Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3207 Different

Cao Cao looked at Yang Xiu's nonsense and didn't have much thought to listen at all.

If Yang Xiu confessed directly, the anger in Cao Cao's heart would probably calm down a little.

As a result, Yang Xiu still had to make excuses!

Still looking for reasons!

Cao Cao gritted his teeth and closed his eyes slightly.

 He also knew that this was not Yang Xiu’s problem alone...

 What kind of cause is what kind of effect.

 Here, it is not the Buddhist theory of cause and effect, but the objective law of the development of things.

Seeing Yang Xiu's current appearance, Cao Cao's first feeling was contempt, followed by anger.

Whether it is in history or at present, Cao Cao is actually in a state of integration and competition with the Shandong gentry and powerful landlords. Integration means that Cao Cao himself cannot break away from his original class, and cannot jump out of his original perspective to observe the world like Fei Qian. He is angry because Cao Cao also knows in his heart that the path of the Han Dynasty has been blocked by these powerful squires, and moreover, He wanted to force Cao Cao to the same desperate end.

 That’s right, a dead end.

 At least after Yuan Shao, Cao Cao knew that Yuan Shao's path would not work.

 If you want to have checks and balances, you will die because of them.

They want to increase their stakes, but Dahan, this decadent platform, is already overwhelmed.

 So, who needs to be cut?

Of course it cannot be Cao Cao himself or the political group under Cao Cao.

Cao Cao stroked his beard slowly.

 If you can't get anything externally, you can only gain it internally...

 He ​​doesn't have much hatred for Yang Xiu personally, but he definitely has a lot of resentment and frustration towards the Yang family that Yang Xiu represents after his death, as well as the local gentry and powerful families represented by the Yang family.

 It's not good at doing anything, but it's the most professional thing to hold back.

　　Earlier, I pulled the big man down, and then I pulled Yuan Shao down. Now it’s his turn to pull down his old man, Cao?

You little turtle, how dare you play tricks in front of me?

At the moment when he overthrew Yuan Shao, Cao Cao actually felt more or less happy about "revenge".

 After all, under the two Yuans, Cao Cao was suppressed for too long.

It feels like Cao Cao thought Yuan Shao was his brother, but Yuan Shao wanted to stand behind Cao Cao every day...

 Some people would say that many people feel empty in their hearts after taking revenge, but they don’t feel much pleasure. This may be the case, but it is definitely because the person concerned was hurt so deeply and completely by this hatred that his entire life was exhausted and crippled. When he looked up again, he was left with nothing but confusion in his heart. , can no longer find his own way forward and future.

But after Cao Cao danced on Yuan Shao's grave, he put aside his grudge with Yuan Shao.

But what Cao Cao never expected was that Yuan Shao was not the only one who wanted to stand behind Cao Cao.

For example, the coward in front of me.

Everyone is afraid, timid, and anxious. When these emotions arise, they often do stupid things. Cao Cao can understand this. If Yang Xiu was simply afraid, timid, or panicked, so much that he didn't dare to say anything or forgot to say it, Cao Cao wouldn't be very angry. If Yang Xiu really forgot things because he was timid, this proves that Yang Xiu is an ordinary person, and Cao Cao will treat Yang Xiu more leniently, even if he buys his bones for a thousand dollars.

 But the problem is not Yang Xiu.

 Looking back on Yang Xiu's experience, he was not a high-ranking yamen without any ambition at all.

It is completely conceivable that if there had not been those ups and downs in the past and Dong Zhuo had not overturned the table, Yang Xiu would have had a place in the Han Dynasty. Cao Cao was still serving as the magistrate of a certain county and met Yang Xiu. You also have to call me "Mr. Yang"...

 Because the Yuan family attracted Dong Zhuo, and once something goes wrong with Dong Zhuo, who will be jointly and severally liable? Therefore, it is difficult to explain clearly what Yang Biao's calculation was under his silence at that time. But neither the Yang family nor the Yuan family expected that Dong Zhuo not only couldn't control it, but also made trouble with the guy who was eating.

What kind of soil will only produce what kind of fruit.

 The corrupt land of the Han Dynasty naturally could only produce guys like Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, and Yang Xiu.

 There is a cause, and there will naturally be an effect.

From a certain perspective, Cao Cao destroyed the Yuan family, and of course he could not avoid the Yang family.

Cao Cao can dance at Yuan Shao's grave, and he will naturally sneer in front of the Sizhi Hall.

Unless Yang Xiu can break out of his shackles and crawl under Cao Cao, or under Fei Qian, he is willing to become a small official like Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan, an auspicious sign hanging on the eaves.

It's a pity that Yang Xiu is not willing to give in.

If Yang Xiu can really jump out, then why would he come back?

Yang Xiu gritted his teeth and came back to worship Cao Cao. Wasn't he just waiting for an opportunity to resurrect his body?

Cao Cao suddenly became bored when he heard Yang Xiu's explanation. He waved his hand, interrupted Yang Xiu's words, and asked someone to bring Yang Xiu's guards up...

Yang Xiu’s eyes widened.

The guard was obviously tortured. His nose was bruised and his face was swollen. He reluctantly opened his swollen eyelids. When he saw Yang Xiu, he started struggling with excitement. He seemed to want to say something or hint something, but he was quickly stopped by Cao. The soldiers were led away again without any chance to express themselves.

　　　　Yang Dezu, do you have any more sophistry to say? 』

 Cao Cao sneered.

Yang Xiu opened his mouth, seeing that the matter had come to this, and then he became arrogant. He no longer deliberately pretended to be careless, rolled up his sleeves and replied: "Why bother to accuse me?" ! 』

Cao Cao laughed and nodded, "That's it!" Someone come! Knock off his crown, take him to the back camp, and keep him under strict supervision! 』

 He will not kill Yang Xiu now. Even if he wants to kill, he must kill him in a worthwhile way.

Yang Xiu was escorted off with his hair disheveled.

Cao Cao stood up, looked at the robe on the ground, and snorted...

This **** Fei Qian, did he know that I would do this?

 …

 …

Guanzhong.

Wearing a well-made silver-white Mingguang armor, Feizhen stood on horseback at the foot of the mountain south of Hancheng. She felt that her face was a little stiff from the cold, so she couldn't help but stretched out her hand to rub it, and blew out a mouthful of white smoke.

 These days, he and Pang Tong are in the army.

 Changan was left to Xun You and other officials, and he, Pang Tong, and Huang's guards were mainly responsible for ensuring the stability of military power.

 At the same time, it also reduces potential risks.

 After all, Pang Tong didn’t know if there would be anyone in Chang’an who couldn’t think of a big…

Pang Tong is the second-largest figure under Fei Qian, and coupled with the kinship between Pang, Fei, and Huang, the friendship between teachers and students can be said to be that of a surname. Therefore, at the most critical moment, it is reasonable for Fei Zhen to follow Pang Tong to control the direct hussars.

The rumbling sound of thunder was the sound of elite cavalrymen practicing.

Feizhen doesn't need to do anything. She only needs to wear such a suit of armor and sit on the horse as a mascot, which can greatly boost the morale of these elite cavalry.

Feizhen looked into the distance.

To the northwest of Hancheng is Longmendu.

 This is an important support point in Fei's submarine tactics.

Longmen Crossing is still frozen. It only takes one day and night for Hancheng's cavalry to reach Longmen Crossing, and then another day to reach the Hedong area. Within three days, the troops can appear directly in most parts of Hedong County. Under the city, look for Cao's army's weaknesses and launch a surprise attack.

At the shooting range in the workshop on the outskirts of Hancheng, bursts of roars were also heard.

Fei Zhen knew that they were testing the resistance of gunpowder to wind, snow and rain... Against a solid infantry front, gunpowder, a thermal weapon, was undoubtedly a frightening and very effective thing. Flames, smoke, explosions and debris can cause many soldiers to suffer mental breakdown, especially when used at night, which will enhance the power of shock.

At this time, Fei Zhen realized why his father used inferior iron as the shell of the grenade in the first place, instead of using cheaper earthen pots or porcelain bottles. Because earthen jars and porcelain bottles, no matter how thick they are made, are still fragile. Once the bottle is broken and contaminated with water vapor, the power of the gunpowder will be greatly reduced.

“Uncle Shi Yuan, does Cao Cao want to attack Guanzhong or Hedong?” 』

Feizhen asked. He felt that the old thief Cao Cao seemed to have no certainty. He suddenly changed. Before, he was still eyeing Tongguan and Wuguan, but now he went to Hedong...

Pang Tong smiled at the side and pointed in the distance, "Master, can you see the movement of Cao Jun from here?" 』

Feizhen's eyes widened, "How is this possible?" 』

Pang Tong laughed.

Feizhen was stunned for a moment, then realized, "What does Uncle Shi Yuan mean, is the old thief testing you?" 』

Pang Tong nodded, "It's both testing and adjusting." 』

Other than God, who can ignore the fog above the battlefield?

Cao Cao obviously can't do it either. He must determine where Fei Qian's main force is. If you want to obtain information, one way is to catch your tongue, and the other way is to fish. As Cao Cao is marching to Hedong, he undoubtedly wants to use both methods.

 Everything needs to be looked at from two points of view.

Just like the snowstorm, on the one hand, Fei Qian's gunpowder was restricted, and on the other hand, it also caused problems with Cao Cao's food supply.

The same is true for Cao Cao's march to Hedong.

Feizhen thought about it for a moment, "So...Uncle Shi Yuan, where are we going now?" 』

Pang Tong smiled and said, "Young master, let me try to answer this question first..."

Fei Zhenba smacked her lips, exhaled, watched the white smoke dissipate, and said, "I think it's like guessing rock-paper-scissors. Then the old thief said he was going to reveal paper, and we revealed scissors, and we fell into the trap." ...But if we... also follow Debu, we will also fall into the trap..."

Feizhen sighed again, "I just know this. If we follow the old thief, we will be passive... It's like we have to follow whatever he does... So, if we tell the old thief that we are going to do it... Scissors? 』

Pang Tong laughed loudly and said, "That's exactly what it is!" 』

 …

 …

 In this east-west war, Cao Cao attacked from multiple fronts, but overall there was a slight division of labor. Xiahou Dun was the core in the north, Cao Ren was the focus in the south, and Cao Cao himself was naturally in the middle, advancing in separate directions.

Before departure, according to Lao Cao’s plan, it is of course best to work in unison, cooperate with each other, and coordinate with each other to jointly seize the land east of the river in Guanzhong, and encircle multiple routes to eat this big fat piece of Guanzhong in one bite.

It can be said that Cao Cao's multi-front advance was indeed a good strategy and a good plan that could take advantage of his large numbers of people. However, the plan could never keep up with the changes, he could not conquer the fortress, and he could not make a surprise attack. Even the plan that Cao Cao had originally expected None of the noble clansmen in Hedong Pass have seen the pots...

 Tongguan is undoubtedly a very hard bone. Even without gunpowder, Lao Cao could not defeat it in history, let alone an enhanced version of Tongguan equipped with various long-range weapons.

 Cao Cao's own strength is not as strong as he boasted.

There are many people in Shandong, but not all of them belong to Cao Cao.

Shandong also has a lot of money, but it also does not belong to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao moved in the middle, and Xiahou Dun also tried to move in Taiyuan County to give himself a larger space.

However, unlike Cao Cao's purpose, Xiahou Dun no longer cared much about whether he could continue to occupy Taiyuan. Instead, he wanted to involve Fei Qian's troops as much as possible. More importantly, if he didn't take any action, Taiyuan would be destroyed. Xiahou Dun may not be able to suppress these people in the county.

Just like Fei Zhen cannot direct her gaze to both sides of Tongguan and both sides of the river, people on the battlefield can always only see this small area in front of them, and other information requires intelligence.

 Without intelligence, you are blind.

Fei Qian will have more sources of information in Pingyang, but among the towns and counties in Taiyuan, will there be the same sources of information as Fei Qian? So Xiahou Dun had such an information gap. He made a posture of preparing to march towards Pingyang, but in fact he turned around and prepared to clean up the messy Qiang Hu behind his butt.

These Qiang Hus, who come in small groups and specialize in harvesting his lone soldiers, are like a swarm of flies. They may not be able to kill Xiahou Dun at once, but they can make Xiahou Dun extremely sick...

In the era when the nomads had not yet fully entered the iron-based era, the infantry of the Han Dynasty were still capable of fighting even when facing cavalry, although the battle was more difficult.

Xiahou Dun realized that no matter how scattered Qianghu were running around, they would eventually need a transfer station, or a supply point, so he used a decoy operation to find the current one hidden in the ravines and folds. mountain village.

 Erhu Village.

There are two mountain roads, one on the plateau and one at the bottom of the ravine, like two hoops on a wooden barrel.

This is a small mountain village near Jinyang, Taiyuan.

Because the location is relatively secluded, it has become a gathering point for the Qianghu who infested Xiahoudun.

There are quite a few Hu cavalry here. After grabbing Cao Jun’s supplies, they will return here to rest.

Because the village is halfway up the **** of a ravine, if you look from a distance, you can’t see the village cave dwellings at all, as if the people and horses suddenly disappeared.

 In the Taiyuan area of ​​Shanxi Province, there are many cave dwelling villages like this, and some people have even moved their courtyard houses underground. There is very little precipitation in this area, and there is no way to know how wet the word is. The cave dwellings are warm in winter and cool in summer, so the appearance of this rather peculiar building can be regarded as a response to local conditions, but it caused a lot of trouble for Cao Jun's scouts.

Most of Cao Jun's scouts were from Shandong, and they were accustomed to looking for things on the ground. As a result, such a village was almost invisible to Jinyang, until there were too many traces of horse hooves and horse excrement. , was finally discovered by Cao Jun’s scouts.

This behavior of the Qiang Hu is simply like squatting on Xiahou Dun's head to shit...

Of course Xiahou Dun couldn't bear it, so he immediately led his soldiers, secretly set out in the middle of the night, reached Erhu Village, blocked the intersection, and then launched an attack into the village.

Xiahou Dun wants to use these **** Qiang and Hu heads to shock the hearts of the people around Jinyang...

 The plan was certainly good, but when it came time to implement it, problems arose.

 Erhu Village was harder to defeat than Xiahou Dun imagined.

 Because the villages here are cave dwellings, not tile-roofed houses made of grass and trees.

In most villages in Shandong, many houses are made of civil structures, with earthen walls and bricks, which are considered very good. Many others are simple wooden boards and straw huts, and these wooden huts are flammable. Therefore, when attacking those Shandong villages, Cao Jun will set a fire first, and the rest will naturally be simple...

 The problem is that the "houses" in Ergu Village are now cave dwellings.

This fire can be put down, but the problem is that it will not burn much and the effect will be very poor.

Smoke is a good method, but not all cave dwellings are connected. If it is burned at this end, the smoke will not pass through. You can't let Cao Jun's soldiers dig a hole in the soil, right?

Another very troublesome thing is that the soil layer of the cave dwellings is very thick, which is not like the adobe walls in Shandong at all. If there are too many people, they can even knock down the adobe walls directly, but here, Cao Jun's soldiers have no way to deal with the walls of these cave dwellings.

 So I could only nibble on it bit by bit...

 This efficiency and casualty rate are of course quite good.

Now there were shouts of killing in Erhuan Village, and some injured Cao Jun soldiers kept retreating from the entrance of the village. When Xiahou Dun saw this, he would frown and add some more.

It’s not that we don’t want to crowd in, but the place in Erhu Village is just that big. The more people there are, the more often they will get in the way, and they will not be able to use their advantage, so they can only hit the cave dwellings with strong shields and crossbows.

 As time went by, Xiahou Dun's heart gradually became impatient and uneasy.

Since arriving here, Xiahou Dun has already invested 300 armored soldiers and 400 auxiliary soldiers, but he has not invested any direct elite troops. He himself was hesitant. Although this battle is indeed more important, the direct elite is now his last trump card, and he is reluctant to fight it out like this.

 After all, this is just a group of Qiang and Hu...

 But the situation of the battle was obviously beyond Xiahou Dun's expectation.

　　　『These bastards...』

Xiahou Dun looked up at the sky, obviously dissatisfied.

The fighting continued like this, from near noon until the sky gradually darkened, and there was still no winner in the village.

After hesitating for a moment, Xiahou Dun raised his hand and was about to order his elite troops to enter the village. However, he saw the scouts coming in a hurry, and then he saw smoke and dust rising in the distance.

Xiahou Dun swallowed a mouthful of saliva. He was not afraid of the barbarians. He was afraid that there would be hussars following behind him. So he ignored the fighting situation in Erhuan Village and quickly retracted his hands, grasped the reins of the horses, and said, "Leave the village." , get ready to fight! 』