Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3543 Just Once

There was nothing wrong with what Cao Cao said, and at this time, such remarks were indeed needed to boost morale, but the Battle of Kunyang was still a battle in which Liu Xiu would almost risk his life, and he would not be able to win the final victory by just lying there.

This is often the case. After you have done something, others will think you have real talent.

Before the Battle of Kunyang, Liu Xiu was unknown. After the Battle of Kunyang, the whole world was shocked. Not only was Wang Mang's group wary of him, but Emperor Gengshi was also suspicious of him and even killed Liu Xiu's brother in an attempt to demonstrate his own majesty.

Who doesn't know how to kill people?

But in reality, killing is only a last resort.

People are only afraid when they are alive. If people are dead, then what is there to be afraid of?

Dong Zhuo just didn't understand this principle. He ordered the massacre of Yangcheng. It was partly because he was not clear-headed, and partly because he wanted to intimidate the people of Shandong. But after he really started, the people of Shandong were not afraid anymore.

It turns out that Mr. Dong only knows how to kill people!

The people in Shandong were immediately relieved.

In the political arena, what frightens people the most is not the glaring knives, but the shadows behind the scenes.

Old Dong will only put the knife in the open, so what is there to be afraid of? So in the sour jujube place, a group of people sang and drank, and really didn't take Old Dong seriously.

But Fei Qian is different...

It’s not that Fei Qian is incapable of killing people, but Fei Qian is even better at cheating people.

This makes people in Shandong very scared.

Jizhou and Yuzhou were the core areas of the Central Plains of the Han Dynasty, where royal families and powerful forces of the Han Dynasty were entrenched. Some young sons of the aristocracy might have some good feelings towards Fei Qian, but most of the older people were particularly strongly resistant to Fei Qian.

Older people don’t like changes, but prefer stability, harmony, and an unshakable foundation that will last forever.

In politics, people who kill people at every turn are often at the bottom of the contempt chain, and anyone can come up and ridicule them. Whether in the early stages of establishing a regime or during the process of ruling a regime, high-pressure tactics, including large-scale killings, will not only fail to effectively suppress the people, but will instead provoke even stronger resistance.

Although Cao Cao would often raise his butcher knife, if you look closely, you will find that the people he killed were all "Han ministers" and "local gentry". Cao Cao did not kill the royal family of the Liu family of the Han Dynasty. The only time Cao Cao attacked the royal family in history was when he killed Empress Fu and her son. To some extent, it was also a fight between in-laws.

In ancient Chinese thought, there were two solutions to the situation when the emperor lost his moral principles. One was that the Mandate of Heaven would be transferred. If the emperor lost his moral principles, he would be abandoned by Heaven and replaced by someone else. The other was that officials would correct the emperor's behavior through persuasion and admonition, turning him from a person without moral principles into a person with moral principles. Confucianism obviously preferred the second solution, and the first solution was difficult for officials to adopt!

If an ordinary citizen who had never been an official rose up in rebellion, others would not criticize him, because although the common people were subjects of the emperor, they had never received the emperor's salary, so their behavior would not be considered as betrayal.

It is different for the ministers.

If a minister who has served as the emperor usurps the throne or even kills the emperor, he will be nailed to the pillar of shame.

Confucianism praises Zhou, but the sage of Zhou is King Wen rather than King Wu. A big part of the reason for this is that although King Wen's Zhou was more powerful than the Shang Dynasty, it did not rebel against Yin.

In history, Cao Cao once said that he wanted to be King Wen of Zhou, which is what he meant.

This can also explain why Cao Pi was able to establish himself as the emperor in place of the Han Dynasty, because from childhood to adulthood, Cao Pi was an official of the Wei Kingdom and received a salary from the King of Wei, so he was not a subject of the Han Dynasty.

Cao Cao killed Xuzhou and Jizhou, but Fei Qian didn't kill Hedong, Longxi, and Sichuan? Cao Cao was a minister of the Han Dynasty, so was Fei Qian not a minister of the Han Dynasty?

After these reasons were laid out, everyone gradually felt relieved.

Cao Cao then announced some "soft" policies, pardoning some family members implicated by the Cui family, mainly to stabilize the basic situation in Yuzhou and Yanzhou, emphasizing the rights and interests of these landlords to their lands, in order to widen the policy differences between Cao Cao and Fei Qian, emphasize the nobility of the Han Dynasty, and once again condemn Fei Qian for not complying with the imperial edict and arbitrarily mobilizing troops...

At the same time, a three-year preferential policy of light taxes and levies was implemented in the areas under its control to encourage the restoration of agricultural production and quickly stabilize social order. Relief was distributed to disaster-stricken areas to alleviate famine and fundamentally reduce resistance and contradictions.

After Cao Cao issued several measures one after another, the situation in Xu County became somewhat stabilized. However, stability alone was still not enough, and a victory was still needed.

After all, saying it and doing it are two completely different things.

However, what Cao Cao said was partly right and partly wrong.

Indeed, whether it is China or other contemporary civilizations, most of them are in the process of land development and have not involved the level of sea navigation, so a country with a stable agricultural and sericulture output land undoubtedly has a greater advantage. This is also the fundamental reason why Cao Cao and the people of Shandong feel that they still have a chance.

This early agricultural advantage, which was not reversed until later dynasties opened up navigation, was concentrated in the Yellow River basin, namely Jizhou, Yuzhou and other areas with flat terrain, fertile soil, and distinct four seasons, which were suitable for the development of dryland farming such as millet and sorghum.

Although the Guanzhong Plain is also very good, it is inherently restricted by the surrounding mountains and cannot be continuously developed. The Yangtze River Basin and the southern region are hot and humid, with swamps everywhere, making it difficult to develop. It was not until the Han Dynasty that the iron tools became popular and water conservancy technology developed, and the agricultural potential of the south was gradually released. Only with arable land and crops can there be a dense population, taxes, and money to build a country and an army. Therefore, Cao Cao looked down on Jiangdong and felt that Guanzhong lacked potential. This is the truth.

But at the same time, another point that Cao Cao did not mention, or did not realize, is that these areas in the northern border have long faced the threat of nomadic peoples, forcing these areas to better adapt to the militarized system of "farming and warfare in one" and also giving birth to a more organized and combat-effective army.

At the same time, Liu Xiu was able to march into Guanzhong because he relied not only on the troops and soldiers of Jizhou and Yuzhou, but also on the troops of Bingzhou at that time...

If Cao Cao wanted to rally the people's hearts and boost morale, he had to find a breakthrough.

Now, Cao Cao has not found an effective breakthrough, but in Shunyang in the north of Jingzhou, Cao's defense line is about to be broken...

There were fierce battles along the Danshui line for several days.

There were originally 5,000 to 6,000 regular and auxiliary soldiers in Shunyang City, but now more than one-third of them have been killed or wounded. Moreover, this was the loss caused by Liao Hua before he used a large amount of gunpowder, but only in the ordinary siege mode.

It is now impossible to defend Shunyang with only the remaining soldiers.

As the casualties of the soldiers increased, the morale of the Cao army defenders collapsed at an increasing rate.

After a day of hard fighting, Niu Jin stood on the city wall, looking at the messy battlefield in silence. After several days of fighting without taking off the armor, Niu Jin was exhausted to the extreme. Even standing like this, his legs couldn't help but tremble...

Niu Jin stretched out his hand to hold the wall to support his body. Wherever his fingers touched, it was sticky.

That was blood that was already in a semi-coagulated state.

The inner layer has already seeped into the cracks between bricks and stones, while the outer layer has not yet completely solidified.

This time, Niu Jin learned from the lesson of the last time at Dan Shui, and guarded the city with all his might, focusing on strengthening the defense of the city gate and the management of personnel. This did achieve certain results, at least the city gate was not broken through by Liao Hua as easily as last time.

but……

It's still difficult.

The city defense equipment was almost completely used up, and there was not enough gold juice, so they could only use boiling water to resist. Various rotten odors and strong bloody smells mixed together, and it seemed that even the wind could not blow them away.

Niu Jin even had a feeling that Liao Hua was not using his full strength at all, but was just training his troops...

The city of Shunyang is like a whetstone. Liao Hua has been sharpening his knife on this whetstone these past few days, and Niu Jin is like the powder that has been ground off. It seems to be still on the stone, but in fact it has fallen off.

"General...haven't any reinforcements arrived yet?"

The guard beside Niu Jin whispered.

I didn't speak in a low voice on purpose, but my voice was hoarse after fighting in the past few days, so I had to speak in a low voice.

Niu Jin remained silent.

Before, when Cao's army did not send reinforcements to Wen Pin, Niu Jin just chuckled and didn't think there was anything wrong with it. But now Niu Jin couldn't laugh anymore.

Niu Jin knew clearly that the gap in strength between the two sides was becoming increasingly obvious. Perhaps today, or perhaps tomorrow, Shunyang would definitely not be able to hold on!

But at the same time, Niu Jin also understood what would become of him if he lost Shunyang again!

How to do?

Fight, can't beat.

Defend, cannot defend.

Escape, there will be no good ending even if you escape.

"General...why not..." The guard looked at Niu Jin, "why not..."

"Why not?" Niu Jin asked.

The guard bared his teeth, then squeezed out a few words, "Why not... surrender..."

Niu Jin's eyes immediately turned sideways.

The guard trembled.

"Before, we were still laughing at those who surrendered..." Niu Jin looked at the guards, his cheeks twitching, "If we surrender, how can we still have dignity? !"

Is face more important or life more important? Perhaps everyone has a different answer.

When saying this, Niu Jin felt a little nervous.

Because he did think about surrendering.

He was very conflicted. Before the war, Niu Jin had thought about these things. But he didn't expect the war to develop so quickly, and Cao Ren obviously couldn't take care of him...

Maybe Cao Ren’s situation is the same as his, or maybe it’s even worse.

"I... was promoted to the army by the Prime Minister..." Niu Jin said slowly, "This is like a rebirth! Lambs still know to kneel down to suckle, if I surrender... wouldn't I be worse than an animal?"

The guard was also silent for a long time, "General...but...but others in the city may not think the same as you do..."

Although Liao Hua fought slowly and did not attack with all his might, who knows what will happen tomorrow?

What if Liao Hua was just waiting for follow-up reinforcements?

What if the follow-up troops from Guanzhong arrive?

if……

If we can’t surrender, what about retreating?

From Shunyang to Xiangyang, and down along the Dan River, it seems simple, but it is not an easy task to retreat.

Liao Hua also had cavalry under his command. The infantry used during the siege had been conserving their energy. When it came time to pursue, these cavalry would definitely pursue them relentlessly. Being chased by the cavalry along the way was definitely not a good idea. Even if Niu Jin wanted to save his soldiers, none of these thousands of remnants would be able to return to Jingzhou.

Including himself.

If only someone would come to cover it...

What a pity that no one came!

Niu Jin thought about it, and suddenly an idea occurred to him, "If...if we defeat the Hussars once...if we defeat them once, can we retreat? !"

Before, Niu Jin felt that he could not retreat because he had suffered consecutive defeats from Wuguan to Danshui. If he was defeated in Shunyang again, even if he escaped back, the result would be just a head outside the gate. But if he could defeat the Cavalry Army once and then retreat, it would prove that it was not that he was incapable, but that the soldiers under his command were not strong enough. He would also have something to say in front of Cao Ren, and there is a good chance that he could be spared from death!

The guard was stunned.

That's true, but...

How to do it?

With such a defeated army, low morale and many wounded, you still want to defeat the Hussars?

Niu Jin's eyes rolled around, and he suddenly patted the guard's shoulder, "You are smart... We, we can surrender!"

"Ah?!" The guard shuddered, and after a moment he realized, "General... are you trying to... feign surrender?"

Niu Jin chuckled, "What do you think?"

The guard remained silent.

"If we retreat, the Hussars will definitely come after us. According to the current situation, let alone the entire Hussar army, even if there are only three or five hundred cavalrymen, we will die on the road! Even if we run back, we can't escape the knife under the gate! But if we can win once, at least we can defeat the Hussars once..." Niu Jin waved his fist, "Wait a minute, those people will definitely come and shout again... We will pretend to surrender, and then ask the Hussars to give us five days... We can set up an ambush at the city gate! When the Hussars enter the city, we will kill them by surprise, and then attack out of the city and repel them! Then, we can retreat calmly! By then, even if others talk about it, we will have done a good deed and no fault!"

The guard was not a smart person. After hearing Niu Jin's plan, he could only stammer, "General, you are wise..."

"Go get some pen and ink!"

Niu Jin ordered.

The setting sun dyed the battlements dark red.

Niu Jin leaned against the parapet and looked down. In the distance, the camp of the Hussars was in good order, stretching all the way to the distant hilltops. Bonfires were lit and smoke from cooking was swaying upwards.

Niu Jin couldn't help but touch his belly.

In Jianyang City, thanks to the food and grass transported by Cao Kai, there was still some food to eat. And because of the Danshui incident, Niu Jin didn't dare to pick food from the soldiers' teeth anymore, so Niu Jin himself ate porridge with the soldiers. Now seeing the smoke from the cavalry army, Niu Jin seemed to smell some fragrance and couldn't help swallowing his saliva.

However, some people came out of the cavalry camp soon, causing Niu Jin's face to twist immediately.

"Surrender! Surrender! If you surrender, you will have food to eat! Look at this pancake, it's so big and round..."

"We are all Han people, why do we have to kill each other? Put down your weapons and come over here!"

"Look at us! We have clothes to wear and food to eat! General Liao has said so! Let me tell the villagers a message..."

Niu Jin gritted his teeth, "These traitors!"

But the next moment, the guard's voice rang out, "Master, bring the pen and ink!"

"Hey..." Niu Jin suddenly felt that his breath was choking at his neck, and it was swollen and uncomfortable. He swallowed it with difficulty after a long time. "Why does it take so long to get a pen and ink?"

"..." The guard said nothing.

This pen and ink was borrowed from someone.

Although Niu Jin knew how to read, he had no interest in calligraphy. Whenever he needed to sign any documents, the clerks would bring him the pen and ink. Why would Niu Jin need to prepare it himself?

However, Niu Jin did not say anything else. He took the inkstone with a broken corner, looked around, and then tore off a tattered Cao army flag beside him, tore off a relatively clean piece of cloth, spread it on the battlement, and prepared to write the "surrender letter"...

The guard's mouth twitched involuntarily, "General, why don't you write it on your robe..."

"You know nothing!" Niu Jin lowered his head and wrote crooked words with his almost bald brush, saying, "This is the only way to be credible!"

The ink was obviously of varying thicknesses, and the brush was also extremely rough. In addition, Niu Jin held the brush like a chicken claw, so the final letter of surrender looked like a bunch of crushed earthworms, winding around on the incomplete flag of Cao's army.

Soon, Niu Jin finished writing the surrender letter, tied the broken flag to a whistling arrow, and then shot it at the guys who were shouting at the city...

The arrow fell with a whistling sound.

Seeing those guys who were shouting subconsciously avoiding him, Niu Jin smiled, but his smile soon disappeared because he saw the cavalry scout suddenly speed up on his horse, and then he stole the whistling arrow with the surrender letter tied to it in his hand as if he just bent down and picked it up casually on the horse's back, and even had time to glance at Niu Jin...

"@#￥&!" Niu Jin cursed unconsciously in a low voice to cover up his suddenly beating heart.

Where did the Hussars get so many elite troops?

Why didn’t Cao’s army have such soldiers?

Forget it, now that the surrender has been handed over, it depends on whether Liao Hua believes it or not...

As dusk began to cover the surrounding areas, Liao Hua's flag appeared in front of the battle.

Niu Jin clenched his fists tightly and looked at Liao Hua who was approaching.

At the foot of the city, Liao Hua was wearing neat black armor and red robe.

On the city wall, Niu Jin's armor and tattered clothes were lying crookedly.

"Listen carefully, commander of Shunyang!" The shout pierced through the night, startling the crows that were trying to roost in the distant mountains. "Since you want to surrender, why don't you open the city gates immediately?"

"The doorway... the doorway is blocked by wood, sand and stones!" Niu Jin shouted back, his voice like a knife cutting into a dry throat, "It will take at least five days... no, three days! It will be cleared in three days!"

Liao Hua raised his arm, and saw the animal head pattern on his shoulder flickering in the firelight, as if it would pounce on the city the next moment. "I'll give you one night! The city will be opened at 1:00 a.m. tomorrow!"

"No! At least two days!" Niu Jin clapped his hands on the battlements. It was not known whether it was a coincidence or the scarf tied around his hair loosened when he clapped his hands. Suddenly, his messy hair spread out in the night wind and smoke, like a demon. "The city gate is blocked! How can you move a thousand-pound stone bar just by saying so? You have to move it here at the city gate!"

This is not an excuse.

Niu Jin did block the doorway, but it was not as serious as he said.

There was silence outside the city.

Niu Jin seemed to feel the cold sweat on his back, which condensed into ice under the night wind, and it was like a sharp knife, with the tip of the knife sliding down his spine...

I don’t know how long it took, maybe a quarter of an hour, maybe just a cup of tea, Liao Hua finally nodded in agreement.

"As you wish! At 3:30 AM the day after tomorrow, all four doors will open!"

Liao Hua pointed his spear at the top of the city wall, "If you dare to lie... the walls of Shunyang City were built with your blood!"

When the dusk swallowed up the last ray of light, Niu Jin sat slumped behind the battlements and exhaled a long breath. He felt his hands and feet were numb and he had no strength left...

The guard brought a water bag, and Niu Jin swallowed a few sips and actually tasted a rusty taste.

He spat out a mouthful of blood foam and heard his own hoarse laughter floating over the city walls.

Two days is enough to build a disposable new Wengcheng. It doesn't need to be stable, as long as it can be used. As long as firewood can be piled up under the Wengcheng, and as long as the Hussars can huddle together in the gate of the Wengcheng...

Maybe.