Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3291: Nothing comes of nothing

Sometimes things are so strange. Hu Zhi really wanted to escape, but before he really escaped, the Cao army soldiers in the camp escaped first...

So was it Hu Zhi who escaped, or was it just ordinary Cao army soldiers who ran away?

But this question didn't seem to be so important after the camp collapsed at the bottom of the slope.

The army is a war machine, but when every screw on this machine is escaping, no matter how big the machine was, it will become scrap metal.

The Cao army soldiers who ran away in panic left everything behind.

Flags, armor, baggage, and even the dignity and glory they once had.

They tried to survive by escaping, but pushed themselves and their comrades and compatriots into the arms of death.

The Cao soldiers ran away, just like a sand tower collapsed. Liu Zhu couldn't stop them, and finally committed suicide in anger at the bottom of the slope.

After Liu Zhu committed suicide, only two of his most loyal guards died with him, while the others fled without looking back.

Fei Qian stood in front of Liu Zhu's body and sighed slightly, "Give him a proper burial."

If it was a few years ago, Fei Qian might have lamented or felt sad about Liu Zhu's death, but now Fei Qian seemed to be more indifferent.

As the war develops and deepens, more and more people will die.

When death comes, it will not be biased because someone is famous or unknown.

This may be the greatest fairness, but it may also be the greatest unfairness.

Hearing Fei Qian's order, Xun Chen bowed his hands in response, then waved to the side, signaling the soldiers to move Liu Zhu's body away and collect it.

Several soldiers stepped forward, lifted Liu Zhu's hands and grabbed his legs, half dragged and half carried him away.

When a person is alive, he is a person, and when he dies, he is just a pile of bones and flesh.

Fei Qian stepped forward.

Looking at the layout of the Cao army camp, you can understand that Liu Zhu is actually a good general.

The camp is well planned and the defensive fortifications are clearly layered.

If Liu Zhu is given a bigger stage or more support, then Liu Zhu may indeed cause more trouble to Fei Qian.

It's just a pity...

This is the custom in Shandong. Whether you can get a bigger stage and more resources does not depend on your personal ability, but on whether you are reborn well and have enough connections.

Fei Qian bent down, picked up a flag with "Han" written on it, and shook off the dust on the flag.

The once bright and gorgeous flag is now in tatters.

Fei Qian was silent for a while, and then found a long spear for the flag, tied it to the handle of the long spear, and then stuck it in the ground in the camp. He looked at it with his hands behind his back for a while, and said, "Cao's wounded soldiers, treat the wounds first, and then put them back. ”

Xun Chen nodded in agreement.

This is not a particularly strange operation.

The effects of reduced personnel and reduced morale brought by the wounded have a great impact on both sides.

But this "treatment of injuries" is a bit ingenious.

…

…

The wind is strong, and the clouds are like galloping horses, moving from north to south in a blink of an eye.

On the lonely peak, Cao Xiu is looking at the sky in the distance, looking thoughtful.

"General!"

A messenger came and bowed in front.

"The Protector General invites you for a moment!"

Cao Xiu was a little surprised when he heard the messenger come and report this.

He turned his head and looked far to the north. It seemed that he could see the flag of the cavalry faintly fluttering at the junction of heaven and earth. He couldn't help but say: "The war is imminent, what does the Protector General want to find me for?"

"The Protector General said that there is something important to discuss. "The messenger didn't know what Cao Hong wanted to do with Cao Xiu, so he could only answer like this.

Cao Xiu frowned slightly, "I know."

For some reason, he suddenly had a bad premonition in his heart.

Cao Xiu temporarily handed over the command of the soldiers to the deputy general, and he himself, with a small number of guards, hurriedly rode to Cao Hong's camp in Anyi.

This section of the road was not short, and in order to form a pincer attack on the cavalry army, Cao Hong and Cao Xiu deliberately gave up a certain distance. When Cao Xiu arrived at Cao Hong's camp, the horse was already sweating and panting. After Cao Xiu got off the horse, he touched the neck of the warhorse, looked at the sweat of the warhorse on one hand, and was a little dazed, but he had no time to think about it, and immediately went into the tent to meet Cao Hong.

Cao Hong was thinking in front of the map. When he looked up and saw Cao Xiu coming, he waved his hand calmly and said, "Come here, no need to be polite."

In the Cao Cao family system, although everyone has the surname Cao, it seems that there is only a difference in seniority, but in fact it is not entirely true. Don't look at the three brothers of the Cao family, but Cao Cao, Cao Ren, and Cao Hong are not from the same series.

Cao Cao's father was Cao Song, Cao Song's father was Cao Teng, and Cao Cao, Cao Ren, and Cao Hong had a common ancestor, Cao Jie. Cao Ren's great-grandfather was Cao Bao, and Cao Ren and Cao Chun were closer in blood. Cao Xiu's great-grandfather was Cao Ding, and Cao Ding and Cao Hong's father were from the same line, so Cao Xiu and Cao Hong were closer in blood.

"Meet uncle." Cao Xiu said with a bow.

"I received news that the cavalry rushed to attack the camp at the foot of the slope," Cao Hong said in a deep voice, "Liu Hu was unable to hold on, and the camp at the foot of the slope was broken... Liu was killed in the battle, and Hu was defeated... "

"What? ! "Cao Xiu was a little surprised, "This, it's only been a few days? "

Cao Hong frowned deeply, obviously dissatisfied with this matter, and the scars on his face looked a little ferocious.

Cao Xiu sat on one side, digesting the news. The more he thought about it, the more he felt a chill running down his spine, "How could he fail so quickly?" Could it be that Liu and Hu were slacking off on purpose? Poor defense? Or is there a hussar spy hidden in the camp, working together inside and outside? 』

Cao Hong shook his head, "It's artillery..."

"artillery? ! ” Cao Xiu’s eyes widened, “Didn’t it mean that there are not many hussars artillery pieces, and most of them have been abandoned after repeated use? What's more, the place at Tongguan...could it be that the Hussars were originally..."

Cao Hong was silent.

Cao Xiu said and fell silent after a moment.

Neither of them spoke.

Because of this, it was even more terrifying than the Qiusi's defeat of Liu Zhu's hostage.

If there are artillery on Tongguan, Cao and others can understand it. After all, Tongguan is an important pass, and it would not be strange at all to place heavy military weapons on it. If Cao and others have any important passes, The same arrangement will be made.

However, there are artillery in Pingyang, Linfen, and they were successfully used by the Hussars to capture the camp downhill. This shows that artillery can not only be placed on the pass as a defensive weapon, but can also be transported and used. Siege weapons!

The more important point is that Qiusi is hoarding artillery in Pingyang, which shows that Fei Qian may have planned everything and prepared everything long before Cao Cao attacked...

Such an opponent is obviously something that no one wants to encounter.

The two sat for a while, and Cao Hong let out a long breath and stood in front of the map first, "Here, if the hussars attack..."

Cao Xiu also calmed down and walked to the map.

They have the same last name, the same mood, and the same interests. If the gentry and literati in Shandong still have a way to retreat, then Cao Hong, Cao Xiu and others have no way to retreat. Before Cao Cao got up, the Cao family was not a strong family in Shandong. This can be seen from the fact that the Xu brothers did not throw away Cao Cao's face in Yuedan Ping.

In later generations, the Qing Dynasty had an additional word to describe families like the Cao family, "nouveau riche."

Suddenly gained a lot of wealth... Well, are you sure that this word that appeared in the Qing Dynasty was not used to talk about Kang Mazi and Gan Goupi?

But the attitude towards the nouveau riche, whether in the Han Dynasty or the Qing Dynasty, was not much different.

In Shandong, most of the gentry children have some concerns about the Cao family's high position and monopoly on military, financial, personnel and other powers. Once the Cao family loses power, the people and things that were previously suppressed will rebound...

Therefore, neither Cao Hong nor Cao Xiu wanted to see the Cao family fail, even though they knew it would be difficult this time.

In addition, Cao Hong and Cao Xiu were somewhat conceited, believing that no matter how dangerous the situation was, he had the ability to turn the tide.

Looking at the arrow symbol representing the Hussars' strength on the map, Cao Hong couldn't help but curse in a low voice. But now, the situation was getting worse and worse, and the two of them still felt a little discouraged.

"It's his mother's fault!" ” Cao Hong spat and said irritably, “Now that the camp down the slope has been destroyed, it has not weakened the hussar’s spirit... Now it’s up to you and me to support it!” What a waste of time! 』

s??????.???

Cao Hong put his hand on the map, "In the past two days, I asked the soldiers to urgently build fortifications and build earthen walls in the camp... But in this way, I lost the ability to fight back..."

Cao Xiu nodded silently.

In view of the fact that the camp down the slope was quickly captured by Fei Qian, they had to adjust their layout urgently. However, it was obvious that the higher the defense was, the worse the ability to counterattack, which meant that Cao Xiu was forced to bear more burdens.

"My lord, do you have any instructions?" ” Cao Xiu did not object to Cao Hong’s change of tactics, and he was not qualified to object, so he asked Cao Cao if he had any instructions.

"That's too late. I have already sent someone to report the message, but do I have to wait for the reply before I take action..." Cao Hong shook his head. After a short silence, Cao Hong said, "Now in Shandong, the gentry and gentry show signs of dissatisfaction with our inferiority. This battle... must be fought and won." 』

Cao Xiu nodded.

For this battle, Cao and others initially had expectations. They wanted to take advantage of Fei Qian's westward march to at least destroy the economy of Guanzhong and Hedong, plunder resources, seize manpower and craftsmen, and weaken Fei Qian's strength. But now This hope has become increasingly dim.

"Don't be discouraged. ” Cao Hong patted Cao Xiu on the shoulder and said, “You and I are both people who become more courageous the more we are frustrated. We just need to regroup and fight again.” 』

"So, what's the plan?" ” asked Cao Xiu.

"Surround Wei and rescue Zhao!" "Cao Hong spit out these four words, "We need to change our original plan..."

…

…

The hostage escaped.

He didn't know how he managed to escape, or why the hussars didn't pursue him.

The hussars' cavalry clearly had a chance to kill them all...

why?

However, this problem soon ceased to be his most difficult problem.

When he actually escaped back to the camp, he discovered that actually escaping with his life might not be a good thing.

Cao Hong met him immediately, and after sternly asking about the battle situation, he quickly placed him under "house arrest" and placed him in a corner of the camp together with the wounded soldiers who were sent back.

Although there was no explicit order restricting the hostage's freedom, the unkind eyes of the soldiers guarding the camp gate after the wounded soldiers made the hostage understand that his current situation may not be so good.

When the hostage mentioned Liu Zhu's death, Cao Hong seemed to be very surprised, but after thinking about it, the hostage felt that Cao Hong's surprise at that time was not because he really felt that Liu Zhu's death was a pity, but because he felt why the hostage did not fight to the death...

"hehe……"

Hu Zhi laughed a little nervously.

At the moment, the guard no longer had the majesty of the leader at that time. Not only was his armor skewed, his silk ribbons were loose, his face was covered with dust and dirt, his hair was messy, and even his expression was dull, as if he had been humiliated by more than a dozen big men for a day. Same overnight.

"Victory or defeat is standard issue. 』

Hu Zhi murmured.

No one was around him, and no one listened to what he said. He seemed to be comforting himself more.

"We have suffered losses in these battles, but if we can survive, we may soon turn defeat into victory..."

"The Hussars are not invincible..."

"The Thunderbolt Cannon is nothing more than that..."

"..."

The guard muttered, then his face twisted, "Yes, we can win... we can win..."

By the end of the soliloquy, Hu Zhi's tone had almost become choked with sobs.

He kept saying these words to Cao Jun's soldiers before the war started, and now it was his turn to say them to himself.

But the effect is the same.

He told the ordinary soldiers of Cao's army before, but the soldiers of Cao's army did not believe it. Now he told himself that he didn't believe it either.

His guards were "sent" to work.

Because Cao Hong's camp down the slope was "easily" breached by Fei Qian, in order to prevent the tragedy from happening again in Anyi, he focused on strengthening his defense against artillery and preparing to repair the earth. Because excavation requires a lot of manpower, even some of the lightly wounded soldiers in the wounded soldiers camp were dragged and sent to work.

The hostage still had the identity of a general, so he didn't go.

He sat alone for an unknown amount of time. Finally, he closed his eyes tiredly and fell asleep after a while.

In his sleep, he seemed to be back in his hometown, in his own home, sitting in a house with solid walls on all sides. He almost cried with joy. He was really fed up with living in a tent, not to mention the draft, bugs, and sand. Even the slightest movement made it difficult to sleep peacefully, but his own house was still comfortable.

A house made of bricks and stones is strong and warm. No matter it is windy or rainy outside, you can feel at ease inside...

"General!" General! 』

Suddenly, some panicked screams broke through the surrounding houses. The houses that he thought were bricks and stones were actually made of paper. They collapsed and burned in the blink of an eye!

The guard sat up suddenly.

He found that he was still in this leaky tent, and in front of him was a frightened confidant with blood on his face and a new injury.

"What's wrong? ’ Hu asked.

This calm tone made the hostage guards a little surprised, but soon the guards said: "General, they... they don't treat us as human beings... We came back together... a little bit... we were taken over by them Killed on the spot... I went up to argue and was beaten like this..."

Many of the soldiers who escaped back were members of the hostage group, and some of them were familiar with each other.

Originally they were all the same soldiers in Cao's army, they were all comrades-in-arms. However, after losing a battle, they became objects of contempt and belittlement, and had to endure bullying...

Hu Zhi seemed to be thinking about what to do. He rubbed his face with both hands, as if to wipe away the fatigue on his face, but in fact it had no effect at all.

"I just want to understand now why the hussars didn't chase us..."

The guard said slowly.

"Why? 』

The guard asked subconsciously, but after a moment he understood and fell silent.

After the two were silent for a long time, the guard sighed and said, "Is there anything to eat?" 』

"General?" You..." The guard became angry, "They don't even know you... No, I'll go find them..."

"never mind. ” The hostage grabbed the guard, then shook his head and smiled, “I heard that the people from Shandong said that the Cao family was like bamboo shoots in spring. I didn’t know what it meant at first, but now I finally understand...”

"Spring bamboo shoots?" ’ asked the guard.

Hu Zhi nodded, "They are spring bamboo shoots that burst out of the ground. They grow quickly and grow suddenly, but... they are empty in the belly..."

"General..." the guard asked in a low voice, "What are you..."

"Where are you going to get wood?" "The guard suddenly changed the topic, "The trees around here seem to be thinner. 』

The guard nodded and said: "Yes, there is no decent timber for ten miles around. The only woodland is to the southwest... We all go there to log wood..."

"good. ” The guard nodded and said, “Tomorrow, tomorrow I will go logging with you. 』

"General?" ” The guard was stunned for a moment, “General, what do you mean? 』

The commander gestured.

The guard moved closer.

The guard whispered: "Tomorrow, we will act according to the opportunity." 』

『Σ(⊙▽⊙“a!』The guard’s eyes widened.

‘Can’t you see?’ Hu Zhi said in a low voice, ‘They don’t trust us… they think we have… so they don’t give us any food, and they keep using it… I think when the cavalry arrives, we will be the first batch… Remember the people in Hedong who were driven away by us? Now it’s our turn.’

‘We, we didn’t…’ The guard was about to argue, but Hu Zhi covered his mouth.

Hu Zhi sighed, ‘It’s not up to us to decide whether we have or not.’

The guard was silent for a long time, ‘We, then where can we go, sir?’

‘Hehe… no matter where we go… let’s run away first,’ Hu Zhi said in a low voice, ‘this chaotic world… people are not as good as dogs… people are not as good as dogs… let’s survive first…’

Hu Zhi and his men didn’t hear what the people in Hedong shouted at the beginning, so Cao Hong and his men wouldn’t listen to what they shouted now.

‘It’s all in vain! 'Hu Zhi recalled the dream he had just had and couldn't help shedding tears, 'I have worked so hard to build up my fortune, but now, in the blink of an eye, it is all gone, all gone! '