Three Kingdoms

"This is impossible! impossible! Xia Houyuan said angrily, grabbing the person who came to report the news and spitting, "Absolutely impossible!" 』

The messenger caught by Xia Houyuan was so strangled that he rolled his eyes, but he couldn't break free.

Xia Houyuan calmed down a little and threw the messenger to the ground.

 It was Sima Yi who killed Cao Zhen, not the messenger from Hedong.

"Damn it..." Xia Houyuan gritted his teeth, "Sima... traitor, traitor!" 』

 The impossible has happened, and no matter how much Xia Houyuan denies it, it cannot change it.

Although some details of the incident in Beiqu failed to reach Cao Cao's camp on the other side of the river, it was not a secret issue for many wealthy noble families in the Hedong area.

 When Xia Houyuan left Wangwu Mountain and sent personnel to contact Hedong, he received such news that he found difficult to accept...

 Cao Zhen's troops were destroyed in Beiqu.

Although life and death matter on the battlefield, most of the time, soldiers still die more often than generals, even in later generations of wars involving hot weapons. If a general died, it would be a big deal.

Although Cao Zhen was not a general, he was still an important figure among the second generation of the Cao family. How could Xia Houyuan accept it when his entire army was wiped out in Beiqu?

 "General..." the confidant beside Xia Houyuan persuaded, "It...it seems that Hedong has been prepared for a long time...The situation is not good, why not..."

　　　‘Not as good as what? Xia Houyuan glared at him sideways, "Are you afraid?" ! 』

 The confidant shook his head, "General, I'm worried about the general..."

Xia Houyuan’s armor made a clattering sound, "What are you worried about?" 』

"General... there is no response from within or reinforcements to the east of the river right now..." his confidant whispered, "and we don't have many men and horses... If there is an emergency..."

The traitor in Hedong sent someone to send a message with the same intention. They were afraid...

Xia Houyuan fell silent.

 It’s not that he doesn’t understand the truth, but that he also has his own considerations.

Lao Cao is under great pressure.

 This point goes without saying.

Similarly, Cao Zhen was defeated in Beiqu, and then Xia Houyuan left without fighting. Although he could save himself, what would others think of him when he returned?

 Her nephews died on the battlefield, and then Xia Houyuan, an uncle, managed to survive?

This is easy to say and not pleasant to hear!

 The third point is that in Xia Houyuan's heart, he very much wanted to show off his abilities, attack Pingyang, and then create a record that could rival or even surpass Tai Shici's performance back then...

 So Xia Houyuan was unwilling to retreat now.

Xia Houyuan turned around and looked at his men and horses.

These Cao troops are very well equipped.

 In order to be able to compete with the elite cavalry under the Hussar, Xia Houyuan put a lot of effort into selecting his soldiers. Although the northern area of ​​​​Xiliang is a good place to produce cavalry, there are also many good people in the Youzhou area in the north of Jizhou who are good at riding and are good candidates for cavalry. These good sons of Jizhou and Youzhou were originally under Yuan Shao, but now they are replaced by Cao Cao. It is inevitable that some people will want to gain merit and wealth from the new master.

Not everyone has the perspective of God and can clearly see the situation in the world. Most people can only see everything around them, and then think that the surroundings are the entire world.

For the people in Jizhou and Youzhou, since Cao Cao has gained a dominant position and has provided them with a step forward, if they put in some effort early, it is impossible to say that their status will be improved earlier in the future.

When they were in Wangwu Mountain, they went through the mountain **** sacrifice again, which eliminated the "curse" and added the "blessing", which made these good-looking people in Jiyou even more excited and full of energy. They felt that they were doing the right thing by following Xia Houyuan. If this If we continue to fight in Hedong for a while, won't we be able to achieve great success just around the corner?

Have equipment, skills, and morale, and then just retreat?

Then when I want to fight again in the future...

Xia Houyuan shook his head invisibly. This could not be justified in any case.

　　　『If you want to be famous and rich, you have to show your real skills! Xia Houyuan whispered to his confidants, "The hussars and horses are also human beings. They will be injured if they are cut, and they will die if they are killed!" If we just retreat like this and lose our energy, will we be able to continue retreating if we encounter the Cavalry again in the future? When will it be the end of retreat? What do others think of us? Will you still be able to hold your head up by then? Let alone being rich in the future, even if you eat ordinary food, you will probably be ridiculed and embarrassed! 』

Hearing this, his confidants and others also fell silent in unison.

Xia Houyuan put it bluntly, and this is indeed the truth.

Xia Houyuan raised his hand and pointed in the direction of Pingyang, east of the river. "This is the core area of ​​the Hussars. Pingyang City has a huge amount of luggage and supplies. Even the surrounding counties are extremely wealthy. There is an inexhaustible supply of money, food, cloth, soldiers, armor, and equipment!" If we don't take these things or destroy them, they will be used by Qiaoqi on our own brothers in the future! At that time, others asked us what we were doing in Hedong? Is it possible that we just tell them that we are just here to take a look? joke! 』

The confidant took a breath and said, "What the Lord said is so true...I just thought wrong..."

"Since we have accepted the entrustment of our lord, we should devote all our efforts to the overall situation," Xia Houyuan said in a deep voice, "A man, if you are wrapped in horse leather on the battlefield, you will die if you die, how can you live with a straight face!" 』

 The confidants, guards and others responded in unison.

"But..." Xia Houyuan's eyes moved slightly, "There must be heavy troops near Pingyang... If we lead the army to attack directly, it will be difficult to resist... Send my order to the general, pack up and prepare the whole army... Seize Dongyuan first!" 』

 Dongyuan City is not big.

It can even be said to be relatively simple, but there are also basic suspension bridges and city gates. However, the moat is in disrepair for a long time, and many people have thrown countless household garbage and other waste into the moat for convenience. As a result, As a result, the originally narrow moat turned into something like a stagnant ditch.

 It cannot be completely denied whether it has a defensive effect, but it is impossible to say how effective it really is.

When Xia Houyuan appeared in the sight of the Dongyuan defenders with more than 20 people, the Dongyuan defenders were not very alert. In the northeastern part of Hebei Province, more than twenty riders are not a large number. Many large households often have more than ten vehicles and hundreds of people traveling with them. So at the beginning, the Dongyuan defenders didn't pay much attention.

Xia Houyuan and others used their cloaks to cover their armor and weapons, and slowly moved forward along the road.

 The invisible blow has a certain bonus.

Xia Houyuan is ready to personally serve as the sharp knife to break the hidden attack!

His face was as cold as ice, and he stared at the Dongyuan City in front of him without any expression. He noticed the movements of the defenders above and below the city, and the behavior of passers-by on the official road.

He suppressed the urge to gallop and moved forward unhurriedly, like a cheetah approaching its prey under the cover of grass.

He is not willing to die of old age and unknown, he would rather die in the most glorious moment!

Gentlemen, it doesn’t matter if you fail once, or even several times. As long as you still have breath in your chest, get up, covered in mud and blood, and rush forward!

 Let’s fight against God again!

　　If you lose, you will lose your life, but if you win, you will make a comeback!

Looking at Dongyuan County, which was getting closer and closer, Xia Houyuan fiercely pulled off his cloak, revealing the strong armor on his body. He roared and rode forward!

The Cao Jun cavalry behind Xia Houyuan also followed Xia Houyuan's movements and roared forward together. Suddenly a cloud of yellow dust rose up into the sky, like a giant python clinging to the ground, rushing towards the city gate!

 One side is calculated and the other side is totally unprepared. The local officials in Dongyuan are busy and have no time to distract him.

　　Just like when future generations heard that inspections by superiors were about to begin, the local government would first conduct a round of spiritual understanding, then a round of self-examination and self-correction, and then carry out general cleaning and put up billboards with words to show the spiritual outlook...

 For bureaucrats, of course the official hat is the main thing. What else is more important than the hat on the head?

Now I heard that Sima Yi, the minister of Dali Temple, is looking for trouble everywhere in the east of the river. Why don't you quickly hide your exposed tail and ears?

Moreover, they have to greet each other, speak in unison, and prepare their confessions in advance, otherwise why would they be called colleagues?

 Which of these items does not require a lot of time?

 Where is the air traffic control and urban defense?

The subordinate officials had heard the news that there was a thief, but the officials above asked for this, covered up that, mobilized this, and dealt with that, but the memory of the so-called thief had long been forgotten.

As for the dispute between the Cao family and the Fei family, Dongyuan and others are not clear about it, but these people think that it is just a change of boss and has nothing to do with them. We are all Han people. We have been in the Han Dynasty for three to four hundred years. Who is in power but not like this?

They are all the same court and ruling system. There is no difference. At most, they are just some personal preferences or a gust of policies. The Han Dynasty is still the same, and the emperors are still replaced by generations.

Anyway, whoever has the upper hand will kneel under whose skirt they are. Anyway, they are all skirts, so there is not much difference.

　　The incident in Beiqu also spread to Dongyuan, and some details became clearer. The soldiers of Cao's army sneaked in to cause trouble, but they were blocked and eliminated.

So the officials in Dongyuan were scolding Cao Jun for being ignorant and making trouble, and at the same time they were trying their best to distance themselves from each other. However, not many people felt that they would be attacked by Cao Jun, because in their hearts, they felt that there was only Pingyang and Beiqu. Ah, Anyi and other important places will have Cao Jun. Places like Dongyuan, where birds don't **** even when they come, can still have Cao Jun?

So, when Xia Houyuan led his men and horses to fight in front of them, Dongyuan was still in a dream, confused and helpless.

　　　　Rob the city gate! 』

Xia Houyuan shouted, and it seemed that he also shouted out three-thirds of his anger, three-thirds of his unwillingness, three-thirds of that, and three-thirds of that...

 For Xia Houyuan, this is indeed the case.

He looked at the Dongyuan defenders who were getting closer and closer, but their movements were slow and unprepared, and he suddenly felt a surge of pride in his heart. Hussars and cavalry are nothing, and Taishi Ci is nothing. Can't we just rely on some gunpowder to break the city? Today, I, Xia Houyuan, will let you see what the real Han cavalry is!

In history, during the Three Kingdoms period, most of the cavalrymen who attacked the city, or stole it, or robbed it, did what Xia Houyuan did now. A small force seized the suspension bridge and the city gate, and waited for a while until the subsequent troops arrived. . However, the success rate is not high, and because cavalry armor developed slowly in history and covered a small area, the cavalry did not dare to attack hard against the threat of archers, so many times they arrived at the city walls, and they saw The people under the city were prepared, but they retreated in dismay. They even suspected that the opponent was prepared, so they did not dare to attack...

 That’s right, maybe this is the origin of the empty city plan.

However, the current Xiahou Yuan and other Cao cavalry were on par with the Hussars in terms of equipment, so the equipment from head to toe was not bad. In addition, the Dongyuan defenders were slack and slow to react. When Xia Houyuan had already rushed in front of them, they Some people shouted and shouted to close the city gate and pull up the suspension bridge, but it was already too late.

"crazy! These people are crazy! 』

 The captain of the Dongyuan garrison only had this thought in his mind, and could not think of the rest.

Xia Houyuan's first cavalry troops were not large in number, only about twenty cavalry. Normally, as long as they block it a little and struggle for a moment, the Dongyuan City Gate is closed and the suspension bridge is pulled, Xia Houyuan and others can only look at the door and sigh, but on this weekday, they never expected that Cao Jun would appear here, and There was no news of Cao's army's attack from the surrounding areas, so they were unprepared. Shocked by the momentum of Xia Houyuan and others, the soldiers and civilians huddled together on the suspension bridge, weighing down the suspension bridge so heavily that even the winch could not turn. !

In the chaos, Xia Houyuan was already flying towards him, without stopping, he just slammed into the mess of soldiers and people on the suspension bridge!

 The sound of shouting and killing suddenly erupted!

At the Dongyuan City Gate, the defenders who came were also rushed back by the fleeing people. Some people accidentally bumped into the defenders and couldn't get up for a while.

 The suspension bridge rumbled under the trampling of horse hooves.

At this time, the garrison captain roared, wanting to pull up the drawbridge, close the city gate, block Cao's army, report news for reinforcements...

These instructions are correct.

 But the problem is that in the rush, with so many orders suddenly coming out, no one knows who is going to do what.

Some people wanted to help pull the winch, others ran down the corridor to stop Cao Jun, and others rushed up to get bows and arrows. They were all yelling at each other, but no one knew what the other was shouting.

In a panic, Xia Houyuan had already taken the lead, rushed across the suspension bridge, and rushed directly towards the city gate. The long horse's shaft was like a giant python, and it crashed into the body of a Dongyuan garrison soldier in front of him, and then with a fierce swing, He just carried the body of the poor defender aside.

Blood was like splashed paint, staining the city gate red.

Xia Houyuan's eyes seemed to be instantly dyed with blood. He shouted fiercely and charged boldly!

The people shouted and the horses neighed, and the sound of clashing swords roared and resounded at the city gate!

The speed of Xiahou Yuan's cavalry itself was not slowed down much, and the defenders failed to place obstacles such as horses at the city gate to delay Cao's cavalry for various reasons. Therefore, when Cao's cavalry crashed into the city gate, the defenders either He would be slashed and stabbed to death on the spot, or he would be knocked back and thrown backwards, with broken bones and tendons!

If the defenders could be more resolute and risk their lives to block Xia Houyuan from the city gate, or block it in the city gate opening, then even if Xia Houyuan's subsequent troops follow up, they may not be able to take Dongyuan City.

Although Xia Houyuan was personally brave, in order not to alert Dongyuan City, he did not bring many people with him in the first wave. Therefore, apart from the initial shock and panic, the lethality was not really that strong. As long as there were people You can risk it.

 But therein lies the problem.

Everyone hopes that others will risk their lives, and then they can enjoy the fruits of others' risking their lives.

The Hedong garrison, although it can be regarded as under the command of the Hussars, is not consistent with the system of the Hussars. Major counties in Hedong such as Anyi and Pi County also have inspections, and there are also regular soldiers who fall into the Hussar series. If they die, they will be provided with pensions and family arrangements. However, in remote counties like Dongyuan near Wangwu Mountain, The county town doesn't even have full-time inspections. There are only a few months of the year when inspections come here to garrison and do some basic training for the defenders. So the defenders here in Dongyuan are actually more like government officials and policemen, but the big men are now called archers, horse archers, etc...

This is also the tradition of the Han Dynasty. A country that has been around for three to four hundred years has become terminally ill and it is not easy to change.

 The battle broke out in a very short time and ended in a very short time.

After Xia Houyuan seized the city gate, the defenders in Dongyuan did not have enough courage to organize a counterattack, but ran away with their heads in panic and shouts...

Most of the Dongyuan garrison soldiers who escaped may be thinking in their hearts, how can they risk their lives just to get that money in a month?

As this sentence becomes more and more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, naturally fewer and fewer people will stand up in times of crisis.

So is it really true that if we give more money, someone will come forward?

Absolutely impossible, because any amount of money is insufficient compared with the real crisis...

If money really determines victory or defeat, shouldn't we just use money to make gestures without taking action when there is a real war?

Although the current defenders of Dongyuan clearly knew that their duty was to protect the place and defend against foreign enemies, when danger came, they naturally used such words to make themselves a psychological exemption and fled with peace of mind. .

Once the defenders fled, the officials became even more unreliable. In order to escape faster, these officials even strictly prohibited the people from leaving the market to prevent the people from blocking their escape route.

Dong Yuan changed color instantly.

Xia Houyuan kicked open the gate of the county government office, stood in the courtyard and laughed to the sky, feeling very happy.

“General, there are many people who have escaped. Do you want to hunt them down and round them up?” ” Military Colonel Cao stepped forward to ask.

Xia Houyuan pondered for a moment and shook his head, "There is no need to chase him, let him go!" 』

The military academy said: "General, from now on, our whereabouts will no longer be concealed..."

Xia Houyuan laughed and said, "If you can't cover it up, there's no need to cover it up!" The rats in the east of the river are nothing more than chickens and dogs, so why be afraid of them! 』

　　　　 Send the order! Collect supplies as soon as possible! Xia Houyuan squinted his eyes, with a bit of arrogance on his face, "Look how we can turn him upside down!" 』

 (End of this chapter)