Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3632: The Real and the Fake Camp, the Tricks Within the Tricks, the Remaining Pass and the Remaining Soldiers Are Fearful

Jiang Jiong's men captured several Cao army deserters.

In other words, they were not captured, but these Cao army deserters voluntarily surrendered to them.

Jiang Jiong asked these Cao army soldiers some questions in detail, but unfortunately, these Cao army soldiers could not provide much information. It was not that these Cao army soldiers concealed something, but on the one hand, the information level that these Cao army soldiers could access was not high, and on the other hand, even if they had access, they might not be able to describe it accurately due to their cultural level.

This is like asking primary school students to write a paper. Even if there are some geniuses who can write well, the vast majority of ordinary people will definitely have incoherent writing and no logic at all.

The same was true for the Cao army soldiers who came to surrender.

Some of the things they told needed to be processed again by Jiang Jiong before they could be turned into understandable information.

The Cao army soldiers retreated, but Jiang Jiong's expression did not become relaxed and happy. Instead, his brows were frowned, as if he was thinking about something.

"Captain...are you suspecting that Cao's army is cheating?" asked Jiang Jiong's trusted confidant.

Most of the time, these close confidants act as "temporary staff" and sometimes even have multiple identities.

Some superiors don't like people around them to talk too much, but at the same time, there are also some people who like to brainstorm. Jiang Jiong was born in Longxi, so he also has some of the habits of the Hu people. He doesn't pay too much attention to the strict hierarchy and the need to show his majesty all the time. He allows his confidants to speak directly about whatever they think of.

"Not sure." Jiang Jiong looked at the map, "I'm wondering whether to take the risk."

"Risk?" the confidant asked, "Didn't the Cao army lose its morale and secretly flee?"

Jiang Jiong didn't look up, still looking at the map, "Didn't you just hear them say that they were just a small team, and the others were still in the camp? Also... I was wondering why the Cao army had been quiet for the past few days, and then suddenly someone escaped..."

Unlike those all-knowing keyboard warriors, the information most people receive is not complete.

"What the captain means is that it is possible that they want to lure us into attacking?" Jiang Jiong's confidant asked.

"As for infantry, we have advantages in terms of fighting after we set up our formation." Jiang Jiong said, "Originally, we can fight when we want to fight and retreat when we want to retreat. They can neither advance nor retreat. But if... the Military Academy said, "Military conflict is beneficial, but military conflict is dangerous", then this Cao army camp... think about it first. If we take it down, come on, tell me, what are the benefits?"

"If we can take it down..." said the confidant, "we can destroy part of Cao's army, and then they will retreat. If we hit them harder, we can defeat them."

"Can we destroy them all?" Jiang Jiong asked.

The confidant hesitated for a moment, "We have fewer people. If Cao's army is dispersed... it will be difficult."

Jiang Jiong shook his head. "Even if we have twice as many people... in this kind of terrain..."

After a pause, Jiang Jiong continued, "Then on the other hand, if we don't fight, what will we lose? An opportunity? Do we really need such an opportunity?"

"This..." The confidant didn't know what to say.

Jiang Jiong recalled the defeat he suffered at Black Stone Pass when he was a vanguard.

Zhu Ling said that he would seize the opportunity...

As a result, Cao's army seized the opportunity.

There are many gullies below the southern foot of Taihang Mountain.

If Cao's army continued to run along the official road, the cavalry would still have some means of operation. However, if Cao's army ran into the mountains and hid in the ravines, it would be difficult for Jiang Jiong to chase them, nor was it right to not chase them.

"Captain, then we... we do nothing?" the confidant couldn't help but ask.

Jiang Jiong smiled, "It's not that we won't do it, but we can't rush. Why should we rush? Shouldn't Cao's army be more anxious after such a thing happened? "If we mobilize the army to fight for advantage, we will not be able to win in time; if we abandon the army to fight for advantage, the baggage will be wasted." As long as we can hold our ground, what can Cao's army do to us? "

The confidant asked, "So now we..."

"Send the scout team here!"

Jiang Jiong gave the order.

"Captain, what do you want me to do?"

Not long after, the scout team arrived.

Jiang Jiong nodded and said, "Send more people immediately to Cao's camp to investigate further! But be careful and don't reveal your whereabouts!"

"Yes!" The scout team led the order and left.

Jiang Jiong watched the scout team leave, then his eyes fell back on the map.

……

……

Cheng Yu wants to turn the situation around.

There is a small village on the north side of the river and south of Taihang Mountain.

Like most villages in the valleys, this village cannot support too many people. Originally, there were about twenty families living there, and they carved out some fields between the valleys and the rocks. They planted some crops, raised some livestock, occasionally went into the mountains to hunt wild animals, and went to the big river to fish. Of course, this kind of life cannot be compared with the life of feasting and revelry in later generations, but it is also more comfortable.

But now in this village, like other villages that have suffered from war, there are no longer civilians holding hoes, only soldiers holding swords and guns.

They were the Cao army that had just arrived here to ambush, and they were the main force that Cheng Yu withdrew from the Cao army camp.

Cheng Yu was in the army, and he knew how dangerous it would be if deserters appeared in the army and could not be controlled, and how serious the harm would be, so he wanted to deal with those military schools, but unfortunately...

He can't handle it.

In the political structure of the feudal dynasty, the scope of action of some capable and resourceful officials was not as broad and arbitrary as in later movies and television shows, but was influenced by multiple institutional, cultural and power relations.

Cheng Yu treats the common people, especially the lower class, with vicious, cruel and merciless methods, but once it comes to the middle and upper class, he becomes a little weak and powerless. This is because he has to rely on these military academy non-commissioned officers to defeat Jiang Jiong's troops in front of him, so he has no second choice.

This is similar to the symbiotic relationship between the imperial power and the bureaucracy. The legitimacy of the feudal dynasty's rule is based on the supremacy of the imperial power, but actual governance must rely on a huge bureaucracy. Senior officials often form a community of interests with the imperial power, the nobility, and local tyrants.

Even in the unlikely event that an official wanted to challenge this structure, even with the emperor's support, it would be difficult to completely break the vested interest structure.

Because China's feudal bureaucracy is a top-down hierarchical structure, senior officials hold the power of personnel appointment, resource allocation and judicial decision-making. The common people at the bottom of the feudal dynasty have no power, and even if they do, it is false and can be represented, imposed on, and pressed to the ground at any time.

Even officials in the court shouted every day that the people should be put first.

Another very important reason is the instrumentalization of Confucianism. Although Confucianism advocates self-cultivation, family harmony, governance of the country and peace in the world, in practice, moral norms are often instrumentalized by power groups. Senior officials can cover up their actual corruption by flaunting ethical symbols such as loyalty and filial piety.

The same goes for Cheng Yu, he is just a "tool".

Cheng Yu would never show mercy to ordinary civilians and ordinary soldiers, but he would deal with the military academy and the deputy generals with backgrounds...

It’s not that simple.

It's just like before Cao Cao really came to power, he set up the five-colored sticks, which was just to deal with small fish and shrimps.

Under such circumstances, Cheng Yu had to find a way to win, so he had to "take an unconventional approach". Previously, Cheng Yu thought he had the advantage, so he tried to deal with it with fair means, but now that the "deserter" incident broke out, Cheng Yu realized that the troops he actually led had a large number of people, many eyes, and many ideas. The longer he dragged on, the more disadvantaged he would be.

So after this period of time, he simply withdrew his main forces from the camp.

On the one hand, he could keep these soldiers firmly under his control and no longer be subject to the control of his deputy general. On the other hand, he could also isolate the source of the incident and prevent the main combat troops from being affected by the new recruits from the counties.

In addition, another invisible benefit is that these main combat troops outside can be used to form a surveillance circle, so that the new recruits from the counties and prefectures in the camp will not dare to run out.

That’s right, Cheng Yu used those new recruits from the counties as bait…

Cheng Yu, like most of Cao Cao's advisers and generals, was eager to make achievements, especially when Cao Cao was facing an unfavorable situation. If he could show some ability, turn defeat into victory locally, or even open up a new battlefield and provide a new front for Cao Cao's main force, he could not only realize his ambitions, but also greatly expand his power! The death and capture of the generals of the Cao and Xiahou families gave people like Cheng Yu a new opportunity.

What we are facing is indeed danger, but in danger, there is also hope!

Defeating Jiang Jiong would open up a passage to the west. At that time, it would be a great opportunity to go south across the river to assist Cao Cao's main force in the battle, or continue to infiltrate Taihang Mountains or even Hedong to seek to open a second or third battlefield.

When the Cavalry Army left Guanzhong, it seemed like a divine force descending from the sky with great momentum, but in fact, after leaving Tongguan, it meant that the battle line was lengthened and there were more points that could be attacked.

Small wins add up to big wins…

Shandong is not afraid of consumption.

If they could successfully ambush Jiang Jiong and inflict severe damage on him, or even completely annihilate his army, the morale of the Cavalry Army would be severely damaged, and Cheng Yu could also obtain the war horses that Cao's army was extremely short of from Jiang Jiong's army!
By the time……

There is hope for salted fish too.

Even if you are a cow or a horse, aren't you still hanging a carrot?
And the key point is that the previous battles of the Cavalry have been studied repeatedly by the people of Shandong. They believe that the Cavalry likes to use speed to defeat the slow and the few to defeat the many. They have a great preference for surprise attacks, night attacks, and all kinds of attacks. Therefore, if Jiang Jiong knew that there was a problem in Cao’s camp, he would most likely launch a sneak attack!
By then, it will be hard to say who will be the prey.

Cheng Yu sat under a tree, looking into the distance, as if he was thinking of something, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

……

……

To the north of the river, when Jiang Jiong and Cheng Yu were fighting each other with wits and courage, the most brutal moment also came at the Black Stone Pass in the Heluo area.

Fei Qian brought a lot of troops from Chang'an, not only to provide reinforcements to the front line, but most importantly, he brought a lot of craftsmen and equipment. In addition, the commanding general on the front line was replaced by Zhang Liao, and Heishi Pass suddenly fell into the most difficult moment.

Although artillery is very powerful at present, due to the problem of the number of shells and gunpowder, Fei Qian, Zhang Liao and others discussed and decided to use relatively traditional siege equipment to start the battle.

Although Cao's army had been preparing at Heishi Pass for a long time, it was still a small pass and could not be compared with important passes such as Sishui Pass. Therefore, when Zhang Liao deployed the catapults along the mountain line, Heishi Pass could only fall into a passive situation of being beaten.

The stone bullets that fall from time to time may not be dense enough, but their power should not be underestimated.

No matter what is hit, it is basically a devastating blow.

The city walls and houses inside the pass were also destroyed by stone bullets.

Many Cao's soldiers were also hit by stone bullets and died.

Even if Cao's soldiers hid in the city or under a relatively solid bunker, they might not be able to completely avoid the attack, because Zhang Liao would throw some kerosene bombs from time to time...

The effect of kerosene bombs is even more terrifying. Often an entire area is burned directly, turning both the living and the dead into charcoal.

Cao Zhang prevented two counterattacks, but even if Cao's army rushed out of the city gate and passed the shooting range of long-range weapons such as arrow rain and crossbow carts, they still had to face the well-rested cavalry horses.

Although these Cao army suicide squads charged forward with the determination to die every time, they were still unable to break the formation. They were like the water in a river, trying to hit the huge rocks on the shore. Although they stirred up waves, they could not move the rocks at all.

Due to the location of the mountain line, Zhang Liao was unable to deploy dozens of catapults at once. However, even with just over a dozen catapults, the Cao army soldiers in Black Stone Pass suffered terribly and were under great pressure.

Even though Cao Zhang later built some shield carts to protect the city walls and key areas, he still failed to solve the situation of being beaten in vain. Over the next few days, hundreds of people were killed or injured. This was undoubtedly a large number for a garrison of less than 2,000 people.

Although Zhang Liao had not yet launched the final attack, the fall of Black Stone Pass was only a matter of time. Facing Zhang Liao's bullying tactics, Cao Zhang thought hard but could not find any good way to deal with it.

Time, time is the key to everything.

Although Cao Zhang blocked a wave of attacks from Jiang Jiong and Zhu Ling at Heishi Pass, it was far from enough.

Cao Cao's deployment in Gong County requires a certain amount of time, otherwise it will be easy for someone to find out the flaws...

Now the progress in other directions is unfavorable. Cheng Yu in Hedong can't make any progress, and the Cao army troops in Yique Pass and Taigu Pass are also just wandering around in place, failing to cause much trouble or obstacles to Fei Qian.

This allows Fei Qian and Zhang Liao to focus all their energy on Black Stone Pass!

If they could not hold on to Heishi Pass, once the Cavalry Army poured into Gong County, those things that had not been concealed in time would more or less reveal some traces. And considering the intelligence of the Cavalry General and his men, Cao Zhang did not dare to bet that they would turn a blind eye to some abnormal traces.

The reason why a conspiracy is a conspiracy is that it cannot be exposed. Once exposed, all efforts will be in vain.

Cao Zhang understood this, and Cao Cao also realized it, so he sent reinforcements to Heishi Pass again.

But they couldn't deal with the catapults of the Hussars outside the Black Rock Pass. No matter how many reinforcements came, they would be tortured and consumed...

Cao Zhang had no choice but to prepare the suicide squad again.

The setting sun was as red as blood, and the young men of Qiao County lined up in the ruined parade ground in Guancheng.

The original high platform in the parade ground had been burned down in the attack of kerosene bombs, leaving only a few broken bricks and tiles, and the Cao army flag that had been re-inserted on it.

Cao Zhang personally distributed Qingyan linen cloth to these death squad soldiers.

This kind of linen is used to wrap corpses.

According to Han etiquette, when a family member dies, if no shroud is prepared in advance, the body will be wrapped in this kind of linen and buried.

Every Cao soldier who received the linen either tied it on his head or wrapped it around his waist.

From this moment on, they are already a "corpse"...

"You all..."

Cao Zhang's voice was choked with sobs. "You all followed my lord to conquer Xuzhou and fight at Guandu... Today, you will go to the battle, and your names will be returned to the roster and your titles will be added..."

Most of these are elite.

The Death Squad was initially composed of death row inmates, criminals, and troublemakers who had violated military law in the barracks.

However, the suicide squad is also a kind of "consumable", just like the artillery shells of the Hussars outside the Black Stone Pass, the more they are used, the less they are. Now that Cao Zhang is organizing a suicide squad again, he can only choose from the elite.

Cao Zhang looked at them one by one, and he suddenly remembered when he was a child and followed his father in the army. In his free time, he would follow these Qiao County boys to climb in the wild, pick wild fruits, and go to the river to fish.

Now these Qiao County boys, with kerosene cans on their backs and hemp ropes wedged deep into the gaps in their armor, looked like three animals tied to an altar...

"If we can get a reward, everyone will be promoted three levels!" Cao Zhang said in a hoarse voice, his throat hoarse from days of fighting, the smell of rust surging.

"Major General! We'll talk about promotion and reward when you give us your order..." The older captain of the death squad took a step forward and said, "We are not afraid of death, we just ask you not to follow Yuan's example!"

"Yuan?" Cao Zhang was stunned.

"Back then, there were many Nanyang disciples of the Yuan family who fought on the battlefield..." The elder captain said in a low voice, "When Yuan Benchu ​​was in power, the Nanyang disciples were not as good as the Ji people, and treated the Yuan family... How many of them remembered the bravery of Nanyang?"

"How dare you!" The guards behind Cao Zhang heard what the death-defying captain meant and shouted, "You are all..."

Cao Zhang raised his arm to stop the guards from scolding him, and then said: "From today on, all of you will be recorded as garrison commanders and put on record in the military records! The food and clothing for the elderly at home will also be distributed according to the garrison commander's position! When you return with success, you will be rewarded!"

The death squad leader looked around and took the lead in bowing before Cao Zhang, "Thank you, Major General!"

"Thank you, Major General!"

At three o'clock in the morning, Cao Zhang couldn't help but smile bitterly when he saw the death-defying captain leading his men to climb up the cliff on the side of Black Stone Pass.

These are all people from Qiao County!
Back then, he had mocked the Major-General of Hussars for being so helpless that he could only win by surprise attack.

nowadays……