Hou Xun, the father of Hou Fangyu, when Li Zicheng's army surrounded Kaifeng, the army led by Zuo Liangyu was the main force in rescue of Kaifeng. Considering that Hou Xun had the kindness of knowing Zuo Liangyu, Emperor Chongzhen appointed Hou Xun as the governor and supervised the military affairs of seven towns including Baoding.

Later, Zhu Xianzhen was defeated and Kaifeng fell into Li Zicheng's hands. Hou Xun was imprisoned by Emperor Chongzhen. It was not until later that Hou Fangyu asked Emperor Chongzhen that Hou Xun was released.

He originally wanted to take refuge in the south, but Yangzhou fell, blocked from the north and south, and was full of dangers. After careful consideration, he finally decided to return to his hometown Shangqiu.

For this reason, Emperor Chongzhen scolded Hou Fangyu. Fortunately, Hou Xun refused Li Zicheng's request to become an official on the grounds of his old age and injustice, so Emperor Chongzhen did not pursue Hou Fangyu.

Since then, Hou Fangyu has been concentrating on staying in his hometown and spent his family building Nanyuan. Because of his historical reputation, no one has made things difficult for him. Li Zicheng also sent people to give him some gifts at all times. Although he was in troubled times, he lived a free and easy life.

Hou Fangyu was obviously a little uncomfortable when he heard Zhou Xian mention Nanyuan. "The general was joking. My father was like that. He was frustrated in the court and wanted to express his feelings for the mountains and rivers. But what his subordinates wanted to say was not this, but a river similar to his subordinates' hometown, the Yellow River."

Zhou Xian was a little puzzled, so he asked: "What does the matter between the Qing army and the Yellow River?"

Hou Fangyu said with a serious expression: "Mr. Governor, my subordinates have been paying attention to the water level of the Yellow River during this period. Compared with previous years, its water level has risen a lot after the beginning of spring. Perhaps, the continuous drought in the north is about to end."

Zhou Xian became interested, "Then this is a great thing!"

Hou Fangyu shook his head and said, "It is a good thing for the people of the world, but it may not be for the governor."

Zhou Xianxiao said: "You mean that the drought in the north ends, and the northern senior areas will no longer rely so much on canal grains. Will my influence on the north be reduced? This doesn't matter. The victory or defeat of the war will no longer be in these sub-sections."

Hou Fangyu shook his head again, "Super Commander, have you never considered that the enemy might use water instead of soldiers?"

Zhou Xian frowned immediately, using water instead of soldiers. He immediately remembered that Jiang Butou's garden mouth broke. "What do you mean?"

Hou Fangyu said: "The Yellow River, especially in the lower reaches, is dry and dry, and you can go straight from one bank to the other bank without getting stuck in the dry season. But in the flood season, its water is like a galloping horse and unstoppable. Therefore, the Yellow River has been diverted many times. Sometimes it enters the sea from the Huai River, which is when the water flows normally. Sometimes it rushes straight to Huainan and swallows up the fertile fields of dozens of prefectures and counties, which is when the water is moderate. Sometimes, it will rush straight to western Shandong, flood villages and cities, and enters the sea from Jinan. This is when the water is strong. The Manchus have always been vicious and ruthless. If they were allowed to occupy Henan and dig the Yellow River while it rained heavily, how would the commander respond? Even if the water is not large, we can separate our army and wipe out one by one."

Zhou Xian's expression became serious. When Hou Fangyu thought of this, he had done it.

During the Shunzhi period, in Henan, there was a powerful anti-Qing rebel army in Kaifeng. Because it took the Yuyuan jungle area as its base, they were called the Yuyuan army. When it was its strongest, there were hundreds of thousands of people, which caused a heavy blow to the Qing army.

In order to seek an official position, Hou Fangyu wrote a letter to Zhang Cunren, the governor of the three Qing provinces at that time, proposing to burn the jungle, dig open the Yellow River to flood the tunnel of the rebel army, and scattered the heavy troops around Yuyuan. In the end, most of the rebel army was killed, and the anti-Qing uprising that lasted for twelve years failed. Hou Fangyu was also criticized for this and eventually died of depression.

But at this moment, it sounded a bit ironic that he proposed to prevent the Qing army from digging the Yellow River. However, Zhou Xian had to admit that his proposal was possible at least to a certain extent.

Zhou Xian thought for a while and asked, "What do you mean!"

Hou Fangyu said: "General, I wonder if we can directly intervene in the war in Henan? For example, let the rebel army give up from eastern Henan, and we will help them resist the Manchu captives. Or just take the opportunity to send troops from eastern Henan and attack the rebel army?"

Zhou Xian looked at him and said, "Do you think it is possible to let the crusade army give up from eastern Henan? Their base is in Kaifeng. If we take down eastern Henan, our army can directly reach the city. What kind of stupid people will agree? If we send troops to eastern Henan, do you know that our army has just reached an agreement with Li Zicheng?"

Hou Fangyu nodded and said, "Weapon is a treacherous way! General, is it really necessary to abide by any agreement at this time?"

Zhou Xian thought for a while and said, "If I choose an opponent between the Qing Dynasty and the Chuang Army, I would rather choose the Qing army. Therefore, the agreement reached with the Chuang Army must be followed now. But your reminder is also correct, and the Qing army must not be allowed to occupy the entire Henan. This is how you go! Go to Kaifeng for me. Tell Mrs. Gao that in addition to having 3,000 soldiers in Dingtao, I will withdraw all the troops back to Jining. She can feel at ease to transfer Guide's troops to western Henan to resist the Qing army. In addition, I can also sell her some artillery to help her defend the city. As for the others, let's see how the situation changes!"

Hou Fangyu left, and Zhou Xian sat on the chair and was silent for a long time. In the end, he was still uneasy and found the map and paid special attention to the situation of the Yellow River.

Afterwards, he ordered Sun Bao to go to Jinan College, but found some people who knew water conservancy and asked them about this matter. The conclusion was that it was possible, but a lot of preparations must be made. For example, the water level of the Yellow River must be high enough, the location of the dike, and how to guide the road, etc. It takes a long time to prepare, but it may not be able to achieve the desired effect.

After hearing this, Zhou Xian felt completely relieved and felt that this was not a particularly urgent matter at the moment. After leaving the door, he breathed a sigh of relief and his mood suddenly improved a lot.

War reports about the trespassing army and the Qing army were constantly coming, and there were constant small battles in Yongping Mansion. But so far, a large-scale battle has not broken out, which is very strange.

After Haoge conquered Xi'an, the troops were divided into two groups.

Among them, the army that chased Yuan Zongdi all the way to Henan. Mrs. Gao dispatched troops and sent many elite soldiers to Luoyang east to defend against the Qing army. At the same time, she continued to recruit food and grass, expand her soldiers, and made all preparations.

The other route directly rushed to Longnan, where there were some soldiers led by Cao Bianjiao and Wu Dading. After obtaining the consent of Wu Dading and others, Cao Bianjiao led his troops to resist one after another, but the army slowly headed south and prepared to withdraw Hanzhong.

When Gao Jie fled to Sichuan, there were only thousands of soldiers left by his side. However, after receiving the support of the King of Shu, he expanded his troops to more than 30,000 troops. Other generals such as Zeng Ying also came to surrender, greatly increasing their strength.

After knowing that the capital was lost, they even proposed to support the King of Shu ascend the throne and prepared everything. Although this matter ended after learning that Zhu Cilang was still alive, Gao Jie's thoughts were fully revealed.
Chapter completed!