Three Kingdoms

From Luoyang to Guandu, from Baima to Jujube, there were battles and bloodshed time after time. From the moment they attacked Dong Zhuo, Heluo and Yanzhou basically fell into a war period of five or six years, with little peace and calm. As a result, all the villages that were originally here were ruined. Thousands of residents here were either captured as civilians and died on the battlefield, or they migrated from home and died on the road. There were only a few left.

The vacant houses have become the residence of birds and beasts. The ruined door lintels outline strange and lifeless lines in the dusk. Old crows call out from time to time on the dry branches, "Ah... acridine..."

The wild dog that had lost its owner was wandering around with red eyes. It was unknown whether it was due to blood or pustules. The wild dog's hair was dirty and stuck together, and it was drooling.

Even the wolves that had not been seen for a long time seemed to reappear in this uninhabited land.

In the desert, yellow bones sparkle.

The weeds on both sides of the official road have spread to the road surface because they have not been cleared for a long time.

Several fast horses came from a distance, bringing up a puff of smoke. The leading cavalryman's face was dusty, his nose, eyes and eyebrows were covered with dirt, and his sweat had washed out one mark after another. He had obviously been running for a long time and was extremely tired, but he still gritted his teeth and urged the horse, which was also foaming at the mouth. Keep moving forward.

Following the galloping cavalry forward, a huge barracks appeared far away at the end of the line of sight. The cavalry was speechless and could only pat the sweaty neck of the war horse again and pointed ahead. .

This is the unnamed ferry.

Because it was originally connected to the official road and had a pier built by the government, it was called Guandu.

"Dong! Dongdong! Kah! Wow..." The dull sound was mixed with the sound of water and crisscrossed along the river.

A group of Cao Jun soldiers spread out along the river, stood on the river bank, and used sledgehammers, iron axes, or square stones simply tied with ropes to hit the thin ice formed by the river, causing the ice surface to warp. The cracks opened and white water vapor mixed with broken ice rose up beside the river, becoming a daily sight.

Cao Jun's camp is near the ferry.

Although Yuan Shao's army has not marched in Baima, and Yanzhou is not like northern Hebei, where dripping water turns into ice, but since there are signs of ice here, no one can guarantee that if the ice is left uncleared, what will happen next It would not become a basis for Yuan Jun's surprise attack, so he could only send people to dig out day after day until the spring came and the flowers bloomed.

Originally it wasn't supposed to freeze here...

Cao Ren led a team of patrolmen along the river bank, stopped at the ferry, turned and looked into the distance.

Yuan Shao's army strangely did not continue to approach. This made Cao Ren and even Cao Cao a little frightened. They didn't know what kind of medicine was contained in Yuan Shao's gourd, but they couldn't say that they would abandon the advantageous location here and then take the initiative to attack. After all, in terms of strength comparison, Cao Jun was still weaker.

Well, of course, the official claim is that victory is still certain. They are stationed here just to sympathize with the soldiers and not to want them to trek and toil in the cold winter...

The sound of horse hooves came.

Cao Ren first looked in the direction of Yuan Shao. After searching for a moment, he realized that it was not on that side. He quickly turned his head again, his expression moving slightly.

"General...general?" Cao Ren's guard asked.

Cao Ren clapped his horse forward and did not answer. The guards quickly followed and entered the Cao army's camp.

In the cold wind, banners were sweeping, and soldiers were in full armor.

Cao Ren got off the horse, threw the reins to the guard, and strode forward. For some reason, after hearing the sound of the horse's hoofbeats, Cao Ren's heart jumped wildly, and he felt uneasy, as if he had a premonition that something was going to happen...

And it's probably not a good thing.

"Is Zixiao here?"

Cao Cao was still sitting behind the crime scene in the Chinese army tent, reviewing official documents. When he saw Cao Ren coming in, he raised his eyes, and then he still lowered his head and kept his hands on his hands, as usual, as if something was wrong. nothing. "Is there any gain from patrolling?"

"My lord, we haven't seen any movement of Yuan's army." Cao Ren said with cupped hands. After hesitating for a moment, he added, "Would you like to send some more elite scouts to Yuan's army's camp to find out more?"

Cao Cao did not raise his head, but continued to write in his hands, and then said: "No need. Yuan Benchu's troops have not moved... because his son was infected with wind and cold and was unable to walk..."

"Ah?" Cao Ren was stunned for a moment. If Yuan Shao was infected with the cold and couldn't march south, would Cao Ren understand that the reason why Yuan Shao didn't take the opportunity to march was because his son was sick?

Cao Cao raised his hand, as if he wanted to take something from the information on the side, but he shook it, then pushed the top letter aside, took out one from the bottom, and asked the guard to hand it to Cao Ren.

The information did not come from Yuan Shao's camp, but from Yecheng, and then moved to Xu County, and then came from Xu County.

The military camp is heavily guarded, and there are usually rangers cruising around. It seems that some letters and information are deliberately left behind. Without a prior agreement, who knows how to leave them under the bark of that nook and cranny? Even if the time and place are agreed upon in advance, if you want to find a suitable excuse, you have to avoid the patrolling cavalry, you also have to find a suitable excuse to leave the camp and put the intelligence in the appropriate place...

On the contrary, it is passed from the rear, which is relatively easy as long as it avoids the military line.

The information in Yecheng is also very simple. On the one hand, it shows that Yuan Shao is mobilizing troops and rations to organize logistics transportation. This is a normal operation. There is nothing special. The only special thing is that during this transportation of troops and rations, he also brought Several well-known doctors in Yecheng went south together.

Then there were rumors that Yuan Shao was ill, and there was an uproar in Jizhou. Immediately, officials came forward and said that it was not Yuan Shao but Yuan Shang who was ill. Yuan Shao ordered the mobilization of doctors.

Even so, the children of the Jizhou gentry are still doubtful...

However, Yecheng's secret source said that the latter rumor was more credible, because there were also rumors that Tian Feng had stopped moving forward because of Yuan Shao's unwillingness to accept his suggestions, and had another quarrel with Yuan Shang. Yuan Shao was very unhappy.

Of course, the root cause of the quarrel was not that Yuan Shang was ill and needed care, but that Yuan Shao once again ordered the requisition of grain and grass from Jizhou...

Cao Ren stroked his beard and exhaled slowly: "Military and national affairs are such a child's play... It's really..."

Cao Cao did not comment, but said: "Zi Xiao, at this time, we can train the new soldiers in the camp to avoid chaos in the battle."

Cao Ren answered with his hands raised, and seeing that Cao Cao had no other instructions, he left. After walking out of the Chinese army's tent, Cao Ren frowned slightly, paused, turned to look at the Chinese army's tent, pondered for a moment, and finally moved forward.

Cao Cao read the writings on hand one by one and approved them one by one. Unknowingly, the sun set and the clear sound of beating drums came from the battles in the military camp.

Cao Cao's guards took the time to bring the evening breasts to him. Cao Cao silently took them and ate them. After eating, he asked the guards to carry them away. After sitting in silence for a while, he asked the guards to blow out the candles and then went to the back to lie down and rest silently.

The night is deep.

Inside the big tent, the sound insulation effect of the masonry house was naturally not as good. Cao Cao lay on his side, facing the screen, motionless. He looked like he was asleep, but in fact he had his eyes open and was not asleep.

There are soldiers patrolling in the distance, the sound of footsteps stamping on the ground, the deep breathing of the guards in sleep nearby, and the sound of someone in the camp whispering and grinding their teeth in their sleep, mixed with the occasional turret torch. The sound of the ground exploding formed the night in the military camp.

Cao Cao thought he was calm. Even when Luoyang's men were not many and were preparing to rush into the palace to rescue the Han Emperor, he still ate when he needed to and slept when he needed to. But at the moment, Cao Cao couldn't sleep.

"..."

Unknowingly, a slight warmth slipped from the corner of his eyes, and then turned into ice coldness in the blink of an eye.

Cao Cao didn't know when he started, but he couldn't sleep as smoothly as he did when he was young.

I don’t know whether I woke up from the dream several times, or whether I dreamed of the camp roar in Yangzhou. In the sudden explosion, the whole camp exploded, and I was helpless and helpless in a small suit...

Or he dreamed of Lu Boshe lying in a pool of blood and staring at him, and Dong Guiren holding his stomach and staring at him with blood and tears on his face, and Bao Xin, and countless faces shaking in the sea of ​​blood. Ups and downs, everyone stared at him...

Or maybe you saw figures swaying in the firelight, and then your father died under the low wall, half covered in blood and half covered in black mud, just like the black shadow falling from the eaves when he said goodbye to his father... …

This journey was extremely difficult for Cao Cao.

In his blurry vision, Cao Cao seemed to see the hand his father stretched out toward him, trembling slightly in the air, as if he was still waiting, waiting for this ambitious child to change his mind...

However, his father did not wait, and Cao Cao would never be able to hold this hand again.

"Father, when I grow up, I want to be a general! Lead thousands of troops and open up new territories! I want to be a general!" Little Cao Cao said, holding a small bamboo sword and raising his neck.

In the sunshine, Cao Song smiled gently, "Okay, okay, you will be a general from now on..."

"I am the general, and you must obey your orders!"

On the green grass, little Cao Cao raised his bamboo sword high and charged towards the imaginary opponent.

next moment.

"Father, when I grow up, I want to be a general! I will lead thousands of troops and open up new territories! I want to be a general!" The little Cao Ang, holding a small bamboo sword, also looked up in the sun. Neck said.

Cao Cao laughed and waved forward: "Good! My son will be a general from now on..."

"Ah! Your soldiers and horses are like grass and grass!"

On the city wall, little Cao Ang raised his bamboo sword high and ran shouting.

The next moment, there was darkness.

Cao Cao opened his mouth, clenched his fists, and trembled slightly.

Some people cannot cry when they are extremely sad.

His father is dead.

The reason why he died was unclear, and even the gossiping nobles, with a slightly sarcastic expression, said that his father could not climb over the low wall because he was too fat, and he was still on the side of the vassal...

Then they looked at each other with clear expressions and laughed meaningfully.

He has a bad background, but is it something he can decide?

Do people with bad backgrounds always belong to the lower class and never be able to hold power?

His father Cao Song persuaded him, but Cao Cao didn't listen. Cao Cao felt that he could find a new path, a path of his own...

However, when I looked back, I couldn't see my father's path or his figure.

And now, his son is also dead.

Die from old wounds, die from plots, die from the calculations of those hiding under the night and shadows.

Cao Cao killed Dong Guiren, and Liu Xie uttered evil words, cursing Cao Cao to have no descendants. Although Liu Xie didn't have the ability to make any practical moves, others did. Of course, these people may not just want to avenge Liu Xie, but more to attack Cao Cao, just to disrupt Cao Cao's rhythm and military morale...

After embarking on this road, Cao Cao was overcoming thorns and thorns. When Cao Cao turned around, he found that the figure running behind him gradually faded and disappeared.

"Ang'er..."

Cao Cao spat out a few words slightly from his chest and abdomen, mixed in the night wind, and disappeared without a trace like light smoke. He couldn't even say, couldn't go back, let alone pursue it with great fanfare, to avenge his son. He could only stay in the military tent, like a lone wolf, letting the pain wash over his heart again and again, and let the tears in the corners of his eyes fall from the boiling point. It became ice cold.

Cao Cao knew that those poisonous snakes curled up in the darkness were licking their fangs excitedly, waiting for Cao Cao to return to Xu County, causing an uproar, and then profiting from it...

Cao Cao needs to be on the front line, otherwise the group army composed of new soldiers, Qingzhou soldiers, Yanzhou soldiers, and Yuzhou soldiers will have no backbone, and no one can guarantee what will happen in the next moment!

Cao Ren, Cao Hong, Xia Houyuan, Xia Houen, etc. have not yet reached the reputation of being able to command the overall situation, and their relationships are not all harmonious. Without Cao Cao as the central control, things will inevitably become awkward and troublesome.

Xu County cannot be in chaos. If there is a change in the back line, it will also affect the morale of the front line. Maybe they don't even have to fight, but they will lose in a mess.

Even the murderers who assassinated Cao Ang could only be traced secretly for the time being, and they could not set up prisons to arrest hundreds of officials, otherwise the government and the public would be in turmoil and people would be in panic.

Therefore, Cao Cao could only reply with four words to Xun Yu, "It is secret and no mourning"!

It was announced that Cao Ang was only seriously injured and that everything would be dealt with after the war was over...

People will always die in war, Cao Cao knows this, and countless people will die next. These sacrifices of living beings are just the beginning.

In the past few years, people who died on this land include old people, young people, women and children, as well as his friends and relatives. They all seemed to be waiting quietly somewhere, watching, as if Cao Cao was the only one standing in the world, and his figure spread in all directions, and every shadow was filled with dead souls...

Cold winter, no spring.

The moonlight shines on the clothes like water.

"Brother Benchu, you are a good father..."

"And I am not..."