Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3502 Really Busy

Lu Su is almost at Tongguan.

The carriage was shaking, and so were Lu Su's thoughts.

Lu Su looked relaxed on the surface, but he was actually very busy.

Not only was he busy observing and memorizing, but he was also busy calculating and predicting.

Shandong lost just like that?

Lu Su was almost at Tongguan, and he still couldn't believe it.

He knew that the cavalry had a big advantage, but he didn't expect it to be so big!

This was not just Lu Su's doubt, but also the doubt of many sons of the noble families from Shandong to Jiangdong. Is this the end of Prime Minister Cao Cao?

They may not respect Prime Minister Cao that much, but they will definitely respect the soldiers under Prime Minister Cao!

That's tens of thousands of elite soldiers!

Although Cao Cao often advertised his hundreds of thousands of troops, Lu Su knew that it was false, but no matter how false it was, there should be hundreds of thousands, and if you compress it, tens of thousands of people are definitely not a small number!

Tens of thousands of people, even if they are tens of thousands of pigs, are not easy to kill...

So, is it that Prime Minister Cao is too incompetent?

If I were to go...

How much standing force does Jiangdong have?

Jiangdong claims that it has 300,000 troops, but in fact, the standing force is only about 30,000.

And many of them are naval forces!

In times of war, emergency expansion can be done, one veteran can lead two new recruits, or one can lead three to expand to more than 100,000, but many of them are peasant soldiers who have not undergone any formal training. They go into battle with spears, and they probably have only one more tattered armor than the Yellow Turban bandits...

Under such circumstances, the cavalry claimed to have 80,000 people, and the people of Shandong Jiangdong basically believed that the cavalry army had only about 10,000 or 20,000.

Isn't it the same if you judge others by yourself?

So these 10,000 or 20,000 soldiers defeated nearly 100,000 of Cao Cao's men? !

Not to mention Lu Su, even Zhou Yu didn't believe it!

Zhou Yu had already overestimated the cavalry at that time, saying that Fei's potential could compete with Cao Cao, and that they were roughly balanced, so the Jiangdong investment would be the decisive force...

Looking back now, Zhou Yu's view is obviously wrong...

If I had known earlier, I should have persuaded Zhou Yu to take Jiangbei...

Lu Su pondered without any moral integrity.

Politics, what is moral integrity?

Especially in Jiangdong.

The Jiangdong gentry dare not say that they were directly involved in Sun Ce's death, but they must have provided convenience, otherwise the location where Sun Ce went hunting and his daily behavior habits were really information that a few assassins could easily get?

But even if Emperor Sun knew, what could he do?

Others did not know whether the relationship between Sun Quan and the Jiangdong gentry was good or bad, whether it was opposition or peace, but could Lu Su not know?

Sun Quan hated the Jiangdong gentry to the bone! But would it be useful to turn against them? How many times did Emperor Sun and the Jiangdong gentry turn against each other? After the falling out, didn't he have to bow his head and ask Zhang Zhao to be the peacemaker? Otherwise, did he really think Sun Quan would be willing to see Zhang Zhao's stinky face?

If the Jiangdong nobles died first, Zhang Zhao would definitely die second!

So, what people want and what they can really do are often two different things.

Now Lu Su doesn't know that the Jiangdong campaign has failed, so he hasn't decided what to do next...

After all, according to Jiangdong's nature, Jiangdong's "love" of peace, "no interest" in Jiangbei, and willingness to "coexist peacefully" with Jiangbei, actually have a big premise!

If Jiangdong can easily send out some troops and horses, it can push Jiangbei flat, and see if Jiangdong will continue to maintain peace?

If they fight, not only will they fail to defeat it, but they will also lose soldiers and generals, so who would be willing to fight?

Therefore, Lu Su felt that Jiangdong's foreign policy should be adjusted?

He came to Tongguan instead of waiting in Chang'an, just to see with his own eyes whether there was really such a decisive change in the battlefield between Fei Qian and Cao Cao.

Now the Jiangbei power that the Jiangdong people feared, Prime Minister Cao Cao, was overthrown by the Guanxi man...

Guanxi man...

Lu Su glanced at the cavalrymen on both sides of the vehicle, who were called guards but were actually monitoring.

They were indeed big and strong, compared with the aristocratic children in Jiangdong who always made orchid fingers...

Forget it.

It's troublesome!

The surging iron cavalry in the west, after Dong Zhuo, the fluttering tricolor flag will soon spread to Shandong, or even the whole world?

It should, perhaps, probably, not so fast?

But who can say for sure?

Just like this time, the Cao army was defeated as soon as it was said, it seemed like a collapsed dam. At first glance, it seemed to be still there, and at another glance, it had disappeared without a trace.

In fact, Lu Su also knew that there was no way out to defend Jiangdong alone.

From the Spring and Autumn Period to the Warring States Period, Qin and Chu were both despised barbaric lands.

Guanzhong is shaking now, but the former land of Chu, now Jiangdong, is not yet economically booming.

If Jiangdong is closed, although it is protected by the river as a natural barrier, it is also trapped by the river.

Jiangdong cannot do without ships, but too many ships will be dragged down by the ships.

And the Central Plains in the north of the Yangtze River, as well as the Guanzhong area further away, cannot be conquered by ships alone.

If the Jiangdong navy is deducted, the soldiers on the land of Jiangdong are too weak.

At the same time, Jiangdong's products were not the land of fish and rice that was developed in the Jin Dynasty. There was a lack of craftsmen in various industries, and the means of production were relatively thin, so it was impossible to fight a protracted war.

Everyone likes hard and firm, but in fact...

Lu Su smiled bitterly.

You know your own business. Don't look at Jiangdong as if he is the best in the world, but in fact, when he really goes to the battlefield, it is "You are so big, you are so bad, you... Is this the end? "

In history, Emperor Sun had 100,000 troops at any time, and the troops and reinforcements from other parts of Cao's army were still on the way, and then they heard the news that the battle was over...

It's not easy for Jiangdong!

Now Jiangdong is carefully managed, taking advantage of the intrigue between Jiangbei Fei Qian and Cao Cao, trying to gain more space, but now...

When seeing the various war debris at Tongguan, Lu Su suddenly felt a trace of sadness in his heart.

I don't know if Prime Minister Cao has any chance to turn the tables this time...

If there is, it's better. If not, if it's really as Zhou Yu expected, after the unification of the north of the Yangtze River, the day of Jiangdong's destruction is just a matter of time.

Jiangdong is really too difficult!

Too difficult!

Why did Cao's army lose?

Lu Su made inferences afterwards, and then he found some problems more or less.

It's always easier to reverse the situation than to predict it beforehand.

The first point is that there is a problem with the core troops of Cao's army.

The core troops of Cao's army are the Zhonglingjun Zhonghujun, which is jointly built by Qingzhou soldiers and Cao's relatives.

This army, in the hands of Cao Cao, traveled north and south of the Yangtze River, and there were many hard battles. It was indeed amazing, but this army had a great drawback, that is, there was only output, no income!

There was no new blood to replenish, only constant injuries, even the strongest body could not hold on!

The sons of the noble families all said that the lives of the lowly people below were like grass and were not worth cherishing. But grass grows once a year, but how can a generation of lowly people grow up without time?

Cao Cao ate 300,000 people in Qingzhou in one breath, and was so fat that he was spitting oil when he pooped, but after fighting the two Yuans in succession and moving to several battlefields, could there be no casualties?

This string is already very tight!

Why didn't anyone notice it before? So, didn't Cao Cao understand this matter?

Lu Su took a breath and suddenly had some enlightenment in his heart.

It's not that he didn't understand, but at that time, he had to do so!

This is the second question, why didn't Cao Cao get reinforcements in Shandong?

Logically speaking, shouldn't Cao Cao represent the Han Dynasty, the emperor, and the leaders of the nobles in Shandong and Jiangbei?

The problem contained in this made Lu Su think of Jiangdong.

Thinking of Sun Quan.

So this time when he came to pay a visit to the cavalry, Lu Su was not in a hurry all the way, and even deliberately walked slower.

Anyway, the war has come to an end. No matter how anxious you are, you can't change the result. It's better to slow down and take a good look.

The army is a gold-eating beast. No matter how much it eats, it's like a bottomless pit.

There are now more than 10,000 troops stationed in Tongguan. The daily eating, drinking, and defecation is a huge number.

Lu Su didn't know the situation inside Tongguan, but looking at the Linzhiyuan outside Tongguan, there are six food sheds alone, and the smoke from cooking is constant every day!

Lu Su made a rough estimate in his mind, and he was clattering...

It is of course impossible to let the soldiers eat so much that their mouths are full of oil, but at least they can't be hungry, but how much does this item require?

At least five or six hundred stones of food are consumed a day.

This does not include the fodder for war horses.

Since when did Guanzhong become so arrogant?

The problem of supplying the army is no longer a trivial matter, but for the army stationed during the period, what is more worried is harassment of the local area.

Generally speaking, the troops assembled for a war are not soldiers stationed in a certain place for a long time, nor will they have any friendship with the local merchants and people. They may even feel that they are not sure whether they will come back alive after going to the battlefield, so naturally they will not be polite to the locals, let alone show mercy. They may die on the battlefield at any time, who can resist the coming of the god of death? So forced buying and selling, even harassment and looting may happen.

Didn’t Sun Quan want to attack before?

Lu Su has been cleaning up the butts of those big soldiers.

So now Lu Su is wondering, this cavalry...

It’s really weird!

If they can stay in the camp for a few days and cause trouble in the local area, they can be regarded as a good army, with a taste of discipline.

Those who can hold back for more than ten days are already strict in military discipline and worthy of praise.

And now the cavalry has gathered here, at least for twenty or thirty days, right?

In these twenty or thirty days, these cavalry have not caused any conflicts with the three auxiliary areas of Guanzhong?

This is obviously beyond Lu Su’s cognition.

Military disasters and military disasters are not just casual talk.

In the feudal dynasties, local forces did not like the central military to intervene in local affairs, and this was also part of the reason. It is easy to invite gods but difficult to send them away. If things go wrong, the banditry will be eliminated just one step, and then a bigger disaster will happen. After repeated experience and lessons, local governments naturally formed an administrative template of hiding things from the upper level but not from the lower level. They would cover up if they could, and smooth things over if they could. They would not cry and go to the central government until the situation became so bad that it could not be resolved.

But why didn't the cavalry have these drawbacks?

Lu Su couldn't understand it at all.

After all, there were many Hu people in the cavalry. Those guys with dark skin and curly beards had a big difference in appearance from the people in the Central Plains, and they were easy to identify.

When Dong Zhuo was in Luoyang before, weren't these Hu people robbing and taking by force, causing the anger of heaven and people?

This time, Lu Su not only represented the emperor to meet the cavalry, but also represented Jiangdong to take a look and explore the future direction of Jiangdong...

...

...

Fei Qian is very busy now.

Not only is he busy dealing with official documents, but he is also busy training soldiers and horses.

The composition of the cavalry is actually divided into several parts.

The skeleton that Fei Qian used to build at first was the core force left by Dong Zhuo.

For example, Dong Zhuo's Flying Bear Army back then...

I don't know what Dong Zhuo was thinking at the time. A bear that is so fat, can it still fly? Anyway, later on, this part of the Feixiong Army was split into two parts by Fei Qian, one in Guanzhong and the other in Beimo.

As for the muscles added later, it was even more complicated.

There were people from Longyou, Guanzhong, Beidi, ordinary good families, ordinary people at the bottom, and even refugees from other places. These people, in battle after battle, could indeed be called the rare elite troops of the Han Dynasty. The training of combat skills had reached a very good level, but limited by the constraints of the times, there was actually a big gap between them and the image of soldiers in Fei Qian's mind.

In fact, it was surprising to be able to reach the current level. After all, the military discipline of most feudal dynasties was basically very general, and some even behaved like evil spirits. When they were recruited, they were a mixed bag, and most of them did not have any formal training. When they went to the battlefield, what constrained or encouraged them to fight was often money and promotion. What was used to maintain daily order was whipping and beheading, such as thirteen beheadings or fifty-four beheadings.

Fei Qian had spent most of his time in Guanzhong before. Although he would go to the training ground outside Chang'an from time to time to watch the training of the non-commissioned officers, he was indeed a certain distance away from the ordinary soldiers. Now when he returned to the army, he found that some problems of the army of this era were vaguely showing signs of resurgence.

With the defeat of Cao's army, Fei Qian's prestige rose to a new height.

Nowadays, when Fei Qian said something, thousands of soldiers responded and tens of thousands of people followed...

This is the power brought by authority.

The lower the people are, the louder their voices are when they speak, because no one listens.

The higher the people are, the smaller their voices are when they speak, because no one dares not to listen.

Of course, once the upper-class people start to scream heartbreakingly, it is actually very beautiful...

For example, when Yuan Shu shouted that there was no honey water.

When Yuan Shu spoke loudly, he probably never thought that one day no one would pay attention to him even if he screamed?

Every time Fei Qian thought of these, he had to remind himself once.

Be cautious and careful. Once there is arrogance, it is often a harbinger of destruction.

Under such self-reflection, Fei Qian did find some problems.

The problem of the Hussars.

Ma Yue was just one of the external manifestations.

With the defeat of Cao Cao, many Hussars began to be blindly optimistic, and even began to think about opening champagne at halftime, planning what position to be promoted, how much reward to get, and which place in Shandong would be better to serve...

So, Fei Qian began to train the soldiers.

He personally trained the soldiers with the instructors.

This is the most direct reason why these Hussars are so honest now.

Every day, they are exhausted from training on Linzhiyuan. How can they have the time and energy to go to other places to cause trouble?

As for other reasons...

Although no one said it clearly, most people know that after the Eastern Expedition, there will inevitably be large-scale promotions!

The carrots were hanging in front of them, and they could already smell the sweet smell. Therefore, all of Fei Qian's requirements would be regarded as a precursor to the selection for promotion. No one wanted to be left behind at this time. Even if they did not understand some of Fei Qian's requirements, they would cooperate as much as possible.

On the one hand, Fei Qian had some experience bonus from later generations, and on the other hand, these cavalry soldiers were not bad in themselves, and there was such an expectation waiting, so they cooperated very well in training. One or two days, nothing can be seen, but after more than ten or twenty days, the results will slowly emerge.

Fei Qian stood on the top of Tongguan City, stroking his beard on his chin, watching the soldiers under the city training.

Military training is originally a process of grinding human nature, or eliminating individuality, and piecing together scattered individuals into an organic whole. In this process, personal will will be erased little by little in the queue training, until each person is trained into a killing machine without psychological concerns.

This is why the targets of military training should be anthropomorphized as much as possible.

Because the army is really used to kill people...

But this behavior is against human nature.

Human nature is greed and laziness.

It takes more than 20 days to develop a habit, but it may only take a thought to break a habit.

These twenty days of high-intensity training and drills of formation ceremonies, under Fei Qian's careful training, are almost equivalent to beating the impetuousness and complexity of these cavalry soldiers again!

Under the city, the soldiers of the military school were all tanned, but the murderous aura emanating from the formation seemed to make the sun in the sky drop by three points!

A person is small, but when they gather into a group, especially in a strong group, they become strong, and this strength will infect every member of this group.

Some of the original scattered and impetuous atmosphere has basically disappeared now.

Under the tricolor flag, such a soldier representing iron and blood is the army that Fei Qian wants.

"My lord, Lu Zijing is here."

Huang Xu came to Fei Qian and reported.

Fei Qian nodded slightly, "You've come just in time..."

If he had come a few days earlier, Fei Qian would not have trained these soldiers well, and Lu Su, who seemed honest but was actually smart, would have found some flaws. But now...

"Pass the order down, review the three armies tomorrow!"