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Sizhou City was built in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, destroyed in the Sui Dynasty and rebuilt in the Tang Dynasty. Because Sizhou City is located in the lower reaches of the Huai River, the mouth of the Bianhe River, the throat of the Central Plains region, the key point of north-south traffic, the political, economic, and military status is very important, and the Cao Yun cause is thriving, and a new city has been built on the opposite bank of the Bianhe River next to Sizhou City, and the development of the new city is faster, and its scale gradually exceeds the old city. In the Ming Dynasty, the city wall between the two cities was demolished, so that the two cities were combined into one, and the earth city built in the Tang and Song dynasties was removed for waterproofing, and it became a big city with bricks and stones.

It has been nearly a month since the Mawei army occupied the back of Jiangnan Province, the enemy has been quiet, and the time for nearly half a month has been relatively quiet, and some of the opposing forces have also been completely suppressed. But at this time, the Mawei Army was no longer idle, because Zhou Peigong rushed here with a large army.

Sizhou City, that is, the front station of the Mawei army to resist the Qing army, must hold Sizhou City to the death, block the Qing army's 40,000 troops on the north bank of the Huai River, and not let it drive straight into Jinling, otherwise the Mawei army is fighting with the Leerjin army, and the pressure on Zhou Peigong to add it will be too great.

Sizhou City is also a good location here, in the Song Dynasty, Sizhou City has been very prosperous, in history it is called "when the galloping horse is uninterrupted", coupled with the beautiful scenery, the court dignitaries, literati and ink writers all come to visit. Many famous psalms were left behind. Ming dynasty. In addition to economic reasons, there is also a heavy political background, that is, Zhu Yuanzhang's ancestral mausoleum was built on its north side, and various "sacrificial" activities every year make Sizhou City become the "palace" of the Zhu Ming Dynasty. Unprecedented prosperity has been reached.

Because the ancient Sizhou city is a famous ancient town with a long history and many historical sites, and the ancient Sizhou city has been a famous Buddhist holy place for thousands of years, the "Sangha Tower", one of the five famous temples in the country, was built in the city of Sizhou, that is, the original form of the Tang monk in "Journey to the West", which is the "Sangha Master", making the ancient city of Sizhou become a famous ancient city in the whole country.

In the history of later generations, Sizhou City lived for a total of 945 years, and had set up four places, among which the longest time in Xuyi was the longest. Seven years later, due to the seizure of the Yellow River, it will sink to Zeguo and become the mystery of "China's Pompeii". Before the Northern Song Dynasty, the Huai River was a clear water river, and the downstream estuary section had a deep and wide riverbed. The estuary is in the Lianshui Yunti Pass, and the tidal wave can reach above Xuyi. Song Xiaozong Qiandao five years (AD 11699). The key to the building "Northbound Diary" recorded: "To Hongze, over the head, the boat glue waiting for the tide, the tide should respond, and the wind through Oujiadu." The "Classic of Mountains and Seas" points out that "Huaishui" enters the sea and Huaipu.

From the Jian'an period of the Eastern Han Dynasty (220 AD) to the fifth year of the Ming Dynasty of Jin Zhangzong (1194 AD), before the large-scale southward flooding of the Yellow River to conquer Huai, for nearly a thousand years, the large and small lakes in the Hongze Lake area coexisted and were in a relatively stable state. In 1194, the Yellow River seized the lower reaches of the Huai River into the sea, because the Yellow River is a sandy river, with a large amount of yellow water into the Huai, but also brought a large amount of sediment, so that the water level of the river above the Qingkou at the confluence of the Yellow River and the Huai River was raised, and the underwater discharge of the Huai River was blocked, resulting in the expansion of the water accumulation in the Hongze depression, and the large and small lakes such as Fuling, Wanjia, Nidun, Pocauldon and Baishuitang gradually connected together and merged into a larger lake. This was the beginning of the formation of Hongze Lake. According to the attached map of the "Huai'an Mansion Chronicles" written in the thirteenth year of Ming Zhengde (1518), it can be seen that although the lakes in the lower reaches of the Huai River had begun to converge and expand at that time, the shape of Huai, Lake and Yun coexisting in the lake area still existed.

The influence of the Yellow River on the Huai River intensified, the formation of Hongze Lake accelerated, it began in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, in the seventh year of Hongzhi of the Ming Dynasty (1494), when Liu Daxia presided over the governance of the river, he blocked the Huanglinggang, built the Taihang embankment, cut off the north flow of the Yellow River, forced the Yellow River to flood south, mainly took the Biansi, Suisi, and Whirlpool rivers into the Huai River, so that the sediment of the Yellow River was increasingly aggravated in the lower reaches of the Huai River. In the forty-fourth year of Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty (1565), Pan Jitao, the prime minister of the river, presided over the management of the Yellow River, the Huai River and the canal. In the fourth year of Longqing (1570), the river control policy of "building embankments to restrain water and attacking sand with water" was proposed, and it took 18 years to fully complete the defense on both sides of the Yellow River from the following Zhengzhou to the Yuntiguan in northern Jiangsu. After the formation of the two banks of the Yellow River, as the "Xingshui Jinjian" volume 39 said: "The whole river is out of Xu Pi, and the Si is seized into the Huai."

The Yellow River has lost its natural "sedimentation pool" in the Huaibei Plain, and three-quarters of its sediment has been brought to the downstream rivers and estuaries to silt, and the river body has been continuously raised in the Qingkou area where the Huang, Huai and Yun meet. The riverbed of the Yellow River is higher than that of the Huai River, and the Yellow River is strong and the Huai River is weak. Huaishui was blocked in Qingkou, the discharge was not smooth, gradually gathered in the area of Hongze Lake, the lake surface became wider and wider, and the original earthen embankment of Gaojiayan became the flood control barrier in Shanyang (now Huai'an) and Gaobao areas. In the late Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty and the Longqing period, the river troubles were frequent, and they constantly broke in the first line of Xu, Pi and Sui. Floods aggravate the burden of the Huai River, and the water level of the Huai River rises in the flood season, often bursting in the Gaojiayan area, constantly impacting the canal, Huaiyang and Lixiahe areas, and the disasters are endless year after year.

With the siltation of the mouth clearing, it is difficult to discharge the Huai water, and the water storage in the lake has increased. For this reason, in the sixth year of Wanli (1578), when Pan Jitao served as the chief river for the third time, he put forward the policy of "storing and clearing and brushing the yellow" to govern the river, and built an earthen embankment of 60 miles on the basis of the original Gaojiayan earth embankment in the south of Wujiadun and north of Yuecheng, cutting off the flow around the lake, raising the water level of Hongze Lake, so that it can be specially cleared and brushed yellow, and Huaihuang and Huang flow into the sea. At this time, Hongze Lake not only played a role in flood control of the Huai River, but also became a link between the storage of Huai water and the transportation of the Yellow River. Hongze Lake began to become a large reservoir in the lower reaches of the Huai River.

Up to now, the lower reaches of the Huanghuai River have been silted into the seaway, and the yellow water has poured into Hongze Lake from the Qingkou. At present, the body of the Huai River has grown from six to thirteen meters deep and shallow to one to three meters. "Clear mouth and sludge shallowly silt", "the bottom of Hongze Lake gradually becomes flat land", Gaojiayan masonry is more than one zhang high, has been silted up three feet, natural water reduction dam water all year round. A total of nine rivers were rushed. Historically, Jin Fu would be appointed as the governor of the river three years later. will pursue Pan Jitao's "accumulation and brushing of yellow". At the same time, Hongze Lake will be used to divert floods from the Yellow River and implement the method of "reducing the Yellow River and helping to clear it". Forty dams were built from Dangshan Maochengpu to Suining Longhu Mountain along the Yellow River, and when the Yellow River swelled, the water was diverted south into the lake, so as to increase the water volume of Hongze Lake, raise the water level of Hongze Lake, and enhance the ability to resist the Yellow River.

That is, Jin Fu. presided over the dredging and clearing, and excavated five diversion rivers such as Zhangfukou; Then the Gaojiayan embankment was repaired, the breaches were blocked, and the earth embankment was built from Zhouqiao to the south to Zhaiba for 25 miles. In 1680, just over six years later, six dams were built on the Hongze Lake embankment in Gaojiayan. At that time, the Hongze Lake embankment will be basically finalized, starting from the old dam head of Huaiyin in the north to Jiangba Town in Hongze County in the south, with a total length of 60 kilometers. Historically, it was the systematic renovation of Tongguò Jin Fu that further expanded Hongze Lake. Make Hongze Lake a large artificial lake. It is precisely because of this that the water level of Hongze Lake has been greatly raised. It is inevitable that the city of Sizhou will be flooded!

At this moment, at the beginning of the afternoon, I looked up but saw no sunlight, as if it was going to rain, but the sky was bright, and the rain could not fall. Not far northwest of Changhuai Town, Zhou Peigong rode on a high Yuan Rong car, with his tall Daxu flag in front of him, and not far behind, there was a pole car with a pole as high as 20 meters, and then a big drum car. He looked out the window, and through the sturdy knight of the guard battalion beside him, the figure of his infantry battalion soldier loomed. They were marching in great strides, sweating profusely, but still in high spirits, and their hands holding weapons did not tremble at all.

Although the armor on the Qing army is not heavy, it is almost thirty catties when it is fully dressed, and after being distributed to the whole body, it does not feel very easy. Especially if it is a long-distance emergency march, dozens of miles away, this hard work can be imagined. However, in the end, these guards are still the elite trained by Zhou Peigong himself, and they still persevered all the way, seeing that they looked resolute, they just marched in a big way, and the comfort officers of each department were loudly agitating from time to time, and every time they got it, they were full of energy.

Seeing their energetic appearance, Zhou Peigong was relieved that this was the army he personally brought out. In fact, when he started to set off, Zhou Peigong also wanted to walk with his soldiers and show his side of leading by example. There are also opportunities to carry out activities, and he also wants to see if his physical endurance has decreased, since the higher his status, he is either riding a horse or riding a car all day long, and even walking less and less. However, his subordinates persuaded him bitterly, and General Yan still sat in the car, without any signs of danger, so that they could march and fight with peace of mind. He also said that as a general, if he walked with ordinary soldiers, he would inevitably lose his dignity.

Zhou Peigong had no choice but to give up, this is also in line with reality, as long as the person in the top position, as long as it is not too extravagant, the more luxurious and atmospheric the living and eating, the more proud his subordinates are. If you dress shabbyly, your subordinates will feel that it will damage their face. For obvious example, after Zhou Peigong's Daxu Banner and Yuan Rongche's luxurious atmosphere stabilized other Qing army troops, the whole army, from generals to soldiers, felt that their faces were shining. In this era, it is undesirable to be approachable, mingle with soldiers, and your subordinates fight with you, don't you hope that one day, you can also enjoy this kind of honor?

Desire is the pace that pushes human beings forward, just like in the Mawei Army, Geng Jingzhong is rarely with ordinary soldiers, but clearly lists the standards that soldiers need to meet if they want to be promoted, and the rest is for them to fight for themselves. When the army marched, the Qing army rushed to and fro from time to time at night, passing the battle report from the front. The smoke and dust were billowing out, and at this time, there was another night of galloping horses, and he stopped urgently beside Yuan Rong's car, and he reported loudly: "General Yu, the front is the Huai River ferry in Changhuai Town, but there are many rebels digging trenches in many places on the south bank. Please show the general! ”

Zhou Peigong looked at the sand table in the car. His Yuanrong chariot pulled by four large horses has a sturdy appearance, and it is said that it can defend against Hongyi heavy artillery, but it is actually an exaggeration, and a hit of a shell of the Mawei Army will also be reimbursed. However, the interior is wide and comfortable, and there is a sand table in the middle, and a map is hung on the inner wall on one side. At this time, several important praise paintings in Zhongying also lived in the Yuan Rong car.

This kind of Yuanrong platform is three meters high, with a wide field of vision and thoughtful protection, which is really a necessary equipment for generals to travel and fight.

"The rebels are digging trenches for a mile on the south bank, which is not good for our division. If the towns cross the river, the soldiers and horses will not be able to use them, and the rebels will attack us halfway. On the south coast, a buffer of at least five miles is required. Zhou Peigong looked at the sand table, and then said: "If there are ten miles, it is the best." ”

Immediately afterwards, he stared sharply at several key points in the sand table, and issued several orders in succession: "Order, the former military station assistant Zhou Peigong quickly set up artillery, clean up the rebels on the opposite bank, and the baggage troops hurry up to build a pontoon bridge, and the army must cross the estuary before the sun sets today." Immediately after crossing the river, we will help defend the mountains and the key points on the south bank, and we must not lose anything! ”

According to the information, he knew that there were several pontoon bridges on both sides of the Huai River, but at this moment, these pontoon bridges had all been destroyed, and it was impossible for the Mawei army on the south bank to continue to let these pontoon bridges exist. The Huai River is not wide, but the width here is also 200 meters, and they brought 30 Hongyi cannons with the army, which were erected on the north bank, which was enough to cover the opposite bank.

Of course, if the army crosses the river, the cannons must also be pushed across the bank, but to expand the buffer area, the infantry artillery needs to cooperate with each other. At this time, there were still large forces behind the Qing army that had not yet arrived, and if the Qing army all crossed the river to expand the results, there was a concern that the strength would be weak.

Zhou Peigong's order was quickly passed on by his subordinates, and the heralds of the Shuai battalion were dispatched to the front line quickly. Looking at the map, Zhou Peigong suddenly asked, "Where did the artillery of the Shenji Battalion go?" ”

The general in charge of intelligence was called Tong Bo, and when Tong Bo heard it, he immediately replied: "The sentry cavalry has reported that it has arrived in Lijia Town, and there are still ten miles of land according to it." ”

Zhou Peigong frowned, according to the speed of the Shenji Battalion, it would take them at least an hour to reach the front line. And if the artillery does not arrive, they will not be able to cross the river, but he knows the strengths of the Mawei Army, if they do not have the red-coated artillery to suppress the firepower of the Mawei Army, they will not even be able to approach the river

(To be continued......)