Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3758: Mian
If the distance from Yique to Luoyang is 'one', then the distance from Luoyang to Chaoge is at least 'five'.

Time can be exchanged for space, and space can also be exchanged for time.

Luoyang, the old city gate.

That year, Luoyang was the wreckage of a colossal beast whose spine had been removed.

Before the dust and smoke from the westward-moving carriages had even settled, Dong Zhuo's torches had already ignited the eaves of the palace.

Humans have mastered the secrets of fire, using it not only for survival but also, and more often, for destruction.

If you stand on Mount Beiman today and look out, you can still see the charred skeletons of those palaces, piercing the sky like the ribs of a giant beast that has been skinned and dismembered.

Luoyang was once a prosperous city.

They were bloated with fat and riches, with luxurious carriages and dogs, and oil being poured over a raging fire.

Before Dong Zhuo, almost everyone inside and outside Luoyang believed that the Han Dynasty would never fall and that war would always be far away.

The aroma of flatbread and steamed buns wafts from the street corner, while fine wine and aged vinegar waft through the shops.

Many people, including officials and scholars of the Han Dynasty, still believed that the Han Dynasty was just plagued by treacherous ministers and a foolish emperor who refused to listen to advice. They thought that all they needed to do was replace a minister or at most a new emperor, and the Han Dynasty would be prosperous again.

They never considered that a towering tree with rotten roots could not possibly survive by simply replacing some branches and leaves.
And so, that fire ignited the wealth of Luoyang.

The former residences of dukes and marquises are now nothing but ruins, with charred beams leaning precariously among the broken tiles.

The golden dragon pillars of the Chongde Hall in the Southern Palace have collapsed into scorched earth, the Luo River flows slowly eastward with ashes floating on it, and scattered bamboo slips and torn silk paintings float on its surface...

The Hongdu Gate Academy, where students of the Imperial Academy once eagerly copied scriptures, and the Xiping Stone Classics, have also collapsed...

Some say this is the beginning of decline after reaching its peak.

Some people say this is karma.

Some say that what wriggles in the ashes is the freshest part of the human world.

Humans are best at destruction, and then, from the ruins, they painstakingly rebuild, bit by bit. Once it's built, the new generation feels that the suffering of the older generation is over, and since they were born in a new era, they should enjoy their new life.

Dusk fell, casting a gray shadow over Luoyang's majestic palaces and bustling markets.

Several children continued to play at the alley entrance, then scattered like birds and beasts at the scolding of their elders, each returning home with their laughter as crisp and clear as spring seedlings.

But their parents were extremely nervous at that moment.

At this time of day, the air would normally be filled with the smoke of cooking fires and the bustling city life would be quiet, but now there is an invisible tension permeating the air.

The city gates were heavily guarded, and the footsteps of the patrolling soldiers were particularly heavy. It was as if one could smell the faint scent of gunpowder and blood carried on the wind.

Grand Minister of Agriculture Zao Zhi did not rest; he continued to work in the government office by candlelight, dealing with mountains of official documents, his brow furrowed.

Although he said he spent most of his time and energy on agricultural production, it doesn't mean he didn't understand or do anything else.

The land of Heluo has suffered greatly from war, and now all industries are in need of revitalization. As the highest-ranking official in Heluo, Zao Zhi could not possibly mean that he would only be in charge of agriculture and ignore everything else.

Although the deafening battle cries from the direction of Yique Pass failed to reach this place, the battle reports brought by the galloping post horses became more and more urgent and more and more serious.

The ominous premonition in Zao Zhi's heart, like the candle shadow before his eyes, grew longer and longer.

Suddenly, a series of extremely rapid and chaotic hoofbeats and footsteps came from outside the government office, mixed with some suppressed exclamations, which was three times louder than the usual news reports!
"Report!!!" A messenger stumbled in, his clothes soaked with sweat, his face covered in dust and panic. "Grand Minister of Agriculture! Something terrible has happened! Yique Pass... Yique Pass has fallen!"

Even though he was mentally prepared, Zao Zhi's hand holding the pen still trembled violently, and a drop of ink fell, staining the paper.

He abruptly stood up: "What are the details? How are Huang Hansheng and Zhang Shucheng?"

……

……

The Yique Pass fell, chaos reigned, flames lit up the sky, and the sounds of battle shook the fields.

Du Ji and Huang Zhong rallied their remaining, still-capable troops and retreated in disarray along the official road leading to Luoyang.

Behind them, the shouts of Cao Cao's army followed closely, clearly unwilling to let this defeated army go, and wanting to take advantage of the situation to expand their gains, or even follow them all the way to Luoyang.

The officer in charge of the pursuit was Xiahou Wei, a general in Cao Cao's army.

Previously, Xiahou Wei's pursuit of Liao Hua had ended in failure. Now, leading three hundred cavalry and eight hundred infantry, and having spent a long time recuperating on the ship, his pursuit of Huang Zhong, Du Ji, and others was like a pack of wolves smelling blood, relentlessly harassing and repeatedly attacking the rearguard of the Flying Cavalry, attempting to completely scatter and annihilate them.

"General! This can't go on!" Du Ji found Huang Zhong and said, "Cao Cao's army is pursuing too closely, especially their cavalry... We absolutely cannot let them entangle us!"

Huang Zhong's beard was stained with blood, and his face was somewhat pale due to blood loss and exhaustion, but his eyes remained sharp.

He glanced back at the approaching Cao army pursuers, especially the arrogant cavalry, and then surveyed the surrounding terrain...

Du Ji is right.

The first thing to deal with is Cao Cao's cavalry!
If left unattended, Cao Cao's cavalry, though small in number, would be able to continuously attack and divide Du Ji and Huang Zhong's retreating troops, bleeding them dry!

Huang Zhong's eyes lit up.

The official road passes through a hilly area with slightly higher elevations. Although the trees along the road are not dense, they are enough to conceal troops, and there is a rather large bend ahead.

The hills conveniently blocked part of the view...

Although it's not the best ambush location, it's good enough!
A bold plan instantly took shape in Huang Zhong's mind.

Although we have lost, we may still be able to turn the tables on our pursuers!
"Join the army!" Huang Zhong pointed ahead. "You take the brothers who can still fight and hurry to the hill at the bend ahead to set up an ambush! I'll take a few men, slow down, and pretend to be exhausted to lure the enemy in! Once their cavalry gets close, you and I will fight them with all our might, crippling Cao Cao's cavalry first!"

Upon hearing this, Du Ji's eyes lit up immediately, and he instantly understood Huang Zhong's intention. "Understood!"

Knowing that hesitation at this moment would mean total annihilation, he immediately called upon the remaining soldiers around him to speed forward to the bend in the road, where they quickly spread out according to the terrain, drew their bows and arrows, and lay in ambush.

Huang Zhong deliberately slowed down, pretending with his few dozen remaining personal guards that they were exhausted and unable to maintain formation. They even deliberately discarded some flags and damaged armor, making them look even more disheveled.

Seeing this, Xiahou Wei, who was pursuing from behind, was overjoyed: "They are exhausted! Men, accelerate the charge! Whoever captures or kills the enemy general will be rewarded with a thousand gold pieces and promoted three ranks!"

It seems like they shout the same thing every time, but it seems like someone always believes them.

This pattern of making empty promises is something they're too lazy to even change...

Why is this the same old routine?
Because it's easy to use!
For those in positions of power, "a fortune" and "promotion" are merely verbal promises, future and virtual rewards. However, in the present moment, they can instantly unleash the greatest potential in subordinates, motivating them to work tirelessly and relentlessly. Therefore, this is a low-cost but highly leveraged incentive method, making it the best choice!

none of them!

If that's the case, why is there any need to change it?
Moreover, this kind of rhetoric precisely targets the core needs.

Whether it's soldiers in ancient times or employees in modern times, their most fundamental demands are nothing more than "wealth" and "power." This slogan may seem simple, crude, and vulgar to keyboard warriors, but it directly strikes at the most primal and intense desires of human nature. It requires no complicated explanation or embellishment; everyone can instantly understand it and be moved by it.

The reason people "believe" is often not because they are naive, but because they have no other choice.

Within a closed system, there is no better path to advancement than believing in the pie and striving for it.

This is a gamble where "if you believe, it's possible; if you don't believe, it's absolutely impossible."

So why do people believe it?

For those who are desperate, this is the only hope.

For ambitious people, this is a gamble worth taking.

For most people, it's an atmosphere of forced 'belief' amidst collective fervor, or a sense of wishful thinking that 'it might actually come true'.

So when future generations still find themselves thinking, "Let's partner up, wait for the company to go public, and achieve financial freedom," or "Win this project, and everyone will get promoted and receive a raise," they can smile knowingly...

The wisdom and strategies of our ancestors are truly ancient and profound.

Cao's cavalry spurred their horses and charged toward Huang Zhong's "scattered" squad.

The Cao army infantry behind them, though they tried their best to run and keep up, gradually stretched out their formation during the pursuit.

As Cao Cao's cavalry drew ever closer, Huang Zhong could even make out the ferocious expressions on their faces and the cold glint of their raised ring-pommel swords. He estimated the distance, then abruptly turned and drew his bow!
The wolf-tooth arrows whistled through the air!

Before Xiahou Wei could react, one of his guards fell off his horse!
"scare!!!"

Xiahou Wei almost urinated in a split stream, but the next moment an even stronger surge of anger welled up within him!
It's like thinking the remnants of the cavalry were powerless to resist, only to be accidentally scratched...

"You old scoundrel, how dare you!" Xiahou Wei roared in fury. "A defeated general, yet you dare to resist?! Kill him! Kill him!"

Huang Zhong fired an arrow, and it was indeed at the end of his strength. He was already wounded, and this time he was aiming at Xiahou Wei, but unfortunately, his hand trembled just before he released it…

Another point is that his iron-rimmed bow was lost on the battlefield of Yique. Now the bow is barely usable, but not very handy.

Huang Zhong shouted and stopped trying to shoot. Instead, he led his men forward and ran across the main road.

Xiahou Wei led Cao Cao's army in hot pursuit...

"Now is the time!"

Du Ji shouted, and the hundred or so remaining soldiers who were lying in ambush on the hilly slopes of the bend in the road suddenly sprang up!

Though exhausted, they poured all their strength into their crossbows, filled with humiliation and resentment.

*Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!*

A dense rain of arrows, like locusts, descended from above and struck Cao Cao's cavalry!

A hail of arrows flew, their target the warhorses of Cao Cao's cavalry!
Cao's cavalry were charging at full speed in pursuit, and caught off guard, men and horses fell to the ground in an instant!
The mournful neighing of warhorses, the screams of cavalrymen falling from their horses, and the chaotic sounds of those who couldn't stop in time crashing into the dead men and horses in front of them all blended together!
The high-speed charging cavalry was immediately thrown into great chaos and brought to a standstill, suffering heavy casualties.

"kill!"

At this moment, Huang Zhong also led more than ten cavalrymen and turned back to charge into the chaotic Cao army cavalry!

Amidst the flashing blades and splattering blood, they seized the opportunity to take his life!
At the same time, Du Ji led his ambush troops down the slope!

A bloody storm erupted, with severed limbs flying everywhere!

This sudden and fierce counterattack was completely unexpected by Xiahou Wei.

He thought the other side was already a stray dog, only concerned with escaping for their lives. He never expected that the other side would dare to set up an ambush and launch a counterattack even when they were in a disadvantageous and fleeing situation!

Seeing the vanguard cavalry suffer heavy losses and the infantry formation thrown into disarray, he feared an even greater ambush and hastily ordered: "Hold the line! Rear guard to front guard! Form defensive lines! Archers, return fire!"

Cao Jun's pursuit was abruptly interrupted, forcing him to halt and hastily form ranks to deal with the desperate counterattack of the Flying Cavalry.

Seeing that they had gained the upper hand, Huang Zhong and Du Ji took advantage of the chaos and retreat of Cao Cao's army, and without lingering in battle, led their troops to break away again and retreat rapidly towards Luoyang.

Before leaving, Huang Zhong even fired one more arrow, shooting down a military officer who was exposed while commanding the formation, causing another commotion among Cao Cao's army...

Xiahou Wei was furious, but he dared not advance rashly again.

He needed time to reorganize his disorganized troops and send out scouts to carefully investigate whether there were any ambushes ahead.

This delay lasted for most of the day.

It was this half-day delay that greatly slowed down Cao Cao's advance towards Luoyang, allowing Huang Zhong and Du Ji to gather their troops and retreat to Luoyang relatively safely.

Cao Jun no longer dared to pursue recklessly as before, and became much more cautious.

……

……

Zao Zhi met Huang Zhong and Du Ji at the top of Luoyang City.

At this moment, Du and Huang were in a truly sorry state.

Huang Zhong, in particular, had many broken and damaged armor pieces, and numerous wounds, some hastily bandaged, others exposed with blood still seeping out. However, even though Huang Zhong was wounded and exhausted, his spirit remained unbroken, and his eyes still burned with resentment and anger.

"I am of limited wisdom and failed to properly care for the wounded soldiers..." Du Ji apologized to Zao Zhi, "Furthermore, I lost Commandant Zhang... I beg the Grand Minister of Agriculture to punish me..."

Huang Zhong also needs to pay homage.

Zao Zhi hurriedly stepped forward to stop them, "You two fought valiantly, repelling the enemy's advance. How can you so easily accuse us?! Quickly! Summon the physician and treat the wounded! Bring hot soup as well!"

His voice was calm and composed, showing no sign of panic. He first arranged for people to treat the wounded and to reassure the public.

Zao Zhi then had someone bring over stools and folding chairs for Huang Zhong and Du Ji to sit down.

A moment later, a doctor rushed over.

Huang Zhong suggested that the doctors treat the other wounded soldiers first, but Zao Zhi said that other doctors had already been arranged. Only then did Huang Zhong sit down and let the doctors treat his wounds.

After the two men had their wounds treated, had some hot soup, and eaten a couple of pieces of flatbread, Zao Zhi asked in a deep voice, "Gentlemen, how did the pass fall? Why was Cao Cao's attack so fierce? Tell me in detail!"

Huang Zhong sighed softly and spoke first: "Grand Minister of Agriculture, Cao Cao's army is no ordinary force this time! Their weaponry is superior, and their preparations are far beyond imagination! They even used boats to transport a large number of siege weapon components along the Yi River, assembling them rapidly at the pass! The catapults, cannons, siege ladders, and battering rams are countless! The first day's fierce attack alone resulted in the loss of many of our brave men!"

Du Ji glanced at Huang Zhong.

Huang Zhong did not mention that Zhang Lie had ordered him to launch a night attack.

Du Ji pondered for a moment but did not discuss the matter further. After all, Huang Zhong had already gone into battle when he arrived at Yique Pass, and it was not something he, as a third party, could comment on. So he only talked about what happened after he arrived at Yique Pass, including the battle arrangements, the organization of the retreat, and Zhang Lie's sacrifice.

"And... Cao Cao's army used gunpowder to break through the gate..."

"Oh? Gunpowder?" Zao Zhi's gaze sharpened.

Du Ji said in a deep voice, "There is one more thing... After Captain Zhang's death, some people in the army still slandered him... I suspect it may not have been just a slip of the tongue..."

Du Ji reported that he had killed a civil official on the way.

Du Ji can be executed first, but he cannot conceal the truth.

"What?" Zao Zhi's face immediately darkened.

"I've heard... that quite a few people from Shandong were previously recruited as military officers..." Du Ji said. "Although the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics has already conducted a thorough investigation... there are probably some who slipped through the net..."

After hearing this, Zao Zhi remained silent for a long time.

Soldiers swarming and siege weapons are all normal occurrences and there's nothing to say about them. However, gunpowder must be made in advance; it's impossible to make it by hand on the spot at the Yique Pass battlefield.

And then there's Du Ji's mention of "those military civil servants"...

This is probably Cao Cao's deadly move that he had laid in advance in the Heluo region!
Zao Zhi looked up, pondered for a moment, and said, "Ever since the Great Discourse at Qinglong Temple, people from Shandong have been flocking to Guanzhong..."

"The Bureau of Investigation..." Du Ji asked, "...was unable to conduct a complete... thorough investigation?"

"To hear that everything under heaven is seen is called 'enlightened'; to hear that all voices are heard is understood is called 'wise'..." Zao Zhi waved his hand and sighed softly, "Although a thorough investigation is warranted,... the Bureau of Investigation is short-handed, and the three prefectures of Chang'an are of greater importance..."

Du Ji fell silent, realizing that Zao Zhi's words made sense.

It is a department with a history of hearings, not an omnipotent department.

Just then, the Commandant of Luoyang arrived; he was in charge of patrolling and apprehending thieves in Luoyang.

He and Zao Zhi were previously in charge of the reconstruction of Heluo, and the two worked well together, one a scholar and the other a warrior.

Upon meeting Zao Zhi, and hearing Du Ji's concerns that the clerks of Yique were speaking ill of the people and that they might be spies from Cao Cao's army, he immediately declared proudly: "Reporting to the Grand Minister of Agriculture! During my recent inspections of the city, I also discovered many anomalies! Since the Duke left Heluo, rumors have been rampant in the city, likely spread by these very people in secret! In my humble opinion, there are far more Cao Cao's spies and agents lurking in the shadows in Heluo! They are like large rats, hiding in the dark, now waiting for their chance to cause trouble, and are impossible to guard against!"

Looking directly at Zao Zhi, his tone hardened, "Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures! Now, with a formidable enemy at our doorstep, Luoyang is in turmoil. We are beset by spies within and powerful enemies without. It's like a person with sores on their stomach and back; if we don't treat them with strong medicine quickly, they will fester all over! I request permission to immediately conduct a thorough search throughout the city and surrounding areas! Better to kill ten innocent people than let one traitor escape! We must eliminate internal threats and stabilize our foundation before Cao Cao's army besieges the city!!"

The moment these words were uttered, the atmosphere froze.

Huang Zhong frowned, seemingly contemplating a decision.

Du Ji seemed to have something to say, but remained silent.

Zao Zhi frowned. If this proposal were followed, it would surely unleash a bloody storm...