Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 449: Knowing the Small Things

June, Yuliangzhou Camp.

Outside the tent, rain poured down like a torrent. Big raindrops hit the tent, and the loud sound of rain poured into the ears of the people inside the tent.

Guan Yu was sitting on the couch, reading the letters in his hand, looking very thoughtful.

The person who sent this letter was Lu Xun, the governor of Hanzhong.

In the letter, Lu Xun didn't say much. He just said that it had rained for many days in Hanzhong, and there were landslides in many areas. This year's rain was heavier than last year's. He was worried that the Han River in the middle section of Han River was abnormal, which would affect the Han River in the downstream stage, so he wrote to explain.

"Lu Boyan's letter should clear up my confusion!"

Putting down the letter, Guan Yu sighed and said: "Although Lu Boyan is a Confucian scholar, he has a lot of ideas. He is a careful man and cares about the important affairs of the country."

As he spoke, Guan Yu looked at Guan Ping, who was sitting next to him, and said with a serious face: "Young man, you should follow the example of Boyan, read more classics, be humble and enterprising, be rigorous in doing things, and make no mistakes."

"No!" Guan Ping reluctantly responded gloomily.

Seeing Guan Ping like this, Guan Yu sighed slightly in his heart.

Guan Yu stroked his long beard and asked, "Are you sailing down from Hanzhong in a boat?"

Lu Xun, who was known as a Confucian scholar at that time, could not see anything particularly outstanding except that he was elegant and knowledgeable. Guan Yu felt unhappy when he learned that the Confucian scholar Lu Xun had taken his son Guan Ping's seat. Although he was later relieved by Liu Bei, Guan Yu also had a lot of grudges in his heart.

"This is God helping me!"

Guan Yu secretly made a note in his mind, waved his hand and said: "I am very tired from running around delivering letters today, so please step back and rest first."

The messenger looked respectful, bowed and said: "I am reporting to you, the Han River has risen sharply, and the water is so violent that it is terrifying. Especially in the Nanxiang section, the Jun and Dan rivers are raging. The Junkou has submerged the river banks and poured into the surrounding forests and fields. , fortunately there is no one living there. The servant took a boat and sailed slowly near the south bank, so that he could cross safely."

After gathering his thoughts, Guan Yu ordered: "When someone comes, order the messenger to enter the account and answer the question."

But all this changed a few years ago. Lu Xun assisted Zhang Fei in going to Hanzhong, and then took up residence in Hanzhong. The water flooded Zhang He, and he defended the fortified city with a small number of soldiers. He became famous all over the world, and only then did the people of Wu and Chu look at him with admiration, including Guan Yu.

"Therefore, in the past, the Han River was turbulent and often overflowed, harming the people. Dams were built on both sides of the bank to prevent floods. For a long time, the topography of Xiangfan was higher than the riverside and lower than the mountainside. In Jin, troops were stationed on the hillsides, which seemed to be The surrounding high places may be called low compared to the Han River!"

"The Han River in Xiangyang has a wide and shallow river bed, and the water flow is scattered. When there is little water, it is shallow and wide by three to four hundred steps; when the water is flowing, it is deep and wide by five to six thousand steps. You can see the difference between the Han River in Xiangfan."

"Exactly!"

After a while, the messenger came into the tent and saluted, cupped his hands and said: "I pay my respects to you, your lord!"

Unexpectedly, I don't know if anyone recommended Lu Xun, but Liu Bei chose Lu Xun as his son-in-law, which surprised everyone.

Previously, Liu Bei wanted to marry his eldest daughter. At that time, there was a lot of discussion among the people about the selection of Guan Ping, Lu Xun, Shi Ran, and Zhang Cheng. There were many speculations that because of the friendship between Guan Yu and Liu Bei, the person who could marry Liu Bei's eldest daughter was not Guan Yu. Nothing belongs to Ping.

As the messenger retreated, Guan Yu got up from the bed and walked to the tent door. He looked at the rain that was getting lighter in the air, and then smelled the fresh air mixed with soil, and couldn't help stroking his beard and smiling.

"Since we are traveling down the Han River in a boat, do we know how the water condition of the Han River will be along the way?"

Now that he had to fight Cao Ren, Guan Yu often communicated with Lu Xun through letters, and he developed a good impression of Lu Xun. He is rigorous in doing things and courteous in his treatment of others. He is not like a rotten scholar or scholar-bureaucrat who knows everything but talks about things and makes mistakes.

"Thank you, Lord!"

"Jun and Dan are surging in water?"

Seeing this, Guan Ping stood up from the side couch and asked, "Father, the rain is heavier than in previous years. Father is happy because of this. Could it be that there is a strategy to break the ban?"

"promise!"

Guan Yu came out of the big tent, stood and looked at the rolling Han River, and said with a smile: "The course of the Han River in Xiangyang is unique, and it is different from other places."

The Han River is prone to flooding all year round. In order to solve the flooding problem of the Han River, a dam was built in Danjiangkou City (now Nanxiang County) upstream of Xiangyang City. But even so, the Han River occasionally flooded, not to mention the Han River during the Han Dynasty.

During the Han Dynasty, the Han River lacked dams to store water, so it carried sediment from the middle and upper reaches and flowed into the Jingxiang River section in the middle. Due to the vast plains in Jingxiang, the Han River was easily ravaged. Therefore, due to the action of silt erosion and artificial dams, the Han River dams in the Xiangfan River section are higher than those in rural communities in the plains.

This means that the highest level is higher than the riverside and the lower level is lower than the mountainside. With such a unique terrain, once the Han River floods the riverside, it will wreak havoc on the Xiangfan Plain.

Guan Yu had governed Nanjun for many years and had a good understanding of the Han River in the Xiangfan River section. An in-depth study of the topography of the Han River shows that the ten miles north of Fancheng where Cao Ren chose to station was not a safe place. Once the Han River rages, Yujinsubu will be flooded by the Han River and will be defeated.

It was beyond the capabilities of Guan Yu and Han soldiers to raise the height of the Han River, but Guan Yu could do it by taking advantage of the strength of the Han River to use troops. While Guan Yu was teaching his son, Lu Meng came in wearing a raincoat. When he saw Guan Yu at the camp gate, he quickly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, a scout under a certain tent has discovered the situation in Pitang in northern Han Dynasty."

Guan Yu stopped talking and asked: "How is the situation in Pitang in northern Han Dynasty?"

Lu Meng smiled broadly and said: "It has been raining for many days, and the pond is gradually filling up, and the river has overflowed. If it rains for a few more days, the Han River will rise again. Our plan may be successful!"

Guan Yu smiled and shook his head, correcting himself and saying, "Our plan will definitely work!"

"Bo Yan wrote that mountains and rocks collapsed due to rain and waterlogging in Hanzhong. It is believed that when he passed by Junkou in a boat, the Jun and Dan rivers overflowed and flooded the surrounding forests and fields. Jiazi Ming said that the Han River is this year If it is great, it must be true."

Lu Meng looked very excited and said: "If you act like this, you should contact Hou Yin of Wancheng and take action after breaking the ban."

"good!"

During the conversation, Guan Yu saw that Lu Meng's arms were shaking. He thought it was the impact of the arrow wound, so he stretched out his hand to help Lu Meng take off his raincoat, and said with a smile: "Ziming was hit by an arrow in the shoulder, and the injury has not yet recovered. You should take a good rest to avoid falling." Hidden wounds.”

With that said, Guan Yu called to Guan Ping and said, "Ping'er, please apply the golden sore medicine given by Jin Ping to General Ziming."

Hearing the word "Jinping", Lu Meng showed gratitude and said: "The princess gave you the medicine, I'm afraid it will be inconvenient for you to enjoy it. You might as well keep it for your own use!"

Guan Jinping was once married to Liu Pu. As Liu Pu was named King of Shanyang, he was named Princess of Shanyang, and Guan Yu became the father-in-law of King Shanyang, so Guan Yu became more and more respected.

Of course, Guan Yu, as Liu Bei's core veteran, leads troops in battles all year round, and has many veterans and generals under his command. The Guan family's status in the Southern Han Dynasty is not much lower than that of the Huo family.

Guan Yu's face darkened slightly and he said, "Why is Ziming so angry?"

"Thank you so much, Lord!"

Not only did Guan Yu and Lu Meng discover that the Han River was overflowing with water, but some in the Wei army also noticed something unusual about the Han River.

As a native of Danyang County, Zhu Zhi assisted Sun Jian when he was young and passed through the second generation of Sun Ce and Sun Quan. Because of his close relationship with the Sun family, after Sun Quan surrendered, he was moved to Xiangyang to live.

Cao Cao entered Xiangyang, inspected the civil and military forces and surrendered. Because of Zhu Zhi's performance as a follower of Sun Jian in his early years, he admired Zhu Zhi a lot. Later, due to his relationship with the navy, Zhu Zhi immediately joined the army as a general.

Although Cao Cao was defeated in the Battle of Chrysostom, Zhu Zhi performed well. Because he was familiar with the water conditions, he stayed in Jingzhou as an official to assist Cao Ren.

Zhu Zhi worked diligently and worried about official affairs because of his subordinate relationship. He has lived in Xiangfan for more than ten years. He cannot fully understand the geography of the Han River, but he can say that he knows something about it.

"I'd like to report to you, there's been a lot of rain this year, and the Han River seems to be overflowing."

Because Zhu Zhi was old, he sat on the seat and reported to Cao Ren, saying: "Zhi is afraid that the Han River will overflow and damage the city and the army, so we should take precautions early!"

Cao Ren leaned half on the bench and said: "The city has long been prepared, such as storing sandbags to block the gaps in the city gate; or moving grain and ordnance to high places to avoid getting wet. There are many kinds of things like this. Nowadays, Why can’t I say enough!”

Cao Ren followed Cao Cao's orders to defend the city and did not dare to delay. In order to prevent Guan Yu from digging up the Fannan dyke and flooding Fancheng with Han River, he had already made flood control plans.

Zhu Zhi hesitated for a while and said: "General, there will be heavy rains in summer and autumn this year, and the Han River is showing signs of overflowing the dam. Our city is well prepared, but Zhi is afraid that Jin, Yan Xing and other seven armies will be unprepared, and they are from the north, so they may Injured by the Han River."

Cao Ren frowned slightly and said, "How can Yu Jin be unprepared? I have ordered him to move to a hillside ten miles north of Fan. Even if the Han River overflows or there is continuous rain, I can protect him from being hurt by the Han River. Moreover, I have been strict with my generals and have been a general for thirty years. How could I not be prepared for the rain to wet the army's supplies?"

Zhu Zhi sighed while stroking his beard, and said: "General, the Seventh Army was stationed ten miles north of Fan. In the past, it must have been fine. However, this year is different from the past. There is more rain this year. Zhi is afraid that there will be floods. It has been flooded ten miles north of Fan. Now it is better to order the Seventh Army to station in the north, as if it were stationed at Yancheng."

Cao Ren looked very dissatisfied and said: "Your concern is justified, but I am afraid that it is unfounded. I have governed Jingxiangyang for many years, and I have never seen that the Han River can flood ten miles north of Fan. Now let Yu Jin be transferred to Yancheng to garrison, and Guan Yu will raise his troops. With the city surrounded on all sides, how can Fan City defend itself with only a few thousand soldiers?"

As he spoke, Cao Ren emphasized: "Water thieves often take advantage of the water's momentum to advance. Yu Jinruo is dedicated to stationing in Yancheng. Liu Bei came by boat with heavy troops, joined forces with Guan Yu, and surrounded Fancheng. I'm afraid that His Majesty's personal visit will make it difficult to change the situation of Xiangfan being abandoned. .”

Regardless of the five thousand people in Xiangyang, there are seven armies in Jin and Yanxing, and there are three to four thousand soldiers and horses in Fancheng. In fact, 5,000 people in Xiangyang were besieged and could not escape, with only the defenders of Fancheng and seven soldiers and horses. Once the Seventh Army was far away, Cao Ren only defended Fancheng with a few thousand men, feeling really unsure.

At this time, Cao Ren did not dare to let Yu Jin go too far from Fancheng, and he wanted to ensure that Yu Jin's Seventh Army avoided low-lying locations. Only ten miles north of Fan was suitable.

Of course, Cao Ren himself didn't quite believe Zhu Zhi's words. He used his experience to judge that the Han River would not cause such a big flood disaster.

Zhu Zhi felt helpless and resigned to Cao Ren.

Zhu Zhi could not predict whether the Han River would flood. He was trapped in the city. The only news he could know about the Han River was that the water level of the Han River was a little high. I am admonishing Cao Ren today just in case, but if Cao Ren doesn't accept it, there is nothing he can do!

(End of this chapter)