Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3565 A fission!

Taigu Pass.

Or you can call it Otani Pass.

A little more, a little less, it’s no big deal.

Dagu Pass is not so famous in history, at least it is much worse than Yique Pass. On the one hand, it was established later, and on the other hand, fewer people died there.

In the face of the tens of thousands of deaths and injuries in Chinese history, the name of Taigu Pass is somewhat insignificant. What's more crucial is that this road is actually an escape route. This pass was recorded more as a route to escape south from Heluo, rather than as a route to defend against attacks from the south.

After all, there is Yi River in Yique.

But in Taigu, there is only soil.

When Man Chong's military order reached Taigu, Taigu's defender Tang Shan just wanted to bang his head against the ground!

To be honest, like most of the other Cao army generals in Heluo at this moment, Tangshan was not willing to resist the Hussar Army, at least not to fight a life-and-death battle with the Hussar Army here.

After all, after the Battle of Hedong, Cao's elite troops suffered heavy casualties, not to mention the ordinary soldiers and military schools. Not only were they inadequate in manpower and equipment, but even their morale was very low. The key point was that the terrain in the Heluo area was not very dangerous. The loss of Hangu Pass allowed the cavalry to march straight in, and the checkpoints and crossings around Luoyang were actually more for defense outside the Heluo area, rather than for defense inside Heluo.

The same is true for Taigu Pass.

The control of Hangu Pass by the Cavalry Army meant that they had the initiative and the advantage on the battlefield. They could march directly and quickly into Luoyang, or they could choose to erode the enemy slowly and bit by bit, which made it quite difficult for Cao's army to defend.

Therefore, Tangshan believed that Luoyang was actually not safe. Like other military school defenders, he thought that Cao's army should abandon Luoyang and preserve its strength, using space to buy time to consume the cavalry army, especially to move the remaining people in Luoyang to Shandong...

As for whether this process would cause harm to the people, similar to Dong Zhuo's relocation of the capital, that was not within the scope of consideration for Tang Shan and others. After all, they said that they were military generals and only considered military pros and cons. As for people's livelihood and government affairs, that was the business of civil officials. Is that wrong?

After all, no matter from which angle you look at it, the fall of Heluo is only a matter of time.

If they defend to the death, there is a great possibility that the whole army will be wiped out, which will weaken their ability to fight against the Hussars in the future. If they can retreat to the Yanzhou area, they can rely on Chenggao for defense and deploy military supplies at close range, which may stop the Hussars from advancing eastward.

But it is obvious that Man Chong, or Cao Cao, did not agree with the opinions of Tang Shan and other grassroots military generals, and did not accept their statements and defenses.

Today, Tangshan is besieged in Taigu. Although he has two divisions of soldiers, it is actually not fully staffed. In addition, about 20% of them are new recruits who have been converted from civilian laborers and have not received much training at all.

"Reporting to the Sima, Zhang Quchang said that the food and grass are not enough again..." The personal soldier beside him whispered, the voice mixed in the mountain mist, which made people feel cold, "The food and grass sent from the south the day before yesterday was only half of what was on the list..."

"Damn it, only half again!"

Tang Shan shouted angrily, but he didn't have any better solution. He wanted to smash the helmet in his hand to the ground, but after looking at it, he was reluctant to do so.

He was a poor Sima without much money. He had saved up a lot of money to buy this helmet. It was solid in texture and not particularly gorgeous in appearance, but at least it was pleasing to the eye and worthy of the Sima's identity.

These days, people all over Shandong, whether capable or not, are greedy for money.

There are a lot of corrupt officials, and this is something everyone knows. The superiors know it, and the people below hate them too, but they just keep catching them one after another, and killing them group after group, and they can never catch them all, and they can never kill them all.

Tangshan looked back towards the south.

The mountains in Taigu are scattered, both near and far.

By crossing the valley, you can reach Yuzhou, Nanyang and other places.

In the past few days, Man Chong sent several military commanders here and captured many deserters.

He followed Man Chong's order and killed these deserters, but...

Tang Shan rubbed his head and said, "Go to the camp in the back mountain and move the food and grass here."

"Sima, that's our last supply of food!" The guard hesitated, "If we eat that, what else will we have on the road?"

"On the way?" Tang Shan smiled bitterly, "There is no way... Military Advisor Man wants us to go to Yique..."

"What?" the guards shouted, "We are in Taigu. Are you crazy to cross mountains and ridges to help Yique?"

General Man Chong, who was standing not far away, immediately said in a deep voice: "What are you shouting? Are you going to disobey military orders or shake the morale of the army? !"

Tang Shan waved his hands and smiled, "It's okay, it's okay, I'm just hungry, I'm so hungry that I fainted..."

These police officers wearing snake-patterned masks on their faces were ruthless when it came to killing their own people. Even veterans like Tang Shan were a little frightened.

Tangshan smiled and left with his personal soldiers.

The older official looked on and said nothing more.

Another young officer stepped forward and said, "This guy must want to escape too...why not..."

The old official closed his eyes slightly, "There are too many people who think about it... If you kill them all at once, then there will be no one in the world who cannot be killed. Moreover, if they are all killed... Are you going to go forward and fight with the Hussars? We are the governors, not here to fight for real..."

The young official bowed his head and said, "I will teach you."

"Keep an eye on them," said the old officer, "Anyway, the order came today, and we must dispatch troops tomorrow! Tonight is the key, if nothing goes wrong tonight, then everything will be fine..."

"If..." the young officer whispered, "then..."

"Everything is done according to the instructions from above."

……

……

"Why are we so unlucky?!"

Although he was out of the sight of the military governors, Tang Shan still felt uncomfortable, as if he was being stared at by a poisonous snake. "Watch your words. Yesterday, there was a fool who said "This war cannot be won" and was killed by these guys as a deserter. His head is still hanging on the city wall!"

The soldiers around Tangshan nodded one after another, cursing the venomous snakes for being cruel, cold-blooded, and unlike humans. But after cursing, they looked at each other worriedly, and then whispered: "Sima, are we really going to Yique tomorrow?"

"The military order is this... set off tomorrow and arrive at Yique within three days, otherwise..." Tang Shan sighed.

The soldiers on the side all looked frustrated.

Tang Shan sat there without saying anything for a long time.

He remembered that when he was ordered from Luoyang to guard Taigu Pass, Man Chong slammed the table and said that deserters would be dealt with seriously and any one caught would be killed. But on the day he arrived at Taigu Pass, the Cao general who was originally guarding the pass left easily with four baggage carts.

Later, as the cavalry army left Hangu Pass, a few people took the military order approved by Man Chong, saying that they were going to Nanyang to urge for food and grass, and then rode fast horses to leave Taigu Pass...

As for whether they will really urge the food and supplies to come back, who knows?

Over the years, who doesn't know that some laws and regulations, on the surface, seem to make it seem that if the emperor breaks the law, he will be punished the same as the common people, but what is the reality? Same crime, yes, but it doesn't say "same punishment"!

In the past thousand years, has anyone ever said that "same crime, same punishment" should be given to everyone?

Since the emperor was not punished the same way, then the ministers and nobles would naturally not be punished the same way either.

Extending this, whoever has the ability or connections can escape punishment. Even when handling certain cases, the Shandong officialdom would tacitly delay the case for three days or longer, under the pretext of following the procedures. In fact, it was to allow these people to use their own methods and find connections. If they were well connected, then naturally nothing would happen. If the so-called "procedure" time passed and no one came to greet or inquire about the case, then the officials in the officialdom would understand and immediately jump out to say that they would punish severely and give an explanation to the people. Then, a large group of fools would shout "Master Qingtian".

As for Bao Zheng, he was trapped by his own personality in court, so he gritted his teeth and beheaded the prince consort. Otherwise, if they colluded in private, the emperor would summon her to the palace for questioning and ask her to confess her guilt without any actual action. Would he still be able to behead her? Of course, it is undeniable that it takes considerable courage and determination to be able to behead a princess, even if it is a human vibrator.

But does Tangshan have such courage?

"What is Prime Minister Cao going to do?" a soldier muttered, "Look at how many people have died along the way? People from Qingzhou, Xuzhou, Jizhou... I heard that the ones who were beheaded a few days ago were from Yangzhou... If the fighting continues, won't they all be killed?" "There will be endless deaths," Tang Shan said, "There are also people from Yuzhou, Yanzhou..."

Tang Shan answered subconsciously, and then a spark seemed to flash through his mind, but when he thought carefully about whether he had discovered something, he was interrupted by another soldier.

"Sima, are we really going to go to Yique?"

"How many times have I asked this?" Tang Shan said unhappily, "The military order is like this! You get to choose? Unless..."

At this point, Tang Shan's expression suddenly tensed up, "What do you want to do?"

Before the soldiers around Tangshan could say anything, there was a sudden commotion in the distance, followed by shouting and jeering.

Tang Shan and his men rushed over and found that two soldiers were fighting.

The reason is that when dividing the cake, one is bigger and the other is smaller.

"Dry! 』

Tangshan was so angry that he laughed.

The Cavalry Army was about to attack, and he had received an order to go into battle to rescue Yique tomorrow. He was facing an uncertain future of life or death, while the soldiers under his command were fighting over the size of a piece of cake!

"You have strength and courage, why don't you go fight the cavalry?" Tang Shan roared, "You are all really talented! Talented!"

"Sima," a soldier who had a nosebleed from the beating nonchalantly grabbed a handful of dirt and stuffed it into his nostrils, saying in a muffled voice, "Do you think it's us, oh, except for those idiots who just came, who haven't fought against the cavalry?"

Tang Shan's originally furious mood quickly subsided as if a basin of ice water was poured on him. He looked around at the soldiers who were making a fuss nearby, some of them were numb, some were ignorant, and some were still grinning and waiting to watch the fun. He was silent for a long time, not knowing what to say.

"Talent, what is talent?"

Suddenly a soldier said something.

"Fool! It's firewood! Firewood made of people! Over at Tongguan, boom! Burn it! Human firewood!"

Another soldier chimed in.

Tang Shan swallowed his saliva and impatiently drove these guys away. He did not correct what they said. Are they talented or useless? "Get out!"

Even in Tangshan's heart, he felt that perhaps what they said was the truth about "talent".

People must first be burned, their hearts burned black, and all their branches and twigs burned off, before they can be transformed from "materials" into "talents", and only then can they become the "talents" needed by the management class and rulers.

Tang Shan returned to the city wall in silence.

After a while, the soldiers who had asked Tang Shan before came over again, "Sima, what should we do tomorrow?"

"What should I do? What should I do! !"

Tang Shan suddenly jumped up in anger, pointed at the soldiers' noses and yelled, "Do you want me to order you to escape?! Huh?! Tell me, do you want to escape?! You, and you! Say it!"

At the beginning, Tang Shan didn't understand why these soldiers kept asking him this question, but after seeing his soldiers fighting each other for a piece of bread, Tang Shan suddenly realized that these soldiers were useless.

Including himself.

Who would cherish some waste?

It's good enough to be able to recycle waste...

……

……

Regardless of ancient or modern times, at home and abroad, the comprehensive awakening of a nation's consciousness requires time, organization, and, inevitably, the catalysis of painful lessons.

The Han Dynasty was an extremely special dynasty.

Many great scholars said that the Zhou Dynasty was the beginning of the unification of China. In fact, this was to erase the achievements of the Qin Dynasty. Compared with the relatively short-lived Qin Dynasty, the Han Dynasty was the true unification of China.

It is precisely because of this that when Liu Xiu had the opportunity to choose another name for himself, he still chose "Han", even though his "Han" was completely different from the Western Han Dynasty.

During the three or four hundred years of the Western Han Dynasty and the Eastern Han Dynasty, people got used to it.

Accustomed to the rule of the Han Dynasty.

They also got used to being enslaved by these officials who "represented" the Han Dynasty.

It's like the people in the later feudal dynasties, who got used to the collapse of the ruling class after a while, and then got used to following suit when someone rose up again. When those leaders became the new ruling class, they got used to bowing down at their feet, completely forgetting how brutal the previous ruling class was.

Later, even when foreign invaders came, we got used to it.

As long as the invaders can preserve the "elite" class, the "elite" class will habitually wail for a while, and then immediately begin to paint the new rulers in white and be proud to wear new gowns.

So, do you really think that "long gown" can be worn by anyone?

Man Chong, wearing a "long gown", naturally thought that he belonged to the "elite" class of the Han Dynasty.

Even though Man Chong's original family was not big and could not be compared with those big families, it does not mean that Man Chong can get close to the grassroots, understand the needs of the grassroots people, and stand with the grassroots people.

So what does it matter how many ordinary people and soldiers were killed or injured in Heluo?

As long as Cao Cao's strategic deployment can be completed, isn't it natural to make appropriate "sacrifices"?

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, it was not without opportunities to defeat the State of Qin. All one had to do was to complete the coalition, and the State of Qin would have no way to stop them. But the problem lies here: why couldn't the six states in Shandong complete the coalition?

This proposition is the significance of Man Chong's current persistence in Heluo Luoyang.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there were many reasons why the six states of Shandong, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, and Wei, failed to effectively unite to resist Qin. However, they can be summed up as three major factors...

Politics, strategy, interests.

For Fei Qian, there are thousands of years of historical experience and lessons to learn from, but for Cao Cao, the history he can learn from is only the Spring and Autumn Period, Qin and Han Dynasties.

So how different is the current situation from when the Qin army poured out of Hangu Pass?

Do the Shandong Six Nations have absolutely no chance of success?

Apparently not.

However, due to the differences in the geopolitical interests of the six states in Shandong, although the six states were all threatened by Qin's eastward expansion, their different geopolitical locations led to huge differences in strategic priorities. For example, Qi was located in the east and had no direct border with Qin, so it was more concerned about border disputes with Zhao and Yan; and although Chu had a vast territory, its southern territories were underdeveloped, and its competition with Qin in Hanzhong and Bashu often caused it to oscillate between war and peace; although the Three Jins bordered Qin and were the most threatened, they often attacked each other due to territorial disputes and could not cooperate effectively.

Especially as the monarchs of the six countries, they generally lacked strategic vision and often gave up the alliance for the sake of immediate interests. This was not a problem that only one country had, but that the princes of many countries had committed. Wei had made peace with Qin several times to compete for the land west of the Yellow River. Chu turned to self-protection after the disastrous defeat in the battles of Danyang and Lantian. After Qi destroyed Song, it led to the five countries attacking Qi, and then it completely turned against Qin and withdrew from the anti-Qin alliance and stopped playing...

At the same time, the six states in Shandong also lacked a unified command mechanism. Most of the alliances formed were temporary military alliances, with no common financial support and no unified command system. The crisis of trust and historical grievances also became one of the factors that led to the split of the six states. After achieving certain victories, the alliances often broke up quickly due to reasons such as unequal distribution of spoils.

All these lessons learned from the failure of the Shandong Six Kingdoms' alliance during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period became the basis for the implementation of Cao Cao's current grand strategy.

In order to defeat Fei Qian, Cao Cao realized from the beginning that it would be difficult to accomplish this task relying solely on the Cao army, or the Cao and Xiahou families, so he began to plan to change his strategy. The most likely option was undoubtedly that Cao Cao would become the second Mengchangjun and the de facto commander of the six states in Shandong, rather than just representing the interests of the Cao and Xiahou families. This would require the cooperation and compromise of the gentry in Shandong.

During this process, some people will naturally vote for Fei Qian, but Cao Cao also hopes that some people will stand firmly on his side...

And Heluo is the place that promoted this fission.