Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3723 They broke my axe and chipped my halberd.

The residence of the General of the Cavalry.

The news gathered from various channels, like rivers flowing into the sea, eventually transformed into documents and reports, some concise and some lengthy, which were presented to Fei Zhen, who remained in Chang'an to handle affairs in the rear.

The saying goes that children from poor families mature early, but more accurately, it should be said that children under a lot of pressure mature early.

Impoverished family environments are naturally accompanied by more and more pressing survival pressures, including but not limited to economic hardship, resource scarcity, unstable living conditions, and parents who may be too busy making a living to take good care of their children. These factors force children to face the harsh world at a younger age. However, poverty and wealth are not absolute standards, but rather survival pressures.

Economic poverty is just one of the most common and prominent sources of this pressure.

Fei Zhen certainly didn't belong to the poor class, but he still faced the pressure of 'survival'...

The young Fei Zhen stood on a high platform in the back garden of the General's Mansion.

The view from here is expansive, offering a panoramic vista of Chang'an City, both near and far.

The high platform in the back garden of the General's Mansion is built of thick bluestone and is about three stories high.

Fei Zhen stood alone on the edge of the platform, leaning on the railing and gazing into the distance.

The evening breeze carried a chill, lifting the hem of his dark blue robe.

His gaze, with the liveliness unique to a young man and a hint of caution from someone newly assuming power, slowly swept over the capital city before him, which belonged to his father and had recovered from its ruins and was now on the path to prosperity.

Chang'an, once prosperous, was also once desolate.

Fei Zhen watched and listened quietly.

The servants in the backyard would occasionally walk along the corridor and couldn't help but steal a glance at Fei Zhen's figure before lowering their heads and tiptoeing, afraid of disturbing her.

Inside the mansion, the figures of patrolling guards moved rhythmically between the corridors and sentry posts. Their armor occasionally reflected cold, hard spots of light in the setting sun, and the faint sound of footsteps carried a reassuring rhythm.

Beyond the sturdy walls of the general's mansion lies the official residence.

The minor officials were busy going in and out of the government office, even though it was already dusk.

Beyond the official residence were rows of neighborhoods.

The city walls were tall and thick, like the grid lines on a chessboard, dividing the vast city into relatively independent units.

As it was already dusk, many pedestrians and carriages gathered at the gate of the neighborhood, like a small stream flowing into the neighborhood, only to be quickly blocked by the high walls.

On the top of the ward wall, the figures of ward guards responsible for keeping watch could be seen moving around from time to time.

This is the skeleton of Chang'an City, the order that my father worked hard to restore, which contained the past chaos and displacement within a controllable range.

The everyday life of the city flowed slowly across Fei Zhen's pupils.

It's like the beating pulse of Chang'an.

Although Fei Zhen couldn't see the details of the vendors in the market, she could see a vast expanse of rooftops and the smoke rising from them, which was much denser than that from the residential areas.

That is proof that the stoves in the restaurants and taverns in the city never went out, day and night.

Although many people in the Han Dynasty eat two meals a day, there is no requirement for everyone to eat at a specific time...

The flow of people is like a tiny ant colony, slowly moving, gathering, and dispersing among the crisscrossing streets.

Further away, the Caohe Wharf can be vaguely seen, with several cargo ships slowly loading and unloading, like black dots on the water.

Fei Zhen could imagine the hustle and bustle there: the shouts of the merchants, the rumble of carts and horses, the heavy breathing of the porters, and the muffled thuds of goods colliding, all mixed together. When it reached him, it had been filtered by the wind and distance, leaving only a blurry and distant buzzing background sound, like the breathing of the earth when it was asleep.

Further away, there is a blurred boundary.

As the line of sight stretches out, beyond the rooftops of more low-lying, densely packed neighborhoods, the edge of the city gradually merges into the pale yellow of a field.

The lines of the field ridges are faintly discernible, like engravings on the earth, and further away are the silhouettes of mountains shrouded in smoke, their outlines hazy...

Oh, the world...

Fei Zhen turned slightly in one direction, gazing at the vast, silent shadow between the gray and yellow expanse and the boundless expanse...

Those are the ruins of Weiyang Palace.

Fei Zhen visited Weiyang Palace many times.

The once magnificent palace complex, a symbol of supreme imperial power, has long lost its former glory due to years of war and the erosion of time. Many palaces are now just ruins, with charred beams reaching for the sky and weeds growing tenaciously between the broken bricks and stones.

The afterglow of the setting sun painted this vast ruin with a mournful golden-red hue, further highlighting its vicissitudes and desolation.

The massive rammed earth platform, like the spine of a wounded beast, stubbornly rises above the horizon.

Fei Zhen couldn't make out the specific structure of those ruined palaces, but she could still feel the heavy and sorrowful desolation emanating from the ruins.

It is like a huge scar, branded on the body of Chang'an City, and also on the Han Dynasty.

Once the wound heals, people often forget the pain.

Fei Zhen gazed silently at the ruins.

She could almost hear her father Fei Qian's deep, resolute voice, "Zhen'er, what did you see? Was it the glory of the previous dynasty, or the crumbling ruins? It is, in fact, a scar. A scar of the Han Dynasty..."

Fei Qian gazed at the ruins. 'The wounds heal, the scars remain, but most people won't remember the pain they felt at the time.'

Fei Zhen remembered him telling Fei Qian that he would remember...

At that time, Fei Zhen was just answering subconsciously, but now he understands a little better what his father Fei Qian meant.

Fei Zhen stood quietly, watching.

The order within the mansion, the smoke and fire in the streets, the bustling canal transport, the vitality of the fields, and the Weiyang Ruins that symbolize the empire's glory and collapse...

Together they form a vast and complex picture.

He witnessed the gradual recovery of Guanzhong under his father's rule, and he also saw the old farmers on the banks of the Wei River worrying about grain prices; he saw the scholars in Chang'an eagerly pursuing official positions, and he also saw the naked speculative desires in the eyes of the wealthy merchants in Pingyang; and he saw the cold casualty figures in the military reports...

For the father and the soldiers on the front lines, the joy of victory might be the achievement of strategic goals, a crucial step towards the ultimate objective.

But when the news reached the rear and touched the hearts of different people, it evoked completely different reactions.

Some saw the dawn of an end to the war, some saw a ladder to success, and some saw a golden opportunity for speculation.

Duke of Jin? Nine Bestowments?
In these Shandong regions, the same tricks that the powerful ministers of the Han Dynasty played to death were repeatedly performed in Weiyang Palace.

But so what?
What is the state of Weiyang Palace now?

What became of those powerful ministers back then?

What became of Chang'an, the city that had witnessed countless power struggles?
What the father asked for—

Are these the only ones?

No matter how grand a palace is, if its foundation is unstable, it will eventually turn to dust.

Where does the Fei family's foundation lie now?

Fei Zhen's gaze slowly swept over the ever-developing, revitalizing, and prosperous city of Chang'an beneath her feet, over the bustling markets with their rising smoke, and over the vast, hopeful fields beyond the city walls. Her father's words still echoed in her ears: "The people's hearts are at peace."

An is Chang'an, and it is also peace of mind.

He understood his father's definition of "foundation".

The foundation is not the magnificent palace dome, but the solid platform beneath one's feet; it is the meticulous patrols of the guards within the mansion; it is the peaceful smoke rising from the chimneys within the walls of the neighborhood; it is the goods circulating in the market; it is the seeds sown in the fields. The empty title of "Duke of Jin" that those wealthy merchants and gentry so eagerly pursued seems so frivolous and laughable in the face of this real and vibrant scene before them, like trying to build a tower on quicksand.

In the distance, figures toiling in the fields; merchants bustling about in the market to make a living; boatmen pulling boats to their destination on the canal...

My father once said that they are the ultimate force that upholds all prosperity and order.

My father's severe punishment of opportunists, his purge of corrupt officials, and his upholding of the law were not merely for the sake of consolidating his power, but also to protect the "foundation" upon which countless ordinary people depend for their survival. Without the support of the people, even the highest position of power is nothing more than a dilapidated building on ruins, just as even the most magnificent Weiyang Palace could not withstand the flames of war.

The battle at the front has not yet ended, and the foundation at the rear still needs to be strengthened.

What he needed to do was to continue the path his father had left behind, heal the wounds of war, curb the fluctuations in grain prices, restrain the restlessness of the gentry, and be wary of the speculation of wealthy merchants, so that the people of Guanzhong could truly settle down and become his father's strongest support, rather than a burden that would cloud his judgment in the face of victory.

As for that dilapidated Weiyang Palace...

Fei Zhen took one last look at the tragic ruins, her eyes calm and resolute.

It stands there, a warning of the end of the expansion of power, and a marker of the beginning of the road ahead...

A new path, unlike any previous dynasty, truly rooted in this land and its people.

This path requires a more solid foundation, rather than hastily piling up a magnificent crown.

He turned around, walked down from the high platform, and disappeared into the solemn corridors of the General's Mansion to deal with the mountain of matters concerning the stability of the rear.

The thunder in front belongs to the father, and the foundation behind him needs his protection.

This foundation is not on the nine bestowed titles and crowns, but on the solid earth beneath our feet, between the stoves and fields of countless ordinary people.

……

……

The newly captured earthen fortified areas by the cavalry have been quickly transformed into forward bases.

Fei Qian did not go to the earthen houses and wooden sheds where Cao Cao's army had originally lived in the military academy. One reason was that many of the temporary wooden sheds and houses had been burned down when Cao Cao's army retreated. Even those that were not burned down had been bombarded and collapsed. So Fei Qian simply had his men build a temporary military tent among the ruins of the earthen ramparts that had been destroyed by artillery fire.

In one corner of the military tent is a sand table of Gongxian County that is constantly being supplemented and improved.

In the past few days, through the observation and recording of scouts and Fei Qian and others, the city walls of Gongxian, as well as the arrow towers, barbicans, and even the granaries, barracks, government offices and other important nodes inside the city, have been marked one by one and a model has been built.

The tactics that Fei Qian is now displaying in front of Pang Tong and Zhang Liao are not actually something that Fei Qian created just now. During the process of Qin unifying the six states, he had used this kind of troop coordination and exquisite changes in the rhythm of troop tactics many times.

During the Qin Dynasty's heyday, due to the institutionalization of military ranks and the standardization of training, tools, and weapons, almost all Qin generals did not need to consider any minor differences. As long as they were archers, they would use the same type of bow and arrow, and their attack range and accuracy would be consistent.

The Qin Dynasty's system was originally very effective, but unfortunately, it was ruined by the emperors and ministers after Emperor Wu of Han...

Military achievements.

In fact, the concept of "military rank" still exists in later armies, although it is relatively less common, but it is still very powerful and can be considered a powerful tool for crossing social classes.

During Shang Yang's reforms, a clear system of twenty ranks of military nobility was established, directly linking an individual's social status, land, wealth, and battlefield performance. Soldiers were no longer fighting "for princes and dukes," but rather risking their lives for their own and their families' future.

This system fueled the war fervor of the common people. Interestingly, it also ensured standardized weaponry…

The calculation of combat merits is highly quantifiable and standardized, which requires battlefield performance to be as measurable and comparable as possible. If there are significant differences in weapon performance, the same effort may yield different results, and the merit-based system loses its credibility. Uniform training and equipment ensure the foundation of military merit and ranks, while the individual's desire for ranks also drives the consistency of weaponry and equipment.

These two points, in turn, simplify the command of generals and military academy officers. Generals do not need to consider the individual soldiers' "fighting will" or "loyalty" too much, because the merit system has solved this problem. Therefore, military academy officers only need to focus on tactical deployment and command.

Therefore, when facing the enemy, a standardized army can accurately calculate firepower, know the archers' range, coverage area, and lethality, and can accurately plan the timing, density, and coverage area of ​​volley fire without worrying about which volley of arrows will be fired too far or which will be fired too close.

Soldiers could use their weapons as soon as they received supplies after the logistics department, without needing to make special selections, which greatly reduced unnecessary disputes and friction within the army.

Therefore, the military, and the professionalization, institutionalization, and unification of the military, are undoubtedly valuable experiences and wealth left by the Qin Dynasty ancestors to the descendants of the Chinese people. They can free generals from the troubles of details, unlike the generals of the six states who, in addition to leading troops into battle, also had to worry about various issues at all times...

Are the soldiers' weapons good enough and sufficient?

Do the arrow ranges of different units have the same range? Can a volley cover the designated area?

Are the newly recruited soldiers proficient in using weapons and understanding orders?
Are the soldiers willing to fight to the death?

And so on.

The most important reason why the Han Dynasty could not continue the military system of the Qin Dynasty was the enfeoffment of princes.

Only a strong centralized government, a robust state apparatus, and a relatively efficient and incorruptible bureaucratic system can support such unified production, distribution, and logistical support.

However, this does not mean that centralized power is always absolutely good.

Nothing should be absolutized.

Just like the 'power' that Fei Qian demonstrated, it is not limitless; it also has its limits and is linked to production technology and productivity...

After all, a major reason for the Qin Dynasty's downfall was that its system excessively exploited the people's labor after unification, leading to the complete collapse of its war machine.

Fei Qian has now basically rebuilt the military merit system of the Former Qin Dynasty, restored standardized training, and established a career path for professional soldiers. This has enabled Fei Qian and others to use the tactics of the Former Qin Dynasty.

Conquering the earthen ramparts only tore open the outer defenses of Gongxian County. The real tough nut to crack was the main city of Gongxian, which relied on the Sishui River and was backed by the foothills of Songshan Mountain. It had been urgently reinforced by Cao Hong and was still standing.

"My lord," Pang Tong spoke first, pointing to the area around the west gate of Gong County on the sand table, which was deliberately highlighted. "Cao Zilian has just suffered a defeat; he will surely be like a frightened bird, concentrating his heavy troops on the west and north walls and the barbican. If our army launches a strong attack on the main gate, we fear we will play right into his hands and be drawn into a bitter battle."

Pang Tong stroked his beard, his eyes gleaming with calculation. "In my opinion," he said, "we should openly attack the west gate while secretly seizing the south water gate! Concentrate our artillery fire on the north gate and nearby walls, creating the illusion of a main attack. Simultaneously, send elite elite soldiers under cover of darkness to swim across the shallow waters of the Gong River to the south, scaling the weak points in the walls to create breaches! Once one breach is achieved, chaos will ensue within the city, allowing our main force to launch a fierce attack—a truly remarkable outcome!"

Zhang Liao, listening from the side, frowned and said in a deep voice, "Your strategy is indeed brilliant... However, swimming across and scaling the city walls requires favorable weather conditions, ideally a moonless and windless day. It also requires advantageous terrain, with a gentle current and easily accessible walls to cling to. Furthermore, it demands elite, undeterred soldiers... Moreover, Cao Cao's army has clashed with our forces multiple times, and they are likely well-prepared for surprise attacks and night raids. If our elite troops fail to quickly open and hold the breach, we will suffer unnecessary losses once Cao Cao's army reacts..."

Zhang Liao pointed to the area near the Gongxian water gate, saying, "Cao Zilian is no mediocre man; the loss of the earthen ramparts should serve as a warning. How can they not be on guard? This place may seem weak, but who knows if it's not a trap?"

Pang Tong nodded slightly, showing no anger at Zhang Liao's questioning. Instead, he nodded and said, "General Wen Yuan is mature and prudent; your concerns are very valid. This strategy is only suitable for now... However, if we don't use it..."

Pang Tong pointed to the markings on the sand table representing Cao Cao's dense defenses, "Look, these ballistae, catapults, rolling logs and stones, molten gold and oil... Even though our army has the advantage of artillery, if we want to use infantry to fill the moats, build ladders, and scale the walls... the required artillery fire, the time required, and the casualties will be enormous... Therefore, to take Gongxian, we should still take it by surprise and coordinate precisely, that would be the best approach..."

Fei Qian listened silently, without interrupting Pang Tong and Zhang Liao's discussion.

Pang Tong's sneak attack was indeed risky, but it was in line with his talent for devising ingenious strategies; Zhang Liao's concerns were based on rich practical experience, and every word he spoke hit the nail on the head.

Both of their statements were based on their own understanding and experience, representing what they considered the "optimal solution," but neither could perfectly resolve the core contradiction...

How can we maximize the advantages of artillery while minimizing casualties among soldiers in a well-fortified city?
Artillery was a revolutionary weapon in this era, but it was not a panacea.

It is limited by range, accuracy, loading speed, and logistical support.

Each shell is extremely valuable...

Using artillery fire to indiscriminately bombard and cleanse the land, as was done in later generations, is neither realistic under the current conditions nor what Fei Qian desires.

Just as the three were thinking and discussing, footsteps suddenly came from outside the military tent.

Report! Urgent dispatch from Guanzhong, 600 li away!