Northwest of Xiangyang, between Yin County and Zhuyang, an army composed of 2,000 cavalry and 8,000 infantry was marching in a hurry, and a big banner was raised high, with a big "Zhao" character written on it, it was Zhao Yun who received Liu Yong's order to set off urgently, and Jin Tianwei who stayed by Zhao Yun's side according to the order was lined up.

Hefei City.

Zhang Liao silently looked at the Wu people who were showing off their might in front of the city, and his heavy and angry mood was all reflected in that cold face.

After the defeat of the night attack, all 50,000 Wu troops boarded the ship and camped on all sides, besieging the city of Hefei.

In that battle, Zhang Liao's 1,000 cavalry was lost, and after losing the cavalry advantage, he naturally did not dare to attack without authorization, and could only watch the Wu army complete the encirclement of Hefei.

In front of the city, more than ten horsemen were scolding the city and shouting the battle, and it was Li Dian's head that was raised high on the bamboo pole. Zhou Yu wanted to use this humiliation to anger the defenders in the city and lure them out of the city to fight.

Zhang Liao knew this very well, despite this, when he saw Li Dian's bloody head, the anger in his heart still gushed like a volcano, and he could only forcibly suppress the anger of revenge with a cold will.

Looking at Li Dian's head, Zhang Liao's heart was like a knife.

"Zhou Yu deceived people too much, Man Cheng, don't worry, your hatred will definitely be avenged." Le Jin, who watched the enemy side by side, gritted his teeth and expressed resentment.

When Zhang Liao heard this, he snorted coldly, unabashedly revealing his ridicule and resentment towards Le Jin.

From an indifferent colleague with a grudge against him, he has become a brother who fights side by side, and this brother does not hesitate to sacrifice himself in order to help him get out of the siege, Li Dian is already a brother who shares life and death in Zhang Liao's heart.

Although he knew that Lejin had difficulties, although he also knew the so-called overall situation, Li Dian's death hit Zhang Liao too hard, so that the resentment in his heart overshadowed the judgment of the situation, even at such a critical juncture, it was difficult for him to work together with Lejin.

Le Jin knew that Zhang Liao had grievances, and he also blamed himself a little in private for Li Dian's death, he was also a person with a fiery personality, what if you Zhang Liao were angry, how could I Lejin bow to you.

Hearing Zhang Liao's cold snort with contempt, Le Jin immediately became angry, turned around and looked at him coldly and asked, "Wen Yuan, you can clearly say what you are dissatisfied with me, why bother to be so cold and sarcastic, I don't look like a man at all." ”

As soon as Le Jin opened his mouth, Zhang Liao's powder keg was ignited instantly, he frowned, and said angrily: "What is a man, seeing that his robe is in a desperate situation, but he is greedy for life and afraid of death, and he does not save it, is this called a man?" ”

This statement has already scolded him by name for "greedy for life and afraid of death", which is a naked slap in the face, Le Jin was also furious, and asked sharply: "Who do you say is greedy for life and afraid of death, you have a kind of just say it, don't insinuate!" ”

Seeing that Le Jin was not ashamed, but reasonable, Zhang Liao was furious, and he was about to do it on the spot, pressed on the sword, and prepared to pull it out.

At this tense moment, Xue Yi, the supervisor who heard the news, hurried over, decisively blocked between the two, and persuaded with a bitter face: "Two generals, the situation in Hefei is critical now, please put the overall situation first, don't mess up." ”

"Humph!"

Xue Yi's timely appearance resolved an impending private fight, although Zhang Liao and Le Jin temporarily gave up the idea of fighting, they were still angry in their hearts, and each snorted coldly, brushed his sleeves and turned around to look at each other disdainfully.

Xue Yi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, pinching a handful of sweaty soldiers left and right, and his nervous mood was also relaxed.

Xue Yi sighed for a moment, suddenly remembered what was going on, and hurriedly said: "The two generals, Fang just received information that Jiangdong's fleet has crossed Hefei and is heading north along Feishui, and it seems that there is an intention to attack Shouchun, what do the two generals think?" ”

"Soldiers enter Shouchun!" Zhang Liao blurted out in surprise.

Hefei is more than 100 miles away from Shouchun, and it seems that it is not impossible for Zhou Yu to run a long distance with a naval army and go straight into Huaishui to take Hefei.

But after a moment of surprise, the two hostile generals quickly regained their composure.

"The city of Shouchun is strong, the soldiers and food are complete, and Jiangdong may not be able to defeat it even if it is besieged by the troops of the country. What's more, it is only a partial army, and it dares to cross Hefei and expose the supply lines to us. The thief army's move is not to be worried. Le Jin's analysis is also in line with Zhang Liao's opinion, with the tense relationship between the two at the moment, he naturally will not say anything in favor, but just express his meaning in silence.

In this way, Xue Yi's anxious mood eased a lot, his eyes looked to the east, and he muttered: "I hope the prime minister's army can return to help as soon as possible." ”

The waves are sparkling, the water is not happy, Zhou Tai stood on the bow of the ship with his hands, looking at the water in front of him, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart Cao Cao's foresight.

In the south of the Huai River, there is a small plain in the west of Shouchun, and in the Jianghuai region, which is dominated by hills, such a small plain is precious. The land here is exceptionally fertile, and as early as spring and autumn, it is known as ten thousand acres of fertile land.

However, there is a river in the place where this plain is located, and this water is varied, and it is a flood when it is flooded, and it is not of sufficient use when it is dry, and it is a great disaster.

In the Spring and Autumn Period, the Chu State built a Shaobi here, that is, to build a long causeway from west to east, more than 200 miles, intercepting and storing water to form an artificial lake comparable to the size of Chaohu Lake, and then irrigating the plain farmland around the lake through the canal.

After the destruction of Yuan Shu in the early years, Cao Cao sent people to rebuild Shaobei, and used the water of Shaobi to build a large-scale tuntian near Shouchun, and the valley accumulated became an important material guarantee for Cao Cao's troops in Huainan.

Zhou Tai, a naval army of 7,000 people, entered Shaobi from Feishui, nominally under the banner of attacking Shouchun, but in fact it was under Zhou Yu's secret plan and other plans.

Zhou Yu's strategy to Ling Tong was to take advantage of the flooding in autumn to dig the embankment of Shaobei, flood the Huainan Plain, cut off the road of Cao Cao's army to aid Hefei in the south, make Hefei a lonely city, and trap the remaining 7,000 defenders of Hefei.

This plan is not not vicious, this will trap more than 7,000 defenders in Hefei City and tens of thousands of people in the city to death, and turn this fortified city into a dead city!

Tai Shi Ci couldn't bear it, and stepped forward to dissuade him, saying that it hurt the way of heaven, but Zhou Yu smiled and said: "I am waiting for the army to be a general, and we are accumulating military exploits with human lives every day, and there is no life for those who are injured, doesn't this hurt the way of heaven?" ”

Tai Shici naturally heard the disdain and ridicule, but he was not good at words, and he was speechless.

Zhou Yu's face turned straight and continued: "Even if it violates the harmony of heaven and hurts the way of heaven, it is a big deal for me Zhou Yu to break my life, for the sake of the great cause of Jiangdong, I can't take care of this matter!" I once heard that there is a sect in the West that has a saying called "I don't go to hell, who goes to hell", since this is the case, then all the punishment should be borne by me, Zhou Yu! ”

Although he had just been sneered at by Zhou Yu, Tai Shici was still deeply moved by Zhou Yu's determination and bowed sincerely.

Zhou Yu waved his hand, signaling that it was not necessary, and waited for Hefei's reaction.

If Cao Cao wants to rescue Hefei, he must go south to the Huai River, and then enter Shaobi through the Huai River, and then transfer from Shaobi to Feishui, and then go south to Hefei.

When it is autumn, the autumn water is flooding, and the water volume of various water systems in the Yangtze River basin has skyrocketed, and the water of Shaobi has also increased sharply recently. At this time, if the Shao steep embankment is broken, the Huainan Plain between Shouchun and Yingkou will be flooded into a Ze country.

In this way, Cao Cao's southward route will be flooded, and the army will not be able to march by land, so he can only take the waterway, and the waterway is completely the strongest point in Jiangdong, which is exactly what Zhou Yu wants. This is Zhou Yu's calculation.

During the months from summer to autumn, the rainfall was much higher than usual, and Cao Cao had to wait until the rainy season had passed before repairing the levees before driving south.

Zhou Yu's purpose was to use this strategy to drag Cao Cao's army on the Shouchun line for several months, and in these few months, he had enough time and confidence to break through the fortified city of Hefei. As long as Hefei City is broken, even if Cao Cao's army arrives, it will be too late. What's more, with Liu Yong's 50,000 troops garrisoning Kunyang, it can be said that it is a sharp blade hanging over Xuchang's head, and how many men and horses Cao Cao can send is still a question, but Zhou Yu, who has always been thoughtful, naturally will not put his hope on this kind of luck, and still calculates the time node of this calculation according to the normal time of Cao Cao's troops.

As Zhou Yu expected, after Zhou Tai's fleet entered Shaobi, Shouchun reacted quickly, the city gates were closed, and the whole city was mobilized, making a posture of preparing to defend to the death.

At the same time, other cities near Shaobi also drove people into the city, fortified the walls and cleared the wilderness, and according to the emergency plan in advance, the Wu people were not allowed to have the opportunity to get food on the spot.

The enemy's defensive posture just gave Zhou Taike an opportunity. So, according to Zhou Yu's plan, he divided 1,000 soldiers and horses, and pretended to attack Shouchun with great fanfare, while he himself led most of his men and horses to reach the embankment north of Shaobi overnight, and on the embankment of more than 200 miles, he divided his troops to dig more than a dozen passes.

The sky is beautiful, a rainstorm suddenly came, and the water of Shaobi was several feet deep.

In the evening of this day, with the surging rising water, more than a dozen gaps were dug at the same time, each mouth was nearly dozens of zhang wide, and the embankment that stretched for more than 200 miles collapsed everywhere, and the surging water rushed straight into the Huainan Plain along the expanding gaps, like a fierce beast coming out of the cage.

Within three days, the Huainan Plain, a radius of several hundred miles, was transformed into a vast ocean.

Ruyin County is more than 300 miles away from Yingkou.

Since the withdrawal of Yecheng troops, five full days have passed, and in these five days, Xu Chu and the 10,000 horses he urgently mobilized have been rushing all day and night.

First from Ye County to Liyang Baimajin to cross the Yellow River, and then to Xuchang from Xuchang by boat, along the Yingshui south, this is the fastest and most convenient route for the army to Huainan.

At this moment, Cao Cao, who had been paying attention to Xu Chu's itinerary in Xuchang, had a heavy face, and his face was gloomy like a cold winter coming in advance, which made people feel the chill to the bones just by glancing at it.

Seven days have passed since I learned the bad news that Hefei was defeated and Li Dian was killed. This news was like a thunderclap, and it hit Cao Cao's aging heart hard.

Although Li Dian was not a general of Yuan Cong, and he only surrendered to himself when Yanzhou had become a climate, Cao Cao has always been grateful to this general who joined him halfway.

Back then, Chen Gong and others greeted Lu Bu and betrayed him in groups, and the powerful people of the Yanzhou Shi family betrayed him almost overnight. And in the most difficult situation, almost to the point of having to eat human flesh to satisfy hunger, the Li family, as a local hero, stood firmly on their side.

In order to force the Li family to submit, Lu Bu even killed Li Gan, the head of the Li family, such a threat, but the Li family did not submit, Li Dian inherited the Li family's suzerain, but led more than a thousand family members to go straight to Cao Cao.

In that moment when everyone rebelled and the wind and rain were in turmoil, Li Dian's defection was tantamount to sending charcoal in the snow for Cao Cao, over the years, although Li Dian did not make any great achievements, but Cao Cao's gratitude and trust in Li Dian has never changed.

But now, the person who gave charcoal to himself died like this, in the hands of Wu Ren, in the hands of Zhou Yu.

The pain in Cao Cao's heart was heartbreaking. Even if Cao Xiu was beheaded at the beginning, when the head of his daughter Cao Yi was sent by Liu Yong, he never felt so painful, only the death of the general Dian Wei made him so heartbroken. Unexpectedly, just when he finally forgot the pain of losing Dian Wei, God let him taste this bitter feeling again.

"Zhou Yu, Liu Yong, the heads of you two boys, I will take them off sooner or later!" Cao Cao's fist slammed heavily on the desk, and the ink splashed out of the inkstone.

The voice fell, Cheng Yu entered, and saw that the expression was something he wanted to say, but seeing Cao Cao's face like a volcano was about to erupt, he didn't dare to say the words when they came to his mouth.

"What happened again?" Seeing Cheng Yu's expression, Cao Cao immediately guessed a few points.

Cheng Yu's face twitched a few times, and finally said the information he had just learned: "Zhou Yu dug up the water of Shaobi, Huainan was flooded, and all around Hefei were besieged by water!" ”

Hefei.

The news of the bursting of the embankment in Shaobi shocked the entire city of Hefei, and people who know a little bit of geographical knowledge know what this means.

This means that Hefei has become a lonely city hanging in the south.

Thinking that Cao Cao's army was approaching soon, after learning that Xu Chu was hurrying with 10,000 horses, everyone was overjoyed, and it seemed that victory was in sight. But in the blink of an eye, Zhang Liao and Le Jin once again saw Zhou Yu's ruthless methods.

It is better to break the embankment and drown countless innocent civilians than to prevent Cao Cao's army from moving south, and Zhou Yu's determination to seize Hefei can be seen.

However, the news of the Shaobi embankment broke made Zhang Liao and Le Jin, two generals who were originally hostile and dissatisfied with each other, make some concessions to each other, which seemed to be because of the desperate situation, which made the two of them realize that only by cooperating with each other can they defend this lonely city.