Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3460 Illusion

What Fei Qian could not have expected was not that Cao Jun had any conspiracy, but that Lü Chang was in trouble.

Big trouble!

For any general, it is a huge trouble when the soldiers are passive and lazy, or even start to fight in the opposite direction.

What should we do when the soldiers start to slack off?

Under normal circumstances, officers can have hundreds of ways to deal with these slacking soldiers, but now the enemy is right in front of them, and their own soldiers are slacking off...

Generally speaking, these soldiers in Shandong are very obedient and honest.

Including the civilians in Shandong are also very obedient and honest.

But this obedience and honesty are all at a price and have limitations...

That is "closure".

The strategy of fooling the people.

"The people can be made to follow it, but not to know it. "

But now this closed chain has been broken under the intertwined war.

If the soldiers and civilians still have a little trust in their superiors, or if they still have the so-called Han emperor and the belief and faith in the unification of the world in their hearts, then even if they know the information from the outside world and feel the difference in treatment, they may not be shaken much and completely give up.

But the question is...

Do the soldiers led by Lu Chang have such faith and belief?

For the Han Dynasty, for the emperor, for the prime minister?

For the Han Dynasty, this reason may be justified. After all, as a soldier, it is indeed his duty to resist foreign enemies. There is nothing to shirk, but the problem now is that Fei Qian is also a cavalryman of the Han Dynasty!

Then for the emperor?

Who is the emperor? Does he know us? Does he know if my name is Zhang Erdan or Li Sangou? Does he know that my mother is blind and lame, and has to pay taxes every year, not a penny less?

Finally, for the prime minister?

Maybe it can be a reason. After all, food, clothing and other expenses were all provided by Prime Minister Cao Cao. If you receive the military pay from Prime Minister Cao, you should work for Cao. This is indeed no problem, but now there is no food!

If you want people to work hard, at least give them food, not nothing!

This problem may seem to be about food on the surface, but in fact it has already gone bad, showing that the ordinary soldiers of Cao's army don't want to fight at all!

Otherwise, why didn't there be such a big commotion in the Zhongtiaoshan camp of Cao's army before?

It's a pity that Lu Chang didn't react.

"Where is the grain collection team? Haven't come back yet? ! "

Lu Chang was angry.

Generally speaking, it is normal for the baggage team to be slower.

But the problem now is that there is no baggage team coming out with them!

Lu Chang thought there was, but it turned out that there was no!

Lu Chang thought that the soldiers could still endure this time, but it turned out that the soldiers didn't want to endure this time!

This is a big problem.

The target is in front, but the soldiers have to eat first.

At least not to starve to death, this is the reason given by the soldiers, and Lü Chang has nothing to say.

Lü Chang had no choice but to send out the "food collection team" to search for "food and grass".

In fact, everyone knows, what kind of "food and grass" can there be around?

The lucky ones found some scattered wild animals, and the unlucky ones became "wild animals".

The key is that each "food collection team" has a food and grass indicator!

To evaluate performance, those who fail to achieve performance will of course be held accountable.

This...

The "food collection team" sent out by Lü Chang is equivalent to a part of it, and they simply took this opportunity to run away!

So after Lü Chang arrived at the battlefield, he did nothing for most of the day and just ate.

...

...

On the battlefield, no one will give a second chance.

Although Fei Qian felt that this Cao army was a bit weird and its actions were difficult to understand, it did not prevent Fei Qian from organizing troops to attack.

No matter what the Cao army planned, Fei Qian's response was simple and rough, that is, firepower reconnaissance.

Even the best disguise would be exposed in front of fire reconnaissance.

Huang Xu led the fire reconnaissance. He pointed to the hill where Cao's army was and said, "Go ahead!"

Winter was getting closer, and the ground was getting drier and harder.

There were 1,800 cavalrymen who attacked. The horses and men galloped on the yellow earth, and a huge roar suddenly aroused!

The Cao army stationed on the hill soon found something unusual. "What is that? !"

"What else could it be? ! The cavalry is coming!"

Someone immediately reported it to Lv Chang.

Lv Chang's face fell immediately, as if he had been hit hard on the head with a stick.

"How many people and horses are there? !" Lv Chang shouted.

"I don't know!" The sentry also shouted, "I can't see clearly! At least thousands of people and horses! !"

"..." Lv Chang was angry, but he had no choice.

The sky was dark and grey. The cavalrymen did not light large-scale torches, so it was normal that Cao's sentinels could not see clearly.

Now the problem was placed in front of Lü Chang...

Is it the cavalry reinforcements, or is the cavalry front camp bluffing?

Obviously, the cavalry front camp must have known that Lü Chang had arrived, so it is possible that they took advantage of the Cao army's unstable foothold to launch a sneak attack.

If this was the case, there would not be many cavalrymen attacking, and it might even be a bluff!

So if the men and horses in the front camp of the Hussars were just bluffing, but I was so scared that I turned around and left because of such a small number of soldiers, that would be too stupid.

But what if...

Lu Chang couldn't help but tremble in his heart.

Probably not.

Isn't Hussar in Anyi?

The county town of Anyi is in ruins, and the Prime Minister said that he has some back-up preparations. In addition, there are Governors of Xiahou and General Cao over there, so they must be able to hold back the Hussars and prevent them from going south!

Lu Chang thought.

He was completely unaware that he, like other generals of Cao's army, had gone from eagerly awaiting the appearance of the hussars at the beginning to now almost instinctively fearing and avoiding the appearance of the hussars.

This was a completely opposite change, but Lu Chang and other generals of Cao's army did not feel anything was wrong.

Avoiding because of fear.

"General!" What should we do? ! ” asked a confidant on the side.

Lu Chang swallowed, then gritted his teeth and said, "What are we doing here?" 』

"I don't know..." the confidant replied.

"Asshole!" Lu Chang was furious, "It's for the lord's great cause, it's for the common people in the world, it's...forget it, let's put it this way, if we don't fight anything now and just go back like this, what do you think will happen?" 』

The confidant immediately trembled.

There are big problems among Cao Jun, both high and low. Even if he sits in a position like Lu Chang's, he is still trepidatious and doesn't dare to let anything fall into the hands of others.

"The general is right. ” The confidant responded helplessly.

So Lu Chang formed a formation along the mountain, trying to resist the hussars and horses.

…

…

Just when Lu Chang was trying to resist the Hussars on the hill, Cao Hong in Zhongtiao Mountain was also chased and encircled by the Hussars.

At first, Cao Hong didn't pay much attention.

Because in the process of escaping, it is extremely common for some soldiers to "get lost". However, a series of soldiers disappeared inexplicably, which aroused Cao Hong's vigilance.

Then Cao Hong discovered the pursuers he had brought with him.

The pursuit in the mountains is not easy for either the escaping party or the pursuing party.

However, in comparison at the moment, the morale of Cao Hong's side has collapsed and the soldiers have no fighting spirit, so they appear to be more trapped.

If you don't get rid of the pursuers, you will very likely be destroyed in this Zhongtiao Mountain.

"General, I have an idea..." A young guard leader walked up to Cao Hong, pointed to the south and said, "Take some people and pretend to intercept here first, and then look for opportunities to go south along the valley!" Those pursuing soldiers must have thought that the general was going to Heluo, but they didn't expect that the general was actually going back to the Zhongtiao Mountain camp..."

The Zhongtiao Mountain camp is to the west of Cao Hong.

If you take the outer route, the distance is longer in a straight line, but it's actually better.

Because Zhongtiao Mountain is a mountain range that runs almost east-west, the north and south are relatively narrow.

Cao Hong and Yong Yi were both climbing over mountains and ridges in an east-west direction, and they could not go any faster no matter how fast they went.

In addition, Cao Hong had an injury on his foot that had not healed, which also slowed down the trip.

Cao Hong thought for a moment and hesitated.

If it had been before, even as long as he was not injured, Cao Hong really didn't pay attention to the pursuer, and he might as well have led his men to ambush him and kill him before leaving.

But now...

"General!" Decide quickly! "The guard said, "Let me lead the pursuers away! 』

Cao Hong finally agreed to the guard's suggestion, "You should be careful too!" If it doesn't work, just run away separately! Only by sparing his life can he avenge this great revenge! 』

The guard smiled and said, "This little bitch lives only..."

"No! From today on, you are no longer a mean person! ” Cao Hong took the guard’s hand and said, “You have been following me for many years... Now in times of adversity, you will know the true feelings! We have to return to the Central Plains, you and I are brothers! You are all my brothers, Cao Hong! 』

Cao Hong said loudly, then patted the guard leader's arm, "You all must survive!" Then let’s eat meat, drink wine and enjoy ourselves together! 』

The little guard leader looked very moved, "General!" You take the people and leave now, just leave a few good people with me! 』

Cao Hong hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and said, "How can we stop it with just a few people left?" I'll leave some more people for you! Even if you can't stop the pursuers, it's safer if you go together! 』

Cao Hong led a small number of people to the west, while the guard leader stayed with a relatively large number of people.

The remaining soldiers of Cao's army were sitting or leaning on the cliffs.

They are all very tired.

There were no grand words or generous words.

Everyone wants to live, but some people are bound to face the threat of death.

They are Cao Hong's last armor and shield. From the day they served as Cao Hong's guards, they were destined to face these threats of death.

It was these people who advised Cao Hong to flee, but it was also these people who stayed to intercept the pursuers.

Call these people brave, but when they saw that the momentum was wrong, they were the first to persuade Cao Hong to flee.

Call these people cowardly, but they act brave at this time...

At least being brave on the surface is amazing. After all, there are more people who can't even be brave on the surface.

Whether they were Cao Hong's substitutes at Suoyang Pass or took the initiative to stop the pursuers now, it can be said that these people are desperate criminals, but it also proves the complexity of human nature, which cannot be completely analyzed and mastered by a fixed formula.

There was a sudden noise in the distance, and the Cao army that stayed behind immediately hid their bodies and waited for battle.

However, these Cao soldiers had not received special training after all, and the hussars who caught up with them found them before they completely entered their ambush circle...

"Shoot! Shoot!"

"Aim and shoot again!"

Both sides had few arrows left, and after shooting three or two rounds, they lost the support of long-range firepower.

The mountain mist whistled past, which also affected the accuracy of shooting.

After seeing that intercepting the ambush had no killing effect, the small leader of the guards immediately led his men to flee to the south.

"They fled to the south!"

A hussar pointed at the figures of the Cao army and shouted.

"Go south? '

Nonglai was stunned for a moment.

He was also injured, and it was not easy for him to hold on until now.

But the opponent turned to the south, which made him confused.

Because Cao Hong had been walking west before, and now he suddenly changed direction, either Cao Hong planned to turn here, or...

'Don't rush to chase! 'Nonglai shouted, 'First look for other traces...'

The blood mark can be a mark, but it cannot be the main tracking target.

Because other Cao soldiers may also be injured, or even "intentionally" injured.

So the main criterion for judgment is the number of people.

Or the number of traces left on the ground.

The number of traces of human activities left is of course different for different numbers of people.

The hussars dispersed and looked for these traces on the ground.

After a while, the hussars found two places, two different traces in two directions.

One way is to the south, with more people, and the other way is to the west, with fewer people.

More people, go south.

Few people, go west.

Which direction should we go?

Or are both directions wrong, and Cao Hong is actually hiding somewhere nearby, waiting for us to catch up and then turn around?

…

…

Lü Chang looked at the cavalry rushing in the twilight, his face was very ugly.

He felt like a joke.

He had a premonition before, and he made a wrong judgment. Now this premonition was vividly placed in front of him.

But he couldn't say it out loud, so he could only hold on and keep a glimmer of hope.

If he evacuated earlier, he might be able to run back, but now...

Lü Chang is also an old soldier. Even if he doesn't observe closely, he can tell whether it is elite or not.

These cavalrymen who seem to be able to move freely on horseback are not only well-equipped, but also very vigorous and full of momentum. They are completely different from the Cao army soldiers around Lü Chang.

Except for the initial period when Cao's army had a slight advantage and was in high spirits, they were passively beaten in the middle and late stages. They were able to maintain until now, largely relying on Shandong's consistent policy of ruling the people by keeping them ignorant, otherwise they would have collapsed long ago.

Even this inertia of keeping the people ignorant is gradually losing control of the situation.

Lü Chang was helpless and a little frustrated.

If the soldiers had not mutinied, he should have arrived at the front camp of the cavalry long ago, and then whether the attack was successful or not, there would be a result, and the task could be completed earlier.

As a result, it was delayed...

In fact, it had already started to delay when it set out from the Zhongtiao Mountain camp.

Lü Chang didn't take it seriously at the time.

Why did Cao's army become like this now?

When Cao Cao started his army in Chenliu and fought in the south and the north, even when facing Yuan Shao's aggressive momentum, he didn't collapse like he did now...

Lü Chang looked at the direct guards around him.

If they can't win, then whether they can escape back depends on them.

When seeing the sturdy figures of these cavalry soldiers running down the mountain, Lü Chang lost his confidence in defeating the front army camp, and he also doubted why he had "believed" Dong Zhao's advocacy before, thinking that there was an "opportunity"?

Dong Zhao should really be allowed to see these cavalry soldiers in front of him, and then formulate any strategy!

The only thing worth being thankful for at the moment is that because the soldiers mutinied and asked for food, Lü Chang did not attack the front army camp directly, so now he did not encounter these cavalry soldiers in the wild, at least there is a defensive position, even if this position is simple, it can be regarded as a little psychological comfort for Lü Chang and other Cao army soldiers.

Wait until dark, then retreat!

At that time, it will be dark, and even if the cavalry soldiers want to chase, they may not be able to find who is who!

The rapid sound of horse hooves whistled from afar, and then they did not immediately attack the infantry line on the hillside, but went around the foot of the mountain and often went around the two wings, just like water encountering a reef, it did not knock over the reef all at once, but coiled around, looking for an opportunity to overturn it.

The thunderous sound of horse hooves made the Cao army soldiers tremble. They recalled the previous battle dominated by the cavalry, and some people were so nervous that their hands and feet twitched involuntarily.

Fei Qian led the rear formation and did not move.

"Hello, hussar!" No rebel branch was found within five miles! 』

"No enemy ambush was found!" 』

"Nothing unusual!" 』

While listening to the feedback from the scout rangers, Fei Qian held up his binoculars and looked around.

The gradually getting darker night covered most of the colors and compressed the field of vision to a small range. Even with a telescope, it was impossible to see changes in the distance clearly. One could only judge whether there was Cao Jun based on the presence of lights or the like. Hidden.

"You really have no backup plan?" 』

Fei Qian looked at the firelight rising above the hill and asked, "Are those firelights just signals?" 』

Until now, Fei Qian was still wondering whether there were other Cao soldiers lurking around, and was ready to attack them. He even sent people to the former army camp and notified the military academy in the camp to prevent them from leaving the camp. , to avoid unexpected situations.

Fei Qian knows that if you are cautious ten thousand times, you may be ridiculed as timid or cowardly, but as long as you are careless once, you may never hear these ridicules...

"Lord!" Fight or not? 』

When Huang Xu arrived in front of Fei Qian, he looked eager to try.

If we want to fight now, it means we have to fight at night, but if we wait until dawn to fight, it will be a long night and many dreams.

Fei Qian thought for a moment, waved his arm, "Hit!" 』