Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3738 The millet grows thick and green, the seedlings of sorghum sprout. I walk slowly, my heart trembles.

After the bloody shock came an even harsher reality.

For rulers in power, controlling the allocation of resources is almost an innate instinct.

Cao Hong's personal guards took over all the warehouses inside the pass.

Whether it was grain rations, dried meat, bows and arrows, swords and spears, or even the pitiful amount of wound medicine for the wounded, everything was subject to control, and could only be obtained with a slip stamped with the general's seal.

Daily food rations have begun.

It's no longer based on the number of people, but on "contribution".

Their basic food ration consisted of only a small, hard, and chewy coarse grain cake mixed with a large amount of bran, barely enough to sustain their lives.

Want another bite?
Want to change into a clean robe?

Want some healing medicine?

"The team that repairs the west wall crenellations the fastest will receive an extra meal!"

Anyone who reports hoarding of grain or spreading rumors will be rewarded with one liter of fine rice upon verification!

Those who shrink back and delay the work will have one day's rations deducted! Those who repeatedly fail to correct their behavior will be court-martialed!

"..."

Cao Hong dispatched his personal guards to repeatedly read the message at various passes every day.

Even the soldiers knew that this was just a control tactic employed by Cao Hong, but there were always those who were willing to risk their lives for an extra meal.

Just live like this...

Zhang San said, "Look at Li Si, isn't he the same way?"

Li Si said, "Look at Wang Wu, he managed to get by too..."

Wang Wu said, "If Zhang San can tolerate it, why can't you?"

Driven by the desire for food, for the possibility of life-saving medicine, and to avoid starvation due to ration deductions, the soldiers, like livestock whipped by a lash, frantically threw themselves into reinforcing the fortifications.

Wang Qian was in charge of defense coordination. He had to rack his brains and drive his men to move stones, dig traps, and set up barricades like zombies. He saw soldiers fighting amongst themselves for a relatively safe defensive position. When the disciplinary team found out, they confiscated the entire squad's rations, causing a chorus of desperate cries.

Li Gu was thrust into the most dangerous situation. Cao Hong entrusted him with the important task of organizing the disciplinary squad. Each suppression of the disciplinary soldiers diminished Li Gu's standing among them. Although most soldiers knew that Li Gu was the enforcer, they couldn't express their resentment directly to Cao Hong, so they naturally blamed Li Gu.

Li Gu had to resort to his own private stash, along with extra rations he had secured from Cao Hong, just to barely appease and bribe the soldiers. But every time a soldier being tortured screamed or vanished without a trace, Li Gu's heart bled…

However, neither Wang Qian nor Li Gu dared to disobey Cao Hong's orders, fearing they would be labeled as "treasonous" or "negligent in battle," becoming the next Chen Mao. They could only pray that these losses would earn Cao Hong's "trust," or some kind of "miracle."

Under Cao Hong's strict orders and the pressure to survive, the entire interior of Sishui Pass was transformed into a twisted trap.

Leaving aside the traps, trenches, and barricades, the main gate tower inside the pass, along with the narrow staircases and passageways leading to it, became the core of the defense.

Other areas were either abandoned or destroyed, or were modified accordingly.

The streets were completely blocked by various debris, sand, bricks, etc., leaving only narrow, winding gaps that could be closed off at any time.

On the rooftops on both sides of the street, Cao Hong's most loyal soldiers were stationed, guarding the area vigilantly with bows and crossbows.

Large quantities of timber and firewood obtained from demolishing houses were piled up at key points and inside houses.

Cao Hong also ordered people to collect the molten gold and transport it, bucket by bucket, to the fortified wall...

Moreover, Cao Hong had military academy students monitor each other, encouraged whistleblowing, and instigated soldiers to fight each other, shifting class conflict to the personal grudges of ordinary soldiers in order to eliminate or delay the outbreak of conflict between soldiers and generals as much as possible.

Wang Qian was "reliant" by Cao Hong, not only in charge of regional defense but also in charge of "eliminating traitors" within the region.

He lived on thin ice every day, not only supervising the fortifications but also being wary of any possible "dissent". His platoon leader, who had previously embezzled rations, became extremely "active" after witnessing Zhao Wu's tragic death, even openly reporting two soldiers who had privately complained about insufficient rations.

Wang Qian could only "handle it impartially" and handed them over to the supervising soldiers to be whipped and displayed to the public.

Looking at the suspicious and wary looks in his subordinates' eyes, Wang Qian felt a chill run down his spine.

They were divided...

A suspects B of making a false accusation, B suspects C of harassment, and C suspects D of reporting him...

Everyone was gripped by fear, busyness, and anxiety surrounding the fabricated charges, leaving little room to consider anything else...

If you're in so much pain every day, and can only be happy at certain times, why bother trying to understand the origin of your pain? Why not just enjoy the happiness of the present moment?

Cao Hong's strategy was successful; everyone was driven by fear and hunger, becoming cogs in this death trap.

Both Wang Qian and Li Gu were bound to this decaying Sishui Pass.

For these mid-level military officers, the power, preferential treatment, and benefits offered by Cao Hong were tantamount to separating them from ordinary soldiers. Perhaps it was a form of "importance," or perhaps it could be called "loyalty and bravery," but whatever the final outcome, it was like those wooden barrels deep inside the main gate, tightly guarded by Cao Hong's personal soldiers, sending chills down one's spine.

Every evening, it was time for Cao Hong to "announce the good news".

Or rather, it was the moment of performance...

Cao Hong stood on the observation platform of the main gate tower, and shouted to the exhausted and demoralized soldiers below in as passionate a voice as possible:

"Soldiers! We have just received an urgent report from the Prime Minister! General Cao Zixiao has decisively defeated the enemy army at Xiangyang! Over ten thousand enemy soldiers have been annihilated!"

"Lord Xun has once again employed a brilliant strategy, inflicting heavy losses on the enemy army! The enemy forces in Jingbei are showing signs of defeat!"

"General Sun of Jiangdong has dispatched 100,000 naval troops up the river to strike directly at Jiangling, the enemy's rear!"

"The Prime Minister personally led his elite cavalry and achieved a great victory in Jingbei! Our reinforcements will arrive soon! We only need to hold out for a few more days, and it will be a monumental achievement! The Prime Minister will surely reward us handsomely!"

Each time the announcement was made, Cao Hong's personal guards would solemnly hold up a wooden board high to signify the "announcement"...

At first, a faint glimmer of hope would flash in the soldiers' eyes.

It's an "announcement" after all!

But as the days went by, the cavalry camps outside the pass became more and more fortified, and their probing attacks became more and more frequent. The legendary "reinforcements" never came. Hope gradually turned into doubt, and then into deep numbness and hidden resentment.

hold fast?

This is no longer about perseverance, but a hysterical sprint toward destruction driven by lies and terror.

Cao Hong used lies and terror to temporarily seal the cracks in the collapse of Sishui Pass, but the furnace walls of this furnace were already groaning under the high temperature and pressure, and could explode at any moment, burning everything inside the pass to ashes.

The bugle call for the cavalry's final assault might just be the spark that ignites this last hurrah...

Fortunately, the crumbling furnace of Sishui Pass finally received a patch of plastered 'yellow mud'.

That suffocating silence and numbness was finally broken at dawn one day.

To the east of the pass, dust rose as a procession wound its way in.

The sentry on the wall could hardly believe his eyes. He rubbed them several times before shouting hoarsely, "Reinforcements! Reinforcements! Reinforcements have arrived!"

The sound was like a drop of cold water thrown into boiling oil, instantly igniting the long-suppressed emotions within the pass.

The soldiers, who were already on the verge of despair, surged onto the gate wall, craning their necks, and for the first time, a faint glimmer of hope ignited in their lifeless eyes.

When they saw the flags fluttering in the morning light and the familiar Cao family logo, they couldn't help but cheer!

It turns out they haven't been abandoned or forgotten!
All their desires were so meager, so insignificant...

"That's General Ren's banner!"

A sharp-eyed military academy student recognized the approaching general's flag.

Cao Hong practically charged up the wall, his beard trembling with excitement. He gripped the cold battlements, his fingers turning white from the force, his eyes fixed on the approaching column.

Ren Jun!

It's really him!

Although the number of people was only four or five thousand, far less than the large army that the prime minister had personally led, it was like a timely rain in a desperate situation!
This allowed Cao Hong, whose heart had been stretched to its limit, to finally relax a little, and finally breathe a sigh of relief...

"Open the city gates! Welcome General Ren into the pass!"

Cao Hong's voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement, and even a slight change in tone.

The heavy door slowly opened.

When Ren Jun took the lead and stepped into the pass, he was greeted by cheers of relief and countless hopeful eyes.

Looking at the supply wagons that accompanied Ren Jun's army, the Cao soldiers seemed to see a glimmer of hope for survival. The oppressive atmosphere in the pass eased, and even Wang Qian and Li Gu managed to feign genuine joy, at least superficially, temporarily forgetting their mutual suspicion and infighting.

"Boda! You've finally arrived!" Cao Hong strode forward, tightly grasping Ren Jun's hand as if he were a lifeline, his voice choked with emotion, "We've been waiting so long for you inside the pass!"

Ren Jun dismounted, his face weary and dusty, his armor stained with mud and the marks of a long journey. He grasped Cao Hong's hand, his gaze sweeping complexly over the crowded, dilapidated pass and the traces of war on the soldiers' clothes. He could still smell the lingering scent of blood and despair within the pass, and his cheek twitched involuntarily. He squeezed Cao Hong's hand back, "General Zilian... you've worked hard..."

"Say a few words to everyone..." Cao Hong gestured with his eyes, then squeezed Ren Jun's arm.

Ren Jun understood. He turned halfway around and looked at the Cao army officers and soldiers inside Sishui Pass. He also saw the rekindled, extremely fragile flames of hope in their eyes, and his heart sank.

Ren Jun forced a smile, his voice stiff and drawn out, "By order of the Prime Minister, I have led my troops to reinforce Sishui Pass!"

"Oh oh oh..."

Even though they had already seen it, the Cao army soldiers still cheered upon hearing Ren Jun's words.

Ren Jun raised his voice again, addressing both Cao Hong and the surrounding soldiers, "This time I've brought... 500 crossbows, 1,000 sets of armor! 50,000 arrows! Supplies... enough for 30 days! And 5,000 elite troops! To defend this pass with you all!"

"Long live the Prime Minister!"

"Reinforcements have arrived! We're saved!"

The cheers erupted again, even more enthusiastic than before.

food!

arms!

new force!
This is like timely help!

Cao Hong smiled and exclaimed, "Excellent! Excellent! With Boda here, Sishui Pass will surely be impregnable!"

He pulled Ren Jun along, heading towards the command and council hall. "Quick, come with me, I need to explain the military situation in detail!"

However, once the two dismissed their surroundings, they could no longer maintain their smiles and gradually broke down.

"Boda..." Cao Hong's voice was extremely low, "Why is it you... How is Ji Province?"

Cao Hong still harbored a faint hope, 'Could it be... that they've defeated the Northern Army?'

"Zilian..." Ren Jun looked at Cao Hong's thin and exhausted face, and spoke with difficulty, his voice extremely low, "Ji Province...the crisis still exists...and the Northern Army has not yet been defeated..."

The barely remaining smile on Cao Hong's face vanished instantly, and his heart sank.

Ren Jun continued, speaking rapidly, as if trying to pour out this cruel reality as quickly as possible: "The Northern Cavalry Army is reorganizing Youzhou, pacifying the people and garrisoning the area... That damned Wei Yan, Wei Wenchang, is stirring up trouble in northern Hebei... Now Wen County has fallen... and Hanoi has defected..."

Cao Hong's heart sank deeper and deeper into an icy abyss, his voice hoarse: "Then... Your Highness... Ye City..."

"Your Highness..." Ren Jun took a deep breath of stinky tofu, his eyes somewhat unfocused. "Our lord has decided... to consolidate the battle lines and secure the core! Therefore... he has ordered my troops to abandon Hanoi and the surrounding strongholds... leaving only a large force to defend Ye City! Concentrate our strength, first stabilize the foundation, then plan for the future!"

Cao Hong felt as if a thunderbolt had exploded in his mind!
Abandon Hanoi? Retreat to Ji Province? Defend only Ye City?!
what does this mean?
This means that the Prime Minister's strategic focus has completely shifted...

The strategic shift has begun!
Ren Jun didn't bring any fresh troops, but rather...

The remnants of the troops who were abandoned on the Jizhou front and were withdrawn!
It's a byproduct of strategic contraction!
"My lord...do you...want to abandon Ji Province? Abandon...that...that..."

Cao Hong's voice trembled, filled with unbelievable despair.

"It's not giving up!" Ren Jun immediately corrected, his tone resolute yet subtly hollow. "It's... a strategic adjustment! An adjustment!"

Ren Jun leaned forward slightly. "Our lord has ordered that we must defend Sishui Pass to the death! Trapped in Heluo with Fei Ziyuan's main force! This will buy our lord time to break through the southern front of Luoyang! Once our lord returns, we will surely lift the siege of Sishui and decisively defeat the Flying Cavalry! At that time, Zilian, you will be the one to achieve the greatest merit!"

First achievement?

Stick to it?

Delay?

Buy some time?

Looking at Ren Jun's equally tired face, Cao Hong felt a familiar chill run from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

This argument, this rhetoric, was something Cao Hong often used at one time...

He got it.

Cao Hong and the thousands of soldiers inside Sishui Pass, including Ren Jun and the "reinforcements" he brought, all became part of Cao Cao's grand strategy...

Those pawns destined to be sacrificed, or used to buy time!

Ren Jun's arrival was not a salvation, but a revelation!

"My lord..." Cao Hong's expression was not good, and he fell silent.

The illusion of "reinforcements are coming" that he had woven for the soldiers with lies and terror seemed so pale and laughable in the face of the cruel truth brought by Ren Jun.

"Zilian!" Ren Jun grabbed Cao Hong's arm and shook it violently, trying to bring him back to his senses. His eyes held a pleading look. "The greater good is at stake! This is a last resort for our lord! We are deeply indebted to him, and in this time of crisis, we should sacrifice ourselves for our country! Holding Sishui Pass is holding onto our lord's hope! Holding onto the hope of our Cao family's legacy! The lives of over ten thousand soldiers inside and outside the pass rest on your shoulders!"

Cao Hong looked at Ren Jun with a somewhat numb expression.

These words sound so familiar...

Anyway, as long as this excuse works, I'll keep using it.

If it doesn't work, try a different position and do it again.

For example, the original recommendation was eight hours of sleep, but now some experts and professors are saying that seven hours is actually enough!
After all, what else can sleep do besides boosting sales of bedding products?
If cattle and horses work an extra hour, how much more traffic, consumption, and economic value can they contribute?
It's just one hour less sleep, it won't kill you.

In the past, Cao Hong was the one who said these things to others; now it was his turn to hear others say them…

hope?

What hope?
They were merely tied to a wrecked ship destined to sink, to face this storm, or the next!

It's either this time or next time!
From within the pass, the cheers of Cao Cao's soldiers could be faintly heard, filled with joy at the arrival of reinforcements and provisions. Little did they know that these so-called "reinforcements" brought not a chance of survival, but the final nail that would drive them into a desperate situation.

Cao Hong slowly closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, only an almost deathly stillness remained within them. He pulled away from Ren Jun's hand, straightened his slightly hunched back, and said, "General Ren, you have come a long way and must be tired. Please settle your troops and replenish their supplies first. As for the security... I will arrange that myself."

Ren Jun looked at Cao Hong, his heart turning cold.

He knew that Cao Hong understood.

Having understood this cruel truth, I also understood their shared fate.

He opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing. He simply nodded heavily, turned, and left.

They were the "beneficiaries" after Cao Cao's rise to power. They received extraordinary treatment and wealth that ordinary people could not enjoy in several lifetimes. Now it was their turn...

If they don't go up, don't hold their ground here, don't fight to the death, then it's "over".

Everything is 'over'!
Only Cao Hong remained in the council chamber.

Inside the pass, Cao Cao's soldiers surrounded the supply wagons brought by Ren Jun, their faces beaming with undisguised joy. They didn't know, or rather, they never could know, that this joy was fleeting, an illusion…

These Cao soldiers, like generations of Han natives who had died before them, lived in the illusions constructed by the ruling class, in a self-deceiving and self-illusory world, seemingly unaware of the even larger and more despairing shadow looming over them.

The small force and supplies Ren Jun brought were a drop in the ocean compared to Fei Qian's overwhelming power. Was he trying to buy time?
How long can it be delayed?

Three days? Five days?
His previous high-pressure balance was maintained by using fear and lies to keep the soldiers' belief that they were "awaiting rescue".

Just like the positive news touted in the stock market in later generations...

Once the positive news materializes, people will quickly realize that it was all hype, and then they'll find themselves trapped at the top, waiting to be dumped...

When the fear and despair that were previously forcibly suppressed can no longer be concealed, how will they erupt like an avalanche?
Cao Hong felt an unprecedented fatigue, even greater than after the repeated bloody battles.

This is not physical fatigue, but a complete mental exhaustion.

He seemed to see the massive furnace of Sishui Pass, its walls already riddled with spiderweb-like cracks under the immense pressure from both inside and outside. The little spark that Ren Jun brought would not only fail to reignite the fire, but might even become the final straw that broke the camel's back.

But what could he do?
The knife may be sharp, but the tangled mess on the hilt can never be cut.

"Guards!" Cao Hong's voice carried an unusual calm. "Order all camps! Reinforcements have arrived, and provisions are plentiful! Tomorrow...fortify the defenses and prepare to meet the enemy!"

The order was passed down.

Inside the pass, the soldiers' cheers seemed even more enthusiastic.

They didn't know that this order was actually their final death knell on their desperate journey.