At the end of the Han Dynasty: a stingy husband from his hometown

Chapter 127 The Duo of Two Heroes, Surviving the Dead

Xiang Hong was shocked when he heard this. He suddenly sat up and asked, "What's going on?"

Xi Zhicai said: "There is no time to explain. Let's take a few people and travel lightly. We must rush to Xinzheng as soon as possible."

The two left the large army in the posthouse, and only brought a few people to rush towards Xinzheng in the heavy rain.

The rain was so loud that Xi Zhicai had no choice but to shout at the top of his throat, "Did you ever ask why you couldn't see people there when you passed by Suohou Pavilion?"

Xiang Hong nodded.

"I thought at that time that the reason why there was no one in Zuohou Pavilion was because they had lived there for a long time and had already guessed that there was going to be heavy rain, so they evacuated because they were worried about flooding."

"But during the march, I thought about it again and again, but I felt that I might have thought wrong before."

"Climate changes and the rains of the four seasons are difficult to predict. It is not easy to guess that there will be heavy rains based on experience."

"Even if someone guessed that it is hard for people to leave their hometown, it is not easy to let them all leave their hometown before the heavy rain falls."

"Although the terrain of Suohou Pavilion is low, it belongs to the hilly terrain, and most of the people live on the hills."

"There are dense mountains, swamps, and lakes, rich aquatic products and fisheries, and very fertile land. This is why, although this place has been flooded many times, the people are still willing to live here."

"With those mountains, swamps, and lakes, even if it rains heavily, it will hardly endanger the places where people live."

Hearing this, Xiang Hong said, "So, is there something strange here?"

Xi Zhicai nodded and said, "There must be something strange."

Xiang Hong asked, "What's so strange?"

Xi Zhicai pondered for a moment and said: "Although I have a guess about this matter, I am not sure."

"I felt uneasy, so at dawn, I took advantage of a break from the heavy rain to go check out the water conditions of the Wei River. What do you think?"

Xiang Hong asked, "How?"

Xi Zhicai said with a solemn expression: "I have lived in Yingchuan all my life, and my hometown is on the bank of the Lishui River. I am familiar with the height of the water level. However, it rained heavily last night. Although there were occasional breaks in the middle, it was still very scary."

"I never thought that the water level of the Weishui actually rose by less than five inches. Isn't it strange?"

Although Xiang Hong didn't understand the water potential of the Wei River, he also knew that the increase was abnormal, and his expression became serious.

Xi Zhicai continued: "The water level has risen too little, which can only mean that someone upstream has deliberately stored water. Considering the early evacuation of the people in Suohouting, I guess the Yellow Turban thieves are preparing to flood Xinzheng."

"Presumably the leader of the yellow scarf bandit didn't want to do more killings, so he notified the people living in Suohou Pavilion in advance."

"As for how to convince those people that there will be a flood and get them to agree to move, I haven't figured it out yet."

Xiang Hong was terrified when he heard the words, and said, "If water pours into Xinzheng, wouldn't all the people in the city be buried in fish belly? Duke Ming will also be in danger!"

Inside Xinzheng City.

After the heavy rain overnight, Zhou Qi felt a little uneasy, got up early, and braved the rain to the south of Xinzheng to inspect the water conditions.

He is not a local, and he doesn't know much about the ups and downs of the water level, but when he saw the water level rising less than five feet, he felt something was wrong.

Just when Zhou Qi was frowning and thinking hard, he saw Huangfu Song striding over.

"General Right, something bad is going on!"

Huangfu Song shouted loudly before he could reach Zhou Qi.

Zhou Qi hurriedly asked, "What happened?"

Huangfu Song said: "Because of the heavy rain at night, I was worried that the water village was lost, so I went to check the water village early, but found that the water level of the water had risen somewhat abnormally."

Zhou Qi said: "I also noticed something was wrong."

"Could it be that the Yellow Turban thieves stored water in advance and wanted to flood Xinzheng?"

The two spoke out almost at the same time, and both saw horror in each other's eyes.

None of them are stupid.

Although Xinzheng has a relatively high terrain, it is almost impossible to flood Xinzheng in normal times, and it will take at least three days of heavy rain.

Only in this way, before the flood can flow to the low-lying land, it is possible to pour into Xinzheng City.

only.

If there is a heavy rain and the water is stored in the upper reaches of the Wei River in advance, it will not take more than three days to meet the requirements of flooding Xinzheng.

The two of them were in a state of shock.

Suddenly saw Zhou Qi's guard Sima Fu Xie leading a child striding over, his face full of anxiety.

Fu Xie was originally the Sima of the guard under Zhu Jun, and Zhou Qi took over the position of General You Zhonglang, so Fu Xie would naturally be dispatched by him.

"General Zhonglang, this person brought a letter saying that the Yellow Turban Army wants to flood Xinzheng, let us evacuate the people in the city as soon as possible!"

Zhou Qi hurried forward upon hearing the words, took the letter from Fu Xie, and after reading the contents, handed it to Huangfusong.

Huangfusong frowned, and said with some hesitation: "This letter is not signed, it only says that the Yellow Scarves will flood Xinzheng, could it be a trick of the thieves, wanting us to retreat in fear, they want to seize the city without bloodshed? "

Zhou Qi said with a solemn expression: "Without this letter, would Zuo Zhonglang have evacuated the people in the city in advance?"

When Huangfu Song heard the words, he was speechless.

Both he and Zhou Qi sensed that something was wrong, even without this letter, they would withdraw from Xinzheng just to be on the safe side.

However, this letter was too strange, on the contrary, it made Huangfusong suspicious, so he was a little hesitant.

Huangfu Song sighed: "We can't afford to gamble."

Zhou Qi also nodded: "Yes, I can't afford the gamble."

As a general, you should not take chances and treat the lives of the soldiers of the three armies as a trifling matter.

The imperial court can no longer afford to lose.

They also seem to have somewhat understood why the Yellow Turban Army completely blocked Xinzheng's water and land transportation before, and why they only pretended to attack the city for many days.

The Yellow Turban Army did this because they did not want the officers and soldiers to detect in advance that the other party was storing water, and they were also waiting for the arrival of heavy rain.

No matter how you look at it, both Zhou Qi and Huangfusong must make plans in advance.

Next, both of them fell into silence.

We must retreat, but how and where we need to retreat are very difficult issues.

Once the Yellow Turban Army flooded Xinzheng, the entire lower reaches of the Wei River would be part of Zeguo.

Even if they fled to the high mountains, the daily consumption of food and grass by tens of thousands of soldiers and horses plus the people in the city would be astronomical.

After the flood receded, the Yellow Turban Army surrounded them on the mountain.

They only need to besiege but not attack, and when the officers and soldiers run out of food and grass, Zhou Qi and others will become turtles in the urn.

As for the only way upstream, it was completely blocked by the Yellow Turban Army. Even the river was blocked by iron locks, making it difficult to break through.

Fortunately, this heavy rain also brought a lot of trouble to the Yellow Turban Army. The Yellow Turban Army who had surrounded Xinzheng to death all crossed the Wei River last night and retreated to the Yellow Turban Army camp in the south of the city.

At first, Zhou Qi was still confused when the Yellow Turban Army built their camp on the mountain on the south bank of Mishui River.

There are abundant vegetation in the mountains. Isn't Bo Cai afraid of the officers and soldiers attacking with fire?
Soon, Zhou Qi realized that he was overthinking. When the Yellow Turban Army came to the stronghold this time, they first cut down all the trees on the nearby hills. It was impossible to attack with fire.

In addition, Zhou Qi was still confused at first. Xinzheng was clearly on the north bank of the Jishui River, so why did the Yellow Turban Army set up camp on the south bank.

Combined with the current situation, he finally figured out that the relationship is to avoid being flooded.

Water and fire are ruthless. Not only can Xinzheng be flooded, but if the Yellow Turban Army's camp is in the wrong position, the officers and soldiers may also use heavy rain to submerge their camp.

"The commander-in-chief of the Yellow Turban Army seems to have expected this day."

Thinking of this, Zhou Qi felt a little chill in his heart.

"There seems to be something wrong."

Zhou Qi frowned and thought hard, but he vaguely noticed that the commander of the Yellow Turban Army seemed to have deliberately exposed some flaws and reminded the officers and soldiers.

If Zhou Qi had paid attention to the anomaly of the Yellow Turban military camp earlier, perhaps he could have predicted that Xinzheng would soon be flooded.

"There is also the child who came to report with a letter. Could it be that someone in the Yellow Turban Army deliberately reported the message?"

Thinking of this, Zhou Qi began to secretly smile again.

Even if the movement of the Yellow Turban Army had been anticipated, what would happen?

The Yellow Turban soldiers were numerous and powerful, and they had completely controlled the waterway traffic in the upper and lower reaches of Xinzheng. If the heavy rain had not caused the Yellow Turban Army to withdraw temporarily, it would be difficult for officers and soldiers to leave Xinzheng, let alone launch a counterattack.

The Yellow Turban Army wanted to store water, but the officers and soldiers couldn't stop it; the Yellow Turban Army wanted to burst the embankment, and the officers and soldiers couldn't stop it.

This is not so much a conspiracy as a conspiracy.

Even if you know the opponent's plan, there is no good way to deal with it.

Obviously, this is almost a dead end, and there is no way to break it.

Just when Zhou Qi and Huangfusong were caught in a dilemma and hadn't found a way to break the situation, Zhou Jin rushed over excitedly.

"Ming Gong, my brother is here!"

Since Xi Zhicai married a girl from the Zhou family, he could be regarded as Zhou Jin's brother-in-law, and it was not wrong to call him that.

Zhou Qi was overjoyed when he heard the words, and hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "Where is Mr.?"

As soon as Zhou Qi finished speaking, he saw Xi Zhicai and Xiang Hong striding over, and they both bowed, "I've met Ming Gong!"

Zhou Qi stepped forward to support the two of them. Before he could speak, Xi Zhicai took the initiative and said: "Xinzheng is in danger. The army must retreat immediately!"

Huangfusong originally didn't care about Xi Zhicai, but when he saw that Xi Zhicai had just arrived, he actually sensed the danger and immediately felt awe-inspiring.

Zhou Qi did not ask why Xi Zhicai guessed that Xinzheng was in danger, and asked directly: "The rebel army may flood the city at any time, and we don't know where to retreat at this time."

"The high ground on the south bank has been occupied by thieves, and the lower reaches may become a swamp at any time."

"If you retreat upstream to Mi County, you will definitely fall into an ambush by the Yellow Turban Army."

"Even if you find a high place to live temporarily, you will be captured by bandits sooner or later."

Hearing this, Xi Zhicai didn't say much, but first inquired in detail about the direction of the Yellow Turban Army's camp and troop layout, as well as the situation in nearby counties.

It wasn't until he understood the situation on the entire battlefield that he stood there and frowned in thought.

When Huangfusong saw this, he was worried about the situation in Xinzheng. He was about to say something, but was stopped by Zhou Qi.

He believes that if Xi Zhicai's ingenuity fails to find a way to crack it, then the officers and soldiers in Xinzheng City may really be buried in fish belly.

This is also the scary part of Yangmou.

Even if you know all the calculations of the other party, so what?
After pondering for a long time, Xi Zhicai suddenly looked up at Zhou Qi and asked, "Does the Yellow Turban Thief have a navy?"

Zhou Qi shook his head and said, "Although they intend to build a naval force, Zuo Zhonglang has confiscated all the nearby ships when he arrived in Xinzheng."

"The Yellow Turbans now only have some simple bamboo rafts that can carry people across the river. The first batch of warships have not yet been built."

Hearing this, a smile finally appeared on Xi Zhicai's face.

He said to Zhou Qi: "I already have a way to break the situation, but I don't know if Duke Ming dares to adopt this strategy."

Zhou Qi was overjoyed when he heard the words, and said, "Sir, please tell me."

Huangfusong also showed a look of surprise on his face, he leaned forward to see how this young scholar broke the situation.

Xi Zhicai pointed to the north and said, "We only need to dig the Weishui dam in advance and use the Suohou Pavilion as a flood discharge point, so that the Weishui can be kept at a relatively safe level in a short period of time."

"In this case, given the location of Xinzheng, unless there are two consecutive days of heavy rain, the Yellow Turban thieves will not be able to flood Xinzheng even if they store water upstream."

When Zhou Qi and Huangfu Song heard this, they looked at each other but neither spoke.

In fact.

They have already thought about this countermeasure, but this strategy cannot be used casually, otherwise the Suohou Pavilion, which is used as a flood discharge site, will flood the people nearby.

In this way, Xinzheng can be preserved, but for such things as flooding their own people, as long as someone reports to the court, the two of them will inevitably be blamed.

At the very least, he would be dismissed from office and escorted to Luoyang for punishment.

Unless they have no other choice, the two of them are not willing to choose this last resort.

Xi Zhicai seemed to have guessed what the two were thinking and said with a smile: "The yellow scarf thieves blocked the traffic. I took a detour from Suohou Pavilion. The people there seemed to have gotten the news and had already evacuated."

"Even if the embankments are breached and floods are released, innocent people will not be harmed."

Zhou Qi and Huangfu Song heard this and asked excitedly: "Is this really true?"

Xi Zhicai nodded emphatically, and said, "That's true!"

Seeing the joyful expressions of the two, Xi Zhi said with a serious face: "Although I have said that, I have lived by the Weishui River for a long time, and I am quite familiar with the water situation."

"After a great drought there will be a great flood."

"If my prediction is correct, this heavy rain will continue. Even if the embankments are breached in advance to release the flood, if the Yellow Turban thieves continue to store water upstream, Xinzheng will not be able to survive."

After hearing this, the two fell into silence again.

Things seem to have returned to the beginning, and there is still no way to break the situation.

Even if the embankments are broken and floods are released, it can only relieve the temporary difficulties.

Seeing the expressions of the two, Xi Zhicai walked to the edge of the city wall in a calm manner, pointed to the direction downstream, and said: "You can use all the soldiers and horses in the city, and only bring three days of dry food, and go down the water by boat. .”

"Today, the water is rising and the river is rushing, but it will come in the morning and evening, and the Changsha will be recaptured!"

This bold strategy shocked everyone instantly.

Is this the so-called: Knowing that there are tigers in the mountains, but walking towards the mountains?

Upon hearing this, Huangfu Song shook his head and said, "This plan is too risky."

"The Yellow Turban thieves are numerous and powerful, so Changshe must be heavily guarded. If we use all our strength to attack Changshe, if we fail, not only will Xinzheng be lost, but the army may also be attacked from both front and rear by the Yellow Turban thieves."

"If Xinzheng is lost and Changsha cannot be captured, the imperial court will definitely punish me. General You Zhonglang and I cannot escape the guilt."

Xi Zhicai raised his head and looked directly at Huangfu Song and asked: "Besides this, is there any way to break the situation?"

Huangfu Song was speechless.

　There is a change in the previous chapter.

　　The Yellow Turban Army surrounded Xinzheng, cut off land and water transportation, and set up camp on a mountain twenty miles south of Xinzheng.

　　Previously, the village was built twenty miles east of the city, and the embankment would also be flooded, so it was changed so that you don't have to look back.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)