Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3595: Suspected Death in the Dark Channel

"Is there a fire at the four gates?"

When Man Chong heard the news, he hurriedly climbed up the city wall.

In Han, a city without light pollution, the torches outside the city were particularly noticeable against the backdrop of darkness.

Around the swaying torches, there were the shadowy figures of some hussars.

Is this a night raid?

Man Chong's heart sank, but the next moment he did not see any large-scale hussars charging towards him, so he slowly exhaled, and then more questions surged in his mind.

The first direction Man Chong went to was naturally the west gate of Luoyang City.

Outside the western city wall, there were naturally more cavalry soldiers. More than ten torches were arranged in a rough V-shape, within the range of an arrow.

At the west gate, the hussars holding torches just stood there without shouting anything, which was quite strange.

Man Chong looked carefully and then asked, "How about the other sects?"

As soon as Man Chong finished speaking, he heard a commotion from the direction of the north gate. Man Chong hurriedly followed the city wall to the north of Luoyang City.

Before reaching the north, they heard the soldiers guarding the city in the north shouting at their men to shoot.

Man Chong immediately lay down on the edge of the battlement and looked out, and saw cavalrymen holding torches and whistling back and forth...

The arrows from the top of the city whizzed down and hit the ground with a hissing sound, without hurting the cavalrymen at all.

"Stop shooting! Stop!"

Man Chong shouted.

But the panicked defenders continued shooting for a while before gradually stopping.

"Why are you shooting?!" Man Chong walked up to the North Gate Army Marquis, frowned, and stared at him suspiciously, "The cavalry are all out of the reach of an arrow, what's the point of shooting?! And they are cavalry! Have you ever seen cavalry fly up the city wall?"

"This..." The North Gate Army Marquis was scolded by Man Chong, sweat on his forehead, "I just saw these... these soldiers rushing towards the city gate..."

Man Chong's guard came over and whispered something in Man Chong's ear.

Man Chong hummed, then glared at Beimen Junhou, "Be more careful next time! Look carefully before you shoot! The arrows in the city are not meant for you to waste like this!"

"Yes, yes... I will pay attention to it, I will pay attention to it..." Beimen Junhou agreed repeatedly.

Man Chong stared at the North Gate Military Marquis and nodded helplessly.

Under the "cover" of the North Gate military marquis, the fact that Wang Yun at the East Gate also ordered the shooting seemed a little insignificant.

After all the commotion, the torches outside the city went out.

The soldiers defending Luoyang City were still in shock.

Man Chong patrolled again and found no cavalry soldiers lurking in. He also asked the defenders to throw a few torches under the city wall to confirm. Only then did he feel relieved and returned to the government office in the city.

Maybe it's just a strategy to tire out the enemy?

Man Chong quickly denied this idea.

To tire out the soldiers, the first thing to do is to make them tired. But now, just lighting a fire outside the city and running back and forth twice can make the defenders in Luoyang city more tired?

So, why did Zhang Liao do this on purpose?

Man Chong thought for a long time but came to no avail and fell asleep in a daze.

As dawn approached, Man Chong suddenly woke up from his sleep.

In his dream, he saw the arrow shot by the North Gate Army Marquis again...

Then he suddenly realized something, closed his eyes, and opened them again, "Someone come!"

……

……

Wang Yun's plan was very simple. He didn't intend to kill everyone in Luoyang City. He just wanted to escape, escape from the war, and stay away from death. However, he obviously couldn't escape by himself, so he had to go through Zhang Liao and the cavalry to realize this wish.

Wang Yun was at the East Gate, and it was obviously impossible for him to walk through the entire Luoyang City and run to the Luo River at the South Gate. He also couldn't go to the West Gate where there were more soldiers and stricter control. So if he wanted to achieve his goal more safely and conveniently, he could only go through the East Gate.

Whether Man Chong was strong in military terms is another matter, but in terms of layer-by-layer control and mutual restraint, he did achieve the ultimate.

Those who guard the city walls and those who guard the city gates are not subordinate to each other.

In other words, Wang Yun was only responsible for the city wall, while there was another military officer who was specifically responsible for the city gate.

It is basically impossible for the military officers guarding the city gates to communicate with the outside world.

Even if the military officers on the city walls had the opportunity to communicate with the outside world, they might not be able to cooperate with the military officers guarding the city gates.

Plus, there are always police officers in the city...

As for why, despite Man Chong's harsh suppression, no resistance occurred, or anyone raised their arms and shouted...

That’s because Man Chong has already known the habits of these people in Shandong too well.

As long as the children of the gentry still have some "generous" treatment, at least better than the ordinary Cao army soldiers, then they can continue to live a life of luxury. Even if they can't sing and dance, they will not have the heart to "uphold justice" for the lower-level soldiers after they have eaten and drunk their fill, because they themselves know how these "generous" treatments came about, so in order to maintain their lives, they will not speak out.

Ordinary soldiers don’t know how to speak.

The officials acted in the name of "law" and never arrested everyone. They only arrested one or two at a time, or two or three people a day. Under such circumstances, most of the ordinary soldiers from Shandong maintained that as long as they were not arrested, then whoever was unlucky enough to be arrested would be arrested. Even if they protested, no one would follow the person who protested!

The vast majority of soldiers from Shandong Province were hoping that others would charge forward so that they could reap the benefits from behind.

If someone fights for them, they will shout a few words on the sidelines, and then they will get a share of the benefits gained from the fight just because they shouted a few words. However, if any problems arise because of the fight, they will immediately say that they only shouted a few words and did nothing, so the guilt has nothing to do with them.

There are many smart people like this in Shandong, so why would Man Chong be afraid of someone rising up in rebellion?

The less people take the lead in resisting, the less voice there will be.

The quieter the voice, the less resistance there will be.

If you don't explode in silence, you will die in silence.

Wang Yun did not want to die, but under the inspection of the police, he could not leave his post too far, so the secret canal at the east gate became the only escape route Wang Yun finally came up with after much deliberation.

If the Hussars could get in, then he could escape.

If the Hussars couldn't break in, he wouldn't have brought his men to attack the city gate.

It's a very simple truth. The only people who can really follow Wang Yun are a few people, including the cook Junxiao. The others just follow to join in the fun when there are benefits, but once there is any sign of trouble, they will immediately fly away.

So, when Wang Yun saw that the torch was lit at the place where he shot the letter, his heart began to beat wildly. He took the opportunity to order his men to shoot, tied the second letter to the arrow, and shot it out...

……

……

Man Chong was in the lobby of the government office, waving his hand and asking the clerk to leave.

After he woke up from his dream, Man Chong summoned several people in succession.

After detailed inquiries, Man Chong gradually had some ideas in his mind.

He felt that Zhang Liao would not be so idle and bored. There must be some reason why he suddenly lit a fire at night. The different numbers of torches at each city gate were probably just a trick. It was very likely that he was conveying a message to someone or some people in the city...

In this situation, who can receive the message?

Could it be those young men of the aristocracy in the city who shout every day that they want to go back to Shandong but are living a life of drunkenness and dreams?

It's possible, but not very likely.

So who could it be?

Man Chong's eyes suddenly fell on the pile of punishment documents reported by the police...

Man Chong stood up, took the documents and files, unfolded them one by one, and checked them item by item.

Suddenly, his eyes fell on a certain record.

"In the east of the city, the squad leader of the Hou Wang family, who is guarding the city, has secretly hidden food and grass..."

……

……

Zhang Liao received a new letter.

The second letter was much more detailed, especially noting the location of the East Gate culvert, the places it passed through, and even noting that part of the iron railings in the culvert had rusted and decayed, and had been resealed with short spears and molten iron...

"Go to the army and find soldiers who are good at swimming..." Zhang Liao ordered the guards.

If you are in Jiangdong, it is a basic skill for soldiers who are good at swimming. Even if you can't swim, after joining the army, you will be able to swim in three to five months, at least you can do a few dog paddles.

After all, Jiangdong’s method of training soldiers to swim was very simple. They just had to kick them off the boat. When they were about to drown, someone would naturally jump in to fish them out. After two or three times, they would be able to swim.

As for those who are still like a weight and are unwilling to learn how to dog paddle, then just treat them like a weight.

But in Guanzhong, there are not many people who can swim.

Zhang Liao needed someone to go down to the water and take a look. However, since it was a culvert, it was dirty and closed. Unless the entrance of the moat at Luoshui was completely blocked, the water in the culvert could not be drained cleanly...

However, as for the Luo River, it is not so easy to block the water outlet of the Luo River leading to the city.

Some of the water inlets on the ground are relatively simple, but those buried underground that lead directly from the city to the Luo River are more troublesome. First, you have to find a good location, and secondly, a lot of civil engineering is required.

Gunpowder, or cannon?

Zhang Liao thought about it and shook his head again.

The artillery, which had been tested before and could easily destroy Cao's camp, was defeated in front of the rammed earth walls of Luoyang City.

Luoyang City was the original capital of the Han Dynasty. The thickness and strength of its walls were several times stronger than those of ordinary county cities. Solid bullets could destroy the city gates and battlements with kinetic energy alone, but it was not so easy to directly destroy the city walls with artillery. So for Zhang Liao, it was always good to have a new channel of attack.

If the secret canal at the east gate is passable, Zhang Liao can find an opportunity to send a group of people into the city, and then cooperate with the outside forces at the right time to capture Luoyang City at the lowest cost.

But all the plans are based on the accuracy and truthfulness of these two consecutive letters...

This made Zhang Liao feel a little worried.

According to the tutorials in the Military Academy, all combat plans cannot be put to one gamble. It is not a good idea to place all hopes of victory on the East Gate Culvert.

Moreover, Zhang Liao also needed to consider whether this was a trap set by Man Chong in the city.

After a while, the guards gathered more than ten soldiers who were good at swimming and came to the front of the big tent.

Zhang Liao opened the tent curtain, walked out, looked over one by one, and then said: "Tonight, I need you to do something..."

……

……

"What? Rotation?"

Wang Yun opened his eyes wide, as if he couldn't believe his ears.

The messenger said impatiently, "That's right! Rotation! The four gates will rotate in three days! Obey the order of the lord! Pack it up early! To avoid trouble later!"

Wang Yun swallowed his saliva and asked, "Then, which door should we switch to?"

The messenger rolled his eyes. "Ah, General, you're asking me? How can a soldier like me decide this? Let's go! I've been running around so much that I don't even have a sip of water..."

Wang Yun finally reacted and hurried forward to pull it, and stuffed something into the messenger's hand.

The messenger then nodded in satisfaction and left without saying anything more.

After the messenger left, Wang Yun began to worry.

The cook came over and asked, "What's going on?"

Wang Yun sighed, "In three days, we will have to change guard..."

"Change of guard?!" The cook's eyes widened, "Then...then...then what should we do?"

Wang Yun sighed deeply, sat down against the parapet, and whispered, "What else can I do? Hey... I can't just disobey orders, right? Now it's all over..."

All of Wang Yun's plans were based on the East Gate culvert. If it were to be moved to other city gates, it would mean that all his previous preparations would be in vain.

Not changing?

Is it possible?

What reason is there not to change?

Wang Yun had a worried look on his face and frowned. He thought for a long time but couldn't come up with any good solution.

The cook said: "Otherwise... forget it... this is fate..."

Wang Yun leaned against the parapet blankly, looking up at the sky.

The white clouds float slowly and freely, stretching their bodies.

"No... I don't want to fight anymore..." Wang Yun muttered in a low voice, as if the fatigue emanated from the bones in his body, "Tired... Really tired..."

The cook stretched his head and looked around, "What should we do? We can't just rely on a few of us... How about we slide down from the top of the city?"

"Do you have a rope?" Wang Yun raised his eyes and looked at the cook.

The cook groaned and shook his head, "No. The ropes are all in the rear camp, and they are guarded by the middle guards..."

"What else did you say?" Wang Yun muttered unsatisfiedly, "What should I do? What should I do?"

"No, then give them another one..." The cook turned his head slightly, "Shoot them another letter and tell them that they will be changing guards... Either do it within three days... or wait until after the change of guards..."

Wang Yun let out a long breath, "Okay, that's all I can do..."

……

……

Zhang Liao was looking at the simple sand table made by the craftsmen based on the reports from the soldiers.

city ​​gate.

The culvert under the city gate.

And the offensive routes outlined in conjunction with the defense map.

Corridor.

The place where soldiers are stationed in the city.

Little ideas gradually come together to form an overall plan.

After investigation by soldiers who were good at swimming, they found that there was indeed a secret canal at the east gate that could pass through.

The railings in the culvert were indeed as described in the letter. Parts of them had already decayed, and they were temporarily reinforced with short spears and miscellaneous iron...

Although a section of the culvert is underwater, if the moat is cut off at both ends outside the city, the water in the culvert will flow out, forming a passable passage. This will obviously be easier than solving the problem from the south gate Luoshui direction.

But at the same time, the moat was under the eyes of the defenders, so if they wanted to take action, they had to take advantage of the night, block the moat with the fields, cut off the water flow, break the iron bars of the culvert, and then rush into the city...

At the same time, such an action would obviously bring about movements that could not be concealed, so Zhang Liao would also need to arrange troops in other directions to provide cover, at least as a restraining force, so that the defenders in the city would not be able to detect any abnormalities in the first place, and the overall plan could be implemented smoothly.

The military school students also stood beside the sand table, gesturing and discussing.

"We can use a wooden cart to transport mud bags and push them directly into the river..." a craftsman pointed at the moat and said, "This way, we can cut the moat in an hour at the fastest...but we need more wooden carts and mud bags..."

"The mud in the culvert can be used to carry hay and planks, and pave the way as you go! All you need is something that won't stick to your legs and feet, and speeds up your passage!"

"Yes, yes, and we can also set up artillery here to bombard the city gate tower, making noise and attracting the attention of the defenders!"

"besides……"

Just as the military academy was discussing excitedly, a soldier suddenly came to report.

"General! Another letter has been sent from inside the city!"

……

……

Under the dim light, the officials sent out by Man Chong came one by one to report.

Like a wandering soul hiding in the shadows.

Among the things reported, some were unimportant. Man Chong did not reprimand them, but just nodded and asked these officials to continue to keep an eye on them...

But when Xu Xianli reported that he saw Wang Yun lingering on the city wall for a long time during his night patrol and that he seemed a little flustered...

Man Chong's gaze narrowed slightly.

Although the military officer at the north gate was also shooting outwards, the guy had been sleeping in the city gate tower before and overreacted after being awakened. It was wrong but understandable.

But Wang Yun has been patrolling the city walls in the middle of the night for several days in a row?

Is Wang Yun so diligent?

So why hasn’t this been done before?

"Haha... I caught you..."

Man Chong laughed slowly, tilted his head back slightly, and raised his chin, just like a poisonous snake that had detected the movement of its prey and retracted its head, ready to spray venom the next moment...