Then it depends on the common people's evaluation standards for officials...
For the common people of the Han Dynasty, which officials can be praised highly?
A good official is one who does not impose excessive taxes, does not harm innocent people, and does not disturb people's livelihood.
But even this is something that a large number of officials cannot do.
So is Cui Jun good or bad, smart or stupid?
Just like Xiahou Dun's strategy, is it smart or stupid?
But what is certain is that the strategy adopted by Xiahou Dun was undoubtedly very risky.
It's just that war itself is an adventure. Even a well-planned plan will often collapse due to one or two small accidents or negligence.
Cao Cao's Chibi, Liu Bei's Yiling, Sun Quan's Hefei, Zhuge's Street Pavilion.
That's not the case.
When attacking Jinyang in winter, it is best to have strong troops. However, the more soldiers there are, the more things are needed, and the further you go into the mountains, the longer the supply lines are. Even if you are "cruising against rebels" in the mountains,
It also cannot make up for the required losses.
But if Xiahou Dun was allowed to give up, do nothing, and just wait until spring comes and the flowers bloom...
Although this is indeed more stable, it is definitely slower.
The longer the war drags on, the less effective it will be in Guanzhong and other places.
Needless to say, Xiahou Dun knew this very well. He might even fight twice more, and even the shock would be gone, and the rest would be just a habit. Just like when Qin was besieged by six countries for the first time, he was also afraid
It didn't work, but when I found that the siege of the Six Nations was just like that, it actually increased the morale of Guanzhong and increased the contempt for Shandong.
Therefore, Xiahou Dun could only do his best and make the most efforts for the overall situation. As for personal safety, it was not Xiahou Dun's first consideration. Fortunately, when Xiahou Dun entered the Taihang Mountains, he gathered a lot of smuggling traders.
He was relatively familiar with the Taihang Mountains, so that Cao Jun would not lose his direction.
The guide took Xiahou Dun's troops and took a shortcut to Jinyang, Taiyuan. The snow on the mountains along the way gave Xiahou Dun and others extra water supplies. The team marched in a hurry and rested for only three hours a day. The rest of the time was spent in
Marching, or preparing for the cold weather in the wild.
After several days of hurried march, Xiahou Dun finally arrived in a valley fifty miles away from Jinyang. When Xiahou Dun gave the order to rest, almost all the soldiers were almost paralyzed from exhaustion...
The general Xiahou Dun had no time to rest, even though he was equally exhausted.
He must find Jinyang's weakness in a short period of time and launch an attack on Jinyang. However, he now knows nothing about Jinyang's defense and has no clue.
Xiahou Dun summoned the deputy general Xiahou Chang, a nephew of his own, and asked him to take charge of arranging soldiers and repairing the troops and setting up the defense system together with the military lord Gao Qian. Then he said: "Hurry up and let the sons rest. I want to go to Jinyang to conduct reconnaissance in person."
Ichiban.』
Xia Houcheng said: "General, why do you need to go out personally? Just let the scouts go and investigate."
Xiahou Dun waved his hand and said, "The scouts don't know what information I need, so there will inevitably be omissions. I will check it myself and make a quick judgment. You will be on standby here, ready to go to war at any time."
Xiahou Dun had made up his mind, and no one tried to persuade him any more. Xiahou Dun gave a few more instructions, and then rushed to Jinyang with more than ten personal guards, plus more than twenty scouts.
The Jinyang area is basically under martial law, but after all, the city still needs to replenish some daily consumption materials, so the city gate will be opened once every three days to allow ordinary people in the city to go out to collect firewood. When Xiahou Dun came, it happened to be
I met people who were out collecting firewood, so I quickly caught a few tongues and asked the scouts to interrogate them.
Xiahou Dun looked at Jinyang City in the distance and frowned.
Xiahou Dun took a look at whether a city was easy to fight or not, and he was somewhat concerned about it.
In Jinyang City, there is a green dragon on the left and a white tiger on the right. There is Xuanwu in the north...
The term Feng Shui seems very mysterious. In fact, to put it simply, it means that it is surrounded by mountains and rivers. There are mountains in the north that block the cold current from the south. It will be relatively warmer than the north of the mountains. With mountains as a support and water as a source, it is naturally Feng Shui.
Good place.
Of course, the mountains around Jinyang are not very high, but they also hinder the deployment of troops, leaving there not many angles to attack Jinyang.
Moreover, as the county seat of Taiyuan, Jinyang has no shortage of moats, trenches, suspension bridges, turrets and so on.
Xiahou Dun also saw the ballistas and catapults lined up on the city wall, and couldn't help but take a breath of cold air and was silent.
On the city wall, flags were flying, and there seemed to be figures patrolling back and forth.
It is not known how many people and horses there are in the city, but outside the city wall, along the Fen River, there is a huge camp with at least five or six hundred tents. If ten people live in one tent, then at least this camp outside the city
There are five to six thousand people in the camp!
How to fight this?
There are terrain advantages, city walls to rely on, sufficient weapons, and sufficient manpower...
Xiahou Dun frowned.
"Come." Xiahou Dun waved to the side and called a personal guard, "You know this catapult better. Take a look at the layout of the equipment in the city. Are there any weaknesses..."
Normally, if you lead troops to attack, you will not be able to avoid these ballistas and catapults.
Cao's army also had these crossbows and catapults. At two or three hundred paces, they were simply unstoppable.
The guard stared at the catapults and ballistae, pondered for a moment, shook his head and smiled bitterly: "General, these ballistae catapults are distributed in key places. If we attack, it will definitely be...unless we dig into a hole..."
The guard stopped talking after half of what he said. After all, even he himself felt that this matter was unreliable.
"Digging a hole? How much manpower does this require?" Xiahou Dun frowned.
The guard was stunned. What he said casually could not be taken seriously. In this weather, the soil was frozen. Even if it was really digging, how long would it take?
Fortunately, Xiahou Dun seemed to be surprised when he saw the guards, so he said: "I thought of another thing... Generally speaking, how many people are needed to control a catapult?"
The guard pondered for a moment and said: "Generally speaking, a ballista has fifteen to twenty people. Depending on the distance of the stone, a catapult will require at least twenty or thirty people to pull it, and as many as forty or fifty people..."
』
Xiahou Dun nodded, and then glanced at the Jinyang city wall. The total number of crossbows, catapults, and catapults was close to a hundred. "If this hussar is good at making weapons, it can save this manpower... Calculated on average."
, there are nearly a hundred catapults, and the number of people controlling them is more than 2,000... And how many serious soldiers are there in Jinyang?"
"This... what the general means is... most of the people in this city... no, in this camp are civilians?" The guards also reacted quickly.
At this moment, the scouts also came to report, and the results of the torture were similar to what Xiahou Dun had guessed. There were not many soldiers in Jinyang City, and the camp outside the city looked very majestic, but it was actually gathered during this period of time.
of asylum seekers.
However, the person who captured him still couldn't tell the exact number of soldiers in the city.
Xiahou Dun nodded, then turned his head and stared at the camp outside the city in the distance.
The camp is adjacent to the Jinyang City Wall to the west and the Fen River to the east. The camp covers about two or three miles of river bank. For the convenience of water, it is not far from the Fen River. There are also fences and sentry towers in the camp. At first glance,
It looks pretty decent too.
Xiahou Dun checked carefully again and found that the distance between the camp and Jinyang was about two miles. However, some places were very close to the city for unknown reasons. In addition, there were some shacks built close to the city wall, which seemed to be for storage.
A warehouse of utensils needed for daily use in the camp outside the city was placed.
Xiahou Dun quickly sketched a plan in his mind.
At this time, a soldier pointed at the city gate and whispered: "General, the enemy is patrolling!"
At the gate of Jinyang City, a small group of cavalry appeared. The number was not large, only seven or eight. Judging from their movements, they did not discover Xiahou Dun and others, but were just on a daily patrol. They were trampled by horses along the way.
The road out slowly moves forward.
Xiahou Dun stared at the patrolling sentries, thought about something, then waved his hand and silently retreated with his men.
Although the plan drawn up by Xiahou Dun was still crude and imperfect, Xiahou Dun and others marched to Jinyang in a hurry, including Xiahou Dun, who was exhausted and could no longer afford to delay.
As dusk approached, Xiahou Dun led his men and lurked under the loess ravine.
The sparse grass could not completely cover the figures of Xiahou Dun and others, but the dusk sunlight just shone on the faces of these patrolling sentries, making it impossible for them to see everything around them clearly.
In the woods in the distance, more than a thousand Cao Jun soldiers were ready.
The Jinyang sentries did not notice anything strange and were still walking along the original patrol route. Because they had been traveling along the same route for a long time, obvious marks appeared on the hillside. The moment these sentries passed the ambush site
, Xiahou Dun shouted in a low voice, and Cao Jun's soldiers launched an attack almost at the same time.
Arrows roared out.
The trip rope was pulled straight.
The patrolling sentry in Jinyang was caught off guard. He was shot or tripped immediately, and screams rang out on the trail.
Before these Jinyang sentries could send out any warning signal, Cao Jun, who was ambushing on both sides, had already rushed out, surrounded five or six Jinyang sentries who had not been hit by arrows, hacked them to death with knives, then collected the bodies and stripped off their clothes.
.
In most battles, time is the key to victory or defeat.
Here Xiahou Dun led his men to clean up the sentries, and soon there was a group of "resurrected" sentries, stained with blood and dust, returning the same way. On the other side, Cao Jun in the woods in the distance was also getting
After receiving the signal, they began to move towards the main camp in Jinyang.
Perhaps it was because sentries were enough, or perhaps because most people were busy preparing to eat preserved meat at this time. When Cao Jun rushed to the camp outside the city, he even saw the civilians in the camp gathering together to prepare to queue up for dinner.
At that time, someone on the Jinyang City Wall pointed at the Cao Jun soldiers who rushed out and made a noise...
Cao Jun is here.
Cao Jun really came.
Cao Jun is definitely coming.
Cao Jun...
Repeated propaganda and reminders could not make these Jinyang city defenders super vigilant. On the contrary, there was a crying wolf effect. Everyone seemed to know that Cao Jun would come, but no one felt that it was possible.
Will come now.
It's freezing cold, who would come to Jinyang at this time?
Didn’t you hear what Cui Shijun said, you must seize the time now to repair the city defenses? This shows that Cao Jun is still some distance away and has not appeared in front of you so soon...
Therefore, when Cao Jun actually appeared, many people did not believe it.
The civilian camp outside the city had no ability to resist at all. The panicked civilians destroyed all order and wasted all the defense facilities built. A few archers on the sentry tower saw that the situation was not good.
Even under such circumstances, he was so busy that he even ran and jumped to escape.
Thick smoke billowed and countless tents were set on fire.
Bowls for eating, hoes for working, and tattered clothes were discarded everywhere.
The spears and swords distributed to Ding Yong in the camp were also thrown on the ground, as if these Ding Yong had never received inspection training before, and they did not dare to kill not only people, but also chickens and ducks.
Kindness is worthless when swords and guns are at hand, and giving up resistance cannot buy the slightest mercy.
The civilian camp suddenly became bloody, with corpses strewn across the field. The civilians were terrified and ran for their lives in all directions, shouting. Unknown how many civilians were killed, burned to death, and trampled to death. The entire camp was suddenly shrouded in fear.
As the chaos in the civilian camp spread, Jinyang City was also preparing to close the city gates urgently. However, Cao Jun, disguised as Jinyang sentries, hacked to death the soldiers who came to close the city gates. Later, those who tried to escape instinctively
The civilians who went to a safe place took over Cao Jun's offensive and blocked the city gate tightly. They also pushed the Jinyang soldiers who tried to take over their positions to the ground and were drowned in the surging crowd.
The Jinyang defenders on the city wall were stunned by the chaotic scene in front of them and the flames soaring into the sky. They stood on the city wall, looking fearfully at the sea of fire that had spread for several miles. They were at a loss what to do.
These defenders always think that there is something special about the hussars and horses. They can do just a few gestures in training, so why do they need to work so hard? Cui Jun arranged for "his own people" to serve as military school clerks. These military school clerks
Officials also arrange "own people" to hold lower-level positions. From top to bottom, they are all "own people". After all, using one's own people means using good people and using the right people.
The rules of Han officialdom have always been like this.
It's impossible to do a job alone. Even if Cui Jun is covered in iron, he can't drive a few nails, right? So he must rely on others. In addition to relying on the authorization of the hussar, he also needs to rely on the execution of his subordinates and the employment of people.
Naturally, it is very important. Subordinates not only need to be able to do things, but also be good people. Therefore, a subordinate who is strong but disobedient will often be squeezed out. No matter who it is, they like to use a subordinate who is not strong in ability but can be obedient and a good person.
subordinate……
These problems do not cause any problems at ordinary times, but once a crisis comes, slight deviations may lead to bad consequences.
In the shed near the city wall is the warehouse of the large camp, which stores a large amount of food, grass and ordnance for the army and civilians. The warehouse camp and the civilian camp are about one mile apart. They are usually heavily guarded against fireworks. Now there is no such thing.
No one could guard against the flames. As the warehouses built next to the city wall were ignited, the fire spread rapidly. The scorching heat waves continued to hit the city wall, making it impossible to stay on the eastern half of the city wall.
The soldiers retreated to the other side.
The soldiers on the top of the city were in a panic. No one noticed that among the soldiers who were burned by the black smoke and had to withdraw, there was Xiahou Dun's group of people in disguise.
Their goals are very clear...
"Clang, clang, clang!"
The gong was beating deafeningly.
"Line up! Line up!"
Cui's military academy was so worried that he was sweating profusely.
The disguised Cao soldiers secretly approached...
"puff!"
Cui Military Academy, who was giving orders, was stabbed in the back. His wide eyes showed a look of horror and disbelief. He tried to turn his head to see who did it, but was kicked to the ground by Cao Jun behind him.
"Run away!" Cao Jun in disguise yelled with blood on his face, "Is it worth risking your life for just a few dollars?!"
Another Cao Jun also shouted, "He wants us to die! Who doesn't have a family? He wants you to die! I want to run for my life!"
In the chaos, no one noticed that the accents of these disguised Cao soldiers were somewhat weird. They just stared at the killed military academy in a daze, and then fled back unknowingly due to the surging soldiers.
On the city wall that was smoked by smoke and fire, the soldiers could not stand and fled one after another. However, in the areas that were not smoked, they were either secretly engaged in trouble by Cao Jun in disguise, or they were frightened by the sight of the fleeing soldiers coming in embarrassment.
They lost their courage and followed each other to a place with less fireworks.
If Cui Jun did not regard Taiyuan as his own private territory, and did not intentionally or unintentionally crowd out the dispatched hussar officers and patrol sergeants, then the Jinyang city wall might not collapse so quickly; if Cui Jun did not
There is no nepotism, causing his subordinates to follow suit and hold power, so the scattered powers will play their due role at this time; if Cui Jun did not exclude Yan Rou, then at least he would have strong force at the moment.
The generals can lead their soldiers to turn the tide...
It's a pity that if is always just if.
Everything can be done after the fact and then point fingers from above, but not many people can really make every effort beforehand.
Assume the worst possible outcome, and then do things well and conscientiously based on these assumptions to do things well and make them better.
It's not that people are really stupid, but that they have selfish motives.
Selfishness can blind your eyes and block your ears.
Including Cui Jun.
At this moment, Cui Jun also heard the screams like a stormy sea, saw the black smoke that was squeezing in like an overwhelming sky, and suddenly felt as if his chest was tightly grasped by something, making it extremely difficult to even breathe.
.
"What...what...is going on..."
Cui Jun found that his voice seemed to be coming back from a very far away place. It was hollow and fragmented. It was completely different from his usual sonorous, powerful and steady voice.
A soldier who was burnt by smoke and stained with a lot of blood came to Cui Jun and shouted: "Your Majesty, something bad happened! Cao Jun attacked the city and the city gate was lost! The city is broken! It's broken!"
Cui Jun was stunned as if he was struck by lightning. He never thought that Cao Jun would attack at this time, let alone that Cao Jun could break the city so quickly!
Now that Cao Jun really came, he realized that the problem was serious and he had made a big mistake...
