The war in the north is still going on, and the south is not peaceful either.
After the news of the Battle of Damingfu spread to the southwest, a few days passed. Heavy rain came and went, the water level of the Minjiang River rose, and the flood season had entered.
Although he was worried about the battle situation north of the Yellow River, Ning Yi and the Chinese army started to move towards Dujiangyan as soon as the water situation became critical.
In the eyes of later generations, the Chengdu Plain is a land of abundance, but the greatest harm to this area every year is floods. The Minjiang River enters the Chengdu Plain from the Yulei Mountain Pass and goes from west to southeast, but it is an out-and-out hanging river.
The gap from the plain is nearly 300 meters, so the Chengdu Plain has been subject to water control since the Qin Dynasty. It was not until the Song Dynasty in another period of history that water control was systematized. After Dujiangyan was formed, the flood pressure here was greatly relieved, and the Land of Abundance was established.
Gradually it becomes worthy of its name.
But even so, in the 20th century, the Chengdu Plain experienced two major floods. The flooding of the Minjiang River and the downstream Tuojiang River turned the entire plain into a flood. The same was true at this time. If the Minjiang River could not hold back, the next one would
Years, life on this plain will be very sad. The Chinese army's desire to leave Sichuan in a short period of time has become a real idiot's dream.
What the Chinese Army is facing now is not just the threat of natural disasters. Regarding the current situation that the Chinese Army controls the Chengdu Plain, the intelligence department has already received a tip that the Wu Dynasty is trying to secretly sabotage the breach of the Minjiang River.
This kind of desperate plan to create floods and submerge the three armies was popular among many scholars of the Wu Dynasty. When the Jurchens attacked Bianliang, the idea of breaking the Yellow River to repel the enemy was in the minds of many people.
What a secret. When the Chinese army first occupied the Chengdu Plain, if it really encountered a flood, it would be like a big burden for the next one or two years. Therefore, although it seems alarmist, if someone really wants to do something, it will not be done.
surprisingly.
On the one hand, it is necessary to resist natural disasters, and on the other hand, it is hoped that a major incident will deepen the unstable foundation of rule. In early April, all political departments of the Chinese Fifth Army were mobilized, and 40,000 soldiers were mobilized to launch a campaign near the Minjiang River.
Nearly 50,000 people in villages and counties participated in the work of fighting against floods and embankments - in fact, early propaganda had been started two months ago. When the floods increased in April, the Chinese Army also increased the scale of its mobilization. Ning Yi
He personally went to the front line and spent all his wealth in recruiting migrant workers and publicity and management. After this time of fighting the flood, the money and food that the Chinese army grabbed when they occupied the Chengdu Plain were almost spent.
However, such a big move is naturally beneficial for the nearby people to unite with the army and experience the Chinese army's serious military discipline and determination to control floods at close range. Those who go to the front line are mainly the army, and migrant workers with experience in water control.
In order to speed up the linkage between various places, the management personnel assigned to each village and county mobilized the people who had not gone to the front line to fix the embankments to repair and open roads, which could also be regarded as leaving a fortune for the future.
In mid-to-late April, the sky above the Chengdu Plain was gray every day, and heavy rain fell from time to time. Ning Yi found a few houses on the edge of the county town near Dujiangyan to sit in the center, also to deter clowns who wanted to make plans in this natural disaster.
People. News from outside is gathering here every day. On April 19th, news came that after Wan Yanchang completed the raid on Daming Mansion north of the Yellow River, he quickly launched his next move.
Liangshanshuibo, where Guangwu Army and Dulonggang tens of thousands of family members gathered, the number of troops guarding the place is now only more than 2,000.
Thousands of miles apart, even if they were anxious to get angry, it would be useless. At the moment when the news was received, it was estimated that the hundreds of thousands of Han troops forced by Wan Yanchang had almost completed their assembly.
However, on April 23, slightly better news came.
After the battle in Daming Mansion, traces of the surviving people appeared one after another. Near Liangshanshuibo, there were either hundreds of people forming an organization, or dozens of people, more than ten people, or even a single survivor.
They began to appear one after another. Although there were not many survivors, the news was very sad.
Some of these people survived for half a month in the barren mountains and ridges under the Jurchen blockade before finally breaking through the defense line with difficulty. Some were seriously injured and luckily survived. Most of their comrades were dead, some were separated, and some
Some of them were arrested, and they all had injuries on their bodies, but gradually they gathered back here.
Some people were helped by the enemy or nearby people. A few groups of people were obviously let go by members of the Han army who were searching the mountains. Some members of the Guangwu Army or the Huaxia Army were hidden by nearby people after being injured.
Get up, and when the news came that Wan Yanchang's next step was to attack Liangshan, these people couldn't stay any longer, and many of them rushed back towards Liangshan with their wounds still unhealed.
This is strange to say. In the ten years since the Jurchens conquered the Central Plains, people's resistance was initially high for a period of time, but gradually, most of the people who resisted died, and the remaining people began to become numb. By this time
When the Jurchens went south and the Guangwu Army attacked Damingfu, there were actually not many people who responded. And among them, most people did not have a favorable impression of the banner of the Huaxia Army.
In the eyes of the world, although the existence of the Huaxia Army was born out of the Han people and named Huaxia, most people in the Central Plains will probably only regard them as Shura characters who are the same as the Jurchens. Therefore, the Huaxia Army is
The Central Plains has always had no mass base.
However, after the disastrous defeat of Daming Mansion, at least in the land north of the Yellow River, many people who had no hope of living seemed to... at least began to accept them a little bit.
The Guangwu Army that finally broke out of Daming Mansion, plus the Chinese Army that came to help, totaled close to 30,000 people. No one has been able to calculate the estimated number of sacrifices at this time, but at least half of them were upwards. Thousands of people were captured. The tragic
The massacre has begun. The survivors - I don't know how many survivors there are - are gradually coming back, heading towards Liangshan, to participate in a war that is likely to be even more brutal.
Like a spark of fire.
On April 27, the list of generals who had been confirmed to have died was gradually reported back, and the tragedies of prisoners being massacred one after another in the cities were also recorded and reported back. At this time, the water in the Minjiang River had become increasingly fierce, and the Chinese army's various departments had strengthened their embankments.
While fighting the floods, the intelligence agencies were also reporting rumors from various places that pro-military forces were preparing to burst the embankments and screening them one by one.
On the fourth day of May, rumors were confirmed that a group of people were preparing to break the embankment. The leader was Chen Song, a local scholar in Chengdu. The Chen family was originally a prominent family in Sichuan and Sichuan. After the Chinese army occupied the Chengdu Plain, some gentry fled with their families. The Chen family
However, they did not leave. When the spring floods began this year, the Chen family believed that the floods in the Minjiang River would have the greatest impact on the Chinese army, so they secretly contacted some heroes in the Jianghu and prepared to take action at the right time.
Chen Song originally thought that the saddest thing about this incident was psychological. Who knew that as soon as the flood season came, the Chinese army was dispatched in batches. Although a large number of people were mobilized, the guards and inspections nearby were extremely strict.
In May, the Chinese army entered the house and controlled everyone. Chen Song had prepared a large amount of gunpowder and had not yet figured out where to start.
The operation to arrest the Chen family and their party members was quite vigorous, and Ning Yi accompanied him. Chen Song was captured in a villa of the Chen family not far from the Minjiang River. Ning Yi saw this old man with half-white beard and hair——
The two had met several times before. This time, the old man was no longer as confused as before, and he yelled at Ning Yi in the hall of his home.
Ning Yi pulled up a chair and sat in front of him, listening quietly to his scolding.
In the past when dealing with Confucian scholars - especially young scholars - Ning Yi liked to argue calmly with each other, but this time, he had no interest in arguing. There were various martyrs, Qian Xiwen, Qin Siyuan
, Kang Xian, Wang Qisong, whom he has never met... Arguing is meaningless for those who are determined to die.
He just listened to the old man's scolding with a serious look, and then spoke: "In ten days, you and your family will be held in public trial in front of thousands of people. If you are guilty, you will be punished severely. You can talk about the need to break the embankment at that time."
On the way back, the heavy rain gradually turned into light rain. At noon, Ning Yi and others rested at a post station on the way. Three men wearing raincoats came in front. When they saw Ning Yi and others, they dismounted and entered the store. The man in front took off his clothes.
Coi Yi is a tall woman, but it is Juan'er who always handles trivial matters for Ning Yi. She brought some news from the north.
At this time, with the passage of time, some information around Daming Mansion and even Liangshan has begun to become clear, and the deaths of some people have been verified, including the sacrifices of Xu Ning, Hu Yanzhuo, Nie Shan and others have been repeatedly confirmed, but there are also
Qin Ming, Li Jiakai, Xue Changgong and other generals have returned to Liangshan. The first batch of generals and soldiers who came back numbered more than 4,000 people, which can be regarded as the main force that truly survived the Daming Mansion breakout battle.
Since some of the troops and soldiers were severely dispersed during Wanyanchang's half-month-long blockade and raids, it is possible that these soldiers may or may not return one after another, and the number should not be large.
"In other words... there are nearly 30,000 people, and there are at most 6,000 left..." In the room of the post station, after listening to Juan'er's brief report, Ning Yi murmured.
"Many people have been arrested, and people over there are planning rescues."
"Don't think about it. Wan Yanchang is not a dead man. He is a guy who is known for doing things safely. He kills people in public just because he wants to fish." The situation in Liangshan is urgent. In the past few days, the news has begun to become clear again. The intelligence personnel on the front line
Summing up one by one, a large amount of information was sent immediately, so that several pieces of information paper were densely written with words. Ning Yi frowned while reading.
Juan'er stood for a moment, and Ning Yi glanced at her and smiled slightly: "Sit down. There are too many things in the past two days, and I am in a bad mood. You don't have to stand... I have to write a letter to Liangshan later..."
"Uh..." Juan'er's expression was a little strange, "The last page... reported something."
"What?" Ning Yi frowned and turned over the last page.
Seeing Ning Yi starting to look, Juaner pursed her lips and sat on a stool to the side.
On the last page, it was written that Li Shishi was going to get married.
The operation to rescue the Guangwu Army had a narrow escape, but in normal battles, the Chinese Army also tried its best to fight for that glimmer of hope. The life of the Han Army under Wan Yanchang was extremely difficult, and the intelligence team led by Yan Qing once spent a lot of time
He made great efforts to persuade some Han generals to abandon the enemy or even switch sides. Such actions naturally had successes and failures, but what not many people knew was that Li Shishi, who was originally in Liangshan, also participated in this action.
When he learned that the Chinese army defeated Shu Li and headed southeast, Li Shishi knew that it was impossible for Zhu Biao and others not to rescue Wang Shanyue, who was already in a dead end. When the Chinese army went out to fight, she who came out of Liangshan also made the same decision.
In order to plan her own actions, she went to lobby a Han general named Huang Guangde, trying to get the other party to release water during the siege, and to ask him to help rescue people after the battle entered the siege stage.
This Huang Guangde was originally a civil servant in the Wu Dynasty. In his early years in the capital, he had no support and could not fill the gap after winning the imperial examination. He wandered around the capital and stayed in Fanlou for a long time. At that time, Miss Shishi was very popular, and Huang Guangde
Naturally, it was hard to get close to her, and he had only met her a few times. During the reign of Li Xizhi, Huang Guangde rose to prominence under his command. At this time, among the Han troops mobilized by Wan Yanchang, he was considered a relatively powerful general, with many subordinates under his command.
There are more than ten thousand brothers and many confidants who have done some things.
Li Shishi approached Huang Guangde, and Huang Guangde was tangled at first. However, later on, he didn't know what conditions he agreed to, and finally extended a helping hand. Only then did he know that Miss Shishi had agreed to marry Huang Guangde as his concubine - which was a blessing.
Huang Guangde, who was nearly fifty years old, was bold, or he was yearning for the good old days and took a desperate risk - at this time, Miss Shishi had already moved into the backyard of the Huang Mansion.
Ning Yi read the news carefully and frowned even more. Then he turned back to the front and read the entire news. He naturally knew what Juan'er's expression was at this time, and the anger in his heart became even more intense.
Putting the information on the Sifang table: "Who is the person in charge of the information on the other side of Liangshan?"
Juaner blinked: "Uh, this..."
"You're crazy!" Ning Yi stood up and slapped the table, "An intelligence officer wrote down all the details! Write a story! Huang Guangde wants to tell me at the age of forty-nine? Master Li is in his thirties.
When we are two years old and we get married, we can write a whole page about something that can be written in two lines. Does he think I have too much time? Does he think I am interested in something!? If they are in love, let them be together. If
He forced a good girl into prostitution, so she did this to me, Huang Guangde! Do you need to write it down for me to read?"
Ning Yi's voice was already shouting in the room: "Thought I didn't know what he was thinking! That's because he thought I had an affair with Master Li! Who the hell cares if I had an affair with Master Li! Tens of thousands of people died! A group of heroes
Leaving their lives on the battlefield, tens of thousands of their family members are about to be massacred! Where he wrote such important information, he wrote me a whole page about Master Li! Psycho! The guy who sent this information must make a serious decision.
Review!”
Juaner nodded and put away the information. Ning Yi was angry for a moment and sat down again: "I will write a letter to Liangshan tonight, at least... to encourage them. There are tens of thousands of family members in Liangshan, plus
Although thousands of people occupy a favorable location, it is difficult to say whether they can survive. In the southwest, the life, death and future of hundreds of thousands of people are also hanging here. There is really no need to occupy so much information about one person, and others cannot
Are they in love with each other..."
He glanced at Juaner: "You are also crazy..."
Juaner lowered her head: "I thought... you at least cared about Miss Shishi..."
"We have known each other for so many years. When we were in the capital, I took good care of him...but what about caring? After reading this kind of information, am I going to send an order from thousands of miles away to have someone take care of me?
The girl was rescued? If they were really in love, the child would be pregnant by now."
Ning Yi touched the bridge of his nose, paused, and looked at Juan'er: "Besides, Miss Renshishi and I really don't have an affair..."
Juan'er smiled, and the two stopped talking about this topic. After lunch, they braved the light rain and went back to the Dujiangyan front line. A lot of news came from the outside world. One of them was: Cheng Zhouhai, the special envoy of the Princess Royal Palace of the Wu Dynasty, will arrive soon.
Arrive soon.
"...He's an old friend, welcome to come." Ning Yi said.
***************
When we arrived near Dujiangyan, it was already past the Dragon Boat Festival, and on the seventh day of May, the weather became clear. Cheng Zhouhai, riding a horse accompanied by his escort team, saw the scene of nearby villagers busy building roads. Soldiers from the Chinese Army participated in it.
, there are also management personnel wearing red armbands, standing on the big rocks to preach and encourage the villagers who are building the road.
"Why is this?"
"Mr. Ning said that workers and troops who know how to control floods are fighting floods in the front, and everyone in the rear is working together to ensure smooth roads, all for the purpose of controlling floods," explained the Chinese military personnel who were following Cheng Zhouhai.
Cheng Zhouhai nodded: "After the water is cured, the road here is also repaired, and everyone gets along better... There is no leakage, which is Ning Liheng's style."
What he saw along the way were mostly labor scenes like this. When he arrived at a military medical camp where many people were seeing doctors, Cheng Zhouhai met Ning Yi. The two had not seen each other for more than ten years, and Ning Yi had entered middle age.
, Cheng Zhouhai was nearly fifty years old. He got off the horse and offered his hand to Ning Yi. Ning Yi came over and bowed in return. The two looked at each other, both smiling and saying nothing.
Then Ning Yi turned his body and pointed into the distance: "There, my son."
"Ning Ji, follow the one who is the doctor." Cheng Zhouhai smiled. When he was under Qin Siyuan, he was said to be an overly scheming poisonous person. Over the years, he has been working with Zhou Pei and is the chief steward of the princess palace. For Ning Yi
Apart from Li Pin, he is probably the one who pays the most attention to and understands all kinds of information here.
He then said: "I was the one who released the news about the Minjiang River bursting its banks, and I also arranged for some people to do so."
Ning Yi nodded, but before he could answer, Cheng Zhouhai smiled and said, "Give me some benefits, and I won't stand in your way."