Xu Zhou, Xiao Pei.
As a city of immense geographical importance, it connected the three forces of Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Yuan Shu.
Currently, the master here was Lu Bu.
The great drought in July initially brought Lu Bu great joy. In his opinion, Cao Cao's grain supplies were stretched thin, and the troops stationed in Pengcheng would inevitably be demoralized, signaling an opportune moment for a counterattack.
At the very least, with the covert support of his father-in-law Cao Bao, he, Lu Bu, could capture a decent city!
But fate would have it otherwise…
Liu Bei's cities of Xiapi and Guangling suffered a locust plague, resulting in no harvest. Liu Bei's own troops were running out of grain, let alone…supplying Lu Bu for his offensives.
Naturally… the plan to attack Cao Cao was stillborn.
At this moment, both Lu Bu and Chen Gong stood on the city walls, gazing into the distance…
A hundred li ahead lay Pengcheng, the territory of Cao's army, where Cao Cao had specifically left Cao Ren with thirty thousand troops to garrison.
Cao Ren had set up camp outside the city, forming a pincer with Pengcheng. With Lu Bu's current forces, it would be difficult to capture it unless there was a change in Cao's army.
"Alas…"
With a long sigh, Lu Bu couldn't help but clench his fists and slam them against the city wall before him. The force was so great that his fists made a crisp "bang" sound upon impact.
Lu Bu's hands both felt pain, but… he didn't care at all. Compared to the melancholy in his heart, what was this pain?
"Strategist? Do you think… it's uncanny?"
Lu Bu turned his head towards Chen Gong beside him. "The same insects, but Cao Cao's people eat them and are fine, yet our people, and Liu Bei's people, eat them and get poisoned. It's truly strange!"
"Also… after the great drought, there were floods everywhere, river dams broke, and Liu Bei's thousands of mu of rice fields were destroyed. Yet Cao Cao's rice fields are perfectly fine! I'm starting to feel that Cao Cao's side is extremely peculiar!"
Chen Gong narrowed his eyes…
He quietly listened to Lu Bu finish speaking… his gaze also swept towards the territory of Pengcheng directly ahead.
It seemed he understood what Lu Bu was about to ask.
"Fengxian, many things, let alone you, I cannot fathom…"
Chen Gong helplessly placed his hand on the city wall. Clearly, he was also in a bad mood. "For the past two years, Cao's army has been very strange. It's as if they can predict all natural disasters and man-made calamities, and even turn disasters into great benefits! It's uncanny, truly uncanny."
Turning disaster into benefit, Chen Gong thought of the locusts… Other prefectures were helpless, but your Yan Province was practically treating locusts as a protected species.
Honestly, Chen Gong wished he could slander Cao Cao and draw another grand picture for Lu Bu!
But… Cao Cao's every move in the past two years had been incredibly precise. Slander? With what could he slander?
It seemed… after Chen Gong left Cao Cao, Cao Cao had only become better.
Helplessly… Chen Gong also felt a sense of helplessness. He even complained about Heaven's unfairness. Why… did a wicked person continue to grow stronger, while he, who considered himself a good person, struggled at every step?
Did his so-called "Dao" truly not apply in a chaotic world?
Hoo…
Lu Bu let out a long breath. "Strategist Gongtai, I heard Yuan Shu sent Ji Ling with fifty thousand troops to attack… Although he claimed it was to conquer Liu Bei, he will surely pass through our Xiao Pei? How should we respond?"
As the topic shifted to Yuan Shu, Chen Gong's mood improved slightly.
In the past two years, Cao Cao was the most peculiar. Other lords… were still acceptable.
"Fengxian, do not panic. Now, Yuan Shu and Liu Bei should be the ones panicking!"
Hmm…
Lu Bu didn't quite understand Chen Gong's words? What did he mean?
"Strategist… what is this?"
"Did Liu Bei send more provisions this morning?" Chen Gong's lips curved slightly.
"That little bit of provisions is barely enough for daily expenses!" Lu Bu got angry as soon as this matter was mentioned… He crossed his arms. "Liu Bei talks a good game, saying he trusts us, but in reality, he's still guarding against us."
"Haha…" Chen Gong retorted with a laugh. "He's not wrong, is he? You, Lu Fengxian, are a fierce tiger. If you're fed enough, won't you then turn on Liu Bei? Besides, Xiapi City and Guangling Commandery suffered drought and flood, and their grain reserves are insufficient!"
"You can still laugh, Strategist?" Lu Bu frowned…
"Hahaha…" Chen Gong was still laughing, as if he saw through everything. "Fengxian, when something reaches its extreme, it reverses. Like now… we appear to be drifting without support, the weakest. But in reality, we are a desirable haven!"
"Desirable haven?"
"Precisely!" Chen Gong nodded. "If my prediction is correct, Yuan Shu's envoy… should arrive within half a day, shouldn't he?"
As soon as he spoke…
"Report…" a soldier announced, "Five li east of the city, scouts have discovered Yuan Shu's envoy… heading towards Xiao Pei!"
Hmm…
Lu Bu was startled. Recalling Chen Gong's words, he quickly asked, "Why would Yuan Shu send an envoy?"
"Haha…" Chen Gong raised his hand. "Fengxian, let's go… prepare ourselves and meet Yuan Shu's envoy. If I'm not mistaken, Yuan Shu is about to present Fengxian with a large sum of grain, haha, hahahaha!"
Chen Gong had calculated this early on…
Lu Bu was currently caught between Liu Bei and Yuan Shu… seemingly a buffer zone, but in reality, Lu Bu's combat strength was not weak.
If he helped Liu Bei, Yuan Shu would be in trouble. Similarly, thinking from another perspective, if he helped Yuan Shu, Liu Bei would be in trouble.
Thus, wouldn't both Liu Bei and Yuan Shu have to compete for Lu Bu?
This was precisely why Liu Bei, despite suffering locust plagues, droughts, and floods, still dared not cut off Lu Bu's food supply!
And Yuan Shu, with his vast resources, was capable of using some grain to secure Lu Bu's support. This was a method Yuan Shu could employ.
"Strategist… what should we do then…" Lu Bu was still asking as they walked.
"Take benefits from both sides, and help neither!" Chen Gong smiled. "Isn't Cao Cao good at watching tigers fight from the mountain? Now… you, Lu Fengxian, will also watch the tigers fight from the mountain. Heh, Yuan Shu is no good, and Liu Bei… is no good either!"
"We should gather our strength and strike a fatal blow!"
In a word… Chen Gong's eyes narrowed, a subtle sharpness appearing within them.
Just as Lu Yu had mentioned, after the drought, locust plague, and flood, the chaos in the southern Xiapi city would fully erupt!
…
…
Late year of Chu Ping, the fourth year!
Since the start of the ninth cold period, the north wind blew, and the cold was biting. It was another unusually cold winter.
Speaking of which, it was strange. The summer was scorching hot and rainless, the vast land felt like fire. Yet in winter, it was so bitterly cold.
Early in the morning, a cold wind was blowing…
This cold was a true chill that sank into the bone and flesh.
The howling wind ferociously swept in frost and ice… like a sharp sword, exhausting the meager warmth and allowing the unrestrained cold to surge and spread.
Within the Cai Mansion… it was relatively warm!
Passed down from the Qin Dynasty, only present in Qin palaces, "heated walls" and "fireplaces" almost filled Lu Yu's residence…
The so-called heated wall was made by connecting two tubular tiles to form a pipe-like structure, embedded within the wall and connected to the stove, thus providing warmth.
As for fireplaces and stoves… almost every room in the entire Cai Mansion had some, and Lu Yu's residence had even more.
Despite this, Lu Yu felt the piercing cold wind while sitting indoors.
"Good heavens…" Lu Yu rubbed his hands and exclaimed. "This darn weather… it's much colder than a usual winter, isn't it."
Amidst his exclamations, Lu Yu's brow furrowed slightly. He seemed to recall something.
"Could it be… due to the Little Ice Age?"
Precisely…
On the land of Huaxia, there had been a total of four Little Ice Ages!
The first was from the late Yin Shang Dynasty to the early Western Zhou Dynasty;
The second was the period of the Three Kingdoms in the late Eastern Han Dynasty;
The third was from the late Tang Dynasty to the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period;
The fourth was during the Hongzhi reign of the Ming Dynasty!
This darn weather… seemed to be precisely the second Little Ice Age in history.
Lu Yu suddenly recalled much…
From Emperor Ling of Han, Liu Hong, to Emperor Xian of Han, Liu Xie, the climate of the Han Dynasty had been extremely abnormal for decades…
There were frequent droughts, or hailstones "as large as chicken eggs," and every winter was exceptionally cold without exception.
The unpredictability, to cite a few examples.
In the second month of 171 AD, earthquakes occurred, seawater overflowed, and river water was clear; in the fifth month, the Hedong region cracked, rain and hail fell, and mountain springs erupted;
In the first month of 173 AD, a great plague;
In the sixth month of 175 AD, the Sanfu region was ravaged by a locust plague;
In the spring of 179 AD, another great plague broke out;
In the sixth month of 181 AD, in the scorching summer heat, hailstones fell, "as large as chicken eggs"!
In 183 AD, a great drought in summer, and in autumn, the Jincheng River overflowed, and the mountainside at Wuyuan collapsed; in winter, the ice in the wells of Donghai, Penglai, and Langya was more than a foot thick!
The simultaneous occurrence of drought, flood, and ice disasters made the lives of the already suffering people of the empire even more difficult.
And these disasters not only did not diminish after Emperor Ling of Han died and Emperor Shao of Han succeeded the throne… or even Emperor Xian of Han succeeded the throne… but instead intensified.
The reason was the unpredictable weather of the Little Ice Age…
Scorching droughts in summer, and biting cold in winter!
Many keyboard historians believe that the fall of the Han Dynasty had nothing to do with these reigning emperors.
Under such a "Little Ice Age," with frequent disasters, Emperor Ling of Han could only drive his donkey cart, play happily with his concubines in the Nude Swimming Pavilion, and exclaim, "I'm too stressed!"
… Even many keyboard historians believe… that even if they transmigrated to become Emperor Ling of Han, the empire would still fall!
"Not good…"
Suddenly, Lu Yu stood up abruptly. At this moment, he thought of a disease that accompanied the winter of the Little Ice Age – Typhoid Fever!
Precisely… it was Typhoid Fever!
Typhoid fever was a type of plague. According to historical records, typhoid fever broke out three times during the reign of Emperor Huan of Han, five times during the reign of Emperor Ling, and it was even more prevalent during the Jian'an period of Emperor Xian.
Tens of millions of people were consumed by the disease, causing an unprecedented catastrophe of nine out of ten households being empty!
Even though novels often depict battles where hundreds of thousands die, in reality… despite the constant warfare among warlords, the number of casualties was not that high!
In fact, the fundamental reason for the sharp population decline was the widespread typhoid fever caused by the Little Ice Age.
The people of the Han Dynasty habitually added the word "绝" (jue, meaning fatal or incurable) to typhoid fever – "伤寒绝症" (shānghán juézhèng, fatal typhoid fever).
The reason for adding this word was that once one contracted "typhoid fever," it was almost equivalent to death. It was incurable and no one dared to treat it!
It could be said that in the era of the Three Kingdoms… the greatest cause of death was this "fatal typhoid fever"!
"Commander Dian…" Lu Yu immediately shouted.
Lu Yu's room was divided into an inner and outer section. Normally, Lu Yu stayed in the inner section, while Dian Wei guarded the outer section…
Upon hearing Lu Yu's call, Dian Wei immediately entered the inner section.
"Young Master, what is it?"
"Recently, have any soldiers in the Long Xiao Battalion contracted typhoid fever?" Lu Yu asked directly…
This…
Dian Wei's expression immediately became solemn.
Every year, a large number of armored soldiers in the military camp contracted typhoid fever. The ratio was about two out of ten… and once contracted, the final outcome was usually death!
This was already a common occurrence in the military camp. Whoever contracted this disease was unlucky.
This year… was no exception…
Seeing that Dian Wei did not speak, Lu Yu added, "Commander Dian, is there or isn't there?"
"Yes… yes!" Dian Wei replied. "When General Cao Xiu came yesterday, he specifically mentioned this matter. The weather is even colder this year, and more soldiers are falling ill. In the Long Xiao Battalion, there are already… already over a hundred people who have contracted this fatal typhoid fever!"
What?
Lu Yu was stunned. Over a hundred people?
One had to know… after accounting for previous battle losses, the number of capable Long Xiao Battalion cavalry was now only around six hundred.
With over a hundred falling at once, thinking about it… Lu Yu not only felt heartache, but also pain in his liver!
"Where are they now?" Lu Yu continued to ask.
"In the military camp…"
"Haven't you found medical officers?"
"It's useless to find them…" Dian Wei's expression was exceptionally solemn. Did he not want to save these soldiers? These officers were trained by Dian Wei himself!
"Fatal typhoid fever is an incurable disease…" Dian Wei repeatedly reminded.
Hoo…
Lu Yu let out a long breath.
Wasn't the typhoid fever of this era indeed an incurable disease? Once contracted, there was no hope of survival…
However, fortunately… unlike other plagues, fatal typhoid fever only caused internal cold and persistent high fever, and it was not contagious. Therefore… unlike the plague, which required immediate isolation and burning upon discovery!
"Let's go…"
Lu Yu directly put on a cloak…
"Where is Young Master Yu going?"
"To the Long Xiao Battalion!"
"I… I'll go prepare the carriage!" Dian Wei said busily…
"No need, let's go directly on horseback, it's faster!" Lu Yu said, already walking out of the "warm" residence…
"Achoo…"
The moment the door was opened, the cold air rushed in. Lu Yu suddenly sneezed.
The weather outside reminded Lu Yu of… the Yan region in the far north during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.
—The wind howls and the Yi River is cold, the brave warrior departs and will not return!
For some inexplicable reason, these two lines came to his mind. It felt so desolate!
"Little Ice Age, you damn thing…" he grumbled in his heart… both because of the biting cold in his own body and because of his concern for the safety of the soldiers in the Long Xiao Battalion.
"Little Brother Yu…"
Seemingly noticing Lu Yu leaving, Cai Zhaoji's door also pushed open suddenly… "Do you really have to go out in such cold weather?"
"There's urgent military business…" Lu Yu replied casually, finding an excuse.
Cai Zhaoji quickly ran to Lu Yu's side and, moreover, draped her thick fur coat over him. "Even if you have to go out, wear warmer clothes… I heard that tens of thousands of people in Yan Province have already contracted typhoid fever this year…"
When mentioning typhoid fever, a tear flashed in Cai Zhaoji's eyes…
Kind-hearted as she was… how could she not know that contracting fatal typhoid fever was almost a death sentence? This was tens of thousands of people!
Most importantly, this number was still constantly increasing.
"Sister Zhaoji… I'm fine!" Lu Yu turned his head, leaving Sister Zhaoji a bright smile. "Perhaps… I mean, perhaps, I might have a solution!"
In a word, Lu Yu finally held Sister Zhaoji's delicate hand, then waved goodbye and left with Dian Wei!
…
…
Chenliu Commandery, the seat of the prefectural office.
At this moment, Cao Cao was conversing with Xun Yu and Xun You.
Several pieces of intelligence had been received, for example—in the north, Yuan Shao had launched a full-scale offensive against Gongsun Zan;
And for example—in the south, Liu Bei had left Zhang Fei to guard the city and taken Guan Yu to confront Yuan Shu's Grand General Ji Ling. As for Lu Bu… he had mysteriously chosen to remain neutral!
In addition, Emperor Liu Xie had departed from Hongnong and was heading towards Luoyang, albeit very slowly, like a snail!
Logically speaking, these pieces of news were all highly favorable to Cao Cao’s intelligence…
But… the atmosphere in the entire prefectural office was exceptionally solemn.
The reason for this, besides these good news, was one piece of bad news that Cao Cao knew, and one piece of bad news that Cao Cao did not know…
The bad news that was known was that Cao Hong, leading an advance force of over ten thousand men, had been obstructed in his westward march towards Luoyang. It was not an obstruction by checkpoints or scattered troops… but by the weather!
It was too cold…
The biting cold made it extremely difficult to march, let alone take a single step.
Even… Cao Hong's army had a large number of armored soldiers who had contracted typhoid fever. If they went further into Sili, they might all be ravaged by illness before even reaching Luoyang!
Helplessly…
Cao Cao had no choice but to order Cao Hong to retreat temporarily. However, it was precisely at this juncture where rushing to Luoyang was imperative…
"Damn the weather!"
Cao Cao slammed his fist heavily onto the desk, scattering ink and brushes across the entire table.
Constrained by the weather, Cao Hong could not advance towards Luoyang. Cao Cao himself was not made of steel, and even leading troops personally might not be able to reach it. It seemed that the previously planned strategy of "welcoming the Son of Heaven" was about to be abandoned!
And at this very moment…
Xun Yu spoke, and his words brought another extremely unfavorable piece of news.
In fact, this news made Cao Cao feel ten thousand times worse than Cao Hong being obstructed in his westward advance!
"Lord Cao…"
…
…