Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3649: Frost blades are used to feed tigers and jackals, fake armor is used to fish for dragon bream

April, the tenth year of Taixing.

The Cavalry Army, led by Jiang Jiong and Zhu Ling, attacked towards Wen County.

During the Warring States Period, Wen County was already a "famous city in the world". During the Three Kingdoms Period, because it was adjacent to Luoyang and controlled the river crossing, it became an important place for Cao Wei's northern defense and material transfer. Of course, the most famous thing about this place in history is still the people who rely on it...

Sima family.

But now it seems to have turned a corner, just like the rivers often changed their courses in the Han Dynasty. I wonder who will be the next person to make Wen County famous.

Fei Qian dispatched Huang Xu as the commander of the reinforcements, bringing with him 2,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry, and 500 mountain soldiers. They also brought with them one 6-jin cannon, two 4-jin cannons, and a hundred craftsmen and engineers to support the cannons, plus some baggage vehicles. The procession was huge and long.

At the same time, there is also a "substitute" for Fei Qian.

A "stand-in" is someone whose value only increases as the value of the original owner increases.

If Fei Qian is nothing but a pure commoner, then he cannot even provide the value of a substitute.

Military Sima, Lieutenant General, etc., to some extent, are just "temporary" positions. Although Lieutenant General is also called a general, he does not have the power to open a government office and establish his own subordinates, at least it is not allowed on the surface.

It was not until Fei Qian became the General of the Western Expedition that the stand-in began to really become important.

Huang Xu followed behind the double, watching the double wearing the Ming Guang armor and swaying on the horse's back. He couldn't help but sigh and whispered, "Stand up straight! Damn it, stop shaking your head and butt!"

The stand-in shivered and straightened his back.

In fact, when riding a horse, it is not comfortable to straighten your waist. Because the waist muscles need to exert force to adapt to the bumps and adjust constantly, they will get tired after a long time, so a slack waist is more in line with human nature.

It is just like riding a bicycle in later generations. When you pedal, your buttocks do not swing left and right. However, when your leg strength is insufficient, you will use the gravity of your body, which will cause the body to shake its head and tail and have an unstable center of gravity when riding.

There is nothing wrong with most people doing this, but now that the stand-in has appeared in public, representing the Cavalry, he naturally cannot act so lax that he even has an unstable center of gravity when riding a horse.

The stand-in heard a low shout from Huang Xu behind him, and he immediately straightened his back and neck, looking somewhat majestic.

However, Huang Xu knew that this state would not last long, and this guy would soon relax again...

The mountain road leading to Wen County is ups and downs, and the loess plateau extending from the southern foot of Taihang Mountain has been eroded into broken flakes by wind, rain and water. Therefore, traveling in such an area is like flowing among the mountains, rolling up from the bottom to the loess plateau, and then flowing down from the loess plateau.

Today is the fifth day of the march, and we are still about two or three hundred miles away from Wen County.

Of course, the cavalry army couldn't drive all the way to Wen County, after all, the area around Wen County also needed to be cleared gradually...

No matter where the troops are deployed, the safety of the food supply routes is an extremely important matter.

The marching speed was not fast. After all, there were artillery pieces in the queue, so the marching speed was naturally based on the speed of the artillery pieces.

The mountain roads were not wide, so the Hussars marched in three columns. If they were marching in a relatively wide area, they would march in six columns. This made it easier for them to defend and deploy battle formations on the spot when encountering the enemy.

At the front of the queue, there is another marching mode, in which each squad advances in a low-order manner, and the distance between the front and the back is just the combat area of ​​a squad. If the front encounters the enemy, the squads will turn around without fighting or colliding with each other.

The stand-in sat on the horse, not interested in the military affairs at all. His main focus was on how to fight the pain in his waist.

The roads in the mountains were not very strong and durable. After being trampled by the soldiers, dust was floating in many places and even some potholes appeared.

The warhorse is not fast and cannot be made faster.

The bumpy mountain road is not only steep up and down, but also extra bumpy.

Dust was flying all over the sky, staining the substitute's bright armor.

Soon, the Ming Guang armor that had just been wiped clean yesterday became gray again.

Some dust and gravel stuck to his thick clothes and mixed with sweat, instantly dyeing the clothes into a gaudy look.

The stand-in looked around.

Probably half were Qiang people and half were Han soldiers.

I don’t know how the cavalry are distributed, but these things have nothing to do with him.

Many of these Qiang people were barefoot, whether they were on horseback or walking.

The Qiang people go barefoot not because they like to go barefoot, but because they are poor.

I have been poor since I was a child.

Most of these Qiang people had no shoes when they were young. They were the lower class of Qiang people. After they joined the Hussars, their lives improved, but many people did not change their barefoot habits. After all, they already had a thick layer of calluses on their feet, and they would not be cut even when stepping on sharp stones.

The stand-in was originally an ordinary person, who also had no shoes to wear when he was young. However, after serving as Fei Qian's stand-in over the years, the calluses on the soles of his feet have gradually degenerated.

He went from being a shoeless person to a boot-wearing person, some habits were changed and some were developed.

"When we get to the camp ahead, be careful!" Huang Xu's voice rang softly behind him, "Some people will come to see you, don't show off."

The stand-in didn't look back, "What are you going to do?"

"You don't need to do anything." Huang Xu said, "But there are definitely many people who want to see you in person. They will come to see you for various reasons."

"…" The stand-in was silent for a while, "Someone wants to assassinate me?"

Huang Xu thought for a moment, "It shouldn't be that serious. But I can't guarantee that there is no danger at all... Anyway, the closer you get to Wen County, the tighter your skin will be..."

The Stand took a breath of dust and said, "Why can't we just kill all of them?"

Huang Xu sneered and did not directly answer the stand-in's question, "Anyway, remember this, no matter who you meet, don't let it slip! Don't let it slip!"

"Don't worry, I'm familiar with this matter..."

……

……

Somewhere on the southern foothills of Taihang Mountains.

A few dusty heads popped out of an inconspicuous cave, like groundhogs on the prairie.

The only difference is that the groundhog's burrow is on the grassland, while these guys' burrows are on the mountain.

They came out because they saw smoke rising in the distance...

"This is the smoke of horses and men! There's no mistake!" An older "groundhog" whispered, as if he was afraid that his voice was too loud and would alarm something, "The Hussars are here! This is a large army! Look at the range of the smoke! It's even larger than the previous batch!"

Another person whispered, "What should we do? Should we...should we go up and check?"

The older marmot hesitated, then shook his head after a while, "Don't go up... The Hussars must have scouts around, we'd just die if we go up..."

The other groundhogs were silent.

This is a fact.

The disobedient "groundhog" had died at the hands of the cavalry scouts.

The surviving "marmots" naturally evolved a way to deal with the cavalry scouts, just like the survival of the fittest in nature. After all, even mosquitoes can evolve genes to resist mosquito repellents, so how can humans stick to one method and not change it?
Observing from a distance is the secret of these people's survival.

It was indeed effective, and they successfully avoided the patrols of the cavalry scouts many times.

After all, the distance is so far that unless they do something special or are directly seen by the Hussar scouts, there will be no human risks in their groundhog life.

But now...

"If we don't go up to check, how do we know how many cavalrymen and horses are coming?" someone asked.

The old groundhog gnashed his teeth and spat out a mouthful of thick phlegm mixed with sand and soil. "How much did you report last time?"

"Five, five thousand..." someone whispered.

"Then this time it's twelve thousand, no, no, fifteen thousand!" said the old groundhog, and then stretched out his hand to gesture, "The dust last time... from here to here, right... I said roughly! Right? Anyway, it's not as long as this time, and not as much as this time, right? So last time it was five thousand, this time it's fifteen thousand, isn't it right?"

"So, then...what about the troops? What about the generals?" Someone still asked.

The old groundhog took a breath of dust, then pouted, "Just say you didn't see it!"

"Didn't...didn't see it?"

The old groundhog glanced sideways, "What's wrong? The troops are a mixture of cavalry and infantry! General, I didn't see the flag! What's wrong?! Are you really going to get closer to take a look, and then get snapped..."

The old groundhog gestured with his hands, "Cut off the head? Are you happy? That's enough! That's enough for the military pay."

The other groundhogs fell silent.

"Who will go back and report this time?"

After a while, someone asked, and everyone's eyes became eager again.

In any case, the person who goes back to report the news can at least have two decent meals, take a shower, and sleep on a proper bed. It’s a wonderful thought.

"As usual, draw lots," said the old groundhog, "no matter who goes back, they can't let anything slip!"

"clear! 』

"I know, I know..." "I'll go find the grass roots!"

……

……

Hanoi County, Wen County.

After his defeat, Cheng Yu got a temporary respite.

Not everyone is so lucky, especially since his reputation in the military is not as good as that among the civil servants.

When he was retreating, no soldier took the opportunity to hit him from behind. I wonder if it was because he had guards with him or because he ran faster?

After all, in the military, many people eat the meat specially supplied by Cheng Yu.

Originally, Cheng Yu also thought that this matter was no big deal. After all, it was all for the sake of the Han Dynasty, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, and the wise lord. Some people were not capable, so what was the problem if they voluntarily became food to feed others?
voluntary.

That's a good reason indeed.

Cheng Yu spent the past few days on the city wall. Instead of taking a good rest, he frantically ordered people to build, repair and reinforce the city wall.

It was like a dying beast, waving its claws.

After all, if the city wall has one more layer of defense and is more stable, Cheng Yu will feel more at ease.

But for some reason, after the crazy busyness in the early stage, when he got the news and knew that he was about to meet the hussars, Cheng Yu did not feel at ease, but only inexplicably panicked.

And a biting chill came from somewhere behind me.

Obviously, the chill did not come from the weather.

It's early summer now and the weather is not too cold.

Perhaps it was because of the murderous aura brought by the Hussars?
Cheng Yu looked outside the city, as if he could see the huge black enemy camp surging like a swarm of ants, with fluttering flags and swords and spears like a forest!
He was trapped here, like a turtle in a jar.

No, to be more precise, he was a piece of meat bait carefully placed on the chopping block.

"Bait..."

When he realized this, his dry lips moved silently. The word was like an icy poisonous snake, winding around his heart, and every contraction brought suffocating pain and absurdity.

Not long ago, he was still the high-ranking counselor who controlled life and death.

Decide the life and death of those soldiers who fell on the battlefield, and those fools who "voluntarily" became "specially supplied" meat due to the lack of food and grass...

Cheng Yu once thought that these stupid people would be worse off dead than alive.

In Cheng Yu's eyes, "special supplies" are just necessary consumables to keep the overall situation running, just like crushing a few ants.

Their flesh and blood are essentially no different from fodder and grass, and may even be lower in status.

Because they do not understand the meaning of the scriptures and the greater good, they are born to be dominated and sacrificed.

For the sake of their lord's hegemony and the lofty goal of supporting the Han Dynasty, their "voluntary" contribution is an insignificant and justifiable price to pay.

He, Cheng Yu, is the one who decides who should "volunteer".

But now, it's his turn to stand on this cold chopping block.

He looked at the shivering, pale and thin Wen County soldiers guarding the city walls, and saw that in their cloudy and numb eyes there was only fear of death and a faint desire for the next meal.

Once upon a time, he felt that such eyes were just the humbleness of an ant, but now, he seemed to see himself in the reflection of those pupils——

A person whose fate is also examined, evaluated, and determined by a higher will...

object.

In other words, it is also a piece of "specially supplied" meat.

When I thought about this, the first thing that came to my mind was a huge sense of absurdity and anger of betrayal.

Cheng Yu, a man of many wisdom and strategies, had made great contributions to Duke Cao, but he ended up in such a situation?

This forms a sharp irony with his self-important status and his past achievements.

He felt that the value system he had carefully constructed collapsed in an instant.

How could the fate of those ants whom he regarded as "voluntary" sacrifices fall upon him so easily?

How unfair this world is!
He almost wanted to roar out loud, questioning the heavens, questioning the "wise lord" who put him here, "Why do you do this? !"

Is this glove of his really worthless? !
After this surge of absurdity, there comes a fear that goes deep into the bones.

The shadow of death has never loomed so real.

Outside the city are enemy troops eyeing the city covetously, and inside the city are soldiers and civilians who are in a panic and may retaliate at any time.

After all, there are many soldiers in the city who have eaten the "specially supplied" meat, either his "brothers", "sons", or "fellow villagers"?
Did the look they gave him also hide the same coldness he had when he looked at the ingredients on the chopping board?

He subconsciously touched his neck, as if he could feel the coolness of the blade. This fear made Cheng Yu truly understand for the first time the feelings of those he sent to hell.

It turns out that the meat on the chopping board is experiencing such desperate coldness.

However, just as his anger and fear were about to devour his reason, the Confucian idea of ​​loyalty to the emperor that was deeply rooted in his bones tightened his throat like an invisible noose, forcibly distorting his cognition.

"A ruler should treat his subjects with courtesy, and a subject should serve his ruler with loyalty!"

These sage words now echoed in his mind like a spell.

The lord's layout and the lord's will are the highest destiny.

My lord, he gave the money!

Just like the parents who provide food and clothing, and the second parents!

So, placing him in Wen County, no matter what the purpose was, whether it was to lure the enemy, delay, or even just a cruel abandonment...

There must be a deeper meaning behind all of this, and it’s all for the greater good of the country!
For the ultimate victory, questioning the lord's arrangements is itself disloyalty!
And he must be "loyal!"

For the sake of "loyalty", one must "sacrifice one's life for justice"!
Cheng Yu was struggling fiercely in his heart, and in the end, the twisted sense of righteousness prevailed. He frantically tried to convince himself that his sacrifice at this moment was the greatest righteousness!
Using myself as bait to attract the enemy's main force, buying time for the lord and paving the way for the final victory. Isn't this more "valuable" and "glorious" than the sacrifice of those ignorant soldiers?

His "voluntary" death will make him a name for loyalty and righteousness that will last through the ages!
This "loyalty" and "righteousness" washed away his cruelty towards ants and cattle, and also gave him a morbid sense of sacredness that supported him in this desperate situation.

Yes, a sense of sacredness.

This is very important.

It's just like what feudal officials like to shout, "I represent the Han Dynasty, the emperor, and so on..."

"This is the will of Heaven," "This is the will of Heaven!"
This was no longer the "voluntary" that he had lightly imposed on others in the past, but rather a chain that he had forged with all his distorted beliefs, trampled dignity, and fear of death, binding himself firmly to this mortal chopping block.

He successfully used the Confucian concept of "loyalty and righteousness" to cover up the naked nature of exploitation and achieved self-persuasion.

The way he looked at the ants eventually became the same as the way the higher-level rulers looked at him...

The ratchet of the feudal dynasty's strict hierarchy ruthlessly crushed a heart that once claimed to be "noble", squeezing out the last bit of flesh and blood, nourishing the seemingly noble but actually bloodthirsty foundation of power.

Cheng Yu forced himself to accept this idea.

Accept it all!
As a subject, no matter what I encounter, it is all part of destiny.

Being used as bait is also a test and shaping of oneself by destiny.

To resist destiny is to go against heaven!

Only by obedience can one achieve spiritual liberation and moral perfection.

He tried to transform his fear and anger into a tragic sense of fatalism, and in the process of self-hypnosis and trampling on his own will, he felt the pleasure brought by pain.

Cheng Yu stood on the top of the city wall and looked into the distance. He seemed to see the continuous military camps that would surround the city one day in the future.

Saw his final future.

The anger and fear in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by a hollow, almost numb "firmness".

Firmness, perseverance, solidity, and determination drew all kinds of "firm" lines on his face, binding his twisted soul.

He took a deep breath.

The air seemed to carry the aftertaste of blood, but he forced himself to interpret it as the fragrance of "loyalty" and "righteousness".

"Yes... It's for the sake of my lord's great cause..."

"It's for the sake of the Han Dynasty..."

"This is... God's will..."

"I, Cheng Yu...voluntarily...voluntarily come here..."