sovbooks Chapter 1428: Water has no constant state, soldiers have no constant form
Chapter 1428: Water has no constant state, soldiers have no constant form
Chapter 1428: Water has no constant state, soldiers have no constant form
August 13th, night.
Although the moon was not full, it was bright and its light made the ground extremely bright.
Fires flickered in the Wei army camp on the south bank of the Zhang River. Sima Yi, wrapped in a fine wool blanket, stood high on the river bank, like a dead tree standing on the shore.
Autumn is gradually approaching, and it is already slightly chilly at night.
Sima Yi has been working day and night and has often been overworked in recent years.
If it weren't for the strength that was holding him back, his body would have collapsed long ago.
Even though the cold was not severe, Sima Yi, whose body was becoming more and more hunched, could not bear it and had to grab both sides of the blanket and wrap himself more thickly.
There was a dull sound of tamping earth not far away.
Five thousand Wei army engineers were walking barefoot in the cold river mud, digging the dam with the help of burning torches and moonlight.
The friction sound of the shovel against the earth and rocks mixed with the sound of the rushing water, as if a giant beast was grinding its teeth in the dark.
Guo Huai rode his horse at full speed, his robe stained with mud, and reported in a low voice:
"Master, Sanhu Tsu is ready."
Sima Yi nodded, leaned over and grabbed a handful of wet river mud, and said slowly:
"When Emperor Wu built the Bronze Sparrow Tower in Yecheng, the Zhang River became a natural barrier. Now I want to use the power of the water to stop the Han army..."
In order to capture Yecheng, Emperor Wu once opened the Zhang River to flood Yecheng.
Now, in order to stop the pursuers from behind, he could only dig the Zhang River...
At this moment, a low cry of surprise came from under the embankment.
It turned out that someone's hoe suddenly broke and the hoe blade was stuck on an oak stake deep in the embankment.
This wooden stake was erected by Cao Cao when he was cultivating land around Yecheng and building the Zhangshui dam.
Twenty engineers tied hemp ropes around the stakes, shouting in rhythm with the sound of water: "Hey-yo!"
As the sturdy wooden piles collapsed, the first turbid current emerged like a black snake out of a cave.
"retreat!"
Mud gushed out from the gap, the ceramic diversion pipe buried in the early years was washed away, the gap was constantly torn, and the mud gradually turned into muddy water...
Seeing all this by the moonlight and the firelight, Sima Yi instructed Guo Huai:
"Go, light the signal smoke and send a message to Sanhujin."
"Here!"
As the gap continued to widen, the Zhang River gushed out, and coupled with the canals built by Cao Cao in his early years of military farming, the southern bank of the Zhang River soon turned into a swamp.
By daybreak, the flood had formed swamps of varying depths within a radius of dozens of miles - the shallowest of which was enough to reach a horse's leg joints.
The flood swept away the humus soil from upstream, dyeing the fertile fields on the south bank of the Zhang River ochre.
The locust tree forest that the Wei army had cut down in advance became a natural embankment, with baskets of fleeing civilians hanging between the branches.
Seeing this scene, Sima Yi's mouth finally relaxed. He pointed at the field mouse struggling in the mud:
"This is what the cavalry looks like when they get here. Feng the thief, Feng the thief, let me see why you are chasing me."
Looking up towards Yecheng in the east, Sima Yi's eyes flickered with coldness:
"When Emperor Wu attacked Ye City in the past, he used water instead of soldiers. Today, I will use mud as a battle array."
He suddenly raised his foot and crushed a crawling mole cricket. "Order to raise all the gates in Yecheng and divert the water from the Xuanwu Pond to the south. I want this swamp to not dry up for a month!"
Since Zhang Bao is in Liangqijin, the Han army in Yecheng is just a decoy and there is nothing to be afraid of.
Since he couldn't defend Yecheng anyway, he would sacrifice these thousands of miles of fertile land and turn the south bank of the Zhang River into a giant mouth that could devour the cavalry.
Rather than letting the Feng bandit divert the Zhang River to attack Yecheng, it is better to do it yourself.
When the morning light tore through the mist of the Zhang River, the Zhangba Snake Spear pierced fiercely into the mud on the north bank of the Zhang River.
Zhang Bao held up the telescope and looked at the dark brown swamp on the opposite bank. His pupils suddenly contracted.
The south bank, which was as flat as a mirror yesterday, now looked like a rotten corpse that had been gnawed by a giant beast. A half-broken locust tree branch was floating in the surging mud, and hanging on the branch were children's shoes left behind by the people who fled.
"Old thief Sima!"
Zhang Bao's face turned pale, he could no longer hold back and roared, he drew his sword and chopped at the willow tree on the shore!
"brute!"
"Beast!"
We already knew there was movement on the other side of the river last night, and even saw signal smoke being lit. We thought Sima Yi was planning something against the north bank again.
Zhang Bao secretly asked the soldiers in the army to be prepared.
I didn’t expect that the other party was actually digging the dam!
He found that he had greatly underestimated Sima Yi's bottom line.
"Take the planks and try the road!"
Because the Zhang River continued to flood southward, the Wei army had already retreated on its own initiative.
He barely waded across the Zhang River, which was only up to his calf, and reached the south bank. His bodyguards brought a wooden board and laid it on the mud, but the board sank at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Zhang Bao refused to believe it, so he rode his horse onto the floating board. However, after his horse took just three steps, he sank half his leg into the mud.
The beast screamed in fear and overturned the wooden board in its struggle.
Fortunately, Zhang Bao was good at horsemanship. He dismounted and returned to a safe place. He bent down and grabbed the black mud and crushed it. The mud dripped from between his fingers. He growled between his teeth:
"What a vicious plan, what a cruel heart!"
He knew very well how fertile the fields around the Zhang River were.
Otherwise, Cao Cao would not have built large-scale water conservancy projects around the Zhang River and diverted twelve canals to use it for military farming.
In order to stop the pursuers, Sima Yi turned these fertile fields into a swamp.
The other party's purpose was very clear, but Zhang Bao had no idea what to do when faced with this situation.
"General! Something's happening in the east..."
The messenger from Sanhu Tsu delivered the news as quickly as possible:
"The enemy troops, the enemy troops at night..."
Before the messenger could finish his words, he was choked by the scene in front of him:
"Sanhu Tsu has also become a swamp..."
Zhang Bao just stood there quietly without saying anything.
Needless to say, Yechengjin will be similar.
He quietly led his troops back to Liangqijin, caught Sima Yi off guard and forced him to cut off his rear.
He thought he could avenge the ambush, but he didn't expect Sima Yi to retaliate against him that very night.
At this moment, he finally felt a deep sense of powerlessness.
How did his brother-in-law manage to chase away such an opponent?
It was not until noon that the scorching sun left fine cracks in the mud, and the red cap on Zhang Bao's head was soaked with sweat.
He simply pulled it off and threw it into the mud, then climbed back on the horse, determined to try again.
The horse's hooves crushed the thin ice-like mud crust, and the horse's legs quickly sank deep into the mud - beneath the hard crust on the surface was still a swamp trap.
More importantly, as long as the Zhang River keeps flowing, it will be difficult for this swamp to disappear.
Retreating to the north bank, Zhang Bao sat alone under a withered willow tree, staring blankly at the swamp before him.
Judging from the news we have received so far, the area from Liangqijin to Yechengjin - and possibly even further east - is at least seventy miles long, and it is likely that it has become a quagmire that is impossible to walk on in the short term.
Even if his brother-in-law arrived at this time, he had no way to continue pursuing Sima Yi southwards, and could only watch the other party retreat calmly.
As my thoughts were churning, I heard another report:
"Report! General, there is a situation in the north!"
"Oh? Isn't Yecheng already..." Before he finished speaking, Zhang Bao finally felt something was wrong and almost jumped up, "North? What's going on in the north?"
"General, there is news from the north that they have encountered our people."
"Our people?"
When Zhang Bao heard this, he was a little confused.
Who else could it be except my brother-in-law?
But if he really is his brother-in-law, then the messenger should have said "Grand Marshal" instead of "our man".
"It's General Zhao! They said General Zhao is coming this way."
"Zhao Sanqian?"
"Uh, exactly."
Zhang Bao was a little surprised. Why did Zhao Erlang come from the north?
Shouldn't he have come from the northeast along the Zhang River like me?
However, Zhang Bao's doubt did not last long.
Because Zhao Guang came very quickly.
When the setting sun dyed the swamp into a blood-red color, Zhao Guang and his cavalry appeared in Zhang Bao's eyes amid a sky full of dust.
"Hahaha! Brother Zhang, here I come!"
Zhao Guang is as energetic and carefree as ever:
"How is it? Did you stop Sima Yi?"
Zhang Bao, who came to greet him, froze in his tracks, took a deep breath, and said in a deep voice:
"No. I am incompetent. When I got here, I was careless and underestimated the enemy. I was tricked by the enemy, so Sima Yi escaped right before my eyes."
Having suffered two consecutive setbacks at the hands of Sima Yi, Zhang Bao has suffered a great blow in the past few days.
But being able to say this calmly also shows that you have grown a lot.
Of course, this is also because the relationship between the Guan, Zhang and Zhao families has always been close, so there is no need for them to be too taboo when speaking.
After all, our fathers are friends for life and death.
By the time of Zhao Guang and Zhang Bao's generation, although they met less often than in the early years as the Han Dynasty continued to recover old territories and they went on wars everywhere, their relationship did not become distant.
As Zhang Bao spoke, he pulled his horse's head, stepped aside, pointed to the south bank, and looked grim:
"Look, Sima Yi even dug up the Zhang River to stop us from pursuing him..."
Zhao Guang heard this and looked around. He then rode his horse forward a few steps and raised his telescope. When he saw the situation not far away, he couldn't help but exclaimed:
"Is Sima Yi so cruel? He should be the one to bear the reputation of being ruthless and merciless, brother!"
Zhang Bao took another deep breath.
Having a close relationship is one thing, but even brothers can sometimes lose control of their temper, right?
Zhao Erlang has followed his brother-in-law for so many years, and the relationship between them is even stronger than that between Zhao Dalang.
This guy is still alive and kicking. I don’t know whether he has a strong luck or the ruthless Feng Guiwang is too merciful.
Thinking of this, Zhang Bao kicked his horse's belly, followed a few steps, and asked:
"By the way, why did you come from the north? Where is the General Zhendong? And have you seen the Grand Marshal?"
"Oh, oh, ah... ah, that, General Zhendong was worried that you, Brother Zhang, would suffer if you met Sima Yi, so he asked me to hurry here."
Zhao Guang carefully put away the telescope and explained:
"When we said goodbye at Juyong Pass that day, General Zhendong let us rest inside the pass for a few days, and then led us to Changshan County."
At this point, Zhao Guang's face became excited again, and he said excitedly:
"After arriving in Changshan County, I finally understood what it meant to return home in glory. No wonder Xiang Yu would rather give up Guanzhong and return to the east..."
"By the way, Brother Zhang, you also returned to Zhuo County. How do you feel?"
Zhang Bao took a deep breath for the third time and said slowly:
"Let's talk about business first. We can talk about this and other things later."
"Business? Oh, that's right. I went to Changshan County, so I came from the north. As for the General Zhendong and the Grand Marshal, they still need to recruit the surrendered soldiers from Jingxing, so it will take a few days for them to arrive."
"The surrendered soldiers in Jingxing?" This time, Zhang Bao asked in surprise, "I see that Sima Yi led an army of no less than 50,000 or 60,000 infantry and cavalry. Could it be that he left troops in Jingxing?"
"Of course there are, and quite a few." Zhao Guang replied, "The commander is Sun Li, who leads 30,000 soldiers to defend Weize Pass."
"If General Zhendong had not led his army to cut off their retreat from Changshan County, it would have taken a lot more effort for the Grand Marshal to capture Xiaguan City."
Zhang Bao suddenly realized when he heard this:
"No wonder, I was wondering why Sima Yi's army had already crossed the river, but why was there no sign of my sister, um, Grand Sima?"
Then, as if he had thought of something, his expression changed again:
"Could it be that Sima Yi led the army to retreat, but concealed the military situation from the defenders of Weize Pass in order to delay time?"
Zhao Guang nodded repeatedly:
"Hey, Brother Zhang is right! Afterwards, we interrogated those surrendered generals and they all said that they had no idea about Youzhou."
"On the other hand, Sun Li, after learning that he was abandoned by Sima Yi, actually wanted to continue defending the city, but the people under him were unwilling to die with him."
"Brother, oh, it was the Grand Marshal who gave them a three-day deadline. On the third day, the thieves on the city wall started fighting among themselves, and Sun Li was beheaded in the chaos and received the credit..."
After hearing Zhao Guang talk about this matter lightly, Zhang Bao's heart could not calm down for a long time.
Although he had experienced Sima Yi's ruthlessness, he still had 30,000 troops and loyal generals, so he abandoned them.
Zhang Bao admitted that he couldn't do it.
Moreover, the tradition of the Han Dynasty did not allow him to do so.
What is tradition?
The tradition is that when the late emperor led the people to cross the river south from Xinye, even though Cao Cao's pursuers were close behind him, he was still unwilling to abandon the people and go first.
The king will not fail the people, and the people will not fail the king.
The tradition is that the former emperor entrusted all state affairs to the prime minister, who devoted himself to the work and died of illness on the way to the Northern Expedition.
The king should not betray his subjects, and the subjects should not betray their king.
My own brother-in-law often says that the world belongs to everyone in the world, not to one person.
Opening new schools, implementing new policies, and organizing a new army will benefit the whole world. The Third Resurgence of the Han Dynasty is in sight, precisely because it has the support of people all over the world.
Sima Yi first abandoned 30,000 soldiers, regardless of their lives.
Later he flooded the southern bank of the Zhang River, without caring about the lives of the people.
Isn't this abandoning the world?
"It's just a pity that this time, the Grand Marshal was still one step behind Sima Yi. Sima Yi was originally trying to escape by abandoning his tail, but the Grand Marshal actually gave him an extra three days."
Zhang Bao sighed.
"Not really, right?" Zhao Guang still looked indifferent. "I came here this time not only because of General Zhendong's instructions, but the Grand Marshal also gave me some instructions, asking me to pass them on to Brother Zhang."
"Hmm? Da Sima has something to tell me?"
"For both of us."
"What did Da Sima say?"
"Well, if Sima Yi runs away, then he runs away. If it is not necessary, don't chase him anymore. He will take care of the rest."
"He has his own arrangements?"
If it were in the past, hearing this, Zhang Bao would have been furious again, thinking that it was like letting a tiger out into the mountains.
Only now, Zhang Bao understood that even Sanniang had a more far-sighted vision than he did.
However, with his own intelligence, he was far from being able to see the level of the struggle between his brother-in-law and Sima Yi.
Speaking easily will only make you appear shallow and ignorant.
With a thoughtful look on his face, Zhang Bao asked:
"Do you mean that the Grand Marshal was sure that I couldn't stop Sima Yi, or that he wanted to let Sima Yi go?"
Zhao Guang touched his head and said hesitantly:
"I don't know about that. Anyway, I'm just a messenger. Just do whatever your brother says. Why bother with it?"
I...Cao!
Zhang Bao felt a lump in his chest and almost couldn't breathe.
How could such a guy become famous throughout the world with only three thousand cavalry?
Justice is clear...Who said justice is clear?