Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3558: Broken and New

After the rain, the sky clears up.

Under the sun, the muddy and chaotic road finally solidified and began to be able to bear heavy loads.

At Tongguan, Zhang Liao was setting out with his vanguard troops.

Even in relatively safe areas, there are still many scouts and guards around.

First the cavalry advanced, then dispersed after reaching a certain distance, controlling the high ground and important roads. The subsequent long lines of infantry followed, and finally a large number of two-wheeled baggage wagons.

Although Fei Qian had developed a four-wheeled baggage cart in Pingyang, Hedong, he only used a two-wheeled baggage cart when he marched into Shandong.

It is not difficult to develop a steering mechanism for a four-wheel vehicle, but the difficulty lies in the fact that there are currently no good enough materials to make a reliable front-wheel steering device.

Huang's workshop can manufacture a single-axis steering mechanism, but this thing is not only easy to damage but also has weak load-bearing capacity. If you want a better turntable steering structure, you need precision metal components, which is far beyond the current technical conditions.

In addition, four-wheeled baggage carts have high requirements for roads. If it is in Pingyang or Guanzhong, which is relatively flat, the official roads have been renovated and paved, mainly under Fei Qian's promotion, so it is not easy to get stuck even in rainy days. However, once you leave Hangu Pass, the yellow soil surface is not suitable for four-wheeled carts. Even though it has not rained in the past few days, if it rains, the four-wheeled cart will get stuck in the mud, which will really cost lives!

Another interesting point is that two-wheeled vehicles are naturally more suitable for cooperating with cavalry in combat...

Take the turning radius for example. A chariot converted from a two-wheeled vehicle can turn in a narrow area, and can even be carried by manpower on some roads. However, the turning radius of a four-wheeled vehicle is at least twice that of a two-wheeled vehicle, and it becomes a burden in the narrow space of a battlefield.

Zhang Liao led the vanguard and after passing Hangu Pass, they entered a relatively open area. Large-scale military movements could not shield Cao's army from detection. Especially in the Heluo area, there must be Cao's sentries, and the dust raised by large-scale troops could be seen from a distance, so it was important to maintain the necessary mobility.

Fei Qian brought Pang Tong to Tuyuanzhishang and watched Zhang Liao and others set off first.

Pang Tong whispered beside Fei Qian: "I just received news... Xu Gongming has arrived in Jiangling, facing Cao's water fort across the river. If Jiangling can be captured, Cao Zixiao will have no choice but to retreat under the pincer attack from the north and south..."

"The Jiangdong navy is stationed in Chaisang," Fei Qian responded, "Although Jiangdong has just suffered a defeat and may not have the courage to send out troops again, our army is also advancing, so we must be careful when transporting food and grass on the Yangtze River."

Pang Tong nodded and replied, "Don't worry, my lord. Xu Gongming and Zhuge Kongming are both cautious people and will definitely not give Jiangdong a chance to take advantage of them."

Fei Qian said: "The Sichuan navy was formed not long ago, and the Jiangdong ships are numerous... Moreover, the people of Jiangdong have always been untrustworthy and often do shady things... Send a message to Xu Gongming, don't be careless."

Pang Tong responded, rolling his eyes twice, "My Lord...was Lu Zijing disrespectful before?"

Pang Tong intuitively felt that Fei Qian did not have a good impression of Jiangdong.

Fei Qian waved his hands, "It's not because of Lu Zijing, but because of the limitation of the land in Jiangdong."

During the Han Dynasty, there was no established theoretical system on how the environment affects people. There were only sayings like "the closer you are to a red person, the redder you become." In the areas east and south of the Yangtze River, it can be said that from the Three Kingdoms period to the end of the Ming Dynasty, the phenomenon of "only caring about one's own family and ignoring the overall situation" frequently occurred. In essence, this was a reflection of historical laws under a special political and economic structure.

"The land of Jiangdong is densely covered with waterways, which is an advantage for the Jiangdong navy." Fei Qian said slowly, "But this advantage is a disadvantage for the people!"

Pang Tong was stunned for a moment, not quite understanding.

Fei Qian pointed at the army that was advancing in a serpentine shape in front of him, "Let me ask Shi Yuan, do the common people have such troops? Even if the common people have such intentions, do they have such money?"

Pang Tong naturally shook his head.

"That's it," Fei Qian sighed slightly, "Weapons and armor are expensive, how can the common people afford them? Jiangdong's navy is powerful, is it a blessing for the common people of Jiangdong, or is it a blessing for the Jiangdong nobles? The water network is dense, the river channel is a moat, the powerful can use the fort as a base, use the navy to control the people, and resist the government. This is the characteristic of Jiangdong... It is not something that Lu Zijing or Sun Zhongmou can change, so Jiangdong is mostly corrupt, all because of this. "

Pang Tong took a breath. He vaguely understood some of Fei Qian’s meanings.

Fei Qian actually felt a little sorry for Emperor Sun. After all, in history, during the Three Kingdoms period, Jiangdong tyrants such as Gu, Lu, and Zhu all used fortresses as their bases, controlled private soldiers and land, and forced the Sun regime to adopt a dual-track strategy of "military strikes" plus "political compromise". Sometimes they were red-faced, sometimes white-faced, and in the end they all turned purple-faced. Perhaps they were really frustrated to the point of turning purple...

This was not only the case during the Three Kingdoms period, but also in the Ming Dynasty. This decentralized innate regional structure evolved into a model of "town economy" plus "gentry autonomy", forming an economic circulation system independent of the central government. Therefore, whenever the central government tried to strengthen its control over Jiangdong and Jiangnan, it immediately encountered joint resistance from local interest groups.

In the early Qing Dynasty, the people of Jiangnan were massacred. Perhaps some of them were fighting for their nation, but a large part of them was because the Qing Dynasty did not understand the characteristics of Jiangnan at that time and wanted to treat Jiangnan with the attitude of treating Zhili gentry...

Simply put, there was no agreement on the distribution of benefits.

Later, we basically reached an agreement, but the water was just too cold.

Today, Jiangdong's private soldier system has resulted in the military power of Jiangdong being dispersed among the aristocratic families. Even if a main general dies in battle, his troops will be inherited by his underage sons and nephews, forming a special phenomenon of "young men in charge of the army". Its essence is the blood inheritance of the high nobility, which is no different from the Chu State during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

In the Ming Dynasty, this relationship between Jiangdong and Jiangnan evolved into the iron triangle of "gentry, bureaucrats, officials and businessmen". Seven or eight out of ten of the scholars who passed the imperial examinations in the court came from landlord families in Jiangnan. They evaded taxes through "fraudulent posting" and "submissions", and even instigated the bureaucracy to fight against the central court. In addition, population mobility was strictly restricted and class hierarchy was emphasized. The "hereditary servant system" in Jiangnan during the Ming Dynasty divided the population into two categories: good and bad. The personal dependence relationship of the bad class continued from generation to generation. On the surface, it seemed to be employed, but in fact it was slavery. In addition, the so-called "self-combed women" and "generations of loyal servants" were advocated among literati and poets to paralyze the people. As a result, until modern times, there were still a large number of people in Jiangnan who would subconsciously distinguish who was a city dweller, who was a country bumpkin, who was a poor ghost in northern Jiangsu, and who was a Pudong aristocrat...

Many places in the northern part of Guanzhong and the Central Plains are located in arid or semi-arid agricultural zones, which not only require large-scale water conservancy cooperation, but also because the land is flat, it is impossible to naturally form a decentralized system of small manors. There are more large manors, so it is easier to have a larger centralized political system, and naturally there is a need for centralization.

The combination of Jiangnan's "paddy field economy" and "river towns" ensured that local forces always maintained the material basis for confronting the central government. Obviously, Emperor Sun could not break this structure. Therefore, no matter how Sun Quan compromised or used power, he did not completely change the political environment. In other words, he was only treating the symptoms and not the root cause, and his efforts were ineffective and repeated.

"My Lord, if that's the case," Pang Tong frowned and said, "Wouldn't Jiangdong be difficult to govern?"

When Pang Tong heard Fei Qian's comments on Jiangdong, he felt it was novel on the one hand, but also difficult on the other. After all, human matters were easier to deal with. If the environment in Jiangdong made Jiangdong's politics like this, wouldn't it be useless to replace anyone?

"The issue in Jiangdong is not completely unsolvable..." Fei Qian was about to say something when he suddenly heard a commotion in the queue in the distance.

It turned out that some problems arose in the marching formation during the conversation between Fei Qian and Pang Tong.

Fei Qian looked up and found that it was a cannon cart that was obviously broken. The anxious military school came to the cannon cart and shouted loudly, asking the soldiers to push the cannon cart to the side of the road first...

Fei Qian watched the artillerymen changing the spokes with sweat on their foreheads, and could not help but say with emotion: "Shandong, Jiangdong... The way of heaven and earth is to be steadfast and constant in order to achieve transformation, and the conduct of a gentleman is to work day and night without slacking off. Now I see that the road ahead is long and steep, like the towering Jiuyi, and the road is dangerous and steep, like the turbulent Longmen. At this moment, only by being prudent and calm can we achieve unprecedented achievements."

This artillery vehicle had obviously been inspected before setting off, but who could ensure that the inspection was effective or that there would be no accidents?

"People nowadays are either proud of their minor achievements or eager to compete for immediate benefits. It's like walking on thin ice in spring or in the sun in summer. How can you go far? Be cautious when walking on thin ice, be vigilant in the morning and in the evening. If you do this, even if the road is long and difficult, there will be a time when the clouds will clear and the moon will shine." Fei Qian turned his head and looked at Pang Tong, "Let's encourage each other. Let's focus on Shandong first. As for Jiangdong, we can take it slowly."

"My lord is wise. You should keep this in mind."

……

……

Yecheng.

Prime Minister's House.

Suddenly a strong wind blew, causing the copper bells on the eaves to jingle in the wind, which was like a death warrant and made Cao Pi feel confused.

The flowers that just bloomed yesterday were destroyed beyond recognition by the strong wind today.

The petals fell and swept across the bluestone steps.

Cao Pi held the bamboo slips of the letter that had just been delivered to him, and his finger knuckles turned white.

Ever since Cao Cao's defeat at Tongguan, rumors have spread like wildfire.

Some people said that Cao Cao was about to be finished and would follow in the footsteps of Yuan Shao. Some people said that Cao Cao had gone mad and wanted to drag the people of Shandong to their doom. Some people said that Cao Cao had already negotiated with Fei Qian and would offer the emperor to Fei Qian once Fei Qian’s troops left Hangu Pass.

Some of the rumors are groundless, while others seem to be true.

For those unrealistic rumors, just listen to them and forget about them. Most of them will not be taken seriously, but those that have some truth to them are more terrifying. After all, the uncanny valley effect did not come into being until the term was coined...

"Sir, there are some sour scholars outside the mansion gathering to make irresponsible comments!"

A guard came from the front yard and bowed down in the hall. When he knelt and reported, the ring-handled sword on his waist scraped against the iron plate of the armor, making a sharp sound. Cao Pi took a deep breath. Originally, he subconsciously wanted to ask the guard to find Chen Qun and let Chen Qun arrest these gossipers, but since he was offended by Chen Qun last time and was scolded by Madam Bian, he now understood the special nature of the current situation and gritted his teeth to endure it.

The hands curled up under the sleeves of the black brocade robe were trembling slightly, but Cao Pi said in a calm voice, "Don't pay attention to me... I am just a villain. When the news of victory arrives from my father, I will hang my head on the door!"

The guard responded and retreated.

Cao Pi picked up the water bowl on the table, but saw the tea soup in the bowl rippling...

"hateful!"

Cao Pi threw the tea bowl to the ground.

The tea bowl smashed into pieces on the floor with a loud bang, and the tea splashed out like a pool of rusty blood.

The servants outside the hall fell to their knees in fear.

During this period of time, even the position of a servant in the prime minister's mansion, a high-ranking servant, was not easy to get...

Cao Pi dropped the bowl, and calmed down a little. He shook his sleeves and said, "The tea is too hot, I accidentally dropped it... Clean it up."

The servant responded tremblingly, and hurried into the hall. He quickly cleaned up the residue and tea stains, and then quietly retreated with his butt sticking out.

Cao Pi pretended to be calm and picked up a copy of the Spring and Autumn Annals from the bookshelf beside him. Although he shook the copy so hard that it made a loud noise, he could not read a single word.

At the hour of You, Cao Pi could no longer pretend, so he stood up and left the hall. Just as he was about to go around the corridor with his sword in hand, he suddenly saw a shadowy figure at the west corner door. It turned out to be three servants whispering under the bronze Vermillion Bird lamp...

"I heard that the prince broke the bowl again..."

"There must be some bad news from the front line..."

"It's hard to say..."

"How dare you, you brat!" Cao Pi could not help but shout loudly, drew out the long sword that was originally used as a decoration, and stepped forward.

The light of the Vermillion Bird bronze lamp flickered, and the three servants quickly knelt on the ground, their faces turning pale and their bodies trembling.

"You are receiving salaries from the Cao family, yet you act like gossipers?" Cao Pi pointed his sword at the three men angrily.

"Prince, please spare me! Prince, please spare me!"

"We are first-time offenders, first-time offenders..."

"I was confused for a moment..."

The three of them kowtowed repeatedly.

Cao Pi felt a surge of anger in his chest. Chen Qun underestimated him, but he endured it. He also endured the criticisms of the sour scholars in the market. He thought he could endure it for a while, but now even these servants are taking advantage of him!

Cao Pi's teeth were clattering, and his murderous intent was rising...

"stop!"

Just as Cao Pi was about to kill the three servants, the sound of rings and pendants rang out from not far away, and a clear shout was heard.

Cao Pi turned around and saw Madam Bian, wearing a dark blue dress with a curved hem with a zhe pattern, walking towards him. The jade pendant hanging from her waist glowed coldly in the twilight, and she was signaling him with her eyes to put away his murderous intent.

Cao Pi slowly put the sword into the scabbard. No matter how to say it, it was inappropriate for a son to hold up a sword in front of his mother.

"Come here, take these three away and slap them thirty times!" Madam Bian said in a deep voice, "Order the government office. Anyone who quarrels again will be shackled for three days! Those who refuse to change after repeated warnings will be beheaded!"

Immediately, a guard responded, dragged the three servants away, and started beating them with their arms.

After hearing Madam Bian's order, Cao Pi realized that he was a little impulsive. Madam Bian's immediate punishment was more appropriate. If Cao Pi stabbed the servant to death with a sword in the heat of the moment, although it would not be a big deal, he would inevitably be known as a cruel and murderous person...

"Come with me."

Mrs. Bian glanced at Cao Pi, then walked forward, passed the corridor and came to the backyard.

"Go get a basin of water for the prince, wash up..." Madam Bian ordered, then turned to Cao Pi and said, "After you wash up, come see me again."

Cao Pi agreed, changed his clothes, washed up, took off his sword, put on casual clothes, and went to the back hall, where he saw Madam Bian sitting alone in front of the jade table, slowly inserting a few branches with broken petals into a porcelain vase. The twelve gold-inlaid copper-coral lamps in the hall made her eyebrows look like ink paintings, but they could not hide the smoke of war in the fine lines at the corners of her eyes.

"Mother!" Cao Pi bowed to the ground, his forced calmness turned into sobs, "If father fails... our entire Cao family... "

Before Cao Pi finished speaking, Madam Bian had already thrown a scroll of Zuo Zhuan over. When the scroll was unfolded, it was the chapter "Cao Gui's Debate on War".

"Do you know this guy?"

Mrs. Bian said somewhat unhappily.

Cao Pi picked up the letter and his eyes fell on the ink words.

On the edge of the ink characters, there are some tiny characters that look like they were written by Cao Cao.

"This is what your father wrote when he knew about the change in Yanzhou..." Madam Bian raised her head slightly, her eyes fell on the withered flowers in the vase, "In the past, Cao Ke held a three-foot sword to rob Qi Huan, and judged the victory or defeat by observing the tracks! But what are you doing now? You get so angry and frustrated at the slightest setback that you don't know what to do! With such a temper, how can you be responsible for a big task? ! "

When Madam Bian became excited, the wide sleeves of her chastity robe rolled up the green smoke from the incense burner, as if it were the smoke of war on the battlefield.

"Mother..."

Cao Pi stared at the jade hairpin on his mother's temples, but saw that her hair had turned white under the bright lights. He couldn't help but think of what he saw when he was with the army before - his father Cao Cao stood in the array of thousands of troops and recited "Viewing the Sea". The spirit he brought out in his passionate words "The movement of the sun and the moon seems to come from it" was so similar to the spark in his mother's eyes at this moment!

"In the past, Chong'er was in exile for 19 years, but he finally achieved his goal." Madam Bian turned around and rotated the vase on the jade table to show Cao Pi, "If he gave up halfway, how would the world evaluate him?"

Cao Pi followed Mrs. Bian's gaze and discovered that the originally broken branches were now intertwined with each other under Mrs. Bian's skillful hands. Not only did they no longer look broken and decadent, but they instead gave off a feeling of warmth and blooming!

"this……"

Cao Pi seemed to have some insights.

Madam Bian nodded slightly, "When the spring flowers are in full bloom, why do we need your strength? Only by giving the broken things a new look can we see the true face."

Cao Pi trembled and bowed deeply, "Mother... I understand..."

"Do you understand?" Mrs. Bian asked, "Now that you understand, what should you do?"

Cao Pi raised his head, looked directly at Madam Bian, and said in a deep voice: "From tomorrow on, I will wear military uniform, armor, wield sharp weapons, and practice archery... If the enemy comes, I will stand on the city gate and live and die with the soldiers!"