Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3703 All Rivers Boiling
The midsummer night breeze, carrying the dampness of the river, swept over the continuous Cao army camps.

Inside the central command tent, the oil lamp cast the shadows of Cao Cao and Xun Yu onto the swaying tent walls, making them appear like two giant beasts trapped in a net.

On the table, several scrolls of bamboo slips, their ink still fresh, were spread out, all of them secret reports about the recent situation in the Heluo and Hedong regions.

Humanity's greatest fear is the fear of death. And within this fear of death lies part of the unknown...

He didn't know when he would die, nor why he would die.

Just like now, Cao Cao and Xun Yu knew they were facing a life-or-death decision, and they would also feel fear.

Especially when Cao Cao felt that Fei Qian was like a "cheater," always getting ahead of everyone else, he felt not only fear but also some anger.

Why? !

"My lord..." Xun Yu said slowly, "The system of the General of Chariots and Cavalry is based on the will of the people... The people of Guanzhong are quite different from the people of Shandong..."

Public opinion represents different things at different stages and from different perspectives...

"Public opinion..." Cao Cao paused for a moment, then pondered.

"The people of Guanzhong, thanks to the system implemented by the General of the Cavalry, were able to breathe a sigh of relief." Xun Yu's voice was deep and clear, tinged with a hint of lament. "The essence of this system lies in providing land for livelihood, reducing corvée labor to sustain labor, and minimizing taxes to accumulate wealth. Farmers who cultivate the land receive more harvests; artisans and craftsmen have their goods purchased by the government; even merchants are governed by the Chamber of Commerce, ensuring orderly trade and not suppressing their profits. As a result, the people's hearts are somewhat at ease, and everyone is content with their occupations. Although there has been war, the people's vitality is gradually recovering. This is not because the General of the Cavalry possesses extraordinary abilities, but rather because his policies are based on the people's strength, ensuring that farmers have hope and laborers receive compensation. Therefore, the people are happy to serve him and flock to him like moths to a flame."

Cao Cao frowned.

Is the logic simple?

simple.

but……

"Looking at Shandong..." Xun Yu's voice deepened, filled with profound helplessness and sorrow, "Powerful clans have risen up everywhere, and fertile fields are everywhere. The common people own less than one-tenth of the land, yet taxes and corvée labor remain unchanged, even increasing! Taking advantage of the chaos, powerful families either conceal their populations or shift burdens onto others, exploiting them layer by layer, sucking their marrow dry. Local officials press them like wolves and tigers; any delay results in shackles, and countless families are ruined and forced into service! Young men either die on the battlefield or are exhausted from transporting goods; fields are barren, and nine out of ten houses are empty. Women and children also cannot live in peace; those who freeze and starve to death lie strewn along the roads… This situation, my lord… my lord, you too have many sighs…"

Cao Cao remained silent.

That's right, Lao Cao's "thousand miles without a penis".

He who loses his people will ultimately lose the world.

The Han Dynasty was originally founded on the interests of the people. The policies formulated by Emperor Wen of Han were for the sake of allowing the people of the world to recuperate and thrive...

But later it leaned towards 'shi' (士)...

Moreover, it has become increasingly skewed, and now it is so deeply entrenched that it is difficult to reverse the situation.

Xun Yu paused, then continued, "Furthermore, in the vicinity of the Guanzhong administrative center, even the sons of ordinary tenant farmers are attending elementary schools to learn to read and write… The soldiers and officers in the army also prioritize literacy… This is a change in customs and traditions, but in Shandong… I fear it will be difficult to implement…"

Cao Cao nodded. "Guarding the mountain, Azure Dragon… Hmm! In the past, the debate between ancient and modern times was thought by Shandong and the Central Plains to be nothing more than arguments about scriptures and prophecies… Heh heh, hahaha, what a clever tactic!"

Xun Yu remained silent.

Cao Cao frowned deeply. "When I implemented the military-agricultural colonies and suppressed land annexation, I wanted to relieve the people from their suffering... but the powerful clans are like centipedes, deeply entrenched and intricately rooted..."

He recalled the powerful families of Yanzhou and Yuzhou who appeared obsequious but secretly obstructed his efforts, and the numerous obstacles he encountered when implementing the land tax reform. He couldn't help but sigh, "I need their grain and fodder, their sons and brothers as officials, and their protégés and former subordinates to maintain order in the prefectures and counties... This is the intractable problem in Shandong!"

Xun Yu also sighed, "The powerful and wealthy treat their tenants as their private property, like cattle and sheep; how could they easily release them? If we were to implement the 'General of Chariots and Cavalry' method, I fear that before it could even be carried out, the world would descend into chaos."

A complex look flashed in Cao Cao's eyes. "However... Fei Ziyuan has solved this difficult problem!"

Cao Cao clapped his hands, as if applauding Fei Qian, "Upon closer examination of his 'New Land Administration,' its ruthlessness lies in the thorough surveying of land, the re-establishment of household registers, and the confiscation of all hidden land and fugitive households. The tenants who once depended on powerful families are now the government's garrison households..."

"This strategy, while certainly not benevolent, is more like a drastic, radical cure..." Cao Cao shook his head slightly at this point. "I initially thought... but now, seeing the abundance of their granaries, the strength of their population, and the superiority of their weaponry... ε=(ο｀*))) Alas..."

Silence fell inside the tent, broken only by the crackling of the burning lamp wick.

Xun Yu remained silent for a long time. Perhaps to comfort him, or perhaps to show that there was still hope, he offered another "answer": "My lord, I believe... the reason why the General of the Cavalry's land system can be implemented now is because... the land is vast and the population is sparse..."

Cao Cao was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, 'Hahahaha! "Vast land, sparsely populated"... What a fine "vast land, sparsely populated"...'

That's right, it's a sparsely populated area. What kind of 'sparsely populated' people?

Xun Yu did not say it explicitly, but the meaning was clear.

Cao Cao laughed, but he wasn't laughing at Xun Yu; he was laughing at the absurd and desperate situation before him.

Even his most loyal advisors were beginning to find their positions unstable.

The pillars that once supported his conquest of the world are now crumbling and crumbling from within, under the influence of plague, famine, and Fei Qian's damned "farming" strategy.

"Governing a large country is like cooking a small fish." Cao Cao looked somewhat tired, rubbing his forehead. "I want to quell its chaos, but I'm constrained by the rotten stove and the entanglement of the old pot... But Fei Ziyuan... he can start anew..."

While I understand, what we need to do now is not something that can be changed by simply understanding; we still need to take concrete actions.

Cao Cao's gaze fell on the map once more. He had to make a choice, an incredibly difficult choice that could be a matter of life and death.

Is it to go all out, before the plague completely destroys the army, and before the gentry in the rear become disaffected, to gamble the last bit of resources and launch a fierce attack on the Southern Cavalry?
still is……

"It seems that securing funds and provisions will be difficult in the future..."

Cao Cao's voice was hoarse, carrying a weariness that was almost self-mocking.

He had just issued a strict order to levy additional grain and fodder from Yingchuan and Runan and to transfer reserve soldiers.

But giving an order is one thing, executing it is another.

Local fortified villages were kept closed, and the gentry, citing reasons such as "the rise of refugees and the fear of popular uprising" and "the need to store grain for self-preservation," paid lip service to the prefectural government's requisition orders. The grain collection officials they sent were even driven away by unidentified local militia.

The number of troops requisitioned was a drop in the ocean, far from keeping pace with the rapid depletion of supplies.

There were very few recruits, and even the able-bodied men who were forcibly conscripted had only numbness and death in their eyes when they saw the hellish scene in the camp.

Yingchuan, his hometown which he was so proud of, was now in a state of utter despair.

"My lord," Xun Yu's voice was hoarse, "Yingchuan...I fear it is already overburdened. Forcibly imposing taxes might...I fear it could lead to internal strife."

Even if Yingchuan in Yuzhou is lush and fertile, it can't stop people from only exploiting one place!
They've all been plucked bald!

The key was the news that Fei Qian was "farming" in the Heluo region, which, like an invisible notice, was posted in the hearts of every Yuzhou gentry...

Previously, they opposed Fei Qian because they opposed Fei Qian's administration of Xintian. However, seeing that Cao Cao was on the decline, if they continued to follow him, these aristocratic families would inevitably worry that while Cao Cao was draining them of their last drop of blood, their original land would also be reduced to ashes...

The three tiers of surrender benefits proposed by the General of the Cavalry also made these people uneasy.

Going up is too risky, going down is too risky, and going in the middle is just right.

Therefore, before the arrival of the Flying Cavalry, how to preserve assets to the greatest extent possible in order to ensure future benefits was naturally the most important thing in the minds of these "people".

As for Cao Cao's wins and losses, what did they have to do with him?
Cao Cao did not immediately respond to Xun Yu's statement. He closed his eyes, pressing his fingers firmly against his throbbing temples. He knew Xun Yu was telling the truth. If the oppression continued, the internal situation might collapse before the General of the Cavalry even arrived.

We must give some 'hope' to the aristocratic families in Yuzhou, Yingchuan, and even the wider Shandong region.

Although Cao Cao achieved some victories on the Songshan front, it was not enough!
Cao Cao took a deep sip of the chicken-broth tofu, saying, "They have a new stove, I have an old cauldron. Though the old cauldron is rotten, it can still be used for cooking! Though the new stove is good, if we cut off its fuel, we might still be able to fight! Once we find this fuel, we can destroy their new stove!"

Xun Yu knew what Cao Cao meant by "firewood"—

This is what Xun Yu meant by "vast land and sparse population"!
The contradictions accumulated during the implementation of the new administration were the resentment hidden in the hearts of the old powerful families who were stripped of their privileges, the management oversights that might occur under rapid expansion, and even the gaps that might arise in the coordination between departments after Fei Qian himself left the central government.

This will be their last chance. Before the increasingly powerful Flying Cavalry completely covers the Central Plains, they must jam the axle of their chariots and remove the fuel from the hearth.

That's certainly true in theory, but can they still seize this opportunity?
Difficult. The night wind howled, as if lamenting this arduous game of chess.

……

……

Xiangyang.

The Han River wept, encircling this isolated city shrouded in war clouds and panic.

Cao Ren stood atop the city wall of Xiangyang, his beard bushy and his once sharp eyes now bloodshot.

The atmosphere inside the city was not much better than that of Cao Cao's army camp.

The towering fire in Caizhou had already caused widespread panic in the city.

Although Cao Ren's iron-fisted investigation uncovered many informants and spies, the seeds of fear had already been sown.

Cao Ren was like sitting on a volcano. Although he used his iron-fisted methods to temporarily stop the eruption, such terrifying methods would either make the hidden ones hide even more or make the angry ones even angrier.

Zhuge Liang keenly perceived this and tried to seize the opportunity to counterattack.

After Zhuge Liang, Liao Hua, and Li Dian met at Danshui, they did not rush to launch a full-scale attack.

This young strategist's qualifications are not as "solid" as those in history.

Strictly speaking, even in history, after Zhuge Liang entrusted his son to Li Yan at Baidi City, he still had to contend with Li Yan for military and political power. He couldn't simply launch a northern expedition or a southern expedition at will...

After meeting with Liao Hua and Li Dian, Zhuge Liang stated that a direct assault on Xiangyang at this time was not the best strategy. Although Caizhou was reduced to ashes, the Cai family's century-long cultivation in Jingzhou and Xiangyang had deep roots and extensive connections that could not be completely destroyed by a single fire. Therefore, within Xiangyang, there were always some collateral branches, relatives by marriage, and dependent retainers struggling between the fear of the city's fall and the lingering attachment to their former power.

Faced with the current situation, Cai Mao had no choice but to put aside his former status as the most powerful family in Jingzhou and start earning "merits" little by little again, thus reactivating a secret channel.

Perhaps it was a Cai family steward who managed to escape by chance, swimming across the moat under the cover of night; or perhaps it was a merchant who did business with the Cai family, sneaking into the city gate at dawn when the guards were lax; or perhaps it was an innocent minor official caught up in Cao Ren's purge, who, in despair, became a pawn to pass on information.

Through the traces left by Cai Mao around Xiangyang and his understanding of the local powerful families and their former subordinates in Jingzhou, Zhuge Liang accurately identified the 'roots' that remained after Cao Ren's fire.

Rumors are always the first to "stir up trouble".

These rumors, like the smallest spores, began to quietly grow and spread in the damp, oppressive air of Xiangyang.

It may have started as just whispers in a corner of the city...

"Have you heard? A plague has struck Prime Minister Cao's camp in the north! More people have died than in the battle itself; there aren't enough bodies to cremate..."

"That's not all! I heard that even the provinces of Yuzhou are refusing to supply provisions. Prime Minister Cao's troops are starving and may soon be turned into rat meat..."

Then, the rumors became more targeted...

"Alas, the Cai family... what a tragedy. Although General Cai... there were so many women, children, and the elderly on that island; a single fire... what a devastating loss..."

"Indeed! I heard that General Cao was arresting people in the city the other day, not even sparing distant relatives who were even remotely related to the Cai family... What a heartless person..."

"Shh! Keep your voice down! But... do you think it would be better if the General of the Cavalry invaded? I heard that in the Heluo region, the General of the Cavalry is distributing land to displaced people and even providing them with seeds and grain..."

"Dividing the land? Really? Then... then what if we..."

Rumors, like a plague, grow wildly in the soil of fear and despair. They are half true and half false, a mixture of innate fear of the plague, dissatisfaction with Cao Ren's ruthless methods, sympathy for the Cai family's plight, and speculation about the faint hope for "land redistribution" and "order." They don't need any solid evidence, and can even be absurd, but when people's hearts are in turmoil, these rumors easily tug at the heartstrings of the masses.

The soldiers of Cao's army guarding the city listened to these whispers every day, and when they thought of the sporadic news from the north about the plague in the camp, no one could help but feel uneasy.

The officer on duty sternly rebuked the whispering soldiers, but deep down, the military academy students themselves also harbored some doubts.

Cao Ren stood on the city tower, his gaze sweeping over the rows of houses in the city, as if he could see through the walls and into the unease surging within.

The scouts' reports and the information from the city's moles all point to the same source!
Someone is secretly stirring things up, using the remaining influence of the Cai family to try to undermine Xiangyang's defenses from within!
A city-wide search is underway!

Cao Ren's voice was icy cold, filled with barely suppressed rage: "Investigate thoroughly! Anyone who spreads rumors or undermines morale, regardless of who they are, will be executed without mercy!"

He knew this was a psychological warfare tactic by the Flying Cavalry, but he couldn't prove his innocence.

He had to use even harsher, more ruthless methods to suppress them, even if it would further tear apart the already fragile relationships within the city.

However, harsh laws and severe punishments can only suppress the voices on the surface, but cannot eradicate the fear that spreads deep in people's hearts and the quiet expectation of "another way out".

Under Cao Ren's terrifying suppression, the air in Xiangyang City was filled with a suffocating sense of suspicion and despair.

Cao Ren could defend the city walls, but how many wavering hearts could he hold onto?

Near a river mouth on the Han River, there is a Cao army water fortress built against a low mound, like a nail in the water network surrounding Xiangyang.

The stronghold was small, with no more than three hundred soldiers stationed there, and was equipped with ten small boats. Its main task was to monitor the movements of Liao Hua and Li Dian's naval forces upstream, and to patrol the nearby waterways to prevent the infiltration of the Flying Cavalry.

There were many such military camps, which were generally used for reconnaissance and obstruction. If the cavalry army came, they would withdraw, since there were boats available. Once the cavalry army left, they would return.

Even if the Flying Cavalry captured such a military stronghold, it would be like a chicken bone—useless. If they left too many troops to garrison it, it would be self-destructive and disperse their forces; if they left too few, it wouldn't be of much use either.

However, these "useless" items are now finding some new "uses".

The Cao army garrison inside the water fortress had become somewhat lax due to the siege atmosphere and rumors circulating within the city.

In the darkest hour before dawn, thick mist spread across the river.

The sentries on the stockade wall, wrapped in thin clothes and clutching their spears, were drowsy in the damp, cold air.

Suddenly, a sharp whistle ripped through the silence!
A fierce black shadow suddenly burst forth from the thick fog close to the water's surface!
Leading the charge was Shamoke, who wore the armor of the Flying Cavalry and still sported a thick bone necklace, with animal teeth inlaid on his helmet!

These white, bony bones and teeth throbbed wildly with Shamoke's movements, making him look like a wild beast from the mountains transformed into human form.

He raised the 'iron mace' in his hand, let out a terrifying roar, and then viciously smashed it down on the gate of Cao Cao's naval camp!

The so-called "iron mace" is actually just an oversized spiked club...

"boom!"

With a loud crash, the not-so-sturdy gate was sent flying with wood chips!

The gateposts behind the gate groaned under the strain, and the gate itself was torn apart, with a gaping hole.

The barbarian soldiers following behind Shamoke also roared like beasts, brandishing short spears and swords, and swarmed in through the breached gaps and several sections of the stockade wall that had been scaled by grappling hooks, like a flood bursting its banks!

The Cao army inside the camp was completely stunned by this sudden attack.

The Cao army soldiers, who had hastily risen to their feet, were divided and scattered within the narrow camp before they even had time to put on their armor.

Shamoke was like a tiger barging into a flock of sheep; every swing of his iron mace brought a storm of blood and gore, and the sound of bones shattering was enough to make anyone's teeth ache.

His fighting style was indeed somewhat unorthodox, but it was full of primal power and wildness, a pure display of brute force.

A Cao army garrison commander attempted to organize resistance but was smashed away by Shamoke, shield and all, and landed bleeding from his mouth and nose, clearly not going to survive.

The battles started quickly and ended even faster.

Under the force of Shamoke's brute and unreasonable attack, the poor water village was completely taken over in less than half an hour.

Thick smoke billowed as the remaining Cao army either knelt down in surrender, or, unable to even move their boats, jumped into the river and scattered in all directions.

However, although Liao Hua, Zhuge Liang, and their men achieved a minor victory, they did not expect that after capturing this small water fortress, they would not be met with a counterattack from Cao Cao's army, but rather with a different group of people...