Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3692 Honey Dates Devour the Granary, Burning the Fire; Woodworms Eat Away the False Beams
Cao Cao has fallen ill again these past two days.

My chronic headache.

After resting for a day or two, Cao Cao finally removed the bandage from his forehead, but this did not mean that he was now at ease.

Although the headache did not weaken Cao Cao's will, it made it difficult for him to handle more complex and numerous related matters in the following days. Even so, after a few days of delay, reports on the loss of money and provisions piled up on his desk.

Cao Cao looked at the report on the loss of grain and fodder, but did not fly into a rage.

Or rather, Cao Cao was already beyond furious.

They've even become somewhat numb.

Just like how breaking up with your first love is heartbreaking, but after many breakups, your tears dry up before you even finish a cigarette.

Cao Cao simply watched in silence, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table, producing a dull "tap, tap" sound, as if he were weighing the weight of each word, or perhaps playing some kind of melody.

This is his Twelve Movements of Twilight.

After a moment, Cao Cao asked in a low voice, "Wenruo... why is it that the General of Chariots and Cavalry, transporting supplies from Hedong and Sichuan to Guanzhong and Luoyang over a thousand miles, suffered less loss than we did? Why is it that their supply lines don't suffer the same losses... hmm, 'natural disasters and man-made calamities'? Is this divine intervention, or the will of the people?"

Cao Cao's voice was slightly hoarse from illness, which also made him seem somewhat weak.

So weak that he could utter the words "God bless him."

Xun Yu bowed slightly, his speech steady yet clear: "Reporting to my lord: The system of the General of the Cavalry is neither due to divine favor nor popular support, but rather an imitation of the Qin law's method of 'marking the name of the craftsman on the object,' tracing back to the source layer by layer, using collateral as a form of accountability."

"Oh?" Cao Cao's gaze sharpened, piercing Xun Yu. "My transfer of responsibilities is also documented and checked. What's the difference?"

"Similar in form but different in spirit." Xun Yu shook his head slightly, pointing out the key difference: "At first glance, the methods of the General of the Cavalry do seem like inscribing the craftsman's name on an object, but in reality, they rely on collateral, with each step interconnected."

Xun Yu provided a detailed analysis, stating that the cavalry transporting and escorting grain involved "three escorts".

One of the laborers' pledges.

"The cavalry conscripted laborers not merely for corvée labor, but also to raise funds. They were sometimes given their family's land as collateral, or promised land as a reward after the war. Therefore, the laborers treated transporting grain as their lifeblood; with grain, the land existed; without grain, the land perished. Thus, the laborers protected the grain as if it were their own lives, daring not to easily abandon or damage it even in rain, snow, or mud."

The second is the seal of a minor official.

"The inspection of minor officials along the route is not merely a matter of duty. Their performance evaluations, promotions, and even their families' military merits and rewards all depend on this. If there is any abnormal loss in one place, the superiors will hold them accountable. At best, they will be fined and demoted; at worst, their military merits will be implicated, and their descendants will suffer. How could these minor officials dare not carefully weigh the pros and cons and investigate even the smallest details?"

The third is the guarantee of the grain official.

"The official in charge of transporting provisions has his future entirely at stake. Ensuring the safe and sufficient delivery of grain to the camp is his path to promotion; any mishap could not only ruin his career but also lead to court-martial and execution. Therefore, he must supervise his subordinates with utmost diligence, allowing no room for negligence or corruption."

Cao Cao's gaze grew increasingly profound as Xun Yu continued his analysis.

This is no longer a simple matter of "marking the names of the workers and the goods," but rather a process that tightly binds the vital interests of every link and every individual, including but not limited to land, future prospects, and even life, to the security of food supplies. This forms a powerful, bottom-up supervision and accountability mechanism.

Xun Yu then changed the subject, his tone tinged with a heavy sense of helplessness, "Looking back at my Yuzhou, Yanzhou, and even the Shandong regions..."

He didn't need to say anything more; Cao Cao already understood.

The laborers from Shandong were forcibly conscripted and treated like cattle and horses.

Grain loss?

What's with me?

Take the time to be lazy, and keep things to yourself if you can.

Most minor officials come from prominent families or powerful clans, or they gain their positions through scheming and bribery.

loss?
There are established rules to follow, and natural disasters to predict.

The real benefits come from embezzlement; future promotions depend more on family background and the favor of superiors, and have little to do with the current consumption of food and provisions.

Grain officials like the Huang family had the backing of the Huang family of Runan.

What should be done with him?
Pulled around and moved the whole body.

The future of the minor official in Shandong was not dependent on the smooth flow of grain, but on a certain political need for "stability" and "harmony" between his family's power and Prime Minister Cao!
As long as they don't create a major hole that shakes their foundations, and as long as their family power remains, Cao Cao cannot touch them at this moment.

Therefore, these people only care about conforming to the established rules on paper, and don't care about the soldiers on the front line who are starving.

The above constitutes the "usefulness responsibility system" of the Han Dynasty!
As long as these people exist and are useful for stabilizing local powerful families and maintaining the operation of the rear, even if it is an inefficient and corrupt operation, then their personal responsibility can be blurred, and "some" losses can be tolerated...

Xun Yu only told half of what he was saying.

Even if the cavalry system is excellent, what good is it if no one enforces it?
And the most crucial issue was the "contractors" in Shandong. The grain transport task was subcontracted layer by layer, with each layer taking a cut of the profits. How much was left by the time it reached the bottom? The cavalry could use tokens to hire laborers for the transport, but would Shandong be willing? From top to bottom, nobody was happy!

Cao Cao gave a mocking smile and nodded. "Those with stable property have stable minds…those without stable property and stable responsibilities…only have immediate, petty gains in their eyes; how could they consider the bigger picture? This is human nature…"

He stood up, walked to the huge hanging map, and glanced at the Cao army's defensive lines and supply routes. "After the Battle of Jingzhou... these parasites should be found a pretext and executed..."

He had said this countless times, much like every feudal dynasty proclaimed its call to eliminate corrupt officials. Even Cao Cao felt a surge of frustration, a lump in his throat, neither able to let go nor release it.

Why not kill them now?

Because it is still "useful" now.

This was Cao Cao's biggest problem: he had no one to "use"!
Cao Cao ridiculed Fei Qian's problem as having no one to rely on, but when the mirror was placed in front of Cao Cao, he discovered his own true ugliness!
Having lost touch with the people and the millions of ordinary citizens, he can only resort to bureaucracy, and that is all he can do!
Cao Cao was even worse, more miserable, and less able to make any changes than Fei Qian...

Cao Cao had considered emulating Fei Qian, but his bureaucrats wouldn't allow it!

The powerful clans in Cao Cao's controlled areas annexed land, concentrated it into their own territories, and solidified social classes, making the idea of ​​"people having permanent property" almost meaningless. At the same time, the monopoly of upward mobility by aristocratic families made it impossible to pledge one's career and future to official positions, thus losing its appeal to those from humble backgrounds.

In Shandong, would anyone willingly relinquish their power and wait to grow old and fall from grace? Impossible. Everyone climbs the ladder by stepping on others; the fundamental purpose of granting someone an official position is not for the country or the people, but for their own personal "usefulness."

If it's useful, give it to a minor official; if it's useful, give it to a high-ranking official.

It was utterly ugly.

But it has remained the same for so many years.

Recommendation, letter of introduction.

Favor notes...

Cao Cao rubbed his head.

Xun Yu remained silent.

He knew that the Prime Minister had seen through the root of the problem, but the root was complex and deeply rooted in the soil of this chaotic world and the old pattern of Shandong, and could not be solved by a single battle.

For now, Cao Jun can only continue to fight a life-or-death battle against Fei Qian on this rotten wood riddled with worms.

Soon, Cao Cao and Xun Yu shifted their attention away from the excessive 'loss' of grain supplies...

Because the intelligence from Wen County was also relayed to Cao Cao.

This is absolutely devastating news.

Cheng Yu died, the city fell, his body was hung on the city wall, and the morale of the army completely collapsed.

The cavalry of Hanoi captured Wen County with almost no effort.

The original bait not only failed to catch any fish, but also fattened up the crabs and mantis shrimp...

It's really orange, hemp, and wheat skin.

This news was like a cold stone, weighing heavily on Cao Cao's heart, leaving him no time to worry about any "losses" or "damage".

In particular, the manner of Cheng Yu's death, and the hysterical chaos caused by Cao Cao's army in Wen County in the last few hours, gave Cao Cao an indescribable chill, as if some invisible curse was quietly spreading and rotting.

Before Cao Cao could make any corresponding arrangements for Henei and Jinan, he received a report from a scout on the front line of Songshan...

Fei Qian personally visited Mount Song!

The banner of the General of the Flying Cavalry appeared in the Songshan Mountains!

"Fei Ziyuan... he really came here?" Cao Cao's voice was low, his brows furrowed. "Wen County... and then he appeared at Mount Song... what does this mean?"

Xun Yu pondered for a moment and said, "My lord, the General of the Cavalry has personally arrived. His intentions are likely not merely to confront them at Mount Song. He must have learned of our success on the southern front and intends to use his main force to pressure our central army, forcing us to return to reinforce or engage in a decisive battle to relieve the siege of the southern forces."

Cao Cao nodded, but his expression was quickly replaced by deeper contemplation.

With Fei Qian's main force here, the northern front, Hanoi and Jizhou, will inevitably be vulnerable.
No, Fei Qian must have a backup plan if he dares to come.

Although there were minor victories on the southern front, including the division of Liao Hua, Li Dian, and Huang Zhong, and the encirclement of Wancheng, Xu Huang's base in Jiangling was gradually becoming more secure...

Moreover, those guys in Jiangdong only know how to raid supply lines… 'Supply lines…' Cao Cao squinted, 'There are still supply lines!'

Xun Yu frowned as well, "My lord's concerns are quite valid... I've heard that under the General of Chariots and Cavalry, there are some soldiers skilled in traversing mountains and forests, crossing valleys... they are called... mountain troops..."

"Send the order! Strictly guard all high ground in the Songshan area, build more beacon fires, and station more sentries!" Cao Cao pointed to the Songshan area. "The Flying Cavalry will surely send troops to raid our supply lines! We must be on high alert!"

……

……

Cao Cao's judgment was correct, and Xun Yu was not outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant. However, the problem for Cao Cao's army now is...

Cao Jun's forces were stretched out...

After Cao Cao led his central army south, he did indeed gain momentum in the area of ​​Runan and Songshan in northern Jingzhou, driving away some of the cavalry and besieging others. However, this brought not only the problem of food supplies, but also the extension of the battle lines!
Cao's army had taken strict precautions against Mount Song in the north, but they had exposed Chrysanthemum in the south.

Just as Cao Cao and Xun Yu's attention was drawn to Fei Qian, who appeared at Mount Song, Gan Ning, who had been ambushed but was unwilling to accept defeat, found an opportunity.

If it were an ordinary general, after being ambushed, he would probably retreat and withdraw, but Gan Ning was different.

Gan Ning was shirtless, the burlap sack he was wrapped in stained dark red blood—marks left by the fire in the reed marshes. He took a gulp of strong, pungent liquor, completely disregarding the fact that it was originally intended as a ration for disinfecting wounds.

The previous crushing defeat cost him most of his brothers and tarnished the reputation of Jinfan, which he was so proud of.

He couldn't swallow this insult.

They went against the tide of Cao Cao's fragile and numb logistics lines.

The rainy season provided them with cover, while the laxity of Cao Cao's scouts and the apathy and corruption permeating the logistics system also provided excellent cover for Gan Ning and his men.

When Gan Ning saw the transfer station, which was barely holding on in the mud but stood out because of the mountain of grain sacks, through the rain curtain in the forest, he seized the opportunity for revenge!

There were no sturdy city walls here, only symbolic wooden palisades and a group of exhausted auxiliary guards rolling in the mud.

Inside and outside the thatched hut, one could vaguely see figures moving about.

Clay chickens and clay dogs!

"Follow me!" Gan Ning roared, his eyes blazing with fury. "Kill them all!"

Gan Ning led his men in a fierce attack. The Cao army and laborers at the thatched hut, initially bewildered, stared blankly at these men rushing out from the drizzle, wondering who they were and what their purpose was. Only when blood splattered amidst the rain and mud did they let out heart-wrenching screams: "Enemy attack! Enemy attack! The General of the Cavalry is here!"

Inside the thatched shed, Registrar Huang was smugly pleased with himself as he looked at several newly "polished" loss accounts.

The sudden, fierce shouts of killing terrified him, and the pen in his hand fell onto the ledger, leaving a large blot of ink.

He scrambled out of the thatched hut, only to be met with a hellish scene.

The ruthless and vicious cavalry soldiers would kill anyone they saw.

The mules and horses were startled and neighed, stumbling and crashing through the mud.

The auxiliary soldiers on guard were running around like headless flies...

"Food and provisions..." The minor official beside him was still trying to emphasize that they should protect the most important thing here.

"Protect me! Protect me now!"

Registrar Huang let out a pig-like scream, grabbing tightly onto one of his personal guards, yelling, "Quick! Hide!"

The guard was loyal enough to drag him, scrambling and crawling, into a corner at the edge of the camp, where he covered him with dirty, damp, rotten grass and tattered sacks...

Gan Ning's objectives were clear: destroy supplies, plunder replenishment, create chaos, and sabotage facilities.

Since they weren't after more people, Gan Ning and the others didn't linger in battle.

Seeing that the fire had spread, the defenses had been decimated, and the troops had been replenished with food and supplies, Gan Ning decisively blew the order to retreat.

The cavalry retreated like a tide, disappearing into the rain and thick smoke, leaving behind only a transfer station engulfed in flames and littered with devastation...

Once he was certain the enemy had retreated, Registrar Huang shakily crawled out from the rotten grass and tattered sacks, his body covered in mud and grass clippings, looking utterly disheveled.

He looked at the grain and fodder that were either burned or overturned in the mud and water, the destroyed and burned thatched huts beside him, and the dead and wounded auxiliary soldiers and scattered account books and fragments all over the ground. His face showed no heartache for the loss, only the terror of surviving a catastrophe...

And the feeling of relief that arose almost immediately!
"Hurry! Hurry!"

Huang, the registrar, roared shrilly at the surviving, equally disheveled clerks and guards, "Quickly, find all... all the account books that can still be found! Especially those that record 'losses'! Bring them all to me! Not a single scrap of paper can be missing! Hurry!"

Instead of saving the remaining grain and fodder, we should look for the account books first!

Logically speaking, even though Gan Ning and his men had poured oil on the plants in the drizzle, it wouldn't have been easy for the fire to burn under such conditions. If they really wanted to salvage the situation, they could have managed to salvage some grain and fodder. However…

Registrar Huang didn't care about the grain supplies at all!

He considered the attack a godsend "opportunity"!
All those "losses" he couldn't explain away before, all the grain and fodder he embezzled and sold, all the holes he covered up by "complying with regulations," can now be perfectly attributed to the Flying Cavalry!
The accounts were all destroyed, and there's no way to verify anything with the dead!
While the surviving guards and clerks frantically salvaged the remaining fragments of account books that hadn't been completely burned, Chief Clerk Huang dictated an urgent report to a clerk who scribbled it down with trembling hands: "The transport route was attacked by a fierce cavalry force! The defending troops fought valiantly but were no match for them! All provisions were burned! The account books were destroyed! The losses… the losses are incalculable! This humble servant… this humble servant fought bravely, but was outnumbered and wounded, unable to fight, and only narrowly escaped… Now I am doing my utmost to gather the remaining troops and take stock of what remains…"

He specifically emphasized that the grain and fodder ledgers were "completely destroyed," implying that the losses were so enormous they were impossible to quantify...

He used the fastest horse he could find to send this urgent report in several directions...

In any case, everyone needs to know about his "heroism" and the "loss of supplies".

……

……

News of the attack on the supply depot reached a part of Cao Cao's army that was participating in the siege of Wancheng.

This Cao army force, which was building the siege camp, was not exactly an elite force to begin with, so it had been in a state of semi-starvation due to the slow transport of provisions, and its morale was naturally not high. When the urgent report from Chief Clerk Huang that "the provisions have all been burned and the account books have all been destroyed" arrived, it became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

"No food left! Not a single grain!"

"It was all burned by the cavalry! No more supplies can be sent!"

There's no food left!

"The officials are only concerned with their own well-being and don't care about our lives!"

"We're forced to work ourselves to the bone even though we have nothing to eat!"

Despair and anger are the most easily spread plagues.

The junior officers could not control the situation, and the hungry soldiers began to storm the supply camp, trying to seize the last remaining rations.

The chaos escalated rapidly, turning into a massive riot!
The soldiers ignored the officers' reprimands, shoving and grabbing at each other, even drawing their knives at one another, plunging the entire besieged camp into chaotic chaos!

Huang Zhong, the veteran general on the city wall of Wancheng, initially thought that Cao Cao's camp was "luring" Cao Cao's troops. However, after observing the unusual movements of Cao Cao's camp below the city, he discovered that the towering flames, the deafening noise, the chaotic troop lines, and the listless laborers, soldiers, and officers all indicated that a huge change had occurred within the enemy's ranks!

This is not acting!
"A golden opportunity!" Huang Zhong slammed his fist on the city wall, his voice booming like thunder. "My men! Cao Cao's camp is in chaos! Follow me out of the city! Break through the enemy camp!"

The gates of Wancheng suddenly burst open!

Huang Zhong took the lead, like a tiger descending a mountain, and charged straight at Cao Cao's camp, which was in turmoil!

In the chaos, Cao Cao's besieging troops were completely unable to mount an effective resistance.

Huang Zhong didn't intend to defeat all of Cao Cao's besieging army in one fell swoop. After all, even if it were thousands of pigs, if they obediently lined up to be slaughtered, the blade would become dull. Moreover, Huang Zhong wasn't sure if Cao Cao's army had originally intended to feign an attack but had inadvertently made it real. So, if Cao Cao's army had ambushes elsewhere, then if he became engrossed in the killing, Wancheng would be doomed.

Therefore, Huang Zhong's main target was the wood, ladder components, and newly built battering ram ladders piled up inside and outside Cao's camp for making siege equipment!

When kerosene is poured on, flames rise up.

Huang Zhong and his men decided to stop while they were ahead, and a deafening cheer erupted from the top of Wancheng!

The Cao army besieging Wancheng not only lost a large amount of valuable siege supplies, but the siege situation was also severely damaged by the surprise attack and internal strife, and morale plummeted.

On one hand, they had to collect siege materials again, and on the other hand, they had to capture the laborers who had escaped in the chaos.

Meanwhile, although the problem of food supplies in the camp was partially "solved" thanks to Huang Zhong and Ying Xiao, the fundamental problem still existed.

This spark of greed, ignited by a single jujube, eventually blazed into a raging inferno in Xinye and Wancheng.

The "usefulness" of Registrar Huang has now yielded fatal consequences.

The siege camp, which could have been completed much earlier, is now being forced to be delayed...

The bitter fruit was borne not only by Cao Cao, but also by the starving and freezing Cao Cao soldiers on the front lines, and by the crumbling strategic layout in Jingbei.