he can know the time for collecting firewood in advance, and when he reaches the city gate, there are soldiers who can lead him to a closer position. However, ordinary people can only listen to the gongs knocking in the city before they know that they can go out of the city to collect firewood today, and they have to queue up to leave the city, so time is relatively tight.

"Zeng Shuzuo, are you going to collect firewood today?"

The military officer on duty at the city gate asked.

"Ah." Zeng Shun held onto his bamboo hat and nodded, "I can't help it. The firewood is all burned out. I almost froze to death last night..."

"Ah, why didn't you tell me earlier that there was no firewood?" The military school student seemed to be very enthusiastic and said, "How could the secretary be frozen to death?"

Zeng Shun smiled and said, "You guys have worked hard too."

The two exchanged pleasantries, but were actually just being polite.

Zeng Shun was only a clerk. If he was the manager, there would be no need to say anything. Naturally, someone would fill up the firewood room in his house. If he went too late, he might not be able to find the place to store the firewood!

The reason why the military school was polite to Zeng Shun was that they hoped Zeng Shun would not cause trouble at certain times. Of course, if Zeng Shun didn't know what was good for him and insisted that the military school send him firewood, the military school would send it. Sending a few pieces of firewood would be like taking advantage of the situation.

Zeng Shun also knew this, so he just said a few words and didn't really ask the military academy to send firewood. Firewood is not a big deal on weekdays, but at this moment, the price has skyrocketed. It's like rice and flour in extraordinary times, which can't be measured by normal prices.

Seeing Zeng Shun was sensible and understanding, the military school was willing to do him a favor, so he led Zeng Shun to the city gate and said, "Remember to go east first when you leave the city... There are Cao's troops over there, so it will be more convenient even if that guy comes..."

The north gate is opened, and most people are used to walking north.

But when there are too many people, they often compete with each other, and they may not be able to pick up or chop any good firewood.

If it is a newly cut branch, it is not only difficult to burn, but also produces a lot of smoke. It is useless if it is not dried in the shade for a few days. If you avoid crowded places, you can pick up more dry branches. They are light, you can carry more, and they are easy to use.

Zeng Shun nodded.

The sound of clappers rang out in the street.

When the military school heard this, he shouted to his men to open half of the city gate and lower the drawbridge.

Zeng Shun thanked the military school, then followed the first few people out of the city.

The people in front had obviously received instructions, and after walking north for a distance, they turned around and headed east.

Zeng Shun did not follow east, but continued walking north for a while and then turned west.

To the west is the direction where the Hussars appeared.

Others were afraid, but Zeng Shun was anxious.

He was not sure whether he could encounter the scouts of the Hussars this time.

It is true that he is a minor official and he does need to chop wood to keep warm in the winter, but he cannot do it too often, otherwise even a fool would be able to notice that something is wrong.

Last time it was because I didn’t prepare in advance, this time it was because it was cold winter and I used it frequently, so what about next time?

Fangling is an important passage leading to the flank of Jingzhou and its strategic location is quite important.

This "quite" is obviously a relative concept. That is to say, if one can invest less in Fangling but gain more advantages, then it would be very cost-effective for the Cavalry Army to attack Fangling and gain control of this passage. However, if on the contrary, it takes a lot of effort and suffers heavy losses to capture Fangling, then even if the passage is obtained, there may not be soldiers to launch the next stage of the attack.

Therefore, Zeng Shun must deliver the intelligence to the Hussars...

After crossing the ravine and passing through the bushes, Zeng Shun walked into the west mountain of Fangling. He looked up and around, but didn't see anything unusual.

As he walked forward, he picked up some dead branches.

If you don't see the cavalry scouts, you must bring some firewood back, otherwise the winter nights will be too difficult to endure.

In the mountains and forests, the rustling sound of dead leaves could be heard from far away.

It is winter now, so there is no need to worry too much about insects and snakes. Moreover, during the day, carnivorous animals rarely come out. However, walking alone in such a quiet forest still makes Zeng Shun feel uneasy.

"Is there...anyone here?"

Zeng Shun tried to call out.

He found that his voice was trembling and his breathing was a little irregular.

Zeng Shun stood there and looked around, but didn't see anything special.

It was quiet all around...

Zeng Shun sighed, feeling that this trip might have been in vain again.

The city gates were open for a short time today, only half a day. If I waited a little longer, I would have to go back. Otherwise, if I really waited until noon to go back, I would definitely run into other people. If I aroused their suspicion and asked why I ran to the west, it would be very troublesome...

Zeng Shun lowered his head and saw a dead branch not far away. He walked forward a few steps, ready to pick up the dead branch. However, he had only taken two steps when he felt a dark wind blowing above his head.

Before Zeng Shun could react, he was knocked to the ground by the cavalry scout in the tree.

"Mancheng... I recognize General Li Mancheng!"

Zeng Shun shouted out immediately.

The force pressing on Zeng Shun was reduced a lot.

"Let him get up..."

A voice was heard and Zeng Shun was pulled up.

It was at this time that Zeng Shun realized that there was actually a small team hiding in the forest where he thought there was no one. However, this also made Zeng Shun feel relieved. After all, neither the defenders of Fangling nor the soldiers of Cao's army should have this ability.

Zeng Shun pointed at the bamboo hat that had fallen to the side, "Um, take it apart..."

Inside the hat, there is a map of Fangling city defense painted by Zeng Shun.

The cavalry scout captain took out the city map hidden in the bamboo hat, took a look at it, and immediately frowned, "You... there are no markings on the east, west, south, and north! And what is this drawing...?"

"I..." Zeng Shun looked at the picture he drew, "Isn't it marked here... This is the East City Gate, this is Pengshui, and this is..."

Zeng Shun pointed at the pictures one by one and said, "This little man is the number of people guarding the city, one little man, one hundred people... I don't know the exact number, but it's roughly the same... This is the county government office, this is the warehouse, and I also drew swords and guns..."

The captain of the cavalry scouts frowned more and more as he looked at it, "Is this a villain? I thought it was firewood!"

Zeng Shun glared, "How can this be firewood? Oh, by the way, I can't stay with you for long, I still need to chop some firewood back..."

"Why are you still chopping wood? Why don't you come with us?" the cavalry scout captain asked.

Zeng Shun said, "If I go with you, what will happen to my family?" "You...Okay, then so-and-so, go help him chop some firewood!" The cavalry captain pointed at two people, "Don't worry about the firewood, let's talk about this picture first...This is the city wall, what are those pieces outside the city wall?"

"It's Cao's army... Cao's army is on the mountain over there..."

……

……

Perhaps for Zeng Shun, following the Hussars now would undoubtedly be relatively safer for his personal life and death.

However, Zeng Shun chose to return to the danger, and returned to Fangling carrying the firewood that the hussars had chopped and picked up for him.

"What is this idiot doing back here?" a hussar soldier muttered as he looked at Zeng Shun's back.

"Didn't you hear what he said? He has a family with adults and children..." said the cavalry scout captain, "He can't bear to leave his wife behind..."

"What? If a fight breaks out..." the soldier said, "He..."

The leader of the cavalry scouts waved his hand, "Everyone has their own aspirations... Let's not talk about this... Do you think this picture and this person... are they real or fake?"

Not everyone has the surname Liu, and not everyone with the surname Liu can be like Liu Bang.

Moreover, the cavalry captain felt that as a man, there was nothing wrong in taking care of his family and wife.

Everyone chooses a different path, so questioning other people's choices actually doesn't make much sense. After all, no one can suffer for others, nor can they guide others on how their lives should be.

The only question is whether the information is true or false.

"I think... it should be true..." said an old soldier.

"Why?" the captain asked.

"Look at that picture... it looks like a pile of shit..." the old soldier said, "If it's fake... shouldn't the trap be drawn more clearly? Otherwise, what if we saw it wrong and went the wrong way?"

"Hey, that makes sense!"

"That's right. When I saw the little man he drew in the picture, I thought there was a pile of kerosene and firewood under the city..."

The cavalry captain also nodded, "I think it should be true... I just asked a few questions in reverse order, and his answers were all the same... Okay, pack up and go back immediately to report to the general!"

……

……

Zeng Shun is not a professional spy.

He is just an ordinary scholar.

After Li Dian arrived in Hanzhong, he began to send spies to Shangyong area to collect information.

Zeng Shun is one of them.

Now, Li Dian's move has obviously paid off.

The news of the weakness of the Shen family in Shangyong was delivered by the spies in Shangyong, which was also an important reason why Li Dian dared to directly attack Shangyong. Now the information of Fangling was also quickly delivered back by the cavalry scouts, but the picture drawn by Zeng Shun still made Li Dian frown.

There was nothing that could be done about it. After all, when Li Dian sent these spies, he did not offer a course on how to draw a good picture...

Therefore, he could only look at the picture while listening to the cavalry scout team leader's retelling.

"There are a large number of Cao's troops lying in ambush in the east mountain of Fangling?" Li Dian pointed to the black blocks on the edge of the map and asked, "How many people do these represent?"

The cavalry scout team leader replied, "He said he didn't know... but he could see a lot of Cao's flags on the mountain... He said he heard from the city garrison commander that the Cao army coming was Cao Zhen and Cao Zidan... and said there were more than 10,000 people coming..."

"Tens of thousands?" Li Dian was stunned.

The cavalry scout team leader said: "He said the garrison commander said so."

Li Dian shook his head, "Not likely."

The cavalry scout also said, "I also think it is unlikely. Most likely the garrison commander exaggerated the number of Cao's troops."

"Yeah." Li Dian nodded.

But Cao's army has arrived, that's a fact.

Because Zeng Shun said he saw the supplies sent from Pengshui...

Li Dian felt that Cao's army would definitely not have more than 10,000 people, but should have at least 3,000 to 5,000.

This is a bit difficult...

Li Dian never expected that Cao Zhen had less than a thousand people.

After all, in the Han Dynasty, there was no general who could carry a small radar with him and count the red dots to confirm the number of people.

Li Dian believed that Zeng Shun did not lie to him.

Zeng Shun did not lie to Li Dian.

But who could have thought that the error was caused by that boastful Di general?

In order to stabilize the morale of the army, the Di general exaggerated the number of Cao's army from a thousand to ten thousand, and he kept saying it every day. After repeating it so many times, the people living at the foot of Fangling Mountain believed that even if there were not tens of thousands of people, there should be at least a few thousand, right?

The key is that there are still so many Cao army flags on the mountain...

Li Dian looked at the picture and frowned.

The information he was waiting for did come, but it made Li Dian even more embarrassed.

If Fangling only had its original garrison, there would be nothing to be afraid of.

However, Cao's army was in some trouble in the east mountain of Fangling.

And there are quite a few...

Li Dian put himself in the position of Cao's army and would inevitably guard Fangling.

If Fangling County was conquered, it would be like kicking open the door to Jingzhou's flank, forcing Jingzhou to fight on two fronts. Therefore, Cao Zhen's eagerness to send people to support Fangling was also a move in line with the changes in the war situation.

However, this side door of Jingzhou is not easy to open. From Shangyong to Fangling, you have to walk a rugged mountain road. Then from Fangling to Jingzhou, although Pengshui can make it more convenient, the question is how much food and grass support Fangling can provide?

According to the information reported by Zeng Shun, there was not much storage in Fangling City, so Cao's army sent a lot of supplies.

The good thing about this matter is that once Fangling is besieged, internal strife will easily break out inside Fangling. But from another perspective, it also means that after taking Fangling, Li Dian will not only be unable to obtain supplies, but may even have to pay for them.

Unless Li Dian ordered all the surrendered soldiers, prisoners and civilians in Fangling to be driven into battle, or...

If Li Dian does not plan to take over Shangyong Fangling in the future, he can move the people to Hanzhong, just like Cao Cao did in history. However, Shangyong is needed as a transit station to communicate with Wuguan and Jingzhou, so this method of destroying the entire family cannot be used.

So, this is naturally a bit troublesome...

You can't defend a city alone. Similarly, cities with reinforcements or retreat routes will be more difficult to attack. Regardless of whether Cao's army has tens of thousands, one thing is certain: as long as Cao's army is in the east mountain of Fangling, Fangling is not an isolated city.

Unless Li Dian could use gunpowder as he did last time, blow open the gate of Fangling, and then capture Fangling in one fell swoop, otherwise if time was dragged out, it would give Cao's army a chance to launch a flank attack, and his overly long food route would become a burden in the future.

There is another hidden danger. Li Dian was able to send spies to Shangyong, Fangling and other places. Didn't Cao's army send spies to Nanzheng?

Li Dian has now taken Shangyong at lightning speed, which means that even if the spies in Nanzheng want to do something or pass on any information, it will be ineffective. However, if they delay in Fangling for too long...

Although there are people from the Youwensi keeping an eye on Nanzheng, Nanzheng is not like Fangling after all. The daily transportation of goods and the flow of people and logistics between the north and the south are very large. No one dares to say that they can keep a close eye on everyone entering and leaving Nanzheng under such circumstances.

After thinking for a long time, Li Dian decided to march to Fangling.

However, Li Dian's purpose of marching into Fangling had changed, from capturing Fangling to a tentative feint attack!

Li Dian is cautious, so he is unlikely to do anything high-risk.

After Li Dian received the information from Zeng Shun, he felt that continuing to fight with Cao's army in Fangling would be very risky, just like when Cao Zhen had fought with Li Dian in the Xicheng area before. The side that was not familiar with the terrain would definitely suffer!

Cao's army was outside Fangling. If Li Dian could not take Fangling in a short time, Cao's army could use their familiarity with the terrain to make a detour and attack from the side, or cut off Li Dian's retreat. If Li Dian left Fangling alone and attacked the forest where Cao Zhen was, not to mention the problem of waiting for the enemy to tire, even if Li Dian's soldiers could replenish their strength instantly, then could the traps and fortifications set by Cao Zhen in the forest in the past few days be eliminated instantly or directly marked?

Therefore, Li Dian decided to make a feint attack on Fangling, then lure Cao's soldiers to Fangling, and then march to Yunguan.