Three Kingdoms

Under the Yangqu City Wall, most of the trenches have been filled in.

Use people or use soil.

You can even see branches-like arms, legs, feet, or half a head sticking out from some layers of soil.

The people built some simple wooden shields and ladders, and then, driven by Cao Jun, they carried the wooden shields and ladders and rushed forward despite the arrows.

Why are the people so obedient?

Because their ancestors and fathers have told them to be obedient for many years.

Because those disobedient people were killed a few years ago, more than ten years ago, and hundreds of years ago, leaving no rebellious genes.

Because there are always people who feel that as long as they are obedient, they can still create value and be useful, then the one who dies first is the one who is disobedient and makes trouble...

As a result, a Yang Qu appeared who did not listen to Cao Jun's words, making Cao Jun extremely angry. How could this person and this place be like this? !

Amidst the sound of "bang bang", the hammering wood and rolling stones came down, breaking and cracking the large shield and the ladder.

Accompanied by the sound of "swish" arrows, screams echoed up and down the city.

While driving the people to attack the city, Cao's soldiers also fired back with arrows, suppressing the defenders on the city.

The daylight in winter is very short, just like the sun has just risen, nodded, and then went back to sleep, and the sky dims in the blink of an eye.

Even so, there were still many casualties under Yangqu City, and most of them were civilians captured by Cao Jun from the surrounding areas.

As night fell, General Cao's army retreated. The city was defended that day, but the defenders on top of the city didn't feel much joy in killing the enemy. They just felt depressed and helpless.

The city was extremely oppressive, and the faint cries of the people could be heard inside the city.

Defending the city does not mean there will be no casualties, especially when civilians without any training will inevitably be injured by stray arrows when helping to carry ordnance supplies.

Cao's army shot into the city not only ordinary arrows, but also some rockets, which set some houses on fire. Even if they were extinguished, black smoke was still rising.

The sudden attack of Cao's army caused great panic to the people of Yangqu County. Less than a day after the siege of the city, panic-stricken people already ran to the county government, begging to stop defending the city and give Cao Jun whatever he wants. Send Cao Jun and these plague gods away quickly. It’s the Chinese New Year...

When a few people persist, they may not be recognized by the majority, and may even attract abuse and ridicule. And they will also use words like "I am doing this for you" or "I am doing it for everyone's benefit".

"Can not be done! If this continues, Cao Jun will really massacre the city! They all do this in Xuzhou! ” Someone rushed in front of Master Xu, pulled Master Xu’s sleeves, and shouted, “They will massacre the city!” Will kill us! Kill them all! 』

Master Xu had just returned from taking some people to put out the fire. Before he could take a breath, he was pulled by this man and suddenly had a headache. "Calm down!" Don't panic! Cao Jun can't attack! Unable to attack..."

"But Old Wangtou is dead!" Just die! The city is also on fire... Look, look... everyone thinks so..."

The wails were mingled with accusatory anger and spewed cowardice.

These people shouted with great proficiency, as if they had said it many times before.

"If we continue to defend, Cao Jun will really massacre the city..."

"There are not even reinforcements, how can we defend?" ! 』

"Jinyang has surrendered, what's the use of holding on..."

"Master Xu, why doesn't anyone come to save us?" ! Where is the hussar? Where? ! 』

"It's only been one day since we attacked the city..." Mr. Xu only said half a sentence when he was covered by even more noisy voices.

No one wants to hear what Chief Xu has to say, let alone the facts. They just want to vent.

Master Xu raised his hands, trying to calm down this meaningless noise, but he couldn't calm down.

Because these people just want to vent, just what I feel like.

Venting their dissatisfaction and their fears, even they know that such venting has no effect, but perhaps venting their emotions is what they want most at the moment...

Just like all the wars they had encountered before, their lives could be saved as long as they surrendered. As for the rest, they had not thought about it.

Never thought about it.

This may be the normal state of ordinary people. In the face of war and after witnessing death, not many people can remain calm. In the past, I only heard other people's stories, but now I am actually in it, and I deeply understand the great fear involved.

Fortunately, there are always people in China who are willing to think and are unwilling to repeat the same mistakes.

Suddenly, there was chaos again in the distance, and a fireball ignited a row of houses.

Soldiers rushed over and shouted: "Master, the county magistrate ordered us to put out the flames immediately..."

"Give way! ” Mr. Xu shouted, “No matter what, we must put out the fire first!” Do you want the whole city to burn down? ! 』

These people were still talking and venting, but they no longer surrounded Master Xu, but they didn't put out the fire either, they just sighed and lamented.

Master Xu looked at these people and shook his head, but quickly led others to put out the fire.

Chen Lan, who was on the city wall, also knew about the farce in the city, and sighed slightly, "It's stupid... Qiaoqi once said that we need to enlighten the people's wisdom, the people's wisdom... Oh... don't worry about it for now, just do what you are doing now." , if anyone blocks Master Xu from doing anything again, we will send people to disperse them! We really don’t have time to pay attention to these guys now..."

"only. ”The soldiers took the order and went away.

Chen Lan pulled the battlement and looked down.

Most of the people driven by Cao's army had died, and the scene was naturally quite miserable.

However, Chen Lan's attention was not focused on these corpses, and he was not in the mood to feel sad or lament whether the people were suffering. Instead, he was thinking about another thing. Why did Cao Jun slow down after driving these people to their deaths? The rhythm of the siege was slowed down, and it almost seemed perfunctory at the end?

Is this Cao's army preparing to build artillery carts to attack the vehicles, and then launch a general attack?

Or is there resistance to Cao Jun from other counties, so there are not many Cao Jun here in Yangqu?

Or maybe Cao Jun's large army is still behind and not all of them have come to Yangqu? Is it to ambush the reinforcements coming from Pingyang?

If so...

This is not good.

After learning that Cao Jun had conquered Jinyang and Cui Jun had rebelled, Chen Lan immediately took defensive measures, gathered the people, and sent messengers asking for help. But whether these messengers can reach Pingyang, or how Pingyang will deal with it, is not something Chen Lan can know.

But what the defenders feared most was that there were no reinforcements from outside.

If the reinforcements coming from Pingyang were really ambushed by Cao Jun...

I don't know how long it took, but Chief Xu came to Chen Lan and said, "My lord, the fire in the city has been put out..."

"Well..." Chen Lan responded, and then suddenly changed the topic, "If I take some people with me, I attack Cao Jun at night..."

"No!" Absolutely not! ” Chief Xu said, “Don’t underestimate Cao Jun, county magistrate! Since these Cao troops can attack from thousands of miles away from the mountains, they must be extremely elite. If the county leader is trapped and Yangqu loses morale, this city... really cannot be defended..."

"Hey..." Chen Lan sighed and said, "I know this...but I feel that Cao Jun's arrival is a bit strange...if I don't investigate clearly, in my heart..."

Chen Lan's eyes fell on the corpse at the foot of the city, "By the way, Master Xu... tell the truth, how many people outside the city have not had time to move in?" 』

"This... is gone..." Master Xu replied.

Chen Lan turned her head and said, "I mean, the common people, whether they are Han people or Hu people..."

Master Xu was silent for a while, "If we say they are Hu people...then there is a Hu people tribe at the other end of Guaizi Mountain..."

"Guaizi Mountain?" I remember there seems to be a small cottage over there..." Chen Lan frowned and thought for a moment, "Wait, I have an idea..."

…

…

Xia Houcheng on the other side was also in a bad mood.

Yangqu actually refused to surrender!

Is this true?

In Shandong, which county does not surrender when the county government is overthrown?

How could something happen here?

This breaks the rules!

Yang Qu must know the consequences of breaking the rules!

"Why haven't we found many untouchables yet?" How can we attack a city without untouchables? ! 』

Cao Jun's military academy lowered his head and reported back: "Additional manpower has been sent to look for it... We are not familiar with this place, and the weather is freezing, so these people generally don't go out for activities... There is a village to the west. But there's no one inside..."

"I don't want to hear these excuses! Xia Houcheng waved his riding whip, "If we can't find these untouchables, we will use our lives to fill them!" You have seen that if there were another thousand untouchables today, it would be impossible to say that the city gate would have been taken down! Look for it again! Otherwise, I will send you to attack the city first! 』

Military Academy Wang Tiansheng received the order and quickly sent out several scouts to search for other villages...

In today's battle, Xia Houcheng led a partial army to attack Yangqu, but the battle was not satisfactory to him.

Yangqu County is a majestic city, and the city wall is not very high. However, it was not captured all day long, and most of the civilians and prisoners were lost. It suddenly seemed a little passive.

It's not that this Yangqu is difficult to play, but that there isn't much time for him to consume.

Xiahou Dun's order was to gather the surrounding counties and villages of Taiyuan and take the population and supplies to Jinyang as soon as possible.

Sudden wealth often makes people feel happy.

If Xiahou Dun failed to attack Jinyang, he would have no choice but to return to Xingshe County, Fukou. However, he did not expect that he would conquer Jinyang so smoothly. After obtaining a large amount of supplies from Jinyang, Xiahou Dun naturally wanted more. Further, prepare to do a good job around Taiyuan County.

Only the poor make choices, while the rich naturally want them all.

How far can one's field of vision extend?

Being able to see further is not due to how powerful the person is, but with the help of other forces, such as mountain climbing, sentry towers, or other tools.

Xiahou Cheng's vision is not far away either. His most ambitious idea is to become the backbone of the Xiahou family and achieve a small goal. As for what the whole world is like, he doesn't know and can't see it.

Because the key between Taiyuan and Heluo, that is, Shangdang has not been captured, it is very difficult for Xiahou Dun to contact the Heluo area. He can only plan according to the scope that Xiahou Dun himself sees, and For Xiahou Dun, the easily captured Jinyang provided him with the courage and support to continue fighting and expand his scope.

Xia Houcheng felt that this was his chance!

He originally thought this was a very simple matter, even a beautiful job!

Walking around, everyone will surrender due to the flag, and you can also get some benefits by the way.

But now, the job has turned into a job.

Xia Houcheng was unhappy because he failed to capture Yangqu. Especially when the soldiers who went out to look for civilian husbands came back one after another, but did not bring back any good news, Xiahou Cheng's face became more and more gloomy.

Without enough civilian husbands, they would not be able to put enough pressure on Yang Qu.

Xia Houcheng's strategy couldn't be simpler.

Yangqu County is not a big city, so there are naturally not many defenders. More than a hundred people are enough to support the sky. Plus some temporarily transferred civilians to help defend the city, it can be regarded as about three hundred. If Xia Houcheng can get a thousand The prisoners on the left and right are driven to attack the city, so the soldiers defending the city in Yangqu will inevitably consume most of their energy and endurance in the end. dash forward……

Didn't you realize that today, in just one day, the defenses outside Yangqu County have been basically filled in?

But now that there are not enough manpower, this strategy cannot be implemented.

"How about...asking the general for more troops and horses..." Someone suggested to Xia Houcheng.

Xia Houcheng frowned and immediately cursed: "Looking for a general?" You idiot can think of that! Are there many idle people at the general's side? If you and I can't conquer such a small county, what's the use of it? Um? ! Keep looking for me tomorrow! Don’t you believe that there are not even a thousand people around Yangqu? ! 』

Xia Houcheng cursed and cursed, and the low-ranking military academy did not dare to say anything. He could only keep his complaints to himself.

Of course, Xia Houcheng would also have some regrets. If he had known that the villages around Yangqu would be empty, those prisoners captured before would not be so eager to use them...

But if the captives are not consumed, then it is equivalent to providing food to the captives. Even if these prisoners are allowed to starve, they must be given a half-full meal before attacking the city. Otherwise, there is no need to fight. How can the defenders consume the energy of the defenders just by lying down in the city? Therefore, it is difficult to calculate whether it is a loss or a profit after all this time.

Xia Houcheng cursed a lot, but he still had some conventional military literacy. When he was about to take a rest, he ordered: "These bastards of the Hussars like to make sneak attacks. Be careful when you are on duty at night!" 』

Wang Tiansheng from the military academy on the side said with a smile: "I can't wait for the Yangqu defenders to come and attack us!" If they really come, cut off their heads and send them to the city tomorrow, they will probably surrender directly, just like Shexian County, wouldn't it save trouble? 』

It’s easy to repeat old tricks. It was like this before, it's best like this now, and it will still be like this in the future. Don't change it, just a set of plans. How much trouble would it be to change it?

Xia Houcheng nodded, "No matter what, let's check the trap layout again. It's never wrong to be careful!" 』

"Follow orders." "Wang Tiansheng of the military academy turned around and left.

Just like what the military academy said just now, Xia Houcheng also hoped that the defenders of Yangqu could come for a sneak attack.

Before marching into Feiqian, the Cao and Xiahou clansmen had discussed and discussed the Hussar's tactics and tactics for a period of time, and found that the Hussar Feiqian liked night attacks before...

Night attack is indeed a good method, especially when commanding elites.

Shandong's military system is over there. It is probably similar to the human militia in Warcraft, with three levels of infantry and high-level cavalry. Militiamen are basically cannon fodder, and they are not incapable of being beaten, but their morale is short-lived and breaks down quickly. If they cannot be taken down in a short period of time, they will immediately revert to the appearance of farmers. Therefore, when the numerical advantage cannot be used at night due to problems such as vision, elite night attacks will form a localized effect of using more to defeat fewer and using the strong to bully the weak, which will naturally achieve good results.

In view of Yu Qiusi's strategy of surprise and night attacks, Cao's army naturally developed many ways to deal with it.

When Xiahou Dun was in She County before, he successfully lured out the defenders...

And now Xia Houcheng wants to copy the success again.

What if it succeeds?

It's just that Xia Houcheng slept in his clothes all night. When it was almost dawn, there was no surprise attack from Yangqu's defenders, but he was woken up by his own soldiers.

I don't know if it's because Yang Qu's garrison generals are too timid, or because Yang Qu feels they are confident that they can defend it.

Anyway, the trap Xia Houcheng dug failed to trap the defenders of Yangqu.

"These losers! Incompetent person! Xia Houcheng cursed, "I don't even have the guts to make a sneak attack. It's really... Humph, if we capture some more prisoners alive, we will defeat Yangqu today!" 』

When Xiahou Cheng was announcing his prediction of victory, a soldier suddenly came in a hurry.

"Sima!" "The soldier's face looked a little happy, "Found it! We found a tribe of barbarians on the other side of the mountain, with two to three hundred people..."

Xia Houcheng glared, "What's so fun about two or three hundred people?" Catch it! 』

To successfully conquer Yangqu, at least one or two large villages with a population of about a thousand people are enough.

The soldier quickly said, "No, Sima, it's a small tribe of Hu people, and there are dozens of horses..."

"oh? ! ” Only then did Xia Houcheng react, “Where are the people? Where is the horse? Have you caught them all? 』

The soldier swallowed his saliva and said, "Sima, there are only a few of us watching from a distance... There are not enough people. If we go up here, even if the barbarians don't resist, we can't catch up with them on horseback..."

Xia Houcheng took a breath.

This is not wrong.

Dozens of war horses?

Xia Houcheng's eyes lit up.

This is a big deal!

Even if it is not a war horse, but an ordinary horse without training, it is still a very attractive income. Even if it cannot be used immediately in battle formations, it is still quite good if it can be used to drag and transport supplies and transport personnel.

I will definitely get the approval of General Xiahou Dun...

Xiahou Cheng could imagine that when he sent back the harvested horses, General Xiahou Dun would pat him on the shoulder and praise him...

And you can also keep two or three of them for yourself. When the time comes, whether you use it for your own use or as a gift, it will be perfect!

Xia Houcheng was drooling as he thought about it.

"Someone is coming!" Assemble the whole team! Xia Houcheng stood up and said, "Move faster!" We must not let these bastards get away! 』

"yes! Ah, Sima, then this Yang Qu..." The soldier responded, and then asked hesitantly, "What should we do? 』

"You idiot!" Yang Qu is right over there, and he can't run away! " Xia Houcheng moved his shoulders to warm up and said, "Why are you so anxious? What the hell! If you don’t fight today, you can fight tomorrow! 』