The Three Kingdoms of the Widow

Yang Fu defended Jicheng for eight months.

Wei Kang, governor of Liangzhou, didn't think of it either.

Su Bo's sudden rebellion forced Cao Cao to return to the army suddenly. Ma Chao, who was relieved, did as Yang Fu expected and quickly organized another team, and all the cities in Liangzhou supported Ma Chao. After all, Jizhou has put on a firm decisive battle posture.

Wei Kang is not necessarily a staunch supporter of Cao Cao, but he obviously hates Ma Chao more. The latter is blatantly trying to grab his territory, so he came to Jicheng without hesitation to support Yang Fu against Ma Chao.

Ma Chao himself didn't pay much attention to the little Jicheng. He thought it would take half a month at most.

Didn't expect it to take that long.

After a month of forced attack, Ma Chao knew he couldn't do this. He ordered Jicheng to be surrounded. Life without water and food and no reinforcements would be difficult. How long can Jicheng be defended only by willpower?

Ma Chao's actions were not unexpected. Yang Fu also had his own arrangements. He sent people to gather all the big households in the city and assign tasks.The Yang family took the heaviest responsibility—Yang Fu gathered young people from his family to form an elite death squad.This move moved other big households, and they also sent their children to join them, vowing to live and die with Jicheng.

The power of example is endless.

Yang Fu's cousin, Yang Yue, was a military general. He ordered people to build a half-moon-shaped camp on the city wall to guard against and resist Ma Chao's attack.

"This is not a perfect solution, but an expedient measure. Jicheng is small, and the city's defenses are not strong. Ma Chao is now besieging Jicheng, and there is a steady stream of troops from various states and counties. We cannot defend Jicheng on our own. We must Help." Yang Yue said to Wei Kang and Yang Fu.

Yang Fu thinks so.

The nearest and most suitable reinforcement is Xia Houyuan who was left by Cao Cao to consolidate the results of the battle and stationed in Chang'an.

Xia Houyuan would not be unaware of the news of the siege of Jicheng. According to the speed at which the news spread, Chang'an would know about it a month later.The journey from Chang'an to Jicheng takes at most one month, so if Jicheng persists for two months, it will usher in the dawn of victory.

Yang Fu is full of confidence: "Two months, we can keep it!"

Yang Yue felt that this time was a little too optimistic. He had experience: "Brother, Ma Chao now has about 1 people. If General Xiahou wants to defeat Ma Chao, he must bring at least 3 people here? The 3-man army, dispatch and assembly is also very important." It takes some time, less than half a month."

Yang Fu still didn't think much of it: "Then even if it's three months, we can still hold on, right?"

Yang Yue is not so optimistic: "This is the most ideal situation, if General Xiahou is decisive enough. In fact, according to the normal order, General Xiahou will probably report to the prime minister first when he gets the news that Jicheng is besieged, and the prime minister allows him to rescue him. Only then can we send out troops, and the journey from Xudu to Chang'an is not that close, and it will take about two months."

……

five months.Yang Fu tried his best to tell himself that it would be five months.

"Everyone heard it! We will persist for five months at most, and General Xiahou will definitely bring reinforcements!" Yang Fu held his head high, with a firm and confident expression.

Everyone showed a cooperative smile.

As the saying goes, if you want to convince others, you must first convince yourself, and if you want to convince yourself, you must first deceive yourself.

Yang Fu is essentially a civil servant, and administration is his forte. His official position is actually not high, but he actually manages a lot of things.He checked all the resources in Jicheng, and then made a plan, all expenses were arranged according to five months.In fact, with Jicheng's reserves, five months is definitely the limit.

After Ma Chao besieged Jicheng, news from inside could not get out, and news from outside could not get in. This was a more painful experience than cutting off water and food, because no one knew whether Xia Houyuan had sent troops, and hope and despair each accounted for 50%. %, everyone is tormented by these two emotions every day.

Yang Fu firmly believed that reinforcements would come, and he used "five months" every day to encourage everyone.

May is slowly approaching, and the mood in the city has gradually changed, from "grit your teeth and survive these five months" to "what will we do if there is no reinforcements in five months".The days of gritting your teeth and persevering are actually not difficult. If a person has faith, he can suffer great hardships. Without faith, people will have no backbone. Confusion is the enemy of guardians.

After May was over, everyone realized a cruel fact: Xia Houyuan didn't come.

Whether he was on the way or not at all, no one knew, and no one cared.

He didn't come.

Maybe halfway.Many people began to comfort themselves in this way, who knows what was delayed halfway, maybe they will be late.More people no longer believe this sentence: How long is the delay?Is there a spectrum?

Reluctantly supported for another half a month, Xia Houyuan still didn't come.

Yang Fu couldn't sit still anymore, he must have a new countermeasure.Yang Yue said that the biggest problem now is that we are isolated from the outside world. If someone can communicate with the outside world, it will definitely bring reinforcements.Need to send someone out of town.

Everyone was silent.Who didn't know that Ma Chao had surrounded the city to the brim, and anyone who went there would be killed. There was no one in this city who was more heroic and capable of fighting than Ma Chao.

Yang Fu looked at the crowd and decided to try it himself. After all, it was his own idea to stick to it, and he should be responsible for it to the end.

But just as he was about to step forward, Yan Wen, who was next to him, stopped him, and then Yan Wen stepped forward and said loudly: "Wen Bucai, I would like to give it a try!"

Yang Yue looked at Yan Wen and shook his head: "Yan Biejia is a good intention, but in terms of martial arts, you are not as good as Yang, not to mention compared with Ma Chao, this is more dangerous than good, and you are still a general. Choose."

Yan Wen smiled, and pointed to the map spread out in front of him: "General Yang doesn't know something. Although Wen is not good at fighting, he knows water skills. It is expected that the Xiliang soldiers led by Ma Chao are all good at land warfare, so they must set up ambushes on land again. Don’t tell me, I’m afraid it will be difficult for General Yang to pass through. However, he can leave the city through the river. Ma Chao has no navy, and he doesn’t care about the checkpoints on the water. The water route is safer than the land route.”

"How about the waterway in Jicheng?"

Yan Wen marked on the map in detail with a pen: "This river is only in the inner city of Ji. Most outsiders don't know that it secretly leads to the Jin River dozens of miles away. If Wen hadn't been ordered to build a moat in the early years, they would not know about it." The two rivers are connected. Today, the moat outside the city is formed by the water from the Yinyin River."

Yang Yue took a closer look: "If that's the case, you can give it a try."

Yan Wen bid farewell to everyone the next day, jumped into the river in front of everyone's expectant eyes, and disappeared.

Everyone is trembling but eagerly looking forward to the good news as soon as possible.

One day later, Ma Chao escorted Yan Wen to the city.

"City defenders! The supply in the city is probably insufficient, so I ordered this man to go out of the city to ask for help by the dark river! You are deceiving me that I am not good at water warfare, and I am not good at waterways! I don't know that you have someone who is familiar with dark rivers. There is no one there! A craftsman who repaired the river has already presented the picture book! It is ridiculous that you think you have a plan!"

The faces of the people on the top of the wall turned pale, including Yang Fu, their hopes were shattered.

Yang Fu looked at the people tied up in the city, but he couldn't see clearly, but the clothes in the water seemed to be worn by Yan Wen, so Yang Fu settled down and said loudly to everyone in the city: "Everyone, don't panic! Ma Chao is lying, he found someone from somewhere, pretending to be from my city..."

Ma Chao at the bottom of the city laughed when he heard Yang Fu's words: "Hahahahahahaha! You bastards, why use deceit! This person is Yan Wen in your city! Is that right? If you don't believe me, teach him to answer you correctly! "

No need, really no need, everyone in the city knew in their hearts that Ma Chao clearly knew that it was Yan Wen who had come out of the city to ask for help, and this already explained everything.

Ma Chao looked at Yan Wen proudly: "Tell the people in the city what you said in the big tent. If you surrender, you can still save your life."

Yan Wen nodded: "You can untie me and speak well for the general."

Ma Chao winked at the Xiliang soldiers behind him, and the soldiers untied Yan Wen's rope.

Yan Wen walked to the city: "I am Yan Wen! I have something to tell you!"

Yang Fu on the city told everyone not to listen: "This person must not be Yan Bojian! Ma Chao's trick is to disturb the morale of the army!"

"I'm Yan Bojian! I have something important to tell you!"

Ma Chao watched Yan Wen's self-defense and the people in the city trying to separate themselves, and once again felt the pleasure of playing with others in his heart.People are so insignificant, Yan Wen was tortured when he was caught, and he was unyielding at first, but later he was not begging for mercy. Human nature is afraid of death and selfish. The moral integrity that the scholar-bureaucrats tried their best to advocate is a fart. deceitful.

Ma Chao waited to see how Yan Wen persuaded him to surrender, but unexpectedly Yan Wen shouted to the city: "The army will arrive in only three days, encourage it!" With the first knife, he rushed towards Ma Chao.

This was beyond Ma Chao's expectation. Before he could think about it, he swung his gun and knocked the knife away from Yan Wen's hand, and then pierced Yan Wen's chest with a shot.

Yan Wen's blood splattered on the spot. For the land outside the city that was soaked in human blood, there is actually no big difference if there is one more Yan Wen or one less Yan Wen.

Someone in the city was already crying.

Ma Chao didn't pay attention to these people's thoughts, he was a little bit annoyed, and Yan Wen's change of mind was really slapping him in the face, so he shouted to the city: "Since you said that this person is not Yan Wen, I will teach you Recognize your head!" Then he ordered people to cut Yan Wen's head with a knife, and then passed a thick rope through the ears of Yan Wen's head, and hung it on his carved arrow. The feathers on the arrow were still pulled from the golden eagle. Top grade, Ma Chao felt that it was a waste of such a good arrow just to send Yan Wen's head.

Pulling out the horn bow, loosening the control string, the thick arrow shot directly at the city head with only the sound of the wind, and was firmly nailed between the bricks behind Wei Kang and Yang Fu with a bang.

Yan Wen's head also hit it heavily, and everyone present heard the sound of the skull breaking.

Of course it was Yan Wen, his eyes were closed tightly, and there were many bloody cuts and bruises on his face. He presumably also suffered torture after being arrested.

All the soldiers in the city knelt down before the head, spontaneously, Wei Kang and others bowed their heads silently.

Suddenly, behind everyone, there was the sound of something falling to the ground, followed by a heart-piercing scream from a woman.

Yang Fu didn't wait to look back, a woman rushed away from the crowd, threw herself on Yan Wen's head and cried loudly.

It is Yan Wen's wife Xu.

All the able-bodied men in the city defended the city and killed the enemy, and the women and children took on the responsibility of delivering water and food.Mrs. Xu just went up to the top of the city with the crowd today, when she saw her husband's head hanging there with her own eyes.

One can imagine how exciting this is.

"Ma'am..." Yang Fu held back his tears, planning to come up and say a few words of comfort.

"Where is my husband's body now?"

"Uh..." Yang Fu didn't react.

"This is the head! Where's his body!" Xu raised her voice an octave.

"Under the city...Madam, please rest. When Ma Chao retreats, I will immediately order people to snatch Bo Jian's body into the city and bury him whole body."

Xu wiped away her tears: "No need, I'll go."

"What did Madam say?" Yang Fu was surprised.

"I said I'll go. Ma Chao is cruel. Other soldiers go forward, fearing casualties. My husband died in the city. How can I bear to see the defenders of the city die because of him. I am a woman. If I want Ma Chao to despise me, I will not defend myself." Xu After finishing speaking, he turned and left.

Yan Wen's son was still young, less than six years old, and he was very frightened when he saw his father's head, so he grabbed his mother's clothes and dared not show his head.Hearing that Mrs. Xu was about to leave, he grabbed his mother's clothes even harder.

Mrs. Xu knelt down to coax her son: "Good boy, wait here for mother to come back, mother will go pick up your father."

The child knew that he could not stop his mother, so he had to follow his mother a few steps away and watch.

Mrs. Xu changed the emphasis on filial piety and ordered the city gate to be opened. The soldiers guarding the city felt embarrassed. Mrs. Xu said: "After you let me out, if things change and you close the city gate, don't worry about my concubine."

So Xu went out.

Her son was holding the gate of the city, looking at his mother worriedly, and the guards guarded the child and stopped him from running out.

Ma Chao saw a woman in heavy filial piety walking out, just thought it was funny, he had never seen anything like this in all his years of fighting on the battlefield.

"Who are you?"

"My husband is Yan Wen."

"Is a woman going out of the city to meet the enemy? No one in the city has come here!"

"This concubine has nothing to do on the battlefield. This time I go out of the city just to carry back my husband's body."

"When a person is dead, what good is it to recover the whole body?"

"I will be buried in the future, so that the fathers and children will not forget their virtues and their hatred."

Ma Chao didn't take seriously the idea of ​​"Chou": "If we reject our army warmly, we should die! If the fathers and children learn from it, it will be a dead end!"

Mrs. Xu snorted coldly: "How can you, a vulgar person, know my husband's festival! I am a woman who admires her high righteousness. If I can't follow her on the ground, I must follow her on the ground! There is a concubine buried in her body, unlike you, a thief, who invades our borders with unrighteous soldiers, heaven and earth will not tolerate it! On the day of your death, you will be covered with swords, struck by lightning, and burned with fire. You will never recover, and no one will collect your body!"

Ma Chao didn't pay attention to Xu Shi at first, he turned his horse's head and planned to go back, but Xu Shi's last curse angered him, so he stabbed Xu Shi backhand.Xu is a woman who has never been on a battlefield, and she doesn't know how to protect herself. Before she could dodge, she was stabbed in the heart.Ma Chao was still puzzled, picked up Xu's corpse with a gun, and threw it at the city gate: "In that case, I will teach you to obey your husband underground!"

Xu's body rolled to the ground not too far from the city gate. Seeing his mother's death, Xu's son burst into tears. The guards didn't stop him, so the child ran out and lay on Xu's bed. Crying loudly on the corpse: "Mother..."

Ma Chao didn't seem to see the child. For him, the city gate that hadn't been closed was a good opportunity, so he raised the spear in his hand as a signal.

Where the spear fell, thousands of arrows were fired at the city gate. Several soldiers guarding the gate were shot to death on the spot, and the rest desperately closed the city gate.

Yan Wen's son, who was less than six years old, was pierced by more than a dozen sharp arrows. The child who was still alive a few minutes ago turned into a warm corpse in an instant. The flowing blood merged together.

The author has something to say:

In the setting of this article, Ma Chao's initial character is brutal, but his cruelty is classified by the author as a congenital ignorance of good and evil, and lack of acquired education.Just like we will see children bullying the same kind and cruelty to animals, sometimes the methods are outrageously cruel, and he doesn't even know it.So Ma Chao in this article is a wonderful combination of cruelty and cuteness...

This is definitely not an excuse for Ma Chao, ignorance of good and evil cannot be used as a reason not to be punished, so later... it was also a coffee table.