Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3858 Orders Fail

Confucius said, “When subordinates serve their superiors, they do not follow the orders given to them, but rather their own actions. If the superiors like something, the subordinates will surely do it even more excessively. Therefore, the likes and dislikes of the superiors must be carefully considered, for they are the example for the people.”

These are sentences that almost every scholar in the Central Plains region of Shandong knows by heart...

The power of any regime does not derive entirely from the sword and the law, but more profoundly from the 'granting' and 'acquiescence' of the ruled.

The common people, including the lower-ranking soldiers of Cao Cao's army, deeply recognized the legitimacy of Cao Cao's regime and were willing to submit to its rule. Together, they formed the authority of Cao Cao's regime.

When this recognition and willingness are exhausted by long-term oppression, injustice, and despair, the so-called "authority" is like a castle built on quicksand, seemingly majestic but actually collapsing at the slightest push.

The Cao family's military orders that Cao Yan represented at this moment had lost their unquestionable 'credibility' and the 'public duty' that they had to be carried out by these soldiers whose minds were wavering.

So when Cao Yan ordered the arrest of the man, the lower-ranking soldiers hesitated.

They were not weighing the 'rightness' or 'wrongness' of the order, but rather their own 'gains and losses,' and examining the already shattered 'loyalty' within their hearts.

In normal times, such 'hesitation' and 'indecisiveness' would not be very noticeable, and might not even be easily detected by those in power. However, in such a chaotic and urgent situation, it becomes exceptionally obvious!

The leader of Kuai's private army keenly noticed the momentary hesitation of Cao's soldiers!

The momentary silence filled the Kuai clan's private army leader with elation. He instinctively realized that the Cao clan's authority had become ineffective at this moment!
As a result, with one side gaining and the other losing, his courage suddenly surged!

"Brothers! The Cao family's tyrannical actions have angered both Heaven and the people! Xiangyang is already indefensible, why should we be buried with them?!" The leader of the Kuai family's private army suddenly drew his short sword, raised it high above his head, and his voice, hoarse yet full of inflammatory rhetoric, shouted, "Follow me to capture this scoundrel, open the city gates, and welcome the righteous army of the Flying Cavalry into the city! Mr. Kuai and the General of the Flying Cavalry are already waiting outside! Let's set things right! Let's abandon darkness and embrace the light! Today is the day!"

Two days ago, no one would have listened to these words at all...

Now, with their eyes fixed on the bustling city of Xiangyang and their ears filled with the chaotic cries of those within, how much of the ordinary Cao army soldiers could still remain steadfast in their loyalty to the Cao family?
Many of the Cao army soldiers who had initially hesitated changed their expressions.

Those who were already hesitant became even more hesitant, and those who were already wavering became even more hesitant...

To live is the most basic instinct a person can have!
Rather than be sacrificed for a regime destined to fail, it is better to...

Seeking another way to make a living?

Could it even be considered as "abandoning darkness for light and restoring order"?
"Kill him! That'll be a great achievement!"

Someone shouted first, which immediately spurred several soldiers who were already dissatisfied with the Cao family or simply wanted to survive to start staring at Cao Yan and the others and forcing them to come closer.

Once someone takes the lead, the number of imitators increases instantly!
Chaos was inevitable. Although some soldiers loyal to Cao Cao tried to resist, their resistance seemed weak and futile due to the hesitation, indifference, or even defection of the majority.

The damage caused by internal divisions is far greater than that caused by external blows.

When cancer cells spread, even the strongest man can't withstand it.

Moreover, the Cao family was already weak. Originally, these Cao family military academies were high and mighty, and had been detached from the common people and soldiers for too long, so they had no real control over them...

Cao Yan was both shocked and enraged. He brandished his sword, forcing back the soldiers who approached him, and roared, "You...you dare to rebel?! Aren't you afraid of being executed along with your entire family?!"

Nine generations of relatives?

Only if it truly involves nine generations of relatives would one be afraid!
If someone is "invincible," would they be afraid of "exterminating nine generations of their family"?

Therefore, Cao Yan's threat seemed so pale and powerless at this moment.

In the current precarious state of Xiangyang, this threat seems more like a distant, illusory, and even somewhat laughable boast...

Kuai's private soldiers and defected troops swarmed forward, surrounding Cao Yan and his few remaining confidants, and unleashing a barrage of swords and spears!
Although Cao Yan fought back fiercely, he was no match for the overwhelming number of opponents and was quickly hacked to the ground, dying with his eyes wide open. He probably never understood why his seemingly obedient subordinates would betray him at such a crucial moment.

After clearing the obstacles, the Kuai family's private soldiers quickly took control of the West Gate.

"Open the city gates! Welcome the General!"

With a loud shout, the heavy west gate of Xiangyang was slowly pushed open with the help of those inside and outside the city!

Upon seeing the signal, Liao Hua, who was outside the city, immediately led his troops forward, and his elite cavalry poured into Xiangyang!
The once-impregnable city walls and wide moat are now completely ineffective!
The light of dawn had just completely dispelled the thin mist, illuminating the open city gates and the Cao army flag that had been thrown down from the city wall...

And that cavalry battle flag that was being raised!
The tricolor cavalry flag!
……

……

The news that Liao Hua's troops had breached the west gate of Xiangyang spread like wildfire throughout the city at an astonishing speed!
The shouts of countless people converged into a rolling wave of sound, rushing along the streets and alleys, crossing the burning ruins of the eastern city, penetrating the wood and bricks, and finally igniting and burning away the last vestiges of order and fighting spirit that were barely maintained.

Liao Hua didn't even have to lift a finger before he discovered that many of Cao Cao's garrison troops had fled without a fight.

They didn't even bother with rolling stones or logs, kerosene or molten metal, or forklifts and forklifts; they simply abandoned everything and fled in despair!
This collapse was so severe that even the orders from the Cao family's middle and upper management could not stop it!
In fact, in such extreme chaos, an effective command system would have long since collapsed.

This massive rout that swept through Xiangyang was more like an "automatic" phenomenon driven by the instinct for survival and despair.

The first to lose control were the garrison troops, whose morale was already low.

The Cao army soldiers near the west city witnessed the city gates opening wide and the cavalry pouring in like a tide, hearing the deafening shouts of battle and the screams of their comrades.

"The city has fallen! Run!"

"The cavalry has stormed in!"

Run!

"If we don't run, we'll die!"

These desperate cries rose and fell on the city walls and in the barricades.

No one bothered to verify the authenticity of the information, nor did anyone consider how to organize a counterattack.

Panic spread rapidly, like ripples.

Cao's soldiers dropped their weapons and took off their heavy armor, hoping to run faster.

The officers tried to quell the unrest, but their voices were drowned out by the fleeing tide. Some officers themselves were even swept up in the panic and joined the escape.

Next came the Cao army troops who were fighting the fire in Dongcheng or who had been transferred to Dongcheng by previous false orders.

These Cao soldiers were already in chaos and exhausted. When they suddenly heard the news that the western city had fallen and the enemy had entered the city, their last bit of resistance completely collapsed.

Put out the fire?

Defend the city?

It's all become a joke!
The only goal now is to escape and survive!

Interestingly, whether it was due to someone guiding them or the soldiers' long-standing inertia, these defeated Cao army soldiers and officers fled in the same direction...

Fancheng, across the Han River!
Cao Zhen is over there!
It's like a flock of sheep that, after being dispersed, instinctively seeks out the lead sheep.

These defeated soldiers of Cao Cao's army surged towards the Xiangyang docks and the city gates leading to the pontoon bridge over the Han River, like a flood bursting its banks.

The situation was completely out of control.

The streets leading to Fancheng were crowded with panicked, fleeing soldiers, scattered laborers, and ordinary people who, unaware of what was happening, had instinctively followed suit.

People were pushing and trampling each other, their cries, curses, and pleas for mercy mingling together.

Some people were pushed to the ground and instantly trampled by countless feet, never to get up again.

Abandoned flags, weapons, armor, and food sacks littered the roads, hindering the escape and becoming the most striking footnote to this defeat.

The docks along the Han River became a scene of utter devastation. Boats of all sizes were being fiercely fought over by fleeing soldiers and powerful generals and their personal guards.

In order to board a ship that might offer a chance of escape, soldiers who might have shared some camaraderie on ordinary days now turned on each other with fists and even drew their swords to slash at one another!

The boat was severely overloaded, and unfortunate souls kept falling into the icy river during the shoving, letting out desperate cries before being swallowed by the turbid waves.

Several pontoon bridges connecting the two banks were also crowded with people fleeing for their lives. The bridges groaned under the weight of the weight, as if they would break at any moment and throw everyone on them into the river...

The cavalry within the city did not actually conduct a large-scale pursuit or mopping-up operation.

If you look closely, you'll find that the cavalry force was actually quite limited and didn't carry out a large-scale pursuit. However, the fleeing Cao army soldiers and the civilians who were caught up in the chaos were making their own assumptions that there were thousands of troops chasing them!

The stampedes and chaos, the crowding and scrambling, made them even more panicked and drove them to flee even more desperately.

When Cao Zhen received news in Fancheng that Xiangyang had suffered a complete defeat and that the defending troops had fled to Fancheng, he could hardly believe his ears.

He had anticipated that the city might not be able to be defended, but he never expected it to fall in such an absurd way, collapsing without a fight.

There was no fierce street fighting, no house-to-house battles, no brutal attacks or defenses, and not even a proper retreat was organized.

Cao Zhen initially tried to get his troops to counterattack, but he quickly failed.

The pontoon bridge was packed with fleeing soldiers and civilians, making it impossible to travel back to Xiangyang. As soon as the soldiers and officers disembarked from the boats sent across the river, the boats were seized by other soldiers and civilians who wanted to escape. This caused the Cao army soldiers, who were originally preparing to counterattack, to lose their nerve and turn back without even disembarking.

Standing atop Fancheng, Cao Zhen gazed at the banners of the Flying Cavalry gradually rising above Xiangyang on the opposite bank, at the debris floating on the Han River and the occasional corpses sinking and rising, and at the defeated and disorganized remnants of his army who had fled to Fancheng like stray dogs. An indescribable bitterness and helplessness welled up in his heart.

What on earth is going on here?!
Can anyone explain exactly what happened?!

Xiangyang, the core fortified city in northern Jingzhou, did not fall due to a strong attack by the enemy, but rather disintegrated from within due to internal and external troubles and the loss of popular support.

Cao Zhen, despite possessing immense strength and martial arts skills, never even engaged in a proper fight. Along with the authority of the entire Cao regime in Jingxiang, at this moment, with the massive rout before him, everything collapsed completely.

All that's left is a disastrous situation, with people separated by the river.

And an even bleaker future...

……

……

On the city wall of Xiangyang, the brand-new tricolor banner of the Flying Cavalry fluttered in the early winter wind, silently announcing the change of ownership of this mighty city in northern Jingzhou.

On the city wall, Liao Hua's cavalrymen were cleaning up the traces of battle and repairing the damaged crenellations. Their expressions showed exhaustion, but also an undeniable excitement.

With the help of Kuai Yue and others, order in the city is slowly being restored. The fire in the east city has been brought under control, leaving only large areas of charred ruins and a pungent smell of smoke, telling the story of last night's harrowing events.

Just as the cavalry was tidying up the city and its defenses, a cloud of dust suddenly rose up from the south of Xiangyang.

A defeated and disorganized army, with its banners askew, fled in panic to the south gate of Xiangyang City, like a stray dog ​​being chased.

The leading general was none other than Cao Ren, who had just suffered a crushing defeat at Jiangling and fled north in a panic!

Cao Ren still harbored a sliver of hope, hoping to catch his breath in Xiangyang, a fortified city he had long defended, to gather his defeated troops and, with the help of the Han River's natural defenses, to devise a plan for the future.

However, when Cao Ren reined in his exhausted warhorse and looked up at the familiar city tower, the scene that came into view struck him like a thunderbolt, and his blood seemed to freeze instantly!
On the city walls, the battle flags of Cao Cao's army no longer fluttered, but the tricolor flags of the Flying Cavalry!

That glaring tricolor flag was like a resounding slap across Cao Ren's face!

"Xiang... Xiangyang... also..."

Cao Ren's lips trembled, and he could barely utter the last few words. The remaining soldiers around him also saw the strange phenomenon on the city wall, which immediately triggered an even greater panic and commotion, and a sense of despair spread like a plague.

Cao Ren, a seasoned general, was overcome with shock and fear, and his survival instinct forcefully suppressed all other emotions. He didn't even have time to ponder how Xiangyang had fallen, nor dared to linger. He immediately ordered, "Quickly! Head north along the Han River! Get out of here!"

With nowhere to go ahead and pursuers closing in at any moment, we must not linger here!

Cao Ren didn't even have time to check if Fancheng was still in his hands. He lashed his horse's rump with his whip and fled desperately northward along the banks of the Han River. The already rout-ridden army behind him, utterly demoralized, let out a shout and followed their commander's retreating figure, continuing their northward escape…

By the time Liao Hua received the news that Cao Cao's army might be fleeing in disarray, it was already too late.

On the one hand, Liao Hua received the news from Fangling and came in a hurry without bringing a large number of troops. On the other hand, having just captured Xiangyang, he had to divide his troops to guard the four gates of Xiangyang, suppress the remaining forces of Cao Cao's army that may not have been completely eliminated in the city, and appease the people and restore order. He was somewhat stretched thin.

When Liao Hua realized that he had inadvertently let Cao Ren, a big fish, go, he felt both regret and fear.

If Cao Ren had arrived a day earlier, or even a night earlier, even if Cao Ren had been defeated in Jiangling, Liao Hua and his men's plan to use strategy to distract and pull Cao Zhen and eventually capture Xiangyang might not have gone so smoothly!
The key point is that keyboard warriors are omniscient and omnipotent, but Liao Hua is not. He was unaware of the surrounding situation, nor did he know whether Cao Cao's army might have any counterattack capabilities...

Just like last time.

Capturing Xiangyang would be ideal, but we must also be able to hold onto it!
Liao Hua immediately decided that he must contact Xu Huang in Jiangling as soon as possible and have Xu Huang lead his troops north!
Liao Hua ordered a trusted confidant, "Immediately select a squad of elite soldiers to depart for Jiangling, find General Xu, and report that Xiangyang has been captured and Cao Cao's army has been routed and is fleeing north! Request that General Xu quickly dispatch troops north to pacify Jingzhou!"

"Yes, sir!" Liao Hua's personal guards immediately clasped their hands in acceptance and hurried down the city wall to make arrangements.

……

……

In Jiangling City, the chill of early winter had not yet fully penetrated the city walls, but the atmosphere was filled with the solemnity and busyness following a great battle.

Xu Huang sat upright in the main hall of the government office, his brows furrowed.

Liao Hua's personal guards, traveling tirelessly, brought news that Liao Hua had joined forces with Cai Mao and Kuai Yue to seize Xiangyang.

"Say it again," Xu Huang said, though equally delighted, he maintained his usual composure and caution, "How did Kuai's private troops open the west gate? And why didn't Cao's army in the city resist or fight back?"

Liao Hua's personal guard then meticulously recounted how they mobilized Cao Zhen, how they falsely conveyed military orders, how the west gate was opened, how the Cao army's order collapsed in Xiangyang, and how they ultimately captured the city. He concluded by adding, "My captain has already taken control of all four gates of Xiangyang and, with the assistance of Mr. Kuai Yidu, is pacifying the people and mopping up the remaining enemy forces. However… our forces are truly stretched thin. We hope General Xu will send reinforcements as soon as possible…"

Xu Huang nodded slightly, inquired about some related details, and finally waved for the messenger to go and rest.

"Xiangyang... was taken in this way..."

Xu Huang muttered to himself.

When Xu Huang first heard this, he was somewhat incredulous.

The victory in Xiangyang came too quickly and too cleverly, which made him uneasy.

In particular, the power of the local magnates, especially the Cai and Kuai clans, which they displayed during this process, made Xu Huang more vigilant.

Even after the suppression and persecution by the Cao family, the power of local powerful clans like the Kuai and Cai families still remained...

Liao Hua's dispatch of his personal guards to request Xu Huang's reinforcements was probably partly due to this factor.

If left unchecked, and the Cai and Kuai clans regain control of Jingzhou, the future governance of the region may face unpredictable changes.

"General!" Gan Ning couldn't contain himself any longer. He stepped forward and loudly requested orders, "Xiangyang has just been captured, and the people's hearts are not yet won over. Although the enemy general has been defeated, Cao Cao's army still exists! This humble general is willing to be the vanguard, leading my men north immediately to help Liao Yuanjian stabilize Xiangyang!"

Xu Huang looked at Gan Ning, his gaze lingering on his pale face for a moment.

Gan Xingba is brave and reliable, but his injuries have not yet healed. If there is another battle in Xiangyang, he may not be able to hold on.

Moreover, is it sufficient to send only Gan Ning's troops to deal with the potentially complex internal situation in Xiangyang?

Just as Xu Huang was pondering, a guard in the hall announced: "The General Who Conquers the South requests an audience..."