Because there was water upstream, Cao Ren had a bad premonition and did not plan to stay any longer.
After a day's rest, the army marched directly towards the border of Wei State's Jiangxia County - but before that, Cao Ren still sent a letter back.
He hoped that if Cao Ang was not under too much pressure, he might be able to support the floods in Sui County.
But Cao Ren really had no choice.
It is not far from Anlu to Shangchang. Because he chose to rest in Anlu before, Cao Ren did not stay in Shangchang for a long time.
But just as they were rushing to Xiakou, the most unexpected thing happened to Cao Ren.
Shiyang is a small town built on the border of Jiangxia by Cao Cao after he captured Jingzhou. Shiyang on the border is often at the forefront of conflicts between the three parties of Jiangxia.
Therefore, as a frontline military town, Shiyang is still quite rich in supplies.
Using Shiyang as a base and then attacking Xiakou, Cao Ren would have enough time to react no matter which way Guan Yu went.
This is what Cao Ren thought.
However, it may be because he has not wandered around Jiangxia too much for so many years, and his understanding of Jiangxia is far less than that of Guan Yu, who has obtained the entire Jiangdong map.
So...he ignored a very important point.
Located in the southwest of Shiyang City, there is a city similar in size to Shiyang.
Hanchuan——
Hanchuan is located in the west of Jiangxia County. It is a city with a fairly high terrain within the Yunmengze Lake Group.
The city is high in the northwest and low in the southeast, so even though there are many rivers and lakes around it, it can always protect itself safely during floods.
In other periods, this city would not actually have much significance - after all, in wars, if an isolated city is located at a high place, it will often become the target of siege by the enemy.
Just like the previous battle in Hanzhong, when Wei Yan was greedy for power and advanced rashly, he led his army to Zuomaling alone, only to be besieged by Zhang He.
If we only look at the advantages of terrain, high places are indeed easy to defend and difficult to attack, but war can never be summed up by just looking at the advantages of terrain.
But this period is so special.
Hanchuan City, which was supposed to have no existence, became the key among the keys because of a sudden change.
——
After making all preparations, Cao Ren crossed Shiyang, led 50,000 elite soldiers from Xiangyang, crossed the border of Jiangxia with great force, and headed straight for Xiakou.
Although he didn't know the current situation around him, Cao Ren knew that Xiakou was definitely the lifeblood and throat of Liu Bei's army who was currently staying in Jiangdong.
Yi Xiaotian is far away in Jiangdong at the moment and will not give him any advice, so Cao Ren needs to take full control of the next actions.
The scouts went there early, but Cao Ren did not have the time to wait for a detailed report - time waits for no one, and if Guan Yu really rescued Liu Bei's army in Jiangdong, it would be too late to say anything.
It was precisely because of this idea - and possibly the previous flooding of the Jianshui River - that Cao Ren knew that he could not delay, so he chose a somewhat aggressive route.
The problem also arises in this situation.
In the Hanchuan River, the rising water level of Jianshui River eventually merges into the Han River.
Because of Yunmengze, the water level of the Han River was extremely high during this period. Coupled with the influx of the overflowing Jianshui River, many roads that originally passed within the Yunmengze realm were suddenly submerged.
This unexpected situation made it almost impossible for the army led by Cao Ren to move forward.
He didn't expect that the danger was quietly approaching before he actually fought with the enemy.
The next day, at ten o'clock at noon, Yunmengze was surrounded by dangers, and the water level suddenly rose sharply. Just when Cao Ren led his army to detour from the north bank of Han River to Xiakou, an army was suddenly trapped in one place by the rising water level.
The high ground for a temporary trip.
Thousands of people were besieged in an area similar to a small island in the middle of a lake - this made Cao Ren's already somewhat depressed mood really difficult to bear.
But he can't abandon his generals just because of this kind of thing, right?
What's more, the team of more than a thousand people are still their elite infantry——
In desperation, Cao Ren had no choice but to organize his generals to go to the rescue.
Time passed quickly, because it was approaching the middle of the month and the water rose highest at noon. Generally speaking, the water level cycled every six hours, so in fact, after waiting for three hours, when the water level recovered, they could leave safely.
But Cao Ren had some confusion in his heart, which made him make a relatively unwise decision.
An hour passed, and I saw that the situation had not improved at all, and the water was rising even more fiercely.
The key is, except for the rising water... I don't know when the sky suddenly turned dark.
It's not long past noon, and the sky will get dark... This can only mean one thing -
Cao Ren seemed to have noticed the change in the sky. He suddenly raised his head and looked at the sky behind him.
Dark clouds... strong winds are picking up... there is a damp smell in the air, and black crows are squawking sporadically, as if it brings an even more ominous premonition.
Cao Ren frowned and felt something was wrong, so he could only urge his subordinates:
"If you are more agile with your hands and feet, if you can't stop the water, you can use a rope to pull it and wade directly through the water! There is no time to delay any more, it seems like it is going to rain!"
Cao Ren shouted, and his subordinates moved much faster.
But...after all, it can't be faster than God.
There was a thunder, and a series of lightning flashed over Yunmeng Daze.
The thick black clouds seemed like the sky was about to collapse, and then... raindrops fell——
Specifically, it shouldn't be raindrops, but raindrops as big as beans, which fell from the sky with considerable weight and hit Cao Ren's armor, making a crisp crackling sound.
The rain came down hard, and the cold rain continued to flow down Cao Ren's helmet. Like his livid complexion, many soldiers began to tremble because of the combined erosion of the cold and rain.
The heavy rain in winter, a rare scene, only added a little more difficulty to Cao Ren and the others' already somewhat urgent situation.
"You still have time…"
Cao Ren shouted in his heart that as long as he rescued these generals, he would take everyone to the nearby mountains and highlands - Xiakou may not be able to reach it today, but with such heavy rain, God is at least fair - Xiakou
It is located on the lower reaches of the Han River, and there are many lakes such as Liangzi Lake nearby. If it rains more heavily, Xiakou will inevitably suffer.
By then they might really be able to capture Xiakou without any effort.
That's what he thought...but...the reality was not as optimistic as he thought at all.
There was another thunder, and the rain fell like a torrent. It was acceptable that the food and grass carried by the army got wet, but the problem of hypothermia caused by the heavy rain in winter immediately became apparent.
After only a short while, one of the soldiers fell straight down like a piece of wood.
This is someone freezing...
The cold wind blowing from the northwest was like a reminder, mercilessly hitting the soldiers of Cao's army who were still fighting for their lives.
