Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3547 Li Shu's Lament

The night is falling and the cold wind is blowing.

The once prosperous Luoyang City is now desolate.

The moonlight flowed through the gap in Luoyang’s southern city wall like a silver wound.

In the shadows of the canal, some human-shaped shadows were swaying.

Li Laosi's straw sandals were stuck in the mud and he tried to pull them out for a long time without success. In order not to make too much noise and attract the attention of the patrol team, he simply untied the thin string of the sandals.

"Oh, I forgot to take it off first..."

Li Laosi was reluctant to part with these straw sandals.

Although these straw sandals are worn out and almost torn, they are still a pair of shoes.

In the Shandong area of ​​the Han Dynasty, there are two types of people, depending on whether they wear shoes or not.

He had put on the shoes with great difficulty, but now he was forced to throw them away...

Even a pair of worn-out shoes that the sons of noble families would not even look at.

"Stop nagging that bitch! Be careful not to attract the patrol!" Another deserter behind Li Laosi pushed Li Laosi, "Stay to the side, be careful not to get stuck in the middle... The bottom of the canal has never been repaired, and if you get stuck in it, you can't get out... Don't lead us into the ditch..."

"Got it, got it..."

Li Laosi responded in a low voice, then touched the half-filled copper goblet tied tightly in his arms.

He picked it up at the ruins of the burned-down Imperial College last winter.

Imperial College, that's a place only nobles can go to...

When Li Laosi was in Shandong, he never thought that he would be able to stand in the Imperial College in his life!

When he left his dirty footprints in front of the Mingtang of the Imperial College, he laughed for some reason and was scolded by the military school...

The fragment of the bronze jug in Li Laosi's arms was only half the size of a palm, and its edges were polished to a shine by the rammed earth.

He found it under a tree root in the ruins of the Imperial Academy.

At that time, half a burnt bamboo slip was embedded in the frozen soil, but he could not read, so he handed in the bamboo slip and hid the fragments of the bronze jug.

The military academy didn't want the bamboo slips, because they were just there to loot the remaining valuables...

Everyone who found wealth would hide it for themselves first. If they could hide it, it would belong to them, and if they could not, they would be beaten.

Li Laosi was obviously quite good as he hid this half of the bronze goblet.

This thing must be worth some money, he thought.

The inscription on the inside of the bronze cup was worn out and blurred, but if you looked at it sideways against the firelight, you could still catch a glimpse of two words.

He asked someone privately and was told that the two words were "Eternal Life".

That person also said that if this thing was complete, it would be really valuable, but now...

The man chuckled and threw the broken bronze goblet back to Li Laosi.

However, Li Laosi still felt that he still had a chance to exchange this thing for some money, and at least this thing could still be of some use.

Inside the broken bronze cup were a few handfuls of old grains that he had stolen while working as a cook in the camp...

Go back, go home, and then sell this thing for some money, and then do some small business, at least you can have a few days' food money, and then help others work, farm, and then...

Li Laosi thought of many "then"s, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise.

Seven or eight dark shadows like Li Laosi slid down the rammed earth slope of the collapsed canal in Luoyang City, hunched over and slowly groping forward in the shadows.

Luoyang's water channel leads to the outside of the city, and there is a section of the water gate on the other side of the city wall that has been destroyed and has never been repaired...

So this is a loophole that Li Laosi and his team have been planning for several days.

A younger soldier accidentally knocked off a half-broken brick beside the canal. It fell to the ground with a loud thud. The sound could be heard from far away in the quiet night, scaring everyone so much that they quickly lay down, not caring about the smelly sludge in the canal.

In the quiet night, Man Chong still couldn't fall asleep.

He has too much going on.

Although I was physically very tired, I found it difficult to fall asleep because I was thinking too much mentally.

It was not a very warm spring to begin with. In the hall of the government office in Luoyang, even though there was a brazier, it seemed that it was not lit and could not bring much warmth. The whole empty hall was like being in an ice cellar. Even without touching the ice around it, it was still bone-chillingly cold.

Although everyone knows that victory and defeat are common in military affairs, and that one must consider what will happen after failure before fighting, everyone understands the truth, but Man Chong did not expect that Cao's army would end up in such a situation after their westward expedition!

When Man Chong was stationed in Luoyang, he carefully recalled all the previous strategic deployments. At least as far as the main road was concerned, there seemed to be no problem, whether it was dividing the troops, encircling the enemy, or transferring to Hedong to fight.

The only one who has some problems is Xiahou.

Xiahou family...

It's of no use!

Man Chong sighed in his heart, but did not dare to say it out loud.

After all, even if Man Chong doesn't understand what U Can U up, No Can NO BB means, it is indeed not a good thing to say about Xiahou family.

The defeat of Xiahou meant the complete destruction of Cao's army.

If you want to talk about bravery, it is indeed brave, but...

If the Xiahou clan could be stronger, Xiahou Dun would lead a surprise attack to conquer Taiyuan in the north, and Xiahou Yuan would rush to attack Pingyang. Even if Fei Qian couldn't be killed with one blow, he could still cause chaos in the cavalry! If so, Fei Qian would be caught in a dilemma. It would be difficult to defend Guanzhong, and it would be difficult not to defend it. He would inevitably waver and have loopholes in the dilemma!

But after Xiahou Yuan's death, the situation, which was already extremely critical, took a sharp turn for the worse!

The battle at Cao's camp on Emeiyuan was also a sudden and quick defeat, so much so that it was like a snowball rolling down from a high mountain, collapsing all the way to the present moment.

It was originally thought that this battle would last at least a year, but now it seems to have come to a dead end, and it is the end of the road on the Shandong side. This really makes Man Chong feel a little helpless.

Now that Cao's army has been defeated, such a huge gap in the retreat route cannot be filled in a short time.

Although Heluo also has eight passes to defend, it is not as strategic as Guanzhong. Moreover, if Hangu Pass is still gone...

If Hangu Pass is in our hands, we can still hold on for a while.

But now, even without Hangu Pass, Man Chong must persevere, which is naturally even more difficult.

War is impossible to wait until both sides are ready before fighting. The etiquette of the Spring and Autumn Period was abandoned in the Warring States Period. In the Qin and Han Dynasties, people could be as despicable as possible, as long as it worked, and the rest was irrelevant.

Therefore, if Man Chong wanted to properly resist the Hussars in the Heluo area and under the city of Luoyang, and prevent Fei Qian from expanding his troops to the east, he had to be less serious...

The reason is very simple. Even though Man Chong worked very hard personally, the Shandong gentry children in Luoyang City only wanted to escape from this deadly place as soon as possible!

As time went by and the spring rains came, these Shandong nobles breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time they became more and more anxious. Because they knew that as soon as the rain passed, the weather cleared up, and the ground hardened again, the cavalry army would appear at the foot of Luoyang City at any time!

Therefore, no matter how passionate these Shandong gentry children were in their daily lives and how much they talked about loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness, now they all hoped that they could escape from the sea of ​​suffering as soon as possible.

Under such circumstances, the closer one is to the center of Luoyang and the closer one is to the city, the more chaotic the order becomes. The so-called "sincere cooperation" of Shandong is actually like a fart. It has some smell, but if you really look for it, it will be dissipated in the wind.

Those Shandong young men who had previously followed Cao Cao in the Western Expedition, thinking that they could gain some merit in the process and then fish in troubled waters, either cried every day, or were distracted, or secretly packed their bags and promised generous rewards to the few servants, asking these servants to escort them back to Shandong.

If it really doesn't work, why not just hide in the mountains for a year or two?

It’s just Beimang Mountain, just treat yourself as a living dead!

What's more, some Shandong nobles have already started thinking about which tomb would be the best to live in...

Man Chong was also helpless when he received this news.

If it were before, he would still have some intention to manage it, but now, he is so busy every day that he doesn't have time to care about the petty minds of these guys.

In fact, Man Chong did not expect these Shandong gentry children to contribute much. As long as they could keep their mouths shut and help deal with some chores, they might be able to stabilize the morale of the army and perhaps hold out for a while longer.

The confidence of these Shandong gentry children in Cao Cao and his army has already reached its lowest point. How could they possibly have the determination to fight to the death?

With the morale of the army at such a low level, there is naturally no question of any strict laws.

In Luoyang City, some cautious people are still handling some errands in the city, but the vast majority of Shandong young men have become lazy. They either sigh every day or try to get some alcohol to numb themselves.

The same is true for the soldiers. Except for some of Cao's elite soldiers, the morale of the other ordinary soldiers is very low...

…

…

"In front, we are almost there..." Li Laosi said in a low voice in the canal, "As soon as we leave the city, I will take off my red hat..."

He groped forward, his rough hands picking at the broken blue bricks at the edge of the canal.

Suddenly, Li Laosi seemed to have touched something.

He stopped, lowered his head, and moved closer to the crack in the blue brick.

He saw an unknown plant growing in the crack, with a tiny flower blooming on it...

The petals are small and delicate.

Li Laosi leaned over and tried to smell the fragrance of the flowers.

Unfortunately, in the mud, even if there was any floral fragrance, it would be covered by the stench.

For some reason, he suddenly remembered something. He remembered the fire that was set in Xuzhou County that year. The burnt smell seemed to revive in his nasal cavity again.

At that time, he was still a laborer transporting grain, and he saw with his own eyes that the Qingzhou soldiers threw the crying woman into the sea of ​​fire.

That is a woman who looks like a little flower...

Li Laosi gently touched the petals with his hand, then retracted his hand as if burned, lowered his head and continued walking forward.

After a while, another dark shadow followed Li Laosi's footprints and came here, grabbing the gap in the blue brick where the small flower grew.

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The rough, cracked hands flattened the young plant, but the black shadow felt nothing and just moved forward.

…

…

Man Chong couldn't sleep, so he closed his eyes and rested for a while. Then he opened his eyes again and stared blankly at this temporary office and resting place.

Speaking of which, this place was once a magnificent place outside the Han Dynasty Palace, second only to the emperor, but now it is in a dilapidated state.

This is Situ Mansion!

The great Han Situ!

If it were still the past, even if Man Chong had his current status, he would still need to respectfully hand in a sign at the gatehouse to ask for an audience, and then he could get a place to stand in this hall. Maybe he would have a seat, but he couldn't sit down firmly, and he would have to raise his butt to answer questions at any time...

But now, Man Chong just lay there with his arms and legs spread out, and no one said anything to him.

Fortunately, this place was not burned down during the fire.

Even after Yang's renovation, it was still difficult to restore its former glory.

In front of the hall where Man Chong was, on the screen wall, the broken tiles of "Changle Weiyang" could not be completely restored, not to mention the coiled dragon patterns that were supposed to be on the eaves, of which only some fragments were left.

This is not the worst...

The worst was in the palace.

This place, which once represented the highest glory of the Han Dynasty and was the most sacred, is now in a horrible state.

When the Xiliang soldiers retreated, they took away everything they could, even the gold foil on the red lacquered pillars. The palace was even more severely damaged. The twelve main halls had all turned to ashes.

Only one place in the southeast corner, near the flower bed, retained some beams and columns, and Man Chong had specially visited it before.

The unburned beam slanted into the sky, and traces of cloud and thunder patterns were faintly visible on its charred surface.

The beam was named "Tongtian Liang" by Emperor Xiaoling himself. It was carved from huge trees from southern Xinjiang, which took ten years to complete. Now the beam was burnt and cracked, and the amber resin that was burned deep in the cracks looked like the beam was shedding tears.

Not only were the valuables in the palace unable to be repaired, but even the canals used by everyday people on the streets could not be restored to their original state.

The craftsmen in charge of repairing the canals reported that these canals were built in the second year of Yongshou under an order from the emperor. The material used to fill the gaps and bond the bricks was Lishan blue clay, which not only did not dissolve in water or crack in the sun, but also had excellent adhesion and could fit with blue bricks and stone slabs. However, this material was no longer available, so they could only use mortar mixed with plant ash to bond them together, which could only last for a year or two at most...

Man Chong raised his head slightly and looked at the ceiling of the former Situ Mansion's hall. There were originally twenty-eight constellations painted on it by Han craftsmen using the "Nine-Dyeing Method". However, after the reconstruction, it has lost its former liveliness and is left with only dull dots. They don't look like stars, but more like grayish-white insects crawling on it.

Luoyang City was in a state of decay and ruins that were difficult to repair.

The sons of Shandong gentry became disloyal and only wanted to escape.

The morale of the soldiers collapsed, supplies were insufficient, and they still had to plan and design with great effort.

Due to all kinds of fatigue, Man Chong's originally handsome face has become much more haggard without him noticing. Even around the corners of his eyes, there are many fine wrinkles, as if he has quietly aged more than ten years in the past month or two.

Because Man Chong resolutely implemented Cao Cao's order to close the border and not allow the children of Shandong gentry to leave, he was often ridiculed and cursed by these children of Shandong gentry in public or in private. Man Chong ignored them and just made his arrangements silently.

But when the night was quiet, he would still wonder, how could it turn out like this?

Is Cao's army so vulnerable?

Compared to Fei Qian, where is the difference?

Man Chong also carefully studied Fei Qian's rise.

The high and mighty imperial power and the aristocratic system of the Han Dynasty had already revealed their rotten and degenerate nature in front of Fei Qian's cavalry. But could this prove that the cavalry's governance system could replace the brilliant achievements accumulated by the original Han Dynasty over three or four hundred years?

Just like the current Luoyang City and the Situ Mansion in front of us, what can the invading cavalry troops bring when they roar in?

Is it the huge beams in the ruins that are weeping, or is it the century-old canal that has been destroyed?

This fear of facing the future made Man Chong unable to believe in Fei Qian, this "outlier".

Man Chong suddenly turned over and sat up, because he heard hurried footsteps coming from afar...

…

…

Li Laosi suddenly stepped on something in the mud, and he suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck.

Because his straw sandals had been stuck in the mud long ago, he was now barefoot. However, the cold mud in the spring night still dulled his sense of touch, and he was unable to notice what he had stepped on at the first moment.

He bent down, reached his hand into the mud and groped around.

What's this?

This is……

Wooden stake!

A collapsed wooden pile lay slanting in the mud.

Perhaps it was not installed properly, or perhaps some subsequent reason caused the wooden stake to tilt, so that the tip of the stake was not pointing upwards, and it was unable to pierce the soles of Li Laosi's feet.

"What's wrong?"

The dark shadow following behind also stopped and asked in a low voice.

"Here... there is a wooden stake..."

Li Laosi found that his voice was trembling in the night wind.

He should have thought of it earlier!

I've done this before!

Sharpen the stake and stick it in the trap...

Here, here is a trap!

"Back off, back off!" Li Laosi panicked. "There are stakes here! Stakes! This is a trap!"

He suddenly understood why the sluice gates in this section of the canal had not been repaired!

The shadows that followed them also panicked, but soon they had different opinions. They thought that the water gate was in front of them, and escaping would be the way to survive, so they didn't want to turn back, and Li Laosi couldn't find any more evidence to prove that this was indeed a trap.

Except for the crooked stake in his hand...

"What if it accidentally fell from somewhere else?"

A dark shadow asked.

"this……"

Li Laosi couldn't be sure either.

"I'm not going back!" A dark figure pushed Li Laosi aside and took his place at the front. "I've come this far! I want to go home! Go home!"

Li Laosi swallowed his saliva, he also wanted to go home.

But……

Li Laosi lowered his head and looked at the wooden stake that had just been pulled out of the mud.

The black dirt left on the wooden stake looked like dirty blood or the lingering ghost of the dead.

Several dark figures passed Li Laosi and walked forward.

Li Laosi couldn't help but feel a little lucky, maybe...

Was it really just a false alarm on my part?