readx;?readx; Chapter 692 Peach Blossom Flood

The next day was the first day of the first month of the ninth year of Tianyou, and as soon as the sky was bright, Shen Qing led a group of men and horses to escort Xue Naiying and Xu Qianshan to Taihu Lake for exploration. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

Along the way, they passed through several villages and cities, only the people lived, but there was neither the Chu army garrison nor the Qin army occupied, as if it was a peaceful pastoral in the peaceful years, which made the two very curious.

Seeing that the two of them were puzzled, Shen Qing explained: "After half a year of purging, there is no longer an established Chu ** team in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and I brought two thousand elite cavalry just to prevent trouble, not any actual threat." ”

"I heard from the prince, there are occasional guerrillas in the Chu State?" Xu Qianshan asked softly.

"Oh, seeing so many people, they are afraid to go ashore, it's okay." Shen Qing smiled.

"In other words, our plan can't be hidden from the people of Chu?" Xue Naiying interjected.

"I guess I can't hide it." Shen Qing confidently crossed his waist and said, "I just want them to know!" Why not? The two of you don't have to consider these factors, just trust the sons and daughters under the command of the last general. ”

The two of them were infected by his self-confidence, so they no longer worried about anything else, and began to concentrate on checking the situation of Taihu Lake...... The lake is so blue that you can't see the edge even in the dry season, and the whole lake is shaped like a crescent moon jutting out to the west. The south bank is a typical arc-shaped coastline, and the terrain slopes from north to south, which has the prerequisites for water release.

The only problem is that the crisscrossing of rivers and streams that connect Taihu Lake with the surrounding lakes is tantamount to greatly dispersing the flow of water. If you want to solve this problem, you have to dig deep into the river and build a dam.

Three days later, they went to survey the Qianjiang River to the south, and the two of them were overjoyed...... This large river with abundant water and turbulence has a distinct zigzag shape near Shenjing City, and the water flow suddenly accelerates and expands, and once it is executed at the corner, it will inevitably attract a huge amount of water.

After another seven days, the two came up with a plan, and they rejected the original plan of building two earthen embankments to form a diversion channel, because no matter how strong the earth-built embankment was, it could not withstand the impact of the raging waves, and it was impossible to build an artificial canal that would attract a monstrous flood.

Only with the help of the original river system can it be deepened and widened. Dams are also built at the intersection of the river to control the flow of water, or to collect or divert floodwater.

As soon as the specific plan came out, Shen Qing proposed to convene a high-level meeting to properly distribute the affairs of all parties......

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Qin army dispatched 30,000 cavalry to drive the people of Chu out of the area, on the one hand, so that the Chu guerrillas had nowhere to hide, so as not to damage the project; On the other hand, it is also to protect the people from the fish in the pond.

On the 18th day of the first month, Xu Qianshan and the Brigadier General of the First Army, Qin Xu, led the whole division to supervise the 300,000 elites of the Chu State, and went to more than ten designated places in the upper reaches to build dikes and dams, and divert the flood water, so that the river channel that was ready to divert water could not be replenished, and the water level dropped sharply. After the river was completely drained with hundreds of pumping trucks, the people began to widen and dig deep channels...... This is a huge project, but with the intervention of the engineering unit of the First Army, a large number of high-quality ** have been applied to the operation, which is tantamount to greatly reducing the difficulty of the project.

At the same time, the Qin army pulled out the camp, and all the troops drove to the four hills and highlands on the periphery of Shenjing City, while monitoring the movements in the city to prevent the Chu army from breaking through; On the other hand, the people are urged to raise the retaining wall as soon as possible, according to Xue Naiying's calculations, the lowest part of the parapet wall should not be less than four zhang, otherwise it will spread to areas outside Shenjing City, causing flooding.

Such a movement outside the city naturally attracted the attention of the people in the city, and Zhu Lie and Emperor Jiankang, who came in a hurry, climbed a hundred-foot-high watchtower and observed every move of the Qin army with a clairvoyant mirror.

"The Qin army is going to make a big move...... even Emperor Jiankang, who doesn't know anything about military affairs, can see it clearly, and asks softly: "Elder Guo, do you say they want to do it?" ”

The elder of the country is the honorific title for Zhu Lie, and I saw him with a pale face and said: "According to the old minister's opinion, eighty percent of the Qin army is going to attack with water." ”

"Water attack?" Emperor Jiankang was surprised: "What kind of attack?" ”

"Your Majesty, what does the wall they have built outside the city look like?" Zhu Lie asked in a deep voice.

"It's like a basin of water." Jiankangdi couldn't help but be clever.

"Not bad." Shangzhu Guo said: "The amount of water flowing into the moat has decreased significantly these days, and according to the old minister's speculation, the Qin army should have cut off the upstream river. ”

"What are they—what are they going to do?" Jiankang's tongue knotted.

"Impound water." Although Zhu Lie guessed wrong, in terms of effect, there was no difference.

Emperor Jiankang said with a pale face: "Are they going to divert water to flood Shenjing City?" "After speaking, the image of the palace flooding the palace and drifting in the ocean came to mind, and I couldn't help but groan in my heart: 'I don't know how to swim yet......

Seeing his unremarkable appearance, Zhu Lie shook his head and said, "It shouldn't be drowned." The lowest part of our wall is also fourteen feet high, and no matter how great the water is, what can I do? ”

"Is it true that the flood will not be able to defeat the walls?" Emperor Jiankang's face resurfaced with hope, and he asked excitedly: "Can the elder guarantee it?" "Half a year's siege has exhausted the courage that His Majesty the Emperor had gathered so easily." Aren't they building walls? If we build a fifteen-zhang high, won't it drown us? ”

"The old minister can pack the ticket." Zhu Lie said in a low voice: "Not to mention whether the Qin army can build such a high wall, just saying 'people go to high places and water flows to low places', it is impossible for them to raise the water level to such a high place." Besides, our Shenjing City is located in the plain, only a hundred miles away from the East China Sea, and the water will flow into the sea as soon as it is strong, even if the Qin army attracts water from all directions, turning this place into an ocean, the water height cannot exceed seven zhang. ”

Listening to Shangzhu Guo's words, Emperor Jiankang felt a little relieved, wiped the white hair and sweat on his head, and said with a long sigh: "It's okay, it's okay." Realizing that his performance was too embarrassing, Emperor Jiankang laughed dryly and remedied: "What the elder said is naturally right, but since the Qin State has made such a big move, it will definitely not ignore these problems, and they may have other plans." Don't be careless, Guolao! ”

"Your Majesty." Zhu Lie nodded and said, "The old minister has sent someone to build the city gate to death and block the cracks in the city wall to ensure that there will be no water seepage at that time." He also ordered people to build countless giant water rejection horses, and once the Qin army released the water, they would be put down first, and the warships of the Qin army could not be approached. ”

"What else?" Jian Kang Di asked.

"Nothing else." Zhu Lie shook his head and said, "At present, we can only respond to all changes with the same. ”

"Then I have a plan." Emperor Jiankang said mysteriously: "But the old man of the country can foil the conspiracy of the Qin State. ”

"Oh...... Your Majesty, please speak. Zhu Lie barely kept his respectful words.

"It's better for us to send a large army out of the city at night and destroy the tricks of the Qin army." Jiankangdi said cautiously.

"No, no matter what, the army can't leave the city!" Zhu Lie cut the railway.

Emperor Jiankang rarely had a good idea, and said unconvinced: "Do you just sit back and watch the Shenjing City be submerged?" ”

"Your Majesty." Zhu Lie was patient and explained to him: "The wall of the Qin army is already three zhang high, they have ten steps, one post, five steps and one sentry, and they light the torches as bright as day at night. ”

Isn't this old man scared by my brother-in-law? Emperor Jiankang was unhappy in his heart, and he barely maintained a polite expression on his face: "According to the meaning of the elder of the country, we can only stay on one way, and there is no other way?" ”

"Lao Chen has said it many times," Zhu Lie was short-tempered, and finally said impatiently: "Now that there is a huge disparity in the strength of the enemy and us, Qin Yutian is an immortal general who defeated Zhao Wuji, no matter from which aspect, we are willing to bow to the upper hand, and only with the help of this high wall and strong city can we ensure that we will not be swallowed up by Qiang Qin." Once you leave the city, you will be slaughtered on the cutting board! So there's no other way but to wait and see! ”

After a split on his head and face, Emperor Jiankang was trained like a grandson, and at the end of the martyrdom he dropped a sentence: "Defense and logistics are all worried about by the ministers, Your Majesty only needs to sit in the palace and appease those princes and nobles." After speaking, he arched his hand and said: "The old minister still has something to do, so he will retire for the time being." So he strode down the watchtower and went straight away.

You must know that at this time, there were not only the two of them on the tower, but also several of the emperor's cronies and ministers, who were robbed by him, and Emperor Jiankang's complexion can be imagined.

The ministers on the side, who had been afraid to breathe, hurriedly comforted His Majesty and said: "Zhu Lie has that stinky temper, Your Majesty is not as knowledgeable as him. ”

"How can this be justified, it is too much to deceive people!" But there are also those who have been seized by the martyrs, or who are jealous of his power, and take the opportunity to provoke: "Although we do not have the reputation of the Shangzhu Kingdom, we are also full of military books, and we have an army of 200,000 and dare not go out of the city for a decisive battle, which is unheard of!" I know that the shrunken turtle generally hides in the city, and if it doesn't need to be attacked, it just waits for others to beat it! This method of defending the city is really unheard of! ”

"Alright, don't say it." After all, Emperor Jiankang is a sensible person, and he knows that he has to rely on Zhu Lie a lot, so he keeps his unhappiness in his heart, and snorts: "You can, then come up with a way to compare him?!" ”

"The military power is in his hands alone, even if we have a strategy, it will be in vain." Everyone said helplessly.

"Then shut up!" Jiankangdi snorted coldly, brushed his sleeves and went downstairs.

Time flies by, winter goes to spring in a blink of an eye, the grass grows and the warbler flies, and the spring breeze blows green on the south bank of the river. Since the beginning of February, the climate of the Yangtze River basin has warmed significantly, and the alternation of cold and warm has led to rain and rain, and even heavy rain, causing the river to rise, and so on in March, the first flood season will come, because it is the season of peach blossoms, also known as the peach blossom flood.

If you are not prepared before the flood season, the raging flood will wash away the precautions and ruin months of hard work, so it is necessary to hurry up and complete the task on time.

King Wu Cheng, who was well versed in the policy of carrots and sticks, ordered his soldiers to strictly supervise the work of the people, and on the other hand, he ordered that when the flood waters receded, all the fertile land that had been silted out would be given to the people...... Of course, according to his consistent principle, the performance of each team of people will be quantitatively scored, and the ranking will be ranked, with more advantages and fewer inferiors, and the gap is more than ten times.

Chu Minfu couldn't bear his rubbing, in the desire to die in pain and happiness, finally before the flood season, the two water diversion channels were repaired, and the wall surrounding the capital was repaired to the lowest four zhang high.

On a moonlit night with sparse stars and a pleasant night breeze, King Wu Cheng hugged his unborn child, then turned over his horse, galloped along the riverbed of the Black Hole Cave in front of the hug, and arrived at the long and wide southern embankment of Taihu Lake in the middle of the night.

Shen Qing and Xu Qianshan had been waiting there for a long time, and when they saw the arrival of the prince, they hurriedly greeted him.

Turning over and dismounting neatly, Qin Lei said in a deep voice: "Are you ready?" ”

Shen Qing rubbed his hands excitedly, and said with a slight excitement: "Today's noon has been accepted, although the prince can rest assured, our plan will not hurt the innocent, but can achieve the goal, it is really the best of both worlds!" "Don't look at the plan to flood the Shenjing City was proposed by him, but the infamy of 'being cruel and unkind, regardless of the death of Li Min' is also with you, and Shen Qing's psychological pressure can be imagined. Now I can live without such notoriety, no matter how excited I should be.

Xu Qianshan didn't have as much mental activity as him, and said in a calm tone: "As long as you mention these eight iron gates, after five days of accumulation, the lake water with a drop of six zhang from the flat land outside the embankment will pour out and rush towards Shenjing City along the eight rivers we designed in advance. ”

"And then?" Although he knows the direction of things well, Qin Lei is still willing to satisfy the sense of success of the main creators.

"Then we will meet with the Qianjiang River rushing from the north ten miles west of Shenjing City." Shen Qing took over and said, "The Qianshan brothers deliberately built a cone-shaped embankment with a pointed head facing east, so that the two floods could go east together after hitting the embankment, merge into one share, and enter the reservoir surrounded by a high wall. ”

"Oh, is that so?" Qin Lei smiled and said, "You have to ask the experts to rest assured." ”

"Lord Shen is already half an expert." Xu Qianshan smiled rarely: "What you said is completely correct!" ”

"Looks like you're putting your mind to it." Qin Lei nodded approvingly at Shen Qing, and said in a deep voice, "Has it been three o'clock?" ”

Glancing at the hourglass on the side, Xu Qianshan replied, "It's coming soon." ”

"Let's give the order together." Qin Lei smiled and handed a firecracker tube to the two of them.

"How does this work? It should be ordered by the prince. The two quickly declined.

Qin Lei shook his head, threw the bamboo tube into Shen Qing's arms, and said with a smile: "I'm here to see the excitement." ”

"Thank you for your love." The two of them saluted excitedly, and then one of them held a bamboo tube, and the other pulled out the lead at the bottom and lit it with incense.

With a whoosh, a red flare roared into the night sky, illuminating the embankment for a short time. "Open the floodgates and release the water!" The company commanders in charge of guarding the gate shouted with all their strength.

In order not to cause chaos, all the work this time was carried out by soldiers of the Qin army. When they heard the order, they shouted in unison, and slowly raised the heavy iron gate with a winch.

As soon as the sluice gate was raised, the muddy flood rushed out, rumbling into the deep and wide channel, roaring south......

Almost at the same time, the same scene was also staged on the north bank of the Qianjiang River, the difference is that there are only three rivers, and the water flow is several times more rapid......

In the Weiyang Lake in the imperial garden of the imperial palace of the state of Chu, a huge painting boat is brightly lit, this is the temporary palace of the Jiankang Emperor, since the beginning of the spring flood, he left the warm and steady Golden Dragon Palace, moved to the swaying and somewhat cold and damp boat to live.

Jiankangdi, who put safety first, also ordered someone to replace the jade pillow that had been pillowed for 30 years with a boxwood ...... on the grounds that it was too hard and uncomfortable Although this material is a little cheap, it is better than being light and buoyant, it can be used as a pillow when sleeping, and it can also be used as a lifebuoy when the flood comes...... But I will always be woken up by the nightmare of 'Sangtian Canghai'.

Tossing and turning a few more times tonight, I had just slept soundly with a piece of boxwood in my arms, when I heard a shrill and anxious voice calling: "Water...... It's a big flood, Your Majesty! ”

It's finally here! Emperor Jiankang suddenly opened his eyes, tightened the wooden stake in his arms, and said with a big heart: "Don't panic, where is the water and how high is it?" ”

Infected by His Majesty's calm voice, the internal officials outside were not so panicked, and said a little embarrassed: "This...... This slave didn't know either, it was said by the unicorn brocade outside. ”

"Oh, let him come in and talk back." It seems that His Majesty the Emperor is very concerned about this issue.

After the unicorn brocade replied and told him that there was only a torrent outside the city and that there was no danger in the city, Emperor Jiankang slowly got up and said, "Wait for me to change my clothes." The eunuch and palace maid who were waiting outside hurriedly pushed the door in, and saw His Majesty the Emperor sitting in a precarious position, with a solemn face.

"What are you doing in a daze, changing clothes!" Jiankang Emperor said.

The hearts of the people said, 'You are holding the rotten wood, what can we do?' The chief of the internal officials had no choice but to step forward and say, "Please rinse your mouth first." With a look, a palace maid with a tray stepped forward and presented the green glass bowl on the plate to the emperor.

Jian Kangdi was just about to reach out to pick it up, only to find that he was still holding the 'pillow', so he naturally put it down, glanced at the chief eunuch approvingly, and began to dress up.